Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Zayn! Zayn, wake up, you’re dreaming. Zayn!”

Zayn pulls themself out of sleep with a gasp, bolting upright in bed and nearly smashing foreheads with Harry hovering over them. They still feel shaky, head still stuck in the dream.

“Hey, hey, it was just a dream.” Harry rubs Zayn’s shoulders soothingly.

He must have turned the lamp on when he came in and Zayn tries to focus on his face in the light as they breathe in deeply, slowing their breaths as they anchor themselves back in reality. It’s not real, I’m not there, nothing’s happening. Zayn scrubs their hands over their face and through their hair before flopping back down in bed and closing their eyes. They feel a dip in the bed as Harry seats himself next to them.

“You alright?” he asks, and Zayn can sense the worried frown wearing deep into his face as clearly as if they had their eyes open.

“Yeah, ‘m alright,” they nod shakily. “Like you said, it was just a dream.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Maybe,” Zayn admits, and Harry lets the silence pool around them for a few moments as Zayn gathers their thoughts.

“It - I can’t even remember it very clearly. It felt like I was losing everything in some kind of avalanche or something. Like it was all getting swept away and buried in the earth.”

“Like your house?”

“No, it was all people. Like you, me, Louis, Liam… There was someone else with us and they had like, white light around their head, and I think they had wings… I guess they were an angel or something? I dunno, but it felt like all of you were going to be taken away from me.”

“Well.” Harry closes a hand around Zayn’s and squeezes tightly. “I promise I’m not going anywhere. And we both know it would take more than a measly natural disaster to take out Liam, or Louis, for that matter.

“I know,” Zayn chuckles. “I reckon Louis would just as likely beat it up.”

“She’d probably yell at it and scare it away for even trying to have a go at us,” Harry adds with a giggle. Zayn can almost picture it, too, tiny Louis chasing off a whole earthquake with shaking fists and a stream of creative insults.

“You feeling better now?” Harry asks and Zayn is, but. Somehow the fear they felt in the dream hasn’t worn off yet, a sense of terrible uselessness as they watched on helplessly as it happened.

“Could you stay?” Zayn whispers.

“Sure. Just so long as you don’t mind my early morning alarm joining us?”

“Ugh, fine,” Zayn huffs, rolling over to the side of the bed closest to the wall and pulling a pillow over their head.

Harry cackles. “Aw, don’t be a pouty puss. Rick Astley’s a great way to get up in the morning.”

“You’re the worst,” Zayn moans into the mattress. “Like actually the most awful flatmate to exist. Ever.”

“Hey, at least I switch the artists up every now and then. You know Liam has to wake up to the Grease soundtrack every single day.”

“Yeah, but I swear you pick things that annoy me on purpose!”

“Look, you’re the one that wanted me here. Rick and I are a package deal, bub.”

Zayn flings their pillow at him as Harry runs off to his room to grab his phone.

“Harry, bring me my pillow,” Zayn whines when he returns. Harry poises in the doorway, about to make a running leap at the bed.

“You’re the one who chucked it.” Harry snatches up the pillow anyway, using it to cushion the impact when he dashes across the room and lands on the bed, more or less.

“Get on your side, you ass!” Zayn laughs, shoving at the long limbs flung over their body.

“Wow, someone’s a bit of a grumpy bunny,” Harry mutters as he rolls off Zayn and shuffles under the covers. He sets his phone on the bedside table and switches off the lamp.

“Night Z.” Harry snuggles into his pillow.

“G’night Haz.” Harry hms back, already half asleep.

Zayn rolls over so they can face him and watches his silhouette, rising and falling as he eases into slumber. Zayn exhales softly, feeling eons better already knowing Harry’s there. Harry’s here, he isn’t going anywhere, they tell themself. Their hand is extended between them, could almost touch Harry if they moved just a little. Zayn pulls their fingers back against their palm in a light fist instead.

“Thanks for being here,” they whisper, words barely catching against their lips. They don’t get a response, not that they were expecting one, and with that, Zayn closes their eyes and slips away into a far more peaceful sleep.

There’s no thunder or lightning, but it’s enough to bother the hell out of the tawny little sparrow making his way towards their flat as fast as his little wings can flap. It’s not for nothing that his Da had told him never to fly in the rain, but with the deep, powerful pull in his gut tugging him in the right direction, he barely has to keep his eyes open and his beak down, to know where he’s going.

He reaches the dwelling and flits up to the bedroom window. It’s been so long since he’s been amongst humans that he’s forgotten lots of things. Like the existence of window panes, for example.

He crashes into something invisible with a thump and tumbles backwards into a box of flowers hanging over the street.

Ouch, he cheeps, pushing himself back up onto his feet and frowning as much as a beak allows. The sharp pain at the bottom of one wing is worse now, and if he weren’t so low on energy he’d probably smash one of the glass sheets out of frustration.

Finding a way inside is probably a better use of his strength. Before he can plot a way to get past the glass, though, a massive human face appears through the window. The sparrow startles and trips back into the flowers, landing on his tail again. The human pulls open the window and slowly reaches out to him with enormous hands, makes soft cooing noises as he does. He doesn’t recognize the human as the person he’s looking for, but he does look genuinely worried. With no sense of bad intent warning him in his gut, the sparrow decides to trust him and hops into his palms. The boy gasps in surprise and slowly, carefully, he pulls the bird back against his chest, closes the window with his elbow and turns to rouse his roommate.

“Zayn, wake up! Look what I’ve got here.”

It’s bad enough that Harry hit snooze instead of properly turning his alarm off when he went to shower, leaving Zayn frantically trying to untangle themself from the bed to make Rick Astley shut up -but there’s nothing that could possibly be worth waking Zayn up for so early, on purpose, and on their day off, too.

“Go away, Harry.” Zayn shoves their head further under the pillow, chasing after the peacefulness of sleep that Harry’s morning cheeriness is ruining.

“Zaynnnnnn.”

“I hate you,” Zayn informs him, but Harry’s not the least bit put off, and prods Zayn in the side, right where they’re ticklish and Zayn tries to kick him back.

“Zayn, I’m serious, just look! Promise I’m not waking you up for nothing.”
Sighing heavily, Zayn pulls their head out from their pillow and turns over to see a tiny bird peering at them from Harry’s hands.

“Ahhh!” Zayn pulls themself up eagerly, completely forgetting to be cross at Harry now that there’s a small animal involved.

“Flew into the window just now,” Harry explains. “I’m surprised you didn’t hear it; it was pretty loud.”

“Poor little thing, is it hurt?” Zayn asks. The bird shakes itself in Harry’s hand and one of its wings sticks out a bit awkwardly.

“Oh, dear. I think it’s favouring that wing there.” Harry frowns, glancing down at his watch, beeping up at him. “But I’m going to be late if I don’t leave in like, two minutes, can you take the little guy?”

“Of course,” Zayn nods, and ends up with a handful of damp feathers as Harry rushes out.

Zayn looks down at the little bird in their hands. Its beady little eyes are focused on them very intently, neck tilting backwards as if it’s trying to get a better look at them.

“Right, well. First thing’s first, let’s get you something to eat.”

The bird hops excitedly at the mention of food and Zayn wonders if it might be someone’s lost pet. It certainly seems to be tame. Most wild birds would probably be frantically flying about looking for a way out right now.

Zayn slides out of bed and heads through the living room and into the kitchen where Harry keeps a big bag of birdseed in the corner by the door. He tends to pocket a handful or so when he goes for a walk to the park and feeds the pigeons. Says it helps him calm down, feels more at one with nature or something.

Before Zayn can grab any of it, the bird leaps out of their hands and flutters down into the open bag. They peer in to find the bird rolling around, already partially buried in the seeds. It chirps happily in between beakfuls of food, and it’s probably the happiest Zayn’s ever seen a bird in their life. They decide to leave it there for a minute while they have the brilliant idea of heating up a facecloth in the microwave.

When Zayn returns, they find a very well fed little bird mostly buried in the birdfeed with just its head sticking out. The bird barely acknowledges their presence as Zayn carefully unearths it from the bag and loosely wraps it up in the warm facecloth. The bird shuffles around like it’s making a nest before settling down and yawning.

“Same here,” Zayn chuckles, heading over to the living room to sit in their favourite armchair. They set the bird in their lap and carefully reach out a finger. The bird doesn’t move and Zayn rubs a finger over its head and down its back. It merely blinks sleepily up at them. It’s not even eight yet, and Zayn figures it can’t hurt to close their eyes, just for a minute, before figuring out what to do.

Zayn wakes up abruptly to a sudden weight on their chest. They let out a strangled squawk when they realize it’s a person, curled up and snoring against them. He stops snoring instantly, scrambling up and onto the armrest.

“Shite, I’m sorry! I was waiting for a good time to talk to you but the flight over here got me all tuckered out and then… I must’ve changed back in me sleep.”

The guy seems to be wearing overalls that look like shaved pieces of greyish-green velvet fastened together over a pale green shirt. His feet are bare and filthy (Harry will probably have a fit over the new state of the furniture when he gets home), arms and legs covered in streaks of dirt. He has a messy nest of dark brown hair and it looks like there’s even a few twigs and leaves tangled in it as well.

“So, um. You look good Zayn,” the stranger continues. “That undercut’s a really nice look for you.” He tilts his head and squints. “Ooh sick, you did get your ears pierced! I dig the purple stud.”

Zayn stares. This situation should feel weirder, somehow. Like, it’s definitely weird already. The guy seems a little nervous, but not nearly as much as someone would be if they were caught breaking into someone’s house. There’s something comfortingly familiar about him, somehow. Zayn can’t quite pinpoint what exactly, but they trust their gut.

Zayn blinks back to find soft blues eyes staring at them and they finally find the ability to speak.

“H-have we met before?”

“Have we ever; we grew up together!” The armrest dweller grins, revealing endearingly crooked teeth. “Or well, we did for a bit anyways.” He sighs. “You don’t remember me at all, do you? I’m Niall.”

“Sorry, no, I don’t.” Zayn thinks they feel some spark of recognition at the name Niall, and something about the way he talks perhaps, but they still don’t remember ever seeing him before. “Okay, so. Niall. What are you doing in my house?” Zayn asks and Niall frowns, even though Zayn thinks it’s a very reasonable question.

“You let me in. Well, not you, I guess, the other person who was here -” he gestures around his head in a clear imitation of Harry’s curls, “- let me in through the window.”

“Harry? The only thing he’s let in the window is - Oh shit, the bird!” Zayn realizes. “There was a bird here just now, where did it…” They trail off, searching frantically about the chair and the surrounding carpet, but no bird.

“You didn’t squish it did you?” they ask in horror and Niall quickly shakes his head.

“No, no, the bird’s fine, well I mean, I’m fine except for this.” He holds up his left hand, which had been tucked inside his jacket. It’s red and a little swollen.

“Got uh, caught in a door. Also ran into your window.” Niall winces, hunching over his hand again as he flexes his fingers too much and, okay, Niall might be a bird? And Niall seems to know Zayn, but Zayn's pretty sure they doesn’t know him?

Zayn has no idea what the hell is going on, and they’re going to get this whole situation sorted out in a minute. But right now, all they can focus on is getting Niall some help. It all feels a little surreal as they stand up and shepherd him into the kitchen. Zayn sticks their head in the freezer to look for peas and wonders vaguely if they might be dreaming again.

“You’re not dreaming,” Niall blurts out.

“Uh, that’s good.” Zayn’s fingers tighten around the bag of peas and focuses on how uncomfortable the cold feels against their skin. That’s definitely real.

“Sorry, just, you’re thinking really loudly,” Niall says, clearly going so hard for reassuring that Zayn almost feels guilty that it’s not really working. “I was hoping you’d remember me right away, but. I promise I’ll tell you everything and this’ll all make sense soon.”

“Okay,” Zayn shrugs helplessly, and fishes out the peas. “Here, ice your hand.”

“Cheers.”

Zayn leans against the counter and watches Niall gingerly press the peas to his skin. “Alright, so. Could you please explain whatever’s going on with…” They trail off and gesture vaguely in front of them.

“Yes, absolutely!” Niall nods enthusiastically. “Mind if I sit down?”

“Go ahead.”

Niall forgoes the stools nearby and hops up onto the island, settling with his legs dangling over the side. It’s something Louis does a lot when she’s over, but Zayn knows Louis; they’ve been friends with her for years. Zayn isn’t sure what to make of the same thing coming from Niall, someone with whom they have nothing near the same degree of familiarity with, but they decide not to comment.

“Okay,” Niall starts. “This, it might be a little weird.” He hesitates, kicking his legs against a stool in agitation.

“It’s already weird. How much weirder can it get?”

“Right, well. First of all, I’m not from around here.”

“Right.” Zayn repeats. That much was obvious.

“I mean like, I’m from… a place that most human people don’t even know exists. And I’m… not actually human, that is.” He flushes.

“Oh.” Zayn says. That is a little surprising. It’s actually way beyond the realm of anything Zayn was expecting, in fact.

“I mean,” Niall continues. “I am a little bit human from one of my second or third cousins, but I’m a lot more used to being called a… faerie. And you may not know this Zayn, well clearly you don’t with all the strange looks you’ve been giving me, but you have a bit of faerie blood in you, too.”

“I have what?”

“Faerie blood. You’re part faerie.”

Zayn blinks slowly. “You must be taking the piss.”

“There’s no piss to be taking here,” Niall insists, staring earnestly into Zayn’s face. “I’ll- listen, how about I show you?”

“Uh…”

“If you don’t believe me after this, I promise I’ll walk right out of here and I won’t bother you again.”

“I, okay.” Zayn doesn’t know what else to say but that does sound reasonable. They can work with reasonable.

Niall slides off the counter and comes to stand in front of them.

“Give me your hand,” he says, holding out his good one. His fingers are a lot warmer than Zayn expected. Niall cups his palm over their own and concentrates.

“Alright,” he says, drawing in a deep breathe. “I want you to close your eyes for a moment and think of a memory, something happy. Maybe when you were younger, or with your family; it doesn’t matter so long as it’s something nice.”

Zayn ponders for a moment before they decide on the time their parents took Zayn and their sister Doniya out to a restaurant to celebrate the upcoming arrival of a new baby in the family. Doniya had whispered to Zayn how grown up they must look in their best outfits when the waitress led the family to a table outside in a backyard garden instead of their usual booth.

Zayn doesn’t even remember what they ate for dinner; they spent the entire evening mesmerized by a pond full of koi that their table overlooked. Their Baba joked that they were giant goldfish and their Ammi told Zayn that when goldfish die and get flushed down the toilets, they end up here; in big ponds where they have the freedom to grow as big as they want.

“Have you got a memory?” Niall asks, softly interrupting Zayn’s thoughts.

“Er, yeah I do,” Zayn says, eyes still closed.

“Good. Now, I want you to focus on one specific thing from that memory, like a person or object and try to think about how happy or excited you felt about that particular thing, alright?” He fingers tighten minutely around Zayn’s.

Zayn nods, remembers one of the fish that seemed to loop around the pond towards Zayn in particular. Whenever Zayn pointed it out to someone else, the fish seemed to lose interest in them and swam away, returning again when no one else was looking. Zayn decided it must be shy and wanted to be best friends with them. It was the most beautiful fish they’d ever seen; its shimmering scales were solid orange and it looked like a flame trapped underwater.

Niall’s fingers start to loosen around their hand, which is starting to feel almost uncomfortably hot. “I want you to slowly open your eyes, but keep thinking about that memory, alright?”

Zayn nods, blinking rapidly a few times as their eyes adjust to the light again. Niall pulls his hand away entirely and Zayn gasps when they look down at their palm.

That very same koi they saw when they were 6 years old is somehow emerging from their hand, swimming slowly through the air above their fingertips. Zayn can actually feel the swish of the disturbed air currents against their skin when it moves. It loops higher up into the air. The fins seems to crackle with light. Zayn scarcely dares to blink, in case it disappears.

It turns towards Niall, whom Zayn had almost forgotten, even though he was standing no more than three feet away. He makes a goofy kissy face as the fish nears him and it veers away, weaving back and forth through the air toward Zayn.

“It’s ok, it won’t hurt you,” Niall whispers.

Zayn gulps, tries to hold still. It glides a few inches from their face and Zayn realizes it’s not a solid animal, of bones and flesh, but something closer to a living flare.

They gaze at each other for a long moment and even though the dim kitchen light is piercing through the scales in some places, there’s no doubt in Zayn’s mind that this is somehow something alive before them and a smile bursts to their lips.

The fish swivels forward suddenly and bumps its head in a kiss to the tip of Zayn’s nose before swerving around in a splash of light and diving back down towards Zayn’s hand again, their palm still frozen up in the air. There’s a feeling like sticking fingertips into a hot bath to test the temperature, and then it’s gone, a thin trail of fading yellow smoke in the air all that remains.

Niall coughs. Zayn turns back to face him, mouth hung wide open in shock.

He’s smiling softly at Zayn. “Do you believe me now?”

“Sorry, just, it’s hard to believe I actually did that!” They’re in the living room now, drinking tea and passing a plate of leftover biscuits back and forth. Zayn thumbs at the skin on their hand where they last saw the light, but there isn’t so much as a scratch or a blemish to indicate what happened. “Like, that fish-thing was really me? I did that?”

