Archive of Our Own ^beta

Zayn had heard it from his Mum for the first time when he was 6; he was sat on the small table in their modest-sized kitchen, the top of which was strewn with pages of his drawings. Scrawling intensely with his crayons, he’d sketched out a rough outline of the house they lived in, all along with every single family member of his. His Baba the tallest and strongest man on the paper, all down to little baby Safaa who was bundled in her blankets in his mum’s arms.

He was quite proud of the end result and had gleefully showed it off to his Mum, who was sat from across him.

“That’s lovely, jaan .” His mother had appropriately cooed and he’d almost burst at the seams with how pleased he was. It was then that he’d looked over what she was doing.

She was meticulously measuring and mixing spices into little plastic jars, which she then labelled with the help of small, white labels that she kept with her.

Zayn’s interest was quickly piqued; offering to help and adamant about not letting her do it alone, he was genuinely intrigued and wanted to be involved in the art of mixing spices.

Powders that were lethal red and vibrant yellow, spices that were oddly shaped or shaped like stars; the concoction of it all had him sneezing loudly. It had his Mum almost chortling with laughter and he didn’t know why she was laughing but it made him feel warm.

Then she’d reached out to ruffle his hair lovingly and he’d caught the glimpse of something black on her wrist out of the corner of his eye.

His small hand whipped up to catch her wrist and stared at it unmoving, observing.

Zayn felt his Mum’s other hand move to his hair and smooth down the ever unkempt hair he had going on; a mess of inky black that his poor Mum would try to tame, failing each time.

“What is it?” Her soft inquiring tone had him breaking off the stare to look up into her eyes.

There were times when he’d wondered about his own Mark on his right arm; he hadn’t given it much thought since his best friend at kindergarten had one, although it was shaped differently.

But his Mum’s Mark had such interesting detail to it. That was when he noticed it was coloured in.

So his childish mind had quickly jumped to a horrifying conclusion.

“Mum! Did you let Doni Baji colour your Mark? But you know how much I love colouring!”

Zayn’s exclamation had his Mum’s eyes widening in surprise then softening in good humour. Why was she happy and smiling? This was a serious matter, and he let his Mum know how serious he was by frowning quite intensely.

“No one coloured it in, sweetheart. It’s like this because I met your Baba.”

Zayn’s frown of anger quickly turned to confusion. That didn’t make any sense to him.

Noticing the look of complete puzzlement on her son’s face, Trisha leaned down to whisper to him, “It won’t make sense until you meet your own soulmate, you know.”

And with that, she tapped the black coloured image that span across the length of his forearm, starting from his wrist all the way up near his elbow. He was quite proud of it too and always took the chance to show it to any willing adult.

He smiled up at his Mum before looking back down at his Mark. As far as he remembered, it had always been there; he was so used to it, having to open his eyes every morning to the view of his own arm. But he was fond of it.

From what his Mum and Baba had told him, there was another person out there who loved him just as much as Baba loved Mum! That in itself was unbelievable to him; no one loved each other as much as his parents did.

But maybe, he thought to himself as his eyes strayed back down to the Mark, this someone could love him just as much? And when he meets them, he can show all his drawings to them and also add them to his family sketch.

Zayn was excited; now he couldn’t wait to get another friend who loved him so much. And Zayn was sure he’d love this person just as much. Now he’d have to wait for his new best friend to come. They'd go on adventures in the back garden and look at rocks and insects and gross all the neighbours out by playing in the mud.

And as little Zayn Malik looked down at the black microphone on his arm, he was completely oblivious to another younger boy in the same part of the world as him, waking up every day to the sight of roses on his hand.

Zayn was 16 and it was Eid; normally the event would have him practically vibrating with excitement. Eid at his house started early in the morning with his sisters running around frantically trying to find their missing jewellery or shoes and him struggling sleepily into his traditional white clothes.

Then Trisha would burst into the living room looking just as flustered but appropriately coo at all of her children but also scoff at Zayn's mostly unkempt appearance.

The boy would then stumble back up to his bedroom and somewhat try and make himself look presentable. A handful of hair product shoved into cropped hair was all he could manage and in time his Baba would come up and help him out a little.

“Us boys got to stick together, you know?” He'd whisper conspiratorially at Zayn, who'd giggle sleepily and the two would trudge back down amidst vague shrieks from his sisters’ bedrooms.

The TV would always be on in the living room, usually to whatever football match had last aired, though Zayn's aunts would always change it to some Pakistani show when they arrived. It was boisterously loud and at times unbearable.

But it was his family and there was nothing else like spending Eid with them.

This year's Eid was much too similar to the ones before and according to routine, his cousins were set to arrive in an hour. That thought did inject him with the slightest bit of anticipation. He was restless to see Jawaad; Zayn knew as soon as they both saw each other they'd hightail it upto Zayn's bedroom where the two would remain holed up eating delicious Eid food and playing video games.

Someone shoved a hot mug of tea into his hands and he vaguely looked down at it before looking around to see who it was.

His Mum of course; she smiled up at him and turned away to complete her chores, this time she'd taken on the challenge of cooking one of the most difficult dishes his Daadi used to make.

She was appropriately swamped with her tasks and Zayn would eventually cave in and help her but the glow on her face and the twinkle in her eye let him know she was enjoying herself.

He graced a smile her way and went back to sipping from his mug while mindlessly watching the football match.

Sighing, he finished the last of his tea and set it on the coffee table in front of him. Quietly, he folded up the sleeves of his kurta; it annoyed him to have the pristine full cuffed look that he'd only sport when going to the mosque. He knew Jawaad would do the same thing once he arrived.

Zayn's eyes strayed to the black microphone on the inside of his arm. Since his conversation with his Mum about coloured soulmarks, the Mark hadn't turned into any colour; it was still black and blocky with ink-like spots splattered over it messily.

Zayn had always wondered about the significance of it all; why did he have a microphone of all things? And what did his soulmate have of his?

Swivelling towards his Baba, he addressed his father, who was sharing the same sofa as him, “Baba?”

His father made a questioning sound without turning his eyes away.

“Why is your Mark not coloured?”

He knew this because he'd seen both his parents’ Marks over the years; his Mum’s was a mesmerizing coloured constellation over her right wrist while his Baba’s was a solid black leaf spanning across his left bicep.

Yaser whirled his head around to face Zayn, eyes widened in surprise. The boy, however, took it as the beginnings of a scolding.

He flinched, “Never mind I was just asking.”

But Yaser was already shaking his head, reaching out with his hand to get his son's attention.

“No, beta . I'm not mad, just shocked. I didn't expect this question from you. Doniya, yes. That girl has eaten my head over this topic one too many times now.”

He chuckled to lighten the situation and Zayn smiled in relief up at his father.

Yaser tilted his head in question, “Why the sudden interest?”

Zayn could spot the teasing glint in his eye but he merely shrugged, “Mine’s not coloured.”

Realization flooded Yaser features and his eyes softened. “There's no chance your Mark will ever be coloured, you know that right?”

Worry and confusion shot through Zayn and he frowned but Yaser was quick to dampen his worries, “It's not necessary for a Mark to turn colour even after you meet your soulmate.”

Zayn nodded to himself silently, trying to gather his wayward thoughts. “So why is Mum's coloured?”

His father chuckled and looked at him with a twinkle in his eyes, “There’s a reason. It’s a long story, though.”

Instantly, he perked up, “Tell me!”

Yaser laughed but glanced at the clock, “I don't know if there's time -”

“Baba, there's loads of time!”

His father laughed loudly again, “Okay, okay. I'll tell you.”

“Your Mum and I didn't get along as well when we met actually. Both of us didn't know we were each other's soulmate because you're supposed to feel this connection right? But it didn't happen right away. And now I know it was because neither of us was willing to compromise.”

Zayn sat there, stunned and confused. There was never a time in his life that he remembered his parents never getting along.

His Baba noticed his expression and nodded knowingly. “Yeah, it was like that for a long time. Your Mum and I were neighbours and we met when her family moved in next to us. Everyone expected us to get along but she only got along with my sisters.”

Contrasting his words, Yaser chuckled fondly like it was a good memory.

“At first I thought it was because I was the only boy in the house and she only wanted to play with the girls. But as it turned out, it was only me. So of course, I started ignoring her as well. It happened many, many years later though. I was playing football out in the street when I was about your age and your Mum and her friends were sitting in her garden just chatting.”

Yaser’s eyes had a glaze over them now as if the memory was playing out in his head.

“The ball came towards me as we were playing and I tried to deflect but it’s like it escaped me. Next thing I knew it hit the group of your Mum and her friends and I stood there like an idiot like I was almost waiting for her to come hit me or something.”

Zayn giggled at the image and his father smiled down at him. “Yeah I was terrified of your Mum. Still am.” He winked at his son jokingly.

He observed as his father heaved a deep sigh and continued. “She took the ball, stood up and came to me and practically shoved it into my hands. Our fingers must have touched or something because next thing I remember, she was gasping with pain and holding her hand like something had burned it.”

“Her friends started shouting about me hurting her but I think she knew right away. There was this look of surprise and shock in her eyes that had me convinced.”

Yaser snapped out of it and looked at Zayn, “And the rest is history.”

Zayn blinked for a moment. “Wait so what happened next?”

His father shrugged, “She demanded I ask her out on a date, that’s what.”

Zayn laughed out loud just as his Mum came to collect his empty mug from the table.

“You boys done?”

Without prompt, Zayn let her know, “You’re awesome, Mum.”

Trisha smiled down at him, confused, “Well I know. But it’s good you know now too.” With that, she winked teasingly at him and left.

