Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Zayn Malik/Liam Payne, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Characters: Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Mark Jarvis, Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character(s), Doniya Malik, Karen Payne, Geoff Payne, Nicola Payne, Ruth Payne, Trisha Malik, Yaser Malik, Waliyha Malik, Safaa Malik
Additional Tags: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Angst, Violence, Alternate Universe - Boxing, Alternate Universe - Firefighters, Alternate Universe - Dance, Homophobia, Biphobia, parental homophobia, Minor Injuries, Serious Injuries, Career Ending Injuries, Self-Acceptance, Acceptance, Sexual Tension, Explicit Sexual Content, England (Country), Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff
Summary:
As a small child, Liam Payne dreamed of being a firefighter. He took up boxing to defend himself from school bullies, but never lost sight of his dream. 15 years later, Liam is set to be the youngest brigade watch commander in his district, and his recent boxing win puts him in line for the British national title - if he can learn to get out of his own way.
Zayn took his first dance lesson at 5, after watching his sister's tap class. At 18, when an injury derails Zayn's dream of dancing professionally, he sets it aside to attend university, but the lure of dancing proves too great to ignore. He becomes an instructor, and eventually, the owner of a small dance studio, where he encourages other dancers to chase their dreams.
When their worlds collide in a cacophony of misunderstandings, Zayn, confronted with his own biases, realizes there’s more to Liam than meets the eye, and offers to help him prepare for his upcoming fight.
While Liam learns to dance, Zayn learns the art of compromise, and along the way, they find each other.
And when tragedy strikes, Liam finds that Zayn’s love will help him face the shadows of his past, and give him the courage to believe in himself and his dreams for the future.
My undying love and affection to @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed for believing in this story and supporting it with the beautiul moodboards she created
After reading ‘And If the Hook Sets In’ I was incredibly inspired so this humble ziam piece goes to the lovely Sunfair or @northerndownpour for creating such beautiful fic
Liam’s boxing career is at its height, and Niall couldn’t be more proud of his man. Even if his tiny size means he hurts his neck staring up at Liam sometimes...
"And the Payne Train wins! This is incredible, the Payne Train is headed to the finals for the forth year in a row!"
"But will he make his first national win?"
"We'll see it all here in two weeks time!"
Niall ignored the voices booming over the sound system in favour of stretching up on his toes as he searched for his boyfriend through all the people around the ring. His face split into a grin when he finally saw the strong-built brunette heading his way and he jumped at him, flinging his arms around his neck. "Liam," he beamed.
"Whoa, hey," Liam laughed, wrapping his arms around the smaller man's waist to hold him tightly.
Once Liam had set him back on the floor, Niall whispered, "Congratulations 'Payne Train'."
Liam rolled his eyes and ducked to kiss the blonde, whose head didn't even reach Liam's shoulder. "Thank you, beautiful," he murmured, rubbing a hand down Niall's back.
"Liam."
Turning his head to find a pretty young woman with a microphone and a man holding a television camera, Liam tucked Niall into his side. "Hello, Kelsey," he grinned.
"How're you feeling about your big win?" Lesley asked him, extending the microphone towards him for his answer.
"Well, obviously it's a huge honour," Liam explained. "This'll be my forth consecutive national final, but I've not won one yet, so I'm hopeful."
"Niall, what do you think about his achievement?"
"I'm so proud of him," Niall grinned up at Liam. Turning his attention to Kelsey, he told her, "He's been training really hard for this, so it's amazing to watch him achieving everything he's been working for."
"It must be a bit scary watching him train sometimes," Kelsey commented. "He's so much bigger than you, does that ever worry you?"
Niall snorted. "No, I know he'd never hit me." He pressed a little closer to Liam, who rubbed his shoulders comfortingly. "Actually, I love watching him train. It's weirdly relaxing."
Turning back to Liam, Kelsey asked, "Does he often watch you train? I can imagine having your lovely little boyfriend around would be distracting."
"He's not distracting," Liam shrugged, ducking to kiss to top of Niall's head. "Most of the time, anyway."
"Hey!" Niall protested playfully, elbowing the brunette.
With a laugh in her voice, Kelsey turned to the camera and recited her closing piece, prompting Liam to lead Niall off towards the changing rooms.
"I'm not distracting," Niall pouted up at the brunette as they reached Liam's changing room.
"You are when you come up behind me and kiss my back," Liam told him as he stripped off his top and wiped himself down with a towel.
Niall smirked and bit his lip. "Yeah, okay then," he giggled.
Shaking his head, Liam redressed himself in a T-shirt and sweatpants. "How about we go celebrate my win?" he suggested, wrapping his arms around Niall's middle.
"Hmm..." Niall hummed as though he was considering it, resting his hands against Liam's chest. "I suppose we can," he grinned.
xXx
"Think you're ready for the final, Li?"
Liam glanced to his left to see Tony, another boxer, heading up to him as he made his way over to Niall. "I hope so," he chuckled. "I've just finished a two-hour session, so I'm not short on training."