“It really was. I mean, I helped since you don’t… know how. If you weren’t so out of practise you’d be able to do that in a snap.” Niall snaps his fingers together and Zayn realizes it’s his injured hand.

“Hey careful,” Zayn warns. “You don’t want to strain that anymore.”

“Huh?” Niall’s eyes drift to his hand, still poised in the air. “Oh, no, it’s fine now, see?” He leans forward and holds out his hand, completely unharmed. “Good as new, doesn’t even hurt anymore.”

“How?”

“One of the perks of being a faerie is we heal a little bit better than say, someone who doesn’t have any magic in them. We can still get hurt, obviously, we just have something in our bodies that helps us heal a bit faster. But it takes energy to do that, which I was pretty low on when I got here, so.” He pops another bite of biscuit into his mouth. “Thanks again for this.”

“Yeah, no problem. So, how does that work exactly? The, uh, magic stuff in general?”

“Well,” Niall says in an exhale, “Pretty big question, that. It’s kind of hard to explain, like, um.”

He takes a long sip of tea before clinking the cup down on the coffee table. “Okay. Let’s say you’re a tree.”

“I’m a tree.” Zayn smirks. The corner of Niall’s mouth crooks into a quick smile and he carries on.

“So like, when you’re a tree you have this stuff called sap, right? And say there was a bunch of bugs that were trying to eat all the leaves, and they’re climbing up the trunk, but the tree lets out some of its sap and it traps the bugs and saves the tree from being eaten. So the tree can use sap to do things that protect itself. But if the tree loses too much sap then it’s… really not good for the tree. Cos it’s a bit like blood, it helps the tree on the inside. And magic is a lot like that. We call it folksap, actually. If you use too much of it at once, it’s hard on your body.”

“How much is too much?”

“Uh… I dunno, it all sort of varies? We don’t really test it too much. Maybe you wanted to like, get one carrot to pluck itself out of the ground for you. You probably wouldn’t feel it at all. But try that with a whole field all at once and you’d probably get a bit of dizziness or a headache. If it was a really, really big field, like a whole forest of carrots, you might even pass out. But as far as limits go, it’s kind of impossible to end a life with folksap. I mean like, swat a mosquito or something maybe, cos you can easily swat it without magic, but go after something like you, or bigger than you? Think you’d probably die trying. And if a life’s already over, well, don’t think there’s anything you can do to reverse that. Really big, powerful magic like that, it drains a lot out of you and makes you weak and if you’re not careful it can even kill you, too.”

Zayn gulps, turning a bit green.

“But uh, anyways, you can replenish it pretty easily!” Niall quickly carries on. “Like, sleeping is a huge thing. If you don’t take a rest after using magic for too long, then your body shuts itself down to rest.”

“Kind of like it does normally, if you don’t get enough sleep?” Zayn asks.

“Right, exactly! Just looking after yourself in general is basically all there is to it, like drink some water, have a snack, hang out with someone you like, even take a bubble bath. Just anything that makes you feel better as a person, basically? Not just physically, but mentally as well.”

“But what if you’re not doing so good in one of those areas?”

“Well, the way it works with everyone is kind of individual to them. Like it’ll work best on whatever your strengths are, stuff that’s the most significant to you.” He stretches his hands behind his head until there’s a satisfying crack. “Which is the same with using it, too. Like, okay don’t laugh, but the first time I tried Oreo ice cream is one of my easiest memories to summon a spell with.”

Zayn presses their lips together, fighting back a smile, but they don’t laugh. “Does it, folksap, does it always look like something? When you use it?”

“Oh, no, you don’t even need to use a memory or whatever to use it once you get the hang of it. Memories and emotions tend to be pretty powerful to draw from but like I said, it works differently for everyone. It can manifest as something you can see, like a specific shape, or a flash of light or colour. You can make it as invisible as a gust of wind, too. Generally speaking, the more powerful a spell, the more visible it is, if that makes sense?”

Zayn shrugs. “I dunno, sorta?”

Abstractly, they suppose it does, as if Niall just told them a story and asked if they understand what’s going on with the plot. They’re following along well enough, it just doesn’t feel like it’s a story about Zayn, is the thing. It’s just a story.

“With um, the fish, why did you make me think of that? Like, how did it work for me?”

“Well, I remembered you’ve always been really close to your family and animals make you happy, too, so I thought something related to that would work as a good demonstration. Just something nice and gentle, you know? Cos fear or anger based spells are really powerful, too, but they tend to be kind of freaky to see and I didn’t want to scare you. And I didn’t want it to be so much it would wear you out. Although a lot depends on what your intent is with it, like if a spell is malicious, it might be really harsh on the user. I dunno, like, folksap is a part of us, so the way it works is like, reflective on who you are as a being. How it manifests itself, how we gather sources of energy, from inside ourselves, from others. It works different for everyone; we all have different strengths and weaknesses, but the more we know ourselves, the better our folksap works.”

“Sorry, I know that’s all kind of vague. I’ve never really done this before,” Niall scrubs a hand through his messy hair and gets a finger caught in a tangle for a moment before he yanks it free, tugging loose a couple twigs as well that tumble onto the couch. Zayn makes a mental note to do a bit of vacuuming before Harry gets back.

“I’m just so used to living with it all my life,” Niall continues. “So it’s kind of hard to explain to someone who isn’t.” He sighs, and tilts his head to the side to look at Zayn, as though that might help him figure it out. “Except you did, Zayn. You used to know all about this stuff. When we were learning new spells together, you were usually the fast learner, getting the hang of things before I did. You were really good.” He pauses. “I don’t know what happened.”

It’s been bothering Zayn, too. They’ve got a feeling that’s been growing all afternoon, that they have heard about these things before because none of it feels as surprising as it should be. It’s like blanking on an exam question on a topic they know they read about. The answer’s in their head somewhere, they had it at one point, they just haven’t found it again yet.

“But like, how could I forget something like this? This folksap stuff is pretty wicked!”

“I dunno, I sorta had the feeling something might’ve happened after I left, but I’m not sure. Although,” Niall shifts in his seat, tucks his toes underneath him. “You did get it from your dad’s side of the family, so maybe he knows how you lost it?”

“My dad’s magic?"

"Well, yeah..."

“Okay, um.” That thought will take some getting used to. “I’ll call him later and ask, I think he’s still at work right now.” Zayn pulls their phone out of their hoodie pocket and fires out a text to call them when they get the chance. That’ll be an interesting conversation. ‘Sup Baba, mind telling me why I’ve forgotten that I apparently have magic?

“Good plan,” Niall agrees and slurps the last of his tea. They’re out of biscuits now and Niall looks half tempted to start on the plate as well.

“You still hungry?”

Niall’s stomach gurgles before he can say anything and he chuckles, pressing a hand over his belly.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m always really hungry when I move through the realms, and I haven’t been outside the Fae realm in ages. I’ll tell you more about that later, but I think you’ve had enough of my yammering for one day.” He looks to Zayn for confirmation.

“S’all good.” Zayn stands up and brushes the crumbs off their lap and onto the floor. It's fine, they already planned on vacuuming. “Give me a minute to clean up a bit and I’ll make some sandwiches.”

“Could I… take a shower while you do that?” Niall asks, handing over his dishes.

“Yeah, I was just about to ask if you wanted one actually.” Niall glances down at his bare feet and Zayn has the feeling he already knew that.

“Here, I’ll show you how it works and grab some clean clothes for you. Anything you like?”

Niall shrugs and gets up to follow them. “Just something warm and comfy.”

Zayn leads Niall to the bathroom, turns the hot water for him, and leaves him to it. While Niall showers, they busy themself by tidying up and fixing a plate of sandwiches.

When Niall returns, he’s dressed in one of Harry’s hoodies (“It’s just like getting a snuggle!” Niall exclaims as he pulls it over his head), Zayn’s sweatpants, and socks that could belong to either one of them.

Zayn’s phone rings just as they’re about to sit down to eat. Zayn holds up a finger to wait as Niall’s about to take a bite of sandwich.

“It’s my dad.”

“Well, I’ll definitely be needing food for this conversation,” Niall mutters and stuffs the whole sandwich into his mouth.

Zayn answers the call. “Baba?”

“Hey, kiddo, what’s up?”

“Do you, um, know anything about,” Zayn bites their lip and Niall gives them a thumbs up. Right, just go for it, they figure. “About magic? And faeries? About… me being that?”

There’s a cough at the other end of the line before Yaser speaks up again, “How did you hear about that?” He doesn’t even bother trying to deny any of it, and if Zayn wasn’t already convinced this was real, that would’ve done it.

“A little birdy by the name of Niall flew in the window this morning and told me.”

“Niall!” Yaser chuckles, and Zayn can picture him shaking his head in disbelief. “It’s certainly been awhile.”

“Yeah, that’s what he said. I believe him, but I can’t remember any of it. He said you could clear it up?”

Zayn hears the squeaking of a chair as Yaser sits down. “Well, we used to be neighbours, our family and Niall’s. The two of you were inseparable. But then some of the neighbours saw Niall flying one day, and his family decided to move back to the Fae Realm. We were terrified that they’d find out about you, too, so we decided you weren’t to use magic until you were older. But you were so upset when Niall left and you knew he wasn’t coming back, you accidentally cast a spell on yourself and forgot him. It was so strong you forgot about magic, too.”

“What?” This day was getting weirder and weirder. The most interesting thing Zayn had planned to do today was put in a load of laundry, and even that might’ve been pushing it. “Why didn’t you stop me?”

“I couldn’t, Zayn,” Yaser sounds pained and Zayn wishes they could hug him. “You had to want to undo the spell yourself, and when I tried to bring it up, you just shook your head and told me magic didn’t exist and your friend was imaginary. I didn’t want to make it any harder for you by forcing you to remember things that would never happen again, so we stopped talking about it and let you grow up without it. I’m sorry Zayn, it was… a very hard choice for us. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but we really couldn’t do anything for you.”

“I, it’s okay, Baba. But - I want to undo it now, I think. Is there a way to reverse it?” Zayn asks. It’s a lot to take in but they’re sure they can handle it. Pretty sure.

Yaser is quiet for a moment. “Yes, I think I can help you with it. But are you sure you want to know, Zayn?”

Fuck, okay. Zayn considers it. “Yes.”

“Alright,” Yaser replies. There’s a buzzing sensation through the phone, like an electric shock. and just like that, Zayn remembers.

They remember raising chubby little toddler fists to grab at the tiny beads of light their baba would juggle over their head when they were crying or couldn’t sleep. They remember weeding in the garden and accidentally pulling out their ammi’s favourite hydrangea bush. Zayn felt so guilty that they sat down in the dirt crying before going in to tell her what they’d done. She gave Zayn a hug and led them back outside to see if the bush could be salvaged, only to find three more bushes had risen out of the ground where Zayn’s tears had fallen.

But most of all, they remember Niall. They remember visits with his family, the soft kindness of Niall’s da and the warm friendliness of his mum. Zayn remembers following Niall up a tiny staircase, so steep they almost crawled up it, until they reached his bedroom in the attic. Niall always said he wanted a skylight over his bed so he could watch the night sky. Even though Zayn didn’t celebrate Christmas, they bought Niall a present for one; a little package of glow-in-the-dark stars and planets.

When Zayn stayed the night, the two of them could lay back on the pillows and gaze at the little glow-in-dark space stickers Niall put up over his bed and how they took turns making the planets spin and the stars fly across his ceiling.

They remember the sharp anger and grief when they found out Niall and his parents had moved away in the middle of the night, never to return again. Zayn didn’t even get to say goodbye properly, not really. Just a sad glimpse of Niall’s face over his father’s shoulders as he was carried away. Zayn couldn’t believe it at first, was certain that at any moment they’d hear Niall laughing again. But moments turned into hours and days and weeks until Zayn realized he wasn’t going to come back to them after all, that Niall was gone and with him, all the fun of magic.

Zayn felt like they’d lost a part of themself without Niall, and the part of their chest where he belonged was achingly empty.

Zayn had never even considered the possibility of being torn away from their best friend, not ever, and definitely not so soon. Being such a young kid, Zayn didn’t think they could ever get over his absence.

They were sitting on their bed, wrapped up in blankets and staring out their window at the stars. Niall loved the view from Zayn’s bedroom, he said so almost every time he came over, even if it was just a wistful sigh. Still, Zayn would’ve taken the fluorescent green stickers with Niall by their side any day over watching the whole sky by themself. Scrunching their eyes shut and cuddling themself as tightly as they could didn’t stop the tears and Zayn found themself wishing that somehow they could forget Niall and magic so it would stop hurting.

Magic couldn’t bring Niall back, it was because of magic that he had to leave, without so much as a goodbye.
They didn’t mean to make a spell out of it, but it happened anyways. It was the last spell Zayn would ever cast, for a very long time.

“Holy shit,” Zayn gasps, back in the present.

They reach out to catch their weight on the back of the sofa to keep from sinking to the floor. Niall snatches up the phone just before it lands on the floor.

“Zayn just needs a minute to process all of it,” he explains to Yaser and Zayn nods weakly, ducks their head down to try and blot out everything else.

Niall touches their shoulder and eases them into a chair. He doesn’t pull his arm away, and the onslaught of memories gradually start to feel more bearable. Zayn lets out a breath and it feels like everything’s slotting nicely into place, as though they just rearranged a bookshelf so that everything would fit better.

“Zayn? You still there?”

Niall hands the phone down to Zayn and there’s scarcely a tremble in their fingertips when they bring it up to their ear. “Hey, yeah I’m still here. It’s weird, but I think I can handle it.”

Yaser sighs in relief. “I sure wasn’t planning on having this talk with you when I woke up this morning.”

“You and me both.” There’s muffled voices on the other side of the line for a moment before Yaser’s voice returns.

“Sorry, Zayn, I’ve got to head back to work, but we’ll talk again soon. I’ll pass this on to your Ammi and we can clear up more of this stuff later, yeah?”

“Sure, thanks Baba, love you.”

“Love you, too, Zayn. Give my best to your friends. Oh, and Niall?”

Zayn passes over the phone to Niall, still hovering above the chair and he startles at being included in the conversation. “Er, yes sir?

“You’d better look after them.” His voice rings clear through the whole room. Zayn’s never heard their dad sound so stern in their life.

Niall nods furiously, as if Yaser is standing in front of him and not a voice on a line. “Of course.”

The call ends and Niall puts the phone down on the coffee table.

“You sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, ‘m good.” Zayn shakes their shoulders out, craving something mundane. Their mind goes to laundry. “Here, help me gather up all the dirty clothes,” They get to their feet steadily and beckon Niall towards Harry’s room. “We can throw in your kit as well.”

Zayn pulls Harry’s hamper out of the closet, half full already, and moves around the room gathering discarded articles of clothing. It takes them a full minute to realize Niall isn’t with them and they turn in surprise to find him hanging in the doorway, nibbling his finger nails.

“Niall?” Zayn calls and he startles, takes a step back out of the room. “Something wrong?”

“I just, um.” It takes a moment before he looks at Zayn. “I’m really sorry that you went through all that, because of me. I always sort of worried how much I hurt you, but I never knew for sure till your baba said it.”

“Hey, no,” Zayn dumps the pile of clothing on the bed and goes over to him, gently pulling his hand away from his mouth. “You never left me on purpose! It wasn’t your fault. I was a kid, like, it’s okay.”

The Niall they used to know was never easily thrown off by anything, and it unsettles Zayn to see him so bothered by something like this, wonders how long it’s been eating away at him.

“It’s not your fault,” Zayn repeats.

They remember something else from when they were little, something important and they reach out a hand to Niall’s chest. He raises an eyebrow but doesn’t move. Zayn pokes their index finger to each of Niall’s nipples and then his bellybutton.

“Beep, beep, boop,” they whisper.

Niall’s mouth widens in a delighted ‘O’ and he quickly returns the gesture.

“Zayn…” His smile is threatening to spread wings and fly off of his face, but they both seem lost for words, so Zayn snags Niall by the elbows and pulls him into a snug hug. Niall’s shaking a little bit and for a moment Zayn wonders if the close contact’s too much for him, but Niall clutches his fingers in the back of Zayn’s shirt before they can so much as move.

“You do remember me,” Niall finally gasps out, muffled into Zayn’s shoulder. Zayn can only nod, tightening their grip around his shoulders.

It’ll all be better now, Zayn thinks.

Laundry turns out to be a great idea, and they catch up on their years apart over heaps of dirty clothing.

It’s only as they’re loading up the washing machine that Zayn notices the wings stretching out from Niall’s back. They’re long and translucent, a bit like a dragonfly’s. One of them twitches and it shimmers electric blue.

“Hey, um, your wings are showing.” Niall looks over his shoulder and they flutter.

“Sorry, just giving them a bit of a stretch,” He glances down at the balled up sock he’s uncoiling. “It’s a bit uncomfortable keeping them tucked away for so long, but I can hide them again if you want?”

“No, it’s okay, I don’t mind. Could anyone else see them right now?”

Niall shakes his head. “Nah, not unless you believe I’m a faerie. Fae things doesn’t really show up in the mundane realm very well. Everything looks a little more...subdued here.”

“How are they, uh, phasing through your shirt?” There’s no tearing in the shirt, the wings are just sprouting through the fabric as if it wasn’t there.

