Harry had practically carried Zayn Malik’s fragile body back across the city and back to Harry’s small home. Zayn had been quiet the whole time, and had fallen asleep ever so quickly. His face was pale, with so much raw emotion etched into that perfect face of his. He’d had a long night, and Harry knew that he was going to be snappy and angry if he wasn’t careful around him in the next minutes or so. He figured it would be best if he said nothing about what had happened tonight, and it would be more beneficial to talk about it tomorrow, but for now, he placed Zayn gently on the sofa in the front room.
A slight whimper had left the younger boys lips as Harry had taken his body away from him after putting the boy down. Zayn looked like a small child, bundled up in his coats as he slept. Harry sighed as he looked down at the boy. In comparison to his own life, so much had happened to Zayn, and a bad feeling in the bottom of Harry’s gut was telling him that there was more than it seemed. He was about to pull a blanket over Zayn, when he realised that maybe Zayn would want to go home. Regretfully, he reached over and softly stroked the boys’ arm.
“Zayn? Hey Z, wake up for a sec, babe.” Harry spoke softly, as he watched as Zayn’s eyelids starting to twitch before the fluttered open for a second before closing.
“Yeah?” Zayn mumbled, his voice or words barely audible as his precious face was pressed against the soft cushions of Harry’s couch.
“Zayn, do you want to stay here or go home?” Harry spoke again softly, thinking about where his car keys were, when the totally unexpected answer left Zayn’s lips.
“Stay, Harry stay.” Zayn mumbled, his eyes opening once more before Zayn’s hand gently slipped into Harry’s. Harry couldn’t help but smile widely. Even in this circumstance, the thought of Zayn staying over seemed equivalent to the feeling of winning the lottery. Harry’s thumb softly grazed over Zayn’s cold skin, before he leaned down and placed a kiss on the boys’ knuckles.
“Yeah, we’ll stay here. Together.” Harry breathed with a smile, almost as if trying to convince himself that this was really happening.
Zayn’s eyes had gone back to being closed by this point, and so Harry gently got up from his kneeling position and started to take off the boys’ shoes, undoing the laces and then gliding the shoe from Zayn’s foot. Zayn seemed to barely notice, he really must have been tired. Harry left the shoes by the side of the sofa knowing that Dusty would probably find them in the morning and start to make some soft of nest out of the huge, scuffed up trainers. Harry now gently picked up the sleeping boy in the bridal position once more, and gently carried him out of the living room, and up the stairs being as gentle as he could with his angel.
Harry carried Zayn into his bedroom and rested Zayn on the messy bed. Zayn’s eyes tried to open themselves once again, and Harry couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“Z, babe, just close your eyes, it’s only me.” Harry whispered to him, even though they were the only people in the house. A tiny mumble left Zayn’s lips, as Harry practically straddled the younger boy. Zayn didn’t kick up a fuss about this though, as the two boys’ sat in the dark, warm bedroom. There was a gap in the curtains from where Harry had looked out of them earlier, which had made the moonlight able to flood into the room and light it up.
Zayn’s skinny body leaned forward, and Zayn leaned his torso against Harry’s as Harry gently pulled off Zayn’s coats, before pulling off the dirty tank top of his. Again, Zayn had no fuss to make about this. Harry simply enjoyed the feeling of Zayn, fast asleep in his arms, their two torsos rising against each other’s as they breathed. For a moment, Harry realised that Zayn was half naked and fast asleep in his arms, and another smile spread across his face. The words of Ed Sheeran started to fall quietly from Harry’s mouth, and Harry found himself gently singing to the sleeping boy, holding onto him protectively. Zayn’s hands reacted, and rested on Harry’s hips and squeezed them gently, and Harry placed a soft kiss on Zayn’s temple as if to thank him for reacting even though he was so tired, before he slowly got up from Zayn. Zayn let out another slight whimper, and his eyelids fluttered open and Harry found himself looking into the beautiful mess that was Zayn Malik.
“You won’t leave me, will you?” Zayn whispered, as his hands reached up to Harry’s hips and Harry almost trembled over when he felt Zayn’s rough hands slip under the material of his t-shirt and start to trace circles into his skin. He immediately broke out in goosebumps under Zayn’s touch.
“I won’t leave you, I’m just putting you in my bed…I promise.” Harry whispered, before he leaned down onto the bed, putting one of his hands on either side of Zayn’s face before leaning down and placing a long, almost half desperate kiss onto the younger boys’ lips.
“You promise?” Zayn mumbled tiredly against Harry’s lips, his eyes opening and then closing again.
“Always. Come on, babe, let’s get out of these dirty jeans.” Harry told him softly, stroking the messy fringe out of Zayn’s face, enjoying the feeling of the raven silk flowing through his fingers. Zayn sighed from Harry’s touch, his eyes closing once again, and Harry couldn’t help but smile. He placed another kiss on the boys’ forehead, before he helped Zayn out of his jeans. Zayn didn’t kick up a fuss at all, and Harry couldn’t help but chuckle when he pulled off Zayn’s jeans and saw how the boy almost immediately rushed into the bed and under the covers, like a rabbit running to it’s burrow.
“I feel so safe.” Zayn mumbled, and Harry looked over the boy with a sad smile. Something inside of him told him that Zayn was telling the truth, and that this really was the safest he had genuinely been in years.
“I’m glad, Z.” Harry spoke softly, before he started to pull off his own clothes until he was in his boxers as well. Harry cuddled up into the warm bed, and was immediately hit with Zayn’s intoxicating smell, and his warmth.
