"That's what I'm fucking talking about!" The voice crackled in his ears, sounding equal parts excited and exhausted. Niall grinned, pulling off the massive headphones and hanging them from a hook near the mic.

He'd been in the studio with Julian and the boys for the past few days, trying hard to finish the album before they had to set out on tour again. Things had gone smoothly at first, but as they grew closer and closer to completion, it was becoming harder to find the perfection they so craved with this album. The struggles had taken a five day recording session and almost tripled it, calling them in at odd hours of the day and night to re-record solos and tweak the harmonies so they’d blend properly.

Niall pushed his way through the door and out of the booth, immediately falling onto the closest couch, next to Liam, as Julian’s head bopped along to the music blaring through his headphones. He sighed and settled down into the couch, picking his phone up from the table and checking for any missed messages. Nothing.

Dropping his phone back onto the table, he couldn't stop the sigh from slipping out. It had been four days since he'd seen Christina, both due to her work schedule and his unpredictable recording sessions, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that he missed her. At least, he wasn't ashamed to admit that to himself, in his head, where no one else would hear him. He'd had no intention of telling the guys about their relationship, not yet. He wanted to be sure before he brought them into it.

The smugly smirking, cheeky Harry Styles sitting across from him, however, did not share those intentions.

"Waiting for a text, Niall?" He drawled out with a slightly raised brow. Niall's eyes rolled of their own accord and he decided that ignoring his lanky, slow speaking band mate might just be the best course of action.

Of course, Harry was never good at leaving things alone.

"Or maybe a phone call, then? Tell me, how is Christina these days?" Harry's deep northern accent droned, making Niall's eyes droop. Lord, the man took days to talk, it was a wonder he ever finished a sentence. He leveled his gaze across the room, his glare catching a pair of twinkling green eyes. The smirk on Harry's face caused his scowl to deepen, but he remained quiet. He refused to talk.

"Christina? What, now? Who is this?" Liam piped up from beside him and Niall's eyes squeezed closed and he groaned. Liam's head had popped up, his phone forgotten in his lap, and he'd turned wide eyes on Niall's prone form. Niall glared harder at Harry, who was trying not to grin. Liam's head snapped back and forth between the two men, catching Niall's glare and Harry's smirk, before he turned to regard Niall fully.

"Niall?"

He crossed his arms, slumped down on the couch, and his scowl deepened. He hated when this happened, they couldn't leave well enough alone. Harry knew he didn't want to talk about it, but he pushed anyway, prodded at him until he didn't have a choice. He should have known better.

"Niall's got a girlfriend," Harry offered without looking up. Liam's eyes widened, if that was possible, and his eyebrows were almost in his hairline when he turned back to Niall.

"That's great, man!" Liam exclaimed, a smile lighting up his face. Niall only grunted in response, but Liam's expression didn't change. Instead, he leaned over and gave Niall a light shove with his elbow. He shot the grinning man a glare, his brow furrowed in a way that usually made the others shut up and leave him alone.

Just his luck, it didn't work.

"Christina, is it?" Liam asked, glancing at Harry for verification, then back at Niall, who's pout only seemed to be getting worse. "She must really be something if you're this unwilling to talk about her."

There was silence as the two boys waited for him to answer, but he just sat there and watched Julian dance to the music playing through his headphones, head bopping and a wide grin on his face. If he wanted to tell them anything about her, he'd do it on his terms. They couldn't make him talk if he didn't want to.

It didn't take more than five minutes for Liam to pick his phone back up, texting away to Sophia quickly. Harry continued to swipe through his own phone, and Niall couldn't help but feel pleased that he'd held his own. Tuning out, he picked up his phone from where it had fallen on the table and pulled up Instagram, intent on catching up with everything he'd missed in the last hour.

He was so immersed in the happenings on his phone that he missed Liam and Harry's renewed conversation. He wasn't even sure how long they'd been talking when he clued in at the sound of his own name.

"...and the way he was smiling," Harry was explaining to Liam, a small grin on his face. "Not to mention the way she held her own against Louis."

"Against Louis? You're kidding," Liam commented, looking impressed. He gave a chuckle and leaned back against the couch.

