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Zayn woke up in the morning still wrapped around Niall. He took a deep breath in through his nose and the smell of Niall filled his nose. He knew Niall was still asleep so he just lay there thinking, trying to find a way to help Niall. He knew his words the previous night helped a little, but once Niall read enough more of the cruel words he would be upset again. Zayn wanted to make that smile permanent.
He felt Niall squirm a little in his arms, a whimper left the boys mouth and when Zayn looked at his face it looked distressed and scared. He was having a nightmare. "Babes, Niall, Nialler." Zayn was gently shaking Niall, trying to wake him without startling him. "Wake up, love, you're alright. I'm here." His voice was soft and cautious.
"No..." Niall mumbled in his sleep, Zayn barely heard it but when he did he shook Niall a little harder.
"Wake up Niall, please wake up."
"NO!" Niall shouted as his eyes snapped open and he threw himself back. Zayn grabbed his wrist before he fell back off the bed.
"Niall, stop! Don't pull away. It's me. It's okay. I'm here babe." Niall was shaking and breathing heavily. Eyes wide and scared looking.
He was frantically looking around, the voice he was hearing was faint until he recognized it and looked at Zayn. "Zayn," he breathed out.
"Yeah it's me," Zayn answered although Niall hadn't asked.
Niall sighed in relief trying to catch his breath as he looked at Zayn. He smiled small and said "Thanks for waking me up."
"Anytime. That was scary though, what happened?" Zayn asked as he really took in Niall's appearance. The blonde was still breathing heavy with his lips parted, eyes looking tired because he had just woken up, hair spiking out everywhere with some stuck to his forehead, slouched over and gripping the sheets while knuckled. Zayn slowly slid one of his hands towards one of Niall's. He wrapped his hand around the soft skin of Niall's and gripped it softly.
Niall looked down at the contact but smiled gently and released a breath he had apparently been holding. He looked up to see that Zayn was already looking at him. Eyes a little wide with a curious and kind of expectant look. Niall bit his lip. "I...I can't. I can't talk right now. About it, it's too fre-fresh. And scary" Niall admitted looking down, then back up into Zayn's hazel eyes.
He gripped Zayn's hand back and moved over to where he had been so he was sitting in front of Zayn. They were both on their knees when Niall moved in slowly, closed his eyes, and hesitantly placed his lips on Zayn's. Zayn let out a gentle gasp at the unexpected gesture but instantly closed his eyes and returned the kiss. They pulled away shortly after with a small smacking sound.
Zayn was the first to open his eyes. He saw that Niall's were still closed as the younger took in a deep breath and opened his eyes and he released the breath. A smile slowly worked its way onto his face. Zayn smiled when he saw Niall smiling.
"Your kisses are really soothing," Niall commented right after the smiles.
Zayn blushed a light pink at Niall's words but quickly commented back "Well, anytime you need the comfort I'm here for you. I tell you all the time I hate seeing you upset in any way."
"Thank you. Thank you so much, Zayn."
"Don't thank me silly."
"Alright, but can I kiss you again?" Niall asked, sounding a bit worried.
"Of course you can, I'm here babe."
With that being said Niall leaned in again, pushing his arms tighter around Zayn's body and pulling him in so their chests were pressed close. Zayn took the lead this time, leaning in and attaching his lips to Niall's, only for a little longer than last time.
*............*
It isn't anything romantic though. The boys are all close, and affectionate displays of affection doesn't make things weird between them. Some of the boys are closer to one another than others, but they all love each other so much.
So when Niall and Zayn walked downstairs into the living room, hand in hand with nothing but boxers on, none of the other boys blinked an eye.
"Nialler!" Louis exclaimed lightly. "Ya feelin' better love?"
Niall smiled and replied "Yeah, yeah I am. Zayn's really good with talking."
The other boys smiled huge, very happy to hear that Niall was feeling better. "Good," Liam said.
"Yeah," Harry agreed pulling Liam into his side and snuggling up.
