A.N.: I don't think I've ever posted the twins on here yet! I've got a lot more on my tumblr!
And Niall knows that he shouldn’t panic when James crawls out of bed, checking his pager when he’s on call at the fire station before he rushes out of their flat with only the faintest brush of a kiss against Niall’s forehead. And Niall doesn’t really mean to sit up all night, worrying the blanket between his fingers as he waits for James to come back or, or the phone call with the bad news that he prays he’ll never get.
Niall torments himself with thoughts of the blaze, the inferno, the panic, so much so that he has to sit out on the fire escape to cool himself down again, leaning his forehead gently against the metal pole as he takes easy breathes in and out and in and out to calm himself down. Niall’s outside so, naturally, he doesn’t hear the front door open, the sound of James dropping his shirt onto the back of the couch before padding toward the bedroom, walking back once he finds that Niall isn’t where he left him.
Niall twists around when he hears the back door whisper open, smiles weakly as James steps outside to hunch behind him. “Hey,” James breathes softly, pressing the tips of his fingers gently against Niall’s cold stone cheek before he traces the unhappy line of Niall’s chapped lip. “What’cha doing out here?”
Niall licks at his lips when James pulls away, chasing the taste of a fingerprint of soot against his skin before he shrugs. “You know,” He hugs his knees tighter to his chest even as he can feel his heart easing up now that James is back home, back where he belongs. “How bad was it?” Niall asks, not because he wants to know, but because he has to know deep down, for reasons unknown to himself.
"Uh," James sinks down behind Niall, letting his legs stretch out around him before he wraps his arms around Niall’s waist lightly, hooking his chin over Niall’s shoulder so the sheer smell of ash just consumes him completely. "Four?" James offers like he’s counting the blaze on a hospital chart of pain and Niall hates the fact that a four is considered good.
Niall sighs, hunches a little over so that James’ chest follows the curve of his back and they stay pressed as close together. “You smell bad.” Niall mumbles after ages of them just sitting in amicable silence, breathing in tandem like one person instead of two.
James muffles a chuckle into the nape of Niall’s neck and hugs Niall back with a press on his stomach as if they could get any closer. “Help me in the shower then?” James asks and Niall doesn’t know how on earth he can say no. Even if he cries a little at the way he can never quite get the taste of ash off James’ skin.