"It was really something to see," Harry agreed. "He can be a bit ruthless at times. Granted, she'd just finished taking the piss out of Niall, so I can't say I was all that surprised."

Liam gave a snort and a rueful little grin. "Let me guess. They ganged up on him."

“Of course they did. I almost lost it when she started throwing out new hashtags for him to use. Then Louis joined in and you know how Niall gets a little grumpy when he’s ganged up on."
Harry stated, glancing over at Niall with a knowing look. The scowl on Niall's face deepened, his eyebrows furrowing as he sat up straight in his seat.

"I do not get grumpy," he argued, but he knew even before the words had left his mouth that it was a lie. Still, he couldn't just sit back and listen to them poke at him like he wasn't even in the room. A man needed to stand up for himself!

Liam turned to him slowly, an eyebrow raised and a suspicious look on his face. From across the table, he could hear Harry rebutting, "Not when Christina is the one teasing you."

"Maybe t'at's because her apologies are better than yours." he quipped, trying to fight the smug little smirk on his face as he remembered her apology that night. She could say anything she wanted if her mouth followed up with those sweet kisses. There was a pause before Liam spoke again.

"I genuinely considered offering you apologies like hers, but I don't want to know what she'd have to do to make you look like that."

Harry's laugh echoed throughout the room, only intensifying when Julian turned a confused face to them. Niall couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. Even in a terrible mood, they knew how to make him smile, and he'd always love them for that.

"How long has it been?" Liam asked, curiosity clear in his voice. Julian's voice rang out in the room, calling Liam to work, and he stood as Niall's mouth opened.

"A few weeks, maybe a month. Don't know, it's not like I've been marking the days off on me calendar." He retorted. Both boys laughed at that, Liam's head shaking as he walked off towards the booth. Niall leaned back against the couch, propped his feet up on the table, and threw an arm behind his head in an effort to get comfortable. These recording sessions had a tendency to drag on, he could be here for hours upon hours before Julian was happy with their work. He checked the time on his phone, did some mental calculations, and hoped that today wasn't one of the long days.

"Have you got any plans tonight?" Harry asked after a few minutes. He was looking at his phone, but it was obvious that he was speaking to Niall.

"Takin' Christina out t' dinner," he answered without looking up, because he honestly didn't want to talk about this. Harry didn't need to know that he was planning to take her out to a really nice restaurant, or that he'd bought a new outfit just for the occasion. He'd never leave it alone.

"Where to?" Such an innocent question, unless Harry was the one asking. He mumbled his answer, hoping that his friend would get the hint and leave it alone. He knew Harry better than that, though.

"Nice place, mate. She'll love it," was Harry's response. He paused before adding, "Must be pretty serious if you're thinking about taking her there."

Niall glanced up, but kept his mouth shut. Harry's ability to read him was uncanny. They'd always got on well, possibly better than he got on with any of the other lads, and Harry could always seem to tell what was on his mind. He'd never admit it, but it was nice to have someone around that knew him that well, and he hoped beyond hope that he could get to this point with Christina. He wanted it, needed it.

"I know you want to talk about this, Ni, you might as well tell me."

He heaved a massive sigh before training his gaze across the table. Harry was looking at him expectantly, not a trace of his former humor left in his stare. He was genuinely interested, had no intention of joking around anymore.

"She's amazing, Harry. Truly amazing," he blurted out before he could stop himself. Harry's expression didn't change, Julian didn't turn around in surprise. Nothing changed, but Niall felt something in him shift, fall into place at the admission. "She makes me feel like I can do anythin'."

"Sounds like you're pretty crazy about her," Harry commented, leaning forward in his seat with growing interest. "It's been a long time since I've seen you like this."

"She just.... I don't know," he trailed off, glancing around the room and trying to collect his thoughts. "She makes me want t' be a better person, ya know? She's so good and kind and loving and beautiful, God. She's so fucking beautiful. And funny, and creative and sexy. She's everything, and I see t'at when I look at her, mate. I see it all."

Harry's eyes went a little wide at this, but he didn't say a word, only watched him with interest. He dropped his head, hands fidgeting with his phone before he continued.

"She makes me feel the way watching a sunrise feels, like anything could happen. She gives me hope."