From his side, he heard his Baba sigh. Zayn turned to see a disgustingly dreamy expression on his face.

“And that’s why I still love your Mum.”

Zayn scrunched his nose up at that, “Gross, Baba. No more romance, thanks.”

His Baba laughed loudly, the sound of which settled warmly in his gut. A strong arm was swung around his neck.

“You’re gonna have your romantic Bollywood moment one day, son. And then I’ll ask ya.”

“Yeah yeah whatever - “ Zayn shrugged off his father’s arm, a hint of red in his face as he hid his smile and got up off the sofa. He could hear his Baba’s teasing laugh chase him out of the room as he went back upstairs.

Later that night, Zayn laid awake in bed, while everyone else had gone to sleep. His thoughts were swarming with unanswered questions. The solution to all his problems right now was somewhere else in the world right now, maybe already asleep, oblivious to Zayn’s dilemmas.

He wondered about what his soulmate would look like. Would they be the one to touch him first or would he be the one? Zayn held his arm up in front of him, the scarce moonlight peeking through his window illuminating part of the Mark.

He tried to imagine the Mark with colour; maybe it would be shades or red or pink, or maybe a myriad of beautiful colours that would surely reflect the personality of his soulmate. Or maybe it would always remain black as his soulmate’s Mark would change colour.

How would they touch him? On the hand maybe as a friendly gesture; perhaps even the result of a handshake or a hi-five. Does he already know his soulmate but never touched them?

Suddenly, panic shot through him; what if he already met his soulmate but never knew because they didn’t touch? Maybe they passed him on the way to school or even at the park. And maybe he smiled back at them but didn’t think much of it.

Zayn swallowed against the devastating feeling, heart thundering loudly in his ears. He was only sixteen though, there was probably loads of time for them to meet again and touch. The thought helped him relax just a bit.

He sighed heavily and glanced at the clock at his bedside table. It was past 2 am and Zayn was exhausted from the excitement of that day. He fell asleep, imagining his soulmate’s smile and the way they would laugh at his horrible jokes, how they would fall asleep snuggled into each other’s arms.

Zayn’s last thought before sleep enveloped him was whether his soulmate thought of the same things before they slept too.

Zayn didn’t meet his soulmate soon after that; in fact Doniya found hers first.

It happened a while before his 17th birthday, around which time his hopes had been mostly dampened.

He was struggling to get his homework done when he heard the front door burst open as Doniya came back from shopping with her friends. She had already passed her A levels and was taking a year off to figure out what she wanted to do and that didn’t make Zayn jealous at all - nope, not a bit.

He groaned under his breath and let his head flop onto his textbook, hearing his eldest sister excitedly yell something at his Mum. Suddenly, he heard a cacophany of noise that consisted of shrieks and yells, all of which came from his Mum and his sisters.

Frowning down at the terrible, illegible scrawls on his notebook, he decided to take a look at what was happening downstairs. His textbook and notebook were barely enough to keep him entertained, his thoughts too distracted. He had also taken to scribbling and doodling around the back page of his notebook, so he decided to whet his curiosity.

Descending the steps slowly, he saw Doniya jumping around the kitchen and explain something with a wide grin on her face. His other sisters were jumping around and hugging each other but it was his Mum who had him halting in confusion.

There were tears in her eyes and her hands were clasped over her mouth as if she was shocked but emotional about it. But he was thoroughly confused by all of it.

When Zayn entered the kitchen, Doniya noticed him right away.

“Zayn, Zaynie look!” She was showing him something but he was too preoccupied with the storm of emotions around his family members.

Looking at Doniya, it was as if she had cried causing her makeup to streak a little bit but she was practically glowing with happiness. He looked down at what she was showing him and it was her index finger.

Wasn’t that where her - ?

Zayn’s eyes widened in shock at the sight of her soulmark; it was coloured in.

The small daisy that was etched onto the side of her index finger was now a blooming yellow. He whipped his head up to look at his sister and she was smiling widely down at him through her tears.

“You met them? What happened? You touched them first, right?” All sorts of questions stumbled out of his mouth in a stream but Doniya just laughed and shook her head.

“Sit down, you lot, I’ll tell you once I’ve calmed down.” She laughed at the sight of her Mum still crying in shock.

They arranged tables around their modest kitchen table and someone (probably his Mum) set up some tea for them all. Their Baba was yet to come home from his short trip up to see his sisters so it was just them huddled in the warmth of their kitchen.

As the tea bubbled and frothed, Doniya recounted her story.

“So I was out with the girls, right? And I saw this gorgeous green dress that I really liked and like the stupid girl I am, I kept staring at it and didn’t realize I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

She laughed loudly, and Zayn smiled at her as she continued, “So I’m staring at this dress and this man just bumps into me. Turns out the idiot wasn’t looking either! Next thing I know I feel this sharp pain in my finger and I think, “Oh good I’ve cut up my finger or something”, but it was just my colour coming in!”

“When I showed him that he was just as shocked. I think we must have spent a whole minute just staring at each other, until he introduced himself.”

Doniya stopped talking for a bit as she smiled fondly down at her coloured soulmark. She looked up and addressed them all, “So his name’s Mark and he’s 25 and he lives in the next town over at his own house. He said he’s studied to be an architect and he’s working at this company I forgot the name of. But he sounds like a right bloke I think.”

Zayn noticed his sister’s features were suddenly drawn into uncertainty. She was biting her lip too which was definitely her nervous tell.

Doniya turned to their Mum, “What do you think, Mum?”

Trisha, who had calmed down by now, was pouring tea into four mugs (Safaa didn’t like tea) and she paused to look at her eldest daughter. Then she looked at Zayn and the rest of her children.

Slowly, she smiled, “I think once your Baba gets home, we can all take a few days off and go on a road trip to see this handsome soulmate of yours and meet his family.”

She laughed as Waliyha and Safaa descended into excited celebrations. Zayn frowned at them.

“Where are we going to stay?” As far as he knew, it was far too expensive to stay at a hotel for a few days even.

“Oh don’t worry about that, Mark said his parents had loads of space since they have a bigger house and would love us to stay over!”

Trisha cocked an eyebrow at Doniya who had relayed all the information, “He's thought ahead, has he?”

Doniya’s eyes widened as she realized what her Mum was implying. “Mum!”

Her face was bright red but it was enough to get Zayn snickering at her.

Their Mum rolled her eyes as the two siblings began to jokingly push each other back and forth.

“Alright alright. Doniya give me Mark's parents’ number, I'll talk to them.”

But only after a little while it was settled. Mark’s parents were absolutely adamant on having over their future in-laws for a visit and a stay.

And just like that, all of them were packed to visit the next day at Mark’s childhood house where they were going to stay as the two new soulmates’ families met and became acquainted.

Through it all, Zayn felt the slightest jab of envy; he was unbelievably happy for his sister but the slightest bit disappointed too. He felt like this was one step towards the thought that he’d never meet and find his soulmate.

He sighed yet again the same night. The glowing red digits of his clock mocked him from his bedside table. Breathing out, he pressed the soulmark to his lips, murmuring a quiet, wistful prayer. He fell asleep in the same position.

The next day dawned on a very chipper Doniya who looked like she’d stayed up all night talking to her soulmate on the phone and a very miserable, sleep-deprived Zayn.

Walihya, too, seemed to be stumbling around the house looking for God-knows-what and Safaa was the last one out once they’d packed the car. She was also still asleep in his Baba’s arms since she was enviously at that age where she could be picked up and transported anywhere.

Grumpily, Zayn turned to his Mum who was still adjusting all their bags in the back of the car and gently nudged her, “Mum, carry me too."

Despite her flustered state, Trisha laughed merrily at her only son and pushed him towards the backseat of the car where they all piled in.

The ride, itself, was pretty uneventful; the passing scenery of greenery and unending roads was all too usual for Zayn. His thoughts, however, were too muddled to make sense. Despite being really sleepy, he wasn’t able to succumb to the lull of the drive over the long, winding roads.

Rationally, he knew he wasn’t making sense; there was no reason for him to be upset over Doniya’s happiness. And he wasn’t upset, not really. He was just disappointed it didn’t happen for him first.

But Doniya was older than him, his brain supplied helpfully. And that was true; yet something was niggling in the back of his mind, like there was something coming and he wasn’t ready for it.

Just his luck, it was probably more disappointment being sent his way. He sighed pensively, wondering whether being in a place that was new and unknown was going to pull him out of this depressive state that he’d sunk into. It was like sitting on one of those awful sofas that seemed to swallow you whole so you could never get back up again.

Yeah, his aunt had one of those and he hated it.

Looking out of the window, Zayn noticed they’d left his town and were now in a place he hadn’t been before. The shops and buildings all looked similar but wholly unfamiliar. His gut clenched for an unknown reason but he chalked it up to meeting new people so soon, and one of them being a part of their family in the near future put him on edge.

Zayn knew his role as the only brother to three sisters, was quite daunting. Not that they needed it, but he always felt like he should shelter his sisters from the world. But he could never do that with Doniya.

She was a powerhouse, able to withstand any storm as well as support all her younger siblings through any of their problems. Zayn had initially had half a mind to talk to her about his soulmate situation; but since she learned of her own soulmate, he was entirely reluctant to breach the subject.

It wasn’t that he wanted to keep it all a secret; he just didn’t know how to talk about it without breaking down and losing hope. His silence on the subject was the only thing keeping him together at this point.

Maybe Doniya wasn’t the best person to discuss his hopelessness over a soulmate with, at the moment. His sister was practically running on adrenaline and endorphins since finding out and he didn’t want to dampen that any bit, with his talk of a depressing topic.

