Forget Me Not (Zayn/Harry; Mpreg AU)

22 - Halcyon

Two suspicious looking men enter the store with obvious purpose. They look around, discreetly eyeing every single customer inside the brightly lit area until one of the bloke's eyes catch sight of Harry's and he winks, making the curly-haired brunette lower his head. After a few more minutes, they converse with their heads leaned close to each other before they both go their separate way. The taller of the two enters the aisle infront of him while the other bloke - the one who winked at Harry - walks to the farthest aisle.

Harry watches the lad as he disappears, a feeling of fright crawling up his spine. He fidgets on his seat by the waiting area, wishing Zayn would come out of the employee lounge faster.

Early this afternoon, Zayn has texted Harry to drop by his work because he has made a dinner reservation for the two of them. Harry has been so excited, practically buzzing, as he drops Eclair at Liam's place, thankful that the lad has accepted dogsitting on such a short notice. Today is their fourth anniversary and a dinner with Zayn is the best way with which they can celebrate this special day. Fast forward to a few hours later and Harry is waiting for Zayn inside the grocery store, watching carefully as two strange lads circle the place with intent.

Harry shakes his legs in nervousness because after seemingly scoping the place, the blokes emerge out of the aisles and stand by the baggage deposit counter. With the closing time of Farmfoods nearing, Harry scans the grocery store to check the number of people that are still inside. He takes note of 3 remaining customers: one old man by the cashier and two still milling about with their shopping carts. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it, sending Zayn a text message.

Zayn, are you finished yet?

It is not his intention to sound impatient, but the way the bloke, who winked at him earlier, is looking at him right now is honestly scaring Harry. He ducks down to avoid the heated stare, but it is futile because he can still feel those wide eyes boring a hole into his skin. His throat feels thick and he knows he is working himself up into a panic, thinking of the bad things that are a possibility as of the moment.

Sorry, love. I'm on my way out. Missing you! xx

Despite the cold dread blossoming in his chest, Harry still manages a soft chuckle and a smile because of Zayn's words, his belly doing something crazy with acrobatics. He decides not to answer, pocketing his phone, and instead waits patiently for his boyfriend to come out. A few minutes later, Harry lets out a breath of relief, seeing Zayn waving happily at him from the dairy section. He stands up to meet the older lad.

"Hey, baby," Zayn croons, kissing Harry's cheek repeatedly. "Were you waiting long?"

Harry shakes his head, feeling a bit bad for making Zayn worry with his paranoia. "No, just got here around ten minutes ago."

"Ah," Zayn responds. He grabs Harry's hand and starts to head for the door. Upon reaching the entrance, Harry notices that the skies are quite dark already. Beside him, Zayn babbles away, "There was an error at the count of the sodas that were delivered today. We had to count all over again."

At that exact moment, a booming voice takes over the grocery store. Harry falters, his knees knocking together in fear.

"This is a robbery. Everyone get the fuck down or I'll shoot!"

Harry doesn't even have the time or the sense to look behind him and check who declared the crime. Zayn immediately pushes Harry down with him and the younger lad shakily lifts his hands up, crossing them over his head. He whimpers in the cage of his arms, his long hair covering most of his face. Beside him, Zayn whispers soothing words.