“I’ve got a bit of a shroud on them right now, keeps them from interacting with the mundane. Otherwise I’d wreck your shirt. They also can’t be detected by any human-made device so I could walk through an x-ray right now and they wouldn’t think there’s anything out of the ordinary about me.”

“That’s cool.” Zayn has a hard time looking away from the wings now. They’re not all that visible in this light, the edges like specks of dust caught in a sunbeam.

“Did you, um.” Niall bites his lip, “Did you want to touch them?”

“Er, can I? I don’t want to like, wreck them.”

“You won’t, they’re a lot stronger than they look.”

Niall turns his back to Zayn and they slowly reach out. The wings are softer than Zayn thought they’d be, not quite feathery exactly, but close. Up close, Zayn can see they’re covered in scales.

“They’re lovely, Niall.” One of the wings brushes up against their cheek and Zayn hums.

“I always wanted to show them to you,” Niall sighs wistfully. “Back when we were kids. I wanted to show you I could fly with them. That’s why I was practising in broad daylight like a fucking idiot and ruined everything.” His hands clench into fists at his sides and his wings rustle, clearly agitated.

“Niall.” Zayn warns.

“I wanted to send you letters…” He trails off. “But my Da said I couldn’t do anything else that would put you in danger.” There’s a lot of bitterness around ‘else’, and Zayn pushes their fingertips through Niall’s hair.

“C’mon, enough of that.”

"Sorry,” Niall exhales and relaxes into their touch, “It’s been a long day.”

“Tell me about it.” That gets a tiny smile out of Niall, which is all Zayn could ask for, really.

After they’re done with the laundry, Niall offers to make dinner and Zayn shows him around the kitchen.

“You can go have a nap or something while I do this if you want? I think I’ll make spaghetti.” Niall yanks a pot out of the cupboard with a clatter and the lid rolls out across the floor.

“Er, are you sure?” Zayn’s eyes follow the lid circling around the kitchen as Niall runs after it.

“Yeah, you must be pretty sleepy.” Niall huffs, snatching up the lid triumphantly. “Gotcha!”

Zayn is sleepy, but they’re not sure if it’s a good idea to leave Niall alone in the same room as a gas oven. “Are um, the kitchens very different back where you come from?”

Niall chuckles, filling up the pot with water. “Nah, not really. We’re not totally cut off from everything in this realm, like we do have internet and stuff, so I know how most things work. Plus, I have been cooking for myself since I was really little, back when I was here.” He sets the pot on the stove to boil and ducks into the pantry for a can of tomato. “I got this, won’t burn down the building or anything, I promise.” He winks.

“Alright, wake me if you need anything, though.” Niall salutes them over his shoulder. Zayn mozies into the living and flops into the couch cushions. They drift off almost immediately.

When they wake up again, the light outside has dimmed and the doorbell is ringing.

“Should I answer it?” Niall calls from the kitchen.

“Nah, I got it.” Zayn yawns and pulls themself up off the couch. “That’ll be Harry,” they explain to Niall as they pass through the kitchen. “Forgot his key again.”

“Zaynnnn,” Harry whines instead of greeting them. “You never texted me about the bird!”

“Oh, right, sorry.” Shit.

“Well, how is it?” Harry starts to unwrap his long scarf, which makes him twirl around on the spot. Zayn chuckles, catching him by the elbows before he ends up on the floor.

“It, uh, it got better and flew away.” Zayn can’t very well tell him that the bird was actually a faerie in disguise.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Harry flings his arms around Zayn’s shoulders and yawns into their ear. “I mean,” He clarifies, tired brain catching up to his words. “I’m glad it’s not hurt of course, I just wanted to see it again.”

“I know what you meant, Haz,” Zayn assures him, patting his head. “C’mere, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Ooh, really? I wasn’t expecting guests.” Harry remarks, snuffling into Zayn’s shoulder as they shuffle back into the kitchen.

“Yeah, bit of a surprise for me, too.” Zayn smiles to themself. That’s putting it lightly. “Harry, this is Niall; Niall, this is Harry.”

“Hey,” Niall waves awkwardly, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Niall,” Harry smiles, peeling away from Zayn to greet him. “What are your pronouns?”

“He/him; and yours?”

“Same as you.”

Harry’s nostrils flare suddenly as he catches a whiff of the spaghetti sauce bubbling on the stove.

“Aw, you made us dinner? Thought it was my turn tonight,” Harry turns to Zayn with a questioning hum.

“Niall insisted, he’s going to be staying with us for a while- if, er, that’s okay, right? He’s an old friend of mine, just needs somewhere to stay for a bit.” Zayn scratches the back of their head, hoping Harry won’t ask too many questions they won’t be able to answer.

“Oh, yeah, totally!” Harry turns his attention back on Niall with a bright smile, “Hey, can I hug you?”

“Go for it,” Niall chuckles.

Harry does, scooping his arms around Niall and patting him gently on the back. Niall giggles, finding himself pulled up on his tiptoes before Harry pulls away.

“That was a really good hug,” Harry informs him sincerely and Niall smiles, shrugging his shoulders in thanks as he turns back to stir the sauce.

“Anything I can do to help?” Harry asks, leaning over Niall’s shoulder and dipping a spoon in the pot.

Niall can’t think of anything else that needs doing, and he’s about to say so when Harry declares he’s going to make a salad.

“Seriously?” Niall turns all the way around to explain that he already put like, three whole vegetables in the sauce already, so there’s really no need for a salad. Harry’s in the middle of licking his spoon and apparently he didn’t wait long enough for the sauce to cool down because he yelps, darting over to the sink to stick his tongue under the faucet.

“Anyone want a drink?” Zayn asks, and Harry nods, bobbing his head so enthusiastically he gets water in his face and stands up sputtering. Niall laughs and hands him a dish towel.

“Also, yes, drink for me, too!” Niall adds, still giggling at Harry. Harry turns to him and shakes, pelting Niall with a shower of cold water.

“Oi, watch it, two can play at that!” Niall hollers, holding up one hand to shield himself while he reaches for the removable nozzle in the sink.

Zayn ducks into the fridge and avoids all but a drop of the spray. It’s nice though, seeing them getting on so…much already. They pull out Harry’s bottle of Moscato and hover over a case of beer.

“You want beer or wine or something else, Niall?” Zayn asks, peering cautiously over the fridge door, relieved to see a truce has been called and the kitchen is no longer a battle zone.

“Beer, please!”

Zayn pulls out a beer and pours two glasses of Harry’s favourite dessert wine. They hate to admit it, but it has been growing on them. Harry says it’s his mother’s favourite and she used to give him little sips from her glass sometimes when he was little, which made him feel very grown up. That says a lot about Harry, really.

Niall cracks open his beer and continues on about how unnecessary the salad is. Harry pauses in the middle of ripping the lettuce apart and gives him a look so withering it’s a wonder the lettuce doesn’t wilt. Zayn smiles quietly into their own drink as they watch the two of them, feeling pleasantly warm in a way that has nothing to do with the heat of the stove.

“Wait, did you clean the kitchen too, Niall?” Harry peers around himself at the wide expanse of elbow room at the counter. “There was a stack of dirty dishes bigger than me here when I left this morning.”

“Oh, yeah, I did.” Niall shrugs as he loads up his plate. “Wasn’t a big deal, just made the space easier to work in, y’know?”

“You make dinner and clean up after yourself?” Harry shakes his head in wonder. “You make a better flatmate than my actual flatmate.”

“Go eat a sock Harry,” Zayn grumbles, setting the table. “I help.” They set down Harry’s fork with a particularly loud clatter on the word ‘help’.

“Yes, that’s true,” Harry admits, picking up the salad and setting it in the middle of the table. “You’re a very pretty person to have around.”

“Excuse you,"Zayn scoffs, "You’re gorgeous!”

“Says the person who wins beauty contests without even entering them.”

“That was one time! Besides, you weren’t even there, I bet you wouldn’t have made it through the front door before they pinned first prize on you.”

Harry rolls his eyes. “I’m sorry, but have you ever looked in a mirror?”

“Oh my god,” Niall mutters to himself as he sits down. This is the most ridiculous argument he’s ever had to listen to, and he’s overheard river goblins arguing over which side of the riverbank grew the best toadstools. When Harry starts waxing poetic about Zayn’s eyelashes, Niall’s had enough. “Alright, we get it! Zayn thinks Harry’s hot, Harry thinks Zayn’s hot. You both have the hots, so can we please eat now?”

Harry freezes mid-sentence, leaving his mouth wide open for several seconds. Zayn shakes their head fondly at him before they take their seat. Niall thinks he glimpses a burning shade of red make its way up into Harry’s cheeks but he shakes his curls over his face and ducks down into his seat. It could be just the lighting, Niall figures.

Either way, Harry recovers pretty quickly and makes a big show about making sure everyone has a big helping of his salad. Niall’s first instinct is to recoil from his plate when Harry dumps a mountain of strange greens all over Niall’s spaghetti. But he is their guest, so he must abide by their customs, however strange and unusual they may seem.

“It’s really healthy,” Harry boasts, “I bet you can’t even tell I snuck in 5 different types of seaweed.”

Niall isn’t sure why he’d brag about that in the first place. He’s pretty sure seaweed belongs in the sea, not on your plate. By the look of bewilderment Zayn’s giving Harry, Niall’s pretty sure they agree.

“Good stuff,” Harry carries on, piling the salad onto his own plate, looking pleased. He’s either oblivious to their glances or very good at ignoring them.

Zayn’s phone goes off, then.

“Sorry, I gotta take this; it’s work,” Zayn calls over their shoulder, slipping out of the room. “Just go ahead without me.”

“This is great spaghetti Niall,” Harry says after a minute when Niall thinks they might lapse into an awkward silence. “Where did you learn to cook?”

“I’m mostly self-taught, but my Da’s shown me a lot.”

“Ah, you’re Irish then?”

“Yeah, accent didn’t give me away?”

“Eh,” Harry shrugs. “Perhaps. You sound a bit like Zayn, actually.”

“Well, we were childhood besties, so that makes sense.”

“I’m surprised I never heard of you before,” Harry admits. “Not that Zayn has to tell me everything about their life or anything, but like, they kind of do.”

“We sort of... lost contact with each other for a bit.” Niall catches himself nibbling at the tip of one of his nails and tries to feign nonchalance when he picks up his fork again.

“That sucks.”

“Yeah, it did.” Niall stabs a meatball with enough force that his fork clinks against the plate underneath. He knows Zayn said they didn’t blame him for all that, but it’s still hard to think about.

“Hey, sorry about that.” Zayn slips back into their seat with a sigh. “Looks like I’m working a double shift tomorrow. Asami’s got the flu so I’m taking the morning shift.”

“Oh, no,” Harry says, then, “Oh, no, Zayn! You said you’d help me set up tomorrow!”

“Ah yeah, sorry. But you can probably manage on your own this time though, yeah? You know I’m really shite at baking, anyways,” Zayn chuckles.

Harry looks distraught.

“What’s going on?” Niall breaks in.

“Harry’s hosting his monthly book club here tomorrow and the host has to bake a bunch of treats for everyone.”

“Oh. I could help, Harry, if you like?” Niall offers. “I’ll be here anyways so just, y’know, tell me what to do and I’ll do my best.”

Zayn mouths a ‘thanks’ to Niall before digging back into their spaghetti. Harry watches them as their head ducks down and for a moment Niall thinks he looks almost, disappointed, maybe? He quickly shakes out of it when he notices Niall watching and flashes him a smile.

“Thank you, Niall, that’d be wonderful.” Harry says, and it sounds very sincere. “For a minute there I was thinking I was going to have to ring up Louis to help out.” He shakes his head and Zayn giggles. “We love her but she’s a bit of a mess in the kitchen.”

“Is she a friend of yours?” Niall asks through a mouthful of meat ball. Harry makes a disgusted face at his lack of manners, but Niall appears not to notice.

“Yeah, a very good friend,” Zayn explains, coughing when they catch a glimpse of Harry’s face. “You’ll meet her soon enough, I’m sure.”

“We should invite them over sometime soon,” Harry suggests, wielding a skewered forkful of salad. “Her and Liam. So they can meet Niall.”

“Yeah, that’d be sick. You’ll like them Niall, they’re lovelies, the both of them.”

Harry nods and chews slowly on his salad for a moment. He probably thinks he’s doing a good show of how polite people eat with their mouths closed, but Niall thinks he just looks like a cow chewing cud.

After dinner, Zayn pulls out the futon in the living room for Niall to sleep on. Niall helps set it up and Zayn cautiously broaches a topic that’s been at the back of their head all day.

“Hey Niall, not that it isn’t great to see you, cos, y’know, obviously it is, but I was wondering why you’re here, exactly?”

“Oh, I had, um. I got into a bit of trouble in the other realm and I had to leave for a while.”

He’s biting his lip and there’s clearly more to it, but Zayn leaves it at that. It isn’t really their business anyways.

“Is it, is it really alright if I stay here?” Niall asks quietly, “I don’t want to put you out.”

“You’re not putting us out,” Zayn reassures him, “We’re more than happy to have you.”

“By the way,” Niall adds as Zayn tucks him in under a spare comforter, “I can totally help out with rent, too. I have savings here.”

In the fae realm, folks use a trade and bartering system, but when Niall lived here his parents set up a savings account for the family to use if they ever came back, with cards that will only appear on their person when they need them. If Niall was all by himself, he could probably live off of it for a year or so before he’d have to get a job, not that he plans on sticking around for that long, but still. It’s comforting to know he can fall back on that if he needs to.

“Alright, we’ll work that out later if we need to.”

Zayn’s halfway back to their room when they realize they forgot to offer Niall a pillow. They go back to the living room, but find him already fast asleep and snoring lightly. Zayn smiles and reaches down to brush the hair out of his eyes. “I’m really glad I got to see you again,” Zayn whispers, and a wisp of hair catches around their finger as if it has a mind of its own.
“Goodnight, Niall.”

The next morning Niall wakes up to Harry yanking the blankets off of him. “Up and at ‘em, we’re baking!”

“What, it’s,” Niall protests, covering his face. “The sun’s not even up yet!”

“Early bird gets the worm, my friend.” Harry shakes his shoulder once more before bouncing to his feet and out of the room. “C’mon, I’ll make you tea.”

Groaning, Niall gets up and shuffles into the kitchen. Harry’s already stirring a bowl of something and Niall pauses to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes. For a second there, he could’ve sworn Harry was nude. Niall opens his eyes again and frowns. Something still isn’t quite matching up.

“I’m wearing boxers,” Harry chuckles, easily interpreting Niall’s silence without turning around. “I enjoy spending as much of my time unclothed as possible,” he explains. “It’s very freeing.”

“Mm, alright.” Niall shucks off his shirt and comes to stand next to Harry. Harry glances him over and grins, clearly pleased. He bumps their shoulders together in a sign of camaraderie in casual nudity.

“Your tea’s over there, by the way, wasn’t sure how you like it.”

“Cheers.” Niall adds three scoops of sugar. He looks up to see Harry squinting at his waistline.

“Something the matter? Do I have to take off the joggers too?”

“No, no, sorry. I think we have the same boxers is all,” Harry explains, turning away. “It’s just weird cos I don’t imagine too many people have banana print pants.”

“Oh, huh, funny coincidence, that.” Niall yanks the joggers a bit higher up on his waist and hopes Harry doesn’t realize they are, in fact, his. “So, what’s on the menu today?”

The morning passes quickly and they turn out to be a pretty good team. Harry’s a bit of an oddball, but then, so is Niall, really.

There is something that keeps slipping back into his head, how Harry looked almost upset when Niall offered to help out instead of Zayn. It must show on his face, because Harry nudges him.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Harry asks, puffing a stray curl out of his face.

“You just, I dunno, you seemed a little disappointed when I said I could help you last night.”

“Oh, no, Niall, it had nothing to do with you, sorry! I’m glad you’re helping, seriously! You’re doing a splendid job, I was only... really looking forward to baking with Zayn, is all.”

“Thought Zayn wasn’t very good with baking?”

Harry chuckles, “No, they aren’t. I guess they have to be less-than-great at something.” He wrinkles his nose in annoyance as the curl slips back over his face again. His hands are covered in batter, so Niall reaches out and tucks it behind his ear for him. “Thanks. But yeah, even so, I rather enjoy their company.”

“Huh,” Niall steeples his fingers under his chin and leans toward Harry, “You really like Zayn don’t you?”

“Well, yeah,” Harry doesn’t meet his eyes. “Of course I like Zayn. They’re just pretty, aren’t they?”

Niall chuckles, and goes back to rolling out more dough. “Course, but I get the feeling you don’t just like them for their uh, aesthetic.” He read that word on the net recently and hopes he got the definition right.

Harry rolls his eyes. “I think that’d be more like acethetic.”

“Huh?”

“Ace-thetic. Cos, y’know, we’re both…” He tilts his head towards a framed picture of him and Zayn at a party. They’re leaning close together and waving around two little flags striped with black, grey, white and purple. Niall smiles as he notices another flag about to fall out of Zayn’s quiff; it looks a bit similar but with a yellow stripe as well.

“Oh, right yeah. Ugh, Zayn warned me about that.”

Harry tilts his head and if his hair wasn’t up in a bun at the moment, the scones would no doubt be filled with it. “About what?”

