little do you know // niall horan au

chapter 13; addicted

Mona felt as though she couldn't feel her feet as she dragged them through her apartment.

Exhausted wasn't the word anymore, and she considered herself lucky that she even made it to her bed before her body shut off on its own. Even her sleep wasn't satisfying; she felt like she was lucid dreaming throughout and all she could see was Connemara's, Jingle's fiery orange hair, and Niall's bright blue eyes, his lips moving except she couldn't hear any of the words until—

"Mona." It sounded like it was coming from somewhere far away, like she was floating underwater and the words were muffled from above the surface. "Mo, darlin'."

She groaned, though the sound got lost somewhere in her pillow as she turned to lay more on her side. It was quiet for the few moments that she'd managed to stay awake so she shifted slightly, making herself a bit more comfortable before feeling herself slip into that sweet dreamlike state once more. It was a bit chilly in her room, and she distantly realized she'd collapsed on top of her blanket instead of under it. But it was too late now; she was too tired to move.

"Mona," the voice came again, and this time it sounded a bit more solid and close. A hand was running through her hair, all gentle and familiar, and Mona didn't have to open her eyes to figure out who it was.

She did though, cracked them open the tiniest bit and had to squint through her blurry vision in order to get a good look at him. He was shifting on the mattress, trying to get into a more comfortable position next to her, and his eyes were bright bright bright in the semi darkness of her room. She didn't think she had it in her to produce words at the moment, so she simply hummed, the sound breaking up through the dryness of her throat, and she swallowed a bit to make up for the discomfort.

"Hey, darlin'," he murmured, lips curved up into the sweetest smile. Mona, as tired as she was, couldn't help the surge of affection that flooded through her at the wonderful sight. "Happy birthday."

Mona frowned in response, only vaguely registering the way Niall curled his pinky finger into hers. "Huh?" She knew she wasn't exactly paying attention to the days blurring by, but even she would remember her birthday. "S'not my birthday," she mumbled.

Niall huffed out an amused laugh in response, and Mona's frown only deepened. "Darlin'," he chuckled, "what day do you think it is?"

"Dunno, Niall, but I think I would remember my birthday." She grumbled under her breath, shifting so that she was facing away from him. After all, she was tired and he was disturbing her precious sleep.

This time, Niall laughed a bit louder, his hands skimming across her waist as he shuffled even closer, leaning over her to press his lips to her cheek, his giggles seeping into her skin. "Babe, it's February fourteenth, a.k.a. Valentine's Day, a.k.a. your birthday."

Mona frowned again, but she was still too tired to care too much about it. "Whatever," she muttered. She was about to curl into herself because it was a little too chilly in her room but Niall was tugging at her before she could even move, climbing over her to coax her to the edge of the bed. "Niall," she whined, near distress. All she wanted was some sleep. "Don't wanna get up, please."

"Shut up." Niall manhandled her until she was barely standing on her feet, slumping onto his body for support because she didn't even feel like opening her eyes, much less like holding herself upright. Niall didn't drag her to the living room like she expected, though. Instead, he held onto her long enough so that he could untuck her blanket before gently helping her back into it, draping the blanket over her before leaning down to press his lips gently to her temple. "Rest up, 'kay?" he murmured, fingers brushing back strands of her hair that'd fallen out of her sloppy bun. Actually, now that she thought about it, her hair elastic had slipped so far down her hair that it probably wasn't even in a bun anymore.