Count On Me | Niam

Chapter Thirty-Seven (!)

Niall/Liam

"So..."

Still resisting the urge to laugh, Niall shook his head at Liam, stretching up and pulling him into another kiss, hesitating for a second, his sudden boldness taking him by surprise as he said, "Where to now? Unless you want to stand out here all night? Do you want to come back with me...or shall we go to yours?"

"My place is closer, I think. If...do you...if you want to..." Smiling as Niall silenced him, reaching up and kissing him to get him to shut up, Liam reached in his pocket for his car key, trying to mask his surprise at Niall's forwardness as he looked over to see him nod.

"My place it is then."

******

"Li...I feel like I should say...I haven't done this before."

Waiting until they'd been driving a few minutes, Niall clutched at the hem of his shirt, trying not to let his earlier confidence fade as he looked over at Liam, looking up in time to see Liam nod,  briefly glancing over at Niall and giving him an understand smile as he said, "I know. I don't really do this either."

"I mean it. I haven't done this before." Biting his lip as he looked over at Liam, Niall tried not to blush as he spoke, looking away from Liam and down at his lap to avoid letting his embarrassment show as he mumbled, "I mean never. There's never really been anyone else, it's been...I've not."

"I know, Ni. I kind of figured...but that's okay." Glancing over at Niall in the rearview mirror, Liam reached over and squeezed his hand, waiting for Niall to look up at him before he gave him a reassuring look. "It's okay, Niall. I don't exactly do this often but I know enough of what it's like...I want whatever you're comfortable with. We can go as slowly and as far as you want..."

Nodding, Niall swallowed, the little spark of worry fading once he'd met Liam's gaze, leaning in back in his seat and allowing his earlier boldness to overtake him once more as he let go of Liam's hand, letting his fingers wander over Liam's wrist before he looked up and gave him a smile.

The two of them spent the rest ride back to Liam's flat in a comfortable silence, no words needed to fill the space between them, Liam taking Niall's hand once they'd arrived and leading him up to his apartment, both of them ignoring the look they were given by the doorman as he let them into the building, far more interested in each other than him or the building's concierge, so much so that the lift doors had barely closed before Liam was leaning down to kiss Niall.

The lift stopped on Liam's floor and the two of them only separating so Liam could find his keys and let them in, the dog sleeping in his basket barely twitching as they stumbled past him and towards Liam's bedroom, the door slamming shut behind them.

Niall ended up pressed against the bedroom door, clutching at Liam as he unbuttoned Niall's jeans. His earlier protest, earlier worries, forgotten as Liam stopped, looking up at Niall and asking if he was okay, if he wanted to continue, and waiting for his answer, the brief nod Niall gave being the only answer he could give before Liam surged up and kissed him.

At some point, Niall's jeans had disappeared, Liam having worked them down his legs, occasionally pressing a kiss to the curve of Niall's thigh or in the crease of his knee, and, once Niall had regained his ability to think clearly, he reached out for Liam, pulling him back up to his feet, and kissing him again, unbuttoning Liam's shirt and letting it drop to the floor before he let Liam help him out of his t-shirt, freezing as Liam's fingers hooked into the waistband of his underwear.

Stopping as he noticed Niall's hesitation, Liam looked up at him, trying to gauge his reaction as he gave him some space. "Ni...I'm sorry...we don't have to, you did say. It's perfectly okay. Niall?"