Archive of Our Own

The sun is hot on his skin but he enjoys it. Closing his eyes for a moment and inhaling the fresh air, listening to the waves of the sea before it gets interrupted by the voices of other passengers having their fun time beside him on the yacht. Familiar body shapes that would greet him whenever they pass by him, and the feeling of recognition sometimes makes him smile proudly, to know his achievements, to appreciate his place. It's nice. On other days, he might long to be in a place where he isn’t recognized, to have his eyes roaming over the foreign crowd. He likes observing. It's what he usually does.

Opening his eyes again, he hears his phone ringing, a friendly face coming in view as he slides the answer button.

"Looking good as always"

He laughs, "Looking too formal as always"

"Still out there wasting time I see"

"Still out there enjoying my time" He corrects, "Which is a word you probably don't have in your dictionary"

"So I'm not fun?" He raises a brow.

"Hard to tell with that serious expression on your face" His voice lowers, "Call me when that persona fades. I'm not a huge fan"

A shake of the head is what he gets in return and his smile widens. "Actually, I was trying to get you to slip into your professional state for now"

"I'm always professional"

"Not when you leave your country in time of need. You seriously have a VIP rank that you're wasting"

He rolls his eyes, "A rank that I got before you" He reminds him, "I travel around to help people. I'm known for my researches across the world. That's professionalism"

"It's threatening the entire world, Zayn" He sighs deeply.

Zayn pauses, eyes glancing around for a couple of seconds, "You're already managing that. You have a full force that is capable of fixing the damage. Stopping these people isn't my thing. It was your field of study anyway"

"We are. But we're struggling. Things are getting out of hand lately, and you're the most qualified person I know that can help us"

"It'd require a lot of time for me to even register the info. Wasn't my field of study, Liam" He reminds him again.

"No. But I believe it can spark your interest" Liam smirks, "Besides, what do you possible have to do? Stop staring at all those naked bodies beside you and act like you care for once"

"I do care"

"Want me to send the data to you?"

Zayn inhales deeply, "What's the level we're talking about here?"

"Red. And think of it as another achievement to add to your list" Zayn presses his lips together, eyes leaving the screen again. "So?" Liam asks, "Shall we be waiting for your arrival, Dr. Malik?"

❌

The organization that Liam worked for was respected by the local government. Owning its own floating ship next to the research tower that Liam worked in. And Zayn never met any of them, but Liam would occasionally tell him about the 'super-humans' despite Zayn's disinterest in whatever they do. It wasn't his field.

And Zayn honestly didn't care. Liam told him that they're chasing the culprits, managing to capture a few living samples, and he asked Zayn once to help him in finding a cure since it was related to his field after all, but Zayn hated to be involved in a chasing game that might lead to his death, and it was a main reason for him to leave the country in the first place, even after receiving a request from higher authorities. Supernatural experiments wasn’t his thing.

But Liam is pressuring him again, sending him too many files to read about the situation and using the 'world-threatening’ line. Zayn isn't a bad person. He doesn't want to wake up and find a 'developed-human' by his side. The government made sure that the citizens were mostly unaware since 'Circus' is taking care of any affected people quickly. And Circus is a distraction from what it really is. Doing shows across the country had people think they're merely doing illusions instead of using actual powers. No harm was done.

So he's here, the car stopping at the research tower, a floating ship moving slowly next to it, and there's someone opening his door for him to step out.

"Dr. Malik. It's an honor to have you here" The man greets him and Zayn smiles politely at him.

"Thought I would be greeted by Dr. Payne himself. Am I not worth his precious time? I remember very well him begging me to come"

The man's lips twitch, a slight movement that probably no one can notice, but Zayn learned to observe and analyze.

Liam's busy, that's why you're here. You wanted to meet me because you heard about me. You think I'm someone you look up to just like Liam. Don't keep your eyes too focused on mine or you'll stutter next.

The man avoids his gaze, head bowing in respect and apology. Zayn doesn't blame him.

"Dr. Payne will meet you inside. I will take you to him" The man returns his gaze to Zayn's eyes and Zayn walks forward, hearing the car door being shut before the man is by his side again, stepping in front of him once they reach the door to lead the way.

He supposes they're at the right floor when he sees someone getting out of a room holding his arm, hand rubbing over it, and Zayn knows without seeing his face’s expression that he is in pain, but not greatly, mainly annoyed with the slightest of fear that he doesn't know why yet. He looks up when he hears them approaching and the guy escorting him doesn't stop, just nodding and sending him a quick greeting, but Zayn is polite, and when the guy stops in front of him, he has to stop as well.

Big green eyes, innocent, but not too innocent, joyful, five to six years younger than himself, curly brown hair that reaches the back of his neck and drops on his shoulders. He's taller, body well-built, and Zayn would say there's a contradiction between his personality and looks.

"Hey" Zayn smiles, he has nothing against this person, and he wouldn't say he's the shy type, but the guy blushes slightly, smiling back, dimples in view, and Zayn can see the bracelet around his wrist that tells him he's not a normal human. A good fighter. Seen plenty but still keeping his cheerful persona.

"Hi" He has a deep raspy voice, staring at him for a moment too long.

Don't stare, you'll stutter next.

"I-I'm Harry. Nice to meet you" He brings a hand to tuck his hair behind his ear.

A nervous habit. But you're straightforward. You think I'm pretty. You like me.

"Harry, this is not the perfect time for introductions. This is an important guest" His escort sighs, "We'll be on our way" He motions for Zayn who offers Harry a smile before he goes, and because he has nothing against him, he offers a reply as well.

"It's nice to meet you too" Harry blinks at him and Zayn turns to leave.

You'll watch me leave. You're charmed.

Liam is there, at the same room Harry has just gotten out from, and his escort leaves him there when Liam dismisses him. Zayn glances around, not the perfect room he'd expected, but okay.

"Dr. Malik" Liam smiles, taking off his gloves, "I'm sorry, I thought you'd arrive an hour late. It's just a usual procedure. Please, have a seat" He motions to one of the chairs, "It's not like you're unfamiliar with such things"

Zayn glances at the chair and crosses his arms over his chest, "I'm very disappointed. Here I am, looking all fancy in a suit, and you're not even welcoming me properly. I thought this is Circus? Don't I at least get a welcome show?"

Liam gives him an unimpressed look, "Like you didn't enjoy enough shows on your long vacation. I'm being polite offering you a seat first"

"Typical"

"I don't want to waste your time, Dr. Malik"

Zayn exhales slowly and sits in the chair. "Talk"

"I assume you read the files?"

"Not all of them"

Liam nods, "Have you seen anyone coming out of this room before you get inside?"

"Harry"

Liam nods again, pressing some buttons before Zayn sees Harry's photo coming in view, a few information present. He's six years younger like he predicted. But there are two different columns of traits, and Zayn turns to look at Liam first.

"That's your case" Zayn blinks and returns his gaze to the screen.

Dissociative identity disorder.

"Liam" He starts, "I'm a scientist, not a shrink"

"I didn't say you are" Liam turns to him, "But so far, this is the only case with living cells that aren't disordered. This is what you'll be working on"

Harry. The cheerful persona is his human self, his other persona is his post-human self. But Harry is one of Circus' members, so the information isn't exactly accurate. And Zayn turns to Liam again.

"What are you not telling me?"

"Harry's modified cells wasn't ours. His post-human persona doesn’t appear quite often, we managed to keep that in check"

"But?"

"The cells are combined with his own. It's inseparable. Whenever we try to make an experiment, he goes berserk, and we fail"

Zayn shakes his head, "I'm not a shrink" He repeats.

"No. But you don't give up" Zayn sighs and turns to him. Liam isn't joking, this is a serious matter, and so far, Harry is their only case that they can work on. "Plus" Liam starts again, "We've been developing a modified anodyne for his case. But if we're getting another shot with this, I'd rather have some experienced men by my side for that. I do not want it to go to waste. Time isn’t in our favor, and I'm afraid his body would accommodate to the drug. It's our best try so far"

"Has he before?"

"We're not able to fully list his abilities, he doesn't show much other than what's written in front of you, but like I said. I do not want to waste an opportunity that I might not get again"

Zayn stares at him for a moment before turning his head to look at the screen once more. He should've told Harry when he saw him in the hallway. Harry is his patient now and he doesn’t know if his early choice is correct or not. He seemed like a fun time though.

"If my room doesn't have a good view, I'll kill you"

❌

Zayn leans back on the wall and watches.

Harry is here again today, and Liam is injecting the needle into his body. His face is scrunched in displeasure, there's the slight fear again, not meeting Liam's eyes since he got inside.

You're not that young to be scared of doctors but you hate Liam specifically. Why? What did he do to you? Did you see a scene that you didn't like? Is your personality younger than your actual age?

"Didn't we do that yesterday?" Harry asks, and Zayn can sense the huge amount of anxiety in his voice.

"We did, but we need to make sure you're in a perfect state, Harry" Liam replies nonchalantly.

Harry's eyes roam around, shifting quickly, nervously, and they meet his, stopping and widening a bit, some of his body tension is fading, and he keeps staring openly at him while Liam does his job. Zayn keeps his stare, doesn't smile, doesn't shift his body, and Harry blinks too quickly when Liam announces they're done.

I don't make you nervous now? Is it my casual clothes that I'm wearing instead? You don't like formal stuff. Noted. You hate Liam because he's serious all the time. He isn't though.

Harry's gaze shifts again and a faint blush taints his cheeks again. Liam turns around and motions for him to get closer. Zayn does, stopping when he's in front of Harry, and he smiles this time.

Forgive me.

"Harry, this is Dr. Malik. He'll be joining us since this moment. He's informed about your case-" In this moment, Harry's eyes move rapidly again, eyelashes fluttering.

You hate being called a case. You think there's nothing wrong with you. The formal approach doesn't work well with you. Noted.

"So you don't have to worry when I'm not around. He's very capable of doing everything that I do"

"And more" Zayn comments quietly, more directed to Harry because his gaze is fixed at him but Liam hears it and rolls his eyes. He smiles though, and Harry's eyes meet him briefly before he's smiling too, a small one, and he tucks his hair behind his ear again.

You like me more now. You think I'm different from Liam. You think I might be offering comfort.

"Anyway" Liam continues, "For this week, you'll have to come here for your antidote daily, understood?"

Harry doesn't flinch, just frowns again as he nods quickly, but he doesn't react to the word 'antidote' like he reacted to 'case'

You believe you're sick.

"Good" Liam stands up and Zayn walks with him until they're at the door. "You're not going to start writing down your notes?"

"I prefer to take a different approach. Yours is a disaster"

Liam narrows his eyes slightly before he's shrugging, "Do as you please. We have one week to go. Hope you got your answers by then" He nods before he's out of the door and Zayn turns to look at Harry again.

Think again.

"It's over. You're not getting out?" Zayn smiles, keeping his voice quiet, and Harry blinks quickly again before he's standing up, lips parting multiple times before he's biting on his bottom one and approaching him, or the door, Zayn knows both are true.

"Sorry"

"If it makes you more comfortable, your antidote is just a liquid in a syringe. You don’t really have to come here for it" Harry's eyes meet his again, searching for an answer maybe before his brows are furrowing slightly. "Since I'm also a doctor, you can take it at your room if you like" Harry just keeps looking at him, and Zayn wonders for the second time, what did Liam exactly do to him? "Where do you live?"

Harry blinks quickly, "Um. In the ship"

"So?" Harry looks at him again with confusion, "Would you rather I come up then?"

Harry's lips part for a second, hand reaching to tuck his hair behind his ear before he's slipping both into his pockets.

"I-If you like"

Zayn smiles, "I'll see you tomorrow then"

Harry stares at him for a moment before he's blushing again when Zayn doesn't move, eyes blinking quickly, "Sorry" He repeats and slips beside him to get out. "Have a good day, Dr. Malik" Zayn just smiles again and Harry turns around, walking faster than he usually does.

What a great mess.

❌

There's a man approaching them, same height, probably same body size, brown hair messed up, clothes not so formal, and Zayn wonders if this is the person Liam talked about as he comes closer. Blue eyes, he'd give him a couple of years older than himself, same age as Liam. Can be stern but also high-spirited, and Zayn notices the bracelet as well on his wrist.

"Hello!" His voice is high-pitched and Zayn turns to look at Liam.

"Dr. Malik, this is Louis Tomlinson, Captain of the first ship, and Harry's superior" Liam turns to him, "He's the one taking you up there" Zayn briefly looks up at the ship then back at Louis. "Captain Tomlinson, this is Dr. Malik. I'm sure you've heard about him before"

"He's your friend, say no more" Louis grins, "At least you picked them pretty. It's nice to start your day with such face"

Zayn chuckles and Liam shakes his head, "I expect you to be more professional"

"Why all of the hassle, Lee? Don't give him a hard time too" Louis rolls his eyes and sends a wink to Zayn who winks at him in return. "See? Not that grumpy face" He directs it at Liam before offering a hand for Zayn to shake, "Honored to meet you"

"The honor is mine, Captain Tomlinson"

"Just Louis is fine" He totally ignores Liam next as he leads him forwards and Zayn knows it's on purpose. "So …" He starts when they're at a fair distance, his previous persona slipping away and he looks more serious now, "You're not only here to inject the drug into his body, are you?"

"No. I was thinking I can collect some information too"

"Liam didn't give you everything?" He turns to him.

"He did, but you never know if he missed something" He turns to Louis too, "I was always more observant than him anyway" He smiles and Louis nods. "So tell me … How's Harry? Since you're supposed to know more about his condition"

"You're asking about his other persona?"

"Both"

"He's a good guy, a good fighter, I'd count on him to be my right arm, which he is" He turns his head forwards, "His post-human self is more powerful-"

"By how much?"

"Way too much" Louis replies slowly as they approach the ship and get inside. "All that we've seen is his ability to grow plants out of nothing and using it as a weapon"

"How do you take him down? How long does it take you to do so? Do you believe he's stronger than you?"

Louis stops and turns to him, "You don't need to write that down, doc?" Zayn just looks at him, "It takes more than myself to stop him if he's berserk. But while he's in that character, his body is affected greatly, and he eventually blacks out on his own if we didn't do it first"

Weak body condition after turning. He needs to make his body stable first if they plan to work on his cells without interruptions.

"This is his room" Louis points at a door, "He's probably awake by now" Zayn nods but he doesn't get to make a step forward without Louis' body blocking his own, "He might be your patient, but he's my subordinate first, and I don't care what Liam told you, but I care for him. Don't hurt him"

"Hard to say when he's going to be our test subject. Pain is unavoidable"

Louis sighs and steps aside, "We've kept him safe all these years. Liam isn’t- He's not going to change that. I know him. He never tries too far if Harry's life is on the line"

"Are you asking me or doubting Liam?" Zayn turns to him.

"Are you?" Louis gives him a cold stare.

"My job is to save lives, not take them, Captain"

Louis nods, "I'll be around if you needed me"

Zayn nods at him and watches Louis walking away before knocking on Harry's door. He presses the button on his recorder to turn it on before locking his phone and looking up when Harry opens the door.

He's just in a plain yellow shirt and black skinnies, and his eyes are big again when he sees him, lips parted slightly, and Zayn smiles and raises his small bag.

"If you remember, I'm here for your daily injection"

"Right, sorry!" Harry steps aside immediately, blush again on his cheeks, and Zayn takes his time setting his bag on a table and opening it, placing his phone on the table too. Harry doesn't do well with formalities and he doesn't want to push him on that. Harry doesn't know his recorder is on, and Zayn wishes it was a video instead so he can re-watch the whole encounter and be able to analyze whatever he missed. He also takes his time glancing around the room as he takes the items out. Floral decorations, stuffed animals everywhere, even the sheets and the curtains are too much, but Zayn doesn't show it on his face. He never does.

Feminine? Childish? Is his mind not compatible with his body? But he's strong and he's Louis' right hand. Why is he acting like that? Does he have any secrets? Does Louis know? Does Liam know? Does he have a partner? Has he ever been with one? What is his preference? Does it affect his mental disorder? Is it related to his post-human self? Will it help him at all at his research?

He exhales and turns to Harry who's still standing awkwardly even though this is his room.

"You can sit on the bed. Is that okay with you?"

Harry nods, "Yes" and walks towards his bed until he's sitting on it, and Zayn follows. Wearing his gloves and disinfects the area of skin on his arm before bringing the needle close to his skin. He glances at Harry who's not looking at him, body calm as he stares at the floor.

"Does it hurt?"

Harry turns his head to look at him, "A … bit"

"The needle or the drug?"

Harry blinks, "The drug"

Zayn hums, returning his gaze to his arm again and pressing in. He knows Harry is still looking at him. "How do you feel after it's injected?" He pulls the needle out and places it in the box again before covering the area.

"A bit dizzy"

"Does it last?" Zayn looks up at him as he takes off his gloves.

"For a minute"

Zayn nods and closes the box before he's coming back to him and sitting next to him on the bed. "Do you mind me staying?"

Harry's eyes widen for a second, "No"

Zayn smiles and glances around the room again, "Do you remember the day you came here?"

Harry seems startled by his sudden question and he frowns, "Y-Yes" Zayn turns to him again, "It's, um, I was told I lost conscious, and the doctors were … helping me" He winces at his own statement.

They haven't told him about his past. Why? Does it trigger his post-human persona? Can he mention it? Will Harry turn even though he just injected the antidote into his body? Just how much is his body capable of rejecting the drug? Will he be in danger if he tried?

"And you believe that?" Harry's gaze return to him, "That you need help?"

"I don't want to hurt people"

Zayn tilts his head to the side slightly, "Have you before?"

"I-I don't remember" He blinks furiously.

You're trying to remember. Your mind becomes tired. Your body rejects the idea. It's not the drug. Fuck.

"Hey" Zayn says softly, reaching a hand to grab Harry's own, and he realizes there is in fact a huge difference in size. He should not be thinking about that. "It's okay. You're a good person. I know you are" Harry's body relaxes again and he gulps, Zayn removes his hand slowly, "I believe we all need help" Harry furrows his brows at him, "We're not able to function perfectly, Harry. There's always a gap in our lives that needs to be filled by another person. You can't be everyone at once. You have to let people help you. You're capable of protecting me because you're much powerful in your field, and I'm able to protect you because I'm much powerful in mine. It's just a big puzzle and we're all pieces" He offers a smile and Harry really relaxes even without his touch.

"Thank you"

"Thank you" Zayn smiles wider and gets up, watching as Harry's eyes go wide again.

"You're … leaving?"

"I have some work to do" Zayn reaches to tuck Harry's hair behind his ear instead of Harry doing so himself and watches as another blush reaches his cheeks, "We all have a job to do for the other, remember?"

Harry smiles, "Right, I'm sorry"

Zayn retreats his hand, picking up his phone along with the bag, "No need for apologies" He turns to Harry before he leaves, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Harry smiles brightly, "Yeah"

Zayn offers another smile before he leaves, turning his recorder off, and asking Louis to get him down.

❌

"Brings back memories" Liam smiles, "That's the first time you come here after graduation, correct?"

"I was busy" Zayn replies, "It doesn't provide me anything to keep going with my researches. You know that more than anyone" Liam turns to him and sighs, "Don't remind me of anything happened here. I'm much older now"

"Didn't change much" Liam starts.

"For your information-"

"You grew an inch?" He smirks and Zayn has to fold his arms.

"First, a person is measured by their accomplishments, and I've topped lots of scientists in a short period of time including yourself"

"You and top in one sentence-"

"Shut. Up" Zayn gives him a warning glare and turns towards the university building again. "I bet my name is mentioned more than yours anyway in the materials they're teaching here"

"The prex and I are still in contact. She'll be more than happy to meet you after all these years" Zayn turns back to him and of course Liam wouldn't just say it because Zayn knows him the best and a minute doesn't pass by before he sees her figure walking their way. Zayn stops himself from rolling his eyes and smiles kindly instead at her.

"Dr. Malik" She nods at him, "Dr. Payne" She nods at Liam, "It's an honor for us to have you both here" She offers a smile and a handshake. "Oh, how the students will be so thrilled to know of your presence" Zayn glances briefly at Liam who smiles wider at her, "Please, I would be pleased if you joined me inside. I would have guessed you prefer to stand here if I didn't know that you will be mobbed in less than five minutes" She motions for them to walk ahead.

"We wouldn’t want that. I'll lose you among the other students" Liam leans in to whisper.

"Ha ha" Zayn replies flatly and doesn't even glance at Liam as he chuckles.

❌

Zayn doesn't normally brag, but he hates losing. It's something he's praised for actually. If it wasn't for his persistence to finish his tasks, he wouldn't be where he is right now. And that's why he left Liam with the prex after she announced to her 'favorite' class that they get to have a free lecture by him. Liam would say it's because he doesn't really visit his hometown, but Zayn would argue that he's still better than him. And Liam called him for help, not the other way round. So yes, he'll brag and tease Liam about it if he can.

The seats are filled in less than two minutes, and there are people who are even too eager to listen to him that didn't mind to sit on the few steps inside the hall, others standing with their notebooks opened, recorders on, and pens in hand. But Zayn notices one particular person as he closes the door behind him, trying to get to the back quietly.

"You know, there have been plenty of times when my alarm screwed up and I had to show up late because there is no way I would go out looking messy" He hears the girls mumbling a 'yes' and 'finally someone who understands' and he can see some rolling their eyes, but the majority turn to the last person who came in, and he looks up briefly at him before he's leaning back on the wall and getting out his notepad. "But … In most cases, when I miss something and couldn't figure it out during the lecture, it always motivated me to do my own research on that topic, and it increased my knowledge greatly …" He straightens up and glances among the students until his eyes land on someone who looks bored more than anything, eyes sharp, they're focused, but Zayn knows how to read a person. They're not interested in what he has to say. "If some of you missed the introduction the prex provided, I'm Zayn Malik, the first who graduated from this university with three established theories. Landed a governmental VIP ticket and a full team under his control after two years"

He sees the students looking back again at the same person who came in late, and even though Zayn didn't mean him, he wonders why he's here, if he's a student here.

No, of course not. Harry is not a student in a scientific university. Liam didn’t bring him here just to 'bring back memories'.

The bastard. Could've told him. Does he really expect Zayn not to notice?

But Harry's eyes aren't on him, they're roaming across the entire hall, he's more focused, calm, serious, and Zayn wants to study his behavior if there weren't other students that demand his attention.

"Can I have my first question?" A girl raises her hand.

"Sure"

"Did you create a special combination for your skin to stay flawless?"

"That is an unpublished research" Another adds and he smiles despite their comments because it's not the first time he hears them nor it will be the last and he will allow Liam to tease him about it later but he knows he has good looks, knows what the girl is referring to, so he still gives her a small smile.

"Yeah. Found a youth fountain beneath my lab in Alaska and extracted an exotic combination" He shakes his head, "It's called genetics. My parents just had the perfect mix"

"Are you working on a new research?" A guy raises his hand, "You'd never come to a place like this unless there's something"

Zayn turns his gaze on him, "No. Just visiting a friend"

"Can we have your Instagram?" A girl asks.

"I don't have one"

"Can we have your number?" The same girl asks and he smiles.

"Off topic"

"What does it take to be in your team?" She asks again.

"You just have to capture my eyes"

"And what exactly 'captures' your eyes?" She twirls her hair between her fingers, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Your work, young lady"

"Is it true there's a virus spreading here?" Another guy asks.

"Where did you read that?"

"Online" He shrugs. "Why would a VIP member cut his vacation short to visit a friend?"

He's not a student. Zayn knows that much, but he still keeps his smile.

"Ah … I forgot that my stalkers have an update account because I'm a celebrity" He jokes, "But no …" He glances over the rest of the student. Some are worried already, they're considering this rumor seriously while others don't seem to be bothered, waiting to actually ask something more important that would benefit their studies. He sees Harry's gaze shifting slowly over the students still so he continues, "There's so much that you don't know about a VIP membership. I mean, you won't have one in the next ten years" He shrugs, "But to assure you, the paperwork for maintaining it is heavy" He sighs, "Normally, when I work on a case, I like to have my full focus in my lab with my team. There's nothing to worry about"

"But you were seen with Circus" A girl comments.

"It's unrelated. They're a bunch of clowns"

"Some say it's a secret organization"

"Wow, some gossip you have" Zayn walks around the desk and leans back on it, arms folded as he glances around the hall, "Probably why you're losing grades. Never focus on an issue that won't get you anywhere"

"But you said to try and do our own research" A guy replies. "Don't underestimate the Internet"

"It also contains lots of shit" Zayn states, "I have enough sources to put a lie inside a book and sell it. Does it make my lie not a lie?"

"Isn't that what a research is about?" A girl asks, "To investigate whether it's true or not?"

"Sure, when you have enough proofs"

"You got your VIP membership because you thought of something unique, why can't we?" Another asks. "I mean, have you thought about it before?" She leans forward on her desk, "There have been videos and … we have our sources as well"

"Alright. You got me listening" Zayn nods.

"It's not that we don't have a proof. We just need a sample to work on. And the government doesn't provide us such thing"

"Because it doesn't exist?"

"Because they don't want people to freak out" A guy snorts, and Zayn starts counting. "Why have a secret project with modified monsters? An experiment went wrong? Isn't that why you're here for? To fix it?"

"Building a study takes time, it can reach years" Zayn starts, "And even if I assumed your theory is correct, you don't throw something out there for everybody to reach. Pick a team or do it solo, gather the required information, then propose your theory. You don't throw it in the face of someone that can steal your hard work and turn it into history. How do we know it's not the footage of an unnamed online movie?"

"There are witnesses"

"I can't depend on their stories. That can be fabricated easily" He shakes his head, "Unless you have the entire population following the same story, even if you trust your eyewitness, you can't use it as an evidence if nobody else is going to believe you. Make the proof strong enough that leaves no place for discussion. When you can prove my assumption wrong, come back to discuss it with me" He finishes it with the same small smile, "Now, moving on. Anyone else has a question that might be related to real events? Or perhaps your study? You know, that one that you need to finish first?" He glances around the students, declining a few who he knows won't ask any professional questions, "Alright then"

It goes smooth, probably because he cuts short anyone else who asks for personal information and turns towards the board, answering some of the students questions about his theories and whether some of the information they have inside books are true or not. He writes down the required equations when needed, and the same guy he's had his eyes on doesn't get unnoticed. He isn't taking notes like the rest of the class, because even if they're interested in his personal life or Circus hidden activities, they still want to pass, and they want to make it big in the scientific field. Even Harry in the back is writing down whatever he says, and although Zayn is sure he doesn't understand a single word he's saying, he's not being rude. Or he's simply mingling with other students to not blow his cover. He's so going to kill Liam for not telling him.

His lecture doesn't last more than two hours, and some of the students whine when the prex enters to tell them to leave. Liam enters too, and Zayn waits for the circle of the students surrounding him to disappear before he's approaching him, a smile on his face that Zayn contrasts it with a glare.

"I can see they're clearly smitten" He motions to his body, "I mean, not everyday you meet a genius who basically looks like he's in his early twenties" He leans next to him on the desk, "Shame. They didn't get to see you in your high-waist skinnies and that crop-"

"Let it die!" Zayn groans, pushes Liam to the side before he's standing in front of him, "What's your real business here, Payne?" Liam just gives him a tight smile and Zayn drops it for now. Later. Not while people are hearing.

The prex turns to them when there's no one left but Harry and that suspicious guy, and Zayn wants to snort at his lame excuse to be the last, trying to fix his bag strap. And even though Liam walks out first with her, Harry's eyes glance towards the guy and Zayn stops without turning around, Harry almost bumping into him but he stops as well, gaze snapping back to Zayn.

"So he's the reason you're here?" He watches as the guy makes his way finally to the door, not sparing them a second glance. "Or are all of you keeping me un-updated?" He whispers. The guy exits the door and he turns to Harry.

"I … don't know" Zayn cocks an eyebrow, "I just- I was told to watch over you" He replies quietly.

Makes sense. But why still?

He nods at Harry before he's turning again and exiting the hall.

❌

"I don't like to be the last person to know. You know me better than that"

Liam just looks at him and shrugs, "I would have informed you if I knew what's upsetting you?"

Stop it. It's been such a long time. Get over it.

Zayn turns briefly to look at Harry, standing a bit far from them, giving them privacy. He doesn't want to interfere but he also hates Liam, which is pretty obvious in how he doesn't even glance their way.

"Why is he here? I don't think there's someone stupid enough to penetrate this university, let it alone try to hurt a VIP member. And keep your answer clear"

Liam sighs, "We wouldn't want for you to feel unsafe wherever"

Zayn hates how he can see through Liam so clearly.

"And of all the people, Harry? He's unstable" He narrows his eyes at Liam, "The drug is weakening him. He shouldn't be out"

"Louis was supposed to tag along instead but he had an emergency to take care of. And besides" Liam glances at Harry and smiles, "Harry offered to come. He seems to like you"

Zayn stares at Liam for a moment. "No … You allowed him to be here. You're-" He shakes his head and takes a step back, "I can't believe you! He's unstable and you're testing his abilities? You couldn't do it inside your lab? Or his life isn't worth anything to you?"

Liam sighs, "We need to know if the drug is working"

Zayn shakes his head for a second time, "I do not approve of you messing with one of my patients" He turns on his heels.

"Harry belongs to Circus while you do not"

"Well, it surely wasn't me who made the call to get me here working on his case" Zayn throws over his shoulder as he approaches Harry. He knows at least he's pissing Liam off to work against his agenda.

"Come with me"

Harry follows him willingly, and even though Zayn wants to turn to Liam to throw at him one last smirk that he doesn't get to set the rules, he has far more important issues to take care of as he leads Harry to an empty hall and makes him sit down. There's little he can do without any medical preparations though.

"How do you feel?"

Harry blinks at him, still calm, and his reply is quiet like before. "Fine"

You're not fine, don't lie to me. I'm your fucking doctor and I'm responsible for your state!

But Zayn doesn't shout at him, he knows that approach doesn't work with Harry, and he knows it wouldn't benefit his state at all.

"We're going back" He announces, and once again, he gets that slow blink of Harry's eyes, but he's good to stand on his own as they get out.

He knows that Liam is probably waiting in the same spot for them to get back and ask, or rather argue on getting Harry home, and he knows Liam would eventually groan and fix him a tired look mixed with a glare after giving in because Zayn knows how to have his way, but also because Liam isn't cruel, and Harry is one of his team after all, and he knows Liam cares too, and he's probably going to be pissed after waiting for too long when they don't appear, and he'll be ringing him up to yell at his face because they sneaked out from the other gate leading to the parking lot, and a part of Zayn likes the idea of pissing Liam off but a small sound in his head nudges him gently with a 'don't'. But Zayn has a patient next to him, and Liam knows more than anyone how he gets when someone messes up with what's his, and currently, he considers Harry as one as he gets them into a cab.

He keeps an eye on Harry, and the latter doesn't seem to even notice his gaze as he continues to blink slowly forward, and it ears a sigh from Zayn as he leans back in his seat and glances out of the window, his brows furrowing immediately when he notices it's certainly not their way back, and fuck. Zayn didn't visit this city in years that he doesn’t even recognize half of its roads by now.

"Hold on, you're going in the wrong direction, mate"

"I believe we're taking a shortcut, Dr. Malik"

Zayn's lips part at the driver's voice, and suddenly he's alarmed, his doubts are kicking in, and he hates how his mind reminds him of listening to Liam instead, and he even has Harry to take care of, glancing his way to see him frowning and looking up at the driver as well.

Zayn curses under his breath as he tries to unlock the door and fails.

"Relax, Dr. Malik. We'll reach our destination soon"

Zayn snaps his gaze to the driver again, the student that was in his class that sparked others' interest in Circus and the dirty deeds that happen in the dark, and he's more aware now of the narrow empty road they're driving at.

It happens faster than Zayn's brain is able to register. How there's something poking out of the front seat into his direction, how weird it looked more than anything he'd ever seen in his life, how he's perplexed and frozen to his seat and maybe his hands are itching to touch it. But most importantly, he misses the way Harry's eyes widen suddenly, and he misses the glow on his bracelet, and the next thing he knows, the car's door next to harry is pushed harshly to the side making the driver take a quick sharp turn that almost sends Zayn pressed against his own door if it wasn't for Harry's arms around him getting him out of the car.

Zayn blinks a couple of times and looks to his side to find Harry still holding him, a concerned expression on his face, but it soon fades as he looks towards the car again and Zayn realizes they're on the road as wind blows over them, the sun suddenly hitting his face like his brain is finally catching up and his eyes are squinting at it like it has just appeared out of nowhere. But he also catches the shining steel next to him and he realizes that Harry is now holding a sword in one hand. An épée to be exact.

"Harry-"

He doesn't get to finish his sentence before Harry is standing up and pulling him to his feet with him, moving so he's in front of him in a protective manner, and Zayn sees another sword emerging from his bracelet.

"You make this hard, Dr. Malik" The driver sighs, and Zayn is yet to know who he is as he appears in his view, and he steps to the side to see him properly, Harry furrowing his brows and making a quick side glance as he exhales sharply in annoyance that Zayn isn't taking the hint to step back so he takes a back step to be closer.

"Please keep your place" He whispers and Zayn turns his gaze to him but Harry isn't close to him anymore, and he is fast on his feet, swords slashing at the driver but he misses, and Zayn wants to snort at his swords. Circus could have provided him with a gun and yet he's using a sword? A fucking sword in this century? He also wants to laugh, but he doesn't, he can't, he's too busy trying to keep his eyes on both of them as the driver jumps back, arm stretching weirdly that makes Zayn shiver in disgust at its color and texture, and it's cut by Harry's swords before it reaches him, making another move, and Zayn really, literally, gapes, because Harry's swords just split the car in half and- no, this isn't good.

"Harry!" He shouts at him, and Harry looks back in fear that Zayn got hurt or anything, but he's just motioning at him with wide eyes at the car, and Zayn thinks he has every right to worry, the car might explode.

"Stay back!" Harry shouts at him, eyes and tone showing how he's clearly annoyed for the second time, and Zayn takes a moment to process that Harry isn't tired anymore.

The drug isn't working. Fucking fantastic.

But not entirely, Zayn wants to argue with himself, because Harry seemed very tired just a moment ago, and maybe it's adrenaline, fighting its way into his system to make him jump. Or perhaps it's his bracelet. Maybe Harry would faint once he's over, which isn’t a good thing, and Zayn picks up his phone quickly to dial Liam.

"Damn it!"

A cry of pain startles him and he looks to his side when something flies, literally flies next to him, and lands on the road, and Zayn finds himself staring at it, because it's that disgusting stretched arm, and it's moving, slightly, color changing gradually starting from the point it was cut –by Harry's sword, Zayn guesses– and he approaches it slowly, crouching down, and Harry's voice rings in his ears again on another annoyed shout.

"Stay back!"

There's another loud cry of pain, and before Zayn gets to touch it –because he isn't good with following rules unless it's some mathematical problem or a chemical equation that he knows it's done no other way– there's an arm at his waist that pushes him back and a hand lowering his own –harshly– and Zayn knows it's Harry behind him from his voice, low and deep, and his words are almost out through gritted teeth as a huff is released.

"You can't touch it!"

A stab of another metal and a pair of shoes comes in his view before he gets to turn to Harry, and he looks up, eyes following the ridiculous spear, and he's met with a pair of familiar blue eyes.

"Couldn't afford to pay for bullets?"

Louis laughs at him as he takes his spear out of the arm and it slowly disappears into his bracelet again, which is amazing, Zayn would admit.

"This is better than bullets" He shifts his gaze down and Zayn follows his gaze to see that the arm's completely turned into stone, and Louis crushes it easily with his shoes. "If you were to touch it while it still had active cells, you'd have been infected, and there's no cure yet" He lifts his gaze to lock it with Zayn's, "Our weapons are enhanced with a special drug that kills those cells, and no, if you were to get infected, we'd have to kill you"

Zayn sighs, Louis' gaze shifts to Harry, still having his arm around him and a hand gripping his own, and Zayn would admit that he has a strong hold, definitely good in combat, and he frowns, remembering Harry's earlier condition as Louis tilts his head to the side with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

"Harry, you've already killed the threat. Zayn is good to go"

Harry blinks, and suddenly he's pulling back –flinching back if Zayn is more accurate– and mumbling an apology to Zayn, eyes darting to the ground, and Zayn turns to look at him, back to his old shy self as he refuses to meet his eyes, and his feet are shuffling slightly, and probably no one is paying attention to such behavior, but Zayn does.

"Thank you" So he offers instead, smiling when Harry picks his gaze up for a second and smiling back, the faint blush on his cheeks is too obvious, mumbling something about how it's just his job. But Zayn is grateful. Harry literally saved his life.

There's someone that passes by him other than Louis, and Zayn wants to say something about how the guy with the blond hair doesn’t even acknowledge his presence. But Harry seems to know him, smiling in a friendly way when he approaches him and leads him away. He also notices how Harry's head turn slightly but it doesn't turn his way, and he narrows his eyes at his back.

Why is Harry afraid of looking back to check on him?

"Liam said this might happen" He turns his attention to Louis, "That you'd eventually bring us trouble"

Zayn has to roll his eyes and laugh at that. "Didn't tell you that I'd eventually bring you a cure as well? Or his ego blocked that part?"

Louis smiles, "You haven't seen anything yet, doc. This is some low class freak" He pauses, "It's not something you should take pride in that they know of you working at our side now" Louis' smile falls, "Don’t go off running like that carelessly. I don't want my subordinates dying because of someone else's mistakes"

Zayn ignores his accusation just like Louis ignored his question. "You were watching the entire time. Could've interfered if you were that worried"

"Didn’t need to … This time"

"How would you rate his performance?" Zayn asks seriously and Louis narrows his eyes for a second.

"What have you two been injecting into his body?"

"Have you noticed any change in his movements? Actions? Anything at all?"

Louis sighs, shifting his weight into one leg as he crosses his arms over his chest, "No. He was good as always. Harry is my right hand. He's skillful, and I would count on him on much more dangerous mission than this"

No change then. Zayn nods slowly and turns to look at Harry and his friend.

"That's Niall. He's also one of my subordinates. A very close friend to Harry, and …" He smirks when Zayn turns to him again, "He doesn't seem to be a fan of you"

He likes Harry? He hates him because Harry is taking a liking to him?

Well, Zayn isn't worried about that part at all, but Louis notices his serious face as they stare at each other. Harry was smiling at Niall, standing straight, his body moving properly, no signs of exhaustion whatsoever.

They're working on the wrong drug.

❌

Zayn smiles once Harry enters the room. He doesn't miss the glare that Niall shots him before he's gone, because Zayn can and will purposely scare him away just so he can leave them be. And he's surprised that Liam still didn't talk to him. A part of him tells him that Liam thinks Zayn might actually step back, but he should also know that time and distance that was put between them definitely changed him.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Fine" Harry replies quietly as he sits on the bed, frowning as he looks around him, and yeah, maybe he should.

"Your friend doesn't seem to like me very much" Zayn jokes, but he isn't at the same time as he stands up and starts to carefully wrap Harry's arm before inserting the needles and switching the monitors on. He is smiling at Harry still, and the latter opens his mouth a couple of times but ends up closing it afterwards, unable to deny the obvious fact, and he looks down at his lap instead. There's one question that goes in Zayn's mind.

Did Niall meet me before? Does he know me? Has he seen me with someone? Does he know what I do? Does he know what I did?

"Harry" He waits until Harry looks up at him, "I'm going to change the routine slightly for today if that's okay with you? I need to reexamine your body condition after what happened yesterday. That means I'll be attaching some machines into your body" Harry looks around him again and nods, "But … I'll also need you to not tell Liam about this. So … Can you keep a secret?"

Harry blinks at him a few times before his brows are furrowing, "What … are you exactly going to do to me?"

"I won't hurt you, Harry" Not too much. "I promise. I'm your doctor, and I know what I'm doing. It's just that Liam doesn't … He wouldn't approve of me working behind his back, but" He shrugs, "I'm not going to inject the drug into you anymore, and I need you to tell Liam that I do. Actually, tell anyone that I still do"

Harry's brows furrow deeper, "Why?"

"Because I don't believe it's helping you at all"

"It does" Harry argues. "You don't know what happens when I don't take it" His eyes dart quickly over the floor. His fingers are twitching. And his legs are slightly shaking.

What are you afraid of Harry? Tell me.

Zayn glances at his monitors quickly before he's walking towards Harry. "It's shutting you down. An overdose made you almost faint"

"I'll start hurting people" Harry replies quickly, and Zayn glances at the monitors again.

"Harry-"

"You haven't seen me"

"Harry-"

"You can't!" He looks up at him, wide eyes, body clearly shaking, but Zayn doesn't flinch, doesn't even blink at Harry when he raises his voice.

I can, and I will. Watch me.

Harry looks at his arm, but he's not calm, and before he gets a chance of even thinking to get himself unattached, Zayn takes another step forward and cups his face to make Harry look at him.

"Listen to me" He keeps his voice quiet, calm, and soft, "There's nothing wrong with you. I don't care what Liam told you, I don't care what anyone thinks of you, and I believe that whatever drug they've been injecting into your body all those years is nothing but holding you back. If they're afraid … I'm not"

Harry's eyes are still darting quickly between his own, his eyelashes are fluttering helplessly, and he seems to be trying to say something but decides against it. And maybe Zayn wants him to think back of yesterday. He was disgusted, shocked, curious, but never afraid, and he wants Harry to give in.

