Imagines with Niall Horan

72. You are soulmates

A/N - This is quite different than what I'm used to writing, but I hope you like it :)

When they were born, and still lying in their cradles, their destiny was already decided.

When they were four, they met briefly on a playground. She noticed the kid with the blonde hair digging with his tiny hands into the sand, and Niall saw the girl on the swing getting pushed by her mom. They don't remember it now.

When they were twelve, they got their counters. The little red numbers flashed quickly on the inside of Y/N's wrist, and she got butterflies just thinking about meeting her soulmate one day in the distant future. The person who would be the only one in the entire universe that matched perfectly with her. The one to treasure and love with all her heart. She would wait.

Niall watched closely the numbers and, apart from the last two that were changing very quickly, managed to write down what was roughly 410313600 seconds. And that meant, there were thirteen long years of waiting. Thirteen years just to know who that mysterious person was, and somehow Niall's heart fell. He was a little over twelve, and it would be like waiting even longer than his entire life up to this point. He wondered if he could wait that long.

When they were fifteen, they met for the first time in school. There was no spark, no furtive glances, no quickened heart-beats. They became friends because of sports and learned that they shared a lot of interests. Niall was a very kind and open-hearted boy, and somehow Y/N believed that Niall could manage to make her a nicer person. Niall admired her knowledge and determination. He wondered if she could teach him how to be more brave.

When they were sixteen, they were often teased for being together all the time. They were the best of friends, and Y/N's heart fell when someone would call them 'an old-married couple'. She wouldn't admit it, not even to herself, but she was scared. Niall was the most handsome boy she'd ever known, and her hands itched to touch him in her dreams. She wanted to know if Niall's lips would taste as delicious as they looked, she wondered if the skin of his neck was soft and tender, if his hair smelled as nice up-close. She wasn't stupid, she knew she was beginning to fall in love. Sometimes she caught Niall's glances on herself, and wondered if Niall felt it too.

When they were seventeen, they kissed for the first time. It happened because of a silly game of Truth or Dare, hazed by alcohol and the loud cheers of their friends. When their lips met, Niall opened his mouth almost instantly, kissing Y/N with so much fervor they nearly fell in a heap on the ground. She knew what it meant. Niall was kissing her as if he was scared he might never get the chance to kiss her again, as if it was the last time he was granted his most desired wish. Y/N felt a sharp tug on her wrist, and broke away. The tug was definitely a reminder, a warning. She never allowed herself to think of Niall like that again. She solemnly promised herself that she would wait for her soulmate.

When they were eighteen, they enrolled in different colleges. But they still remained in contact, writing to each other long e-mails, talking about the small things that happened through their days, about new movies and books, about their dreams and their secrets. Y/N devoted herself to studying. She never even thought of messing around with other guys, even though the chances were plentiful. Whenever she got lonely late at night, she would stare at the tiny numbers running away on her wrist. She would wait, no matter how much it hurt.
On the other hand, Niall didn't remain chaste. He slept with lots of girls, mostly out of curiosity and raw desire. But deep down he just wanted to scratch away that wound that Y/N left in his heart. Whenever he kissed a stranger at a party, he thought of her pretty eyes, whenever he woke up in bed with a classmate, he wondered how would the night have felt if he had passed it in her arms instead.

When they were twenty-two, they met again in the city of their dreams. Y/N found a perfect place, and was looking for a trustworthy roommate. The year that Niall and Y/N first started living together was the happiest year of their lives. They cooked for each other, fought over the tv, arranged surprise birthday parties, danced around the living-room, brushed their teeth and laughed, laughed, laughed out of sheer happiness.

But sometimes the flashing numbers on their wrists would catch their eyes. And suddenly Y/N started dreading them. There were only two years left until she would meet her soulmate. There were only two years in the company of the most important person in her life right now, and they would have to end it all when they met their respective soulmates. Niall bought himself a tiny bracelet that could cover the numbers, but it didn't let him forget about the inevitability of his fate. Eventually, he threw it away.

When there was only one year left to the meeting, Niall started tentatively holding Y/N's hand. When they were walking through a crowd of people, when they were watching scary movies, when he was saying good-bye to her before going to work. Little by little, it progressed to holding Y/N's hand at whatever chance he could get. She didn't say anything. Holding Niall's hand was something too beautiful to deny herself just now.

When there were six months left, Y/N was as scared as she has ever been. She was deeply in love with her best-friend, and there was nothing she could do about this.

When there was only one week left, the tension snapped. It was just a fleeting accidental touch by the kitchen counter, Niall touching her waist to reach for the sauce, but it set off a fire between them. Without a moment of hesitation, Y/N launched herself at Niall, kissing him hard and desperate and wanting, trembling from head to toe, when Niall kissed her back just as fiercely, half-sighing into it with the relief of it finally happening. They tore off each other's clothes as quickly as they could and made love, passionate and wanting right there, on the kitchen table, shoving away and smashing all the dishes and tableware. They moved together with the energy of all those restrained days of wanting but not touching, their moans filled each other's ears, and it was the most beautiful music in the whole world. They didn't stop though, and Y/N knew that Niall wanted this night to last forever too.

When Y/N woke up the next morning, she found herself in an empty apartment.

She cried for days, finally understanding the meaning of heartbreak. Her entire chest hurt from the pain of Niall leaving, even though she knew why he did. She almost forgot about the little numbers on her wrist. She didn't care about them now, she didn't care about meeting her soulmate, because she wanted to be with Niall. She loved Niall with all her heart, for all these years, and no soulmate's kisses would feel better than Niall's. She wondered if Niall was too scared to avoid his destiny, or still wanted to meet his soulmate with a guaranteed happily ever after. She wouldn't blame him, after all it was Y/N's dream since she was a little kid.

When there were only three hours left, Y/N contemplated leaving the house. She didn't. All those sleepless nights made her nervous and jittery. She wanted it to be over, she wanted it all to end. She laid on the couch, and watched the little numbers slipping away until she dozed off.

A sharp knock on the door startled her. Quickly remembering everything that happened, she looked down to find that there were only two numbers left, and her entire body jolted awake. There was a knock on the door. She needed to open it, she needed to see who it was. It could be anyone - a neighbor, a delivery boy, a stranger. She only wanted it to be one person.

With heavy steps, she came closer, and opened the door to finally meet her soulmate, her one true love.

As soon as she saw Niall's face, looking absolutely awful from all the crying and sleepless nights, Y/N felt that same sharp tug around her wrist, and her heart burst into a million pieces. For her, Niall was never as handsome as he was in that moment. There were tears in his eyes, but he didn't care. He started crying, but his face couldn't help but widen in a smile so happy that his face no doubt was a mess too. He didn't care, not for one second.

"I came home," Niall said, before hugging her close, and never letting go.