Sequel: Sunburn ›
Wake Me Up
1/2
Niall loved Miranda.
To him, there was no one else in the world that could a hold a match to her. He loved every detail about her, and especially appreciated the little quirks she had that most would find weird. She was a small girl, barely topping five feet, but had a personality that could overtake a room instantly.
That’s exactly how the two of them became a singular ‘we’ not long after meeting.
Miranda had decided to throw a welcome home party for one of her closest friends, and Niall just so happened to be an acquaintance to the guest of honor. They had managed to not run into each other until late at night, and literally bumped shoulders as they reached for what appeared to be the last Guinness in the fridge.
+
“Oi, leggo of my beer,” Miranda demanded, wrapping her fingers around the neck of the bottle.
“I think you mean my beer, love,” Niall grinned, his hand latched around the bottle of the beer, “Plus, I think you have had enough to drink tonight.”
“Like one beer is going to make me inebriated,” she said, rolling her eyes gracefully, “Tell you what, you win a shot race against me, and the beer is all yours. I win, and I get to keep the beer and take the rest of your unfinished shots.”
Niall eyed the girl carefully, realizing she was one hundred percent serious as she stuck her hand out to seal the deal, and easily captured her hand in his. Miranda gripped his larger hand as tightly as possible, throwing on a menacing glare, and poured the Irish whiskey into the small glasses quickly. She announced the shot race to the kitchen, causing Niall to laugh, and there was soon a divided crowd cheering on the two. They stood on opposite sides of the small kitchen island; eyes locked in a playful glare, and immediately dove for their glasses when the race started. Niall widened his eyes at the small girl as she slammed her final glass down at the same time as he did, and noticed she didn’t even wince as the liquid went down. The crowd wasn’t sure what to make of the tie, and dispersed quickly, leaving the two to stare at each other in amazement.
“I definitely underestimated ya,” Niall said, leaning his elbows on the countertop, “I’m Niall.”
“Miranda,” she smiled, eyeing the bottle that sat between them, “What do you say we split this one and get to know each other, yeah?”
+
Niall stared down at Miranda, her sleeping lips turned up into a smile, while her fringe fell into her eyes due to the angle her head was resting. He used the hand that wasn’t wrapped around her tightly to push the hair from her face, and smiled as her eyes flicked open. Miranda blushed as their eyes connected, something that always happened when he gave her that loving stare, and let her eyes flick to the movie that was playing on their flat screen TV. She had seen the movie a thousand times, but to her, Thumbelina was the perfect fairytale movie. She would always tell people she liked it because of that, but Niall knew that she loved it because she wanted she wanted an ending like in the movie.
Miranda felt that she was close to her fairytale ending, and traced over the small N that was tattooed inside of her ring finger. Niall had one in the same spot, but his was an M. They had gotten them on their first anniversary, agreeing that they would probably lose promise rings if they exchanged them. That didn’t stop Niall from buying Miranda a ring, using the excuse that she deserved to be spoiled. Consequentially, Miranda had lost the ring somewhere in her flat a few days later, and it hadn’t been seen since.
When the movie ended, Niall switched the TV over to sattelite, and Miranda erupted in laughter as a commercial for the newest Mario game started to play. Niall knew exactly why she was laughing, and reddened as her laughing only grew harder.
+
“This game is bullshit, I quit,” Niall all but yelled, ready to launch the controller at the screen, “That or he’s cheating, Murph. Which he probably is. Little git.”
“That’s my brother,” Miranda laughed, lightly smacking his arm, “Here, I’ll play you instead of Austin so he can’t cheat.”
Austin laughed at the pair, and leaned back in the couch as Miranda took his controller. The round didn’t last long, because the pair were shit players, but the loss still angered Niall. He huffed, kicking the coffee table like a child, and ripped the wrist grip off angrily. Miranda caught his hand just in time, and gave him a look as she gently put the controller onto the table. She took his hand lightly, Niall still seething with anger, and pulled him towards the room they were using while they were staying with her parents. Niall finally relaxed when Miranda placed her lips on his gently, and all the anger he felt was quickly forgotten as they stood wrapped up in each other. She eventually pulled their bodies apart, and guided him to the bed to lie down.
“I don’t know why you get so angry when you lose, we both know you’re shit at the games,” Miranda said, tracing a pattern across his chest.
“I just don’t like losing,” Niall shrugged, fiddling with the ends of her shoulder length hair, “Please don’t ever cut your hair short, I love when you just flick it off your shoulder when we’re talking.”
“That was incredibly random,” she laughed, staring into his bright blues, “But I promise you that I won’t.”