But Harry shakes his head, pulling back so Zayn's hands leave his face. "You should"

"You'll hurt me?"

Harry struggles again with the words and buries his face into his hands instead. Zayn takes a moment to switch his gaze to the monitors again.

"I don't want to" Harry's reply is quiet, a crack in his voice can be heard, and a quiet sigh escapes Zayn as he brushes Harry's hair backwards gently, a hand trying to get Harry to remove his own from over his face.

"Then let me help you" Harry slowly looks back up at him, "I didn't travel all the way here just to watch the same thing happening again. There's nothing wrong with you" He repeats, "Do you trust me to prove that?" Harry's eyes are trying desperately to stay up, and Zayn knows neither options are for the best as Harry stares into his eyes, trying to avoid it but can't look down, so he closes his eyes tight instead. "Would you let me help you away from everyone?" Harry nods, "Will you keep our secret?" He whispers, and Harry hesitates for a long moment as Zayn's thumb stroke over his cheekbone. He receives a nod, and Zayn smiles, leaning back. "Lay down for me"

Harry opens his eyes and Zayn is sitting back in his chair in front of the monitor.

❌

At 5 am, Zayn's eyes are wide opened, and he hears his phone vibrating next to him, reaching slowly to swipe the answer button and presses it to his ear.

"You're surprisingly awake"

It's none other than Liam, and Zayn sighs, "What do you want?"

"You're up for a run?"

Zayn glances at his digital clock, "I'm totally fit, no, thank you"

"I know you've been working behind my back, Zayn"

"No shit?"

"Zayn" Liam's tone indicates he's tired, and he can almost imagine him sitting on his bed and rubbing a hand down his face, "It's not the first time" Zayn smiles and nods to himself.

"I'm not" He lies smoothly, and there's a pause on the line.

"I'm not positive about the operation tomorrow. I don't know what you've been doing recently, just-" A sigh, "Tell me you didn't screw anything up"

"You're underestimating me, Liam"

"Don't use the poor kid"

"You're going to lose your breath by the first five minutes" He avoids Liam's warning.

"You're underestimating me, Malik" He mimics, and Zayn swears he's wearing a smirk on his face right now. "Besides, you're not even getting down so I can show you"

"Oh please" He rolls his eyes, "You just want to see me in my gym shorts"

"Meet in ten?"

"Make it thirty. I have to style my hair properly"

He hears Liam's laugh before he hangs up.

❌

"Wow!" Liam raises his brows, "You weren't kidding!" He points at Zayn, in tight tank top and shorts, headband pushing his hair out of his face, eyes tired and empty, his phone in hand, and earplugs hanging around his neck.

"Morning to you too" He pushes at Liam, ushering him to start already, and Liam gives him an amused smile but his face turns into concern before it becomes completely serious.

"I haven't seen you nervous about an experiment before"

"That's because I never try anything the first time on a human"

"He's the only available resource we own that we can conduct a research on"

"Wow. Makes me less nervous. Thank you" He rolls his eyes and Liam sighs.

"So tell me … What's up with the closed conversations between you and Harry?"

"He sees me as someone nice. You on the other hand. He hates your ass. So tell me … What's up with the tension between you and Harry?"

"Why do you suddenly care?"

"I don't"

"Good" Liam stops and Zayn turns to him and stops as well, "Cause he's still got a life to live"

"If he lives"

"I'm not going to do anything that harms him"

"I doubt that you already did that before"

"Zayn" Liam says in a warning tone, but Zayn never listens.

"And what's up with the 'I'? I thought we're a team"

"When I don't know what you're doing behind my back-"

"When I don't know what you're doing behind my back" Zayn retorts before Liam continues his sentence, and Liam stares at him with his lips pressed together for a moment. "I can't carry on an operation knowing my team doesn't support me"

"Yet you're still here"

Zayn doesn't reply to that. He plugs in his earphones and jogs away.

❌

Zayn actually runs for an entire hour and a half before he almost collapses. His lack of sleep is showing, and he didn't exactly work out in three years maybe, so he stops. Breath heavy and body sweating, and he bends forwards, hands on his knees as he closes his eyes, the sun is out in the sky by now, and some people are beginning to wake up. It helps him though, keeping his mind busy, the music in his ears blasting loud enough to shut down his mind, but he pulls the earbuds away, the faint remaining sound playing from them, and when his breath is finally somewhere near even, he opens his eyes, and there's a pair of shoes in front of him, a shadow covering him, and he looks up.

"Here … Thought you might need it" Harry's face is flushed as he hands him the bottle of water and a towel, and Zayn knows why.

"Thanks" He gulps a generous amount of water that is much needed by his body and wipes at his face. "Didn't know you wake up this early"

"Um … I … It's not always" Harry tucks his hair behind his ear again, eyes shifting around him instead of landing on him, and that's alright, Zayn doesn't want to push him. He doesn't want anything of it but … "I saw you from above" He points at the floating ship flying nearby, "I just thought … You seemed stressed, and-"

"Are you afraid?" He cuts him off and Harry finally looks back at him. He struggles with words for a second time, eyes darting away but he's giving him no reply, and something clicks in Zayn's head.

Harry doesn't want it. He doesn't fully trust them. His body is calm but he won't be when the time comes, and Zayn doesn't know if he wants to calm Harry or himself.

"This was a mistake, clearly" He shakes his head, "Liam already gave you a reason to hate him. Did he operate on you before?"

Harry stills, mouth opening and closing after a moment, but again, no reply.

"You think I'll do the same?" Harry furrows his brows, "I mean, I've already ignored the whole 'safety rules' thing and drove you right into danger. Then there's this crazy person who's asking you to stop your medication without a scientific explanation, but you don't object when you obviously want to" He gives Harry back the bottle and the towel. "If you feel forced, don’t do it. I'll back away and leave"

Harry's eyes are wide when Zayn shifts his gaze to them, "You'll leave?"

You don't know me. Why do you want me to stay?

"My job will be over if you're unwilling to do it"

"I'm …" Harry grips at the items in his hands, lips pressing shut and brows furrowing again, his gaze is fixed on his hands, but Zayn waits.

Why do you want me to stay? Do I remind you of someone? Who do I remind you of? Or did we meet before? Do I know you? Do you know me?

"I'm willing" His eyes go back to his.

"Are you sure?"

Harry takes a deep breath and nods, "Yes"

Zayn stares at him even though Harry's gaze is no longer on him.

What is Liam not telling me about you?

❌

Zayn spots Louis and Niall outside the operation room. He guesses Harry is already inside with Liam.

"You still don't trust me with your subordinate?"

Louis doesn't smile this time, and he is sure the glare Niall is sending his way is enough to kill him, but he still sends a smile his way as a greeting. He has half a mind to ask Harry about Niall when Louis interrupts his thoughts.

"I'm here in case he goes on rampage"

Zayn returns his gaze to him and tilts his head to the side slightly, arms folded over his chest, "If we're normally speaking. How would you compare yourself in battle against Harry?"

"He's a good fighter. It'd take me some time to take him down"

"And his post-human state?"

"It would take more than me to cool him down"

Cool him down. They aren't capable of fighting back. They just wait.

He nods at Louis and turns on his heels to enter the room. There are three levels to get inside and Zayn is mainly curious as to how much extent Harry's abilities are to show. He sees Liam with his team, and Zayn really thought of having his own team instead, but Liam knows Harry's body more than he does, and if he manipulated the drug dosage or the formula behind Liam's back then he doesn't really need to know. Harry is also there, lying down on the bed, but he can see clearly the nervous flutter of his lashes and the twitch on his fingertips.

"He was asking about you" Liam informs him without turning, "You're not even a full week in and he's asking about you" He shakes his head with a sigh. "Zayn" He finally turns to him, "This is no game"

"Who said it was?" Zayn replies nonchalantly and walks towards Harry and smiles down at him. "Morning. How do you feel?"

Harry takes a deep breath as he glances around him before he meets his eyes and bites down on his lip. "I … I dunno"

"Everything is gonna be alright, promise" He grabs the oxygen mask and puts it over Harry, reaching a hand to hold Harry's own, "Tap on my hand until you reach ten times. One tap per second" Harry nods and Zayn turns to one of the nurses as she begins to push the anesthetic into the tube. Zayn waits for Harry's taps to fade until they stop completely and he puts down his hand, turning to Liam this time, a nurse quickly putting on his outfit and gloves. Harry's abdomen already exposed and ready for the opening. A screen is put in his eyelevel as he is handed the tools.

"Wait" Liam furrows his brows, but as usual, Zayn doesn't pay any mind to him as he makes a small cut into Harry's flesh. "The numbers showing are inaccurate"

"It's just as I want it to be" Zayn replies quietly as he begins slipping in the micro camera. He hears Liam's sharp exhale that means he's not happy and comes to stand next to him.

"You manipulated his drug"

"You wanted my help. I shall do it my own way" He doesn't even glance at Liam, instead lifting his gaze up and into the screen. "Look at it" Liam cannot force his hands out of Harry's body, so he turns to the screen as well. A nurse taking his place in holding the camera as he's handed a scalpel. He cuts a small part of his insides and pulls it out. The other screen focused on it. "It's dead as soon as it's detached, and …" He is handed a syringe, injecting Harry with the drug Liam formally used, "It's inactive once the drug reaches it, but …" He waits for no more than one minute. The cells returning to their normal shape, and this time, he turns to Liam. "You're asking me to work on inactive cells?"

"You've made a huge mistake" Liam grits out through his teeth and Zayn gives him an unimpressed look.

"These cells are not going to provide me what I need still-"

"No"

"His mental illness has nothing to do with it-"

"No" Liam interrupts him again.

"I need to reach the source-"

"Zayn!"

"I'll need to work on his brain cells" He turns to the nurse, "Cover his face and begin the procedures" He pulls out slowly from Harry's abdomen and places the tools away. Liam gets in his way.

"I will not allow you to operate on Harry's brain!"

"The cells there are more active and will provide us the answer we're looking for"

"Dr. Malik-" One of the nurses begins.

"And one mistake will lead to his death! I will not allow it!"

"I just need enough time to figure how to separate-"

"His brain cells?! Are you out of your mind?!" Liam yells.

"Dr. Payne-" The nurse tries again.

"You asked for my assistance on this, and you know that what I'm saying is true!"

"You made his cells more active! How do you expect me to trust you after this?!"

"I made his cells move according to the natural scheme!" Zayn yells back.

"He's waking up!" The nurse shouts and they both turn to her.

"Get out" Liam turns to him and he gapes.

"He's my patient!" He then turns to the nurse, "Increase his dosage"

"Him waking up means you already screwed up!" Liam yells at him again.

"Increase the dosage before he completely wakes up" Zayn orders the nurse again who seems confused and terrified when Liam turns to her again.

"Do it and you lose your job" He threatens.

Harry's eyes flutter, his head begins moving, and Zayn finds himself being pushed back by Liam, and not only Liam, because apparently, he's not on his own here, and Louis joins to get him out of the room where he's led to the next one, a big glass screen separating the two where it's a mirror from the inside. To observe Harry's condition obviously. He glares at Liam's back as everyone hurries out of the room. He could've fucking finished his whole thing in less than three hours if Liam gave him the chance.

"You crossed your line"

Louis is serious, too serious, his tone is too calm and quiet as he stares at Harry through the glass. He's standing next to the door with Niall who still gives him that side glare. Zayn sits there as Liam pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes, and he realizes as Liam comes to stand in front of him that he might look a bit childish, like a mother stopping her child from playing with a certain toy and he has to cry. But he doesn't cry, he's too old for stomping his feet on the ground. And he smirks once Liam opens his eyes.

"You made his cells active. Give me the anti-formula"

"Over my dead body"

"Then we have to do that, don't we?" Louis turns to him, the same calm tone as before, and his eyes are cold, making a slight shiver run down his spine. And he knows Louis, knows he's a high-rank member of Circus. But he also knows Harry, and Louis can't beat him up without the formula that he only owns.

But he doesn’t give them an answer still. He averts his gaze instead, and his body freezes.

Harry looks like a total different person, just like that time on the road, but as he sits up, slowly taking in his surroundings, Zayn begins to understand what Liam meant by Dissociative identity disorder. Harry's eyes are cold, blank, and he picks on the different tube attached to his body, pulling them swiftly. But what really catches his eyes is that Harry's wounds heal in an instant.

"You see what you've done?" Liam asks in a low tone and Zayn just blinks. "Zayn" He tries again, voice softer than before, but Zayn refuses to give in.

A sudden shake of the ground startles them, but mostly him as he glances towards the others. They're worried. Harry leans his head back and closes his eyes, hands resting between his legs on the bed, and Zayn sees it then. How different plants emerge from the floor, deadly sharp edges and thick stems destroying everything around him in the room, and Louis grabs his collar harshly, a look in his eyes that widens them as he breathes sharply.

"Give me the fucking antidote or pray for your life" He tightens his hold, words coming out from behind gritted teeth. And Zayn nods, pushing Louis away and reaching to his back pocket to give him the small box. And because Liam doesn't have the time to know what formula he uses, he allows it, letting Louis run through the door separating the two followed by Niall, his spear is out, and there's a dark aura surrounding it making Zayn furrow his brows and wonder what exactly is Circus or who are they facing.

Harry opens his eyes, doesn't do much to move from his bed as more plants are generated and they're directed towards both, and not only them, Zayn sees four more people getting inside the room as well. Masks are covering their faces in an instant and Liam presses a button from his place. It releases a green colored gas that makes Harry alarmed to the little spot releasing it and immediately, his face hardens with hatred as he launches another branch towards it, a circle surrounding him to protect him from the gas, but Louis doesn't allow it nor his team, they're tearing it apart, and he's finally moving from the bed, still quick on his feet as he tries to avoid them, but he knows that whatever gas Liam released is now getting to him, making his vision blurry as he covers his eyes, giving an opportunity for the others to get to him as he attacks randomly, and he backs away into the mirror, turning before Louis gets to him, but he gets to him nonetheless, injecting the antidote into his neck, and Harry opens his eyes, red and glaring at him as he sinks to the ground, a sharp leaf stabbing Louis in the arm making Zayn flinch. Louis backs away panting as he rips the leaf out of his arm, quickly getting outside the room, and Liam pushes him outside as well, probably to avoid the gas spreading to him so they reach the final level. And before he's out, Harry turns his head backwards, exhausted now that the antidote is flowing through his veins, but he looks at him, right into his eyes, moving as Zayn moves around until he can't see him anymore.

There's no other explanation that Harry is able to see through the glass. How, is the question popping in his mind.

Louis drops in the chair and Liam quickly attends to him. Niall sends him a 'It's your fault' look. And he doesn't even notice that two out of the other four are injured as well. Poison seems to be spreading into their bodies. And because it's partially his fault, he hurries to them as well.

❌

Zayn stares at Harry's unconscious body as his chest rises and falls with every breath and wonders if Liam allowed him in because he wants him to see the damage he made. But he really didn't, and he would glare at Liam still for not allowing him to carry on, but the look Harry gave him behind that one-way mirror, and how Louis wanted to literally murder him makes him think of too many things at once, starting with if Louis or Niall know about him being here, and why Liam isn't telling him anything still. Unless he doesn't know, which is a more reasonable thought. And the question isn't why Liam doesn't know, it's how, making Zayn's head spin again.

He sighs, the idea of calling his team and getting Harry to his lab isn't that far away, and he is sure that Liam is aware by now that Harry has taken a liking towards him so it wouldn't be that hard to convince him.

Harry's eyelashes flutter and he stirs on the bed, slowly gaining consciousness, taking in his surroundings before he's frowning and turning slowly to him, and Zayn smiles.

"Hey"

Harry blinks at him a few times and glances around him again. "What- Did it- Did it work? Did I do anything?"

"How do you feel?" Zayn asks instead and Harry is still frowning, breath uneven as he tries to inhale and exhale deeply.

"Tired" Harry mumbles a response, closing his eyes for a moment.

Tired. Not hurt. Zayn swears he could've completed his research by now if it wasn't for Liam. But he doesn't let it show on his face, doesn't remove the smile off his face as he waits for Harry to reopen his eyes, but he isn't looking at him, he's staring out of the window, and Zayn wants to ask him how he feels about the small flower pot placed near the window, but Harry opens his mouth first.

"Did something happen?"

"Did something happen?" Zayn repeats and tilts his head to the side slightly.

Harry turns to him, "I wasn't- It's not the same room. Did I … Did I do something?"

There's fear is his eyes, worry, confusion, and Zayn can see that he's not trying to remember.

"We can't make you stay in the operation room. It's for a purpose, and now it's ended"

Relief passes through Harry's eyes as he trails his gaze away again.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

Harry's gaze picks up again, and there's a pause as he stares into his eyes, "You told me to tap on your hand" Zayn nods, and the same worry flashes through Harry's eyes again. "Why?"

"I wanted to make sure we didn't hurt you in anyway" Zayn offers another soft smile that he hopes Harry would believe. And he does.

"Will you keep me here?"

"Do you want to stay here?" Zayn raises his eyebrows and Harry quickly widens his eyes, an obvious blush reaching his face and he looks away.

"I didn't- I meant if I'm allowed to go … Like, um …" He slowly meets his gaze again and Zayn shrugs.

"If you can get on your feet balanced. You're free to go anywhere. I don't think I even have such type of authority here anymore" Harry nods slowly, sitting up on the bed and fixing him with a confused expression. "You don't have to push yourself though. If you still feel exhausted, it's completely normal. I believe no one would blame you, really" He pauses, "You don't really like this place, do you?" Harry shakes his head. "Figured"

"Does this mean … It's over?"

Is it?

But as Zayn parts his lips to reply, the door is pushed open, and not in a gentle way, and Zayn doesn’t need to turn to know it's Liam. It's enough that Harry frowns and visibly flinches as he stares at his lap intensely.

"I'm assuming that Dr. Malik made the required check-ups?" Harry's eyes pick up to only land on the floor instead, the area in front of Zayn to be exact, a silent question to whether he should answer or not, or maybe because he doesn’t know. Zayn would go with the latter. "How do you feel?"

"Fine" Harry mumbles, bottom lip caught between his teeth immediately afterwards.

Liam nods, turning his gaze finally to him, and Zayn rolls his eyes. "Does he look in a good condition to you, Dr. Malik?"

"Would it matter what I think?" He replies quietly, eyes locking with Liam’s before he's standing up. And he doesn't know if Harry's eyes picked up to look at him when he leaves or if his lips part on an unsaid question. He does know however, that his short strides is helping Liam catch up to him. And maybe he was waiting for it. The confrontation.

"Zayn" He does stop when Liam calls his name, spinning on his heels to face him, face composed like always, and he can see Liam's shoulders dropping on a sigh as he approaches him. "You made a mistake. Just admit it and move on" He sighs again, brows furrowing slightly, "You weren't like this"

No. But you don't know the present me so well.

"I didn't do a mistake. Harry is alive and well, isn't he?"

"Others are in a critical situation"

"They wouldn't be if I had continued my perfectly planned operation, which you blew" He glares at him this time.

"Get a rest, Zayn. You need it. You're starting to think irrationally"

"I'm not thinking-"

"You wanted to get Harry out of this room without, may I remind you again, giving him his daily dosage" Liam interrupts him, and Zayn finds it really hard not to roll his eyes at him, so he does.

"You're going to square one-"

"We agreed to operate on him while his cells are inactive" He cuts him off again, "Tell me what do you have in your mind"

But Zayn wouldn't tell him. Liam doesn't know him like he used to. And instead of replying, he turns again and walks away.

❌

There's a feeling inside his guts that tells him part of what he's doing is wrong. And he feels like a teenager all over again, turning in his essay and waiting for the result, but the teacher gave him a look of disapproval and his grade was decreased. He didn't really put much effort in it, but he got upset, and he can hear his mother's words in his ears clearly as he stares up into the sky, Circus ship floating over him.

Humans make mistakes. You're a human, Zayn.

He blinks and turns his head down, hands in his pockets and feet at the edge of the roof. He closes his eyes, counting the seconds in his mind, thinking how most of the people wanting to prove him wrong are all beneath him right now. And he wants to prove Liam wrong. Smiling when he hears the faint sound of something landing next to him, and soon enough, there's an arm pushing him backwards and turning him around.

"What're you exactly trying to do?" Zayn opens his eyes with a wider smile when he sees the worry etched on Harry's face. There's a hint of annoyance too, reminding him of that time on the road, but this time, Harry's arm drop to his side casually.

Proving a theory.

"You look better"

Harry's frown deepens, "I'm- You weren't going to really jump, were you?"

"Do I look that stupid?" Harry searches his face for something, his frown still present, "So … Liam is back on your treatment?"

"Yes. Isn't it- Isn't the whole 'operation' thing over?"

Zayn hums, "Would it be alright with you if I try one more thing?"

"Other than jumping off that edge?"

Zayn chuckles, briefly glancing behind him. "Other than jumping off that edge" He assures him.

Harry stares at him for another minute before he's nodding. And there's the same feeling that's clawing at his skin again, and he ignores it for a second time as he pulls a small device from his pocket and expanding the wire. He motions for Harry to sit across from him on the floor, looking at him with confusion as Zayn grabs Harry's arm and places the end of the wire on it. A small round pad over his skin that Zayn secures around his arm.

"I'm not injecting you with anything, so stop worrying too much. It's just a recording device" Harry's furrows his brows again, "To make sure you're still fine. After resuming your treatment" And he also doesn't want to give Liam the satisfaction of being right. "So, tell me" He places the device in his lap and Harry glances between his eyes and his arm, still held by Zayn. "Do you see Louis and Niall very often?"

"They live with me. In the ship" He nods upwards.

"Are you close?"

"Louis is my superior. Niall is my friend. I believe we are. We're like … A family"

"Liam is not included?" He teases with a smile and Harry frowns again, not giving him an answer. "Well, he's not a fun guy to be around anyway"

"Are you two friends?"

"Colleagues" Harry nods, "What about your family?" Harry opens his mouth, eyes darting across the floor, and the pause is too long. "Are you adopted?"

"I don't know" Harry mumbles.

"If you don't know your parents-"

"I don't remember" Harry replies, voice getting higher slightly, and Zayn nods. The device silent in his lap, screen turned off for Harry's sake.

"Do you want to know?" Zayn asks after another short pause, and Harry is still not looking up. "Do you want to remember?"

"Yes?" He looks up, "No?" He asks, "I don't know. I haven't-" His eyes are wide as he gestures with his hand, "It's not that I can remember! It's-" He huffs a frustrated breath, arm dropping into his lap and looking down again, "Why are you asking me this?"

"I'm trying to help you"

"You're not helping me" Harry mutters under his breath.

"Did they tell you otherwise?" Harry looks up at him, "Is that what they've been doing for how long you've been here? Can't you see that I'm different?"

"They care for me"

"I care for you too"

Harry stares at him again, lips parted and brows furrowed, "You …" Zayn watches as his eyes twitch, "You do it because it's your job, you don’t-" He looks at his arm.

"What did they tell you about me?" Zayn asks, because he knows, because it's too obvious in Harry's replies.

"Get this thing off me" Harry replies instead, voice deep and calm as he stretches his arm for Zayn to detach his device.

"They told you I'm going to hurt you? Or that maybe I already did?"

Harry sucks in a breath, bottom lip taken into his mouth, "Get this thing off me" He repeats, voice wavering.

"Orders. I get it" Zayn nods. "Liam definitely told you to not listen to me anymore" He unwraps the device from around Harry's arm, "I'm guessing Louis has already been cursing my name, and Niall obviously hates me, but" He puts the device back into his pocket and smiles at Harry, "Thank you" Harry blinks at him in confusion, "I'll see you around" He pats his shoulder as he walks past him.

Harry stares after him in confusion still until he's out of the door.

He pulls his device out and opens it, a smile creeping over his face when he sees the results.

Liam can drug Harry all he wants.

❌

Zayn didn't see Harry for four days in a row afterwards, and it's not like he's avoiding him, he knows he's in the ship, but for some reason, he doesn't get down. And he knows that Liam doesn't want him nearby either, not to mention that Louis glares at him whenever he spots him from afar. And Zayn's mind is occupied with theories that he can't use, so he tries again, searching for Liam until he finds him in a room.

"Thought you'd be kicking me out by now. I mean, you don't even acknowledge me anymore"

"Thought you'd be on your way out on your own. I mean, you don't usually stick around after rejection" Liam replies, and he doesn't even lift his head to look at him.

"So what're you planning to do with Harry? Is he too weak to leave his room now? You'd been using a stronger drug?" He leans back on the door and crosses his arms over his chest.

"He's fine. I'm not using any drug on him. I'm just keeping his state stable for now"

"For now?"

This time, Liam looks up at him. "You were right"

"I was?" He cocks an eyebrow.

"You made Harry's cells more active and that gave me an opening that I plan to use" He stands up, pressing a button to light the screen up, "You gave me an alternative, and I hope that we work on this together"

Zayn rolls his eyes, "There is no alternative. You know that"

"Wrong" Liam turns to the screen, "I did a check up on Harry's body while he's awake, and having to operate on them at that state is adding to our success rate"

Zayn narrows his eyes at him, "You were against me hurting him, but now you want to operate on him while he's awake?"

"If you were to make any mistake, it'd be fatal. Pain is inevitable in either cases" Zayn sighs and turns to look at the screen instead. "The formulas are hard to predict, but I still had two combinations in mind. If we can work on that while he's still conscious, then I believe we can find the right formula, so … Are you in or out?"

Zayn presses his lips together and stares into Liam's eyes. Well, there is a chance.

❌

He's not doing anything, just leaning on the wall and watching as Harry gets undressed because Liam wants to make sure nothing goes wrong, and in order to do so, the nurses are here to look for any change his body makes. And he won't say he doesn't enjoy his view. Broad shoulders, toned chest, hard abs, his biceps, or his thick thighs. Unfortunately, he’s still wearing his boxers, and even though Zayn can get an image out of it, his vision is soon blocked. But the frown on Harry's face and the anxious look combined with fear is what catches his attention, and even though Liam won't make him do anything that concerns touching Harry's body in any way, Louis is still there next to him, ready to grab him and kick him out if needed. So he waits until Harry is lying down and Liam is securing his restraints firmly because they fear he might go on rampage again.

Harry's breaths aren't even, there's a noticeable shake in his fingertips, his eyes are blinking rapidly, so he walks towards the table by the screen where a box containing the formulas they worked on is put. Two out of five already filled, and instead of worrying about Harry's condition, he focuses on his actual job, getting the right formula done in the given time.

"Alright" He hears Liam speaking up, mostly to Harry, he believes, "I'm not going to lie to you, but you're going to go through a lot of pain. Don't worry though … If it gets too much, we'll stop, okay?" Zayn glances from the corner of his eyes to see Harry nodding, a helpless flutter of his lashes as he gulps audibly. "You're helping lots of people by doing this, Harry" He shifts his gaze to land on Louis, eyeing him like Zayn would mess with any of the drugs or manipulate the results they get on screen. "Shall we?" He snaps his gaze back to Liam to find him already looking at him and he nods.

He opens the box, Harry's condition analysis is starting to show up on the screen, and Liam looks at it for a long time before he takes the first syringe. Zayn stares too, because it's the only thing he's doing here, but he briefly glances at Harry to see his eyes shut tightly, veins too visible as he digs his nails into his palms, and Liam inserts the liquid into his body.

Zayn watches as the numbers change on the screen, focuses on a specific picture of his cells where an obvious shift is beginning but disappearing the next minute. He hears Harry's sharp breaths as he looks down into the box and takes one of the empty syringes. He's well aware of Louis' eyes on him as he moves to another table to prepare the formula.

"What changed?" Liam asks him as he grabs the next syringe.

"Nothing"

"Tell me what you're doing first" He demands sternly, but Zayn doesn't move an inch towards him.

"It's useless" He replies, "You're increasing the dosage which is clearly working for a couple of minutes before it fails, but … If you keep going like this, then it's useless"

"But still you're increasing it" Liam turns to Harry again, "If it works by a minimum amount, then we can work with that"

Zayn fills the syringe and turns to him, "His body is building immunity faster than you'll get to inject the next syringe into him"

A heavy sigh escapes him as Liam ignores him and continues to inject the needle into Harry's body. A whimper leaves him at first before he groans and starts crying in pain, twisting in the bed as they all watch. And Liam turns his gaze to the screen but Zayn doesn't because he already knows the result, so he approaches Liam, raising his voice to be heard over Harry's screams as he holds up the syringe.

"Listen to me for fuck's sake! You're wasting another opportunity!"

"You've raised the dosage three times over the second, his body won't handle it" Liam shakes his head, goes to fill the third syringe before the results shatter once more, but Zayn blocks his way.

"His body can accept the increased dosage. If we gave it to him at once then it gives us a result!"

"We agreed to be working my way, so no, I'm not going to increase the dosage and risk his life" Liam pushes him to the side.

"Well, you might stop as well!" He shouts at his back, "You're giving him more pain without a purpose!"

"It has a purpose!" Liam shouts back.

"Fuck you" Zayn glares at him as he mumbles, turning towards Harry, but even if he intended to do anything as Harry finally starts to calm down, eyes already glossy, the syringe is snatched from his hand and Louis is pushing him backwards harshly.

"Step back, Dr. Malik"

"Have it your way. Let him die for all I care"

He turns and leaves. Harry's screams ringing in his ears even when he's far.

❌

"So … Enjoying your failure?"

Zayn asks out loud when Liam enters, a tired expression on his face as he closes the door behind him. And Zayn knows of Harry's condition right now. He also knows that they made no progress whatsoever. Liam doesn't reply to him, just looks at him before he's turning towards his desk.

"You're not going to admit that I was right and you wasted yet another chance? That you could've been holding the cure at your hands right this instant? That you-"

"You want to brag? Go ahead" Liam cuts him off, turning back to him, "But if you're right about one thing, it's that Harry's body is building immunity faster than the human's body is capable, and yes, the next dosage did nothing to his condition, but have you seen him after the third dosage? Clearly no. But you'd have known that his body collapsed and couldn't take it anymore, so there's no way in hell your planned dosage would help. It'd have killed him right away. But you don't care, do you? All you care is about adding another successful research to your achievements!" Liam finishes with a glare, shaking his head and sighing deeply with his hands massaging his temples.

"He's a good kid. He's helping too many people already" Liam's harsh tone drops, "He agreed to anything we'd do to him because all he wanted to do was help … He just happened to be at the wrong time in the wrong place. He doesn't have control over his body condition. You can't just …" Another sigh escapes him, "You can't take away his life like that. I can't force more into his body than its capacity, Zayn" He looks up then, "He's done nothing wrong but spread positive energy around, so tell me why are you neglecting that he's a human being and not one of your lab rats that you can replace? Because you can't. And even if he's still the only test subject we have, he's still a human being. A good one too"

So maybe Zayn's made a mistake.

He leaves Liam and exits the room, already heading to a specific room when he sees a nurse coming out of the door and standing there when he gets closer.

“Dr. Malik” She greets him.

“You’re leaving him alone? I thought that someone in his condition should be watched twenty-four-seven”

“We’re leaving him to rest. He’s not completely unconscious”

Zayn glances around, “Not even his friends can enter?”

“If you’re referring to his team, they’re quite busy handling some urgent matters” Urgent. So Louis and Niall aren’t here. Zayn nods and walks past her. “Dr. Malik” She calls after him, “I was ordered by Dr. Payne himself to not let you near him”

Zayn turns to her with his hand on the door handle, “He’s not completely unconscious. If he wants me out, then I’ll be out” He opens the door, “Leave Dr. Payne to me. I can handle him”

She opens her mouth with a frown but he closes the door behind him. She’s probably going to tell Liam, and Liam would probably just let him be. If he’s still the same after all these years, he’ll believe his words are getting to him right now. Which they are, he understands.

Harry is lying down with his brows furrowed, his body is shifting uncomfortably, eyes shut tightly, and his breathing isn’t even. He knows he’s in pain, and he walks slowly towards him, sitting next to him on the bed and gently pushing his hair off his face making Harry open his eyes to look at him.

“Hey” Zayn smiles, “You’re still in pain?” Harry doesn’t reply, just closes his eyes again and gulps, “Is it bearable?” Harry opens his eyes, and even though he’s not looking at him, his eyes are moving towards nothing in particular, and Zayn knows then that he can’t quite decide if it’s bearable or not. After all, he’s used to these situations. “I’ll increase the dosage, alright?” He stands up, “It’ll make you feel better” Harry looks up at him, “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna hurt you”

He turns to the screen, watching Harry’s condition as he increases the dosage slightly. Harry relaxes into the bed more and his eyes close. Putting him to sleep is better than having him in pain. He keeps standing there, watching Harry’s sleeping figure for a moment before a beeping sound startles him and he turns to the screen again. The numbers are changing, they’re turning to what he once saw when they first operated on him, and Zayn narrows his eyes at the screen. Harry is asleep, there is no drug injected to his body other than the soporific, analgesic ones, and they can’t be the reason, but his body is slowly decreasing the pain on its own, like a self-defense mechanism. Zayn bets his body cells are changing too.

He turns his head towards the door. Liam’s room isn’t that far, and him not being here by now means he’s trusting him to not at least kill Harry. And he doesn’t want to. He doesn’t kill people. But Liam never allows him to do as he pleases with Harry’s condition, and he opens a drawer with the toolbox, thinking it over for a moment before he pulls it out and sets it on the small table next to the bed. He slowly removes the covers off his chest, pushing his upper clothes to reveal his chest, and he takes a deep breath before opening the box and wearing his gloves. He pulls his small device out of his pocket and places it on the bed as well, and maybe he’d be faster if he had someone to help him with this, but it’s not like he didn’t operate on his own before, and it’s not entirely an operation if he’s being honest. He makes a small cut right next to his heart, carefully holding his device to insert a mini tube inside, and he glances again at the screen to make sure his condition is stable before turning on his device.

He feels something pressing at the back of his head, and he swears the door is still closed as he feels a breath on his neck.

“Step back, Dr. Malik. Slowly … You don’t want to harm him, do you?”

He doesn’t recognize the voice, but he doesn’t flinch. If he made one wrong move, he might cut straight into Harry’s heart and kill him. He pulls the tube away, carefully removing the scalpel and setting it aside. And even though there’s blood now dripping out of the cut, he can’t do much as he’s nudged to move.

“Good boy” The voice praises and Zayn doesn’t get the chance to turn before he’s roughly thrown to the side, his side hitting the wall harshly and he’s dropping to the floor in agony. He manages to open his eyes to see the person who he had never seen before approaching Harry, and despite his pain, he can’t let him harm him, and he stands up again, drawing the person’s attention to him again.

“Stop”

“You should be aware, Dr. Malik, that you’re in no condition to fight me back”

“I don’t know who are you, or what you want. But he’s my patient, and I’m never letting you hurt him”

The person smiles, “You don’t seem to understand”

Zayn knows his side is going to protest loudly, but he launches at the guy, ducking enough to grab the scalpel again, but his arm is twisted backwards when he grabs it, and he winces, his grip loosening, and the scalpel is dropped to the floor.

“Are you really willing to sacrifice your own life to save him?”

“He’d have done the same” Zayn replies, trying for a back kick but failing, and he knows, he’s terrible at fighting. He shouldn’t have accepted Liam’s request in the first place.

“It’s a shame that I have to kill you” He is again thrown on the floor roughly, and he wonders how on earth did no one hear anything coming from inside this room. How do they even leave Harry in this condition? And why is this room left unmonitored? How did the guy even get inside? Without using the fucking door?

The side of his head is pressed to the floor, and there’s a weight on his back keeping him in place with a hand digging into his own. Zayn can see blood near his elbow where the guy had scratched him, trying to stop him from moving, and it sort of feels numb in the area.

“It was nice to meet you, Dr. Mal-”

Zayn holds his breath, blinking twice before he feels the weight getting off him, and he sees the body dropping to the floor in front of him, eyes going wide as he sees the same weird-looking liquid oozing on the floor. The skin turning to a hideous color as well. He quickly lifts himself on his hands, turning to see who came to save him, to be met by cold green eyes staring at him.

The cut on his chest is no longer there, and Zayn shifts into a seating position, holding into his numb arm for a moment as he stares at Harry who squats down in front of him. But it’s not Harry. Not the same Harry that was with him a few moments ago.

“Thank you”

“You’re going to die” His reply is cold, monochrome, as he glances at his arm, and Zayn furrows his brows, removing his hand slowly and pushing his sleeve up to have a better look at his elbow. The same area that the guy scratched him and drew blood is now blue, and he already feels numb, but the blue veins spreading around it are not looking good. “You’ve been infected”

Zayn’s eyes snap back to him, “Infected?”

“He called you a doc. Are you new here?”

This Harry doesn’t remember. Right.

“I haven’t …”

“You’ll die in a couple of hours. There is no cure” He pauses, “But I guess you already know that” Zayn’s eyes widen. Fuck. He reaches with his other hand to pull his phone out, but his wrist is soon grabbed harshly and pinned to the wall behind him. “No, no, no. Now, what were you thinking of? Calling Liam?”

He calls him Liam? Just Liam? And … What?

“Let me refresh your memory, doc” Harry’s voice gets deeper, “Remember when you watched me suffer behind that mirror and gave Louis that drug to keep me down for good? Hm?”

So he did see him. Zayn doesn’t know how, but Harry was capable of seeing them behind that mirror.

“You’re not going to leave me die here” Zayn shakes his head, “You’ve just saved my life. Why do it if you wanted me dead?”

Harry smirks, “That wouldn’t be fun. You’d just die. No … I’m going to watch you suffer just like you watched me” He lets go of his wrist and stands up, but Zayn can’t move his wrist, Harry’s hand is replaced by a green plant holding him in place, emerging from the wall, and Zayn looks at it for a second before he turns back to Harry.

“You’re not going to even allow me to say goodbye?”

“Did you?” Harry retorts, a low tone in his voice.

Zayn winces again, and he turns to look at his numb arm. The veins are spreading wider, and they hurt, although he can’t feel his arm, can’t move it, he feels a stinging pain inside of it, and it gets him dizzy. And Harry watches, sitting back on the bed as he stares down at him with the same hard expression on his face. And Zayn can’t believe he’ll die like this, but what he thinks of is how did Harry turn and wake up this fast?

Another sharp sting of pain, and Zayn’s eyes widen again as he sees blood mixed with blue liquid making its way out of his infected veins. Maybe if he screamed someone will hear him. But he can’t. His voice isn’t getting out, his vision turns blurry, and with the next sting of pain, he’s fainting.

❌

There’s a soft texture beneath his touch, and his head feels a bit light, but he opens his eyes slowly, seeing a blur at first before his vision becomes much clearer, and he blinks at the scene in confusion. They look like remains of old buildings, and it takes Zayn a few seconds to realize that he’s been moved here. He looks down at the bed of flowers he’s lying on, completely contrasting the place he’s in and turns lazily to the other side, seeing another tree that doesn’t belong to the place, and he simply blinks at it, eyes catching the figure sitting by the tree before he’s sitting up slowly. He pulls his sleeves higher to check on his arm, and there’s nothing in it. He moves it around, clenching his fist and loosening it a couple of times.

“Thought that I’ve been infected and there’s no cure?” Harry just stares back at him, an empty look in his eyes as Zayn stands up and looks around him, “So …” He sighs, “Where the hell have you brought me?” It’s either a lie, or a truth, and Zayn doesn’t know what to believe. His pockets are empty, and he walks towards Harry. “You threw away my phone too?” He waits a couple of seconds, seeing no reaction from Harry, so he decides to take another route. “What’s your name?” Harry tilts his head to the side, a sign of confusion on his face. “I can’t go around calling you with something you’re not.”

Harry opens his mouth but closes it afterwards, deciding to stand up as well, and when he ignores Zayn and starts to walk further into the remains, Zayn quickly glances at the bed of flowers, and just like he thought, it completely disappeared. He turns to the tree, seeing it gradually dying and turning to dust. Harry is doing something, he knows that much, but he doesn’t know why the situations are different, so he follows him.

The place is huge, Zayn can tell that much is true, and he catches a glance far behind the remains to see there’s a wall. Shit. If he’s where he thinks he is, then it isn’t a good thing. But his curiosity gets the best of him, because while he still believes he’s inside a restricted area, his hands are itching to touch, his brain is excited to study what he’s never been allowed to. So he does, extending his hand as they pass by, the tips of his fingers reaching to touch where a block is cut sharply and has left a strange color. His hand is roughly pulled backwards, and Zayn is reminded of the time when Harry did the same thing back at the road.

“Don’t touch anything.”

“Why?” Zayn doesn’t turn to Harry when he asks, keeping his gaze fixed on where he wanted to touch.

“You’ll get infected.”

That time, Zayn does turn to look at Harry. “I think my body is immune.” Harry fleers at him, dropping his arm and moving forwards again, and because Zayn doesn’t follow the rules, he extends his hand again, keeping his gaze fixed on Harry’s back as he almost places his hand on the block. There’s a stem being immediately wrapped around his hand stopping his movement, squeezing tight enough for Zayn to actually wince, and Harry stops, shoulders going up for a second as he breathes in deeply before slumping down again, and Zayn knows he’s irritated as he turns to look at him. “You’re still not gonna tell me your name?”

“Harry.” He says at last, and Zayn smiles at him. The same it appears.