The faint clicking of the indicator had him looking out of the window again; they were in a homely-looking neighbourhood, trees swathing the enormity of the houses lined up on each side. The wind was gentling over the area as they exited the car and Yaser approached the front door of one of the houses.

A brunette answered the door with a big smile and a man with greying hair stood behind her, beaming as well. They were all invited in and soon they were all inside the warmth of the house and in the company of his Mark's family.

He was introduced in line with all his siblings that made him feel like he was only six.

He learned quickly that Mark's mother was called Diana but he referred to her as Mrs. Hadley and Mr. Hadley was called James and absolutely loved football, something that had him and his Baba striking up an intense conversation over.

Zayn had always felt like he should like sports the way his Baba did, passionately. But while he didn't mind a football match, he never sought out any sport either in his free time or even at school.

It seemed like all the boys his age were interested but he'd rather detach himself from such a situation to sit in a corner quietly listening to his music and doodling on any piece of paper he had.

A few hair ruffles and back thumps later, he was being directed to a small guest room at the back of the house by Mr. Hadley.

“You can stay here, son. This one is well removed from the rest of us so you can have your own space, eh?” Mark's father winked at him and chuckled like he’d cracked a really good joke.

Zayn could only stand there awkwardly and laugh along until the older man left the room and he was all alone.

Not that he didn’t appreciate the extra space (he did not want to think about the consequences of sharing with the girls, Walihya loved hogging blankets since she was 4), he found himself a little awkward in the new room.

It didn’t look like someone had given this one up for him since the bed didn’t look lived in at all. The wooden dresser against the wall was empty as he checked, so he guessed that this was a guest room that was barely used.

Looking around, there wasn’t much in the room except for a normal-sized bed with a matching dresser to the side and a small window overlooking the neighbour’s house.

It was still quite early in the morning as the sunlight was peeking through the flimsy curtains into the small bedroom. Craving the early morning warmth, he crept closer to the window and edged the curtains open.

The window was shut firmly but he could feel the golden warmth of the sun filter through the glass. Zayn stood there awhile, contemplating the past few days that got them here.

What now, he wondered; he guessed the next day would be some sort of official dinner to commemorate the two soulmates and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t dreading it. He wanted to be every bit the protective brother he felt he was, but what if he never got along with Mark?

Suddenly, he heard the door creak open and a pair of eyes stared up at him. It was Safaa.

“Hey, what's wrong?” Zayn asked his youngest sister who only smiled at him and let herself inside the room.

She didn't bother closing the door behind her which had him frowning and opening his mouth to tell her off but she'd already started whispering excitedly.

“ Baji's soulmate is here, Bhaiyya! He's so handsome and tall and he's got this adorable dog too! And - “

Zayn rolled his eyes fondly at her rambling, “ Acha alright now shut up I'm coming down to see him!”

Safaa shot him an endearing gap-toothed smile and ran off, leaving him to huff at her.

Swallowing slightly, he mentally brushed himself off. It was time to meet his future brother-in-law.

The first one of three, his brain traitorous whispered.

Zayn groaned exasperatedly and left his room to head downstairs.

As he lay awake in the new bed at night, his thoughts wandered to the day he just had.

It wasn't bad at all. Mark was sweet, and he cared genuinely about Doniya. A little too much sometimes, he thought and smiled back at the few moments when his sister had openly chastised her soulmate for being so overbearing.

“I'm sure I can carry a tray of snacks, Mark, honestly.”

Zayn thought she had sounded exactly like his Mum which she was horrified to hear when he finally told her.  He'd laughed so hard and loud that he'd surprised himself with the intensity of it.

Slightly relieved, he let his eyes wander shut, already looking forward to the next day.

***

So much for a vacation, he thought bitterly. There wasn't much to do here unfortunately.

Mark had moved out from his house and into his flat many years ago so there weren't any sources of entertainment here unless you counted the numerous boxes of board games that looked like they'd been purchased in the 90s.

Rubbing his hands down his face, Zayn felt like he should just sleep his days away. Safaa and Walihya had Mark's little sister, Jennie to play with. He was sure Doniya and Mark were busy getting to know each other, as were their parents.

So now it was well after lunch that he was left to idly roam around the house and aimlessly stare at the walls.

This was when he'd finally decided to return to his room; at least he could lay on his bed in there.

Ready to claw his eyes out, Zayn got up and strolled over to the single window in the room. He'd left the curtain open since morning since he was fond of the sunlight that streamed through there during the day.

Sighing deeply, he looked down at his soulmark again. Where are you? his heart whispered longingly.

His thoughts consumed him soon and he found his eyes straying over to the neighbour’s house.

The window opposite to his was wide open. Distracted, he peered into the room and was met with a surprising sight.

It was a boy who seemed to be around his own age; brown hair falling over his eyes as he leant over a guitar, capable hands on the strings like they belonged there. He was sat on his bed facing the front of the house, which allowed Zayn a clear view of his profile.

A faint melody could be heard over the distance between them both, but nothing he could make out distinctively. And yet, he couldn’t tear his eyes off of him.

That sight itself wasn’t the surprising part; Zayn had several friends back home who knew how to play a musical instrument so that wasn’t new or surprising to see.

The shocking bit was that Zayn, for the first time in his life, found himself mesmerized by someone.

The boy was completely concentrated on his guitar; he was wearing sweatpants but was shirtless, the sun lighting up a glow from under his skin. Strong arms and capable hands held the guitar like it was meant to be: with purpose.

It looked like he was testing out a melody, maybe practicing a new song. The boy shifted slightly and that was when Zayn saw it.

A soulmark. It was blurry from where he stood, but he could see how black the entirety of it was, spanning across the back of the boy’s left hand. So, maybe not Marked yet.

Zayn was so fixated on the Mark that he failed to notice that the boy had looked up. Right at him, and the two made eye contact.

Brown eyes met hazel ones, astonishment meeting embarrassed shock.

He doesn’t know who reacted first, but Zayn felt that it was him who basically whipped around and left the room in a hurry, completely mortified at being caught.

Had he stayed a moment longer, he would’ve seen the boy stand up to approach the window and stare after Zayn curiously.

***

Panting lightly, he made it safely downstairs, appalled at his own behaviour. Never in his life had Zayn ever stared at someone, a stranger at that, with such concentration and distraction. But it was as if he couldn’t help himself, he was drawn to the boy, something about him was bothering him a lot. Not in a bad way; rather Zayn wanted to know more about him.

Now thanks to his engagement to the whole soulmate business, he’d never given much thought to what he liked. At school, he’d hear a lot of the boys talk about girls and even other boys but Zayn had never given much thought to who he liked, or what he liked about them.

There was never a lack of fantasy in his life, but anything that would come to his mind was not defined as such. And so he’d wondered that about himself, but not having a definite answer he’d shoved that thought bubble deep into his mind, completely unbothered.

But now having had a glimpse of this boy, it had sparked something inside of him. Attraction definitely, but also intrigue; this thirst to get to know more about him.

He wanted to know how old this boy was, what he thought of finding his soulmate, which school does he go to, and whether he loves comics just as much as he does.

Zayn had never had any problems making friends; even in school as he is now, he had a fairly large group of friends to hang out with and no one ever caused him any trouble. So, it wasn’t difficult for him to go up to a new person, say hi, and be friends with them.

Yet somehow he was hesitant about this boy; he felt like he couldn’t walk up to his door, knock, introduce himself, and suddenly be friends with the boy. Not to mention he had probably already ruined what could’ve been a breezy introduction between the two of them by unashamedly staring at him through the window.

“Zayn, you alright my love?” His Mum’s voice broke him out of his reverie and he looked up to see that he was now standing near the living room, beside the set of stairs he’d taken to come down in a hurry.

Her and Baba were sat on the sofa facing Mark’s parents, a coffee table laden with snacks and tea between them. Doniya and Mark were nowhere to be seen, though Zayn didn’t expect them to be around; they were probably getting to know each other in some place private.

Zayn was thankful for that; he didn’t want to make disgusted faces around them being cute. He could hear Safaa and Walihya in the garden outside with Jennie. Faint shrieks of laughter could be heard and he smiled instinctively before turning to answer his Mum.

“Uh yeah I’m fine. I’m gonna be out with the girls, Mum.” With that, he passed the adults, smiling politely at them and ignoring the pointed look his Mum was sending him.

She was so instinctive with him that it could get scary at times. Sometimes she’d know something was wrong with him by just listening to him talk over the phone, demanding an answer and whether he needed to be ‘picked up from wherever you are right now’.

But it was all out of love, and Zayn would lie if he said he wasn’t thankful for every bit of it.

Exhaling silently, he stepped out of the smothering warmth of the house and into the fading sunlight and crisp air. The girls were running around, trying to chase each other around on the grass, and Zayn reached out to tickle Safaa who screamed and giggled as she ran away from him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could spot the neighbour’s house, where the boy must have been in his own bedroom. Frustrated, he rubbed both his hands down his face; he can’t believe he almost ogled at some strange boy in his bedroom like a creep.

He can’t imagine what the boy must be thinking.

“Zayn, there you are! You good?” Doniya had started out cheerful but when saw his expression, her tone changed. There was a look of concern flashing over her face and Mark was stood beside her as well, an arm around her waist.

Zayn let his eyes linger on the hand, then looked back up to the two of them. Doniya had raised an eyebrow at him while Mark had an easy smile still up on his face. He exhaled loudly through his mouth. These two were really it, huh.

