I enjoyed the pancakes quietly for a few minutes while Niall read the paper. Eventually I finished, fork scraping against an empty plate.
"Here, let me take that for you," he murmured, grabbing my plate and putting it in the dishwasher.
"Thank you," I sighed, leaning back in the chair, feeling full, warm, and happy. "That was really good."
"Glad you enjoyed," Niall said, smiling and sitting back down. "So," he began and I groaned.
"No," I told him, know what he was about to do.
"No what? I haven't even said anything yet," he laughed.
"I know you're going to harass me and I just wanna sit and not be harassed."
"Well, I know you, and how you try and push through everything. I think I have a reason to harass you," he said, locking his gaze with mine, the traces of amusement fading into a serious expression.
"Then I should be able to harass you for the same reason," I pointed out. "How do I know you're not sick?"
Niall raised an eyebrow. "Well, that was an impressive attempt at deflecting," he said.
"Was it?" I asked. "Because I think it's a valid question."
"Well, I think you're stubborn enough that you should've been split with a donkey," he retorted.
"Wow, rude, much?"
"Yes. It's part of my roguish charm," he said nonchalantly.
"Roguish, maybe. Charm? Not so much," I replied.
"Now who's the rude one?"
"Still you," I said.
Niall didn't respond to that. "So, how are you feeling?" he finally asked, repeating his earlier question with a renewed emphasis.
I sighed.
YOU ARE READING
It's in the Genes
Science FictionThanks to modern science, this family of four's DNA was spliced with animal genes. They may have escaped the cultish laboratory of their youth, but now have to navigate normal human life without exposing their secret. Frustrating enough on a regular...