Sprinkle of Magic

She was suffocating. It had been nearly two hours since she and Niall had gotten home, and her mother hadn't given her a moment to think. They'd been clearing out space in her wardrobe so her mother could fit in her things. She was a bit annoyed that she'd have to spend a whole two weeks with the woman who shipped her off to a different country alone, but she would get over it. "Thank you so much for letting me use your room. I would have felt so bad to kick that poor boy out of the guest room." Maerin couldn't help but roll her eyes. The look she'd given Niall at the very beginning hadn't been pleasant, since he'd given his last name. Turned out that everyone knew of Celine's supposed past.

"I'll be back in a bit, mam. I have to ask Niall something about the concert." Her mother simply, sending her off with a wave of her hand. A sigh escaped her lips as she rolled out of the room, wheeling across the floor until she stopped at Niall's door. She could hear sniffing, and her heart broke. With a deep breath, she reached up and knocked on the door. The sniffing abruptly stopped, and she heard shuffling until the door opened, revealing a red eyed Niall. She gave him a soft smile, tilting her head a bit. "May I come in?" She hadn't expected him to nod, but he did, so she wheeled her way past him. He shut the door behind him and went to hid bed, hastily trying to hide the tissues that were scattered everywhere. With a bit of a struggle, Maerin hauled herself out of her chair, plopping down on the bed next to him. His movements were erratic. He was trying to distract himself. She reached out a hand before hesitantly resting it on his arm. "Niall..."

He broke. A sob escaped his lips, and Maerin wasted no time. Her small arms wrapped around him, pulling him close. His sobs were more frequent, though they were muffled by her neck, which he had promptly buried his face into, his own arms around her waist. She ignored the pain in her ribs, his problems were more important right now. "I'm sorry." He sobbed into her shoulder, and she only held him tighter. One of her hands went up to his hair, running her fingers through it. It was something her mother used to do when she was a child to calm her down after an incident. "I was a dick. And now...Cece."

"Shh. Don't you dare go there." She whispered as she slowly began to rock back and forth, still holding tight to him. "None of this was your fault, Niall." She had never really comforted anyone before, so she felt a bit awkward, but he nodded against her shoulder and a smile grew on her face. "Hey. Why don't we go downstairs, yeah? I'll make you some of my famous hot chocolate." He nodded against her again, but neither of them moved until his sobs stopped completely.

"Thank you, for everything. For this, for taking me in, for saving my cousin." Maerin shook her head, giving him a warm smile as she grabbed a tissue from the box, using it to wipe away the left over tears on his face.

"Take all the time you need, I can get downstairs myself. It's going up them that's the problem." She teased a bit before they both laughed. He nodded, standing up to look at himself in the mirror. Maerin took that time to stand on her good foot, hopping her way out of the guest room. She felt like a rabbit as she hopped down the stairs, one at a time, until she reached the bottom. She held the wall as she jumped through the kitchen, standing at the stove. She pulled out everything she needed from the cabinets after putting the kettle on to boil. She knew her mother would want a cup as well, it had been so long since she'd had Maerin's hot chocolate.

"And what do we have here?" The voice behind her made her jump, almost dropping the mug in her hands. She whipped around, seeing Ardan standing against the doorway to the side door, a smirk on his face. She gave him an innocent grin before he rolled his eyes. "Ailbe and your Granda in his room?" Maerin gave a simple nod, and Ardan slipped into the other room. Maerin's lips pursed, but she shrugged it off, hearing footsteps on the stairs. She turned towards them, giving a warm smile as Naill came towards her with her chair. He set it behind her before the kettle whistled, causing the two of them to jump. Maerin's cheeks instantly flushed as she turned off the stove. She fixed up the hot chocolates, but Niall insisted on taking them to the table. He also forced her back into the stupid chair, which she pulled up to the table. They drank in silence until Ardan came back out. "Hey! Where's mine?" He teased before Maerin stood back up to fix him a mug. She also fixed one for her mother, setting it in the microwave. "Thanks, Mae." She grinned in return.

"You guys ready for Tuesday?" The males both nodded at her question, though Ardan posed a question.

"Cheran told me I was playing the guitar for you, now?" Maerin nodded, giving a simple shrug.

"Yeah. Apparently Niall's playing for one of the main songs, and she didn't want him to get tired." The guardian nodded in return, sipping on his hot chocolate.

"Damn! This is like a chocolate cloud!" Maerin laughed loudly at his response, but when she turned to Niall, he had the same expression on his face.

"You're making this everyday." The boys spoke at the same time, which just made Maerin laugh harder.

"I'm making your Granda try this." Ardan spoke as he stood, running back into the older man's room.

