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five months is a long time. long enough to kinda sorta get over things, but not fully. if five months later was a colour, it’d be the sickly yellow of a bruise that barely hurt but was still present.
he tells louis as much, proud of his metaphor, and gets a fierce hug in return.
“oh, liam…”
he shrugs. “it doesn’t matter anymore.”
louis looks at him and he’s got the look in his eye that means danger and excitement and possibly bodily harm. “let’s do something.”
“like?”
“i dunno,” says louis and he lifts his chin. “but i’m going to make you feel better.”
he forgets about it for a while until louis comes back a fortnight later.
“let’s have a stag party,” he announces to the room. liam frowns at him from under niall’s arm.
“but i’m not getting married.” the anymore is implied.
“exactly. we’re all single, we all can use a night out.”
“louis—“
“or a week out.”
“louis?”
he ignores him. “cyprus is in it’s off season. reckon it’s pretty cheap.”
niall straightens. “i haven’t been to the beach in ages.”
“it’s october,” liam tries but louis has his mind set and niall’ll go along with anything he says now. “we’ll die of cold.”
louis waves a hand. “it’s the mediterranean. it doesn’t get too cold there.”
liam lets out a sigh, knowing there’s no point in arguing. it’s two against one and he doesn’t have the energy to deal with the boys pouting when they don’t get their way. louis will be offended and niall will be sad because he loves travelling and hasn’t been out in so long.
“when do we go?”
the boys let out a whoop, dislodging liam from his place as niall jumps up.
“we can leave in three days.”
“so soon?”
“i’ve already bought the tickets,” louis admits and liam rolls his eyes.
“of course you have. bloody wanker.”
louis just grins at him and jumps on his back. niall hollers something about aiya napa, and he gets swept up in the pure joy there.
maybe escaping to a beach in cyprus won’t be too bad.
“alright. do we have our passports, lads?” louis asks as he rummages through his wallet. “boarding tickets? money? speedo? only joking about that last one, liam.”
“i’m sure.”
“d’you know in france, you have to wear one in public pools?” niall says and the other two stare at him. “we went there on holiday once.”
“did you just not swim?” louis says. niall looks a little offended.
“course not. bought them in a vending machine-type thing.”
liam winces and tries not to think of niall in a speedo. it’s not an image he wants of his mate, necessarily. he’s thankful that it’s his turn in line next.
he hands everything over the counter to the lady. she checks him in with a few swift clicks of the keyboard and a tight smile.
“bags?” he puts his little holdall on the scale and accepts the slip she gives him. “gate a23.”
“thank you,” he tells her and wanders away to let louis have his place, debating getting in line for security without the other two. they join him soon enough.
“what are we doing this week?” liam asks when they are at their gate and waiting to board. louis shifts in his seat but doesn’t open his eyes.
“having fun, obviously.”
“but—“
“not everything needs a schedule, payno. live a little.”
he frowns a little bit. “we’re not going to sightsee or anything?”
“all i want to see is the inside of a bar and the sea on the sand,” niall says and louis gives him a high-five.
“there’s a lad.” he opens one eye and sees liam’s frown. “you’re going to get laid this week. that’s what’s on your schedule. how long has it been?”
“five months.” and twenty three days.
“high time, then. bloody hell, i’m knackered.”
“you’re the one who booked a midnight flight.”
niall snickers as louis fixes liam with a displeased look. “it was cheaper.”
“i’m not the one complaining.”
louis flips him off and goes back to resting. it’s just his luck that they get called to board five minutes later.
“karma,” niall sings as louis bitches about being tired. he gets an elbow in the stomach for his trouble. hissing through his teeth, he hip checks louis and liam decides to tug him into his side before a war can break out.
niall gets the window, cause it helps with his claustrophobia to see outside. louis is in the middle. he says it’s because he’s being magnanimous, but liam thinks he likes feeling safe between his two best mates. he’s glad, cause it leaves him with the room to stretch his legs in the aisle if he feels like it.
the flight attendants are weaving down the walkway, squeezing by passengers and helping them lift rucksacks into the compartments.
his gaze catches on a pair of boys standing about six rows away, their heads tilted towards each other. his gaze catches, and he can’t look away.
