if only time could just

Based on this kinkmeme prompt:

You know that saying that goes something like "you never know what you have until it's gone"?

Liam never noticed how Zayn looks at him all adoringly until Zayn starts to look at someone else that way. And Liam doesn't notice how Zayn's been pulling away little by little until the day he introduces someone (male, female- doesn't matter) to the band, kind of like meeting the family type situation. All of a sudden, Zayn can't always come over when Liam needs someone to cuddle and he spends more time on his phone checking for messages from the bf/gf and he sees the way Zayn starts to look at this person with a painfully familiar expression- the way Zayn usually looks at *Liam*

Zayn meanwhile has started to give up on Liam and he thinks that he could grow to love this new person a lot too. Maybe not as much as he loves Liam, but close enough.