#'looks fine to me' thought Gemma and went about her day without realising they were thieving from her own festival | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

thr-333 · 3 years ago

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I got this request story idea where quirkless deku doesn't want to be a hero anymore because of bullying that he got from bakugou and wrong saying that he got from all might. So deku decides is a backpacker, travelling around the world experiencing cultures, food, quirks!!! He has even a YouTube account where talk about his travels, meet new people and talk about their quirks.

Here you go @sweetizukufan its set in nz like you wanted :D

Ochako flopped onto her bed and groaned into a pillow. She didn’t have the right to complain, she knew that. She had been one of thousands of applicants to pass the entrance exam and for the past three years her classmates had been training just as hard as she had. And truthfully she didn’t want to complain. It was her final year at UA. It was only a matter of months until she was officially a hero her dream since a child and she was excited for it!

That didn't change the fact Aizawa had upped their training the last few months. The days got longer the work harder and quite frankly it left her with virtually zero free time. Whenever she tried voicing her thoughts she’d be met by her well meaning, but overly enthusiastic classmates encouraging her to keep her head up.

She was! That didn’t mean she had to go through hellish training with a wide smile on her face.

“Ugh,” Ochako rolled over as it got hard to breath with the pillow smothering her. She really did need to get some sleep before waking up at five in the bloody morning tomorrow when she hit the gym. But honestly at this point if she didn’t do something to break up the monotony of training, eating and sleeping she was going to lose it.

She blindly grabbed for her phone. The school had funded getting her a newer model than her old flip phone since that had been a hindrance when she started internships. She was provided with the industry standard which her friends had tested by throwing it out a window, where it hit Bakugou’s head, and was promptly exploded then stomped on. The thing came out of it without a scratch.

She brought up youtube, it’s not like she had any games, let alone time to play them. It was probably a bad sign she had forgotten what channels she liked. With little other option she started scrolling trending with only a small amount of hesitance. She flicked past everything that was clearly clickbait, too childish or both.

Something caught her eye and Ochako back-pedalled to take a look. It looked like some sort of vlogging channel ‘ARRIVING IN NEW ZEALAND! Auckland sky tower!!!’ was written across the screen. Even with all the caps she didn’t really see how that could be clickbait. Maybe the guy was just excited, she would like to get a holiday like that after all. The image had him smiling at the camera sitting down and below him was nothing, nothing but a street far below. Ochako was embarrassed to say her first thought was that he had some sort of floating quirk before realising he was literally sitting on a window. In her defence she had a float quirk.

Partly embarrassed she clicked on the video why not live her traveling dreams vicariously through a stranger? She used to watch her fair share of travel videos, although those were mostly in tropical places so she could research where to take her parents.

The video started with a shot looking over the wing of a plane, a montage of it starting to land. Ochako was vaguely concerned when all she could see was water out the window but just before touch down the tarmac came into view so it wasn't a surprise crash landing. The camera cut off after a few more seconds panning across the airport as the plane pulled in. The music started to fade out as the shot cut to the same guy as before.

“Hey guys Midoriya here again, just got off an eleven hour flight,” He had no right to look so cheerful at that Ochako had never been on a plane but it didn’t look particularly fun, “And let me tell you I was not prepared for the ordeal that is security here,”

Midoriya’s smile faltered a bit, looking sheepish. He was walking with the camera just outside the airport, people milling around in the background paying him no mind.

“I had no idea it would be that tough, I had an apple I got on the plane in my bag and I thought that would be alright, I got it on the plane after all!” Midoriya didn’t look upset or angry but he was blushing madly. Ochako cracked a smile at that now that she looked closer he was probably about her age, “But no, I swear I thought they were going to arrest me! They started interrogating me, I had to stutter out that I got it on the plane, but that didn’t stop them they gave me a lecture about protecting the environment and declaring food, luckily I got off without a fine, I think it’s because I looked terrified, because I was,”

Midoriya chuckled rubbing his neck, there was a bang and he looked wideyed to the side the camera shook slightly then cut to another shot the setting slightly off from where it was showing a bit of greenery growing at the air port.

“Sorry dropped my bag,” Ochako giggled at that a bit, more that he had decided to keep that in the video than anything else, “So I thought that was the end of it, but apparently not, they started asking questions about my shoes, ‘have you visited any farms?’ ‘have you worn them hiking at any point?’ stuff like that, so that was a bit of a problem because these are my only pair of shoes in this country and I’m pretty sure they’re gonna incinerate that apple,”

A little graphic of a cartoon apple on fire popped up along with a pair of shoes. A speech bubble followed saying ‘save yourself!’ as the apple’s little chibi face screwed up.

“I promised them that no, I haven’t by the way I wouldn’t lie about this stuff the environment here is super cool and unique I couldn’t live with myself if my dirty shoes killed a forest,” The graphic was gone by now and Midoriya was walking through the airport, “But I handed over all the snacks I had in my bag, even if they were ok to bring in the country I was too anxious to risk it, that seemed to appease the border security and I got away with my shoes in tact, my snacks sacrifice will not be in vain,”

Ochako was tempted to laugh but if someone set fire to her snacks or sweets there would be hell to pay.

“Anyway now I’m hungry and have some time before my hotels check in,” Midoriya beamed at the camera, “So I’m gonna do something I’ve wanted to since planning this trip,”

On that mysterious note the video cut to another montage as Midoriya got into a taxi. Ochako let herself enjoy the sights that rolled out the window. She wished she had a computer to watch this on instead of squinting for details on her phone's screen. The montage went onto show the outside of a store then going inside to pan over all the baked goods inside. It was a smorgasbord that stoked Ochako’s envy.

“Here we are,” Midoriya sat at a table just outside the store a few bags laid out in front of him, “These sorts of bakeries are everywhere in New Zealand, I didn’t look for anywhere specific just one walking distance to my hotel room, and here we are!”

Midoriya took something from a bag showing it to the camera to make out the golden crust of a pie. Going torturously in detail as he ripped it open for the audience's benefit. Steam rose and mince flowed out, surprising Ochako as she thought it would be sweet. Breaking it open made a mess as Midoriya was forced to drop the piping hot pastry. The filling pooled across the bag it had come in making the whole thing look sloppy.

“I think my friend would kill me if she saw me do that, Gemma don’t watch this video,” Midoriya warned to late, “She’s the one who told me I had to try a pie, I have a few flavours here but lets start with the basic one, mince!”

Midoriya had some difficulty eating it now that it had fallen apart but managed and his eyes lit up.

“It’s really good, the pastry is flaky and buttery it works really well with the savoury mince the two together make a really satisfying bite, but I guess it would be better if I didn’t destroy it first,” Midoriya said sheepishly, “I won’t do that for the rest of them, promise,”

Midroiya took another bite from the pie before showing off the next one.

“This is Gemma’s favourite Butter Chicken, and trust me it smells so good!” Midoriya, the tease took a bite. Ochako had to wonder what she did to deserve this, “Wow I like this one way better, not that the other one was bad!” Midoriya hurriedly said.

He showed the inside to the camera, a rich looking butter chicken inside.

“It’s really flavourful so you don’t need any sauce that and the texture of the chicken and curry are really complimented by the pie crust,” Izuku took another bite as he talked, “I guess it’s kinda like if Butter Chicken was wrapped up in Nan so there's no way it wouldn’t be good,”

Midoriya talked more as he ate that pie and a steak and cheese one he had brought talking about both until Ochako’s mouth was salivating.

“That’s not nearly all the pie options, but I’ll be touring across New Zealand so this can be an ongoing adventure, now desert!” Midoriya brought out a long bun full of cream, it had a dollop of jam on the top and so much icing sugar Ochako feared for his health. Midoriya however ignored those fears and took a bite anyway, “The buns really soft and the area that the cream’s touched it is just the best texture ever,”

He smiled and there was cream and powder on his cheeks Ochako just knew was going to haunt her until he wiped it off.

“This entire thing is just, ‘ok how can we make this as soft as possible,” Midoriya commented getting closer to the middle of the bun where the bit of jam was, “The raspberry, I think? Jam is really good at breaking up the flavour half way through, now I can eat the rest of it,” Midoriya grinned as he finished it off. He started walking around again waiting for his check in to arrive. That didn't seem to bother him as he pointed out things on the street as he walked.

As he did, Ochako saw someone blatantly jump over the street instead of waiting for the lights. There was another person in the background who casually strolled across the side of a building, feet sticking to it somehow. While people would use their quirks on the street all the time they were usually less obvious about it as police would sometimes call them out and it did depend quirk to quirk. Midoriya zoomed in on a few of these people before it focused on him smiling as he walked.

“New Zealands got pretty cool laws around quirk usage,” He explained, clearly having done his research, enthusiastically by the looks of it, “You have to go through some basic training to prove you can control your quirk, at least so you wont hurt anyone after that you get a license and your free to use your quirk, like I island,” That Ochako thought was cool part of her training had pointed out that some situations heroes were called in for weren't always villain attacks but some public quirk usage gone south, “It’s pretty easy to get by the sounds of it but that does all depend on what your quirk may be,”

The shot cut a bit, Ochako assumed he had rambled on about that for a bit and decided to cut that part.

“In terms of heroes from what I’ve researched the police handle most of that, they’re trained in their quirks kinda like hero schools back in Japan but starting at university not highschool,” That made sense Ochako supposed, and they’d probably have more time to master their quirks too, “There’s a few heroes sure, they’re like a branch of the police department and I think there's a departmental separation between rescue and combat heroes,”

Was she privately pleased he had listed rescue heroes first? Yes, yes she was.

“But honestly there aren’t many, they seem more like the people you call in for really big stuff going on, or international relations, it makes sense the population of New Zealand isn’t all that big,” Midoriya rounded the corner someone made a peace sign at the camera before moving on, “Almost half the population is here in Auckland and the whole country hasn’t reached the five million mark yet, thats crazy to me considering Japan’s population is in the hundred million range and it’s only slightly bigger than New Zealand,”

That did seem insane to Ochako, not sure to be smug about that fact or not.

“So that's probably why heroes are less of a thing here but that doesn't mean it’s all not still really cool,” Midoriya was beaming at the camera, his positivity and enthusiasm practically punching her through the screen, “I’ve rambled enough, it’s about check in time I’ll show you guys where I’ll be staying,”

Midoriya gave a quick tour of his hotel room. It wasn't much, more of a backpackers than anything.

“It’s not big I know but I’ll only be staying here for a few days to explore Auckland then I’m off traveling so a large place wasn't really a worry,” Midoriya flopped down on the bed, bouncing slightly as he hit the mattress, “I’m gonna take a nap because I am exhausted,” His tone betrayed nothing, “But stick around because I’ve got a surprise this afternoon- well I probably put it in the title anyway so it’s not a surprise but it’s still going to be cool, See ya,” Midoriya saluted the camera and it faded to black for a few seconds.

When it came back to light it was an image looking up at a tall tower circling around it and entering the building next to it. There was a continuous shot that was sped up as he walked through the line entering an elevator which literally had a glass floor.

“Wo-” The camera was pointed down at Midoriya's shoes as he hesitated to stand on the glass patch. His foot made contact before he quickly stepped back, “Nope, no, nope,”

Ochako laughed and sank back into her bed. The elevators opened and there was a shot of large windows showing the expanse of the city. The footage sped up as Midoriya did a clean circle around the tower showing it was a loop to give a 360 degree view of Auckland. It was pretty with rolling hills and she could see forests at the edge of it. Honestly it was small compared to the cities she was used to but that made sense given what Midoriya had said earlier.

“Look at this,” The footage went back to normal speed as Midoriya focused on a chart comparing the heights of different towers, “It’s half as tall as the sky tree,”

And that was given the giant antenna on the top.

“Come check this out it’s pretty cool,” Midoriya walked down the steps until he was right next to the window, a few steps more and he came to a patch in the floor that was just glass like the elevator. Midoriya noticeably stood back from it, “It says here that the glass is just as thick and strong on the floor, so reasonably logically,” Ochako snorted, “It should be just the same as walking on the floor… they say that but…”

Midoriya switched the camera around to focus on him, looking a bit pale.

“This might shock you but I’m not really a fan of heights,” He shuddered and shook himself out, “Alright I can do this,”

What followed was a frankly painful process that Ochako couldn't help but laugh at. Midoriya would approach the glass before backing off. He set the camera up on the railing so it looked down enough that she could see the glass and street below. Midoriya tried a bunch of stuff like walking up without looking down. That didn't work and he backed out several meters before he had even reached the glass thinking he was standing on it. He tried to sit down and scoot onto it but couldn't manage more than sitting far from the edge and putting his feet on it. Ochako started howling with laughter when a kid came by running up and jumping on the glass while Midoriya looked on with fear like they were mad.

Midoriya at least had a humor about it. 2D sketches drawn over the video to help exaggerate his struggle and the entire thing filmed rather comically.

Ochako was beginning to believe he had photoshopped the image earlier before he grabbed the camera taking a deep shuddering breath.

“I can do this, I promise I can do this,” He sat down and shuffled back cringing all the way. Ochako found herself strangely proud as Midoriya actually made it onto the glass. He was white knuckled reaching up to hold the railing. He smiled shakily at the camera before turning into a more genuine look of triumph. That was until he quickly rolled off it jumping to his feet and scurrying away, “There! Done! I did it!”

He was smiling brightly now and Ochako couldn't deny she was proud of him. She had struggled herself with heights something she was forced to get over to use her quirk so she knew just how hard that can be.

“Gosh I hope that's easier than what I’m about to do,” Midoriya spun around to show a different window wires running outside and inside a countdown that was about to hit one. It did and there was a blur outside Ochako belatedly realised it was a person. Oh no.

“Now I’m not going to do that but I am going to do something pretty cool,” Ochako blew a sigh of relief but also wanted to hit him for scaring her like that. Under no circumstances should he be jumping off buildings.

They lapsed into another montage Midoriya going back downstairs. This time he had the courage to put a foot on the window in the elevator. Downstairs he went into another area donning a coat and sort of jumpsuit before layering harnesses over the top. He went up an elevator with a few other people this time. They stepped out into another room Midoriya carefully keeping the window out of frame to keep the grand reveal. Their harnesses got latched on and secured to a railing. Once everything was safe the doors pushed open revealing Auckland city, this time not hidden behind glass.

Midoriya skipped over the likely long process of gaining the courage to go outside cutting instead to him smiling with the city at his back and wind whipping through his hair.

“Welcome to the top!” Midoriya yelled over the wind, the audio quality was bad but that was understandable. She felt worse for Midoriya who was smiling through the fear, “It’s really cold and windy up here and I’m scared!”

“Just go back down you idiot,” Ochako huffed fondly as he kept shouting to be heard over the wind.

“I’m kinda afraid of dropping my camera honestly,” Midoriya laughed but she couldn't hear it, instead he pointed in to a few specific spots across the city, “See those hills? Most of those are actually remnants of volcanoes, you see Aucklands kinda built on top of a giant pit of Magma,”

Midoriya quickly grabbed back onto the railing, slowly shuffling along the sky walk, higher than he had been inside.

“Luckily the volcanoes in this area are dormant, cause if one in this area erupts there's a pretty good chance like 50 more are gonna follow,”

Midoriya stayed up there for a little longer pointing out interesting things in the distance. Ochako could safely say she was glad when he cut back to the bottom of the sky tower. His hair was windswept and cheeks red from windchill. Ochako didn't even need to check the comments to know most of them were gushing about how cute he was.

“That was… terrifying, but I’m glad I did it, who thinks I should try skydiving next?” Midoriya grinned, before his face dropped and paled again, “God please no that was a joke,”

Ochako giggled relaxing back in bed again after the tension of the skywalk Midoriya had been leaking through the screen dissipated.

“Anyway I’m just gonna go lie down for a while until some friends of mine get here, then we’ve got one more surprise,” Ochako hoped he hadn’t changed his mind and was going to jump off the building after all, she didn’t want to see him have a literal heart attack.

The video cut to Midoriya smiling at the camera again. He had a lot more color to him now and his hair was somewhat tamed. In his defence he had apparently got off and 11 hour flight then walked around 300 meters in the air it was allowed to be messy.

“So the person meeting me is Gemma, I mentioned her earlier, and a few other friends but their camera shy so you probably wont see them,” Midoriya was bouncing in place gaze constantly drifting away from the camera, “This is our first time meeting in person so I’m kinda excited kinda dreading if this has all just been some elaborate joke and I’m about to get stood up or worse,”

“Who hurt you and who do I need to kill?” Uraraka whispered, fully prepared to throw down the gauntlet for a youtuber she had only just discovered.

Luckily for them Gemma and his other not seen friends were spared her wrath. The camera shot was from far away so she couldn't hear or see anything in detail but it clearly showed the two running up to hug each other Midoriya pulling back to excitedly chat. Gemma matched his enthusiasm, sparkles trailing her arms as she made wide sweeping gestures.

“Here everyone say hi to Gemma,” The shot changed to frame the two of them, Gemma waving the motion sending more glittering sparkles falling from her hand and landing on Midoriya’s shoulder.

“Oh no-” Gemma stepped back to look at Midoriya the front of his shirt was covered in lingering sparkles along with his face and hair. Midoriya looked down at himself a little shocked as Gemma covered her face groaning into her hands, “I’m so sorry, I swear they fade out,”

She scrubbed her hands down her face, unaffected as her whole body shone lightly with subtle sparkles.

“I love it,” Midoriya grinned, twirling a bit to show there was a band of sparkles across his back from where her arms must have come around him. He was quite a bit shorter than her so his face also looked like someone had blown glitter in it, it just made his smile all the more dazzling.

“So you know where we’re going for dinner?” Gemma was looking at the camera but clearly asking Izuku.

“Up the tower again!” Midoriya beamed and really him plus sparkles was too unfair a combination.

This time in the elevator Gemma stood proudly on the window as Midoriya yelled at her.

“Are you crazy?!”

“Crazy you say?” At that Gemma jumped up and Midoriya let out an unholy screech as the elevator shuddered, she laughed but it was teasing not cruel. Ochako could make out the vague reflection of someone patting Midoriya on the shoulder and another person's arm came into frame to swat at Gemma.

When they reached the top Midoriya did not focus too much on the view, already having shown it. They stepped into a nicely decorated restaurant, but what was interesting was when Midoriya demonstrated that it was slowly spinning so the patrons could enjoy the view without leaving their table.

“Do you think they could speed it up?” Gemma asked, she was sitting next to Midoriya, both had their backs to the window so Ochako had a clear shot of it.

“Like a dangerous merry go round?” Midoriya questioned, the sparkles still clung to his cheeks and eyelashes.

“Exactly!” Gemma gave him finger guns, that matched her real guns. She may be sparkly but without the coat Ochako could now see she was ripped, “Also the dangerous is redundant,”

“What kind of merry go rounds-” Midoriya cut himself off as a waiter walked by, “... anyway I don’t think thats a good idea, given that the points to you know, eat,”

“Thats just what makes it more fun,” Gemma waved off.

“Uh-huh,” Midoriya raised an eyebrow skeptically before turning to the camera, “Hope you guys don’t mind but I wont be doing much food reviewing this dinner, I’ll show it off but-”

“This is a night for us to celebrate, later losers,” Gemma saluted, Midoriya squeaked telling her off before cutting the video off. Ochako laughed glad for Midoriya that his nerves had been wrong.

As promised he showed a few shots of some fancy looking food. Ochako wondered how much she would have to save up for her and her parents to eat there, not as much as the flights of course… hopefully.

The camera placed on the table showed the scenery slowly revolving outside, getting darker and lights turning on as the sun set. By the time they were getting up to leave it was fully dark outside and Midoriya spared a moment to linger on a shot of Auckland at night.

“Izuku don’t forget your bag,” Gemma called as she shrugged on her jacket, also glittery.

“Thank-” The camera whirled around to where the bag should be. There was a slight ridge dividing the circle of the restaurant that spun and a ledges lining the outside where all the supporting beams were, “Oh sh-”

The camera started shaking as Midoriya ran through the restaurant. The shot switching to another camera that caught Midoriya as he ran the other way almost bowling over a waiter and profusely apologising. All the while you could hear Gemma and several others laughing off screen.

“Oh? Look what we have here,” Gemma moved the camera to focus on a spot as the restaurant turned around, a bag coming into view that Gemma scooped up. It was probably Midoriya's seeing as it had a couple of All Might pins and Ochako wasn’t sure how popular he was internationally.

Gemma set up the camera to focus on the opposite direction Midoriya ran. It caught the moment he came around the other side, still staring worriedly at the window. Gemma whistled sharply gaining a few glares but a relieved look from Midoriya as she held up his bag.

They left the restaurant with a few apologies at the other patrons for being loud. When the camera switched it was back on Midoriya but Ochako caught a glimpse of Gemma shimmering in the background waiting around.

“Alright that's all for today,” Midoriya smiled, Ochako stomped down the slight disappointment resolving check out his other videos from his easiness and confidence on screen Midoriya must have been at this awhile, “I’m going to be touring all over the country so stay tuned for the series, I haven't showed you nearly how beautiful New Zealand is, I hope I can make it down to the south island too cause they have some really pretty scenery, for now I’m going back to the hotel and crashing hard, see ya!”

The video signed off to the end cards a recommended video and link to Gemma’s apparent channel that looked like some sort of fitness channel with how she was lifting weights in it. Ochako promised herself to check it out.

For now she subscribed to Midoriya’s channel checking the time to see if she could squeeze in another before going to bed. She was feeling like she could get away with it. The change in pace revitalising in a way. But really she attributed that to Midoriya’s natural cheer and charisma. Somewhere in there she had allowed herself to relax and get swept up in this dorky kids mundane adventure. It was exactly the kind of thing she wanted her parents to experience one day.

This was exactly what she had become a hero for, and now graduation was within her grasp. She just had to push a little more and then she would be out in the world able to do some good for her family and everyone else.

Ochako smiled at the screen, resolving to get some sleep and maybe she could squeeze in another video tomorrow morning. Before she turned off her phone Ochako glanced at the channel's name, snorting to herself. It was perfect.

