"Okay!" Niall pushes open the kitchen door and beckons Harry over from where he’s sitting in the living room. "It’s ready! You can come in!"
Harry lets out a sigh as he pushes himself up to stand, crossing the short distance. “Want to explain exactly why you condemned me to the living room for so long?”
"For this!" Niall gestures past himself into the kitchen where there are candles set up all along the counters for mood lighting and the breakfast nook is draped with a maroon table cloth, two plates of fancy food laid out on top.
"You… you made us dinner?" Harry stutters, reaching out to touch at Niall’s shoulder lightly. "Babe, I… Wow, thank you." Harry gushes, cupping Niall’s cheeks so he can just kiss him softly before he pulls away.
"Now," Niall starts, guiding Harry to his chair. "Don’t get your hopes up whatsoever for the food because I… Well, let’s just say I tried my best, okay?"
Harry laughs and ruffles Niall’s hair lightly before he sits down. “I’m sure it’ll be delicious, Niall.”
Niall sends him a sincere smile as he slides into his chair across the table and, when they both fall silent, Harry can hear the faintest hint of baroque music playing in the background and he smiles because Niall had really gone above and beyond with this and it is just the cutest thing.
But, when Harry takes a bite of his spaghetti, it is about two minutes undercooked and hard under his teeth, and Harry presses a hand to his mouth to hide his rough chewing. He looks up at Niall to meet his eyes and Harry nods his head in encouragement, letting his eyes flutter shut for a moment under the guise of pleasure.
"Really?" Niall gasps before he dives into his own plate and Harry actually winces, jerking back a little from the table. There’s a moment before Niall swears under his breath and shoves his plate away, swallowing thickly before he grunts in disgust. "You beast." He reaches across the table to bat at Harry’s arm. "You lied to me! You actually lied to me!"
"It’s just," Harry splutters, holding up his hands in shield. "You put so much effort into this, Niall, and I really appreciate everything you’ve done. Really, I do." Harry stands from the table and crouches beside Niall, takes Niall’s hands in his own. "S’not like I’m gonna say the food is lackluster."
"Lackluster?" Niall snorts, looping his arms around Harry’s shoulders. "That’s a way to put it."
Harry sighs and reaches up, touching at Niall’s shoulder lightly. “It’s okay, Niall.” Harry leans in and presses a kiss into Niall’s forehead, crawls his hand up so he can stroke his fingers into the back of Niall’s neck soothingly. “I’ll just do the cooking around here, okay?”
"Yeah," Niall lets out a soft laugh and tucks his head under Harry’s chin lightly. "Yeah, I think that’d be for the best."
