(no subject)
Title: Where Conversations May Lead
Fandom: One Direction
Rating: PG
Pairing: Liam/Zayn
Summary: AU in which Liam and Zayn attend the same college and go on a coffee outing where Zayn makes him incredibly nervous and they have a conversation Liam hadn't anticipated them having. Plus.. fluff! That's a plus, right?
"I mean, it's basically common sense, mate." Zayn raised his steaming cup of coffee to his lips and blew softly to cool it down, even if only for a moment, but his thick rimmed glasses still fogged up. Most days Liam would stifle a laugh at this, but in this moment his eyes couldn't help but linger on Zayn's lips. He was memorized by them as Zayn spoke quickly and excitedly about his music in between sips of his coffee. It had become almost like a sort of routine for them; every few nights they would get together at their favorite on-campus coffee shop and talk about whats been going on in their lives and share their anxieties and anticipations, though lately it has become more of a routine of Zayn speaking and drinking, Liam stumbling to find words, and leaving with a cold cup of coffee barely touched.
"Are you even listening to me?" Zayn looked genuinely concerned when he noticed Liam staring at him. "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" He frowned, rubbing the stubble on his chin.
"Huh?" Liam's eyes widened at the sudden raised volume of Zayn's voice, and quickly moved back in his chair when he noticed that he had been leaning forward a little too far.
"Have you heard a single thing I've said?"
"Of course I have!" Liam could feel his face growing warm as he lied through his teeth.
"Okay, so what was I just talking about?"
"Erm.." Liam panicked, wrapping his hands around his plastic cup and trying to act completely natural. "You know, the usual." He shrugged, taking a sip of his now bitter coffee, hoping Zayn will change the subject.
"What's been going on with you, Liam? You've been acting very.. strange. Even for you." He teased, tilting his head and smirking.
If Liam wasn't red before, he certainly was now.
"Nothing, really. I've just been distracted, I guess.."
"Distracted?" Zayn furrowed his brows. "Oh, your performance is coming up, isn't it?"
A few weeks prior Liam had promised his piano teacher that he would give a performance at the college's upcoming instrumental concert, meant to showcase the students' talents and progress to their parents. He was fondly nicknamed her "little prodigy", even though Liam knew (and constantly reminded himself) that there were students far better at playing the piano than he.
"Yeah. It's Friday, actually.."
"Friday?" Zayn grinned wildly. "I'll be there!"
"Wa.. what?" Liam stammered, nearly dropping his cup. "You don't.. you don't have to go to that.. it's.. it's silly.."
"Of course I'm going! You still haven't played anything for me, even though I've begged you how many times now." Liam allowed himself to smile, momentarily forgetting his nerves. "And besides - if it's important to you, then it's important to me." He shrugged, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs.
"Oh.. well.. okay." Liam hoped that Zayn wouldn't notice how red he was getting, but knew that was probably impossible.
"Unless you don't want me to." Zayn raised an eyebrow, staring back at Liam.
"Of course I want you to! I mean.. I.. only if you.."
Zayn allowed him to stumble over his words for a moment before he burst out laughing, his eyes crinkling.
"You're so cute when you're nervous, Liam." It sounded more like a drawn out Lee-yum when he said it, which Liam loved. It made him feel as though no one else should be allowed to say his name but Zayn.
"Shut up." Liam tried to act annoyed, though his heart felt like it could jump out of his chest at any moment. Every time he was around Zayn he found himself at a loss for breath, and unable to act like a regular, sane person. He brought this up to his friend Harry once and all he had to say about the matter was "That's how you know you're in love, mate," with that cheeky smile of his that always made you feel like he was the proud parent and you were the child discovering new things. To Liam, this wasn't new information, even if he had been lying to himself about it for months. He knew, regardless of how much he wanted to ignore it, that he had feelings for Zayn. These feelings made themselves clear every time he was forced to listen to Zayn talk for hours about music, his voice rushed and excited, an undeniable joy in his eyes, or whenever he would drive Zayn somewhere and he'd curl up in the passenger seat and fall asleep no matter how short the commute. Most of all he found himself falling a little bit more in love with Zayn in his most vulnerable of moments; when he wakes up, his eyelashes fluttering, mumbling "Did I fall asleep again?", or when he's getting ready in the morning and not as entirely composed as he likes to pretend to be, or when he's bobbing his head along to whatever he's listening to through his headphones, his over-sized glasses falling off his nose.
