The Way We Do (Ziam)

Chapter 1

I think I'm gonna lose my mind...

Liam Payne was a fucking asshole.

The first time Zayn ever saw him he was climbing out of his Range Rover, whipping off his designer shades as he waved to his dickhead friends, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was late for the game and holding everyone up while he changed into his team's red jersey. Zayn definitely didn't notice how tan his skin was, or how defined his abs looked, and he certainly didn't wonder what quote had meant so much to him that he'd wanted to get it tattooed on his forearm.

"Who the fuck is this prick?" he asked Niall. He didn't really give a shit, but figured that he might as well find out who was holding them up. The weekly Guns & Hoses games were pretty much the only chance he got to have fun - to do something just for himself, with the added benefit of being able to prove that cops were superior to firefighters in sports as well as life - and he didn't appreciate his time being wasted, especially not by some rich pretty boy.

Niall turned his head to follow Zayn's gaze, running a hand through his blonde hair as he answered him. "Name's Liam Payne. He's a new recruit from somewhere up North."

"And what? They handing out luxury cars to all the hose monkeys now?"

"I guess we fucked up becoming cops instead, huh?" Niall laughed. "Nah, his dad's some kinda fancypants businessman. We're talking big money."

"Fancypants? Is that the official Irish term for it?" Zayn asked him as he turned away from Liam, even more disgusted with him than he had been moments before. The only thing worse than a fireman (which in his experience was basically synonymous with asshole) was a self-entitled, snobby fireman.

The second time Zayn saw Liam was only minutes later, when he was sprawled on top of him, having tackled Zayn to the ground despite the fact that they were playing touch fucking football. Zayn hadn't even seen him coming; Liam'd just barreled into him out of nowhere, obviously trying to impress his teammates, who Zayn could now hear laughing at him. His face was only inches from Zayn's, but he was too busy trying to push Liam's heavy ass off of him to notice how full and pink Liam's lips were as they smirked down at him, or how having him on top of him made something stir inside of him that he hadn't felt in forever.

"You two need a room?" Niall asked with a chuckle as he jogged up to them. For someone who was supposed to be Zayn's best friend and partner - the person he was supposed to trust with his life - he sure could be a dick.

"You feel like getting off me some time this year?" Zayn grunted, doing his best to roll out from under Liam.

Liam laughed as he pushed himself off, reaching a hand down to Zayn. He ignored it. "Sorry. You're more comfortable than you look," he said, looking anything but sorry. Fucking asshole.

Zayn winced a little as he stood up and felt a twinge in his back, but he kept his face as neutral as he could, not wanting to give Liam the satisfaction of knowing he'd injured him.

"Is there some kind of rule that you have to be a douche to be a firefighter?" he asked Niall as they began to walk away.

"Pretty sure it's the number one requirement," he agreed. They were making absolutely zero effort to keep their voices down, so it really wasn't surprising that Liam had something to say.

"Hey Harry," he called out to one of his teammates, the curly-haired one that Zayn'd been playing against since he'd joined the league, who, in all fairness, didn't seem to be quite as much of a dick as the other firefighters he'd met. "You know what cops and firemen have in common?"

"What's that, Liam?"

"They both want to be firemen."

No fucking way was Zayn going to let this asshole tackle him and badmouth him. "Oh yeah? You know why they created a police force, right? So that firefighters could have heroes too."

Liam turned around to look at Zayn with a gleam in his chocolate brown eyes. "Is that so? 'Cause I always heard it was so that they had somewhere to put all the people who are too out of shape to be firemen."

Zayn took a few steps closer to him, intrigued to find someone who seemed just as able to give it as to take it. "Like I give a shit about what someone who plays with a hose for a living thinks of me."

Liam's smirk turned into a full on grin as he closed the gap between them, lowering his voice so that only Zayn could hear him. "I do play with a hose for a living, and you should see how good I am with it. I can work magic with a hose, baby."

His chest was almost flush against Zayn's by the time he finished speaking, and Zayn shoved him away and turned around, doing his best to ignore the heat in his cheeks. What the fuck had that been about?

Zayn pointedly ignored Liam for the rest of the game, focusing on kicking a little ass instead. The game was close, but the Guns ended up winning when Zayn threw an amazing pass to one of his teammates, and he smiled as he heard his girls cheering for him from the sidelines.

After some pats on the ass from his teammates and fist bumps with the losers, Zayn made his way over to where Doniya, Waliyha and Safaa were waiting for him. "Good job, Zayn!" Safaa shouted, running up to him and launching herself into his waiting arms.

"Thanks, sweets. Did you see that last play? I threw that one just for you."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Course. Gotta keep my number one fan happy."

"Who's that guy over there? The one who took you down earlier," Doniya asked, nodding her chin in Liam's direction.

Zayn shrugged as he set Safaa down. "Just some douche."

"A pretty cute douche..." Waliyha murmured.

"Hey! Watch your language," he admonished her.

"You literally just said the same exact word," she said, rolling her eyes with a conviction that only teenagers are capable of.

"Whatever, let's get outta here. 'M starving." Doniya nodded and Zayn helped her to pack up their stuff before they started walking out of the park, headed for home. They'd almost made it to the sidewalk when he heard someone call out for him.

"Hey Zayn, wait up a minute!"

Zayn turned around and saw Liam of all people heading towards him. He thought about ignoring him, but he knew Doniya would give him shit for it so he stopped and waited for him, telling the girls that he'd catch up with them in a minute.

"Is that your family?" Liam asked as he reached Zayn, as if this asshole had any right to ask him anything.

"Yep."

"Your daughter looks a lot like you. How old is she?"

"Who, Safaa? She's five, but she's not my kid, she's my sister. They all are," Zayn told him slowly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. His tone was dripping with annoyance, which really wasn't fair since people assumed that he and Doniya were a couple and that Safaa was their kid all the time. It usually didn't bother him, but as Zayn was quickly learning, everything about Liam Payne bothered him.

Zayn saw what looked like relief flash over Liam's face, though he wasn't looking at Zayn directly. He followed his gaze and found it trained on his sisters' retreating figures, and oh. If this fucker thought that there was any way Zayn was going to let him anywhere near Doniya he had another thing coming. Zayn decided that he'd had enough of this conversation and of Liam in general, but just as he turned to go he felt Liam's hand on his lower back and his breath against his ear.

"Sorry if I hurt you earlier. I like to get a little rough and tumble sometimes. How about you, Zayn? You like it rough?"

Zayn's mouth dropped open in shock, because honestly, who did this guy think he was? But by the time he turned around to ask Liam exactly that he was already walking off, and Zayn was left standing there with his mouth hanging wide open like an idiot.

He groaned as he jogged to catch up with his sisters, vowing to stay the fuck away from Liam Payne in the future. Or to give him a taste of his own medicine and tackle him during the next game. One or the other. Maybe even both.

***

A/N: Thanks so much to Stylinomen104 for making the cover!