Harry and Niall were never able to correlate their schedules enough to where they could go out. There were many nights that they would come home, but were too tired to leave the house. Picnic dates in their living room would have to suffice until Niall was out of classes for the summer.
Harry would never let Niall cancel on his friends during the weekends, and Niall didn't want to bother Harry too much after work during the week. It's gotten to the point again where Niall doesn't even ask if Harry wants to tag along, or if he'd rather Niall didn't go. Their time spent together had grown limited, and it seems that they spend more time together when they're asleep than they do any other time. Sometimes, very rarely, Niall or Harry would get home around the exact same time, and they would cook dinner together as a way of bonding. Yet, due to their exhaustion after class and work, that was the most they could do before Harry would drag himself to bed, as Niall continued course work and revising for his final exams, which are getting closer and more intimidating each day.
Niall's schedule of coming to bed late during the night, sometimes crawling in after three, became almost a nightly occurrence. Harry had grown so used to it that he doesn't wake up when he does so. Sadly, Niall's insomnia has started to take over his sleep schedule, as it seems that every night, around 3:30 or 4, Niall would be awoken by sudden pains in his stomach. He's too proud to let Harry know, if he doesn't already, but he does have an annual doctor's check-up on Friday that might be able to help him out a bit.
Niall doesn't like looking anything up when something seems detrimental to his health, as it seems that the internet likes to dramatize everything, and it would make him more worried than he believes he should be.
Little to his knowledge, Harry already does know about Niall's nightly occurrences, only, he doesn't know exactly what's keeping the boy awake. Niall downplays everything, as he doesn't want to worry his lover, so Harry had done some investigating during the weekends when Niall is out with friends, whether he be studying or at the pub. Harry hasn't been able to pinpoint anything around the house, and is hoping he'll be able to figure something out during the coming nights. Niall rarely ever leaves the bed during his pains, but would instead just sit up and look at himself in the mirror on their dresser that's directly in front of their bed, which makes Harry wonder if something is really wrong with Niall at all.
Niall never leaves the bed, solely because most of his pains usually wear off after half an hour or so, and most nauseous feelings go away as long as he stays sitting up during the time that his pains appear. He also doesn't want to cause a ruckus, as he did on the first night this occurred, and accidentally wake Harry up. The last thing he needs is Harry badgering him for information he doesn't have. Not only that, but Harry would automatically assume the worst, and jump to conclusions and immediately make Niall see someone.
When Niall returned home that Friday, he couldn't stop wondering if the doctor was correct by sending Niall home without a proper diagnosis. Niall had mentioned that it had been a nightly occurrence, pointing to the regions where he had felt pain the most. He mentioned the nausea and the toll it has been taking on his sleep patterns. Yet, the doctor only noted that it was probably a bit of stress and unhealthy eating habits that were affecting him so much. He had advised Niall to take it a bit easier to see if that helps it, but Niall knew that he wouldn't be able to do that very well, with how close the end of his semester was. Niall did plan on spending less time going out to the pub on the weekends, hoping to whittle it back to only Friday nights, leaving Saturday and Sunday to rest his body.
While Niall had been getting ready to leave, Harry had just walked into the apartment after a long day of work, and an even more exhausting drive home through unbearable traffic. Harry smiled at his lover when he entered their room, only getting a nod in return. "You off?" Harry asked as he started to take his own clothes off.
"Yeah, Brez is gonna be picking me up." Niall replied as he decided to go with a short-sleeve instead, peeling off the long blue shirt he had tried on before. It's still pretty cold, but the pub wouldn't be, so he'll just bring a jacket.
Harry looked at Niall strangely, but the look didn't last long as he tripped over by trying to take one of his boots off. "Oh? Breslin will be picking you up? Where are you two off to?"
"We're just going to the pub," Niall takes his time while looking for a nice t-shirt, holding in his laugh when Harry has to lean against the bed in order to get his boot off. "Brez thought that it'd be a good idea if we'd go together and meet Conor and Laura. Since I seem to get a bit more smashed than he does, he offered to drive me home tonight."
"Oh," Harry is finally able to drop the boots down, and begins to unbutton his shirt. "Well, that was nice of him. When do you think you'll be home?" Harry gets slightly suspicious; Niall had never rode with Bressie before, not that he knows of.
"Normal time, probably. But don't worry, you'll get me all day tomorrow." Niall sends a cheeky smile at Harry, who stops what he's doing to look back up at Niall.
"You don't have any plans tomorrow?" His eyes are shining. "Wait, don't tell me you canceled on your friends just so you could stay home with me. You know I don't want you to ever do that for me."
"Nah, it's more for me. I went to the doctor today."
"What?" Harry stands up quickly, striding over to Niall. "Is something wrong? Are you okay? Why didn't you tell me?"