“You, telling jokes.”

Harry scoffs, and turns back to stirring vigorously. “Zayn loves my jokes, I’ll have you know, Niall. I’m probably the funniest person they know.”

“Eh, I seriously doubt that.”

"Don't be rude." Harry tuts, holding out the spatula like a reprimanding finger; Niall just reaches out and licks it.

“Yech,” Harry grimaces and shoves the spatula under the tap. “I don’t know what’s grosser; the fact that you licked the spatula I’m still using, or the fact that the mix is literally just eggs and flour right now.”

Niall shrugs and leans against the counter again. His eyes catch the framed picture again and he squints. It’s not a particularly good picture, in Niall’s opinion. It’s a bit blurry, and Harry’s eyes are demonic red from the camera flash, but it clearly meant a lot to frame it.

“What’s the story behind that picture?” he asks.

“That was at Pride a couple years ago,” Harry smiles, and reaches out to wipe away a speck of dust from the frame with the back of his hand. “We’d only talked, like, a couple of times before that cos we had several friends in common. And then we literally ran into each other. God, I was so tipsy, it’s a miracle I didn’t drop the camera, actually. We both had to hold it to get that picture, so we were basically like, holding hands.” Harry looks so caught up in his memories, it’s like he’s barely in the room anymore.

“So we were bonding over our ace-ness for a bit, as you do, and then Zayn lost track of their friends and their phone died, so I invited them back to mine to charge it up, cos I lived nearby and we just, like. Talked for the rest of the night. And then they never really left after that? My old roommate happened to be moving out and Zayn was looking for a new place, so it kind of worked out perfectly.”

Harry’s dimples pop out as he says perfectly and he ducks his head, quickly turns back to stirring again. Niall still caught a glimpse of the tell-tale flush in Harry’s cheeks, but he just smiles quietly to himself and doesn’t let on that he’s about 99.9% sure Harry has a crush on Zayn.

The doorbell rings just as they’re pulling the last tray of goodies out of the oven.

“Shit, they’re early,” Harry yelps, setting down the tray and tossing Niall his shirt all in one surprisingly graceful movement. Niall pulls the shirt over his head, catching a quick glimpse of Harry galloping off down the hall to throw some clothes on.

He hasn’t known Harry for very long, but somehow Niall isn’t all that surprised when he opens the door to greet a dozen elderly ladies, who excitedly clamour ‘Harry!’ when he appears over Niall’s shoulder a second later, fully clothed.

Niall gets introduced to all of them in a rush while he and Harry help them hang up their coats. They’re all wielding copies of Pride and Prejudice like Bibles and one of them seems to restrain herself from whacking Niall with hers when Harry mentions he’s never even picked it up. Niall hasn’t so much as heard of Jane Austen, much less read any of her works, which Harry seemed to take as a personal offence when Niall informed him of the fact earlier.

The ladies apologize for being so early and they all help with setting up the living room. Harry holds his copy of P&P over his heart as everyone settles down and he announces the start of the meeting.

Niall knows that he could actually sink into the wall, and temporarily sit amidst the flowers in the wallpaper where he’s squashed in the corner between Gladys and Lorraine. He also knows it would be a bad idea, and he contents himself with picking the raisins out of his scone and piling them on the side of his plate. He takes a bite out of a vegan muffin, which tastes far too much like old sawdust, and he spits it into his napkin as discreetly as possible. But overall, the snacks are quite edible and Niall focuses on that as he resigns himself to an afternoon of boredom.

The doorbell rings while the group is in the middle of a heated discussion on the motives of a ‘Mr. Darcy’ and Harry moves to get up.

“Oh no, I’ll get it.” Niall rushes to his feet and scoots past the ladies, glad for an excuse to get out of the room.

The doorbell rings three more times before he can make it through the kitchen and he opens the door halfway through a fifth.

On the other side of the door is a person about half a head shorter than Niall, wearing sneakers without socks, a grey Marvel t-shirt, an assortment of bracelets, and jorts that couldn’t possibly look so good on anyone else.

“It’s about bloody time, Zayn, I was just about to text you,” the visitor tuts, ducking her head into a faded denim rucksack to put away the phone. “I think the neighbours were starting to feel sorry for me, standing out here all on my ownsome-oh.” Her eyes, blue like forget-me-nots, grow wide as she looks up and takes in Niall, a stranger. “You’re not Zayn.”

“No, I’m Niall. Sorry, Zayn’s out right now.”

“Oh. Well, it’s nice to meet you Niall-sorry-Zayn’s-out-right-now.” A giggle bursts out of Niall like a hiccup before she continues, extending a hand. “I’m Louis.”

“Louis! Oh, Zayn and Harry have talked about you.” Her handshake is firm and very self-assured. Niall gets the feeling that she could deffo beat him in an arm-wrestling contest. “It’s really nice to meet you.”

“I’m sure they’ve been telling you nothing but terrible lies about me.” She grins, clearly pleased by the thought. “What are your pronouns?”

“Him/he.”

“Mine’s she/her. Is Harry home?”

“Yeah, he’s-”

Something crashes from inside the flat (Niall has already learned that, when in doubt, it’s probably Harry), which is swiftly followed by the concerned cooing of elderly ladies. Louis raises one eyebrow, like whatever’s happening is only mildly alarming.

“Harry’s having a book club thing in there,” Niall supplies helpfully, ducking his thumb over his shoulder. “Did you want to come in?”

“God, the old lady gathering?” Louis grimaces. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass actually. Where did you say Zayn was?"

“Got called into work, someone was sick.” Niall readjusts his grip on the door to hold it open more comfortably.

“Well, that sucks! I was hoping they could come shopping with me.” Tawny brown hair curls over her head like smoke and Louis flicks the fringe off her forehead with an irritated sigh. “I hate going shopping by myself.”

“Oh, I could go with you then?” Niall offers. Louis’ eyes snap up to his and he tacks on, “If you wanted, that is.”

He already likes her and he doesn’t want Louis’ day to be ruined if he can do something about it. Louis bites the inside of her cheek, considering, and doesn’t answer right away. Slight panic starts to bubble deep in Niall’s gut, that he was too bold, she was probably just complaining and not at all dropping a hint that she’d settle for his company. Louis doesn’t even know him, so why the hell would she want to go shopping with him? Honestly, he’s an arse for even suggesting it, and Niall almost wishes he was back in the living room, stuck between people he’ll probably never get to know, people who have nothing to expect from him.

“Sorry, I’m, you probably don’t, I should just…”

Louis holds up a finger, shushing him instantly. She flicks her eyes over him and Niall tries not to straighten his back too obviously. He barely knows her, they’ve hardly got more than a few minutes of conversation between the two of them, but Niall’s already got the impression that Louis’ approval is a very fine thing to have.

“You can tag along if you want,” she says at last, shrugging the rucksack a little higher up her shoulder. Niall grins like a dork, vaguely aware she probably thinks he’s ridiculous, but it’s fine.

“Great, that’s um, cool! I’ll be right back.” Niall jogs back inside to inform Harry of his whereabouts. He finds him standing in the kitchen, shirt unbuttoned down to his navel, and there’s marmalade all over his chest. Niall doesn’t ask.

“I’m gonna go hang out with Louis for a bit, if that’s alright?”

“Yeah, totally.” Niall turns to leave. “Oh, tell her we should all have dinner together this evening!”

“Yep!”

“You got any shoes there?” Louis asks, nodding down to Niall’s feet as he’s about to step through the door.

“Er.” Niall doesn’t, not usually, but he knows most people are supposed to have them, especially here. “They’re in the wash, I think?” He shrugs.

“Not a massive fan of wearing them myself,” Louis admits, scuffing the toe of her sneakers against the floor. “They are, however, very handy for getting around downtown, so I’m afraid you’ll need to improvise.” Niall glances around in the entryway and snatches up a pair of maroon boots that are probably Harry’s. They fit him rather nicely and he turns to Louis to see her nod of approval.

“Good, let’s be off then.”

The flat is just fifteen minutes from downtown. Louis keeps up a fairly steady commentary for most of the walk, and suggests they state some interesting facts about themselves to get to know each other. He learns Louis is allergic to cats but still wishes she had one, would not wear socks and sandals if you paid her, thinks French is a beautiful language and wants to be fluent in it, and she isn’t afraid of anything except perhaps adulthood, but only sometimes.

“Now your turn, what’s cool about you?”

Niall thinks for a moment but nothing suitable springs to mind. “I dunno.” He shrugs helplessly. “There isn’t really anything.”

“C’mon, I’m sure that’s not true. Just think.”

There are lots of things Niall knows about himself, interesting things that would no doubt make Louis’ jaw drop. Like the time he danced a jig on the head of a sleeping ogre for a barrel of whiskey. It was going fine and then the ogre woke up. Niall was so sure he was going to be dinner, but luckily the ogre wasn’t hungry. She said she didn’t really like the thought of eating faeries anyways, too bony. Niall apologized for disturbing her nap and told her about the bet. He offered to split the winnings with her if she let him go. She agreed and admitted she wouldn’t mind the company if he came back. They became good friends after that, and to this day, Gronk is the only one who’s ever been able to out-belch Niall.

There’s also the time he had tea and cake with a Death Cap sprite and lived to tell the tale, or that the day he learned to fly was the same day he had to leave the mundane realm. But Niall can’t bring any of it up, so he tells Louis he’s new in town, grew up in Ireland, is good at making new friends, and will do pretty much anything for a good drink.

“You’re staying with Zayn and Harry?” Louis asks.

“Yeah, um. Just till I figure out what to do next. I guess I’m sort of lost right now.”

Louis nods sympathetically. “I’ve been there, mate. You’ll figure it out though, promise.”

“I hope so.” Niall shrugs.

“In the meantime, suivez-moi, and I’ll show you around today.” She bumps their hips together and flashes him a soft smile when she catches his eye. “It’ll be fun, yeah?”

When the mall comes into viewing distance, Louis steers them down a side street to a tiny French bakery where she insists he try a Chocolate Profiterole.

“It’s like this special pastry that they fill with ice cream, right,” she says, illustrating her words with her hands as she talks. “And if you don't think that sounds good already, then they pour hot chocolate all over it.”

“Honestly, you had me at chocolate.”

They stop at a bank machine along the way and Niall pulls out his bank card out of his pocket, as if it had always been there.

The mall is two stories high and once they're inside, it’s hard for Niall not to look at everything in awe. He focuses instead on helping Louis tick off every item on her shopping list. Niall stops outside of a store called Yves Saint Laurent to admire one of the mannequins in the window.

“What?” Louis comes to stand next to him when she realizes he isn’t following her.

“I just, um. I left my last place in a bit of a rush and I didn’t. Bring any clothing with me.” It sounds silly to admit out loud, but Louis doesn’t tease him for it. Instead, she looks thoughtful.

“Well,” she says, “If you want to get some basics, this really isn’t the place. It’s overpriced, even for the mall. C’mon, I’ll show you where we go.”

They find bulk socks and pants at Tesco. Then Louis takes him to a thrift shop. They find some pretty unusual outfits, even by Niall’s standards, but by the end of it Niall walks away with a couple of bags, feeling pretty well set. Louis insisted they model some of the more ridiculous things, because “you have to” and snapped a few pictures on her phone.

She takes him to the park before they head back to the flat, and Niall says she’s the best tour guide he’s ever seen.

“I do try Niall,” she simpers. “Now, how do you fancy a hot dog for lunch?” Louis tilts her chin toward a vendor nearby.

“Sounds great.”

“You’re not like, vegan or gluten free or anything, are you?”

“No. I don’t even know what gluten is,” Niall admits.

“Oh, thank goodness.” She slings an arm over his shoulder and tugs him towards the vendor. “Harry hasn’t gotten to you, then. Don’t let him corrupt you!”

“I’ll try not to,” Niall says. “He can be quite persuasive, though.”

“So am I.” Louis winks before turning to get the vendor's attention. Niall thinks she’ll let go of him when the vendor turns to look at them, but her arm remains a light pressure around the back of his neck as she orders two of something called a “Smokie Supreme.” She only pulls away when she’s fumbling to get out her wallet and realizes it would be much easier to do with both hands.

They find a spot to sit under a fountain and tuck in to their food. A couple with a baby walk by and ask if they can take their picture. Niall hasn’t gotten as into his food as Louis has yet, so he gets up and takes their phone.

“Can I say hi to your baby?” Louis asks when they’re finished.

“Yes, of course! Her name is Kiandra.”

“Kiandra, hello!” Louis coos, leaning down and making faces. A tiny hand reaches out and swipes at the air in front of Louis’ nose. Louis offers her pinkie to the baby and the little fingers wraps around it. “Gosh, you’re a strong one aren’t you?”

“Yeah, good luck getting your hand back, baby girl’s pretty tough.” One of the parents shakes their head fondly.

“Or, well,” The other one adds. “We assume she’s a girl, but we won’t know for sure till she gets old enough to tell us herself.”

Louis shoots them a grin and shakes Kiandra’s hand before carefully pulling her pinkie away.

“Really nice to meet you,” she says, standing up.

“We’d best be off now. You folks have a good day, and thanks for the pictures!”

“You like kids?” Niall asks after the little family has left and the fond look on Louis’ face hasn’t faded a bit.

“Yes, very much so.” Her smile softens as she looks down and pulls at a loose thread on one of her bracelets. “I have four little sisters and my mum’s always worked a lot, so I ended up raising them quite a bit myself.”

“That’s sweet.” Niall can picture it, too. Louis seems to have the air of someone who’s been naturally good with kids her whole life. It’s a talent that Niall’s never really had. “I’ve got one brother quite a bit older than me, but I’ve got a little nephew now, Theo.”

“Aw, so you’re Uncle Niall!”

“S’more like Aunt Knee, the way he says it.”

Louis chuckles. “Well, Aunt Knee, we should probably be heading back now.”

“Yeah, I- oh! I just remembered, Harry said we should all have dinner together.”

“Oh yeah, tonight?”

Niall nods.

“Sure, I just need to pick up one more thing first.” She pulls out her phone and sends off a text. They finish their hot dogs before Louis gets a response and then they’re heading off towards the park exit.

They come across a dog whining at the edge of a pond where a Frisbee’s floating on the water. The water looks barely knee deep, so Louis stops and takes off her shoes.

“Here, Neil, hold these,” she says, pushing them into his chest before wading into the pond. The mud beneath her toes looks slippery and she almost loses her balance twice. Niall cheers her on, pitching his voice like a sports commentator as he narrates her journey. When she makes it back to the shore and tosses the Frisbee to the dog, Niall hollers, “Touchdown!”

“God,” Louis laughs, wiping her feet along the grass as she scoots over to him, “You’re really good at that, y’know?”

“Ah, thanks.” Niall feels absurdly pleased at the praise, and it feels like his grin stretches across either side of his face.

He hands Louis her shoes and she slips her foot halfway into one of them, before sticking out her tongue in disgust and kicking it off again.

“My toes are still too wet,” she explains, “So I’ve got to go barefoot for a bit.” Somehow Niall finds himself carrying her shoes again.

They follow the path once more. At some point Louis slips her arm around his and it’s all Niall can do not to shiver at the touch, because Louis’ skin is a bit cold from the pond, but he really, really doesn’t mind.

Up ahead, someone’s waving to them by the park entrance, and Louis’ hand slides down to wrap around Niall’s, making him run with her the rest of the way.

Louis breaks away from Niall then and leaps at the stranger in a manner that would startle anyone. But he barely even steps back as she crashes into him, just wraps an arm around her waist in a hug.

Louis wraps her arms around his neck and greets him with a kiss to the cheek before she hops down to the ground again. Niall realizes then that they’re probably together, which is fine, obviously, he just hadn’t realized Louis wasn’t single.

“Liam, come meet my friend, Niall. He’s new in town!” Niall feels warm all over at being called her friend so soon.

So this is Liam. He’s taller than the both of them, and stocky, with broad shoulders and even through his long-sleeved plaid shirt, Niall can tell he has a lot of muscle in his arms. Simply put, he looks strong, but not in a way that comes across as intimidating. More of a trustworthy, reliable sort of strength. His face is a mixture of warm and soft as he smiles at Niall.

“Well, a friend of Louis’ is a friend of mine.” Niall wonders if he’s allowed to hug Liam since he just called him friend and Niall hugs all his friends, or if he should stick to a handshake. Of course, because he can’t decide, he stands there doing nothing, and then he realizes that probably seems very rude and Liam probably thinks he’s very rude, which is terrible, and then Liam holds out his arms and Niall bolts into them without thinking.

“Really nice to meet you, too,” he informs Liam’s chest. Liam hugs him back after the slightest pause and Niall really, really hopes he was offering a hug, not just stretching.

The walk back to the flat is quite comfortable. It’s clear Liam and Louis have known each other for so long, they slip into synch without even meaning to. But they fit Niall into the conversation with ease and he’s surprised to find he doesn’t feel even remotely like a third wheel with them.

They get back to the flat to find Harry getting ready to leave.

“Oh, good you’re back! Hey!” He greets everyone. “So listen um, Gemma, my sister, called and she’s in town just for the night and she wanted me to take her out to dinner now-ish, and so I was wondering, would you be okay fending for yourselves? Zayn’ll be back later.”

