cheap thrills :: [malik #fdc]

fourteen. koons

Before Zayn can take Harry to meet his friends, he must first make the proper arrangements with Niall about the Blue Balloon Dog at The Broad.

He actually did have work to do.

And he meets Niall in the offices on the topmost floor of The Broad, sitting beside Harry at his desk above the museum.

"Nice to see you two," Niall says, shaking hands with both men after his secretary has led them into his office. "How's California treating you both so far?"

"Great," Harry exclaims excitedly. "I can't wait to see more of it."

Zayn redirects the conversation, "Glad we could make arrangements for the piece on such short notice."

Niall's blue eyes glint with mirth. "Right, Zayn. Way to keep me from getting derailed, right?"

Harry claps his friend on the back. "Always the working one, y'know. S'just Zayn, I guess."

"And I gotta commend you for that," Niall continues, although Zayn himself is shaking his head. He really wasn't trying to be the workaholic, but he had to finish in order to find his friends, wherever they were, across this giant city.

Niall taps the pads of his fingers together, "I'll get straight to the point. So, here at The Broad we have three Koons currently. They've been our permanent fixtures, but we're happy to lend you one for the time being. We've established a pretty great relationship with the artist, and--"

Niall pauses.

"C'mon," he says, rising from his chair. "Why don't ya' see if for yourselves."

And Niall rises from his desk, leading both Harry and Zayn downstairs and into the museum.

"This is one of our most popular exhibits," Niall explains, leading them inside the main lobby and through the halls of visitors. "As you can see, the museum, and these pieces in particular, draw a lot of foot traffic."

Niall is obviously right about that. There are tons of visitors inside.

And Zayn is led into the gallery, listening to Niall curate and Harry comment, and it's all reminding him of the countless museums and churches and historical buildings he'd been led through by either Leo or Marcello while he was on vacation.

And there's an overwhelming wave of nostalgia he attempts to shake, especially since Niall continues on about measurements and dimensions and other things he'll need to know before shipping the sculpture across the country.

"Here it is, then."

As the big dog comes into view, there's a light touch upon his arm.