"It's already number one," Niall gushed, "it's not even been a day,"
"It's hardly been half a day," I laughed, kissing his cheek, "we have to go to rehearsal though,"
He rolled off the bed and groaned, shutting our suitcase with his foot and slipping a pair of shoes on.
We were performing our new song on the Today show, but tech was pretty early so that we'd have the day to ourselves. We'd flown out, Ashton coming to watch us. His place was small, so we couldn't stay there, but we had no trouble paying for a hotel.
Ash met us in reception, being our guide for the day.
"It's good to see you," he smiled, "I've not seen you since the wedding,"
"It's a busy job," I laughed.
"Well, I'm proud of you. I'm sure it sounds great live,"
I held Niall's hand in the back of Ash's car, noticing how tight he held it. Unusually tight. His leg was bouncing, but I put it to being nervous.
Once we arrived, we met with the producers and made sure everything was set up right. The mics worked, so we began.
However, as soon as we hit the first chorus, I knew something was wrong. He wasn't singing fully, and his face was squeezed up.
The music stopped.
"Niall? What's wrong?"
"I'm okay,"
"Niall," I persisted, Ashton jogging over to my side.
"My tooth hurts," he sighed, avoiding my eye contact.
"I'll check it out," Ashton offered.
"No, you're our tour guide,"
"And now your dentist," he mumbled.
I smiled sympathetically at Niall, holding his hand and following Ash back to the car.
Needles were Niall's least favourite thing, so this couldn't go down well at all.
"You'll be okay,"
We got back in the car, this time heading down town to a large building. Ash parked up and climbed out, opening Niall's door.
"Come on, you've got to perform later,"
"I'm fine,"
I took his hand and pulled him out the car, following Ashton into the surgery. It was a nice place, and although the didn't own it, I was glad he worked in such a pleasant environment .
We took Niall through to an exam room and Ash got set up, laying down the chair while Niall just stood, clutching my hand.
"Sit down, otherwise you'll be late,"
"It's ages away,"
"But if you're numb, you can't sing. Sit,"
Reluctantly, he laid down and let Ash put the bib on, reaching out for my hand.
The light turned on and he shrunk back, seeing me raise my eyebrows and opening his mouth.
"Thankyou,"
Ashton glances up at me, grabbing his explorer.
"Fu,"- "and that's why,"- "shi,"- "you come to the dentist more often. I hardly touched your tooth and it hurt you that much,"
"Why?"
"Because you need two root canals,"
"Niall," I mumbled.
"Are you sure?" he mumbled, biting his lip.
"Yes, I am a dentist," Ash nodded, swiping numbing gel on his gums. I held his hands, knowing it calmed him down.
"Will I be able to sing?"
"If you let me get this done,"
He nodded and I kissed him, brushing the hair from his face.
"You'll be okay,"
"Can you close your eyes?" Ashton asked, taking the needle. Niall obliged, but they shot open as the needle went in. He groaned, grabbing my hand tighter.
"It's okay,"
"Owwwwww,"
"Both over mate, keep your chin up and mouth open,"
Ashton looked at the tooth a bit more, taking the drill and grabbing Niall's attention.
"I'm gonna get on with this, you have to stay still,"
He hummed and looked up at me, taking deep breaths as Ashton cleaned out his teeth. It was an awful noise, and must've felt horrible.
"I'm gonna numb you more, you look like you're in pain,"
As Ashton went to give him another shot, he reached up- luckily I grabbed his hand.
Two more shots, and he was fed up.
"You're almost done," I assured, watching Ashton set the filling. He smoothed it out and turned off the light, sitting up the chair.
Until he was less numb, we stayed in Ashton's office. He stayed silent while we caught up, the two of us rarely seeing each other anymore.
I missed him, and that was the wort part about being on the road. You could see all your fans, and visit new places, but you left your family behind.
Once we needed to leave, Niall was back to normal.
"Thanks Ashton," he said quietly, "I'm sorry,"
"It's okay, just go and play your new song, that I've definitely listened to,"
"You haven't yet?"
"I have," he laughed, ushering us into the dressing room, "go,go,go,"
We performed the song, the audience loving it; it was the best feeling. Performing with my husband, and doing music which I loved.
Ashton met us again at the end, hugging us both tightly.
"Do you want to go out to eat?"
"I say, we go back to the hotel and cuddle," Niall said, Ashton nodding understandably.
"And I agree,"