"Bloody hell," Harry muttered, sitting back heavily. "I knew it was serious, but I hadn't realized that you were...."

"I know," Niall interrupted, shaking his head ruefully but smiling the entire time. "I'm fallin' in love with her."

His friend smiled across the room, his mouth opening to say something, but Julian let out a loud whoop that had Liam bursting back into the room with an ecstatic grin on his face.

"That's it!" He exclaimed loudly, and Julian let out a shout of joy. "We're done!"

He sauntered over, pulling his phone out of his pocket and regarding it closely as he dropped back in his seat next to Niall. Niall watched the entire thing through a hazy lens, still completely taken aback by his admission. He'd wondered, thought about it, for long enough. But saying it out loud and to his best mate, made it seem so real.

"Soph says we're having a party next weekend so she can meet Christina and it's not optional." Liam stated, glancing at him before turning his attention back to his phone and typing out a reply. "She's already sent out the invites, so you know what that means."

Despite the grin on Liam's face, Niall couldn't help the feeling of dread that rose in his stomach. Introducing his girlfriend to Liam and Sophia was quickly beginning to feel like introducing her to his parents.

"Ya already told Sophia?!" He asked, feeling maybe a little frantic. This wasn't going at all how he'd wanted it to. "Might as well start writin' t'e press release now." He muttered, immediately hoping that they hadn't heard him. Liam leveled him with a look, eyebrows slightly raised.

"I know that look on your face, Niall, this is serious. You know how Soph is, of course I told her." Liam explained calmly, his eyebrows raising higher at the end. "So text your girl and tell her you're coming over for steak on the grill and lots of wine, and tell her she doesn't have a choice."

---

"No, definitely not that one," Kelly stated decisively, her head shaking and a wide look in her eyes. "Unless you want to look pregnant?"

Christina made a face and immediately started to pull the dress over her head, throwing it onto the ever-growing pile of rejected outfits. Kelly moved her leg out of the way of the garment and her eyes twinkled with mirth.

"This is getting ridiculous." Christina muttered from the depths of her closet. She'd had four solid ideas for this date, four perfect outfits. One had a giant rip in the hem, another had a disgusting stain (of what, she hadn't the faintest clue), and neither of the other two fit how she wanted. She'd called Kelly near tears, demanding a bottle of wine and some friendly advice. She'd gotten the wine, but the advice had quickly morphed into a critical eye that had rejected everything she'd pulled out of her closet.

"It's impossible that you have nothing. There's got to be something in there," Kelly argued, waving her wine glass in the direction of the closet.

Christina rifled through the remaining items hanging in her closet and heaved a big sigh. Nothing was right, nothing was good enough. She wanted to simultaneously look pretty and beautiful and sexy and alluring and cute. That shouldn't be too hard, so why was nothing good enough?

"What's going on with you?" Kelly asked suddenly, her tone changing from amused to something more serious. Christina poked her head out of the closet, brows furrowed and mouth turned down in some semblance of a frown.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're freaking out about a date. You never do this." Her friend pointed out, still gesturing with the glass in her hand.

"I am not freaking out. I just have nothing to wear." She argued, and even she could hear the childish tone her voice had taken on. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that Kelly wouldn't comment on it.

"Aren't we a little defensive...." Of course, she knew Kelly better than that.

Reaching an arm out of the closet, she grabbed her glass and took a big gulp of her wine before answering. "I'm not freaking out, it's just....."

She took another sip of her wine and leaned up against the door jam. Kelly was watching her expectantly, and she raised an eyebrow as she said, "I can feel your brain overheating from here. What's going on?"

"I don't know. It's just all..." she trailed off again and huffed loudly. "It's hard to explain! It just feels different."

"The date?"

"No, everything. All of it." Christina sighed again and drained her glass.

"I'm going to need more of an explanation than that." Kelly demanded, and she sat back against the headboard of Christina's bed, her ass scooching back and forth to make herself comfortable. Christina shook her head and reached for the bottle of wine, emptying it into her glass before taking another generous drink.

"This date feels huge." She admitted with a shrug, as if the movement was enough to dismiss the weight on her chest. "I feel a little overwhelmed."

