𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, niall horan

☽ ephemeral /ɪˈfɛm(ə)r(ə)l/
adjective: lasting only a moment; delicate as smoke, gone before you can hold it. a heartbeat borrowed from eternity ☽

I could almost see the shadows of his past, the echoes of a father whose own battles had left marks far deeper than physical bruises. In his defiance, in his unyielding refusal to be anything but who he was, I sensed a desperate bid for identity, a silent plea not to repeat the legacy he feared.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Maeve Foster stopped believing in permanence a long time ago. Being the daughter of an Air Force officer means never staying in one place long enough to put down roots - or get attached.

Niall Horan has spent his whole life in the same small town, watching people come and go like the tide. He's learnt not to get too close because, as his family says, nothing good ever stays. His father left years ago, his mother barely holds things together, and he's long since learnt that if he wants his own way out, he'll have to carve his own path. Even if it means carrying the weight of someone else's childhood on his back.

Together, Maeve and Niall are a contradiction, something fleeting that feels inevitable. A flame that should've gone out long ago, yet never does. She's spent her whole life leaving, never letting herself get too close. He's spent his whole life being left behind, pretending it doesn't hurt.

Maybe that's the cruellest part, because love was never the problem. Time was.