always ♡ ziall au (gotg #2) [COMPLETE]

sette

niall had the best sleep of his life the night that zayn came home.

he couldn't believe how familiar everything was. how easy it was to curl up against zayn's warm body, to nestle his head under zayn's chin, to tighten his fist in his shirt. and zayn folded around him so easily, too, kissed niall's shoulders and his forehead and his eyelids and his nose and his lips until everything was soft and milky and warm.

niall hadn't known he could love someone this much.

when he woke up, zayn was still asleep, long eyelashes crushing his upper cheeks. if he were a better person, he would've let zayn sleep, but he was niall. so he leaned in and started to loudly press kisses all over zayn's face, giggling when zayn started to shift. surprising niall, instead of pushing him aside, zayn pulled him into his body, trapping him against his chest in a bear hug.

"that is my new favorite way to wake up," zayn said in a raspy voice, eyes traveling over the familiar terrain that is niall's face. "hi, sweetheart."

niall's face was burning. "hi." his fingers gently traced zayn's face, re-familiarizing himself with his features. "i can't believe you made it back home to me."

"i can't either, honestly," zayn murmured back. "i wasn't expecting my mother to help."

"artemis told you where i was?" niall repeated. "wow..."

"i know." zayn closed his eyes. "i was really scared i wouldn't make it in time."

niall leaned in and kissed zayn's cheek. "it's okay, though. you made it back, we're together again, and everything will be okay."

zayn kissed niall's forehead and help him close, but he really didn't know if everything was going to end up okay.

~ ~ ~

niall's father returned later that morning, and that helped zayn recall some of his memories. 

"go to the marketplace," apollo suggested over breakfast. they were eating eggs, toast, cap'n crunch cereal and drinking orange juice, and zayn almost laughed at how yellow everything was. "it might trigger some memories for you two."

"that's a good idea," niall said. zayn didn't remember the marketplace at all, but niall seemed excited to go, so he shrugged agreeably. 

it was the perfect weather. zayn said that about almost every type of weather, even rainy days, but today he really meant it. the sky was a cloudless blue, the sun warm and bright. niall's little hand fit so perfectly in his, and every so often niall would lean his head on zayn's shoulder, and the world was exactly the way zayn wanted it to be.

"welcome to the most magical place on earth," niall said, and those words jolted zayn back into a flashback. he remembered meeting liam, seeing the gem glow blue on niall's necklace, finding out they were soulmates. he let out a gasp, and then crushed niall to his chest. "you're crushing me!"

"every time i get a bit of a memory back, i love you more," zayn said so softly, so genuinely. "i always think i can't possibly love you any more. i don't think there's enough room in my heart, but then i remember something else and i feel like i'm overflowing." he tilted niall's chin up so he could kiss him. "sweet sunlight."

"you can't just say stuff like that," niall said sheepishly, shyly. he leaned his head against zayn's chest as they walked.

"and why not?"

"because my cheeks are too warm!" he grabbed zayn's hands and put them on his red cheeks.

"it's cute," zayn cooed, kissing his soulmate's face. "i love you."

niall couldn't stop smiling. "i love you, too."

~ ~ ~

"what do you think hades wants?" niall asked that night, legs intertwined with zayn's in the bed.

"i don't know."

"i don't think he's done with us," niall added. "he said he wanted to test the soulmate bond. to see if it was as strong as people said. i remember that."

zayn nodded. "i don't know, i..." he let out a deep sigh. "i think he has some tricks up his sleeve, ni, i'm not gonna lie to you." he kissed the top of niall's head. "but no matter what...no matter what he does, niall, i won't let anything happen to you. i know i said that last time, and i failed --" niall winced at zayn's mention of his death, "but i promise you, i will never let you down again."

"you never let me down," niall said softly, cupping zayn's face in his small hands. "it was fate, it was meant to be. but hades is messing with fate, and that's what has me so worried."

"whatever happens, happens," zayn shrugged. "we have no control over it. we just have to fight like hell."

(a/n: wanted to give you guys a fluffy chapter before shit goes down in the next one (; )