And since this Harry doesn’t do well with formalities either, he says, “Zayn.” Harry stares at him for a long while with a frown on his face before he decides to turn and walk again, and this time, Zayn follows him without touching anything. “Do you come here very often?”

“Why does it concern you?” Harry replies coldly.

“You brought me here.” Harry pauses his steps again.

“You brought me here.” Harry corrects, and it takes a couple of seconds for Zayn to know his meaning. Harry turns to him, “It doesn’t mean I trust you, because I don’t,” he narrows his eyes at Zayn, “there’s something you want from me, and I’m not the obedient type.”

Zayn smirks at him, “wanna bet?” Harry furrows his brows at him, and Zayn glances around him. “Is that your city?” He looks back at Harry, “If it’s completely destroyed, then why do you come here?” Harry doesn’t reply, turning to leave again, “what are you looking for?” He waits a couple of seconds before taking a careful step forward, “if you brought me here, then perhaps I can help you?” Harry looks up at him when he comes to stand in front of him, “I’m very good at discovering stuff.” Harry seems hesitant, but Zayn knows, he knows that Harry never gets the time to actually fully investigate the area, and Zayn is sure Harry knows exactly where he’s going, and it makes his heart beats a little faster to know he’s close to something only few have seen, if they even lived up till now. Zayn extends his arms around him, “Between you and I, who has the advantage over the other? C’mon, I don’t think I can go anywhere either.”

Harry seems wary, and Zayn agrees with him on being like that because Zayn is never showing too much, but Harry blinks at him, shifts his gaze around, and even though he doesn’t reply, Zayn knows Harry agrees to what he said. They keep walking until there’re bigger remains, looking as if they were thrown over each other, and Zayn gapes at them. What force was able to do that? He bumps into Harry when he stops, quickly turning his gaze down and his eyes go wide. There’s a hole in the ground, a big one, and Zayn can’t see how deep it is.

“We’re going there?” He glances at Harry before crouching at the edge of the hole. “I’m open for story time.”

But Harry doesn’t reply, simply pulling Zayn to his feet and putting an arm around his waist before there’s a tree growing from beneath them, and Zayn doesn’t get to ask before Harry’s hold is tightening around him and he’s jumping, and Zayn literally gasps, hands clutching at Harry as they descend faster and faster, and this is exactly why he never wanted to go into this field with Liam. God, he’s so gonna kill Liam if he ever made it alive.

Suddenly, they stop, and Zayn looks up to see that a branch of the tree that Harry’s hand is holding, and Harry doesn’t seem to be affected by anything at all as he lets go of the branch for their feet to touch the ground, and Zayn thinks his knees are a bit wobbly.

“Alright …” He whispers mainly to himself as he takes a deep breath. “What are we looking for?” He glances around him, and Harry is confused as well. “Do you-” but before he can continue, the ground beneath him is shaking, and he’s already unstable, so he falls, wincing a bit as he hits the ground and watches as Harry stands there, in the middle of the dark, the only light coming from the moon above them and lightening a small circle. And Zayn doesn’t know how wide can this hole reach at the bottom, but he hears something roughly shoving against the rocks, and it isn’t that hard to know that Harry is using his abilities to grow plants for that matter. “I’m fine by the way!” He raises a hand. He quickly retreats it when he hears a sharp sound, like there are objects making contact with each other, and in a second, there is fire, lighting around the place, placed in equal distance from each other, and it leaves Zayn speechless for a moment. “Do you do that in Circus? Cause I believe the audience would be really mesmerized.”

Harry frowns at him, “you don’t seem like a member of Circus.”

“And never will be,” Zayn brings a hand to his ass and rubs over it as he leans on the side before standing up. “I’ve had enough adventure for a lifetime.” Although Zayn actually means what he says, it lifts Harry’s mood up, and he doesn’t glare at Zayn, doesn’t give him that cold empty wary look anymore, and Zayn blinks at him with his brows slightly furrowed. “So … Now that we can see … What now?”

Harry looks around, trying to spot something that he now sees, and he doesn’t use his abilities anymore, just crouching down and removing whatever is placed above, from big rocks to small ones that Zayn doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to lift. But Zayn is a good observer, and he glances between Harry and everything around him, wondering if he can touch anything, and why Harry brought him here.

“You’re like a part of this place,” Zayn crouches down next to a rock that seems to have been infiltrated by acid covered sword. He tilts his head to get a better view with the light he’s provided. “My phone has a flashlight we can use.” He leans closer to the rock, “am I not allowed to touch still?” When he doesn’t get a reply, and the sound of Harry moving around rocks stops, he turns his head to where Harry is still crouching and he stands up, walks over to him as Harry stands.

Harry looks up before he’s turning towards him, and Zayn’s gaze falls to Harry’s hand, fist closed on something, but Zayn can clearly see the chain, and he looks up at Harry again.

But Harry doesn’t show him the rest of the pendant, quickly putting it inside his pockets as his eyes get dark again. And Zayn can hear something approaching as Harry roughly pulls on his arm, and he knows now why Harry got him here. He’s simply using him to do whatever he wants, he knows about Zayn being one of Liam’s team, he had seen him with the antidote, and seen him again with the device inside his room, and Zayn curses under his breath as Harry uses more plants to dig a tunnel into the rocks, closing it behind him with thick leaves that Zayn bets are poisonous, and he swears he sees a red light and some human voices behind them, but Harry doesn’t give him the chance to hear more, strength evidently shown in how Harry keeps his plants sharp, and Zayn notices something. The same sharp hit the plant makes into the rock is leaving an acid impact. All these years ago Harry was there, Zayn knows that already. He fought his way, he lost something, the pendant means something important to him, or it has something inside of it.

Give me something.

Something hits Harry’s blocked way behind them, and Zayn sees the fear mixed with irritation in his eyes, and he’s been with too many people to know their emotions and how to use it against them, so he waits a beat, and when the second hit comes, he moves fast, his hand reaching in Harry’s pocket to pull the pendant out, but Harry is also fast, his hand gripping Zayn’s own and pushing him away, and Zayn’s back hits the walls of the tunnel roughly, his gaze catching on the pendant dropping out of Harry’s pocket with the third hit. He doesn’t seem to notice, or he’s too busy to notice, because he’s obviously pissed off with the fourth hit when someone steps inside the tunnel, and Zayn guesses whoever behind the suit is Louis, judging from the spear that’s generating from his bracelet. He seems to notice Zayn, but if Zayn is being honest with himself, Louis wouldn’t really care about his safety.

But it’s all a matter of opportunities that come only once, not trust, and Zayn sinks to the ground when Harry fights back. The speed in his steps is impressive, sharp thorns accompanying his fist breaking Louis’ mask, and Zayn realizes now that something is odd. If Louis has shown up here with a mask and a suit that completely hides himself, what on earth has Harry done to him to make him immune much like himself? For how long will it last?

Anything.

But he knows his life is valuable to both sides now, and he takes his chance when he gets it, moving quickly towards Harry and startling him enough for Louis to stab his spear into Harry’s arm. If it hurts, Harry doesn’t show it, because his eyes are fixed on Zayn as he grabs the pendant before he is turning to Louis slowly, and Zayn remembers that Louis isn’t stronger than Harry when he’s like this, so he takes the opportunity that Harry isn’t looking at him to mouth at Louis, ‘you need me’.

He knows Louis’ seen him because he moves his spear for Harry’s arm to hit the wall, and Zayn grimaces at the stretch the spear makes, cutting into more flesh and bones, but again, Harry doesn’t even wince, using his other arm to pull at Louis’ neck and throwing him away. In his fall, Zayn’s device is thrown his way, and while Harry doesn’t notice it, distracted by more forces coming into the tunnel, and Zayn doesn’t think he knows any of them, but he doesn’t glance their way anymore, grabbing his device as Harry grabs the spear to pull it out. He’s healed immediately, and he can hear Louis cursing next to him as he collects himself to stand once more, and he’s not distracted either when Harry launches more thorns their way, penetrating their suits in more than once place. And as Louis goes at Harry again, Zayn hears the muffled cry of pain. He quickly pulls out the drug and stands as well, dodging Louis’ body when it’s thrown his way, and Harry stares at him, a plant reaching to wrap itself around Zayn’s device before shattering it into pieces. More plants cover the entrance of the tunnel, and as the light starts to fade, Zayn hears Louis’ cry of pain too, and he isn’t sure what happened exactly, but his back hits the wall and his hand grips the drug tighter.

“You said it yourself. You can’t win against me.” Harry says it in a low tone, and Zayn can practically feel his breath on his face right now.

It’s all about opportunities, not trust.

I’m sorry.

Zayn’s breath is shaky when Harry’s hands grip his own, the pendant falling from one hand to the ground, but Zayn refuses to let go of the drug.

“You carried me all the way here. Tell me you at least didn’t think about it.”

Because I know you did. They always do. You’re no different. Wanna know a secret?

And he knows without seeing Harry’s face that he’s confused, but he takes his opportunity when he can, tilting his head up, and he definitely feels how Harry is startled when he kisses him, because Harry should have had him tied up and poisoned, but he didn’t, and Zayn’s strength was never in his arm muscles.

Harry can wonder all he wants about why Zayn did it, and Zayn knows he’s thinking about it, and to have him think about it is better than to have him think about anything else, and while Zayn believes that Harry’s mind is somehow disconnected, his heart isn’t, and it’s probably why he’s still unharmed. Harry’s grip is gone from his wrists, but he’s not stepping back, and Zayn notices another thing. The plants Harry is using to grow has stopped, and he can’t hear Louis’ voice at all next to them, and he’s genuinely worried about his condition, so he slips his hands slowly from the wall behind him to get them around Harry’s neck, and this time, Zayn can sense Harry’s hesitation and confusion as he steps back slowly, but he doesn’t go far, and even though Zayn doesn’t have time, he makes sure Harry’s mind is messed up even more, tilting his head to the side and brushing Harry’s lips with his own again, feeling how his lips part slightly, and he presses his lips gently over Harry’s again, fingers stroking the nape of his neck, and he slowly brings his other hand to Harry’s neck as well, the needle moving right after the stroke of his finger, and Harry hisses as Zayn presses the drug into his body, quickly pulling back and pushing Zayn further into the wall.

The wall Harry built closing the entrance is being pushed again, and when the light comes through, Zayn can see Harry falling to his knees, wide eyes staring back at him, and he can see the hurt in them along with the shock and disbelief, but Zayn stands there with a blank expression on his face. He crouches to take the pendant from the ground, and he notices someone coming through the entrance, so he quickly slides it into his back pocket, his gaze returning to Harry again, to find him watching his every move before his body falls to the ground completely.

You’ll do it again.

It appears that the suit was for protection from Harry during battle, because when the person in a suit moves to the side, Liam is there with no suit rushing to him first before Louis, and Zayn knows all the reasons why as Liam’s arms literally squeeze him.

Zayn closes his eyes though on an exhale, because he’s tired, and he’s alive after everything happened, and there’s a lot on his mind, but he gets that feeling again from all those years ago, so he hugs Liam back, arms going around his waist as he rests his head on Liam’s shoulder. When he opens his eyes again, there’s a medical team by Louis’ side, who is unconscious, and Zayn doubts he heard anything. Trailing his gaze to the other side, Harry’s eyes are still fixed on him, but they close gradually until he’s put into rest.

And again.

❌

Zayn watches as Liam’s brows furrow after looking over his test results.

“You’re … Not infected.”

“And this is a bad thing?”

Liam turns to him and sighs as he puts down the papers. “No, of course it isn’t, but … It’s just weird,” and he’s having that look in his eyes that tells Zayn he’s suspicious, the question already expected when he reopens his mouth, “what were you doing in Harry’s room?” Because the nurse certainly told Liam.

“I went to check on him.”

“Check on him?” Liam narrows his eyes at him, “Nothing else?”

“What did you expect me to do while he was at such condition?”

“Honestly, Malik?” Liam asks, and because Zayn knows him and knows how to make his expressions neutral, he keeps staring back with a blank face. “I know you could do a lot.”

Zayn rolls his eyes, “Instead of accusing me, you should at least monitor this building,” he stands up from his seat, “someone was there to harm Harry. You should be thankful I was there when it happened.”

Liam’s brows furrow again, “what do you mean by someone was there to harm him?”

“I mean that you’ve been infiltrated long ago.” Zayn turns to leave the room, but Liam is following after him.

“What happened?!”

Zayn doesn’t stop walking, eyes glancing at the room’s numbers, “Is Harry’s body immune against infection?”

“Well, his cells already contain infection, if that’s what you want to call it.”

If Harry’s body is immune, which Zayn expected that since he was inside a restricted area, one where it all began, then what do they want with Harry? They’re certainly not looking for a cure. But Zayn knows he should be infected, and he’s not, and he’s definitely not answering Liam’s question until he knows himself for sure.

“Harry was sleeping, then when he woke up despite the soporific being injected into his body,” he stops when he reaches the required room, “he was the one you were fighting.” He opens the door slowly, and Liam doesn’t try to stop him, simply coming to stand next to him once the door is opened. Zayn stares at Louis’ body, still unconscious, and wonders if someone as strong as Louis couldn’t handle the effect of the place and Harry’s powers combined, then what happened to the others? “How is he?”

“He’s healing. Not infected, thank god.”

“And the others?” Liam is quiet for a moment, and Zayn turns to him.

“They didn’t make it.”

“How many?”

Liam presses his lips together for a second before he’s turning his head to look at Zayn. “Five.”

Zayn nods slowly. “And Harry?”

Liam takes a deep breath, “well … He’s asleep. His body is not damaged in anyway, which I don’t know if I should be thanking you for it or not.” His answer is still quiet as he turns to look at Louis again, and Zayn walks backwards until he’s out. “How did you get in there?”

Zayn stops. “I was unconscious.” He looks up at Liam then, “I think he carried me there.”

Liam furrows his brows, “why would he want you there?”

That’s what I’m trying to find out.

There’s the weight of the pendant present at his back pocket still, and he doesn’t give Liam a vocal answer, simply turning on his heels with a shake of his head. He doesn’t have his device anymore thanks to Harry, but he can contact his team.

And I’m going to find out.

❌

Zayn stares at the loading sign on his phone long enough for the screen to timeout, the reflection of himself on the black screen is staring back at him with the light from the ceiling shining behind him. He lifts his head up to look at Louis, because Liam won’t let him see Harry, and because he feels guilty too. Ever since he decided to engulf himself in the scientific field and he’s been aiming to help people, and he has, establishing many researches that millions of people benefit from. To be the cause of someone’s harm is beyond what he imagined, and he didn’t have much sleep either last night. There’s a mistake that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. Zayn has made a decision to leave for good once it’s fixed.

The sound of the door opening and closing behind him startles his thoughts and he turns his head to look at whoever entered. He’s not surprised when he sees Liam, but the latter seems to be so.

“You’re awake early.” Liam raises his brows.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“And you even have your head back,” Liam motions at his headband, “I couldn’t believe my ears when the nurses told me you’ve made Louis’ daily checkup.”

“Why? Can’t believe I’m a good person?”

Liam smiles at him, genuinely, and shakes his head, “I know you are.” Zayn looks at him for a couple more seconds before turning his head back to Louis. He glances down his phone to see the small LED light flashing, indicating there’s a new notification, and he presses on the power button to light the screen up. “If you wanna know,” Liam gets his attention again, voice closer as he moves on his feet to stand next to him, “Harry’s not woken up yet,” his voice is quiet too, and he’s not looking at Zayn when the latter glances his way, “it’s not a good sign, but … As long as his body is stable, we can assume it is. However,” he turns to Zayn this time, “if he didn’t wake up for a couple more days, I’m afraid we’ll have to …” He sighs, hand reaching to brush his fingers through his hair, and Zayn hasn’t seen him doing that unless he’s really lost, so he turns his gaze down back on his phone where a message from his team is delivered.

“Do what you must then.” Zayn replies quietly, standing up and sliding his phone in his back pocket.

“Zayn,” Liam calls him before he gets a hand on the door. “We face casualties more often than not. I know it’s killing you inside. You shouldn’t put that much burden on yourself alone.”

But Zayn doesn’t reply, twisting the handle and opening the door, his legs moving faster once he’s out of the room. He plugs in his headphones to hear the message as he approaches his room. His back hitting the mattress as his phone bounces a little next to him, and he closes his eyes.

“I don’t see any special carvings, and the material itself isn’t unique. It’s just … Normal? The DNA test didn’t show anything. Guess having it buried beneath the ground for too many years erased any remaining trace, but … To be honest … I do believe it holds nothing more than a memory.” There’s a pause, but Zayn can still hear the flip of a paper. “Oh, I also thought you should know this. I don’t believe it’s ancient or anything, maybe a decade or two, but I’m positive it once belonged to a girl. There’s a faint drawing on the inside, and after connecting the dots, it appears to be a cat. If I’m right, it used to be yellow while the cover of the pendant is pink. There was this toy, my niece once had it when she was little, but it’s still selling, I guess? I will send you a picture of it.”

The voice message ends, and Zayn opens his eyes, reaching for his phone next to him to see the picture. The toy is familiar, one that he swears had seen somewhere. A deep exhale escapes him before his eyes are closing.

There’s one more thing to do yet, and Zayn reopens his eyes, staring at the text memo he’s made on his phone. He brings his other hand up, throwing the phone on the bed and pressing a small button on his watch for it to be opened up.

Just one.

❌

Zayn finds himself by Louis’ side again, watching his eyelashes fluttering for a moment as he shifts on the bed. He’s not okay, Zayn knows it. Louis is stubborn enough to leave this bed if he could, but he isn’t, and Liam still won’t allow him to see Harry, so he’s stuck between twisting awake on his bed and coming here. Louis blinks slowly, head tilting his way, and Zayn is sure that if he could glare, he would.

“I’m sorry,” Zayn starts, “The poison Harry makes into his plants is something I could not figure without reaching the source, so … I guess all of you here would rather suffer instead of letting me do my job.”

“Is that supposed to be an apology?” Louis rasps out, “Because it sucks.” He lifts a finger in his direction, “is that why you got your hair styled backwards?” Zayn furrows his brows, “makes you look pretty. Big eyes and all.”

Zayn chuckles. At least Louis doesn’t hate him that much. “Your body is recovering though,” he points out, “it will take a bit longer to fully heal, but it’s a progress.”

“Yeah,” Louis tries to stretch a bit, eyelids getting heavy as he closes his eyes slowly.

“You seem familiar with it.”

Louis doesn’t give him an answer even though Zayn knows he’s awake, and before he can get to say anything else, the door is opened, and Liam is there, eyebrows raised high in surprise to see Zayn looking after Louis again.

“You’re taking this seriously,” Liam smiles at him.

“When did I not?”

“God …” Louis opens his eyes again, “could you two quibble outside my room?”

Zayn is the first to leave, because he knows he’s not wanted inside the room, and he can hear Louis clearly asking about Harry’s condition, wishing he could see it himself, but Niall is there all the time, and he would never let him in, so Zayn goes back to his room again, his fingers tracing the pendant for an answer he cannot obtain.

There’s knocking on the door, and Zayn already knows who it is as he lays on his bed, so he slides the pendant beneath his pillow, head rising slightly when the door opens. Liam offers him a smile as he closes the door behind him, and Zayn lays his head down again.

“The door was unlocked.”

“Didn’t feel it was necessary.”

Liam sighs, “We’re looking through our security system, we are, it’s just … Taking some time.” Zayn hums, hears Liam’s footsteps coming closer before he’s sitting on the bed next to him. “You look tired.”

“No shit?”

Liam sighs again, moving closer on the bed, and there’s a pause before Zayn feels his fingers brushing lightly through his hair, and if Zayn has to admit, it feels good, so he closes his eyes, hearing Liam chuckle.

“You always liked that.” Zayn hums again. “Been a while, yeah?”

“I’m not an animal to pet.”

Liam chuckles again, “no. But this is familiar. Reminding me of our uni days, where you’d be lying on my bed-”

“This isn’t your bed.”

“It’s my building.”

“It belongs to Circus.”

Liam sighs, his fingers stopping, then retreating, and Zayn actually opens his eyes and turns his head towards him, seeing the smile on his face.

“You were seconds away from growing cat ears and purring.” Zayn glares at him, sitting up on the bed.

“I’m seconds away from punching you in the face.”

“Cute.”

“Why are you not letting me see Harry?” Zayn looks Liam in the eyes and the latter sighs, eyes darting away. “Have you lost all your faith in me?” Liam opens his mouth then closes it, lips pressing together for a moment before he speaks up.

“I’m just keeping a promise I made to a friend.”

“A friend?” Zayn raises his brows, “Louis?”

“Zayn-”

“You barely spent a few years with him and you’re already favoring him on me.”

Liam looks up again to stare at him, “have you ever asked yourself why Niall is there with him all the time?”

“Because you want me away.”

“Because if Harry woke up, he won’t be the Harry we know.” Zayn blinks at him. The Harry we know. But Zayn have seen both, and it triggers something in his mind, connecting the first puzzle piece. “You haven’t exactly gotten out perfectly unharmed, Zayn. There were a couple scratches and a bruise, and I don’t know what else you’re not telling me,” Liam spreads his arms around him.

“If you think I’m scared, you’re mistaken.”

“And you believe this is a good thing?!” Liam furrows his brows, voice raising as he stands up, “Your reckless behavior might get you killed someday! And since you don’t care, someone else should!”

And it hits Zayn then, the promise Liam whispered into his neck during his sophomore year in uni as he kept giggling inside the lab. He was trying something new, and something blew up, he remembers the smoke covering the entire room, and the sigh escaping their professor when he found out. It’s a good memory if Zayn’s being honest, but it was long ago, and the distance put between them has made them drift further apart, and Zayn doesn’t recall the memories anymore, doesn’t want to. So he ducks his head down when Liam keeps his angry stare, keeps his gaze on the floor instead until Liam calms down and sits beside him again.

“Zayn, you don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

Quite the contrary, actually.

“And obviously, you do, because you summoned me here.”

“Zayn,” Liam turns his head towards him and Zayn shifts his body so he’s facing him too.

“I’ve been on my own for a long time, Liam. I know what I’m doing.”

“You’re still younger.” Zayn rolls his eyes, but he sees the smile on Liam’s face even if stays there for a second. “I got you here. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Too late.

“You want me to leave then?” Zayn asks after a moment.

“I …” Liam looks between his eyes, “I honestly don’t know anymore.” He exhales, “It’s just that sometimes … It gets hard, you know? I’ve got all these people counting on me to do something I’m not sure I can, and you’re the first person that came to my mind after all these years, and …” And Zayn knows what Liam is going to say next, knows what he’s going to do next, knows what he’s thinking of, but what Zayn’s brain is thinking is something completely different, and it only makes him blink at Liam, not doing what Liam expect him to do, because it’s not the same after all these years, and Zayn won’t let it be. “And you’re here,” Liam continues, eyes getting soft, “and it’s like uni days, like nothing changed.”

“A lot has changed.”

“Did it?” Liam brings a hand up to brush over Zayn’s cheek, “you’re still the same. Stubborn and pretty.” His gaze shifts from his hand to Zayn’s eyes, “and I’m sure a lot of things about you haven’t changed as well.” Zayn opens his mouth to reply, his own hand reaching up to remove Liam’s, but his hand stops once it holds Liam’s because Liam has moved closer, and his lips are pressing against his, and Zayn’s gaze shifts downwards. “I’m sure this hasn’t changed as well,” he whispers once he pulls out a little, face still close for their noses to bump. “I can even feel the tension leave your body,” he strokes Zayn’s cheek with his thumb.

“Mine or yours?” Zayn looks up again, and Liam huffs a laugh.

“Like I said,” Liam smiles, “stubborn and pretty,” he tilts his head, but Zayn tightens his grip on Liam’s hand to push it away, head turning to the other side.

“Look,” Liam pulls back to look at him, “I’m down for sex. Nothing else.”

Liam nods slowly, “works for me.”

Liam’s hands holds his sides seconds before his head rests on the pillow, their lips attach again as Zayn cups Liam’s face, and he hasn’t even touched himself ever since he came here, so it feels good when he feels Liam rub against him, a shaky breath escaping him when Liam kisses his neck, and he tilts his head backwards, suddenly aware of the pendant beneath his pillow, but his mind shifts from thinking about that to focusing on how he feels now, because Liam has lifted his shirt and his fingers are playing around his nipples, and he’s aware of his growing bulge, the feeling too familiar, and it takes him back to their uni days again.

And Liam knows him, knows his body, knows what buttons to press, and he leaves his neck, trailing his tongue over his chest. He doesn’t wait, doesn’t tease him, hands unzipping his pants and pushing them down. He sits back, and Zayn lifts his hips for Liam to take them off completely. Liam grabs his thighs, licking greedily over the length of his dick before his lips wrap around his head, sucking eagerly before the tip of his tongue flicks over the slit, and Zayn closes his eyes, a moan escaping his mouth as his hands fist themselves in the sheets.

Liam takes him deeper until he can feel his nose pressing at his skin, his deep moan vibrating through his throat and directly into Zayn’s dick, a thumb pressing at his perineum as another finger teases his hole with circles. Liam bops his head, keeping a hand at his balls, gently stroking them, and Zayn trails his own hands over his chest until they reach his nipples for extra sensation.

“Fuck, Li.”

Liam pulls out and looks at him, and Zayn opens his eyes with a frown. “You haven’t called me that in a long while,” he glances at Zayn’s hands and smirks, “I haven’t seen that in a while too,” and before Zayn can protest, he takes him down again, his finger pressing harder at his perineum as he swallows around the head, and Zayn curses as he lays his head back again. He pinches one of his nipples when Liam sucks harder, and he feels his insides tightening, keeping the feeling for a moment as Liam moves his head up and down, and his mouth falls open when he approaches his orgasm, Liam relaxing his throat when Zayn comes, only keeping his tongue licking at his dick until Zayn’s back lands on the mattress again, then he pulls out.

Zayn could hear the faint sound of something vibrating in Liam’s pocket, and he opens his eyes again to look at Liam, seeing him tilting his head down again, and before he can say something about anything, Liam’s mouth is around his head sucking hard, and one of his hands is moving fast along his length, and Zayn moans loudly when Liam squeezes his balls with the other, his body shaking with the over sensation before he comes for a second time, a cracked moan rumbling in his throat.

Zayn tries to catch his breath when he sees the smirk on Liam’s face, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You always enjoy the second round right after.” Zayn doesn’t even try to retort, leaning his head back and focusing on his breath. He hears the vibration again, and Liam pulls out the small device from his pocket to turn it off. His brows are furrowed as he looks down at himself, still hard in his pants, and a heavy sigh escapes him. Zayn’s eyes catch on the number shown on Liam’s device though, and he sits up slowly.

“That’s Harry’s room number.”

Liam sighs again and stands up. He stares at Zayn for a moment, and Zayn stares back, bringing a hand to push his hair away from his eyes, and Liam smiles with a shake of his head.

“You always knew how to get what you wanted,” he turns around, “Get dressed and meet me there.”

Zayn smirks, “what are you thinking of?”

Liam turns his head to look over him once before he’s closing his eyes and turning his head towards the door, repeating ‘Dead lizards’ over and over in his head to get rid of his erection.

When the door closes, Zayn takes off his shirt, quickly grabbing a new one and putting it on along with his jeans. He puts a hairband on since it’s the easiest way to style his hair now, and when he sits back on the bed to wear his shoes, there’s a rose placed on the nightstand that Zayn swears wasn’t there when he got up to get a new shirt. Liam didn’t put it there, and he didn’t see anyone getting inside either, so he carefully grabs the rose, brows furrowing as he looks at him before one of its thorns sting him. There’s a small red dot on his finger, and Zayn already knows who placed it here.

“So that’s why Liam is being summoned,” he turns around on his bed, “you’re awake.” Harry stares back at him, and Zayn notices how he’s clothed, not in the hospital gown, but his usual clothes, and there’s something being held in one of his hands.

No. Harry has not just awakened now. He’s been for a long time. And while Zayn doesn’t know how he got here, standing in the opposite direction of the window with the pendant that was supposed to be underneath his pillow. A clone left in his bed that only now is fading away? He has honestly zero idea. But Zayn knows now, why Harry got him unconscious and carried him all the way to that restricted area. He doesn’t trust Circus, and the relief he showed back then in the ground hole was real, because he feared the pendant would be taken away from him, like everything else. He knows why Harry waited until Liam left to show himself. He also knows that Harry can read his eyes clearly now, knows that Zayn knows as the latter stands up slowly from the bed. To Circus, like Liam said, Harry isn’t the Harry they know, and Zayn guesses it’s the first time that Harry meets someone that isn’t trying to put him down. Well, not from the first time.

“There’s no trace of DNA,” he points at Harry’s closed fist, “but I know now that it used to belong to a girl, so …” He looks up into Harry’s eyes, “gonna tell me who it belongs to?”

Harry narrows his eyes at him, “you’re not going to ask me how I got here?”

“Will you answer me if I did?” Zayn cocks an eyebrow as he takes a step towards him.

“Aren’t you scared of me?”

“I’m never scared.”

“You should be.” Harry keeps his eyes on him, and Zayn sees how his grip tightens around the pendant. Harry’s still aware that Zayn has a drug that is capable of weakening him, or so far as he had seen. But Zayn takes another step forwards.

“You’re not going to hurt me, Harry.”

There’s a small catch in Harry’s condition. His brain might not remember, but his heart does, and they’re connected, so Zayn is free to use that until he has the puzzle complete. Harry narrows his eyes again at him, but Zayn blinks and his sight gets fuzzy, his head getting heavy as he stumbles back until the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed and he falls backwards.

“You know, you should listen to Liam.” You were here all the time since Liam came in? “Your curiosity is gonna kill you someday.” Zayn watches Harry bend to grab the rose, and it’s the last thing he sees.

C’mon. Not again!

❌

When Zayn gain conscious again, he feels the same soft texture beneath him, but this time, he feels the warmth of the sun even if it isn’t directed at his skin, and the voice of life around him that tells him that he’s not far nor he’s been out for a long time, and before he opens his eyes, a sigh escapes him that’s more of a frustrated huff really.

“You could have just asked me to tag along,” he turns around so he’s lying on his back, eyes opening slowly to gaze at the heavy leaves and branches, “no need to put me to sleep every time,” he turns his head to find Harry, and the latter isn’t looking at him, his back is facing him instead, and Zayn sees the chain around his neck indicating that he’s wearing the pendant now.

“You were the one who touched the rose.”

Zayn rolls his eyes as he sits up. “You’re the one who put it there in the first place.” He glances around him, seeing that they’re on a roof of some building, but Zayn can see the Circus ship floating not that far away, and maybe Harry is watching out for anyone who might come for him. Zayn doesn’t have his phone, again, but he guesses they can find him the same way they found him the last time. It probably has something to do with the bracelet around Harry’s wrist. Harry stands up and turns, but he doesn’t exactly go to him as he passes by, the tree starting to wither along with the flower bed beneath him, and Zayn really wishes Harry could at least use words as he stands up, patting his pockets to only realize that he’s put nothing in it other than his credit card that he doubts he needs. But his shoes are put on, and he huffs a laugh. He doesn’t know if he should thank Harry for it as he follows behind.

When Harry goes through a door leading downstairs, Zayn notices they’re inside a mall. He’s keeping a distance between them, seeming wary even though he brought Zayn along, and Zayn doesn’t blame him. He can’t see Harry’s face to know what exactly interests him, but a toy store catches his attention so he halts his movement, staring at a similar cat plush that he saw inside Harry’s room. It’s not the same one on the pendant, and when he looks to his side, Harry is there, staring at a different plush that doesn’t resemble a cat either, and Zayn is a little lost.

“You’re still not gonna tell me who the pendant belongs to?” Harry doesn’t reply, and Zayn turns so his back is facing the store, “I conclude it’s a family member?” Harry’s eyes move to meet his, “So I’m right,” he smiles, “who is it then?”

Harry narrows his eyes at him, “and why would I tell you anything?”

“You brought me here,” Zayn points out, “if you were looking for company, might as well tell me.”

“I don’t trust you,” he turns to walk again.

“But you intend to,” Zayn watches him from his place, “It was for a very good reason. I couldn’t watch you kill them. These people work to ensure a better life for everyone.”

Harry sneers when he turns back, “these people? Do you have any idea who you work with?”

“Are you gonna tell me?” Zayn cocks an eyebrow and Harry narrows his eyes at him for a second time before his lips are pressing shut and he’s turning to leave again. Zayn sighs as he follows after him again. It appears that Harry isn’t really interested in anything inside the mall itself, it just happened that he got Zayn on its roof until he wakes up. It leaves Zayn with more questions than answers.

Are you trying to delude me?

The moment they’re out of the door, Zayn notices something moving from the corner of his eyes, turning quickly to see a weird-shaped … Tail? Disappearing into a corner. There’s someone after it though, and even though he’s fast, Zayn can see the person, and his lips part as he turns to his side. Harry’s gaze is fixed at the same direction but he seems uninterested.

“You’re not going to help him?”

“No.” Harry’s answer is quick and simple, and Zayn furrows his brows at him.

“Is he capable of taking … It down?”

“Probably not.”

Zayn opens his mouth to reply but he decides against it. Niall is Harry’s best friend from what he saw so far, but not this Harry, and Zayn knows he can’t get him to help Niall although he was sure Harry’s heart was connected to both minds. Harry’s probably trying his best to ignore whatever feeling he’s getting because his gaze is still fixed at the same area, like he’s trying to make a decision despite his words. Something in his eyes though Zayn reads differently, and he gulps before opening his mouth again. He knows Louis’ condition is stopping him from getting back on the field. It’s why they’re sending Niall instead, to bring him and Harry back, and take down whatever he saw before it causes any harm to citizens.

“Do you know what he’s after?” Harry’s eyes move slowly to meet his, and Zayn’s got his answer. “What is it?” But Harry doesn’t reply, and Zayn walks backwards away from him and towards that corner. “Listen … Whatever you believe about Circus doesn’t have to do with innocent people getting hurt. And if you decide not to help them, then I can’t say the same.” Harry’s eyes are still on him when he turns quickly and runs, and he isn’t sure what he’s capable of doing, but he must do something.

Zayn can’t see anything, can’t hear anything, but he could swear his eyes saw them moving here. “Do you have any idea how to deal with such things?” Harry speaks up from behind him, suddenly too close, and all Zayn does is frown at the empty alley. “In all honesty, I believe you interfering will only lead to get him killed faster.”

Zayn inhales deeply and turns to him. “Just because you suffered, doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone needs to. This thing, whatever it is,” he points at the alley, “might be the cause of more people losing their families, just like you,” he drops his hand, “Don’t do it for Circus, but you standing here doing nothing does not solve anything in your life, and next time you sleep, I really hope you dream about the innocent souls you’ve wasted.” Zayn pauses, deciding to use his big eyes for persuasion, because he’s been told numerous times how it works for his favor as he looks up at Harry. He might push on Harry’s buttons as well. So he speaks in a calm tone, “Harry, please, at least do it for yourself. Prove that you’re no less human than they are … Please.”

And it must work, because Harry isn’t backing away from him, isn’t replying in a harsh tone as he stares back, and Zayn waits when Harry’s eyes move. “Stay here.” He says it in a quiet voice, and Zayn smiles, watching as Harry walks further into the alley and closes his eyes. He stops in the middle of it and takes a deep breath in, raises one of his hands, and Zayn furrows his brows, feeling the familiar shake beneath his feet, and suddenly, the brick wall of one of the buildings is breaking apart, the person -or thing, Zayn is not sure yet what they are- he saw earlier is pushed roughly to the opposite wall with multiple plants infiltrating his body, and even though the scene is almost making Zayn puke as the same awful looking liquid drip from their body, he’s still surprised at Harry’s abilities.

Niall steps out slowly, unharmed, thank god, but he’s wary, eyes narrowing at Zayn when he sees him. It’s the first time Zayn sees what Niall uses as a weapon, and it’s a twin blade, grip tightening when his gaze lands on Harry.

“I’ll give you ten seconds to run away.” Harry issues a warning, and Niall takes a careful step back but no further action, and it might be the first time Harry ever gives an option to someone to escape, and he guesses it’s because he still feels the pull at his heart, feeling that Niall is someone close to him and he wouldn’t want to lose him. Zayn notices that Harry is mainly confused from the inside as he cannot link the feeling to a memory. When Niall doesn’t move, Harry steps closer casually, “One … Two … Three,” he extends his arms next to him, and Zayn watches as thorns grow from every possible angle. There’s a thought in his mind, that he probably should step up between the two, try to convince Harry or Niall to leave it be, but there’s another theory in his mind, and Zayn chooses to observe instead from his position. “Four … Five … You must not value your life enough to stay, and I do not play games. Eight.” Niall gulps, eyes glancing at Zayn before he’s backing away, and Harry stops. He waits until Niall is far away enough for his thorns to disappear.

Zayn sighs a breath out of relief, a smile growing on his face as he approaches Harry. “Thank you.”

Harry doesn’t reply though, his head ducking to look at the pendant as he raises a hand to it. “It belonged to my older sister. Her name was Gemma.” It’s all he says, and Zayn can really see his eyes this time, can see the emotion that resides behind every wall Harry built around himself to stop believing what’s thrown his way. Zayn steps closer, fingers slipping carefully into Harry’s as his other hand hold Harry’s as well.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

Harry blinks, and Zayn can see clearly the shine in them as he turns his head away. It makes something grow inside of him as he goes to hug Harry instead. They’ve been wrong about Harry all along. It just adds to the list of reasons he needs to complete his task. And Harry isn’t wary of him anymore as he wraps his arms around his waist and squeezes.

“I want to show you something,” Harry pulls back, a bit of hesitation in his eyes, but Zayn smiles at him in reassurance.

He takes him back inside the mall, straight into the toy store they passed once and getting inside. Zayn’s eyes find the cat plush he saw from earlier next to the one Harry has in his room, and he can see some similarities, like it’s a developed version of the old design to keep the customers buying it. He guesses Harry owns it because of the huge connection it has over both his heart and mind, although Harry, in his human form, isn’t entirely aware of such connection existing. Harry stands in front of an aisle with different animal toys and smiles.

“When I was younger, my sister really loved these kinds of toys. She always wanted to buy so many of them to have a room solely stuffed with them. We couldn’t afford getting so many, but I wanted to build that for her. I think I was ten when I decided I’d buy one stuffed animal every month until I’ve had that room for her.” He shakes his head, “I still want to though. It’s a stupid thought to you, isn’t it?”

“Not really,” Zayn hums as he reaches to grab one of the stuffed animals, “when I was sixteen, I wanted to be kissed under the rain. I’m not sure whether I want it now or not, but …” He shrugs, “I can buy them for you if you want,” he turns to Harry who frowns.

“Where would I keep them?”

“In your room.”

Harry’s brows furrow deeper. “I’m not going back.”

Unfortunately, you should.

Zayn sighs, placing the stuffed animal back on the shelf. “Where do you wanna go then?” He turns to Harry and looks in his eyes, the nervous movement they make, and it almost makes Zayn wait for the habit of tucking his hair behind his ears but it doesn’t happen. Close, but not nearly enough, and Zayn already knows what Harry is thinking of and why he can’t voice it out at the moment. So instead of waiting for an answer that might not come, he changes the subject. “Even if you were able to live in another place, what would be the purpose of your living?” Harry meets his eyes again, “you’re not exactly normal, and I doubt you’re not needed here. Don’t you fear that someday you’ll be waking up to a corrupted world?”

“It wouldn’t be a first,” Harry mumbles.

“Was it that good that you want to relive it again?”

Harry frowns, “if I get to control my own life, then yes. You don’t know what I’ve been through.”

Zayn steps closer to Harry, “will you ever tell me then?” Harry keeps his frown for another second before he’s turning his head away, and Zayn understands why Harry still won’t trust him, why he might reveal a part of him but not all. Zayn does that all the time, and he doesn’t think that pushing Harry further into the subject will get him anywhere, so he slides his hand and grabs Harry’s elbow and tugs on it to gain Harry’s attention once more. “Let’s go then. If we’re not buying anything from here, I doubt they’ll keep us here any longer.”

Harry goes willingly with him until they’re outside the mall, and while Zayn doesn’t know if Niall is still close or if he’s reported back to Circus that he’s here with Harry, but he doesn’t glance towards the alley again, doesn’t care if someone got inside and found anything. There are probably people who take care of that. It’s why people never talk about it, unless there are some unfortunate few who witness something. He can’t see Circus’ ship from down here when he looks up and takes a deep breath.

“I grew up in this city,” he starts as they walk side by side, “still weird for me to come back to it after so many years. It’s like it looks the same yet so different.” He looks around him and spots a park, “see, that one wasn’t here the last time I was around.” He turns to Harry to find him confused, not really sure why Zayn is taking him to a park, but Zayn guesses that Harry needs some time out. Just a moment to clear his head, a normal day. He doesn’t know how long does Harry stay in his current state, how long did he use to stay, or even the years separating each appearing. Harry’s mind focuses on the present, probably with no sense of knowing the exact duration separating the two, but he figures it out, like it’s a basic thing, and Zayn thinks that maybe it has something to do with his combined cells, his abilities.

Zayn picks a spot where there are less people and sits down on the grass, Harry following behind. Zayn spreads his legs while his palms rest on the grass, Harry chooses to bend his knees so he can rest his head on them, arms crossed over his knees as he gazes forwards.

