All the Leaves are Brown (Zarry AU)

Chapter 13

It is, of course. Harry doesn’t wait to be invited in and when Zayn hears the door open he groans. ‘Take a jumper and fuck off,’ he mutters into his pillow, raising his arm to wave in the vague direction of his clothing rail, but Harry tries to get into the bed.

‘Budge up,’ he says when Zayn won’t let him.

‘Does anyone know where you are?’ Zayn growls, pulling the sheet up to cover his Batman briefs that again, he definitely, absolutely did not change into after Harry texted him. ‘Because if they don’t, they’ll never find your body, you know?’

Harry is undeterred by the threat and manages to get a leg and most of his arse onto the bed which is enough to give him the momentum to shove Zayn out of the way.

‘Your fucking feet!’

‘I told you I was cold.’

Zayn hisses something incomprehensible and gives him one of his pillows.

‘Thanks.’

Even in the dark Zayn can hear him smiling. ‘Go to fucking sleep.’

‘I just need to tell you something first.’

‘They will never find your body,’ Zayn reminds him as he rolls away from him and folds the pillow he has left in half.

‘It’s important.’ When he ignores him and tries to go back to sleep, Harry nudges him in the back with his knee. ‘Please, Zayn. I won’t be able to sleep until I tell you.’

He lifts his head off the pillow. ‘What did you break?’

‘Nothing like that.’

‘What, then?’

‘It doesn’t matter.’ Harry hesitates. ‘Forget it.’

‘So you woke me up for nothing?’

‘Yeah. Sorry.’

Zayn has ended friendships for less, but rolls onto his back again. ‘What, Harry?’

‘It’s alright.’

‘Bro, just tell me.’

‘I can’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘It’s stupid.’

Zayn thinks of their conversation about the illuminati. ‘That’s never stopped you before.’ Harry laughs, loud and fake, and Zayn nudges him this time. ‘Spill it, Styles.’

‘What if I whisper it?’ Harry suggests, rolling onto his side to face him.

The room is dark but living on a main road opposite a kebab shop and a 24-hour Tesco Metro, it’s never that dark, so he can see the shape of Harry, his dark cloud of curls and the long line of his neck. He’s propping himself up on one elbow so the light hits his bare shoulder, making his skin looks almost bluish. Zayn’s mouth goes dry as he thinks about leaning over and licking it, maybe even biting it then finding his collarbones with his mouth and biting them, too, but when he catches his breath again, he huffs.

‘Whisper it? How old are you, Harry?’

As if to prove the point, he grabs his wrist. ‘Here. I’ll write it on your hand.’

‘You’re worse than Saafa.’

He is. That’s what she does when she tells Waliyha secrets, she writes them in Waliyha’s hand. He’s about to tell Harry not to be so childish but when he draws a letter on his palm with the tip of his finger, the tickle of it is enough to make Zayn shiver.

It doesn’t feel childish at all.

‘What is that?’ He breathes. ‘R?’

He nods and draws another. That tickles too and fucking hell, is this really giving him a boner? Harry’s too close, as always, which isn’t helping, especially when Zayn feels the heat burning off him and remembers that he isn’t wearing anything, either.

‘U. Are you?’ he says but Zayn’s voice shakes a little as he wonders if Harry is wearing underwear. It would be so easy to reach his other hand out and find out.

Harry nods and when he leans closer, so close that Zayn feels his breath on his cheek, it makes his head spin so suddenly he has to concentrate on what he writes next.

‘Ever. Are you ever?’

Harry nods.

‘Going. Are you ever going?’

Harry nods.

‘S?’ Harry shakes his head this time and writes it again. ‘2?’

Harry nods.

Zayn sucks in another breath then licks his lips. ‘Are you ever going to?’

Harry writes the next word more carefully, making Zayn say each letter out loud. He hears himself spell out Kiss then pulls his hand away.

‘Go to sleep, Harry.’