I Remember

Niall helped himself to four more pieces of pizza after he changed the channel on the television, much to Harry’s chagrin. The Irish boy’s eyes were glued to the Johnny Depp version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as he pulled his legs onto the couch, stretching them across the length of it. He frowned when he couldn’t straighten them all the way due to Liam being sat in the way.

Niall tore his eyes from the television screen and glared at him, poking the sides of his legs with his foot in an effort to push him farther into the arm of the couch. Liam gave him an odd look, then realized what he was trying to do and grabbed his feet mid-kick and laid them across his lap, settling into the couch.

Niall let out a huff but didn’t protest, scooting further down the couch and using a pillow to cushion his head. He threw a blanket over himself and trained his eyes on the television screen again. His eyes started to flutter closed after a few minutes, and he let out a contented sigh, dozing off to the sound of Violet turning violet.

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When Liam noticed that Niall had fallen asleep, he motioned for the other boys to come closer. They made a small huddle to discuss something, and then nodded their heads in agreement at the same time.

Zayn made his way to the kitchen, and Louis and Harry headed to their flat. They returned moments later with a can of whipped cream, an air horn, and a camera. Zayn emptied the contents of the whipped cream bottle into a pie dish, carrying it like a pizza.

“One, two, three!” Liam stage whispered. Harry blew the air horn right on queue, which startled Niall into a sitting position. Zayn smashed the plate of whipped cream into Niall’s face, grinning at the success of their plan. Louis was filming the whole thing, and was still recording to catch his reaction.

“WELCOME HOME, NIALLER.” Everyone shouted in unison.

Niall lay there in shock and reached up to trail a single finger through the thick layer of whipped cream on his face, putting it in his mouth. He grinned and lurched forward without warning, shaking his head violently and flinging whipped cream on everyone and everything within a 20 foot radius. He still looked like the abominable snowman, but at least he wasn’t alone, now.

“Hey! Watch the camera, you twit!” Louis shouted as the rest of the boys almost keeled over in a fit of hysterical laughter. He still wanted to record, so he propped the camera on a table across the room and then ran over to the couch screaming, “GROUP HUG!”

On his way over, he grabbed Harry and Zayn, then the three of them collided with Niall and Liam, and they somehow ended up at the bottom of a giant dog pile on the couch. Niall turned to the closest face near him, Harry’s, and rubbed the side of his face on the curly haired boy, coating it in whipped cream and getting some on Louis’ hair as well. He smiled proudly to himself as Harry let out a childish whine.

“Don’t worry, Hazza. It’ll come off.” Louis said as he licked some of the creamy topping off of Harry’s face. Harry instantly turned red and squirmed away from Louis, removing himself from the dog pile. Everyone stood up and started laughing, marvelling at the mess they had made. Liam grinned and crossed his arms, shaking his head; it felt good to be back together again.

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A while later while everyone was laughing and drinking and having an all around good time, Niall got up from his place on the couch and walked up the stairs. He found his way to the bathroom and closed the door lightly. He stripped out of his sweater and jeans, stepping into the shower. He enjoyed the warm water as he washed the whipped cream out of his hair and face.

He spent another 10 minutes in the shower just thinking about anything and everything before he decided he was done. Niall reached blindly for a towel after shutting off the water but froze when he grasped thin air. Shit. He pulled the curtains back and swore to himself, as there was no towel to be seen. While he was searching for one, he heard a knock on the door.

“Niall? You okay in there? You’ve been in there for quite some time, buddy.” Liam called from the doorway.

Niall looked towards the door and paused. “I, uh... I can’t seem to find my towel, mate.”

Liam tried to stop a chuckle from escaping as he answered the Irish boy. “Have you checked in the cabinets under the sink?”

Niall suddenly felt embarrassed that he hadn’t remembered that they kept extra towels under there, and opened the cabinet door. He pulled out a thick, fluffy white towel and slung it around his waist. However, he had such a petite figure that it slid down to rest gingerly on his hips. He picked up his clothes and tossed them in the laundry bin, pulling open the door.

“I, uh... I found one.” Niall grinned sheepishly and waited for Liam to move out of the way so he could pass, but the other boy would not budge.