“well, he’s fit,” louis murmurs beside him.
“which one?” liam asks without thinking and he can hear the smirk in louis’ voice.
“both, obviously.”
they watch as one smiles at the other, dimples appearing in his cheek, and move back towards the front. liam lets out a breath and it feels like the first one in ages.
“wait, i thought you were into girls?” he says in a slightly-shaky tone and louis shrugs.
“sure, but i can still tell when a bloke’s attractive.”
liam opens his mouth to argue but it dies in his throat when one of the attendants comes down the aisle. he is without a doubt one of the most beautiful people liam’s seen.
the man makes eye contact and dimly realises he's gaping. laughing, the attendant winks as he passes by and liam goes red.
“did you see that?” louis hisses, cackling a little. “he winked at you, mate.”
“cause i was staring.”
“you should shag him.”
“what?! louis!”
“m’just sayin.”
niall laughs beside them. “you should, mate. i think he’d be up for it.”
“both of you are mental,” he bites out as the attendant passes them by. the other one comes up and meets him, right beside liam. he doesn’t hear their conversation, it’s too quiet, but he watches them interact out of the corner of his eye.
they’re both beautiful, he thinks as the one with longer hair laughs, showing off his dimples. there’s something so innocent in his face and liam finds himself smiling at him.
the other one’s otherworldly, though. he’s not sure he’s seen a face that beautiful outside of art or summat. he keeps staring, and it’s awful, but it’s not like he can stop.
the pair move away and close off the compartments. the passenger’s attention is directed to someone in the aisle discussing safety procedures.
louis links his hands with the other two as the aeroplane starts to take off, looking only slightly worried.
“i don’t like this part,” he grits out as they lift and niall rubs his other hand on louis’ shoulder. louis hums to himself.
liam doesn’t mind it, actually enjoys the few seconds of feeling weightless, but louis’ fingers tighten every time the cabin tilts a little. eventually, they settle and louis takes in a deep breath.
“I’m good, lads.” he loosens his shoulders and reaches for his phone. liam does the same, putting in earphones and settling in for a long night of travelling.
the drink cart comes by about half an hour later, and liam’s head is already a little dull with sleep. it’s quiet in the cabin but not comfortable to nap, not unless he’s louis.
he can’t decide if it’s luck or misfortune that the really attractive attendant’s the one serving him.
“something to drink?”
“just water, thanks,” says niall. he swallows a sleeping pill as soon as he gets it and leans his head against the window. louis orders one as well.
“coke, please,” liam says and gets handed a tiny can. it’s adorable.
“why’re you going to cyprus, mr…?”
“liam,” louis tells him with a faint smile on his face. “his name’s liam and we’re going to sleep with some pretty boys.”
liam goes red and the attendant cocks an eyebrow.
“Is that so?”
“well, niall and me are looking for girls, but liam for both.”
“louis!” he says under his breath and is ignored for his trouble.
“what’s your name, then?”
“zayn,” he says and waves to the boy on the other side of the cart. “and that’s harry.”
“hiiiii,” harry drawls with a little wave. “d’you want some salted pretzels?” liam accepts, if only to keep them there a bit longer. zayn smiles at him when he offers one.
“not now, i’m working.”
“of course,” liam says faintly and zayn winks again.
“but maybe later.”
and without waiting for a reply, he tugs the cart down a row. harry’s already preoccupied offering drinks to the row across from them.
louis is waggling his eyebrows when liam turns to look at him.
“what?”
“you should shag him,” louis tells him again and he just shakes his head.
it’s around hour three when he starts to feel restless. his mates are asleep but he can’t; he’s too uncomfortable in the bloody seat. he unclips his seatbelt and goes to the back, desperate to stretch his legs.
naturally, it’s zayn and harry that are there.
“er, hi.” they both smile at him. “sorry, got a little restless.”
harry makes a noncommittal noise and grins wider. “i’m going to go check on the pilots.” he brushes zayn’s elbow as he walks by and then it’s just the two of them.