Zayn slumped a little into Niall's body, pressing them close together and snuggled his forehead into Niall's shoulder and sighing. "C'mon Ni, let's go get something to eat."
Niall smiled brightly and nodded. "Y'guys hungry?" Zayn asked, sleepily addressing the other boys.
"Nah, we ate earlier. You guys were still asleep and we didn't wanna wake ya." Liam answered for all of the boys.
"Alright, what d'ya wanna eat?"
"Pancakes?" Niall asked shyly with a hopeful look on his face.
"Sure thing, come on. Help me cook!" Zayn exclaimed pulling Niall into the kitchen by their joined hands.
........................
Zayn poured the last of the batter into the frying pan. There weren't any cooked pancakes anywhere because the two boys devoured them as they finished cooking each one. Zayn swiped his finger in the bowl, catching some of the batter sticking to the bowl. He quickly reached out and dabbed it on Niall's nose. Niall gasped and yelled "ZAYN! You're gonna pay for that one!"
Zayn laughed loudly then his eyes widened as he saw Niall darting towards him. He took off as fast as he could. Running around the island in the kitchen, past the door and in front of the TV the others were watching. Niall was catching up when Zayn looked over his shoulder. He let out a playful yelp and rounded the couch. Niall pounced on Zayn's back suddenly and they tumbled down behind the couch. They were laughing loudly while Niall pinned both of Zayn's hands down, one on each side of the boys head. He was straddling Zayn's lap to keep him pinned down.
"Say you're sorry!" Niall shouted.
"Never!" Zayn cried dramatically.
Niall finally got a strong grip on Zayn's arms. He held him steadily to the ground and smirked, feeling successful. He leaned down so he was inches away from Zayn. "Then get it off!" he said.
"Do it yourself." Zayn replied, struggling lazily to get out of Niall's grip. "You've got my hands tied down anyway!" Then Zayn got an idea, he didn't think much of it, then lifted his head forward and licked the batter off of Niall's nose.
Niall giggled when Zayn's warm tongue quickly slid across his nose. He shook his head like a puppy then looked down at Zayn with the smile still on his face.
Zayn was grinning big when Niall looked at him and stuck his tongue out at the blonde boy.
Niall looked at Zayn for a moment but the urge pulled him in like a magnet and before he knew what he was doing his lips were on Zayn's in a gentle kiss. He pulled back smiling. "Thanks for breakfast Zaynie."
Zayn was just a little shocked when he finally sputtered out "Anytime Nialler."
Neither of the boys noticed the confused yet adoring looks coming from the other boys who, when they heard the playful commotion, had positioned themselves to be turned around and looking over the back of the couch.
*................*
Niall and Zayn didn't stop kissing, and the other boys didn't stop them. There wasn't anything wrong with it. Both Zayn and Niall knew that the kisses were usually for comfort, but sometimes their lips would just meet and both boys would be smiling when the pulled away. They were comfortable with it.
The other boys were used to seeing the pair kiss by now. It was never more than gentle presses of the lips that lasted for a few seconds at most.
They were sat in Zayn’s flat in London, they had a week off, watching movies. They didn’t wanna do anything but pig out and relax of the time off.
”Z, you’ve got nothing to drink man!” Louis commented from the kitchen. Zayn stood up from his spot cuddled into Niall’s side and walked into the kitchen to see that he was in fact out of beverages.
”Thought I had some soda in there.” He huffed.
”Nah, I killed that last night!” Niall shouted from the couch. “Sorry, forgot to tell ya.”
”’S alright, I’ll just go around the corner and grab some more.”
”Want me to go with you?” Louis asked.
”Nah, I’ll be right back,” Zayn answered, grabbing his coat and cell phone then taking off out the front door. The wind was light but it was a fairly chilly night, and being 9:30 at night meant that the temperature had already dropped a bit.
Zayn pulled his jacket closer to his body and began the short walk to the market.
He never made it to the market.