𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 ⸙

1.51𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪

Liam looked around Zayn's relaxed face, cherishing the rare sight of Zayn exposing emotion. He opened his mouth but couldn't find his words for a while. Liam wondered how open he should be, but the way Zayn looked at him made Liam feel like he could tell him anything.

"A-After my parents died, and I lived with my aunt and uncle, I forgot what it was like to- to know that someone cared. I think I accepted that I'd be on my own for a lot of my life. I never imagined that this would happen. I don't think any human would." Liam fidgeted with the duvet.

"It's strange to say this in this current situation, b-but I'm realy glad we met. I'm really thankful for you."

Liam tried to imagine going back to his mundane life of college and the library and long shifts at the café. He thought about going back to a life without Zayn, and his heart ached at such a troubling thought.

"I'm thankful for you too." The corners of Zayn's lips curled towards a smile. His frown completely left his face.

"These past few months have been hell for me. If it wasn't for my mother I would've.." Zayn's other arm tightened around Liam. "I'm stronger with you."

"I'm stronger with you too." Liam smiled. His happiness swarmed his chest. To Liam's surprise, a small smile painted Zayn's lips, brightening his face, warming his eyes, blunting his sharpness, and proving to Liam that Zayn had emotion. Zayn just stored it in unreachable places.

The fact that Liam had only seen snippets of Zayn's smile saddened him. Zayn had his bad moments, but there was a lot of good in him waiting to be seen. Zayn needed a chance to redeem himself to everyone around him, but not to Liam. He already saw who Zayn could be.

They stared at each other for a little while longer. Liam was tired, and the night was very late, but he couldn't sleep. He didn't want to cut the night short when Zayn was being so open and vulnerable.

"I can't believe you threw Harry's phone like that" Liam chuckled.

"I can't believe I didn't bite his face off when I had the chance," Zayn mumbled. His smile was gone as quickly as it arrived.

"Because you care about Louis. Harry is-" Liam sighed. "A fucking idiot. But let him be Louis' idiot."

Zayn cocked a brow at his choice of words. "You're cute when you swear."

Liam blushed. "I'm serious, you should really try and ignore him."

"It's hard to ignore someone who bullies the person you care about." Zayn's frown crawled back onto his face.

"What is his problem anyway? I don't understand why he hates you so much."

"He blames my parents for the death of his dad."

Zayn's frown deepened.

"His dad died the night my parents died, you know, from the wolf attack. My parents were the ones to invite his parents and insist that they went on the camping trip. I guess Harry has had to deal with the aftermath. His mother has never been the same."

Zayn sat up, and so did Liam."That's not a reason to make your life shit. Your parents died that night. His mother survived. He should count himself lucky."

"I know it's not a reason to bully me." Liam linked his fingers to stop himself from fidgeting. "I don't know what would be worse, having no parents, or living with a parent who never recovered from the attack, and dealing with that every single day. I'm not saying that to give Harry an excuse to be a terrible person, but I'm sure it doesn't help."

Zayn shook his head. "You lost both of your parents and lived with shitty family members for years. That's a constant reminder of what happened, and you're the nicest person I've ever met. Nothing in the world gives anyone the right to be cruel to others." Zayn then paused.

"Don't add me into this. I know I'm a twat."

"At least you can admit it" Liam chuckled.

"Are you calling me a twat?"

Liam laughed and Zayn's eyes darkened with amusement.

"Yes." Liam grinned from ear to ear. "You can be  very, um, difficult."

"I know." Zayn grabbed Liam's waist and pulled him on top of him. He covered them both in the duvet when he felt Liam's cold fingers against his chest. "You know, if anyone else spoke this way to me, I would've punched them in the face by now."

"Because you can't accept the truth?"

Zayn scoffed at Liam's honesty. "Brutal."

Liam rested his head on Zayn's shoulder, smiling into the crook of his neck. He had never felt so comfortable in someone else's presence.

"I'm glad though," Zayn continued. "I need someone to tell me to back down when I'm getting too much."

"Someone who won't just make you angrier."

"Exactly. Someone kind and cute." Zayn's eyes trailed him. "And someone short and human, with really nice lips."

Liam pursed his lips, feeling the redness spread all over his face. "Nobody ever sees this side of you, do they?"

Zayn shook his head. "It's a weakness to others."

"Well, I think I- I think it makes you more attractive."

Zayn stared deeply into Liam's eyes, like he was seeing more than just the brown. Liam wanted Zayn to look at him like that forever.

"I'm so glad you're my mate" Zayn said before kissing Liam. With his body on top of Zayn, happy and comfortable, Zayn couldn't be more content.

"I'm happy- I'm your mate- too," Liam said in-between kisses. Now that they had known each other Properly, and Liam was comfortable with Zayn's wolf, Liam felt like he was kissing someone he had known for years. But he hadn't known Zayn for years. He had known him for just under a month, so how had they grown so close?

The bond thing, Liam thought, smiling against Zayn's lips.