+
Miranda eventually stopped laughing, not forgetting to tease Niall about his horrible gaming skills, and drug herself out of bed to get the pair cuppas. She worked around the kitchen quickly, glad she had finally broke down and bought the electric tea kettle, and poured the two mugs shortly after. She added sugar and milk to Niall’s, knowing it would help wake him up from his half asleep state, and kept hers plain. Niall grinned as she returned with his cup, telling her she always knew exactly what he needed, and pulled her in for a snuggle as they sipped at their tea.
Something in the way the tea was prepared woke Niall up, and he bit his lip as he thought about what he had planned on doing for Miranda that night. He watched as she drank her tea slowly, savoring the flavors like she always did, and slipped from the bed telling her he just needed to use the restroom. He slid into the bathroom, closing the door gently and was glad they kept the TV on loud so he could run the bath without her hearing it. He found her favorite bubble bath in the cabinet, and poured in a hefty amount, before lighting a few candles on the edge of the tub.
Miranda was done with her tea by the time the tub was finished filling up, and Niall ushered her into the bathroom while she eyed him skeptically. She could smell the soft vanilla scent wafting out, and felt tears prick her eyes as she saw the bath and candles. Niall grinned at her reaction, and kissed her quickly before pulling her closer to the tub. He explained how she deserved the bath after the rough week she had been having, and was about to leave when she stopped him.
“Join me?” she asked, using the puppy eyes Niall couldn’t resist.
“Don’t have to ask me twice, love,” he smiled, pulling his shirt off quickly, “Oh don’t be shy, you’re beautiful.”
+
Miranda and Niall laid in the dark together, and barely said a word as they stared up at the night sky. Miranda lazily traced over the constellations she was familiar with, and Niall studied her face as she did so. His gaze didn’t go unnoticed, and Miranda flicked her eyes to him with a questioning glance.
“You’re beautiful, Murph,” Niall whispered, his breath tickling the side of Mirandas face.
“Hardly,” she blushed, “You’re the good looking one in this relationship.”
“But you are, Miranda,” he said, making sure she got the point, “Your smile is contagious, and I’m pretty sure it lights up the whole room. That’s the reason I agreed to share that beer with you all those months ago, actually. I couldn’t get it out of my mind, so that’s why I pestered you until you agreed to go on a date with me.
“And don’t even get me started on your eyes. Normally, they’re a bluish green color, but when it starts getting cold they turn a brilliant shade of gray. They always have a spark in them, and when that spark is gone, I can tell that something is bothering you. They really are the windows into your soul, and I could stare into them all day long.”
Niall kept listing off reasons of what Miranda beautiful, and with every reason Miranda’s face got even hotter. She felt tears prick her eyes as the list kept growing, and Niall gently wiped away a stray tear as he paused in his list.
“I guess you’ll never know just how beautiful you are to me,” he said, pressing his lips to her forehead, “But I will always try to get you to realize just how beautiful you really are.”
+
Niall let his arms encircle Miranda’s midsection as they sunk into the large tub, and relished the feeling of her skin pressed against his. He was softly telling her the list of the reasons she was beautiful, something he did every time she seemed to forget. Miranda listened intently, never tiring of the way his voice sounded as he recited his list, and relaxed against his chest with each word. Niall could tell she was about to fall asleep, again, and decided to test her delirious state.
“And finally, you’re beautiful because you are going to be Mrs. Horan soon,” he grinned, pulling a ring box out from under the towel he had set out earlier.
“Only if I get a proper proposal in this bathtub,” Miranda smiled, shifting so she could look him in the eyes.
“Always making things difficult,” Niall joked, rolling his eyes playfully, “Miranda Sue, will you do me, Niall James, the honor of becoming my wife? To have and to hold, to-“
“Oh jesus,” Miranda muttered, putting her hand over Niall’s mouth to stop him from talking, “Yes, Niall James, I will marry you.”
She moved her hand from his mouth, replacing it with her lips, while Niall slyly slid the ring onto her finger. Niall watched as she stared at the ring, and noticed only half of the N was covered, leaving the other half to pop out. She kissed him again, this time with tears of happiness in her eyes, and shifted so she was fully facing him.
“Can I tell you a reason you’re beautiful?” Miranda asked, resting her forehead against his.
“Of course, Murph,” he said, falling back into using her nickname.
“You’re beautiful because you’re going to be my husband,” she laughed, before turning her voice into a whisper, “And because you make me feel beautiful no matter what. I love you, Niall.”