Liam waves him off. “Go on, you never get to see Gemma.”

Louis doesn’t let him off quite so easily. “You’re a brat for cancelling out on your own plans.”

“I know, I’m really sorry.” Harry reaches past them to grab his coat.

“Y’know,” Louis continues, “Niall’s awfully lucky I like him, or he wouldn’t be getting any supper tonight.” Niall feels his cheeks heating up and he tries to cover it by stretching.

“Really? You’ll make dinner? Thank you so much, I owe you one, Lou!”

“Noted. Now, shoo.”

After Harry leaves, they still have a few hours to kill before Zayn gets back, so Louis suggests popcorn and Liam fiddles with Zayn’s flatscreen. They watch reruns of Brooklyn 99 and Niall learns that Louis gets very impatient whenever the program flips to commercial again.

“God, I wish my hair was that colour, so sick of just boring, blechy ol’ brown,” Niall whines, staring wistfully at the television as a person with platinum blonde hair waves around a bottle of shampoo in slow motion.

He feels eyes on him and realizes Liam and Louis are both glaring at him. Well, Louis is glaring, Liam’s just bunching up his eyebrows and appears to be mildly amused. He also realizes that they both have brown hair. Oh.

“Oh.” Niall looks down at the empty bowl of crumbs in his lap. “Well, would you look at that, it seems as though I’ve eaten all the popcorn! I’ll just…” He gestures towards the kitchen, chuckling nervously as he stands up and edges his way past them. Louis chucks a pillow at the back of his head and even though he half expects it, he still doesn’t dodge it in time and she hollers triumphantly while he ducks into the kitchen.

She joins him a few minutes later, where he’s twiddling his thumbs against the counter top, waiting for the microwave to finish with the popcorn. He tries to calm down the microwave-induced fascination on his face to a mild degree of disinterest when he notices her. As though he totally puts things in a rapid heating box all the time. Microwaves. They’re normal, boring really. It’s one thing to read about them on the internet, and another to see them in action.

“Hey Neil,” she says and he turns to face her, forgets all about the microwave when he sees the playful teasing in her eyes. “Y’know, if you really want to go blonde, I could probably do it for you.”

“Huh? You can change hair colour?” Niall asks, but he realizes that mustn’t be a good question to ask when the easy smile on Louis’ face freezes and her eyes narrow in confusion.

“Oh, I know all about it, I’m just messing with ya,” he scoffs before she can ask him anything, mentally adding human hair to the list of things he needs to read up on. Louis just tilts her head at him like she’s trying to figure him out and if anyone could, it probably would be Louis. Niall hopes she can’t see him sweating. Thankfully the microwave beeps then and Niall pulls the bag out so quickly it burns him and he yelps.

“Sheesh, careful with that!” Louis tuts, shooing him away as she dumps the bag into the bowl without a single mishap. Niall tries not to look impressed, but it’s really hard.

“Thanks,” he says instead, and moves to carry the bowl into the living room, but Louis tugs him towards the bathroom instead.

“Hey, where d’you think you’re taking the popcorn?” Liam calls out, turning his whole body around to follow them until he’s draped upside down over the back of the sofa.

“Gonna give this git a hair dye!” Niall figures he deserved being called a git and chuckles good naturedly, though he’s a bit concerned about what ‘die-ing’ his hair is going to entail.

“Zayn bleached a streak in their hair a while back,” Louis opens up a cupboard and peers in. “Like a little skunk was stuck on their head,” she adds fondly and Niall cackles, choking on his spit. Louis pops up to give him a mildly concerned but mostly amused glance before ducking back into the cupboard again.

“Honestly though, it looked amazing. I swear I saw like five other kids at our school get the same style after they did it-aha!” She unearths a box triumphantly.

“You ever used that stuff before?” Liam asks, leaning against the doorway and Niall jumps. He hadn’t heard him get off the couch.

“Nuh,” Louis mutters, tongue stuck out the side of her mouth. Liam wanders over to them and hooks his chin over Louis’ shoulder while she reads the box. Louis tilts her head into his and hums.

It’s strange then, but Niall feels like maybe, somehow he’s intruding on the two of them. He knows that technically they’re taking up much less space standing so close together, but it somehow feels like they’re filling up the whole room and Niall isn’t sure where he should stand all of a sudden. Clutching the bowl of popcorn tightly against him, he shuffles backwards awkwardly until he’s sitting on the toilet seat.

“Did you want a hand?” Liam fixes his attention on Niall. “I work at a nail and hair salon, so I’m pretty good with this stuff.”

“Oh, really? That’s cool.” Niall feels better at being addressed now, like the room’s parameters have expanded back to normal and he doesn’t need to leave. “I could never do that myself, my hands get so shaky sometimes and I have no patience for little fiddly things.”

Liam shrugs and peels off Louis, comes over to stand next to the toilet and helps himself to the popcorn. “I like it. It sorta makes me feel like I’m an artist sometimes, even though I’ve not got much in the way of artistic talent otherwise. And I, I really like making people feel good about themselves.” He shrugs shyly, like that’s something to be embarrassed about, and Niall finds himself reaching out to him till he’s patting his arm.

“Sounds like a pretty noble profession Liam. Sorry I wasn’t like, knocking ya.”

“Nah, s’fine thanks, I know you weren’t. Most people don’t really get it though, cos, y’know...” He rolls his eyes.

“Cos most people are shitheads?” Louis suggests brightly, fiddling to open the box without tearing it.

“Well, that’s one way of putting it.” Liam covers Niall’s hand in his own and brings it up to his face. His nose wrinkles. “Your cuticles are a mess, mate. Do you bite your nails?”

“No!” Niall says automatically, not wanting to disappoint Liam. “Well, maybe.” He winces. Honesty might be better, he supposes, and Liam can probably tell anyways, being a nail expert and all. “Sometimes I get nervous,” he adds, shrugging helplessly with one arm.

Liam nods. “Yeah, it happens.” Niall’s hand is probably starting to feel all gross and clammy now, but Liam’s still holding it and doesn’t appear the least bit disgusted. “Y’know, if you’re interested, I could give you a manicure? You could come over to ours sometime, I got all my stuff there. And I don’t have to paint your nails or anything.” Liam places Niall’s hand back against the bowl of popcorn and in the absence of his touch Niall struggles to get out words that make sense.

“Oh. Yeah, that could be fun.” He might not mind his nails being painted, actually. He’s never thought about it before, but he thinks if Liam did it, he wouldn’t mind. Might be nice. He’s about to try to say so when Louis cuts in, snapping the gloves over her hands and bringing the attention back to her.

“C’mon, Li, you must be tired of doing people’s hair all day. I can take this from here.” She picks up the popcorn and hands it to Liam. “Go lay down on the couch, you never get the whole thing to yourself.”

Niall wonders if Liam’s going to look sad that he’s being (nicely) kicked out, but he just chuckles and offers Niall the bowl for one more handful.

“Alright, alright, I’ll leave you alone to play with Niallar.” Louis sticks out her tongue at Liam’s back. “Just call me if you need anything!” he adds over his shoulder before he jumps up and over the back of the couch.

Liam lets out a loud groan when he lands, which trails into a Gollum-esque muttering of “Stupid, stupidd, stupiddddddd boy...” Clearly he just spilt the popcorn all over himself.

Zayn comes back that evening to find the others splayed in front of the television together, fast asleep, with the exception of Harry, who went straight to bed after doing several hours of yoga. Niall’s slouched over to the side, head tilted back into the cushions, and he’s got a breeze whistling through his nostrils. Liam’s toes are tucked under Louis’ thigh and she’s smiling in her sleep, wrists linked around his. Louis had texted to say she was going to be in charge of dinner and true to her word, there’s a couple half empty pizza boxes on the table in front of them.

Zayn tosses down their bag and lifts up Niall’s legs to squeeze in between him and Louis. They pull a box towards themself, grimacing when they see it’s ham and pineapple. They settle on the pepperoni instead, setting the box on Niall’s legs like a table. Niall yawns, shifting slightly, and Zayn turns to look at him. It’s only then that they notice his hair is different.

“Woah, that looks good!”

“Huh? Oh, thanks. Louis did it for me.” Niall grins, stretching his arms over his head.

“Oh yeah, where’d she get the dye?”

“Under the sink. She said you used a streak of it in your hair a while ago.”

Zayn pauses on their next bite of pizza. “Are you sure about that? Cos I don’t remember ever dying my hair purple.”

“What? C’mon Zayn, this is blonde.”

Zayn shakes their head. “Really isn’t, go see in the mirror.”

Niall slides out from under the pizza box and jogs over to the bathroom. He lets out a loud squawk when he turns on the light, so loud it wakes up Louis and Liam.

“What the hell?” Louis stares in disbelief when Niall walks back into the room with a head of strikingly violet hair.

“I know it started out as platinum when we did it,” Liam mutters. “Very peculiar.”

Later, after Liam and Louis wish them goodnight and head home, Niall tells Zayn that his hair probably went purple because he’s a faerie. Faerie hair tends to have a mind of its own and Niall is unfortunate enough to have hair that doesn’t ever want to agree with him. It must’ve wanted to try being purple, so there’s not a whole lot Niall can do about that.

“See,” he explains when Zayn won’t stop looking confused. “You’re supposed to brush your hair really thoroughly when you’re younger in order to tame it but I sort of skipped out on that and it’s still pretty wild.”

“Yeah, alright,” Zayn chuckles. “I’ll take your word for it. Mine never really misbehaves though.”

“That’s cos your hair loves you!” Niall coos, reaching out to touch it, which Zayn allows for exactly one second, before they swat his hand away. “You’ve always given it so much attention, how could it not?”

Zayn rolls their eyes tediously and shoves Niall towards the couch. “You know, I think it’s past your bedtime.”

Zayn’s sleep is rudely interrupted near midnight, when they start to climb out of bed and the shock from the cold floor hitting their bare feet wakes them up. Zayn’s never been known to sleepwalk, ever. But now that they’re awake they feel restless and find themself drawn to the living room, so they pull out their slippers and investigate.

They find Niall in the window seat. He’s wrapped up in his duvet and as Zayn gets closer they realize he’s sniffling.

Zayn clears their throat. “You alright?”

“Yeah, just had a bad dream.” Zayn doesn’t move and Niall sighs, lifts up a corner of the duvet. Zayn climbs in next to him, and Niall has his arms wrapped around them in an instant. Zayn cards their fingers through his hair and waits.

“I dreamt about the day I left. I woke up a monster that was disguised as a tree and it came after me,” Niall says in a rush. “It was so big and powerful, I wasn’t, didn’t think I’d be able to get away from it.” Zayn’s fingers still in his hair for a moment, before they start moving again.

Niall shudders, and presses himself even closer to Zayn. “I’m sorry,” he says and his voice cracks, like he’s on the verge of tears again. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“That’s okay.” Zayn presses a kiss to the top of Niall’s head. “You don’t have to. But I’m going to be right here for you if you need me for anything, Niall. I promise.”

Niall shuffles around under the duvet so he can face the window again. It’s a clear night, without so much as a wisp of cloud to mask the stars. Niall’s eyes well up with tears again, but for a different reason now.

“You’ve got a good view here, Z.”

“Thanks. I s’pose we really lucked out with this place. Only thing is, they don’t allow animals.”

“Aw, poor baby!” Niall teases.

“I know, right? If I had my way, this place would be full of pets.” Niall giggles. One of his hands find Zayn’s under the blankets and he squeezes them.

Harry turns from where he’s watching in the doorway and sneaks back into his bedroom before they can spot him. He was just getting up for a glass of water when he heard Zayn and Niall talking. He couldn’t make out anything they were saying, but there’s something so intimate about the way they were cuddled up together, Harry felt he would be a very unwelcome intrusion.

And the way Zayn kissed Niall’s head...

He feels worse for being jealous when he knows he hasn’t any right to be. He knows he hasn’t a chance with Zayn. He’s always known that. A hot tear rolls down his cheek and he rubs it away angrily. He has no reason to cry, honestly. He’s not even sad, just.

Tired.

Really, really tired.

He stuffs a pillow over his head in an effort to blot out his emotions. Stupid feelings.

Over the next few days, Niall guides Zayn through using their magic again. It’s a bit uncomfortable at first, like breaking in a new pair of shoes. But Zayn learns fast.

The three of them enjoy a big fry-up for brunch on a day Harry works an afternoon shift. Niall waits until the door closes behind Harry before he turns to Zayn with a grin. His hair has lightened to a shade close to lavender today, which they suppose has something to do with his hair slowly accepting the change.

“Here,” he tosses a slice of bread into the air and makes it hover between them. “Make it toast.”

Zayn cups their hands beneath the bread, closes their eyes and concentrates. They need heat, and they sort through their thoughts and memories until something feels right. They decide on a memory of sitting by a bonfire the night before Halloween and watching the flames lick over the logs, enjoying the cozy warmth spreading over their face, the tingle in their fingers as they heated up their hands, numb from harsh October air. Now they’ve got to try and bring it to the surface.

They imagine coaxing a bit of fire out of the memory and into the present, imagine the flames wrapping around the bread and toasting it. They can feel a tingling in their shoulders that quickly spreads down their arms and out into their fingertips.

“Zayn!” Niall yells, and their eyes snap open.

The piece of bread is on fire.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry!” Zayn gasps, stepping back.

“It’s okay!” Niall assures them. His eyes glow unusually bright and Zayn can make out a soft blue glow hovering around the fire, delicate as spider's’ web, containing it. “I’ve got it under control; try to put it out now.”

Zayn searches for a memory of water, and snatches up the first one that comes to mind. It isn’t a pleasant one; they were playing at the beach with their cousins, and a huge wave came out of nowhere and knocked them off their feet. Zayn swallowed seawater before they came up again, coughing. The magic surges out of them with the same frantic panic when they burst out of the ocean, terrified of drowning. Zayn hears a huge splash and opens their eyes again.

The little force field Niall made around the fire prevented himself and most of the kitchen from getting wet. The charred lump of bread is dripping into a big puddle spreading over the floor. Niall’s eyes flash again and the same blue light surrounds the edge of the flow.

Then the front door slams and the scorched bread falls to the floor just as Harry walks back into the room.

“Forgot my thermos.” He scoops it off the counter and pauses when he turns towards them, catches their guilty faces. “What, am I missing something?”

They both shake their heads. Niall bites the inside of his cheek in his struggle to keep a straight face. Harry can’t see the mess from where he’s standing, but if he takes one more step around the table, he probably will.

“Okay…” Harry’s forehead wrinkles in an uncertain frown. It’s clear he doesn’t quite believe them, but he’s got work to get to, so he rushes out again without prodding them any further.

The second he’s gone, they burst into nervous giggles.

“God,” Zayn gasps, clutching onto the table for support. “That was close.”

“Poor Harold.” Niall shakes his head as he sobers up. They get to work cleaning up the floor. “D’you think you’ll ever tell him?” Niall asks when they’re finished.

“Um.” Zayn isn’t sure they have an answer to that, they haven’t even considered telling anyone else about it outside of the family and Niall. “I mean, I guess it would be easier if he knew, but I… I’m not sure how he’d take it, and that kind of scares me.”

Worst case scenario? He gets freaked out, one of them will have to move out, and Harry never speaks to Zayn again. Zayn feels sick at the thought of a future with no Harry. They’d sooner keep magic a secret for the rest of their life than risk that.

“You wanna try again?” Niall asks, snatching up another slice of bread. Zayn nods, relieved to let the subject drop.

“Okay, so you thought of something that helped you make fire. Now, look at it and do it without thinking about it first.”

Zayn tries, they stare at the bread and will it to toast, but nothing happens. After a few minutes, they sigh and turn to Niall for help.

“Alright, I think that’s skipping too many steps at once. Try with your eyes closed and let it build up.”

Zayn closes their eyes. Soon, they can feel the power of the folksap running under the skin, and they will it to move out and surround the bread-

It catches fire again.

Niall stops Zayn before they can put it out.

“That memory you used for the water,” he says, “It had a lot of power to it, I’m guessing it was something a little intense?”

“Yeah."

“I think you should try to stick to nicer memories for now. When you’re starting out, it’s harder to control spells that come from fear or anger, real powerful stuff like that. Until you get the handle of controlling the folksap, it’s better to start with thoughts that won’t overwhelm you.”

“Okay.” Zayn thinks again, slower this time. Finally, they pull from a memory of taking a cold shower after a disgustingly hot day. The fire goes out this time with just a light spray of water.

“Yeah, that’s it!” Niall tosses the soggy bread in the trash and grabs a new one. “Y’alright to go again?”

Zayn nods and Niall sends the bread into the air again.

It takes three more tries before Zayn gets an edible piece of toast.

They flop down into a stool and nibble on their finished work. Niall sits down next to them and nudges their shoulder. “That was great, Zayn! You opened your eyes right away when you got the feeling of it and then how carefully you controlled it as it came out of your hands, it was like you were painting.”

Zayn shrugs, mumbles a thanks. They’re tired. They’ve only been awake for a few hours but already they feel like they could go back to bed.

“I just wish I could cast something without the big pause,” Zayn admits with a sigh. “Like if I try to do something straight away without closing out everything else and waiting till I find the right focus for it, nothing happens. You wanted the bread to fly and it did. You didn’t have to close your eyes and think about it for five minutes. You just do it.”

