little do you know: the december drabbles // niall horan au

day 5: overly bundled (in which mona's blanket cocoon isn't the best idea)

Mona really, really, really fucking hated the cold.

And now, she found that she had developed a newfound hatred for snowball fights. Because the annoyance that was Harry Styles had aimed one straight for her face, the coldness seeping so unbearably deep into her skin that she thought she might cry. Some of the snow had even melted upon impact and suddenly there was cold water streaming down the side of her face and slipping into her clothing.

Yep. Mona had decided that she couldn't stand winter and that she should've stayed in sunny, warm California.

"Mo," Harry scoffed, grinning idiotically at her from his end of the couch. "You're overreacting." He'd been saying that to her a lot lately, and all Mona had wanted to do was slap that cheeky smile right off his face because he was honestly being such a jerk. He was also always asking everyone for cuddles which Mona found quite annoying albeit endearing, nonetheless. After all, she knew the feeling of craving the warmth of someone else every once in a while.

"Fuck you, Harry." She'd taken her cocoon of blankets to another level, bundling up beneath it as well. It was honestly a wonder she wasn't suffocating with the numerous layers of warmth. "You know I don't like the cold. And you still thought it was a good idea to whack me in the face with a snowball. Asshole."

Mona wondered if Harry's face hurt from grinning so hard because his dimples sunk deep into his cheeks in such a way that she thought his mouth might rip open. "Aww," he cooed, adjusting the tiny ponytail he'd pulled his hair into at the nape of his neck. "You're cute when you're cranky."

"Who's cute when they're cranky?" Niall strolled into the sitting room with that casual demeanor of his, and although Mona thought his cool persona could rival Zayn's, Niall always exuded an aura of warmth, his entire being radiating an inviting impression and Mona couldn't help but melt a little. His hands were shoved in his pockets, as always, pausing for a second to raise an eyebrow in her direction before sending her the tiniest of smiles and then plopping down on the couch in front of Harry.

Instead of answering the question, Harry simply scooted over so that he could poke at Mona's cheeks, and it wasn't as if she could swat the intruding hands away because her arms were trapped in her blanket cocoon. It was then that she realized that it wasn't her best idea, but desperate times called for desperate measures, right?

Harlow's iPod was plugged into the dock, holiday tunes filtering in through the tiny speakers, Michael Bublé belting out the lyrics to Mona's favorite Christmas song.

The snow's coming down, I'm watching it fall. Watching the people around...

"Hey," Niall began, both Harry's and Mona's attention snapped towards him. "I know what'll probably make you less cranky." There was such an easygoing smile plastered on his face that Mona didn't even have to think about stopping the one growing along her own features. He stood up, extending his hand for her to take. "Let's dance. It'll get your blood flowing and you won't be so cold anymore." She wanted to accept, because his smile alone was melting the chill that had seeped into her bones, but there was still something that made her hesitate. When she didn't respond right away, Niall simply shrugged, shifting his body to face Harry instead. "Guess it's just you and me, Harold."

Without even thinking about it, Harry took Niall's hand, almost stumbling when he stood up to place his hand on his shoulder. They swayed around the room throughout the song, Harry crooning along with the lyrics and Niall unable to suppress his rambunctious cackling. Mona even found herself joining in, laughing so hard that she hadn't realized that she'd shed her many layers of warmth in favor of stepping in between Niall and Harry, placing her hands on Harry's shoulders as Niall's arms wrapped around her from behind. Together, the three of them danced to the remainder of Harlow's playlist, Harry stepping on Mona's feet quite a few times, but Niall was always there to either catch her or trip Harry.

With Niall's laughter ringing in her ears and Harry's limbs flailing clumsily, Mona realized that there was more to life than holding back. And that maybe, this whole log cabin experience in the middle of winter wasn't such a bad thing. Either way, she was having the time of her life, and she didn't want those few moments of happiness to end.