"What is all the commotion down here?" Maerin's head whipped around when she saw her mother at the bottom of the stairs, her eyebrow raised.

"Niall's running away to elope with my hot chocolate." The girl joked, watching her mother's eyes widen. "Yours is in the microwave, mam. I didn't forget you." The woman squealed like a teenager as she grabbed out the mug, turning back to the kids.

"Why was there screaming? Mae, did you stab Niall?" Ardan came back into the kitchen, but his voice faded when he saw the ginger woman leaning against the counter. "Hello, Michelle." Maerin watched as the mug fell from her mother's hands, the porcelain shattering on the ground, scalding liquid coating the tiles. All of the color was drained from her face, and Niall and Maerin only looked at each other in confusion.

"Arty?" The name from her mother's lips cause Maerin's had to snap up. "I didn't think you would still be here." Ardan said something else, but Maerin couldn't hear any of it.

"Mae? Are you alright?" Niall nudged her, but Maerin only shook her head, rolling away from the group.

"You weren't ever going to tell me, were you?" Her voice had slightly raised as she stared at the group in the kitchen. Guilt was written on her mother's face, as well as Ardan's, while Niall was still lost. "Well at least I know why you made me feel so safe." She spat out the words before she wheeled herself out of the front door. She pumped her arms as fast as she could, going down the driveway. She could hear the voices behind her, but she blocked them out. Pushing the wheels got easier once she hit the road, and she tried to speed up, but luck wasn't on her side. She hit a pothole, the entire chair tipping over. She ignored the pain in her legs and hands as she pushed herself up, the chair forgotten. The hopped down the road, dragging her broken leg behind her, until strong arms grabbed her around the waist. She did the only thing she could. She screamed.

"Mae! Maerin it's me!" The sound of Niall's voice caused the screaming to stop, and the boy turned her around, supporting her weight. The confusion was still on his face, and that's what broke the already fragile girl in his arms.

"My da. He's my fucking da." The words were choked out as she finally broke into sobs. Niall quickly pulled her to his chest, her face barely reaching his collar bone. She nuzzled into it though as she let out all of the frustration she'd been feeling since she'd moved to Ireland. He didn't' say another word until the sobs turned into soft sniffles and hiccups.

"Come on. You can stay in my room tonight." Maerin nodded numbly against his chest as he bent his knees, picking her up bridal style. Her head was rested against his shoulder, though she had to shift a bit when he bent to pick up her wheelchair. He set the chair just inside the door before he carried her straight upstairs, ignoring the group of people in the den. Ailbe came up a moment later, worry etched into her face. "Can you clean up her hands and get her into something warm?" Ailbe smiled at the blonde before he ran down the stairs.

While Ailbe pulled small rocks out of her hand and bandaged them up, she could hear Niall shouting. She held in her wince as Ailbe helped her change into a large black t-shirt she found on the floor, as well as sweat pants found in the same place. Maerin could tell without looking that they were Niall's, she only hoped he didn't mind. "Is that the reason I'm like this? Because Ar-" She stopped herself, feeling sick at the thought of his name. "Because Ward is my Da?" Ailbe gave a simple shrug before she kissed the girl's head. Niall chose that moment to yank the door open.

"I put her in some of your clothes, her mam locked her door, I hope that's okay." Niall gave a tight nod before Ailbe excused herself.

Maerin took that moment to study Niall. His ears were a deep red, as well as his face. His hair was messy, as if he'd been tugging at it, and his hands were balled into fists. Finally, the girl let herself wince before she spoke up softly. "Niall...?" He whipped his head to her, but when he saw her face, his expression softened. "Sit with me?" She asked in the same hushed tone, and he did so without questioning it. He scooted back against the headboard, crossing his legs before he held his arm out silently. Maerin took his hint, though, and scooted towards him. As soon as his arm was around her, he pulled her close, and Maerin wrapped her arms around him, knowing he needed comfort.

After what seemed like hours in silence, Niall finally spoke up. "I should get going downstairs." Maerin almost nodded, but she stopped herself, tightening her hold around him without a word. "You want me to stay...?" There was a hint of confusion in his voice. "Even after I've been such a dick?" Maerin only nodded, not releasing her hold. "Alright." He barely whispered the word, but Maerin heard the smile behind it. Niall slowly pulled her arms away from him before he slid down, holding his arm out again. The girl bit down on her bottom lip, unsure of what to do before Niall just pulled her down. He reached up and flicked off the light, and Maerin took that moment to snuggle closer to him. She felt safe as his arm slowly rubbed up and down her back. "Get some sleep, Mae." She was already doing that, slowly drifting into the darkness, she barely even felt the pair of lips that pressed to her forehead.