A Month In Sin

“Niall! My boy!” I heard from behind Ori and myself, making me smile.
Uncle Jack was walking towards me with a beer in his hand and his arms wide open.
“Hey, Uncle Jack!” I said, giving him a manly hug.
“Who is this clean on lassie here?” he asked, taking view of Ori.
“This is Ori.”
“Is this the lassie your mum was telling me about?” he asked, staring at her.
I immediately grew nervous.
“Depends on what she was saying.”
“Something about how you got drunk and hitched in Las Vegas and decided to stay married for a month to see if it meant anything,” he said.
“Yep, this is the lassie then,” I said, wrapping my arm around Ori’s waist.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet ya! I can’t wait to get told the decision,” he said, shaking her hand.
She laughed and shook his hand, making a smile appear on my face.
That rest of the night, she stayed by my side and was introduced to my family and got along great with all of them.
I left her side while she talked with Denise, the only person she knew prior to tonight besides me, and got me a beer.
“She’s a sweet girl,” I heard from behind me.
I turned and saw Uncle Jack standing there, making me smile.
“Yeah, she is. So, you like her?” I asked.
“I think we all do besides your mum, but Maura hasn’t officially met her yet.”
“No, she hasn’t. I’m kind of waiting until you all leave so if Mum causes a scene, she won’t be scundered,” I said.
“Bullshit. You’re just as scared of her as Ori is,” he said, making me laugh.
“Damn. Ya caught me.”
I always enjoyed coming home for this reason- family. My family and closest friends never judged me or saw me as a celebrity. In Mullingar, I was always Niall Horan- Bobby’s son.
I stared at Ori as she laughed at something Denise said and found a smile form on my face.
“Niall?” I heard beside me, making me snap out of it.
“Huh? I’m sorry,” I said, tearing my eyes from Ori.
I looked beside me and saw my mum staring at me with concern before a smile broke out on her face.
“You’ve met someone, and she is pretty special to ya,” she said, making my head turn to Ori.
“I don’t know, Mum. What makes ya think it?”
“You’ve got the glad eye.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing that she was insane. I wasn’t in love yet… there was no way I could be.
“So, when am I gonna meet her?” she asked, making me stare at Ori once again.
“Are you gonna torment her?”
“’Course not. Denise told me about what happened last night. I’m sorry. I told him to behave.”
“We’re not talking about this with everyone here,” I said, shaking my head.
“Well, then introduce me to her,” she said, hooking her arm with mine.
I chuckled before walking her over to Ori and Denise.
“Denise, can I steal my wife from you?” I asked, making her eyes widen.
“Of course! Hello, Maura,” she said, greeting Mum before walking off.
Ori stiffened as I put my arm around her waist, making me laugh.
“Ori, this is my mum. Mum, this is Ori,” I said, gesturing between the two.
“Hello, Mrs. Gallagher,” Ori said, sticking her hand out.
“Oh, please, call me Maura. You’re family now- even if you two do decide to go with the divorce.”
She smiled and looked at me. I knew what she was thinking. This was her biggest worry- my mum. It also didn’t help that Mum had been very verbal about her disagreement with Ori’s parents. I guess she thought that Greg embarrassed the family enough.
“Thank you. That means a lot,” she said, accepting the hug that Maura was offering.
When she stepped into me again, I realized that we were both used to standing like this- wrapped in each other that is. She stepped away from me when we heard the ringing of her phone.
“I’m so sorry. I have to accept this. It’s my assistant, so it must be important.”
Mum and I nodded, and I saw her walk outside for a second- away from the noise.
“She’s sweet. Although, she already has an assistant? You two might not even stay married!”
“Um, Mum, she had an assistant before me. She is currently in college, and was looking at places in Los Angeles for her wedding business. Mum, her dad owns almost half of the casinos in Las Vegas,” I said, making her jaw drop.
“Then why the heck does Greg think that she is with you for the money?”
“Because he judged her before he even got to know her.”
Mum stormed off, fuming, at the news. A few minutes after, Denise walked up.
“What the hell did you tell Maura?”
“That Greg judged Ori before he got to know her.”
“Oh. Okay. Then, he deserves the ass-chewing he’s getting from her in the hallway,” she said, making me laugh.
Denise and Greg were honestly perfect for each other. My brother lived off first impressions, while Denise knew that first impressions weren’t everything. They were polar opposites of each other, but they worked.
Shortly after dinner, everyone left- which meant that it was time for us to open presents before going home ourselves. Theo, Denise, and Greg were actually staying at Dad’s house tonight due to Dad being an early riser on Christmas Day, which put me on the couch and Ori on my bed.
We all sat on the couches spread across the room and Theo sat on the floor.
“Alright, little one, you go first,” Maura said, as we all pulled our phones out and started recording.
My heart swelled when I saw Ori doing the same thing.
She wants to remember this Christmas, no matter what.
