The next morning Zayn woke up to his alarm. His head was thumping, his brain felt dizzy and he felt overall nauseous - it was not a good feeling and he regretted nothing more than his past self for setting such early alarms, especially on days he worked afternoons. The sun was too harsh on his dull, aching head and he desperately wished that he didn't allow any drop of alcohol into his system. He should have just vibed to the music instead because as a result of his stupidity, here he was suffering and he still had Uni to attend in a couple of hours. Tiredly, his eyes made their way over to Liam who was still fast asleep despite the blaring alarm, he couldn't help but groan at how he wished that was him fast asleep. He sighed softly, wanting the boy's hugs and his chicken noodle soup again, he reckoned they'd help him feel better. With another gentle groan, he grabbed his teddy and went and joined Liam in bed. "Li."

No response.

"Li." He tried again, caressing Liam's cheeks, "Up."

Liam softly opened his eyes, his eyelashes fluttering against Zayn's palm. Being in bed with the boy felt awkward, it felt different... And it was, though they had shared a bed before, it was still new to the both of them but they were fond of the situation. A hangover sucked and truth be told, they craved each others comfort. "Morning." Liam whispered, his voice raspy and gorgeous.

"Mm... Mornin. Forgot I had an alarm set.. s' half eight." Zayn whispered back, face behind his teddy. His mouth desperately close to the pup's ear. "Oh. I see. Early. You brought your teddy over?"

Zayn nodded, ear falling in between the boys soft lips. Liam gently shook his head and softly tugged it out, Zayn frowned. "But I wanted to do that."

"Be honest, when did you last wash that teddy?"

The boy shrugged and Liam smiled, "Exactly. I maybe wouldn't put it between your lips, it's... icky."

"But I wanna." He pouted, Liam gently tapped his lips. "Let's find you a pacifier and order you one so that next time, you don't need to suck on them. How does that sound?"

"Can I have a cute one with a paw print on?" He asked shyly and Liam simply nodded, his hand rubbing patterns on the boy's back. "Of course, Z. You can have whatever you want."

"Thank you." He grinned and brought up a website in which he had been on in the past, he knew exactly what he was looking for as a pacifier is always something he wanted. He instantly found a blue pacifier with a paw print and sparkles on, he was in love. "This one.. Please."

The man took the phone and ordered it with a fond smile, "That one looks perfect for you and I can't wait to see just how adorable it looks between those soft lips of yours." He teased, scrolling down the website and seeing what else it has to offer. It was a small business owned by someone else in the community and they had small items like pacifiers, custom bottles, rattles and teethers. "Do you want anything else? I think a bottle would be cute, don't you?" The boy blushed and nuzzled his face against Liam's shoulder with a soft groan, he was embarrassed but he was happy. Liam chuckled, "I'm getting you one.. A blue one to match your pacifier."

"I'll give you some money.." Zayn muttered, moving his face and looking up towards Liam who simply shook his head. "My treat. How are you feeling anyway? I'm not too bad myself actually, thought I'd be a lot worse."

"Head hurts an' I feel sick. But your cuddles are helping. And teddy is helping too." He smiled, resting his nose against Liam's. Liam made eye contact with him and laughed, caressing the boys cheek in return. "I see. I'm glad to be of help to you." He handed the phone back.

"I reckon we watch some telly and eat some soup. What do you think?" Liam said, watching at how the little boys face shone. "I think that sounds perfect."

"Awesome. Right. You stay here with puppy and I'll get some soup on the go." Liam hummed, getting up and out of the bed. His head was banging and the light was making it even worse so he shut the crooked blinds and headed into the petite kitchen, although the light was minimal it was still there and definitely not blinding which he was grateful for. He took a paracetamol himself and began on making the chicken noodle soup. "Hey, Zayn? Do you want a paracetamol?"

Zayn looked over, "Yes, please."

