Count On Me | Niam

Count On Christmas

Christmas 2010

"Hey, Niall. Less of that."

"Less of what?" Looking away from his phone as his cousin chastised him, Niall pasted a smile on his face, shifting himself out of her boyfriend's way with some difficulty as Reece pushed past, carrying their new baby so the infant could be placed in the temporary cot set up by the Christmas tree.

"You know what, come on. Cheer up, yeah? Just for today. Tomorrow you can go back to hating him, and being miserable, but not today. Not on Christmas." Taking his phone from him, his cousin pulled him in for a gentle if slightly awkward hug. For saying he was just five months along, Niall had a similar sized baby bump to the one Missy had sported when she was seven months, and that made pretty much everything more difficult.

He gave her a grudging space, running a hand through his hair before he nodded, joining her and Reece and baby Matthew by the tree, the smile on his face becoming a little less forced as they put a CD into the player, all the classic Christmas songs beginning to play softly in the background as presents were shared around, the little velvet box Niall had seen Reece carrying around for weeks being produced from somewhere, causing his cousin to let out a cry of delight.

Niall ended up cuddling Matthew as Missy and Reece got lost together for a moment, the ring distracting his cousin for the best part of an hour before they let the other festivities resume, unwrapping presents left for Matthew that the uninterested three-month-old slept through, aww-ing over onesies and plush toys that were gifts from Missy's other family and friends before it seemed to be Niall's turn.

He was left looking on in confusion as he opened an envelope containing details of a studio apartment for rent, and a lease already filled out in his name, a gift from his cousin that, 'wasn't a message telling him to get out, God, no,' but was an opportunity, 'there whenever he wanted it, an apartment already covered with a deposit and first month's rent paid.'

Left speechless, Niall could only think of the possibilities such a gift meant for him, the proverbial step in the right direction, providing him with a way to start actually sorting out the future, which was something he hadn't really thought about doing. It was more than generous, really, considering Missy and Reece had already done so much for him, and it left him smiling, properly, genuinely, hopeful for the first time since his parents had called, only to ask him to return his key.

Taking Niall's silence to be a bad thing, Missy began tripping over herself to explain. "It's a flat that belongs to a friend of ours, we just thought you might want your own space, for your own family. You don't have to go, don't think I'm abandoning you, you know Reece and I aren't planning to move close to his family in the States for months, we just thought-"

Waving away her doubts, Niall pulled her in for anther slightly difficult hug, tears of his own threatening to spill over as he was presented with another gift. "This- This...I can't."

"It's a gift, Niall. Take it. It's from our friends, and your brother, too." Well used to emotions outburst by this point, Reece handed over a box of tissues as he spoke, a faint smile on his face as Niall held the two hundred pound gift card for Babies R Us in his hands, staring at it as though it was the rarest, most precious thing he'd ever seen.

In a way, it was. Like the flat, it was a means of independence, preparing for the future, and making it so that he'd be able to land on his feet, get his life back on track without living with his cousin and cramping her and her family forever.

Receiving another hug, Missy pressed a faint kiss to his cheek and grinned at her younger cousin as she said, "Happy Christmas."

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