I’m very very sappy tonight, so I hope you enjoy this my dear! 

“-and so today I give you this promise. Though the world may change and we may change with it, through good times and bad, when things seem bleak, know that a part of me will always love you.” Zayn’s smile was tremulous, but his voice rang sure and clear, carrying over the assembled group of their family and friends. “For you carry it in your heart, and I will never forsake you.”

A soft sob came from behind them, but Liam focused on the man in front of him. Liam lifted Zayn’s hand, placing it over his heart. Then, with a gentle swipe of his thumb, he brushed away the tears that hung heavy on Zayn’s lashes. 

“So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh? I have to be the joker?” Zayn’s eyebrow quirks up when he sees the black and gray attire, easily towering over the littler red and green suit. 

Not that Sasha looks worried about this height difference. Her hand is still gripped tightly in Liam’s, smiling ear-to-ear. 

Seeing her smile widen even further at his reaction, Zayn continues melodramatically, “I see how it is in this household.” He scoffs. “First, my husband takes my place to be Batman.” Giving him a hard stare, he then turns his attention downwards. “And you,” he slaps his hand over his heart. “My own daughter betrayed me by being my near and dear sidekick, Robin.”

At this, she fully bursts into giggles. Watching her, Liam just smiles down at her, sliding his other fisted hand in her direction. She taps it, giving the most gracious fistbump Zayn has ever seen.

And, okay. If Zayn was ever going to dress up to be the Joker, he’d want it to be with his two favorite people in the world. 

“Fine.” He rolls his eyes good-naturedly. Thinking for a moment, he adds, “But next year, when I’m Superman and my little girl is Lois Lane…” He waits until he sees her face light up at the idea. “You get to be the…” He pauses to catch Liam’s eye. “Err. The kryptonite.”

Liam tries to hold back a laugh but fails, the choked sound erupting from his mouth. “The… what now? Care to repeat that, Zayn?” He bites his lip to suppress another laugh. “I didn’t know one could dress up as kryptonite.” 

Zayn shrugs. “I’m sure you can figure something out.” He takes a step closer. “I mean, I have to figure out some way to be the Joker tonight, no thanks to you two.” He tries to hide his fondness with fake scorn, but fails miserably.

“Love you, Daddy,” Sasha says happily, pulling her hand from Liam’s to run over and slip it into Zayn’s unsuspecting hand.

“Love you, too, my dear,” Zayn coos as he squeezes her hand lightly. “Now, come on. Let’s go figure out my costume.” He turns around to squint his eyes at Liam. “We’ll leave Liam here to think about what he’s done.”

Zayn isn’t surprised when he feels a gentle slap to the back of the head. “Wanker,” Liam whispers, quiet enough so that Sasha won’t hear.

Sasha pouts at Zayn’s words, so Zayn sighs, pretending to think it over. “Alright, he can come. But only if he hands out the candy to the trick or treaters tonight.”

Zayn’s gaze is trained on the colorful fireworks bursting in the sky above the looming blue and silver castle. At this, though, he turns to face the boy shifting on his feet next to him. “What?” He responds gently, squeezing Liam’s hand while the other boy takes one side shuffle closer to him. As he presses his shy smile into his skin, Zayn’s lips upturn.

“Do you feel guilty–” He looks almost embarrassed as he finishes asking. “Celebrating Fourth of July when technically they’re celebrating independence from us?”

Zayn laughs, nose scrunching up as he crosses one arm over Liam’s body to cuddle him closer. “I believe you’re overthinking it, love.” He looks up to the fireworks again as he teases, “The amounts of oohs and ahhs we’re always getting over our accents seems to make me think that most Americans are alright with us by now.”

“Is that over our accents, though, or–well, over us? Famous celebrities,” Liam giggles, pitching his voice to sound like an pompous announcer. He pauses for a moment. “I guess we’ll never know,” he answers himself, sounding thoughtful. “Don’t really want to ask any fans or anything, since we’ve been pretty unnoticed so far.” He gives Zayn a look. “Considering we chose the darkest time to come visit here.”

