sweater swap ➳ ziam au

one

not edited

one

---

Zayn looked up from his phone when the bell on the door chimed.

He blushed as he saw Liam carrying a bouncy toddler on his hip, and he immediately stashed his phone back into his pocket.

"Zayn. Zayn!"

He smiled when Niall, Liam's son, cheered his name, poking his nose when his father finally made it towards the counter. "'Morning, Zayn." Liam yawned, hiking Niall further up his hip. "H-hi." Zayn stammered, immediately diverting his attention towards Niall so that Liam wouldn't notice his blush.

"Could we have the usual to stay, please?" Liam ordered, sighing when Niall started whining, "Okay fine. And a banana muffin too." Zayn nodded and rang him up, Liam handing him the money before carrying Niall to their usual seats.

"Harry, bake a fresh banana muffin and ice it with 'Niall', yeah?" Zayn said, clipping the order onto the wire before starting to prepare Liam's coffee. "Sure thing! Is Payne here?" Harry asked with a smirk, chuckling when Zayn blushed purposefully.

"Shut up, Haz. Bake that muffin." Zayn dismissed, pouring Liam's coffee into a mug before he started blending the chocolate shake for Niall. He poured the content into a small plastic mug, adding a swirly straw just like Niall liked it. "One banana muffin, straight outta' the oven." Harry cheered, sliding the tray towards Zayn.

Zayn smiled as he noticed the letters iced onto it with whipped cream before he placed the mugs into the tray as well, carrying it towards the two customers at the back.

He resisted the urge to coo at the sight in front of him. Liam had his back towards him and Niall was on his lap, scraping his small chubby hands against Liam's sexy stubble. Liam was teasingly trying to bite Niall's fingers off, pressing kisses into his son's palms when he started giggling.

Zayn nervously walked around the table, placing the mugs and muffin in front of them. "Thanks, Zayn. Would you mind holding Niall for a bit? Gotta make a phone call." Liam requested, and how could Zayn resist when Liam was giving him his sexy smile.

"Yeah, okay. S-sure." he stuttered, scooping Niall into his arms and mentally squealing when his hand brushed against Liam's.

"Wanna see the cool machines, bud?" Zayn cooed, smiling when Niall clapped his hands and nodded. Zayn carried him towards the counter, where they were immediately greeted by Harry.

"Nialler! Haven't seen you since forever!" Harry exclaimed, tickling Niall's tummy slightly. Niall giggled and pressed his face into the crook of Zayn's neck. He had always had a small crush on Harry. Everyone knew that.

Zayn placed Niall on the counter, shooting him a stern look when Niall started banging the cupboards beneath it with his swinging legs. "You won't get a cookie if you keep doing that." Zayn warned, chuckling when Niall immediately stopped and looked at him with wide, innocent eyes.

"No, no! I sorry! Cwookie!" Niall babbled, and Zayn laughed as he placed a giant chocolate chip cookie into Niall's hands. He chatted with Harry as they watched Niall nibble on it, his dribble seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"Hey." Liam sighed, leaning against the register counter, and Zayn felt his cheeks heat up when he saw Liam's sweater hike up a bit. "You look stressed, mate." Harry commented, pushing his long hair away from his face. "Yeah. Have a date tonight," Liam mumbled, Zayn cringing, "And Louis can't watch over Niall so I gotta find another babysitter."

Before he knew it, Zayn had blurted out. "I'll watch him!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening once he realized what he had said. "Really? Oh gosh, thank you, Zayn!" Liam smiled at him gratefully, and Zayn was about to open his mouth to protest when he felt Liam's strong arms wrap around him, giving him a tight embrace.