Unwritten [ A Niall Horan AU ]

epilogue

3 Months Later

India is hotter than anywhere else in the world during the summer, Niall's sure of it. It's only 8 am and he's already sweating. But he's also sure that it's the most beautiful place he has ever been in the world. After their week-long trip, hitting up different cities all along the Ganges River, he's still wide-eyed at everything around him. Although he's been in awe of everything – from the food to the people to how every single moment in this country is bursting with life, Niall's never felt as peaceful and surprised as he does when they take their first steps into the historic city of Varanasi.

He's sitting on one of the towering steps that are perched against the bank of the river, watching the life all around him. Women in colorful saris are washing clothes in a small area to his right. Orange cloth wearing priests are gathered together near the entrance of the temple that's at the top of the stairs. There's children running around near the bank, playfully splashing water at each other. He can spot a herd of cows slowly making their way towards the water in the corner of his eye, their tails swinging contently. The boats that line the pier are starting to be untied, ready to set out for the day.

Niall's not a religious man, but it's impossible for him to deny the animated spirituality all around him. There's countless reasons as to why this is the most sacred, most holy city in the country.

When Neha had asked him to accompany her over breakfast a few weeks ago, he'd been shocked. Neha had come so far from the girl he met all those months ago; slowly but surely working to confront her grief. He knew this ritual was a big deal, something that she'd been putting off for as long as possible and frankly he still feels quite honored that she asked him to come with.

She'd come a long way, his beautiful, strong and silly girl. While the grief is something she would always live with, it no longer consumed her entire being. The shop is doing better than ever, not completely bouncing back, but enough so for things to get running again. It too is a work in progress. Niall still works at the firm, but he takes on fewer cases these days and is particular about which ones he decides to jump in on. Neha helps him with that, screening through files at night. They'd moved in together just last month, Isabella retaining their old apartment (although she was over as much as possible).

He's often struck by how much of an effect Neha has had on his life. She's opened his eyes to so many things and he doesn't dare wonder what his life would be like if he didn't have her. He loves her so fiercely and it hits him in the most random moments. Like when he watches her fixing shelves at the shop, or smiling at something, or when she coaxes him away from his work when he's working himself into the ground. A part of him has known since that first day in the shop — she's his, and he's hers; and for the first time in his life Niall is willing to invest himself entirely in someone else. The weight of the love he has for Neha only grows stronger with each day he spends with her.

Niall taught Neha that letting go doesn't necessarily mean forgetting and Neha taught him that not everything in life can be calculated. They may be opposites, yes, but that's what makes them love each other. It's not that they love each other in spite of their differences, really, it's that they love each other because of them.