Niall laughs at Harry's worried tone, putting his hands on Harry's shoulders. "I'm fine, baby. It was just a checkup. The doctor told me that I seemed kind of stressed," Niall decided not to mention his lack of sleep, because he knows it would worry him even more. "So he told me to take it a bit easier until I get back on the right track."
"Mm, that's great, love. I wish you would have told me that you had a checkup; I would have gone with you," Harry smiles at his lover. He knows that Niall doesn't need him there with him, but Harry loves going with Niall, just to make sure Nial follows all the directions and tasks that the doctor told him to do. He also likes to know if Niall's okay, even if it is just a checkup.
"I didn't want it to interfere with your work schedule, even though I know you're gonna say 'oh you could never interfere' because I know how you are," Niall laughs when Harry glares at him playfully. "And it was just something that I needed to do on my own. You don't always have to come with me when I have a check-up, or a dentist's appointment, or something like that."
Although Niall didn't say it with a harsh tone, Harry took slight offense to it. Niall knows how much Harry loves to make sure he's okay, and that's the only reason he comes with him. But, Harry doesn't say anything, because he knows Niall didn't mean it like that, so instead, he asks, "Mhm, how's everything else, then? Did he give you any instructions on what you should do to combat this stress, or anything else regarding your health?"
"Nah," Niall shakes his head, turning back around so he could look in the mirror, pulling the shirt down a further before deciding on a pair of black trousers. "He just told me to lighten my work-load if I could, and take it a bit easy when it comes to my eating. Apparently, I've actually gained some weight." Harry laughs, as they both know Niall has a tough time gaining weight, with how fast his metabolism is. "That's why I've decided to lighten my pub visits with friends, because I'm pretty sure it's all the drinking that's added a few pounds. From now on, I'll be going back to strictly Friday nights."
"Oh, love, do you think that's the right thing to do?" Harry inquires. He know how stress can affect a person, as he had copious amounts to deal with when he was in school, that sometimes lead to sudden panic attacks before or after major tests, as he'd worry too much about them. He had done something similar to Niall; he focused most of his life on his studies and cut out almost all interaction with other people outside of group projects. His life had become miserable, and the night before a major test, Harry had actually thrown up due to stress, anxiety, and lack of pleasure in his life. He had been so groggy the next morning that he actually fell asleep during the exam, waking up just in time to finish everything, and thankfully, he had gotten a decent grade.
This had all happened before Niall came into his life, nearly seven years ago at this stage, and he's unsure if Niall even knows that Harry has ever had serious panic attacks that nearly hospitalized him.
"What are you getting at?" Niall asks, jumping a little so his pants slide up his legs better. Maybe he has gained quite a bit of weight.
"Maybe you should cut back on revising a bit, and keep your weekend schedule pretty similar to how it is now." Niall furrows his eyebrows. "You're a social person, and you might become miserable if you drown yourself in class-work, alone."
Niall considers his options. He does like going out with his friends, but he's more worried about his school work now that there's only a few weeks left of school. Plus, he does want to lose the weight that he's gained, and cutting back on mindless drinking might help him a bit.
Harry smiles slightly, grabbing Niall's hand, "Look, you don't have to listen to me. I just know how tough school is, especially now that you're in the last month when everything seems to become more real." Harry kisses his lover's hand, before leaning forward to kiss him on the lips instead.
Niall enjoys the kiss, and tries to make Harry come back when he leans away. They finish off with a small peck. "I get what you're saying, and I'll consider it. I just want to try this way first, and if it seems things are going wrong, I'll start doing what you recommend. I just don't want to mess anything up."
"You won't, love." Harry runs his hand through Niall's hair and plays with it a bit, as Niall always does the same to him since his hair is so long and easy to mess around with. "You'll do great, and in a few years, you'll be able to graduate and all that school-stress will feel insignificant."
Niall goes to reply, but his phone goes off right at that moment. Harry drops his hands and steps back from Niall, allowing him to disappear behind him. Harry carries on with unbuttoning his shirt and discards it into their laundry bin, along with his pants and socks. He slips on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, turning around to see that Niall is texting someone with a small smile on his face.
"Brez is here." He notes to Harry, who sighs and walks over to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around him.
"Have a nice time, my love." Harry kisses his cheek and crawls into bed, setting his pillow upright against the headboard and shuffling under the covers.
Niall heads back over to the closet and closes the doors, sliding on a pair of socks and then boots. "Bye, Harry."
"I love you," Harry calls out as Niall is leaving the bedroom.
Niall glances back at Harry, who now has a book in his hands and is finding the page where he must have left his book-mark. "Love you, too."
Harry smiles, hearing the door close and beginning to read the page that he'd left off on.