Liam was not expecting Niall to exit the bathroom wearing only a towel, so when the Irish boy opened the door, he was taken aback. For some reason, he couldn’t stop himself from looking down at his petite frame. He had such defined lines that led straight down to where the towel hung just below his hips. My god, those hips. Liam swallowed quickly and licked his lips.

“Uh, Liam?” Niall waved his hand over Liam’s face and brought his eyes up to meet his gaze. “Y’okay?”

All Liam could think of as he was brought out of his trance was, Shit, Liam. What were you just doing? God damn it, you’re so creepy. He couldn’t bring himself to respond without making himself look like even more of an idiot, so he turned on his heel quickly and scampered to his room. He entered and closed the door sharply behind him, flopping face first onto his bed and staying there, wondering why he was just having a fit over Niall in a towel, of all things.

Niall stood in the doorway to the bathroom, still confused, before he wandered back into his room, slipping on a pair of sweatpants and styling his wet hair with his hands. He walked out of his room and to Liam’s door, which was closed. He knocked lightly before calling out softly, “Liam?”

Liam lifted his face out of the pillow to ask who was at the door, then quickly dropped it back down when he heard that it was Niall. “Come in.”

Niall grabbed the door handle and twisted it, stepping inside and closing the door behind him, hearing the faded laughter of the boys downstairs. He took a couple steps forward then stopped when Liam flipped over onto his back. “Hey, Li, what’s up? Ya seem a bit off.”

Liam pulled himself into a sitting position against the headboard, then crossed his legs - Indian style. “Yeah, I think so. I think I’m just so... relieved.” The last word came out kind of breathy as he laughed, thinking about how silly his answer was. He rubbed his face like he normally did when he was in deep thought and shook his head.

Niall walked over and sat on the bed, directly in front of Liam. He mimicked his crossed legs and posture, their knees almost touching. “Well, I mean. It’s good to be back.”

Liam rolled his eyes and said, “I know. It’s great to be back, but I guess I was just so scared that there wouldn’t be a ‘welcome back’ that I just got so worked up for nothing. But now that the stress is gone, I feel like a giant weight has been lifted.” Liam yawned as he finished his sentence, leaning back farther against the headboard.

Niall slumped his shoulders and pouted. “How can be you tired, Liam, it’s only midnight.”

Liam laughed and put his hands on Niall’s knees, leaning forward a bit. “Because I’ve been looking after you for the past week.” He gave Niall’s knee a squeeze and shot him a wide grin.

Niall leaned back and covered his heart in mock shock. He then made a puppy dog face and crossed his arms like a little kid, pouting. “That hurt.”

“C’mon, you know I don’t mind looking after you!” Liam winked and ruffled Niall’s hair, chuckling a bit.

“Well in that case,” Niall jumped towards Liam and plopped himself into his lap, throwing his arms around the other boy’s neck and channeling his best little kid voice. “Tell me a bedtime story, Li Li.”

Liam rolled his eyes and then wrapped his arms around Niall, settling into the bed. “Once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl and they fell in love. Some sort of false drama went down, but then they realized it was a big misunderstanding and lived happily ever after. The end!”

Niall pulled his arms from around Liam’s neck and put them on his face, squishing together his cheeks. He gave him the most serious face he could muster, but then cracked a smile and started laughing. “That was a horrible story, Liam.”

Liam couldn’t help but return the smile Niall gave him, and out of instinct, he quickly leaned forward and gave him a peck on the nose. Liam froze after he realized what he just did, his face turning a bright shade of red. He couldn’t look Niall in the eyes as he quickly withdrew his hands from around Niall’s waist. All he could think about in that moment was what Niall’s level of disgust was going to be and Why the hell did I do that?

Niall’s face quickly flooded with color as he widened his eyes to look at Liam. His thought process was jumbled beyond repair, and he quickly opened his mouth and just stammered and tripped over his words until something came out. “Why... Uh.”

Liam’s speech was just as jumbled as Niall’s, and he looked around frantically, searching for an explanation that could slice through the tension clouding the air. He reached up and scratched the back of his neck, not knowing what else to do. He still refused to look Niall in the eye, and started to bite his lip out of nervousness. “I-I... Um... I don’t... Uh...”