“On purpose,” Zayn grunts, attempting to hide the fond threatening to burst from within.

“Oh yeah, so every time I tried to pull you out of bed with me, and you begged me for ‘five more minutes, five more minutes, Leeeeeeyum.’ That was on purpose, huh?”

Zayn bites back a smile. “Could’ve been.” He pauses, deciding to be honest. “How was I supposed to help it, though? Warm bed, my beautiful boyfriend–though impatient–nuzzling up next to me… I had to make the most of that perfect scenario.”

Liams hums. “Guess I can’t argue with that. The breakfast in bed from room service was quite good. And lunch. And dinner, I suppose.” He flutters his eyelashes lightly against Zayn’s shoulder as he shifts to watch the fireworks again.

“You suppose?” Zayn asks, mock offended as a grin pulls at his lips.

“Well, we did miss out on most of Disneyland for it,” Liam points out with a laugh. He presses a light kiss against Zayn’s jaw. 

“Next time, I’ll make sure we get to see all of it. I promise,” Zayn replies, rubbing his thumb lightly over Liam’s cheek.

Mrs. Payne cut a slice of cake and gave it to Liam. "Liam, darling, just eat a little." She looks at her watch and tries to give a smile. "Your friends are only two hours late--I think that's what most kids do; they always come late to parties and--" Liam's eyes start tearing up. "They're not my friends and they don't like me mum." He gets up and runs to his room, more tears filling his eyes.

Liam slammed his door shut and jumped on his bed, landing on his stomach. Bursting in tears in his pillow, fully sobbing. He had been lonely for years, constantly getting bullied, yet he gave all his classmates an invitation to his party, hoping someone, anyone would come along. He felt like a fool, giving himself hope that someone would give him a chance, even though no one liked him.

"Liam?" His mother softly asks from outside his door. "Someone's here to see you." Liam wipes his eyes. "Go away." He shouts half heartedly. "It's someone from your school. He's here for your party." Liam's eyes widen and immediately sits up. "Really?" He asks. "Who?" His mother giggles. "You'll have to come down and see, Liam." His heart steadily beats faster. He gets up and quickly wipes his eyes. He doesn't care who showed up, he was just happy that someone came.

He quietly walks downstairs and peaks around the corner to try and see who came. He sees a raven haired boy, wearing a white shirt and khakis. His beautiful big Brown eyes and long eyelashes fluttering, as he talks with his mom. He turns his head back around before the boy can see him. 'Who is he?' He thinks. He's never seen the boy from his school, but he's not against someone coming to his party.

He slowly walks around the corner and goes into the kitchen. Mrs.Payne sees Liam and smiles. "Liam, Zayn has come to join your party." 'Zayn. What a beautiful name' He thinks as his heart beats faster. "Hi." He says shyly. Zayn smiles. "I didn't know what to get you, so I got you a teddy bear." He says, giving him a small Brown bear. Liam hesitantly takes the bear and blushes. Mrs.Payne smiles and walks over to Liam. "I'll leave you two to the party. I have to go help at work. I'll be home either later tonight or tomorrow morning." She kisses Liam's forehead and heads out the door.

Liam, still blushing, says a quiet thank you and sits down. "I'm sorry I don't remember you from any of my classes." Zayn shakes his head. "I'm not. I actually saw a lot of invitations to this party. I decided to come since it looked like it would be a crowded party but I guess not." Sadness washes over Liam. "But that's okay. I like small parties like this, too. It's more intimate." He gives a smile.

"So what did you have planned for this party?" Liam looks up. "I'm not sure honestly. I just wanted a simple party where we ate cake and opened presents." Zayn nods. "Sounds good to me, especially that cake." He raises his eyebrows. He grabs the cake and cuts a slice for himself. "So Liam. Since I technically barged in, I will introduce myself. My name is Zayn Malik. I'm from Bradford and I love art. I love drawing and spray painting, honestly anything." He takes a bite out of his cake. Liam smiles and introduces himself.