“Feels nice to be disconnected from the world for a while, yeah?” Harry turns his head to look at him. His eyes are bright for a reason, but Zayn doesn’t keep his gaze fixed on them, glancing around the unfamiliar place. “Like you can be someone different.” He then returns his gaze to Harry, “ever thought about being somewhere else?” Harry blinks at him and furrows his brows. “Like … What did you want to be when you were younger?”

Younger. Harry must’ve been ten or eleven by then, when he still had his normal life. He sees a bright blush tainting Harry’s cheeks before he turns his head away, but Zayn smiles, hunches forwards and nudges Harry’s shoulder with his own lightly. “C’mon, I promise I won’t judge.”

Harry hesitates for a while before Zayn is able to see his bright eyes again, a beautiful shade of green and yellow in the sunlight. “I loved to sing.” His gaze is quickly to turn downwards though, a hand reaching to caress the small blades of grass and Zayn feels like it’s a natural territory for Harry since he’s so connected to it yet feeling not so confident when he answers. “I mean, I’m sure I had a terrible voice back then.”

“Would you sing something for me then?” Harry turns to look at him with a frown, a look in his eyes that Zayn can read as something wary, like he didn’t listen to what Harry just said, but he did, or worse, like he’s expecting Zayn to laugh but he wouldn’t, the blush still present, and Zayn gives him an encouraging smile.

Harry opens his mouth and closes it, turning his head away. “All I remember is something that is very old.”

“Old is gold,” Zayn shrugs, moving closer to Harry.

Harry opens his mouth again but shakes his head instead. “It doesn’t matter anyway. It’s not like I wanted to be a signer, I just liked to sing, like any normal child would have in my age. I didn’t think much of having a career based on that.”

“Alright, fair enough,” Zayn nods, “What do you think now?” Harry turns to him again, “What do you want to do right now?”

The look in Harry’s eyes is different, moving away from Zayn’s as he replies, “I don’t know. I didn’t have enough time to think before, and now I just … All that is in my head is how to get away and where to go.” His gaze returns to the grass, a finger softly brushing the blades.

Zayn exhales and bites down on his lip. Harry is confused himself to share that one part Zayn can know about, so he leans his head to the side, to rest on Harry’s shoulder, crossing his legs, and Harry’s eyes move on him again silently. At least the frown is gone from his face.

Harry suddenly moves his head around, and Zayn frowns as he leans away from him, seeing Harry standing up, and Zayn can’t feel what Harry feels, can’t see what he sees, so he just stands up as well, looking at Harry in confusion as he stares down at his bracelet. Is Niall back? But before he gets to ask anything, Harry’s gaze is back on him, eyes set, and Zayn decides he hates whatever Harry is thinking of.

“We need to go.”

“Why?”

“Because I need a place where Circus can’t reach me.”

Zayn glances around them again as Harry’s words sink in. A place where Circus can’t find him. It’s not Niall that Harry has been feeling around. “Have you ever gone there before?”

Harry takes a deep breath, “No.”

“And you feel this is the right thing to do?”

Harry furrows his brows. “I already told you, I’m not going back to Circus.”

“I understand,” Zayn nods, “but I can’t let you go there.”

“What you think of Cir-”

“What I think of Circus doesn’t matter,” Zayn cuts him off, “it’s one part of the story that I can work on. On the other hand, the place you’re going to, I know nothing about, and I’d rather have info on both places first. So, no, I’d prefer a place I know at least.”

Harry looks over him, “You have no more drugs on you,” he shakes his head as he takes a step back, “you can’t stop me.”

“Maybe,” Zayn agrees with a nod, taking a careful step towards Harry, “but that doesn’t stop me from trying to be the voice of reason.” He shrugs, taking another step forwards and crowding into Harry’s space.

“I won’t stay,” Harry shakes his head, voice quiet and restrained, “I’ve already made up my mind.”

“So after all of this … You’ll just leave?” Zayn looks up at him, raising his brows and making his eyes bigger in the process. “Without even a proper goodbye?”

Harry hesitates, of course he does, Zayn knows all the right reasons why he should, but he isn’t stepping away like before, eyes glancing between Zayn’s own and his lips. Harry decides to not follow the obvious truth, leaning in and closing his eyes when Zayn’s hands rest on his chest. Zayn notices how Harry is gentle with his approach, giving himself time before Zayn which Zayn doesn’t blame him for, and when Harry tilts his head for a kiss, Zayn slides his hands to his neck, feeling Harry’s hands at his sides.

I’m sorry.

Zayn presses with a finger on his watch to open it up, opening his mouth in the process for distraction because Harry doesn’t seem to want to pull away as he carefully slides the little capsule in his hand. His hand is still brushing against Harry’s neck when he hisses in pain, and Zayn pulls away to find his eyes shut tightly. He knows the drug is more powerful than before, but he knows he can’t let Harry go like he pleases, not now, and Harry won’t share anymore with him at this point. Zayn removes the capsule after injection, feeling Harry’s hands clutch at his sides before they go loose.

“Should’ve expected that from you.”

Harry bites down on his lip as his brows furrow deeper, and Zayn notices the blades of grass growing beneath him, slowly wrapping around his ankles before they stop, and Zayn is quick to wrap his arms around Harry’s waist before he falls, slowly bringing them both to the ground. Harry’s head falls backwards as he passes out in his arms, and Zayn closes his eyes, a breath coming out his mouth before he’s laying his head down on Harry’s chest.

I’m sorry.

❌

Zayn keeps his eyes on Harry, laid on the bed in front of him while Liam stares at the side of his face. His stats are stable, he is unharmed whatsoever, and there’s a patch placed on his face just beneath his eyes on one side.

“What’s it for?”

“To keep him stable … The Harry that you know.”

“How did you come up with that?”

“I’m fixing my mistake.” Zayn replies instead, and before Liam can ask him more questions, he decides to be the one who asks. “How’s Louis?”

“Out of his bed.”

“And Niall?”

The answer comes after a pause, “well.” And Zayn knows why. “It’s strange, you know? Harry’s always after you for some reason.”

“Because I’m the least harmful one?” Zayn turns to him with a raise of his brows, and sees Liam’s lips lifting from one corner.

“You say that, but you never truly told me how you got to put him down each time.”

Zayn blinks at him, and he’s thankful he doesn’t need to answer this question as the door opens revealing Louis and Niall. Niall’s eyes are always unfriendly, but Louis’ are narrowing at him for another reason entirely. Maybe he heard, maybe he saw, Zayn isn’t sure, but he doesn’t stay to hear anything they say, turning on his heels and walking past them all. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

None speak a word to him as he slips away.

❌

Only one day passes and Circus is already doing a show in the city. Zayn keeps his distance, wasn’t the type to sit on the front row in a circus show since he knows most of them are illusions and dancers he isn’t interested in seeing. But he’s curious now, seeing Niall with fire sticks, rolling them in his hands like he did to his twin-blade, a smile plastered on his face. Louis is there too, a whip in his hands and a hat on his head as he leads the lions around. He sees a giant cat crouched near a big group of kids outside the tents, they’re signing along as they move around it, and Zayn smiles, remembering the familiar cat shape from the toys Harry keeps inside his room. Harry loves to sing, he’s told him that, and he’s singing to the kids, and Zayn guesses it’s that part of him that misses his sister, young inside his memory, playing with a similar cat toy. He sees it now, what Harry used as a design, like an upgrade of the old toy without actually realizing what he’s doing.

The parents pull the kids away, probably after staying a long time around Harry. They whine as they go away, waving goodbye to Harry who waves back. Harry sees him then, hurrying to his side after all of the kids are gone and taking the head off. His hair is messy when he takes it off, the blush on his cheeks is bright as his smile, and Zayn’s smile widens. Harry looks bigger in his costume, but he looks adorable, and Zayn thinks he can put cat ears on his head which would make him even more adorable.

“Hi,” Harry reaches to tuck his hair behind his ear like he does every time but realizes he can’t do much to fix his hair with his giant paws so he drops his hand to hold the head again. “I didn’t know you were coming to the show.”

“Thought of checking it out,” Zayn shrugs, “so, what do you do?”

“Um …” Harry looks down at himself, “I’m sort of a mascot for Circus? I, um, I keep the young ones entertained,” he smiles, “it’s … nice to be able to work with them, you know? Just … They’re sweet and innocent,” he shrugs as his eyes meet Zayn’s again. “Are you staying? I can show you around if you want?” Harry’s eyes are bright when he asks, a deeper brush tainting his cheeks, “I just gotta change from this outfit and then we can-”

“Harry!” The both look to the side, and Niall is there calling for him. “I need some help with the cages. Louis left for emergency,” he points behind him, eyes still somewhat friendly when they meet Harry’s, cold when they glance Zayn’s way.

Harry’s shoulders drop with his exhale, “Ni, can’t anyone else just do it?”

“You’ll ditch me on this?” Niall furrows his brows at him.

“No, I’m not-” He sighs, brows rising in his forehead, making a silent request, but Zayn knows that Niall doesn’t need any help, he’s just getting Harry away from him despite how much Harry wants to stay with him. He turns to Zayn, and the latter smiles at him.

“It’s alright. I think I’m staying for a little while longer.”

Harry grins at him, “great!” He walks backwards towards Niall, “I won’t be late, I promise!” He hurries in his steps, and Zayn chuckles, watching the two of them disappear into one of the tents.

He stays there for a while, hands in his jacket pockets. His fingers brush over the pendant he took from Harry before he was transferred back to Circus. It would be strange for him to wake up with it since he has no memories, and Zayn knows for sure that if Harry tried hard enough to remember, he won’t. He’ll only damage his body more, and Zayn can’t leave it around in the research tower back inside the room, so he brushes his fingers against it again, staring at the different performances they do until there are arms wrapping around his waist from behind. Zayn knows who they belong to as he feels a chin being placed on his shoulder.

“Didn’t know you were a fan.”

“I’m not.”

“Did I upset you that much?”

“I’m not upset.”

“Stubborn as always,” he feels Liam’s smile against his neck. “Why not go back then? I’ll make it twice as entertaining.” Liam’s lips brush his ears as he whispers into them, and Zayn sees Harry coming back, his costume gone, hair brushed properly even though the curls aren’t exactly cooperating, and Zayn remembers what Harry told him in the park.

“Are there other like Harry?” Liam pulls away slightly, “others that aren’t in Circus?”

“Where has he taken you to?”

“Answer the question, Liam.”

“What did you see?”

Zayn turns to him, “I asked a direct question.”

“You’re dodging every question of mine, why can’t I?”

Zayn rolls his eyes, turning his head forwards again, and he watches as Harry’s eyes find him, immediately stopping in his tracks, the look on his face quickly changing to something completely different. He turns on his heels, walking towards the direction he just came from, and Zayn could hear Liam calling his name, but he pushes away from him.

“Zayn!” Liam calls after him again when he’s barely a couple of steps away, and Zayn turns to him. Liam sighs, “Yes, there are, happy?” Zayn cocks an eyebrow, “But we can’t reach any of them. They’re not exactly …” He waves around with his hand, “friendly. And no, not the same condition. They have their memories, but … I wouldn’t call them exactly alike. They have the same cells inserted inside of them, but we’re not sure it’s to the same extent.” Liam approaches him again, eyes glancing to where Harry came from just seconds ago, “They’re an organization, just like us. Now you got your answer, and I’m sure I’m never getting mine.”

“I didn’t force it out of you.”

Liam gives him a tired look, “You did though.” Zayn doesn’t give him any more replies as he turns again. “Zayn.” Liam calls him, and Zayn stops for a second time to turn to him. “He’s a good kid, whatever you have in your mind for him, please … Just don’t.”

Did you ever look at me and think of that too?

But Zayn just blinks at him, turning around again and searching for Harry. His gaze lands on Louis, apparently still there, eyes trained on him, and he knows that he saw now, but that’s at the very bottom on his list. It doesn’t take him more than another minute to find Harry walking alone.

“Thought you said you’ll show me around!” Harry turns, eyes wide, and he parts his lips to speak but nothing comes out. He stops though, allowing Zayn to approach him. “So … Where are we starting?” He smiles at Harry who smiles back, and he parts his lips for a second time to speak before Zayn feels an arm hooked around his neck, and it doesn’t take him more than a second to recognize who the arm belongs to judging from the chill that runs down his spine, turning to see a very bright smile on Louis’ face.

“Allow me to show you around, doc!”

“But I-” Harry frowns as he tries to speak up.

“You need to rest, Haz. Get some sleep, yeah?” Louis tells him.

“I’m not tired!” Harry protests.

The squeeze Louis gives Zayn’s shoulder is enough for him to get the hint if he didn’t already, he literally loses balance when Louis pulls him back harshly, but the same hand keeps his steady, and Zayn isn’t entirely surprised at Louis’ strength. “Then it’d be fine with you to help with the cleaning?”

Harry clearly gives Louis a look of annoyance while the latter grins at him.

“I’d agree with you getting some rest.” Zayn finally speaks up, when he feels his voice won’t be strained, trying for a smile. “I’ll see you around.”

Harry frowns, but Louis’ already pulling him away, releasing him when they’re out of Harry’s sight, or rather pushing him away if Zayn’s being accurate.

“Wow,” Zayn grabs at his shoulder, “you almost dislocated my shoulder, thank you very much.” He looks up at the glare in Louis’ eyes, trying to stand up straight without feeling pain and failing, his facial expression is showing up clearly.

“I’ll give you one last warning.” Louis’ voice drops as he gets closer, “Stay away from Harry.”

Zayn doesn’t bite his tongue. “Unfortunately, I can’t do that. You still need me around, and he’s still my patient.”

“Then you’ll stick to that,” Louis smiles bitterly at him, “do more, and I’ll cut off your head.”

Louis turns to leave and Zayn shakes his head. There’s one thing that Louis should learn about him though.

He’s never scared.

❌

Zayn feels the warm sunlight on his skin, sees the red behind his eyelids and groans, turning to his other side and wincing when he puts his weight on his shoulder. God, he is gonna poison Louis in his sleep, he should totally do it.

“Up and shine!” Liam’s voice is too bright for the morning, and he opens his eyes just to glare at him, seeing a wide smile spreading on his face.

“How the fuck did you get in?”

“Morning to you too,” Liam pulls the covers off him, “Ah, shame, thought you’d be naked.” Zayn rolls his eyes. “Anyway, I thought of taking you some place today that I bet you’ll like. And I have access to all rooms around this building.” He watches Liam’s figure as he walks towards the door. “We leave in thirty minutes, so you better be quick.”

Zayn groans again, feeling the cold hitting his skin from the window Liam just opened. He’ll poison both of them then, no problem.

❌

There’s a jet outside waiting for them, and Zayn blinks at it tiredly before glancing around. He sees the obvious glare in Harry’s eyes as he stands in front of Louis with his arms crossed over his chest, and Zayn can already guess what they’re arguing about. Liam is there, with a smile when he starts walking towards the jet, and a sigh escapes his mouth when he stops in front of Liam.

“Who knew? You could actually manage to style your hair in less than fifteen minutes.”

“Fuck off,” Zayn turns his gaze to the jet again, “This better be good, Payne.”

Liam just smiles at him as he leads him inside the jet, and he can see Niall there, apparently the one flying them to their destination. Louis and Harry get inside a moment later, and he can’t even get a morning greeting to Harry as he takes a seat next to Niall, and Louis’ smile at him is too sweet to be true.

“Good morning, doc.”

But Zayn nods at him and smiles too, “Captain Tomlinson.”

They fly over the ocean, and while Zayn is worried if all of them are here, then who’s protecting the civilians? He is also curious when he sees an island, and he’s not that good in geography, but he swears it isn’t on the map. He gives Liam a confused look to which he receives a smirk in return. They make a landing, and when none of them move from their seats, Zayn narrows his eyes at Liam. But this is a secret government organization, and Zayn had seen far weirder things since he came to Circus, so he is barely surprised when the ground opens beneath them, and they’re descending a few feet down. He is surprised however when the rock surface disappears, and there’s already a source of light, and Zayn was not expecting a sky, beneath the ground, when they’re below sea level. It’s just impossible. He knows it’s fake.

“Is this some sort of a training ground?” Zayn asks as he turns to Liam. He also notices how Louis doesn’t exit the jet unless after both Niall and Harry are out.

“Just one thing before we go,” Liam puts a hand on his forearm, “no samples allowed.” Zayn frowns as he follows him out of the jet, eyes immediately going wide at the flying worm-looking-animal.

“Is that real?”

“I’d say you could touch it, but it rarely lands.” Liam looks up as well for a moment, “come on,” he motions for him to follow. “I’ll be with you in a moment. Feel free to have a tour of your own.”

Liam goes to do something he’s not entirely sure of, but he guesses it’s a regular checkup. Louis goes with him, sending a warning glare before he does, but even with Niall next to him, he turns to Harry first, offering a smile. “Hey,” he waits until Harry’s frown at Louis’ back falls, and his gaze shifts to him instead. There’s something in his eyes that Zayn can’t read, but he smiles a second later, body relaxing with his next exhale. “How are you feeling today?”

“I’m great, thanks.”

“So what is this place?”

Harry looks around him, “It was found by Circus before I came here so I’m not entirely sure, but as you can see, it’s not entirely normal.” Yeah, Zayn can tell that already. “We believe the whole place, including the creatures living in it, endured harsh environment fluctuations that eventually led them to achieve a metamorphosis that specialized in regeneration and energy production. And ever since, it became a strictly government reserve run by Circus.” He pauses, looking up, “The atmosphere changes every once in a while. The sky you see isn’t actually a sky. Think of fireflies but on a much bigger scale. They’re the source of light here,” he looks down again, and Zayn follows his gaze to land on the lake, “As a closed inconstant environment, the vapor is thicker, thus, the clouds, so …” Harry draws a circle with his hand and Zayn nods at him even though his brows are furrowed. “It’s our main research subject. Wanna take a look around?”

“Sure.” Niall gives Harry a look, and Zayn isn’t sure what he had been exactly told, but Harry doesn’t even mind him more than a glance, taking a step back to lead Zayn further into the place. He falls in pace with him, and when they’re at a good distance from Niall, he steps closer to Harry and whispers, “is it that necessary for Niall to stay close to the jet?”

Harry nods with a smile as they pass some trees, and Zayn has to stop to observe, wondering if he can touch anything around. “Some creatures might try to mess with it, though they’re naturally friendly, unless provoked,” he shakes his head while his eyes widen slightly, “you wouldn’t want to see that.”

Zayn turns from the tree to him, “why not?”

“Well,” Harry sighs, “because if one creature goes rogue, the other follow, and we have a really hard time trying to stop all of them.”

Zayn hums, turning to the tree and crouching down to the awkward looking mushrooms, if that’s even what it’s called here. When he goes to touch it, Harry doesn’t stop him, simply leaning back on the tree as he watches him, and he thinks he’s allowed to touch with no harm being done afterwards to his body. “So, that’s why it’s a restricted area. To prevent that from happening.”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Zayn can see Harry’s boots scratching slightly at the ground, then they stop all of the sudden, and when he looks up, Harry’s brows are drawn together again, and Zayn stands up, doesn’t even get to turn before Louis’ smiling face is in front of him.

“And what do you exactly use this place for?”

“Research.” Louis replies, “Obviously,” he adds, and Zayn fights the urge to roll his eyes.

“Yeah? Reached anything worth mentioning?”

Louis crosses his arms over his shoulder, leaning on the tree just like Harry. “It’s still a work in progress, but yeah. For instance,” he expands his forearm, turning his wrist to display his bracelet. “What you saw before, the weapons we use to exterminate the enemy, it’s built from a certain material that can only be extracted from here. It also gives us a boost in abilities, some that normal humans can’t do.”

“Yeah?” Zayn smirks, “So if you take it off you’ll be as good as nothing?”

Louis’ eyes narrow slightly, “It’ll be fun to watch you try to take me without it.”

Zayn cocks an eyebrow, “I’m not sure if this conversation reached my mind quite right.” Harry tenses completely next to him, and Zayn is sure his face is red, judging from how Louis’ eyes shift on Harry before he’s rolling his eyes and taking a deep breath as he focuses back on Zayn.

“I think your friend is here,” Louis says while still looking at him, and Zayn furrows his brows in confusion before he’s turning as something clicks on the ground. It’s an animal, or sort of, Zayn can’t quite tell, but it’s a combination of a horse and a cat, maybe, there’s fur all over its body, similar feet, and he can’t even see what’s beneath the fur that got it a bit thicker near the middle. He just stares at it with parted lips as it brushes itself over Harry making the latter crack a smile as he hugs it back, and the creature, whatever it is, drags Harry away.

“What does Harry’s bracelet do then?” He turns to Louis again once Harry is dragged far enough to not hear their conversation.

“To keep him stable.” Zayn narrows his eyes slightly, head tilting a bit, “If it’s not on, he loses control over his abilities, even in his post-human state. It’s bigger than you think it is. The cells inside his body that you’re working on are already unstable, and the modified cells inside the bracelet helps-”

“Locking it away,” Zayn finishes for him, “along with his memories.”

“It was our only available solution back then. And as you can tell, we still can’t take it off from him. Even after what you did to him,” Louis shakes his head, “It was hectic when we found him.”

But Zayn remembers Harry wanting to take it off, like he’s fully aware of what it does to him, like he can feel it blocking his access to his own body. He turns to look around him with a heavy sigh. “If this place has already modified cells-”

“We couldn’t,” Louis cuts him off. “Liam tried before, but once the contact is made with the damaged cells, their bodies won’t handle it. So sadly, yeah, Harry’s still the only option available. He’s been the only one so far to not be affected.”

“He is affected.” Zayn frowns.

“Back then, yes. Right now though, his body refuses anything and everything.” He then narrows his eyes at Zayn, “Which is the reason why I keep thinking of how you inject the drug into his body. We never got an exclusive report about all of your hushed conversations either, doc.”

Zayn blinks at him and turns to see Harry petting the weird animal. “What if you’re wrong?” He asks instead. “What if Liam is just incapable of using this place to its fullest capacity?”

“We would allow you to do as you please if we didn’t get a preview of what might happen.” Zayn turns to give him an irritated look. “This isn’t a joke. No samples for you unless it’s fully under Liam’s supervision.”

“So that’s why all of you’ve been keeping an eye on me. Brilliant.” He gives Louis a tight smile and gets one in return. “Why have me here then?”

“Because apparently, you’re an asshole who can easily get whatever you please.”

Zayn sighs, “You could’ve just said no if Liam asked you to bring me here.”

“And risk the possibility of you getting away with free samples and ruining the planet?” Zayn parts his lips as his brows are drawn together. “Not gonna happen on my watch.”

“Glad to know you trust me that much.” He replies, and Louis pushes himself away from the tree, eyes on something, and he turns to Zayn again before he leaves, getting closer, which he can only guess it’s either Niall or Liam calling for him, and places a hand on the same aching shoulder from yesterday making Zayn close his eyes and bites down on his lip.

“You’re pretty and acting kind towards him, and he likes you for it, and you know he likes you for it,” Zayn reopens his eyes to stare at Louis, “but you’re not staying.” He presses lightly on his shoulder before his hand is gone, and Zayn stays there for a moment staring at the tree in front of him before he takes a deep breath and turns around. Like he thought, Liam is saying something to him that seems important, but Zayn’s feet are already moving towards Harry and the weird animal.

“That thing seems to like you a lot.”

Harry glances at him and smiles, “Yeah, it’s reciprocated.”

“Do you have a name for it?”

“Pegasus.”

Zayn chuckles, “Of course. Does it fly as well?”

Harry chuckles as well, “No. It might be a hybrid animal with modified cells, but judging from its heavy weight, I really doubt it can fly, even with wings.”

“Would it let me pet it?” Harry turns to him, lips parted before he looks at the hybrid animal again.

“It’s very friendly. You can try.” He still holds onto it in case something goes wrong, but it doesn’t flinch away when Zayn places his hand carefully on its head, its eyes growing when it looks up at him, and Zayn smiles.

“Hey there, bud.”

“It likes you.” Harry smiles.

“No he or she?”

Harry shakes his head, “We can’t quite define their gender yet.” He pauses, taking a peek over the animal’s body before stepping away slightly and digging into his pockets. Zayn knows he’s looking Louis’ way, but waits until Harry gets a bag of cherries and opens it for the animal to eat. “The environment here doesn’t allow many plants to grow. I once had a cherry, and it could smell it on me, and when I got it out, at first it seemed wary of the cherry, but after eating it, it wanted more. And ever since, I’ve been bringing some along. It loves it a lot.”

“I can tell,” Zayn smiles as it eats off Harry’s hand. Harry takes one out, stepping back and looking towards Louis’ direction again before throwing it nearby. Zayn cocks an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“Just …” Harry trails off, and Zayn merely watches as the animal tries to get more, sniffing around and turning towards Louis. “The scent can’t be detected from very far but …” The animal moves away from him, and Harry grabs his hand, stepping back carefully, their body covered by the animal’s huge figure, and Zayn narrows his eyes at him but with a smile. He can barely see Louis’ head when the animal approaches him, and Zayn laughs, because never in his life would have thought of Harry doing this.

“It’s not a big place. You know he’ll come after us eventually.”

“Yeah, it’s just-” Harry smiles widely as they enter a cave, “for a while.”

There’s a lake by the end of the cave, and it glows beautifully if Zayn has to admit. There’s mud at the entrance, but once they’re around the lake, the ground changes into sand, and Zayn really wishes if he can study this place for further information. He’s sure that whatever he comes up with would help greatly, and not just in this field of study. Harry sits on the sand near the lake, and Zayn takes a seat next to him.

“Wow,” Zayn shakes his head slowly as he stares at the ceiling, his voice doesn’t echo as he expected, but he’s busy staring at the glow reflection to be concerned about that. “This is like … A magical place on earth,” he turns to Harry, and there’s this soft look on his face that makes Louis’ words spin inside his head.

“Be thankful it’s not open for other humans to use. It would have turned hell.”

“Do they not do well with too many humans?”

Harry shakes his head, “Did you notice anyone being around?”

“No?”

“They turn hostile.”

“Afraid of big numbers?”

“Probably,” Harry frowns. “It’s why we’re not around that much time either.”

“Changing environment.” Zayn mumbles slowly, “So they change as well?” Much like you do.

Harry shrugs, “I’m not that much of a scientist. They seem to remember us though the next time we’re here.”

Zayn hums and wonders if Circus has a hand to do with the changing environment. He’ll bug Liam enough until he tells him. The sand beneath his palms shift suddenly, and Zayn, out of curiosity, lifts his palm slowly as he leans forwards a little. Something jumps out of it, and Zayn can’t see next but he feels the sticky surface on his face making him groan as he brings a hand to pick whatever jumped him only to get the same sticky surface in his hands.

“The hell is that?!”

Harry chuckles next to him, and he can hear him shifting closer. “Don’t move. It’s not harmful, so no need to worry either.” Zayn sighs as he feels the sticky surface leaving his face, opening his eyes slowly and watching Harry tickling a little creature in his arms until it’s not sticky anymore. He’s smiling, but Zayn checks his face first, and luckily, he can’t feel anything sticky on it.

“Did it ruin my skin? Bleached my hair maybe?”

“No,” Harry chuckles again as he glances at him, “you’re still beautiful as ever.” And before Zayn can even open his mouth to reply, Harry’s already talking. “It was just disturbed. You blocked its way back to the surface.”

Zayn blinks at him, at the gentle way of holding the little creature in his hands. “Thank you.” Harry’s still close, the glow inside the cave reflecting in his eyes, and Zayn keeps his gaze on the little creature in Harry’s hands instead, literally nuzzling into the touch.

“You can pet it too if you want,” Harry turns to him, and even though he’s not looking at him, gaze still fixed at the creature in his hands, he’s smiling without a blush this time. Zayn however, leans away from it.

“Yeah …” He squints his eyes at the creature, “no, I think I’m good over here. It looks more comfortable in your hands.” He sees Harry’s lips twitch before he’s lowering his hands into the sand for the little creature to go. Zayn is sure Harry was going to laugh at him again, and if Zayn had a jar right now, he’d have asked Harry to put it inside for him to examine later. He isn’t sure if Harry would agree to taking the creature back to the research tower. They must’ve told him not to allow Zayn to take any samples too, and he can’t convince Harry this time to have his way, no distractions either. He watches the little creature digging its way into the sand before it completely disappears, and Zayn’s eyes move across the ground to the small flowers growing next to the lake. Maybe if he’s quick enough, he can tuck it inside his pockets if he picks them up, but he isn’t too sure they’ll keep living until they’re back.

"Do you have anything to do tomorrow?" Harry turns to him, "I mean," Zayn watches as he tucks his hair behind his ear, "you seem a bit bored lately, I thought that maybe we could-"

"Time's up." Harry's eyes widen slightly for less than a second before they close and his lips are pressing together while Zayn turns to the entrance. Louis' face is blank as he stares at Harry, the latter glaring back, and Zayn sees the cherry between his fingers.

Zayn smiles then, the small movement catching Louis' attention, and just to piss him off, he leans closer to Harry, making sure Louis isn't able to see how his lips move when he whispers, "I'll see you tomorrow at your checkup." Then he's standing up and dusting off his pants, offering Louis another smile when he passes him, and he definitely looks back just to see Louis folding his arms over his chest while Harry tries not to meet his eyes with a shrug.

Niall is still standing by the jet when he gets out, but he goes straight to where Liam is, inside a glass room that Zayn is sure hadn't seen when he was here the first time.

“So that’s what you and Louis were setting up.”

Liam hums. “Was gonna look for you, but then Louis …” He turns to him, “told me you ran off with Harry.”

“Ran off is a pretty big word,” Zayn rolls his eyes, taking a moment to look around the room. There’s an opened document on one of the screens, and he notices that all the creatures are named with codes, numbers after numbers for each of their transformations. “He was showing me around.”

“You could’ve waited for me.” Zayn turns to him, “I’m sure you have more than one question about everything you see around you. Harry isn’t- He’s not the perfect person to exactly show you around.”

Liam is half right. Zayn believes that if he had encountered that little creature in the sand, Liam’s first move would be to put it down -without causing harm- instead of tickling it and softly putting it away like Harry did. But he knows much more than Harry does. And while Liam’s tone is actually sparking amusement inside of him, it also sparks annoyance for various reasons. So he sighs, leaning back on one of the glass walls.

“Why did you bring me here if you’re literally banning me from studying anything around this place?”

“I’m not banning you from doing anything.” Zayn cocks an eyebrow as Liam cards his fingers through his hair. “You didn’t seem alright.” Liam stares at him, and Zayn wonders when did he become so easy to read. First Harry, now Liam, and he’s about to protest when Liam’s gaze gets softer. “I’ve known you long enough to know, Zayn. You needed some timeout. And I’m positive that the last thing you need right now is to fill your brain more. Can’t you just-” He spreads his arms around him, “enjoy this?”

Zayn sighs for a second time. “There’s a job to be done. And right now,” he looks around him, “I want to get it over with. So are you going to give me a sample or not?”

Liam presses his lips together for a moment. “Wouldn’t you want to see the rest of them first?”

Zayn counts it as a win.

❌

Zayn is just finishing the setup on his new device when a knock on the door can be heard. He's asked his team to send him a new one after Harry broke the old one, and he has so many things to do that can't relate to the research tower. Liam has given him a free sample of his choice after Zayn stopped to argue for anything more, and he knows that Liam caught feelings that he shouldn't, but if it's working for his favor right now, Zayn can choose to ignore it.

"Come in." The door opens and Harry steps into the room. He's clearly confused, but relieved too, and Zayn offers him a smile. "Good morning." It's another thing that Zayn is able to get so far from Liam.

"Morning." Harry smiles back as he sits on the bed.

“How are you feeling today?”

“Great.”

“Any physical pain? Any weird nightmares? Or any changes I should know about?”

Harry’s brows furrow slightly, “no.”

“As your doctor, I need to know.”

“No,” Harry repeats, “nothing.”

Zayn sighs and stands up. “Alright then. I just need to take a blood sample to make sure you’re alright.” He grabs a syringe and sits next to Harry on the bed, and he knows without looking why Harry is so silent while staring at him. A beep from his device can be heard along with a quiet creak, and Harry’s attention is focused elsewhere. Zayn turns to his device once he’s finished with Harry, and there’s a three-second video repeating itself on the screen.

“Is that-” Harry squints his eyes at the glass box as he stands up, getting closer to it. “How did you get that here?” He turns to Zayn.

“Liam gave it to me.”

Harry’s brows furrow deeper as he looks back at the little creature inside the box. There’s a camera at one corner to record its every move connected to Zayn’s device. It looks more like a turtle, Zayn would call it that since it has a very strong cartilaginous shell, but ever since he got it here, it refuses to come out of its shell. The video however, shows a slight movement inside the shell.

“It won’t come out,” Harry leans towards the box, “it’s not used to sunlight or moonlight, and even the room’s temperature is foreign to it.”

“It would adapt eventually,” Zayn replies, “or convert back to its original shape. Whichever happens first.”

“What if it’s too much?” Harry turns to him again as he straightens himself. “What if it couldn’t adapt or convert?”

There’s concern written all over Harry’s face, and Zayn doesn’t want to disappoint his kind heart as he looks back at the shell. “It shouldn’t die. Liam told me so.” He looks at Harry next, “I wouldn’t allow it.”

“What are you gonna use it for?”

“It’s not a lab rat, Harry. I’m only bringing it here to observe it.”

Harry’s shoulders relax as he nods slowly. “So … You’re just gonna spend the day observing it?”

“Of course not. I have other things to do. Important things.” Harry nods again, eyes darting across the room, and Zayn can already hear the unsaid question. “You’re free to go.” Harry’s eyes meet his again. “We’re pretty much done here.”

“Oh! Right,” Harry tucks his hair behind his ear, “I’m …” He points at the door as he walks towards at. “Have a good day.” He offers a quick smile, and Zayn raises a hand until the door is closed.

His device beeps again and he turns to it, another three-second video is up, but this time, it shows a fully detailed growth. The little creature has detached itself from the shell, but is still inside, stirring. Zayn sits down next to it, wearing his gloves and grabbing a syringe. The glass box has small openings for air, and Zayn is thankful that this type doesn’t eat, just absorbs the required energy to survive from its surroundings, and he’s really excited to see how it’s gonna adapt inside a glass box with some of the soil taken from the reserve to help the little creature live until it does. There are two round openings in the box that are locked, and Zayn unlocks them, enough to let his hands pass. He knows already they’re not harmful, but he carefully slides his hands inside, a gentle touch to the shell, eyes glancing at the screen on his device to see if there’s any sudden movement. The creature seems to retreat further in, aware of Zayn’s hands on its shell.

He empties the syringe on the soil, pouring a little on top of the shell as well to see how it reacts when he hears the door opening with two knocks on it after it was opened. He already knows who as he retreats one of his hands to put the syringe away.

“Just saw Harry coming out with a frown.”

“Morning to you too,” Zayn mumbles.

“Just thought he would stay for a little while longer.” Liam sits next to him. “Seems like you’re going for younger people these days.”

Zayn sighs, closing his eyes for a moment before reopening them. “If you’re here just to talk about that, then you’re best to leave.”

“Did you inject any more drugs into his body?” Liam asks, and Zayn doesn’t like the tone of his voice.

“I didn’t inject anything into his body. I just took a blood sample if you must know.”

“What for?”

“To make sure he’s alright?” Zayn raises his brows even though he’s not turned towards Liam.

“Are you though?”

Zayn turns to him, an annoyed expression on his face. “He’s my patient.”

“Could’ve just said you wanted to piss Louis off.” Liam smiles and Zayn raises his brows.

“That too.” He begins to smile himself when he hears a beep, and then there’s a sudden pain on the inside of his palm as if something sharp has cut through his flesh. “Motherfucker.” He hisses as he retreats his hand. “Not harmful my ass.” He sees the little creature outside the shell, and he curses Liam for distracting him. He wonders if it’s the drug he spilled on the shell or basic instinct. Maybe even intelligence, he doesn’t fully know yet, but the creature has taken the shape of a worm, and Zayn stares at it with a frown.

Liam chuckles next to him. “You won’t get infected.”

“Doesn’t make it sting any less,” he rolls his eyes. The beeping changes into one continuous beep and it makes him turn to Liam with furrowed brows. “You said it shouldn’t die.”

“Shouldn’t. That was based on a theory. Didn’t say it couldn’t.”

“Not an actual study? For fuck’s sake, Liam!” He groans and shakes his head. “Get out before I throw something at you!”

Liam raises his hands in surrender before they drop again, the smile on his face falling into a more serious expression. “You never told me what you’re doing with it though.”

“For the same reason you got me here for,” Zayn replies as he turns in his chair again, “to find a fucking cure. Now if you don’t mind, I’m busy, and you’re interrupting my research, that is built on a real study.” He keeps staring at the dead creature inside the box until Liam sighs and stands up. He waits until he hears the door closing before he grabs an analgesic shot and injecting it into his wrist. He places it under the microscope and grabs with his free hand a scalpel. He makes a cut in the skin deeper than the original cut and opens it, carefully going for the tweezers. He switches the view of the microscope to that of his own device to see the difference in cells before pulling out the only one that is new to his body. He knows that he was never going to be infected, but that tiny piece was going to be lost forever once it’s either removed or left to join the rest of his body cells. Working with one hand is a bit hard as he tries to place the tiny peace the creature left in his palm into a phial. He injects his wrist with another drug to make the effect of the analgesic shot go away faster. While he waits, he cleans the sample he just obtained and grabs the blood sample he just got from Harry. Now he can start to work.

❌

Zayn stays up late, so it’s very important that he gets much needed sleep, and his phone ringing when he’s underneath the blankets makes his mood shift quickly. He swears if it was Liam, he’d literally kill him. He reaches for his phone tiredly, squinting his eyes at the screen to find the caller ID blocked. A frown settles on his face as he groans, sliding the answer button and not even bothering with saying anything. If whoever is calling him needs him, they will speak first. The other end is quiet for a moment until Zayn hears footsteps, heavy ones that makes him open his eyes properly.

“You seem to be creating a weapon instead of a cure, Dr. Malik.”

Zayn frowns at the voice. It’s not human, not one that can be made without any programs, and he hears next a sharp creak, like something is scratching against a wall, and he sits up slowly, because that scratch of a nail is against his own door. He throws the blankets away and hurries for the door to open it. There’s no one in view as he looks left and right, but he knows what they mean, and he runs with his feet covered in only socks towards the room he was inside earlier. He hears a clicking sound before pushing the door open, and his eyes land on the table where one phial is missing. The window is opened, and the phone is still in his hands as he quickly approaches it, looking everywhere once he does.

“Don’t you fear for your life, Dr. Malik?”

The voice comes from behind him and Zayn turns quickly, eyes widening to see the disgusting shape of a face, all in black, something hard yet sticky of some sort. He’s not afraid though, more confused than anything else as his hand reaches forwards, watching as whoever in front of him back away.

“You should.”

It’s like many others have told him before, but Zayn knows what will happen if he didn’t make a move, so he tries to run after it again, only to have a chair thrown his way, blocking his access as the weird person jumps out of the window. Zayn is now sure they’re an insider, but he’s helpless when he looks outside the window again to find absolutely nothing. The line goes dead on his phone, and he holds it up to dial another number instead.

“Dr. Malik?” A raspy sleepy voice greets him.

“I need a favor.”

❌

Harry knocks on the door before entering, a smile on his face that Zayn has to offer one back, and he’s truly fascinated at how Harry went unnoticed by Louis on his way here. Or maybe Louis knows but can’t help it anymore. He’s thankful either way though.

“Morning,” he greets Harry.

“Morning,” Harry greets him back as he sits on the bed.

“I’ll just need to change your patch, nothing serious. Making sure nothing is infected.” Zayn informs him as he wears his gloves. There are two bottles next to him, one is a disinfectant that Zayn doesn’t go for as he grabs a cotton pad. Harry doesn’t see though, still relaxed when Zayn carefully removes his patch and patting the cotton pad over his skin. “Stay right here, I’ll just grab a new one.” Harry nods at him, and he turns, opening a drawer that contains surgery tools and staring at it, slowly reaching with his hand to adjust a curette, moving a trocar, tapping his fingers on the rongeur. “I like your shirt by the way,” he starts, “might need you to tell me where you got it from. It’s been a long while since I’ve gone shopping for new clothes.”

“Yeah, it’s …” He hears the shaky intake of breath from Harry and closes the drawer, adjusting the mirror on top so he can see Harry who’s blinking slowly before he puts his head into his hands. He’s unsteady on the bed when a hand is placed on the bed to steady him. And then he’s quiet, breath falling into normal pace again, and Zayn turns to him, waiting for the cold green eyes to look up at him.

“Last time, you mentioned going to a place. Take me to it.”

Harry tilts his head to the side. “And since when do I take orders from you?”

Zayn digs into his pocket before finding the pendant and throwing it at Harry who catches it before narrowing his eyes at Zayn.

“You want to go there. I want to go there,” he cocks an eyebrow. “Let’s help each other out.”

Harry stands up, the pendant in his hand as he approaches him. “And why would you think that I would want to go with you?”

Zayn blinks at him. “You do.” Harry crosses his arms over his chest. “Would it be too hard for you to pretend you’re who they think you are instead of putting me to sleep this time?” Harry just keeps looking at him. “Figured.”

