Baby Boy | Zustiall AU [COMPLETE]

Thirty Two

Niall is woken up by his phone ringing, and he blindly reaches for his nightstand, fumbling until he finds his phone. "Hello?" he asks groggily.

"Niall? Hi, baby. I'm sorry to call you so early, but — but —" Justin pauses, breathing raspy. "Zayn is gone, and he left this really cryptic note, and I j-just needed to know if he'd called you." His breathing still sounds weird, all hiccupy and off, and it takes Niall a second to realize his boyfriend is panicking.

Niall sits up. "Hold on, Jay, let me check my texts." He scrolls through his messages for a second, hoping to find something from Zayn, but there's nothing. "I don't see anything," Niall tells Justin, and his heart breaks when he hears Justin choke back a sob.

"I hate it when he does shit like this," Justin rambles. "He knows — he knows it makes me anxious, I-I can't —"

"It's okay," Niall assures him. "I'm gonna come over okay, Jay?"

"Do you —" Justin lets out a shaky breath. "Fuck. Do you w-want me to pick you up?"

"No," Niall answers quickly, not wanting his boyfriend to drive while he's clearly in the middle of an anxiety attack. "Liam will drop me off. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," Justin says. Niall hangs up and scrambles to get dressed, worried beyond belief. Justin really sounded like he was panicking, and worry for him causes Niall's hands to tremble as he gets ready.

"Liam?" Niall calls as he makes his way out into the hallway. "Li, can you take me to Zayn and Justin's?" When he gets no response, he knocks on Liam's bedroom door. "Li?" No answer, and when he pushes the door open, Liam isn't there. Niall shrugs, figuring he's at Harry's, and it's not until he passes the kitchen table that he sees the note that Liam left.

Niall,
Sorry to disappear on you like this. I know you weren't expecting it, and I'm sure you and Justin are probably freaking out a bit, but it's better this way. Everything is gonna be fine, and you have nothing to worry about. Zee wanted me to ask if you'd stay with Justin until we get back. He's worried about him, too, and things will probably work out better if you two stay together.

Love you and see you soon,
Liam

"Fuck you!" Niall shouts at the paper, angry now. He runs his hands through his hair and takes a few deep, frustrated breaths before remembering how Justin had sounded on the phone, and he calls a Lyft.

- - -
"Niall," Justin gasps out when the doorbell rings, and he's so relieved to see his tiny, little love he could cry. His hands still haven't stopped shaking no matter how hard he tries to make them stop, and Niall can feel them trembling as Justin touches his face.

"Daddy," Niall whimpers, nuzzling his face into Justin's chest. Somehow, that soothes something in Justin, though, and it helps immensely. His little angel needs him, and he scoops Niall up so he can kiss his forehead.

"It's okay, sweetheart. Daddy's here, everything will be alright," he coos, nuzzling his nose against Niall's. Niall manages a tiny smile, but it doesn't reach his eyes until Justin kisses him once, gentle, so full of love Niall can taste it.

"Liam left me a cryptic note, too," he adds, and Justin sets him down so Niall can pull the note out of his pocket.  Justin skims it quickly, and then hisses, "Fuck," under his breath and crumples it up.

"I'm so fucking mad at them," he hisses, scrubbing his hands over his face. "They can't just fucking leave and not tell us anything! How can they do that to the two people with severe anxiety disorders? That's not fucking fair! I swear to God, I'm leaving Zayn for this." Justin sits on the couch, running his hands through his hair. Closer to him now, Niall can see how exhausted he is, and he curls up next to Justin and forces the older man to lay his head in his lap so he can play with his hair.

"Don't leave him," Niall says quietly, after a long silence. It's not at all uncomfortable, and they both know it's only because they're both too worried for words.

Justin shakes his head. "I won't. I shouldn't have said that, it's not true. I could never leave Zayn and he knows it. I'm too in love with that dumbass."

Niall sighs. "Me, too." He chews on his lip. "Do you think they're alright?"

Justin takes one of Niall's hands out of his hair and kisses the back. "I'm sure they're fine. I have no choice but to believe that they are." Niall plays with his hair a bit longer until Justin sits up. "You know what? No."

"No?" Niall repeats, confused.

"Yeah, no. No. We're not gonna sit here and mope around and worry until they get home. No. You and I, baby boy, we're gonna have some fun, and when they get back, they'll be so surprised by the fact we're not miserable that they'll never leave us again."

Niall laughs at the idea. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Now, how do you feel about strip Mario Kart?"

A/N: This is a bit of a filler chapter, just something quick before I head off to work! The next chapter is gonna be a lot of fluff between Niall and Justin and the idiotic shit they get up to. I love you all! I'm gonna update this fic again next so keep an eye out for updates soon!