Him & His Muslimah

39

Zaib/Zoya

Zaib's alarm blared and he leant over to disarm it. It was midnight and he had been lying awake since they had decided to take a short nap in the evening. His eyes flitted to Zoya who was curled up on his chest, breathing deeply. Her hair was sprawled over him and her sweet shampoo scent drifted to his nose. He breathed her in and felt comforted.

They had to get up in order to get ready for their twelve-hour flight from Seattle to Zurich in Switzerland. When choosing their honeymoon destination, Zaib had considered the countries they had already visited and wanted to visit. Switzerland was on their to-go list. He also wanted a scenic escape so he planned their trip accordingly.

Zaib didn't want to leave the bed and neither did he want to awaken Zoya, who looked very peaceful in her slumber but he was forced to. "Zoya," he whispered as he tapped her shoulder gently. She mumbled something incoherent and snuggled up to him even more.

His breath hitched in his throat at her actions, this was harder than he thought. "Zoya!" he whispered a bit louder as he pushed her shoulder gently. Her eyebrows furrowed and she pinched the fabric of his shirt, "Five more minutes."

"Okay love," he leaned down to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. This alerted all of Zoya's nerves and her eyes jerked open. "It's you," she breathed."I keep forgetting I sleep in the same bed as you," she airily giggled. Zoya lifted her head off his chest and got up, "What time is it?"

"It's midnight, we have to leave in thirty minutes," Zaib smiled at Zoya's puffy cheeks. Her cheeks would swell up when she was sleeping and he found it adorable.

"M'kay," she yawned as she lethargically wandered to the bathroom. Zaib chuckled and got up himself, preparing the small things.

-

"We have to take the train to the B gates?" Zaib inquired at the information desk at the airport. The man responded positively and Zaib thanked him before approaching Zoya, who leaning against their trolley bag, had her eyes shut at this time in the morning. "Zoya, we have to get the south train."

Zoya jerker awake and straightened her back, "Alright then." Zaib noticed how exhausted she seemed and made a side note in his head to not ever again book a flight so early in the morning. He assumed she would probably sleep on the plane.

They had both dressed comfortably for their long direct flight. Zoya was dressed in black trousers with a matching black sweatshirt and a long grey coat, keeping her warm. Zaib pulled on a white hoodie and black sweatpants and a heavy denim jacket for extra layering.

He grabbed the trolley bag she was holding and adjusted the strap of his backpack, grabbing her hand with his free one. "I can pull it, don't worry," Zoya suggested as she tried to take it back from him. She felt bad just holding onto his hand and letting him carry the heavy bags.

Zaib held on firmly and replied, "you hold this. I'll hold these." He signaled to his hand and then chuckled upon noticing the confusion on her face "I know you can, but you're very sleepy right now and I don't want you to fall over."

She nodded and gave him a little smile, tightening her grip on his hand. This was the first time she was holding hands with him in public and she found it very exciting regardless of the small glances they would get. They would already get attention because of her hijab, might as well hold hands.

However, she did struggle to keep up with his fast pace. Zaib had naturally long legs causing him to take larger steps than her and it didn't help the fact that she was a slow walker so it was a challenge to stay beside him. After a few minutes of fast-walking, Zaib noticed that Zoya was a bit out of breath and red in the face. "Are you okay? You look a bit flustered," he asked concerned.