Veronica [Zarry]

all was right with the world

I feel his heartbeat pressed against me, wrap him up safely in my arms and kiss the top of his head.

"I didn't know," I whisper hoarsely, a pang of guilt in my chest. "Liam was someone I trusted with my entire heart, I didn't know he was capable of hurting someone like this."

"It's okay," he says quietly. "Life is strange like that, we can't always make sense of things. Love is confusing, love hurts in a way nothing else does. Breaking a bone and having your heart broken are two very different things."

I feel my own heart in my throat, tears welling in my eyes. I swear on my life I couldn't love him more. What did I ever do to deserve Zayn?

He curls up tighter, fingers skimming my bicep and smiles so softly I forget how to breathe.

"Why are you looking at me like that," I ask, a million pairs of wings fluttering in my chest all at once.

"You're the best thing that has ever happened to me," he answers truthfully, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Besides, I forgive him. I can't hang onto mistakes he made in the past. He probably isn't even the same man I once loved. People change. I've changed. If I judge people on things that happened a long time ago, what they once were, I'll never get a chance to help them become everything they wanted to be. "

There's a special glimmer in his eyes as he entwines our fingers, parts my lips with his tongue. How is he the kindest, most compassionate person in the universe? And how lucky am I that I get to call him mine?

I'm surprised by his kiss and his sudden boldness I but sigh into it, free hand carding through his messy quiff. His thumb strokes over my knuckles and I lose my mind, try to search for a single coherent thought.

He pulls away, lashes batting as he looks away bashfully. My fingers trace over his soft face and I leave a wet kiss on the nape of his neck, feel him shiver.

"His loss," I whisper. We both sit up and I lift his shirt up over his head.

There's so much more I could say about how foolish Liam is for throwing everything away, for giving up on someone so incredible but that doesn't really matter much now. He's here with me and that's the only thing that ever matters.

He's peeling at my shirt, fingers beneath the fraying hem. We kiss frantically, hands roaming. Between us there are a thousand scattered tattoos and hidden secrets.

There are stories beneath our skin, hurt etched in dark blank ink, fading scars and memories but I shed that aside with my clothes, fumble around to undo my zipper as he peppers kisses all over.

We're a mess of tangled limbs in the sheets. His mouth still tastes like syrup and my mind is still hazy but I wouldn't want it any other way.

"Do you think I'll change," I ask as he pulls away.

"You already have," he sighs, curling back up beside me. "I'm sure you remember exactly what you wanted when you first came into the bar, can picture it vividly: the lights, the mood, the ambience, the swaying of the dancers on their poles...what you wanted to do was forget. You came to let loose, spend some cash after a hard day at a new job in a shallow city. You said it yourself, Claire was into you, she caught your eye. She looked easy and that's just what you needed. You wanted nothing more than a quick fuck and some rum poured over ice. One night in a hotel suite to ease your mind, wash away thoughts of home and the loneliness inside your bones."

I'm always so enthralled by his storytelling. He captures me so quickly. I study the sweep of his mouth, let his words sink in. How does he seem to perfectly capture exactly how I felt?

The cold, hard truth unfolds and I touch his face, tell him the one thing he's forgetting.

"I do remember everything," I breathe out softly. "But I remember you Zayn. Not her. The background just seems to blur around you. You're always the focal point. My eyes are drawn to you. They always have been."

He closes his eyes and my finger gently traces down his cheek.

"It's your words that get me. You called me out and I couldn't stand the thought of a complete stranger reading me like an open book. I was terrified, I felt vulnerable and threatened...not to mention lost. I was confused about everything; confused about London, questioning my job, asking what I wanted from life and I was lost in you. Lost in the softest golden eyes I had ever seen.

Nothing compares to the sound of his laughter, the way he presses his tongue between his teeth when he smiles or how beautiful he looks, cheeks flushed and eyelids sweaty.

"I can't imagine my life without you," I whisper, voice breaking. "Your love means so much to me. You make me a better person."

"Harry," he says quietly. "I was scared to fall for you and I kept denying my heart."

"Why would you be scared? Were you afraid I'd hurt you like Liam did?"

He nops, wipes at the tears falling from his eyes and I draw him close, tickling his sides until he giggles softly.

"You're one of the few people who didn't freak out when I revealed this part of me. It takes a lot to admit your feelings to someone and I dunno," he shrugs. "Most men aren't that accepting. Besides, I thought you'd leave after one night."

It hurts that he thought that about me but I'm glad he gave me a chance to prove him wrong.

I kiss the top of his head. "I know I didn't have the best intentions that first night but that isn't who I am."

He presses a kiss to my bare shoulder, bites back the most adorable grin. I nip at his finger and we can't stop laughing, rolling around in the sheets like lovesick puppies.

"Liam wasn't even half the man you are," he smiles, head resting on my chest. His eyelashes graze against my bare skin.

He kisses my butterfly tattoo and all is right with the world.