Twin Flames | Zarry AU

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8 years old. Zayn's daughter is 8 years old and he still can hardly keep his composure when he drops Michelle off at summer camp. Who would have thought? A whole detective who has faced all kinds of danger situations and spends his life chasing and arresting bad guys still can't get used to something as simple as saying goodbye to his little girl. Michelle or Micky - as he calls her - is his whole life. All the memories of the sleepless nights, the first teething, the first messy ponytail or even the first fall off the bike flash before his eyes now. Zayn is reflective as he helps Micky get her bags out of the car. Look at her, all independent.

It has always been the two of them. Michelle's mother is not in the picture, she never was and for that Zayn is grateful. They were high school sweethearts until senior year when Wendy went off the rails. Her family was going through a financial crisis, her father - the richest man in town - attempted suicide, things were really tough. So Wendy turned into an entirely different person that year, a junkie, an alcoholic and on top of that, at the end of the semester she found out that she was pregnant, the drugs and alcohol have interfered with her birth control pills effectiveness. Zayn never blamed her for the way she dealt with everything she was going through. Although he did blame her for everything that happened next. When they found out about the pregnancy she was already 5 months along. Zayn never once left her side, he with the help of his parents managed to get her into rehab, at least until the end of her pregnancy, she agreed. They had hope. That is until the day an obstetrician came to check on her and the baby. During the appointment she had a psychotic break and ran away but two weeks later there was a knock on his door. The night that changed everything. When his mother answered no one was there except for a basket - classic - with a seven day old baby, a birth certificate with only his name and a note "I'm sorry, I can't do this".

Zayn never heard from Wendy again and he didn't want to. He didn't want to think about her or hear her name. That night he wished with all his being that she was dead. And since then he made a promise that he would dedicate his entire life to this baby, she would be loved unconditionally, he would be there for her and would never mention Wendy's name and to this day, thank God, Michelle never once asked about her mother. It was all worth it; he wouldn't do it any other way.

To Micky, Zayn is her superhero her role model, she has her baba on a pedestal, she is baba's little lady, but little does she know that she is also a superhero to him. He never gets upset or regretful about being a solo parent, of course he had help from his parents, after all, he was only 19 years old. What did he know? In spite of all that, he's never thought about bringing someone else to her life. Micky doesn't need anyone else and neither does he. She makes him a better man. He wouldn't have gotten where he is now if it wasn't for her. In his head he is the best example of a parent she could have. He is enough. He became the best detective there is for her. When she looks at him, he can see the gleam in her eyes in admiration. This is how he knows that everything she needs is right in front of her. Zayn is her world and vice versa. That's why he says every time before he leaves for work: "I'm fighting bad guys so you can grow up in a better world, buttercup". She is the best daughter, "Smarter than average for an 8 year old" he always says and of course she is, she is Zayn's daughter she would be no different.

"Did you get everything you need?" He tidies the lace of her messy ponytail.

"I couldn't find my sunglasses."

"Looks like we've got another mystery in our hands." Zayn frowns pretending to be deep in thought trying to solve a mystery.

"The harder the game is to solve, the more fun you can have it" she says cheerfully.

Here's the thing, whenever Zayn or Micky lose something inside their big house they always make it a big deal. Everything becomes a mission. They play detective investigating and searching until they finally find a lost toy or Micky's favorite pantyhose or Zayn's charger. Once they solved the case of the murder of Ms. Cuddles, Micky's old teddy bear. Their best case, Micky thinks. It turns out the neighbor's cat found it on the porch of their house and stole it. Fortunately Zayn spared the poor thing by not arresting it only because he couldn't resist Micky's pleading bambi eyes. She said the cat needed a friend.

"Good girl." He hugs her and stares at her for a moment "Only 8 weeks, buttercup" he whispers reassuring more to his own consolation than hers.

"Promise me you'll have fun, yeah?"

"Copy that" he laughs now and lets her kiss him good-bye. He shakes his head as if he can't believe she is his daughter. Then she walks into the sea of girls as her bouncy ponytail swings around. She can't help but show her excitement at being away from her baba for the first time. When did she get so big and independent? Zayn lets out a long sigh realizing he is more concerned about not having his daughter for eight long weeks than doing his actual job.