Disclosure - a Ziall fanfiction

Chapter Sixteen - Twenty-and-a-quarter

"Ouch! Niall, whatcha doing? Get your frickin... Oh... Oh!"

"Good morning, darlin'", Niall murmured. "And Happy Birthday!" he whined, planting a big, wet kiss on Zayn's nose, following the trail of kisses down his neck and stomach. "Thought you might want to wake up, now. Get the most out of your day and everything. How's 20-years-and-three-months feeling?"

"Good." Zayn smiled, cupped Niall's head, and pulled him down to his face. "Couldn't be better."

"Great. Now let go of me head and get up, cause I've got big plans for today!" Niall planted another kiss on Zayn's nose, wrestled free, and tried to pull Zayn out of bed. "Come on, you lazy ass! Big plans!"

"I don't think most people celebrate their twenty-and-a-quarter birthdays, Nialler," Zayn growled. "And also, my twenty-and-a-quarter birthday is still two days away, it's just the seventh of April, love. Can't we just stay in bed? Please?"

"Nope. Can't do. As I said, great plans. Today is the only gap in the tour plan. We're playing Newcastle the next days, you know. I've packed your bag and all, you just need to get dressed!"

"My bag?" Where are we going?"

*********

Four and a half hour later, Zayn and Niall were seated in an Irish taxi, driving westward from Dublin to the Midlands.

"I've been to Ireland before, babes," Zayn said. He grabbed Niall's waist, and rested his head in the dyed blond hair. "I know. But you haven't been to Ireland. Not for real. I mean, you've seen my home, and you've seen Dublin and the big arenas and stuff, but you haven't seen Ireland. And that's what I'm tryina change, so look out of the window, will ya?"

Niall kept them busy for the rest of the day. They saw castles, cliffs and huge green areas of rolling hills. They ate lunch at an Irish pub, and went swimming in the channels in the Lakelands (not completely legally), and generally spent a lot of time cuddling, kissing and looking at each other. The day was finished off in a pub in Mullingar, with a broad-shouldered Irishman with a guitar providing live music for the evening. Everywhere they had been, people had welcomed them like family, and the pub was no exception. People were loud, laughing a lot, hugging a lot, and the atmosphere was like nothing Zayn had experienced before.

Niall was the happiest he had ever been. This was home, this was who he was. God, how he had missed Ireland. And with Zayn by his side, everything was as good as it could be.

Or, well... almost. Something bothered him. When they were alone, Zayn would tangle his fingers with Niall's, kiss him gently whenever he had the chance, and generally being the sweetest boyfriend ever. But when someone turned up - asking for an autograph or a picture, or just simply saying hi - Zayn would let go of him and pretend like nothing. They had been together for more than three months now, But Niall pushed the thought at the back of his mind, and try to enjoy the time they had together.

At 3am, the pub closed. They put on their jackets, went outside, and felt the chill Irish April-winds on their arms and faces. Joining hands, they hailed a taxi, heading home to Niall, where they were going to spend the night.

They sneaked inside and closed the door to Niall's room without waking anyone, got undressed, and squeezed together in Niall's bed - all without saying anything. " 'Night," Niall whispered, and reached for the light switch. Zayn grabbed his arm. "Hey. What's wrong? I've just had one of the best days in my life, and you just wanna go to sleep? You always wanna chat before you sleep. Did I do something?"

"Nah, it's just... it's just..." Niall struggled with the words. "It's just... you've been mine for over three months, and... I just wish we could tell people, you know. Show'em you're mine."

"Yeah. I know. But we've been through this before, Ni. My family doesn't know that I'm gay, or bi, or whatever I am. And I'm not ready to tell the world - or, y'know, face the drama."

"You've got to do it some day, Zaynie. Unless you're not planning to leave me or something," he whispered, so low Zayn could barely hear him. "The lads know. My family knows. Even Perrie supports us. What's left?"

"Me, I guess," Zayn whispered back, and grabbed Niall's face. "But I'm not going anywhere. I love you, Ni. Nothing matters more than you. And watching you today, in the pub with everyone, watching you where you belong - I feel like I know you even better. And I love you more the more I get to know you, you hear me? I'm just being a coward, that's all."

"Yes. You are. A fucken coward. But I love you too," Niall said, wrapping his arms around Zayn's neck. "More than anything."

****************************************************************************

The next day, they made their way back to Newcastle and into the dressing room by the arena, half an hour before the show was going to start.

"Rough night, huh?" Louis laughed, hinting to the way they both walked a bit slowly, Zayn with a slight limp. "Shut up, Lou," Zayn growled, while Niall blushed.

It had been an intense night. It was the first time they had gone all the way in the bed sheets. It had been the best night of both of their lives. It had been slow, tender, warm and beautiful. And a bit awkward, since it had been the first time with a boy for both of them.

They changed in a hurry, did their vocal warm-ups, and headed for the stage. Get your head where it's supposed to be, Zayn whispered to himself. Lyrics. Audience. Show time. Not Niall. Not his sparkling eyes and warm breath and soft skin and his--- his---no! Focus, Zayn!

He looked at Niall, who seemed to have the same problem, biting his lip and blushing from top to toe.

The intro film finished, and they ran on stage, followed by the intro music to Up All Night. Zayn followed the routine, managing to focus on what he had to do. Then came his solo.

"Don't even care about the table breaking

We only wanna have a laugh

I'm only thinking 'bout this girl I'm seeing

I hope she wanna kiss me back..."

Kiss me back. Yeah. Kissing. His eyes found Niall, jumping up and down and singing the chorus, then they found his face, and then his perfect, pink lips. And then he couldn't control himself anymore. He walked fast over to Niall without thinking, grabbed his neck, and cupped his lips in his hands. Zayn looked down at Niall's confused eyes. And then he kissed him.

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OK guys, the video is a scene from the movie P.S. I love you, where they are in an Irish pub. It's just to, you know, show you what an Irish pub can be like :) and also, you should watch the movie. It's beautiful :) xxx thanks for votes and comments and stuff!