Zayn let his face relax into a smile as he squinted against the sun to look at the pair, “Yeah I’m okay. Uh Mark?”

The man in question was gazing dreamily at his sister and he had to smother a grin against showing. At being called, the man snapped out of his daydream to look down at Zayn guiltily.

Zayn smiled up at him to let him know he didn’t mind. He certainly never minded if it meant the happiness of his sister.

“Do you, uh, know your next door neighbours?” He didn’t know what he was going to do with the information he’d get, but something about the boy really niggled something at the back of his mind.

Mark frowned in thought before smiling, “Oh yeah, those are the Paynes. Sweet people, man, both Geoff and Karen. They have three children I think. The youngest was still here when I moved out.” He paused to laugh before continuing, “Actually I think the youngest is your age. Yeah I think Liam’s right about your age.”

Doniya looked at Zayn, “Why, Zayn? Did something happen or did someone say something - “

Mark cut her off with a loud laugh, “Nah that doesn’t sound like any of the bunch. They’re too sweet - “

Doniya glared up at her soulmate, “Let Zayn answer, Mark.”

Zayn bit his lip to stop the ensuing grin; there was his tigress of a sister.

He cleared his throat to quickly answer and clear the air; it would be horrible if right after these two met, they fought over Zayn’s problems.

“No Doni, no worries. Was just curious because I saw one of them. Like the youngest one Mark was talking about. Liam, was it?”

Mark nodded with a smile, “Sweet kid, that one. Super quiet but you’d never know he boxes in his free time.”

Surprise and doubled curiosity filled Zayn until he felt like he wanted to walk into that house and -

Do what, exactly? Force the boy to get to know him? Kidnap him and make him leak secrets about himself. So smooth, Zayn.

Suddenly, his sister grabbed his arm, “Come with me, love. We haven’t had a chat since all this madness happened. You don’t mind, right, babe?”

She looked up at Mark with a pleading expression, and much to Zayn’s amusement, the man all but melted on the spot.

“Yeah ‘course, I’ll just check in on Mum and Dad about tonight’s plans.”

With a kiss laid gently on her cheek (Zayn barely held in his disgusted yet amused snort), the man bounded away from them, calling the girls back to the house as he went, since it was almost completely sundown.

Doniya turned to him again, “C’mon, let’s chat.”

The two walked to a spot in the garden where it was fairly secluded and no one could hear them. There, Zayn crumbled and spilled everything that had happened: his worry over his soulmark, wondering if he’d ever meet them, and the incident with the boy - Liam.

By the end of it, Doniya was smiling at him, which had him frowning in return.

“I’m not joking about any of this, y’know.”

“No, no, jaan, I know what you mean. I’m not poking fun at all, I’m just surprised I guess.”

“Surprised?”

His sister shrugged, “Well yeah you’re talking like you’re so old now. When did that happen?”

She eased the question with a teasing grin and a nudge to his shoulder. With a huff, Zayn slid her a pointed look to which she giggled and grabbed his arm again.

“Look, I’m not going to tell you that I didn’t worry the same way you did. Why’d you think I was taking a year off? I was too worried about this! About not finding my soulmate. And while it did happen to me, and I’m super glad it did, I know the stress of it and how it can change you.”

Zayn swallowed against the lump in his throat; she was right, it was beginning to overshadow the good things in his life, this worry over a soulmark and his soulmate.

As if she read his mind, she continued, “You’re sixteen, my love! You have so much more to do. Maybe that’s why Fate’s waiting, huh?”

It was all too much, and Zayn realized he’d been obsessing over this for the past few months now; and that’s no good for him. He didn’t like worrying so much all the time, and he needed to enjoy this time for what it was; the time until he meets his soulmate.

He smiled at his sister who grinned back and the two shared a smothering hug that had Zayn laughing and squirming to get away from. As they retreated from the embrace, he had another thought.

“Did Mark say there were plans for tonight?”

Doniya’s eyes lit up in realization, “Oh yeah, there’s a get-together happening over here tonight. Dress in something nice.”

She shot him a cheeky smile to which he groaned, “How many people are gonna be there?”

Not that he dreaded company, it’s just that he felt like an outsider and a stranger around these people.

His sister cocked her head in thought, “Um, I think it’s a few more people from Mark’s family and maybe a few neighbours? Not sure.”

She went on another spiel about her in-laws and how they were generous and kind people but Zayn could barely hear her over the panic inside his head.

Neighbours? Maybe some of the Paynes? Or Liam.

Zayn sighed and rubbed a hand down his face; he was obsessed over nothing.

He needed to get a grip on himself. What would Jawaad say if he saw him like? Probably take the piss out of him and then tell someone.

Why was he sweating buckets just because someone announced the Paynes were going to be over for tea? Because a boy called Zayn Malik was slightly (more than) obsessed with another boy called Liam Payne and the two hadn’t even met or been introduced.

He was an absolute idiot, and he was going to embarrass himself when Liam recognized him or worse, spilled the story of how he shamelessly got stared at by the weird, new boy visiting the town.

Zayn sighed quietly and once again straightened the stiff material of his button-down. Love that his Mum insisted on him wearing this, he thought wryly.

At least, the cuffed sleeve of the shirt was covering his soulmark; he wasn’t fond of strangers asking about it because it reminded him too much of never having met -

Nope, shutting that door instantly.

No more moping around like Doniya said. He was going to enjoy these moments with his family, as long as he gets to avoid Liam, of course.

Silently, he went back to berating himself in his thoughts.

Mark’s mum entered the living room from the kitchen door and clapped her hands once, “Alright everyone, dinner’s ready. But I think we can wait a while until people start arriving and then serve, right?”

She had her hands on her hips, looking decisive yet flustered as she looked down at his Mum who was sat on the sofa.

His Mum chuckled, “Don’t worry about it, the food’s going to be fine. You just sit down in one place and stop worrying. The kids can handle the serving just fine. Doniya and Zayn can be in charge!”

At that his Mum smiled at his sister but glared pointedly at him, as if he was the one to slack off. He pouted at his Mum who winked discreetly at him and he was tempted to roll his eyes at her.

But the doorbell sounded through the house and a rush of noise passed over him from the people present.

He watched in amusement as everyone started running around hilariously like chickens without heads trying to straighten the last bit of everything and looking like they weren’t just lounging around waiting for guests to arrive. So much for relaxing, he thought as he snickered soundlessly at the sight.

A loud ‘Hello!’ sounded from the front door, and Zayn craned his neck from the sofa in the living room, to see who it was.

It was a blonde woman with short hair and a round-faced man behind her; he assumed they were Mark’s other relatives, because Mark’s parents were embracing them and inviting them in really warmly.

“How’s that weather for you, Karen?”

“Oh god it’s done absolute wonders for me - “

The man piped up, “She’s been out in the yard since morning, told her she would get sun-burnt and then what - “

“Oh calm down, Geoff, I’m fine!” The woman slapped her husband’s arm good-naturedly.

His Mum and Baba were introduced next and another round of hugs and loud congratulations sounded but Zayn could barely hear any of it.

His mind was stuck on a repeat of ‘Geoff’ and ‘Karen’, weren’t those the Paynes?

So that meant -

The door opened by itself and in walked a boy with cargo pants and a button-down shirt not dissimilar to his own.

It was Liam.

Zayn’s heart entirely stopped, then restarted itself. This was not good, it was entirely not good, it was rather un-good?

What?

“What?” He blurted out in front of everyone but realized his mistake, just as soon as everyone turned to him expectantly.

Zayn’s eyes widened as everyone’s attention focused on him and he quickly bounced up off the sofa, mumbling an apology and an excuse to duck out.

“I’m just going to be - uh, not here. Food, I’ll get food. For dinner.”

Sheepishly, he scratched the back of his neck and rush-walked to the nearest door out, which was to the kitchen thankfully.

Loud peals of laughter followed him and he whirled around to see Doniya hunched over at the counter, red in the face with tears in her eyes.

“What the - what the fuck are you on, bhai , because that was hilarious - “

She gasped out before cutting herself off to laugh some more and Zayn could feel humiliation burn through him.

He covered his face in his hands and groaned long and loud, but could barely be heard over his sister’s stupid laughter.

Slowly, Doniya straightened, still twitching with the force of her laughter, “You just made everyone’s day out there, I think. But Mum’s gonna have to explain how her only son is not on crack.”

Zayn groaned again, “It’s not that - “

But he was interrupted when the kitchen door swung again and Liam was standing there, looking rather hesitant.

The subject of all his problems today was standing here and Zayn didn’t know what to do, so of course, he stared at the boy dumbfoundedly.

Doniya, thankfully, seemed to regain herself in the boy’s presence. She straightened and cleared her throat, and Zayn could see her surreptitiously wipe the corner of her eyes.

“Oh sorry, did you need something?” She asked Liam and Zayn couldn’t see whether his sister was smiling at him or not because his eyes were just stuck on Liam.

Much to the consternation of his heartbeat, Liam smiled shyly, just a little uptick of his lips to one side; it was horribly endearing and doing things to his stomach. But maybe he was just hungry.

“Uh I’m Liam, I’m Mark’s neighbour.” Adorably, he set out a hand towards Doniya for her to shake which she did with a big smile on her face but not before she threw Zayn a sly look that he ignored.

His voice was deep and syrup-like and so, so smooth. His accent was slightly foreign to his own, but he loved the way his lips curled around his words and Zayn felt hooked.

“Hi, I’m Doniya, Mark’s soulmate!"

Now that pleasantries were exchanged, Doniya waited a beat because Liam had still not explained why he was back in the kitchen. The boy was silent as he bit into his bottom lip but suddenly seemed to be remember his purpose.

