Collide, Ignite

Niall was the kind of person who could talk to anyone. It didn't matter who they were or how potentially uncomfortable the situation could be, he very rarely shied away from a polite exchange. Whether it was media training or simply the way he'd always been, Reilly didn't know, but was impressed with the way he held conversation with Owen. It was after several minutes that he inquired about where to put the sleeping child in his arms. Reilly directed him to Maisie's room and he disappeared down the hallway toward the stairs.

He came back down moments later and poked his into the room. "Think I'm goin' to call it a night and head out," he said.

Owen glanced across the room at him. "You should stay, Mate," he said.

Niall raised an eyebrow. "Stay?" he questioned.

"People are right idiots out there. Probably safer not to drive," Owen commented.

Reilly gave a slight nod, but a shadow cast across her face that contradicted it. "You could sleep in Lexie's room," she said and Niall cocked his head to the side the tiniest bit. "Or, there's a guest room, actually. I guess I forget about that sometimes."

"I don't live that far," he said. It was a lie, though. He actually lived a good twenty five minutes from Reilly's house. "It'll be fine. Rather sleep in my own bed, anyway, y'know? Plus you two haven't seen each other for awhile. Sure you'd like some time just the two of you," he commented.

"Right, if you're sure," Owen said, crossing the room to shake Niall's hand with Reilly trailing behind him. "Pleasure to meet you, Mate," he said.

Niall gave his hand a firm shake. "Likewise," he agreed and raised his hand to wave at Reilly. Somehow, hugging her with her fiance standing right there seemed awkward.

"I'll walk you out," she said before he could open his mouth to say goodbye to her. He tried not to look surprised and gave a nod at Owen before turning to head down the hallway to the front door. Reilly followed behind him silently, but the second they were outside, she let out a long breath. Niall stopped and turned to look at her.

"I'm so sorry," she said before he could say anything.

He breathed out a laugh. "What for?" he asked. A smile pulled at his lips when his eyes met hers.

The air outside was chilly and nipped at Reilly's bare arms. She folded them across her chest and curled her socked toes trying to keep them from the biting cold. "I didn't know he was coming home. I told him not to, actually. I know that was probably incredibly awkward for you. I mean, it was awkward for me," she said.

Niall shrugged at her, slightly amused and very endeared by how flustered she had become. "'S'alright. He's a nice bloke," he said. "You two live together?" he asked and she quickly shook her head.

He only hummed in response before turning to walk to his car. Reilly followed him in spite of the cold night and her present lack of proper winter wear. He climbed into his car and turned it on so the interior light came on, but didn't start the engine. Reilly stood in the street next to the open door and crossed her arms over her chest.

Even with what they had been talking about, she had greatly enjoyed his company. Having Niall back in her life was bringing her a sense of calm she hadn't realized she was missing. She wasn't ready to say goodnight to him, but also hadn't been prepared for the way it felt to have both him and Owen in the same room, and Owen belonged there. She knew that in her mind but her insides were in an uproar over Niall.

She hadn't realized she'd been staring at him. The glow from the dome light caught his eyes and she smiled at the familiar twinkle that gazed back at her. Her eyes flicked down to his mouth, corners twitched up the tiniest bit. It was so faint that she could feel it more than she could see it. When she looked back up and caught his gaze again, a full grin broke out across his face.

"I've seen that look before," he said quietly. His expression changed quickly, like whatever memory that surfaced had faded from a good one into a bad one. She quirked an eyebrow at him, unsure of what look she'd given him.

"It was five years ago," he went on. "After we left Louis' New Year's party. We were in my kitchen and you looked at me in this way I can't quite describe. It was like your eyes got real honest but your face was afraid. It confused me. And then you grabbed my face and you looked right in my eyes and told me that you wanted to kiss me," he finished.

Blush covered Reilly's face and she looked down at the ground. Her whole body was suddenly warm because he wasn't wrong. She hadn't kissed him that night, though. She had never kissed him on the mouth but she'd wanted to on more than one occasion. Something stopped her. Something was always stopping her.

"But you have a fiance," he said after a long moment of silence. She looked back up at him and nodded. There was a hint of tribulation in her eyes that made him look away. "You should probably be gettin' back inside to him. It's freezin' out here anyway," he said.

She nodded and looked at the ground momentarily before looking back up at him. "Can we hang out again sometime, maybe sooner rather than later?" she asked.

"You think that's a good idea?" he asked, still not looking at her.

"I think I still want to be your friend, whether I'm engaged or not," she said with a shrug. "Plus, I'm pretty sure Maisie isn't going to let you get out of seeing her again quite so easily. She's pretty crazy about you. So, I guess, maybe do it for her, even if you're not so sure about me right now?" she suggested.

