Lover // n.h au

Part 6

Warning: NSFW (no readers under 18 please)

•••

Quinn wondered briefly how long the honeymoon phase would last. It felt for a while like they were on cloud nine and nothing could ever change the way Niall and Quinn were. Life has a funny way of bursting bubbles of unsuspecting people.

Quinn and Niall were on cloud nine for exactly three weeks. It was all it took for life to pick up and things to get crazy. Quinn was rushed from conference to conference, left exhausted by the end of the night. Niall was pushing thirteen hour days, eyes bleary in his office.

It was a mess of exhaustion for the both of them. Quinn was objectively, not lonely. Evie was still crashing with her. They smoothed things over with Poppy but that didn't mean Evie wanted to go back to Ireland.

Evie was taking this opportunity to explore her options. A communications degree amounted to just about any job she wanted. But Evie had to ask herself, was she an office job kind of girl? And what stressors in her life drove her to sleep with her boss in the first place?

While Evie was discovering herself so to say, Quinn was trying to find out who she was in a relationship. Of course she was changing as a person. That much is inevitable.

Did Quinn want to be the kind of girlfriend that dropped off the face of the earth when she was exhausted? The answer was no, not really. But was Niall the exact same way? Maybe.

So when work got hard, Niall had the energy to focus only on his work. His brain was fried by the end of the day. Some nights he fell asleep at his desk or sprawled out on the couch with his hands clutched around a stack of papers. If Quinn didn't cross his mind in those moments until her name flashed on his phone that was something she didn't want to know.

Niall'd pick the phone up, rubbing his eyes. Quinn wouldn't be laughing, she'd be exhausted in a hotel room wondering just when they'd get a moment together the way they had weeks ago.

Quinn was taking on more responsibility at work. She was taking charge in ways that her boss loved to see- and she wanted to see more of. If Quinn had known career advancements were so exhausting, she might have rethought it. Or rethought her sleeping habits.

It wasn't as if they didn't feel the distance. Niall felt it as he clutched the steering wheel on his drive home. And he felt it when he dropped his keys onto the counter and there wasn't even an echo back to him.

Quinn felt the distance when she was in bed, Evie snoring beside her. Or when she was in the shower, mind wandering. Her fingers itched to call him but she knew she shouldn't. She'd just speak to Marie anyway. There wasn't a reason to bother him, he called when he had a moment to.

On this particular night, Quinn had just gotten back from a hectic day at one of their sister museums. Her feet ached and her head was throbbing. She hadn't heard from Niall since the night before which lead her to believe he'd slept on the couch in his office for the second time in as many days.

There was leftover pizza in the fridge. Quinn grabbed a slice, taking bite. She breathed out of her nose, eyes slipping shut. Evie was asleep on the sofa, a movie playing quietly. The days events weighed her body down tremendously. It was nothing bad, just a lot.

Quinn could hear her phone ringing in her jacket pocket. She wanted to remain in the spot she was in forever but her gut was hoping it was Niall. Quinn reached into her pocket, pulling it out.

"Hello," Quinn murmured.

"Lover," Niall breathed out. "What are ya doing."

"Just got home," Quinn smiled, sitting down at the table. "What are you doin?"