𝐌𝐑. 𝐏𝐀𝐘𝐍𝐄 ✧ 𝘻𝘪𝘢𝘮

thirty seven

four months later
may 23rd

Liam looks behind him where Zayn is muttering to himself as he stirs the pasta on the stove. He smiles as he watches the younger boy narrow his eyes and try to pick up and touch one, he hisses quietly and drops it back into the pan.

"Everything alright?"

Zayn startles when he hears Liam's voice but he nods his head and looks back at him with a grin that he knows is fake. "Yes, it's almost done."

Liam raises a brow at him that makes Zayn huff as he waits for the older man to say what he wants to say. "It kind of smells like burn, baby."

Zayn's eyes narrow and he turns completely to face him, crossing his harms with the wooden spoon still clutched in his hands. "Maybe it's your cake, why does the burnt smell automatically have to be because of me?"

He's pouting now as he waits for Liam to stop snickering at him. When he does, he moves aside and shows Zayn his chocolate cake that's been sitting out to cool for the past ten minutes so Liam can put the frosting on it.

Zayn just groans before turning around and stirring his pasta again. He tries to discreetly lean his head down to smell them, frowning before moving to turn down the dial on the stove.

"This is your fault if our food is burnt. I wanted to bake the cake," Zayn whines, shaking his head when Liam snorts and moves to reach for the frosting that's on the counter beside Zayn.

Liam squeezes the younger boy's hip softly and presses a kiss to his temple, "You're the one who picked tails, grumpy."

Zayn rolls his eyes but he's smiling as he looks back at Liam, "I demand a redo."

Liam laughs and shakes his head. "I've already baked my cake and you're about to burn our food, how is that fair enough for a redo?"

Zayn pouts and reaches out to push at Liam's chest, the older man doesn't move an inch. He smirks when Zayn just huffs and pinches Liam's side instead.

"Well, you're about to ruin the cake by putting chocolate frosting. Chocolate cake and chocolate frosting? Too much, Liam."

"I asked you what you wanted and you told me chocolate," Liam argues, laughing when he sees Zayn look away with a teasing grin.

They both go back to finishing, Zayn finally mixing his pasta with the creamy sauce and Liam finishing up his cake before adding sprinkles on the top. Zayn talks about finally being done with classes for the semester and what he wants to do with Liam during his summer break.

When he's done talking and he's finally finished decorating the cake, Liam sets the cake away for later, looks back to see that Zayn is almost done with the food. So, he makes sure the table is set for them, filling up their glasses and setting them at the table already.

He walks back into the kitchen and pulls out two plates and sets them beside Zayn who grins gratefully at him. He waits, arms crossed over his chest as he leans against the counter and watches the younger boy finish their meal.

It was officially Zayn's first day back home, finally done with classes and done moving all of his things back into his parents house. He wanted to take Zayn out for a date and to celebrate his completion of one year in college. Zayn wanted to stay in though — explained to Liam that he just wanted to spend time with him.

("I don't want to see anybody else's face for at least a month," Zayn tells Liam, his face serious but the older man still chuckles at him.

He raises a brow, "So, just my face everyday?"