“I love you too, Miranda,” Niall whispered back, before pressing his lips to hers gently.
To him, there was no one else in the world that could a hold a match to her. He loved every detail about her, and especially appreciated the little quirks she had that most would find weird. She was a small girl, barely topping five feet, but had a personality that could overtake a room instantly.
That’s exactly how the two of them became a singular ‘we’ not long after meeting.
Miranda had decided to throw a welcome home party for one of her closest friends, and Niall just so happened to be an acquaintance to the guest of honor. They had managed to not run into each other until late at night, and literally bumped shoulders as they reached for what appeared to be the last Guinness in the fridge.
+
“Oi, leggo of my beer,” Miranda demanded, wrapping her fingers around the neck of the bottle.
“I think you mean my beer, love,” Niall grinned, his hand latched around the bottle of the beer, “Plus, I think you have had enough to drink tonight.”
“Like one beer is going to make me inebriated,” she said, rolling her eyes gracefully, “Tell you what, you win a shot race against me, and the beer is all yours. I win, and I get to keep the beer and take the rest of your unfinished shots.”
Niall eyed the girl carefully, realizing she was one hundred percent serious as she stuck her hand out to seal the deal, and easily captured her hand in his. Miranda gripped his larger hand as tightly as possible, throwing on a menacing glare, and poured the Irish whiskey into the small glasses quickly. She announced the shot race to the kitchen, causing Niall to laugh, and there was soon a divided crowd cheering on the two. They stood on opposite sides of the small kitchen island; eyes locked in a playful glare, and immediately dove for their glasses when the race started. Niall widened his eyes at the small girl as she slammed her final glass down at the same time as he did, and noticed she didn’t even wince as the liquid went down. The crowd wasn’t sure what to make of the tie, and dispersed quickly, leaving the two to stare at each other in amazement.
“I definitely underestimated ya,” Niall said, leaning his elbows on the countertop, “I’m Niall.”
“Miranda,” she smiled, eyeing the bottle that sat between them, “What do you say we split this one and get to know each other, yeah?”
+
Niall stared down at Miranda, her sleeping lips turned up into a smile, while her fringe fell into her eyes due to the angle her head was resting. He used the hand that wasn’t wrapped around her tightly to push the hair from her face, and smiled as her eyes flicked open. Miranda blushed as their eyes connected, something that always happened when he gave her that loving stare, and let her eyes flick to the movie that was playing on their flat screen TV. She had seen the movie a thousand times, but to her, Thumbelina was the perfect fairytale movie. She would always tell people she liked it because of that, but Niall knew that she loved it because she wanted she wanted an ending like in the movie.
Miranda felt that she was close to her fairytale ending, and traced over the small N that was tattooed inside of her ring finger. Niall had one in the same spot, but his was an M. They had gotten them on their first anniversary, agreeing that they would probably lose promise rings if they exchanged them. That didn’t stop Niall from buying Miranda a ring, using the excuse that she deserved to be spoiled. Consequentially, Miranda had lost the ring somewhere in her flat a few days later, and it hadn’t been seen since.
When the movie ended, Niall switched the TV over to sattelite, and Miranda erupted in laughter as a commercial for the newest Mario game started to play. Niall knew exactly why she was laughing, and reddened as her laughing only grew harder.
+
“This game is bullshit, I quit,” Niall all but yelled, ready to launch the controller at the screen, “That or he’s cheating, Murph. Which he probably is. Little git.”
“That’s my brother,” Miranda laughed, lightly smacking his arm, “Here, I’ll play you instead of Austin so he can’t cheat.”
Austin laughed at the pair, and leaned back in the couch as Miranda took his controller. The round didn’t last long, because the pair were shit players, but the loss still angered Niall. He huffed, kicking the coffee table like a child, and ripped the wrist grip off angrily. Miranda caught his hand just in time, and gave him a look as she gently put the controller onto the table. She took his hand lightly, Niall still seething with anger, and pulled him towards the room they were using while they were staying with her parents. Niall finally relaxed when Miranda placed her lips on his gently, and all the anger he felt was quickly forgotten as they stood wrapped up in each other. She eventually pulled their bodies apart, and guided him to the bed to lie down.
“I don’t know why you get so angry when you lose, we both know you’re shit at the games,” Miranda said, tracing a pattern across his chest.
“I just don’t like losing,” Niall shrugged, fiddling with the ends of her shoulder length hair, “Please don’t ever cut your hair short, I love when you just flick it off your shoulder when we’re talking.”
“That was incredibly random,” she laughed, staring into his bright blues, “But I promise you that I won’t.”