"No, I mean it. Are you like that when you're playing? If so, you can definitely sign me up."
Liam rolled his eyes, hoping Zayn would not catch onto the fact that he makes him feel weak and unsteady. He hated how Zayn did that - he wasn't some 18th century heroine in a romance novel, for god's sake.
"You are going to actually play if I go, right? You won't freeze up and refuse?"
"What would make you think think that?"
"Oh, just something Harry mentioned to me the other day." He smirked, fully aware that he was driving Liam crazy with every word.
Liam's eyes dropped to his hands in his lap, terrified to look at Zayn.
"What's the matter, Liam?" He breathed, uncrossing his arms and leaning over the table. "Am I making you nervous?"
Liam jumped as he felt Zayn's hand on his thigh, shaking the table and nearly knocking their drinks over.
"Jesus, Payne." Zayn laughed openly and loudly, without a care in the world. "Harry was right, wasn't he?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Liam swallowed, still avoiding Zayn's eyes.
"Can you not look at me?" Zayn sounded as if he were enjoying himself, trying to tilt his head so he could see Liam's eyes clearly. "It's okay, Liam. It is."
Liam's eyes widened slightly as he looked up at him. Zayn was biting his lip and grinning, obviously amused.
"I can't believe Harry told you." He spoke quietly, shaking his head.
"Aha!" Zayn spoke much louder than Liam, as if he didn't care who heard their conversation. Liam often found himself envying that quality of his, wishing he could bring himself to care less about what people thought of him. "He really wasn't lying, was he?" He exhaled, looking amazed.
"If you're just going to laugh at me, I might as well leave." Liam slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and stood, turning to leave.
"Liam." He drew out his name longer than usual.
Liam sighed, turning around and shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat. "What?"
"I wasn't laughing at you, really. I just..am surprised, I guess." He spoke quieter for Liam's sake.
"Yeah well, so was I." He half expected Zayn to frown or at least be confused, but instead he looked.. happy. Completely and utterly happy.
"You could have just told me, you know."
"You really think that I would just tell you something like that? I mean really, Zayn, it's hard enough for me to order food without feeling pressured and worrying that the waiter will judge me or think there's something wrong with me."
"And I love that about you."
Liam blushed, staring down at his feet. "You're intimidating, Zayn. Even after we've been friends for this long."
"Me? Intimidating?" He snorted, stretching his arm and resting it on the top of the chair.
Liam nodded helplessly. "God, Zayn. Every little thing you do, it's just.."
"Yes?" Zayn stood up, almost matching Liam's height.
"You terrify me, you really do. And I know that sounds ridiculous, but it's true. It's like your own of the songs I attempt to play but get so frustrated because I can't quite figure out the chords or how to make it sound just right."
Zayn stepped closer towards him and grabbed him by the waist. "You don't have to figure me out, Liam. I'm an open book." He grinned, fixated on Liam's lips that always seemed to be pouting except for when he smiled, even if he didn't mean for them to. "And this? This sounds right, doesn't it?"
Liam swallowed, unsure of what to do. It didn't feel real to him; he had thought about this sort of scenario countless times, of course it never occurred quite like this, and he certainly didn't think that it was an actual possibility.
"I think so. I mean.. I hoped it would.."
Zayn leaned in close, and for a panicked moment Liam thought he might be going for a kiss, but he passed his lips and whispered "Good. Now.. I need a ride."
"What?" Liam leaned back, startled.
"A ride. To my flat." Zayn answered as if it were obvious. "We need to talk about this, and I don't know about you, mate, but I'd rather not do it in a coffee shop."
Liam let out a sigh of relief. "Oh... okay.. sure, yeah. That would probably be best." He shrugged, attempting to act as casual as Zayn.
"And besides...you never know where conversations may lead." Zayn whispered in his ear before sauntering to the exit.
Liam had to grab onto the edge of the table to keep from going entirely weak in the knees. He laughed nervously, spinning around.
"Hey, Malik!"
Zayn turned around, grinning. "Yeah?"
"You better not fall asleep in my car again."
"I can't make any promises." Zayn shrugged, turning to leave.
