Snow (Zarry AU)

Part 10

The closing of a door startles Zayn awake and when he looks up he sees his sister walking in, carrying a small shopping bag. He yawns, closing his sketchbook and making sure he doesn't sit on his pencils.

"Harry's waiting for you, sleepy head," his sister says and ruffles his hair. "You know where his room is." Zayn nods and gently puts his sketchbook and pencils aside before unwrapping himself from the blanket and getting off his bed.

As he closes the door behind him, his sister calls after him. "Don't be late for dinner!" He isn't planning on it. Doniya sometimes forgets he and Harry only just became a thing, although Zayn doesn't know what the 'thing' is. They feel too serious to be just a 'thing.'

Blinking sleepily, he waits for the lift. Falling asleep wasn't part of the plan, but he was comfortable and warm, which usually results in him falling asleep somehow. He tries to temper his messy hair in the time it takes him to go up a floor, but it doesn't seem to want to listen. If he remembers correctly, Harry's said he likes the look anyway.

He walks down the quiet hallway and as he thinks of seeing Harry again, there's no helping the smile appearing on his face. Even if he saw him already today, the feeling he gets is something like a rush of excitement and nerves mixed together. Not bad nerves, though. The kind that comes with situations like waiting in line for your first rollercoaster ride, although for Zayn that isn't such a good comparison; he doesn't like rollercoasters.

After tapping on the wooden door with his knuckles, Harry opens it within a matter of seconds. "Zayn! Come in," he says, appearing somewhat out of breath. When he does, it's obvious Harry had just rapidly tried to clean up; clothes piled onto a chair in the corner, the large double bed hastily made and one curtain still slightly drawn. Harry's room is bigger than Zayn's, and so is his bathroom. Not that he's jealous or anything.

Zayn sinks down onto the bed and grins. ''Even if you're a mess, doesn't mean your room has to be.''

''That's my line!'' Harry whines and pushes Zayn down onto the bed so he's looking at the crisp white ceiling. ''Come up with your own words,'' he huffs and lies down next to Zayn, who props himself up on his elbow and leans over Harry a bit.

''Alright. You are a very messy boy, and messy b-''

''Oh, shut up! Close your mouth. Or even better: put it on mine! Just don't talk,'' Harry laughs despite his discomfort, and Zayn laughs with him. It's a thing Zayn can't stop doing, not something he really has any control over. Whenever Harry laughs, he finds himself joining in, and it's effortless. Like breathing. He can feel his smile fade as this thought settles in. Apparently he is in this deeper than he thought at first.

''What's up?'' Harry's frowning, his bottom lip jutting out.

''The sky,'' is Zayn's answer, and it's enough of a distraction for Harry. He's smiling again, which means Zayn is smiling.

''Which reminds me; I planned some activities for us!''

Zayn watches confusedly how Harry pushes himself off the bed to search between the pile of clothes on the chair. ''How does the sky remind you of-''

''Found it! We'll start tomorrow night, with something simple,'' Harry reads off a list he's holding, looking entirely too excited.

''And the other activities are?'' Zayn honestly doesn't know if he wants to find out.

''A surprise! Don't worry, you'll like them.''

So he's not very reassured, but if Harry's there, he's bound to enjoy himself.

Something simple turns out to actually be something simple. Zayn isn't sure what he expected, but when he heard they were going to the bonfire night, he was immensely relieved.

They're wrapped in layers of clothing, the only thing not covered being their faces. Still, when they set foot outside, Zayn feels like he might just turn into a human popsicle, his teeth chattering violently. When he looks at Harry next to him, he's not much better off. Despite his discomfort, Zayn pulls through and finds that the chattering reduces as he gets used to the cold, even if his nose is starting to grow numb.

He keeps his head tilted down to shield himself from the sharp, cold wind, until Harry nudges him. They stopped walking, and Zayn can see why.

In the near distance, big flames are casting a bright glow around themselves, illuminating the white snow and the people scattered around, sitting on logs around the fire. Zayn keeps his eyes on the dancing light as they get closer, less aware of the harsh cold. The crunching of snow under their feet gets dulled by the sound of crackling and the quiet murmur of people talking.

"I'll get us some hot drinks," Harry says after they found an empty spot. Zayn nods and sits down on the big log and looks into the orange flames. Warmth is slowly seeping through his clothes, and when Harry comes back with two steaming cups of hot cocoa, he has to admit this was a pretty great idea.

Seeing snow at night is different. It's not so blinding, more of a quiet static instead. Sadly it doesn't get any less cold.

"Zayn," Harry says his name like he's been saying it more than once already, and Zayn's head snaps to the side.

"Huh?"

"You're not bored, are you?"

Sometimes Zayn forgets Harry can get insecure as well, so he quickly shakes his head. "This is cool," he assures Harry. "Pun intended."

Harry laughs, his eyes lighting up almost as bright as the fire. Zayn is still dumbfounded by how everything only seems to make Harry more beautiful. The cold gives him this lovely flush, as does the heat. Zayn wonders what he would look like, sweaty and-

"You're staring," Harry chuckles, and Zayn quickly averts his gaze. "It's ok, you can stare at me anytime."

"Good to know." Zayn leans in and captures Harry's lips with his own, shivering slightly when their cold noses touch. Harry opens his mouth and it's warm, wet, and tastes somewhat like chocolate. If he could, Zayn would run his hands through Harry's hair, but he's wearing gloves and a thick woollen beanie is covering Harry's curls, so he pulls away with a sigh.

"Wanna go back so we can make out?" Harry suggests, wiggling his eyebrows.

Zayn laughs and pecks him on the lips once. "Think that might be your best idea yet."

That was chapter 10 already! Thank you so much for reading, voting and commenting! The next update will be on Friday.

Until then xxx <3

Dedication: @Dangerousbrunette