“Hey, you have to remember I’ve been doing it way longer. You’re new to this, but you’ll get there,” Niall assures them. “It takes practise, but I know you’ll get it.”

It happens sooner than Zayn thought it would.

Louis calls a few days later and asks if Zayn wouldn’t mind giving her a ride home.

“I took the car into the shop this morning, but when I went back on my lunch break, the mechanic said it won’t be ready ‘til tomorrow.”

“Sure, I can come get you. Where are you now?”

“I’m still at the café. I’m off in half an hour.”

Louis’ ringing up the order for a middle-aged man in a business suit when Zayn gets there, and they hang in the doorway to wait. Zayn can’t hear what the customer is saying, but from the taut way Louis holds her shoulders, it must be something awful. Louis’ very good at dealing with rude customers, so for her to be so visibly bothered… The guy shoves past Zayn as he exits the shop and Zayn turns to glare at his back.

There’s a buzzing under their skin, that Zayn barely registers over how much they wish that asshole would –

A yellow light flashes out of the corner of their eyes and skitters across the pavement towards the man before it disappears beneath his shoes. Suddenly, the guy’s tripping over his own feet, spilling his cell phone and coffee onto the sidewalk.

Zayn startles and the buzzing stops. The guy gets to his feet and curses under his breath, but he doesn’t turn back to see Zayn staring at him with wide eyes, just keeps walking.

“Hey, you, thanks for waiting.” Louis’ fingers dig into Zayn’s ribs and they turn to greet her.

“You know that guy who left the shop right before you?” Zayn asks when they’re in the car.

Louis deflates minutely. “Yeah? With the thin hair and awful comb-over?”

“Yeah, he tripped and lost his drink just before you got there.”

Louis huffs. “Serves him right.” She catches Zayn’s eyes then and they share a silent conversation, before she turns away with a long sigh.

“Standard cishet shithead, y’know?”

Zayn knows.

Louis hooks her iPod up to the car speakers and scrolls through her music before she settles on her favourite Neko Case song. She rolls down the windows as they drive off and cranks it up, sings along even louder. Zayn starts singing, too, and they lose themselves to the music together.

“Hey Niall!” Zayn slams the door. “There’s something I need to ask you about.”

He’s in the kitchen cooking dinner with Harry.

“Zayn!” Harry turns around and flashing them a smile. “We’re trying to make samosas for dinner.”

“That’s great, Haz.” Zayn smiles back, distracted. “Sorry, I need to borrow Niall for a minute.”

Zayn locks them in their bedroom and recounts what happened.

Niall is furious with the man, and asks several times if Louis’ okay, but he grows quiet and tugs at his bottom lip in thought while Zayn finishes the story.

“I think,” he says finally, “That you might’ve tapped into your core.”

“My core?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of like your, secret weapon, I guess you could say? It’s what makes you most powerful.”

“But what is it?”

“Well, going by what happened with Louis,” Niall takes a deep breath before he continues. “I would say your greatest power stems from your bonds with the people you care about.”

It’s discovered that Niall has never been out clubbing, and Louis takes it upon herself to right this horrendous wrong immediately.

“There’s a new one that just opened up downtown. Me and Liam were gonna try it out tonight, you should totally come!”

Niall’s already feeling a bit tired from practising magic with Zayn all day, but he really would like to go out with them, so he says yes. Liam’s face lights up like a candle and Louis even offers him a high five for the very first time.

At the club, the music vibrates through his entire body and there’s lights flashing all around them, but none of it is quite so distracting as Louis’ laugh. They dance together for the most part, in between rounds of shots and running off to piss now and then.

By the time they spill out into the street at two in the morning, Niall’s just one drink between tipsy and dizzy.

A crack in the pavement causes Niall to stumble, but Liam reaches out and pulls him against his side before he falls. “Careful there, little leprechaun. Do you need a lift?”

“I can walk just fine, thanks.” Contrary to this statement, Niall doesn’t feel any need to tug away from Liam’s side. He’s a good deal warmer than the late night air, and Niall’s only wearing a t-shirt, so really he’s just being sensible.

Louis snickers at him while she tries unsuccessfully to negotiate something with her phone.
“God, the service is shite here, give me a sec.” Louis takes off down the street, holding her phone up in the air like an Olympic torch.

Liam’s been sturdy as a rock by their sides all night, and Niall asks him how much he had to drink.

“Just a few sodas. I’m always the designated minder. Someone’s gotta look out after you goofs, so it might as well be the bloke who can’t drink.”

“How come?”

“One of my kidneys doesn’t work. Happened when I was really little.”

“That’s terrible!” Niall claps his hands over his face. “I’m so sorry!” He means it sincerely, but with the alcohol slowing down his actions it probably comes off a little dramatic.

Liam chuckles and doesn’t seem too terribly bothered either way. “It’s not really that bad. I just have to be careful, is all.”

Then Louis’ running back to announce a cab’s en route.

A few minutes later, they’re all piling into the cab. Louis goes in first, shoving the other two aside because “I’m a fucking lady,” then Liam settles in the middle, with Niall on his other side.

Niall presses his fingers against Liam’s rib cage and lets his head rest above them. He can sense the scars covering the kidney in question, and it saddens Niall to think how much pain Liam must’ve gone through to get them. The doctors couldn’t fix him up, not entirely, but Niall can.

Liam shivers. “You’ve got static shock in your fingers, Niall.”

Niall barely has the chance to register that he really shouldn’t be healing things when he’s already feeling tired before he passes out.

Louis’ just finished telling a hilarious joke, and Liam’s snorting with laughter. But it garners no response from Niall, which Louis thinks is rather strange. Niall always has a response, she’s noticed, especially with her. Even if she hasn’t even put any effort into saying something funny - but this was a good joke.

“Niall?” she calls out, louder. Liam tenses next to her and shakes the arm wrapped around Niall’s shoulder.

“Niall?” he echoes. Again, there’s no response.

“Did he fall asleep-oh, hang on.”

Louis unbuckles her seatbelt and clambers over into Liam’s lap. The only light in the cab comes in flashes as they drive past streetlights, and Louis squints to get a good look at Niall. He’s slumped into Liam’s side and his eyes are closed. His breaths come soft and slow, like he’s in a deep sleep.

“Oi.” Louis pinches his wrist, hard. Niall shifts, and Louis leans in, close enough to hear him mumble something that sounds like ‘I need to sleep.’

Satisfied with that, Louis slides back into her seat.

“He’s alright, then?” Liam asks, scratching a weird tingling sensation in his side.

“Course, he’s only sleeping,” Louis says, like Liam’s the one worrying his head off about Niall. “I didn’t think it was possible, but I guess we found a deeper sleeper than Zayn.”

She feels embarrassed to have made so much of a fuss about Niall not laughing at her joke, but if Liam notices, he doesn’t tease her for it.

When they pull up to Niall’s stop, he’s still not awake enough to walk, so Liam ends up slinging him over his shoulder. Louis imagines Niall would be a bit more indignant about it if he was a little more conscious, but as it is he just snuffles into Liam’s neck. One of his arms is dangling down and Louis worries it might whack into things, so she catches a hold of it as she walks behind them. For safety’s sake. She definitely doesn’t feel absurdly pleased when Niall’s fingers tighten around hers for a moment.

“So, what was that all about last night?” Zayn hands Niall a coffee and he slurps it down gratefully.

“Er, well,” Niall rubs the back of his head. “I might have... regenerated Liam’s kidney and wore myself out?”

“Right. Of course you did.” Zayn doesn’t need to tell Niall that was probably a bad idea, but they say it, anyway. “So what are the doctors going to say when Liam shows up for his next appointment with a brand new kidney?”

“It’s not a brand new kidney!” Niall protests. “It’s the same one he’s always had; I just fixed what was wrong with it. The doctors will think it healed itself. Or something.”

Zayn rolls their eyes and flops down on the couch next to Niall.

“By the way, they looked pretty worried about you when they brought you back.” Niall winces. “I think you should call them.”

“I will. But there’s something important I wanted to talk to you about first.”

“Oh?”

“I think Liam might be on to me.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He called me a leprechaun when we were at the club.” Niall’s forehead creases and he pulls at his hair nervously. “I mean, they’re a different subspecies, yes, but they’re certainly not human.”

Zayn laughs and ruffles Niall’s hair. “I’m pretty sure that’s just cos you’re Irish.”

“Alright.” Louis taps her fork against a glass to get everyone’s attention, “So I imagine you’re all wondering why you’re here.”

“Not really.” Harry mumbles, picking at his napkin. “You have us over to your place for the weekend a lot.”

“Silence, Harold. As it turns out, there is in fact a particular reason this time. Liam?”

“Well, I-” Liam starts but Louis gestures for him to stand. “C’mon, Lou, this is embarrassing.” Louis raises her eyebrows as if daring him to test her. Liam shakes his head and pushes his seat back and stands up.

“So, I went in for some testing yesterday and the doctors did an ultrasound and found out my kidney healed itself!”

“Really?”

“That’s wonderful!”

“We’ll have to take you out for a pint to celebrate.” Niall laughs nervously, and far too loud.

“Actually, there’s no need for that just yet.” Louis goes over to the cupboard and pulls out a bottle. She sets it on the table and everyone oohs as she turns the label towards them.

“I know. This was like, almost pricey.”

She pours everyone a glass and they all toast to Liam’s new kidney, who covers his mouth and smiles through his eyes at all the attention. Supper is a delicious pot roast with yorkshire puddings and gravy, plus a roasted squash that Harry brought.

Every time someone mentions the kidney during the meal, Zayn nudges Niall from under the table. Niall tries to kick them back once, but he makes contact with Harry’s feet instead.

“Hey,” he whines, faux-offended.

“Oops, sorry! That was meant for Zayn.”

“Oh.” Harry looks more put out than he ought to at that as he turns back to his plate.

Niall feels as though Harry’s been acting a little standoffish lately and he wonders if maybe something happened between him and Zayn. Except he’s been somewhat subdued around Niall as well. He’s not been rude exactly, he still smiles and talks to him. But there’s none of the ridiculous, goofing around that Niall remembers from his first couple days here. He doesn’t feel like he has any right to ask Harry about whatever it is that’s bothering him, so he doesn’t.

After supper, everyone piles into the living room to watch a movie. Niall’s been spending more and more time with Louis and Liam when he isn’t doing magic with Zayn. He’s only been to their house a couple times, but he loves it already. Niall thinks this has to be the coziest living room he’s ever been in. The couch is worn and a bit frayed at the edges, but it fits all five of them easily and across from it is a little old-fashioned fireplace.

Liam gets to pick the movie and even Niall knows it’s going to be Toy Story before Liam picks up the case.

“It’s a classic!” Liam huffs as everyone giggles and Niall whispers “Called it!”

Liam ends up pressed between Niall and Zayn on one side, and Harry and Louis on the other.

Niall had been about to take the seat next to Louis earlier, but Harry rushed in and stole it right in front of him. Louis smiles up at Niall apologetically and he knows there must be something up with Harry when she doesn’t shove him off, either.

Then the movie’s starting and Niall quickly seats himself next to Zayn.

Louis refills everyone’s glasses after the movie, and somehow they all wind up sitting on a circle in front of the crackling fire, playing drinking games.

Zayn doesn’t really know who’s winning or losing, getting drunk is never really the goal with this. It’s all about finding the most interesting, hopefully embarrassing, stories everyone has - or at least, that’s how Louis likes to play it. No one ever has anything to worry about, though, it’s a very firm rule that whatever people disclose in the circle, stays in the circle.

“Never have I ever…” she drawls, peering around the circle until her eyes settle on Harry, sitting with his knees bunched up to his chest and looking a good deal less enthusiastic than he usually does when he’s had a drink or two with his friends. Something lights up in Louis’ face and Zayn feels vaguely wary for some reason.

“Never have I ever not kissed Zayn.”

“What?” Liam blinks slowly, confused. “Who’s supposed to drink?”

“If you have never, ever knocked lips with Zayn, you drink.”

Harry meets Zayn’s eyes across the circle for a split second before he downs a shot.

“Wait, when did you and Niall kiss?” Liam asks suddenly, and everyone turns to look at Niall, even Harry.

Niall blushes. “It’s silly.”

“Well, in that case you definitely have to tell us.” Louis leans forward eagerly.

“When I was little,” Niall begins. “I saw my parents kissing, and I asked them why, and they said that people kiss each other when they love each other very much and want to spend lots of time with them.” Zayn giggles, already knowing where this is going.

“Now, Zayn’s my best friend, right, and I thought that meant I loved Zayn the same way my parents loved each other and I was over at their house one day and I just, walked up and kissed them right in front of their parents. I’ll still never forget the look in their eyes.”

Louis howls, and Liam laughs so hard he falls into Zayn. Everybody’s laughing except Harry who clears his throat and asks, “Was that the only time you ever kissed Zayn?”

The room quiets and all eyes are on Harry.

“Uh, yeah, that was it.”

“Oh.” Harry nods, like it isn’t a big deal, except his eyes are lighting up like someone just presented him with a fresh loaf of organic, gluten-free banana bread.

Louis gets that look in her eye again. “Harold, how come you’ve never kissed Zayn?”

“Louis,” Liam warns.

“C’mon.” She looks at Zayn. “You’d like to kiss Harry, wouldn’t you?”

Zayn swallows and looks down at their lap. “Uh yeah, I guess so.” They shrug, deciding nonchalance is the best way to keep their secret hidden. They don’t look up right away, and miss the quiet devastation that passes over Harry’s face.

“And you Harry,” Louis turns to face him, “You’d like to kiss Zayn, too, right?”

Harry doesn’t say anything.

Louis waits, then rolls her eyes, frustrated, “Oh come one, as if we don’t already know about the great big crush you’ve had on Zayn since the day you met.”

All the oxygen is sucked out of the room in one long gasp. Louis slaps a hand over her mouth, but she’s already gone too far.

Harry pushes himself up off the floor. He trembles, shoulders bunching up around his head and keeping his face hidden.

“Harry,” Zayn calls.

But Harry covers his mouth and makes a sound that everyone hopes isn’t a sob, before dashing up the stairs.

“Fuck,” Louis curses after a long moment where everybody seems to be frozen. She scrubs her hands over her face a few times. “I should go talk to him.”

“No, I’ll go.” Zayn has no idea what they’re going to say, but they owe Harry this conversation.

Everyone’s quiet as Zayn gets to their feet and shuffle across the room to the stairs.

Liam’s bedroom door is closed, and Zayn knocks lightly before pushing it open a notch and peering in.

Harry’s slumped in the middle of the bed with his back to Zayn.

“Can I come in?”

Harry sniffles loudly, like he’s trying to force all the tears back inside. Zayn hopes that means he’s willing to talk and cautiously takes a seat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry,” Harry whispers.

It’s not at all what Zayn expected him to say. “Why would you be sorry?”

“For having feelings for you and being awful and ruining everything.”

“Harry...” Zayn almost reaches out to touch him, but they don’t want him to run away again, so they wring their hands together in their lap. “You haven’t ruined a thing.”

“I’m going to, though, aren’t I?”

“No, you won’t.” It’s too much for Zayn and they wrap a hand around Harry’s shoulder. Harry shudders at the touch and turns his head, presses his cheek into them. His eyes are closed, lashes clumped together from crying.

“C’mere, Haz, there’s no need for that.” Zayn brushes a thumb over his cheek, and Harry rolls over and clings to their wrist. He’s not tugging their hand away though, just keeping it in place.

Zayn takes a deep breath. “Harry, I’m not, I’m not upset with you, alright? What Louis said,” Harry cringes, “It took me by surprise. I didn’t think that, um. Fuck.” Zayn is way too tired to say this properly, but if they don’t say it now, they’re not sure if they’ll ever get another chance. “They aren’t unreciprocated,” Zayn says finally. “Your feelings.”

Harry’s head snaps up so fast, it’s a wonder he doesn’t get whiplash. “Pardon?”

“I really like you, Harry.”

Harry’s eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. “But, you said, you sounded like, like you didn’t want to kiss me.”

Zayn shakes their head. “I did, I mean, I do want to kiss you. But not like that. I didn’t want to kiss you just because I’ve kissed the rest of our group. It’s stupid, but like, I wanted our first kiss to mean something if, y’know, if we were to have one.”

“I don’t think that’s stupid at all.” Harry swallows, pushes the hair out of his face and Zayn looks at him. His eyes are red, cheeks still streaked with salty tear lines, and his hair is incredibly frizzy. Zayn loves him.

“C’mere.” They hold out their arms and Harry crawls into them.

“Can we like,” Harry sniffles, “I really want to talk about this more, but I’m really tired, so I know you must be pooped, and like. I don’t want to embarrass myself any more than I already have.”

“Louis embarrassed you,” Zayn reminds him. “Slight difference.”

“Yeah, well, I kind of helped.” Harry huffs, irritated at himself.

Zayn rubs his back. “Sleep does sound pretty good right now.”

“Are you okay if we snuggle?”

Zayn smiles. “I am very much okay with that.”

“So, how are they doing?” Louis looks nervous as Niall comes back downstairs. “How much did I fuck up, on a scale of one to ten?”

