So Long

Claire shivers as she steps out of the shower. Wrapping one towel around her body, she grabs another and twists her hair up in it. She quickly brushes her teeth, grabs her makeup bag from under the sink, and darts down the hall to her bedroom. Niall is downstairs still, she can hear him moving about in the living room, but she doesn’t want to risk him seeing her in this state.

Claire locks the door behind her and pads across the room to her closet. The line of clothing inside nearly overwhelms her. There’s not a lot, really, but she has no idea what she should wear. All she’s certain of is that no matter what she chooses, she’ll pale in comparison to her boyfriend. It doesn’t mean she has no reason to at least try to look presentable.

After a few minutes of staring at the options, she finally decides on a pair of dark-washed jeans, tugging them off the hanger, then focuses on finding a top. This one proves to be a much easier choice: She reaches for her favourite wrap top, smiling at the sight of the tiny skulls; they’re faint enough that they are almost invisible against the burgundy fabric. Claire had worn it five times before she even realised the pattern was even there.

She dresses quickly, tosses the towel into the hamper. With a command for Siri to open Pandora, Claire unzips her makeup bag and pulls out the bottle of foundation and a brush. She has had enough practice with this task that she doesn’t have to pay too much attention to what she’s doing. She’s just finished packing away her makeup when a knock sounds at the door, interrupting Mandy Moore’s voice singing about forever being in her partner’s eyes.

“I’m sure you look wonderful, love, but it’s almost four. We’re going to be late.”

Claire frowns at her reflection in the mirror. Now that she is fully dressed with her hair and makeup done, she’s not so sure about her appearance. The jeans are usually the most flattering for her figure, and the top has always made her torso look slimmer while adding definition to her curves. But right now? She feels like a frumpy pile of soggy, squishy spuds.

She knows Niall is right. It will take at least forty-five minutes to get to her parents’ house, and her mother had confirmed this morning that dinner is planned to start at half-four on the dot. So with one last grimace, Claire fixes a stray hair that’s slipped out of place then unlocks her bedroom door.

Niall looks as amazing as she expected. The shirt he wears fits him well, his blue eyes complemented by the deep grey of the cotton. Claire doesn’t bother trying to stop her gaze from tracking his body, head to socked feet. She ignores the way her heart flutters, the tightening in her belly, and stretches up to kiss him gently.

“I’m ready whenever you are.”

“I’ve been ready,” he grumbles goodnaturedly, lacing their fingers together so he can tug her toward the stairs.

Niall hides his nervousness well on the drive to the Hunter residence. If Claire didn’t know him as well as she does, she would say he’s just as calm, cool, and collected as anybody. But she does, she knows him, so she can see the brittle edge to his grins, the way his hands shake just a little, the relaxed posture he forces himself into.

He does, however, say to hell with pretence, holding her hand tightly as they walk up to the front door. Claire tugs him to a stop on the porch, brushes a piece of lint from the collar of his shirt. When she meets his eye, she can read the apprehension clearly as if it was words on a page.

“They’ll love you, I promise. Just don’t curse too much around the kids. I know, it’s going to be difficult, but Dee might actually duct tape your mouth shut if you say ‘fuck’ more than, like, three times. She has a rule that the kids can’t hear bad words too often, even though she swears almost as much as I do.”

“That might be impossible,” he mutters, and Claire stifles a giggle.

“Yes, I know. I have faith in you, though.” She stretches up to kiss him gently. “Ready?”

He gives a succinct nod, and Claire turns toward the door, knocking once before pushing it open. She calls out for her mother as they step over the threshold, and a screeching noise comes from the kitchen. Deirdre appears at the end of the short hall, her face splitting into a wide smile at the sight of the newcomers.

“You’re late,” she sings as she hugs Claire tightly.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up. Where’s Mom?”

“She’s trying to get Dad to stop fiddling with the stupid grill and just borrow the neighbour’s.”

Claire winces - the grill has been a point of contention between her parents for the past few summers. Her father say it works fine, but Melissa says it works fine when it does, but more often than not, it’s a hunk of useless metal. With a heavy sigh, she leads Niall into the dining room and leans down to kiss Minnie’s forehead.

