Urban Ink [A Ziall Fic]

Fourteen [Wake Up Call]

“So what your saying is that you remember it all,” Zayn says, “You remember sleeping with me, every part of it?”

            Niall nods, “Are you going to quiz me?”

            Zayn smirks and bites his lip, “No, no, I wasn’t planning on it,”

            “I’m just surprised you can walk,” Niall notes, “It’s only been a day,”

            The two are sitting in the back of Urban Ink, staring at the positive income numbers and smiling a little bit. Urban Ink’s recent income has really helped out with any leftover debt. Everything is really settled, even Zayn and Niall.

            “I want it to mean something Niall,” Zayn says then, focusing on what he has really been thinking about since well before The Purple Monkey, “I want all of this to mean something. I don’t want it to just blow over like another one night stand,”

            Niall nods. He understands. He really does. He just has no idea what he’s doing. It’s obvious that he is at least bi now, maybe even just straight up gay, and none of that bothers Niall he just knows that this is going to make his life a little harder. Especially since his dad has been a homophobe since before he can even remember.

            “So,” Zayn continues, “Are we going to be something? Or are you wanting to just…be friends? Because I need to know what’s really going on. And shit, Niall, you screwed me so hard I’m forever at your whim,”

            Niall blushes, “We can be something, okay? Just…give me some time,”

            “Okay,”

            “Okay,”

            The two of them leave the back room and head into the main area, where Louis and Harry are both giving tattoos and Ed is ringing people up at the register. The place is booming, and everything is looking up. Niall can practically see the profit going up and up and up and he knows his dad will be proud, which in turn makes him happy.

            Niall sits and watches as Zayn chats up the customers and helps out Ed. He smiles. What does Zayn even do for a living? How does he have enough money to have his own apartment? All he does is bum around here. Niall makes a mental note to ask him later and settles down into the sofa. Falling asleep.

~

            “Wake up Horan,” It’s Zayn, “I have an idea,” Niall’s eyes open and he’s still sitting on the sofa in the corner of the parlor. It’s basically empty now and Ed is missing, only Lou and Harry relax by the ink coloring corner. “Okay, so I was thinking, you need a tattoo,”

            “What?” Niall’s eyes open wider.

            “A tattoo, to represent your eternal connection to this place, to us, to, well, whatever else,” Zayn is grinning, “Tattoos are fun,”

            Niall rolls his eyes, “For you, sure, you have tons of them. You’re probably used to it. I’m sure it will hurt like hell and I have nothing I want to get tattooed on me,”

            Zayn grins and grabs a piece of paper from his back pocket, pulling it out and showing Niall a small sketch. It has the letter U and I intertwined, with little twine and nuts and bolts.

            “What does it mean?” Niall asked, honestly intrigued.

            “It means Urban Ink first of all,” Zayn smiles, “The U and the I. The twine is you, holding it all together, and the nuts and the bolts are me and the guys,” He gestures to Harry and Lou. “We all make up this place, we are forever part of it,”