Chapter Text
The late nights are starting to catch up with Niall. He spends all his free time in the lib these days, hardly catching any rays of sun. His table is often littered with empty coffee cups and energy drink cans. But this is the life of a college student he supposes.
This semester was especially hard on him as he tried his best to maintain his straight A streak. The one promise he made to his parents when applying for this expensive school and degree program was that he would do his best. At all times, no exceptions. It was the least he could do for them allowing him to live out his dreams.
Even the caffeine had stopped working its magic. He needed sleep but there didn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get to everything. On top of his school work Niall tutored, played on the football (soccer) team, had a job off campus, and partook in several clubs and study groups.
The need to keep his schedule full and busy was something he acquired from his parents. They were always his personal cheerleaders in whatever he did and supported him endlessly. That’s not the case for all his friends. He felt so lucky to have their unconditional support.
Sometimes he felt so homesick though and wondered if the distance was worth it. Maybe he could transfer somewhere closer to home? But the fact that he wanted to prove to his parents that he could be independent and the life he built here held him back from going through with these thoughts. That and a certain green eyed boy flashed across his mind.
Niall felt his eyes drooping for the third time that hour and decided this was no good. He cleared off his table and noticed a group of people his age approach the table almost as soon as he was a few feet away. Spare tables were scarce in the lib, but most people avoided asking to share if they could.
He threw away his trash by the door and looked down at his watch. His next class wouldn’t start for another two hours but he didn’t feel like working anymore. The ability to focus and produce quality work ebbed away as the day passed.
Another wave of tiredness washed over Niall. He barely contained his yawns in and his feet dragged across the floor. He would consider skipping his next class if it was his last one but he had another one after it and one of them called for a test which he didn’t want to have to make up at a later date.
What could he do in the mean time to keep himself preoccupied? All his friends were either in class right now or were done for the day and went home or somewhere else. Having another cup of coffee seemed like an appealing idea or even sitting inside one of the cafes on campus. But he already reached his caffeine intake for the day. And if his mum knew just how much he was consuming lately, she’d have a heart attack and criticize him about caffeine being like an addictive drug.
He laughed at the thought because he could picture the look on her face so well. The look of disapproval. Pursed lips fixed under a hard stare that made her seem bigger than him despite being at least five inches shorter. When she was angry his mother had a way of scaring him, no matter how old he was. He missed the way she would cross her arms over her chest before moving them to rest on her hips and delivering her spiel in such an over the top Maura way that showcased her motherly love and worry.
The tears beginning to well in his eyes were uncalled for and proved to be another sign of his evident tiredness. Just last night he fell asleep around two and was brought out of his deep sleep around six a.m. by the sound of his roommate puttering around. Niall knew that he had a seven a.m. class but that didn’t warrant him waking up three hours before his own alarm. Still, he didn’t let this little hiccup ruin his day.
The urge to curl up right in the middle of the hallway and sleep on the tiled floor was so tempting. Then he remembered his car. He had one of those burrito blankets someone gifted him for his birthday as a joke sitting in the back seat. After that realization he practically ran to his car sitting in the student lot across campus. This wasn’t an unusual thing for him or other students.
He knew plenty of people that took the gap between classes as a chance to catch up on sleep. Some even did this in place of attending class. He didn’t like to do it often but today was one of those days that called for a nice long nap to get him through the rest of his day. The air was cold outside but his tread from the library to here warmed his body.
Reaching for his car keys in his pocket Niall unlocks his car and throws his backpack in the passenger’s seat. He turns the car on and blasts the heat, bringing his hands to his mouth and rubbing them together while gently blowing air on his stinging fingers. The lack of gloves made it feel like the air was biting into the numbness of his red fingers. The heat filled his car in a matter of minutes and provided Niall with a sense of content.
He flopped down in his seat and reclined it as far back as it could go, searching blindly for his blanket resting behind him. The alarm on his phone was set for an hour and a half from now. He pulled his hood up and spread the blanket to envelop his body. A haziness overtook his senses, perhaps it was the warmth radiating from the heat in his car or the blanket tucked up to his chin causing him to doze off in seconds.
*****
A light tapping sounds against a hard surface. Is it a door? No, the echo is slightly off. Is it metal? Wood? No, it’s something else. He tries to listen harder but a lull makes it hard to concentrate on anything. The cusp of sleep and that familiar haziness returns his clouded mind. A few seconds later and he’s almost back in his dream land. But the sound of the tapping grows louder and intrudes.
Suddenly his eyes fly open and make the connection that someone’s knocking on his window. He tries not to grumble because his alarm definitely hasn’t gone off yet. Niall looks over and sees its Harry peering at him with an amused expression. There are crinkles by his eyes and his dimples are on display, indicating he’s been laughing. He motioned for Niall to roll down his window.
“Hey sleepyhead. Sorry for waking you.” The breathy laugh that escapes his mouth lets Niall know that he’s not in fact sorry at all. Instead of responding right away Niall checks the time and actually scowls now. His alarm wasn’t set to go off for another fifteen minutes. “I wish you didn’t. I had another couple of minutes.”
“I can leave if you want?” It’s definitely not meant as a question. Harry makes the point of gesturing behind him with his thumb pointing in the direction of the lecture halls. “I guess you can stay. Since I’m awake and all.” A look of triumph crosses Harry’s face, although they both know Niall’s resolve crumbles whenever Harry’s in the equation.