Green Bean and Bags

#my hero academia #my hero academia au #mha #bnha #asks #ask request #asks welcome

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writingsfromhome · 4 years ago

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Nuclear Family III

Part 3: Family Meals

A/N: This one gets a little bit more complicated for Y/N, feelings are definitely involved. Thank you everyone for reading/liking/reblogging/commenting!!! <3

Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV / Part V

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The next day goes by without incident. Harry takes Charlie to the park as I stay home and catch up on missed work. Around 3 in the afternoon, with the sun shining brightly, I leave the flat with an itch in my leg. I'd spent too long indoors. I text Harry saying that I was stepping out.

"Y/N?" Someone calls as I'm about to leave the building. I spot a familiar face and shout out in excitement.

"Marc! I forgot you lived in the same building oh my god!"

"I knew you were in London but I wondered why you never callled...you're living with Harry?" He asks tentatively.

"Yeah," I laugh awkwardly. "Mixup with the air bnb my first day, so we're all here. It's great though, a little hectic but great. Charlie loves it."

"I bet she does," he grins. I forgot he was so handsome. The thing with Marc and I was, we were friends but ever since he came down to LA last year we sort of redefined our friendship to include a few perks. But it worked with us, we only saw each other once in a blue moon. And we were chronically single-me being too busy with being a mother and Marc too busy because directing a magazine meant no time for relationships. So because we got along so well, and we enjoyed the time we spent. We decided to live a little and do something risky. It paid off.

"You should come over some time! Charlie would love to see you too, she still talks about the day we went to Disneyland." Marc crashed at my place last year and Charlie took to him immediately. Maybe because he had the same accent her dad had.

"Maybe I will...and maybe you and I could catch up too sometime if you're free..."

"I'm free now, Marc," I laugh at his attempt to sound discrete. Staying at Harry's, it might get complicated if I invite Marc over. At least until after Charlie's birthday. There were too many things going on until then.

Marc joins me for a bite and by the time I get home Harry and Charlie are home and playing with a new toy she'd gotten. I watch fondly and feel a sense of relief. Charlie loved her time here and that was all I needed to see. A big concern staying with Harry was confusing Charlie where we stood but we were all good so far.

The next couple days go smoothly too. Harry goes out some evenings with his girlfriend and spends most of the days with Charlie, unless he's working. Charlie and I see a play and visit some old friends and we settle into London quicker than expected.

"Are you busy tomorrow evening?" Harry asks that morning.

"I was just going to make dinner at home, big day on Sunday." I take my reading glasses off to focus on Harry.

"My family was thinking of coming tomorrow."

The statement lands with a thud on my chest.

"Oh. Well...I'm sure Charlie will be glad to meet them!"

"You've got to be there. Please Y/N? They're staying for Charlie's birthday on Sunday."

"I..." I glance at Charlie who's curled on the sofa with her stuffed animal. I'd have to see them either way now that I was living here. "Alright. I'll be there."

"Perfect," Harry reaches out to squeeze my hand and I have to remind myself not to jerk it away.

Yes-the last few days have been well. Logistically. But emotionally, I was just as confused and angry at feeling that way. Harry went on dates with his girlfriend but during breakfasts we shared, his gaze would linger. His hand would brush mine, as he showed me something funny on his phone. Or when Charlie forced us to sit with her and play with her stuffed toys, he would make up silly scenes that forced us to be closer. The vibes between us felt tense sometimes and other times it felt like I could lean over and kiss him and the three years apart would disappear.

"I'll let them know." Harry continues about settling the date. "It works perfectly because Gemma was suggesting tomorrow too, and Miranda's free too."

"Miranda?" I ask. Had I heard correctly?

"Yeah. She's got to fly out Sunday for a shoot next week so I won't be seeing her all week. Tomorrow works."

"Miranda's coming to the family dinner?" I ask again, my voice sounding hollow to me. Was Harry an absolute idiot?

"Yeah! My whole family knows her-she's been around for my mum's birthday and Christmas."

Harry really was an idiot. He didn't notice my tone of voice or how ridiculous that was.

"I'm quite tired," I close my laptop screen. "We'll talk later?"

"Yeah." Harry pauses, picking up on my abrupt excuse. "I'll-yeah..."

I don't let him finish. I head to my room and toss my laptop onto the bed, combing my hand through my hair and sighing. I had to stop getting worked up about Harry and Miranda. They were a gorgeous couple and there was no way Harry still wanted me. He was only this nice to me because of the daughter we shared-there were no other feelings involved. I think about inviting Marc, but decide it's too petty. This was about Charlie and maybe I really should just get serious about finding other living accommodations.

***

Charlie sits in front of the TV as I get ready for dinner. The nerves in my stomach are more knotted than a pair of headphones in a handbag. I smooth down my green blouse and look down at my slacks. Maybe I should wear a dress; I looked like I was going to a meeting.

"You look nice," Harry's voice comes from the open doorway.

"I don't look like I'm going to give my first big corporate presentation?" I ask. He shakes his head but I watch his eyes skim over the outfit. He bites his lip to keep from laughing. "Ugh! I knew it. I have to change!"

"No you don't," Harry says, catching my arm on the way out. "You look great in anything."

I roll my eyes, "I know I look great in anything, but I'm having a dinner and I need to find something more appropriate!"

Harry chuckles but follows me back to my room where I toss through the closet. "It's just my family, they don't care what you look like."

"It's not that simple,” I rant, untying the knot around my neck. Why did I even bring this top? “I can’t just throw anything on and call it a night! I have to feel good in it too!”

He steps into the room and tracks my frantic movements from closet to dresser to suitcase. He stops me on my second round to the closet and takes the blouse out of my hands to hold them. "I think you’ll look great in anything, pick something and get on. Just tell your nerves to fuck off.”

“Harry!” I scold, I didn’t want Charlie hearing or she wouldn’t stop saying it.

“Sorry,” he says sheepishly, a small smile on his face displaying his dimples.

Noticing it, I’m suddenly aware of how we’re standing together. His hands still hold mine, and when I look into his eyes, they’re watching me. This. This is what I meant. Everything was fine living together, but Harry’s gaze, every time I caught it, it would be on me. And it was a heavy gaze. He always seemed like he was deep in thought yet noticing every little detail about me, conflicted, but thoughtful. It usually made me feel self-conscious.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” I give it a shot.

“What?”

“You got so serious,” I try again. “What are you thinking about.”

“You want to know?” Harry seems surprised, which surprises me. Why wouldn’t I want to know what he was thinking about? I nod, and he lets go of my hands. “I was just thinking about you giving a presentation in that outfit, I would-ouch!”

Harry rubs his shoulder where I’d pushed him. I cross my arms, “That’s what you get for making fun-”

“I wasn’t making fun!” Harry swears. “I was trying to say, what I wouldn’t give to sit in on that presentation.”

Heat rushes to my face, I look away from Harry back to my closet. This was too much. "Okay. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'll just...wear...this." I pull out a simple black dress with a pretty neckline and hold it out in front of me, as if it would stop Harry from walking over to me again. When I think he’ll stop, he continues so I take a few steps back until my back hits the closet door.

“Good choice,” he says but his eyes leave a heated trail from my untied blouse up to my lips and then my eyes that are wide in panic.

He’s incredibly close, and I’m freaking out so I nervously tell him I should get dressed. When he doesn’t back away, I lift the dress up in the little space between us. “Harry, I need to change. Are you going to watch me or give me some privacy?”

That seems to snap him out of whatever headspace he was in. He quickly backs up and the pink blush creeps into his cheeks. “I’ll be outside with Charlie.”

A part of me wished he stayed.

***

I join Charlie in front of the TV as we wait for dinner. When his family came in, it wasn't awkward at all. They greeted me like I was still part of their family, and catching up was effortless. They fawned over Charlie and she adored it. It helped Gemma brought her boyfriend (bf), I wasn't the only non-Styles here.

"Is everything alright?" I ask as my eyes scan the room and find Harry typing furiously at his phone.

"Uh yeah," he responds. "Just Miranda. Had something planned later tonight and she didn't realise dinner would be this late."

"Well your family is coming from outside of London," I say, already regretting asking in the first place.

"Yeah," Harry mumbles, still typing. I was clearly not needed there so I join Harry's mom who's trying to arrange the bouquet Gemma brought. We talk as we work, setting up the table even though Harry was throwing this. His mom waves his help away when he finally realises and he easily goes back to Charlie who's showing off all her stuffed animals.

The mood shifts when Miranda appears with her bottle of wine and a suitcase. I try to ignore the sting I feel when he pulls her into an embrace and takes the bottle from her, I try not to compare myself to her. To the way Harry acts with her, and with me in private. I try not to think about what it meant, and try to focus on the dinner instead.

Harry's family remains just as nice, but the problem is it goes from having a family dinner for Charlie's sake to hosting a dinner. It's only when everyone is busy with their glass of wine that Gemma leans into me and says, "I told the idiot not to invite his girlfriend to a family thing but he said there was nothing wrong with that."

"He told me pretty last minute," I respond.

"Don't get me wrong-she's lovely, but it just makes something like this awkward."

"I'm alright," I lie through my teeth.

"Sure," Gemma winks at me before her attention is pulled away by her bf. At least there was one Styles that understood me without me having to say.

•••

"I'm starting school in September," Charlie informs the table halfway through dinner.

"You're growing up so fast," Harry's mum smiles at Charlie.

"That's a big step," Miranda comments and as much as I hated to admit it-she wasn't so bad with Charlie. She made a solid effort and Charlie responded well to her. She was her boyfriend's daughter though, and she usually avoided speaking to me unless Harry was involve, but I was okay with that.

"Then I'll be five next year!" Charlie continues. I explain to the table how obsessed she was with turning five.

"Because that's when she gets to drink coffee right darling?" Harry nudges Charlie and she grins.

"Coffee!" She shouts and we all laugh but as she soaks in the attention she begins shouting it louder.

"Charlotte," I warn. She glances at me and then looks back at her plate.

"She's just excited we're all here," Gemma comments. "Isn't that right Ms. Y/L/N?"

Charlie beams at being called by her last name, like a teacher would.

"Has she not taken on your last name?" Miranda suddenly asks Harry and it goes silent at the table except for Charlie's humming.

"Uh no," Harry scratches his neck. The rest of the dinner table busies themselves in their food.

"She's always lived with me," I clarify, trying to sweep away the sudden awkwardness. The awkwardness comes from how Harry and I broke up because he didn't know what to do with himself when he realised he was having a baby. There was no way he was ever raising her alone. Not at first anyway, that was when I insisted she keep my last name. "So it makes sense."

Miranda glances between us but bf breaks the silence. "Gemma wants our kids to have her last name, I said hyphenating it wouldn't be too bad."

"It gets too confusing," Gemma says. "Styles is a nice, simple, last name."

"Always in Style," Harry exclaims at the same time I say something similar. We laugh which confuses Charlie enough to tug on my sleeve. She asks for more mashed potatoes and I give them to her. Soon after, Harry's mum brings out the dessert she brought and we all enjoy it with more wine. As the night nears, Gemma and her bf stay behind with Miranda. When Charlie begins cuddling into me on the couch, I put her to sleep, but she whines when I leave so I tell the group I was calling it a night and wash up while Charlie stands with me as I wash my face. She was being unusually clingy but I figure all the attention and new interactions were exciting but also exhausting for her. She just wanted her mum and that warms my heart.

"Did you want anything before you put her to bed?" Harry pops his head in as I'm tucking Charlie's toys around her.

"I'm alright," I smile. "Tonight was nice. Thanks for putting it all together."

"Thanks for staying," Harry moves into the room and kisses the top of our kid's head. I remember the other night when he did the same to me. "It was really nice with you, Charlotte, my family-it meant a lot."

"For her too," I look to our daughter who is finally settling into sleep knowing I had stayed and changed for her. "Although I'm paying the consequence being forced to sleep at 10pm."

Harry chuckles. "Best get your beauty sleep then."

"Yeah," I peel back the covers and wait for Harry to leave but he pauses with his hand on the doorknob and turns back to me.

"Tonight reminded me of old times," Harry says and I can tell he's lost in time as he smiles at the floor. "I haven't felt this happy in a while." His statement makes me sad, and when he looks up at me his expression is tinged with regret. But he forces a smile and nods. "See you tomorrow."

"Harry," I don't know what it was that makes me stop him. Maybe the way he looked at me with the unbearable sadness, or the fourth glass of wine I drank, or feeling the same immeasurable amount of happiness he did tonight. But I walk towards him and wrap my arms around his neck. I indulge myself and bury my nose in his neck and almost cry at the familiarity; the way his hands were always cold as they wrapped around me too, but warmed as they squeezed me to him. His fresh laundry smell mixed with the sandalwood perfume he favoured. Or his body and the way he engulfed me into his chest, like I could carve a home out of it and stay there again.

He sighs as he pulls me tighter, "Y/N-"

"Mom?" A tired voice asks behind me and I rip myself away from Harry to look at Charlotte. She's propped herself on her elbow and is looking between me and her dad.

Shit. Why did I do that? Why did I just make things complicated? Harry's girlfriend was right outside! Our daughter was in this room! I couldn't afford to confuse her or myself. Jesus.

"I'm coming to bed!" I walk towards her to soothe her and I hear Harry slip out of the room.

"She's having a hard time falling asleep," I hear Harry lie from the living room and my heart sinks further in my chest. If he was lying over a shared conversation, a shared hug, then something was wrong and I would have to make it extra clear tomorrow that we were nothing more than polite. Especially as it was Charlie's fourth birthday tomorrow. It had to be perfect.

•••

A small finger pokes my cheeks, "Mommy?" I had no idea what time it was but my head rings with a hangover. I hadn't drank this much in a while. I realise I wasn't having auditory hallucinations when Charlie's voice comes again. "Mom?"

"Charlie what time-" I try to crack an eye open and the clock says 6am. I groan and pull Charlie towards me, eyes still closed. "Why are you up so early birthday girl?"

"Mommy?" When Charlie doesn't respond to the mention of her birthday I know something might be wrong. I force my eyes open, Charlie stares up at me with sad baby doll eyes. My mom alarm starts ringing.

"What's the matter?" I ask, noticing the door was open. She must have woken up earlier.

She shakes her head and buries her head into my chest. I clutch her to me, unsure why she was upset. I'll ask her later, right now, I try to cheer her up.

"My baby is such a big girl now. Hey, what's the matter?"

"Does daddd love us?" She asks innocently. I'm startled by her question, so out of the blue.

"Of course he does. He loves you more than anything in the world. And I love you too. Although I would also love a bit more sleep." I tease her. She wraps her arms around my neck. "Happy birthday, Charlie. I love you."

"I love you too," she surprises me by getting under her covers; once Charlie was up, she never fell back asleep. Maybe this was a birthday miracle, but I snuggle into the warmth. Charlie's behaviour still niggles away at the back of my mind but I eventually drift off to sleep and just pray the rest of her birthday would be happier.

#harry styles #harry styles x reader #harry styles angst #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfic #harry styles imagine #dad!harry #harry styles fluff #writingsfromhome #sorry this one took so long to upload #this series is kind of nerve wracking #it might turn into 6 pts idk

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kindnessisweakness2 · 4 years ago

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{DELUSIONAL- PART 3}

*gif not mine, just thought it was insanely cute*

Delaney rushed into the office, red faced. "Sorry Gem. I overslept. All the things you texted me to get are in my car, I have the girls unloading it now." Gemma could see straight though delaney's lie. The bags under her eyes showed the young girl was anything but well rested. Gemma noticed the little things about people. People's body language showed more than what they wanted it to. More than what people are willing to say. You can find out alot about a person my observing them, their mannerisms, their characteristics. What makes them tick. What's going on on the inside. You had to read between the lines with Delaney. She would never outright say when things were upsetting her. She was always too worried about other people to bother them with her own problems. Gemma could tell just by looking at her that something was eating at her. For example the sky blue nail polish was extremely chipped, Delaney's usually long nails were bitten down nearly to the nub. It was her worst habit. Gemma knew she only did it when she was stressed or worried. Or even the fact she didn't have a stroke of make up in her face pointed out something was wrong with the girl. Delaney was naturally beautiful. She didn't need make up but she was never seen without it. She portrayed herself as so put together, and usually seemed so strong but something was breaking Delaney and Gemma was going to find out what it is.

A couple of hours Later Delaney was finally done laying the table of finger food in the club house. These boys could eat as much as they drink. "Hey D" Delaney spun around a massive grin spreading on her face. "Your home!!" Her arms wound tightly around Jax's torso, pulling him into a tight hug. In that moment she finally felt safe for the first time in weeks. She felt like she could finally take a breath without drowning in panic. She didn't want to let him go but she had to. "How was Nevada? Jury all good up there?" Delaney sat next to Jax at the bar and for the first time in a while the wide smile on her face reached her eyes.

Gemma watched as Delaney and jax sat catching up. It didn't take a genius to feel and see the chemistry between the pair. It's been like that since they met. Delaney moved to charming a few months after Tara left and the impact she had on jax was massive. She made him smile again, laugh again. Made him realise that life could go on without her when he couldn't see it. Delaney picked Jax up and made him whole when her world was being torn apart. Gemma quickly became fond of her because despite what people told her about samcro Delaney never treated any of them any different. She didn't pry into club business when she overheard bits of information around the garage and She never asked questions. She got hired for the office job and was soon accepted into the fold. She was privy to things many people wasn't and she was trusted by everyone. Jax quickly became protective over Delaney. That's why when she was having trouble with her shithead boyfriend Alex it had to be Gemma and Unser who helped her. Jax still doesn't know what happened to this day and he can't. Jax would kill Alex without a second thought and would still be serving time in Stockton. Gemma couldn't let that happen.

By 10 o'clock the party was in full swing. Delaney was behind the bar as usual, laughing with half sack and juice. "I'm sorry sack but that's the worst pick up line I've ever heard". Delaney patted him on the shoulder before moving to serve Jax a drink. "You need to teach that boy some of your sexy charm. Hes never gonna get laid on his own." Still giggling at the cheesy line sack tried to work on her she poured Jax a whiskey. "You think I'm sexy?" Jax chuckled as she went red. "Those words never left my mouth Teller". Shaking her head Delaney put the bottle of Jack on the bar. "Well you must do something right with the ladies or are they just fucking you because your the Prince of charming?" Delaney rolled her eyes as jax seemed to be enjoying this abit too much. Leaning over the bar Jax kissed her cheek and winked at her "wouldn't you like to know darlin" Delaney shook her head as he sauntered away towards Opie. Cheeky fucker. Truth is she would. She would love to know how people just fall at his feet. She was one of his many victims who would give anything for a relationship with the 'prince'. Except while others want Jaxon Teller the vice president of Samcro. Delaney wanted Jaxon Teller the goofball who was rubbish at video games and snored softly when he slept. The idiot who set his mom's kitchen on fire when he tried to make her breakfast when she was sad. The man who skipped club parties and women who would do anything he asked them to sit in her front room in star wars pyjamas and eat pizza. The soft side to Jax teller that people were not lucky enough to see was the only side of him she knew. And that made her love him more.

Delaney sighed as the party started to die down. Various club members went off with women, some passed out on the sofas not capable of making it to the forms and some went home early eith their old ladies. The funniest of the bunch however was Tig, Who was passed out on top of the pool table face burried in a croweaters chest. Delaney started to clean up the bar feeling sick to her stomach at the thought of going home. Would he be there waiting for her? Would he watch her again? Would he try to get in this time? What if--? "Hey you ok?" Gemmas voice cut her thoughts short. "Y-yeah I'm fine" Delaney forced a smile. "C-can I sleep here tonight? In the spare dorm? Too tired to drive home" Gemmas eyebrows lifted in speculation. Delaney fiddled with the glass in her hands nervously as she waited for Gemma to speak. "Sure baby I'll get you some clean sheets." Delaney could of cried in relief as she turned away but froze as Gemma spoke again. "I know something's bothering you. I know something's wrong and your scared. I wont force you to tell me what it is right now." Locking eyes with Gemma, Delaney felt like a small kid caught in a lie. "But you will tell me. Eventually it'll all become too much and you'll have to. Secrets aren't good baby. They get people hurt." Nodding her head Delaney turned to put the glass down as Gemma walked away.

The last thing Delaney wanted to do was hurt anyone. This was her problem. She needed to deal with it. But she didn't know how much more she could take. How much longer can she cope with this stress and live in fear?

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

And that's it guys!! Part 3 is up! I'm loving how this is coming along. As usual feedback and advice always welcome. Part 4 coming soon!

So what do you guys think Delaney should do? Tell Gemma Or keep it secret? Let me know what you think!!

Love to you all, stay safe! 🍃

#sons of anarchy #soa imagine #jax teller x reader #jax teller #soa fanfiction

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lightskinrry · 5 years ago

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maybe one wedding for the bad boys

the one where the wedding ceremony does go according to the plan...almost

A/N: hello lovelies!! part two of no wedding for the bad boys is here!! hope you like it!! and don’t hesitate to lemme know your thoughts about this mess!

Word count : 6K

TW: angst again lmaodehjsd

Taglist: @stfxlou @shreeyanshi @harrystylesholland @iloveshawnieboi @smoljules @soy-una-conejo @seasidecrowbar @evalynanne @nibabyy @la-cey @ashtonsfxvorite @merlinaes @gucciboots

“Fuck… Fuck. Fuck.” You watched Harry pacing around in his room, walking in circles, his hand clutched to his hair, his suit pants loosely hanging on his hips and his unbuttoned shirt draped on his shoulders.

You could see he was muttering something. “I fucking can’t believe this. Fucking kidding me. On this fucking day. Fucking shit.”

“Look… If you’re going to be an asshole about it like yesterday. I will find a solution alone.”

You were sitting on the big chair in the corner, your legs spread apart and your yellow suit on. You didn’t want another fight but you had no choice but to tell Harry about the marriage license. Today was the big day and in 3 hours the ceremony would start. And if he was going to sign another marriage licence, he could face imprisonment since bigamy is illegal. So yeah, kinda had to tell him otherwise he was good to spent his honeymoon in a cell.

He groaned a little bit, you could almost see the gears of his brain working through his head. “Let’s...um… think, okay?” His breathing was unsteady so you got up and made him sit at your place.