"By what?" Kelly asked directly.

She took a deep breath before answering, "I don't think I've ever felt this strongly about anyone so quickly before. It's like I got hit by a train. A big, fast one. It makes my chest clench all the fucking time. I miss him when he's gone, I can't stop thinking about him. I can't stop staring at him when he's there. I hear his voice and it makes me smile. I feel like I can't contain it."

From the bed, Kelly was leaning back against her pillows, swirling her wine in the glass and grinning. "This isn't the end of the world, Christina. In fact, it's disgustingly sweet."

"Shut up." Christina muttered, turning back to her closet and half heartedly rifling through the clothes again. Her shoulders slumped and she quickly turned back around. "What is even happening?"

"Oh, Chris, I think it might be time to admit that you're..." Kelly started, but Christina had already held up a hand to stop her.

"I know, you don't have to tell me. I've been denying it for weeks. I'm falling in love with him." Kelly's grin widened and Christina let out a groan. "You could maybe not look so smug."

"You're adorable. Come on, let's find you something to wear that'll knock his socks off." Kelly stated, bounding up off the bed and walking purposefully into the closet. She immediately grabbed a bag from the front of the closet and held it up. "What about this?"

The dress was one she'd bought just for this night, but had quickly been put aside. It was a black lace dress with beautiful sleeves and a modest neckline. It had cost her a fair bit, and she'd felt so confident about it when she'd tried it on in the store, but the minute she'd put it on earlier, it had felt completely wrong. Something about it just didn't feel right. As Kelly pulled the bag up off the hanger, the feeling came back all over again.

"Damn, this is sexy. Why aren't you wearing this?"

"It's black, you know I don't like black. And it just felt wrong." She told Kelly, eyeing the dress critically all over again. Kelly rolled her eyes.

"Don't be picky. Go put it on." She demanded, thrusting the dress in her friend's face.

Christina made an unhappy face, but she disappeared into the bathroom to change nonetheless. When she came out, Kelly's mouth fell open and she began to wonder if she'd judged this dress too soon.

"Look at your back in that, holy shit!" Kelly admired, walking once around Christina and taking in the dress. The reason she'd bought it was the back - it was open, showing off her back beautifully. She thought Niall would love it.

"I'm still not sure about it." Christina commented, certainly sounding unsure. "It's just so black."

"That is the flimsiest excuse I've ever heard out of you." Kelly quipped, disappearing into the closet and coming out with a pair of shoes in one hand and a belt in the other. "Here, put these on."

Christina took the items thrust in her face and easily stood into the heels, then wrapped the belt around her waist and looked in the mirror. The belt was red, bright and vibrant against the black lace of the dress, and the shoes were her black Louboutins. The red of the belt combined with the red peeping out under the stilettos gave a bright contrast to the dark dress. She smiled at the sight.

"He won't know what hit him."

---

Niall was punctual, as always, knocking on her door at precisely six o'clock. The smile on his face widened when Christina opened the door wide, clutch and keys already in her hand. It hadn't taken long for Kelly to give her hair a soft curl, and they'd had her make-up applied in record time. The hardest part, after picking the dress, was waiting. She'd had just enough time to really worry about everything before his knock had echoed throughout her apartment.

He dropped a very sweet kiss to her cheek after she'd locked the door and led the way out to his car. She'd had no trouble navigating the stairs in her heels, a small victory when they were at least four inches high. The highlight of the first five minutes, though, had the be the sound that came out of his mouth when a finger had brushed against the bare skin of her back.

They'd been walking down the sidewalk, and he'd placed a hand on the small of her back to help guide her around a particularly nasty hole. She would have had no trouble making it around the hole - she lived here, she avoided it every day - but the gesture was adorable and she wasn't one to stop him from touching her. Most of his hand had landed on black lace, warming the fabric quite thoroughly. A rough pad of one finger, however, had just barely caught the bare skin that she'd so daringly displayed and his entire being had tensed up beside her. He'd stopped walking, eyes wide as they darted down to her back as she surpassed him on the sidewalk. With a grin, she stopped and turned back to him.

"What is it?" she asked, despite knowing full well what had stunned him.