“Hi, sweetie, having fun?”

“No.”

“Oh, no! What’s wrong?”

“Daddy won’t let me help Nonnie garden.”

“That’s probably because he doesn’t want your pretty dress to get dirty. Why is she wearing a pretty dress?” Claire asks her sister-in-law, frowning. Deirdre and Tim have never made the children dress up just for family dinner. “Dee, you did not.”

“Yes, I did. Gotta impress your boo. Hi, I’m Deirdre,” she announces with an innocent smile, her hand stretching out towards Niall immediately.

Claire rolls her eyes at the other woman and digs through the cupboard for the box of crayons and sketchbook her parents keep for the kids. She passes them over to a pouting Minnie then makes her way to the kitchen.

Melissa stands by the sink, staring out the window with a dark expression on her face. She doesn’t bother turning to face her daughter as Claire approaches. Resting her cheek against her mother’s upper arm, Claire watches as both Tims argue on the patio. Her brother has evidently taken the stance against Tim Sr, if her dad’s wild gesticulating is any indication.

“I take it it’s Grill-mageddon in the Hunter household again?”

“Right on time.” Melissa sighs and finally turns around. “Where’s Niall?”

“Fuck, I left him with Dee.”

“Are you nuts? Belle!”

But Melissa is laughing, so Claire counts it as a win. She follows her mother into the other room, where Niall is busy oohing over the book that Paul is showing him, alternating his attention between the boy and Minnie who chatters on about her preschool classmates. Claire leans against the wall and watches her mother introduce herself, apologise for any of Deirdre’s behaviour.

Niall catches Claire’s eye, winking quickly enough that she thinks she imagines it, though there is no way that Claire is imagining how charmed her mother is as she speaks to Niall. The sound of the door opening interrupts the conversation, and Claire turns to see her father and brother coming in.

They’re still arguing, though they fall silent at the sight of the newest arrivals. Exchanging a look, both men pretend they weren’t caught in the middle of a heated discussion. Melissa rolls her eyes in Claire’s direction then clears her throat pointedly.

“Tim, TJ, this is Niall, Claire’s boyfriend. You will both be nice, or you won’t be eating tonight.”

“If Dad doesn’t stop being so stubborn about the fucking grill, we won’t be eating anyway,” Tim Jr mutters under his breath, cowering at the look his mother shoots his way. “Sorry, Mom. Final comment of the night.”

“Yeah, that’ll be the day,” Claire snorts, and everyone’s eyes swivel toward her. She isn’t nearly as easy to force into capitulation, though, so she just flashes an impish grin then crosses the room to drop into the chair by Niall.

Thankfully, contrary to her brother’s belief, their father leaves the entire “grill” topic alone, and dinner prep is underway within half an hour. Claire isn’t surprised that her parents were disagreeing at all - they’ve always been open about the fact they don’t always see eye-to-eye - but she has to admit a certain level of dumbstruck that they allowed it to push back the start of the meal. They both like making good impressions, and this is only the third time in her entire dating history that she’s brought home a boyfriend. ‘Good impression’ be damned, evidently.

”Come help me for a sec, Belle. Niall will be fine, I promise. Your dad and brother will be on their best behaviour.”

Claire doesn’t want to leave him alone; Tim always tries too hard to be intimidating, and her father doesn’t even have to try, he just is. But she knows she can’t argue at all without causing a scene. So she kisses Niall’s cheek then follows her mother and sister-in-law into the kitchen.

“He’s so sweet!” Dee gushes in a low whisper, and Clair looks for a route of escape. None are to be found. Deirdre is far too intelligent to leave an opening. “Seriously, Belle, he’s so smitten with you. Those pictures of you two on that hike? Ugh, why can’t Tim and I ever be that cute?”

“You have kids,” retorts Claire drily, wincing when Deirdre smacks her arm. “Mom, are you going to let her abuse your favourite daughter like this?”

“Yes, I am. Because she’s right. You and Niall are sickeningly adorable together. I couldn’t help but notice that he watched you every time you moved. Not in a creepy or controlling way, just a… ‘I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to love you’ kind of way.”