Niall sits down next to her and faces her with a smile. “Well, I just peeked in and saw them spooning, so I don’t think you did too badly.”

“Fuck, really?” Niall nods and Louis flops back against the couch with a deep sigh of relief. “God, it’s about time those two sort out their shit.”

“Yech.” Niall wrinkles his nose. “That sounds disgusting.”

“Ugh, don’t.” Louis swats him with a pillow and Niall starts laughing. “No, seriously, shut up, that wasn’t even funny.” She tries to hit him with the pillow again, but Niall catches hold of it. Louis tries to yank it back but he digs his toes into the couch cushions and gives Louis his best challenging stare. Louis narrows her eyes. Niall tightens his grip in anticipation, but Louis releases the pillow, and the loss of momentum leaves him to fall back on his arse. Before he can recover, Louis darts in to pinch his nipple.

“Ahh!” Niall tries to cover his chest, but Louis’ already clambering over him and wrestling his arms away and over his head, pinning them against the armrest. Louis pants, looking ridiculously pleased with herself as she adjusts her grip till she can hold him there with one hand.

“I got you!” Louis gloats, poking his nose with her free hand.

“You got me,” Niall admits. He’d meant to say it jokingly, but it comes out more like an honest confession. Well, shit. He can feel his cheeks heating up already, which he hopes Louis will attribute to the roughhousing.

She doesn’t say anything right away, but her face goes from playful to thoughtful.

Niall gulps without meaning to. He waits, certain she’ll crack any moment and go in for the nipple pinch, but she doesn’t.

Instead, her hand moves slowly, so very slowly, until her fingertips brush against his cheek. Her eyes are wide and full of wonder, as though she’s in awe of him.

Niall doesn’t say anything, afraid to so much as breathe and ruin the moment.

“Niall,” Louis whispers, “Can I kiss you?”

He nods, doesn’t trust himself not to open his mouth and spew out a mess of gibberish.

Louis tilts her head to fit into the space between them and Niall practically sighs against her lips. Then, Liam shuffles in his sleep, still curled up in the armchair across the room from them and everything grounds to a halt. Niall shakes his head and Louis pulls away from him immediately, sitting up and releasing his hands.

“What’s the matter?”

“I-” Niall props himself up on his elbows as best he can with Louis kneeling on either side of his belly. “I’m sorry, you know we can’t, Lou; Liam’s right there.”

“Yeah...” Louis looks over and nods slowly. “He’s not exactly going to care, though, is he?”

“What?”

“I mean, he is fast asleep, but if it really bothers you that he’s there, we could go upstairs to my room or-”

“Louis!” Niall hisses. “That’s still cheating.”

Louis stares at him for a moment before something clicks, “Oh. Oh my god.” and she bursts into giggles. And Liam does wake up then, which is awful because then he’s going to see them and Niall doesn’t even know what he’s going to say, but he feels like the absolute worst person in the world right now.

“Niall, Niall.” Louis shakes him out of his thoughts. “Honey, no, I’m so sorry. I thought someone would’ve told you.”

“Told me what?”

“Liam and I, well. Liam is basically my platonic life partner, like I love him, but I’m not in love with him, y’know? We’re not dating, like.”

“It’s not really my thing.” Niall turns his head to see Liam, smiling sleepily and not looking the least bit hurt or upset like Niall was expecting him to be. “Dating, that is.”

“But it is very much my thing,” Louis says and Niall turns to face her again. She’s smiling nervously and it’s the first time since he’s known her that Niall’s ever seen Louis look uncertain about something.

“Uh.” Niall clears his throat and tries again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t pick up on that.”

“It’s okay, happens a lot actually.” Louis shrugs and looks away for a moment. “So, knowing that, would you still be interested in um, getting back to what we were doing?”

“Definitely!” Niall grins, pushing himself up into a sitting position. Louis slides down into his lap and makes a face like she’s trying not to laugh.

“God, you’re enthusiastic.”

Niall chuckles nervously. “That okay?”

“Yeah. I reckon it’s pretty great.” Her words are casual, but the look in her eyes as she focuses all her attention on Niall is anything but.

Their noses bump together. Louis smiles, and they’re so close he can feel the sharp curve of her lips more than anything else.

Niall’s hands brush over her face, catching on prickly bits of stubble, and Louis’ fingers cradle his head towards her, fingers intertwining with the hair at the base of his skull.

Her knees dig in against either side of his waist, and then their lips meet. She tastes like sunshine, and god, Niall didn’t know it was possible to like someone so much.

There’s a little voice in the back of his head that reminds him he won’t have this, have Louis, for very long. He knows he’ll have to go back to the other realm eventually, knows even if he were to stay, he couldn’t lie to Louis, or Liam, about who he was forever. He doesn’t want to know what they’d think of him if they knew he wasn’t even human at all.

He knows it’s selfish to kiss her back, but he does, squashing the thoughts in the back of his skull, because he knows he can’t have this forever, but he has it now. She won’t later, but right now, Louis wants him.

“Well, now I’m leaving,” Liam yawns, getting up and wrapping his blanket around him. “Just don’t get up to anything too, too exciting; you know who else is upstairs.”

Louis moans into Niall’s mouth, which Liam must take as a reply because he leaves.

The first thing Zayn usually does in the morning when they wake up, is fall back asleep.

They don’t mean to drift off again, not always. It’s more about savouring the leftover heat in their little cocoon of blankets, of holding on to the peaceful feeling in their body for as long as possible, maybe even letting their thoughts chase after the last few moments of the dream they were having, if it was a good one.

But this morning, the sheets are chilly and Zayn wakes up alone.

“Harry?” There’s no warmth next to them, so he’s been gone longer than it would take to go to the bathroom. Well. Zayn doesn’t know what to make of that.

But they know it’s warmer downstairs, the heat doesn’t circulate up here very well. It’s probably a lot less lonely, too, so Zayn clambers out of bed.

Liam’s already in the living room, loading more wood on the fire.

“Hey.” He turns as Zayn’s feet creak on the last step. “You’re up early.”

Zayn squints at the clock on the mantel as they come over to stand next to him. “It’s like, 11:30.”

Liam shrugs. “Early-ish, then. You sleep pretty well?”

“Fairly, yeah, thanks.” Zayn crouches down and stretches their palms out towards the fire. They’re about to ask where the others are, when they hear soft wheezing from behind them.

They turn around to see Louis and Niall tangled up on the couch together. Louis’ face is tucked into Niall’s collarbone and one of Niall’s hands is resting on her lower back. As if she can sense being watched, Louis cracks open an eye and lifts her head up.

Zayn winks.

Louis shrugs indifferently, and snuggles back into Niall’s chest again with a contented hum. They’ve got a blanket draped over them, likely Liam’s doing, and Zayn wrinkles their nose when they spot Niall’s shirt on the floor and a thought occurs to them.

“Please tell me you didn’t-”

“Nah,” Liam answers for them. “You know Louis’d never do that with you and Haz under the same roof.”

Louis flips the bird without looking up, like she’s offended Zayn would even consider that, and Zayn chuckles.

“So, where is Harry anyways?” Zayn asks, offhand-like, as though the question of Harry’s whereabouts has only just occurred to them.

Louis pushes herself up onto her elbows and gives Zayn an exasperated stare. “You know what he did today? Harold woke me up at the arse-crack of dawn to ask if he could practise yoga in the garden. And I was like, yeah, obviously that’s fine, why would you need to wake me up for that? And he was just like well, I’ve started doing it nude.”

Liam giggles and Zayn never thought they’d be so relieved to hear Harry’s gone to do yoga. He always does it to help him unwind from a rough night, especially when there’s liquor involved. Which means he didn’t leave Zayn to wake up alone, at least, not necessarily, since Zayn usually gets up much later than this.

Niall’s waking up now, and his hair, which was a pale lilac the day before, has finally mellowed into the bright blonde he wanted in the first place. It’s probably too subtle for the others to notice, but Zayn smiles to themself.

There’s a bit of a dodgy feeling in Niall’s stomach when he wakes up. He isn’t sure what to make of it; he hardly drank much the night before, and he even drank a whole bottle of water after Harry left and the drinking game was over, so it can’t be that. It’s just a vague sense of unease that he doesn’t quite know what to make of.

No one really feels up to cooking, so Liam suggests they all get dressed and go out for brunch.

Louis yawns, and makes a big show of stretching out, sleepy slow. Then she leaps off the couch and dashes down the hall shouting, “I call first shower!”

Niall gets up slowly, stretching his arms over his head until he feels a satisfying pop. He lost his shirt sometime during the night, probably felt too hot and yanked it off. He catches a glimpse of Harry through the window, and decides to go out and clear the air with him now, before he loses his nerve.

Somehow, it seems Harry had come to the conclusion that when Niall and Zayn were sneaking off to practise magic together, they were actually going off on dates, because they were secretly dating, and they didn’t tell Harry so he wouldn’t bother them.

Niall wishes he could tell Harry what they’ve been doing, wishes he could tell him they weren’t trying to exclude him on purpose, at least, not for the reasons Harry came up with.

But it isn’t Niall’s secret to tell, so he reassures Harry that they’re purely friends and they’ve just been working to catch up with each other, that they’re sorry for not realizing they were leaving him out so much, but they’ll work on being better.

Harry thanks Niall quietly and pulls him into a tight hug. “I’m sorry,” he sighs, “I feel like I’ve been a big, whiny baby lately.”

“You haven’t, honestly.” Niall pulls away to look him in the eyes. “Really, you’ve got nothing to be sorry about, Harry.”

A leaf lands on Harry’s nose and he swats it off, startled.

Niall raises an eyebrow. “You alright, there?” He’s about to tease Harry for facing off so poorly against a little old leaf, when a breeze carries in several more, which start to swirl around Harry.

“Niall?” Harry asks uncertainly, eyes following the current of leaves growing even thicker around his body as the wind picks up.

Suddenly, Niall remembers the last time he saw leaves like this, sickly yellow-green with dark red veins, and he stumbles back against the fence in horror.

Harry screams.

The back door slams open seconds later and Zayn skids to a stop on the porch. Harry’s wide, terrified eyes meet theirs for a second.

“No!” Zayn shouts, but it’s too late.

When the breeze dies down, the leaves are gone, and so is Harry.

Liam and Louis are standing in the doorway behind Zayn, and it’s clear by the looks on their faces they just saw everything.

Niall groans from over by the fence. He looks miserable, huddled into himself, and Zayn dashes down the steps and runs over to kneel beside him.

“Niall, are you hurt?” He shakes his head.

“It, it must’ve tracked me here…” he mutters.

“What?” Zayn leans in closer.

“The monster, the one I told you about. It must’ve followed me here somehow.” He hides his face in his hands and gasps out, “I knew it was powerful - it should’ve taken me instead, not Harry. Harry’s so nice and kind and he wouldn’t hurt a fly, and I didn’t know what to do, and now he’s gone, all because of me! This is all my fault! It should’ve taken me and then it would all be fine, you would both be fine and-”

“Niall, stop!” Zayn almost shouts, alarmed. They pull Niall’s hands away his face and looks him in the eyes. “Listen. You couldn’t have known this was going to happen,” Zayn says, low and urgent, “You did not cause this. I’m glad you’re not hurt, and I wouldn’t have wanted it to take you instead. And I know,” Zayn swallows, “I know Harry would agree with me. But we are going to rescue Harry, right? You and I, we can do that, can’t we?”

Slowly, Niall nods, and takes a deep shuddering breath.

“You alright?” Zayn asks, pulling him to his feet.

“I’m fine, yeah. I suppose freaking out won’t help much, does it?” Niall offers an apologetic smile.

Louis clears her throat and shouts from the deck, “Hey, sorry to interrupt, but what the fuck is going on?!”

“I think we should tell them,” Niall whispers.

“Yeah.” It’s pretty unavoidable at this point, and with a deep breath, they walk over.

“Hey, so.” Zayn shoves their hands into their pockets and focuses on a spot between Louis and Liam’s heads. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Something we need to tell you,” Niall clarifies, stepping up beside them. Zayn flashes him a grateful smile.

“So. I’m magic.” Neither of them respond and Zayn continues. “I was born with it because I’m part faerie, only I didn’t know about that for a long time, until, um.”

“Until a faerie came along to remind them,” Niall deflates visibly next to them, “Which would be me.”

Zayn chances a glance up at their friends. Louis blinks a few times and Liam’s expression is unreadable.

“I knew it,” Liam whispers. All eyes turn to him.

“You what?”

“I mean, I didn’t know you were a faerie exactly, but it explains a lot, really.”

“So, are you a bit like Harry Potter, then?” Louis asks.

“Not really, I mean... It’s a long story, but right now something took Harry to the Fae Realm, so we’ve got to go get him back.”

Liam and Louis glance at each other and Louis nods. “Right, well, count us in.”

“What? It’ll be dangerous-”

“Don’t be silly, as if we’re going to let you go by yourselves.” Liam shakes his head. “Harry’s our friend, too, and we want him back just as much as you do.”

“I can’t let you risk it,” Niall protests.

“The day I let a man tell me what to do...” Louis grumbles and squares her shoulders. “Luckily, you don’t have to give us permission. We’re coming with you whether you like it or not, so you might as well like it.” She squeezes Liam’s hand in hers, and they all feel the finality in her voice.

“Okay,” Zayn relents, knowing it would be easier to shift a mountain than Louis when she makes up her mind like this.

Honestly, it’s a bit of a relief to have them along, Zayn thinks, as Liam pulls them into a much-needed group hug.

Everyone piles into Louis’ car and Niall’s directions lead them to a dirt road outside of town. They pass through farmlands, and it would be a pretty drive on any other day, but all anyone can think about is Harry. Niall knows Zayn’s more worried about him than they’re letting on, but he assures them that Harry will be okay.

“Niall,” Liam asks after a while, “Are those wings?”

Niall stiffens from where he’s leaning out the window in the passenger seat next to Louis.

“I, um, yeah, they are.” Niall flushes and tries to press his wings back against his spine, hadn’t even realized they were out. “Wait, you can see them?”

“I can see them too…” Louis murmurs, and she doesn’t sound disgusted either, which is what Niall had been expecting when they realized how he really wasn’t human. He’d half-hoped he’d be gone before they’d ever have to know.

“Can I touch them?” Liam asks.

“Um, sure.” His wings unfurl and one of them presses against Louis’ arm.

“Sorry,” Niall squeaks, pulling it back.

“It’s okay!” Louis glances at him and her eyes narrow. “We’re not upset, that you have wings or anything, just so you know.”

“Yeah, these are cool,” Liam says, carefully stroking over the tip of one with his pinky finger. Niall shivers.

“Sorry. Are they like, really sensitive?”

Niall shakes his head, “Not really, it’s like holding hands or something. I’m just, I’m glad that you don’t mind.” Louis’ hand finds his own and squeezes it.

They park the car by the side of the road and Niall leads them through a field and a short distance into the woods until they reach a tall oak tree.

“Alright,” Niall says, “We have to climb this. So follow me, and don’t look down.”

“What happens if we look down?” Louis asks.

“Oh, nothing really. You just have to go to the ground and start climbing again.”

They find themselves gathered below a branch several feet above the ground. There are no leaves around them, creating a sort of bubble. Niall presses his hand into the empty space and the air glows for a moment, before he makes a fist and peels something back, revealing a hole floating in the air. There’s blue sky on the other side of it and Niall gestures for everyone to go through first while he holds open the rip in the seam between realms.

They end up stepping down from the same oak tree, but they’re in a green, mossy glen now. It isn’t autumn here.

“Zayn,” Louis hisses. “How is it possible that you look even more beautiful than usual here?”

“Huh?” Zayn pulls out their pocket mirror, and their eyes widen. There’s a sort of golden, coppery glow to their skin now, almost on the verge on sparkly and their edges seem sharper, like the structure of their face is harder now. Their hair looks weightless somehow, like the feathery black strands are hovering around their head.

“You look ethereal,” Liam whispers and Zayn flushes, stuffs the mirror away again.

“Hey, isn’t that your word of the day?”

Liam sighs. “One day, Lou, one day I’ll say it and you won’t even notice it.” But it’s clear that he doesn’t really mind her noticing.

The blonde that Niall’s hair took so long to grow accustomed to is actually glowing, and Niall himself looks brighter and softer, somehow. He rolls his shoulders and stretches his wings. Without the presence of the mundane to subdue them here, they look more solid, flashing with stark tones of blue.

“You look adorable,” Louis blurts out and Niall flushes a vibrant red that extends to the tips of his wings and they all burst out laughing.

“C’mon, let’s go,” Niall grumbles.

He takes them through a forest and they end up on the edge of a meadow.

Niall has to stop several times to yank out all the twigs and leaves his hair is trying to collect, at one point even whacking him in the face with one. Zayn’s hair on the other hand, well trained, as Niall said so before, swishes out of the way of low hanging branches, and stays entirely out of their face.

“There!” Niall points across the meadow where the dirt gives way to rock, and a massive cave rises up out of the ground. “That’s where Harry is.”

They’re about to step into the field when Liam gasps, loud and delighted, “Is that what I think it is?”

The group turns to see a beast rising up over a hill at the crest of the meadows above them, a horse with a dappled grey coat and a long milky white mane and a tail that flows behind it in the wind like a comet. It’s most striking feature however, is a long horn in the middle of it’s forehead that pulses a bright, lipstick red.