It’s only a matter of time before Harry rolls his eyes, and in the next second, there’s a sting at his side, then everything is black.

❌

Zayn flutters his eyes open, the sunlight hitting him immediately. They’re at another building roof, and Zayn sits up slowly. Harry is there, staring at the city below, turning to him when he wakes up.

“Just to let you know, I have zero idea where you wanna go. Last time, someone was there-”

“And you thought about following them,” Zayn finishes for him, patting his pockets to see that Harry didn’t take away his stuff this time. He pulls out his device and turns it on. “I know.” Harry tilts his head and Zayn looks up at him. “I know where to go.”

“And why do you wanna go anyway? Why not take Circus along with you if you know where you’re going?” Zayn opens his mouth and closes it, and a smirk forms on Harry’s lips. “You messed up real big, didn’t you?”

Zayn pauses. “I was thinking we can take a car.”

❌

The building is very familiar, and Zayn really wished he wouldn’t have to come here again of all places after an unpleasant incident. It’s still as fancy as he remembers, right next to the busy streets, and he wonders if Circus ever came here before. If they know. Harry tenses next to him, and Zayn turns to him.

“Familiar?”

“No,” Harry replies, his brows furrowing, “it’s just … I have this feeling.”

“A good one or a bad one?”

“Just … A feeling.” Harry repeats, and Zayn takes a deep breath before he starts walking towards the gate. There’s a guard standing outside, and Zayn smiles at him. It’s not the same one from before. This one is much younger, with freckles on his face, one eye blue, the other brown, and Zayn wonders if it’s natural. It probably is, but Zayn stopped believing in natural accidents since he arrived here.

“Dr. Zayn Malik.” He flashes his ID at the guard, and the latter takes a glance at Harry before he’s nodding and opening the gate.

“Just like that?” Harry whispers to him.

“They know I’d be coming,” he pauses, “well, maybe not. Maybe they didn’t know I’ll be actually coming here, but … They wanted me to.”

“They wanted you to?” Harry raises his brows as he gets inside the building.

“Just keep your guard up.” Zayn replies instead. It’s not that Harry answers all of his questions either. They enter an elevator, the one on the left, and Harry is still looking at him in confusion. He presses the number zero three times then one.

“You were here before.”

“I was, yes.” He replies, waiting for the elevator to move. “That, however, is more of a guessing.” The doors close, and another set of doors close, and there’s a second digital screen. Harry turns to him but Zayn doesn’t press anything. “C’mon. I know you can see me.” He whispers as he glances around him. The elevator goes down even though they’re supposed to be on ground level, and it moves faster than Zayn anticipated. “Now that … Was not something I did before, I can assure you that.” He tells Harry.

When he turns to Harry however, he’s not exactly focusing on what he’s saying. He’s staring up, taking a step back carefully, and he’s about to ask him about it when Harry’s eyes widen, and suddenly he’s in a cocoon made of vines. There’s a loud smacking sound from the front, but he can’t exactly feel anything other than the ground beneath him shaking a bit. He knows something hit them, and oh nice, what a lovely welcome. When it stops however, he can hear a voice similar to that from the other night, and he sighs. He knows he got Harry here for protection, but he can’t help but worry about him too. He doesn’t hear his voice, but the vines keep surrounding him, and it means that Harry is still in a good shape. The voices stop, and the vines start to uncover him slowly, and the first thing he sees is Harry, standing outside the elevator with a deep frown on his face. There are black stains on the floor that Zayn can guess it’s blood, but no bodies. They must’ve ran away.

He makes his way to Harry to find him staring at his hand, the same black liquid dripping from it, but he scans his body to see no physical harm done making him sigh in relief. A clapping sound from the end of the corridor gains his attention, and he realizes that the elevator doors close behind them.

“A fine creation. Would have definitely gained an excellent mark. Like you always do.”

Harry turns to him in confusion. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Should’ve been your field from the start.” Zayn squints his eyes to see better, but he already knows that the big black shadow is the same from the night before. Can hear the same voice. “I must admit though, despite wanting for you to come here, I did not think you’ll be that quick to know who I am.” Footsteps approach them, and Harry is still confused by his side.

“A lucky guess.”

A laugh, if Zayn is able to call it that, erupts from the person. “You haven’t changed.”

“Yeah, hard to say the same about you.”

Zayn hears the awful sound of bones cracking and sees more of the black surface forming into actual skin accompanied by a sigh before he gets to see the person standing in front of him. The smile on his face hasn’t changed. In fact, his whole face hasn’t changed. Hasn’t aged. So, yes, Zayn stopped believing in natural changes.

“It’s nice to see you again, Dr. Malik. May I try to guess the reason behind you coming to us with your own feet?” He turns his gaze to Harry. “With a gift as well?” Harry narrows his eyes at him, but it’s not only what he says that sparks something inside of him, and Zayn is a second late from stopping him.

“Harry, wait!” He shouts, but of course Harry wouldn’t hear him. A groan escapes him as he looks around him, trying to figure something out quickly while Harry launches forwards, his vines around him, and even using his swords from the bracelet. The corridor is empty, but he pauses when he sees that the black stains on the floor have completely disappeared. “Oh, shit,” he whispers as he looks back at Harry, the same black liquid moving on his shirt, and he needs to act quickly, so he pulls his device out of his pocket, opening its side to take the syringe and sliding it back into his pocket. A loud groan startles him, but it’s not from Harry, and he sees a set of vines penetrating the other’s body, and oh no. He runs towards them, missing a wild vine miraculously as he ducks, and his eyes stays wide for a moment before trying to get to Harry and pulling hard at his shirt until the black stain falls with the ripped part, making Harry turn to him with a glare.

“Stay the hell out of my way!”

“Everything you’re doing is useless!” He shouts back, pushing Harry to the side as he injects the shot into the awful shaped body -thanks to Harry infiltrating it with his vines and sword multiple times- and stepping back. “It’s not even the real body,” he tells Harry before turning to him, “make a shield around us, fast.”

Harry glares harder at him if possible, and for the second time, he doesn’t listen to him, and Zayn wouldn’t have expected anything less to be completely honest as Harry tightens his grip on his swords, but something stops his movements, making Zayn curse as they both look at Harry’s feet. The same black liquid is back, and Harry stabs it with his sword to get it out of his way, but it doesn’t budge, and it wraps itself around Harry’s ankle, and the next groan is from Harry this time as he falls to his knees, dropping his swords and going for it with his hands. Zayn’s eyes widen as he quickly crouches in front of him and stopping Harry’s own hands from touching it.

“Just force it out with your vines and inject yourself with your own poison.”

“Are you mad?!”

“For fuck’s sake, listen to me once!” Zayn shouts as he pushes Harry hard making him lose his balance with his ankle still attached to the floor. He pulls his device out once more, and he’s fully aware he has only one syringe left on the other side as he grabs it and injects it at Harry’s ankle.

“No! You’re not going to-”

“Stop talking already!” Zayn cuts him off, “I’m doing this for your own sake!”

“My own sake?!” Harry tries to push on his elbows, the drug only taking effect around the ankle and making the black liquid retreat to the floor. “You know this person! He killed my sister! You brought me back as a gift to him!”

“I brought you here because you wanted to be here!” Zayn shouts back, “and you’re too stubborn. You wouldn’t have listened to me, but this,” he points around him, “isn’t you home! And you needed to know that. You needed to see it for yourself! God damn it, I-” he takes a deep breath as he leans back, “I wouldn’t sacrifice you.” Harry doesn’t retort as Zayn gets up from on top of him. “He used to be my professor at uni, that’s why I know him … I didn’t know he … became this,” he tells him as he turns towards the other body, eyes kept on him as he moves, and he knows that the drug only made it immobile. “Would you make a shield around us now?” He asks Harry, turning back to him. “Please?”

Harry stares at him with his brows furrowed still, but Zayn sees the vines beginning to surround them as he takes out his device one last time. It does a quick scan when he places it on top of the body until a red spot appears on the screen and he takes out the gloves he also has in his pockets, putting them on as he places the device away. The smirk forming on the half-shaped face in front of him almost makes him puke.

“Always prepared.”

“Wow, you can still talk.” Zayn replies as he begins to dig with his hands to spread the body apart.

“Could’ve chosen the easy path.”

“No, thanks,” Zayn replies as he finds the phial and tries to pull it out. “I’m good here.”

“You’re not gonna tell me how you found out?”

Zayn sighs as he sits back with the phial in his hands. “You can’t analyze it in that short period of time,” he places the phial next to him as he takes the gloves off, avoiding touching any black stain left from him digging inside the body, “and you can’t copy it. Not here at least.” He uses the ripped part of Harry’s shirt to wipe the phial. “And you wouldn’t use it without having a copy. I knew you would keep it with you-” He pauses for a second, “or with this … Thing, until you can.”

“You always had the antidote. Such a bother to come here yourself.” Zayn frowns. “You’ve grown soft.”

“No,” he replies as he stands up, “you know me better than that.” He looks at the body one last time. “I like to test stuff with my own hands.” He turns to Harry then. “You can kill it now, there’s no need for this clone anymore.” What sticks inside his mind though as Harry gets to his feet and grabs his swords again, is where the actual body might reside. If it’s old and wrinkled. And how he can even communicate through only a body that has no devices attached to it. It’s like he’s been standing outside on the shore for too long and only now he’s stepping into the wide ocean. God, how he hates this.

“Do you know where the real one might be?” Harry interrupts his thoughts and he shakes his head.

“No. I’m sorry.” Harry looks at him for a moment before turning away, and Zayn takes a glance at the shreds of a body it has now become. “I’m pretty much sure though that we won’t get out of here the casual way, so before you make those vines disappear, might as well dig a tunnel to get us out.” Harry looks to be in deep thought before he nods and walks to him, his swords disappearing into the bracelet, and Zayn is distracted for a moment by the shake of the ground beneath them that he barely notices the thorn that has wrapped itself around his neck. The sting is present for a second before he’s released to fall to his knees. He knows that Harry knows that he has no more drugs on him, but he has this feeling that this time, Harry isn’t putting him to sleep in order for him not to see how he uses certain abilities. He also won’t lie and say he wasn’t expecting this. “Harry … This is not your home …”

“And neither is Circus.”

“You can’t go looking for a person you barely know anything about.”

“I also won’t be put back to sleep again.”

His vision gets blurry as he drops fully to the ground, and he sees Harry standing there until he can’t anymore.

❌

Zayn watches as Liam sighs heavily, closing the door behind him. He’s woken up close to the research tower, with the phial still in his possession, and he could swear that Harry hasn’t left his side until he’s fully conscious, but he also doesn’t know where he is at the moment, though he has a fifty percent possibility that he would return. The phial is step one into creating the cure, and he knows it was taken because it offers stabilization for the infected cells, making it much more closer to what Harry has if was used properly. There’s no step two however without Harry himself, and Zayn can’t have a perfect match with the current drug. It’s a fact that he can’t change.

Liam stares at him for a long moment before sighing again and walking forwards until he’s sitting next to him on the bed. Liam was the first one to see him, could get him here inside his room without anyone else asking him more questions, and Zayn knows that all security cameras were disabled, so he can’t possibly tell what he did with Harry, or even see what happened at that night. What he knows so far as Zayn told him, is that what he saw, with full description, was able to knock both of him and Harry down, and when he woke up, Harry was gone. He knows it’s useless to tell him about the building, they would be moving everything, but he tells him about who they met.

“You’re telling me that Professor Cowell was the one knocking you down?”

“I’m telling you what I saw.”

“He’d have no reason to-”

“Remember when he so enthusiastically encouraged you to go further into your field?” Zayn cuts him off. “He is, for one, someone who knows about Circus.”

“And also someone known by the government.” Liam shakes his head. “He is still a VIP member, and we can’t simply investigate his data.”

“You’re telling me that you would do nothing because he’s a VIP member?” Zayn raises his brows. “That didn’t stop him from reaching me and Harry, who may I remind you, is still missing.”

“And part of the blame is actually on you,” Liam tells him harshly. “Do you know what Louis would do to you if I allowed him access?”

“You’re speaking as if I murdered him,” Zayn rolls his eyes, his back settling on the pillow behind him that is placed against the headboard.

“Zayn-” Liam narrows his eyes at him, “are you even taking this seriously? Do you know how big this is?!”

“What reaction are you expecting from me?” Zayn asks calmly, “because we both know …” He sighs. “I’m dealing with this rationally.”

“I am dealing with this rationally as well.”

“They why nobody is focusing on the fact that all of your data is being leaked?”

Liam opens his mouth, a frown forming on his face. “We’re looking into that.” He replies. “Just …”

“Well, you’re shit at doing it.”

“Questioning everyone inside this building is not as easy as you think,” Liam replies, “and no one else has been hurt, it’s just you, and the fact that they’re targeting you means that you’re hiding something from me!” Liam raises his voice. “I gave you access to everything you wanted, so tell me what stops me from including you inside the circle of suspicion!”

Zayn raises his brows. “You want to include me as a suspect?”

Liam stares at him for a moment. “I didn’t-” He sighs, running a hand through his hair and turning his face away. “I didn’t mean it.”

“You meant it.”

“Zayn,” Liam turns to him again, “I have tons of shit over my shoulders, and your name isn’t as clean as you want it to be.”

“And I’m not a child for you to take responsibility over my actions.” Zayn replies. “You called for me here.”

“I know-”

“Then don’t throw your shit at me.”

Liam stares at him again, and Zayn hasn’t realized he’s leaned away from the headboard as much when he settles again against the pillow. Liam closes his eyes and turns his head away again, and Zayn can see the corners of his mouth lifting a little bit, nothing more than a breath leaving his lips when he opens his eyes again.

“It feels like we’re back at your first year at college.” Liam starts and Zayn closes his eyes.

Don’t.

“Do you remember that?” Liam’s head lift up when Zayn reopens his eyes. “We were at your dorm after you got into a fight, and they were going to expel you if they knew you did, and you wouldn’t listen to me. You told me the same thing that night. Don’t throw your shit at me.” He turns to Zayn.

“It’s not the same.”

“I beg to differ, actually.” Zayn rolls his eyes when Liam’s lips twitch again. “You still won’t listen to me, and I still lecture you about it.”

“I don’t need to be lectured.”

“You need to listen to people sometimes.” Liam’s tone is gentle when he says it, and Zayn turns his gaze away. “Anyway,” he takes a deep breath, “I’m pretty sure Louis and Niall would tire of waiting to question you, so they might have gone back to trying to locate Harry.”

“Would tire of waiting?” Zayn cocks an eyebrow. “You’re staying here all night?”

“I’m mad at you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let Louis get to you when he’s still angry. Owning a VIP membership won’t stop him.” Liam smiles when he says it, but Zayn frowns. He’s had a taste of Louis’ strength and he certainly does not wish to test more, but to think that Louis would actually go for it? He was sure that Louis is more rational than that.

“So you’re just gonna sit on the bed and stare at the wall all night?”

“Well, the wall is lovely and all, but I can look at other things,” Liam glances around the room before meeting his gaze. “Or … doing … other … things.” His voice is quietening at the end, and Zayn blinks at him as he taps his fingers on his legs. Liam stares back, his shoes tapping on the floor, then his fingers moving to tap on the sheets, and there’s a big bold ‘Don’t’ written inside of his mind.

Ah, Fuck it.

The pull is easier than he thought when he pushes himself off the pillow, and Liam is turning his body towards him, a leg bent on the bed as Zayn places a knee at his side, the other sliding on top of Liam’s leg while his hands mess Liam’s hair. The kiss is as rough as he anticipated, strong arms holding his sides and pushing him to lie back on the bed, air barely needed between a kiss and another, and he feels Liam’s hips pushing hard at his, a rough grinding of the material between them that forces Zayn to part his lips on a quiet moan. He slides his hands to Liam’s shoulders, feeling the muscles moving beneath his touch as Liam moves his hands to cup his ass cheeks, and Zayn has the freedom to slide his hands further down his back before bringing them to his biceps as Liam goes straight for the soft spot on his neck. It’s always been easy for Liam to remember, and maybe it’s the reason Zayn still allows him to, biting down on his lips as Liam bites on his neck.

Liam sits up and pulling him along so they can take off their shirts, and Zayn stares at his chest for a moment. “Still fit as fuck.” Liam doesn’t reply though, pulling him again with his fingers hooked into his belt loops to kiss him, his tongue pushing inside instantly, and he’s pushed back on the bed, allowing himself to feel the abs he hasn’t touched in ages, but his hands are pushed away when he’s flipped on his front, and he closes his eyes, because Liam knows him, and he knows what Liam wants to do, and he doesn’t even need to lift his hips as Liam does it for him, unzipping his pants and sliding them off with his socks, and the sweat dripping from his forehead combined with the cold weather doesn’t make him any less patient as he grips the sheets in both hands, dick half hard but not touching the sheets, and he sighs when he feels a thumb at his rim, another digging into his cheek before he feels hot breath at his rim, then the slow drag of a tongue over it, making him tighten his grip a little.

Liam moans with it, hums and groans and more eager than Zayn remembers, and it makes him bury his face deeper into the pillow beneath him, unable to move much thanks to Liam’s grip on his legs. His insides flutter multiple times at the sudden moves, mouth going lax and breath shattering when Liam flattens his tongue to lick firmly inside of him, and he needs something more, so he reaches down with one of his hands, but before he’s able to do anything, Liam pulls away, and he’s being flipped on his back once more. Liam uses one of his hands to push his hair -that has become messy by now- back, sliding it across his cheekbones before tracing his lips as he hovers on top of him, and Zayn can see his blown pupils, and slow breath. Knows what it means when Liam pushes his index finger along with his middle one inside his mouth, keeping his legs spread as he settles between them, and his other hand is used for holding him up. His forearm placed next to his face, and Zayn moves his tongue slowly around the two fingers, knowing who it drives Liam wild with the way he’s pushing his still clothed dick against his bare one, the rough material making him gasp once, moaning when Liam drags it harder along with his fingers pushing down on his tongue, and when he stops and keeps his weight there, Zayn sucks on his fingers.

Liam pulls his fingers away and kisses him instead, feeling his wet fingers brush over a nipple before he’s lifting himself up slightly, trailing his lips to his neck again as his hand go behind his ass and push slowly inside, one at a time, then both inside, and Zayn closes his eyes and leans his head backwards, feeling Liam trailing his lips to his ears, tongue darting out a bit before he’s sucking on his earlobe.

“Tell me how much you want me.” Liam whispers into his ear, voice a bit low but also a bit out of breath as he licks at his ear again, pushing hard at his prostate and dragging his hips painfully along his length as well, and Zayn already admitted before in their uni days that he likes this position, likes when Liam does that, but it’s not the same anymore. He can’t voice his thoughts anymore. “Zayn,” Liam calls his name again with another rough drag of his hips, a third finger is pushed inside, and Zayn moans louder, his eyes shut tight with his nails scratching against Liam’s back, and it only erupts a deep moan from Liam as he licks at his ear one last time before he’s sitting up and sliding his hands away to take off the rest of his clothes.

Zayn opens his eyes to see Liam gathering his precum, stroking his hard dick a few times before he’s sitting on the bed again. “Turn around,” he nods with his head to the side, and Zayn doesn’t protest at all, flipping on his front again and lifting himself on all four, spreading his legs a little more when he feels the bed dipping with Liam’s movements, his knees brushing over his calves before there’s a wet feeling at his rim, and he looks down, his own dick leaking by now onto the sheets, and he doesn’t get much of a warning before Liam is pushing inside, and his lips part, feeling the familiar stretch around the too familiar shape, and he can already feel Liam’s dick throbbing when he’s only halfway inside, hearing the long groan he releases as he fully bottoms, his hands returning to Zayn’s hips to stop them from sliding further into the mattress, pulling slowly and thrusting back in, a moan escaping both when he does so.

But Liam doesn’t keep his slow pace, because Zayn can feel how his hands dig harder at his hips, and the next thing he knows, Liam is thrusting with too much force causing a broken moan to escape him, angle dead on hitting his prostate, and Zayn knows Liam meant it to be that way, his own body too familiar to Liam to do as he pleases, and he keeps his thrusts rough until Zayn’s hands giveaway, his head falling onto the pillow again, and he can see how his dick bounces with each hard thrust, precum leaking too much from the tip, and when one of Liam’s hands leave his hips, he closes his eyes, arms stretched on the bed as well, but a sudden finger at his hole makes him snap his eyes open. It’s too much, not what he was expecting at all, but Liam doesn’t stop his thrusts, twisting his finger inside that makes Zayn’s whole body shudder as a sudden orgasm hits him, and Liam retreats his finger, halting his movements, and Zayn is able to catch his breath slightly for a moment before Liam is leaning over him, mouth at his back, then at the back of his neck, before it reaches the side of it then his shoulder, and he spreads Zayn’s legs with his own further, a hand positioned firmly next to his head to support his weight while the other goes to brush at his nipples again, sliding down his body until he gives his sensitive dick a light stroke, a finger brushing over the tip before it slides at his legs and holds tightly at his knee to stop it from completely sliding on the bed.

Zayn whimpers when Liam pulls out slowly halfway, thrusting back in with the same pace but deeper, and he increases his pace gradually until his hips are slamming into him again, and Zayn is oversensitive, causing his hole to flutter more often, tightening when Liam brushes over his prostate with every thrust, and he bites down on his shoulder while Zayn’s body go loose, his grip tightening and loosening again and again and again. His moans are broken and are more of a breath being knocked off him when Liam buries himself deeper, his bite is too hard on his shoulder, and he feels Liam’s dick throbbing inside of him before he feels his hot sperm shooting inside on sudden waves, and it causes his own dick to shoot into the sheets with another broken moan combined with Liam’s groan at his skin.

Liam lifts himself up after a moment, pulling out slowly before he’s turning Zayn on his side and flopping next to him breathless. Zayn won’t look at him though. He keeps his eyes shut until he can gain his breathing, feeling his hole fluttering again when Liam’s cum starts dripping off it. He feels Liam’s hand brushing his hair backwards again, a thumb at his cheekbone and under his eyes then at his lips and chin, and it’s gone when he hears Liam’s phone ringing on the floor along with his groan.

Zayn opens his eyes when he feels Liam shifting on the bed, and he watches his back for a moment as he sits up and goes to look for his phone. Full of scratches, flushed skin, toned body. He closes his eyes again when Liam looks at his phone with a frown before he’s able to lock his eyes with him.

“Louis has an emergency, and I believe it has something to do with Harry.”

“Yeah? Not just trying to get you away from me?” He rasps out and forces himself to open his eyes. Liam isn’t smiling though, and neither is he, really.

“Get cleaned up, we might need you.” Liam hurries to clean himself and put back his clothes on while Zayn cleans himself as well. He’ll need a shower more than just a quick cleanup, and he curses Liam when he tries to sit up and his ass hurts.

He sighs, staring at the sheets on his bed, and he knows there’s not much time for a shower, so he throws them on the floor as he picks a pair of underwear to put them on along with the closest sweatpants and shirt he can pull out of his closet, deciding he’d lean down on the clean pillows because the pain is unbearable for now. Liam has been too rough and he didn’t even speak a word about it. The funny thing though, is that Liam himself didn’t talk about it afterwards. He thinks it’s become a thing now since they’re older. He closes his eyes and sighs heavily, a smile forming on his face when there’s a soft breathing reaching his hearing.

“You’re a dick.”

“And I still don’t know how you get inside,” Zayn opens his eyes and turns his head to the side. “Did you seriously stand there and watch me and Liam have sex?”

“Does it piss you off that you’re not the one observing people this time?” Harry narrows his eyes with a tilt of his head, splitting the pendant in his hand and letting it crash at the floor.

“That’s not observing,” Zayn scoffs, “that’s just plain weird and inappropriate.”

Harry glares at him as he walks forwards. “Where is it?”

“Can’t use your super sight this time?” Zayn raises his brows.

Harry takes a deep breath to stop him from yelling probably as he repeats his questions slower this time. “Where. Is. It?”

“Where did you go?” Zayn replies instead. “Did you find anything?”

“And did you honestly give me that much time to be even looking?” Harry gets his reply behind gritted teeth. “You fucking knew I’ll be back before I even try to!” He raises his voice, a hand gesturing around. “And you don’t even give a damn about it! Laying in your filthy bed having sex!” Harry calms himself down again, “you know what, don’t tell me. I’ll just turn this whole building into dust until I find it.” He turns to look at the nearest thing in the room, and Zayn sighs.

“It’s in the left bottom drawer in the closet.” Harry turns to give him a hard glare before he goes towards the closet, but stopping before he pulls the drawer out. “I didn’t poison the handle,” Zayn tells him.

“It’s really hard to tell with you,” Harry replies, a vine growing from the inside of his sleeve to open the drawer, and once it does, he grabs the pendant, scanning it for a moment to make sure it’s the real once before putting it inside of his pocket.

“I had to. I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not,” Harry mumbles.

“I already told you, I can’t let you go.”

Harry turns to him then as he stands, going for the window. “Of course. You’re holding everyone at the palm of your hand.”

“You’re not leaving now, are you?”

Harry turns to him again, a mocking expression on his face as he replies, “no, I’m just opening the window for fresh air.”

Zayn tilts his head. “Is that why you stay and watch then?”

Harry pauses, a glare still in his eyes as he inhales deeply. “It pisses you off.”

“Not really.”

“It pisses you off,” Harry repeats.

“You’re just watching me having sex. Who is the one pissed off here?”

Harry turns fully towards him, his hand leaving the window. “It pisses you off when someone knows too much about you.”

Touché.

“You watched me having sex,” Zayn repeats, “what would you possibly know about me that matters that much?”

Harry folds his arms over his chest, and his piercing look makes Zayn a bit uncomfortable. “You hate it when you’re teased too much. You hate it when you can’t touch yourself. You’re never satisfied with fingers or just a tongue inside you. You like it when they kiss the side of your neck. You’re displeased when they lick your ear, but you let them,” Zayn narrows his eyes at him. “You hate it when you’re forced on your front, but you also go with it. You appreciate a direct hit, but too much isn’t favorable because it makes you unable to properly function for a longer while afterwards. You hate it when they talk. You hate it when they pull at your hair, but you love when the brush through it-”

“Alright, I get it!” Zayn cuts him off. “What they hell are you going to do after knowing of my sexual preferences?!”

Harry smirks. “See?” He points a finger at him. “It pisses you off. A lot.”

Zayn closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When did he even decide to raise his voice? When he reopens his eyes, and he’s calm once more, Harry’s smirk is still on his face.

Have your laugh now. It’s still me who wins at the end.

“I admit I’m impressed. But that’s all. You learning about my sexual preferences does not interest me that much.”

“You like to gain control even though you never voice it.” Harry goes on, slower this time, eyebrows raising slightly. “You bite your tongue too many times because you’re afraid you’d spill your feelings along with your protests. And you never tell anyone too much because you don’t want to be vulnerable,” he pauses, and Zayn sits there silently as he stares at him. “Again.” Harry pauses for a second time when Zayn doesn’t reply. “Am I wrong?”

Zayn huffs a breath, “Did you meet my parents while you were away and they showed you my diary?”

“You’re not as hard to read as you think you are.”

“Am I?” Zayn smiles, “because you don’t seem to predict much of my movements.”

“Well, you don’t only target the mind, do you?” Harry asks bitterly.

Zayn takes another deep breath and looks away. “Are you gonna sit down now?”

“I’m not staying.” Harry replies quietly.

“This is your home, Harry.” Zayn sighs as he meets his gaze again.

“I don’t know those people,” he points at the door. “They try to put me down each time I meet them!”

“Because you don’t give them any other choice, maybe?” Zayn raises his brows and pats the spot on the bed next to him. Harry gives him a disgusted look and doesn’t move from his place. “They expect you to be hostile, and you are. But if you’re willing to cooperate, I can talk to them,” he offers, “and I know you’ll feel loved, and safe, and home, but only if you just gave this a chance.” He pauses when he sees the crease between Harry’s brows. “Circus fights the same enemy as you. Maybe your chances are even higher to get to them when you’re here.” The crease between Harry’s brows gets deeper, and he sees him squinting his eyes, so he stands up slowly from the bed, and Harry huffs a laugh.

“And to think that you actually mean your words,” he shakes his head as he places a hand on his forehead. “Damn you and your twisted ways.”

“I wasn’t lying,” Zayn replies, holding Harry steady when he loses balance slightly.

“You always take your precautions, huh?” Harry mumbles against his shoulder. “You smell awful.”

Zayn walks back to the bed and places Harry gently on it. “I’m gonna say this one more time. I’m never letting you go.”

Harry looks at him with hooded eyes. “I would have preferred the floor.”

Zayn rolls his eyes. “The sheets are off. Quit complaining.”

Harry doesn’t reply next, and Zayn actually looks at the digital clock next to his bed to calculate how much time Harry needed exactly for the drug coating the pendant to take effect. He didn’t know for sure that Harry would notice the difference, but he believed he would since it’s too precious for him. It was a quick request to his team, and he’s glad it was delivered that morning. He opens the top drawer and takes out the gloves he kept them there. Once he puts them on, he takes the pendant out of Harry’s pocket and places it on the bed next to Harry. He looks underneath the bed and grabs a plastic box filled with the antidote and opens it before placing the pendant inside of it. He takes another look at Harry, and it’s not the fact that he needs to explain why Harry is inside his room that busies his mind, it’s the fact that Harry was able to know about him so much during their little time together. He’s smart, more than he expected him to be, and he cares.

Big mistake.

❌

Harry is still asleep. And while he’s not physically hurt, the drug is still powerful enough to put his body to rest. Liam gave him a look of suspicion when they caught Harry’s signal inside the building, and Louis voiced his thoughts out loud when he asked him why Harry specifically came back to him. He answers neither, and leaves the room once he made sure that Harry’s state is stable.

Even if he wakes up though, Zayn doesn’t want him to be a part of this, as he is very sure his memories is blocked, and trying to restore it has proven to be a waste of time as it also causes Harry pain. So that’s why he’s here, sitting with Liam and Louis while Niall stays close to Harry’s side.

“I can ask for an appointment with the prime minister.”

“And what will you do next?” Louis asks.

“Accusing another VIP member wouldn’t work.” Liam tells him.

“We can try.” Zayn replies.

“Cowell can meet him too, you know?” Louis tells him, “and he can accuse you with anything. Does his statement count for anything without actual proof?” He cocks an eyebrow. “It’s the same with us. We can’t simply accuse him with no proof. So, until we do, there’s nothing much in our hands.” Louis stares at him for a moment before he sighs and stands up.

A proof.

Zayn thinks for a moment, and when his eyes meet Louis’ again, they’re narrowed at him. “Anything you would like to share with us, Dr. Malik?” Liam turns to him as well, and he shakes his head. “I’ll be on my way then.” He turns to leave, but his tone is clearly showing his suspicion once again. Zayn can’t voice his thoughts though, not even if Liam is trying to look through him with concerning eyes.

“Well,” Liam sighs as he places his hands on his lap, “better get moving.” He stands up as well, and Zayn is distracted for a second as an idea flashes in his mind. He looks up at Liam in confusion. “We’re moving your room.”

“Moving my room?” Zayn repeats.

“It’s clear that they’re targeting you. So we have to move you.”

“Move me where?”

“The ship.” Liam replies and Zayn’s eyebrows rise high in his forehead. “Circus ship is the safest place I can think of for you and Harry.”

“Does Louis approve of this?”

“Louis is still a member of Circus whose main mission is to protect civilians.”

Zayn huffs a laugh as he stands up. “I think he considers me as a villain more than a civilian.”

Liam furrows his brows. “Louis would never harm you.”

“Yeah …” Zayn nods, “I’m not exactly his type.” He pushes past Liam to get outside the room.

Gathering his clothes isn’t the only thing he does in his room though.

❌

Niall is clearly unpleased by the whole idea, judging from the glare he receives once Louis brings him inside the ship. It’s surprising though that Louis hasn’t spoken to him much, not a single question or a sarcastic comment. Not even a rude one. Zayn would say he stopped caring if he didn’t already know him. He surely has many weights on his shoulder at the moment, and Zayn leaves him to it, not speaking a work either.

Harry is wide awake by now, no signs of exhaustion whatsoever, but with a frown on his face that clearly says he is not allowed near him on the ship. He tries to open his mouth as he approaches the two of them, but Louis cuts his short before he can say anything.

“You shouldn’t be up. Go back to your bed.”

“But I’m perfectly fine!”

“Go back to your bed.” Louis repeats with a stern look, and even though Harry doesn’t move, he doesn’t follow them either as Louis takes him to his room. It’s right next to his own and far from the others, and Zayn knows why. He doesn’t say anything either, just leaving Zayn inside the room and going to do his tasks.

The room is different from the one inside the research tower, with more colors and decorations. He wonders if it used to be for someone else, if maybe the room originally belonged to Niall but he was forced to evacuate it because of him. It’s small and cozy with a window to look from, and Zayn checks his watch, wondering how much time it’ll take Cowell to make his next move.

“Come on …” He whispers to himself as he watches the window for a minute before deciding to make himself comfortable inside the room.

❌

There’s an awful continuous tapping on glass that wakes him up at midnight, and Zayn turns in his bed towards the sound. The window isn’t opened, doesn’t in fact, but there are curtains to block the light if he wanted, and Zayn left them open. He inhales deeply as he sits up, looking at the window to find a crow tapping with its beak. He blinks at it and gets out of bed, approaching the window slowly, then stopping with his hands on the wall surrounding it before they slide at the frame, and eventually on the window. He wonders just how strong the glass is as the crow keeps tapping on it, its eyes are focused forwards the entire time like it’s hypnotized. He blinks at it again as he pushes his hair backwards, wondering if Louis can hear the sound from his room.

“You know … that’s not gonna get you anywhere.” He says it with a sigh as he sits down on the floor. Does the glass prevent the sound from the inside? “If this is meant to scare me off, you’re failing miserably. I’m not a five-year-old kid.” He pauses. “In fact, I think you should be scared of me. I’m not only one step ahead of you,” he raises two fingers with a smirk, “I’m two steps ahead of you.” The crow stops, its eyes shifting on Zayn, and while he’s not sure if he’s heard him or read the movement of his lips, it’s not what he thinks of right now as the crow’s eyes gets wider, red, body shifting as it bends forwards, and Zayn slowly drops his hands as he sees its claws growing for it to scratch across the window slowly, leaving a mark behind it, and now Zayn knows it’s not exactly the safest place around as it bangs its head harshly on the window, blood coming out of its head, and Zayn stands up, backing away from the horrible sight. The glass is cracking though even if it’s slightly and it would take forever to get through, but he furrows his brows nonetheless.

The door opens, and Louis is there with messed up hair and bags under his eyes with an overall tired expression. The crow is gone, but the blood stain still exists, and Louis stares at it for a long while.

“What was that?”

“A crow.” Louis turns to him with furrowed brows. “An infected crow.”

“What does it mean?”

Zayn looks down at his watch.

That’ I’m getting my proof.

He shrugs. “Probably were trying to reach me here too but failed.” Louis narrows his eyes at him, clearly unconvinced, but there’s nothing that he can tell him, not now. Louis blinks at him twice before he’s sighing and turning on his heels, closing the door behind him. Zayn looks down on his watch again.

One hour to go.

❌

After one hour, Zayn knocks on Louis’ door loud enough to wake him up. Louis’ face is as grumpy as ever when he opens the door.

“What now?”

“When was the last time you checked with the security team?” Louis blinks at him in confusion.

“What-”

“All of the cameras are disabled inside the research tower.”

“How do you know all of that?” Louis narrows his eyes at him, and Zayn raises his phone.

“Liam called me.”

“He called-” Louis cuts himself off and groans, opening the door wider and stepping inside. He knows what Louis is thinking of. Liam wouldn’t call him if there’s an emergency, he’d call Louis like he always does. But Louis also knows he and Liam are friends who talk, and his thoughts might have even gone somewhere further than that. And Louis doesn’t need to know that he’s the one who called Liam to wake him up.

“Keep Harry here along with Niall.” Louis turns to him again. “I don’t think he’s fully ready for battle.”

Louis stares at him for a moment before he nods, and they both go down.

❌

The security room is the first place they check, and they find all of the screens turned off with the guards lying in their chairs.

“Are they dead?”

Zayn goes to check their pulses and shakes his head. “Put to sleep.” He stands up. “They’ll be alright.” He turns and leaves the room, looking down on his watch again with Louis following behind him.

They reach his room, and it’s completely trashed. He goes straight to the nightstand and opens the top drawer to find it empty.

“They were certainly not here for you.” Louis turns to him, and Zayn checks his watch again. They can’t be late, it’s impossible. “What exactly do you hold that they want that badly?” He’s sure that Louis is digging holes at the back of his head, but he knows they’re not far, so he checks the opened window quickly, spotting one person getting down carefully. Wait, what?

Louis pushes him to the side when he stands there with furrowed brows for more than enough. “Do you always stare at them until they’re out of your reach?” Louis’ question snaps him out of his thoughts, and for a second, it doesn’t reach Zayn’s mind quite the way Louis intended. He jumps out of the window, leaving Zayn gaping with wide eyes until he sees the spear in Louis’ hands scratching against the building, and right. He’s a superhuman. Zayn isn’t though, and he quickly runs to get down the building.

Liam is there once he’s down, and Louis has his spear pierced through the person’s body, and he ignore Liam for a moment, quickly reaching the body instead and kneeling next to it.

“It’s not- It’s different.” Louis furrows his brows as the body doesn’t turn to stone then to ashes like the one on the road from before, and Zayn knows it won’t. There’s black liquid oozing out of the body. “So we got our spy.”

“It’s a clone.” Zayn whispers as he stands up, and Louis turns to him.

“What?”

A distraction.

A loud explosion turns all of their attention upwards, and Zayn watches with wide eyes the Circus ship descending to a crash judging from the smoke. Too much for the safest place.

“For fuck’s sake!” Louis starts running, and he’s clearly faster than a normal human. Zayn calculates the angle it would land in instead, and figures it would be the park. He really hopes it’s closed and there are no desperate teenagers in there as he turns to Liam.

“We need a car and a team of medics just in case, and we need it quick.”

Liam nods with wide eyes as well, and they have a car ready in a couple of minutes with a medical team fully prepared. Zayn watches the ship falling as they drive as fast as they could, and suddenly, the driver comes to a stop as the ship approaches the ground.

“What about Louis?!” He pushes the door open, and Liam’s hand is what stops him.

“He’ll be fine.” Zayn turns to him. “On the other hand, we are unable to get through until it crashes.” He sighs, “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing more we can do.”

And so they wait, with Liam calling for backup too just in case, and Zayn can feel the ground shaking beneath him when the ship crashes, the car moving once it does immediately.

Gladly, there’s no one inside the park, the ship didn’t explode when it hit the ground, but it’s damaged greatly, and he sees Louis there trying to get inside who is unharmed. He hurries to his side, and the door is pushed open to reveal Niall inside. There’s blood covering his entire body, and Zayn is quick to hold him along with Louis before he falls.

“I’ll get this one,” Liam motions for the medical team to get to Niall. “See if you can find Harry.”

Louis nods, leaving Niall to Liam, and Liam nods his head for him to go as well. The ship is sloped, and it’s hard to move inside, and despite his own struggle, that Louis doesn’t seem to be sharing at all, he manages to get through. Louis shouts Harry’s name, and it makes him alarmed, trying to follow Louis’ sound inside with the medics. And he stops when he sees Louis standing there, eyes wide and chest heaving. Harry is right in front of him, with a pipe going through his chest. He’s motionless, and Louis is quick to cut the pipe with his spear so the remaining part is still attached to him, but he can move him at least. Zayn trails his eyes down, to the amount of blood Harry had lost, and he pushes through the mess quickly to get to Harry, aware of Louis’ eyes burning at the side of his face, but he quickly removes the patch on Harry’s face.

“What are you doing?!”

“His ability to heal would be faster. Just get him out so we can take care of that,” he motions at the pipe in his chest, and even though Louis looks he’s about to kill him first before doing anything else, he stands up with Harry in his arms, and Zayn follows him along with the medical team until they’re outside.

The time needed for Harry’s alter ego to be present is reached when he’s placed on the stretcher, but his heartbeat is faint, and he’s barely breathing, and he cuts the pipe until there’s only the part inside the body waiting to be pulled away. He stares at it, having the nurse cleaning around the pipe, and he stands up quickly, because he can’t remove the pipe here without gaining the chance of Harry bleeding to death, and there’s not much equipment here, and they need to move him into an operation room as fast as they can.

Louis is on his feet as well when they lift Harry up, and when Zayn turns to him, he looks right about to blow up. He doesn’t get a chance to say anything though before Louis is yelling at his face.

“You fucking knew this would happen!” And he keeps his mouth shut, because honestly, Louis isn’t mistaken.

“A lucky guess.”

“A lucky guess?” Louis asks with a bitter chuckle as he takes a step forwards. “It’s just a coincidence that a crow bleeds on your window? And another that right after you checking your damn watch, the whole security team is asleep! What the fuck are you hiding Malik?! What is it that they want from you that costs me my ship and the life of my subordinates?! Because I’d be glad to offer it to them on a golden plate!” His spear is manifested by his side when he takes the next step, and Zayn’s eyes widen, because he didn’t actually think Louis would aim a direct blow at him, and Liam’s voice is loud as he rushes from Niall’s side to stop Louis.