He leans forward so that his elbows rest on the frame of the open window. Harry pulls the blanket down in search of Niall’s hand and kisses his knuckles before lacing their hands together. “Do you know how adorable you look right now?” Harry doesn’t give Niall the chance to answer before continuing. “I actually felt bad waking you up but I wanted to spend some time with you before your next class.” A thumb stroked across the back of his palm.
“The way you looked so confused when I first started knocking on the window and the little imprints your jacket left on your cheek is endearing in a way it shouldn’t be. It just makes me fall more in love with you, if I’m honest.” Harry tugged on Niall’s hand and kissed the tips of his fingers, blinking down at him shyly.
He moved Niall’s hand to his chest so it rested directly over his heart. “You feel that? That’s what you to do me and we haven’t even done anything or been together for more than a minute or two. You’ve always had that effect on me even before we got together, Ni.” Harry drops Niall’s hand in exchange for pressing forward and rubbing their noses together.
He kisses along the line of Niall’s jaw and follows the two chips of blue staring back at him. “You-you can’t just say that right before I have to go to class Harry. That’s not fair! Now I won’t be able to concentrate.” Harry pulls back with a laugh and resumes his former position of resting his elbows on the frame of the window. He begins playing with the rings on his fingers.
“But for what it’s worth, I love you too. Always.” Niall feels slightly guilty for his earlier thoughts about transferring somewhere in Ireland. He would be leaving this behind. Harry behind. He knew that if he told Harry about his feelings that he would upset the boy and he didn’t deserve that, especially after this declaration and he’d never been anything but kind to Niall.
“Hey, where’d you just go?” Harry presses his thumb between Niall’s eyebrows and rubs lightly to make the worry lines disappear. “Nowhere. Just thinking.” His boyfriend hums in response as if waiting for him to elaborate. “Just. I was- I was a little homesick earlier.” A look of sympathy flashes across Harry’s face. He strokes Niall’s cheek gently with his hand.
“Aw Ni, we all get that way sometimes. It must be harder for you though since Ireland’s a whole other country away. I’m sorry.” This felt like a blow to the gut. What was Harry sorry for? It was his own fault for getting into his head. “It’s fine. I think everything’s starting to get to me. All the stuff I took on is finally catching up to me.” Harry nodded in understanding, his fingertips shifting under his chin to bring Niall’s attention back to him.
“You do have a lot on your plate all the time. But I’m so proud of how you take everything in stride and balance it so well. I know plenty of people who’d crack after a week and drop half the things you have going on. That’s another thing I love about you. Your commitment to the things and people you care about. It’s something I wish I was better at.”
The blush forming on Niall’s cheeks was more obvious in the winter chill, his skin just a few shades darker than the snow surrounding them. “Every time I open my mouth around you I feel like I’m about to say something stupid. It’s like your words and just being with you make me dizzy. Dizzy because you make me feel weak in the best way possible. And thanks by the way, for saying all those nice things about me. You always make me feel better.” Like home.
And that’s when Niall realized it. He didn’t need to go back to Ireland to feel like he was home. Because home isn’t always a physical place, but it can also be a person. And here, Harry was that person. So maybe all he needed when he was missing Ireland would be to find Harry. It felt like this big revelation all of a sudden. Like a water balloon dropping on his head and breaking, the water trickling some sense into his brain.
“No need to thank me, it’s all true. I want you to realize for yourself how amazing you are. Me getting to tell you is just an added bonus.” He felt his response on the tip of his tongue but that’s when Harry decided to kiss him. Finally. It was a bit awkward with the door in the way, but they made it work. His lips were warm and tasted like the cherry chapstick he used sometimes.
“Now let me make you, what did you call it, ‘dizzy’?” A smirk made its way onto his face. He tried yanking the door open but it was locked. Niall scrambled to unlock it. Harry wasted no time in throwing his stuff in the passenger seat and clambering on top of Niall’s lap. “Shit, you’re freezing. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I was too busy feeling dizzy over this boy. I think you might know him.” Niall knew he’d regret telling him that. Harry sunk his teeth into Niall’s shoulder to muffle his laughter. The seat was still reclined so that Harry could properly straddle Niall. “You are so beautiful.” Harry said and laid on top of Niall.
He wrapped his arms around his neck and Niall started rubbing up and down his thighs to warm his legs. “You’re not so bad yourself.” Harry giggled against Niall’s lips and planted a soft kiss, drawing back to rest their foreheads together. He looked over at the radio for a second, checking the time. “You still have a few minutes if you want to make it to class on time.” Niall looked like he was considering his options.
“Nah, I think I’d rather stay here with you. But I do need to go to my next one I have a test.” Harry smiled and cuddled up to his boyfriend. He knew how serious Niall was about school so this meant the world to him. “Ok, that gives us… another hour. Wanna take that nap now?” The smile that broke across Niall’s face made Harry’s heart melt. “I thought you’d never ask.” After setting another alarm on his phone Niall grabbed the burrito blanket and wrapped it around the both of them, pressing a gentle kiss against Harry’s forehead, who settled against the warmth of his arms with a happy sigh.