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

dieci

it had been three weeks since niall had seen zayn.

hades used some sort of magic to keep niall from losing him entirely, which, to be honest, was almost worse.

it was worse because he could still feel the ache in his chest. his necklace was a pale, pale blue, but at least it was still blue. at least zayn was still his.

hades hadn't actually even wanted anything from niall, just to see him suffer. niall wasn't sure why he wouldn't just let him go, considering the fact that zayn hadn't even come looking for him.

ironically, though, artemis visited him. he'd burst into tears as soon as he saw her, because seeing her made him think of zayn, which he was trying not to do.

"is he okay?" was all he'd been able to ask her.

"he's all right, physically," she responded. "he's still searching for you."

niall bit his lip. "what about my friends? and my father?"

"everyone is okay, other than missing you terribly." there was a loud rumble outside the door.

"what was that?" niall asked.

artemis winced. "cerberus. i outwitted hades so i could get down here to you, but it won't last long." she glanced back at the door.

"will you bring zayn to me?" he begged. 

she stared at him. her gaze went cold. "you were willing to sacrifice his happiness to prove you aren't a weakling," she said slowly. "so no. i won't bring him to you. you are getting exactly what you deserve." she turned on her heel and left, even as he screamed after her, begging.

- - -

"niall," hades called one day. niall looked up. it was strange, because he was being tied up or tortured or anything of the sort. the doors were just enchanted so that he couldn't leave. it was a strange sort of prison. "you can go." 

"what?" niall asked. "did we win? did we prove you wrong?"

hades let out a low chuckle. "not exactly, but...i think it'll be more interesting if you're up there now than if you stay down here."

niall narrowed his eyes at hades. "what did you do?"

"i didn't do anything," hades laughed. "you'll see, little sun spot. everything's about to get very interesting."

- - -

the first thing niall did when he was freed from the underworld (again) was find his father. apollo hugged him for a long time.

"have you seen zayn?" apollo asked niall. when he shook his head, apollo frowned. "i'll zap you to him, but...well, niall..."

"what?"

"go easy on him," is all apollo said before snapping his fingers.

- - -

when niall arrived, he had no idea where he was, but he knew that his necklace was glowing so brightly that it stung against his skin. he was standing in front of a giant castle, so he pushed the doors open, and when he did, he heard music. he followed the sound, and when he pushed open another set of double doors, there were people dancing.

he scanned the room. he was overwhelmed with confusion. the room was full of female dancers. zayn was nowhere to be seen.

but suddenly the music stopped, and someone was running towards him. he knew before they even touched, before he even moved -- it was zayn. it was zayn beneath this ridiculous wig and makeup, zayn in this dress. he would know from the sound of his breathing, from the sound of his footsteps. he would know zayn at the end of the world.

so he was prepared for it when zayn crashed into him, to feel zayn hug him so hard that he couldn't breathe. he was giggling instantly, feeling the warmth wash over him. having his soulmate back again. he was vaguely aware of a girl's screaming.

"baby," zayn cooed, breath hot against niall's ear, making him warm all over.

"what is the meaning of this?" a new voice asked -- a man's voice. he was wearing a crown, so niall assumed he was the king. "andromeda, who is this?"

zayn surprised niall by responding in a falsetto voice. "my husband."

niall's heart leapt into his throat.

"is this true?" the king asked niall.

"yes," niall said, because zayn was squeezing his hand. he would've said yes anyway.

"no!" the girl shrieked. "i'll tell them!"

"don't!" zayn yelled. "he is my husband. we'll be going now." he took niall's hand.

"i'm pregnant!" the girl screamed, and zayn suddenly went pale.

"zayn?" niall whispered.

"how can you be pregnant? she's not..." the king's gaze flickered to zayn. "you're a man." his rage was quiet, calm, the kind of a simmering flame.

niall's heart was in his throat, and not in the good way. he was going to throw up. 

"niall," zayn pleaded. niall let go of his hand, turned to leave. he felt nothing. he felt...empty.

zayn crashed into his back, both arms encircling his waist. "baby, please, i had to. i had to sleep with her, my mother said she would tell you where i was if i did. i... i didn't... like it. i didn't want it." zayn's voice lowered. "it wasn't you."

"she didn't tell me where you were." when niall turned, zayn's face was anguished, stained with disbelief. niall's heart clenched at his naïveté. "did you really think she would?"

zayn nodded slowly. it hurt niall's heart. he thought he could trust his mother. "please don't give up on me. please, baby, please forgive me."

niall wanted to, but he couldn't find the words. "there is nothing to forgive," he said blandly, because he knew if the situation was reversed, he would've done the same. but there was still the distrust. there was still the nausea in his stomach. she was pregnant. she was rich with life in the way niall never would be. she would have a beautiful baby that looked like zayn. "i suppose congratulations are in order." he removed zayn's arms from around his waist.

"niall," zayn said softly. niall knew if he saw his face, he would break, so he stared at the floor.

"you'll be a great father, zayn." niall walked away, following the lead of the servants. the room they showed him was dark and cold, and niall curled up on the floor against the wall. he cried until the waves lulled him to sleep.