“Uh sorry, I was sent to help with the dinner setup?”

It was all horribly awkward yet somehow so endearing to him.

Doniya let out a sound of realization before tilting her head at her brother, who was still mute in the presence of the other boy.

“Zayn’s gonna help you here, you boys get the bowls and I’ll set the table out.”

With that, his sister breezed out of the room, apparently oblivious to his state.

Zayn managed to gulp as he continued staring at Liam, who was darting his eyes back and forth from Zayn and the floor to the counter.

Long fingers twitched and tangled themselves into his blue shirt and teeth bit into his lips - why were they so red?

A distant burst of laughter from outside had him jolting out of his embarrassing stupor. Zayn cleared his throat and broke his gaze from Liam and looked down at the tiled floor.

He couldn’t be acting so stupid in front of a stranger like this. Mentally, he straightened himself up, and faced the other boy head-on.

Liam, meanwhile, was determined to be focused on anything but Zayn and he couldn’t blame him. Ever since the two had locked eyes, Zayn had made everything really uncomfortable by staring awkwardly without speaking.

Even he was unsure as to why he was doing it.

A long minute had probably passed with the two boys, just standing there in awkward silence, each waiting for the other to say something.

It was Liam who broke the silence.

“Sorry, it’s just - uh, do - do you have a problem with me?”

Instantly, the boy ducked his head and avoided Zayn’s gaze which was incredulous and entirely shocked.

Zayn did not have a problem with Liam; it was the complete opposite of that.

“I don’t have a problem with you, not at all.”

It was the first time Zayn spoke to Liam, and he tried to inject apology into his tone, and not come across as weird.

The admission caused Liam to finally look up at him, sweet brown eyes widened.

“Oh, sorry. I just thought - “

But Zayn was already shaking his head, “No uh, I’m sorry for the way I acted.”

Liam tilted his head adorably and looked back up at him, “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

Then it was quiet again, and Zayn nodded to himself to ease the situation slightly.

The two boys looked up and awkwardly made eye contact again until the moment broke and they both laughed stiltedly at the ridiculousness of the situation they were in.

The tension inside the kitchen eased up, and Zayn helpfully changed the subject.

“Okay so you’re in-charge of the salad bowls and I’ll have the bigger dishes out one by one.”

Liam put up a mock salute, “Yes, sir.”

Though the action seemingly reflected confidence, Zayn could see the hint of insecurity in his eyes. Like he was second-guessing himself and his actions around Zayn and that was entirely his fault, of course.

The two of them laughed again appropriately at the moment before getting to work.

Liam left first, each hand occupied with one salad bowl each as Zayn grabbed the larger dish that had the roast in it. He neared the swinging door of the kitchen and hesitated.

Frankly, he dreaded going out now, after he’d horribly embarrassed himself in front of Mark’s parents as well as Liam’s. He hadn’t even been introduced to the other guests and he’d already made such a hash of it.

Still, he’d made up with Liam which was good; maybe the other boy would help him out during the dinner with the awkward conversation stuff.

The thought of sitting down among so many strange people had him thoroughly distracted and he didn’t realize that Liam had already made his way back to the kitchen.

The boy didn’t bother knocking, understandably and swung the door open forcefully, catching Zayn painfully on his right arm, almost sending the dish of roast flying through the air.

He let out a yelp of pain as the edge of the wooden door connected with his arm and a gasp sounded in the kitchen as Liam realized Zayn was right behind the door.

Zayn was on his knees by now, awkwardly still holding onto the dish while trying to edge his painful arm close to his body. Liam reached him in one long stride but stopped right before touching him, hesitant that he’d cause more pain.

Through gritted teeth, Zayn managed a reassuring smile at the worrying boy, who was now hovering rather hilariously over him like that would solve anything.

“Here, take this from me first.” Zayn offered up the heavy dish of food in his hands, which Liam hefted up with one large hand under the dish.

Zayn almost rolled his eyes in amusement. Show off.

Liam set the dish back on the counter and turned back to Zayn, going down on one knee beside him.

“You sure you’re okay?” His voice was soft and apologetic; it had Zayn smiling instinctively up at the boy. Liam could be intensely adorable when he was sorry, deep brown eyes laden with guilt, teeth gnashing on the bottom lip, and shoulders slumped.

It was all akin to a puppy being scolded, and Zayn chest felt funny at the sight of it.

“You’re good, mate. Don’t worry about it, yeah?”

Liam sighed in relief and shot him a smile to show all was good. Zayn grinned back at him.

“We seem to get off on the worse starts, huh?”

Liam laughed at that, “Nah that’s fine, I’m really clumsy, so I’m just glad you’ve forgiven me.”

Zayn scrunched up his nose in mock disgust, “Ugh, Liam you’re too nice, stop it.”

But Liam was too busy giggling, lips pursed together like he was afraid of laughing too loud, and eyes smudged up into crescents.

And Zayn just couldn’t help himself; before his mind could come back online, he’d already reached a hand out to trace the edge of his fringe, pushing it back off his forehead just a little. His touch was hesitant and gentle, because Liam was perfect this way, too precious.

Several things all happened at once; Zayn’s mind finally came back online and he realized with horror what he’d just done. Liam abruptly stopped laughing at his touch and just stared at him with surprise in his eyes. And Zayn’s arm decided to hurt like a stung bitch.

In fact, the pain was intense enough to make him wince in pain and flinch away from Liam, who looked startled and tore his gaze away from Zayn to look down.

He knew the door had hit him quite hard, but it didn’t explain the way it stung like he’d been pinched really hard. The pain he felt was more like a burn on the inside of his arm and it caused panic to rise within him.

Fumbling with the button on his cuff, he undid it and rolled his sleeve up frantically. He didn’t know what to expect but he most definitely was not expecting to see what he did.

Flashes of yellow burst into view, over the black microphone and -

No. The black microphone was no more just that; it was a yellow and black microphone.

His breath came shorter and faster, and he could barely articulate a syllable out of his mouth. It was so different, yet everything he ever wanted to see and it was all because of -

Liam, who was still bent in front of him on one knee. Hysterically, Zayn wondered if that wasn’t hurting his knee but then figured it was the least of his worries at the moment.

But then his brain halted; no of course it wasn’t the least of his worries, it should be his priority. That was his soulmate in front of him, and he was probably in pain, and Zayn just couldn’t live with that.

“Your knee.” He stated shakily, looking at Liam through tear-rimmed eyes.

Liam was staring at his arm with the folded sleeve and the bare view of his soulmark.

“Your knee’s probably hurting.” Zayn repeated numbly, but it had Liam suddenly move toward him with a choked off sob.

Warm arms engulfed him around the neck as Liam’s head bashed into the side of his own. It should have been painful but it felt like coming home to someone you didn’t know was missing.

It was difficult for him to explain in that moment, with both of them crouched painfully on the tiled kitchen floor, Zayn’s arm still radiating pain, but with hearts beating almost simultaneously against each other, they’d each found their missing puzzle piece.

Zayn just closed his eyes and let himself feel; he felt the comforting grip of strong arms wrapped around him. He was endeared by the calming breaths Liam took which he could feel against his right ear. He buried his nose into the side of Liam’s head and shamelessly inhaled the scent of coconut shampoo from his hair.

His hair was soft against Zayn’s lips and he smiled into the sensation. He was engulfed, completely enveloped in Liam, and the place where they were or the situation they were in were secondary thoughts to him.

Zayn felt Liam gulp, he could feel every movement of his, of his soulmate , against himself and he wondered whether it was possible to freeze time and exist in one moment for all of eternity.

Slowly, he inched his hand up to Liam’s head and ran his fingers through his hair. It was an act of fondness but also he wanted to experience every part of Liam in the moment. He wanted so much at the moment, because he felt like it was all not enough.

Suddenly, he felt and heard Liam chuckle against his neck and it sounded tearful. Zayn himself had tears streaming down his cheeks and felt the emotion the other boy was feeling.

The two pulled back reluctantly from each other, Liam rubbing the tears off his reddened face while Zayn did the same. Then he sat back, unable to take his eyes off his soulmate’s face, smiling at him.

It was a good two minutes until Liam started adorably fidgeting under his gaze. Finally, the boy had to know, “What? Why do you keep staring at me like that?”

Zayn smiled serenely at him, “I’ve been waiting a long time for you.”

His soulmate (actual soulmate of Zayn’s, his brain could barely wrap around the concept) bit his lip shyly admitting, “Me too.”

He stared up at Zayn through his eyelashes, “This was unexpected.”

A hysterical laugh bubbled out of him before he could control it, “Yeah no shit, Sherlock.”

Liam giggled and nudged him, and Zayn who was already precariously perched on his knees and feet was quickly disbalanced into falling onto his butt.

Liam looked at him with shocked eyes before bursting into loud laughter, a hand trying to cover his mouth to muffle the sound. But Zayn was too charmed to be offended by any of it.

It was like sunshine had granted access into his life and he was more than ready to let all of it in.

But before he could retaliate by pulling Liam down as well, the two boys heard footsteps approaching.

Liam and Zayn looked at each other with wide eyes, humour falling away to realization. Their moment was gone now; someone was about to enter and they’d be thrown back into reality again.

All of these stolen moments just a few minutes ago would feel like a dream to them.

Zayn’s thoughts switched to who it could be and quickly he recalled Doniya promising to come back for some bowls for the table. He opened his mouth to say -

What, exactly? All he had were questions he wanted to ask and secrets he wanted to share. What words could possibly be shared between the two in the matter of a few seconds that would equal the weight of their realization?