“I already contacted a lawyer. We can annul the marriage, we just have to prove the marriage is..um… voidable. Yeah, that’s what she told me.” Harry sat back in the chair, relaxing a little bit. “So we have to prove that at least one of us couldn’t agree to the marriage because they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” He nodded silently. “Basically, we just have to go see the lawyer and that’s done. There’s no court appearance or anything.”

His eyes got softer as he listened to you. He sighed. “Thanks.”

You raised your eyebrows. “You’re welcome?”

“Look, Y/N… I’m really sorry about yesterday. I didn’t mean to be such a jerk about all this. It’s just… I’ve been planning this wedding for months now. I’m so fucking stressed. I don’t know what to do and then I found out I just fucked up everything. I’m sorry. I know it’s not your fault. I’m more mad at myself than anything and I just didn’t want to take accountability for my actions. It’s just such a fucking weird time and now everything is on the edge of falling apart.”

You gently stroked his shoulders. “Thank you for apologizing. I know you didn’t mean it… Look, it’s not entirely your fault. There was a lot of alcohol and we wouldn’t have been in Vegas if it wasn’t for me.” You took a small breath. “But, hey! We can fix this. All we have to do is annul the marriage and make sure you don’t sign anything in terms of legally binding documents or you can actually be prosecuted. And spending your honeymoon in jail isn’t what you want.”

He giggled softly, finally taking a breath and releasing a bit of tension. “Yeah, definitely not. I reserved a private beach in St Barth, there is no way I’m spending this time in jail instead of on the beach.”

“Oh wow. You went all in.” You smiled smugly at him. “Okay we have about 2 hours before the ceremony starts. I made sure the groomsmen get their shit together and do the list of check-ins with the planner so it’s a full open window before we have to get you back here fully dressed and looking fresh for your wedding.”

“If we can do that in two hours without being on crack, we truly are some lucky motherfuckers.”

“Oh we are, Harry. We’re lucky motherfuckers.”

He got up from the chair and you placed your hands over his shoulders. “Here’s the plan. We put on jogging clothes cause you don’t want anyone to recognize you or be suspicious. We go downtown to meet with the lawyer, we pressure her to state the annulment today. It will be sent to a judge for approbation and then the annulment should be fulfilled in about a month. And that’s where you come into play more than ever. You have to make sure the officiant don’t bring the marriage licence, say you want to sign it after your honeymoon, find an excuse, whatever you want to make sure you don’t sign this fucking paper, okay? And then we come back here, get you dressed and you go get married, you lucky motherfucker.”

He nodded agreeingly. “Okay.” He reached out his hand for you to shake. “And no-one will never know about all this.”

You shook his hand. “Taking this shit with me in the grave.”

You started changing rapidly into the sports clothes and leave as soon as possible. You made your way downstairs quietly but Tania’s sister, maid of honor and witness in the wedding, stopped the two of you.

“Where are you two going?”

You and Harry looked at each other for a second, trying to think of something that wouldn’t rise suspicions.

“Well, we’re going for a jog. As you can see.” You pointed out the clothes you were wearing.

“The ceremony is in two hours, no-one is going for a jog.” Her tone was stern and almost mean.

Harry came a little forward to her. “Look, Jill, I just need a breather. It’s a stressful time so… You know? Taking my best-woman on a jog before the big thing!”

She sighed loudly, annoyed. “Fine… But make sure to be back before the ceremony begins. A wedding without a groom... It would kill Tania.”

You both gave her a thumbs up and a dumb smile before running out the door.

The clock was ticking on you. And you had to get that annulment.

***

You closed up Harry’s last few buttons, making sure to leave some open. You took a few steps back to look at him. You smiled proudly. “You look great.”

He gave you a smug look. “I know.”

You laughed off his little narcissistic comment. “You know what? You look like a victorian vampire wannabe.”

“And I’m rocking the look.” He shrugged before tugging on one of his loose curl to make it fall on his face. He stepped closer to you. “Thank you.” You smiled at him tenderly. “Thank you so much for being a good friend, Y/N. I know I’ve been a terrible one lately.”

You chuckled as you pinched his cheeks in a playful way. “We’re cool, Harry. Now, let’s move before Jill kills us.”

You accompanied him to the backyard where the ceremony was about to start. He stood next to the officiant, waiting for his bride to walk the aisle. And as you watched him, glowing in the sunlight, looking beautiful and smitten, you felt a pinch in your heart and bitterness in your throat. Not that you wish it was you walking down the aisle, just that he would turn around and give you a last look that says “I don’t want to get married to her, I want to wait with you until we’re both ready.” Well, in some way, you guessed you kinda wished it was you walking down the aisle. Just.. not right now.

“Are you okay?” Gemma was standing next to you, a tender smile on her face.

“Yeah, I’m good… I’m.. you know… emotional. That’s all.”

The music started blaring in the air, the golden hour slowly approaching and bathing everything in a pool of honey. You could hear the birds chirping and the soft breeze caressing your neck, people shushing each other waiting for the bride to be announced. The air was soft and you could feel the tenderness of the atmosphere. A gentle springtime warmth and the smell of lavender. Harry’s shadow was dancing on the floor as he was waiting, chewing on his bottom lip; a little nervous thing well known to him.

You watched Tania walk down the aisle, you couldn’t bare to look at him and see the love in his eyes. A love that wasn’t yours and wasn’t for you.

She joined him in front of the officiant, ready to exchange their words of love and become one forever. You tugged on the jacket of your suit to readjust it. You listened carefully to the vows they shared and watch them place the ring on each others fingers. And you smiled widely all the way through. You made sure the officiant didn’t bring the marriage licence after Harry tipped him a little extra not to. You closed your eyes for a second and when you opened them, Harry was kissing his bride, now his wife.

The first half of the ceremony went pretty fast, the newly weds went to get their pictures done and the rest of y’all entertained the guests and showed them around the manor where the party would be. Obviously some parts were closed to the public, the upstairs apartment where the weds would spend the night were closed and the maze in the far back of the garden was too. It was huge and we were scared people would lose their kids in there.

When Harry and Tania came back, looking stunning, kissed by the sunlight and insanely in love, they walked in the huge reception hall where everyone was waiting to cheer on them. And make them feel like real superstars.The tables for the dinner were outside, next to a beautiful lake, it was still warm and the sun was about to set. Everyone sat down at their designated place. The time for toasts and speeches was coming. First Tania’s dad did his little speech about not liking Harry at first but realising that he’s never seen his daughter so happy. Next was Tania’s sister, Jill who made a sly comment about him trying to sneak out of it this morning. Gemma was next and she gave a prompt little joke about her baby brother before congratulating the beautiful spouses. It was now your turn. You took a deep breath and stood up, you looked around, checking the faces only for your gaze to rest upon Harry.

“Ahem. Well, as most of you already know me, I’m Y/N. I’m the best-woman, it’s always been a fact; I’m just glad that I have the official title now. I didn’t really know what to do or where to go with this speech so I guess I’m just gonna check on y’all. Is everyone having a good time?” Everyone gave you a cheerful yes. “Great, cause the next five minutes are going to be absolute hell. I’m mostly just going to make fun of Harry and then I’ll swap some emotional shit by the end so you guys don’t hate me.”

You paused, leaving the time for the guests to spare you a giggle. “First of all, I would like to say, you made the worst choice of your entire life tonight, Harry.” His eyes got suddenly bigger. “You gave me a mic, and a chance to ridicule you in front of all your family and friends.” You watched him take a breath, relaxing in his chair and giving you a tender smile. “That’s really the dumbest shit you could’ve done. But anyway, I have to address a few words to today’s main man. I can honestly say that he’s one of the most handsome, most funny men you’ll ever meet and I’m proud to call him my friend. So if you bump into him today…” You turned your face to look around. “Where’s Cam?” Cam stood up and waved, cheering you. “Ah! Here he is! Today is his birthday so please buy him a drink.” You waved back at him with a big smile. “Happy birthday Cam!” Everyone said happy birthday and Harry’s smile got wider.

“Well, I was thinking what crazy story I could tell about Harry today. Cause we had so many crazy ass stories together, ones that end up in basements, others on top of roofs and some ending in crappy ass motel rooms in Vegas.” He chew the interior of his cheek, holding a giggle. “And then I thought ‘What is the story that sums up perfectly Harry?’ Could it be that time he bit off a piece of his tongue after jumping out a window while high off his ass on shrooms or that time we got locked up in a hotel room in Atlanta and somehow managed to burn the carpet? Yeah… We fucking burned that carpet.” You let a breathy laugh escape your lips, reminiscing that night.

“So, I had to think long and hard about this… Long and hard also being something Harry… Well no, I promised I wasn’t going to say anything sexual during this speech.” You turned to look at the next table. “Hi Anne! This is Harry’s mom, guys!” She laughed and gave you a big smile.

“Well, then I remembered that story… It was after Harry’s SNL double duty.. And we were throwing this after party to celebrate and by the end of the night, we were both hammered, there was no-one left in that penthouse in NYC, except for us and then fucking Rocketman started playing outta nowhere and we sang that shit with our hearts, as the sun rose behind us. And despite all the glamour, Harry ended up throwing up in the bathroom. But just that moment of drunken glory singing Rocketman at the top of our lungs with the sun rising. And nothing else mattered. In that moment, Harry was the fucking Rocketman.”

You took a moment to breath.

“And you are. You’re a fucking legend, Harry. I’ve known you since we were five, from the first time you sang in front of your mom to you touring arenas around the world. I kinda been a witness of your greatness, I guess… Truth is, the moments I’ll remember the most and the ones that makes you such a good friend, and probably an amazing husband, are the ones when the lights are off, when you’re just a dorky, lanky stupid white guy. When you bring me soup when I’m sick, when you tell me everything will be alright when I’m about to give up, when you scream Bohemian Rhapsody in the phone, when we dance at 2AM in the kitchen or when we sing Rocketman as the sun rise.” You took a little breath, watching as Harry gave you the biggest grin, probably a little teary-eyed.

“Well, I’d still like to remind y’all that he threw up that night, and many other nights actually.” You laughed.

“But hey, I’d like to finish by addressing a few words to the beautiful bride... You still have time to run away. But if I were you, I wouldn’t do so. He reserved a private beach in St. Barts… Run after the honeymoon, girl, get yours.” You winked at her.

“All jokes aside, I hope this day has been as beautiful and fairy-tale like as you dreamed it would be because you look like a princess and I’m glad you found your prince. I hope you guys live happily ever after.”

You started raising your glass as the end of your speech approached. “I’ll end this little speech by saying on behalf of the beautiful bridesmaids and groomsmen, thank you to Harry and Tania for including us on this very special day. And if I could ask you all to join me in a toast.” You were now holding your glass up. “To the happy couple, Harry and Tania, may you live a beautiful wedded life!”

Everyone joined you in the toast and you sat back down, giving Harry a small grin that he gave you right back, letting you know that you did a great speech.

The party started going well, people were chatting and laughing and the beautiful lights lit up the garden. The food came a little late but it was all so good, there was nothing to really complain about.

After the main course, people got up to dance and request songs to the band… You were talking with one of the waiters when Tania interrupted you.

“Hey, have you seen Harry? I can’t find him anywhere and the cake is going to arrive any minute now and we’re supposed to cut it together.” Her sharp tone made you uncomfortable.

“Hm… I haven’t seen him but I’m gonna check around and I’ll make sure he’ll be here for the cutting of the cake!”

“Fine. You better find him fast.” You watched her leave and greet some old couple drinking champagne.

You thought for a second ‘where the fuck could Harry be?’. You started by checking on his family, not being too pressuring so they wouldn’t worry. None of them saw him in the last half hour. You asked Jeff and then check with the waiters and still no sight of him.

You decided to go check inside; the bathroom, the upstairs apartments… And you found him in the closed office on last floor of the manor. You walked in quietly and closed the door behind you.

“Everyone is looking for you, man. What the fuck are you doing?”

He was leaned on the open window, watching the night sky.

“Yeah, what the fuck am I doing, Y/N?” He was playing with the only ring on his fingers : his wedding ring.

You stepped closer, placing yourself right next to him, your arm touching his.

“That’s what I’m asking you.”

He scoffed softly. “Yeah… I just… What if all of this is a fucking mistake?”

“Whew.. You’re having cold feet now? You’re always late to the party…” You watched him as he giggled, his hair gently flowing with the midnight breeze.

“Look, it’s not a mistake if you love her. And I know you do.”

“You know Jill followed us this morning? She literally threatened me that she knows what’s going on and…”

“Wait what?”

“Yeah. That crazy bitch followed us.” He threw his arm in the air.

“Hey… Be nice, she’s not crazy. She’s just a bitch. Why in hell did she follow us?”

“Because she was having suspicions I was cheating so she followed us and saw us going to the law cabinet.”

“Fuck. So she knows about the marriage?”

“No, I don’t think so… But like… About this marriage, the one of today, I don’t want it… You were right. I don’t want to get married to miss Boring Pants.”

“Oh no… Oh hell no… Why is that happening right now? You have to be downstairs in 10 so you can cut your fucking wedding cake and you’re hitting me with the ‘I don’t want to be married’ shit? Harry I swear to god…” You sighed loudly and he gave you the puppy dog eyes.

“Don’t blame me! I’m just a little boy.” He always had the timing for a good joke.

“Oh… I’m blaming you. I’m blaming your dumbass.” You both laughed and suddenly it wasn’t the sky you were watching, it was each other. The stars were reflecting in his eyes and his floppy curls made him look so pretty.

“I know… It’s not like there is no-one else to blame anyway!” He chuckled and you gazed fondly at him, tracing his features with your eyes… From his jawline to his eyebrows, finally looking at his lips.

“You know your speech was great… It reminded me of all the crazy things we did together. You’re my partner in crime.” He stared into your eyes for a minute, his teeth playing nervously with his bottom lip.

“Yeah… We always been partners in crime.”

And in the floating moment of silence between you two, the space between your face got smaller and smaller; so small you could feel his breath on your face.

“I really want to be with you.” He whispered on your lips before his hand grabbed your face so he could kiss you. It was intense and soft and somehow you felt like your feet lift up from the ground. You were holding his hands on your face and slowly opened your lips but before your tongues could meet, a voice from the hallway resonated: “Harry, Y/N, what are you guys doing? They’re waiting for the cake!!”

Jeff’s footsteps were getting closer to the door and so, ended prematurely your kiss. You inhaled deeply and before Jeff walked in the room, you locked eyes with Harry and his swollen lips and a blissful smile on his face.

“They’re waiting on you, Harry! Get your ass down, right now!”

You watched him leave the room silently, still a little shook from what just happened.

Jeff stroked your arm in a soft way. “Are you good?”

“Yeah… I’m.. Great. Everything’s great. So great. What a great wedding.”

You walked off still rambling about how great everything was. Jeff watched you leave, a confused and amused look on his face. He followed behind you closely as you walked back downstairs.

You walked straight to your seat, making sure to grab a glass of champagne from one of the waiter’s platter and chugged it down in one stroke before sitting down. Harry and Tania were standing in front of all their guests and they announced the cake. Two waiters came out with a cart and on it; a huge white cake with pink roses all over it. It was more pretty than it probably tasted good. They held the knife together and cut the first piece. They both took a spoonful of the cake and gave each other a taste. Everyone was clapping as they wiped the cream off of their face.

The waiters started serving the cake to all the guests. You were pretty much blacking out, the lights around you were flying and everytime someone talked to you, you would just nod or laugh. Every now and then you would catch Harry’s gaze on you and you’d feel your cheeks burning. It was a weird feeling, being at the wedding of your bestfriend and resenting every minute of it. How did you got to this mess?

You made the movie in your head. You met Harry in kindergarten, after he stole your favorite crayon and you almost beat his shit up. The school called both your moms because the teacher saw you two fighting and from there you wouldn’t let each other live. You spent most of elementary school together, doing stupid science experiment in the back of his Holmes Chapel room. You two would always buy and wear the worst graphic tees at the same time. Then, in middle school people started bullying you and Harry would always stand up to them and defend you. You would play video games in your basement and watch each other’s acne break out and he even came to the dentist with you for your first braces. In 9th grade, when you were reaching your dreadful 14th birthdays, it seemed all that mattered was you never had a first kiss, neither you or him. So you decided to take the matter in your own hands and during one of your recurring sleepovers at his place, you suggested to give each other a first kiss. You climbed onto his bed and hid under the covers, a flashlight and some potato chips between us; he leaned onto your face and kinda sucked your lips in the weirdest way and you thought it was great.

And tonight it was great, and maybe it’s the nostalgia or maybe it’s the fact that looking back to everything you did together showed you that no-one will ever know you better and love you better. One of the common mistakes you’ve made in love was considering romantic love as a superior kind of love when your friendships always sustained you more than any romance. And now it was becoming clear, friendship was a strong love, your friendship with Harry was a very strong love; filled with intimacy and commitment and now passion. It was the kind of love you couldn’t let go.

You avoided Harry for most of the night despite him trying to check up on you a few times; you would pretend someone’s calling you or that you have to go to the bathroom; really anything that would put off the conversation with him. How were you supposed to discuss what happened now that you knew how you feel about him? It was a predictable heart-suicide.

The rest of night went achingly slow. It was already 4:30 in the morning. You were going around helping the waiters clearing the place and cleaning. Harry and Tania were saying goodbye to the last guests to leave while Gemma and Jill were showing their rooms to the guests that were staying the night.

You made a last round to the kitchen to pay the caterer and tip a little extra the waiters. When you came back to the garden, Tania and Jill were going back inside and Harry was nowhere to be seen.

You walked around, watching the night sky and the stars reflecting on the lake. You sinked into the garden as the darkness of the night was washing over and the lights of the party were fading… Your eyes got caught by a soft and dim light in the far background of the garden. There; a weeping willow with light strings on its branches and underneath it, Harry was sitting alone, playing with the twigs under him. You walked up to him and quietly sat next to him. You didn’t look at him but the night was warm and the tree branches dancing to the breeze made the atmosphere softer.

“So…” You paused as you brought your knees back to your chest. “That was a beautiful wedding.”

“Yeah.” He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “I’m trying to picture what my life will look like.”

“Hm… I see a nice house on the hills and a few babies.” You still didn’t take a look at him, you were just watching the sky reflection in the pond of water in front of you.

“Sounds good… I can see it.” A giggle left his mouth. “What about you? What do you see for the future?”

“Oh shit. That’s some existential dread right there cause I don’t know. I can’t tell you where I’ll be in two weeks. Can’t even tell you what I’ll eating for breakfast tomorrow morning.”

He scoffed. “That sounds good too.”

“I guess so… I love not knowing, I guess. I love a good adventure.”

“So do I…” He turned his face to look at you. “Do you think I’m out of adventures now?”

You finally locked eyes with him; his face was softly lit by the lights in the trees and he looked a little tired. “Nah.. I don’t think so. I think you have plenty new adventures coming your way.”

He sighed and turned his eyes away from you. “They won’t be with you though.”

It took you by surprise. No they won’t. You felt a sore feeling in your throat. You took some time to answer. “No… They won’t be.”

A moment of silence filled up the air. You could hear the breeze and the water.

Harry finally spoke up. “Should we talk about it?”

A breathy and nervous laugh stifled through your teeth. “About what?”

“What happened in the office earlier?” He raised his eyebrows at you in a smug way. “When you kissed me?”

“First of all, you kissed me!”

His voice went up two octaves higher as he playfully answered. “Did I?”

“Yeah you did!”

“It was nice…” He said this so nonchalantly, as if it was nothing, as if it didn’t mess up with your mind.

“It was nice? It was mostly the dumbest shit you’ve done tonight. And you got fucking married tonight so...”

He chuckled… “I know…” He took a deep breath before gazing far ahead. “What are we supposed to do about all this?”

You sighed softly, trying to come up with an answer. You thought that being a good friend you should tell him that it was a mistake and that he’s happily married and will live a beautiful life and so will you… But it wasn’t the truth.

“Look… I don’t know. I don’t know what the fuck happened in those last weeks. I fucking wish I could tell you that everything is on track, that you married the love of your life and that everything will be okay but it feels like a lie. When I say it at loud, I hear myself and I hate it.”

He pinched his lips as he listened to you...“Yeah… I mean, we’ve known each other for 20 years. 20 years, that’s a fucking lifetime. And I can tell that everytime something in my life goes wrong, you’re right there and when something goes right, you’re always there too. I try to think of what I want my life to look like, what’s next and now I’m faced with what’s next and it’s not what I want... It’s not you.”

“That’s some bullshit, isn’t it? How nobody else will ever know you better than I do? And nobody knows me like you do? And how close we are and suddenly our closeness is tearing us apart. That’s some tragic poetry shit right there, I hate it. I always thought you and I would be like 70; making wheelchair races and talking shit about the neighbors wig. And now, I think that’s what I want, you know but I also want to…”

He interrupted you. “I would win the races, though.”

“Huh?”

He insisted, a smug smile on his face. He was trying to break the tension.

“I would win the race.”

You laughed at his face. “No, you wouldn’t! I would beat your ass every time.”

He let a soft chuckle leave his mouth. “Yeah you would….”

He sighed before picking up the conversation again.

“Anyway…” He took a deep breath. “I want that too. But I also want to kiss you and dance with you and fuck you and do all the next crazy shit with you. I want to live those adventures with you.”

Your heart fluttered and you felt a warm rush get to your cheeks. And you felt like everything was falling into places. You and him together; it made sense. But then reality hit you in the face; he had a wife waiting for him a few miles away, he had a new life in LA and you had to move on or none of you would be happy. Because the truth was, if it wasn’t for each other being in the way, he would be next to Tania right now, happy and ready for his married life. And you would be in love with someone else, someone you can have.

“Maybe we’re just standing in the way of each other’s happiness. Maybe all this don’t mean a thing…” You paused to look at him. “You’re happy, right?”

He looked confused for a second, he bat his eyelashes twice trying to understand what you mean and then you saw it on his face. He got you. “Yeah.. I mean I thought I was, at least…”

“You see! That’s what I mean. If I wasn’t there, you wouldn’t be second guessing everything.”

He was quiet, his voice was down. It was hard reading him right now but you could tell he knew the answers. “Maybe… Would you?”

