Ziam One Shots II

He Kneels

Zayn unlocked the front door to his house. Once inside the savoury and rather mouth-watering scent of dinner instantly wafted over to him. With a smile, Zayn took off his shoes and placed them neatly on the shoe rack inside the walk-in wardrobe just behind the front door. He left his jacket there too, and slowly patted into the kitchen. 

He stopped, casually leant against the doorframe, crossed his arms over his chest and watched the man who had, a long, long time ago, stolen his heart move around the kitchen with an air of grace and elegance that was breathtakingly unique. To Zayn, it almost appeared to be a dance, rather than just the most common of tasks in a household. Zayn unashamedly watched for a while, silently noted the absence of music or Liam's humming, which sounded almost like a kitten's purr, or so he always thought. He had come to rather enjoy the soft, soothing sound.

He pushed himself away from the doorframe, walked into the kitchen and embraced Liam from behind, slipping his arms possessively around Liam's lithe, toned body. He pulled him tightly against his own body and noted how Liam, rather uncharacteristically so, tensed first before he relaxed into the familiar embrace. One oddity Zayn could accept, two were signs of something else.

"What's for dinner, my love?"

Zayn posed the question as casually as he possibly could, buried his face in the crook of Liam's neck and inhaled deeply. He tightened his hold on Liam considerably, his embrace now almost painful. A tremor went through Liam's body and after a moment of silence, he finally answered.

"Blanquette of chicken in a creamy, white wine sauce with fresh green peas, carrot cubes and corn. I've made rice with it."

Liam answer was prompt and Zayn noted the barely-there crack in his voice as he spoke.

Strike three.

Something was going on that needed investigating, although not now. Now it was time for dinner.

"I'll wash up."

He whispered the words into Liam's neck, placed a chaste kiss on the warm pale skin and left the kitchen to wash his hands and face in the guest bathroom down the hall.

He deliberately took his time and when he returned Liam had finished setting the table. Zayn took his seat, motioned for Liam to pour him a glass of water, then waited for Liam to sit down as well before he started on his dinner. It tasted heavenly, the flavours all blended beautifully together and Zayn savoured each bite with the greatest pleasure. He loved Liam's culinary exploits and it had been a few weeks since he last had been home early enough for them to enjoy dinner together.

Zayn paused, his fork halfway up to his mouth and glanced at Liam, who was sitting across from him. He had his head lowered and was all but pushing the food unenthusiastically around his plate. Zayn was sure that he couldn't have had more than two bites since they had sat down.

Strike four.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Fine, nothing out of the ordinary."

The fact that Liam didn't lift his head to meet Zayn's eyes was something that bothered Zayn enough to result in a lingering bout of mild annoyance. He, however, didn't comment on it. He also didn't comment on the fact that Liam had just lied to him. He did, however, make a mental note of it.

 Strike five.

This was getting serious, normally strike three would be enough for Zayn to be up on his feet towering over Liam, taking control of the situation to rectify whatever had Liam feeling out of sorts.

Today, however, Zayn wanted to try a different approach.

"How is work coming along?" Liam asked and this time he briefly lifted his head.