Sighing defeatedly, he quickly worked his folded sleeve down, fingers trying to get the button done -

His actions were beautifully interrupted as Liam steadied and held Zayn in place with a hand on his shoulder and leant in abruptly.

In the span of a split second, a warm, chaste kiss was pressed onto his right cheek by Liam. As the boy pulled away, his own cheeks flushed, Zayn could swear he’d felt his breath hitch against his ear.

Liam smiled sunnily at him before pulling away to stand up, right as the door swung open and Doniya walked in, completely oblivious to what had just happened.

“Alright, you lot, what’s taking so - ?”

Doniya had all but demanded as she entered the kitchen but halted in place as she observed the confusing sight.

The bowls and dishes laden with food were left forgotten and untouched on the kitchen counter. Zayn was hilariously almost sprawled across the floor thanks to Liam, who was standing beside the door looking extremely guilty.

But there was a glow to each of the boys, the kind that only comes to having found each other.

Doniya frowned down at her brother, who couldn’t summon up the grace to look embarrassed because he was so happy. “Why are you on the floor?”

“I fell over.” That was his reply which had Liam coughing loudly into his fist, probably to cover up a laugh.

Zayn’s own lips twitched at the sound but Doniya was flicking her eyes suspiciously from him to Liam, as if trying to read the situation.

Mentally, he thought that his sister could never accurately read this particular situation, since it was so unexpected and sounded impossible.

Trying his best not to show his right arm, where the unbuttoned sleeve lay covering his coloured soulmark, Zayn stood up slowly.

By this time, Doniya was done trying to figure out what was happening and rolled her eyes while grabbing one of the dishes on the counter and leaving with a huff.

Zayn swallowed, suddenly nervous, as he looked to Liam who was already staring intensely at him. The thought had him flushing in the cheeks; it was going to be a lifetime of this, a lifetime of getting to look at each other, and be with each other, and talk to each other.

The two boys smiled shyly at each other, all the bravado and confidence from a few minutes ago having drained out in the presence of Zayn’s sister.

“We, uh, we should probably get the dinner out.”

Liam smiled at him and ducked his head, “Yeah probably.”

But the two didn’t move, until Zayn edged slowly towards the other boy, hand going for Liam’s.

Playing awkwardly with Liam’s fingers but not looking at his face, Zayn voiced his thoughts.

“Let’s talk about this later, yeah? After dinner, maybe. I want to tell my family but not until we talk.”

He looked up at Liam with an earnest expression, who smiled and nodded at him. Relief flooded through him; he wanted to keep Liam only to himself. Their entire situation was so chaotic that Zayn needed some time to figure things out.

“I wanna tell them right away,” he whispered to Liam, “but I also don’t wanna ruin Doniya’s moment, y’know.”

He shrugged awkwardly after admitting it. But Liam wasn’t just any person, he was his soulmate, and he proved just that by smiling at Zayn again and agreeing with him.

“Yeah I, uh - don’t want the announcement to happen here, I mean, this is Mark’s home and that would be really awkward.”

They shared another nervous laugh before silently working around the kitchen to gather everything that was left to take out.

Zayn let Liam go out first, quickly buttoning his sleeve up again, then waiting a moment to take a deep breath before following his soulmate out.

***

Outside everyone was already seated at the table, laughter ringing around as dishes were passed from hand to hand and plates and glasses clinked together and forks scraped lightly.

Zayn noticed no one seemed to think anything was amiss with the boys arriving late with the dishes, much too involved in their conversation to observe for any change.

His parents were seated next to Mark’s and Liam’s parents were opposite them with two chairs to their right for Mark and Doniya who were also already seated.

Walihya and Safaa were next to their Mum, the latter of whom was being helped out with her food.

This left practically no space on the dinner table for the boys - something none of them had noticed yet.

Zayn saw that Liam too had come to this realization and was looking around rather awkwardly.

Karen, Liam’s Mum, finally looked up.

“Oh boys! Why don’t you both come and get your food and sit on the sofas behind us?”

This had everyone noticing the two boys standing around and Mark’s Mum had instantly sprung up from her chair like it’d burned her.

“Oh god, you poor boys, I’m so sorry, my loves. Did you two want chairs - Mark, hurry up and get the - “

“No, thank you so much, Mrs. Hadley, we’ll just sit on the sofa.” Liam shot her a sweet smile that had her sitting back in her chair with a relieved expression.

Zayn absolutely loved that his soulmate seemed to have that same effect on everybody around him. He knew he was a goner with this one but damn, what a sweetheart.

He probably didn’t realize how much he’d been smiling at Liam in the moment, that Safaa who was in his line of sight shot him a suspiciously stinky look. He pulled a funny face to get her giggling and quickly grabbed a plate, filling it with whatever food he could reach.

Honestly, his mind was racing too much over Liam, sitting next to Liam, talking to Liam, being close to him, that it didn’t matter what he’d eat.

At this point, he could eat a spoonful of ash and have it change to the taste of sweet jam with one smile from Liam.

Sappy as hell, a voice sounded in his mind. True, but he was entirely unapologetic; he’d found his soulmate after all.

Across the room, Liam shot him a glance before going to sit on the sofa farthest from the table but facing it. His soulmate was smart and Zayn followed suit; he wanted privacy for whatever conversation they were about to have.

With mouthfuls of potato and chicken, the two relayed their stories about their soulmarks. Zayn carefully omitted his grief over not finding Liam but it’s like the boy could read his mind as he put his fork down gently before looking at Zayn with wide eyes.

“My sisters both found their soulmates as children. They used to go to camp a lot and apparently there are lots of other kids there and, yeah.”

He shrugged awkwardly before continuing, this time not looking up. “I thought I’d find my soulmate - you - at that age too because my sisters before me had. But it didn’t happen because I was going in and out of hospitals too much and - “

Here he took a deep breath that felt agonizing to Zayn, “I’d lost hope.”

It tore through his heart to see Liam looking so forlorn and he ached to be alone with him in the moment just so he could wrap the boy up in his arms and remind him that he was here now.

Instead, he let him know by precariously resting his right leg against Liam’s, the other sofas blocking the view of their legs. It wasn’t much but it was the grounding touch of a soulmate, of Liam’s other half and Zayn vowed to never let him see this downtrodden ever again.

This much he let him know.

“I promise you, Liam, now that I’m here, I will never let anyone or anything harm you or make you sad again.”

Zayn was sure there was intense passion in his voice as low as he kept it not to let the others hear, but Liam had definitely gotten the message. He looked up at him with large eyes that were slightly wet, much to Zayn’s dismay.

It had him nearly melting, “Oh babe - “

But Liam shook it off completely. “No, but you’re here. It’s all better now. Thank you.”

Zayn huffed, “I didn’t do anything, jaan , I’m just visiting.”

His soulmate shot him a tilted smile while chewing on a carrot, “What’s jaan ?”

Frustrated with himself, he rubbed the hand not holding his plate down his face. “It’s a term of endearment in my language. Everyone in my family uses it for each other.”

Liam was listening patiently, then slowly a gentle smile spread across his face. “Family?”

Zayn nodded determinedly, “You’re family now.”

Then he smiled slyly, “Buckle up, babe, because you’re about to have a giant Pakistani family as your in-laws very soon.”

He laughed loudly at Liam’s stunned expression like he’d been caught off-guard for an exam and now he had to prepare.

The two boys chatted on and off between bites of food and hilariously playing footsie when Liam’s Mum was calling to him.

“Let’s go Li, it’s time to leave.”

Fumbling quickly, the two soulmates got up and made their way to the table, Zayn ignoring his Mum’s inquisitive looks.

Long words of goodbyes were exchanged among words of congratulations and Zayn’s heart thumped at hearing them, because he knew he would hear them again, this time for himself and Liam.

He couldn’t wait, he thought as he smiled knowingly at Liam who was stood behind his parents and smiling shyly at everyone. At realizing that Zayn was looking at him, he blushed so sweetly it nearly had him hug-attacking him in front of everyone.

Zayn didn’t dare take his eyes off Liam, staring at the boy until the door closed and his soulmate was out of view.

Mark, too, said his goodbye since he had to get back to his flat a few minutes away and everyone retired to the living room to give the two soulmates some privacy. Avoiding his Mum, Zayn quickly took the stairs in a few long strides and entered his bedroom.

The window looking into Liam’s bedroom was drawn with curtains and he threw them open hastily, not knowing what he’d see. Liam’s curtains were drawn as well, but there seemed to be no light on in the room.

Foolishly, he realized he hadn’t exchanged numbers with Liam for the entire time they’d chatted. Still he hoped to see his soulmate in the window again.

He must have been standing there for ten minutes until he saw the curtains moving and suddenly a light flooded in the room and the window revealed -

Liam, wearing his PJs and looking adorable as fuck when he waved excitedly at Zayn.

Zayn’s nose scrunched up as he smiled intensely at his soulmate, and the two boys stood there waving at each other childishly. Suddenly, he had a thought.

Unzipping his backpack, he wrestled his ancient-looking cell phone out and showed it to Liam. The other boy left the window and Zayn could see him rummaging through the drawers of his desk.

Liam hurried back to the window and held up a large piece of paper. It would’ve been difficult to understand but he noticed with endearment the way the digits had been scrawled on with a marker quite intensely.

Smiling to himself, Zayn worked quickly and dialed Liam’s number up. One ring later, he looked up to see his soulmate answer, and heard his voice against his ear.

Pathetically, all Zayn could manage was a lame, “Hi.”