“What?” You asked yourself what did he mean with this question?

“Would you second guess if it was for me?”

That was it. He understood it. Being in the way of each others happiness, that was it. You thought for a second, if you were in his situation, what would you do? Would you go back to your spouse or would you leave with him? Would you even think about it?

“I don’t know… I probably shouldn’t.”

He swallowed the gulp in his throat and suddenly the air got colder. “I guess that says it all, then.”

You inhaled deeply, trying to hold back tears that were slowly taking over.. “So, that’s it?”

He smiled with all the tenderness known to him. “I love you, Y/N.”

Your heart broke a little… It was a goodbye more than an I love you. So you told him goodbye too. “I love you too.”

He got up and brushed over his pants to sweep off the twigs off him. You looked at him, still sitting down.“We should just do what’s best for each other.”

He gazed down at you, a sad smile on his face. “For a second I thought we’d run away together but…” He coughed softly. “We both know that’s not what’s best.”

You tried to steady your breathing and keep your composure as you started getting up too. You turned around for a second and gave him a last look before leaving. “I guess I’ll see you around...”

***

Weirdly enough life without Harry was bearable… London seemed empty and the bars and places you used to hang out to seemed lifeless but it wasn’t all bad. You weren’t worrying about him or about yourself and you were just going along with your routine, your job, seeing your friends, a few dates and whatever else in between. It has been 10 months since the wedding day, almost a year if you round it, you haven’t seen Harry in that time, a few check up texts every 3 months and a congrats for your new job was all you got from him… You had to convince yourself it was enough.

You were laying down on your couch, wrapped up in your jog pants and oversized hoodie; you were switching channels trying to find something remotely interesting to fall asleep to. It was already 11PM and the city lights outside the window were reflecting on the floor of your living room… Your phone rang next to you and you grasped it to check your notifications.

Harry sent a message: I did something stupid

You were confused as fuck at this weirdly threatening text from Harry. It’s been months since he texted you so what did that mean?

You heard a knock that you thought was the TV until it got louder so you got up to check on it. You walked to the door carefully. When you opened it, your heart missed a beat.

“Hey… Told you I did something stupid.”

Harry was standing at your door, a cheeky smile on his face and you were just looking at him, confused.

“What are you doing here?”

He inhaled in a smile. “Doing what’s best, I guess…” You tilted your head to the side, trying to understand what he meant. “Look, you don’t have to let me in but if I’m not going to be with you then I just don’t want to be with anyone else. I’m not asking you to elope with me… Again…” He chuckled and you let a giggle fall from your lips. “I just wanna be friends again.”

You just couldn’t get that stupidly happy grin off your face so when he stepped closer to you, reducing the space between your faces, you just grabbed his face and kissed him. You could feel him smile against your lips and his hands grabbed your waist pulling you even closer. “I guess we’re just doing what’s best, huh?” You giggled into his mouth and he kissed the corner of your lips, smiling against your skin; “That’s exactly what we’re doing.” He pressed a soft kiss to your lips and to your cheek and your jaw. Whatever was happening right now was the best for you and for him, so you’d just work out the details later.

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mindofharry · 4 years ago

Note

could u write something about harry and y/n growing up together and then they maybe fall in love👉🏻👈🏻:)

!! 🥺 there is many spelling errors etc in this - it took me three days to write so pls send feedback in!!! enjoy :)

5 years old:

“harry! that’s mine” y/n pouted as her best friend stole her hair tie. it was favourite one, her brother had gotten for her when he went to spain on his school trip and she loved her brother, so it was her favourite thing ever — even if was just a hair tie. “no. sharing is caring y/n” harry said putting the hair tie on his wrist like a bracelet and continued to draw. y/n was going to cry. she could feel it. so she grabbed her painting and decided to head home — which was next door. harry eyes widened when he saw y/n was leaving ( and not even saying good bye either!) “where are you going?” he asked with a slight pout turning around in his chair. y/n glared his way before ripping up her painting “i’m going home” she stated strutting down his hall.

harry immediately followed, nearly tripping himself up in the process. “i’ll come too” he persisted and y/n shook her head. “no you’re not allowed in my home anymore” she stated opening his front door. harry didn’t realise what was happening. anne watched the two bicker laughing to herself, hiding her smile behind her mug — y/n always got her way and had harry wrapped around her little finger. “why am i not allowed?” harry asked holding onto her hand “because you won’t give me back my hair tie you idiot” y/n nearly yelled with tears in eyes. she ran out the door leaving harry there in shock. he wiped his tears on his school uniform.

anne came over to the boy placing a hand on his shoulder before rubbing away his tears “why don’t we make a card for y/n, yeah?” anne asked and harry grinned nodding.

he spent all afternoon on it with anne’s help of course. gemma shook her head when she realised the both of you guys were fighting — again. the both of you were stubborn, but the most caring. both very much little narcissists too, which make both of your parents laugh. “mummy, does the car look good?” harry asked already knowing his card was amazing. anne gasped nodding “amazing baby! now let’s go knock for y/n” anne said practically pushing him out the door.

y/n and her brother were already out the front, her brother andrew trying to distract her from harry — andrew and her parents were used to this by now, y/n was a little...... she was a.... bitch. she could be very demanding and a little bit of a queen bee, but she was beyond kind. but it made people laugh, because she was so blunt especially with harry. harry was really the only one that could handle her in their year. the rest of the kids were a bit scared of her.

anne and andrew waved at eachother waiting for the show to begin. “y/n, i think you have a visitor” andrew whispered turning her around. y/n sighed pouting looking at harry who had a card in his hand and he looked like a little puppy. “i have a card for you” he said shyly giving her the card. it said “i am sorry for stealing your hair tie. love you your best friend harry”

y/n giggled and wrapped her little arms around his neck “come on! let’s go play!”

13 years old:

“are you sure you want to do this?” y/n asked harry as they sat on the grass in their local park. harry nodded eagerly “for sure! we’re best friends. we should be each other’s first kiss” harry said quickly and y/n shrugged agreeing. “i suppose” she replied quietly. “ok let’s do it” y/n said smiling as harry blushed.

harry leaned in and quickly pecked her lips. y/n giggled as harry yelled “that was disgusting!” he yelled running away. y/n laughed so hard she fell back onto the grass. harry could listen to her laugh for hours, but he was too busy pretending their kiss was disgusting.

“you’re such a boy!” y/n laughed as he lay beside her. he shook his head “what’s that supposed to mean?” he asked slightly offended. “i thought the kiss was romantic, harry! it was... nice” she smiled poking his cheek “well now that i’ve got the first kiss out of the way! i’m going to kiss all the boys and girls ever!” y/n squealed gushing at the thought.

“girls?” harry asked confused and y/n nodded “yes. girls too harry” she said and he shrugged “i don’t really care either” he said and y/n smiled “i know” she said bringing him into a hug.

“katie invited me to come over and play sims with her tomorrow” y/n said gagging slightly making harry laugh into her neck. “why do you hate her so much?” he asked playing with her long hair “she’s just annoying. like you” she said getting up to run away. he grabbed her quickly “not so fast”

“harry! i have boobs now” she squealed and he rolled his eyes “just because you wear a bra now, doesn’t mean you can use it as an excuse” harry mumbled letting her climb onto his back, he began walking home once she was comfortable. “i’m proud of them. not every thirteen year old has these babies” she whined and harry rolled his eyes again. “are you coming to mine?” harry asked hoping she’d say yes. “i can’t. andrew has his girlfriend coming over for the first time. you wanna stay for it?” y/n asked playing with his hair. “sure, i’ll ask mum”

with permission from anne, they both went to y/n’s house quite giddy, ready to meet andrews girlfriend.

they figured nobody was here yet so they made their way into the sitting room — only to be greeted by two horny young adults. “andrew, you weren’t lying!” y/n squealed and andrew and his practically jumped out of their skin. his girlfriend quite flustered and andrew pissed off.

“of course i wasn’t lying, you git” he said and his girlfriend smacked his arm before standing up to skake y/n and harry’s hand “i’m lydia. it’s nice to meet you both!” she said and y/n hugged her instead suprising her. “i’m y/n, andrews brother and this is my best friend and now officially my first kiss harry!” she blurted out excited and harry hit her arm “why’d you tell her that?” he asked blushing “because it was romantic, you worm!” she mumbled and he rolled his eyes “we pecked each other on the lips and then i ran away” he mumbled back.

“you’ll get used to it” andrew said to lydia.

16 years old:

“haz, you’ll be fine” y/n said holding onto his hand as they waited inline for the xfactor. she was trying to calm down a very nervous harry. she wasn’t very nervous herself, she knew he’d get through. “i’m so nervous, y/n” he mumbled messing about with her hair. “i know you” she paused “but you’re going to get through, ok? you’ve practiced and you deserve to be here” she said holding onto his hand. he let out a breathe and smiled “yeah. yeah” he said holding her hand.

after talking to dermot (the whole family being sort of star struck) they quickly made their way back stage.

harry and y/n were together secretly being filmed for harry’s scene. there was bits of them just talking and laughing. really acting like a couple. soon enough it was harry’s turn to perform. and now y/n was safe to say, she was shitting herself. she wasn’t even going on stage, but she really was nervous for him. once everyone had kissed and hugged him y/n grabbed him and gave him a kiss on the temple “you can do this, hazza” she said patting him on the back before letting him go.

she smiled with gemma and they cuddled close together watching the tv from back stage. her heart was pounding so fast and so loudly, she’s sure everyone could hear it. it was safe to say that the ladies loved harry, the cheers were deafening — it did make y/n a little jealous. after simon asked him a few questions he was set to sing.

y/n rested her head on gemmas shoulder listening to the stevie wonders song play and harry’s voice fill up the stadium. y/n could feel her eyes fill up with tears (she wasn’t quite sure why) maybe it was being nervous or she was just very, very proud. something along the lines of the two.

once he finished the whole stadium filled up with claps and y/n was the first (with anne of course) to clap and cheer still holding on to gemma. it made y/n smile when nicole complimented harry’s voice, because all of it was true. but when louis started talking, y/n immediately booed, gemma having to cover her mouth with her hand. it made y/n beyond upset, because harry was so sure of himself. of course he was super confident, but he had to have some to come on the show. y/n was just holding on that simon would disagree, and boy did he.

harry fucking got through.

once he got out, y/n practically threw herself at him not catching him by surprise at all. she sobbed into his arms placing both her hands on his cheeks “you’re amazing” she squealed kissing both his cheeks and then of course, let his family congratulate him. y/n was beyond proud, she knew he could do this. and she knew he was going to make it big.

she just didn’t realise she would be there with him.

17 years old:

y/n held her phone to her ear while she was studying for her exams. harry was tapping away about something and although y/n loved talking to harry — she just couldn’t concentrate.

“hello? y/n? you there” he teased and y/n sighed rubbing her eyes “yeah, i am. just stressed” she yawned putting down her pen. “i don’t think i can finish a year early haz” she whined into the phone. y/n was always going to finish school early — it was something she decided when she went to secondary school. but now, without harry by her side, and her brother living his own life — she was stressed, sad and very unmotivated.

“y/n. you’ve wanted to do this for so long. you can get through this, you’re the smartest bloody person i know! and i know a lot of people!” harry said sternly and y/n giggled nodding her head “yeah, you’re right. ok, i’m going to go annoy your sister for a bit” y/n said and harry sighed “you’re like best friends with her now aren’t you?” harry teased and y/n smiled “shes like an angel” y/n replied.

soon they both hung up and gemma helped y/n with some study — y/n was now pretty confident about her exams. they both decided to have a sleepover since it was the weekend — and they both had nothing else to do.

“do you miss harry?” gemma asked messing around with her bowl of ice cream. y/n nodded quickly “yeah. definitely” she replied putting her bowl on the coffee table. “and he doesn’t call as much. and when he does i can barely get a word in” she scoffed “and hes always telling me about all these women and such” she rolled her eyes and gemma smiled “you like him don’t you?” she asked and y/n shook her head “no. i love him” she replied casually leaving gemma in shock “i have since the day he stole my pink hair tie. and when we had out first kiss and he called it disgusting i cried all night” she giggled “sometimes i think he likes me back. but then he told me about him losing his virginity to someone else” she paused sniffling “and um. i was gonna confess that day. and tell him how ive been waiting” she finished drying under her eyes “i don’t know, its stupid” she waved it off.

gemma sighed pulling y/n into a hug “harry loves you. i know he does. just give it time, love”

soon enough harry and y/n were able to meet up. and y/n was going to make her feelings clear to him. and if he didn’t feel the same way, then she would move on. it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

she just needed to know.

they were sat in the park they both shared their first kiss in, y/n was laying on the ground harry doing the same leaning on his side to face y/n. “had my first proper break up” he mumbled and y/n looked up biting her lip. “are you ok?” she asked holding his hand. he nodded “i was upset. cried a bit” he paused “but caroline was nice to me. but i think it was right to break up” he finished smiling softly. y/n nodded placing her head on his chest.

“that’s a good way to think” she said as he placed his hand in her hair. “you haven’t been telling me about any of your sexual adventures” he teased and y/n scoffed “because there is none.” she replied rolling her eyes.

“what are you waiting for!” he asked and y/n looked up to him. “i have to tell you something” she said.

“i um. harry just please listen and don’t freak out. please. and it doesn’t matter if you don’t like me back, but i like you a lot. no, i love you. more than a friend. i have since we were kids. i want to be with you. so bad” she finished feeling tears form in her eyes.

harry let out a shaky breath and stood up. he looked up to the sky and y/n cried. “please say something” she asked standing up beside harry. “y/n. i just got out of breakup and i don’t no. we’re best friends” he said and y/n let out a sob nodding her head. “yeah! yeah totally. you’re right” she replied wiping her tears. “we’re best friends. and you don’t love me” she paused “ thats ok” she said and placed a hand on his cheek “i’m going to go home” she said and started to walk away and harry cursed to himself. “fuck” he mumbled beginning to walk home himself.

19 years old:

after being heartbroken for a year, y/n tried to move on. eventually she lost her virginity to a boy she liked. he was gently and soft and took care of her. then she definitely started to abuse sex. she was upset that the person she loved didn’t love her back.

college was not easy for her. she slacked off her work, she drank, she did a bit of drugs. she slept around. she lost her friends, and most importantly she lost herself.

“honey, i’m worried about you” her mum expressed sitting besid y/n on her bed. “well you shouldn’t be. i’m fine” she said laying down. her mum shook her head and stood up. “i don’t know what’s going on with you. you don’t talk to anyone. to me, your dad, andrew! you don’t even talk to harry” she paused “what’s going on?” her mum asked again sitting down pulling her daughter into a hug.

“he doesn’t love me back, mum” y/n sobbed out “harry doesn’t love me. and i tried to get over it. i tried, i did. i tried to make peace with it. but i can’t, because it just hurts so much” she cried and her mum sighed kissing her forehead. “you shouldn’t have to forget about it. or make peace with it. you should be angry, and sad. you aren’t allowing yourself to be annoyed, love” her mum said and y/n nodded “i am angry. but not at harry. just sad that i’m not allowed to love him” she replied drying her eyes.

after getting that off her chest, she felt better. much better. she met up with a few of her college friends, that she lost along the way. and she had a great time. she started to concentrate a bit more on school, changing her major to fashion. something she was more passionate about. she did some therapy, her mum said it was completely normal to do so. she had a tough two years, but shes back and better than ever.

her therapist told her, that making peace with it now, is ok. that she should talk to harry. see how he is. y/n was reluctant, but with a little push, she ended up texting him.

y/n :):

are you in the area? wanna meet up? x y/n

after waiting for around 15 minutes she heard a ding coming from her phone, god she didn’t want to come off as desperate (because she really was) she was going to be calm, and try and get her best friend back.

harry ✨:

i’m in the area! love to meet up with you, meet at the park in 5? x h

y/n respond with a simple ok! and squealed. god she was desperate. she quickly got changed and brushed her teeth before kissing her mum goodbye. she practically ran to the park. bad idea, because she was very out of breathe now.

“y/n! hey” harry called out smiling. y/n could cry, he looked even better than before. this was the man she fell in love with. y/n inniated the hug — and she felt harry stiffen, maybe he was surprised? with the way she was treating him, it was like he never said he didn’t love her back. she was so careful, so gentle too. “harry, you look good” y/n replied letting go of the hug and sitting down on the grass (in their usual spot) harry smiled, before sitting down beside her. “i’ve been working out” he laughed and y/n giggled “america’s changed you” she teased earning a scoff “oh shut up”

“so how have you been?” harry asked. she wanted to lie and say she’s been fine. that she handled the situation well, but the anti depressants in her bottom drawer say something else. “um, ive been ok” she lied smiling at him. he nodded “yeah, same! travelling the world is such a dream, but when you get to perform too. it’s amazing” he ranted and y/n giggled “i’ll say” she paused “i’m really proud of you, harry” she finished looking up at him. when he finally got a good look at her, he noticed the changed. the way her eyes didn’t light up, or her cheeks weren’t as flushed. she had tattoos and a nose piercing. her hair was no longer brown, it was blonde. she had changed so much in the span of 2 years. and he knew exactly why.

“how have you been really, y/n?” he asked again more sternly. she sighed placing her arms around her knees. “i’ve been. i’ve been good right now. seeing a therapist and all” she nodded looking at him. he just looked, didnt smile laugh or tease. he just stayed silent. “i wasn’t well. drank and did a load of shit that wasn’t good for me. but i’m ok now” she smiled “spending more time with my parents, don’t have a lot of friends” she nodded and harry raised his eyebrows “really? you used to have so many friends in secondary school” he replied and she laughed “well. i am an ex drug addict harry” she laughed at it like it was a joke. but harry didn’t think it was funny. “please. don’t hurt yourself again.” he asked keeping the tears in “don’t think i could lose you” he replied as she put her head on his shoulder.

“eh. i’ll always be around, one way or another”

21 years old:

“baby, have you seen my tie?” harry called out from their shared bedroom.

“here” y/n said smiling brightly. she was beautiful. her dress was black and skin tight, her beautiful blonde hair, she had kept dying was curled. and god don’t him started on her lips.

“you’re an angel” he grinned pecking her lips twice. “hmm. i know” she hummed fixing his hair, which he recently just cut. he got a role in a movie (which y/n still can’t believe) and he had to cut his beautiful long hair — somehow he looks even sexier.

when the two reconnected three years ago, they agreed to just let things happen. they wouldn’t force anything. and one thing led to another and here they are, happy, in a 2 year relationship and living together. anne was so happy when they told their families. somehow everyone knew they would end up together — even if harry took a little longer. they were soulmates, as friends and lovers. they were meant for eachother in every possible way.

“what are you thinking about, princess?” harry asked pulling her into him once he finished putting on his tie. “just how much i love you” she smiled and he giggled kissing her head “you make me giggle, you know that” he said bringing her head up. “i love it when you giggle” she teased and he scoffed bringing her in for another kiss.

“let’s go”

once they were at the event — to see dunkirk. harry had lots of photos to do, small interviews to have etc. so she stayed with his manager for the most part, getting in pictures with anne and harry when they were going inside. y/n didn’t mind the cameras, she wasn’t particularly keen on everyone knowing every detail of their relationship, but she didn’t was to be completely private. there was pictures of her on his instagram, well when he used it. and now it was like her account was a fan page for him. at the start she didn’t post about him at all — but she wanted to show him off. he was incredibly sexy.

after the movie was finished anne and y/n were a mess. not because it was sad or really terrible, they were just incredibly proud of their boy. he had just gotten out of the band, he was working on music etc. and now he acts in Christopher nolan movies, how cool is that, y/n thought.

“hey! hey! bubba, why are you crying?” harry asked grabbing her face kissing her lips softly. “i’m just so proud of you haz” y/n replied laughing “it’s good. it’s a good cry” she said and he kept looking at her. so she stood on her tippy toes and placed another kiss on his lips.

“promise”

2020: 26 years old

“bubba, you can have one or none” y/n said softly and their boy giggled “mama i want all” he huffed and looked to his dad, harry just laughed and shrugged “how are we meant to discipline this child, if you keep shrugging at everything” y/n pouted and harry sighed sitting down next to her.

he kissed her head softly “this kid is 3, and he’s the most well behaved child in the world. it doesn’t to let him have a few more chocolate bars” harry said shrugging. y/n looked over at the baby infront of her who was looking at her with puppy dog eyes “ please mama, i be good for all day” he said excitedly and y/n gasped “all day?” she asked and he nodded “you promise?” she asked again and he nodded climbing over the table to sit on her lap “i promise mama”

“ok! harry you get to deal with the sugar rush though”

“ok- wait what?”

117 notes · View notes

imagine-that-one-thing · 4 years ago

Text

Her Majesty || 11

Crowns and Robes.

Anastasia’s pov

At some point along the long drive, I dozed off to the sound of Harry softly humming to the radio while attempting to get a hold of someone on his phone. I’m not sure who he was calling, I remember him asking me if I was okay, and as far as I know, I hummed a response.

I am fine; I am not going to fall off the deep end and swiftly become deranged. I don’t understand the circumstances that have happened in the last few months, I never imagined that this is what being Royal would be like. My parents didn’t prepare me for any of this, I don’t think anyone could have equipped me for these trials of royalty.

I am incredibly fatigued, sleeping without Harry and not knowing where he has been stressing me out, along with being unsure of my father and his mayhem. Now, I have Victoria’s corpse imprinted in my memory every time I close my eyes. I don’t want to shut my eyes and envision everything, but I am so exhausted that I have no choice. I closed my eyes just for a moment while Harry drove and I was in and out of sleep the rest of the ride.

I briefly remember Harry waking me up and whispering in my ear that he couldn’t carry me, I had no real clue where we were, but all I remember is falling back asleep as soon as I had a soft place to fall.

I breathe in the scent of clean sheets and I pull the covers further up my body while I open my eyes in an attempt to grasp my bearings. “Harry?” His name falls sleepily from my lips while I sit up, the room still blacked out from the curtains.

“Go back to sleep,” Harry mumbles, tugging at the covers, “At my Mum’s, you’re fine,” Harry assures me, getting comfortable in the bed.