Niall finally looked over at Reilly and waited for a moment before responding, as though he was trying to find the right words. "I've always been sure about you, Darlin'. Since the day we met," he said.

Her eyes snapped up to meet his and the pink tint returned to her cheeks. She nodded slowly at him as though she understood, but her head was spinning. The butterflies in her stomach circled about furiously and her heart raced faster than it already had been. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. Suddenly, words eluded her.

"We can work something out. Lunch or something," he said almost nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "We'll talk," he confirmed and she nodded at him again. As he reached for the door handle to pull it shut, Reilly stepped back. They stared at each other for a long time. "G'night, Reilly. Happy New Year," he said finally.

"Happy New Year," she repeated back to him. "Drive safely," she said just before he shut the door.

He gave a small wave to show he'd heard her and turned on the engine. She walked around the back of the car and stood on the sidewalk to watch him drive away. Once he reached the end of the street and turned the corner, she walked back to the house.

Immediately upon stepping inside she was grateful for the warmth. She hadn't realized just how cold it was outside because she'd been so focused on Niall. She rubbed her arms to get the blood flowing faster and wandered back into the living room where Owen was perched on the arm of a chair. He looked up from the newspaper he was reading and smiled at her.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

Reilly nodded. "Yeah. We were just talking about getting together again when Maisie's actually awake," she said, only telling him a half truth as she moved toward him. "Nothing definitive yet, though."

When she was within arm's length, Owen reached out and gently pulled her toward him by the elbows until she was standing between his legs. "Can I give you a proper kiss now that there isn't an audience?" he asked.

She tried to hide her surprise at the question as she nodded at him. Owen wasn't usually terribly affectionate. Of course, he had his moments, and maybe now it was because they'd been apart for several weeks. But still, she leaned up to meet him halfway. His lips were chapped from the cold and rough against her mouth, and she tried to will the now quiet butterflies that had been stirring in her stomach all evening to take flight.

But for the entire length of the kiss they remained still. Her pulse didn't race either, and after spending the night fighting all that off, now something seemed lacking. She tried to push it from her mind as Owen's hands moved from her arms to her waist. He pulled her closer and pressed soft kisses to her lips and then down her jawline to her neck.

She pulled away when she felt him ball the fabric of the loose shirt she was wearing in his fists. It felt vaguely wrong for a reason Reilly couldn't quite put her finger on. He looked down at her curiously and she tried to hide whatever was going on inside her. "Maisie's room is right across from mine," she reminded him.

He let out a soft chuckle and pulled her back to him. "Guest room is down here," he mumbled against her mouth.

She swallowed his words and pressed a few kisses to his lips. His hands pulled at her shirt again and she drew back slightly. "But what if Maisie wakes up and needs something?" she asked. Owen only grinned at her and kissed her again. She sighed quietly against his mouth. "You know how I feel about sex when she's in the house," she said, leaning back a little.

He let out a slow breath and kissed her lips once more. "You're absolutely right. I was hoping you might make an exception this one time, since I haven't seen you for ages," he said.

She bounced on the balls of her feet as she looked up at him. She wasn't really considering what he said, but she wanted to make it seem like she was. "I can't," she said finally. "I'm sorry. It's just," she paused, "weird. I mean, don't you think?" she asked and he gave a shrug. "She's already got a sleepover planned with Zayn and Jasmine for this week, so I'm all yours that night, okay?" she said.

"I'm holding you to that," he said before kissing her lips once more. "Would you like me to help you clean all this up?" he asked, motioning to the mess of snacks that covered the coffee table. They were mostly untouched with the exception of the Chinese food, and the box of red licorice vines that Niall had gotten into during the movie.

Reilly nodded and they moved toward the coffee table to start cleaning up the mess. They both reached for the same thing and their hands bumped. She couldn't help but notice that her skin didn't tingle where it touched his.

Biting the inside of her lip, she took what she could into the kitchen. Comparing Owen and Niall was going to get her nowhere. They were not the same. They were very different, in fact, and therefore couldn't be properly measured against each other. And just because her insides rearranged themselves anytime she was within a fifty foot radius of Niall Horan didn't mean they belonged together. She and Owen had three years of relationship, three years of conversations, and were headed down similar paths in life. And she had made a commitment to Owen, something she hadn't been able to bring herself to do with Niall.

Owen came into the kitchen moments later and set down the bag he'd put all the Chinese food containers into, along with the other things he'd carried in. "Loads of food, yeah?" Did you order all this?" he asked of the Chinese food.

"Uh, no," she replied, focused on putting snacks back into the bags they'd come from. "Niall brought it over. He tends to eat a lot."

"Nice lad," he commented. Reilly glanced up at him, a bit of confusion across her face. "Niall," he clarified. "He's a nice lad."