“your name was zayn?”
“yeah,” he answers, blinking at him with long eyelashes. liam feels a little bit weak. “and you’re liam?”
he likes how zayn stretches his name out. leeyum. it sounds like the start to a song.
dammit. is everything about this boy beautiful?
“mhm,” he says, with only a little bit of an awkward pause. zayn doesn’t notice, or doesn’t comment on it. “i like your tattoo.”
he motions to the bit that’s peeking out of his undone sleeves, a few letters and the something that looks like graffiti. zayn lights up and pulls his sleeve up higher, showing his arm off. liam’s eyes widen. he wants to touch them a little bit.
he glances up to see zayn watching him with a big smile.
“you like comics then?”
“yeah, i’m a bit of a nerd, i guess.”
“i am too,” he says and focuses back on his arm. “what’s your favourite?”
zayn hums a little and scratches at his chin. “i like the hulk.”
“i’m more of a batman lad myself.”
“i can see that,” says zayn, laughing a little. he drops his voice and makes it gravelly. “he’s the hero gotham deserves—“
“—but not the one it needs right now, right,” he finishes and he’s laughing now too. zayn tilts his head after a moment.
“reckon you’re too sweet to be batman.”
liam flushes—again—and tucks his bottom lip between his teeth for a second. “you don’t know that.”
“i can tell. my sisters say i’m good at telling things like that.”
“you’ve got sisters?”
“yeah,” zayn says. “one older and two younger. they’re great, i love them a lot. big family that’s close, y’know?”
“sort of. i’ve only got two older sisters myself, but they love me in their own strange way. always teasing me and saying it’s their job.”
“doniya’s like that, my older sister. she made me so mad when we were little.” he pauses for a second and glances at him, almost nervously. “but then she was the one to threaten anyone who made fun of me for being gay.”
liam pulls a face. he knew about bullies. “my sisters were all off at uni so i started up boxing.”
zayn raises an eyebrow and his eyes flick down liam’s body. “boxing, huh?”
“just a little.”
zayn mutters something that he doesn’t catch and turns back to the carts behind him. “do you need something to drink?”
“um, another coke maybe?” he answers, scrubbing at the back of his neck. he gets another tiny can. “this is like a drink for babies. well, maybe not babies, i don't think they can drink coke. but like, toddlers or summat?”
zayn laughs again, like liam genuinely was funny. liam finishes his drink and lets zayn take it from him, still chuckling.
“you’re cute.”
“sorry, what?” he stares at zayn for a moment. zayn shakes his head and pats liam’s arm.
“nothing, babe.”
after a moment, liam speaks up again. “how do you even become a flight attendant, anyway? did you go to school for it?”
“training, yeah. it was supposed to be a summer job and then i just like it too much. i like the travel.”
“what’s the coolest place you’ve been so far?”
he listens as zayn talks about this place and that, hands waving as he describes a city or a mountain peak. he might be able to listen to zayn talk forever.
“that’s so sick,” he breathes, only just noticing how close they’ve gotten during the conversation. there’s barely six inches between them now, and he’s close enough to see all of zayn’s eyelashes. he glances down at focuses on his lips moving and belatedly realising that he’d stopped talking a few seconds ago.
“sorry,” liam says quietly. “i’m just— uh…”
taking two steps back, he manages to open the door to the bathroom and slip inside. he can breathe a little better in here, where the air’s not heavy with tension.
there’s a knock on the door.
“one second.”
another knock, sharper this time, so he squares his shoulders and pulls it open. zayn’s right there and before liam can blink, he pushes him backwards into the loo and kicks the door behind him. zayn reaches back blindly to slide the lock and the harsh lights flicker on.
“what’re you—“ the rest of his words are swallowed by zayn’s mouth and he makes a small surprised noise. it takes a moment for his reactions to kick in and then his hands are at zayn’s waist, tight against his hips. zayn’s fingers come up to cradle his face and he nips at liam’s top lip.
liam pulls away after a few seconds. “what was that?” he asks, voice a little hoarse. zayn shrugs.