I don’t think he understands that just because he claims that we are safe, it doesn’t mean I’m going to believe it at this point.

I tilt my head to the side and watch the slight ray of sunshine slowly peek its way through the curtains while I think about the last few hours that have transpired.

I can’t help but continue to remember walking away from Harry. I should have listened to him and stayed with him and Matthew, maybe then I wouldn’t have had to discover Victoria.

I remember I was walking along the stones, following the path when I was momentarily sidetracked by this scent that made me sick to my stomach, I thought nothing of it. I figured it was just a rodent or some sort of explanation that wasn’t a dead body. I fell over her body, quite literally, and the thought of remembering the incident causes my stomach to stir.

With every day that passes, I become more and more aware of the fact that my father is immoral. I’m not sure what he has managed to get into, but whatever it is, it’s not good. Ultimately, I’m paying the consequences of his actions and decisions. I can’t blame him for everything, with us being royal, we are always at risk, but recently, it seems like we are at a higher risk, thanks to him.

I benevolently shake Harry, being cautious not to touch his painful shoulder, Harry mumbles something inaudible against his pillow before lifting his head, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Harry sleepily asks, leisurely sitting himself up, his right hand beginning to reach to his side table.

“You don’t need the gun,” I inform him, noticing what he is reaching for. I think it is a force of habit for him, he never really knows why I could be waking him, with all the dangerous events and evacuations, I don’t blame him for stretching for it while half asleep, unaware as to why I am waking him.

Harry hums, “Then why the fuck am I awake?” He grumbles, not too pleased.

“Do, do you think my Dad is losing it?”

“What?” Harry asks, seeming a little confused.

“Do you think he is losing the plot? Going senile? Literally going mentally insane?” It could make sense for him to be losing his mind.

Senility can produce changes in mental health, such as memory loss or a decline in judgment. His judgment certainly hasn’t been the best when it comes to things, he put me in jeopardy when we went to Greece, he put us all in danger, he is angry all of the time and has acted out, firing a lot of the staff— He isn’t the Father I remember, he has been on a steady decline ever since he started to talk about handing me the crown, once he told the whole of Britain that he was hoping to hand things down to me by the end of the year, everything steadily got worse. personality or behaviour changes are another symptom but the only issue is that he is too young to be going senile, he is only fifty, surely he isn’t old enough to be going senile. Maybe he is clinically insane? Maybe I am clinically insane at this point, I feel like I am going insane.

Harry blankly stares at me for a few moments, silence crowding the room.

Harry shakes his head and lies back down, “Goodnight, Anastasia.”

“Harry—”

“Go to sleep,” Harry mumbles, drawing the covers back up his body and becoming comfortable between the sheets.

I heavily sigh and move my body closer to his, trying to get as close as possible without bothering him hurting him. Harry doesn’t speak, instead, he opens his arm and enables me to move closer, allowing him to settle his arm around me while I relax on his good shoulder.

I listen to the melodious breaths of Harry while he falls asleep. I gaze up at the ceiling, trying to think of a logical solution for everything that has been occurring.

Perhaps my Father is going senile. Perhaps my Father just has a lot of enemies.

Perhaps the monarch is turning against my Father.

Perhaps all of this is happening without logical explanations.

Perhaps I need to find a way to pass the crown to someone else.

♔♔♔ ♔♔♔

Through the night, I was in and out of sleep, so was Harry, I could feel him shuffling around in the bed, trying to get comfortable and groaning every so often. Sleeping doesn’t come to me easily now, last night I was concerned about my father, I do not know where exactly he is or if he is okay. I genuinely think he is starting to lose his mind, it would explain his shift in behaviours. One minute he’s trying to marry me off and the next minute he’s angry at the world.

I shift the covers around my body and groan, a desire to stay in bed overcoming me sharply as I gradually wake up to the sound of an unfamiliar voice down the hallway, “I heard there’s a princess, I want to meet her.”

“Gemma, shh,” Harry hushes her, “She’s asleep, go away. You’re not following me in here,” Harry continues, doing his best to whisper but failing.

I chuckle to myself as the door opens, “Damnit, Gemma, piss off,” Harry again mutters, pushing her arm away from the doorframe and closing the door behind him.

Harry glances over at me and smiles, “I’m sorry, she’s uh— she wants to meet you.”

“She wants to meet a princess.” I correct him.

“Mhm,” Harry hums, “She doesn’t mean that in a bad way; she means no disrespect.”

I sit up in the bed and shrug my shoulders, “Is ‘she’ your sister or?” I ask, unsure of who is summoning me and wanting to meet me. I know Harry has a sister, I have never met her so I can only assume the woman eager to meet me in the hallways’ is no other than his sister.

Harry nods his head, “Yes, my sister who seems to have a problem with boundaries.”

“Well,” I chuckle, pulling the covers towards my shoulders, “She sounds lovely.”

“She’s a pest,” Harry responds, “But, she did bring some clothes for you,” Harry places a pair of leggings and a long sweater on the bed, “Mum bought some clothes while we were asleep for you to go through, probably warmer than this,” Harry holds up the white sweater.

“I am sure it is fine,” I assure him, appreciative that his mother and sister were both kind enough to take into consideration that I have no clothes besides what I left London in.

When I was woken up by Harry, I had no clue that we would be evacuating and I would have nothing besides the clothes on my back and my phone.

“It’s a bit crisp this morning.”

“Says the person who isn’t wearing a shirt,” I point out.

“Do you know how painful it is to put a shirt on without help? It was easier to just throw on the bloody sling and sweatpants. Should let my mother shop for me more, these are comfortable,” Harry gestures towards his pants, causing me to raise a brow.

I can’t deny the fact that if it wasn’t for his damn shoulder, I’d gradually make my way closer to him, and allow my hands to flow across his shoulders before travelling themselves down his chest, where my thoughts would become entangled with only one—him.

My hands would examine the texture of his body, moderately working their way past his abs, and then my fingers would sweep across his V-line in a teasing matter where his sweatpants would fall to his ankles.

I cock my head to the side, admiring the way his hair has been brushed but still appears rumpled, he has his sun-kissed tan from the summer and his few tattoos seem to catch my attention this morning.

He has the body of a faultlessly chiselled sculpture and it’s destroying me in all ways.

“Do I even want to ask what you’re thinking about?” Harry distracts me from my stare.

I bite my lip and gaze up at him, trying my best to conceal my smirk.

Harry clears his throat and begins to step around to my side, “You have that look.”

“What look?” I innocently inquire.

Harry leans down and kisses my lips sweetly, “The look where you want to make love,” Harry whispers, drawing away from my lips and enticing me further.

“Why must you always say ‘make love’?”

“Because fucking the princess just isn’t as romantic.” Harry outright responds, “Not very respectful.”

“Whatever,” I roll my eyes, “Soooo…” I trail off with a grin.

Harry sighs and shakes his head, “I can’t, Anna.”

“How many times will you deny me until you give in? Talk about playing hard to get,” I huff, crossing my arms over my chest.

I have lost count how many times I have been denied.

“I hate to break it to you, but you do realise I fucked my shoulder and can barely move it after carrying you last night?”

“I had a better chance of getting anything out of you while you were on morphine.” I laugh, playfully teasing him.

Harry chuckles, “Probably,” he nods, “Believe me, I wish I still had my morphine.”

“Mhm, change the subject, sounds about right.”

“Spoilt.” Harry laughs, delighted by the fact I’m still sexually frustrated.

I raise a brow at him, “Spoilt? Me? How? You haven’t touched me in quite some time.”

“Anna… baby…” Harry sighs, “How about tonight?”

“Last time I heard that, you ended up hurt and I was shoved in a bloody pantry thing, hiding from people who wanted to kill me, soooo.” I trail off, reminding him of the last time those words left his strawberry-red lips.

“I promise, tonight.”

“I’ll be pissed if I’m shoved in a pantry.”

Harry smiles, “Nothing bad will happen, you won’t be shoved into pantries and your life won’t be on the line.”

I grin at Harry and nod my head, agreeing that tonight will work, as long as nothing negative happens by then.

“Mhm,” I hum, “Whatever you say,” I respond just as the door to the bedroom opens.

Harry glances over his shoulder towards the door where his sister, I assume, stands, leaning on the doorframe with an angelic smile while locks of chestnut-brown hair curtain her face.

“Do I need to cutesy?” Gemma questions under her breath, staring at me half a smile painted across her lips.

“Yes,” Harry responds with a smirk, watching his sister do her very best at curtsying to me.

I raise a brow towards Harry before I shake my head, “No, I’m just Anastasia, I’m not a princess while I’m here,” I smile at her, not wanting anyone to treat me and different than what they would a normal civilian. I don’t expect them to curtsy to me or refer to me as ‘Princess,’ I expect nothing besides kindness, and that is what I have been shown so far. “He is just being a jerk,” I assure his sister.

His sister nods her head, “It’s what he does best. I’m Gemma, his sister.”

“Yes, this is my sister, who is very kindly interrupting,” Harry interjects as he pulls his phone from his pocket, “You at least could have knocked.”

Gemma shrugs her shoulders and walks past Harry, not caring about his comments, “If you need any clothes, just let me know. I don’t know what Mum picked out but if you need anything, just ask.”

“I need you to leave,” Harry smiles, and again, Gemma ignores him, entirely brushing him off and sorting through the clothes Harry placed on the bed from their mother.

“Thank you, Gemma,” I appreciate her being kind. She doesn’t have to be nice to me and offer me her clothes, quite honestly, she doesn’t have to do anything for me, this is the first time she has met me. She has every reason to be standoffish with me. “I’m going to make coffee,” I push the covers of the sheets off my body, “Give you two time to catch up,” I wink towards Harry, well aware that he doesn’t get to see his family too often, I think it is best to give them some time, even if it is just a few minutes while I make coffee.

♔♔♔

I walk down the hallway with two cups of coffee in my hands, making my way towards Harry’s childhood bedroom. The last time I tried to make our coffee, it did not go nearly as smoothly as it did this time. Not that it is a very big achievement, but I smile to myself, quite pleased with how my coffee turned out, even if it is a simple task. Making coffee in the palace is not something that I do, I never get the chance to— it is all done for me. I know how privileged and spoilt it makes me sound, but in all fairness, I would change things if I could. I want to be able to do mundane things such as making coffee and washing linens.

“So, can you tell me what happened and why you’re up here?” Harry’s sister challenges him just as I stop outside the door.

“I could, but then I’d have to kill you.”

“It can’t be that serious,” she scoffs.

“Drop it,” Harry warns sternly, in a way I’d never expect him to act towards his sister.

“You’re such a hardass, don’t forget you used to chase butterflies in the garden as a kid.”

“I don’t pry about your job, don’t pry about mine.”

“That’s because you’re an ass and never ask me about my job… not that it’s very interesting compared to yours.”

“You think keeping your wife alive is interesting?” Harry snaps unhappily.

“Well, she isn’t your wife yet, but yes. Seems like the palace life is interesting… Speaking of which, Harry, are you sure you want this?” Gemma asks, causing my heart to sink in my chest. She doesn’t sound like she approves of our relationship.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you sure you want to marry into the royal family? It’s a big fucking deal… Putting aside all the shit I don’t know and the danger you’re currently in, do you realise how much work being a royal is? Your life will never be the same again.”

“There’s a reason we are keeping it quiet. I love her, I want to be with her, I don’t care about the royal family and the monarchy narrative, I care about her.”

“You have to care about the monarch because you’ll be a part of it, Harry. She won’t choose you over the crown, she can't hand it off to someone else. You won’t be normal.” Gemma explains the things that I have already tried to explain to Harry before. He is aware things aren’t normal.

“I don’t want her to choose me over the crown, I’ve accepted she has major responsibilities, I know what I’m getting into, Gemma. I don’t need you to tell me what I’m getting into, I see it every day, you just read about it in history books and on social media.”

“I’m making sure you understand that this isn’t going to be easy. You won’t work, you will do royal duties, is that what you want? You should be working towards being the president of operations, not suddenly becoming royalty.”

“I’m aware. I’m a big boy, I can make my own decisions. I can still work security, I don’t want Matthew’s job right now. I’m marrying her, if you don’t like it then that’s just too bad. I’m not here for your approval, quite frankly I’m not here at all for you.”

“There you go being an arse.”

“You bring out the asshole in me when you act like I’m not capable of making decisions. I’m your little brother, I get it, but I thought you of all people would be more accepting. I expected mum to be the one to convince me not to marry her, instead, mum's the one who encouraged me to propose. I had my doubts, I know I’m not good enough for her, she deserves Prince Charming and I’m just some guy from the country-side who became her security… but damnit I try every day to be the man she needs, so do me a favour and at least pretend to like her until we leave.”

“I do like her, Harry.”

“Then this conversation doesn’t need to go any further,” Harry dismisses her and I let out a breath.

I should have walked away when I heard them talking, I shouldn’t have listened in to the conversation because now I don’t know how I feel about everything.

If his sister doesn’t have faith in us then who the fuck will?

“I have coffee,” I announce, pretending like I didn’t hear them as I step into the bedroom and hand Harry his coffee.

Harry kisses my cheek and takes the cup from my hand, wasting no time with taking a sip, “Much better than last time,” Harry grins.

“I’ll leave you two to settle in, I have some sewing to do,” Gemma excuses herself politely, standing up from her position on the bed and walking out without saying anything further.

I look towards Harry, wanting to question things but there is a time and a place, right now isn’t the right time. I can’t start something at this hour of the morning, I don’t want to start our day on a shitty note.

♔♔♔ ♔♔♔

Harry grins at me while he launches a blanket towards me and makes his way towards the open fireplace that has been roaring since sunset. He pokes the logs a little before adding the last log to the fire, ambers crackling and disbursing in their brilliant colours of red and apricot.

He comes closer to me and kisses my cheek before falling beside me and getting comfortable, his hand making sure to move the blanket so I’m covered and warm. “Have you found a dress you like, love?”

I shake my head and hand him my tea, “No, it’s hard when I need to try them on,” I answer.

Just because it seems good online it doesn’t mean it’ll look good in person, wedding dress shopping without a boutique is harder than one would think. “Starting to wonder if we should just get married at the courthouse.”

Harry shakes his head immediately, “No, you deserve the dress of your dreams at the very least.”

“Harry, I don’t need it… I just want to get married. We can go to the courthouse.”

“Anna—“

“Jus’ think about it? Your Mum understands where I’m coming from.”

“My mother agreed with you?” Harry raises a brow.

“Can you just think about it?”

“You want me to just take you to the courthouse?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“You’d be happy to go to the courthouse right now and get married? No dress, no family, nothing?” Harry questions.

“Yes.”

Harry nods his head and sighs before standing to his feet, “I’m going to bed.”

“Are you mad?” I question, watching as he begins to walk away, “Harry?”

He turns and peers over at me, “No, are you coming to bed?” Harry questions while walking down the hallway, leaving me by myself in the living room.

I wander into his bedroom and close the door, “Are you seriously upset with me? You can’t just walk away from a conversation because you don’t—“ I begin to express my frustration with him walking away from me and the conversation about our wedding, but I’m swiftly cut off by his lips hitting mine and his body pushing me against the wall.

He drags his mouth from my own and leaves sweet kisses down my jawline, moving to my neck, “Not mad,” he mumbles against my warm skin, causing my heart to skip a beat.

His hand slips under my shirt and we begin to dance our way to the bed before he pushes me to fall to the bed.

Before anything more, Harry’s phone begins to ring, causing him to drag his mouth from my own, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Harry huffs, reaching over and grabbing his phone from the side table. “Hello?” Harry snaps in an unhappy tone, making it a point to show he has been inconvenienced. “Matthew, I’m busy right now, I can’t drive…. What? You’re out front already? Well, fuck, give me a few minutes to get dressed…” Harry hangs up the phone and looks at me. “Anna, I’m so sorry…”

I shake my head and heavily sigh, “It’s fine. What’s happening?”

Harry kisses my cheek before forcing himself off the bed and makes his way towards some of his clothes his Mum graciously bought him, “I have to work with Matthew.”

“What do you mean?” I question, unsure of what Harry means. He shouldn’t be having to work, he’s on my service and there is nothing for him to do besides make sure I’m safe. My parents are in other places, so it isn’t as though he had to escort them anywhere.

Harry’s hesitant to speak and takes a moment of silence to gather the right words to say, “We need to handle some stuff at Windsor and Buckingham.”

“You’re driving back to London? I don’t think you should be driving at this hour.”

Harry shakes his head, “Matthew is.”

“Why though?”

“Anastasia, you don’t want to know.”

I shake my head and sigh, “I’d like to know. Seems suspicious to me.” I am not trying to start an argument by any means, I just want to know where he is going and why. With everything that has happened and how my world is entirely upside down, it makes me feel better to know what is going on instead of being left in he dark or being blindsided.

“Anna, you make my job hard sometimes,” Harry mutters, “I have to go and help move Victoria.”

“What?” My eyes grow wide while he does his best to pull on a sweater.

“You heard me, I need to go move her,” he responds.

I look at him, bewildered by the fact that he’s having to do such a thing, the sheer idea of him going back in the tunnels to her makes me uneasy.

I flashback to what I saw in the tunnels and her lifeless body lying on the concrete.

I don’t want to ask any more questions, I don’t need any more answers, nor do I want to know any. I don’t want to be apart of anything that has to do with Victoria right now.

♔♔♔ ♔♔♔

I’m pulled from my slumber when Harry gently caresses his hand to my arm and kisses my cheek, “Hey, Baby,” Harry whispers, “I’m home.”

I gradually push myself up on my elbow, grasping my focus as Harry kisses my forehead, “Go back to sleep.” Harry adjusts the covers, drawing them more towards my side of my bed before placing a phone down on my side table, “Your new phone to call your parents off.”

“Why do I need a new phone?” I tiredly question, unsure of why the old one that I have is being replaced.

“Precautions to make sure it isn’t tapped and tracked, I will get rid of your old one when I wake up. Now, go back to sleep.”

Ever since Harry left, I’ve been uneasy and sick to my stomach, I’m not sure what it is but even just hearing her name managed to unsettle me. I move to sit up against the pillows while Harry places his phone and wallet on the side table on my side as well, “Go to sleep, it’s four in the morning.”

I shake my head and Harry sits down on the edge beside me, “Why? Are you having nightmares about everything?” He softly asks, remembering the last time I was up here and the fact Henry left me with nightmares the first night.

“No… I’m not feeling too well.”

Harry presses his hand to my forehead, “Well, no temperature. Do you want me to go get you anything?”

“No, it’s okay,” I half-smile at him, “Get in bed, you’re probably exhausted.”

Harry shakes his head, “Move forward a bit,” Harry instructs, gently pressing his hand to my back, “I’ll stay up with you,” he continues, beginning to rub soothing circles on my back. “Would you like tea or a heating pad?”

“I’d like for life to settle down, Harry.”

“I am doing my best to make it happen.”

“You can’t,” I sigh.

There isn’t much that Harry can do to settle life and normalise things. None of this is his fault, my family issues do not stem from him, but I can’t help but continue to replay the conversation in my head that he has with his sister.

Harry doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve inconsistency and scrutiny of things. He deserves a lovely girl who is normal, someone that will make sure dinner is on the table when he gets home from a long day at work and will pour him a drink to his liking. Harry deserves someone who isn’t in the spotlight of the world and who doesn’t need to be watched twenty-four-seven. Although I am aware that he does deserve better, the selfish part of me doesn’t want to care.

Harry swears up and down this is what he wants and that he is aware of what he is getting into, but due to the current events, I don’t even know what I am getting into anymore. I don’t know what each day will hold, for all I know, by tomorrow morning I could be whisked off to America because there is suddenly another threat— things are unpredictable.

“Harry,” I begin with a soft voice, “Is this what you want?”

“To be awake at this hour? No.” Harry shakes his head.

I don’t think anyone wants to be awake at this hour.

“No,” I shake my head, “Us? Getting married and being apart of royalty.”

Harry continues to rub my back, “I want to marry you, I thought that was pretty clear.”

“But you do know it won’t be easy, right? You know that being married to a Queen will have disadvantages, right?”

“I accepted that when you said you would not abdicate and refuse the crown. I want to marry you, where is all this coming from?”

“If it came down to it, Harry, I would give up the crown for us, but right now I cannot. There is nobody to take it that is a good fit, the monarch would go into the hands of a distant cousin and I don’t want to risk that. I don’t want to risk us either, it is going to be hard, it won’t be easy, and… and you won’t have as much freedom, you deserve the life you want to live.”

“Mhm,” Harry hums, “Anna, did my sister say something to you?” Harry instantly questions.

I shake my head, “No.”

“You heard her conversation, didn’t you?”

I don’t respond, I stay closed-lipped and allow the silence to penetrate the bedroom. “Shouldn’t eavesdrop, darling,” Harry heavily sighs before I feel him press a kiss to my shoulder, “I know what I am getting into, my sister overstepped her mark, I can make my decisions. I want to marry you, let’s get some sleep.” Harry continues, moving to kiss my cheek, “I love you, don’t forget that,” Harry adds, carefully moving beside me.

“Just making sure this is what you want.”

“If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

“You have no choice, you’re the bodyguard,” I chuckle.

Harry shakes his head, “I don’t have to be in bed with you, and I don’t have to be planning a wedding. Don’t overthink it, ignore my sister. Your bodyguard is tired and would like to sleep.” Harry presses, pulling the covers over his body

♔♔♔

Harry’s POV

The rain has been falling heavily for the last hour, and it's almost like the heavens have ultimately decided to open up and they don’t want to close.

I stare down at the steam emanating from my hot tea, my hands cupped around the edges, the heat radiating warmth through my body.

I should be curled up in bed with the gracious covers around me and my beautiful partner beside me, asleep, instead, I’m perched at the kitchen table, staring into an abyss of a cup looking for answers that I’m sure I won’t be able to discover. Most people find answers at the bottom of a bottle, and I am almost at the point of finding a bottle of whiskey but I don’t think that will solve much.

There are a few things I need to figure out.

Why Victoria is dead and why she was in the tunnels.

How long before Victoria is reported missing and whether she will be found.

How I explain things to Anastasia.

