falling [zarry] ✔️

iii

"'1D's Harry Styles wants to be Princess Harry'," Louis reads, his voice shaking with laughter. "I think this is my favourite," he muses, tilting the screen of his iPad to show Niall. "Princess Harry. Have you been practicing your curtsy? Do you wanna be Zain's princess?"

It's been three days and everyone was still talking about his stupid curtsy. It made it very hard to pretend it had been on purpose. He was sure the next time they were on some talkshow he was going to be asked about it.

"Shut up, Louis," he snaps, perhaps a bit harshly. "I don't wanna be his princess!"

"Too bad, Safaa was really looking forward to it," Harry's worst nightmare says from the door. He's got that look of amusement again, his tone dry, abs his younger sisters are clinging to his hands, though Waliyah tries to look nonchalant about it and flips her hair over her shoulder when Harry turns to stare at them in horror.

"Er," Harry says eloquently as Louis fumbles with his phone in shock.

"Your Royal Highnesses," Niall is the first to recover, surprisingly, nodding his head at them.

Their staff and Liam and Louis kinda echo him, bobbing their heads, but Harry — because apparently his senses have left him — bobs into another curtsy before he realises what he's doing.

Princess Waliyah stares at him, looking like she's about to perish from second hand embarrassment and Harry kind of wishes he would, because it's preferable to this.

Prince Zain looks like he's not sure if he should be amused or worried and Louis has recovered enough and has started laughing, chortling while Lou tries to get his hair done.

Harry grabs the closest thing he can find, unfortunately only a pillow, and chucks it at Louis.

"Did we know you were coming? Sir?" he asks, trying for nonchalant and failing, while Louis splutters and Lou hisses at him for messing up Louis's hair.

"No, we apologise," Prince Zain says. "There were questions of security and we weren't sure it would be feasible."

"Yea," Harry agrees dumbly, wondering if they'd brought half the army to keep the fans away or if the almost-army of security they themselves required would be enough.

"So you've come to watch us?" Niall asks, awkwardly holding the clothes he's supposed to change into. He lights up suddenly, beaming at Harry. "Today is a big day," he says, mostly to Princess Safaa, who is looking at him like he's a unicorn or something. "Harry gets to pants Louis in front of everyone."

"What?" Harry and Louis exclaim at the same time, bevor they remember and Harry giggles manically, bouncing over to Louis to stick his tongue out in his face.

"No!" Louis complains, only kept in the chair by his fear of Lou. "That doesn't count, you didn't do it on purpose, he was just being dumb!" He says to Niall.

"A bet is a bet," Niall shrugs.

"Yea," Harry laughs, doing a little victory dance in front of Louis, grinning at him. "You're getting pantsed, Tomlinson, and you can't do anything about it!"

"Liam!" Louis calls, like that would help, while Lou shakes her head, pushing Harry out of the way to get to Louis's front and the rest of their staff pretend not to head.

"A bet is a bet," Liam says and Harry crows in victory, pointing his finger at Louis and shaking his hips.

He freezes when he turns around and catches Prince Zain's gaze again. He was definitely amused now.

Harry resigns himself to being forever ridiculous in front of him. It's not like he has an actual chance with his crush, just because he had actually met him — twice — now. They'd never cross paths again and he could go back to kissing his picture goodnight. Not that he'd done that since he was eight. Maybe thirteen. But definitely no later than sixteen.

"So, you're here for the show?" he asks, clearing his throat and trying to parented they were two little fans and their older brother, who was hot but just a person in the end. An insanely hot person. Who was still watching Harry. "Which are your favourite songs?"

Princess Safaa starts speaking right away, like a little waterfall, no end in sight to her enthusiastic explanation of what she looked forward most — which seemed to be everything — while Princess Waliyah still tried to look too cool for this, but was trailing Niall around the room and clutching her brother's hand tightly.

Harry nods at Princess Safaa, encouraging her, and pretends not to notice Prince Zain watching him, and definitely pretends he's not blushing from it. It was the heat, the anticipation and the excitement of pranking Louis without retribution.

He distracts himself with encouraging Princess Safaa and trying to include Princess Waliyah, who — like a proper teenager — gives barely more than single words as answer, glad when Liam comes to join him, and even gladder when he gets pulled away to change.

👑

I switched to Zain because my phone and I like it more...