The rest of his office hours pass by relatively quickly, he finishes planning the next few lessons, and Liam heads home for the day. When he gets back to the apartment, the first thing he does is turn on the radio to a station that plays soul music. He doesn't listen to it all the time, but sometimes he's just in the mood to hear something with emotion and feeling. He toes off his shoes by their closet and hangs up his blazer. Rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt and undoing the top two buttons, he gets ready to work some food magic.
Niall's an easy guy to please; Liam has always appreciated that fact. You could give him a beer and a nice cheeseburger, and he's good to go. Liam likes lowkey nights just as much, but he has slightly more refined preferences. So tonight he's cooking steaks, baked potatoes, and asparagus, and he's going to light some candles for the patio table even if he'll appreciate his own efforts more than Niall will. Liam opens a bottle of wine after he starts preparing the food, sipping from his glass while he cooks.
"Happy Valentine's Day to all my lovers out there, you know who you are," the deep, soothing voice of the radio DJ says from the speakers. "So grab your lady, grab your man, show 'em you love 'em, and enjoy the next few hours of nonstop classics that'll be sure to spread the love." The host's voice disappears and is replaced with an Otis Redding song.
After popping the baked potatoes in the oven, Liam takes the steaks and vegetables and his glass of wine out on the balcony so he can use his grill to cook them. He leaves the sliding glass door open and sways to the music as it plays from inside. "My love is growing stronger, as you become a habit to me," Liam sings along to the radio. "Oh, I've been loving you a little too long. I don't wanna stop now."
Liam keeps humming and swaying to the music, drinking his wine and maintaining the food as it cooks. It's a beautiful evening out, warm with a cool breeze and mostly clear skies, and he enjoys watching the city grow gradually more orange as the sun gets tired of shining.
Niall takes doesn't take long to come back after having spent the rest of his day with Ellie. He's walking in through the door right when Liam's plating their food.
"Hey," Niall starts with a giant smile when he sees the food. "You must have some fancy-schmancy hot date tonight."
Liam smiles as Niall comes up behind him and wraps his arms around Liam's waist. "Oh yeah, super-hot date. You should probably get out here before he comes over," Liam teases in response. Niall kisses the back of his head, then puts his face into the crook of Liam's neck and kisses his skin before blowing a raspberry and making Liam giggle like he's some kind of little girl, and Liam bats him away as he clears his throat. "Get off me, you overgrown toddler."
"Yes, sir," Niall responds with a laugh before moving to pour himself a glass of wine. "If this is your idea of my Valentine's Day present, I approve."
Liam nods, feeling successful. It's not complete yet, though, seeing as he lit candles outside so they could eat outside and watch the sunset together. "Do you want to eat outside? It's nice out."
"Let's do it." Niall grabs a plate and his wine and heads out the glass door. He sits down after admiring the view and cuts into his steak before Liam can even refill his own glass of wine. As Liam fills up his glass, Niall takes his first bite of the steak and he makes a pleased groan and rolls his eyes back. "Oh my god," he tries to say, but it's muffled by food and his fist covering his mouth.
Liam beams proudly. "Good?" Niall nods and takes Liam's wrist in his hand and pulls him down for a kiss. Niall's lips already taste like the steak marinade, and Liam's smile widens. "Good."
Liam sits in the other chair and starts eating, bobbing his head and tapping his heel to the beat of a particularly good song. "I've got sunshine," he sings despite there being food in his mouth. "-On a cloudy day. When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May."
