fic: all the stars and boulevards, a timestamp
title five voices shaded blue, an all the stars and boulevards timestamp
author snuffleslove
pairing zayn/liam, harry/louis, girl!niall
word count 1k
rating pg-13
warnings genderswap, slash
summary
"Nervous?" Liam asks him. Zayn just nods, ducks his head, "Hey," Liam presses himself into Zayn, takes his fidgety hands and places them on his own waist, "You're gonna be brilliant, I know it."
a/n AU where the boys are international students at columbia university and new york city is taken by storm.
Zayn's wringing his hands together by the time Liam finds him, alone in the boys' dressing room backstage.
He looks more amused than anything and Zayn attempts to glare at him. It probably falls closer to pathetic than he'd like.
"Nervous?" Liam asks him. Zayn just nods, ducks his head, "Hey," Liam presses himself into Zayn, takes his fidgety hands and places them on his own waist, "You're gonna be brilliant, I know it."
Zayn's hands fist in the smooth material of his dress shirt, tug him closer.
"You look good," he croaks out, because Liam does, smart and sexy in all black, with a gold tie hanging loose around his neck. He's cut his hair shorter recently, and it suits him and Zayn resists the urge to run his hand through it. Barely.
"Yeah?" Liam asks him, voice gone a bit shy even after all this time, "S'nothing you haven't seen before."
It's true. Lia'ms got exactly one set of formal clothes, This black shirt's seen quite a few dates. It's been to dinner with the wrestling team in honor of Liam being named captain, a proud Zayn holding his hand on the table the entire time. It was worn when Harry's father came in, took them all to a broadway show and then the time Liam's sister had flown up to see him for the first time in three years.
And Liam had had it on, unbuttoned and loose on his shoulders, when Zayn had asked him to come home with him for the summer. Meet his mum.
And now -
"Never get tired of it," he says, "Never get tired of taking it off, either," he grins a little, thumbs making small circles on Liam's hips.
"Menace," Liam groans, tugs a little at Zayn's blue striped tie, "You can't look like this and touch me like that, s'not fair."
Zayn huffs a laugh, kisses him anyway.
"I love you," he tells Liam a little helplessly, nipping light at Liam's bottom lip. Liam hums, pleased.
"Am I helping?" he asks softly.
Zayn opens his mouth to tell him always but then the door's being shoved open and Harry and Louis fall in. They too are wearing black collared shirts and colored ties and Harry's actually brushed his hair for once and they are a good looking group, Zayn has to admit.
"There the two of you are, jesus! We're on in five!"
Liam smiles
"We're ready," he assures Louis, "How's Niall?"
"Nervous as fuck," Louis says and Harry nudges him with an elbow.
"She looks beautiful," he tells LIam, "This is gonna be brilliant."
"Not if we miss our cue, c'mon," Louis demands, ushering them out the door hurriedly, "Let's go."
Niall's pacing when they reach the stage left wing and she barely spares them a glance when they approach.
"The entire dance department's out there," she whispers agitatedly, "The heads of New York City companies are out there, oh my god - "
Zayn holds out his arms for her and she falls into them almost instinctively.
"It's gonna be alright, Ni," he soothes and behind her LIam's grinning at him and it erases any doubts Zayn's still holding on to, "It's gonna be more than alright, it's gonna be amazing."
"You're ready," Louis tells her surely, when she peeks her head out from Zayn's chest. "You've worked hard, and you're ready."
"And we're right here with you," Harry grins, "Literally."
And she barely has time for a nod of thanks before the previous performers are leaving the stage and they're being ushered on under a blanket of darkness.
Zayn fumbles to find his mic and his stool and then the spotlight lands on Niall centerstage with her arms above her head, red silk dress billowing around her legs and Zayn clears his throat softly, begins to sing -
"You're hand fits in mine like it's made just for me -" And Niall begins to move, body raveling and unraveling to the grit of Zayn's voice, the dips and nuances he's practiced with Harry and Louis and Liam for ages now. He watches the way Niall's choreography gives life to the words, entranced still by a routine he's seen a hundred times and then he turns to the audience, feels the energy there, buzzing under the black light, feeds off it, lets his voice soar.
And then Liam's singing and Zayn turns to him automatically, smiles, and hears Liam's answering happiness in but i'll love them endlessly.
He makes it feel so easy, Zayn thinks. Performing, and singing, and being. Makes forever feel so easy.
Their voices tangle together in the chorus, pitches playing in chords and it is.
It is easy.
Louis steals the line and Zayn slumps a little in his seat, enjoys the way Louis burns bright under the spotlights.
Louis burns brighter than ever these days. The reason for that is glaringly obvious. Harry's entire body has turned in to face him, drawn to him like leaves desperate for the heat of the sun.
And then Harry and Louis share the melody for Niall, their steady warmth coloring each note and Zayn watches her body arch to reach them, arms extending, back taut and he feels the crowd's intake of breath, the way the sit at the edge of their seats to take them all in.
He's suddenly eager to add his voice to the mix, let the final chorus be a picture of their family, each voice and movement adding a separate hue. He listens carefully to Liam and Louis on either side of him, finds the notes in between them, the hidden harmony line.
His harmony line, that fits perfectly under Liam's and over Harry's and side by side with Louis's, that dips gracefully the way Niall does and carries a strength that's been a lesson hard earned.