Niall frowned at the fact that Liam wouldn’t look him in the eyes, and was quickly drawn to the fact that Liam was biting his lip. He never noticed how red and perfect they were. He just wanted to- Shit, Niall, what are you thinking? Niall’s thoughts began to take over again, however, and he just let his gaze linger on Liam’s lips.

Liam was still trying to clear his mind so he could apologize or at least say something when he noticed that Niall was staring at his lips. He tried to open his mouth, but his mind went blank as he found himself getting lost in the Irish boy’s blue eyes.

Suddenly, without thinking and just following his gut feeling, Niall flipped around in Liam’s lap and straddled his waist, staring at him intently. Liam was a bit shocked at first, but he followed his gut instinct as well and placed his hands on Niall’s waist once more, pulling him close and brushing his lips against the younger boy’s.

Niall closed his eyes tightly and quickly closed the small space between their lips. He kissed Liam with so much force that it seemed almost urgent and panicked, and not knowing what to do with his hands, he simply placed them on Liam’s shoulders.

Liam shivered at the contact, and slowly began to kiss back. Niall quickly grew accustomed to the kiss, biting down lightly on Liam’s lower lip and pulling it outward with him as he moved away to catch his breath. Liam’s head spun as Niall did this, and all he could do was stare back at the younger boy.

Liam’s eyes were dark, and he looked at Niall with an unreadable expression. He wasn’t sure why he was enjoying this, but quite frankly, he didn’t give a shit. He and Niall were both speechless, not wanting to say anything for fear that one of them would ruin the moment. A small smirk flashed across Liam’s face, and his eyes grew impossibly darker.

Wanting to see what kind of reaction he could get out of the older boy, Niall slowly shifted his hips, grinding down on Liam’s. A smirk crept its way onto Niall’s face as Liam let out a strangled moan, and he quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes widening.

“Could you be any louder, Liam?!” Niall stage whispered, afraid someone would hear them. Liam simply shrugged and bit Niall’s hand, succeeding in getting him to pull it away. He immediately pulled the blonde boy in for another kiss. This time, he slid his tongue across Niall’s bottom lip, trying to gain access.

Niall parted his lips just slightly to allow entry, and slowly started to melt into the kiss, pressing their bodies against each other to the point where there was no space left whatsoever between them. He reached up and tugged at the hair at the base of Liam’s neck, emitting a low, guttural moan from him. He smiled into the kiss and slid his hands down to rest on Liam’s stomach, leaving goosebumps in his tracks.

Just as he did this, however, the door flew open, causing the pair to jump apart. Louis suddenly burst through the door, stumbling over his own feet. He was obviously piss drunk, and he slurred out his words.

“I could hear you from a mile away, Liam, what are you-” He paused and looked at the two extremely flushed boys on the bed with wide eyes, a smirk forming on his face before he stuck out a hand and pointed at them. “Bloody hell, I knew it! I effing knew it! Oh my god, why hasn’t this happened sooner?! HAZZA! HAZZA, COME HERE!”

Niall’s eyes widened and he scrambled to get off of Liam, but not before Harry came tumbling into the room after Louis and saw the two of them practically attacking each other.

“Oh my god! I knew you guys were up to something!” Harry slurred as he swayed next to Louis.

“No you didn’t, Harry, you slow oaf.” Louis giggled drunkenly as Harry swatted at his arm and then looked at him with a pout, practically losing his balance but managing to slur out a few intelligible words.

“Why don’t we ever do that, Lou?”

Harry’s question went unanswered as Zayn skipped past them in his one-piece, carrying an almost empty wine bottle and screaming, “Vas happenin’?!”

Niall facepalmed and frantically looked at Harry and Louis, who shot him and Liam a smirk. “We’re off to bed, boys. You should probably take care of that, Liam.” Louis said with a wink, gesturing to Liam’s new ‘problem.’

Liam frantically tried to cover himself with a pillow, and Louis and Harry’s laughs faded away as they closed the door to a slightly scarred Niall and a very embarrassed Liam.