Z.A.Y.N.

TRACK 10

He forgot about the pizza.

That's the first thing that comes to Liam's mind when he's walking into Zain's flat four days later and the only scent his nose picks up is that of old white rice. That's alright though, it's not as if he had skipped out on a post workout shake after hitting the gym an hour ago in preparation to eat his weight in meat covered pizza. No, that wasn't the case at-

"How hungry are you? I made the pizza dough last night, but you were my alarm just now, so it's probably for the best if I wake up a little bit more before I operate the oven."

Halfway through stepping out of his shoes, Liam hears the word pizza and he's fairly certain his lips curl up in record time.

He didn't forget.

"I think a snack could hold me over for an hour or so." The singer's second trainer gets kicked to the side of the entryway rug. "Do you have pistachios?"

"That's awfully specific," Zain's words getting caught in a yawn. "I don't think so. How about popcorn?" Soft footsteps can be heard against the light brown tile flooring that leads the way to the kitchen. "Or I think I've got a small packet of Wotsits sitting in the cabinet, though it might be stale. It's been a while since I bought them."

Watching Zain force himself awake while maneuvering through the kitchen, pings Liam with a deep sense of guilt. If it weren't for his knocking on the door, his request to collaborate in the first place, Zain would still be sleeping. Liam hadn't believed the man when he claimed that he never gets up later than one on his days off; the dark circles under his eyes were proof that he needed more sleep. The bags were so sunken in, Liam would bet that if throwing off his sleep schedule is what Zain's worried would happen if he had an extremely late lie in, he should just forgo waking up for a full 24 hours all together; he probably had it in him. Selfishly, on top of all that, Liam entered the session with Zain's cooking as his main concern - something that would probably drain whatever was left of the chef's energy. He really needs to sort out his priorities.

"Let me make something for you."

Zain's in the midst of rummaging through one of his bottom cabinets, most likely searching for the orange crisps (even though he's outwardly professed their unappealing state), when he hears Liam speak from the corner of the room. "There's no way you mastered shakshuka in twelve hours. I won't believe it."

As much as he'd like to take the idea and run with it, Liam knows he wouldn't get very far. Hell, he wasn't even sure where in the kitchen to prepare whatever needed to be done to the dish's ingredients, forget stand there and act confident while doing so.

"No, but I can have a look around and throw together something edible so you can relax," Liam insists, pushing away from his position against the wall to investigate what sort of foreign surprises await him in the fridge.

Back at a standing position, Zain crosses his arms over his chest, keeping his eyes trained on where Liam's inspecting his groceries. "I see you took good care of my hat."

Liam's right about to open a drawer that looks like it's got cheeses inside, but he stops when he hears the other's statement about the accessory he's chosen to wear that day with the intention to return it to its rightful owner. Thankfully, it feels like the cool air from the fridge helps to decrease the amount of redness in Liam's cheeks. Even if he's keeping his back to Zain, it's important that limited signs of embarrassment are noticeable in case he can't conceal himself for as long as it takes to fully bounce back. "It's important to you, so it's important to me."

"I've got a handful of others in my room, but thank you," Zain commends. "It suits you."

Before Liam can stop himself, the words spill out of his mouth. "Not like it does you."