“you’re fit and i’m bored.” at liam’s hesitance, he smiles a bit. “it’s a long flight and all the passengers are asleep. it’s fine.”
“have you done this before?” liam chokes out and zayn chuckles, low in his throat. he can feel it against his chest.
“not in this small of a space.” the air around them is hot and almost crackling, but a shiver goes down his spine when zayn touches his belt buckle. “is this alright?”
liam debates for about half a second before pulling him impossibly closer and pressing their lips together.
they snog for a while until zayn remembers what he was doing and finds the waistband of liam’s trousers again. he doesn’t stop this time, barely blinks when liam slips his palms beneath zayn’s shirt and traces the skin there.
zayn pushes him back as far as he can and has just enough room to sink down onto his knees. he looks up at him and it’s almost too much for liam to handle.
“you’ll have to be quiet,” zayn tells him. liam nods, biting his lip and thinking that’s just short of impossible.
he manages, but just barely.
“i was supposed to get married this week,” he whispers a while later. zayn lifts his head from liam’s shoulder and frowns at him.
“what?”
“i was supposed to get married.”
“what happened?”
liam sighs and runs his fingers through the hair at the nape of zayn’s neck. “she called it off. said she didn’t want to be tied down.”
zayn’s quiet for a moment before curling closer. “oh babe.”
“my mates thought it would be good if i got out of town for a while.”
“yeah, i reckon.” he smiles and kisses liam briefly on the nose. “at least i got to meet you.”
liam smiles and kisses his forehead back.
louis and niall are still asleep when he slips back into his seat. at least he thinks they are, until louis cracks an eye open to look at him.
“where’ve you been?” he asks, taking in the blush on liam’s neck, the untidiness of his shirt and the sheepish look on his face. “oh my god, you fucked that fit attendant.”
“i’d never!” liam tries.
“bullshite, you certainly did. or at least blowjobs. nice job, payno! i can't believe you’re a part of the mile-high club now.”
liam rolls his eyes and refuses to indulge him, but louis continues anyways.
“was he a good shag?”
“yes.”
“atta boy!” he cheers and liam rolls his eyes again. “this was the best plan ever.”
“it was the most mental, that’s for sure.”
“and it’s barely even started,” louis says, sounding smug. “i am a genius.”
zayn passes them, brushing his fingers along liam’s shoulder as he goes. louis sniggers at liam’s expression and liam punches him in the arm.
“what was that for?”
“being a prick, obviously. well, more of one than normal.”
louis pouts at him and twists at a nipple until liam slaps his hand away. “that’s offensive, liam. it hurt my feelings.”
“and you’re hurting my chest—tommo!”
he holds louis’ hand get him to stop just as zayn comes back. he stops at their seats, eyes focusing on their hands. liam lets go as soon as he realises and louis starts cackling.
“um—“
zayn glances over his shoulder and then leans down to kiss liam. it’s deep and hot and long and liam closes his eyes, pressing a palm to zayn’s cheek. he could do this forever, probably.
someone clears their throat and zayn breaks away to give a lazy grin to harry.
“not appropriate, malik,” he says and there’s mirth suppressed in his voice. zayn shrugs and gives liam another kiss.
“don’t really care.”
“you never do,” harry mutters, fond as everything, and he winks at liam and louis as he pushes zayn away.
louis waits until they’re out of earshot before bursting into laughter. “jealous much?”
“what are you talking about?”
“he got jealous because we were holding hands. i like him.”
“thank you?”
louis pats him on the head and snuggles back into his seat. “i’m still knackered and i’m going to sleep. don’t shag him again, liam. once a night is certainly enough.”
“shut up.”
he giggles, putting in his earphones again and soon dropping off to sleep. liam sighs, a little too wired to sleep. he settles for watching a show instead.
when they land, he’s got three love bites on the side of his neck, hardly any sleep and a phone number for one mr zayn malik in his pocket.
“lads,” he says as they wait in line for their bags. “it’s gonna be a good week.”