I saw him open up all of his gifts- including the one I helped Ori pick out for him.
“Thank you!” Theo said as he eyed all of the toys he got from everyone- and the car that I got him.
“Ori, you’re next, dear,” Maura said.
Greg glared at her, but tried to make it where I wouldn’t see. I flipped him off behind Ori’s back. She only had one present from me. I got her one for this purpose- I didn’t want her to feel awkward as we all opened presents.
As she opened the small box, she gasped.
“Niall! These are gorgeous!” she said, as she looked at the earrings I got her.
They were diamond studs, and they honestly weren’t that expensive. Denise looked at them from beside her and her eyes bugged out.
“Holy crap, those are gorgeous,” she said, as Ori showed them.
It didn’t take Mum long to come look. As the girls fawned over the earrings, Greg was glaring at me. He nodded towards the kitchen.
We both snuck out of the room for a second.
“Why the hell did you spend a lot of money on her?”
“Um. First, those earrings were not a lot. Second, I make my own money. I just signed a record deal that is going to make me more than you could even begin to understand. Third, that girl put her whole life on pause so her sister could be happy. We both didn’t want this, Greg, but she saw that her sister’s smile was real for the first time in a long time. You can hate her all you want to, but she is an amazing person. She is going to help me watch Theo and there is absolutely nothing you can say or do to stop her.”
“Are you? Are you in love with her Niall?” Greg asked, staring at me.
“Of course not, Greg. It’s only been twenty-one days, but I like her, Greg. I mean, hell, Greg, if you trust my judgement that little then how do you trust me to watch your son?”
“I trust your judgement, Niall. I just don’t trust her.”
“Treating her like you are says otherwise. Mum likes her, Greg. Now, enjoy Christmas for fuck’s sake and stop being an ass,” I said.
He sighed in defeat and walked back into the living room. He retook his spot by Denise and I took my spot by Ori, who kissed my cheek.
“Thank you for the earrings. They are gorgeous.”
I smiled.
“’Course, beautiful.”
It was then my turn to open my presents and when I picked up one I saw “To: Niall, From: Ori”.I looked at her.
“Didn’t we say no presents?” I asked, making her laugh.
“Yeah, didn’t we?” she said, playing with her ear that now held the earrings, making me smile.
When I tore it open, I saw a cardboard box. I immediately was confused. I opened it and what I saw made my heart swell.
“You got me a record player?” I asked.
“Well, I remember you telling me that your old one broke and that you hadn’t been able to get a new one yet,” she rambled, making me smile.
I grabbed her hand and intertwined our fingers, squeezing gently.
“I love it, thank you,” I said.
It was then Greg’s and Chris’s turn to ogle.
“Damn! That record player is nice! How much did that cost?” Chris asked, looking at Ori.
“Oh. It didn’t cost much,” she said.
I knew that was a lie though because it had an amp built-in. I was looking at one similar and it was over 400 pounds. I then opened the others, although they weren’t near as exciting as the record player. Mum and Chris got me clothes, Greg and Denise got me a subscription to Goldbely along with printed out pictures of Theo, and Theo made me a card.
The gift giving continued and then afterwards we started a movie. Mum was falling asleep on Chris and I could tell Ori was uncomfortable, so I stood up giving Ori my hand.
“Guys, we’re gonna go. Theo and Dad are gonna get us up early in the morning, plus since they’re staying tonight- we have sleeping arrangements to figure out.”
They nodded. I gave Mum and Chris a hug with promises to come see them again before we leave. As we got in the car, I started it quickly since the temperature had dropped rapidly.
“Hey, Ori. What did your assistant call about earlier?” I asked, remembering that she had.
Ori’s eyes widened.
“Um… I was going to talk to you about it, but would you mind leaving and going to Vegas on the 2nd instead of going to Los Angeles?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. Why?”
“Well, I have this charity event that I haven’t missed since I first started donating. Dad is ordering a private plane from Dublin to Las Vegas for us. Apparently, there is a small threat and so Dad is doubling our security in Vegas and forcing us to take a private jet,” she said.
“Small threat?” I asked.
“Dad’s paranoia, I’m sure,” she said, waving me off.
We then arrived at my dad’s house and I wasn’t surprised to see him already asleep. He always went to sleep early on Christmas Eve.
“So, I’ll sleep on the couch. You can take my bed,” I said, making her laugh.
“Just come on. Sharing a bed won’t kill us. I appreciate you being a gentleman though,” she said, taking my hand.
My heart swelled as I saw the side of her that made me want to take her to a chapel and say, ‘I do’.

Notes

Hello, everyone! :)
I'm sure you know what song is in the description. Lol.
So, Ori is opening up to Niall and Niall is opening up to Ori. :)
We don't have a lot of chapters left in this story, but don't worry. I think we're aiming for keeping it either at 35 or under.
Let us know how I did! Love you guys!
Here are their Christmas gifts to each other: Niall and Ori.