When will things go back to normal?

If I could come up with a resolution for everything, perhaps life would be a little bit more indulgent, unfortunately, at some point, things became so hectic that I don’t have any answers. I think the next time I have a cup of coffee, I will need to add a shot of whiskey to it. I require something to help calm me down and soothe these damn questions that I can’t figure out. I feel as though I am attempting to piece together a puzzle that doesn’t have all the pieces. I am sure that the king has more pieces to this puzzle that he will not reveal just yet.

I can’t begin to imagine how Anastasia feels, it lies heavily on my mind and I don’t know how to ask her how she is processing everything. Even if she does open up and tell me how she feels about the chaos, there isn’t much I can do besides console her and hold her. I am useless purely because I do not have answers for any of the questions that could be asked. I know she will have questions, she always has questions.

“Why do you look so glum?” My sister distracts me from my drowning thoughts.

I glance up from my mug and discover my sister stepping closer, her hair thrown up in a bun and her sweater falling off her shoulder as she yawns.

“I thought you moved out years ago?”

She rolls her eyes at my comment, “Likewise… Some of us visit our mother and stay for a few days.”

I don’t respond, I just take a sip of my tea, not wanting to banter with her at this hour. “So, why are you so glum? Where’s your princess?”

I glare at my sister and she curls her lips up into a smirk. She’s doing this to purposely piss me off.

As kids, we continuously took the piss out of each other and found ways to get under each other’s skin, and usually, I’d be all for our banter, but right now, I’m exhausted and I don’t want backhanded comments… especially when it comes to Anna who is on the direct path of an emotional breakdown.

“Do you not like her or something?” I asked with irritation, unsure of where my sister stands when it comes to my relationship.

Whether my sister likes her or not, it doesn’t change my decisions of marrying her, but I’d still like to know my sister’s thoughts.

“I do,” my sister nods.

“Then what is with the damn comments when it comes to my relationship.”

My sister lifts her shoulders into a shrug, “Daddy Issues.”

I roll my eyes and sigh, “You’re annoying. Dad treated you well…. daddy issues my fucking ass,” I shake my head at her, attempting not to laugh at her comment.

Contrary to popular belief, we always got along with our father, he wasn’t the villain in our family story. Our parents went their separate ways but it wasn’t for any drastic reason like he was an asshole or cheated, no.

Our parents outgrew each other and weren’t on the same path when it came to life— they had different goals and aspirations— they were perfect for each other until they weren’t. They served their purpose together and split ways civilly. They can see each other in the street and have a conversation, and they can see each other at family events pertaining to my sister and me, there’s no issue there.

“I like her, I do, I just like to aggravate you. Can’t believe my little brother is in love.”

“Mhm… Well, it would be nice if you were a little nicer to her. I know being nice isn’t apart of your personality, but she could use with nice people around her.”

My sister isn’t the nicest of people sometimes, she is a hard person to read. My sister is highly sarcastic, sassy and very hard to get a grip on whether she likes you or not. There is a fine line between her liking you and disliking you— a fine line that is hard to distinguish.

“I’m nice,” my sister defends, “I bought her clothes!”

“Gemma…” I trail off, “She heard our conversation yesterday and thinks you don’t approve of her.”

“Harry, that was me just looking out for you and making sure you know what you’re getting into. I read the news articles, I’ve read the biographies of past royals—“

“That’s different. I don’t care what you read and how you keep up with the history of the royals, but be nice to her, and don’t give her any doubts.”

“She has doubts?” My sister questions.

I nod my head, “She heard our conversation and cried over it, so just keep your comments to a minimum.”

“Is that why you’re so glum and seem like you’ve had your firstborn son taken from you?”

I shake my head and leave my cup on the table before I bury my face into my hands and rub my face out of frustration and exhaustion. “I have a girl in there sleeping while her world is turned upside down. I haven’t slept because I had the privilege of moving a corpse, and if that isn’t enough, some of Anastasia’s jewellery was taken from Buckingham and I don’t know how to tell her.”

“What kind of jewellery?”

“Her expensive pieces and the ones I bought her. I don’t know how they took her stuff but didn’t manage to take the royal collections.”

“Have you checked the pawn shops?”

“Gemma,” I begin, “I haven’t had time to track down her jewellery, I was busy moving a fucking body.”

“Are you going to tell her?”

“I don’t want to… maybe? I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing. Starting to think running away with her is the best option.”

In all honesty, life would be better off somewhere else, less drama.

“Give me a list of items taken and I’ll find them. You should tell her, don’t have a closed-off communication, that will make things worse.”

“What are you? Sherlock Holmes?” … “I don’t know if she can handle it, Gemma.”

I don’t want this to be what pushes her over the edge.

“I have a few friends in the jewellery industry, just give me a list and we will see what we can do.”

“Where were your jewellery friends when I was looking for a diamond ring?”

“You never told me you were looking for a ring,” Gemma responds with a chuckle.

She has a point, I did not tell my sister, sometimes I don’t confide in her all the time, she tends to come to me more than I go to her when it comes to things

“Mhm,” I hum, “I need you to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity or people around here. If anyone saw us moving the body, they’ll come for me or her family.”

“Oh, great, so we are at threat?”

“Not you,” I shake my head. “Just me, her and her family. Nothing major,” I half-smile, trying not to scare my sister, “I’m going to go back to bed now and check on Anna,” I dismiss my sister before she can say anything in return.

I walk down the hallway with my thoughts rattling my brain.

How am I meant to tell her someone somehow stole some of her personal items?

It is incredibly creepy that someone managed to get in her room. It had to have been done while we were away or after we had moved them into Windsor. I’m not sure how anyone can get into Buckingham and take her jewels, Buckingham is highly surveillance.

I’m not sure what I’m meant to say to her, “Good morning, I love you… oh, and by the way, some of your jewellery was stolen.” — I don’t think that would be suitable for a morning wake up call.

As my hand reaches for the doorknob of my old childhood bedroom, my phone rings. I heavily sigh and quickly grab it from the pocket of my sweatpants and quickly answer it, not wanting to wake Anastasia or my mother down the hallway.

“Hello?”

“Harry, my best pal,” Matthew cheers on the other end of the phone.

I raise a brow, well aware that he’s trying to butter me up, “I saw you a few hours ago, what do you need?”

“We need to have a bonding session.”

“We bonded last night,” I respond, “I don’t think we need to bond,” I chuckle, walking towards the living room to pace the area without disturbing anyone.

“I think we do.”

“What needs to be done this time?” I sigh, unsure of what entails this bonding session.

Surely it can’t be worse than last night.

“We need to report to the king.”

“He’s in the Netherlands,” I remind Matthew.

“I’m aware, he needs us, we have things to take care of.”

“What does this entail?”

Matthew goes quiet before he clears his throat, “My engine light is flashing red like a code red sort of flashing, you should look at it. Come outside and look at it,” Matthew instructs, forcing me to read between the lines.

Code red… code red… code red means the king needs us to do something under the radar that shouldn’t be spoken about over the phone or with anybody else.

I hang up my phone and I walk my way to the front door. I take a break and I open the door to Matthew standing on the porch with an umbrella by his side. “Get your shit, we’re flying to the king.” Matthew bluntly instructs, not batting an eye with his instructions.

I heavily sigh, “Matthew, what do we have to do?”

“I don’t know yet… but it isn’t pretty.”

“Matthew, I physically can’t do any more dirty work, I can barely move my shoulder at this point,” I inform Matthew of the fact I’m not meant to be hauling dead bodies off and tampering with evidence to take the media attention away from the King and his family.

I’m meant to still be on bed rest and taking it easy. I wish I was bedridden with morphine, this shit is getting to be too much to have to handle.

Matthew nods his head, “I understand, but this is important, code red sort of important, just like last night was a code red. Let’s go, you’ll be back tonight.”

“Let me tell them I’m leaving,” I respond before stepping back inside the house.

I find Gemma at the table with her iPad and a cup of coffee in her hand, her eyes gazing up towards me while I walk closer, “I need to go, tell mum I’ll be back tonight, be nice to Anastasia and tell mum to check the security systems, keep the doors locked.”

“Do I need to be—“

“No,” I cut my sister off, “You don’t need to be concerned, just precautionary,” I respond, walking away from her before she can say anything.

I step into my bedroom and walk closer to the bed, I sit on the edge beside Anastasia’s sleeping body. I gently press my hand to her arm, “Hey, sweetheart,” I whisper, slowly waking her up, “Hey, it’s just me,” I assure her as soon as her eyes open.

“Harry,” she mumbles my name sleepily, causing me to smile.

“I have to go, I’ll be back tonight, don’t worry though, you’re safe with Mum. Call me if you need me,” I lean down and kiss her forehead, “The gun is in the drawer beside you, Mum and my sister know what to do if anything happens, not that it will, just makin’ sure okay?”

Anastasia hums her response and I adjust the covers for her and stand to my feet. Her hand wraps around my wrist and I look down at her, “Be careful, okay?”

I nod my head, “I will, I love you.”

“Promise? I love you too.”

“I promise,” I agree, giving her a small smile before taking my keys and wallet off the side table and stepping out of the bedroom.

♔♔♔

I walk through the front door of my mother's house, more than thankful to finally be home. I feel the warmth wrap around my body and welcome me, and I couldn’t be happier. The flight home was fucking cold after we were stuck in the rain for a while, not to mention the drive from the airport to my mothers was just as miserable, Matthews rental car didn’t have heat, we both shivered and cussed the world for our problems. We tried to stop at the liquor store to find a bottle of whiskey to warm us up, but they were closed, we even tried to find a hotel but all hotels had no vacancy out here, so we suffered through the cold.

I wander down the hallway and my mother stands to her feet from the couch, instantly coming to me, “You look like hell.”

“Thanks, you’re so sweet,” I chuckle as she takes my shirt and jacket from my arm, “Mum, I can wash it and—“

She cuts me off, “Shut up,” my mother shakes her head checking to make sure the pockets are empty, “You’re cold, here grab a blanket,” my mother frets, stepping away and grabbing a blanket from the couch, wrapping it around me like a little kid.

“Thanks, Mum,” I smile at her before I kiss her cheek. “I appreciate you, how was your day?”

“Clearly better than yours,” My mum grins and I nod my head in agreement. I think most people have had a better day than I have. “I spent it inside reading and helping your sister sew, I don’t know why she wants to sew but she doesn’t need to be near my sewing machine,” my mother chuckles sweetly to herself.

I can only imagine how it turned out with my sister sewing or attempting to sew. My sister is very talented but there are just some things she shouldn’t even try, sewing and most crafts are not one.

“I’d take teaching her to sew over what I had to do, any day.”

“What did you have to do?”

I shake my head, “I can’t talk about it, I’m not allowed to… maybe later I can tell you, just not right now,” I respond.

My mother nods her head and shrugs, she knows there are some things better left unsaid, and today is one of them, “Anastasia has been quiet, slept most the day, I think something is wrong.”

“Is she still unwell? I’ll check on her.”

“She didn’t seem too well, but we did talk a little about the wedding. She is excited about it, by the way, but she hasn’t had a chance to try on dresses.”

“I’ll take care of it, if it ever stops raining, I have a plan.”

“And that is?” My mother questions curiously.

“I’ll tell you more In the morning, goodnight, Mum.” I cheekily grin, folding up the blanket and placing it down before walking into the kitchen to make a tea.

♔♔♔

I enter my bedroom and close the door behind me silently, just in case Anastasia is sound asleep. I observe Anna curled up in the bed, the comforter wrapped around her, “Hey,” she smiles tiredly towards me.

“Hey, Mum said you still weren’t feeling well, thought I’d bring you a tea,” I hold up the mug, stepping closer to her and sitting on the edge of the bed beside her while she sits up.

“Thanks, where have you been?”

I grow withdrawn for a moment, unsure of what to tell her, I didn’t think of the cover story that I would tell her, it didn’t cross my mind. I have been too busy to thin about what to tell her. “Harry?” She takes the cup from my hand and narrows her eyes down on me.

“I’m not allowed to talk about.”

“But…”

“I was with your Dad, he says hi,” I inform her of her father’s request. The brief times I did manage to speak to him, he was insistent that I make sure I pass his message on, “He loves you and can’t wait to give you a hug.”

“Sounds shady.”

She isn't wrong, it is ALL shady; I would prefer to forget about the last few nights that have occurred.

“That’s because it is,” I nod my head, “It isn’t getting any better at this point.”

“I told you I think he’s losing his mind.”

“I would be too if I had angry people coming after me,” I mutter, “But it's okay,” I quickly assure her, not wanting to scare her any further or cause her more stress. I am doing my best to destress her situations and fix things.

Anastasia heavily sighs and rolls her eyes, “Is there a way to fix the mess he has created?”

“Sort of.”

“Then why don’t we do it?”

“Anna—“

“Don’t leave me in the dark, Harry, it isn’t fair. I’m just as affected by this mess.”

“You really don’t want to know my solution.”

“Why? Why are we not going ahead with the solution.”

“It’s highly illegal.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“Anastasia… How do you deal with people who have too much power, such as those in the mafia or with affiliations with the mafia?”

“I don’t know, Harry. Stop cat and mousing me, tell me your plan.” Anna snaps before pressing her fingers to her temple and rubbing her temple.

I wish I could fix things for her and give her a normal life. I am doing my best but right now, I am failing.

I sigh as she takes a sip of her tea, “Anna… fight fire with fire…”

Her eyes burn with hatred as she glares towards me, her lips screwed into irritation, “You’re being annoying.”

“Jus’ don’t worry about it, okay?” I lean over and kiss her forehead. “Let me handle it.”

“I don’t like how you’re handling it.”

“Well, I am sorry. How are you feeling?”

“You’re changing the subject,” Anastasia is prompt to point out the obvious.

There are some things that are better left unsaid. Where I was and what I was doing is best unknown at the moment.

“What happened to you? What’s on your shirt?” Anastasia leans forward and presses her hand to my shirt, looking closely.

I look down and grab the white material between my fingers, stretching it so I can what Anna is looking at.

Fuck.

“Oh, Matthew accidentally cut himself trying to open a box and I guess he got his blood on me, no big deal,” I lie straight to her face, beginning to unbutton my shirt, wasting no time with sliding it down my arms as I stand to my feet.

“Do you want to lie to me again?”

“No, but I need to talk to you about something, some of your jewellery has been taken.”

Anastasia doesn’t respond and I turn to gaze at her over my shoulder, “Anna?”

“I heard you. There’s nothing I can do, it is just jewellery.”

“I will get it back for you, I will do my best, darling, I promise.”

“You got mail, it is on the dresser over there,” Anastasia points to the dresser and I step closer to it, taking the envelopes in my hand.

“These are for you,” I inform her, looking down at the envelopes that seem familiar, they’re dressed as they would be If they were going to the palace for her to read and reply back with, but there is something odd about the envelopes, they’re all the same with the same handwriting but one is addressed to me. “Where did you get these?”

“Your sister said they were in the mail, I haven’t opened it, I assumed mine were letters from the public for me to read and reply to, I just haven’t had the energy to do it.”

“No, but how did they get here?”

“I am guessing my carrier, Harry,” Anastasia responds, “How else would they get here? Throw me mine so I know whether I need to reply to them.”

I shake my head, flipping the letters over and seeing that there is no return address, “Baby, these aren’t forwarded from the Palace,” I inform her, placing hers back down on the dresser and sliding my finger through the edge of the one addressed to me.

“How do you know?”

“I didn’t give the Palace a forwarding address for your mail.”

“Why not? I still have duties to attend to.”

“First of all, you’re sick and don’t need to be worrying about it, second of all, it isn’t safe to have mail forwarded because then people will know where you are.”

“You don’t need to tell me what I need to be worrying about,” Anastasia responds, not too pleased with my comment.

“Okay,” I sigh, “Fair point, I was out of line, but nobody needs to know where you are right now,” I return, unfolding my letter and opening it up to read what it says.

“I know about you and Anastasia, you can run but you can’t hide.”

I take a breath and fold the letter back up, grabbing Anastasia’s as well in my hand. “What are the letters for?”

I rub a hand over my dark stubble before shaking my head, “Nothing, I’m going to take a shower.”

“You’ve been spending too much time with my father.”

“What?” I question as Anastasia pushes the covers off her body and gets out of bed.

“You heard me, you’re acting just as shady as he is, and quite honestly, I don’t like it.”

“You’re paranoid, go back to bed,” I respond, stepping into the bathroom and flicking the light on, only for Anastasia to follow me. “Are you joining me in the shower?” I raise a brow cheekily, attempting to distract her from the argument she is most likely ready to create— she has a valid reason for being irritated and wanting answers, but I don’t need her to worry. I don’t want her to be consumed even further by what is happening or by what could happen.

I am trying my best to protect her from the shit show that is currently going on, she has dealt with more than enough and at this point, I am going to do everything that I can to not push her over the fucking edge. I know she is close to the edge and I will be damned if she goes over it.

“I don’t think I am paranoid, Harry. I don’t like this. Why can’t you be honest with me?” Anastasia questions while I turn the knob to begin the water to heat up.

I turn to face her and I step closer to her, “I am being honest, believe me when I say there are some things better left unknown, please don’t make this harder than what it already is.”

Anastasia pulls her hand away from my own and stares at me relentlessly, “Seems like everything is left unknown until it boils into something bad that can’t be hidden.”

I nod my head, “What is it you want to know?”

“Where were you?”

“With your Father. We had to have a private conversation, can I have my shower now?”

“This conversation isn’t over,” Anastasia dismisses me and I heavily sigh as she storms out of the bathroom.

This is bound to be an interesting night. Just when I thought that things could possibly settle down, I now have to face her. I lean on the vanity and stare into the mirror, taking in deep breaths in an attempt to think things through in a way that won’t destroy her.

I am not sure how to explain the mail, unfortunately, this isn’t the first letter I have received in the last month or so, I don’t think it will be the last, but I do know that it seems like whoever is sending these letters knows my every move. Nobody knows that we are here beside her parents and Matthew, the new guy doesn't even know, Matthew put him on paid leave until we need him. The only thing I can think of is someone within the palace staff has managed to figure things out and is trying to leak information… I highly doubt her parents would be behind the letters, although that would be a plot twist, I can’t say that it wouldn’t be something that could happen, after all, nothing seems to be off the table at this point. It is time I tell Matthew about the mail I have been receiving, and it is time for us to come up with a plan to figure out who is behind it all. At first, I didn’t think much of it all, but now with them sending things to my mother's house, it shows they are watching me- they’re watching Anna.

I pick up the envelope with Anastasia’s name on the front of it and I open it, holding my breath with every inch of the paper that rips between my fingers. I take the piece of paper out, slowly unfolding it before I read the ink scribbled on the paper.

“I know about you and Harry… It will all be revealed soon. Stay alert, Princess, you’re next.”

I fold the letter back up and I place it in the envelope, not wanting to even see what the other one says. I believe these are empty threats by someone bored and lonely, probably a normal civilian, but at the same time, there is a part of me that is concerned it is one of the people who Is after her father. They’re not going to stop until the Ace’s get what they want and the King refuses to give up his power and money to them. He has paid his dues and that isn’t enough for that money-hungry family.

It could be Henry, I wouldn’t be too surprised if he is the one behind this, but I have this feeling the reasons for his previous behaviours weren't based on his logical thinking but more so his mothers. I think his mother was behind a lot of his erratic and psychotic behaviour, I think his mother is the true evil one. I am not remorseful that she is no longer living, quite honestly, it was just a matter of time before she did more damage to Anastasia’s family. Anna doesn’t know this, but I have been watching Victoria from the moment I met her at the Garden party. On my off days, I would do my best to follow her in an attempt to figure her out, she didn’t do many things out of the ordinary, but there were a few red flags that I did take note off, none of which were enough to build too much against her in such a short time. Matthew did his best to keep track of Henry and Victoria and the one thing we can’t seem to figure out is… Who is Henry’s father?

There is no name attached to the man that the King was talking to, there was never a man around at the Garden event that introduced himself as Henry’s father. I have tried to look up birth certificates but I can’t find Henry’s, I can’t even find Victoria’s marriage certificate.

I push away from the vanity and take my suit pants off, dropping my clothes to the floor before getting in the shower. The steaming hot water hits my body and I feel a sense of stress leaving my body for a brief moment. My body isn’t cold and shivering and all the negative things that I have dealt with in the last two days are washing down the drain, hopefully, to never return.

My shower wasn’t as peaceful as I had hoped, my thoughts kept reminding me of everything happening, almost to the point I wish I had an excuse to call the nurse for more morphine, although my shoulder is still painful, there is no way the King or Matthew will allow me to sleep peacefully with morphine and no pain and no worries. Oh, how I took it for granted to be able to sleep all day and not deal with the issues happening in the Royal world.

I step out of the shower and Anastasia is leaning on the doorframe with a blanket wrapped around her body, I raise a brow but I do not say anything as she watches me reach for my towel and wrap it around my lower body. From the way her lips are pressed firmly together and the way her eyes watch my every move, she isn’t watching me because she finds me charming and good looking, no, she is watching me because she has things to say or she is trying to read me in an attempt to figure shit out.

I shuffle closer to her and press a kiss to her cheek as I slide past her, still not saying a word. I step towards the clothes my mother bought me and I pull out a clean pair of sweatpants, wasting no time with pulling them up my legs before running the towel through my hair to dry it briefly. I place the towel in the hamper and glance over to Anastasia who has her arms crossed over her chest. “How’d you get the blood on your white shirt? That is going to be hard to get out.” Anastasia gestures towards the shirt I let fall to the floor before I went into the bathroom.

I heavily sigh as I pick it up from the floor, “I told you.”

“That was a lie, you and I know that.”

“Anastasia, please don’t,” I shake my head. I don’t want to explain today to her.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Please, don’t be mad with me, it is for your own-“

Anastasia rolls her eyes, “Jus’ don’t worry about it,” Anastasia cuts me off, “I hope you’re not turning into my father, I really don’t.” Anastasia informs me as she walks into the bathroom.

“Anna, don’t be angry with me,” I slump my shoulders as she closes the door.

