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

day 6: planning a family party (in which niall gets angry and mona calms him)

Niall decided he wanted to give Harlow a chance to help him in the kitchen simply because she profusely apologized that Niall had to cook breakfast by himself while the rest of them goofed off in the sitting room. Once they'd been trying to make dinner for about half an hour, however, Niall realized his mistake. He didn't know how it happened but he'd (not-so) conveniently forgotten Mona's warning that Harlow "burns water." If he was skeptical before, then he sure as hell believed it now, because Harlow was making an absolute mess.

Not only did she actually set the pot containing water on fire—Niall was still confused over the whole ordeal because he didn't understand how something like that could even happen—but she burnt the batch of cookies he'd placed in the oven, dropped an entire jar of pasta sauce, and dumped sugar instead of salt in the soup he'd made for Mona. Needless to say, Niall was just about ready to rip his hair out.

He was getting ready to kick Harlow out of the kitchen when Mona came strolling in, whistling lowly as she surveyed the damage. She picked up one of the burnt cookies from the pan, charred and as hard as rocks, and frowned at her best friend. "Harlow," she said flatly, glowering and holding up the cookie rock. "Burning chocolate chips cookies is like committing a crime."

"Double chocolate chip cookies," Niall muttered, gnawing at the insides of his cheeks so he wouldn't lose his cool. It wouldn't do any good to yell at Harlow. After all, he'd promised Harry and Liam he would try to control his anger after the...incident.

Mona gaped at Harlow. "You burned double chocolate chip cookies?! That's it, we can't be friends anymore."

Harlow smiled sheepishly, shrugging her shoulders guiltily. Her long hair, which was once pulled into a braid, was now messy and streaked with what looked like flour. "I really didn't mean—I mean—it was an—"

"Get out Harlow," Mona dismissed with an amused grin. "I'll help Niall. Don't worry." Harlow all but ran out of the kitchen, presumably afraid of Niall's wrath, and Niall wondered if any of the boys had told her about the incident, or if she'd heard from someone on campus. After all, it wasn't exactly a private thing. He then wondered if Mona knew about it as well. "Hey," she said her voice soft as she gently placed her hand on his shoulder, and it was then that he realized that his knuckles were almost white from gripping the counter, jaw locked and teeth clenched in his frustration. Perhaps he needed to learn to have a little patience. "Breathe, Blondie."

Somehow, that only made Niall angrier, and it was as if he could feel his blood pressure rising with every breath. His skin was on fire, flushing a deep pink and he really just wanted to punch a wall.

Mona spun him around so he'd face her, sending him a small smile as if it would make him any less angry. It didn't. "Wanna hear a joke?" she asked, not waiting for his response before continuing. "What do you call a rabbit that has fleas?" He glared at her. "Bugs bunny!" Niall really wanted to humor her and laugh but his infuriation was getting the best of him and then he was biting his tongue in an attempt to not say something stupid.

"Okay, okay I get it. Not funny." She looked at him for a moment, thoughtfully pursing her lips. "How about you close your eyes?" When Niall gave her another look, she shook her head before elaborating. "Trust me, okay. Close your eyes and breathe. You have to breathe from your belly or else it won't work." She placed her hands on his stomach as the words left her lips, and Niall didn't know how she expected him to breathe if she had her hands on him like that, but he complied anyway, pulling in a shaky breath through his nostrils and exhaling from his mouth. "Good," she whispered. "Just like that." Her hands moved to his, releasing his fingers from the tight fist he'd made in a feeble attempt to control his anger.

He was still leaning against the counter, and she'd slotted easily between his legs. He didn't have anywhere to put his hands so he rested them on her hips, and when she let out a chuckle, her breath fanned over his skin, and then he was flushing for an entirely different reason.

"Whenever you get angry," she began, hands traveling up his arms to his shoulders, rubbing gentle but firm circles into the tensed muscles, "you should hold the length of your left middle finger with your right hand. When you do that you stimulate pressure points that help with relieving angry thoughts. Then, after a few moments, you should switch hands." Her voice was soft and calming, and Niall could feel the irritation seeping out of his pores.

Her fingers moved from his shoulders to his neck, rubbing along the pressure points from just beneath where his jawline ended down to where his shoulders began. He wasn't sure if she was aware of what she did to him when she touched him—he wasn't sure if he understood it himself, to be fair—but it was as if he'd come to associate the warmth of her body with comfort—maybe it was because she smelled like home, but he tried to ignore that—and if anything, he wanted her closer. So he wasn't exactly thinking before his hands were tightening around her hips, slightly tugging her towards him.

He opened his eyes slowly, heart skipping a beat when he realized their faces were so close that their noses were almost touching. Her hands had stopped massaging his skin, fingers stilled, and she was almost caressing his neck, thumb stroking his jawline. Her eyes were twinkling in the dim lighting of the kitchen, the brown hue so dark he imagined if he looked closely he'd probably be able to see his own reflection.

Niall was always honest with himself, and he knew if she hadn't reached up to adjust his glasses on his face, he would've kissed her. He didn't know if she caught onto that as well, but it probably meant something that she broke the moment they seemed to get lost in, and then his skin was flushing again. It was probably for the best though, because the moment she pulled away, Liam was walking into the kitchen, nose wrinkling at the sight of the cookie rocks that were still laying on the stovetop.

"Yikes," he said, surveying the mess. "Harlow feels proper bad about this," he told Niall, and he was suddenly glad that he hadn't yelled at her because the last thing he wanted was to upset someone. "So I thought it would be nice to, y'know, do a little something to lift her spirits a bit."

Mona looked at him thoughtfully. "So like...a party?"

Liam shrugged, but Niall could see his ears tinging red. Niall saw the way Liam looked at Harlow, but he also saw the way Harlow looked at Zayn, and all he wanted was for his friends to be happy. After all, they were the closest thing he had to family now that he was so far away from home. Or what used to be home anyway.

"Cool!" Mona visibly brightened, hustling to clean up the place so they can start on some dinner. "I know exactly what to make!"

Liam grinned, and Niall knew what he was about to say before he even opened his mouth. "No," he said before Liam could even begin his sentence. "I already had Harlow make a mess in here. I don't need you to add to it." It may have come out a little harsher than he'd intended, but Liam raised his hands good-naturedly, backing away from the kitchen to call Harry.

"So, Blondie," Mona began, a wicked grin growing along her lips at the nickname. Niall knew it was going to end up sticking. "You gonna help me with this or what?" With a smile, he helped her toss the cookie rocks in the trash, watching as she eyed the soup on the stove, her nose wrinkling when her curiousity got the best of her and she risked a taste. She made a sound of disgust. "What the hell is this?"

Niall was rinsing the dishes when he shrugged. "I was making you soup but then Harlow added sugar instead of salt."

They both froze as soon as the words left his mouth. "You made me soup?"

"Yeah," he said, trying not to stumble over his words. He decided not to make eye contact. "Because you were cold and stuff so, you know." He shrugged again, looking over just in time to see a smile ghost over her features, and for what seemed to be the thousandth time within the span of those couple of moments they'd spent in the kitchen, he blushed again.