Baby Boy | Zustiall AU [COMPLETE]

Twenty Eight

Zayn doesn't tell Justin about the text for two weeks.

He doesn't respond to it, either. It just sits there, eating at him. He doesn't want to tell Justin solely because he knows it's going to tear his husband to shreds, and he wants to avoid anything that would make him feel that way. But, he reminds himself guiltily over dinner, he can't keep something this big from him. It isn't right, and he looks up from his salad to see Justin smiling at his phone, probably sending some cheesy ass text to Niall.

"Babe," Zayn says softly. His heart is in his throat. He doesn't want to hurt him, God, he doesn't want to tell him this. He would solve it himself if he thought he could, but he has no idea where to even start.

"Yeah?"

Zayn shifts in his seat, stabs at his spinach. "Never mind." He can't do it. He can't tell him knowing it will hurt him.

"Baby," Justin says, worried now. He moves closer to Zayn, touching his face. Zayn squeezes his eyes shut, tears burning behind the lids. "You've been acting off lately...barely sleeping, tossing and turning all night...I was trying to give you time to process through it before you told me, but it's taking a toll on you." Justin moves his hand to the back of Zayn's neck, rubbing gently, and leans his forehead against Zayn's. "Tell me what's going on. Let me help you. We can carry this together."

Zayn takes a shaky breath. "I got a text..."

"A text?" Justin sounds confused; clearly, he wasn't expecting this.

"Yeah..."

"Okay." Justin is still rubbing his neck, but he pulls back so he can see Zayn's face better. "A text from who, Zee?"

"...From Alex," Zayn murmurs, and he has to fucking watch as confusion turns to worry to heartbreak, flashing across Justin's face. 

"Alex texted you?"

"Yeah...two weeks ago. I'm sorry I waited so long to say anything...I was so confused and worried, and I didn't want to upset you."

Justin kisses his forehead. "I understand. This is what had you so stressed out?"

"He wants to meet up," Zayn explains further. "He says he misses us."

Justin scowls. "If he misses us so much, he shouldn't have fucking cheated in the first place." Disgust is making him feel nauseous, and he takes Zayn's hands in his. "What do you want to do?"

Zayn looks up from where he's staring numbly at their joined hands. "Huh?"

"What do you want to do, babe? If you want to meet with him, we can do that. If we do decide that, we definitely have to tell Niall. I won't do it if it makes him uncomfortable. Don't wanna make him insecure or anything," Justin rambles, clearly anxious. His hands are trembling, Zayn realizes, and he rubs the back of one of his hands gently.

"No, I'm not making this decision on my own. It's what we decide to do. It's always been our decision," Zayn replies. "But, yes, I definitely agree that we should talk about it if we end up leaning towards doing that."

"I suppose it couldn't hurt, to talk to him," Justin shrugs. "Should we tell him about Niall?"

"I don't know. Alex is...I don't know. Mean-spirited. For Niall's safety, maybe we shouldn't. Like, we can say we're in a relationship with someone, but we don't have to go into specifics," Zayn suggests.

Justin nods. "Okay. I'll call Niall and see if we can talk about it, okay?" Zayn nods, still numb. "Baby, it's going to be all right. Don't worry."

- - -

"You wanted to ask me something?" Niall questions, looking soft and beautiful. Justin called right when he was getting ready for bed, so he'd brought his stuff with him when they picked him up. He's wearing the cutest red pajama set, and he chews on his thumbnail out of worry.