Liam giggled and answered back, and Zayn thanked his God that they were soulmates, otherwise there were too many opportunities he’d given for Liam to run far, far away from him.

“We should meet up again tomorrow, before we announce.” Zayn didn’t know why he wanted to see Liam again before they told their parents, but he did. Something in his heart told him he needed a little more alone time with his soulmate before their whole world knew.

Biting his lip, Liam nodded. “Goodnight then.”

“‘Night babe.”

It was all too cliche and saccharine for his taste usually, but Zayn couldn’t find it in him to feel embarrassed or disgusted. He was happy for the first time since he found out the meaning behind his Mark.

Apparently, faking a stomach bug wasn’t that hard, Zayn thought as he squirmed around in bed, making the appropriate groaning and moaning sounds. It was enough for his Mum who usually saw through his lies to grant him to stay in bed.

In the morning, after breakfast, it had been planned that the two families would go out sight-seeing and shopping, allowing some more time to get to know each other.

And if Zayn didn’t have Liam to look forward to, he would probably have tagged along as well.

But the promise of seeing him before the coming evening was all too sweet to give up for shopping. So, he faked it until it was convincing enough for them to leave him in bed while the rest packed their two cars full and left.

Zayn suddenly felt a sense of freedom; he could do anything now. Hell, he could sneak into Liam’s room even.

But he was probably at school, still.

He quickly reached for his phone and texted his soulmate.

You (12:22) hey babe where r u

Jaan (12:23) on my way back frm skul y?

You (12:24) i wanna c u ;)

You (12:25) front door’s open no ones home

Jaan (12:25) lol ok c u then

Zayn smiled smugly to himself and leaned back in his bed with a sigh. Right, that’s enough relaxing then. He needed to wash up and look good if his soulmate was coming over!

***

If Liam was the ultimate boy-next-door in his button-up and pants, he was absolutely delectable in his school uniform. Zayn realized something was probably wrong with him for thinking that but he was obsessed with the way the white shirt clung to his defined arms and the school tie made him want to tug on it and mess up his hair.

He took a calming breath so as not to freak Liam out. He didn’t know about the other boy’s experiences in dating. It wasn’t uncommon for a lot of people to date around until they met their soulmate. For Zayn it was near impossible to even think about it.

Call him old-fashioned, but he felt like he was placed in this world just to meet his other half. And no experience of his would be had without his other half. So safe to say, he wasn’t experienced at all in kissing.

Not even when he could barely hold himself back from tasting the berry-red of his soulmate’s lips.

Liam was slightly flushed from the walk back and the two boys were sat on Zayn’s bed, holding hands.

Zayn traced circles around the roses on the back of Liam’s hand, loving the intricate pattern of it.

Finally, Liam broke the tense silence. “I’ve always wondered about my Mark y’know.”

Zayn looked up at him questioningly, not once stopping the movement of his fingers.

“Why I had roses as my Mark.” Liam clarified and Zayn looked back down at the Mark and smiled shyly.

“I know, actually.”

Liam leaned forward, eyes curious.

“I like roses.” Zayn shrugged lamely, like it wasn’t profound enough of a reason but when he looked up, Liam smiled at him warmly.

“That’s perfect then.”

Zayn took a deep breath, “What about mine?”

Liam slanted a cautious gaze at him, “I like to sing.”

He realized his soulmate was embarrassed or even hesitant for him to know about this side of him but it made him want Liam even more, and he longed to prove it to him.

“You’re perfect,” breathed Zayn, wanting to be closer to his soulmate now more than ever.

He gazed into Liam’s eyes, his body unconsciously moving forward, but Liam suddenly broke their eye contact and looked down.

He would’ve taken that as rejection had the other boy not reached for his arm with the Mark. Gently, Liam let his fingers flutter over the yellow and black mic, sending involuntary shudders through Zayn.

Liam mistook them for feelings of discomfort as he retracted his hand, “Does it still hurt?”

Brown eyes that were filled with concern for him, looked at him. Zayn smiled and shook his head. He needed to express himself, but words had escaped him at the moment.

Letting his body do the work, he reached over to cup Liam’s cheek gently, and the boy melted at the touch. He turned his head over in Zayn’s grip to lightly press his lips against the inside of his palm.

The kiss itself was sweet, but the touch of his lips against his skin sent a fire running through Zayn. He needed Liam close to him now.

Edging over, his hand worked through the soft strands and cupped the back of his head. A gentle nudge had both of them leaning towards each other and Zayn closed his eyes in anticipation of the moment.

The first touch of their lips against each other had them both shivering at the feeling. Soft and warm and rather awkward, it was all too perfect for the first kiss he’d imagined for himself.

Tentative pecks were placed all over his lips, until Liam softly grasped his bottom lip in between his own. A gasp sounded from his chest causing Liam to lean back and gaze into his eyes.

Zayn could only manage to shake his head before pushing both their heads together again, mouths meeting again in intense need.

If Zayn had taken a break from kissing Liam for long minutes, he would’ve realized something was off. He would’ve heard the car pulling up to the house and the sound of footsteps in the house. Footsteps that led to his room -

“Zayn Javaad Malik, what the bloody hell are you doing?”

The shout rang through the empty silence around the two boys and they sprang apart in shock and mortification to realize Trisha standing there at the door, looking absolutely thunderous.

She had one hand on the doorknob and the other was holding onto a paper bag but Zayn could barely notice any details because his ears were ringing and his entire face felt hot and burned with embarrassment.

His Mum probably thought she’d caught him snogging some random boy he met, but worse she’d interrupted his first ever kiss. He didn’t know what was worse.

“Mum - “ he choked out but another hard glare from his Mum had him quiet again. Then she turned her wrath against Liam.

“And you! Sneaking in here like that after we left, and you even live next door. How are you even -”

Zayn could see the devastation on Liam’s face as his shoulders slumped and the blood drained out of his face. It was enough for him to break his silence.

“Mum!”

Trisha was shocked into silence; it was the first time in his life Zayn had ever raised his voice in his Mum’s presence but the situation demanded it.

Zayn knew words wouldn’t be enough to explain the entirety of it, so he just rolled up the sleeve of shirt and showed her the Mark.

Her jaw hung open as she looked at Zayn, then at Liam, who was still standing in the corner looking every bit chastised and heartbroken.

His Mum then did something he would never have expected. She strode across the room and for one heart-halting moment he thought she was about to slap him but she went to Liam instead.

Trisha threw her arms around Liam and folded the boy into a tight hug and after a long moment, Liam returned the hug tentatively. Zayn couldn’t see his soulmate’s face but he could see his Mum had gotten teary and was mumbling something to Liam.

He stood there, still in shock at the string of events that had just led to this moment and it was definitely not how he wanted his Mum to find out.

She pulled back from Liam, cupping his face lovingly before turning to Zayn. He flinched when she came towards him, but without speaking she leaned up and took his head in her hands, pressing a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“Congratulations, meri jaan. ” She whispered to him and it was enough for him to crumble into her arms. He didn’t sob in relief but he held her close to him until her familiar scent calmed him down and comforted him.

Usually this would be a time when Zayn would crack a sarcastic joke to ease the situation, but the moment was too profound, too delicate to do such a thing.

Zayn eased his arms away from his Mum and walked over to Liam, who looked at him startlingly. He shot him an assuring smile and took his hand in his own.

“We wanted to tell you guys today, Mum. I just wanted some time alone with him before it happened though. I’m sorry.”

Trisha shook her head with a watery smile, “No worries. But I think it’s time you tell everyone, isn’t it?”

Zayn blushed at the pointed look she threw at him and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liam smile. His heart eased at the sight and he nodded at his Mum.

As she turned around to leave, Zayn realized something.

“Mum, why’d you guys come back?”

Trisha turned around with a startle before presenting the brown bag to him, “I just thought I’d get you some medicine for that bug of yours but I guess it was all pretend, huh?” She raised an eyebrow at him and Zayn would blush again if his heart didn’t warm at the thought of his Mum caring so much for him.

“You’re ace, Mum.”

“I know.” With that, she flounced out of the room and Zayn chuckled at the sight, before turning to finally acknowledge Liam.

His cheeks were flushed and he was smiling but his eyes were darting around uncertain.

Zayn pulled him into a hug again, tucking Liam’s head into his neck. He rubbed his back soothingly to ease whatever discomfort the boy was still in. It pained him to think of whatever less-than-worthy thoughts that were floating around in the boy’s head.

It was his priority in life now, Liam’s happiness and comfort.

“I’m sorry about Mum, babe, I had no idea she was here - “

But Liam pulled back, shaking his head. “She already apologized and welcomed me to the family.”

Zayn chuckled at the thought, “Welcome indeed.”

Liam giggled with him and to his endearment, tucked himself back into Zayn’s embrace.

He felt rather than heard the slow exhale as the stiffness in Liam’s limbs melted away as he moulded himself against Zayn.

He didn’t know why he said it, but he felt like he needed to fill the silence with something, something to make his soulmate realize that he wasn’t going anywhere.

“You’re my forever.” He whispered into Liam’s ear and felt the answering shudder through his body. It was true, Liam was his entire future.

The other boy lifted his head away enough to whisper back, “You’re so sappy.”

Zayn chuckled, “For you, always, jaan .”

But Liam pressed a grateful kiss against his skin and he knew his words had finally convinced him.

If Zayn thought everyone would calm down once they all found out, he was horribly, terribly wrong.

Trisha had quickly gone down and called everyone into the house and announced the news. Then hilariously, she had gone over to the Paynes’ house and dragged Karen and Geoff over, who looked utterly confused at all the excitement around.

