Return to Me - Zayne
Synopsis: Zayne has been gone on a business trip, and the loneliness begins to eat at you. He returns early to find you wrapped in a bundle on his bed.
WC: 1.1k
A/N: Yayyyy my first fanfic, it finally happened.
It’s been two weeks. Sixteen days to be specific. Zayne’s been gone on a business trip with spotty internet connection, leaving you to fend for yourself. Not that you’d mind….normally. But here you are, a burrito of blankets and tissues, wishing he’d be home sooner. Four more days. Four more days of being on your own before your boyfriend returns.
You had been staying at your apartment while he was away, business as usual. Until tonight. Tonight, you had been tormented by a nightmare. Haunted by the thought of losing Zayne and not being able to do anything about it. You wanted nothing more than to call and hear his voice, or to run into his arms and collapse against him. Unable to console yourself, you drive to his house at 2am, hoping for some level of comfort. You creep into his house. Not the first time you’ve been here, far from it. But it’s not often you’re here without him. It’s unnervingly quiet.
Still teary eyed and shaking from your nightmare, you try to get settled to go to sleep. You set yourself up on his side of the bed, hoping his scent will ease your worries. As you pull out a sleep shirt from his hamper, you wrap it around a pillow, practically able to see him pinching the bridge of his nose at your actions. But you can’t help it. Wrapped up in his blankets, surrounded by the smell of him, your yearning only grows. As soft music plays in the room, the tears return to your eyes. You can’t help but recall your nightmare.
Sniffling and burying your face in Zayne’s pillow, you don’t hear the door quietly open. The shoes placed perfectly by the door, a huff escaping him as he moves your shoes into an orderly position beside his. Having seen your vehicle in the driveway, he situates himself with care so as not to wake you, placing his coat and bags in the corner of the entry way to be dealt with in the morning. As he heads toward the bedroom, he frowns. He hears the soft music floating from the room, the soft light shining from under the door. Far too late at night for you to be awake. Hand on the doorknob, he pauses, hearing a sniffle.
Concern rising, he cautiously opens the door. Entering the room, he’s met with the sight of a sniffling pile of blankets, clearly unaware of his early return. He walks slowly to your side. “Darling?” Zayne’s voice calls out, just above the soft music.
You jolt, having not heard his presence in the room.
“Zayne?” You stare in shock for a moment, certain you must be dreaming.
Moving slowly at first, you slowly peel yourself out of your blanket cocoon, moving to be closer to him. You stare at him cautiously for a moment, as if trying to convince yourself that he’s real. Then you surge towards him. Rushing at him and wrapping your arms tightly around his midsection, finally getting to bury your face in his chest and absorb his scent.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” His arms instantly come around you, holding you tight to him. He feels you hold tighter to him, beginning to tremble slightly.
“Nightmare…,” you respond, barely a whisper. You feel a kiss on the top of your forehead as his hand begins to caress your back.
“I’m here, my love,” Zayne whispers to you, knowing exactly what you need to hear. He stands, holding you tight and gently swaying along to the music, telling you how much he missed you. As you begin to calm down, you feel the drowsiness begin to creep in.
“Zaynie, can we go to bed?” you ask in a small voice, eyes beginning to droop shut.
“I need to get cleaned up first, but why don’t you lay down? I’ll be quick to come back to you,” he says with another kiss to the top of your head. Tightening your arms around him, unwilling to let him go, you let out a whine and bury your face deeper in his chest. He huffs out a slight laugh and pulls back, eyes wide with affection for you. He places his hand gently on your face, lightly caressing your cheek.
“How about joining me for a bath?” he asks softly, gazing adoringly at you. “I can carry you to bed if you fall asleep.” You laugh lightly, and nod into his chest.
You walk towards the bathroom, his arm around you while you lean into his side. When he leans forward to fill the tub, you wrap your arms around his midsection from behind, unwilling to let him go for even a moment. Zayne turns around and gently unwraps your arms from him as he begins to help you get undressed. He moves slowly and gently, peppering kisses across your forehead as he goes. He helps you into the bathtub before beginning to remove his clothes as well. He slips into the bath behind you, wrapping his body around yours.
“I missed you, Zaynie,” you say as you melt into his body behind you. You feel him pull you tight against his chest, lips at your ear.
“I missed you too, my love,” he whispers against your ear, mouth traveling slowly down as he presses gentle, yet deliberate, kisses to the back of your neck. You feel him reach for a washcloth, gently running it down your neck and shoulders as you slowly drift out of consciousness.
You wake to a feeling of relaxation and coolness, being lifted out of the water by Zayne’s arms. He supports you against him as he wraps you in a fluffy towel, carefully drying you off. He lifts you back in his arms and carries you to bed, tucking your body under the blankets while he goes to dress for bed and fetch clothes for you. Your eyes drift open, gazing at the span of his back as he puts his night shirt on. He turns around, your clothes in hand, to see a dopey smile on your face. The corners of his lips turn up slightly as he moves towards you.
Partway through helping you dress, a slight huff escapes him, catching sight of his used shirt laying crumpled atop a pillow. He helps to tuck you back into your side of the bed, before turning off the music and lights and sliding in beside you. You turn towards him and feel his arms wrap around you, pulling you into his chest. You breathe him in, feeling his hands tangling with your hair as he caresses the back of your head. You push one of your legs between his as you feel his lips touch the crown of your head.
“Goodnight, my love.”