Liam nodded, pouring him a glass of water too. "Water okay?" With a nod, Zayn came over and took the paracetamol and water from him, rubbing his thumb against Liam's hand as he did so, as if to thank him. He took the tablet gently and sipped on the water before heading back into Liam's warm bed, making himself all cozy and cuddled up - their beds were the exact same but for some reason Liam's just felt so much safer and softer. He then took the TV remote from the table beside Liam's bed and opened up Disney+, finding himself a movie to watch. It took a while but he settled on Encanto. It was something that he hadn't watched just yet so the excitement was getting to him.

"Encanto? That's new." Liam smiled, watching the tv as he stirred the soup. A couple more minutes now and it should be done, ready to wrap his arms around Zayn again. "Haven' seen it yet." Zayn responded, chewing on his thumb. "Me either, it looks colourful. Pretty. Thumb from your mouth, please."

Zayn whined and Liam raised an eyebrow, quickly causing Zayn to stop. "Thank you. Once again, it's icky."

"I kno' but..." he whined once more.

"Your pacifier should be here tomorrow, or the day after. I paid first class shipping.. I know it's a bit of a wait but it's the quickest option." He reassured and dished up the warm soup into two separate bowls, steam flowing up from each of them showing just how warm they were. "Might have to sit your soup for a little so it doesn't burn your mouth."

The boy nodded, hands falling to his eyes, rubbing them softly. He could feel himself regressing, anytime now and he was about to have the mental age of a three year old. "Sit it."

"That's right." He responded, taking it over. He sat both the bowls down on the side table and climbed in next to him, wrapping his arm around the boy who was now rubbing his cheek against the teddy to feel the texture. "You're.. cute, Z. You're very cute."

The boy blushed, his cheeks a pretty tint of pink. "Ta."

"You feel small? That's okay." The man reassured, holding Zayn's hand. He put his thumb on top of Zayn's, allowing the boy to know he was here to look after him and listen. The boy nodded, shyly, his eyes gazing away from Liam's."

"I told you, sweetheart... it's okay. I can feed you your soup if you're feeling, like, two small to do that?" He questioned, still getting used to the overall caregiver thing and the different developmental ages. "Zee.. Zee got it." Zayn replied and Liam grinned, handing the now cool bowl to him with a spoon to which Zayn reluctantly took, beginning to slowly feed himself at a timid pace.

"If Zee's got it, Liam won't help... But if Zee changes his mind, Liam is here." Zayn giggled quietly and Liam's stomach filled with butterflies, it was as if this boy got even more adorable with every second he spent sharing his presence. "Ta, Li."

The man began to eat his own soup, watching the Disney film and witnessing how the characters burst into song every few minutes. He acknowledged that even though Zayn was so infatuated by the movie, he somehow was still able to intake the soup without getting it everywhere. It seemed he had mastered the talent of not breaking eye contact with the digital box in front of them, he wished he could do the same but for now that was a talent he was still learning. Just like being a caregiver was.

"Once you're finished, I'll take it so you can stay here. You look all comfy." Liam smiled and it was true, his bed always seemed so small for himself but for Zayn, the bed seemed too big. He fit right in the centre and the molded dip Liam's body had created over the time he had spent laid in it was perfect for Zayn's little body. "'kay. Am almos' done."

"Good boy. You tell me when you feel full in here." He gently tapped Zayn's tummy to which made Zayn giggle. "That tickle me!"

"Oh, wow. I'm so sorry for tickling you, little man." He chuckled and tickled behind his neck, making his head fall back and a string of laughter topple out of his pink lips. "Liiiii... you did it 'n purpose!"

"I know, I know... And for that, I'm not sorry." He teased which made the little boy laugh. "Done." He proudly announced and handed the bowl to Liam, to who stacked it on top of his own bowl. He himself hadn't eaten much but the hangover was really taking over his hunger, he felt full after a couple sips. The man took the bowls into the kitchen and washed them quickly, stacking them up with the others.

"Li, Li. Me haf question?"

"What's your question, Z?"