Breathe *Narry AU FanFic

Chapter 4

The months that started out the new year seemed pretty ordinary, and it wasn't until May that stress started to build up, along with many final projects and assignments that could make or break his grade. Due to the sudden wave of work, Niall found himself staying on campus much later than he used to. Sometimes, he'd return home even after Harry had.

As for Harry, work carried on as usual after Christmas came and went. Work had always tired him out by the end of the day; only, he was unable to come home to Niall, as he usually would. Harry understood that Niall had more coursework now that the school year was whittling down, but sometimes he wished Niall would come home, instead of spending countless hours in the library, and even more afterward with friends.

That's another thing that Harry noticed; Niall had started to spend a lot more time with his friends during the weekend. What used to just be Friday nights, suddenly turned into Saturday nights, and sometimes he'd miss him on Sunday too.

One night, Niall had finally crawled into bed next to Harry after working on a project that he stupidly put off, at almost three in the morning. Harry was already asleep, obviously, and thankfully Niall didn't rouse him. It's been quite a while since Niall's come to bed this late, but it was only a matter of time before it happened again, since he has been coming to bed later and later since May began.

Strangely enough, Niall couldn't fall asleep when he did lay down. He started feeling a bit of stomach pain as soon as his head hit the pillow. He wondered if it might have been because it was so late and he hasn't eaten since seven, but that wouldn't make sense; he's gone longer without food and he's always been fine. He shrugged it off, cuddling up next to Harry.

Harry subconsciously wrapped his arm around Niall, shuffling a bit so he could get comfortable again. Niall smiled when he felt Harry's arm settle against his back.

It was a bit later that Niall's stomach felt like it dropped, shaking the boy back into consciousness. He curled in on himself, trying to will the pain away with his mind. Niall sat up, Harry's arm sliding off him in the process. His stomach felt like it was trying to flip itself to settle whatever it is that's bothering him. Niall thought over everything he ate today, wondering if he might have gotten food poisoning from his half-assed meal of beans on toast. It might just be a bit of gas, he decides.

Niall quietly leaves the bed and tries to head to the bathroom, but the pain seems to double when he stands up, but he doesn't have the energy to lift himself back onto the bed, so he finds himself dropping to the floor, gripping the carpet between his fingers and irritating the skin right around his nails, especially on his middle finger, where he had accidentally bitten the nail off down too low.

By the time four rolled around, Niall was still crouched, but the pain had subsided enough to where he could get back up, deciding to get into bed again instead of heading to the bathroom. He crawled back next to Harry, who still hadn't woken up.

Niall didn't cuddle into Harry again, not wanting to throw his body about again, like he did when he fled the bed the first time. Thankfully, the pain didn't return, so Niall was able to get a few hours of sleep in before he had to get up for school.

When Harry woke up a few hours later, he immediately noticed that Niall wasn't in his arms. Harry was slightly awake when Niall got into bed, and was able to muster enough energy so he could wrap an arm around him, before he fell back into his peaceful slumber. Harry opened his eyes wider to see the lump that was Niall, laying a few inches away from Harry in a slight fetal position. Harry didn't think much of it, and continued to get out of bed so he could get ready for work. He reset the alarm as well, as he normally does, so Niall would wake up on time. Harry's not very fond of waking Niall up and, judging by his position now, he seemed to have a tough time sleeping last night. Niall would normally fall right to sleep as soon as he got in bed, barely moving an inch by the time he woke up.

After Harry had gotten ready, he went back over to his lover to give him a kiss goodbye. Niall was never awake and probably didn't even know that Harry did it every morning, making Harry jump slightly when he saw that Niall's eyes were wide open.

"Hey, love, what's wrong?" Harry asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Harry pushed Niall's hair back that was matted against the side of his head, fluffing it up slightly.

Niall turned over slightly so he could see Harry better, "I didn't know you woke up before the sun was up."

"The sun is up," Harry chuckles, motioning to the window. "You just can't see it because the curtains are closed."

"Oh." Niall turns over so he's laying on his back. "Why don't you stay a little longer?"

Harry stops laughing, "Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, I was just thinking we could have breakfast together." Niall sits up slightly, shifting more to the center of the bed.

"I don't have time, sweetie. Traffic is always the worst at the time, and I need to be in by nine." Harry honestly feels bad that he can't stay. Niall frowns a little, but nods. "But how about tonight? I could make us something, or take you out?"

Niall shakes his head, "That why I was hoping we could do breakfast, because I'm supposed to be meeting Bressie for some serious course review, and then we would go to the pub together afterward. Conor and Laura might meet us there, too."

"Mm, maybe sometime this weekend, then? We could go tomorrow, or Sunday?" Harry asks.

Niall thinks about all the other plans he has to study this weekend, as he and Bressie decided that they would spend a lot of time reviewing with each other since they basically have all the same courses. But, Niall doesn't want to let Harry down, so he says, "Yeah, sometime this weekend would be fine. I'll call Brez later to tell him."

Harry inquired, "Oh, did you have any other plans? Because I don't want you to have to cancel anything that's already been decided."

"Well, Brez and I did plan to study quite a bit more this weekend, now that the major tests and projects are coming up. But, I'll tell him I have something else to do."

"What did I just tell you?" Harry shakes his head, laughing slightly. "I don't want you to cancel anything that's already been figured out. Plus, your education is much more important, okay? So go and study with Bressie this weekend, and I'll think of something that doesn't make our schedules collide so much."

"You sure? You don't mind that I'm spending so much time with Brez?" Niall worries that Harry might get annoyed with how often Niall seems to mention him, or his other friends. They both just need some time together, but since their schedules clash, they rarely have time for dates and alone time. They see each other sleeping more than they see each other awake, it seems.

"Of course not. I'm happy that you have friends, and that you're taking your class work so seriously." Harry leans over to kiss Niall, pressing his hand against his cheek to keep his balance in this strange position. "I've gotta go to work now, love. I'll see you tonight."

"Mm, bye Harry." Niall lays back down and cuddles under the covers.

"I love you, baby." Harry heads over to the door so he can grab his jacket, glancing back at Niall when he hears some him shuffling in bed.

"Love you, too." Niall gets into a more comfortable position and falls asleep almost instantly, making Harry smile. He walks over to check the alarm again, making sure it's for the right time and loud enough so Niall will hear it. Afterwards, he leans down to kiss Niall's cheek, which he originally planned to do before he say that Niall was awake.

"Have a good day, sweetheart." Harry whispers, standing back up and leaving for work.