One Direction One Shots

Army Men (1)

(This may or may not kinda be based on Ted Lasso...)

Zayn was never quite sure why he loved those little plastic army men so much. Maybe it was their bright colors, or the way they fit so perfectly in his hands. But he knew one thing for sure: playing with them with his dad was the highlight of his day. They would set up elaborate battle scenes on the living room carpet, complete with tanks and helicopters and soldiers hiding behind walls. Zayn's dad would make sound effects and they would both laugh and shout until it was time for bed.

But then, one day, everything changed. Zayn's dad didn't come home from work. Zayn's mom tried to explain it to him, but he didn't really understand. All he knew was that his dad was gone, and he didn't know why. Zayn retreated into himself, spending hours playing with his army men alone in his room.

As the years went by, Zayn's mom did her best to take care of him, but it was hard. Zayn had been diagnosed with autism when he was younger, and he had trouble making friends and communicating with people. He didn't talk much, and he didn't like change.

But then, something unexpected happened. Zayn met Liam, Louis, Niall, and Harry. They were all college students, living together in a flat in the city. Zayn's mom had signed him up for a program that paired autistic teenagers with college mentors, and Liam, Louis, Niall, and Harry had all volunteered.

At first, Zayn was hesitant. He didn't like new people, and he didn't like leaving his room. But something about the boys made him feel safe. They were kind and patient, and they didn't try to force him to talk or do anything he didn't want to do.

Slowly but surely, Zayn started to come out of his shell. He would sit with the boys in the living room and watch TV, or play video games with them. They even started playing with his army men, setting up battle scenes just like he used to do with his dad.

But one day, while Zayn was out visiting his family, the boys went into his room and found the army men. They didn't mean any harm, of course. They were just curious. They took the army men down from the shelves and started rearranging them, making their own battle scenes.

When Zayn came home and found his army men messed up, he was devastated. He felt like something precious had been taken from him. He tried to explain to the boys how much the army men meant to him, but they didn't really understand. They thought he was being dramatic, or overreacting.

But Zayn knew that the army men were more than just toys. They were a link to his dad, a way to remember the happy times they had together. And now they were broken, scattered, and missing. Zayn cried and cried, feeling like he had lost something important all over again.

The boys felt bad, of course. They didn't mean to upset Zayn. They tried to apologize, but Zayn didn't want to hear it. He retreated back into himself, spending more and more time alone in his room with his army men.

But then, one day, Liam, Louis, Niall, and Harry had an idea. They went to the store and bought a new bucket of army men, just like the one Zayn's dad had given him. They brought it back to the flat and set it on Zayn's bed, smiling at him.

Zayn didn't know what to think at first. He was still hurt and angry about what had happened to his old army men. But then he looked at the boys, really looked at them, and he saw something in their faces that he had never seen before. It was love. They loved him, just the way he was, and they wanted to make him happy.

With a trembling hand, Zayn reached out and took one of the army men from the bucket. He looked at it for a moment, feeling the weight of it in his hand. And then he smiled. It wasn't the same as his old army men, but it was something. It was a new beginning.

719 Words