Family, is his last thought before the thunderous applause.
His family.
author snuffleslove
pairing zayn/liam, harry/louis, girl!niall
word count 1k
rating pg-13
warnings genderswap, slash
summary
"Nervous?" Liam asks him. Zayn just nods, ducks his head, "Hey," Liam presses himself into Zayn, takes his fidgety hands and places them on his own waist, "You're gonna be brilliant, I know it."
a/n AU where the boys are international students at columbia university and new york city is taken by storm.
Zayn's wringing his hands together by the time Liam finds him, alone in the boys' dressing room backstage.
He looks more amused than anything and Zayn attempts to glare at him. It probably falls closer to pathetic than he'd like.
"Nervous?" Liam asks him. Zayn just nods, ducks his head, "Hey," Liam presses himself into Zayn, takes his fidgety hands and places them on his own waist, "You're gonna be brilliant, I know it."
Zayn's hands fist in the smooth material of his dress shirt, tug him closer.
"You look good," he croaks out, because Liam does, smart and sexy in all black, with a gold tie hanging loose around his neck. He's cut his hair shorter recently, and it suits him and Zayn resists the urge to run his hand through it. Barely.
"Yeah?" Liam asks him, voice gone a bit shy even after all this time, "S'nothing you haven't seen before."
It's true. Lia'ms got exactly one set of formal clothes, This black shirt's seen quite a few dates. It's been to dinner with the wrestling team in honor of Liam being named captain, a proud Zayn holding his hand on the table the entire time. It was worn when Harry's father came in, took them all to a broadway show and then the time Liam's sister had flown up to see him for the first time in three years.
And Liam had had it on, unbuttoned and loose on his shoulders, when Zayn had asked him to come home with him for the summer. Meet his mum.
And now -
"Never get tired of it," he says, "Never get tired of taking it off, either," he grins a little, thumbs making small circles on Liam's hips.
"Menace," Liam groans, tugs a little at Zayn's blue striped tie, "You can't look like this and touch me like that, s'not fair."
Zayn huffs a laugh, kisses him anyway.
"I love you," he tells Liam a little helplessly, nipping light at Liam's bottom lip. Liam hums, pleased.
"Am I helping?" he asks softly.
Zayn opens his mouth to tell him always but then the door's being shoved open and Harry and Louis fall in. They too are wearing black collared shirts and colored ties and Harry's actually brushed his hair for once and they are a good looking group, Zayn has to admit.
"There the two of you are, jesus! We're on in five!"
Liam smiles
"We're ready," he assures Louis, "How's Niall?"
"Nervous as fuck," Louis says and Harry nudges him with an elbow.
"She looks beautiful," he tells LIam, "This is gonna be brilliant."
"Not if we miss our cue, c'mon," Louis demands, ushering them out the door hurriedly, "Let's go."
Niall's pacing when they reach the stage left wing and she barely spares them a glance when they approach.
"The entire dance department's out there," she whispers agitatedly, "The heads of New York City companies are out there, oh my god - "
Zayn holds out his arms for her and she falls into them almost instinctively.
"It's gonna be alright, Ni," he soothes and behind her LIam's grinning at him and it erases any doubts Zayn's still holding on to, "It's gonna be more than alright, it's gonna be amazing."
"You're ready," Louis tells her surely, when she peeks her head out from Zayn's chest. "You've worked hard, and you're ready."
"And we're right here with you," Harry grins, "Literally."
And she barely has time for a nod of thanks before the previous performers are leaving the stage and they're being ushered on under a blanket of darkness.
Zayn fumbles to find his mic and his stool and then the spotlight lands on Niall centerstage with her arms above her head, red silk dress billowing around her legs and Zayn clears his throat softly, begins to sing -
"You're hand fits in mine like it's made just for me -" And Niall begins to move, body raveling and unraveling to the grit of Zayn's voice, the dips and nuances he's practiced with Harry and Louis and Liam for ages now. He watches the way Niall's choreography gives life to the words, entranced still by a routine he's seen a hundred times and then he turns to the audience, feels the energy there, buzzing under the black light, feeds off it, lets his voice soar.
And then Liam's singing and Zayn turns to him automatically, smiles, and hears Liam's answering happiness in but i'll love them endlessly.
He makes it feel so easy, Zayn thinks. Performing, and singing, and being. Makes forever feel so easy.
Their voices tangle together in the chorus, pitches playing in chords and it is.
It is easy.
Louis steals the line and Zayn slumps a little in his seat, enjoys the way Louis burns bright under the spotlights.
Louis burns brighter than ever these days. The reason for that is glaringly obvious. Harry's entire body has turned in to face him, drawn to him like leaves desperate for the heat of the sun.
And then Harry and Louis share the melody for Niall, their steady warmth coloring each note and Zayn watches her body arch to reach them, arms extending, back taut and he feels the crowd's intake of breath, the way the sit at the edge of their seats to take them all in.
He's suddenly eager to add his voice to the mix, let the final chorus be a picture of their family, each voice and movement adding a separate hue. He listens carefully to Liam and Louis on either side of him, finds the notes in between them, the hidden harmony line.
His harmony line, that fits perfectly under Liam's and over Harry's and side by side with Louis's, that dips gracefully the way Niall does and carries a strength that's been a lesson hard earned.
Family, is his last thought before the thunderous applause.
His family.