You're the shining distraction that Makes me fly Ziam ♥

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

Hectic barely described the type of week they had. On Monday afternoon, Mezi started a fever that dragged itself through the day, making the little boy blurry eyed and tired. Fortunately, Liam was able to take the afternoon off, a friend of his being able to replace him at school so Liam could take care of Mezi while Zayn went to Uni for yet another final.

Luckily by Tuesday, Mezrhad was all better, bright smiles in the morning as he munched on his fairy bread, an exception Zayn had made because the sight of his sick little boy was not something he could cope with. Chocolate stained grins were much better than coughing red cheeks.

On Wednesday night, Zayn had to stay at the comic book store extra late, a pipe breaking because of the intense cold, a traitorous flood ravaging the store and its inventory for the month. And Zayn really didn’t have the time to deal with the insurance company, his last midterm only two days away. Yet leaving Louis in charge felt like a bad idea, something that would bring more trouble than help so Zayn stuck by the store, answering all the insurance man’s questions.

By the time he got home, well past Mezi’s bedtime, even Liam was sleeping soundly, nothing but the soft light of the bedside table indicating any presence of life. Slipping into bed, Zayn grumbled uncomfortably as he wrapped himself around Liam, annoyed that he’d missed out on some precious time with his family. At least he knew that by the weekend he’d be free of school, and Mezi and Liam would be all he had to think about, which he was grateful for that.

Thursday was uneventful thankfully, Mezi spilling a glass of milk on himself when he ate some Christmas cookies he and Liam made the most dramatic thing that happened.

When Friday finally rolled around, Zayn was the happiest person in the world. The minute he stepped foot out his examination room, the world seemed to finally fall into place. The anxiety that had been crushing him for weeks vanished instantly, his entire body feeling lighter as he walked towards the tube, taking his phone out to call Liam.

“Did you ace it?” Liam asked without greeting, his voice filled with undying happiness.

“Totally,” laughed Zayn, walking down the stairs towards the underground tunnels. “I’m about to lose you cause I’m going into the tunnels but, just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Anytime,” answered Liam, a smile very evident in his voice. “I’ll pick you up at the store around 6, yeah?”

“Yeah,” replied Zayn, the connection becoming fuzzy as he stopped, wanting to say goodbye to Liam. “See you later, love.”

There was a distant sound behind Zayn that caught his attention, almost robbing him of the soft later, babe Liam sing sung. The line went dead before Zayn could say anything else, the chaotic sound of the tube rushing by overwhelming his senses.

Sighing, wishing he could just go home already and cuddle with Liam till Christmas, Zayn resolved himself to sticking through one last day at work. After that he was off till the beginning of January, Louis accepting to take over most of his shifts so Zayn could go Christmas shopping in the next few days while Mezi and Liam still had school. And Niall agreed to take Zayn’s shifst after Christmas in exchange for a pizza and a pint next time they went out so Zayn could actually relax, spend some much needed time with his son, and maybe some couple’s time with Liam.

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“You’re serious?” Zayn asked as he stepped into the flat coming face to face with a giant pine tree that almost touched the ceiling, the smell of it invading his nose. There were tiny like needles littering the floor, towels pushed clumsily under the tree to capture the melting snow. “I thought we were just going to get one of those plastic trees.”