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Louis buys it for Liam and Zayn on their anniversary as a joke. At least, Zayn’s pretty sure it was meant to be a joke—the way he’d given them a lewd wink and a ‘you lot could take the advice some of these pages offer up’ had seemed like a joke.
The way Liam has taken to constantly using it, however, is not a joke. Honestly, Zayn doesn’t know whether he wants to laugh or cry because on one hand Liam looks so cute bent over the pages of a coloring book, his forehead creased in concentration and his tongue poking out of his mouth. On the other, he’s happily coloring a weirdlydetailed dick.
Zayn isn’t quite sure what to make of it all yet.
He does know that filling in the detailed pages has relaxed Liam in a way most other things couldn’t. This means Zayn is more than willing to overlook the overall suspicion he has of the books. It’s making Liam happy, so Zayn is, too.
Maybe that’s why Zayn finds himself a blushing mess in from of Liam of all people, with a mess of coloring books in his hands. Honestly, Zayn blames this all on Louis because he wouldn’t even be in this mess if the asshole hadn’t gotten that Godforsaken book in the first place.
“You…bought me a bunch of coloring books?” Liam sounded like he was in disbelief, and Zayn couldn’t really blame he. He honestly doesn’t know what was going through his own mind when he picked the books up. Liam wasn’t a bloody child; just because he decided to humor Louis with the other one doesn’t mean he’s go out of his way to collect and color in more of them.
“They’re not coloring books,” Zayn mumbled. “They’re “adult” coloring books. They’re made for, y’know, grown-ups.”
Liam let out a giggle in front of him, reaching out to take a couple of the books from Zayn’s hands. “Joyful Designs? Secret Gardens? Color Me Stress Free? These titles are sort of awful.” Liam fell into a mess a giggle in front of Zayn, but Zayn only felt himself grow more red. He should’ve known not to get Liam those books. It was so lame, and he was an idiot.
“’M sorry,” Zayn muttered. If ever there was a time the floor could just open up beneath Zayn and swallow him whole, now would be perfect, thanks.
Liam’s head swung up, confusion clouding his eyes as they met Zayn’s. “What’re you sorry for?”
Zayn gave a half shrug, not wanting to explain but knowing Liam wouldn’t let it go if he didn’t. “For, y’know. The books? I don’t know I just…you really seemed to like the one Louis got us—i-it seemed to calm you down a bit—but it’s so vulgar and I thought—” Zayn tore his gaze from Liam’s fixing it on the carpet beneath his toes. “I don’t know? Maybe—you would want ones that…weren’t?” If Zayn felt like an idiot before, it was nothing compared to how he felt in that moment.
It took a minute for Liam to reply, but when he did his voice was incredibly soft.
“Hey, look at me, yeah?” Zayn reluctantly raised his eyes to Liam’s face. Liam was smiling dopily at him; his eyes were barely slits with the force of his smile. Liam stepped into Zayn’s space, cupping his cheeks in his rough hands. “Zaynie, that is the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.”
Zayn had to fight the urge to roll his eyes because he bought Liam coloring books. Coloring books. Not a bloody ring or something. They were like seven dollars a piece. It wasn’t that big of a deal.
“I’m serious, Zayn!” Liam said. Sometimes Zayn seriously wondered if Liam could read his mind. “It is. Like, you noticed that something brought me joy and then went out of your way to bring me more of those things. Like, that’s proper romantic. You’re a bloody sap.”
Zayn let out a series of giggles, his embarrassment and regret slowly slipping away in the face of Liam’s sunny smile and sincere words.
“I love you, Z. Thank you for my adult coloring books.”
Zayn laughed at Liam’s small jibe to his earlier statement. “Fuck off.”
Liam only smiled in response, then slowly leaned forward to kiss Zayn’s own smile.