Louis falls to the ground, startled, and it’s not Liam who stops him. Zayn trails his gaze downwards, seeing the grass blades that have grown beneath Louis to pull at his ankles, and a smile stretches on his face as a sigh of relief leaves his chest, turning his head to look at Harry. His eyes are closed, his body is still limp, but he leaves Louis confused on the ground as he hurries to his side, the medics moving him inside the car carefully. The scratches on his body are still there, but Zayn pulls the pipe away slowly for Harry to regenerate properly.

“That was a close one,” he whispers to him as he turns to see Louis, a deep frown on his face as he tries to get rid of the grass blades on his ankles. He turns to Harry again and leans in to leave a gentle kiss on his forehead. “Thank you.” He pauses, glancing outside to see Louis still busy, so he leans in quickly to leave a kiss on Harry’s lips too, a grin stretching on his face when he feels the slightest push of Harry’s lips as well making him pull back with a shake of his head. “Focus on healing your body for now.”

He stays inside until the grass blades are no longer holding Louis down, and it means that Harry isn’t awake anymore, giving all of his energy to heal instead. He lets Liam guide Louis inside Harry’s car with a team of medics, and he leaves with Niall with the other team as well, and Zayn promises he’d be back too with the next car, leaving Louis to calm down.

He approaches the ship again, and glances around the Circus members that have come to calculate the damage, and leave with the less negative image possible before the sun rises. There’s someone swaying from left to right, and Zayn makes his way towards them, ignoring the calls from the guards who tell him if he needs anything. He snatches the mask off their face, immediately taking a step back once he sees their face melting, eyes wide, before they fall to the ground. There’s a soldier who is rushing to his side, but Zayn holds his hand up to stop him.

“Bring this one alive!”

He crouches next to them, searching their body until he finds the half empty phial he placed in his room before going to the ship. And he knows it’s a smart move from Cowell. Trying it on and sacrificing one of the spies instead of risking the possibility of Circus tracking down his residential place if he decided to transfer the drug, seeing if it’s what Zayn is talking about first.

He stands up again, turning to wait for them to transfer the spy into one of the cars. They can try to get any type of information from them. He stops short when a gunfire can be heard, and he quickly turns to see that one of the soldiers had shot them down.

“What the f-” He doesn’t get to continue his sentence as the same soldier shoots himself as well, leaving Zayn, and everybody else, frozen to their places. Just how many more spies does Cowell own inside Circus?

His phone beeps inside his pockets, and he pulls it out to find a message from a blocked number.

- You didn’t win this time.

He clutches the phone tightly in his hand before he slams it into the ground, sinking next to it right away.

“Fuck!” He yells loudly, fist banging on the ground next to his phone until there are people around him stopping him from getting his fingers broken.

He stares at the broken phone until there are water drops on the ground, and the same people around him are telling him he should get back to the research tower.

❌

He finds Liam inside his office, holding some paper in his hands, and he doesn’t lift his gaze from it when Zayn walks inside, feeling more devastated than ever. Feeling defeated.

“Harry’s regenerating at a very fast pace. You did a good job by thinking fast. Niall isn’t in a very good shape, but he’s stable. And you might want to evade Louis for the next couple of days, but honestly, I wouldn’t-” Zayn picks the paper and throws it away, grabbing Liam’s collar and pushing him against the nearest wall then kisses him hard.

❌

Zayn has never been inside Liam’s room before, so it’s a first for him, and his eyes trail over the empty white wall, to the closet, to the nightstand that doesn’t hold anything special.

“It’s boring.” He comments on it, and Liam’s fingers in his hair doesn’t stop.

His back aches. Liam has fucked him against the wall inside his office hard enough he’d feel sore for days, and Liam had to swallow his loud moans with his mouth covering his. And Zayn kept kissing him with a hand on his dick that left Liam groaning with a hard on, so he took him to his room, fucked him into the mattress for a second time with Zayn’s face buried in the pillows to cover his screams.

“Hm?”

“Your room,” Zayn replies, “it’s boring,” he repeats. “It’s not like what your dorm used to be.”

Liam pauses his hand this time with a chuckle. “Well, it is not my dorm.” Zayn turns to him. “Is your room any different?” He cocks an eyebrow with a smirk, and Zayn hates him for it. But his brain is either focusing on the memories or the current fucked up situation. And if he allowed any to take control over his tongue, he’s truly fucked. So he pulls at Liam’s arms until he’s kissing him again, and he’s very aware of how sensitive his hole is right now, swelling, and definitely in pain if touched again, but he lets Liam fuck him for a third time, just as rough as the other two if not even rougher, until neither his body or brain can function properly.

He sleeps with Liam’s solid chest pressed to his back. And he’s awake in the morning when Liam purposely stays in bed holding him for three more hours and kissing the side of his neck softly with his hands drawing random figures on his abdomen. He keeps his eyes closed though, keeps his mouth shut until he can’t anymore, and he lets Liam fuck him roughly again before he leaves to check on everyone else.

Zayn stays in Liam’s bed until it’s too much for him, and he leaves for his own room after taking a shower, falling face first into the bed.

❌

“Zayn …”

Zayn feels someone shaking him awake, and he groans, pulling the covers over his body closer, but the voice doesn’t stop, and the hand shaking his shoulder doesn’t stop either, and Zayn is ready to punch them in the face. He opens his eyes, his ears catching on the sound of the heavy rain outside colliding with the window before his vision clears, and there are green eyes staring down at him. Zayn takes a moment to look at his body, fully healed now, and he’s truly amazed at Harry’s ability to heal.

“C’mon …” Harry stands up, pulling the covers off his body making Zayn frown.

“What do you want from me?” He mumbles, burying the side of his face into the pillow and closing his eyes again, the cold weather sending chills all over his body without the blankets on top of him. Harry sighs as he shakes his shoulder again.

“You have to get up.”

“Why?” Zayn opens his eyes again.

“It’s important.” Harry replies. “Meet me outside the building.” He steps back towards the window, and Zayn sits up with a frown.

“Outside? Can’t you see the weather?!” Harry opens the window and slips out, and Zayn groans again as he flops back on the bed. He can stay, really. But the thought of Harry waiting alone in the rain for him isn’t that great in his mind. So he curses as he sits up again, body literally unable to move that much, and he is sure that Harry wasn’t awake until now. He’d have certainly hated him by now. He’s not sure why he feels guilty, but he gets out of the bed, grabs a coat and an umbrella.

Harry is there when he gets down with no umbrella, but at least he’s wearing a coat. Does Louis know that he’s awake with his alter ego?

“Alright,” Zayn tries to cover them both with the umbrella, “where are we going?”

Harry steps away from under the umbrella, and Zayn sighs when he doesn’t reply to him, silently telling him to follow behind, and Zayn does. They walk into the cold weather in the rain until Zayn is sure that Harry isn’t going for a specific place, so he stops.

“Are you gonna keep walking in circles? Because I’m not exactly in the best shape for such weather!” He snaps at Harry and the latter turns to him. “Do you even see yourself?! You’re totally drenched!”

Harry steps closer, and he takes the umbrella from him, leaning it to the side, and Zayn closes his eyes once the rain hits the top of his head, wetting his hair and making it stick to his forehead. And he’s about to yell at Harry again, parting his lips and taking a breath when he feels Harry’s lips on his, gently, that makes him freeze in his place, eyes snapping open.

“You said you wanted to be kissed under the rain,” Harry tells him when he pulls away, and Zayn has to close his eyes in order not to explode.

“I was sixteen.” He manages to say through gritted teeth before reopening his eyes. “You dragged me all the way here just to do this?!” He raises his voice, watching as Harry frowns at him, and he turns to the other side, watching the empty streets and the parked cars, and Harry stays silent behind him. He exhales shakily, half from cold and half from frustration, and he knows it isn’t on Harry to take the blame, so he turns back to him, walks the step he’s taken back before his hands are cupping Harry’s face and he’s returning the kiss properly this time. He was sixteen when he wanted this, and he’s getting it at twenty eight, but he gets this feeling in his guts, and he isn’t sure anymore of whether to like it or hate it.

He walks them backwards until his back is pressed against one of the buildings, and he would admit that Harry is a good kisser, hands sliding down until they hold his waist under the coat, and he pushes him against his own body, a leg positioning between his own, and Zayn really hates to admit how much he likes it under the heavy rain with Harry’s body radiating heat everywhere he touches. They shouldn’t be outside though, definitely not doing this, and he tries to turn his head to the side to break the kiss that Harry is so desperate to deepen.

“Harry, we should-” he pauses, biting down on his lip when Harry sucks at his neck, hands getting lower and pushing him closer, and no, Zayn needs to stop this before it gets too far. “Harry, stop,” he pulls at his hair to get him off his neck, but it only gets Harry to lift his head to kiss his lips again, and a moan accidentally escapes him because god help him, Harry’s touches are right in every possible way, and he knows he allowed it in the first place, but Harry won’t stop unless he forced him to. So he pulls again at Harry’s hair to break the kiss again, looking up at hazy eyes, and his hands pause for a moment when one of Zayn’s hands try to push them away. “How about we get back to my room and we can cuddle for how long you want?”

Harry blinks at him before he’s tilting his head to kiss him again, slower, but when Zayn gently pushes him away, he goes with it. Zayn grabs the umbrella and pulls Harry close under it, and this time, he doesn’t stray away from him. Harry goes up on his own, taking god knows what route, and the guard greets Zayn with confusion written on his face when he returns all soaked up to the research tower.

He enters his room, dropping his coat along with the umbrella on the floor. “Do you want to-” he begins to ask before lifting his gaze up, and Harry is there, standing next to the closed window, all dried up, and he looks at him when he speaks up. “Okay …” he replies to himself slowly. “Lemme just dry myself up,” he points at the bathroom, and Harry nods at him.

When he’s changed and dried, Harry is still standing at the same spot, and he wants to tell him that the sheets are clean this time. “You’re gonna sleep with all these layers on?” He asks him as he pulls the blankets away slightly, sliding beneath them and sighing happily when he relaxes against the soft mattress, his body temperature still freezing. When he turns to Harry, he’s taking his clothes off, and while Zayn sticks to a long-sleeved shirt and sweats, Harry is stripping down to his boxers, and Zayn doesn’t mind his view at all, but he also worries about Harry’s condition. Harry fits himself under the covers, and Zayn sighs, opening his arms. “I promised you a cuddle.” Harry leans into him easily, arms fitting around his waist while Zayn busies his own with Harry’s hair, feeling the curls straighten before they curl again once Zayn’s fingers leave them. His body is surprisingly warm though, and it makes him frown, leaning back to check Harry’s temperature.

“It’s my normal body temperature, you needn’t worry.”

“Normal?” Zayn repeats.

Harry opens his mouth and closes it then sighs. “I can … adjust it.”

“Oh.” Zayn replies before he feels Harry snuggling closer to him, getting more comfortable.

They stay like that for a while until Harry speaks up. “Will you put me back to sleep?”

“You need to heal up properly.” Harry lifts his head to look at him.

“I’m all healed up.”

“Don’t try to convince me with that. I know you’re not.”

There’s this feeling again in his guts, the one that knows Harry got up from the bed because he heard the rain falling down and decided to reach to him first. He needs an analysis of Harry’s basic cells to know if he’s actually healed or not, and it’s surprising that Harry doesn’t reply to that, just gives in this time. It makes Zayn push Harry to lie on his back so he can climb on top of him, and he kisses him again. And again. And again. Just a little more before he has to get back to reality.

Harry’s back on his hospital bed a couple of hours later, and Zayn misses the warmth of his body already.

Fuck.

❌

Harry’s tests results are in his hands, showing great progress, while the said person is staring out of the window, for the first time, neglecting him. But Zayn knows what he’s looking at, what he’s thinking of. And maybe he’s glad that Louis is by Niall’s side instead of being here, because it would only make his mood worse if possible.

“It’s my home.” Harry mumbles after a long moment of silence, and Zayn takes a moment to note that Harry isn’t even using past tense. Such contradiction with his other personality.

“I’m sorry,” Zayn puts the test results down. “It seems I’m a bad omen.”

Harry turns to him with a frown. “It’s not your fault.”

“They wanted to reach me.”

“And we’re supposed to protect you.”

And I’m supposed to be doing my job.

Zayn sighs, making his brain work again. He should be focusing on the next step of the cure, but Liam would never allow him to operate on Harry right after he’s healed from a fatal injury. Louis would totally kill him this time if he heard about it. And Niall is still heavily injured. At time like that, they need every possible unit, and Zayn is trying to weigh his decisions.

Harry’s gaze shifts again, landing on his lap this time, eyes distant and shoulders slump, and Zayn wonders when did the general mood inside this building change so much since he came. Was it always like this? Did it happen before? Is he really the cause?

“Do you wanna get out of here?” Harry looks up at him, eyes big as they blink at him. “The weather is nice today,” he points at the window, at the clear sky, missing the rain and thinking about the kiss. “It’s been a while since I’ve walked around this city streets.”

“Yeah,” Harry replies quietly with a nod, “sure.”

❌

Zayn goes far away from the research tower with Harry. He’s not sure if he’s running away from the pressure, from the foreign streets that has changed so much, from the memories that threaten to invade his mind, or he’s running to the old memory lane, trying to feel grounded with the more familiar streets that are filled with more strangers than faces he’d ever recognize. His parents still come here often, he knows they do, telling him every now and then that he should pay a visit, that they even go to see Liam. Zayn doesn’t come back though, kept running away from it all until Liam called him for emergency. He takes a deep breath once he looks around him. He could’ve been on that vacation still, far away from this place, but he’s here, dragging his own two feet.

His eyes catch on the local theatre, and he smiles. “I used to come here every weekend with my friends when I was in high school.” He tells Harry as they come to stand in front of it. “I remember this one time, a friend of mine was going through breakup, and he was working here,” he pauses. Does he still work here? “The girl who broke up with him was on a date with some other guy one week after, and he was hurt, you know? And they didn’t even reach the sex. She was a virgin. So we replaced the movie they chose with porn and took a seat on the back to watch their reaction.” He chuckles at the memory. “Lots of people didn’t appreciate that as far as I can remember, and I think his boss did a lot of talking with the poor guy afterwards. It was kind of good though,” he shrugs, “I mean, the girl ran away after slapping the guy, but we stuck to watch,” he turns with a shake of his head to Harry who is frowning with a blush as he stares at the theatre door. “Are you a virgin?” He raises his brows.

Harry frowns deeper, but he doesn’t look at him. “Why do you assume I’m one?”

“You don’t look very comfortable.”

“Well, I’m not,” Harry replies, and his tone is leaning towards angry more than embarrassed. Zayn wonders if he pushed at the wrong button.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes quietly. Maybe Harry is busy with his own emotions that he doesn’t need more. “C’mon,” he bumps their shoulders lightly instead of guiding Harry with a hand on any part of his body. He thinks back of his high school friends, if they’ve heard about him after all his achievements, or if they’ve forgotten about him right after he moved to college and chose to not come back.

The street sign in front of him lifts his hopes up, and he turns to Harry with a smile. “There’s a pub in here I used to go to as well. A quiet place. The owner was always so kind to us students back then.” He looks at the pub sign again. “Still the same name. But it was less flashy the last time I was here.” He pushes the door open, and the loud music makes him frown. It’s not crowded, but it’s still more crowded that he remembers, with people wearing less material on their body, and he thinks he spots a dance floor. “Well …” he turns to the bar, young ladies serving customers. “It has … changed.”

One of the young ladies comes to them, flashing a smile that Zayn knows it’s more forced than genuine. “What can I get for you gentlemen?”

Zayn turns to Harry, the frown still hasn’t left his face. “Do you drink?” Harry turns to him, brows furrowed and lips parted, but he doesn’t answer, eyes shifting to the bar instead, and Zayn nods before turning to the girl. “We’ll take a mojito and a martini.” The girl grins at them and turns to make their drinks. “One glass of mojito wouldn’t hurt you. It’s really easy to down. Good for a first time.”

Harry blinks at him, keeps his frown until the girl comes back with their drinks, and Zayn thanks her. Before Zayn is able to take a sip, Harry is downing his own drink, and Zayn widens his eyes as he watches the frown deepening on Harry’s face. “It doesn’t- taste so bad.”

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea.

“Alright.” Zayn replies slowly. The girl comes back with another drink, a Moscow mule in a copper mug, sliding it in front of Harry with a wink.

“From the guy on table four.”

Harry’s brows are furrowed as he nods at her, and Zayn chuckles once she’s gone. “You have never been in a club before, have you?”

“No,” Harry replies, goes to hold the mug but Zayn grabs it instead and slides it away.

“No, no more drinks for you. I won’t have you drunk.” Zayn turns to see who ordered it for Harry though, seeing the guy narrowing his eyes at him. If he thinks he’s Harry’s date, then he’s cool with it, as long as he takes a step back.

When he turns again, Harry has grabbed for the mug again, but luckily, he doesn’t take more than a sip before Zayn is grabbing it away, making Harry turn to him with the same frown he’s been wearing for the whole day now. “I’m an adult!”

“And I’m your doctor.” Zayn replies as he places the mug down. The music changes, gets louder, and Zayn knows it’s not night yet, but the people are cheering, and with another quick glance around the place, it seems to have gotten more crowded than the moment they got here. He hops off his stool and extends a hand to Harry. “Do you know how to dance?” Harry opens his mouth and closes it as he glances around the place, and Zayn smiles, reaches to grab Harry’s arm to get him off the stool as well. “It’s alright.” Harry goes with him though, just like he agreed to coming here in the first place, and Zayn glances behind him every couple of seconds to make sure Harry isn’t given any drinks as they make their way to the dance floor. It’s very loud being near the speakers, and he turns to Harry once they’re at the dance floor.

The song is familiar. A remix he’s heard on the radio a couple of times recently. The bodies beside them are jumping to the beat, and when Harry looks up at him, he gives him a hopeful look with a smile, mouthing the words to him, or maybe actually saying them, he can’t hear himself over the loud music anyway, and it’s one of the ways he uses sometimes to get rid of stress. He places his hands on Harry’s hips tentatively, keeping eye contact to make sure Harry is okay with it, and tries to move slowly at first for Harry to loosen up a bit. It takes half of the song for Harry to get used to the beat, a smile forming on his face as Zayn raises his hands up and smiles wider at him.

“See? You’re getting it.” He shouts over the loud music, and Harry nods in return. A couple of songs later, the beat changes to a slower one, and he places his hands around Harry’s neck this time, getting closer as Harry places his own on his waist. He’s still mouthing the words, a bit distracted by how Harry’s shirt is sticking to his skin due to him sweating, so he lifts his head up, closing his eyes for a moment as he leans his head back then bringing it forwards and opens his eyes. Harry is watching him, the frown is no longer there, and there’s something in his eyes when Zayn slowly blinks at him. He knows what it is, knows what’s coming next, and he honestly doesn’t do anything to stop it when Harry’s eyes close and he tilts his head downwards for a kiss.

Zayn can feel the hesitation in the kiss, how he pulls back quickly with wide eyes but keeps his hands on Zayn’s waist. It’s different, like it’s a first, and Zayn doesn’t know what to make of that, but Harry is still waiting for an answer, so he blinks slowly at him again and pushes on his toes to kiss him back, hands tangled in the mess of curls as Harry’s arms go round his waist.

The music is still so loud in their ears, and Zayn pulls back with his hands on Harry’s arms to lead him away. He brings his lips to Harry’s ears so he’s able to hear him as he shouts, “do you wanna get out of this place?”

Harry nods, following him when Zayn pulls at his hands. Zayn offers a reassuring smile when he glances over his shoulder to ease Harry’s nerves a bit, and he’s aware of how long it would take them to get back to the research tower, not to mention that Louis would definitely kill him if he ever saw Harry in his room, possibly naked. So he stops once they’re outside the club, the brick wall making contact with his back as he pulls Harry towards him again by his shirt, allowing himself to slide his palms down his chest and abs, and Harry’s more confident this time when he kisses him. His fingers trace Harry’s belt for a moment, pulling back to look in his eyes properly and see if he still wants this.

“We can go back to the theatre,” he offers, “there’s a documentary movie they play there. Have been there forever, and still exists,” he smiles, “from previous experience, I can tell you that I’ve been plenty of times inside that room, and no one is there for the movie.” Harry furrows his brows as he glances between his eyes, and maybe it’s too soon, because Harry is leaning back slightly with no reply. “Or we can just head home.”

“No,” Harry’s reply is quick, and he’s stepping back from him completely before meeting his eyes again. “Does that documentary has a specific time to enter?”

Zayn smiles at him, pushing himself off the wall and taking Harry’s hand in his again. Harry stumbles behind him when they get the tickets, the old lady working there narrowing her eyes at them before sighing and giving them their tickets. He knows now that his friend doesn’t work here anymore.

He can clearly see Harry’s confusion when they enter the room, because really, despite the days Zayn had come here with his friends, or just with someone for the night, there used to be some other couple at the front, or at the back, behind the doors. A wild couple once were even once on the floor right across the screen. It’s different now, clean and empty, and Zayn shakes his head before dragging Harry to the spot he knows well. The chairs in this room are very comfortable if he has to say, and some can bend both ways, no one caring enough to fix them, which is everything Zayn is looking for right now as he pushes Harry down on the chair and straddling his lap.

“Do you really want this?” He still asks, because Harry doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into, and maybe Zayn should be wearing a warning sign. He remembers someone telling him before that he should walk with an instructions list.

Harry blinks at him, the blush on his face faint but present, and his voice is a bit shaky when he replies with, “I want you.”

Harry is startled when Zayn pushes him further to lie on his back, the seat bending back. It almost makes him jolt out of it if it wasn’t for Zayn’s hands on his chest stopping him.

“The-”

“I know,” Zayn cuts him off, leaning in to kiss him as he slides his hands beneath Harry’s shirt. His body temperature is normal this time, and he could tell that some parts of his body are even cool. But not for long, that he could tell too.

He starts to grind down on him slowly, just a tease, another question to make sure, and Harry moans against his lips, his hips moving to meet Zayn’s movements, and Zayn slides his hands down to his belt again to unbuckle it, lifting his hips to unzip his pants and moving his palms against Harry’s erection. He’s half hard, moaning again when Zayn squeezes him before he kisses his neck, lips ghosting over his ear when he goes to ask, “what do you want?” He stills his hand, tilting his head back so he’s facing Harry again, seeing his eyes half-lidded and lips red and parted. His other hand traces the side of Harry’s face softly, a thumb parting his lips further before he’s leaning in again, his tongue meeting Harry’s half way for a moment before he’s pulling back again. Harry isn’t talking, just laying there beneath him, and Zayn wants a reaction of some sort, wants to get more, wants to know more. “What do you like?” He asks him as he kisses his jaw. “Do you want to stop at foreplay or do you want us to go all the way?” He turns to look at Harry again. “Do you want me to fuck you?” Harry blinks at him, his chest rising and falling against him. “Or are you going to do to me all the things you said before?”

Harry blinks again, and again, eyelashes fluttering and eyes unfocused, and Zayn watches him, wants him to make up his mind. “I …” he starts, chest heaving with uneven breaths before his eyes start moving too fast, and Zayn’s expression immediately changes into something more serious as he holds Harry’s face in his hands.

“Harry?”

He’s pushed roughly into the next chair, and Zayn almost falls off it too, eyes going wide as he watches Harry stumbling his way outside the room.

He stays there for a moment in confusion before he gets up and gets out as well. Harry’s figure is nowhere in sight when he gets out, and he literally runs across the hall until he gets outside, looking left and right but to no avail. Harry is gone, and Zayn doesn’t know where he ran off to.

Could’ve just said no.

He sighs, leaning backwards against the brick wall and wishing he can have another drink right now. The club is right there across the street, and he doesn’t think twice before he’s entering it again and ordering a drink. He’s barely finishing his glass when his phone vibrates in his pockets, and he sees it’s Liam. Making his way to the bathroom, he picks it up.

“Where are you?” His voice seems hushed and angry at the same time, and Zayn rolls his eyes.

“Why?”

“Because Harry is lying on the floor unconscious outside your room!”

Zayn furrows his brows, mind trying to process how on earth did Harry make his way all the way back to the research tower this fast, and why is he outside his room?

“What?”

❌

Harry’s body stats are stable now, but it’s changed even with his patch on, and Zayn can only guess that Harry lost control when he tried to remember, memories over memories that blocked his vision until he approached the one place he knows, him. But Zayn wasn’t in his room, and Harry’s brain must have been torn between the image of him there and here at the same time, the drug in his patch fighting his access to any sense of stability.

Louis is furious by his side, he knows it, can feel the glare at the side of his face.

“What did you do to him?”

“I wasn’t even here,” he sighs.

“Yeah, I’m aware of that. You and Harry leaving this building in a cap was very clear on the security cameras.”

“So now your security cameras work?” He turns to Louis, and the latter pushes himself off the wall with a murderous glare in his eyes.

“Stop!” Liam shouts at them. “If you two are planning to fight, then I suggest you take it outside!” He points at the door. “I have a patient here than needs rest!”

“He’s my patient.” Zayn tells him, and Liam is the one glaring at him now. “My responsibility.” He continues, “so if someone needs to get out, it’s you two.”

“You want to repeat that again to my face?” Louis narrows his eyes at him.

“Guys!” Liam shouts again, and Harry groans quietly as he shifts on the bed.

Zayn moves to his side quickly, and Louis stands next to him as well. Harry opens his eyes, looking at the three of them and furrowing his brows in the process.

“Hey.” It’s Louis who speaks first. “How are you feeling?”

“A bit … dizzy.” He replies with a slow blink before he’s closing his eyes tightly. Louis sends a quick glare his way again and Zayn replies with a roll of his eyes. But he needs to know.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

Harry opens his eyes again to look at him, and his eyes are shifting as he thinks. “You said you knew this … pub.” Louis immediately turns to him again, eyes set on literally murdering him, but Zayn ignores him for now.

“And then?”

Harry blinks at him, hands going up to hold his head, and there’s a loud beeping as his body stats change. “I … I don’t remember …”

“Get out.” Liam tells him as he hurries to prepare a syringe, turning to them when neither moves. “Get out!” He shouts, and Louis drags him outside by his arm, slamming him against the wall once the door is closed behind them.

“You got him drunk?!”

“I didn’t-”

“What else did you do?!” Louis shouts at him, his fist slamming at the wall next to his head, and Zayn exhales. “Ever since you came here and his condition is worsening!” Zayn looks up at him then, sees the wide eyes, the fear and concern in them, the faint tremble in his voice. “I hate you,” he says as he takes a step back.

“I know.”

“You should go before I hit you.”

“I should.”

And not just to his room. Harry will keep blocking access to memories he can’t handle, thus blocking access to reaching the next step in creating the cure, and there’s nothing more that Zayn is able to do medically.

He should go.

❌

The car is a few steps away, with a guard opening the door for him when he hears his name being called, so he stops and turns with a deep breath, seeing Liam hurrying outside the building with a frown.

“You’re really leaving?”

“I am.”

“You’re giving up?!” Liam comes to stand in front of him and Zayn shakes his head.

“There’s nothing more I can offer. Harry’s blocking access to his own brain, and I cannot operate on him like that. What he needs is a shrink, and I’m a scientist.” He turns to leave again, but Liam moves to his side.

“Circus can still benefit from your presence around here.”

“Circus is better off without me,” he shakes his head again.

“That’s not true,” Liam turns him to face him with a hand on his elbow. “You’ve given us a name to our enemy. You’ve discovered the spies and helped us take them down.”

“Yeah? On what cost?” Zayn replies. “Look around you, Liam,” he spreads his arms, “Circus ship is destroyed, and there are two officers down.” He shakes his head one more time. “You asked me for a cure, and that I cannot give. Your answer is already on the table for you to use. Get a shrink for Harry.” He turns towards the car again.

“So you’re leaving again without even saying goodbye?”

Zayn closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before he reopens his eyes and turns his head to Liam. “Goodbye, Liam.” He slips inside the car, and the door is closed behind him. He doesn’t look back.

❌

Zayn appreciates the quiet time he has with no one disturbing him inside his own lab. His team knows better than to knock on his door unless in times of emergency, and there are too many new explorations by his team that needs to be looked into, and he takes his time with it.

There’s a green light flashing in front of him, and he sighs as he glance at it, Liam’s name appearing next to it. He presses the answer button while grabbing the next paper and leaning back in his seat. There’s a pause before Liam speaks up, and Zayn takes it he’s looking around the place.

“I see you’re back in Alaska.” Zayn hums in response. “Thought you’d be on another vacation on the Maldives this time.”

“Good morning to you too.” He replies, and hears Liam sigh in return.

“Look, I’m sorry to disturb you, but this is important. Niall has come to me this morning saying that Harry was sitting on his bed one moment, and the other, he’s removing his own patch.” Zayn pauses, looking up at the screen for the first time.

“Harry removed his own patch?” He repeats with a raise of his brows.

“And he went on a rampage next before he disappeared.”

Zayn furrows his brows. “You can relocate him. Why are you calling me instead?”

“Because Harry always comes to you.”

Zayn spreads his arms around him. “I’m an ocean away, in another continent, if you haven’t already noticed. There’s no way he’s gonna reach me here.”

“Harry’s sign was last seen on the borders.”

“He doesn’t even know where I am so he can reach me,” he shakes his head. “Maybe he’s after someone else, or something … I dunno …”

“Like?” Liam cocks an eyebrow, and Zayn sighs.

“When did he take the patch off exactly?” He asks instead, and Liam looks down at his watch.

“One hour ago.”

Zayn taps at his desk a few times as Liam stares at him. “I’ll call you if he stopped by.” And before Liam can talk again, he ends the call. He inhales deeply as he looks around him, stays there for a minute until his brain catches on the exact time Harry needs to get to him. It’s impossible though, Harry can’t know he’s here, and even if he does, a flight can take more than an hour to reach the borders. And he’s at a complete loss to how Harry is able to move to and from places in the speed of light. There’s a trick, and Zayn would never know it unless Harry tells him himself, which has a very low possibility. So he stands up and presses on the emergency button, an alarm going off immediately inside the lab, and his team is in front of him in a matter of seconds.

“Dr. Malik? Is everything alright?”

“Take the jet and fly to the south, the furthest place you can go to. I want you out of this place in the next ten minutes,” he tells them as he turns to his device, loading a familiar drug to be made, and his team stands there for a moment before they’re moving. They never question him, and that’s what he likes about having his own team. Zayn stays there until the drug is made, looking at the progress screen and hoping he’s not even a second late. When it’s done, he’s team is gone, and he pours the drug into a phial, walking outside his office and placing it inside one of the mini defense auto-shooter at the side. Clicking on the settings to choose ‘manual input’ and closes it again. He gets a notification on the main screen that is disabled from the system and he stares at it until it’s gone. If Harry remembers, then he’s screwed.

Zayn doesn’t stay for long until there’s a red spot on the screen telling him that someone is approaching, and Zayn is really trying to think of how Harry knows he’s here. He knows though that Circus can’t aid him, and if anything, they’re really useless when it comes to dealing with Harry. The camera is on, and he sees Harry, unaware of the hidden camera, but aware enough that Zayn can hear and see him as he comes to stand in front of the door. He doesn’t seem happy either, or exhausted even, which is a lot to take at one time for Zayn. Superhumans are something that he didn’t study in his course.

“Open the door, Zayn.”

Zayn doesn’t reply, and he sees Harry cocking his head to the side.

“Do you wish for me to turn this place to ashes before you decide to let me in? Because I doubt you’d be able to protect yourself when you lose your defenses.”

Zayn opens the mic. “Then I guess that’s another reason to not let you in.”

Harry stares at the intercom in front of him for a moment before the screen is shaking a bit in front of Zayn, and he sees the thick vines erupting from the ground, hitting at everything around the camera, and Zayn feels the shake inside the lab as well, the lights twitching before they settle again. Harry lifts his head up and repeats, “open the door, Zayn.” He’s aware of the camera then.

“How did you know I’m here?”

“Open the goddamn door.”

“Why are you here?” Zayn presses again, and Harry shakes his head, turning his back to the door before he’s leaning on it.

“Don’t make me get to you the hard way.”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“You shouldn’t be here.” Harry retorts, frowning, and he sighs, turning to face the intercom again and placing his hands on each side of it. He’s not wearing heavy clothes, but Zayn knows now that his body is able to adapt to different temperatures. He wonders if extreme weather is also something Harry can adapt to. “Just … I want to talk.”

“We’re talking.”

“Face to face.” Harry rolls his eyes, staring at the intercom again.

“There’s a video call option.”

Harry bangs on the intercom before he’s trying to calm himself down, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. “Zayn … When did I hurt you?” Well, he has a point, and he doesn’t remember, and he stays like that for another minute until Zayn decides to stand up and head for the main door.

He presses a button to open the main door, and Harry looks at it until it’s opened so he can step in. There are glass doors next that open after the main door is closed, and Harry stares at him before he steps inside as well, eyes taking in his appearance before he glances around him. “So you’re on a white aesthetic thing?”

“It’s calming.”

“Why did you leave?” Harry turns his gaze on him again, and Zayn crosses his arms over his chest, leaning to the side next to the glass doors.

“How did you get here?” Zayn asks instead.

“A plane.”

“A plane my ass. How did you know I’m here?”

Harry narrows his eyes at him. “You don’t get to leave and ask questions!”

“This is my lab, and you came to me. So I’m asking whatever I want.”

Harry crosses his arms over his chest as well. “Is that how you welcome me?!”

Zayn raises his brows and points at the doors. “You literally broke my shell.”

“Because you wouldn’t let me in!” Harry shouts, his hands dropping to his sides, and Zayn sighs, dropping his hands to his sides as well before he reaches for Harry’s arm to lead him to one of the rooms to which the latter doesn’t resist as he walks with him. There’s a round seat that he uses for chilling, and he pushes Harry down on it first before he sits next to him so they’re across from each other. When he lifts his gaze to meet Harry’s, he’s already looking at him, and he places a hand on Harry’s leg next to him to ease some of the tension between them, trailing his gaze over his hand there instead.

“You said you’re here to talk,” Zayn starts, “so talk,” he trails his gaze up slowly. “I’m all ears.”

“You broke your promise.” Harry replies. “You said you wouldn’t let me go … and you left.” He doesn’t look at Zayn when he says it, arms curling over his chest as he frowns, and Zayn soothes his hand down his leg.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Harry looks up at him then.

“I feel asleep on your bed.”

“Any hazy memories afterwards?”

Harry furrows his brows, taking a moment to remember, and he shakes his head. “No. I didn’t even feel anything when you injected the drug in me-”

“Where did you wake up this morning?”

“In a room,” Harry replies with a shrug.

“How did it look like?”

“Why does it matter?” Harry furrows his brows again.

“It’ll answer your question on why I left.” Harry looks at him in confusion before he’s settling against the seat again.

“It was at the same building as the one you used to be at. A bed and a closet with a bathroom and …” he glances around him, “there was this … big cat plush next to the bed.”

“How did you feel when you woke up?”

“That you’re gone,” Harry replies, and Zayn tilts his head to the side.

“That I’m gone?”

“I heard something …” Harry returns his gaze to him. “I just … knew it.”

“You heard something?” Zayn repeats slowly. “Did you see something too? A dream maybe?”

Harry furrows his brows again as he tries to concentrate. “There’s this …” he trails off, and Zayn presses closer.

“This what?”

Harry shakes his head. “It’s not … I don’t know what it is, I just saw a corridor, and then it was your room. I was looking for you and you weren’t there, and then the voice …”

“What voice?”

Harry sighs, sinking into the seat. “I don’t know.”

“Harry,” Zayn leans back, “I can’t help you if you won’t tell me.”

“I don’t know it!” Harry looks at him again, “It’s something I can’t explain! Like … like it’s in my head.”

You.

Zayn nods, “alright.” He waits until Harry is calm again. “How did you reach this corridor?”

“I don’t know,” Harry mumbles as he looks away.

“Why were you looking for me?”

“Because I didn’t feel well.” Harry frowns after he says it, and Zayn waits. He looks at his bracelet and thinks to what Louis told him. He extends his hand to touch it, and Harry follows the movement with his eyes.

“You thought about taking it off before.” He looks up at Harry. “That you’re not a part of Circus,” he waves with his hand around. “Well, this is not Circus. And we’re very far from that.” Harry watches as Zayn’s hand hold the bracelet. “Do you want to be distant? Not found? Free? Do you want to feel well?” Harry parts his lips before he’s nodding slowly, and Zayn retreats his hand. “Then, take it off.” Harry frowns for a moment, hand on his bracelet for another as he takes a deep breath. Zayn knows that this Harry isn’t attached to it, and he needs progress of some sort, and neither Liam or Louis are around to tell him what to do anymore, and he takes liberty of his decisions right now. Harry opens it, and Zayn watches as he slides it away so it falls next to them on the chair.

And now we wait.

“You said you didn’t feel well,” Zayn picks up from where they left, and Harry looks up at him, air filling his chest in relief.

“Yes.”

“And why didn’t you feel well? What happened to you?” Harry’s eyes shift quickly, a twitch after another, and Zayn leans forwards, hands on Harry’s knees. “Harry, do you-”

“Music.” Harry suddenly says, his eyes stopping, and Zayn stops in his place as well. “There was this loud music and …” he blinks slowly, “you were there.” Zayn leans back in his seat, wishing he was able to observe Harry’s cells at this moment. “I kissed you.” He tilts his head to the side, eyes still not on Zayn. “You took me to that theatre,” he brings a hand to rub at his temples and closes his eyes. “You were … we were gonna have sex.” He continues, “and then I was running in that corridor before the voice …” he looks up at him then. “It was you … You said that you’re leaving because your job is done.” His eyes widen a little, “and you left.” He furrows his brows next, and Zayn watches his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths as he narrows his eyes at him. “You were using me,” he says it calmly. “I was just a job to you. An unfinished job that you messed then ran away!” He raises his voice and Zayn takes a deep breath.

“Harry, calm down.”

“You were never going to help me!” Zayn stands up when the ground begins to shake, and there are plants growing inside the lab.

“Harry, that’s not true.” He tries again as he watches Harry get to his feet as well, doing it slowly with a glare in his eyes as the walls crack, more plants emerging from it, following Harry when he moves, and Zayn starts walking backwards.

“Since day one, I was this lost cause to you. A lab rat!”

“Harry-”

“You wanted to keep inserting these things in me! Attaching your devices so you can obtain your damned cure! You didn’t even care if I was gonna die in the process!”

Oh well, he remembers.

Zayn takes another step back so he’s outside the room and presses on a button to shut the door. There are many hits at it afterwards, and Zayn knows it won’t last as he runs towards his office, pressing the alarm so the doors close behind him, and he’s almost there when he stumbles on a vine, falling to the ground as the doors fly right above his head.

He stands up, walking backwards again when Harry approaches him, mores vines growing to pin him to the wall.

“No more drugs to save you this time, huh?”

Zayn sighs. “I did not treat you as a lab rat.”

Harry comes to stand in front of him. “No. But that all I was to you. It isn’t in your favor now when you used two faces to face me.”

“You had two faces.”

“And I was honest with you in both!” Harry yells at him. “While you went around trying this and that to get me down!”

“Harry-”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t! How stupid do you think I am?! You can’t say you’re not in fault when you literally walked away the minute you knew you couldn’t craft your fucking cure! You didn’t care about anything else! You didn’t care about anyone else! You can’t say you care!”

“Well, what do you want me to say?!” Zayn shouts back. “That I felt hopeless when you didn’t remember me? Heartbroken even?” He lowers his voice again, “That I was trying with two different people to reach something-”

“Stop,” Harry shakes his head.

“That I love you?”

Harry looks up at him, hurt in his eyes. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.” His voice breaks as he shakes his head again.

You want to hear it.

“Don’t I?” Harry looks up at that. “I knew I couldn’t have the cure long ago. Having you however, was a lost cause.” He sighs. “I couldn’t make progress to lose it the next time because you kept running away.”

“I did not run away!” Harry frowns.

“How do you know?” Zayn asks him. “Maybe you would.”

Harry steps closer to him. “Would you say it again?”

“That I love you?”

Harry inhales shakily as he traces his face with his hands, and Zayn feels the vines loosening up around him, so he falls right into Harry’s arms when he kisses him, seeing how his eyelashes flutter and the slope of his nose when he tilts his head to kiss him again. But Zayn’s eyes are wide opened with his hands resting on Harry’s chest until Harry moves his body with the next kiss for the red dot to fall from his eyes, landing on the back of Harry’s head, and Zayn slides his hands down Harry’s chest before one slides back up underneath his shirt, and the other presses the button on his device inside his pockets. Harry’s wincing in the next second, eyes screwed shut and hands gripping his sides tightly before he’s falling to the ground. And this time, Zayn sighs as he watches him fall. He knows his body is adapting to the new changes right now, and Harry needs to be put down to a long rest for his brain to process his entire life, not just his feelings that are attached to him, and the modified drug would do that for him.

“You’re a liar,” Harry says weakly as he looks up at him, hurt present in his eyes again.

“I’m a heartbreaker.”

❌

Harry’s been asleep during the entire flight, and even as he rests on the bed in front of him, Zayn would give him more hours for him to wake up properly without the drug effect.

“So he did come to you,” Liam speaks up from beside him. “How?”

“I don’t know.”

“What happened to his bracelet?” Liam furrows his brows as he looks at Harry’s wrist.

I told him to take it off.