"Wolverhampton. Nice" He says. "You know, it's kind of hard to believe no one wouldn't come to a party to celebrate someone so beautiful." Liam chokes on his cake. He's never been complimented before. He clears his throat and takes a drink of his tea. "Th-Thank you. But, I'm not popular. I don't really have... any friends." He says quietly. Zayn gets up and kneels in front of Liam. "Hey, don't worry about it." He lifts Liam's chin. "They're horrible if they can't see a great friend." He wipes Liam's tears away. "And it's the birthday. Let's go celebrate it." He takes Liam's hand and takes him outside. "Where are we going?" He asks. "It's a surprise." Zayn says, opening the passenger door for Liam. He then gets in and starts driving.

They go around the town, drinking lightly at a bar, before heading to a fancy restaurant that's dimly lit. They talk about their interests, likes and dislikes, future, before heading back on the road. Zayn drives for a while, until they get to seemingly nowhere, a sandy place far from the city with no lights.

Zayn parks and looks at Liam. "I go here when I want to get away for a while." He lifts the rooftop of the car. "You can perfectly see all the wonderful stars." Liam looks up in awe. The night sky was beautifully lit, the stars seemingly twinkles extra bright tonight. He looks over to Zayn and smiles. "Thank you. This was the best birthday ever." Zayn looks back at him and takes his hand. "I'm glad you liked it. Everyone deserves a great birthday. Although I'm sad no one came to your party, I'm also glad that they didn't. Otherwise I wouldn't have shared a great night with you." Liam blushes, his heart beating fast.

They slowly lean in, until their lips touch. A small peck was given, until Liam pushes forward, giving a bigger kiss. Zayn puts his hand on Liam's cheek and gives him another kiss. They hold on for a while, until Zayn slides his tongue across Liam's lips, asking for entrance. Liam parts his lips, now fully making out with Zayn. He climbs onto Zayn's lap, wrapping his legs around Zayn's hips and arms wrapped around his neck. Zayn wrapping his arms around Liam's waist. They continue making out until their lips get tired.

Liam puts his forehead against Zayn's, breathing heavily. They sit like that for a while, not talking or moving, just taking each other in.

After a couple of hours, Zayn drives them back to Liam's house. The air feeling a little crisper than usual, as they both come down from their high, realizing how much they want to stay together. The ride coming to a close, as Zayn stops at Liam's house. "Don't leave. Please." He begs with his eyes. Zayn smiles. "Of course not."

When they get inside the house, Liam takes Zayn hand and runs upstairs to his bedroom. He turns on the light and puts his house keys on his dresser, before taking his shoes off and changing into a t shirt and sweats. Zayn looks around. He sees Liam's toy story toys and some Batman posters. "Batman. Nice." Liam looks at his poster and blushes. He sits on his bed and twiddles his thumbs. "Do you mind laying with me? I don't want to be alone tonight." He asks softly with his head down.

Zayn takes his shoes off and goes to the other side of the bed and lays down on his side, behind Liam. He softly grabs Liam's waist, pulling him closer. Liam lays down and faces Zayn, as Zayn holds onto his waist. "You'll never be alone with me." He whispers before kissing Liam's forehead. Liam smiles and buries his head into Zayn's neck, taking in his scent, as he slowly drifts asleep.

T H A N K Y O U FOR PUTTING THIS IN MY ASKS

[Masterpost]  

Hey its ya girl, back alive on this challenge after losing my muse to write anything. This one was more of a college au and has a very brief part about the prompt at the end. I had to redo this one maybe 6 or 7 times because i kept hating how it was turning out LOL. So here we are. After nearly a whole 2 weeks of no posting, here’s day 15!

Quiet nights at home are quite possibly Zayn’s favorite. Nights filled with reading by his space heater, listening to soothing music, a half eaten pizza and a joint in between his lips were just a tad better than partying every night like his roommates. And what made it even better was when Liam started becoming part of the picture.

He was in his third year when he and Liam finally started dating. (Finally as in, Zayn pined after Liam for nearly a year and a half before Louis forced Zayn into a blind date with Liam.)

