Warm Embrace - Zarry/Zustin

1 - Zayn

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

10 AM

__________

The shower turns on at the twist of the knob, the perfect pressure, and temperature, the water pouring down like a waterfall from the showerhead; Zayn steps into the shower.

His bathroom, like the rest of his place, is minimal industrial, there's hanging light, the floor and walls are gray, there's a free-standing brass bathtub, the shower is made of glass and the sink counter along with the mirror takes up one side of a wall.

In the gentle flow of water, soft drops fall down his head, softly soaking his hair as well as making its way down his body. He closes his eyes for a moment, enjoying the water. The hot water wakes him up. He's not a morning person at all but he has to be at work by 10:45.

Zayn reached over and grabbed the pink grapefruit body wash. He's been told that his natural scent smells like cinnamon, which is true so the grapefruit pairs well with it. Lathering his inked body with the rose gold suds.

After washing himself Zayn grabbed the grapefruit and mint shampoo, pouring a decent amount into his hand. He ran his fingers through his hair and ears softly and carefully washed them.

Sighing, he turns off the water and steps out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist and stepping over to the sink. He grabs his toothbrush and toothpaste to brush his teeth.

Looking at himself in the mirror, running a hand through my now faded pink hair that was slowly growing out, he grabbed his hairdryer and plugged it in, and blow-dried his hair and ears carefully before running a comb through it.

Once he deemed his hair just the way he liked it, Zayn walked out of the bathroom down the hallway and into his bedroom. There, he wanders over to his closet.

Moving over to what one could call the 'Men's section' of his closet, the other half is dedicated to what would be the 'Women's section.' He's been cross-dressing -or wearing what he wants- since he was 14 because to him it doesn't matter what he or anyone else wears, and the last time he checked clothes don't have a gender.

He picks out a long sleeve cherry blossom print top, black cut-knee jeans, and black combat boots. When he's got everything on, he leaves the closet and walks into the living room where his sweet Boston Terrier, Bellatrix, is.

Going over he gives her her morning breakfast and tells her to be good. Grabbing his wallet and keys off the island, he's out the door and locking it behind him.

Zayn's mind focuses on the gentle footsteps that seemed to echo throughout the street and his body on autopilot taking him through his everyday routine to work. He rarely needs to drive his car to work because it's about a 15-minute walk from his place to his job. The traffic in New York would make the commute longer if he took his car.

Taking out his phone Zayn checks a few texts from friends and responds to their group chat. When he arrived at a tiny café nestled among large city buildings, he quickly slipped his phone into his back pocket.

Walking into the café, he stops most mornings for something quick. He stands in the short line and looks at the newly added photos on the wall.

The café is run by a couple who do photography and they encourage the staff, who like photography as well, to put their photos on the wall. The interior has natural earthy tones a lot of plants, stone, wood, and white. It's a very calming place to be in.

After waiting in line for a few minutes Zayn makes it to the front counter and is met with a familiar face.

Her half pink half black hair is pinned up in a ponytail. She's wearing a light pink dress with light blue ribbons on it. Tied around her waist is an apron with the café logo on it. It is not customary here for the workers to wear uniforms, only aprons.