“I don’t know.” Zayn repeats.

“And is this … normal?” Zayn turns to him. “How would he be when he wakes up?”

Zayn blinks at him. “I don’t know.”

Liam turns to face him, brows still furrowed at him, but Zayn keeps his face blank. “So … you brought your team here …”

I couldn’t move Harry on my own, and my lab needs heavy repairs.

Zayn nods. “And I’m leaving with it.”

“Again?”

“I told you-”

“But he’s gained his memories now.”

Zayn takes a deep breath. “You do not understand what I’ve said before. Harry is able to block access to his own brain. He modifies his cells however he wants, whenever he wants. I cannot operate on him.”

“What if he agrees to allow us to see such change?”

“He won’t.” Zayn turns to leave.

“What makes you so sure? Harry’s allowed us before.”

Zayn takes another deep breath as he opens the door to leave. “He won’t.”

There’s one more thing he needs to do though, and he walks until he reaches the door he wants before he opens it. The room is empty, aside from the huge cat plush placed next to the bed, and Zayn pulls the pendant out of his pockets and leaves it on the bed. Harry has no more reasons to follow him anymore, and Circus doesn’t need him for a cure anymore, and he can finally go away with no strings attached.

Walking away, he passes by his room as well, and he doesn’t know why, but he opens the door, finds everything still in place even if his things are gone, and he shakes his head with a huff of breath.

“You weren’t the type to give up.” He hears Liam behind him and turns to him with a hand still on the handle.

“I didn’t give up.”

“You’re not staying to finish what you started.” Liam walks past him inside the room, and Zayn blinks at the empty space he used to be at.

“There’s nothing to finish,” he turns to Liam. “You cannot obtain a cure from Harry.”

“And there’re no alternatives in your brilliant mind?” Liam sits on the bed. “You haven’t finished your job.”

“Until you find something to work on, I really can’t help you.”

Liam sighs and turns to him. “So you’re still leaving?”

“I am.”

“Without proper goodbye?”

Zayn opens his mouth and closes it, shaking his head instead. “I should go.”

“Your team is mesmerized by everything around them here. You really want to shut them down and book them a room in some hotel until your flight?” Liam cocks an eyebrow. “You can at least stay until Harry wakes up, see if he’s up for it.”

“He won’t,” he repeats for the third time.

Liam sighs and stands up, making his way towards him. “You really need to put your stubborn head to rest,” he places a hand over Zayn’s on the handle. “There’s a possibility he’s gonna agree.”

“How many times do I need to tell you that he won’t?”

“Zayn-”

“I’m not discussing a theory, Liam. It’s a fact.”

“Why then?” Liam demands. “What did you say to him?”

“It’s not what I say to him. It’s what he experienced before, and why he wouldn’t want to experience again.”

“And how do you know what Harry has experienced before?” Liam narrows his eyes at him.

“It’s not that hard to tell when his alter ego hated you and Circus and Cowell altogether.”

“You’re too smart not to join this field.” Zayn rolls his eyes. “C’mon, Zayn. I know your team would love to stay here.”

“My team will follow me wherever I go. You can try however you want, but they’ll never agree to stay if I didn’t.” He slides his hand away from Liam, but he’s grabbed from his waist, back hitting the doorframe behind him as Liam leans closer, and Zayn turns his head away. He’s not staying. Liam won’t make him do.

“Then stay this night,” he whispers, nose brushing against his cheekbone. “Take your flight in the morning, but stay this night.” Liam uses a hand at his chin to turn his head to face him, and Zayn doesn’t want to, but Liam leans in anyway, lips moving with his own slowly. “I’ll be gentle.”

No, you won’t.

Liam pulls him away from the door, and Zayn convinces himself that it’s just tonight then he’s going away. He sits on the bed and pulls Zayn on his lap with the kiss still unrushed, and Zayn likes it, likes how he slides him down on his lap in slow motion, hands groping his ass firmly but gently before they slide to his chest and he unbuttons his shirt, letting it fall on the floor as Zayn works on his as well, and he’s placed on the bed in the next motion, Liam’s lips on his neck in a rush that Zayn knows he’s not gonna hold himself back when they get to it as he undoes his belt and unzips his pants. And Zayn is naked in no time while Liam barely has his shirt open, and he needs to change that, so he sits up, hands on Liam’s shoulders to slip his shirt off when they hear a loud beeping sound, and he closes his eyes as his hands pause, hearing the loud groan that Liam releases before he’s no longer touching him.

Liam fixes his pants and buttons his shirt again while Zayn stares at him in annoyance. He does not get to spark his interest and strip naked just to leave him like that. Liam turns to him, kisses him quickly on the lips before he stands up again.

“Promise me you’re not leaving tonight.”

“Don’t you at least need to know why the alarm is going off all of the sudden?”

Liam furrows his brows. “For the alarm to go off inside the whole building means something major is happening.” He turns to the door and slides his ID at the lock, which Zayn frowns at. He never does that. “The security system makes all the doors close automatically along with the windows,” Liam explains as the door opens and Zayn turns to look at the already closed window. “Your VIP card will work too if you needed it. Wear your clothes and come meet me and Louis. I need to make sure that Niall and Harry are safe.”

Zayn raises his hands in the air once the door closed. What about his safety? His team? Did he take that into consideration?

With a groan, he lays back on the bed. Did Cowell know that he came back with Harry? Does he know what he did? Do they plan to take Harry away while he’s unconscious? He stares at the ceiling for a moment before looking down at his half-hard dick, and he’s just thinking about getting up and putting his clothes back on when the alarm goes silent. He pauses for a second, taking a deep breath as he closes his eyes.

“You’re disgusting.”

“And you’re still keeping this weird hobby of yours,” Zayn replies, opening his eyes and turning to the side to see Harry glaring at him. “I’m flattered though. Turning on the entire alarm system just to see me naked.” Harry’s eyes narrow at him. “Now, since there’s not really a critical situation, are you gonna stay there and watch me finish what’s in my hands, or are you gonna join me?”

Harry keeps his glare, walking towards him as he starts taking his shirt off. “I really hate you,” he spits at him as he lands on the bed, taking his shoes off, and Zayn smiles as he sits up, a hand over Harry’s on the bed to stop him.

“My rules.” Harry still glares at him but he doesn’t move, so Zayn takes it as a yes as he pushes himself on his knees. “Sit back,” he nods at the headboard, and Harry follows, resting his back against the headboard. Zayn reaches for his pants on the floor, his back facing Harry for a moment, or his ass, really, and he takes his wallet out, knowing that he keeps an extra condom and a small bottle of lube there all the time. It’s been there since his vacation, and it hasn’t been that long since then, so he turns back to Harry, straddling him while he still has his jeans on, and places the condom on the nightstand next to him before he’s handing the bottle to Harry. “One finger at a time, and don’t go too fast,” he warns, and Harry doesn’t reply as he takes the bottle from him, eyes darting away to his fingers when he coats them, a hand resting on Zayn’s hip as he feels the other at his ass, a finger at his rim, and he leans forwards, tilting Harry’s chin up, smiling when Harry’s eyes snap at him and his hand pauses as he presses his lips to his.

Harry’s finger starts pushing in, slowly, and Zayn hums against Harry’s lips, tongue teasing Harry before the latter decides to catch it and deepen the kiss. There’s another finger pushing in, and Zayn slides his hands down Harry’s abdomen until he reaches his jeans, and he presses his palm to his erection, feeling the slight shake in Harry’s exhale. Harry’s hand slides from his hip to his ass, squeezing before he feels a third finger to stretch him out, and then another that gets Zayn pulling away with a frown.

“I said one at a time,” he reaches back to push at Harry’s hand, earning a roll of Harry’s eyes before he’s sliding one finger out, the remaining one from the other hand is still inside, and he knows that Harry’s avoiding his prostate on purpose as he looks down, seeing the tent in Harry’s pants, and he decides to relieve him at last as Harry’s fingers spread wider inside of him. He unzips his pants, hearing the restrained whine Harry almost releases, and he pushes his boxers down enough to get his dick out, pausing for a moment as he sees the wet head, the thick veins, and the impressive size that Zayn hadn’t had in a long while. Well, he might need the extra stretch after all. He pushes at Harry’s hands again to slide off from him completely, helping Harry to get rid of the rest of his clothes before he’s grabbing the condom, thinking whether or not it’ll fit.

“You take Liam raw,” Harry protests as Zayn opens the condom.

“Well, you’re not exactly a normal human,” Zayn replies as he slips the condom on Harry, and perhaps it’s too tight on him, doesn’t reach all the way to the base, but he doesn’t have any other choice.

“I’m clean! You tested me yourself!”

Zayn looks up at him as he places his knees at each of Harry’s sides. “I have certainly not tested your sperm.”

Harry still looks at him in disbelief, but Zayn trails his gaze to his dick again, holding it with one hand as he positions himself, and he bites down on his lip as the head pushes inside, already feeling the burn of the stretch as he sinks lower, his insides stretching out more as he takes more of Harry, and he stops when he can’t take the rest. Harry’s brows are still furrowed as he looks at him, hands on the bed as he waits, and Zayn takes a deep breath before he’s moving up.

“Don’t snap your hips up unless I tell you so,” he tells him as he sinks down again, unable to take any more inch more, and he can totally work with that, but Harry’s still staring at him and he rolls his eyes. “I’m not used to your size. It’s not going in.” Harry blinks at him before his hands are places at his waist, and he’s pushing himself off the headboard, and it takes Zayn a second too late to get what Harry is doing as he flips them off. “Wait! You can’t-” His hands are pushed to the side with one of Harry’s hands, holding tight. And his other hand spread his legs, turning Zayn to his side as he pushes in again, barely have pulled out when he flipped them, and Zayn feels him pushing deeper than he can take, earning a broken groan from himself. “Harry, stop!”

“You’re not gonna break,” Harry rolls his eyes, and Zayn turns his head to look at him in disbelief. Well, he’s not, but he might get hurt.

“Don’t-” Zayn goes to say it again, but the new angle makes Harry’s dick brush at his prostate as he pulls nearly all the way out before he’s snapping his hips forwards, and any other words Zayn was going to say are no longer there, and he can’t really say it’s not good. The pleasure is covering up the pain slightly, but it’s still too much too soon, and he blames himself before anyone else, because of course Harry wouldn’t be gentle with him no matter how many times he’d ask.

The grip Harry has on his hands loosen up, and he places it next to his head on the bed instead as he lifts his leg higher on his shoulder, leaning in closer, and Zayn’s breath is knocked out from him when he presses that deep, lips fallen apart and head thrown back, deciding to enjoy the slow roll of Harry’s hips when he’s deep inside of him because it does feel pretty awesome, and he’s not felt someone that deep in a long while. It’s nice. Torturing nice.

He moans every time Harry does it, a constant pressure against his prostate, and his hands slide down from the sheets to his own body, aching to touch with his eyes closed, but Harry’s pulling out again and his hands are pinned next to his head with a strong grip, again, and Zayn almost glares at Harry, because he knows how much he hates it yet he’s doing it anyway, and Zayn knows why, he really, really does, but his next moan is louder when Harry adjusts his angle, almost a cry when he starts a ruthless pace, and Zayn doesn’t know anymore if he would actually break or not, but it’s something he’s come to adjust to lately. Whenever he’s with someone for the night, it’s always a competition of some sort. Who gets him louder and who gets him twice. The hard push and pull that Zayn never says no to, like they’re paying him back for blocking them or something, like there’s a golden medal waiting for them if they got him to blackout or brought tears to his eyes. Zayn doesn’t know to what extent they might go if he did not own the VIP membership.

His insides feel like burning, and he literally loses his breath as he shudders before he comes, and he feels Harry pulling away, his hand leaving his own and his leg dropping to the bed as Zayn tries to find his breathing again. He doesn’t process that much before Harry’s hands are on his hips again, and he barely opens his eyes before he’s flipped on his front, legs pushes apart and beneath him, and he feels the wet tip of Harry’s dick at his hole before he pushes inside again, the angle making it a direct pressure at his prostate again, and he whines when Harry places his hands at each side of his face, breath at his neck, and he rolls his hips once before he’s continuing his previous pace, groaning louder and pushing Zayn more into the mattress. It makes his sensitive dick drag across the hard sheets painfully, and he cries. He swears it turns Harry on, because his dick won’t stop twitching as it grows even more, and Zayn’s breath is knocked out of him again as he spills into the sheets, feeling Harry stop as he buries himself too deep inside of him and shoots a very generous amount of cum. Zayn’s brain doesn’t process anymore if it was because he’s not totally human or because he’s secretly a porn star. He almost blacks out.

He feels Harry out of breath though as he blinks slowly at the wall, body too tired to move a muscle. Harry slides out of him slowly before he’s moving him carefully to lay on his side, and he flops right next to him so Zayn can see the red tainting his face and neck and reaching down his chest as he feels Harry’s cum leaking out of him.

“Who’s the virgin now?” Harry raises his brows at him, but he’s still out of breath, and Zayn barely manages another slow blink at him before his eyes are closing.

Why didn’t Liam come back?

❌

When Zayn wakes up the next morning, it’s to a warm body hugging his own from behind, and a rose right in front of his eyes, growing until it’s fully bloomed, and it makes him smile actually.

“Morning.”

Harry’s arms squeeze him for a second as he mumbles against his hair, “I’m sorry.”

Zayn reaches for the rose. “What for?”

“You don’t like it rough.”

Zayn hums. “I’m used to it.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be,” Harry replies, and Zayn is sure that if he’s able to see his face right now, he’d be definitely frowning. Zayn exhales, not knowing why Harry should be apologizing to him, or if he got some needed sleep for his own.

“So … you remember now. How does it feel?”

Harry is silent for a long moment that Zayn decides to turn to him, seeing how his brows are drawn together. “Like watching two movies at the same time that you get the feeling you want to laugh from one scene but scream at the other.”

“Do you hate it?” Harry looks up at him. “That it’s coming back to you in a rush?”

“I wouldn’t have wanted to wait.”

“Then you’ll get used to it,” Zayn replies, putting the rose down in the space between them.

Harry’s eyes trail to the rose for a second before they return to him, and he pulls him towards himself, head lifting up from the pillows so he can kiss him. “Let me make it up to you,” Harry murmurs against his lips, and Zayn cocks an eyebrow, but it’s soon gone, because Harry is shifting them so he’s on top, kissing him like that time in the rain, sweet and gentle, hands trailing on his skin with a touch that makes his back arch off the bed slightly. He can’t though. He has a flight to catch, and he’s well aware of the time he needs to get dressed properly without a rush. He needs Harry’s hands off him as soon as possible, so he tilts his head backwards, closing his eyes for a moment when Harry’s lips trail over his neck, opening up on his sweet spot and letting his tongue dart out before he’s going down his chest, and Zayn doesn’t realize he’s been holding his breath for it, so he snaps his eyes open and pushes at Harry’s shoulders to get him off.

“I can’t.” Harry sits up with confusion as Zayn glances at the clock.

“You were enjoying it.”

Yeah, well, you have a magical touch that feels like heaven. Happy?

“I have a flight to catch,” Zayn replies with instead as he sits up and swings his legs off the bed.

“You’re leaving again?!”

“I’ve only come here to return you,” he replies as he finds his boxers and slips them on. He’s aware that he probably should’ve taken a shower, but Harry apparently cleaned them both last night. Even went to position them properly on the pillows and pull the covers over them. He doesn’t smell though, and he takes that as an excuse to not shower.

“Then I’m leaving with you.” Zayn frowns as he hears Harry shuffling for his clothes as well and he turns to him.

“No, you’re not. Circus is your home.”

“You don’t get to decide for me,” Harry mumbles, and Zayn blinks at him as he pulls on his shirt. “I didn’t choose this place.”

“You belong to this place,” Zayn argues, and Harry turns to him with a frown, properly dressed up now. “You do not hate your team, you do not hate this place. Your friends are here, your life is here. Every time they’d put up a fight against you, it was for your own sake.”

“You don’t know that!” Harry shouts at him. “I don’t know that …”

Zayn sighs and shakes his head. “Your life doesn’t fit with mine,” he bends down to grab his pants, “Circus needs you. You’re not human. I do not belong to this place while you do. End of discussion.”

“You know, you say you’re a heartbreaker-”

It’s what they call me.

“While the truth is, you’re heartbroken.” Zayn grabs his shirt next and starts to button it down, if it has a few wrinkles in it, then he pretends it doesn’t. “You’re gonna keep running away until you’re alone and miserable.” Zayn lifts his head at that, gives Harry a blank expression at his words.

“I’m not running away from anything,” he replies as he grabs his jacket, “and I’m not alone or miserable.”

“I’m not blind,” Harry crosses his arms over his chest as Zayn comes to stand in front of the mirror, trying to fix his hair to be presentable. “Connecting the dots in my memory now doesn’t seem that hard,” he pauses, and Zayn blinks at his reflection. “You still love him.”

“Are you asking me or telling yourself?” He turns to Harry.

“How very brave of someone who is usually fearless,” Harry replies, “you’re afraid of rejection.”

“From who? You?” Zayn raises his brows.

“You know what I mean,” Harry gives him an impatient look, and it makes Zayn huff a laugh actually with a shake of his head.

“You don’t know how many times Liam had begged me to stay,” he replies as he walks past Harry to grab his wallet on the nightstand. Harry has placed the small bottle of lube next to it, but Zayn doesn’t take it. “And will continue to beg me to stay.”

“But it’s not about that, is it?” Harry asks him calmly, and Zayn doesn’t like his tone, doesn’t want to turn to see the look on his face when he continues. “Because no matter how many times Liam would beg you to stay, you’d never do the same.”

Zayn takes a deep breath as memories flash in front of his eyes. Harry isn’t stupid, and he knows that much, but he also knows that he doesn’t need to explain himself to Harry or to anyone else, even if there’s a door that Harry managed to open somehow, seeing straight through him. He’s not coming back though, and he’s not meeting Harry again, so he turns to face him.

“I’m a realistic person. I wouldn’t hold on to a false hope. Liam wanted this,” he motions around him. “I didn’t. And still don’t. It’s not about Love, Harry, neither it’s about what both of us wanted,” he shakes his head. “It just doesn’t work,” he turns to the door. “You’re young. You’ll learn soon enough.”

“So just because you can’t handle your own shit, you’ve decided to throw it at everyone asking for an entrance?!”

Zayn pauses before he reaches the door and turns to Harry again. He’s not gonna be lectured by someone who’s six years younger than himself about life experiences. “Don’t blame me when you knew exactly what you’ve signed up for. How many times would your friends advise you to take a step back because I wasn’t the one you expected me to be? When you knew very well that I wasn’t staying. And all those times you’ve watched me and Liam and knew there was something between us?” He raises his brows when Harry doesn’t reply. “I handle my shit well enough.” He turns for the door again and opens it.

“You still need me for the cure!” Harry calls after him when he’s out of the room. “It’s your job, isn’t it?” Zayn stops. “I’ll tell you everything about me. I’ll let you operate on me.” Zayn closes his eyes for a second as he takes a deep breath before he’s reopening his eyes and turning to Harry, taking the few steps between them and slapping him across the face.

“Have you learned nothing?! Don’t you ever offer everything you have until you’re left with nothing! Don’t give away the one thing that you are able to keep! Don’t allow yourself to be vulnerable! Not to me, not to anyone!”

“Is that what you’re doing then?” Harry turns to face him again, voice broken and eyes hurt. “Building walls around you so you can’t be vulnerable?”

Zayn huffs a short laugh. “My walls have been infiltrated long ago, Harry. I allowed myself to be vulnerable and ended up with nothing. Don’t repeat my mistakes.” He steps backwards.

“Does it hurt you any less?”

Zayn pulls out his device and opens it, taking one syringe from it before he’s sliding it back into his pocket and handing it to Harry. “Take the drug or don’t. It’s your choice this time.” He leaves before Harry can reply to him again, hearing the shaky intake of breath behind him and forcing his legs to walk faster.

His team is already in the car, and Liam is there too, with his brows furrowed as he looks at him.

“You’re still leaving?”

“I stayed the night. Where were you?” Zayn walks past him.

“Well, it appears that you still got company.” Zayn pauses and turns to him. “Harry shut down our entire security system just to get to you,” Liam tells him. “I tried reaching you, but his plants were blocking any access.” Zayn nods slowly. “He’s unwilling to cooperate?”

He is.

“No.” Zayn replies as he turns for the car again.

“He’s young, Zayn.”

Zayn sighs, hands already on the door as he turns to Liam again. “And?”

“I can handle you leaving,” he shakes his head. “But he won’t.”

“Then get him a shrink.” Zayn slides inside the car, and he’s about to close the door behind him when Liam speaks up again.

“It still hurts to know that you’ll be no longer here.”

Zayn blinks at him. “That makes two of us then.” He closes the door, telling the driver to go, because he can’t handle any more feelings. He’s had his share for the day. When he looks next to him, there’s a rose there, and Zayn knows why it’s there. They reach the airport, and Zayn doesn’t touch it.

❌

Zayn’s eyes are closed, but he’s not sleeping. He’s back inside his own room, comfortable in his own bed, but he’s not sleeping. With a heavy sigh, he opens his eyes, staring at the ceiling in the dark, and his brain won’t shut down. He’s thinking about taking a sleeping pill when he sits up, but what really comes to his mind is what he had left behind. He knows Circus can’t do it on their own, and they would never get a cure out of Harry, and he’s the only one around with the first step ahead but no thread to follow for the next.

He leaves his bedroom and heads to the lab, staring at the drug he made that Cowell wants so badly. Someone that Circus can’t move to find or accuse. Zayn blinks tiredly at the phial in his hands, knowing its capacity and how it can’t reach further, and he furrows his brows at it.

Maybe the cure isn’t what he should be crafting.

❌

Zayn is just finishing filling the final syringe when a knock on the door can be heard.

“Have you found anything?”

“Yes, doctor, but …” There’s a pause, and Zayn looks up. “The signal we have caught is at the South Pole.”

“Then we’re going to the South Pole.”

“It’s winter,” she frowns, “the super-frigid temperatures during the winter will freeze aircraft fuel and hydraulic fluid, making any extraction impossible.”

“We’ll only be there for a couple of hours,” he replies as he closes the box containing the syringes. “Gather the team.”

❌

Zayn watches as they land on the ice surface, knowing that they got exactly two hours before the drug wears off the fuel and their bodies alike. Each of his team members has been injected with the drug to avoid the effects of being here along with himself. They have adjusted tools and he’s already got a permit to conduct a research wherever he pleases. It’s definitely one of the best advantages he gets as a VIP member. He’s not very familiar with guns, and he knows how useless they would be, but each has a gun filled with mini shots just in case they encounter something, and Zayn knows he’ll encounter something. He just hopes they do and are able to go within the time given or they’ll end up freezing to their deaths.

The suit is covering their bodies, and they’ve got oxygen masks with communication devices attached. Zayn pinpoints the location exactly once more before they start digging, melting the ice surface and getting to the land beneath it. If his team calculations are correct, there should be a lake beneath this point, and there’s a watch in their wrists to tell them of the exact time remaining.

They keep digging until they find water, and Zayn takes a deep breath as the first two members of his team dive inside, him following right after, keeping the two remaining on surface to pull them out and keep the lake from closing on ice once more.

The flashlights make them able to see since there’s no sunrays passing through, and Zayn smirks as they encounter a gate. He knows they’re able to tell he’s here, and he knows he’s able to get through as his teammates start on penetrating the side of the gate. The watch on his wrist tell him that forty minutes have passed since they’ve landed, and once they’re able to gain an opening, they step right through it, and Zayn’s eyes widen a bit as he sees what looks like a giant egg. He needs to get it out, and he doubts it’s light, so they attach their ropes to it, helping raising it up as his other teammates lift the rope.

Once they’re out with the egg that Zayn doubts it’s the only one there, but it’s a theory in process, and he knows that Cowell’s main residence is here somehow, and while he can get the virus from any dealer around the city if he digs hard enough, this type of virus isn’t available, and Zayn realizes his mistake in not taking a look before. The shell is hard to penetrate, and once they get it opened, he can clearly see it’s not finished yet, and he can do his own calculations to know how much it exactly takes, but for now, he takes a sample, careful enough that the black liquid he extracted isn’t touching anything else outside the phial. He doesn’t have time nor a weapon to exterminate what’s inside the shell, and with a glance at his watch, he realizes they’ve already consumed an hour, so he backs away, dumping the shell back inside the water and leaving the hole they dug for the weather to cover on its own. The jet isn’t far at all from them, and they need to get out as fast as they can because Zayn has a feeling that something is off. He knows Cowell is watching him from somewhere, and he needs to know why he’s not going after him so far.

His question is answered when he hears a screeching sound from behind them, and he tells his team to hurry inside the jet.

“Leaving so soon, Dr. Malik?” Zayn looks up just in time to see a big ball of snow falling on the jet, covering it completely, and he shouldn’t be turning around, but when the black liquid starts showing on top of the snow, and his team isn’t approaching the jet, he feels like he needs to turn, so he does, turning around to see the body of Cowell even if it’s too soon for the cells to take shape, standing there with no suit on, just a thin layer of clothes.

“Get the snow out of the way and use the drugs I’ve provided you with,” he tells his team as he faces Cowell, seeing the smile forming on his lips.

“You’re always so sure of your winning.”

“That’s because I am winning,” Zayn shrugs.

“Working solo now?”

“I’ve got my team,” he points behind him, hearing the screeching sound again when one of his team injects the black liquid with the drug shot.

“I’m surprised though. You found me so easily.”

“Yeah, it’s not that hard to find unusual activities and connecting them to what you already found,” Zayn nods, “it’s a new technique I’m following.”

“Then I can’t let you go now, can I?”

“You will actually,” Zayn replies.

“It’s not affecting the engine. We can go,” One of his team tells him, and Zayn waves a hand.

“You’re in no condition to fight back, I know that much.”

“You can’t run for long, Dr. Malik. I know how to find you too.”

Zayn walks backwards until the door to the jet opens and he gets inside.

“You and I both know that you can’t kill me. It’ll risk your reputation if not even exposed.”

Cowell lifts his chin up and his smirk is brighter than the color of the snow beneath his feet. It sinks a heavy feeling in his stomach. “I guess it’s only a matter of time now that either of us is exposed.” Zayn furrows his brows at him, narrowing his eyes when his body starts melting into the snow. The door is closed and he removes his mask, raising the heat inside the jet and ordering his team to search for anything unfamiliar that might have gotten inside the jet through any opening.

Once they’re high in the air, the temperature is getting warmer, and they find nothing, he stares at his sample, thinking back to Cowell’s words. He knows it’s not a fake sample, and Cowell doesn’t exactly know what his drug contains, but something is off. Cowell knows something that he doesn’t, and he needs to know.

Which of them would be exposed first? What does that even mean?

❌

Zayn doesn’t get a call from Circus, and he doesn’t hear from Cowell either, so he decides to focus on his research instead. There are three rats in front of him, and he has asked his team to bring him the original virus spreading, injecting it to the first one, waiting for changes to happen, before he injects the drug he made. The rat dies soon after, and he scratches the first option off.

He injects his drug into the second before injecting the virus, and waiting for changes that doesn’t come. He tries again with the virus a day after, and no changes happen to the rat. A smile appears on his face as he ticks the second option, writing ‘antiserum’ next to it.

There’s still a third option on the list, and he takes a deep breath before trying it. Pouring the black liquid next to the rat and waiting until it takes over before he injects his drug into the rat. The rat stills, not showing any changes but not dying or healing either, and Zayn decides to leave it for a day or two, returning to his room to get some needed sleep, thinking that he can call Liam in the morning to inform him he’s got something new.

Just as he’s settled in his bed, eyes nearly closed, there’s a loud crash coming from his lab, and his eyes are snapped open once more, feet already on the floor as he runs towards the lab, and his team are awake too, entering the lab with confusion as Zayn stares at the shattered glass on the floor, seeing that the rat is gone, and it makes hi frown as he looks around. There are no windows inside the lab, and then- He quickly turns to his team.

“When you got here, was the door opened?”

One of them nods, and Zayn goes to check the door. It can be opened from both ways, there’s no lock, but it’s also not broken, and it makes Zayn’s head spin because it seems impossible, but nothing is impossible really. He’s seen Cowell -or one of his clones- standing with a thin layer on Earth’s coldest areas, and he needs to draw a red circle around the third option.

“Dr. Malik?” Zayn blows an exhale and shakes his head.

“We need to find that rat as quick as possible.”

“Is it harmful?”

“Very,” Zayn replies as he heads back to his room, throwing on a jacket and quickly tying his boots.

“What level of danger are we talking about?”

Zayn walks back to the lab, taking an antidote with him that he hopes it works. The rat has gotten out with a shape that isn’t its original, but that’s not what concerns Zayn. The rat has gotten out through the door. It opened the door and escaped without a sound. It’s very fast as well, and Zayn looks up at his team, realizing now what Cowell meant by his words. “That rat has gained intelligence on top of other abilities that I do not need to find out about.”

“And the antidote?”

Zayn takes a deep breath as he pauses. “Let’s pray it kills it before it reaches anyone.”

He wishes he’s back at his lab in Alaska, but Harry made it impossible to go back there until repairs are done with it. Here, civilians are way too close. He and two others get inside their cars, staying in contact in case one of them can find it before the other, while two stick to search nearby the lab and into the woods. Zayn thinks he gets a glimpse of something moving on the road, and he speeds up, trying to catch it, hating how it became so fast. He can’t let anyone have this drug, he’s decided, no matter what.

The rat glances back at him and takes a detour, its shape shifting slightly as it approaches the near houses, and Zayn curses as he presses on the brakes, getting out of the car and trying to follow it before it hurts anyone inside the house. He can hear a few people passing by, talking about him following a dog, and if they’re willing to call him a dog then he totally approves of it. It reaches the backyard, and the owner is shouting for him, but Zayn has it cornered, and the last thing he needs it distraction.

“Easy now …” He walks slowly towards it, and he can see the rat’s eyes wide as they stare at him, its body trying to shift its form again, and Zayn almost pukes when its back expands, the tail growing a little, and he’s definitely alarmed by Zayn being its enemy, dashing to the side before it jumps at him, and Zayn ducks quickly, realizing that it wasn’t him he’s going after once he’s ducked, and when he lifts his head, he finds the rat going after the backdoor. “Oh shit.” He runs after it, shot already ready in his hand, but it’s too quick for a human to catch, and it goes through the backdoor, pushing it open with its body, and Zayn can already hear people screaming. In one last attempt, since the rat has gained intelligence now, he runs for what he assumes is the kitchen, the rat stopping short when it sees him and takes another route, and Zayn groans as he follows after it, seeing it push the front door open -or breaking it- and getting out. There’s a gunshot before Zayn manages to get out, and he doesn’t lift his eyes up since the rat is whining on the ground, and he injects the shot into it, seeing its body shiver once before it calms down, starting to shut down completely, and Zayn blows a breath out of relief as he closes his eyes, knowing very well that he needs to explain himself as he reopens his eyes.

“Dr. Malik.” Zayn looks up at the man next to the one who shot the rat, and he’s getting a very good idea about the whole thing since this guy knows his name. It’s what Cowell meant by who’s going first. “I believe you should come with us.” It’s not that Cowell wants him to join him, he wants him completely out of the game, and he knows that Circus are barely holding themselves right now. He stands up, and he’s guided into one of the cars parked outside of the house, a few people staying behind to gather the rat as well as clear any misunderstanding regarding the whole situation the people have. Zayn looks at the dead body, hoping that his team are alright, because he knows where he’s going, and he knows why they’re taking him.

He didn’t make a cure. He created a weapon.

❌

It might be the first time he’s seated on a chair inside a room that has nothing more than another chair across the table placed between them and a mirror at the side, but he’s not cuffed at least, there are no people trying to hold him down either. Probably because they know he’s not exactly a good fighter. The face he sees sitting across from him though is the shock. He vividly remembers Louis telling him that either side can’t accuse the other, but apparently, they could, and he blames Louis for discouraging the idea in the first place, wondering why he even bothered to listen to him.

“Dr. Malik, do you know why you’re here?”

“Because I believe you received an anonymous letter saying that I’m conducting dangerous experiments?” He cocks an eyebrow, and the prime minister sighs, leaning forwards on the table.

“On the contrary, Dr. Malik, I have received news that you can help us.” Zayn has to raise his brows at that. “We’ve asked for your help numerous times before, and not until Dr. Payne was able to convince you that you’ve decided to show yourself inside the country, but only, unfortunately, to have you leaving us again. Now, I understand clearly that you prefer to work inside your own environment, and so, we’ve reached this point.” He pauses. “We know you can help us fight back, Dr. Malik.”

“I left because I was unable to provide a cure. What you saw was merely a mistake.”

“What I saw was development.”

It’s Zayn’s time to lean on the table. “Development is what you’re fighting in the first place.”

“And there’s no other was to stop it.”

“You’ll be creating a disaster.”

“It’s on me to decide.”

Zayn huffs a laugh and shakes his head as he leans back in his head and crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m not giving you anything.”

“How unfortunate.” He leans back in his seat as well. “Then I believe we’ll have to remove you from the VIP list.”

“Try again,” Zayn smiles at him.

“We have other ways to make you talk, Dr. Malik.”

“Then I’m paying for the sins I’ve committed.”

“Brave words are not gonna save you, Dr. Malik.” He stands up, fixing his suit. “I hope you can change your opinion soon.”

“Expecting my death would be closer to achieve.” He stares at him before turning to leave, the door closing behind him, and Zayn sighs, leaning his head backwards and closing his eyes. He shouldn’t have picked up Liam’s call from the start.

The place is silent for a minute before there are faint noises that makes Zayn open his eyes as he stares at the closed door. He can see the slight shake of the mirror next to him and he furrows his brows when something appears to be slammed at it. He’s not entirely sure what’s going on, but the silent is back once more in less than two minutes, and the door is opening, and Zayn’s eyes go wide for a moment as his lips part.

“The hell are you doing here?!”

“You’re welcome,” Harry replies as he walks to him and pulls him to his feet and out of the room, and Zayn looks at the bodies on the floor.

“Please tell me you didn’t kill them.”

“I didn’t kill them.”

Zayn sighs. “You should not be here.” Harry ignores him as he guides him outside the building, and Zayn is pretty sure there are surveillance cameras somewhere recording this. “You’re a member of Circus, this shouldn’t be attached to you in anyway.” Harry stops and turns to him.

“Do you have a wish for death?” And he barely keeps facing him enough for Zayn to reply as he pulls him again by his elbow for them to run.

“How are you-” Zayn stops when Harry turns to him suddenly and lifts him off his feet. “What are you doing?!” He demands, startled again when Harry hops into a hole in the ground, and when he looks up, it’s closing behind them. He keeps blinking at it before Harry drops him to his feet again, and Zayn turns to him instead. “How did you find me?”

“I can track you down.”

Zayn narrows his eyes at him. “Track me down? Did you insert something inside of me?”

Harry’s brows furrow as he looks at him. “No.”

“Then how?” He crosses his arms over his chest, and Harry sighs with a roll of his eyes.

“If I focus hard enough, I can feel your movement through the ground.”

“Feel my movement through-” Zayn shakes his head. “Did you also do this in Alaska?” Harry nods. “I was an ocean away.” Zayn raises his brows.

“Yeah, well, it’s still connected to the ground.”

Zayn’s eyes widen. “You can reach the core?!” Harry just blinks at him. “This is insane …” He whispers to himself as he shakes his head again. “Wait,” he looks up at Harry again, “does Louis know you’re here?” He narrows his eyes at Harry who sighs and looks away.

“I left a note,” he mumbles and Zayn hums. “I just saved your life! You can at least be thankful!” Harry turns to him again. “And I just … miss you.” Harry’s expression changes, the tips of his fingers are barely brushing against his jacket as he looks down, and Zayn takes a deep breath, closing his eyes when Harry steps closer, and turning his head to the side when Harry tries to kiss him. It leaves him to brush his nose softly against the side of his face. “And you’re still denying me access.”

“If you’re able to reach me, can you reach other people as well?” He steps back, turning his face again and opening his eyes to look at Harry’s. “I need my team to be out of this.”

“Fine,” Harry replies as he steps back as well, “you want someone to fight for you and I will.” He turns on his heels and starts walking, and Zayn furrows his brows as he stares at his back.

“Tell them to go ghost, they’ll understand.” He sees Harry shaking his head as he turns at a corner, and when Zayn turns after him, he’s gone. Well, he has nothing else to do but wait for him until he returns.

❌

Zayn looks around the old lab he’s had in his hometown, hating the memories that flood right through his brain. Harry was able to reach his team, and when he came back, they took the underground tunnel Harry made until they’re far enough to reach an airport. He was really surprised when he wasn’t stopped at any point. He thought that his name has been listed on the black list by then. They reached this lab by another underground tunnel, and while Zayn is truly amazed by how Harry’s abilities seemed to grow once he’s fully aware of both personalities and without the bracelet to hold him back, he is sometimes still unable to believe some of the stuff Harry is able to do. The lab was a basement at his old house, and they can’t risk him showing his face inside the house, so he’ll have to adapt to living in the basement for a few days. Liam knows by now that he’s here, and Harry has promised to get back to him along with the others in a while, so he waits. Staring at each corner and forcing his brain not to remember. It doesn’t work though.

“So the virus is spreading outside the country now?” Liam furrows his brows. “And when you tried to put it down, they thought you were the one behind it?”

“And miraculously, Harry was there at the same time to rescue you?” Louis trails his gaze to Harry sitting by a chair next to him as he sits on the counter. Harry gives him a blank face though, and Zayn doesn’t say much about it either.

“And you’re planning to live your life as a runaway?” Liam asks him.

“Until we get Cowell down.”

“I already told you-” Louis starts but he cuts him off.

“He sat me up. He knows how to turn the tables to his side. I just … need some time to figure out how to fire back.”

“And yet we don’t know why he’s targeting you,” Louis stares at him as he says it.

“He was his favorite student,” Liam replies for him. “Cowell knows Zayn’s capabilities, that he’s a good addition to Circus,” Louis snort at that and Liam gives him a hard glare before he continues, “if given the right circumstances.” He turns to Zayn with a sigh. “We should bring you a change of clothes and some food,” he says and stands up. “Try rest for a while. You seem tired.”

Louis sighs and stands up as well, staring at Harry when he doesn’t move, and Harry stares back. He is clearly annoyed, but he doesn’t say anything as he walks out, and he can even sense that Liam isn’t completely approving of it either, but he walks away with Louis without saying another word.

“You know half of the truth,” Zayn starts, “yet you didn’t say a word.”

“You didn’t tell them anything about me either,” Harry replies and Zayn turns to look at him. If this is gonna be between him and Harry, he finds himself not minding it at all.

“I made a fatal weapon,” he tells him and Harry turns to look at him. “Cowell knew I could make it if given the materials, and he gave it to me willingly, and I … I took it,” he turns his head away again, looking at the wall in front of him, “It’s an antiserum, but … it can’t be spread among people.”

“Do you have it?”

“No,” Zayn shakes his head. “The amount I have made was consumed in the research.”

“So … what do you plan to do?”

“Since they were trying to get me to tell them the formula, I’m guessing that Cowell looked through my lab and found nothing. I’m assuming he still wants it.”

“He can’t get to you here.”

“That’s not what I’m concerned about,” he looks at Harry again. “The formula mainly contains your blood. He had you before and lost you, and if he’s able to have you again, he wouldn’t miss the opportunity.”

Harry frowns. “I’m not that weak.”

“He can still infiltrate your walls.”

“I’m not that weak,” Harry repeats and Zayn sighs.

“Can’t you see he’s winning this?! He wants you, and he knows I’m not allowing it.”

“So?” Harry asks in confusion.

“He wants me to protect you.”

“And this is bad because?”

“Because the drug I created gives you that. It’s …” Zayn trails off, sighing and looking away. “You had seen what he’s developing. Those black things that Circus weapons are useless against. Your poison is able to put it down, but their poison is able to put you down as well, and the drug strengthens either of you.”

“So make it,” Harry sits straighter, and Zayn turns to him again.

“I can’t guarantee it would benefit you, it’s just a theory. Them on the other hand, is a certain.”

“The do your research.”

“It’ll be you on your own facing them,” Zayn shakes his head, “no.”

“We have the rest of Circus-”

“The bracelet stops the drug from spreading just like it did with you,” Zayn cuts him off, “and normal people are not affected. It only gives them a defense against the virus. Cowell, however, already has the cells ready for injection.”

“And what are we supposed to do? Wait until they win?”

“I’m trying to figure something out-”

“You have and you failed,” Harry interrupts him. “Why can’t you accept the fact that I’m your only solution?!”

“Because you shouldn’t be!” Zayn raises his voice, hopping off the counter. “If your body takes too much, you’ll die, and we’ll be left with nothing,” he mumbles as he gets out of the room. The rest of the lab isn’t that clean, and maybe he should busy himself with that.

“You could just say you care,” Harry replies as he follows him out of the room. “You’ve been going around your only option, making more mistakes than fixing them, and he knows you would have.”

“And he knows I would be too stubborn that I won’t make the drug again,” Zayn turns to him, arms crossed over his chest.

“How many people would die for you to make it?” Harry asks and leaves him to his thoughts as he heads for the door, turning to him one last time before he does. “You know all the right answers yet you choose the wrong ones.” Zayn hears the door closing and he stays standing in his place for a couple of minutes, staring at nothing in particular.

