JAAN :: ZAYN

the presents

•zayn•

"Daddy, daddy, daddy!"

Mecca kept jumping on the bed as Zayn tried to continue his sleep. He curled into Chiara's side and mumbled something incoherent.

"Daddy, come on. It's Christmas!" she squealed in his ear, making him flinch and shoot up in the bed. He looked around slowly until his brown eyes met hers. Mecca was smiling hard, this being her very first Christmas with Zayn and Chi.

He found it to be very cliché how she wanted to wake up so early and unwrap all her presents. But it was cute nonetheless because...it was Mecca for crying out loud.

"Yes?" Zayn yawned, watching her grin from ear to ear. Her pigtails bounced with every move she made.

"Can I open presents now?"

"Give me a moment, okay?" he got out of bed and stretched his limbs, shaking his shoulders and picking his daughter up, "we're gonna see if Ry's awake, then we'll open all the presents."

"I checked on him," she grinned still, "he's such a baby."

"You're a baby," he rolled his eyes and opened the baby's nursery. RyDae was sure enough sound asleep and snoring lightly. The now six month old had gotten big and he was way more advanced in learning than they thought. His legs had gotten stronger and it was weird, because, he wanted to walk already.

"See?" Mecca spoke up, "now let's go."

"Say it in Chinese and I'll go," he challenged her with a smile. Because little Mecca was so smart and inquisitive, she wanted to know more about her heritage and what better way to do that than take a class that taught the language? She begged and begged for it, and how could Zayn say no?

How?

Mecca didn't hesitate to say it, smiling when she did and tapping his bare arm. "Okay, let's go!"

"Good job!" because although Zayn only knew a bit of Chinese from Ni Hao, Kai-Lan or whatever the fuck it was called, he still wanted to be supportive.

"Thank you," she jumped down from his arms and ran to the Christmas tree, "which one should I open?"

"Open the small ones first," he instructed with a smile, lying on his stomach on the floor and watching Mecca grab the first present.

The fact that Mecca knew there wasn't a Santa Claus was sort of bittersweet. On one hand, Zayn didn't have to go through the whole 'you lied to me' stage, but on the other hand, he was saddened by the fact a tiny pice of childhood he had wasn't going to be passed down to her. Of course there was RyDae, but...he wanted both his children to experience it.

But Mecca seemed fine after all, she was still getting presents and being loved in every other way possible. She still believed in the Tooth Fairy, though.

Mecca ripped open her present excitedly, squealing when she found a plastic box with new outfits for her Bratz dolls. "You guys!"

Zayn just smiled and handed her a bigger box, one that held one of her favorite things in the world.

"Oh, shut up!" Mecca squealed, opening a part and already knowing what it was, "you got the Bratz house, dad?"

"Just for you," he replied and laughed when she pulled all the paper off eagerly, "Mecca, stay still."

"I can't!" She screamed and ran to her father, her small arms wrapping around his neck as she peppered him with small kisses. "Thank you so much, daddy. Thank you."