Liam hoped that in just this instance, Zayn was right.
Fandom: One Direction
Rating: PG
Pairing: Liam/Zayn
Summary: AU in which Liam and Zayn attend the same college and go on a coffee outing where Zayn makes him incredibly nervous and they have a conversation Liam hadn't anticipated them having. Plus.. fluff! That's a plus, right?
"I mean, it's basically common sense, mate." Zayn raised his steaming cup of coffee to his lips and blew softly to cool it down, even if only for a moment, but his thick rimmed glasses still fogged up. Most days Liam would stifle a laugh at this, but in this moment his eyes couldn't help but linger on Zayn's lips. He was memorized by them as Zayn spoke quickly and excitedly about his music in between sips of his coffee. It had become almost like a sort of routine for them; every few nights they would get together at their favorite on-campus coffee shop and talk about whats been going on in their lives and share their anxieties and anticipations, though lately it has become more of a routine of Zayn speaking and drinking, Liam stumbling to find words, and leaving with a cold cup of coffee barely touched.
"Are you even listening to me?" Zayn looked genuinely concerned when he noticed Liam staring at him. "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" He frowned, rubbing the stubble on his chin.
"Huh?" Liam's eyes widened at the sudden raised volume of Zayn's voice, and quickly moved back in his chair when he noticed that he had been leaning forward a little too far.
"Have you heard a single thing I've said?"
"Of course I have!" Liam could feel his face growing warm as he lied through his teeth.
"Okay, so what was I just talking about?"
"Erm.." Liam panicked, wrapping his hands around his plastic cup and trying to act completely natural. "You know, the usual." He shrugged, taking a sip of his now bitter coffee, hoping Zayn will change the subject.
"What's been going on with you, Liam? You've been acting very.. strange. Even for you." He teased, tilting his head and smirking.
If Liam wasn't red before, he certainly was now.
"Nothing, really. I've just been distracted, I guess.."
"Distracted?" Zayn furrowed his brows. "Oh, your performance is coming up, isn't it?"
A few weeks prior Liam had promised his piano teacher that he would give a performance at the college's upcoming instrumental concert, meant to showcase the students' talents and progress to their parents. He was fondly nicknamed her "little prodigy", even though Liam knew (and constantly reminded himself) that there were students far better at playing the piano than he.
"Yeah. It's Friday, actually.."
"Friday?" Zayn grinned wildly. "I'll be there!"
"Wa.. what?" Liam stammered, nearly dropping his cup. "You don't.. you don't have to go to that.. it's.. it's silly.."
"Of course I'm going! You still haven't played anything for me, even though I've begged you how many times now." Liam allowed himself to smile, momentarily forgetting his nerves. "And besides - if it's important to you, then it's important to me." He shrugged, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs.
"Oh.. well.. okay." Liam hoped that Zayn wouldn't notice how red he was getting, but knew that was probably impossible.
"Unless you don't want me to." Zayn raised an eyebrow, staring back at Liam.
"Of course I want you to! I mean.. I.. only if you.."
Zayn allowed him to stumble over his words for a moment before he burst out laughing, his eyes crinkling.
"You're so cute when you're nervous, Liam." It sounded more like a drawn out Lee-yum when he said it, which Liam loved. It made him feel as though no one else should be allowed to say his name but Zayn.
"Shut up." Liam tried to act annoyed, though his heart felt like it could jump out of his chest at any moment. Every time he was around Zayn he found himself at a loss for breath, and unable to act like a regular, sane person. He brought this up to his friend Harry once and all he had to say about the matter was "That's how you know you're in love, mate," with that cheeky smile of his that always made you feel like he was the proud parent and you were the child discovering new things. To Liam, this wasn't new information, even if he had been lying to himself about it for months. He knew, regardless of how much he wanted to ignore it, that he had feelings for Zayn. These feelings made themselves clear every time he was forced to listen to Zayn talk for hours about music, his voice rushed and excited, an undeniable joy in his eyes, or whenever he would drive Zayn somewhere and he'd curl up in the passenger seat and fall asleep no matter how short the commute. Most of all he found himself falling a little bit more in love with Zayn in his most vulnerable of moments; when he wakes up, his eyelashes fluttering, mumbling "Did I fall asleep again?", or when he's getting ready in the morning and not as entirely composed as he likes to pretend to be, or when he's bobbing his head along to whatever he's listening to through his headphones, his over-sized glasses falling off his nose.