Does he?

❌

Zayn picks a shirt, cocking an eyebrow at Harry’s back as he moves some objects around. “So you basically know most things about me, but not my size?”

“This is your size,” Harry replies without looking at him, and Zayn drops the shirt on the bed.

“I’m not wearing your shirt.”

Harry turns to him with a frown. “It would look good on you.”

“Why are you moving too many stuff here?” Zayn asks instead. “I’m not gonna need all of that.”

“Because I’m staying here with you.” Zayn blinks at him. “You can’t be left alone, it’s too risky. And since you don’t want me wandering around, I guess it’s safer for me to stay with you as well until you make the drug.”

“Why are you sure I’ll be making it?”

“Because we have no other choice,” Harry replies and raises his brows, “unless you do?”

Zayn sighs and turns, deciding that cleaning this place is going to clear his head instead of repeating this conversation with Harry.

❌

“Are you gonna keep staring at walls all day inside your lab instead of actually doing something?” Harry folds his arms on the counter next to him, and Zayn sighs.

“I didn’t force you to stay here with me all day.” It’s been very quiet since he came here. Harry would have told him if there are any new events happening outside, and he feels like something is out of place.

“Well … we could be doing other things …” Zayn rolls his eyes. He can’t believe Harry is still trying.

“You can leave me alone for example.”

“And how does this benefit you?” Harry frowns.

“It helps me think.”

“If by think you mean trying to find alternatives, then no, I’m not leaving you alone.” Zayn furrows his brows and turns to face him. “You know we’re losing time.”

Zayn stares at Harry for a moment before he’s turning his face again, grabbing a pen and a paper and writing down a list. Harry watches him silently before Zayn is giving the paper to him. “Get these to me without anyone finding out.”

“What are you gonna do with these?”

Zayn glances around the lab. “Work.”

❌

Harry’s been helpful. He’s going back and forth between the research tower and the lab without asking too many questions, and it makes him think of his team. He knows that they’re alright according to Harry checking on them as well, but his thoughts just wander sometimes to them. The students who’ve been working very hard for him. If Harry watches him silently as he works, he doesn’t keep his silence when they wait for a combination to be made, and Zayn would never tell him, but it puts a smile on his face with a feeling in his chest.

He’s washing his hands in the bathroom when he hears the door opening, and he hums. “Finally. I’ve been starving.” He turns the water off and dries his hands as he walks out of the bathroom, and he stops when he doesn’t hear footsteps. The first thing that comes to his mind is the lab, and he hurries to it, stopping in his tracks once more as he sees the black frame at the counter. He knows that his presence wasn’t very much hidden, and he has nothing in his hands to face it with as it turns, and really, Zayn would have clapped his hands for Cowell if his creations weren’t so hideous.

“So … you’re not gonna tell me how you found me?” Zayn cocks an eyebrow.

“The same way you found me.” Good god, even its voice is disturbing. “You’re not the only smart person around, Dr. Malik.”

“Yeah,” he points at the phial in its hands, “It’s why you’re here stealing my creations. All the time.” He smiles as it approaches, and he notes that it doesn’t really have a smell, which is very weird. “You’ve been watching me then?”

“I only gave you time,” Zayn watches at the phial disappears inside the body, “I can calculate your movements just as you can do mine,” it steps closer, and Zayn finds himself backing away, his back hitting the wall behind him. “I do not need you anymore. You’ve lost your VIP membership, so I can kill you now. Still not scared, Dr. Malik?”

Zayn blinks at it. “How sad. I thought I’d die on a lovely island once I turned ninety.” It opens its mouth, and Zayn is really, really disgusted. He doesn’t close his eyes just yet, and the bite never comes. Instead, it’s closing its mouth, retreating out of the lab very quickly, and Zayn sees Harry running after it. There’s a wall of black liquid that must have been created as they were talking, and Zayn’s eyes widen as he sees Harry attempting to go through it. “Don’t touch it!” Harry stops, using his vines instead to spread it apart before he gets out of the door, and Zayn waits there for a couple of minutes before Harry comes back, walking slowly with his head down.

“I’m sorry,” Harry doesn’t look at him when he says it, “I can’t even feel it. I’m sorry.” Zayn closes his eyes as he slides down the wall. “I shouldn’t have left you-”

“Stop,” Zayn opens his eyes again to look at Harry. “I didn’t say it’s your fault.”

Harry opens his mouth and closes it a few times before he’s crouching down next to him. “What are our options now?”

“A cure,” Zayn replies instantly. “It would stop the evolving of the virus completely.”

“Then make it,” Harry tells him.

“If Cowell has the drug now, then it won’t take more than a couple of days for him to achieve what he wants. I have no time to make the drug again along with a cure.”

“You know … sometimes it actually makes me happy to know that you’re thinking about my safety first,” Harry smiles, and Zayn frowns at him. “You don’t want me to face them alone. You didn’t say that there’s a chance of failure.”

“There is a chance of failure,” Zayn argues. “You could die.”

“You won’t allow it,” Harry stands up and pulls him to his feet as well. “Just tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you. You said it yourself. We have no time.” Zayn sighs as he looks at Harry, and eventually, he gives in.

Harry doesn’t take long to get him everything he needs, and Zayn doesn’t need a full operation team to perform. He gets Harry shirtless, lying on his front with his arms spread next to him, and face resting on a pillow. His heart and brain are monitored, and he stares at them for a moment before taking a deep breath and brushing Harry’s hair upwards so the back of his neck is exposed.

“I’m going to inject your body with anesthetic first to stop your body from moving, and I need you not to fight it.”

“Okay,” Harry replies calmly, and his heart rate is stable, so Zayn starts to inject his arms and legs, using partial anesthetic to keep Harry awake. He returns to the back of his neck, and before he inserts the needle, he presses a kiss to the back of Harry’s head.

“The injection is going to be sudden. I don’t want you to fight it, so it’ll hurt a lot,” he whispers to Harry’s hair. “Your body will be triggered to release a certain hormone that I need to extract immediately, and once I do, you’ll be left completely fragile. When that happens, I want you to fight the urge to relax, because if you do, your body will start shutting down on its own. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Harry replies.

“I also don’t want you to move your head no matter how much the pain is affecting you.”

“Okay,” Harry repeats, and Zayn takes another deep breath as he turns to look at the screen showing Harry’s stats. He injects the drug into Harry’s body, and he can see the sudden restrain of the muscles on his back as his heartbeat rises, and how Harry is trying not to scream or move. The diagram showing his brain activity is rising slowly, and Zayn knows it’ll take time, so he just stands there as Harry releases a loud cry of pain, unwilling to make his own body fight back, and it makes a contradiction inside his body once his brain releases the hormone, staying in place to be used, and Zayn is quick to extract it, pulling the needle out afterwards and watching as Harry’s heart rate drops immediately, his voice breaking, and body starting to shut down.

He patches the back of Harry neck quickly before he flips him on his back, seeing his eyes closed. “Harry, I know you can still hear me. I need you to fight back now,” he tells him as he looks at the screen again. He needs something to trigger Harry’s senses really fast, and it can’t be through pain. If it’s painful, Harry wouldn’t want to feel it. And he can’t kiss him either, it’s not something that Harry would force his other organs to work for. There’s an idea, and he can’t believe himself for thinking about it right now as he looks at Harry’s body, but it’s perfect for him to start feeling again gradually without pain, so with little hesitation, he unzips Harry’s pants and pulls them down enough to get his dick out, starts to stroke it as he looks at Harry’s face, seeing his eyes opening slightly. He is truly sorry for it, but he knows how much Harry craves it.

A smile appears on his face as Harry blinks, and he slides a finger on the slit for extra sensation, watching his heartbeat rising again as his fingers twitch by his sides. Harry groans as he moves his head to the side, and when he sees his thighs moving along with his arms, a sigh of relief leaves his lips as he stops his hand, removing it from Harry’s dick to rest on the bed instead, and he brushes Harry’s hair out of his face as he looks down at him.

“Welcome back.”

Harry looks at him with annoyance. “At least finish what you started.”

It makes Zayn laugh, looking at Harry’s dick again to see it hard, and Harry doesn’t even wait for Zayn to turn off his monitor, doing so himself as he removes the patches on his body. And for a second time, Zayn can’t shake the smile off his face as he takes off his gloves and pulls Harry’s pants completely off, the latter startled for a moment before he settles back against the bed once more. Zayn climbs over him, taking him in his hand once more, and watches as Harry groans with his lips and eyes closed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Aroused,” Harry replies and Zayn chuckles against his neck, dragging a finger against Harry’s slit and lifting his head just to see how Harry’s lips part silently, hips jerking up slightly with each slide of his finger, and when he presses down harder, Harry bites down on his lip as he groans again.

“It took you half the time I expected for both releasing the hormone and you recovering.”

“Good, gives us more time for this then,” Harry replies, a little out of breath already, and Zayn looks at the blush spreading across his chest. He can feel the tip leaking, his dick throbbing and twitching at his touch, and when he trails his hand down Harry’s length, he gets a whine in return. Harry’s hands are clutching the sheets beneath him, and it makes his muscles pop up more, and Zayn stares at it as his hand works a slow pace.

“Have you ever done the sixty nine?” Zayn asks as he leans back, wiping his hand on the sheets before he takes his shirt off, and Harry just stares at him with parted lips as he gets his pants off as well. Zayn raises his brows when he looks at Harry again.

“Fuck.”

“Good,” Zayn replies as he turns, feeling Harry’s hands on his hips as he lowers himself slightly. “Do it slow,” he tells him before he feels Harry’s tongue at the head, sliding inside his mouth slowly, and Zayn sighs, stroking Harry’s length before he licks at the head, and he’s glad he doesn’t have to take all of him in his mouth because he’s sure he can’t. Harry appears to be sensitive at the head, liking it very when Zayn’s tongue circles his slit judging from his moan around Zayn’s dick, and he’s lifting Zayn’s hips and lowering it on his own, and Zayn pauses for a moment, enjoying how Harry sucks around him before he sucks at Harry’s head to return the favor, tasting the pre-cum on his tongue as Harry keeps leaking.

Harry drags his tongue to his balls, taking both in his mouth and sucking on them, humming as he does, and Zayn moans around Harry when he takes more of him in his mouth, but Harry doesn’t stop there, and he feels his wet tongue sliding to his rim, flat pressure against it before the tip presses in, and Zayn has to pull out in order not to bite Harry as he feels his tongue getting deeper, pulling Zayn’s hips down some more on his face and moaning as he licks inside, and Zayn gasps with it, his own dick leaking on Harry’s chest, and he can’t return the favor anymore, his mouth won’t work properly as he moans, lifting himself up to adjust the angle, and moaning again when he gets Harry when he wants him. It’s too good, but still not enough, and he’s aware of how wet his hole is when he lifts himself up, seeing Harry wiping his mouth and chin with the back of his hand as he turns, and Harry stares at him for a second before he knows what he’s exactly asking for, flipping them on the bed and guiding his dick to his hole when Zayn spreads his legs apart.

Harry pushes himself inside until he reaches the point where Zayn couldn’t take more last time, but Zayn wants it all, wants to feel him deeper like before, and he lifts his legs for Harry to place over his shoulders as he leans on him, pressing deeper and making Zayn lose his breath. Harry kisses his neck as he does that slow roll of his hips that Zayn likes. “God … love when you do that.” Harry twitches inside of him, and Zayn blinks, turning his head and pulling at Harry’s hair to lift his head up so he can kiss him on the lips. “Want you to thrust just as deep, yeah?” He whispers against his lips and Harry nods, resting their foreheads together as he adjusts his hips slightly, making his dick brush against his prostate as he thrusts slowly, and Zayn closes his eyes. “Your size is something, alright.” It makes Harry twitch again inside him accompanied with a shaky breath, and Zayn smiles as he opens his eyes again. It appears that Harry is very turned on by praises.

Zayn trails a finger gently down the side of Harry’s face, reaching his chin before Harry leans in to kiss him again, just as slow as his thrusts, tongue darting inside as their moans melt together. Zayn pulls back, letting Harry go for his neck again. “Keep doing that. I like that.” It earns him a stutter of Harry’s hips, and he bites on his bottom lip. “Wait,” he looks down at Harry, fingers brushing through his hair, “do that again. Hit that spot again.” Harry does, snapping his hips forwards at the same angle, and Zayn moans with it. “Fuck. You’re so deep. I don’t think I’ve felt anyone that deep before.” Harry twitches again, and Zayn feels the pre-cum leaking inside him. It’s hot, he’s not going to deny that, but having Harry stutter like that just from praises above him is also hot. And Harry was right, he likes to gain control sometimes, likes to feel that he’s not the first to crumble, and he turns his head to whisper in Harry’s ear how good he makes him feel, how Zayn likes every move he does, and he doesn’t hate it when Harry picks up his pace, not really realizing how much Harry likes his name to be called as he thrusts into him until he feels his hot load being released inside of him.

Harry’s still hard after he comes, keeping his slow pace as Zayn lifts his head to kiss him, and Zayn guides Harry’s hand until it gets a hold of his dick between them, and as much as he likes to touch himself, he likes the unexpected move of someone else holding him. Harry gets the hint, stroking him along with his thrusts and dragging his thumb over the slit a couple of times before Zayn’s mouth goes lax and he comes between them. Harry pulls out slowly after helping him ride his orgasm, lips on his neck pressing soft kisses as he lowers his legs onto the mattress, and Zayn can feel the weight of Harry’s dick against his thigh, wet and leaking, smiling when Harry doesn’t attempt to do anything more with him, so he pats Harry’s thigh to make him look up.

“Move up,” he tells him, and Harry stares at him as his chest goes up and down in rapid movements. “C’mon,” he pats his thigh again, “gonna get you in my mouth.” Harry blinks at him once before he’s shuffling on top of him, and Zayn places his hands on his thighs. “Have I told you before how much I like your thighs?” He smiles up at Harry who’s having his hair in front of his face now as he looks down at him, knowing that he won’t be able to talk some praises when his mouth is full. He’s not lying though, they’re thick and strong, and Zayn has always favored his men to be muscular, just the right size, and Harry fits in that category, the emotional part aside. He might place some bites of his own on Harry’s thighs some other time. He opens his mouth, tongue flat and out as Harry holds his dick, lowering himself slowly, and Zayn licks at the head before sucking on it, his hands squeezing Harry’s thighs to encourage him to go further, and they go like that, slow thrusting of Harry’s hips until Zayn can’t take any more of him, the head already reaching his throat, and Harry shivers when he moans around him, taking him a few more thrusts before he’s pulling out, startling Zayn, and he barely got a warning when Harry moans his name, spilling his cum onto his face.

Gladly, when Zayn opens his eyes, there’s nothing on them, but he can already feel Harry’s cum on the side of his face. Harry’s eyes are wide as they look down at him, and he thinks he knows another one of Harry’s kinks by now as he pats Harry’s thighs to get him off him.

“Get your dick down already,” he tells him as he sits up, sighing when he stands and seeing that he’s still leaking. “We need to shower,” he turns to Harry and lifts a finger up. “One by one.”

“We could save time,” Harry objects with a pout, and Zayn won’t say it’s adorable. He won’t.

“I’m not letting you fuck me against the bathroom walls.”

“I can hold you up,” Harry shrugs with a smirk, but Zayn keeps his finger pointing at him as he walks backwards to the bathroom with a raise of his brows until Harry groans, flopping down on the bed.

Zayn gets into the shower with a smile.

❌

Harry brings Liam and Louis again, and Louis is still giving him that narrowed eyes look even though Harry isn’t by his side this time.

“This place reeks of …”

“Chemicals,” Zayn finishes for him, and Harry blushes as he coughs and clears his throat. Louis keeps his eyes on his for a moment before he’s sitting down next to Liam. Zayn gives Liam a file. “Inside you’ll find the formula for both the antiserum and the cure to make and use as you please. Just make sure you read my warnings.” Liam opens his mouth to speak, and Zayn knows he’s got so many questions in his head as do Louis, who turns to look at Harry. But Zayn knows they got little time on their hands, so he keeps going, “but for now, we have to stop Cowell before he spreads a new virus in the market. I have got my hands on his creations and in turn, he got his hands on mine. I’d give it a couple of days before a new virus blooms, with a possible army if what I’ve seen is correct.” He holds a finger up when Liam opens his mouth to speak again to stop him. “His hideout is located at the South Pole, and I can pinpoint where exactly if we’re close enough, but it’s winter, and we can’t fight them.”

“What’s the use then?” Louis interrupts him loudly.

“The time I’ve been there before with my team, I’ve injected our bodies with a drug to make them able to adapt to the harsh environment on surface. We dug on the lowest spot to reach a lake, and even then, we could only last for two hours along with our jet. We have no time to create such drug at the moment, so our only option is to be in a closed place near Cowell’s lab. We can use any of the research buildings there, and if they try to get to me, then I believe they will after our job is done.”

Louis furrows his brows. “How are we staying inside and how are we supposed to fight?”

“We won’t. We’ll be there only for assistance.”

“To assist who?”

“Me,” Harry replies, and Louis whips his head to look at him.

“So you two work behind our backs now?” Liam is the one who asks, looking directly at Zayn.

“Cowell was already able to get to me. If more people knew, he’d try to get to them as well.”

“And what’s your plan exactly?”

Zayn takes a deep breath. “Harry’s body is able to adapt to different temperatures, just like Cowell and his team. Each can reach the other, but while he knows he got himself a boost from my drug, he doesn’t know we got a cure. If Harry’s able to penetrate their walls and get to the main constituent, we win.”

“If,” Louis starts, “Harry’s not experienced enough to go on his own.”

“He’s strong enough to go on his own, and has us to direct him on the surface. Besides, he’s the only one that can go there, and it’s best that he goes now before we’re faced with something we cannot defeat.”

“Why tell us then? Could’ve gone on your own.”

“Louis, please,” Harry speaks up, “I can do it.”

“Really?” Louis turns to him. “Or was this a wild thought he whispered in your ear while you two fuck?”

Harry frowns. “For your information, I was the one who convinced him to make the damn cure. He’s not the monster you portray him to be!”

“Stop trying to fix his mistakes!”

“Louis!” Liam raises his voice. “Zayn wouldn’t go this far for his own gain.”

“Of course you’d say that,” Louis rolls his eyes. “You two have been literally up his ass,” he looks directly at Zayn.

“Captain Tomlinson,” Zayn speaks up, “I realize that we might have started on bad terms, but this is no joke. You can take my word that I’ll take full responsibility for the consequences-”

“You’re not taking responsibility over my actions-” Harry interrupts him.

“And I’ll work on this case till the day I die.”

“Then I hope it’s soon.”

“Louis!” Harry snaps at him.

“Are you, or are you not aiding us in this? Because like you said, we can go on our own.” Zayn asks calmly, and Louis glares at him.

“We’ll prepare a jet,” Liam replies instead, and Louis keeps his glare until they leave, not giving him a response.

“We don’t need them,” Harry says after a while.

“We do,” Zayn replies. “Louis might hate me, but you’re his subordinate,” he turns to look at the door. “He’ll come along.”

Harry sighs. “Louis doesn’t hate you, he’s just-”

“Concerned for your sake,” Zayn finishes for him. “He is, but he also despises my ass. Shame though, he seems like a good company.” Harry looks up at him with a deep frown and Zayn rolls his eyes. “Not that type of company. More of a friend to keep,” he nods to himself.

A friend to keep. It tugs something at his chest.

❌

Louis doesn’t really speak to him, but he’s here with Niall, and Circus has taken control over a whole research facility. The last signal he could find is very far from here, and Harry tells him that he can’t feel anything below the thick ice, just like the time in the lab, and Zayn wishes he can go along with him, but he can’t, and he attaches a mini camera to his suit to help them see what he sees, the suit covering all of his body to not let anything touch him. Zayn also places a small device on his chest to monitor his status.

“Don’t let yourself lose consciousness. Be aware at all times, and if your suit gets scratched and your body is infiltrated, cut the infected piece immediately. Your body can heal on its own even if it feels like you’re dying, but it can’t quite stop the new virus from spreading through your veins, and-”

Harry cuts him off with a sudden kiss, and Zayn looks at him in annoyance. “When I get back, would you go out on a date with me?” Zayn blinks at him, brows furrowing, but Harry keeps a hopeful look on his face.

“You’re seriously thinking about that while your life is at stake?”

“Everything you just said isn’t new to me,” Harry smiles, “but it’s nice to know that you’re afraid to lose me.” Zayn cocks an eyebrow and takes a step back to leave, but Harry pulls him back to him. “C’mon. Can’t I at least have a hope to return to?”

“You’re gonna be a national hero, isn’t that enough?”

“Zayn,” Harry frowns, and he sighs.

“Fine,” Zayn replies. “Get back in one piece and you can have your date.” Harry grins at him and leans in for another quick kiss before Zayn pushes him away. “Now off you go. We’re wasting time.”

He watches Louis talking to Harry for some time as he sets everything up then Niall briefly talking to him as well with a hug afterwards, and Zayn knows that no matter how many times Harry would deny it, a huge part of his life has been with Circus, even if he didn’t quite choose any of this. Once Harry is out of the facility, he tells him that he has to be careful while digging in the ice to reach the mountain below. It’s a very good hideout. No one would be looking for him in the South Pole, and Zayn gets the curiosity of studying the place he’s residing in just to know how he adapts, if he’s more like Harry or not. He doesn’t know if the fact that he doesn’t need to send anyone digging for more eggs that he found because Cowell is either hatching them right now, or saving them for defense against Harry or taking action against them inside the facility should be worrying or not. They do get to have them out instead of going underwater, and Zayn hopes that the reason why they’re hidden there is because they have a weakness they’ll be able to use.

Louis is wearing a headset as he sits next to him, watching Harry dig deeper into the ice until he’s faced with a rock surface, and even then, Zayn still tells him to dig carefully. It’s pitch black once he’s inside what Zayn assumes to be Cowell’s residence.

“Can you see anything?” Louis furrows his brows.

“Yes,” Harry replies quickly, and they can hear his footsteps faintly as he goes further, and Zayn assumes it’s the same ability he used the first time he was met with his alter ego.

“What can you feel?” Zayn asks instead.

“The structure of the mountain but not the walls, it’s like …”

“He’s giving the impression that nothing’s there,” Zayn finishes for him, turning to Liam to see if he’s got anything yet on screen. It’s completely blank, and they can only get a signal of the place itself making Zayn wish again that he’s down there with Harry to see exactly what stopping their signals short to only a few meters below the ice. What really worries Zayn though, is that Harry can’t feel anything, and it’s one of Harry’s defense mechanisms that he’s able to feel before he sees. The camera shakes for a second, and Louis is alarmed by his side, probably ready to snap his head out of his body if anything is to happen to Harry. With a glance to the other screen, Harry’s stats seem to be fine.

“Guys,” Niall speaks up, “I think we have company.”

They turn to the screen in front of Niall, and Zayn now knows where Cowell’s army is at. Louis leaves his side with Niall, weapons out to fight, and Zayn mutes his microphone as he turns to them. “Use fire. They’re not fully modified yet, and there’s a very good reason Cowell built his laboratory here. They can’t stand heat.”

“Zayn,” Harry’s voice turns him back to the screen, “I think I found something.” Zayn watches as the camera view turns blue, a huge egg like the one he saw inside the lake, but this one is different. While attached to many machines, it’s bigger, and has the black liquid surrounding it. He hears the door slamming open before the screeching voice becomes louder inside the room, and he can already feel the heat rising once Louis and Niall fight their way through fire. He glances at them to see that their number isn’t that big, and he’s sure that Cowell won’t just send a sample after them, so it’s definitely not their real number, so where is the rest? “Should I turn off those machines first or inject the cure into that egg?” Harry’s voice makes him return back to the screen in front of him and he unmutes it to answer him.

“Don’t use the cure yet, you need to get to what’s inside the egg first. Turn them off, but be careful.” He mutes the device again just in time to hear a loud crash from one of the creatures jumping around Louis, and it screeches loudly at him before it’s put down. If Harry heard them, he’d come back, and Zayn doesn’t want him to worry over them.

“Is that all he got?” Louis asks as he walks back to them.

“No,” Zayn replies, and it makes Louis turn to him with his brows furrowed.

“The signals we found were more than just a few eggs.” He watches as Harry turns off the machines, using his vines to destroy it completely, then trying to crack the egg.

“And where are the rest? Fighting Harry?”

“No,” Zayn repeats. They would have already appeared if they were to come to Cowell’s defense. It settles a horrible feeling at the pit of his stomach. “Maybe the distance between each and the facility is the reason,” he replies and furrows his brows as Harry huffs an irritated breath and moves closer to the egg, vines unable to penetrate it. Zayn blinks as the view is clearer, and he notices that one of the wires attached to the egg wasn’t to inject something to it, it was to get something out, and it’s leaking on the floor, and Zayn quickly unmutes his microphone. “Harry, step back, there is a toxic fluid on the floor.”

A toxic fluid on the floor.

Shit.

Zayn mutes the device and turns quickly behind him where the bodies of the creatures have been burnt, and it appears that Cowell is reading his every movement now. Presenting a weakness for him to fight only to be met with a horrible outcome. But before he is able to move, the power goes off, and he blinks at the darkness around them, the only light coming from the screen on his device still opened in front of him, and Zayn is thankful it’s a portable one relying on battery instead of electricity.

“That’s where the rest is,” Zayn replies to Louis.

“Where’s the main power supply?” Niall asks.

“It’s useless to get there. What we need to focus on is how we get out of here,” Zayn replies.

“We’ll freeze to death outside,” Niall frowns.

“We won’t freeze to death outside, Niall,” Liam tells him.

“A closed room with disabled air-conditioning would allow the toxics to fill the room faster, and if those things reached the main power supply, then I believe they do have some intelligence to force those toxics to fill the entire facility. Our only solution is to get out into the fresh air, they can’t fill the entire atmosphere.”

Louis guides them outside with a flashlight, making sure they all cover their faces as the pass through, and unfortunately, what the facility looks like outside the room makes Zayn doubts grow. The creatures left a trace of toxic fluids all over the place as well as heavy damage. The weather is colder outside, and Zayn knows it would be even harder to face those creatures once they’re out in the snow, but they have no other choice.

“I think I made an opening,” Harry speaks up, and Zayn quickly looks down at his screen. The egg appears to crack, but Zayn knows it’s not from Harry’s attempts, and as much as he hates to admit it, Harry’s vines are useless against the egg. Something sticky leaks from the egg before a hand cuts its way through the shell, making a bigger opening for the body to rise, and Zayn’s eyes widen as he realizes that Cowell wasn’t planning to use the drug on his creatures or even on humans. He used it on himself, making his creatures gain time for him as well as serve as lab rats for his experiments. It doesn’t look like Cowell anymore, and Zayn doesn’t know if he should be calling him human as the new-born creature rises fully in front of Harry, cutting his vines easily, and Zayn notices Harry’s heartbeat rising, so he unmutes the microphone.

“Harry, I want you to get out of there.”

“Wait, I think I can manage something if-”

“Get out of there now!” Zayn shouts as the remaining creatures emerge from the facility to attack them, digging their way into the ice before melting a spot to come out from again, using it as a hideout from the fire that Louis and Niall aim.

Harry hesitates before Zayn sees the camera shaking as he uses his vines to block Cowell’s way as he makes a run towards the entrance he came from. Zayn turns to watch Louis and Niall gaining the upper hand in fighting the creatures, allowing none to escape as they take them down. The screen on his device turns white before it clears to the surface view, and just as he sees Harry with his own eyes the ground shakes beneath them, and Zayn is able to see the ugly-looking creature Cowell has become emerging from the ice, and Harry is quick to stand in front of them to face it. It’s bigger than Zayn has anticipated, and definitely not what he had in mind for the word evolution.

It releases a loud roar, similar to an animal, and Zayn really wants to make fun of it if it wasn’t threatening their life. Harry is the first to move, his vines shielding him as he uses more from the ground to lift heavy pieces of ice for a hit, but just like the egg, Cowell’s body is strong, and whatever Harry throws at it doesn’t do much. Cowell is faster than him though, and Zayn’s eyes widen as he throws Harry to the side with one blow of his hand. Louis and Niall move quickly to assist him as he tries to make his way to Harry’s body, but something grabs his legs, and when he looks down as he falls, it’s Cowell, again making his head spin with how fast he is as he slides him away, his back hitting one of the dead creatures and he groans in pain, eyes opened slightly only to see Niall and Louis being thrown away as well, and Liam is also on the ground. He had not anticipated so much strength to be made out of the drug.

“Afraid yet, Dr. Malik?” Cowell makes his way to him, slower than his normal movement, and Zayn knows he’s making fun of him, every one of them is groaning in pain on the ground, and his device isn’t in his hands anymore, but he can tell from the direct blow Harry received that he is not okay.

“If my teeth are chattering, then I assure you it’s from the cold,” he replies as Cowell leans closer to him, teeth on view, body parts that Zayn wants to touch and not at the same time. “Are you gonna give me credit for that? Cause I believe my name should be written in bold letters when they view your picture in textbooks from now on.” Cowell’s eyes squint at him as he growls deep in his throat, face inching closer to him. “Or are you gonna steal it like you did to all my researches in college?” Zayn cocks an eyebrow as he says it, and Cowell grits his teeth at him, mouth opening and closing, allowing Zayn to get a view of his throat that he did not ask for, but he is surprised when Cowell doesn’t hit him immediately.

“You will be dead by then,” he answers, leaning back again. “But I’ll make you suffer first.” He takes one step backwards. “How about starting with what you care about the most?” He jumps from in front of him, and Zayn’s eyes widen, his brain taking less than a second to realize what Cowell means as he turns his head quickly to look at Liam.

“No!” He pushes himself to his feet, aware of the fact that Cowell doesn’t care anymore about whether the person in front of him is a VIP member or not, is a human or not, is a politician or a president even. His back protests, and his ankle hurts when he steps on it, but Cowell is smirking as he looks back at him, claw ready as it pushes slowly into Liam’s abdomen, the latter screaming in pain, and when he blinks, his vision is a bit glossy, but Liam’s scream isn’t the only one that can be heard, Cowell is also startled as Niall cuts his finger with his sword, Harry’s vines are pulling hard on Cowell’s feet to bring him down, and there’s a hand on his shoulder that squeezes in assurance, and that’s right, he’s not alone, and he might not be used to such circumstances, but Circus are, and Louis is whispering in his ear next.

“Give me a weakness.”

Zayn blinks quickly, watching Cowell fall, but he’s sure he’d be quick to get back on his feet again, and he has seen him up close. It’s one mistake that Cowell made.

“His throat,” he tells Louis as he turns to him, “If you’re able to coat your spear with the cure and inject it while his mouth is opened, it’ll work. There’s no shell to protect him from the inside.”

Louis nods and squeezes his shoulder one last time before he’s moving forward. “Get to Liam and we’ll take care of it.” He runs towards Cowell and calls for his subordinates. “Do you remember our formation, boys?” Cowell stands up, ready to strike, but Louis smirks. “Let’s bring this nasty thing down.”

Zayn sees them maneuvering their way around Cowell in distracting fast movements that Zayn knows they’ve trained very hard to achieve such harmony as he reaches Liam, wiping his cheeks and taking a deep breath as he opens Liam’s coat and rips his layers open some more so he can see how deep the cut is.

“You’re crying,” Liam notes, voice cracking as he speaks.

“Just focus on your breathing,” Zayn tells him, staring at the wound and hating how they don’t have medical tools right now.

“I don’t want you to blame yourself.”

“Stop talking.”

“Hey,” Liam reaches with a hand to wipe his tears instead, and Zayn is trying to focus on stopping the bleeding first, hoping that Liam’s organs would hold up just until he can get help. “If we would be back in college, I wouldn’t have left.” And it makes Zayn shut his eyes tightly, sending prayer after prayer that Liam’s words won’t be his last. A loud growl makes him turn his head to the side and open his eyes, seeing Louis’ spear deep inside Cowell’s throat while Harry is holding his mouth open with his vines, and Niall struggling with keeping his sword digging into Cowell’s skin.

The cure works faster than he imagined, shedding the skin around Cowell’s body and making the bones return to their natural shape, all while Cowell screams in pain as the three step away from him, and Zayn is finally able to see the wrinkled skin and grey hair as he looks at him with wide eyes filled with rage and hatred, and he’s trying to reach him but Louis is quick to hold him down. It doesn’t stop him from yelling though.

“You can’t take this from me, Malik! You can’t take this from me!”

He repeats it over and over again, and Zayn just stares at him.

❌

Inside the jet on their way back, Zayn is able to help Liam properly. Harry was sent back to Cowell’s laboratory to get any remaining drug that Cowell has left there. He stares at Liam’s face as he lies down on the bed until Louis is the one approaching him.

“How is he?”

“He’ll survive,” he turns his head away, making sure his cheeks aren’t wet anymore. “He’ll just need a long rest.”

Louis nods at him, and Zayn needs to check on Harry as well, so he leaves Liam’s side. “I’m sorry,” Louis says before he leaves. “I was too busy trying to protect my team to realize that you were trying to do the same,” Louis looks at him when he says it, and Zayn nods at him in return. He understands.

Harry’s body isn’t injured, but he still inserts a needle into his arm to check if he’s infected. He’s oddly silent while Zayn does it, and he stares at the screen in his hands until the results are showing that Harry is okay. “Why you’re sulking?”

When he lifts his gaze to look at Harry, he’s looking back at him with an expression that he can’t read. “When he said he’d go for the thing you care about the most, you looked directly at Liam.”

Zayn sighs as he removes the needle from Harry’s arm. “Cowell was our professor at college. Me and Liam weren’t exactly the type to hide our relationship. I knew he’d go for him first.”

“You shed actual tears for him.”

“Cowell wanted to kill someone right in front of my eyes just because he knows how much I hate it that someone dies because of me,” he looks up at Harry again. And there’s a long history too between the two of them, but Liam is still a friend, and of course he still cares.

“Are you telling yourself that because you want to move on, or because you can’t?” Zayn blinks at him with his brows furrowed. “You don’t actually hold on to someone, but you don’t know how much you push and pull at them that they think you do.” Harry stands up and leaves, leaving the words hanging in the air. He doesn’t mention the date.

When they get down, he finds the prime minister waiting for him, and Louis is the one who comes to his defense first, standing with a serious expression next to him, ready to reply to any threats and possibly deliver some hits if he wanted too.

“Dr. Malik,” he greets him, “Captain Tomlinson,” he greets Louis as well. “We’ve heard that you were able to capture our enemy,” and he holds a hand up before Louis is able to reply, “and we do believe that he’d be in safe hand inside Circus.” Louis stares at him and hums, satisfied with the response. He turns to Zayn next. “Dr. Malik, I believe I have made a mistake in forcing you to giving us something that shouldn’t be used. It was unfair to withdraw the VIP membership from you after working very hard to make the world a better place, and so, I apologize for such behavior, and hope to see more of your creative researches.” He nods at him, and Zayn nods back before he excuses himself.

Louis turns to him then. “I believe you need some rest yourself too.” And Zayn nods to that as well.

❌

Liam is opening his eyes when he checks on him, and he sits down on the bed next to him, seeing Liam’s smile.

“I’m still alive.”

“You are,” Zayn nods at him, and Liam tries to stretch his arms before he winces and sighs deeply. Zayn doesn’t tell him to stop though, Liam is fully aware of what he should and shouldn’t do.

“You cut your hair,” Liam points out. “You must really like that hairstyle.”

Zayn smiles. “For now, yeah.”

“So … what’s on the horizon for you?”

“A break,” Zayn replies, “a long one.”

Louis nods at him. “You know … what I said back when we were at the South Pole … I meant that.”

“I know you did,” Zayn replies, and Liam reaches with a hand to him, but Zayn shakes his head and stands up. “I can’t, Liam. I’m sorry.”

Liam smiles at him though. “He puts a smile on everyone’s face, it’s no wonder that he does to you too.” Zayn blinks at him. “He loves you. And I can tell that you’ve caught feelings too.” Liam still keeps his smile. “I can’t tell if I’m happy for you or I’m too hurt to know, but I know he feels the same as me right now. You have this thing about you … something that pulls people towards you,” he takes a deep breath, and it’s so similar to Harry’s words that he doesn’t know if he should believe them or not. “Friends?”

Zayn nods at him. “Friends.”

❌

It’s raining heavily again, and Zayn stands outside the research tower to feel every drop on his skin.

“You’ll get sick.” Zayn opens his eyes and looks at Harry, a frown on his face. “What are you doing outside in such weather?”

“Calling you,” Zayn replies, and Harry’s brows draw together. He steps closer to Harry who doesn’t appear to be bothered by the rain either, and he’s glad that Harry isn’t taking a step back from him. “Would you kiss me again under the rain?” He looks up into Harry’s eyes, but for the first time, Harry turns his head away, shielding his feelings, and Zayn blinks at him as he lowers his head, resting it on Harry’s chest as his hands hold to his jacket, and Harry isn’t holding him back, and maybe Harry isn’t willing to, but there’s a warmth radiating from his body still. “Would you stay if I asked you to stay?”

Harry turns his head back to him, perhaps confused more than startled that Zayn is actually asking this time, but Zayn keeps his eyes staring at the material of Harry’s shirt. “You say I’ve got that hold on people, but really …” he huffs a laugh, “I think you’ve made me your prisoner,” he looks up then, seeing the confused expression on Harry’s face. “You weren’t wrong when you said I don’t like to be vulnerable to people. Ever since I met you, you were trying to get to know me, trying to pull my shield away, and I hated it. Hated how you’re ignoring everyone’s words and deciding to believe mine instead, and I shut you down each time, but you … you said you’d fight for me to give you access, and I … I just wanted my shield back, I guess, and I promised myself that I’d go away once it’s all over, and I want to, but all I keep having in my head is that I shouldn’t care about this place anymore, but I do.”

Harry is still silent, and Zayn steps back slightly. “I hate having my walls being infiltrated, Harry, but I don’t feel vulnerable when they’re being infiltrated by you. I’m sorry if I was a selfish person who couldn’t handle his feelings better. I’m sorry for hurting you in my push and pull. And I’m sorry if I’m being selfish again, but I want you. I’ve fallen for you and I want you to stay in my life, so will you stay?”

Harry stares at him for too long that Zayn thinks he’s stepped his boundaries, but he steps towards him, cupping his face, and his touch is as gentle as he remembers, lips pressed softly but perfectly against his, and maybe it’s not entirely the first time that he feels that flutter in his chest, but he allows it to happen again, which is a first.

❌

The sun is hot on his skin, but it’s way better than the cold winter he felt for the last few months. His eyes are closed as hears the waves splashing on the shore before there’s a shadow covering the sun, and he opens an eye, seeing Harry standing in front of him with his hands on his hips, body dripping from swimming, the sun making his tan perfect, but as his eyes trail up, his brows are drawn together in an unpleasant way.

“Are you gonna lay there all day?”

“It’s relaxing.”

“Come swim with me,” Harry sits next to him, shaking him slightly and pouting.

“I don’t know how to swim,” he sighs as flips on his back.

“I’ll teach you.”

“How about … you can stay here with your sexy body and kiss me instead?”

Harry laughs at him, leaning in to press a quick kiss on his neck. It’s something he does quite often now, going for his sweet spot directly before he pulls back. It still manages to put a smile on his face, and Zayn is sure he won’t stop having that smile on his face soon either.

“Or … we can swim and kiss in the water instead.” It makes Zayn groan.

“Why do you want to get me wet?”

“Because it’s fun,” Harry smiles as he pulls him to a sitting position. “Besides, it’s not like I’d drop you or anything. You’re in safe hands,” he pulls him to his feet next, and Zayn really doesn’t want to go into the water despite the fact that he knows Harry would never drop him or do anything he hates just for fun. And when he doesn’t voice his rejection, it’s because he doesn’t exactly hate the idea of having a wet Harry kissing him. It’s rather hot.

Harry keeps his hold like he promised as they go inside, and he rests their foreheads together for a moment, feeling his thumb brushing his skin even underwater. He looks at him with a raise of his brows and a smile, and Zayn can’t help his smile either. “Oh, shut up. I just love the way the water catches on your muscles.”

Harry smiles wider and kisses his neck, keeping his lips there for a few more. “You love me,” Harry replies casually and Zayn hums.

“I do love you,” and he means it this time, looking at Harry’s bright eyes as he pulls back.

“Why do I feel like this is a privilege?”

Zayn laughs. “You should. I haven’t said those words to many people, and by many people, I mean my family.” Harry’s smile falls, and he hides it in his neck with more kisses, but Zayn knows what he’s asking exactly. “Not even Liam.” It makes Harry pause. “We’ve been dancing around each other for too long, and I didn’t want to voice my feelings back then because I knew we’d be apart.” Harry lifts his head again, eyes closed as he rests his forehead against his again.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“It matters to you.” Harry opens his eyes to look at him. “But I picked you,” he tells him with a smile, “so yes, you should feel it’s a privilege,” he tilts his head to kiss Harry on the lips, using a little tongue for a tease and feeling that Harry wants more, but he pulls back instead, deciding to swim deeper just to have Zayn holding onto him for a little longer, and if he grew a rock beneath them at some point just to get more than a few kisses, then Zayn doesn’t really mind, biting his bottom lip and laughing.

Maybe a selfish decision for himself isn’t so selfish to others.