Strictly Professional

54: Reputation

ELLE
You & I-One Direction

My excitement for the holidays was accompanied with just as many nerves. It was almost impossible for me to fathom that soon, my family would meet Niall's. I never expected I'd be in this position with anyone, let alone him of all people. But I was happy it was him after all, because I wouldn't want anyone else in his place.

When I called my mother a few days after Niall's initial suggestion to spend Christmas all together, she was taken by shock. I don't blame her, I've only been with Niall for barely two years, only sharing a place with him officially for a few weeks. I knew she could be thinking that maybe this was moving too fast. I was twenty four after all. But Niall had already turned thirty one. His idea of what he wanted his life to look like in the next couple of years was completely different to what my mother could've envisioned for me.

I knew Niall was hoping to start a family soon. He never said anything, but I'd catch him looking at babies in public with a longing, warm smile. I wanted to become a mother someday too, but I hadn't thought about family and marriage so soon in my life. At least not until him. He wasn't pressuring me. Hell, he hadn't even mentioned anything to me about any of it, probably worried he'd scare me away. But he wouldn't. And to prove that to him, I agreed on taking the big step of our families meeting.

Though a bit reluctant, my mother agreed with not that much convincing. Anna said yes before I even got to finish what I wanted to say, only setting the condition of bringing Zayn along. I didn't mind, and neither did Niall when I asked him about it, so we agreed. Michael was shocked to get the invitation, though he told me he knew it would happen sooner or later. He was worried about making such a big trip in such short notice, but he seemed excited to get to do it.

Niall basically forced me to let him cover everyone's tickets. It led to quite a fight when he just announced that he would and I did threaten him I'd make him sleep on the couch. But as always, he found a way to sway me and get his way.

Damn him and his Irish charm.

I had plenty of time to think about everything that could possibly happen in the following few days when I was flying back to Dublin from London, after I had stayed there for a few days due to some work responsibilities. It was Christmas Eve, and my family would be flying in tomorrow. However, Niall and I were set to drive to his hometown tonight and spend the night there. I didn't mind. I always felt more than welcomed by Maura.

Niall picked me up from the airport and we went home, finishing up packing enough for a couple days before we were back in the car on our way to his hometown. I was growing more anxious the longer time went by. I couldn't believe tomorrow was the big day.

"Are you nervous?" I quietly asked Niall, twisting the spinning part of his ring as I held his hand while he drove. He glanced at me, a small smile breaking onto his pink lips.

"A little. But I know they're gonna get along just fine." His gentle tone and the squeeze on my hand were enough to bring me some reassurance. I sighed deeply, resting my head onto the headrest of the plush leather seat.

"Thank you for flying them here, and for getting a car to bring them from the airport." It felt like I had thanked him over a dozen times already, but I honestly couldn't find another way to show him how grateful I was. Niall always was very generous when it came to money, to the point where it could be a bit too much. Coming from a household that didn't have that much, I was brought up to always be careful with my money. I was taught from a young age how to avoid being wasteful and how to be smart with my finances. Allowing Niall to just spend amounts of money that I found ridiculous never quite sat right with me. But after countless times of having the same conversations with him, I had given up on trying to stop him.