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

onze

"fuck," zayn hissed, standing up and checking himself for injuries. "ni, are you okay?"

"i didn't mean to pull you with me!" niall was frantic, and adjusted his flower crown on his head. "we have to get you back!" he started to look around frantically for an exit, and when he found none, slowly sank to the ground, defeated.

"ni, it's going to be okay," zayn cooed gently. "stop crying, sweetheart, come on. let's just go find liam, and i'm sure he can find a way to get me home, yeah? where's that smile i love so much, flower?"

niall managed a watery half-smile, and zayn thumbed away the last of his tears and helped niall to his feet. "it's this way," niall said with one last sniffle. he slipped his hand into zayn's, and zayn hated the way butterflies fluttered in his stomach from the simple contact. 

"are you scared?" zayn asked him. he gave niall's hand a tiny squeeze when he didn't respond right away, and when zayn looked at him, he saw that niall was chewing on his bottom lip.

"yeah," he finally said. "but i'm excited, too. he makes me feel safe, and i'll be happy to feel like that again." niall squeezed his eyes shut and squealed, nose wrinkled up with joy. it was so cute that zayn couldn't breathe for a second. "i'm more nervous than scared, i think."

zayn nodded. "that makes sense," he said quietly, but then he fell silent. all he could think was that the next six months without niall were going to be hell. he honestly couldn't remember what about his life he'd enjoyed before he'd met this boy. he'd brought so much light, joy, and kindness into his life so quickly, and zayn didn't know who he would be without that. "going to miss you so much, flower." zayn's voice is tight, like a bunch of rubber bands pulled taut to maximum capacity.

"zee," niall gasped, stopping walking so he could hug zayn, his zayn. "i'm going to miss you, too! we can't talk about it or i'm gonna cry." he quickly let go of zayn and wiped his cheeks. "we're close! you see that building?" niall pointed, and zayn could vaguely see what looked like a hotel.

"that's where the king of hell lives?" zayn asked skeptically, and let out a low chuckle when niall nodded. 

"i know. it wasn't exactly what i'd expected either," niall said with a little giggle. there was more of a skip in his step now that they were getting closer to liam, and zayn felt like poison was settling in his system. 

inevitably, they arrived at the hotel, no matter how much zayn had been dreading it. they'd reached a point where he was literally dragging his feet because he wanted to delay this as much as possible, but it never deterred niall. he was going to see the person he loved most in the world, and not even zayn being grumpy could ruin that. he was determined.

"we're here!" he said excitedly to zayn, bouncing up and down a little. "i guess i should just push the button. uh -- do i look okay?" he stared worriedly at zayn, chewing on his lip. zayn's gaze softened -- he couldn't help it.

niall looked soft. soft and warm, like always, pale pink flowers in his crown that were already starting to fade from being in the underworld. his hands were bunched nervously in the bottom of his t-shirt, long, delicate fingers, so dedicated to giving love to everything they touched. soft, pink, flower petal lips. big, blue eyes. there wasn't a single thing about him that zayn didn't love with reckless abandon.

"you look like an angel," zayn said, in a much softer voice than he'd intended. niall just blushed beautifully, and got in the elevator when the doors opened.

"eeeeek, it's so soon!" niall giggled, squeezing zayn's bicep. niall's energy eventually led to zayn getting a bit excited, though he didn't know why. when the elevator doors opened at the penthouse, niall sprinted through the doors with a loud squeal and literally threw himself at liam. with a loud laugh, liam caught him, instantly pressing kisses all over his boy's face. 

"niall," he cooed, pulling back just so he could run his thumbs over niall's now-flushed cheeks. he was giggling shyly, eyes roaming over liam's face. 

"hi," niall said shyly.

"hi, sweetheart," liam said with a huge, beaming smile. only then did he notice zayn, who was standing awkwardly by the elevator doors. "who's this?"

"that's my zayn," niall said brightly, skipping over to zayn so he could properly introduce him to liam. "i accidentally pulled him with me. we were going to try to see if you could send him back home?"

liam nodded slowly. "nice to meet you."

"it's nice to meet you, too," zayn said back. he was terrified of this man -- not even because he was the king of hell -- but because he had the power to take niall from him in a single second, and there was nothing zayn could do to stop him.