The Heart of Him

NEETENIN

Cinema requirements: snacks. Dipping his hand into the newly opened bag of Wotsits, Zayn steals a few orange crisps for his troubles, water bottles right next to the food. Check. Comfort? A large steel grey throw blanket drapes over two of the most centered seats in the room. Check. Film? Dimmed lights? Behind him, the menu screen for the remastered 1978 Superman plays, at first under bright lights, then under none, then back again. Check, and check. Company? Slowly, one of the entryway doors opens, Liam's head craning around the gap he's created to make sure he's in the right place, stepping through when his eyes land on Zayn standing at the front of the room near the large screen. Check.

"Why do I feel like Louis' going to pop out from behind something and scare me?" The man asks, cautious with his steps the entire walk to his boyfriend, looking out for the exact worry he's just voiced.

A chuckle escapes Zayn's thin lips, "It's only me. And Clark Kent."

Liam's eyes follow up to the screen where Zayn's thumb points before settling back on the male that's now immediately in front of him. "What's going on?"

"What's it look like?" Zayn grins, arms opened wide. "Your very own, personal cinema."

"It's a lecture hall."

Zayn's confidence falters, and the idyllic cinema that he'd been imagining every time he looked around the classroom, fades away at Liam's blunt, yet real, observation. The rows of elevated seats aren't plush leather, they're wood, with one long desk that stretches from aisle to aisle, and the projector isn't high grade, it's only meant to support the colours of a powerpoint. But Zayn recovers quickly, picking up their guilty pleasure, and tilting the opening towards Liam. "So maybe it is, but I've got Wotsits," he jiggles the bag. "And the key to this place, so no one can bother us. It's way too late for classes, and too early for the cleaning crew."

Seeing the clock on the back wall read nine, Liam takes another look at the setup Zayn's created for the two of them and squeezes out a smile. "I was really confused when you texted me to meet you here in only comfortable clothing. I thought I might be getting another lesson."

"I mean, I could." All at once, Zayn's mind goes into overdrive, completely disregarding his original plans and recalling the lecture he gave that morning, in this very room. "I'm not sure how much you'd enjoy learning about the apparatus of art history itself, but I can definitely go over it if you'd prefer."

"Don't even know what that means," Liam says, his smile becoming more authentic at Zayn's aptitude leaving him blank. "But it's been a long day, so I think I'd rather stick with the film." Nicking the entire bag from Zayn's grasp with one hand, he lifts his glasses up with the other, and leans in to press their lips together. "Thank you for this," he says after, zipping his hoodie up a bit further, and then starting the climb up the aisle stairs to where Zayn's blanket reserves their seats. "Am I going to need to get used to you making grand gestures often?" He asks once they've both settled into the middle row, Zayn having pulled up the armrest between them to allow for proper cuddling.

A lazy boyfriend Zayn is not, but he doesn't think he's the type to win awards for how he loves others either. That average grey area that coloured most of the relationship spectrum, that's where he'd place himself. "It's my way of apologizing for not letting you indulge in superhero films on Sunday," he confesses, leaving out the part where he also hoped to boost Liam's spirits up that had remained low for the four days since then. "But Valentine's day is around the corner..."

Two weeks to be exact, and while Zayn is clearly more than alright with supporting Liam through this crisis of his, he's unsure what a romantic holiday like that would look like if the younger man's still dragging his feet everywhere he walked.