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

day 22: ugly sweaters (in which niall and mona have presents to deliver)

"You've got to be kidding me, Mo."

Niall probably should've expected it when he noticed that her gaze lingered far too long on the ugly cashmere sweaters displayed on the window of one of the shops they'd passed by on their way to the café, but when she showed up at his door with two jumpers draped across her arms, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. He didn't really think of her as the type to actually enjoy the tradition, he thought of it as something more...Harlow.

Mona gave him a look, brushing past him and into the flat. After shrugging off her coat and tossing it on the couch, she held one of the Christmas jumpers up, a sly grin on her face. "This one's yours." She was holding back a laugh, he knew. The jumper was a bright red, a familiar looking snowman stitched right onto the middle. When he quirked his brows again, she actually did laugh, and he figured he wanted to make her do that more often. "It's Olaf!" she sputtered out between her giggles. "From that Frozen movie."

Niall was amused to say the least, finding it difficult to remain impassive when Mona was laughing like an idiot. "What—why did you get me an Olaf jumper?"

She shrugged, shoulders still shaking with lingering chuckles, and tossed the sweater in Niall's direction. "Because we're going somewhere." Mona tugged on her own jumper, hers a green color with white patterns on the front. "And where we're going requires ugly Christmas sweaters." Niall pulled the jumper over his t-shirt despite the fact that there were a million questions buzzing in his brain, his glasses almost falling off his face in the process. "Oh, it's a perfect fit," Mona said, smiling at Niall as she pulled her coat on again. "I wasn't sure of what size to get you."

Niall wasn't sure what was going on or what Mona had planned but he followed her lead and grabbed his coat, keys, phone, and wallet, trailing behind her as she walked out the door. "Mo," he began, the question evident in his voice. "Where exactly are we going?"

Mona didn't answer, instead walking down the hall towards the elevator. She mumbled something under her breath but Niall couldn't quite catch it.

"Mona." She pressed the button for the floor above, too occupied with her phone to even pay attention to Niall. He frowned. "Mo," he prodded, but then the elevator doors were opening and she was rushing out, all the way down the hall until she stopped in front of Harry and Zayn's flat. Niall watched as she moved several flower pots over, revealing a chip in the wall.

"Fucking idiot," she muttered when she looked inside only to find nothing. "The spare key used to be in here." Niall was still confused when she stood up again, and he observed as she plucked a bobby pin from her hair, jamming it into the keyhole and wriggling it around until the doorknob turned. She scoffed. "They didn't even turn their deadbolt. Stupid."

Niall almost laughed. "Namona. Breaking and entering is a misdemeanor crime."

She gave him a look. "You're not a law student, Niall. Shut up and follow me."

Niall didn't need to be told twice.

Except before he could even step into the flat, Mona was shoving a rather heavy box into his arms, placing another box beside his feet before closing the door. "Stealing is also a crime," Niall huffed, struggling to maintain a firm grip on the large box. But Mona simply gave him another look and it was enough to get him to shut up for a while. It wasn't as if he had the mental capability to speak at that moment, because he was trying to figure out a way to grip the box without stopping every few minutes in order to adjust its position.

By the time he'd figured it out, they were already walking down the street. The sky was dark, but it was always bright in New York City. They may not have lived in the best part of town but Niall always loved taking walks around their neighborhood. He loved watching the people and observing the cityscape. There was a buzzing vibe to it that he didn't feel in his hometown.

"Mo," he started, finally being able to walk comfortably. "Are you gonna tell me where we're going? First you come in with Christmas jumpers and then you break into Zayn's and Harry's flat, and then—"

"Apartment, Niall," she corrected, a sly grin curving along her mouth. "You're in America." Niall rolled his eyes, and Mona smiled at him before explaining. "Harry called me earlier. Said that he had these gifts to send to the pediatric unit at the hospital where he volunteers but he forgot to take them over before he left." Niall nodded in understanding, smiling a bit because he suddenly remembered when Harry dragged him shopping and all of the toys he'd tossed into the trolley. Niall remembered wondering if Harry had ever spoken about having younger family members, but now he knew why it took forever for Harry to complete his shopping that day.

"So the jumpers were Harry's idea too then?"

Mona huffed out a laugh, adjusting the box in her hands. "He demanded that we wear them and send him a picture afterwards."

Niall grinned. He knew part of Harry's request was because he wanted to take the piss out of them for wearing the ugly sweaters—although, Niall wasn't going to lie, he thought his Olaf jumper was kind of cute—but mostly, he knew that it genuinely made Harry happy when others were happy. He must've felt bad when he'd realized that he'd forgotten to distribute the presents, Niall knew.

"Well," Niall said, picking up the pace. "Hurry up then, you snail! We've got gifts to deliver."

Mona rolled her eyes at him, walking a bit faster, nonetheless. And, much to Niall's wonder, she still managed to nudge her hip with his, despite the fact that the boxes were huge and they were still struggling to carry them.