+
Miranda eventually stopped laughing, not forgetting to tease Niall about his horrible gaming skills, and drug herself out of bed to get the pair cuppas. She worked around the kitchen quickly, glad she had finally broke down and bought the electric tea kettle, and poured the two mugs shortly after. She added sugar and milk to Niall’s, knowing it would help wake him up from his half asleep state, and kept hers plain. Niall grinned as she returned with his cup, telling her she always knew exactly what he needed, and pulled her in for a snuggle as they sipped at their tea.
Something in the way the tea was prepared woke Niall up, and he bit his lip as he thought about what he had planned on doing for Miranda that night. He watched as she drank her tea slowly, savoring the flavors like she always did, and slipped from the bed telling her he just needed to use the restroom. He slid into the bathroom, closing the door gently and was glad they kept the TV on loud so he could run the bath without her hearing it. He found her favorite bubble bath in the cabinet, and poured in a hefty amount, before lighting a few candles on the edge of the tub.
Miranda was done with her tea by the time the tub was finished filling up, and Niall ushered her into the bathroom while she eyed him skeptically. She could smell the soft vanilla scent wafting out, and felt tears prick her eyes as she saw the bath and candles. Niall grinned at her reaction, and kissed her quickly before pulling her closer to the tub. He explained how she deserved the bath after the rough week she had been having, and was about to leave when she stopped him.
“Join me?” she asked, using the puppy eyes Niall couldn’t resist.
“Don’t have to ask me twice, love,” he smiled, pulling his shirt off quickly, “Oh don’t be shy, you’re beautiful.”
+
Miranda and Niall laid in the dark together, and barely said a word as they stared up at the night sky. Miranda lazily traced over the constellations she was familiar with, and Niall studied her face as she did so. His gaze didn’t go unnoticed, and Miranda flicked her eyes to him with a questioning glance.
“You’re beautiful, Murph,” Niall whispered, his breath tickling the side of Mirandas face.
“Hardly,” she blushed, “You’re the good looking one in this relationship.”
“But you are, Miranda,” he said, making sure she got the point, “Your smile is contagious, and I’m pretty sure it lights up the whole room. That’s the reason I agreed to share that beer with you all those months ago, actually. I couldn’t get it out of my mind, so that’s why I pestered you until you agreed to go on a date with me.
“And don’t even get me started on your eyes. Normally, they’re a bluish green color, but when it starts getting cold they turn a brilliant shade of gray. They always have a spark in them, and when that spark is gone, I can tell that something is bothering you. They really are the windows into your soul, and I could stare into them all day long.”
Niall kept listing off reasons of what Miranda beautiful, and with every reason Miranda’s face got even hotter. She felt tears prick her eyes as the list kept growing, and Niall gently wiped away a stray tear as he paused in his list.
“I guess you’ll never know just how beautiful you are to me,” he said, pressing his lips to her forehead, “But I will always try to get you to realize just how beautiful you really are.”
+
Niall let his arms encircle Miranda’s midsection as they sunk into the large tub, and relished the feeling of her skin pressed against his. He was softly telling her the list of the reasons she was beautiful, something he did every time she seemed to forget. Miranda listened intently, never tiring of the way his voice sounded as he recited his list, and relaxed against his chest with each word. Niall could tell she was about to fall asleep, again, and decided to test her delirious state.
“And finally, you’re beautiful because you are going to be Mrs. Horan soon,” he grinned, pulling a ring box out from under the towel he had set out earlier.
“Only if I get a proper proposal in this bathtub,” Miranda smiled, shifting so she could look him in the eyes.
“Always making things difficult,” Niall joked, rolling his eyes playfully, “Miranda Sue, will you do me, Niall James, the honor of becoming my wife? To have and to hold, to-“
“Oh jesus,” Miranda muttered, putting her hand over Niall’s mouth to stop him from talking, “Yes, Niall James, I will marry you.”
She moved her hand from his mouth, replacing it with her lips, while Niall slyly slid the ring onto her finger. Niall watched as she stared at the ring, and noticed only half of the N was covered, leaving the other half to pop out. She kissed him again, this time with tears of happiness in her eyes, and shifted so she was fully facing him.
“Can I tell you a reason you’re beautiful?” Miranda asked, resting her forehead against his.
“Of course, Murph,” he said, falling back into using her nickname.
“You’re beautiful because you’re going to be my husband,” she laughed, before turning her voice into a whisper, “And because you make me feel beautiful no matter what. I love you, Niall.”
“I love you too, Miranda,” Niall whispered back, before pressing his lips to hers gently.