He hadn't answered her, had only grabbed her arm lightly and spun her around. Her back was revealed to him, open to the air by the window in the back of her dress and illuminated by the streetlamp above them. He blew out a breath and looked back up at her.

"Damn." he'd muttered, and that had been that.

He'd been a perfect gentleman thus far, opening her car door for her, holding her hand, pulling out her seat. He'd let her order an expensive bottle of wine without blinking and smiled over his glass as he sipped the white liquid, commending her taste. They'd been seated in a secluded corner per his request, but his eyes had never once strayed from her face as they talked about what they would order.

It wasn't until the waiter had whisked away their menus with a promise that their food would arrive soon that she even noticed his nerves.

"How is your throat feeling today?" she asked. A week earlier, he'd shown up on her doorstep with a smile and barely any voice. Between late night recording sessions and an intense game of ping pong, he'd worked his voice to the breaking point. It had taken two days of drinking herbal tea and vocal rest to get him back in shape for finishing the album.

"It's better, those two days o' rest really helped. T'ankfully, there are only a few more tweaks t'at we'll need t' do before we can call t'e album done." He told her with a small smile on his face. After a month or so of seeing those smiles, it wasn't hard to notice the slight strain there.

As he kept talking, she mentally calculated how many days he'd been stuck in the studio or traveling for work. The number was high, far higher than she really wanted to acknowledge. The poor guy worked his tail off, she wasn't surprised that his body broke down from time to time. In fact, she was surprised it wasn't happening more.

"...and then Liam disappeared for an hour, no warning. Don't know what he was thinkin', Harry was livid..." he was saying with a shake of his head, a hand raising off the table to ruffle his hair slightly.

He looked adorable, clad in a pair of new black jeans (free of rips, the shock!) and a cute little short sleeved button up that she suspected had lived in Harry's closet at one time. His hair had been perfectly styled when he picked her up, but it was starting to sag a bit the more he played with it. Despite that, she thought he looked good enough to eat and the thought had her shifting slightly in her seat and closing her eyes in an attempt to cool the way her body was heating up. That could wait until later.

"But Louis kept goin' on and on about it, he wouldn't shut up! Next week, though, we're gonna have a rematch and we'll see who's laughing then," Niall kept talking, jumping topics on her with little warning. It was impressive how quickly he could shift the conversation, barely taking a breath between topics. She squinted her eyes and watched as he talked, his focus on the centerpiece between them and the fingers fiddling with the cloth napkin on his plate. With a tilt of her head, she continued to watch him.

"Derby's got a game in a few days, they're gonna kick Wolverhampton' arses. Liam and I put money down on it..." he rambled, going on and on about his favorite football club. He hadn't looked up, but she could see his eyes darting around beneath his eyelids as his fingers rolled the napkin over and over and the tablecloth gave away the bouncing off his right leg.

He was nervous, and she was finding it ridiculously endearing.

She held back the grin on her face as she reached across the table and grabbed one of his hands, pulling it away from the napkin. His eyes darted up to hers, wide and surprised.

"Niall. Are you alright?" she asked in the calmest voice she could find, because he looked a little bit like a deer in headlights. His free hand dropped the napkin and found its way to his mouth. He was about to start biting at one of his fingernails when he stopped.

"'m fine, Sunshine. Why?"

"You're rambling and fidgeting," she explained. He blinked slowly, glanced around the restaurant, then looked back at her. He seemed to think about her words for a moment before he answered her with a question.

"Have I told ya how beautiful ya look tonight?" His mouth quirked around the words and his eyes softened and she damn near melted right there.

"Only about a hundred times." She quipped, and his face split into a massive smile.

"Well let me make it a hundred an' one, gorgeous." He retorted and squeezed her hand. His mouth had just opened to continue, but their waiter appeared at just that moment with their food. Damn.

The food was amazing, as was the conversation and the way Niall's eyes never left her. He let her try a bite of his steak, and they shared a large plate of beautifully presented chocolate mousse. She lost count of the amount of wine she'd consumed, so caught up in Niall and his twinkling eyes, but they'd certainly gone through more than one bottle, and she was feeling it when she stood up at the end.

She could feel Niall's hand on her back, just below the window on her back, and he walked close to her as they left the restaurant. In the foyer, he stopped and pulled out his phone.

