The Way We Do (Ziam)

Chapter 15

I roll and I roll 'til I change my luck...

Zayn didn't know what to do. He felt like the world had been turned on its side, and that up was now down, forward was backwards, Liam wasn't actually an asshole and Zayn was kinda, sorta in love with him. The way Liam smiled at him told him that their fight from a few days before had been mostly forgotten, but even from across the room Zayn could feel the tension between them.

He ached to kiss him.

"Hey," Liam said softly as he got to his feet and slowly closed the distance between them until he was standing next to Zayn in the doorway.

"Hey," Zayn replied, suddenly feeling very shy as he stepped farther out into the hallway, not wanting to wake his sisters. Liam followed him, shutting the door quietly behind him. It felt dangerous to be alone with him, like now that Zayn'd realized how much he liked him he might have even less self-control than before.

He felt immensely uncomfortable, completely unsure of himself for the first time since he'd met Liam. He was also minutely aware of each of Liam's movements; the uneasy set of his shoulders and the way he shoved his hands into his pockets as he leaned back against the wall revealing that he felt just as unsteady as Zayn did.

"You good?" Liam asked, his voice still soft despite the fact that they were alone. Most of the lights lining the ceiling had been turned off due to the late hour, but Liam's features were still visible, his concern evident.

"Man, I don't know what I am, but good's not it," Zayn admitted, running a hand through his hair and trying not to picture the way Safaa had looked when Liam had carried her out of the building.

"But- she's okay, right?" Liam asked, pushing away from the wall. "I asked the nurses, and they said- she's gonna be fine, right?"

Zayn nodded quickly. "She'll be okay. I just thought...when I saw you carrying her, for a second I thought-" Zayn stopped, unable to speak the words aloud.

"She's okay," Liam murmured, reaching out to pat Zayn's shoulder. The touch was awkward, like Liam wasn't sure whether he was supposed to be touching him, but Zayn melted into it anyway. Liam let him, opening his arms and pulling him into a hug before smoothing his hands up and down Zayn's back. "I got her out."

Zayn wrapped his arms around Liam's waist as he turned his head, mumbling his next words into his neck. "You said you would and you did."

Liam squeezed him a little tighter at that, and suddenly Zayn was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by all that had happened that day, and by everything he felt for Liam. He didn't have the words to express his gratitude, so he showed Liam how thankful he was in another way: with a kiss.

He pulled back enough to reach up to cup Liam's face, his thumbs sweeping along his cheeks as he leaned in. It was just a soft, comfortable slide of lips together, mouths meeting in a gentle press as Zayn felt some of the tension he'd been carrying for days drift away. He kept the kiss light even as he slid his hands down to clutch at the back of Liam's shirt, trying to show him that he wasn't kissing him because he wanted him but because he was incredible, and because he was safe. He didn't deepen the kiss - though he wanted to, desperately - and Liam didn't either. In fact he did the opposite, only letting Zayn kiss him for a few seconds before he was pulling back and looking away from him.

"You can't be doing that, Zayn."

Zayn self-consciously brought a hand up to his lips, tracing his fingers over where Liam's mouth had just been. He hadn't meant to kiss him. He hadn't meant for any of this to happen. "I know, I'm sorry. I was just...I was worried about you too. You weren't supposed to take off your mask," he added with a light shove to Liam's shoulder.