“I really am glad.” Harry whispered, as he felt Zayn shuffle into his arms, their bare torsos now pressed together as if made to be that way. Zayn was shivering a little bit, but after a few moments of Harry giving him relentless kisses on the forehead and holding him closely, Zayn stopped shivering and Harry didn’t hear another peep from him. And once Zayn was asleep, it was hard to not fall asleep either.
“Don’t let him get me! Dad, please!” Zayn’s piercing screams suddenly brought Harry from what had been a very deep and restful sleep. As his body was slowly brought back to consciousness, he felt how the bed was moving. Well, it wasn’t moving, it felt like Harry was on a boat for a few seconds before his mind processed that he was back in his bedroom, next to a thrashing Zayn. Harry slowly sat up, as he watched the younger boy kick out and hit out violently, his face scrunched up in pain and his eyes squeezed shut.
“Zee…Zee!” Harry tried to wake him up, even though it was hard when it was about four in the morning and Harry didn’t even know what was going on.
“Dad, Dad please!” Zayn wailed again, with so much pain in his voice that it echoed around the room so the atmosphere felt raw. Harry reached over and tried to grab Zayn’s arms before he would end up hurting himself.
“Zayn, Zayn! Zaynie, wake up!” Harry urged him, his voice louder as he became more conscious. He couldn’t help thinking how bloody scary this was, and why the hell would Zayn be having a nightmare about his own father?
“I’m falling, Harreh!” Zayn yelled at the top of his voice, before he violently pushed Harry off him, causing Harry to go flying off the bed and hit the floor with a thud.
“Oww…” Harry breathed to himself, before Zayn’s body came tumbling down on top of him, causing Harry to be winded.
“Zayn!” Harry breathed out, when he realised that Zayn was on his side on the carpet, breathing heavily, his eyelids twitching and fluttering.
“Z.” Harry spoke up again, slightly louder, before he finally saw those beautiful chocolate marbles link with his emerald eyes. Zayn looked around him in a slight panic, before looking back at Harry, speechless, but still breathing heavily.
“It’s okay, you’re with me, we’re in my bedroom…on my floor…you had a nightmare.” Harry spoke softly, his voice coming out more husky than he had planned. Harry rolled over and held Zayn’s hot cheek in his hand, and Zayn nodded and rolled onto Harry’s chest in a tired defeat. His whole body was hot and sweaty, and Harry could feel his heart thrash around the younger boy’s frail torso.
“It was a nightmare…I gotcha.” Harry whispered once again, and he held the younger boy, as he eventually calmed down. Zayn’s hands clung onto Harry’s hips once again.
“C’mon, back in bed, angel.” Harry told him softly, before he peeled himself away from the poor boy, and got him tucked back into bed, before getting back in himself. Zayn was still incredibly tired, so for him to fall asleep again was incredibly easy, but this wasn’t the case for Harry. Harry laid on his back, staring at the ceiling in absolute confusion. Sleep was trying to take over his body, but he couldn’t let it take him because he was trying to figure out whatever the hell had made Zayn have such an awful sounding nightmare. The boy next to him was cuddled up in duvets, his breaths now going back to being slow and even, his black raven hair getting stuck to his sweat covered forehead. Harry watched him for another short moment, before pushing the boys’ fringe away from his forehead. His poor boy, he thought, as his hand found one of Zayn’s stray ones and entwined itself within it, his poor, poor boy.
The next morning, Harry was laid in his bed, tapping away on his phone. He was checking his texts and emails, before sending a couple of texts to his parents back to Cheshire just to tell them that he was alright and he missed them. The bedroom was filled with dull light, and the only sounds that could be heard was the light pattering of rain against the windowsill and Zayn’s gentle breathing as he slept, thankfully, soundly.
Harry rolled over slightly and pushed his iPhone back onto his bedside table, before noticing that it was 10:38am on his alarm clock. He rolled back over and settled into his comfy pillow as he watched Zayn sleep. As creepy as it may have seemed, Harry had never wanted anything more than to wake up and have Zayn sleeping softly next to him. He’d always craved to see that skinny little tanned body sprawled out next to him, wrapped up in the duvet as his chest rose up and down as beautiful breaths left his body. His hair was messed up above his head, and Harry couldn’t help but crack a smile as he watched the younger boy lift his hand up and rub his nose and then eyebrow before resting his hand back onto the pillow while he slept.
“Why are you staring at me?” Zayn mumbled, and a chuckle escaped Harry’s lips.
“Am I not allowed too?” Harry replied, his voice deep and husky due to his morning voice. Zayn’s brow furrowed and creased for a moment, before his eyelids slowly fluttered open and he looked at Harry in confusion for a minute, before his face softened.
“Thought you were my sisters then…” Harry heard Zayn mumble to himself, before he broke out into a small smile as he looked into Harry’s eyes. Harry considered his next sentence for a minute or two, before he gulped and finally picked up the courage to open his mouth and ask. The bedroom was quiet, apart from the rain, and it was a mess because of all the clothes that were scattered around the edge of the bed. Inside of the duvets were like a warm cocoon, and under them the two boys’ bodies entangled together, legs and arms all joined up and touching the other boy in some way or another. Zayn’s eyes were staring into Harry’s soul, as if they saw what was coming.
“You’ve never told me about your family before. Or your friends. Or your anything.” Harry finally spoke, his words feeling like they were propelled through the air like a grenade before breaking the beautiful, comfortable silence with an awkward one.
“I better start talking then.” Zayn mumbled, looking down, before looking up at Harry. His eyes looked honest, but more importantly, he looked ready to open up to him. Harry nodded as if to urge him on, and Zayn took a long sigh, before beginning.