Lightning in a Bottle

Being in Ireland with Niall and his family was something else.

The first night there, Niall’s dad threw a huge party and just about every Horan relation in the country turned up. I’d met most of his fist cousins, so I had a lot of fun catching up with them, but I also met loads of other cousins and aunts and uncles. Niall’s huge family made my tiny one look extra small.

But I loved meeting every single one. They embraced me instantly and his gran spent a good majority of the party telling Denise and me hilarious stories about our Horan boys, even some we’ve already heard.

One of my favorite nights was when we went to a pub with his cousins and they all dragged me out the middle of the place to show me ‘real traditional Irish dancing.’” I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much in one sitting, especially while watching Niall do it.

Throughout the week Niall was extremely happy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen his laugh so much than I had when he was around his family. It was like Ireland helped get him back in the right mindset. It was good for us. It’s like it helped us completely get over the huge blowout we had not so long ago.

Most of the week he was walking me around town, and dragging us around with Greg, Denise and Theo. I think Niall liked being able to walk down the street without worrying about being mobbed. The most he got were people yelling hello at him out their car windows or a small group of girls asking for pictures. But they were all polite, and gave us our space and didn’t hound us at all. It was a really nice how the people of Mullingar were so respectful, yet so proud to be the hometown of Niall Horan.

We only had a few short days left in Ireland, and even I was sad to leave, no matter how much I missed my friends and family.

It was really great spending time with Niall’s brother and sister-in-law. We were all staying at his dad’s house, so we were all shoved together. We all fawned over little Theo too, especially Niall. Must be nice to be the only adorable 5 year old in the room.

We were all out in the backyard watching the lads play around with Theo on the small play structure that was built after the littlest Horan was born.

“These are my favorite times,” Denise said as she sat down next to me, handing over a mug of tea she had gone to make for us.

“Being in Ireland?”

She shrugged, “Well that, and watching them with my son. It’s an indescribable feeling, seeing how happy Theo is to play with his dad, uncle and granddad. Watching Greg with our son always makes me fall in love with him all over again.”

I nodded slowly as I took in her words. I was rolling them over in my mind as I watch Niall scoop up his nephew and swing him around causing the little one to squeal in delight. I watched him throw his own head back in a full body laugh. I loved when he laughed like that, put his whole body into it- it’s what made me fall in love with him so fast I think.

“Niall’s really good with him,” she continued.

I smiled at that, “He is. He’s great with my little brother too.”

“Are you two ever going to have one of your own?” she asked as she nudged my shoulder. “I mean, if you ever get married,” she laughed.

Wasn’t that the big question. The thing that was such a huge problem in our relationship as of late, for me anyways. But now, not so much, I seemed to be more comfortable with the thought of kids more and more. I shrugged, “Maybe at some point. We’re not in a rush to make our family bigger any time soon. But, maybe eventually.”

“You guys will be amazing parents, I know it.”

“You think?” I asked eagerly.

She smiled at me and nodded, “Yes. I’ve seen you with my son, and he loves you both so much and you’re so good with him. I can only imagine how you two will be with your own kid.”

I smiled at her kind words, “Well thank you. But I still think that if we do decide to have kids, it’s still far off into the future.”

“Well of course,” she scoffed, “You and Nialler are into your careers, you can wait til your thirties to settle down. I mean look at ya, you’re not even in a hurry to run down the aisle!”

I laughed, “We’re being so lazy about that, I know.”

“His mom is so annoyed with you two about it,” she chuckled. “She’s so excited to see you two get married. Worse than with Greg and I. Niall’s her baby.”

“Well I promise, it’ll happen eventually.”

“Good. Just don’t do what we did and speed up the wedding process because I got pregnant,” she laughed again.

“Yeah no, I don’t think we’ll be having any surprises.”

“Double up on protection is my advice. Clearly the Horan men are fantastic swimmers.”

“Denies!” I shrieked shocked.

She patted my leg as we giggled together, “Just trying to help you out!”

*****

“Your sister-in-law is mad and I love her to bits,” I said to Niall as I wrapped myself around his arm as we walked. The sun was setting and he decided we should go for a walk on the country side to just relax. I was loving it.

“She is a bit mental, isn’t she,” it wasn’t a question.

I snorted a laugh, “She practically told me no birth control could control the Horan sperm!”

He threw his head back in my favorite laugh, “No she didn’t!”

“Not in so many words, but she did. She told me to double up!”

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, securing me to his side as I wrapped my arms around his middle. “That’s probably a good idea since you don’t want kids anytime soon.”

“Are you saying you’d want a kid now?”

He shrugged, “Why not? Louis and Eleanor are doing it.”

“If Louis jumped off a bridge, would you follow?”

“Let’s be honest, he’d probably push me off the bridge first.”

I smiled at the thought. “That’s probably accurate.”

“But in all seriousness, if you came to me tomorrow and told me you were pregnant I’d be fine with it. I know you want to wait and you’re still unsure about it, but I’m not. I know I want to be with you forever and have a huge family with you-”

“Okay, whoa. Huge?”

He ignored my comment and kept talking, “You’re it Ayden. Don’t you get that by now? You’re my endgame. I don’t want anyone else, I don’t want anyone else to be the mother of my children. I want to grow old with you, and bicker with you on the back porch because I’m going deaf and I can’t hear you nagging me.”

I smacked his chest, “Oi! You tosser.”

“That’s probably exactly what you’d say too.” He stopped us and turned to face me, “I want to watch our son or daughter fuck up so we can both give them the ‘I’m disappointed in you’ face.”

