(written by MrsNiallHoran :3)
-- Niall's POV --
"Hun, don't do that. You'll get all dizzy."
I was laying on the couch upside-down and I could feel the blood rushing to my head. What? I was bored! I was waiting for Liam to finish cooking dinner, since I was starving. He normally cooks, and yet he calls me the woman of our relationship. Oh well, he's a better chef than I am. "But I'm boooorrreeeeddd!" I whined, sniffling. I'd almost completely gotten over my cold. I didn't cough anymore and my throat no longer hurt, but I was still a bit sniffly.
"Then come eat. Dinner's ready."
I was on my feet in a split second and rushing into the dining room. I plopped down at the table, watching as he brought two plates full of spaghetti out of the kitchen. The minute he set mine down, I grabbed the fork stuck in it and dug right in. He sat across from me and chuckled as I scarfed my food down, leisurely twirling his around his fork and eating it.
"You're such a messy eater." he chuckled, probably referring to the sauce all over my face. I rolled my eyes and licked it off. Within two minutes, I'd finished my food and he'd barely started. "I swear, your stomach is like an endless black hole." he said, shaking his head playfully as I got up to get more.
"My huge appetite makes up for my shortness." I replied, dishing up more of his delicious homemade spaghetti. I love it when Liam cooks. He always makes the best food. After covering my entire plate in a mound of food, I returned to the dining room and dug in the moment I sat down. He was only halfway through his first serving, while I was on my second.
"But your shortness is cute."
"And my eating like a pig isn't?" I mumbled through a mouthful of food.
"Surprisingly, yes, it actually is." he said, smiling as I continued eating. "So, I was thinking about the wedding, and I was wondering if maybe you'd like to invite your mum? I mean, I know she's a bitch and all, but my dad isn't exactly great and he's still coming. Maybe you'd at least like to tell her that you're engaged?"
"What for?" I asked as I finished my food. "So she can complain about how her son is a menace to society for not marrying a woman?" I said, more harshly than I'd intended. He frowned and looked away and I immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to sound like that. It's just that I don't think there's any point of telling her. She'll just hate me more and even if she did come to the wedding, it'd just be to crash it and yell out terrible things about me and say that we're going to hell for getting married and blah blah blah."
Liam shrugged. "Who knows? Her boyfriend seemed like a pretty great guy. Maybe he's changed her?"
"Doubt it." I muttered, sighing.
"It's worth a try, isn't it? Didn't she call you yesterday?"
Okay, true, my mum did call, but probably not to say anything good. "I guess I'll call her back." I finally said. He smiled sympathetically as I stood up and moved into the living room, grabbing my cell off of the coffee table. I then grabbed the house phone and dialed the number in my contacts. Why I still had her in my contacts, I'm not sure. She answered after only two rings. "Hey, Mum. You called yesterday?"
"Oh, honey, I was so worried when you didn't answer! I called Karen and she said that you had moved out." she replied. What? Why the sudden niceness? "Listen, sweetie, I wanted to apologize for the way I've acted to you. Ray set me straight. He helped me quit drinking and doing drugs, and I realized that ever since your father left, I'd hardly ever been sober, and I blamed you for him leaving. But now that I've sobered up and thought about everything... It's not your fault. None of it was ever your fault. It was my fault and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm so sorry, Niall, for everything. Ray's son is gay, and after seeing how well he treats him, I realized that my homophobia was stupid. I shouldn't treat you differently than your brother just because you're gay. I'm so sorry for everything I've said and done to you. Could I please come visit you, at your new place, to apologize in person?"
I hadn't realized that I'd started crying until now. I agreed and gave her the address, and then hung up. When I walked into the kitchen, where Liam had finished doing the dishes and was now putting them away in the cupboards, he immediately stopped what he was doing to come hug me.
"Why are you crying, baby? What did she say to you?" he asked softly.
"S-She's coming to visit. She apologized for everything..." I managed to reply before more tears came. "Happy t-tears." I murmured, pulling away from him to wipe my cheeks.
"See? People do change." he said, smiling. "Maybe this is fate's way of making up for all the obstacles it put in between us."
"Maybe." I agreed, matching his smile.
The doorbell rang a few minutes after. I went and opened it up. To my surprise, my mum stood there alone. I'd had a sinking feeling that she was only saying those good things because Ray was around, but now I knew she actually meant it. "Hey Mum."
"This is such a nice place. How on earth did you afford it?" she answered with a smile as I ushered her inside.
"Lots of help." I replied, smiling softly back.
"And do you live here with that boy?"
I swallowed thickly. What would she say if she knew that Liam and I lived together? "Yeah." I replied. "We moved out after graduation."
Surprisingly, her smile remained. "My boy's all grown up." she said softly. I ran a hand through my hair and her eyes immediately widened. Wait... Which hand had I lifted up...? "Is that what I think it is?" she asked, grabbing my hand and staring at the ring. A big grin replaced the shocked look on her face. "You're engaged!" she squealed, pulling me into a hug. It felt weird hugging her. I hadn't hugged my mum since I was young, before my real father left us. "Oh, Niall, that's wonderful!"
"Things seem to be going well out here." the familiar voice of my gorgeous fiance spoke. I pulled out of the hug to see Liam walking towards us with a smile. He and my mum shook hands. "I'm Liam."
Mum smiled widely. "I'm Maura. It's so nice to meet you, Liam. Ah, I can't believe my son is getting married! And to such a handsome young man." she said, putting a hand on Liam's shoulder. "You treat him well, alright?"
Liam chuckled. "I will."
"Sooo, when's the wedding?" she asked excitedly, clasping her hands together. "Oh, you must let me help plan it!"
This was a side of my mum that I hadn't seen since I was very young. I couldn't help but smile uncontrollably. She really had changed. "We aren't sure about the date yet. You and Liam's mum can collaborate to help plan it. We're having it somewhere in Canada, since it's legal there, but we aren't really sure where yet, either. We just got engaged a few days ago."
"It's been exactly a week today." Liam corrected me, wrapping an arm around my waist with a big smile.
It was easy to tell that Mum was still a bit uncomfortable at seeing us be affectionate with each other, but it was a big change from calling us demon spawn. I couldn't have asked for anything better. "Get married on Valentine's Day, then you'll never forget your anniversary!" she suggested, and we all laughed.
"That's actually not a bad idea." he said as our laughter died out. "Then Valentine's Day would be even more special."
"But February is only four months away." I frowned. "Are we going to have the wedding all planned by then?"
He shrugged and kissed the top of my head. "Maybe, maybe not. But the day of the wedding doesn't matter. All I care about is that one day, I'll be able to say that I'm married to the man of my dreams."
