night changes [zarry]

xviii

They're of course late and Zain's already waiting, Laila nowhere in sight, looking way too cool, leaning against the wall surrounding the school yard.

"Hi!" Harry says, heart skipping a beat when Zain looks up from his phone and smiles, his nose crinkling slightly with it.

"Hey," Zain says, offering his hand to Emma in a high five, who slaps it enthusiastically, and then to Jamie who looks at him for a moment before clapping his palm to Zain's.

"What's your favourite animal?" Emma asks Zain curiously, as Harry tries to straighten Jamie's collar one last time.

"You have to get inside, Emma," Harry says, tying Emma's hair together again and trying to stop her from starting an interrogation. "You can talk to Zain later."

"But mummy," Emma tries, as always. "What if he doesn't like the good animals? We have to see the good animals."

"I'm sure he'd like to look at all the animals," Harry says, rubbing at a toothpaste stain on her cheek until she looks a bit more put together. "Have a good day, baby."

"Do you?" Emma asks, looking up at Zain who grins down at her.

Harry sighs and goes to give Jamie a hug instead, kissing his cheek. "Have fun at school, baby."

"Can you make sure my snail is ok?" Jamie asks, "She was super slow this morning."

"I'll try my best, love," Harry assures him, grimacing slightly. He's not really ready to hold a funeral again, Jamie always took it to heart when one of his random pets died. "Love you."

"Love you," Jamie answers, abruptly distracted when one of his friends races past with a breathless "Hi Jamie!". He darts off to catch up, meaning there is only one child to get into school now.

"You're sure?" Emma is asking, her hands hooked around the straps of her backpack as she frowns up at Zain. "We have to see the snakes and the elephants," she explains. "Both."

"I'm sure we can do both," Zain says, still smiling like he finds Emma's tenacity endearing. "We'll have a whole day, won't we?"

"Yea," Emma says, looking somewhat reassured. 

"Baby, school," Harry interrupts her, turning her towards the entrance and giving her another kiss. "Love you."

"Oh, there's Miss, bye mummy!" Emma exclaims, darting off without a backwards glance, like Harry had been the one keeping her behind.

"You're sure you like all the good animals?" Harry asks Zain drily. 

Zain snorts, laughing slightly. "Still not sure what those are but elephants and snakes I can do," he says, leaning down over the pram to check on Sophie, who was busy chewing one of her stuffed toys, for once happy in the pram. 

"Breakfast and then shopping when she's down for her nap?" Zain asks, letting Harry fuss with Sophie's hat for a moment. 

"Yea," Harry smiles, always relieved that Zain didn't seem bothered working around the children's schedules. "I forgot to eat."

"I thought so," Zain says, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "You were the only one without jam on your shirt."

"What?" Harry asks, stomach dropping. "I checked their shirts after breakfast."

"Just tiny, who cares," Zain shrugs, leaning in to kiss Harry's cheek. "Laila put nutella in her hair this morning, somehow."

"Nutella?" Harry asks, relieved that even neat Laila seemed to like to put breakfast spreads where they definitely didn't belong.