there you are [zarry]

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"Mum," Zain sigh, rocking Hania in the hope of keeping her asleep a while longer. "I appreciate you trying to help but I don't want a stranger in my house much less looking after my daughter."

"He's not a stranger," mum sighs, sounding weary. Zain knows she blames herself for not being able to come down again. He wishes she wouldn't. "He's Anne's youngest, I'm sure you remember him, he used to come around sometimes when Anne came over for tea."

"Well," Zain says. "Kind of vaguely remembering him from when we were kids doesn't really disqualify him from being a stranger now." He doesn't really remember him. Maybe from a few pictures he's seen and there and been mentions of a wedding. But Zain had never really been the best at paying attention to things like that.

"Oh, Sunshine," his mum sighs. "You're always so suspicious. You always were. You like Harry, though. When you were little he was the only one allowed to read to you. Except baba. And he was so patient even back then."

"I literally don't remember anything except maybe — was he the one who broke the window?" Zain tries to think back.

His mum sighs like he was being particularly difficult. "Yes. That was him. He's a sweet boy, Zain. Well. Not boy anymore. And his husband — ex-husband — really did a number. It would be good for him to get away for a bit. Anne and I agree. You'd have someone who's practically family looking after Hania, and Harry'd be well taken care of and get a bit of distance. He's excellent with children. You know I would never let someone look after my perfect granddaughter if I didn't trust them."

"I guess," Zain agrees, pressing a soft kiss to Hania's hair. He does need someone to look after her while he was working. He had pushed it as far as he could but he couldn't afford to be dropped by the label, not yet.

"Is he fine to travel? I don't want him to just stay for a few weeks, I need him for a while, at least until the tour is done. I don't want Hania to get used to him and then have to start over just when I'm about to leave the country."

"Anne says he always wanted to travel. But it just never happened when he was younger and his husband never took him anywhere."

"He's not, like, traumatised, right?" Zain asks. He's not sure what Harry's ex-husband had done, but someone just out of an abusive relationship might not be the best to take on a trip around half the world without any support system.

"Oh no, nothing like that," Mum rushes to say. "Harry's mostly just angry and betrayed. Well. I guess I can tell you, it would probably best."

"Please," Zain says politely, nuzzling Hania. She was so soft and baby-sweet, it made his heart swell to look at her.

"It's just that his husband promised him a lot and then after their wedding, he didn't follow through, like the travelling. But the worst thing is that they'd been trying for children right away, or at least that's what he told Harry. And Harry was devastated that he wasn't pregnant, poor thing, blaming himself, and last month he discovered that his husband had had a vasectomy before they even met."

"What?" Zain blurts. "What a dick."

"Exactly," his mum says. He can hear her nod in agreement somehow. "Poor Harry's devastated. He's always wanted kids, you know, and it hurt him so much when he didn't get pregnant despite trying so hard. And then to discover that his husband lied like that. Despicable."

"Yea," Zain agrees. He can't even imagine sticking to a lie like that for years and years and watching the person you were supposed to love suffer from if. "So he wants to get away from that? Understandable."

"See," mum says smugly, seeming to perk up. "You're agreeing, then? Can I tell Anne? She'll be so relieved, she'd been worried, you know. Harry's really taken it to heart, being lied to like that."

"Yea, yea, he can come," Zain sighs. "But only because I know you wouldn't let Hania near some weird stranger. Because I trust you. If I don't like him, he can go back up and I don't care what you or Anne are saying."

"Of course," his mum soothes, sounding delighted. "Of you don't get along, we're not forcing you. Oh, but you should stock up in your kitchen. Harry's very good at cooking and baking, he likes to make things from scratch. He even bakes his own bread, it's heavenly."

"I'll think about it," Zain sighs, watching Hania stretch and stir like she's about to wake up. "I gotta go, Hania is waking up."

"Give her a kiss. Love you, sunshine. Take care of yourself."

"Love you, too, mum," Zain says, cooing down at Hania when she opens her mouth in a yawn. "And don't worry so much. We're perfectly fine even without your meddling."

She sighs at him but doesn't protest. Zain hangs up before she can start lecturing him and drops his phone on the couch.

Hania blinks her eyes open, looking at him curiously. "Hello, my love," he coos, adjusting her to kiss her cheek. "Did you sleep well?"

She mewls, turning her head slightly. She's growing so fast, it's breaking Zain's heart a little. He kisses the fussy hair on her head and slowly walks down the stairs towards the kitchen.

He's not sure what his mum was referring to, he thinks as he starts preparing Hania's bottle. His kitchen was very well stocked. Most of the things in it hasn't been used once. His mum was probably overreacting.

🤍

as promised, finally a famous zain story (still gonna write zain though because my phone and i cannot change now it's been too long)! in a move that surprises no one, it involves a child...
not sure about the frequency of updates either but i am committing by posting...as voted on by some of you