ziam smut

The Greatest Gift of All

The Greatest Gift of All
by goyaz on archiveofourown.org

Summary:

Zayn has been asked to bake some cupcakes by management, and Liam is his messy helper.
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Work Text:

Zayn sat in his hotel room skimming through one of the many sketch books he owned. When he was finished with one he would buy himself another one creating his own collection of full books covered in drawings and sketches that traveled in it's own luggage. No matter where in the world they were, he would pull it out the book and just draw. Looking through it now his mind flooded with memories from the beginning of the tour and how they'd visited South America for the first time.

The year was coming to an end soon and finally they'd be getting a much needed break after a year long of touring, the album release, various appearances and most recently the promo that came along with it. To say it has been rough was an understatement after all the backlash he had been receiving lately. It was the usual shit that came along with being labeled the "mysterious' one of the band.

They were in New York City, 'the greatest city on Earth'. While everyone else, including Liam, raved about Christmas in New York, Zayn was indifferent about it. Maybe it was because the rest of the lads families had all joined them back to the states but Zayn's family decided they'd wait for him to come home, instead. He held on to the fact that it was only a few days away, plus he had Liam by his side.

As he sat reminiscing, those familiar muscular arms wrapped around his neck as Liam rested his head on Zayn's shoulder. "What are you doing?" he spoke softly before kissing Zayn on the cheek.

"Just looking through my drawings," Zayn responded now holding Liam's hand with one hand while flipping the book with the other.

"That one's my favorite," Liam pointed to a graffiti wall Zayn had attempted to copy while in Manchester. Zayn thought he was shit at drawing but he didn't care because it was his way of staying grounded amongst the commotion that was his life. Liam on the other hand loved every piece of Zayn's drawings, even the ones Zayn purposely drew ugly just to hear Liam say how much he loved them.

"I've got some presents for you," Liam said as he walked toward the bed picking up a squared bag. He pulled out two presents, wrapped in black and white paper tied up together with one bow. "These are from my parents," he handed them to Zayn. "Go on, open them."

Zayn grabbed the boxes reading over them, 'From Geoff and Karen to our love, Zayn.' He smiled warmly to himself feeling immensely appreciative to have the Payne's in his life and more thankful to them for having had Liam brought into the world.

"Shouldn't I wait till Christmas though?" Zayn questioned.

"No love, open them now." Liam demanded. "There will be plenty more to open Christmas day."

Zayn untied the bow tossing it to the side and peeled off the tape, carefully removing the paper without ripping it. He looked up from what he was doing to find Liam giggling at him for being so delicate with everything, even the paper others demolish in seconds to see what they've been gifted, but not Zayn. After neatly unwrapping the first gift Zayn pulled out a stack of comic books, some a new series and others a continuum of series he had yet to finish. Zayn's face lit up already planning a night in snuggled in next to Liam while he reads the comics aloud to him, even though Liam doesn't even pay attention to the story line but instead falls asleep to the sound of Zayn's voice. Liam would read them later anyway. "Liam, these are amazing," he said still beaming.

"Come on, open the other one."

As with the first one Zayn took his time undressing the gift the way you would an infant. After unveiling it he held a black felted book, similar to the other hundred ones sitting in his luggage. As if they knew he was running out of space in his most recent book, he realized these gifts were bought from a little help from Liam. Zayn closed the space between them placing his hand over Liam's neck and bringing him in for a quick kiss. "Where are they? I want to thank them."