"No, I mean it. Are you like that when you're playing? If so, you can definitely sign me up."
Liam rolled his eyes, hoping Zayn would not catch onto the fact that he makes him feel weak and unsteady. He hated how Zayn did that - he wasn't some 18th century heroine in a romance novel, for god's sake.
"You are going to actually play if I go, right? You won't freeze up and refuse?"
"What would make you think think that?"
"Oh, just something Harry mentioned to me the other day." He smirked, fully aware that he was driving Liam crazy with every word.
Liam's eyes dropped to his hands in his lap, terrified to look at Zayn.
"What's the matter, Liam?" He breathed, uncrossing his arms and leaning over the table. "Am I making you nervous?"
Liam jumped as he felt Zayn's hand on his thigh, shaking the table and nearly knocking their drinks over.
"Jesus, Payne." Zayn laughed openly and loudly, without a care in the world. "Harry was right, wasn't he?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Liam swallowed, still avoiding Zayn's eyes.
"Can you not look at me?" Zayn sounded as if he were enjoying himself, trying to tilt his head so he could see Liam's eyes clearly. "It's okay, Liam. It is."
Liam's eyes widened slightly as he looked up at him. Zayn was biting his lip and grinning, obviously amused.
"I can't believe Harry told you." He spoke quietly, shaking his head.
"Aha!" Zayn spoke much louder than Liam, as if he didn't care who heard their conversation. Liam often found himself envying that quality of his, wishing he could bring himself to care less about what people thought of him. "He really wasn't lying, was he?" He exhaled, looking amazed.
"If you're just going to laugh at me, I might as well leave." Liam slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and stood, turning to leave.
"Liam." He drew out his name longer than usual.
Liam sighed, turning around and shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat. "What?"
"I wasn't laughing at you, really. I just..am surprised, I guess." He spoke quieter for Liam's sake.
"Yeah well, so was I." He half expected Zayn to frown or at least be confused, but instead he looked.. happy. Completely and utterly happy.
"You could have just told me, you know."
"You really think that I would just tell you something like that? I mean really, Zayn, it's hard enough for me to order food without feeling pressured and worrying that the waiter will judge me or think there's something wrong with me."
"And I love that about you."
Liam blushed, staring down at his feet. "You're intimidating, Zayn. Even after we've been friends for this long."
"Me? Intimidating?" He snorted, stretching his arm and resting it on the top of the chair.
Liam nodded helplessly. "God, Zayn. Every little thing you do, it's just.."
"Yes?" Zayn stood up, almost matching Liam's height.
"You terrify me, you really do. And I know that sounds ridiculous, but it's true. It's like your own of the songs I attempt to play but get so frustrated because I can't quite figure out the chords or how to make it sound just right."
Zayn stepped closer towards him and grabbed him by the waist. "You don't have to figure me out, Liam. I'm an open book." He grinned, fixated on Liam's lips that always seemed to be pouting except for when he smiled, even if he didn't mean for them to. "And this? This sounds right, doesn't it?"
Liam swallowed, unsure of what to do. It didn't feel real to him; he had thought about this sort of scenario countless times, of course it never occurred quite like this, and he certainly didn't think that it was an actual possibility.
"I think so. I mean.. I hoped it would.."
Zayn leaned in close, and for a panicked moment Liam thought he might be going for a kiss, but he passed his lips and whispered "Good. Now.. I need a ride."
"What?" Liam leaned back, startled.
"A ride. To my flat." Zayn answered as if it were obvious. "We need to talk about this, and I don't know about you, mate, but I'd rather not do it in a coffee shop."
Liam let out a sigh of relief. "Oh... okay.. sure, yeah. That would probably be best." He shrugged, attempting to act as casual as Zayn.
"And besides...you never know where conversations may lead." Zayn whispered in his ear before sauntering to the exit.
Liam had to grab onto the edge of the table to keep from going entirely weak in the knees. He laughed nervously, spinning around.
"Hey, Malik!"
Zayn turned around, grinning. "Yeah?"
"You better not fall asleep in my car again."
"I can't make any promises." Zayn shrugged, turning to leave.
Liam hoped that in just this instance, Zayn was right.