“God I hate that face!”

He smirked, “Every kid does. I want to be that embarrassing father who brings up embarrassing tour stories in front of our kids friends, and I want you to be the one to say ‘give it a rest popstar’ because I’m stuck in the past.

I can’t wait to have you make playlists for our kids for every occasion- because I know you will. I’m sure as soon as we decide to have a kid, you’ll be on the internet finding band onsies for them to come home from the hospital in! I can’t wait for all of that Ayden.”

I took a deep breath because it was like I was holding it as he told me all this. “You know popstar, I’m still terrified about having kids, but you’re really making me want to have you put one in me right now.”

He chuckled before he wrapped his arms around me and pulling me against his chest, “Not yet babe. I know we’re not there yet, and that’s alright. I just want you to know that I’m ready when you are.”

I turned my face into his chest to breathe him in, “You’re such a sap.”

“You’ve been telling me that since day one, baby.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and swayed back and forth a bit, “I know, and I love you for it.”

“Are we dancing? There’s no music.”

“Excuse you, the crickets are chirping away for us right now!”

I felt him press his lips to the side of my head, “I guess you’re right,” he sighed. We stood there in slince for a good while. Wrapped in each other as we swayed to the music of the crickets.“I’m really glad we came.”

“Me too. I really like it here, and I loved being around all your family.”

“You know what I’ve been thinking about?”

“Hmm?” I hummed contently into his chest.

He tightened his grasp around my waist, “I want to get a house here.”

“I you want to move to Ireland?” I turned my head so I could look up into his eyes.

“Well no, I don’t know,” he shook his head. “I just want to get a second home here. So when we visit, we have our own place- a home away from home so we don’t always have to say with me dad.” He hesitated a bit, “And maybe someday- not someday any time soon, like in the future after the band settles and we start our family,” he shrugged, “Maybe we can move here.

I pushed my fingers up into the ends of his hair at the base of his neck, “You want to raise our kid in Ireland.”

“Yeah, I want to raise our kids in Ireland,” The stress on the plural of ‘kids’ wasn’t lost on me. “I mean, I know your family is in London, but it’s a short plane ride back and forth, we can come see them whenever you want and vice versa. And like I said, I don’t want to move any time soon but… it’s just something to think about you know?”

He looked so unsure of himself as he spoke, like he was afraid of my reaction to it all. I shrugged, “Okay.”

“Okay?” he asked in shock.

“Well why not? Like you said it’s a short plane ride, and it’s still a ways in the future.” I shrugged again, “I like it here and you grew up here and look how well you turned out,” I smiled.

“I can’t tell if that was a jab or if that was sincere,” he raised an eyebrow in question.

I barked out a laugh, “I was actually being serious for once.”

“So you’d really move here for me?”

I reached up and placed a small kiss on his lips, “Popstar, I think you could convince me to move to Antarctica with you if that’s what you really wanted.”

“Bit cold,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, please don’t decide you want to live there,” I smiled. “If and when we move,” I said getting back on track, “I think the only ones that will have an issue with it is like… Harry, Dakota… and probably Louis.”

“Is it just me or does it feel like Harry and Dakota are just as much in our relationship as we are.”

“Oh yeah,” I agreed. “It’s like every time there’s a fight one of them shows up at our home.”

“Buncha twats.”

“But we love them,” I reminded.

“Especially Harry. I don’t know who he likes more, me or you.”

“Me, obviously.”

He laughed sarcastically, “You’re a riot babe.”

“Just telling it like it is,” I shrugged.

He buried his face in my neck before placing a few soft kisses under my ear, “We should probably walk back. It’s getting a bit cold out.”

I nodded as I placed my hands on his neck to pull his face up to mine. “Kiss me first?” I asked, sticking my bottom lip out.

“Who can say no to that pout?” His thumb pulled at my lip lightly before he leaned in and kissed me. My fingers brushed against the faint stubble on his jaw as he leaned my head back to quickly deepen the kiss. It was the weak in the knees kiss of his that set my skin on fire to the point I couldn’t feel the slight chill in the air around us. “You know what will be good about having our own place here?”

I pulled his bottom lip between my teeth playfully earning a grown from the back of his throat, “What’s that?”

“Won’t have to worry about being quiet when I try to make love to you.”

I scoffed, “We’re not having sex in your father’s house!” I smacked his chest playfully trying to push him back. “Especially when your brother and sister-in-law and your 5 year old nephew are in the room next door!”

“Then don’t kiss me like that!”

“Like what? You’re the one that always turns it into that slow deep kiss that you know kills me!”

He scoffed, “Because it’s hard not to get carried away with you!”

“Oh my god, are we really arguing about kissing right now?” I laughed.

“Yes! Because it’s almost been a week and I really need some Ayden love right now!”

I scoffed as I pulled out of his grasp before grabbing his hand and pulling him in the direction of the house. “You can wait a few more days Nialler. We’ve gone longer.”

“Only because I was out of the country!” he pointed out. “Come on babe. We can be quiet!”

“You are so cute right now, begging for sex. Is this how you got all the girls around here before X Factor?”

“Well is it working?”

“Nope,” I giggled.

“You’re trying to kill me aren’t you? You mad girl!” I turned back to face him and placed a surprised kiss on his lips. “This isn’t helping,” he said against my lips, yet he pulled me closer into him.

“I know. But it’s fun to tease you.”

“Cheeky minx.”