Zayn backs up to admire his dark graffiti work against the light wall, spray paint can still dangling in one hand. Seeing the words for the first time, Liam can’t help his lips from stretching into a grin.
“It looks amazing, Zed,” Liam praises, bringing his arm to rest around Zayn’s small waist. “Even better than I could’ve ever imagined.”
“Yeah?” Zayn responds, catching Liam’s eye as his lips upturn.
“Yeah.” He gives him a nod, grin still firmly planted on his face.
Taking a couple of steps forward to get a closer look, Zayn squints at the words in front of him.
In awe, eyes settled on the boy in front of him, Liam says finally, “Can’t believe you offered to do the art for my single. I mean, I know we still have to get the shot and everything but…”
Zayn’s silent for a moment, blinking a few times as he takes in the wall in front of him. Then, he turns his head around to give him a small smile. “Well, Leeyum, I’m right next to you.”
“Always,” Liam replies, beaming, a softness in his eyes that Zayn’s never seen before.
Zayn faces forward one more time to give a final glance to his artwork before he flips on his heel. Stops dead in his tracks, breath stuck in his throat, when he sees Liam’s position.
“Marry me” are the only shaky words that leave Liam’s mouth as he looks up into Zayn’s eyes. His nervous hands fidget around in his pocket for something. A box. “I mean it,” he huffs as he watches a whole range of emotions pass over Zayn’s face in less than a second. ”I wanna be right next to you. Forever.”
He haphazardly opens the small, velvet box as if worried it might explode. Zayn can hear Liam’s gulp from where he stands, his shallow breaths filling the silence.
“I’ve been wanting to ask for a while now,” Liam mumbles, breaking eye contact when the other boy remains quiet.
Zayn gnaws on his bottom lip, stomach flipping with every word Liam says. With every syllable that proves that Liam’s not joking, not pulling some evil, misguided prank. (Not that he thought Liam would ever do such a thing anyway, but… never hurts to double check.)
His eyes fall to the box, the silver Cartier band, eight small diamonds circling the ring. Any breath that Zayn had been holding on to before is now long gone, leaving him with a breathlessness and a need to pinch himself to make sure this is all really happening.
“Kept it in my pocket for months, just waiting for the right moment,” Liam finishes quietly, locking eyes with Zayn. “Glad we finally stumbled upon the right one.”
“You know, you were right,” Zayn mutters slowly, a smirk sliding onto his face as tears threaten to well up from his eyes. “Love does feel best.”
Liam’s eyebrows shoot up at the unexpected comment, his heart pounding in his ears. “Is that a yes then?”
“Of course, you idget,” Zayn laughs contentedly, the warmth of the sound passing over Liam’s body like a ray of sunshine against his skin. “I love you more than words can say, more than I could ever dare to explain.” He stops, staring at the boy below him fondly. “Now stand up, please. I wanna kiss my boyfriend,” he teases as he extends his hand to help Liam up.
Liam gently lifts the band out of the cushioning with a small smile. “First…” He winks, catching Zayn’s eye as he sees his grin widening. He slides the ring into place, letting his fingers hover there for a moment too long.
Finally grasping onto Zayn’s hand, he gets off his knees with an exhale, wiping the dirt that’s accumulated on his black jeans. “Sorry, what was that again?”
Rolling his eyes with a huff and a giggle, Zayn corrects lightly, “Sorry. I wanna kiss my fiancé.”
“Much better,” Liam grins, giving Zayn a quick peck before he pulls back. “That’s not gonna stop. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Zayn says easily. “Not gonna stop until you’re my husband, and even then, you’ll just have a new term to use.”
“My fiancé knows me so well,” Liam beams, and then before Liam can continue on, Zayn’s arms are around Liam’s neck, pulling him into a long kiss.
This kind of love. The kind of love that fills Liam so full he feels he might implode, the kind of love that brings laughter erupting from deep inside of him, the kind of love that turns his stomach inside out. This kind of love, this is the kind that feels best.
