the song of persephone ♡ ziall/niam au [COMPLETE]

sept

it hadn't even been twenty-four hours, and niall was miserable.

"niall, don't you want to go make a flower crown?" demeter was trying so hard. she loved her son so much, and seeing him miserable was breaking her heart. she'd missed him so much, but niall wasn't acting like the boy she missed.

"no," niall sighed. he rolled over. he hadn't gotten out of bed yet, and it was nearing three pm.

"niall, what do you want me to do?" demeter sighed, sitting at the edge of his bed.

"let me see liam," he mumbled. demeter didn't reply -- clearly that was out of the question. "fine." he let out a deep sigh. "i'll go outside." he pulled on a black t-shirt (liam's) and a pair of jeans.

"not that color!" demeter said, lip curled with disgust. "honestly, niall you look much more lovely in soft colors."

niall clenched his jaw. "i want to wear this shirt, mother. either you let me wear the shirt or i'm getting back into bed."

demeter looked surprised, for a second, by niall's response. he used to be a passive, sweet boy -- not that he isn't now -- but clearly staying with liamn changed his demeanor. "okay," she said weakly.

he smiled at her, though it wasn't genuine. it was just barely enough. "okay. see you later." to cheer her up, he grabbed one of the flower crowns off of his dresser on his way out. she watched after him with a smile.

- - -

niall let out a tired sigh once he got outside. the weather was nice -- apparently much of the island had been tossed into a winter/fall ordeal while niall was gone -- but it was nice again. he sat down in the grass, and then eventually resorted to laying on his back, the sun bright and warm on his face.

he'd missed the sun, the grass, the wind. that was the only real downside of staying with liam -- he'd missed the outdoors. he breathed in deep, wanting every little tiny piece of nature inside of him, and then breathed it out. he let a delighted sound escape his lips, and then rolled over to dig through the bag he'd set down beside him. it was only then that he noticed the boy sitting in the grass, smirking at him, eating one of the granola bars he'd packed, and he cried out.

"you are not very observant," he said with a sly grin, licking a bit of chocolate off his thumb.

"you -- that was one of my granola bars!" niall yelled. his cheeks felt warm. he was awfully attractive; he had dark hair, golden brown eyes, and a kind, smirking mouth.

"whoops," he said dryly, not even sounding slightly apologetic. niall glared at him.

"you could've just asked!"

"i'll remember that next time." he was still grinning in a way that was unnerving -- like he could see niall's soul. niall scrunched up his nose. "what's your name?"

"what's your name?"

"i asked first." he reached up and adjusted the beanie on his head.

"niall," niall said. he was still glaring at him.

"okay." the boy reached for the bag again, but niall yanked it out of his grasp.

"what's your name?"

"zayn." his light eyes flickered to niall's -- when the sun hit them, they were honey-colored, warm. niall's stomach twisted and curled. "you have books in there. i just wanted to see which ones." he still held his hand out, palm up. niall ignored the urge to slip his hand into zayn's.

"zayn." niall tried the name out. it was sweet on his lips, honeyed, like zayn's eyes. he nodded. "you like to read?"

"i might." niall glared at him, but zayn's mouth had gone soft, fond -- he was smiling. niall rather liked the sight. "yes, niall. i like to read."

niall brightened. zayn softened. "i like to read, too!" he cheered. "what kinds of books do you like?"

"i like anything," zayn assured him. he was surprised by niall's brightness, but it had drawn him in now. "anything."

"i like banned books," niall said with a slight smile. he reached into the bag and found the outsiders. the cover was worn and soft now -- surefire signs of a well-loved book. "you can borrow this one if you'd like. it's my favorite." he handed it to zayn.

"are you sure?" zayn was put off by his kindness -- he hadn't expected this. niall just nodded. zayn slowly took the book, balling up the jean jacket he'd brought with him and resting his head on it. niall sat up straight and flipped open the catcher in the rye, started to read.

they both tried to pretend like they weren't sneaking glances at each other in between