#deserve

Imagine the way the sky bruises in the distance. The wind shifts. And just like that, the air feels too full. Like it's holding its breath.

Imagine you know this feeling. You remember it in your bones. The last time it stormed like this… He left.

but Imagine you're older now. Supposedly wiser. You have your own place, your own job, your own life stitched back together. But some things don't go away, they just go quiet. And then they find you again. In the rain.

Imagine Zayne stands across from you on a cracked sidewalk, years later, soaked to the skin. The rain doesn't seem to bother him. He looks like he belongs in it. Still wearing black. Still too calm. Still the boy who kissed you behind the gym after finals and told you he wanted to fix the world.

Imagine he always wanted to became a doctor. Just like he said he would. And you became something else. Something strong. Something solid. But not the version of yourself he got to see.

Imagine he left before that. And now, as thunder growls and the storm comes down harder, neither of you moves. It's like time caught up and then stalled out again, just to be cruel.

"You left during the storm." You say, voice thin but clear through the rain. "Why chase your dreams when I was drowning here, waiting for you?" Zayne's jaw tightens. He doesn't look away. He never looked away, not even back then. He just left. "Because staying meant losing myself." He says, each word deliberate. "I had to let go… Even if it meant losing you."

Imagine this is nothing new. It's not surprising. But hearing it now older, after all this time. It slices clean through the quiet place inside you where you still remember what his hands felt like in yours.

Imagine you stare at him. At the rain caught on his lashes. At the tired set of his shoulders. He's a man now. Not the boy who promised you forever with a borrowed ring and trembling hands.

"Do you remember." You asked low. "The promises we made before the rain came?" He doesn't answer right away. When he does, it's quiet. "I remember how they slipped through my fingers... Just like you did."

Imagine the words hit harder than they should. Because you weren't the only one who slipped. You look down. Your hands are clenched. You didn't even notice.

"I wrote you." You say, voice trembling. "I waited. For answers. For something. You didn't even say goodbye properly, Zayne. You just... Disappeared into med school and never looked back." "That's not true." "Isn't it?" You snap. "You never came home. Not for holidays. Not for breaks. Not for me."

Imagine the way he exhales sharply. "Because every time I looked back, I wanted to turn around." "Then why didn't you?" Your voice cracks. Finally. "Why wasn’t I worth one detour?"

Imagine the rain's relentless now. Your clothes cling to you, hair sticking to your face. But it doesn't matter. You're already drowning in everything you didn't say for years.

Imagine Zayne runs a hand through his wet hair, frustrated. "Because I didn't know how to be who you needed while becoming who I had to be. I didn't want you to wait for someone who could barely breathe under the weight of becoming."

Imagine the way you stare at him. "I didn't need you perfect." You say. "I just needed you present." A pause. "But I wasn't." He whispers. "And I couldn't be. Not then." That's when the silence lands. Heavy. Hollow.

and Imagine maybe that's the part that hurts the most. That he knows. That he always knew. That the leaving wasn't a mistake. It was a choice. A cost. He loved you. He still might. But he loved the future more.

"You know what the worst part is?" You say. "I never stopped being proud of you." Zayne looks like he's about to break. Finally. After all these years. "And I never stopped loving you." He replies, like it costs him everything. And it was drowned in the rain. Never reaching you.

Imagine the way the confession hangs between you. Unclaimed. Late. Too late. You both just stand there. In the rain. In the mess. In the space where a life together could've lived.

Inagine, maybe in another lifetime, you would've grown together instead of apart. Maybe in another lifetime, you both would've stayed. But here, under this storm, you realize some goodbyes don't come with closure. Some just echo, forever.

Imagine the way you take a shaky breath. And this time, you're the one who turns away first.

Imagine then you walk. The rain fills your ears, your vision, the ache in your throat. But it can't drown the pounding of your heart. Or the thought that's been sitting heavy in your chest since the moment you saw him again.

Imagine, he doesn't know. He'll never knew.

Imagine the way you grip the key tighter in your pocket. You left the porch light on. You always do, now. For her.

Imagine as you reach your door fumbling slightly as you unlock it. A soft light glows under the hallway, warm, golden and steady. All coming from the small room down the hall, you hear a quiet voice call.

"Mommy?" Your heart catches in your throat. She's up. Probably from the thunder. "I'm here, baby." You say, just loud enough for her to hear.

Imagine the way you close the door gently behind you, press your back to it and slide down slowly to the floor. And only then, as your soaked shoes leave muddy prints on the rug, does the truth rise in your chest like the storm outside.

Imagine, Zayne doesn't know he has a daughter. And tonight... You let him walk away without ever finding out.

[ⓒdark-night-hero] 2025°

: surprise, a hidden child au for zayne :D tbh thisbstarted with a angry confession in the rain prompt but as I got near the end I was like... I wanna see a plot twist, a hidden child.