All the Leaves are Brown (Zarry AU)

Chapter 18

Harry misses the whole exchange because he’s behind the bar scoffing a bag of pork scratchings like he hasn’t eaten for ten years, not ten minutes.

‘I’ve always wanted to try Advocaat,’ he says when he turns away from the shelf of bottles to see Zayn walking towards him. ‘My Nan loves it.’

‘It’s disgusting,’ Zayn tells him over his shoulder as he heads into the kitchen to check that the fryer is off and the back door is locked. But of course when he comes back out into the bar, Harry has taken the yellow bottle off the shelf and is frowning at it.

‘It looks like it tastes of custard.’

‘It doesn’t.’ Zayn opens the till and takes out the float.

‘What does it taste of?’

‘Evil,’ Zayn insists, finding the plastic moneybags behind the bar and walking around to sit on one of the stools. ‘Pure evil.’

Harry still opens the bottle and sniffs it.

‘All this booze and you want to try fucking Advocaat,’ Zayn says under his breath, shaking his head as he scoops the £1 coins out with his hand. Harry takes advantage of his momentary distraction as Zayn starts counting them, pouring some of the Advocaat into a glass. It’s even more foul without ice, but Zayn has no intention of telling him that, the corners of his mouth twitching as Harry swallows a mouthful.

He coughs then gags so desperately Zayn jumps back off the stool, sure that Harry’s about to projectile vomit across the bar at him.

Thankfully, he doesn’t.

‘It’s disgusting!’ Harry whimpers when he’s caught his breath.

‘Told you.’

‘Disgusting!’

Zayn waits and when he’s sure that he’s not going to puke in his face, he hops on the stool again. He thinks he’s learnt his lesson, but Harry, ever the teenager, finishes it.

‘You’re disgusting!’ Zayn sneers.

‘Can’t waste it,’ he says, wiping his mouth with his fingers. ‘It’s still booze.’

Zayn would be appalled if his bottom lip weren’t such an obscene shade of pink.