Louder Than Lions [zarry stalik au]

Chapter 1 - Harder to Forgive And Harder to Forget

Once the boys reached the car, Charlie started to calm down, his tiny lungs taking in more oxygen, his read eyes drying.

          Zayn strapped his son in rather harshly, his temper getting to him. He was flustered, to say the least while he growled at Charlie to stop squirming. “Oww-Dadda.” He said softly while Zayn pushed against his chest. “Zayn you’re hurting him,” Harry pushed his husbands hands away, which flew straight for Zayn’s face, covering his eyes that now spilled tears out of them.

 

           “Zaynie? Why are you crying?” Harry asked, fixing Charlie’s straps. “It’s nothing Charming.” He insisted as he climbed into the driver’s seat, Harry sitting in the back with his overly upset son. “Zaynie, why's Charlie sad?” He wondered, holding onto the tiny little hand.

 

           “Because someone was really mean to him at school today, Hazz.” He said, stopping at a red light. “But why does Charlie have to go to school? School is bad.” He crossed his arms, huffing and puffing while he squinted his eyes together.

          He was mad at Zayn. Why did they make Charlie go to school? Everyone was mean to him at school. They ignored him and treated him like a little kid. And Harry was not a little kid. Neither was Charlie. They were already mean to him. Why else would he cry like that?

 

           “School isn’t bad Hazz, he needs to learn how to socialize. Don’t you want Charlie to have friends?” Zayn said as he drove again, making his way off the main highway and down the road in which took them to their neighborhood. “Still don’t like it.” Harry shot back, looking over at his son who was fast asleep, small snores leaving his pink lips.

           “I know Charming…” Zayn sighed, stopping the car in their driveway. “Baby, why don’t you head inside, Okay?” Zayn asked of him, not even looking back at his husband, who unbuckled there son and brought him into the house where Liam would surly still be waiting.

          Not before pressing a kiss to Zayn’s mouth of course, which Zayn could still feel lingering for a moment as he watched the door close, finally breaking down, his head slamming against the steering wheel as he cried.

          He cried his heart out, running his dark hands through his tussled hair, letting out a steam of ugly, chocked up sobs out.

           “W-Why me?” He cried, his head tilting back so he gazed at the roof, as in talking to someone in the highest of all places.

          He cried some more, resisting the two words over and over again. He said them, not because he wished his boys weren’t the way they were because in all honesty, it only made him love the two bundles of joy more.

          Intern, he referred to the suffering they had gone through, and still had to go through. What was to come of his precious, wonderful baby boy? What challenges would he face and what could Zayn do to prevent them?

          Of course, he couldn’t exactly do anything…Charlie would someday have to become his own person, but Zayn didn’t want that. He wanted to keep him safe in his arms forever, and never let his helpless mind wonder too far off places.

          He wanted him to be innocent forever, never to experience the horrors of this world the way Harry had because in a way, it made Harry darker. Not that he had a bad side, but he wasn’t so innocent, he didn’t have that innocents in his brown eyes. Yes, there were still many, many things he didn’t understand, but…He knew pain and that, that was something Zayn never wanted for Charlie.