Collision // Larry Stylinson - itjustkindahappened

chapter 20

Something stirs in Zayn's stomach at the way Niall so surely and convincedly forms his words, and he finally shifts his gaze to look at him. The boy is wearing a small smile and his eyebrows are raised, waiting for Zayn's response.

"I guess not," Zayn replies and allows himself to smile a little, too.

Then again, he hasn't met anyone quite like Liam before, in any meaning of the shapeshifter's being. He hasn't met someone as humble or purely well-meaning in his life, who speaks with more humbleness or acts with more kindness. Liam is something new, to Zayn who's lived all his life around humans, selfish, arrogant humans. Liam is pure.

Niall nods, satisfied, and pats Zayn's arm lightly.

"It'll be alright!"

"I mean there's still the chance that we, you know... Won't make it. Given that we don't know what that 'clue' Thor spoke of is. It could be something that prevents us from picking it too. Couldn't it?" the dark eyed boy asks carefully, not wanting to ruin Niall's good mood but he figures that it's important to be realistic here, mood killing or not.

Maybe he should've understood by now that it takes nothing less than a world changing disaster to make Niall's mood drop, but his smile doesn't even falter a little at Zayn's statement. On the contrary, it grows a little bigger and the boy tilts his head curiously.

"You... Don't know what the clue is?"

Zayn frowns immediately. Is he missing something?

"You do?"

"We all do. It's no secret, the gods here are just senile." Niall grins and starts reciting it. "'Only those with hands of gold apples from the tree will hold'. There is a reason why Idun and Sif are the only ones in this world having golden hands. No ill willing Gods can have access to that tree. Louis is also a little spontaneous when it comes to big decisions, but if we didn't know for sure that it was in fact one hundred percent possible for us to actually get the apples, Harry would've stopped him. Is there seriously nothing on that in that universe bible of yours?"

"No," Zayn shakes his head, a little taken aback. "No, they... That's not in there. It doesn't say a lot about Idun at all, actually."

Niall mutters something about how typically Earth that is, to ignore one of the most important women in history, and then sighs.

"Well. Now you know," he states. "Let's get up. See if the lovebirds are awake yet. Go for some breakfast. Pick some apples."

He staggers away from Zayn's bed to the bag where their clothes are safely and carefully packed and starts digging for something to wear. He manages to pick out a pair of shorts and a tank top for himself and also throws a similar outfit at Zayn, before he stops in his tracks as he looks down into the bag again.

"Fuck!" He exclaims, reaching into it to pick something up.

He turns around, thrusting a bottle in the air with a stressed expression etched into his features.

Lube. He's holding a bottle of lube.

Zayn is confused.

"What, um. What exactly..."

Niall doesn't pay attention to him, just groans and slaps his free hand over his face.

"This was supposed to be in the other bag! God, I'm so stupid, I can't believe I forgot to put it there."

Zayn is... Not any less confounded. He narrows his eyes and raises his eyebrows, trying to figure out why exactly Niall feels like it's his personal task to provide Harry and Louis with lube.