I fall to the edge of the bed and run my fingers through my hair. I have fucked up with not telling her, I do not blame her for being upset, but as I have said, it is for her safety. I am not sure who I am attempting to convince more, myself or her.

It is hard to draw a line between my job and being her partner, sometimes there isn’t even a line, sometimes I have to choose which one I want to take the role of.

After a few minutes of staring at the bathroom door, waiting for her to exit, I force myself to my feet and walk to the door, I knock on the door, “Anna? I know you’re mad but you don’t need to lock yourself in the bathroom.” … “Anna? Are you okay?” I question, getting no response before I take it upon myself to open the door.

I see Anastasia resting on the floor with her back against the bathtub, “The world doesn’t revolve around you,” she half chuckles, “Do you really think I would lock myself in here because I am mad?”

“Well… I-, I I am an idiot, we know this already… You okay?”

“I have never been better, I mean, after all, I have no clue what is happening with anything, I fell over a dead body, I have been whisked away from my home indefinitely because people are after my father, and to top it off, my soon to be husband is acting weird and shady.”

“I meant how you felt.”

Anastasia simply shakes her head and I sit down beside her, I slip my arm around her lower back and she rests her head on my shoulder, “Not trying to argue with you, or be mad with you, Harry.” Anastasia softly whispers, “I just hate all of this. I don’t want you to be like Dad.”

“I know, baby, I know,” I nod my head even though she can’t see me. “I do too. I am not your Dad. I just work for him and take his orders.”

“Are we going to get through all of this, Harry?”

“We will, it’ll all be okay,” I assure her, attempting to comfort her even though I don’t know what’ll happen next. I can’t tell her that it’ll be smooth sailing from here because I don’t know if it will, but I do know that she and I will be okay.

“You’re not going to want to leave?”

“Of course not, nothing your father causes will make me want to leave. I’m here for the long haul, I’m here to hold your hair when you’re sick, even if you’re mad at me,” I inform her and she gently nudges me.

“I’m not mad,” she mumbles.

I’m here to be a shoulder you can cry on, I’m here for it all. I’m here for all the good times and the bad times, I’m here for as long as you’ll have me. I’m in this completely. I hate that you’re doubting me though.”

“Everything is just a mess.”

“It’ll all be okay, do you want to get in bed? It’s a bit warmer than these cold tiles.”

“No, I feel sick.”

“Okay, we will stay here,” I respond, kissing the top of her head.

“You can go to bed, I’ll be fine.”

“And what fun will that be? Won’t have you to steal the covers,” I half-heartedly joke with her, trying my best to lighten the mood. “Plus, when the wife says to go back to bed, you never go back to bed, it’s a catch. Never leave the wife when she’s unwell.”

“You left me today.”

“I had to and you were asleep.”

“Left your sick fiancé to see my father.”

“Your father pays my bills,” I respond with a small laugh.

“Mhm,” Anastasia hums, “Do you love me enough to go to the store and get me anti-nausea meds? this is horrible.”

“I would, but everything closes out here at ten. We can call your royal doctor, she has all sorts of great meds.”

“You really love her, don’t ye’?” Anastasia finally manages to giggle, “Must have been some strong stuff,” she nudges me playfully.

“The best sleep of my life, she had me feeling great for the first two days. Then reality hit.”

“I don’t want to bother her, she’ll have to drive up here and it’s too much of a hassle.” … “I’ll survive. So… will you tell me what’s in those envelopes up there?”

“Nope.” I honestly respond.

“Nothing is stopping me from getting up and grabbing them.”

“You don’t have the energy for that, if you did, you’d have done it already.”

“Fair point,” Anastasia agrees, “I’m sorry about earlier and throwing a fit.”

“You have every right to feel how you do and want answers, but it’s in your best interest not to know them, it’ll stress you out, I rather if you let me stress over it instead, okay?”

“It’s hard. Harry. I feel like everything is crumbling around me. I can handle it, I don’t need to be protected.”

“It is crumbling, I won’t lie, it is a shit show.”

“Way to go in being comforting.”

“I won’t lie to you about it, everything is crumbling around us but at the end of the day, you’re safe, your parents are safe and it’ll all be okay.”

“You keep saying that… who are you trying to convince? You or myself?”

“Both,” I respond in all honesty. “Love, I want us to have an open communication, I don’t want us to hide things.”

“Well, that is a little far fetched considering your job, darling,” Anastasia points out.

I can’t say she is wrong, she has a valid point, but she is missing what I am trying to say, “I do my best to communicate, I only hide things when I need too,” … “Not that it makes it any better, I just-, I want you to know I am doing my best with balancing both and I am not trying to hide things, I just have to sometimes…”

“Shhh, I know, quit fretting, I get it, I do. It is frustrating, but I understand, I just had a moment earlier, Harry. No need to keep worrying over it.”

I let out a breath of relief and hold her a little closer to me, grateful that we have the sort of relationship where we can talk things out, we might get mad, but we don’t give up, we come to terms with things, we consider each other’s feelings and we get through it.

“Harry, we do need to talk about our marriage though.”

“What about it?”

“How it will affect you… Harry, I will be Queen within the next year, my father wanted to hand it over by the end of the year, December isn’t too far off, I don’t know whether he still will pass it down but if he does, your life changes unless we continue to keep it quiet.”

“Well, since Henry isn’t married to you, I don’t think you will be becoming Queen. The whole point was for Henry to gain a higher title than what he already has. And, if you do become Queen, we will cross that bridge when we get there, I think we should hold off going public, but your family should at least know.”

“You okay with just taking it day-by-day to see what happens with the crown?”

I’m not sure why she has so many doubts when I have done my best to reassure her, I can only thank my sister for this one. Anastasia wasn’t this doubtful until meeting my sister.

“Of course,” I nod my head, “But, do I get to wear a crown and a robe like they do in movies?”

“What the fuck kind of movies do you watch? No, Harry. You don’t get to walk around with a crown and a cape. Do I walk around with a crown on?” Anastasia questions.

“No… You never wear a tiara, why?”

"Single ladies don't typically wear tiaras unless they are born into the Royal Family as a princess. Tiaras are not worn before 6 p.m.. They are worn on formal white tie events and state occasions such as state banquets. For the most part, I have skipped these events up until the last two years, which, my mother and father have not given me a tiara to wear… Once I am married or Queen, I will wear one or I can wear a crown.” Anastasia informs me on the etiquette of crowns and tiaras. I don’t know the difference between the two, and due to not wanting to sound like a moron, I don’t want to ask her what the difference is.

“So… I don’t get a crown?” I curiously question.

I don’t give a flying fuck on whether I am entitled to wear a crown or not. I’m not in this for the family jewels, the crowns, estates or anything. Quite frankly, none of that means a bloody thing to me, I’m in this for Anna.

“You can wear a gold coronet.”

I gasp, “I don’t want a knockoff crown.” I respond, unsure of what a coronet is, but it sounds close enough to a crown. I can only assume it’s a step down from a crown.

“Fine,” Anna chuckles, “I will bestow upon you a crown you can wear. I am sure there is one in the family, we have many jewels and crowns.”

“Great, and can I also require a robe?”

Anna laughs, “Don’t push your luck.”

“Can I have my own crown?”

“For my coronation, the royal jeweller can make you your bloody crown.”

“They should match, somehow… You know?”

I wonder how long she’ll keep this conversation with me, I don’t mean any of it, like I’ve said, I don’t give a rats ass about the crown, I’m currently trying to keep her occupied in an attempt to make her feel better.

“I love how you’re more interested in your crown than the fact you will have a lot of power.”

“How will I have power?”

I have enough power as it is, any more and it might get to my head.

“Sweetheart, everyone will have to curtsey to you… Every member of the royal family will have to bow or curtsy to you…. But the future Queen thinks it’s time for bed, sitting on this cold floor isn’t going to cut it.”

I stand to my feet and offer my hand to help her up, she presses her hand with my own and I gently pull her to her feet, “I do have another question though regarding the royal ways,” I begin.

“Mhm,” Anna hums as we begin to walk out of the bathroom and into my bedroom.

“If we were to have kids…. How do we raise them?”

“Already anticipating children?”

“No, you mentioned while I was carrying you out of the tunnel that we weren’t having kids, but if we do… do we have to raise them royally?”

“Uhm….” Anastasia pauses to think for a moment, looking over at me, “We will decide how we raise our children, I will leave the monarch before I allow them to tell me what to do with our hypothetical children. If I’m Queen, I call the shots.”

“Mhm…. And will they be raised in a royal way? Will they have a title?”

“Unless we choose otherwise…. I don’t know if I want kids to have to go through what I have as a royal. I wouldn’t strip them of their title but I don’t know… it’s something to think about after we are married, we’ve barely managed that yet.” … “Let’s just go to bed,” Anastasia smiles over at me and I nod my head with a smile.

I’m more than happy to get in bed and fall between the sheets with her beside me, but I am distracted by my phone vibrating against the side table. I walk over to it and read the messages on my screen, “I’ll be back in a minute,” I inform Anna before I step out of the bedroom and walk down the hallway to the front door.

I open the front door and stare at Matthew, “Look, Matthew, if you want me to leave again, I’m not, I haven’t slept much in the last 48 hours, Anna’s sick and I’m not going to—“

“Relax,” Matthew interrupts me, “I’m not on your doorstep for another job, I’m here to tell you I’m patrolling the house and watching so you can relax.”

“Oh.”

“But I’m glad you’re defensive and don’t want to leave your girlfriend while she’s sick, it’s kinda cute when you’re not the dick of a security guard.”

“Knock it off, you’re making me sound soft.”

“You are,” Matthew chuckles, “At least with her, it’s good, you’re getting softer and better at being her partner and not her security guard.” Matthew points out and I nod my head. It’s a transition sometimes to go from a security guard who can’t show much emotion to her boyfriend.

“Are you done?” I laugh.

Mathew nods, “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, with everything that has happened, her being a little under the weather is a better outcome than her emotionally spiralling, I think it’s the stress that has finally caught up with her.”

“Does she need the doctor?”

“No,” I shake my head, “I will put letters in the letterbox, I need you to take them, read them, and find out who’s sending them. They know I’m here and I don’t want to take any chances. They’re involving Anna now,” I inform Matthew of all the letters that I’ve received over the month, plus the ones Anastasia saw that were sent to my mother's house.

I’ve done my best to keep the letters to myself and Matthew, not wanting to make something out of nothing.

“Do you have any leads yet?”

“No… I assume the Ace’s but Victoria is dead so that leaves who? Henry? His unknown father? Their mob? Matthew, the mafia aren’t people I want on my ass or the crooked government officials the king knows.”

“I’ll see what I can find out, just keep her safe and inside.”

I nod my head, having no intentions of stepping outside with her unless it’s the back garden. “If you don’t mind, I’m going back inside where it’s warm.”

“Try not to get too soft on me while I’m out here patrolling and keeping your ass safe.”

“Ya, about time you watch my ass instead of me watching yours,” I respond before stepping back into the house.

A Few Days Later.

I overhear the sound of the glass doors open as I stand on the back porch, gazing at the garden that is beginning to frail and change colours with the changing of seasons. I turn around and offer my mother a small smile as she closes the door behind her, but she doesn’t smile back at me.

I cock my head to the side and watch as she fidgets with her hands, her teeth chewing on her bottom lip— she wants to say something, but she doesn’t know-how.

“Just spit it out,” I distract her from her anxiousness.

She shakes her head and sits down on the patio furniture, crossing her leg over her knee before tapping her fingers on the armrest, “I know I’m not allowed to ask but…” my mother trials off and I raise a brow, unsure of what question she’s about to ask. All I can gather is that it’s about my job. She’s aware I can’t discuss everything with her, but that doesn’t always mean she doesn’t attempt to ask. “I saw your shirt.”

“What shirt?”

“The one you wore the other night.”

Oh, fuck. Here we go with that white fucking shirt.

I nod my head, gesturing for her to continue. “It isn’t your blood, if it was then you’d have a wound.”

“Who says I don’t?” I question, catching my mum off guard.

My mother stares at me and narrows her eyes down onto me, she’s not thrilled and doesn’t want to participate in my sarcasm and half-assed answers. My mother stands to her feet, steps closer and takes it upon herself to lift my shirt, inspecting my body.

I gently push her hand away, “If you don’t mind, it’s quite chilly,” I adjust my shirt to cover my torso.

“Harry—“

“Mum,” I cut her off, “I already had it out with Anastasia over this, please don’t ask questions or read into this.”

My mother shakes her head at me, “I can’t just not read into it… Surely there’s an explanation.”

I nod my head, “There is, but I can’t give it to you.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have blood-stained shirts in the laundry for me to wash.”

“I love you, and I appreciate everything you do for me… But, in my defence, I didn’t ask you to wash my clothes or that shirt, I was meant to throw it away. But apparently, everyone wants to see it.”

“I’m not a fan of this.”

“Join the club, you and Anastasia can have weekly meetings about it,” I mutter before heavily sighing, “Look, maybe later I can discuss things with you, but right now I can’t. On other news, since the wedding people are setting up, I’d really appreciate it if you and Gemma could participate in this… Help Anastasia pick a dress and get an idea of what she wants.”

My mother glares at me, “I know you planned this.”

“What?”

“You have a wedding designer here bringing in dresses and everything else to keep her mind off of whatever the hell you’ve been up to and whatever it is you’re planning to do.”

“While you are helping her with a dress, I’ll simply be doing paperwork,” I inform my mother, covering the fact that she’s partially correct. I had planned to surprise Anna with a wedding dress designer for a while, it just happened that right now suites all scenarios, it’ll keep her occupied and away from social media and it’ll give me time to do ‘paperwork.’

Of course, my paperwork will include doing some investigating on the Ace’s and the mafia they’re involved with, along with figuring out the whole situation with Victoria in the tunnels, and if I have enough time, I will hopefully manage to figure out where the fuck we are going to go from here. Anastasia and I can’t stay with my mother forever, at some point we will have to move Anna back to Buckingham or one of the other palaces. With us getting married, I’d think it’s suitable that we have a proper conversation about where we plan to live, obviously she’s going to want to choose Buckingham or the palace in Ireland but I think we should have a nice place away from the royal family, perhaps a little cottage. We need a place that’s just for me and her that has no royal affiliation to it.

“When exactly are you getting married and where?”

“Where and whenever she picks.”

“Aren’t you concerned they’ll tell the media?”

“Confidentiality contract,” I respond, “I’m going to go check on Anastasia,” I dismiss the conversation, mainly because my mothers dagger eyes brutally murder me and I can’t stand it.

I walk inside and make my way down the hallway catching Anastasia just as she’s stepping out of the bedroom, “Good morning,” I smile, kissing her cheek instantly before bringing her into a warm embrace. She mumbles a good morning into me and I chuckle. “How are you feeling? I just put the kettle on for tea.”

“I feel a lot better, still a little nauseous but it’s bearable.”

“You look better than the last few days, no offence... I have a surprise for you,” I inform her, watching as she looks at me with curiosity.

“Mhm, what is it?” Anastasia hums.

I intertwine her fingers with mine and lead her to the end of the hallway where the dress designer has been setting up. I open the door and step in the room, allowing Anastasia to see the countless wedding dresses on wracks lined against the wall, “Anastasia, this is Charlotte, a creative director of a luxury fashion house. She will assist you with dresses and if you can’t find one will help design one, if you wish. Charlotte, this is my soon to be wife, Anastasia,” I introduce the two ladies, stepping back as they greet each other.

“I brought a few dresses for you to look at, try on and see what you like if none of them works we can literally go to the drawing board, whatever you envision is, is what I want to create,” Charlotte sweetly informs Anastasia, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t curtesy,” Charlotte stammers and I can’t help but chuckle to myself.

It never gets old when people get bent out of shape over curtseying. “Please,” Anna quickly shakes her head, “There’s no need, I’m not a princess, I’m just someone who wants the perfect dress,” Anastasia informs Charlotte.

“I’ll leave you two to it… Mum and Gemma will come in and help if you’re okay with that, thought you might want some company?”

“That would be really nice, thank you for this,” Anastasia smiles towards me before stepping closer to me and kissing my lips.

It’s the least I could do. All she wants is a sense of normalcy, she doesn’t want the big fancy royal wedding with spectators, she isn’t asking for more than having a dress and getting married. I’ll do everything I can to make sure she gets the wedding of her dreams, even if it’s a small ceremony in the back yard with the sheep.

Anastasia pulls on my hand as I go to walk out and I stop on my tracks, she grows quiet for a moment before leaning up and whispering, “I don’t know if I can afford a designer dress, Harry, without dipping into the royal—“

I gently cut her off with a kiss, “Money isn’t a factor.”

“But.”

“It’s covered, no matter what you pick, it’s covered. Get the dress of your dreams, don't worry about money or whether the royals will pay for it, I have it covered.”

“Harry—“

I shake my head, “Don’t worry,” I kiss her lips again before walking out of the room, well aware that she’ll stand there and argue with me all day if I’d let her.

While Anastasia is occupied with the wedding with my mother and sister to soon be right behind her, I slip out of the house and make my way to the parked car on the street. I open the door and relax on the passenger side, “Bloody Hell, do you not know what heat is?” I challenge Matthew with a gasp, leaning forward and turning the heat on, “Seriously, I know you’re older but heat was invented many years ago,” I continue, pressing my hand to the vents.

“Harry, it is not that cold.”

“There’s frost on the grass, it is ten degrees this morning.” I point out the fact the grass is insignificantly wet and there is a slight mist of fog lingering from the overnight temperatures.

“Well, put on a jacket,” Mathew smirks, “Besides the point, you’re late, the King has already called.”

“I had to occupy Anna… I am glad I missed the call, I don’t even want to know what he wants now.”

I am starting to have this yearning of avoiding the King at all costs, but I obviously can’t, he pays my bills and I am in love with his daughter. I will never get away from him.

“You don’t get to pick and choose when he is the boss.”

I sigh and look at Mathew, “Anna is being weird with me since I won’t tell her what happened, I can’t do more shady shit,” I inform Mathew, “At least let me marry her before causing problems, she is less likely to leave if we are married.”

Mathew laughs and shakes his head, “That sounds like a great relationship. Either tell her or lie.”

“I don’t want to do either. The king said he would kill us if we told anyone...”

The King was very specific with his instructions.

“He can’t hurt a fly, he has us do his dirty work, Harry. Do what I do.”

“Lie?” I question, unsure of what he tells his wife when he suddenly has to leave or when he is never home.

“Tell her you can't talk about things because what was discussed is confidential.”

“That would be great but my future wife is the future Queen and she saw the blood on my shirt, that is the issue. She wants to know where the blood came from.”

“Next time, get rid of evidence you moron,” Mathew shakes his head, “Look, tell her someone was hit by a car and you saved them.”

“Oh, yes, let me dig myself into more of a hole,” I huff, looking down at my phone and scrolling through my contacts, “The private detective I hired to keep an eye on Henry hasn’t found anything, Henry has been staying at a cottage an hour outside London. A small two-bedroom cottage and a vegetable patch.”

“Where?”

“ Singleton, but I don’t know why he has tried to go off the radar and hide… Took a while for the lead.”

“And what are you going to do with this lead?” Mathew asks.

“Well, nothing. I can’t do anything, if I do, it would be stupid, he would instantly link me to Victoria’s death, I have to stay quiet… Plus, he isn’t doing anything. Actually, do you think he had anything to do with Victoria’s death?” I curiously begin to question.

There isn’t much of reasons for Henry to suddenly go into hiding, I didn’t threaten him besides when he tried to take Anna’s horse, he got away with his psychotic behaviour, in fact, I think the King gave back the horse without Anastasia knowing— not that she would care— I don’t think she will ever get on a horse again.

Mathew stares at me for a moment and thinks, “Unlikely, it is his mother, what motive would he have? Ask the detective where he was that night, plus, nobody knows about Victoria yet, there haven’t even been reports of her missing, the media is quiet.”

“A little too quiet,” I mutter, “Anyway, what did the King have to say?”

“We are on media duty, we need to leak a story or two.”

“What are we leaking?” I ask.

“This is the part you’re not going to like… He wants to use Anastasia as a decoy from everything. He wants the media and the people to believe that she has stepped away from the palace to focus more on her royal duties privately and to better grasp things.”

I roll my eyes, “Not the first time he uses her as a decoy. Why can’t the actual Queen be used? Why is it, Anna?”

“Well, the Queen isn’t as popular, quite frankly, at this point, nobody gives a damn what the Queen does. Everyone is interested in Anastasia, you are aware she will be Queen soon? She is big news.”

“Whatever,” I hum, “So we have to leak stories that aren’t true to suit the King’s narrative? Can you do it? I don’t want Anna hating me much more. I don’t want a divorce before I m even married.” I ask Matthew as he begins to drive up the road.

“I can,” he nods, “But you have to take the next call from the King.”

I agree and nod my head, taking the file on his dashboard and beginning to read through it to get an understanding of what the King wants and what exactly we need to do.

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heyyyharry · 5 years ago

Text

Chapter 8: The Little Prince and His Flower

(from the My Girl Trilogy: Stay Mine)

…in which Harry must return to Holmes Chapel, Y/N is upset he went without her, and family drama is not family-only.

Word count: 10k

AU: actor!Harry, older!Harry, younger!Y/N, (4-year age gap).

Wattpad link (Thea as Y/N)

What to expect in this chapter: Gemma/Isaac, Niall/?, Ruby(???), and a graveyard ‘date’

Isaac closed his umbrella, almost too caught up in what had happened to realise it'd stopped raining since Gemma had left. His mouth opened to answer Emilia’s question, but his brain was stuttering, unable to keep up.

He'd kissed Gemma.

No, she had kissed him. He didn’t know why she’d done it, but did it matter? He'd kissed her back and he'd liked it. He'd kissed his best friend’s sister, who had a boyfriend, a shitty one, still, it didn’t justify what he’d done.

If Harry knew about this—

His stomach twisted into knots as his palms started to sweat. Harry couldn’t know about this. They were finally on good terms again. Isaac couldn’t fuck this up. Had Emilia seen the kiss? Would she tell Harry if she had?

Isaac took a deep breath to ease his mind. To Emilia, he said, “I came to see you. You didn’t show up for the shoot, Emi.”

