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

day 8: decorating the tree (in which there are hangovers and epiphanies)

Niall was hungover and cranky and slightly confused.

He'd woken up beside Mona again, except this time, they were spooning, her chest pressed to his back, her arms curved around his body, holding him to her. His head had been pounding and he didn't know what he was dreaming about but he woke with a start, heart thumping loudly in a panic until he felt Mona behind him, the smell of mint infiltrating his senses and he suddenly calmed.

But then he realized that her lips were pressed to his neck again and their legs were tangled together and her fingers were curled around the fabric of his t-shirt and his nerves felt like they were exploding and he felt more awake than ever.

His head was telling him to do what he did the first time and wriggle away so she wouldn't catch him beside her, but his heart was making him turn around, admiring the sleeping girl in his bed. He hadn't a clue what happened after the second bottle of whiskey. All he knew was that she was warm and beautiful and lovely. And because Niall was always honest with himself, he knew he was attracted to her but she wasn't the least bit interested in him. At least not in that way.

Before he could stop himself, his fingers were reaching towards her face, brushing away the strands of hair that had fallen into her eyes and tucking them behind her ear, his touch lingering for a few seconds before he pulled away. As soon as he did though, her eyes were fluttering open and he just about jumped out of his skin. She didn't seem to notice, instead sending him a small smile, sitting up to stretch her limbs and mocking him for getting so completely drunk he could barely walk up the stairs.

Now, he was sitting on the floor beside the huge tree standing in the corner of the sitting room, sorting out ornaments and watching as Mona strategically placed each one on a certain branch, meticulously analyzing and rearranging to the point where Niall's headache wasn't because of the hangover anymore. "Mo," he whined, leaning to the right so that the side of his face was pressed pathetically to the wall. "'M hungry."

"Shut up, you big baby." She didn't even look at him, instead focusing on the task at hand, and Niall groaned and grumbled until he fell asleep again, right there against the wall. When he opened his eyes, the tree was already beautifully decorated, and he smiled a bit until he noticed the Polaroid picture Mona had stuck on his chest of him sleeping.

He'd stumbled into the kitchen after rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Apparently, the entire cabin except for Mona was still asleep. She was standing in front of the counter staring out of the window above the sink, a mug in her hands. "I made your coffee," she said without even glancing at him, and he wordlessly took the mug and moved to stand beside her. A light flurry was dusting over the area, and the sight was almost ethereal, trees and the ground covered in a blanket of white. His hunger was long forgotten, and instead, he felt a bit nauseous. "Still have a headache?"

Niall hummed, taking a sip of his heavily-caffeinated beverage and surprised to find that it was exactly the way he liked it. He wondered when she'd caught on to his coffee preferences.

Mona looked at him then, giving him a soft smile before placing her mug in the sink. "You look terrible by the way," she said, amusement threading through her tone and he scoffed. But then she was looking at him again, eyes softening. "Maybe you should go back to bed. Sleep it off."

Instinctively, Niall's hand went up to his neck, rubbing over the spot her lips were pressed against not even a few hours ago. He nodded, finishing off his coffee before heading towards the door. For a moment, he stopped, looking back at her as if to ask if she'd come with him. But then he thought about it and decided against it, instead heading up the stairs and into his bedroom, burrowing beneath the blankets.

It was only when he was just barely falling into the sea of unconsciousness did he feel the blanket behind him lifting, her figure sliding in behind his. Then, they'd easily resumed the position they'd been in this morning, and Niall tried not to let his lips lift into a huge smile.