Hear me out: I genuinely cannot stop thinking about how much chemistry Stuart and Mitchell have.
What I need desperately is a soft, fluffy young!Niall/Ruben fic that explores all the little moments they could have shared if things had gone differently. Not dramatic, not tragic, just two people slowly finding their way toward each other and actually allowing themselves to be happy.
Imagine Ruben taking Niall out on his bike for the first time. Niall pretending he's not nervous while secretly holding onto Ruben a little tighter every time they turn a corner. Or Niall visiting the youth center where Ruben volunteers, watching him interact with the kids and realizing all over again how kind and patient he is. Falling a little harder without even meaning to.
A little misunderstanding here and there, but no years spent dancing around their feelings. Just two stubborn boys gradually admitting that they care.
Ruben visiting Niall's flat and staying later than he planned because neither of them wants the evening to end. Falling asleep on the couch together. Sharing blankets. Quiet conversations in the dark when everyone else is asleep. The physical affection that's soft and unhurried. Hands settling naturally on waists and thighs and back. Fingers threaded together whenever they're walking somewhere. Ruben scratching Niall's scalp while Niall practically melts into him. Lazy morning cuddles where neither of them wants to get out of bed. The domesticity.
Cooking together. Doing chores together. Arguing over whose turn it is to wash dishes. Dancing badly in the kitchen when a song they both like comes on. Singing along loudly and terribly just to make each other laugh.
Them learning each other's routines, sharing space, stealing hoodies, brushing their teeth side by side. The kind of intimacy that's built from trust and familiarity rather than grand gestures.
I even want Ruben getting a little jealous of Alby for absolutely no reason, then immediately feeling ridiculous about it because Niall has made it very clear where his attention is. Just enough jealousy to be endearing, not enough to cause actual conflict.
They could have had everything!!!!! 🥹
ANON! YOU JUST WROTE THE THING!! <3 KEEP IT GOING! this made me tear up🥹 GODDD because one of the biggest tragedies in this show is the fact that, yes, they could've had everything! i can so clearly picture all the scenes as you've described them oooouchhhhyyy <3 one of my most favorite things is domesticity—i'm a HUGE sucker for fics where you watch intimacy unfold, where you see this relationship being built in these quieter moments, where there's SO MUCH PINING!!! so all of these feel like you're speaking directly to everything i love and hold in my heart >:(
love the idea of them still having this unspoken Thing between them (but in a arguably Healthier way) and ohhhh thinking about ruben not wanting to leave the kids at the center when niall goes off to uni and simultaneously hoping niall asks him to come along and being so anxiousscared about niall leaving :( he's going to miss him so much, you know? and miss this little routine they built together :(( and then he gets ANGRY over feeling all of that but really it's because he's so frustrated and upset, and seriously, how can niall leave? don't they have a good thing going??? then he feels guilty over all of that because he wants niall to succeed, knows he has it in him to be all he's dreamed of, but does he have to abandon ruben??? :(((((( so imagine his delight and surprise and utter JOY when niall tells him the school he's been accepted to is only 20 measly minutes away :D and niall is all shy and demure oh ruben that's uh... that's not too big of a commute for you, is it? because DUH niall wants him to come along!! and live in the apartment too??? and ruben tries to tamp down his happiness but the thing with ruben's happiness is that there's no possible way of quelling it; you still can't quite look directly at the sun even wearing sunglasses, right? can still feel the impression of warmth... so all of niall's worry is soothed because of how radiant ruben is :,) and ruben gives niall's shoulder a lil shake think i can handle it bambers and imagine them going to pick out some decor for their room <3
YAYY then we get to uni and meet everyone and hehehe ruben sees alby and niall laughing and he's off constructing a life for them in his head and feeling all broken up about it because, well, here's this guy, who has his shit far more together than ruben, who's in college and well-read, and unmistakably kind in a way ruben feels he isn't. he can talk to niall and understand his references. he will be able to provide better for niall. he has so much more to offer niall. meanwhile niall is like yeah this guy is so nice what a great friend and most of what they're talking about is ruben LMFAOOOO ohhh ruben this ohhh ruben that <3 and alby is like yeah niall is sweet but whatever is going on with his ruben is something i do NAWT want to touch ! :D
one morning ruben gets a bit testy after waking up without niall on top of him :( and then he gets EVEN MORE ANGRY when he walks out into the kitchen to find niall and alby chatting it UP at the kitchen table (mind you, niall is sat eating cereal, and alby is clearly trying to get outta the apartment to leave for class soooo) and alby can just FEEL the room freeze over as ruben comes in... and suddenly the toast he was waiting to pop up is no longer important so he says a quick goodbye and is OUTTTT and niall is like ???? and ruben is like !!!!! and he starts pacing a bit trying to get his thoughts into order lest he start yelling because he doesn't want to get things wrong :( and niall sits patiently because he understands how ruben's mind works <3 and then ruben just blurts out i don't like you talking to him and niall does the :o? face and waits him out and ruben goes on i don't want you to talk to him anymore and niall says well that'll be difficult considering we live together :0 ... :) and ruben goes to look out the window and his breathings gone all funny and niall knows something more is up and moves to stand next to him and rests a hand on ruben's back and ruben shudders a bit and so niall presses it more firmly what's going on rube? and ruben looks over at niall and something in his chest constricts and—