"Oh," she said, refocusing on what she was doing. "Yeah. Maisie's nuts about him. I think it's his accent. And he calls her Little One like I do," she said, not really thinking about the words that were coming out of her mouth.

Owen hummed. "How come I've never met him before?" he asked, taking the Chinese food to the refrigerator.

Reilly moved to the sink to wash the dishes she'd just emptied. "Hmm?" she asked. Her mind was not really on the conversation Owen was trying to have with her. It was drifting to places it shouldn't go. But they were places she didn't really want to stop it from going. The butterflies were flapping their wings at the mere thoughts she was having. Though they'd been a tad unwelcome before, she kind of missed them when they stopped.

"Why haven't I met Niall before?" he repeated. "He's in that group with those other lads you know, isn't he?" he asked. She could hear that he'd turned to look at her and she nodded her head. "So, you've known him for awhile, then?"

She sighed and turned off the water and turned around to face her fiance. "I have," she said, letting out a long breath. "Niall and I had," she paused, knowing it was best to tread lightly on this subject. She still had yet to tell Owen about being in Ireland and didn't want him to jump to any conclusions about her reasons for being there, or what might have happened. "A bit of a complicated relationship, I guess," she continued. "There was a bit of a falling out and we didn't talk for a long time. I mean, we did here and there because we have the same friends. But we just recently started to patch things up and become friends again ourselves," she finished.

"So, you two dated?" he asked. It seemed innocent enough, but Reilly couldn't help but feel it was more than just a simple inquiry.

"No, not really. We, kind of, almost did, I guess," she said slowly, stumbling over her words. She pulled her eyebrows together as she tried to find a good way to explain the parts of her past with Niall that she was ready for Owen to know. "I didn't have time to date, and neither did he, really. I mean, we both had incredibly busy schedules and our lives were on completely different courses. It was bad timing. And we were just kids back then," she said.

He nodded and leaned against the refrigerator. The look on his face was one Reilly had seen before and she didn't appreciate it in the least. "So, it was a mutual decision not to date?" he questioned.

She let out a heavy sigh and leaned back against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest. "I know what you're doing," she said. He feigned a look of confusion but she could see through it. "If there's something you want to ask me, then ask, Owen. Don't stand in my kitchen and try to psychoanalyze me," she said firmly. He opened his mouth to respond but she quickly cut him off. "Niall is a friend. Don't make this a bigger deal than it is," she finished.

Owen held his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry, Love. I didn't realize what I was doing. Force of habit. I know you hate it when I do that," he said a little too quickly. Reilly's walls were already up, and she only believed the last part of his apology.

Still, she decided to drop it. "It's fine," she sighed, sounding rather unconvincing. "Was that everything from the other room?" she asked. He nodded and she sighed again. "I'm just going to clean all this up tomorrow," she said.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked.

She considered the question for a brief moment, but already knew she didn't want it to turn into an all out fight. "No, you can stay," she said. "I'm tired, and I'm sure you're tired, too. So, let's just go to bed, okay?" she offered.

He gave a slow nod and held his arm out toward the kitchen door, as if to say 'after you'. Reilly walked past him without a second glance and headed down the hallway toward the stairs. He followed behind her and went into her room while she peeked in to check on Maisie.

The blankets were tucked underneath her chin and her hair was pushed away from her face. A faint smile graced her lips and she appeared to be dreaming peacefully. There was a part of Reilly that wanted to go into the room and kiss the little girl's forehead before she went to her own room, but she didn't want to risk disturbing her sleep. Quietly, she pulled the door shut and walked through her open bedroom door.

Owen emerged from the bathroom moments later, and Reilly stepped into it, shutting the door behind her. She took her time washing her face and brushing her teeth while she tried to get her head in the right place. Something inside nagged that she should be happier that Owen, the man she agreed to marry, was back home after being away for a few weeks. She should be wanting to kiss him and touch him and be near him, even though they had never been a touchy-feely kind of couple. She should, at the very least, be thrilled to see him again and talk to him and sleep next to him. But instead she was kind of wishing he'd insisted on leaving after their little spat in the kitchen so she could be alone.

Knowing she couldn't stay in the bathroom all night, she finally pulled the door open and went back into her room. Owen was in bed already, the side closest to the bedroom door. Reilly flipped off the light and climbed into bed, rolling on her side so her back was to Owen.

The bed shifted as he rolled onto his side and propped himself up to kiss the side of her head. "Sweet dreams," he whispered next to her ear. "I love you." Reilly's stomach dropped inexplicably at his words. The bed shifted again as he situated himself in a comfortable position.

She fiddled absentmindedly with the massive ring she wore. It was feeling heavy on her finger again. "Night," she mumbled in response.