"Here you go, Li," Niall grinned at him, handing the taller man his water bottle.
"Thanks, love." Liam leaned down and stole a quick kiss from the blonde before accepting the bottle.
Watching the exchange, Tony commented, "Must get a bit scary sometimes, Niall."
Niall frowned in confusion. "What would?"
"Dating Liam. He's so much bigger than you, isn't it intimidating?"
Shaking his head slowly, Niall explained, "I know he can protect me. He's not gonna hurt me."
"I know," Tony assured him. "But surely you've wondered."
Niall snorted through his nose. "No."
Ruffling Niall's hair to settle him, Liam told Tony, "I'd never have any reason to hurt him, there's no need for him to ever worry about it."
Tony raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. I just know it's something people wonder a lot with you two."
"Liam's not actually a violent person," Niall huffed. "He's a boxer, not a monster."
"Hey, I know," Tony assured him.
"We'll see you later, Tony," Liam dismissed, grabbing his jacket in one hand and wrapping his other arm around Niall. He led the blonde out of the gym and to their car.
"Why do people think that?" Niall mumbled, folding his arms as Liam started the car.
"Because they want something to gossip about," Liam sighed. "If they can speculate about you being scared of me, the media has something to write about."
Niall sighed and dropped his head back against the seat. "I s'pose."
With another sigh, Niall pointed out, "We also know my last boyfriend did hit me."
"And if anyone touches you again, I'll hit them," Liam stated firmly.
A tiny smile quirked up the corner of Niall's mouth. "I know." He covered Liam's hand on his knee. "Oh, my mam texted me before. She wants to know when we can go see her."
"When the season's over," Liam nodded. "I'm in the final, so another week and a half at least... And there'll be press stuff for about a week after that."
Niall hummed. "I'll just have to let her know in advance, is all."
"Sure," Liam smiled.
xXx
Niall looked up from cooking dinner when he heard Liam return home. "Hey," he grinned as Liam appeared in the living room. "How was training?"
"Long," Liam sighed, dropping his bag down beside the couch and heading over to lean against the island bench separating the living room from the kitchen. "How were things here?"
"Quiet," Niall shrugged, returning his focus to the pot on the stove. "Oh, I've booked our flights to Ireland, too."
Rubbing his eyes, Liam hummed, "When?"
"1pm on the 11th. I figured we could give ourselves a sleep-in since-"
"The 11th?" Liam interrupted with a frown. "I've still got press stuff then."
Niall glanced over his shoulder at him. "What? No you don't."
"Yes I do," Liam replied slowly, as though he was talking to a child.
Shaking his head, Niall protested, "You said you finished on the 10th."
"I don't finish until the 20th, Niall," Liam huffed.
"No, I texted you," Niall pressed, turning to face Liam. "You said the 10th."
"No, I said the 20th," Liam insisted, frustration seeping into his voice.
"You didn't."
"I did. You just read it wrong," Liam snapped.
Niall's mouth dropped open. "Are you saying I can't read a text message?" he asked disbelievingly, turning the stove down and abandoning it in favour of heading over to his boyfriend.
"I guess you can't, can you?"
"How dumb do you think I am?" Niall asked, offended.
Snorting, Liam replied, "Dumb enough to misread a clear text message."
"I didn't misread it; you said the 10th!" Niall insisted.
"I did not say the 10th!" Liam shouted.
"You did!"
"For fuck's sake, I can't go to Ireland on the 11th!" Liam yelled. "I don't care what you thought, I've got stuff to do!"
"I've told my mam that's when we'd be there," Niall huffed.
"I don't care! It's not happening!"
Folding his arms, Niall spat, "Stop shouting at me."
"Don't be such a fucking child," Liam scoffed.
"I'm not a child!"
"For fuck's sake, shut up!" Liam brought his arm back, hand clenched tightly in a fist.
Niall's eyes instantly widened and he scrambled backwards, stumbling on his own feet and falling flat on his butt. He backed himself right up against the kitchen bench, eyes filled with terror.
It took all of two seconds before Liam's face filled with realisation and horror, dropping his arm instantly. "Niall-"
"You were going to hit me." Niall's voice shook horribly, eyes filling with tears.
"I..." Liam backed away two steps, running his shaking hands through his hair. "Oh god..."
"You were going to punch me," Niall accused.
Liam covered his face with both hands, taking slow, deep breaths. "God, no..." He braced his hands against the island bench, head down as he continued his deep breaths. A sob left his mouth. "No, no, no, no, no..."
Niall shuddered on the kitchen floor, curling up in a tight ball. "You promised."
"Fuck, I'm so sorry, sweetheart." Liam straightened up and wiped the tears on his face, heading over to Niall. When the blonde shrank back from him, he slowly knelt to the floor and inched closer in the way one would approach a frightened animal. "Niall, I'm so sorry." Liam gently laid a hand on Niall's shoulder, blowing out a long, shaky breath before moving it up to cup his cheek. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, beautiful."