"Let me just call t'e car 'round," he muttered, dialing with one hand so he could leave the other against her.

"We can just walk. It's not far and it's beautiful out." She suggested, already moving towards the door. He followed her with his hand still on her back, almost subconsciously. They stepped out into the warm, breezy night.

"Are ya sure?" He asked, sounding a little uneasy, but she just threw a smile at him and nodded.

As they turned away from the restaurant, his hand shifted, fingertips just brushing against the skin of her back and making her shudder. He leaned closer, fingertips rubbing light circles, as he whispered roughly, "'ve been wanting t' touch ya since I saw this damn dress. Yer drivin' me crazy."

She felt her whole body light up at his words, electricity running from his fingers, through her spine and radiating out to the tips of her fingers and toes. She shivered and glanced over at him. He was looking at her through slightly lidded eyes, his mouth open slightly and looking immensely kissable at that moment.

She had just turned around when they were approached by a pair of girls maybe one or two years younger, their faces bright with smiles. She smiled inwardly at the slight groan Niall gave and stepped to the side, pulling herself out of his grip quickly.

"Oh my God," one of the girls said, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Hey, girls. How are ya?" He asked, reaching for the papers and markers in their hands. Christina watched with amusement as they both giggled and stared at him adoringly. He was quick with them, exchanging pleasantries and smiling tightly. He kept glancing over at her with an apologetic look on his face as one of the girls told him how important One Direction was to her. Christina only smiled back. She'd never seen him with fans before and she was interested to see this side of him. He managed to easily come across as friendly while not giving them much of him personally.

He was starting to pull back when she leaned forward and offered to take a picture for the girls. Niall's eyes went wide and he gave her a sort of pleading look, but she only kept smiling and accepted both of the phones that were quickly shoved her way. To his credit, he pulled off a stunning smile for both photos, and then he was all grateful encouragement as the girls went on their way.

"Sorry 'bout that. They can be a little relentless if ya don't give 'em time." He apologized as they continued their walk. He was tense and kept glancing over his shoulder as they walked the last half block to the car.

"It's completely okay, Niall. I liked watching you with your fans." She explained, but it did little to change this shift in his mood.

"I hope they don't post nothin' 'bout ya." He muttered as they reached the car. He reached forward to open the door, but she put her hand on the window and held it closed.

"Niall, nothing bad is going to happen. It's dark out here, they didn't take my picture. They don't even know my name," she reassured him, putting her face in his line of sight and catching his attention.

"I jus' don't want t'e fans t' do anything crazy," he admitted. "They can go overboard at times an' I didn't want ya t' have t' deal with that."

She gave him a smile, touched by his protective nature, and leaned forward to drop a sweet kiss on his lips.

"Don't let it bother you, Baby. I'm not worried. Now why don't we go home."

He still seemed a little edgy by the time they make it back to her apartment, but she didn't want this one small interaction to affect the entire night. Pulling him into the living room, she pushed him down on the couch and climbed into his lap.

"Put your hands on me." She demanded, grabbing his wrists and raising his hands from his sides. He looked up at her with a slightly dazed expression, but she didn't have to say it again. His arms wrapped around her hips, hands finding the bare skin on her back. He flattened his warm palms against her, pulling her into him with a groan.

"You're a fucking tease, Sunshine." He rumbled before capturing her lips in a searing kiss, his hands pressing her fully against him. She whimpered into his mouth and melted against him as he kissed her so thoroughly that she could feel the heat pooling between her legs and her body responded immediately.

She pulled away with a wrench, standing from the couch with a devilish grin. She held his gaze as her hands went to the back of her neck, flicking open the two buttons there and fully opening the back of the dress. With a quirk of her eyebrow, she stepped away, baring her back to him. He made a sound deep in his throat as the lace fell away. Pulled from her arms, the dress fell to the floor in a pile. She stepped out of it and with barely a glance over her shoulder, walked away towards her bedroom in only a lacy pair of panties and her Louboutins.

It didn't take him long to follow.

Notes

As always, I'd love to hear what you think!

You can find some extra blurbs for the story over at ohteefour.tumblr.com