It’s a unicorn and Niall feels a cold jolt of fear deep in his gut.

“No one make any sudden movements,” he grits out through clenched teeth. “Slowly, move back into the shade.” It’s too far away to spot them, but it might get a whiff of them if they stay out in the open and the wind changes.

Niall can feel everyone’s unspoken confusion pouring out behind him as clearly as if they yelled at him, and he spreads out his wings to usher them back into the safety of the trees.

When they’re safely under the cover of the forest again, Niall turns to Liam with a hiss, “That’s a unicorn, Liam! What the hell were you thinking?!” His words come out with an edge sharpened by fear and Liam steps back, startled.

“What do you mean, Niall? I just wanted to pet it…”

Niall blinks, and takes in the bewildered faces of the others and realizes he needs to back up a few steps in the conversation.

“Wait, what do you know about unicorns?”

“Um,” Liam stutters. “Aren’t they supposed to be like, sweet and gentle? Like horses, but nicer and prettier?"

“Children really love them,” Louis adds. “Especially girls.”

“And they’re all like, really feminine and pure and innocent and stuff,” says Zayn.

Niall sighs, feels like he’s deflating. “Right. Okay, Liam? I’m sorry I yelled at you just now. Unicorns are actually really dangerous and when you pointed it out, I thought it was going to attack us and I got scared.”

“Oh, I, that’s okay. How are they dangerous?”

“Well, I guess humans got one thing right; how they’re associated with girls and femininity. But that doesn’t mean unicorns are weak. Back in the day, when it was easier to travel between the realms, there were a lot of men from your side who got it into their heads that if they cut off a unicorn’s horn, they could possess their power. It’s a load of shite, but they thought hey, they’re just girly horses, we can hunt them down no problem. They didn’t exactly succeed.

“And since then, unicorns just really, really hate men, and if they see one, they’ll gore you through faster than you can blink.”

Liam gulps.

“Y’know,” Niall continues, “I bet that’s where all those infantilizing rumours come from; all those whiny dudes were bummed they couldn’t kill off the unicorns. Anyway, I guess we should go back through the forest and try to circle around. It’ll take a bit longer, but...”

“I have an idea,” Louis says, slowly raising her hand. “What if... I went out there and distracted it, then you lot can run across.”

“Ooh. Yes, that would work!”

“I mean, I’m not very good with animals or anything, but um. Unicorns, they aren’t like, transphobic, right?”

Niall shakes his head. “They’re too pure for that.”

“Oh, fuck.” Louis smacks herself in the forehead. “Nevermind, I can’t.”

“Why not?” Zayn asks.

“Because, you know... purity? Virginity? That’s like a thing with unicorns, and I am very much not that. Sorry, Zayn.”

Zayn blushes. “It’s fine.”

“Well,” Niall clears his throat, looking a little pink himself. “I’ve never heard of that, so I’m pretty sure that’s also some sexist nonsense those hunters spread around in your realm, about girls only being ‘pure’ till they have sex.”

“You’re sure?”

Niall nods. “Positive.”

“Alright, then. I’ll whistle when it’s safe.”

It’s quiet for a few minutes after Louis enters the meadow and disappears from their sight. Then her laugh rings out and a moment later, she whistles.

The unicorn is nuzzling at her face as Louis scratches under its chin and behind its ears. She stops for a moment when she catches sight of the others scampering across the field and the unicorn nips at her hair in annoyance until she starts scratching it again.

It’s a bit of a challenge for her to convince the unicorn not to follow her when Louis tries to leave, but eventually she joins the others by the cave entrance, grinning from cheek to cheek.

“I was never really into unicorns as a kid, but I think I really like them now.”

Liam giggles and everybody tries not to make eye contact with her. Louis frowns, clearly sensing something’s up.

“What?”

“Your hair…” Liam trails off. Zayn takes out their pocket mirror and shows her.

“Y’know what? I take that back,” Louis grumbles, trying but failing to press down the tufts of hair that stick up where the unicorn licked. “Not a fan.”

~

The air in the cave is humid and smells a lot like a compost heap. Zayn shivers and pulls their hoodie tighter around them as the group stumbles over the uneven rocky ground. There’s a constant hum that grows louder as the walk. Then they round the corner, and there it is.

The monster is massive, taking up most of the space in the cavern. Long limbs of varying width sprout out from both ends of its torso, each ending in a tangled mass of gnarled claws. It’s easy to see how it could pass for a tree, if the monster stood with some of the limbs partially buried in the ground and stretched the rest up into the air. In the center of the body is a long jagged line, which must be the mouth. Its hide is bone-white, craggy and rough, and it rumbles as they watch.

“There,” Niall whispers, voice hoarse.

Harry is sprawled out a few metres away from the monster, almost obscured by its shadow. Zayn only just covers their mouth to keep from shouting out his name. The group carefully pick their way over the rocks, some of which are actually bones.

Zayn gets to Harry first, bending down and shaking him.

Harry responds to their touch instantly, tilting his head up and squinting. “Zayn?” he asks. “Is that you? I thought I was dreaming at first, but I keep pinching myself and I’m not waking up”

“Yes,” Zayn whispers, pressing a finger over Harry’s mouth and hushing him. “Yes, it’s me, and you’re not dreaming. We’ve got to get you out of here, c’mon.”

Harry nods, and Zayn helps him to his feet. His clothing is ripped, hair wilder than it’s ever been in his life, his face is sketched with dirt and a few dried scratches, but Harry’s alive and Zayn squeezes him tightly in a hug.

They’re so caught up in the relief of seeing Harry again, that no one notices at first when the low humming fades away.

But when it’s replaced by a loud roar, everyone knows the monster is awake.

It moves faster than Zayn would’ve expected, suddenly rearing up above them all like a mountain about to collapse on them, and Zayn realizes they’ve seen this before, in their nightmares, remembers how scared and hopeless they felt as they watched everything being torn away from them, remembers the relief they felt when they woke up again with Harry to comfort them. Only, this isn’t a dream and Harry isn’t going to wake them up with a hug anytime soon.

Its limbs are lashing out towards them and it feels like they’re caught in a landslide as it surges around them and several things happen at once.

Niall, Liam, and Louis, still clustered together, are shoved back against the cave wall. The monster arm pulls away from them and comes at them with its claws outstretched.

Niall shouts and a wall of fire leaps up from his outstretched palms and encircles the three of them. The monster snarls as the claws make contact with the flames. It pulls away again, only to hover a few yards away like a hungry snake.

Niall pants, and its clear he won’t be able to hold up the shield for very long.

Zayn finds themself pressed against the wall on the opposite side of the cave. The arm holding them there doesn’t retreat this time. Zayn can’t see Harry anywhere and for a moment Zayn thinks he might’ve escaped in the scuffle, but then there’s a yelp and seconds later he’s being hoisted up in the air.

“Stop, don’t hurt him!” The monster ignores Zayn, and stretches its jaws wide open. Harry kicks at the root-like claws wrapped around him, but it doesn’t let him go.

Zayn knows Niall is more than occupied protecting himself and the others on the far side of the cave, and he’s helpless to do anything to save Harry.

“No!” Zayn yells, as the monster raises Harry closer to its mouth. Suddenly, nothing else matters now and Zayn doesn’t stop to think about their inexperience, the limits, the dangers, or anything else that might happen to them as the folksap crackles and buzzes beneath their skin.

It’s hotter than anything they’ve ever felt in their life, and Zayn screams as they unleash the magic and it breaks away from their body like streaks of lightning.

Yellow sparks skitter up the arm holding Zayn and spread rapidly over the monster. In their wake, the hide covering the monster starts to disintegrate and morph into tree bark.

The monster screeches and slashes at its arms as if they were on fire, but moss sprouts up where it makes contact. Its limbs retreat from the walls to try and slow the spread.

Niall gasps as he finally lets down the shield and the other two clutch him from behind to keep him upright.

But the spreading doesn’t stop and finally the monster drops Harry.

The flow of magic trickles to a stop, and Zayn sags back against the wall.

The heat from before has been replaced by a deep, empty, cold, and shadows are swelling up around Zayn as they sink to the ground. Through their fading senses, they’re aware of Niall flying up into the air to catch Harry before he hits the ground, of the monster surging out of the cave still screeching, of rapidly approaching foot steps.

Then Niall’s standing over them, saying “We have to go,'” and Zayn knows nothing more as the shadows overwhelm them.

~

Niall finds himself nose deep in a pile of leaves after they tumble out of the oak tree. He shakes the hair from his eyes, relieved to find it acting dead again. Groaning, he pushes himself up on his elbows and looks around for the others.

Louis rolls off Liam’s belly where she landed. She’s already muttering a string of colourful complaints, as she helps Liam sit up and he rolls his eyes at her, so Niall knows they must be alright.

Then he catches sight of Harry a few feet away, who tried to wrap himself as much around Zayn as physically possible to protect them as they jumped out of the tree. There’s no movement from the pair, and Niall’s on his feet in a flash, staggering over to them. Harry seems to have taken the brunt of the fall and he wheezes, breath knocked out of him. With shaking fingers, Niall pulls Zayn away from him. Liam’s at his elbow suddenly, with Louis teetering against him.

Liam starts checking Harry over while Louis helps Niall lay Zayn out over the leaves. Niall cups Zayn’s face in his hands as he tries to assess the damage.

He’s never seen or heard of anyone using that much power, and it’s especially dangerous to draw so much from your core. The very essence of what makes someone strong is also their greatest weakness this way.

Niall can’t feel anything. There’s no movement, not so much as a murmur of thoughts, a spark of folksap.

Nothing.

He sits back on his heels and tries not to panic.

“Zayn?” Harry’s wide awake now, clambering over Niall’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“They used a lot of magic to save everyone back there,” Niall says. He feels numb, feels like someone else is talking through him. “It’s, it’s really dangerous to use that much, I-”

“They’re going to be okay though, right?” Louis breaks in, pulling one of Zayn’s hands into her lap and stroking it.

Niall doesn’t know. He wraps his fingers around Zayn’s other hand, and presses it against his forehead, willing his magic to do something, anything. His magic feels like a spluttering lighter in the rain, and it’s useless. Zayn's skin is icy to the touch.

“It’s Zayn, they have to be okay,” Harry says, poking Zayn in all their worst ticklish spots. Zayn doesn’t respond and that only makes Harry try harder.

“Harry, stop shaking them,” Liam orders, pulling Harry into his side. Harry turns to press his face into Liam’s chest and his shoulders start shaking.

“Zayn? C’mon, buddy.” Liam’s voice cracks. “You’ve got to wake up.” He reaches down, carefully brushes his fingers through their hair. “You’re starting to scare us, and it really isn’t funny.”

“Yeah, you’re being a fucking asshole.” A tear trickles down Louis’ cheek and she doesn’t even bother trying to wipe it off, just stares down at her lap. “So stop it right now.”

“Zayn, please!,” Harry chokes out, voice wet and muffled into Liam’s shirt. Niall squeezes his eyes shut and does his best not to crumple at the sound.

Something warm trickles over Niall’s knuckles, still clutching Zayn’s hand. Blearily he looks up, wonders if he missed getting some kind of head injury in all the coomotion. But that isn’t the case at all and Niall gasps.

Thin, tiny trails of yellow are flowing from each of them, sparkling in and out of view as they move towards Zayn.

“Niall… what’s going on?” Louis asks slowly, eyes wide as the little lights pop up and disappear from her fingers into Zayn’s. “None of us are magic, right?”

“No,” Niall answers, hardly daring to hope. “But I think - we’re Zayn’s magic.”

Harry removes himself from Liam’s damp shirt and shuffles closer to Zayn. He pulls their head into his lap, brushing the hair out of their face. His face is a mess of salty tear trails, streaking lines through all the dirt and dust from the cave.

Liam’s eyes are wide, and Niall knows there must be dozens upon dozens of questions buzzing through his head right now, but he doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t even move, almost forgets to breathe, as though he fears if he makes the slightest movement, the magic will stop.

The little streams of light gradually start to grow thicker and brighter, and the magic dances, flickering bright yellow spatters all around them like paint. As each speck of folksap touches Zayn’s skin, a ripple of light appears for a moment and disappears like droplets of rain into the sea.

Niall tries to keep the wonder off his face, he really does, but this is nothing like anything he’s even imagined before. The icy cold feeling in Zayn’s fingers starts to retreat, and Niall looks up to see Louis cradling Zayn’s other hand to her cheek. She’s shaking and biting her lip and Niall looks away, doesn’t want to see her trying so hard not to cry.

No one can say for certain how long they all sit there; it feels like years, but it could be moments.

Eventually, the streams begin to weaken in brightness and energy until they taper off into feeble sparks, and then nothing.

The magic glows warm and golden under the surface of Zayn’s entire body, even their hair is alight with it. Then the light slowly fades away and everybody holds their breath.

Zayn coughs and opens one eye. “Vas happenin’?”

“Dickhead.” Louis punches their arm. Zayn catches a hold of her fist, and smiles up at her fondly.

Harry’s lip quivers and he starts crying again. Zayn tries to sit up, but the movement is still slow to return to their limbs, and they can’t quite make it.

Liam, for all his immobility before, moves the fastest, pulling Zayn up by their armpits until they can lean against him and Harry.

“C’mon, there’s no need for that.” Zayn looks out at everyone’s damp eyes while Harry wipes his face with his shirt collar. “How about a hug?”

In the span of a second, everyone’s there, wrapping tightly as they can around Zayn. Niall tries not to choke at how good it is to see Zayn smile again, to feel their hands squeezing him back, to hear them giggle and say ‘I love you.’

“The - the monstery thing,” Zayn mutters, after a while, “Did I get it?”

Niall wipes his face and nods. “We passed it coming out of the cave, and it was frozen in a tree. Like you turned it into a real, actual tree. You didn’t kill it, but it’s never going to hurt anyone else again.”

“That’s cool.” Zayn closes their eyes and exhales for a long moment before speaking again. “Can we go home now?”

They pick up KFC on the way back to the cottage.

Liam goes in to get the orders, Harry goes in to make sure he gets it right, and Niall goes in to pee, leaving Louis and Zayn to wait in the car.

Zayn sits in the middle of the backseat, wrapped up in Liam’s jacket, Louis’ hoodie, and several blankets. They can’t quite remember what happened when they were out, but they mentioned being cold as they got back to the car and everyone panicked and wrapped them up in as many layers as they could grab. Harry wasn’t wearing much and tried to pull off his muddy wool socks, but Zayn told him to wear them, as much as they appreciated the offer.

“Zayn?” Louis clears her throat from the front seat.

“Yeah?”

She strums her fingers on the steering wheel in agitation for a moment, before speaking up in a hushed voice, and it’s clear her words are meant only for Zayn without her saying so.

“I don’t think any of us would’ve made it back there in the cave, if it weren’t for you, so, y’know. Thank you, for saving us.”

“‘Course I did. You know I’d always save you, Lou.” Louis finally turns to look at them and flashes Zayn a smile.

They’re walking up to the house and Louis turns to Niall. “You’re staying, right?”

There’s a lot of things she could be asking: are you staying for dinner? for the night? in this realm?, with us? with me?

Niall smiles, presses a kiss to her cheek and answers yes to all of them.

There’s an unspoken understanding between everyone, that no one wants to sleep very far from any of the others that night.

After everyone’s clean and full of chicken, they push aside all the furniture in the living room and drag the mattresses down the stairs. They shove them together in front of the fireplace, and pile on with every spare blanket they can find in the house.

Harry snuggles up against Zayn’s chest and hums contentedly as Zayn strokes his hair. Zayn waits until the others are sleeping next to them, before leaning down to Harry and whispering, “We still need to talk. Didn’t really get the chance today. We’ll figure things out properly later, I just - I’ve never really been in a relationship before.” Zayn blushes.

“Really?” Harry asks, far too loudly.

“Yes, really. And I don’t want to mess it up, if we were to try, cos if we don’t work out as a couple, I wouldn’t want to lose you as a friend, y’know? I care about you too much.”

“I think,” Harry says, “that that makes perfect sense. And I’d really like to kiss you now, if I could?”

“I think you could.”

Harry pushes himself up and leans over them. Zayn can feel Harry’s smile against them before his lips smooth into a kiss. It’s soft and gentle, and Harry pulls away moments later.

“That was nice,” Zayn says and Harry giggles. “I think I’d like to do more of that later.”

“Me, too.” Harry presses his lips to Zayn’s collarbone, before resting his head on their chest again. “But we should probably wait ‘til after we talk first.”

Zayn hums in agreement and cuddles Harry closer.

“By the way,” Louis breaks in suddenly. “Not that I’m not listening or anything, but just so you know, we wouldn’t let you stop being friends if any sort of a dating thing were to happen between you two and it didn't work out.”

“It might be a little awkward at first,” Liam adds. “But you’d survive. Besides, I’ll be damned if I let a bit of romance get in the way of all of us.”

Zayn sighs and hides their face in Harry’s curls. “Great, so everybody heard all of that?”

“Pretty much,” says Niall.

Zayn tries to kick him, but Liam’s in the way.

It’s a little cramped, with all five of them pressed together on two little mattresses, but it's good, Zayn thinks. They're all comfortable, knowing everyone's right where they're meant to be.