You're The Shining Distraction That Makes Me Fly

Chapter 3

The week went by quickly, Zayn's morning routine more of the same as he kept waking up long before the sun. He spent the early hours of the day studying as much as he could, cramming until his eyes went cross and the words blurred on the page.

He made sure to change up the lunches he made for Mezi, giving him different snacks and varying the content of the boy's sandwiches. He did the same thing with breakfast, using his artistic side to decorate the plates with colorful fruits and designs that always had Mezi smiling brightly.

And every morning when Zayn dropped Mezrhad off at school he was welcomed by Liam's coy smiles and tiny touching gestures. It was one of Zayn's favorite part of the day, watching his son happily set up along with his new friends all while he got to check out Liam.

With each meeting, the other man's enthusiasm at Zayn's presence seemed to grow, although he never did anything directive to show interest. So Zayn settled into their easy conversation, enjoying the man's humor and intelligence, losing himself if only for a minute in the depth of man's voice.

The process was the same at night, Zayn arriving five minutes before the bell so he could watch Mezrhad interact with his peers. He noticed how the boy seemed to point to the things he wanted, making gestures with his hands that seemed to represent symbols. The other children all seemed to know exactly what he meant, playing easily together.

It pleased Zayn to know that even though he couldn't get Mezi to talk yet, that his school life wasn't impacted by it. Liam had in fact assured him that Mezi was actually in advance in comparison to the other students, already knowing how to read on his own and even write a few words without help.

However the hardest part of the week remained the time Zayn had to spend at the comic book store, struggling between his job and his fatherly duties. Luckily, Niall and Louis both helped, babysitting Mezi in the employee room while Zayn wrestled through the month's budgetary review. On a few occasion Niall had even offered to help out some clients in order for Zayn to sit down with Mezi and have a proper family dinner. 

And it wasn't exactly the perfect family life and yet Zayn had to concede that it could be much worse. He took his break in the employee room with his son, helping him do his English homework as they spelled out words slowly. Or they ate something heated in the microwave that Zayn had prepared the previous night together, enjoying the comfortable silence between them.

Also, the tube rides seemed to get shorter with time, as Zayn learned the exact number of seconds he could close his eyes for before he had to get off. Surprisingly, by the middle of the week, he found himself enjoying the silence of the rides, the soft sound of Mezrhad's breathing easing his conscience.

On some days they even made it home early enough so that Mezi could take a bath on his own, playing with his avengers figurines while Zayn folded the laundry next to him, laughing out brightly at the bubbling sound his son made. On Thursday Zayn had even been able to read to Mezi before bed, cuddling together in the single bed until they both passed out from exhaustion.

The weekend on the contrary had been spent enjoying the outdoors, attending one of Louis's footie matches on Saturday and profiting of a charity event at the zoo on Sunday. Mezhrad had been fascinated with all the animals, watching with wide eyes as he stumbled through the exhibit, spending a little more time in tiger territory. That night the boy had fallen asleep while watching a movie, head pressed to Zayn's shoulders as his tiny fingers traced the lines of Zayn tiger tattoo.

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And yet as the second week started, Zayn found himself unable to roll out of bed as easily as he had the previous week. His head hummed with an unpleasant pressure, his nose stuffed as he managed to shuffle to the kitchen slowly. When he sat down in front of his books, reaching out for his cue cards for his exam later today, his vision dimmed, making him slightly nauseous.