cold coffee in the evening // niall horan au

VI. color me yellow

Nisha's feet hurt.

Last night's mood was lifted considerably after the sangeet. Everyone danced and sang and ate to their hearts' content. The girls' Madhuri mashup was a big hit while the boys' dance was a major highlight of the night, a musical skit retelling Neha and Harry's love story; all of them put their hearts into it and Maya's brother Vicky dressed up as Neha so it was all a big laugh.

Now, though, she can do with a few extra hours of sleep, especially since she's had to cover some deadly dark circles with copious amounts of color corrector and concealer. The house is swarming with so many people now that even her room is no longer a quiet place, instead spread with spare futons and blankets for her cousins.

She has managed to find a moment to herself, though, escaping the preparations happening for Ganapati puja inside in favor of sitting on the platform under the tent. She has filled three thaalis with freshly picked flowers, rinsed slightly with cold water, and is currently taking her time stringing them into malas. It's blissfully silent and unobtrusive here. The birds are singing, the decorations clink softly together in the wind. Occasionally, she catches faint whiffs of spices and curries that float out through the screened back door and soft sounds of bhajans muffled from inside, but for the most part, it's just her and the flowers. She's content for a moment of peace before the day picks up into chaos again.

It also leaves her time to reflect on this odd feeling swirling in her chest. Yesterday was, in a word, strange. For four years she could barely say two words to Niall Horan, and now they have inside jokes? On the dance floor last night Niall had referenced yet another one of their Song Association moments and she'd laughed so hard that Lena looked over with the most confused look on her face. Leave it to a big, whirlwind of a wedding to somehow bring them together.

It felt a lot like too much all at once.

"Hi." She looks over and, sure enough, there he is. He's climbing up onto the platform and settling in front of her, dressed in a simple white tee and dark wash denim jeans and still looking like an absolute dream. He's giving her that signature smile, leaning back casually onto his hands. "You look like the sun."

Butterflies. A whole swarm of them erupts right in the pit of her tummy. Act normal, she reminds herself. He's talking about her outfit, of course, a yellow gharara, and the fact that she's surrounded by brightly colored flowers. She's blushing but attempts to keep her voice even, talking to the flowers instead of looking at him. "Hi. Thanks. I don't usually wear bright colors. I've basically been a bee magnet."

This makes him laugh. She's lost track of her laugh tally but it honestly never gets old. It's like a rush of adrenaline courses through her every time he does that. "What are you doing?"

She glances at her flower-filled thaalis. "Making garlands for the prayers today."

"Oh." Niall is twirling a plump pink carnation between his fingers. "Do we need to do that too?"

Neha and Harry are doing their Ganapati pujas and haldi ceremonies separately. This is one thing her parents wouldn't budge on, as it's considered inauspicious for them to do it together. They've sort of worked out a system for this to be done efficiently. Neha will conduct her puja inside the house and then she'll come out for her haldi. While her haldi is going on, Harry will do his puja and then will come out for his haldi as Neha is finished. They will all take photos together afterwards.

"Honestly," she shrugs, "I'm just doing this because I don't want to be inside." She's done her part in setting up all the items needed for puja. She's not really in the mood to deal with anything else, like everyone asking her where they can find things. Niall must find this funny as well because he laughs again. She grins at him. It's like a high without drugs. "I can make some extras anyway, just in case."