At finding out, Karen had very quickly dissolved into tears and incoherent mumbling in between sobs as she clung to Liam, who looked embarrassed yet emotional himself.

Trisha had latched herself to Yaser’s side who was glowing with happiness.

Two of his eldest children had already found their soulmates; he ought to check for white hair next.

The younger girls were only happy to look forward to two weddings which had all four of them blushing and protesting loudly against their parents making plans already.

But they knew, the minute they were out of earshot, all three sets of parents were going to put their heads together over how to organize each wedding.

Zayn was mortified with it all, because he hadn’t even celebrated his 17th birthday yet.

Liam had let him know his 16th birthday had just passed so at least both of them were the same age now. He couldn’t wait for his soulmate’s next birthday to roll around, he was going to make it like Liam had never seen.

(By which he meant he would probably throw a Harry Potter themed party for his nerd of a soulmate.)

They had so much more to experience together, like awkward first dates, more uninterrupted make-out sessions, and even family trips together to wherever they wished to go.

Only Doniya had approached him with a gentle smile and a ready hug, like she expected all this to happen but he couldn't understand how she had known. So he'd forgotten it all and just clung to her as the two siblings radiated with shared happiness.

He pressed Liam to his side with the arm slung around his neck at the thought, smiling at the confused smile he received.

Zayn waggled his eyebrows dramatically at Liam, pulling a silly face and watched in awe as his soulmate’s entire face dissolved into giggles and joy.

Yeah, he couldn’t wait to marry him, he thought as he pressed a firm kiss to the boy’s cheek.

Trisha piped up at the display of open affection, “Enough of that from you two, already caught you once!”

It had everyone bursting into laughter while Liam buried his face into his own jacket shyly. But nothing could hold Zayn back now and he shamelessly swung an entire leg over Liam whilst pointedly looking at his Mum.

Yaser grinned and shook his head at his son as Liam chastised Zayn and pushed his leg down, ignoring the boy’s ensuing pout.

Suddenly, Karen gasped and simultaneously reached for both Trisha’s and Diana’s hands in each of her own, “Grandchildren!”

Liam let out a horrified squeak, “Mum, honestly.”

Both Geoff and Yaser guffawed at the four new soulmates’ nervous expressions; children were mostly an afterthought at the moment for them all.

Zayn slid his arm from around Liam’s neck down to hold his soulmate’s hand in his own; he was never letting go of those fingers anytime soon, he thought, as he subconsciously traced the Mark that belonged to him.

A little bit later, he noticed that Liam was putting more of his own weight onto Zayn and understood the other boy was probably tired, what with the excitement of the day.

Reaching over with his left arm, he grasped Liam’s shoulders and tucked him a little forcefully against his own body, the other boy embracing his touch with a relief of sigh.

Soon, he had Liam’s soft huffs to listen to as a lullaby and was half-asleep himself when he heard someone (probably his Mum) coo at them gently.

“Look at these two, match made in heaven, aren’t they?”

He couldn’t hear anyone else around him, but maybe the others had left; he was too sleepy to move and didn’t have the heart to wake Liam up.

He felt a blanket drape over him and his soulmate and next thing he knew he could hear his Mum whisper ‘goodnight’ to him but he also felt her gently sweeping Liam’s hair aside lovingly.

A warmth like the feeling of soup on a cold day settled in his chest. He couldn’t wait for forever.

They stood out in the warm sun, next to their car, staring up at the two houses.

The Paynes were celebrating their 35th year anniversary with an event at their house. It was due the same evening so Zayn couldn’t believe he’d managed to arrive there on time despite everything going wrong all at once.

First, he’d gone round to pick their suits up from the dry-clean and realized they weren’t ready yet; he was near to tears when the poor man had rushed up to him with the two suits, realizing he’d mistaken Zayn for another customer. He’d almost kissed the man in relief.

Next, Liam had gotten called in for another shift at the station. His husband had taken a week off from work to attend the anniversary celebrations and spend some time with his family, but one last call had his husband dragging his feet out of the house with apologetic kisses on Zayn’s face.

When Liam had finally made it home, it was a scramble to pack all their things and make the 30 minute drive down to where his in-laws’ house was.

But now they were here, so he allowed himself to exhale in relief.

Zayn smiled distractedly at Liam’s rambling to their 4 year-old daughter in his arms with the warm weight of a month-old in his own.

He wasn’t distracted by the baby he was holding or Liam talking gibberish that made their daughter laugh; he was thinking back to all the years ago when him and Liam had first met and seen each other.

Squinting in the sunlight, he looked up at Mark’s parents’ house which only a few years ago had been passed down to Mark and Doniya who lived here with their two children and several dogs.

His parents had decided to relocate closer to Mark’s grandmother, who was often quite sick, and always in the want of company.

The first time Zayn had entered the house for their housewarming party, the smell of spices wafting in from the kitchen had hit him straight away, making him laugh knowingly.

His sister was gladly carrying on the spice tradition, as he himself did at his and Liam’s house. Nothing could separate the Maliks from their love of spices.

“ -and that is the exact tree that Daddy tried to climb and he fell over on his butt!”

Giggles poured out of Alisha who dramatically threw her head back in humour over her father’s words, looking every bit the daughter of Liam with her sunny smile and laughing eyes.

(Doniya had tearfully held onto Zayn for the longest time when he let her know that he was naming his and Liam’s first daughter after her. From then on, she had vowed to protect her namesake and niece with her life, which was rather dramatic, but Zayn could hardly blame her since he would give an arm and a leg for all of his four nieces and nephews.)

Zayn huffed and shook his head at the duo standing in front of him, taking a moment to gaze down through the bundle of blankets in his arms. Their son, Aarosh, was peacefully sleeping as newborns were wont to do.

He ducked his head to peck at his adorable button nose lightly, the only reaction being the pouting of his rose-red lips as if he anticipated the kiss.

He smiled serenely at his family before realizing they’d spent all that time standing outside just chatting to each other, without going in to the Payne house.

Zayn also wanted to pop in to see Doniya and Mark as well, though he knew Mark was probably still away on that business trip he had gone on.

His nephews were probably still asleep so he decided to leave the visit to a later hour.

Turning to Liam, he saw that the man was mock-attacking Alisha’s neck like he was a vampire hunting for blood. Her shrieks and loud laughter was probably disturbing the neighbours but the sound was like music to his ears.

Looking up at the house again, he had an idea.

Quickly he addressed his husband, “Li, go into your house.”

While it was said rather hastily, it wasn’t a completely odd demand since they’d been standing a long while out.

But Liam, bless him, frowned at Zayn, “Are you not coming?”

He was quick, his soulmate, Zayn thought amusedly, and he shook his head in answer which only added to Liam’s confusion.

“C’mon, babe, go now!”

Now he’d made Liam nervous, “Zayn?”

Smiling gently, he cupped a hand to Liam’s cheek, “Everything’s fine, jaan . Just go to your house and into your old bedroom, I just wanna try something.”

At that Liam affectionately rolled his eyes before exclaiming exasperatedly to his daughter, “Let’s go, babe, Baba needs to be weird on his own for a bit.”

Just for that, he reached out to pinch his husband’s bum in retaliation but the man only jumped away from his touch and laugh, striding towards his parents’ house.

Determinedly, he turned around and locked the car. Then, he swiftly made his way up the path of Doniya’s house and knocked, hoping he wasn’t disturbing at this hour.

A glowing face and beaming smile met him as he was smothered (gently, because of Aarosh) in an embrace by his sister.

“You came! I was just about to set the table - oh where’s Liam and Alisha? And oh gosh, look at my little jaan over here and oh look at you! All black suit and the hair, Zayn - “

He knew his sister wasn’t going to stop speaking for at least five more minutes but right now, he was a man on a mission.

He effectively cut her off, “Doni just give me two seconds, I need to be in your guest room for two minutes only, please .”

Doniya’s face scrunched in confusion but she nodded at her brother who quickly pressed a kiss to her cheek and climbed the stairs, careful not to jostle his son.

Entering the guest room, it was much different than it was all those years ago. Doniya had added a lot more to the room, both in colour and furniture.

But he paid nothing else any attention and strode directly to the one window and threw open the curtains. The one window that looked directly into Liam’s old bedroom window.

And there .

Zayn could already see Alisha’s adorable ponytail flounce around as she attempted to jump on her Daddy’s childhood bed while Daddy was doing his best not to appear overbearing and hovered worriedly around her.

The sight had him grinning wide but he had yet to get their attention.

Working with one hand, he pulled his phone out from his back pocket and dialled Liam. From the window, he saw his husband look down at his phone, frown then answer it.

“Zayn? Why are you calling me? Weren’t you outside?”

“I’m not outside anymore. I’m in another house.”

Liam smiled confusedly, “Another house?”

“Look out your window, sweetheart.”

His husband quickly looked up and the two made eye contact. Zayn could see the hand holding the phone to his ear slip down to his side.

He knew what a sight he made.

In that moment, when the two had seen each other for the first time, they had unknowingly set forth the greatest love story known to the world (or at least that’s how Zayn liked to say it, which always had Liam rolling his eyes but the love in his answering kiss would be telling enough).

When, in a moment, two boys had seen each for the first time, several years later two men saw each other again; this time connected not only by soulmarks, but by matrimony, by happiness, and by two children who were their entire lives.

Zayn laughed at the wonderstruck expression on Liam’s face, which slowly morphed into a wide grin as he held Alisha up to the window who excitedly waved seeing her Baba and little brother in the window.

It’s all he ever wanted.

Now it was his.