“Far too soon for ‘I love you’, Mom.”

Melissa shrugs and finishes gathering up plates and silverware. “Doesn’t mean it isn’t true, sweetheart. It might not be much, but for what it’s worth, Belle? I approve of him. Your dad does, too, he’s just too proud to admit that another man has taken his place in your heart.”

“Dad’s always gonna be my number one,” Claire replies with a soft laugh, shaking her head. “Tim-Tam is second place. Niall is definitely my favourite unrelated guy, though. Now, come on, before he thinks we’re talking shit about him.”

Niall seems to fit in easily with the family, laughing at the appropriate times and joining conversation without reservation. Claire can see just how much restraint it takes for Dee to not visibly fawn over the fact that he keeps the kids distracted enough that they don’t protest eating - or that he leans over to cut up Paul’s meat when a chunk seems too large for the toddler to manage. Claire doesn’t blame Deirdre for it, either; if she’s being honest, she’s having a hard time not kissing him senseless for his actions.

The dishes finally done, Claire dries her hands off on the dish towel then passes it over to her mother. As Melissa wipes the water from the countertops, Claire stares out the window over the sink, watches as her father and Niall talk animatedly about something. Most likely football, like the sports nerds they are. Her mom’s chin rests on her shoulder, a mimicry of earlier when the roles were reversed, and Claire huffs out a laugh when her neck starts tickling from the woman’s breath.

“He’s wonderful, Belle.”

“Yeah, he... he really is. I almost fucked it up, though.”

“Already?”

“What can I say? I’m very skilled.”

Her mother pulls away and turns Claire to face her. She can’t hide anything from her mom’s searching gaze, so Claire tells her about texting Warren and their conversation. Thankfully, Melissa doesn’t say anything about it, just tells Claire she did the right thing with being honest.

“And he seems to be handling that bombshell rather well.” Her mother frowns as she looks out at the backyard. “Cue screaming in three, two -”

Her words are cut off by a shrill shriek; Minnie pushes herself to sit up from where she’s fallen, but the damage is done. Melissa snorts then heads outside to intervene. Claire follows, though her feet take her in a different direction. She sits down behind Niall on the lounger, plastering herself against his back. He laughs quietly and grabs her wrists, drags her arms around his waist. His conversation with her father doesn’t stop, and she leans her head against his shoulder and lets the cadence of his speaking lull her further into the bubble of peace that has encircled her over the evening.

I love you.

She doesn’t realise she’s spoken, said the words aloud, until he falls abruptly silent. Everyone does. Claire freezes and wonders if she can pretend the last thirty seconds never happened. The way Niall is immobile against her tells her no, she can’t. She can’t unsay it.

To her surprise, his hand tightens around hers. Deirdre catches Tim Sr’s attention, rambling about something that Minnie’s class did, but Claire can see the surprised glances that her sister-in-law continues to throw in her direction. She blows out a slow breath before peeling herself off of Niall’s back.

His head turns, and she reluctantly meets his eye. She can’t read the expression on his face; his grip doesn’t lessen, so she hopes nothing is ruined. It’s not even been a week since they started dating - far too soon to be saying the ‘L’ word. But they’ve known each other for almost a year. She’s been around him constantly for so long, it was bound to happen. And now that it’s out there, she certainly doesn’t want to take it back.

Niall moves until he’s facing her, leans forward to kiss her gently. Minnie squeaks out an Ewww, gross!, and while the adults laugh, Claire merely pushes closer, lips parting and heart singing. Footsteps cross the patio, the door slides closed, and Claire and Niall are left alone.

“Can I just say,” he murmurs against her lips, “that that was unexpected?”

“Not too soon?” she asks with a slight grin, kisses him again.

His fingers brush along her cheekbone; the feather-light touch sends a shiver down her spine, and he smiles, blue eyes shining in the glow of the citronella torch. “I don’t care if it is.”

Hearing him say “I love you, too” is almost enough to rocket her to the stratosphere. Her mind goes pleasantly numb, body filling with an airy lightness that makes her head spin. She feels drunk, more than any hundred-proof would ever cause, and all she wants to do is dive headfirst into the sensation for the rest of her life.