Work Text:
Zayn stood watching Louis pull items out of the boot of his car. He heard the rattle of metal inside the duffle. He oofed when Louis tossed a pile of clothing at him. “I’m not naked, mate,” he pointed out.
“We need to wear all black. That way no one will see us,” Louis argued. Zayn glanced down at his black combat boots, black jeans, black vest underneath a black leather jacket before quirking an eyebrow. “Shut up,” Louis snapped, grabbing the clothing back and tossing it into the trunk.
“Now, what exactly are we doing again?” Zayn shouldered the duffel while Louis grabbed the step stool and another bag. He listened while Louis went over the plan again. When his friend was done, ending with another plea for Zayn’s help, Zayn shook his head fondly. “This is, without a doubt, the stupidest plan you’ve ever had. Of course, I’m in.”
They quietly moved into the park, glancing to the left and right, watching for anyone who might catch them. It was just after midnight, too late for kids and too early for stumbling drunks. He thought he heard a sound coming from the footie pitch, but, when he glanced over, it was too dark to see if anyone was there.
Louis approached the fence surrounding the swimming pool, he set down the step stool before climbing the low fence and dropping over the other side. He held his hands out to take all of the gear from Zayn. Once everything was on the other side, Zayn tilted his head.
“Get over here,” Louis hissed, starting to move things towards the building in the enclosure.
Zayn thought he heard the sound of a ball hitting a bar around a net. Shaking his head, he grasped the top of the fence, pulling himself over and dropping to the other side in a crouch. He hurried over to Louis who was disappearing into the building. Following, he saw what had Louis so upset.
Scrawled all over the walls were lewd comments about Louis’ boyfriend. “Who did this?” Zayn hissed.
“Doesn’t matter right now,” Louis hissed. “We cover it first and then we worry about them.”
Zayn nodded, pulling open the bag, yanking out the paint cans and pans. Pouring the cream coloured paint into a pan, he grabbed a roller. “I’ll take the top of the wall,” he told Louis, tossing the other roller to him. “Why isn’t the park doing this?”
Louis snorted out a laugh. “They put in the work order requests, but Harry’s boss said it would be at least a week before anything could be done. Can’t have him coming to work every day and seeing this.”
They worked in silence for several minutes, covering the words as quickly as they could. After about ten minutes, they froze at the sound of the door opening. Turning in unison, they faced a stunned boy standing in the doorway, a football under one arm. “Ummm…” he said.
Louis ran over to him, waving his roller under his nose. “You need to get out of here and you saw nothing.” The boy’s eyes widened and he took a step back. “Get!”
“I-I gotta use the loo!” the boy screeched, taking another step back.
“Piss outside,” Louis snapped. The boy chewed his lip. Zayn felt bad for this lad, he looked quite adorable standing there chewing his lip, eyes tracing the paint roller like it was a loaded gun.
Zayn pulled the roller out of Louis’ hand, pushing him out of the guy’s way. As soon as the way was cleared, the boy raced into one of the stalls and slammed the door, the football hitting the floor at the same time and rolling out. Louis started screeching. Zayn clamped a hand over his mouth. “Stop.” Louis glared but nodded. “The kid’s harmless.”
“Liam,” came a voice.
“Sorry?” Zayn asked.
“My name’s Liam. Not kid.”
“Aren’t you busy?” Zayn asked, laughing. A mumbled apology followed, making Zayn laugh harder before he turned to Louis who was looking at his phone with sad eyes. “Harry need you?”
“Yeah, he’s still really upset about this,” Louis explained, gesturing to the barely half-painted wall.
“Go to him. I’ll finish this,” Zayn told him, covering his mouth again when he started to argue. “Go.” Louis pressed a smacking kiss to Zayn’s cheek and ran out the door.
Shaking his head, Zayn went back to painting. He hummed under his breath while he worked, jumping when he heard the toilet flush. He’d forgotten he wasn’t alone. A moment later, he heard the tap running and glanced over his shoulder to see the kid, Liam, washing his hands before running his wet hands through his unruly curls.
Turning back to the wall, he continued working. He startled when he heard the rattle of the paint pan. Turning, he saw that Liam had picked up the other roller and was painting where Louis had been. “Uh….”
“You looked like you needed help. The guards will start patrolling in about an hour. We don’t want to be here when they do,” Liam explained. “Although, this doesn’t seem like vandalism. The opposite really, so I don’t understand why you’re doing it under the cover of darkness.”
“Politics,” Zayn explained. “How’d you know about the guards?”
“Been caught on the footy field more than once,” Liam explained. “I come here a lot when I can’t sleep. Why are you here?”
“Helping a friend,” Zayn explained before returning to painting.
They talked quietly while they worked, discovering they went to the same Uni. They even realized they shared a lecture class, but Zayn was always late (and half-asleep), taking the seat in the back nearest the door, while Liam sat front and center.
When they finished, Liam looked at his watch. “We gotta bolt,” he said, gathering the stuff.
They hurried to the fence, tossing the stuff over. They were standing at the car park when Zayn remembered that Louis had left him stranded. “Shit, he was my ride.”
Liam just opened the boot to his car and started loading the stuff inside. “C’mon,” he urged when he’d slammed it shut, and Zayn still hadn’t moved.
Zayn hurried to the car. Liam put it in gear before Zayn’s door was closed, and they raced away from the park. They were quiet as Zayn gave directions. When they pulled up outside of Zayn’s dorm, Liam helped him unload the car, but Zayn insisted he could get the stuff upstairs on his own. “Thanks,” he told Liam who shrugged with a smile.
The next morning, Zayn stumbled into his lecture, late as always. He sunk into his seat with a groan, pushing his hood off his face. He blinked when a cup of coffee was waved under his nose. Turning, he saw the hand holding the cup was attached to Liam. Front row Liam who was now in the back row, looking like he belonged there.
“Morning,” he said, smiling so wide his eyes crinkled.
“ Good morning,” Zayn returned taking the coffee with a smile.