falling [zarry] ✔️

x

"Sorry!" Harry calls, kicking off his boots and juggling the precariously stacked take out containers with one hand as he tries to take off his jacket at the same time. "Traffic was a nightmare and Liam wouldn't shut up!"

"It's fine!" Zain calls back from somewhere in the flat. "Safaa help him with food, he's gonna drop it!"

"I'm not!" Harry yells back indignantly, straightening the boxes at the last second before the soup containers can fall off. Still, it send a thrill through him, that Zain doesn't even see him but knows.

"Hi, Harry," Safaa says, smiling at him brightly. She's already in her pyjamas, one of Zain's university jumpers over it. Harry has one as well. They were comfortable and he'd stolen three off Zain — one after the other.

She takes the soup containers from him, probably all for her anyways if he knew her at all, and leans up to kiss his cheek in greeting. It always makes him feel like some grandfather, the way she treats him.

"Hi, babe," Harry says, finally managing to get out of his coat. "How was your presentation?"

Safaa shrugs, scrunching up her nose. "Alright," she says, like any teenager Harry's ever known. "History is so weird," he adds, pulling a face. "Like. You gotta talk about all the stupid stuff out kinda-relative did over the centuries. And everyone knows and I'm pretty sure Miss would say a lot of things about stuff if she didn't think I'd offend me or something."

"Yea," Harry agrees, pulling a face. "But that's not good if your teacher censors herself."

Safaa shrugs. "At least she doesn't try and crawl up my arse like my French teacher. He's the worst, I swear."

"Hey," Zain says, not looking up from where he's furiously typing on his laptop.

"Hi," Harry says, amused and fond. He loves seeing Zain like this, with his naked feet tucked under him as he works.

"I wanna watch the new Aladdin," Safaa announces, dumping the food on the counter and pulling open the cupboards to look for cutlery and bowls.

Harry eyes her. "Aren't you too old for that?"

Safaa snorts, throwing Harry a condescending look not unlike Zain's. She definitely got over her awe too fast. It's a bit sad. Harry could have done with another few months of having her agree to his every word.

"Disney is Disney," she says.

Harry throws his hands up in defeat and accepts the stack of bowls she hands him. "Whatever you say."

"Exactly. Bow down to me," Safaa says grandly, tossing her hair and then breaking down in giggles right away.

Harry grabs her around the waist to tickle her in punishment, making her shriek and kick her legs around.

He sets her down after a moment, leaving her to catch her breath while he empties the containers onto plates and divides the food somewhat equally between the tree of them — lots of avocado sushi for Safaa, no tuna for Zain.

"Thanks," Zain says, a pillow crease on his cheek from where he's been leaning against the couch, dropping his laptop on the kitchen table and pushing past Harry to get to the fridge. "You want a beer?"