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

épilogue

in the end, it happened.

niall's hand was small and so sweaty in zayn's. his gaze nervously flicked up to liam, who gave him a half-smile. 

zayn was nervous, too, but he was better at hiding it. he kept cracking bad jokes, including one that said, "pomegranate? more like it's pomegran-lit!"

liam threatened to take him back to earth himself if he didn't shut up, so zayn finally stopped speaking.

"okay," liam said finally, when everything was ready. "are you two sure about this?" 

"yes," niall huffed impatiently.

"liam," zayn added. "i --"

"no more jokes." liam's voice was stern.

"no more jokes," zayn promised. "i was just gonna say we're sure, okay? don't worry so much. we're so much happier here than we'd ever been up there." he let go of niall's hand to sling his arm over his boy's shoulders. "i think niall would say the same, yeah?" he kissed the side of niall's head.

niall nodded. "i love it here. i wouldn't want to be anywhere else." he smiled shyly up at them, and then hid his face in his hands when they both cooed at him. "can we just get this over with!?"

"okay." liam spared a glance at both of them, at these boys he loved. niall, the one who held his heart, who was smiling at him so adorably. niall with his giggly, angelic personality, with his small hands, his soft heart with so much love to offer. niall with his red cheeks, with his shy smiles, god, liam loved him.

and zayn, too -- though it was different, liam loved him nonetheless. he loved his stupid jokes, and his sarcastic smiles. he loved the way zayn smiled, where his nose crinkled and his tongue touched his upper teeth. he loved zayn's wit, and the way the two of them combined could get under niall's skin. zayn was liam's best friend, and though platonically, he loved him with all of his heart, too.

"okay," liam said again. he spoke the words to the chant quietly, his heart overflowing with joy -- he couldn't believe these two were willing to give up life to stay with him. he never thought he'd ever be loved like that. he couldn't stop smiling at them. "here, eat these." he handed both niall and zayn a pomegranate seed.

"this is it?" niall asked, surprised. zayn looked surprised, too.

"that's it. whenever you're ready." liam's voice was very gentle, joy tight in the center.

"on three?" niall chirped, blinking up at zayn.

"god, you're cute," zayn breathed. of course, niall's cheeks pinked. "yeah, babes. on three."

"one...two...three," liam counted, and they both tossed the pomegranate seeds in their mouths, chewed, swallowed.

almost immediately there was a rumbling, loud, and the room shook.

"fuck," liam hissed. "get behind me, both of you."

zayn grabbed niall's arm and pulled him behind liam -- for the first time, his palms were sweaty. zayn stood next to liam instead of behind him.

there was a loud crack -- the ceiling split open, and sun shone through the crevice. there was a cloud of dust as someone fell through, landing niftily on their feet.

it was demeter, of course, trembling with fury. her hand shook as she threateningly pointed at liam.

"i told you you can't have him," she snarled. she literally vibrated with rage. "i told you, and you took him anyway, my sweet baby. he was mine before he was ever yours!"

"yes," liam said back patiently. he wasn't angry. he knew he had already won. "but he was his before he was ever yours. i didn't steal him from you. he chose this."

"who would choose to stay with you?  she snarled, and liam's face went blank. she'd hurt him. zayn could see it.

"i did," zayn said quietly. demeter didn't even look at him.

"human," she spat, as if zayn wasn't worth the dirt on the bottom of her shoe. "you don't matter, boy. i could kill you without a thought -- without guilt."

zayn swallowed. he knew it was true.

"mother." niall's voice, sweet, like a songbird. everyone in the room's favorite sound. "why are you so angry?"

"my baby," demeter cooed, ignoring his question, reaching for him. he let him hold her, kiss his face. "niall, come home with me! you don't have to stay here! you can come back to the sun! the sky! your flowers!"

"please listen to me, mother," niall pleaded, hands touching his mother's cheeks. she looked tired. niall tried to soothe all of the hurting places. "please, if for once in your life, just listen to me." demeter's expression didn't change, but she didn't attack liam, so niall took it as a success. "i love him," niall said finally. "both of them. they hold my heart. mother, they're gentle with me, and they're so kind, and i..." he stared at the ground. "i couldn't be happy up there with you. not without them."

"niall --" her voice broke.

"i love you, mother, but i can't stay with you." he kissed her hands, stepped back, wedged himself between liam and zayn. "home isn't up there anymore. home is with these two."

demeter stared. she didn't like it -- her son was trapped in the underworld for eternity -- but he was happy somehow. she didn't understand, but she couldn't hurt him. not again. so without a word, she vanished. she couldn't handle the goodbye, so she left without one.

niall's body slumped with relief, and liam caught him before he fell. "that was scary," he mumbled.

zayn leaned in, pecked a kiss on his lips. "so proud of you, sweetheart. you were so brave."

"you really were," liam nodded. "i love you. both of you."

niall couldn't hide his smile. "i love you both, too."

zayn rolled his eyes. "saps." then liam pinched his side, and he laughed. "i love you guys, too."

and they all lived happily ever after.

THE END.