“Are you even listening to what I’m saying?” Louis groaned as the pair sat on the commons lawn, just under Zayn’s favorite tree. A group of boys were playing soccer nearby, one of which being Liam. Shirts and skins, it seemed like, and Liam was definitely Skins.

Zayn, biting the cap of his pen, stays in a trance watching the way his brown curls bounce as he runs until Louis shoves him. “Hello? Zayn? Shit, man. You might as well go talk to him if you’re that obsessed with him. We’re trying to study, you idiot, not gawk at your crush.” He sounds annoyed, but Zayn knows he isn’t. Louis doesn’t give a shit about studying (and he still manages to pass his classes, he hates Louis for that).

“Sorry,” Zayn mumbles, eyes shifting away from the game and down at his book.

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.

Love feels best. 

“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.

On one knee. Is this...?

“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.

(zayn’s shoe collection)

“Leeyummmmmmm!” Zayn’s voice travels through the long hallway before finally stumbling upon Liam in their bedroom. 

“Zedddddd,” Liam responds fondly, finishing placing Zayn’s last shirt on a hanger before setting it on the bed. Turning around to face him, he smiles, “You’re in a good mood.”

He’s not even sure why Zayn’s so happy, and yet he’s grinning like an idiot himself. His voice alone has always been enough to do that, though, hasn’t it?

“Guess what?!” Zayn asks, his eyes bright. He’s practically vibrating, he’s so excited to share his good news.

“I don’t know, Zayn, tell me,” Liam laughs, looking up at him as he sits down on the edge of the bed. 

“It has to do with my shoe collection,” Zayn hints with an eyebrow raise.

Shit.

Suddenly, Liam has a feeling he knows what Zayn is gonna say and, suddenly, he doesn’t want to hear it anymore.

“Oh, really?” He says, clearing his throat in an attempt to play it cool. 

“Yeah, my shoes sold out here in London!” He beams. 

“That’s amazing, Zayn, and so… unexpected!” He flashes a smile but it ends up probably looking more like chagrin, because Zayn’s body thumps at his words.

“What, Liam?” He asks suspiciously, giving Liam a glare as if that’ll somehow make him crack.

Because he knows it will. Because it always does.

“Nothing!” Liam yells out in a voice that’s at least an octave too high, his teeth gnawing at his bottom lip. “That’s amazing!” Why couldn’t he ever just stay quiet?

Zayn hums skeptically, watching Liam as he leans his body against the door of the closet.

“Oh, be–” Liam starts before abruptly trailing off. Realizing he’s given himself away, he replaces his words with an unconvincing cough.

“Li,” Zayn warns, testing Liam’s reaction as he places his hand against the door handle of the closet. Liam freezes. 

“Zayn, just–” Liam mutters, reaching out his arm with a little squeal before Zayn’s turning the handle and at least twenty pairs of shoe boxes fall at his feet.

“Liam!” Zayn cries out, eyes falling to his large signature in white along the side of all of the boxes. He sounds slightly annoyed but the endearing grin that follows seems to displace any of that.

At this point, Liam’s right behind Zayn, as if he could have somehow saved him from the inevitable shoe avalanche.

“Look, I wasn’t planning on buying out the London store. I just wanted a few pairs for Andy and all my other mates, and I bought one for my dad cause he needs to get out of his same-old style. And then, of course, for myself, I needed one pair in every color, and a second one in case the others got dirty and–”

Liam only stops his embarrassed chattering when Zayn’s lips are pressed to his.

Kicking the boxes still surrounding them, Zayn pulls back with a smirk. “Has anyone ever told you you’re a dork?”

“Yeah,” Liam shrugs carelessly. “You. Many times, actually.”

“Well, you’re my dork,” Zayn huffs. “My dorky boyfriend that accidentally bought all of my shoes and hoped to somehow hide them away in our closet for God-knows-how-long.”

“And you wouldn’t have it any other way?” Liam asks hopefully as he leans in again to give him a peck on the lips. 

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Zayn chuckles as he carefully finds his way out of the shoe pile. “But now you gotta help me order more.”