Sniffing, Niall demanded, "What the hell was that about?"
"It's been a really long day," Liam explained as calmly as he could, more tears threatening to fall. "My coach's new technique to get me fired up is to shout at me. All day, he's been shouting at me and I've been punching." Releasing a soothing breath, he whispered, "I'm so, so sorry, Niall. You didn't deserve that, not even the threat."
Swallowing hard, Niall slowly brought a hand up to cover Liam's against his cheek. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.
"I almost hit you, Niall, I should be asking you that," Liam sniffled, holding Niall's face between his hands.
"No..." Rubbing Liam's hand, Niall realised, "You're really not okay, Liam." He slowly shifted onto his knees and looked up into Liam's eyes, brushing his slight curls from his face. "You were gone before I got up at seven, and you've been yelled at all day."
Blowing out a sigh, Liam whispered, "I never wanted to hit you, Niall."
"And you didn't," Niall assured him. "Babe, I've never seen you this stressed before." Settling his hands on Liam's broad shoulders, he leaned in to press a kiss against the brunette's forehead.
"Pete's just really set on me winning the final this year and doesn't seem to care what the training does to my mental health," Liam mumbled.
"I care." Stroking the back of Liam's head, Niall murmured, "I'm here for you, okay?"
Liam nodded and let himself take a few more deep breaths to calm down. "'M sorry I yelled."
"Me too." Niall kissed Liam's nose and sighed, "I can change the flights, it's not that big of a deal. I just... I swear you said the 10th."
Liam reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, then opened his messages with Niall.
'Babe what date does all your stuff finish? Mam's nagging me - Niall'
'10th :) - Liam'
'Thank yooooooooou xx - Niall'
"Shit," Liam whispered, eyes filling with tears again.
"Hey, it's okay," Niall cooed, wrapping his arms around Liam's neck. "It's okay, babe."
Squeezing his arms tightly around Niall's middle, Liam breathed out, "I nearly punched you over a typo. That I made."
"Ssh, ssh..." Niall pressed his lips against Liam's neck, stroking his fingers through the brunette's hair. "I'm not blaming you, okay? If anything, I'm sorry I got so worked up about it. You'd know when your stuff finishes better than I do."
"I'm sorry," Liam mumbled. "I'd never hit you, Niall, I'd never do that. Not ever. Not to you."
"Stop apologising," Niall instructed, rubbing Liam's back. "Let's have our dinner, then have a lie down, yeah?"
Liam blew out a breath, then nodded and pushed himself to his feet. "Okay."
Standing up himself, Niall sighed and wrapped his arms around Liam's middle, leaning his cheek against Liam's chest. "My Liam," he murmured.
xXx
"...and he's done it! The Payne Train's first national title!"
Niall didn't wait in his usual way as the booming voices echoed through the arena. He pushed through the people to reach his boyfriend as he stepped out of the ring, finding himself swept up in Liam's arms and his breath kissed out of him. Pulling back to breathe, he squealed, "You did it!"
Beaming at the blonde, Liam lifted him off the ground and span him around once. "Christ," he panted, still puffing from his match.
"You did it, Liam, you won," Niall giggled.
Liam just grinned, pulling the blonde into a tight hug.
"Liam!"
Turning his attention to Kelsey as she approached them, Liam held Niall against his chest with a hand cradling the back of his head. "Kelsey," he acknowledged, his smile permanently stuck to his face.
"How does it feel to have won your first ever national title?" Kelsey asked, her own excitement obvious.
"It's amazing, I... I don't really have words to describe it," Liam admitted.
"Is there anyone you want to thank?"
Liam blew out a laugh. "Pete, my trainer, obviously, who's been pushing me through the past two weeks' worth of training relentlessly. The extra push he gave me was what I really needed. And my Niall, here, my rock," he grinned, stroking Niall's hair as the smaller man squeezed his arms around him. "I wouldn't've made it through the past two weeks without him keeping me sane and taking care of me."
"Do you have anything to say to the previous champ, who you just blew out of the water in the ring?"
"Good fight, man," Liam said seriously. "Really, great match."
"Give it up, everyone, for our new champion; The Payne Train!" Kelsey cheered. "UK number one!"
xXx
When they finally dragged themselves into bed that night, Liam yawned, "I'm exhausted."
Niall cuddled into the brunette's chest, draping one arm over his waist. "My champion," Niall giggled, kissing Liam's shoulder. "You've had a huge evening."
"Yeah." Kissing Niall's hair, Liam murmured, "I was serious, y'know. When I said I couldn't've done that without you."
"I'm your rock?" Niall asked quietly.
"You sure are. The one person who's always looking out for me." Pulling Niall up enough so they were face to face, Liam smiled, "My tiny little Niall rock."
Niall pouted. "I'm not tiny."
"Look at you," Liam laughed, rolling onto his back and pulling Niall with him so the blonde was straddling him. "Light as a feather. My tiny Niall." He tugged Niall into a long kiss, his arms coiled tightly around the smaller man.
