Saving Grace (Narry)

Seven

Seven 

"Thank God, this is the last one." Niall grumbled out as I peered up and watched him come down the stairs with our final box dedicated to our rubbish. He stacked it by the front door before stretching his back, groaning in the process because he was the one who had carried most of them down. 

I looked to him from our single couch in the the front room, just across from our computer desk. "And you did a fine job of it." I told Niall, partly to be a bit teasing. Then as he turned his head over his shoulder to send me this playful glare, I shrugged at him innocently.

It took us about a week and a half to finish cleaning out that room, which for all of the things we had in there turned out to be very a small space. How we fit numerous boxes and any other rubbish in there in the first place was beyond me. The boxes that wouldn't be thrown out still needed a home so by the weekend we would be making our way down to rent out some storage space, unless we were declined our third living arrangement. 

We hadn't heard from Zayn or Louis since the last time but we actually had plenty distractions so I wasn't overbearing my computer, laptop, or phone like I used to in the beginning. I will admit that when I do my occasional checks, seeing that I have unread mail or hearing a notification does excite something inside of me. 

Niall was still working as hard as ever, spending late nights on his computer and phone with his co-workers. I think there were even instances when he didn't even come to our room to sleep. I would walk in to see him set up at the kitchen table, without the smell of breakfast like usual. For his sake, I hoped that he would just sleep on the couch and then continue working. I didn't want his work to drain him to the point where he was exhausted and irritable. That would just cause us to fall back again. 

I got up from where I was sat and walked over to Niall, giving him a chaste kiss on his lips, which he accepted naturally from me. Since that kiss we shared, I think we've both been trying here and there to give affections to one another. We were still in that comfortable stage and neither one of us wanted to go to far and push our real troubles out of the way. That would do more damage than good and we've been doing really good lately. 

"I'm just glad this part is done." Niall said as he stretched his arms up over his head to lengthen his back. "It's one less thing I'll have on my mind."

I didn't want to make comment of his project so I kept the words to myself. Instead, I just smiled and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Well, you've been working quite hard lately. You want to finish your break with a little back rub?" I sent him a small smile when he turned his head and nodded.

"Sit on the floor by the couch then." I told him as I walked back over to the couch and sat down, pointing between my legs for where he was supposed to sit. 

He sat down with a slight groan. "Thanks, babe. I could really use this. I think I've really been straining my back from sitting behind my fucking laptop all the time." He let out a sigh as he leaned his head forward and rubbed his hand at the back of his neck. 

"Making you carry heavy boxes down the stairs probably wasn't our best decision." I couldn't help but chuckle because Niall insisted that he would be able to handle it when I offered my help. I didn't feel less of a man when he pushed it aside and went about doing it. Sometimes Niall was just too stubborn and helpful at the same time for his own damn good. 

I placed my fingers over his shoulders, seeing the traced outline of his sculpted body through his shirt, and my thumbs hooked over his shoulder blades. As I began circling my thumbs and pushing down Niall let out a series of hisses. I felt myself applying less pressure because I didn't want to hurt him