Sunburn

Katie bustled around the kitchen, ignoring the loud banter from the living room, and nervously glanced at the clock. Her and Harry's dinner ambush was set for tonight, and Niall was already at the flat playing FIFA with Harry. Niall hadn't suspected anything when he arrived, an afternoon of chilling promised from Harry, and gratefully accepted Katie's offer of dinner. Miranda was due to arrive in fifteen minutes, and Katie was worried that she'd bolt out the door as soon as she saw the blonde Irishman.

"Dinner's ready in five boys," Katie said, sidling into the living room, "I'm just going to grab the post, and then we can eat."

"We'll set the table then, love," Harry smiled nervously, knowing that Katie would return with Miranda.

Niall quickly agreed, ending their game, and stood up with Harry following suit. They chattered their way into the kitchen, Niall laughing at how Harry was "whipped as a racehorse", and placed the plates around the dark table. Niall disappeared down the hall to the bathroom, and as his door shut, the front door opened. Miranda greeted Harry with a hug as she popped into the dining room holding bottles of wine.

"Four plates?" She asked, setting the bottles on the table, " Who else is joining us?"

"Oh jus-" Harry started, only to be cut off by the unmistakable Irish accent.

"Mate, you really need soap that doesn't-" Niall laughed, stopping as soon as his eyes locked on Miranda, "What the hell is she doing here?"

"You bastards," Miranda snarled, turning to Harry and Katie, "How dare you invite me over at the same time as him. I'm leaving."

"No. You're not," Harry said, blocking the doorway as Miranda went to storm out, "I'm sick of playing babysitter every night when he gets pissed at some pub, and I bet Katie is tired of forcing you to shower. You're both going to eat this dinner, and talk about this whole situation like adults. Understood?"

Miranda and Niall stared at Harry with wide eyes, neither of them having been on this end of his anger before, and nodded mutely before taking the seats farthest from each other. Katie placed the enchiladas in the center of the table, and took the seat next to Niall as she wordlessly served everyone. She and Harry attempted small talk with the brooding pair, but they were more interested in downing the two bottles of wine that were now near being empty. The awkward tension lasted all of dinner, and when Katie was clearing the table she refused to bring out dessert until they had at least spoken.

“Well, our friends are assholes,” Miranda grumbled, knowing full and well they were listening from the kitchen, “And if they really want us to talk they should probably stop eavesdropping and move into the living room so they can’t hear us.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Niall agreed, letting his gaze finally lock onto Miranda, “Look, Miranda, I honestly had no idea that you were going to be here tonight. I have a million things to say to you, but I don’t even know where to start.”

“I think I should start with an apology,” Miranda said softly, looking down to toy with her napkin, “What I did was completely selfish, because I know the whole situation hurt you just as much as it hurt me. I wanted to blame someone so badly, and like you know, I have a really bad habit of lashing out against the people who love me the most. I am so sorry Niall.

“I wish I could take back every insult I hurled at you, and make the divorce papers and court dates disappear. I know you probably hate me, and you honestly have every reason to.”

Miranda brushed away the tears that were threatening to fall, and jumped when Niall reached across to gently lay his hand across hers.

“I don’t hate you Miranda,” he says after a moments silence, “And believe me, I tried to hate you, but I couldn’t. I would lay in bed and try and think of reasons to, and I just, fuck, I just couldn’t Murph. Because I still love you as much as I did the day we got married.

“And when you gave me those divorce papers, I felt like my life was over. I just wanted to wake up from the horrible nightmare I was having, but couldn’t because it was really happening. I wanted to just hide away, but couldn’t because I still felt you in every inch of the flat. I bought a new wardrobe and sleep in the guest room now, but I can’t bring myself to move or get rid of your stuff because I still love you.”

Niall’s frustrated tone quickly faded into a somber one, and he visibly relaxed when Miranda squeezed his hand in comfort. The pair sat with their hands lightly gripped together, neither of them having anything else to say. Katie and Harry watched from the far kitchen doorway sneakily, both wearing light grins on their lips, and decided it was finally time to bring dessert into the pair.

The rest of the evening has a much lighter feel, the tension replaced with a newfound shyness, and they actually manage to have civil conversation over peanut butter pie. Miranda and Katie cleaned up the dishes while the boys straightened out the living room, and Katie feels her heart leap when Miranda hugs her in thanks for the night. Niall thanks Harry in a similar fashion, and kindly offers to walk Miranda out to her car as she announces her departure.

“I’m really glad we got to talk tonight, Murph,” Niall said, leaning lightly on her opened door, “And I don’t want to jump into anything, but I really hope you know that I am going to do everything in my power to win you back.”

Miranda looks down as a blush flares across her, and mumbles some nonsense as Niall lets out a soft laugh. He places a small, chaste kiss on her cheek, and quickly walks away before she has a chance to react. He drives back to the flat they once shared, the promise of winning her back fresh on his mind, and finally found it in himself to sleep in his old bedroom.