night changes [zarry]

xvii

Harry wakes just before the alarm, his phone pinging with a new message. He rolls over, groggy, his lumps still heavy and sluggish, squinting at the bright screen.

His heart skips a beat when he makes out Zain's name — and the emoji he put after, just for himself. He loves the good morning texts he gets, loves the random texts throughout the day, the good night texts. He smiles uselessly into his pillow for a moment, stomach squirming happily at the thought of seeing Zain in a couple of hours at drop off.

His alarm goes off, startling him fully awake and his eyes focus enough for him to read, while he swipes the alarm away.

good morning, sweetheart xx
doniya is doing drop of for me this morning, i'll call you after. sad i won't be able to see you ☹️

Everything alright? Harry texts back, disappointment spreading through him. Still, the text makes him giddy, like always. That Zain thinks of him gives him the urge to scream into his pillow and kick his feet like he's twelve years old.

work's gone mad 🙄, Zain responds almost immediately, which means he must have been waiting for Harry's response.

I'm free after drop off, Harry texts, getting up. He has breakfast to start and children to feed and wrangle. As much as he wants to stare at his phone and wish for Zain, he doesn't have the time. And neither did Zain.

His morning consists of mummy this and mummy that and Sophie being in a mood, cranky and teething. He almost forgets that he won't see Zain until they reach the school and there is no one waiting for him, much more punctual than Harry always is.

Emma seems to frown for a moment as well, but perhaps Harry's just wishing for things. It would be easier if his kids wanted this as badly as he did.

"Bye, love," Harry says, straightening her collar slightly and giving her a kiss. "Have a good day, love you."

"Bye, mummy," she says and then takes off running inside the gate, towards one of her friends.

"You as well, baby," Harry says, kissing Jamie. "Love you."

"Can you take the snails back home?" Jamie asks, pulling a jar out of his pocket and handing it to Harry.

Harry blinks at it, wondering when exactly Jamie had managed to grab them. He'll have to put all the containers into the dishwasher, just to be sure as well.

"Sure," he says, putting it into the pram. Not like Sophie would actually consent to being put down. "Have a good day, love."

"Where's Laila's baba?" Jamie asks, instead of running off.

"He had to work early," Harry answers, trying not to show his surprise, brushing his hand through Jamie's hair to make it appear slightly less messy. "He told me this morning."

"Okay, bye, mummy," Jamie says, leaning over the pram to check on his snakes. "Love you," he says, running off. Harry's almost completely sure it's directed towards him and not the snake

Harry blinks after Jamie for a moment, not quite sure what to make of him. Then he remembers that Zain's sister arrive with Laila, if they too were running late because of a change in their routine. He swallows, not quite ready to meet her yet, on his own, and turns the pram around, adjusting Sophie, who's decided to gnaw on his jacket.

He waves at the others, chatting near the gate, and shrugs in apology when Aisha tries to wave him towards them. They'll probably see through him but he's not ready for today's agenda. And he has a phone call to look forward to.

💚

"Hey sweetheart," Zain says as soon as Harry picks up the phone, sounding tired. "How are you?"