Baby Boy | Zustiall AU [COMPLETE]

Twelve

Niall wakes up disoriented, in a room he doesn't recognize. Rubbing his eyes, he sits up straighter and squints, hoping his eyes will adjust to the darkness quickly. After a few seconds he gets his wish, and sees his phone on the floor. Grabbing it, he squints at the brightness of the light. 7:32am.

Niall suddenly remembers the night before, watching Despicable Me and its sequel with Justin and Zayn. He must've fallen asleep during the sequel, and he runs his hands over his flushed cheeks, embarrassed, and opens the door to the room. He squints at the light leaking in and makes his way to the bathroom across the hall. Once out, he follows the sound of clicking and sees Zayn sitting in the living room, typing away at his laptop. He looks up as Niall enters the room, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, sweetheart," he says, voice gentle. Niall can hear a smile. "You're up early."

Niall nods, still sleepy, and lets out a yawn when he stops rubbing his eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry, are you working? I'll let you work!" He starts backing out of the room until Zayn stops him.

"No, I'm just catching up on some emails. C'mere, baby, come cuddle with me while I finish up," he suggests, patting the empty cushion beside him.

Niall hesitates. "Are you sure? I-I don't wanna keep you from your work..."

Zayn just pats the cushion again, so Niall curls up beside him, resting his head against Zayn's chest. Zayn types with one hand, the other gently rubbing Niall's side. Niall lays there until Zayn is done, sending a few texts to Liam to let him know he's alright.

"Alright, I'm done, baby boy. Are you hungry?"

Niall shrugs. He is, but he doesn't want to inconvenience Zayn.

"Hey. Answer me, Niall," Zayn responds, firmly, but still gentle.

"I...A little. But I'm okay," he adds quickly, disliking the fact that Zayn's actually called him by his name instead of a pet name, and ashamed of that.

Zayn shakes his head, smiling a little. "Come on, cutie, let's go make breakfast." Niall climbs off the couch and waits for Zayn to get up before following him into the kitchen.

"Where's Justin?" Niall questions.

"Gym," Zayn answers, and then glances at his watch. "He should be back a few. What kind of breakfast food are you in the mood for?"

Niall shrugs, and then goes pink when Zayn raises an eyebrow at him.

"I...I don't really mind. I'm not very good at making decisions," Niall answers sheepishly, blushing. The sight of him makes Zayn coo, and he kisses his pink cheeks, unable to keep from doing so.

"Okay...how about I make suggestions and you tell me what sounds good. How's that?"

Niall nods, far more comfortable with that idea. Zayn's hand is still touching his cheek, his thumb rubbing in gentle circles.

"How about waffles?"

"...Can we put chocolate chips in them?"

Zayn laughs. "Sure. I think we have some." He turns to look through a cabinet for some chocolate chips when the door opens and Justin walks in, shirtless with wet hair. Niall's eyes go wide, not having expected this, and swallows hard when Justin crowds his space to kiss his forehead.

"You'll catch flies, sweet pea," he teases, smirking, and shuts Niall's jaw with a finger. Niall's cheeks go pink.

"Leave him alone, Jay, you reek," Zayn teases from behind Niall.

"I do not, I showered at the gym! Come here and love me!"

"No!" Zayn tries to escape, but Justin blocks his path. He lets out a cry of rage as Justin shakes his head, trying to wet Zayn with the excess water. It makes Niall laugh because it looks ridiculous. "You're an idiot," Zayn laughs and kisses the crown of Justin's head. "Your hair smells good, though."

"I stole your shampoo," Justin laughs. He lets go of Zayn, who puts the bag of chocolate chips on the counter. Niall lets out a cheer and eats a handful. "What're we having?"

"Chocolate chip waffles!" Niall cheers, excited.

"I couldn't say no," Zayn admits.

Justin shakes his head. "I know, I wouldn't have been able to either." Zayn starts to mix the batter as Justin goes and gets dressed.

"You wanna add the chocolate?" Zayn asks, and Niall happily pours way too many into the batter. "That's a lot of chocolate!"

"Sorry, I got excited!"

Zayn kisses his cheek. "No worries, angel. No such thing as too much chocolate."

Justin comes back out of the bedroom just as Zayn is pouring the batter into the waffle maker, and he sits at the table, pulling Niall into his lap as they wait. "What do you want to do today, Ni? Do you need to go home?"

"Just to change," Niall answers. "Did you have something in mind?"

"I want to go play laser tag," Justin answers, so seriously that it makes Niall laugh.

"I've never done that," Niall admits.

Justin turns to face him with wide eyes, and then stares at Zayn with the same amount of shock. "Zee, he's never been laser tagging. Babe, we have to take him. We have to."

Zayn rolls his eyes. "Do you want to go, angel?"

"Sure," Niall smiles, a little nervous from not knowing what to expect, but mostly excited. After all, he trusts Justin and Zayn at this point, and -- though he'd never admit it -- wants to spend as much time with them as possible, even if it means laser tagging, whatever that is. "Yeah, okay, let's do it."

"Yay!"Justin cheers. "Zee, let's have a bet! Winner gets to take Niall on a solo date first."

"You guys are betting on me?" Niall squeaks, flustered, a piece of waffle stopped halfway to his mouth.

"Deal," Zayn laughs, and Niall just shakes his head, giggling a little, and finishes his waffles.