little do you know: the december drabbles // niall horan au

day 14: receiving horrible presents (in which liam is in love)

Niall didn't believe in bad gifts. He believed that if someone put the time and the effort into choosing a gift for someone, it should be appreciated, no questions asked. Harry, on the other hand, who wouldn't stop whining about the present Liam had given him, clearly did not share the same sentiments.

"But Liam," Harry grumbled as they trudged up a hill behind the cabin, away from Mona, Harlow, and Zayn. "Honestly, mate. What am I going to do with a whole box of Tupperware? I already have too many at my flat that my Mum always leaves behind whenever she flies over."

Liam shrugged, and Niall simply wondered how he got stuck between the two of them. He didn't even know where they were going. "Dunno. It was on sale, so I just grabbed it."

Harry huffed, and Niall swore that if he let out another whiney statement he was going to bury him in the snow. "But, honestly though, what—"

"Harry," Niall said, annoyed. "Why don't you just accept the Tupperware and shut up."

"But, Niall—"

"No!" both Liam and Niall roared in unison, causing Harry's lips to tug downwards into a frown. Instead, they continued up the slight incline. They didn't know where they were going, but they didn't really care. It was the company of his friends that Niall found solace in, never mind they'd been climbing that hill for what seemed to be hours and his thighs were burning, because Harry had gotten over his initial complaints and had cracked one of his stupid, stupid jokes. It wasn't even a funny one, and Niall sure as hell didn't understand it, but he laughed his ass off anyway, Liam soon joining in, the three of them collapsing into the snow and clutching their stomachs, rowdy laughter filling the cold, winter air.

They laughed for so long that Niall didn't even remember how it started. But once they'd caught their breaths, Harry was the first to speak.

"Hey," he said breathlessly, though whether it was the view that took his breath away or all the laughing, Niall didn't know. "We're at the top."

At that, Niall and Liam sat up, Niall adjusting his glasses to follow Harry's gaze, and sure enough, they were pretty high up. There were trees everywhere, which he was told was pretty typical for Upstate New York, snow covering the branches and the land below, smoke from the chimney of the log cabin visible in between.

"I'm in love with Harlow," Liam sighed, eyes still trained on the snow-covered trees and the blanket of snow. Flurries were beginning to fall from the sky, some heavy enough to get stuck in Niall's hair before melting onto his skin.

Niall glanced at his friend, smiling slightly. "We know."

This time, Liam looked down at his fingers, his cheeks suffusing with color. "But Harlow's in love with Zayn."

Harry was frowning again, turning around to face both Niall and Liam. "We know that too, mate."

Liam fell back into the snow, groaning as he scrubbed his hands over his face. "I don't know what to do." Niall's heart broke for his friend. He couldn't imagine a person being forced to watch the woman he loved look at another person with the same love and adoration in her eyes that he would feel in his heart for her. Liam let out a low chuckle. "There's nothing I can do."

Niall didn't know what to say because he wasn't very good at this, having emotional conversations. So instead, he looked to Harry, who also seemed to be at a loss, because he shrugged his shoulders sadly. Niall didn't know what to gather from that gesture, so he crawled over to Liam and rested his head on his shoulder, tossing his arm over his shoulders. Harry crawled over to do the same, and then the three of them were just three bodies covered in snow, huddling around each other because then words failed then cuddles worked, right?

It was a long time before Harry spoke again. "Is Zayn in love with Harlow?"

Liam seemed to consider this, nudging Niall to answer, who mulled it over for a few seconds, unsure of how to respond. Finally, he settled with, "Dunno, man. I'm not too sure."

Harry propped himself up on his arm. "Then I suppose we'd have to figure that out, right?"

Niall laughed, sitting up to poke at Liam's cheek, coaxing a smile from him as well. "Right!" Liam let out a small chuckle then, and when Niall looked at Harry, he figured that they were thinking of the same thing. They were going to have to talk to Zayn.