“I lost my phone and I thought the shoot was next week.” She gave an apologetic grin. “I’m very sorry.”

Her apology didn’t sound sincere, but now he had bigger problems to worry about. With an impersonal tone, he said, “If you’re not interested anymore, you should’ve let me know so I could find someone else.”

“No, no, I still want to model for you!” She wrapped her fingers around his wrist before he even thought about ending the conversation. His alarmed expression got her blushing as she hid her hands behind her back, staring at her feet. “I’d been...um...I’d been busy preparing for my audition this morning. That was why I took two days off in a row, and then my boss called me here today because the shop got overcrowded.”

“An audition? For a movie?”

He hoped his startlement didn’t offend her. There was nothing wrong with her auditioning for a movie; she used to go to film school after all. But not so long ago she’d told him she’d already given up on her dream of becoming an actress, so he was curious to know how that passion had sparked again.

“Yes, a real movie!” she exclaimed, her green eyes twinkling like Harry’s whenever he talked about his job, or Y/N.

As if Emilia could read Isaac’s mind, she added, “Harry encouraged me to attend casting calls. I’ve done some commercials and modelling before, so a movie would be a nice challenge. He also gave me the contacts of some directors—” His dubious look stopped her midsentence, and her voice went flat, “I didn’t get them from his assistant. He actually gave them to me.”

“No, I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay. Please don’t explain.” With a frustrated exhalation, she peered around him. “Was that Gemma who just left?”

The hair stood up at the nape of his nape when he met her questioning gaze. Convinced that she’d seen the kiss, he had to admit, “Yeah, it was Gemma.”

Her eyes went round as she considered him in a sceptical manner. “Are you two dating?”

“No. She has a boyfriend.”

Gemma was so private that not many people knew she had a boyfriend. For all he knew, he could’ve lied to Emilia and gotten away with it even if she’d witnessed the kiss. He couldn’t bring himself to do it, though. He had a strict rule against lying. No matter how trivial you thought your lie was, you’d have to cover it up with more lies, and before you knew it, the lie had become too big, like a snowball rolling down a hill. The damage it would cause was inevitable.

Nodding slowly, Emilia ahhhhed in silence and concluded with, “Too bad. I’d love to talk to her.”

He waited for her to continue, but then she told him she had to get back to work and would text him with her new number. Just like that, she disappeared into the shop, leaving him in bafflement.

Emilia was the most curious person he’d ever met, so if knowing Gemma’s relationship status was a good enough answer for her, then she must’ve seen the kiss. What he couldn’t explain was how cool she’d been about it, as if him — her half-brother’s best friend — kissing her half-sister, who had a boyfriend, was the most normal thing in the world.

Either she hadn’t seen anything, or she was a much better actress than he thought.

Y/N had been a fool to think she would worry less about writing now that she’d found the perfect literary agent. For the last few months, she’d been stressed out about pitching her manuscript, but ever since she’d had Laura, her biggest concern had circled back to the manuscript itself.

Laura was a perfectionist, which was good, because she never made mistakes. But she expected the same thing from all of her clients, and Y/N would do anything to please that woman. Even if it meant pulling an all-nighter and living off on tea and protein bars just to finish another scene to move on to the next.

After their first meeting, Laura had emailed Y/N a very long list of what she ‘didn’t like’ about the story. Some scenes were redundant; the drama should be more intense; the plot twists weren’t shocking enough; more sex, more sex, more sex.

Y/N had vowed to herself that she would never, ever, write a generic story just to match a publisher’s bulleted list. Yet here she was, shamefully ticking boxes and changing the entire story as she went. If her characters could step out of the page, they would strangle her in her sleep for how she’d fucked up their lives. But if she was going to have an agent, she had to believe in her agent.

Laura knew what kind of book sold and what didn’t, and at this point, Y/N just wanted her novel to be published. She didn’t care if it wasn’t the best story in her opinion. As long as Laura guaranteed that Y/N’s babies would end up on the shelves in the biggest bookstores in London, Y/N would do anything – and she meant anything – Laura told her to.

“Y/N!”

The voice interrupted her train of thoughts, and she glanced up from her laptop screen to meet Alice’s amused gaze. “You haven’t touched your tea,” Alice said, her grin widened. Only then did Y/N realise her tea had been served a long while ago and already gotten cold. “And maybe stand up and walk around for a bit. How could you sit in one place for three fucking hours? Can you still feel your ass?”

Y/N snorted at the remark and wiggled against her chair. “This ass still feels pretty fine to me.”

“Weirdo,” Alice said, shaking her head.

But Alice did have a point. Y/N had been staring at the screen for so long that the words had begun to look all the same; a short break would do her some good.

Her shoulders sagged as she took off her AirPods, rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms and glanced around the shop. It’d been so crowded when they had arrived this morning. Now, most of the customers had left, and there were only them, a couple at the table by the street-facing window, and three girls in the corner booth, who were laughing and taking selfies.

Alice shot them a disapproving glare before switching her attention back to the novella in her hands — The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Y/N’s mother had read it to her when she was little, and she still remembered the story as if she’d learned it by heart. You knew when a book was good when even Alice, who absolutely hated reading, could not put it down.

Not wanting to disrupt her friend, Y/N quietly pushed away from the table when Alice snapped her head up, her eyebrows scrunched. “Where are you going?”

“Gotta pee.”

Alice gave a dismissive wave, and her eyes were fixed on the book again.

In the bathroom, Y/N took the far back stall, telling herself to finish quickly so she could get back to work. But while cleaning herself, she heard echoes of high heels accompanied by the laughter of the previous group of girls. The door next to hers opened and shut, and the water ran as one girl washed her hands.

“Did she leave already?” asked the one in the stall.

“I think so,” said her friend outside.

“Shame. I thought Harry was gonna show up,” the third girl sighed in disappointment as the water stopped. The toilet flushed, heels clacked against the marble, and the water ran again.

“I saw him in the car park once,” continued the third voice. “He came to pick her up. You should’ve seen her bitchy face. No wonder she’s got no friend but the psycho Alice Young.”

Y/N scowled when the first girl chimed in, “Remember Mandy Torres from English Lit?”

The Mandy who’d pretended to be friends with Y/N and then shit-talked about her behind her back? Yes, she remembered.

“So Mandy invited them to her party because she’s a sweetheart. Then that bitch got insecure, thinking Mandy might steal her man, so she blew up at Many in the library, calling her names and stuff. Two people saw it!”

Y/N could bet these girls knew it was a lie, and still, they chose to believe it so they could have a reason to hate her.

Three of them laughed at the same time, and then the second one said, “Can’t believe she still showed her face after that clip.”

“What clip?” her friend asked, sounding just as confused as Y/N.

Her heart was pounding, and her fingers were clawing at her knees. She didn’t know what clip they were referring to. And why shouldn’t she show her face?

Yes, she and Harry had filmed a sex tape before, but they’d been careful and deleted it right after they’d watched it together. It was impossible that the clip still existed and had gotten leaked.

“Oh, you haven’t seen it? This morning, someone uploaded a clip of Harry Styles and Ruby Ellis dancing together at a party in LA. They were all over each other.”

“Oh my God, they’re definitely fucking again!”

“Can you blame him? Would you pick that whore over Ruby Ellis?”

Their laughter faded into white noise, and soon their footsteps had become mute.

Y/N sat there for a long moment, fists balling against her skirt until she was sure she was alone again. That was when she got on her feet, flushed the toilet and clawed the door open.

Her reflection in the mirror caught her by surprise. She almost didn’t recognise herself from how angry she looked. Taking a deep breath, she stomped to the sink to wash her hands and then dried them with a paper towel before going back to her table like nothing was wrong.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see those girls watching her. They whispered something to each other, probably shocked and embarrassed that she’d heard them say all those terrible things behind her back.

The old Y/N would have stepped out of the stall and put them in their place. But the new Y/N — Harry’s Y/N — wouldn’t put on a show in public and take down her boyfriend’s career and her dignity.

“You okay?” Alice asked when Y/N plopped down in the chair across from her.

Y/N flatly said, “yes,” and put on her AirPods to get back to work. No more distraction. Fuck those girls. Fuck the internet. She didn’t need to see that clip to–

Her phone buzzed once, and she flinched. Cece had sent her a post on Instagram.

Now what? Was she going to check it? Her mind went numb for a second as her fingers froze on the keyboards. She kept staring at the blinking cursor until her anxiety became too much, and she surrendered. She grabbed her phone, swiped right on the notification and placed her thumb on the home button to unlock the screen.

Have you seen this?

No, she hadn’t. And she hadn’t intended to until now.

The thumbnail of the video was too dark for her to make out what it was, but the caption said: WHAT HAPPENED TO Y/N??? With shocked emojis. Three shocked emojis. His fans were freaking out for her, so this might not be good.

Biting a nail, she muted the volume and tapped on the clip to be directed to the post. It was dark at first, but when the pink light started flashing, she could make out Harry’s figure. She knew his drunk dance moves; he was definitely three sheets to the wind here. Then, she caught a glimpse of the dress Niall had criticised the other night. Ruby looked just as drunk as she danced next to Harry, shouting the lyrics of whatever song the DJ was playing.

It was hard to know for sure what was happening here as it was too dark, but a part of Y/N felt relieved because she had expected worse. They were just dancing together, their bodies barely touching, and there were so many people around.

“Shit.”

She jerked her head to the side, and Alice’s face almost gave her a heart attack. Alice was standing beside her, one hand on the back of Y/N’s chair, the other lay flat on the table.

“I don’t care what everyone’s saying. It doesn’t look like he’s cheating on you.”

Y/N’s heart beat faster even though she knew Harry would never cheat. Not on her, nor anyone else. She’d seen how he’d beat himself up for sleeping with Ruby despite her having a boyfriend. He’d made mistakes in the past, but he would never hurt a woman by cheating on her.

Maybe the issue didn’t lie in the fact that everyone was saying he had or was going to cheat on Y/N. Maybe seeing him dance with Ruby – at the big fancy party Y/N had refused to attend – made her feel like he would be happier at places like that, with people like that, people like Ruby and his famous friends.

Her chest sank as she finished the thought, but she still managed to set it aside as she closed her laptop and rose from her seat. “Ready to go, Al?”

“Sure, but can I pee first? I need to pee.”

Alice’s grimace made her giggle as she watched her friend rush to the bathroom.

She began to gather her notebooks and chargers when her phone buzzed repeatedly, and when she saw it was Harry, she picked it up. Something told her he’d just woken up, seen the clip and freaked out. He should freak out. Because she’d almost had a heart attack.

She shoved the rest of her things into her bag and hit the talk button.

“I’ve seen the video, so we don’t have to talk about it.”

“Shit,” he grunted. “Are you mad at me? I swear I was drunk and didn’t know who I was dancing with, but Jeff called me a taxi afterwards and–”

“Don’t worry, I’m not mad at you.”

When he let out a sigh, she could almost see him close his eyes and put a hand against his chest. “Where are you?”

“At a coffee shop on campus.” She leaned her hip against the table as she turned and made eye contact with one of the girls in the corner booth. The girl turned back to her friends like nothing was wrong, but Y/N knew the bitch was scared to death. To Harry, she said, “I’m heading home though. I’ll see you at the airport tonight, kay?”

“That...won’t be necessary.”

“What do you mean?” She straightened when realisation hit her. “Harry, where are you?”

“Holmes Chapel.”

She knew it.

“I knew it! I knew you’d go without me.”

“I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t want to involve you in my family drama. I’m going to talk to my mum alone, and then–”

She didn’t want to let him finish. “I’m already involved, though. I could help. You might get anxious and say the wrong things. Look how it went with Gemma.”

When he paused, she knew he knew she was right. Still, his stubborn ass would never admit it. “I’m sorry, babe. At least you can focus on your book while I’m not there. Miss you. See you soon.”

The line disconnected. She stared at the screen in disbelief, and text messages from him popped up.

Forgot to say I love you.

I love you.

With a sigh, she stuffed her phone into the front pocket of her backpack and pinched her temples. She hated that she couldn’t stay mad at him, but she wished he hadn’t blindsided her like that.

Whatever. She’d deal with him when he got back tomorrow.

She shrugged on the backpack just in time Alice returned from the bathroom. Alice clumsily threw her things into her nude tote bag and hurried to the door as Y/N preceded. The moment they stepped out into the street, Alice asked, “Did those Kardashian wannabes bother you when I was in the bathroom?”

She was referring to the girls in the corner booth.

“Why’d you think so?” Y/N responded as she kept on walking.

“I saw them glaring at you when we left, and I almost stopped to throw a fist.” Alice swung her fist and frantically apologized to an annoyed pedestrian for almost hitting him.

“Well, they talked shit about me in the bathroom and didn’t know I was there.” Y/N rolled her eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve poured drinks on them like I did with Mandy.”

Y/N froze in her tracks, her eyes widened. “You did what with Mandy?”

“I heard her talk shit about you at her party so I poured vodka on her head.” Alice clasped both hands together in front of her chest. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

Y/N stared at her friend unblinkingly for a moment, and then crushed her in a fierce embrace. “You’re a good friend, Al. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Laughing, Alice clasped Y/N’s shoulders and pushed away from her. “You’re not going to cry, aren’t you?”

“No, you dick.” She brushed Alice’s hands off. “Lunch?”

“Sure. I’m starving.” With an arm around each other’s waist, they strolled down the busy pavement together.

After lunch in the Vietnamese restaurant right across from Y/N’s block, they ran into Blake outside. He was about to get into his car when he spotted Y/N and waved at her.

This was actually the first time she’d seen him in casual clothes. He always wore suits when he went to work, and workout clothes when he was at home. Today, he wore a black t-shirt with dark blue jeans, his hair uncombed, his smile wide. He looked almost five years younger. Almost like the ‘high school bad boy’ Blake that she remembered.

“Jesus, is that your ex-boyfriend slash neighbour?” Alice dropped her jaw as she fanned herself, and Y/N quickly swatted her on the arm.

Blake rested an arm on the roof of his car as a dimple appeared in his cheek. “Working on a Saturday, Miss Writer?”

“Working everyday, Mr Lawyer.”

Alice elbowed her gently while looking Blake up and down, so she had to add, “This is my friend Alice.”

“Nice to meet you, Alice. I’m Blake.”

Alice caught his hand with both of hers and shook it firmly. “Y/N has said a lot about you.”

“Has she?” Blake arched an eyebrow at Y/N, who scoffed and waved Alice’s comment away.

“Don’t believe her. She’s nuts.”

“Hey!”

Y/N ignored her friend and switched her attention to Blake’s car. He hated driving as much as she did, only because he preferred his motorcycle – which she assumed he’d left in the US – otherwise he would rather walk. And since he didn’t have to work on Saturdays, she took a guess that he was going out of town.

“Where are you going?”

“Holmes Chapel.”

His answer made her flinch. From what she’d heard, his parents didn’t live there anymore. So why would he go there?

“I’m visiting my grandma,” he said before she could ask. “You’ve met her a few times, remember?”

She nodded. His grandma used to love her. After they’d broken up, Y/N had even considered going to his grandma’s house every day so that Grandma Roman would grow attached to her and convince Blake to get back with her. Now she was glad teenage Y/N hadn’t had the nerves to do something so humiliating.

“Y/N, you’re going to Holmes Chapel tomorrow, right?”

Y/N shot Alice a disapproving glare before telling Blake, “Harry and I were gonna go together, but something came up and he had to go without me.”

Had to. Inner Y/N rolled her eyes at the words.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Blake said, but she waved it off.

“Don’t be. Tell your grandma I said hi, okay?”

“Okay. Good luck with your writing.”

Her response was simply a dissatisfied hum. Just thinking about spending another night alone in her flat with her laptop could almost make her go insane. She could go out tonight, but she’d feel guilty because she didn’t have a reason to not write another chapter. If she was surrounded by family and friends, however...

“Blake,” she said before he could get into his car. “Can I go with you?”

When Alice dropped her jaw and Blake’s eyes went wide, she continued, “I can sit in the back. I won’t bother you.”

She'd already braced herself for rejection, knowing how much Blake hated being in a car with other people during long drives, even when he was the passenger. He relished the feeling of an adrenaline rush while riding his motorcycle, and had often joked that he’d felt most alive when he might die. Being in a car confined him. So did the company of someone else. It’d been different when they’d been a couple but they weren’t anymore. Now she was just ‘someone else’ to him.

“Sure, I don’t mind.” He flashed a grin that deepened his dimple and caught her by surprise.

“You don’t have to. I don’t want to make you feel uncomf–”

“I don’t mind driving you, Y/N. Get in.” He patted the roof of his car, and Alice aimed a pointed glare at him as if she hadn’t sighed like a schoolgirl when they shook hands.

Although Y/N understood Alice’s concern and was well aware that she would be spending three hours in the car with her ex, going with him sounded like a better idea than taking a taxi.

She hadn’t sat behind the wheel since the accident and had only let Harry drive her around. But somehow she trusted Blake. She’d trusted him with most of her first times, and being in a relationship with him for two years had convinced her that he was a careful driver.

“Y/N!”

The solitary voice caught her by surprise. She whipped around to see Niall crossing the street and stalking toward her with a bubbly grin on his face.

“Is that Niall Horan?” Alice unconsciously dug her nail into Y/N's arm, and Y/N winced as she pulled away.

“What are you doing here, Niall?”

“I had a photoshoot in this area and I thought we should hang out. You know, since we’re officially friends now.” He raked his fingers through his hair and arched his mouth when he noticed Blake. “Hey, man.”

Blake only raised his palm, saying nothing.

“This is Alice,” Y/N said as she gripped Alice’s hard shoulders. “She’s a big fan of yours, so please be nice to her.”

"Nice to meet you," Niall said. "Alice is a pretty name."

When he took Alice's hand and pressed a kiss to it, Y/N thought her friend would just pass out right in front of them. Alice might be bold with Blake, Isaac, and even Harry, but facing Niall, she suddenly forgot how to speak. Which might be a good thing because she said crazy things when she was nervous, and Y/N couldn’t handle more crazy right now.

“I’m sorry, Niall. I’m actually leaving.”

“Oh, where are you going?”

“We’re going to Holmes Chapel,” Blake answered on her behalf, still leaning against his car. He didn’t seem frustrated that she and her friends were wasting his time, and she truly wondered why.

Niall turned back to her with an eyebrow raised. “Weren’t you going with Harry tomorrow?”

“Apparently not,” she huffed. “But don’t worry. I’ll text him to let him know.”

“I can give you a ride.”

Niall pointed to the black Audi parked on the other side of the street. A man in a black suit, buzzed head, twice her size, gave them a cold stare as Niall waved and smiled at him.

“That’s Barry. He’s cool.”

She took a surprised breath, considering Barry for a quick second. “I think I’ll be fine with Blake.”

She would have agreed to go with Niall in a heartbeat, if there was just Niall, and he was driving a less luxurious vehicle. She could already imagine how badly her body would ache when they arrived, as she wouldn’t dare to move a single muscle in his new car, especially when Barry was the one who drove it.

“Okay.” Niall gave a nonchalant shrug as he fished out his phone and made a quick call. “Hey, man.” He gave the scary man across the street a peace sign. “I’ll stay with my friend. You may leave now. Thanks, Barry.”

Y/N watched Niall’s bodyguard/chauffeur get into the shiny Audi, not knowing what to expect when Niall put his phone away and switched his attention back to her.

“Let’s go.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you mean?”

“I’m going with you,” he said with a smirk, “and Blake.”

“Can I come, too, please?” Alice interjected as she tugged Y/N’s arm. “I’ll be quiet as a mouse, you won’t even know I’m there.”

“I’m not the one who gets to decide here, Al,” Y/N grumbled.

“Alice and Niall can join us,” Blake interfered, at last. “The more the merrier.”

When Alice started bouncing like a kid in a sweet shop, he mouthed it’s okay to Y/N, and she responded with an apologetic twitch of her lips that was meant to be a smile. If he was only acting to be polite to her friends, she’d feel so shitty.

Blake opened the door on the passenger side for her, but Niall quickly got in and buckled his seatbelt. With a sigh, she joined Alice in the backseat. Something told her that this was going to be the longest three hours she had ever experienced.

Gemma tightened her fingers around her phone. With one hand in her hair, she kept pacing back and forth in her hotel room, the beating of her heart accelerating with each ring. She hated phone calls. There was something so nerve-wracking about talking to someone and not knowing what their true reaction was. However, she knew Asher wouldn’t hold anything back.

When you’d been with someone for two years, you’d figure out their patterns. You could predict what they were going to say or do in a certain situation. And she wished it hadn’t been the case this time as what she was expecting was pretty awful.

She’d always considered Asher’s bad temper a minor flaw, but it hadn’t been easy lately. His business was going down. His dad had decided to stop pouring money into his failed ventures, which was why he’d been spending so much time with his family. He wanted to be on his father’s good side while sweet-talking his mother into helping him.

He was a mama’s boy, like Harry. The only difference was that Harry genuinely loved his family and would never blame Gemma for his own mistakes. Asher, on the other hand, took his exasperation out on her, making her feel like she’d been the cause of all of the bad things that’d happened to him in the last couple of months. She’d been walking on eggshells around him, well aware of how toxic that was, but the idea of ending a two-year relationship was too intimidating.

The ringing abruptly stopped. And so did she.

“Yes?” Asher spoke. He hadn’t heard from her in two days, and that was all she got from him. Yes?

“I have to tell you something,” she said anyway, trying to sound more composed than she looked. Perhaps a phone call was a good idea after all.

“I also have something to tell you. Can I go first?”

“Sure.” As much as she wanted to get this off her chest, the more she delayed, the more time there was to prepare herself for his reaction. She’d never seen anyone confess to their partner that they’d cheated and receive instant forgiveness, not even in movies. It definitely wouldn’t be the case for her and Asher.

“I think we should take a break.”

Her brain slowed down, unable to process that information. Her mouth opened and shut a few times like a goldfish until she could speak. “What do you mean?”

She knew exactly what a break meant. She just couldn’t bring herself to believe he’d actually proposed it, at least not before she told him about the kiss.

“I want us to stop seeing each other for a while.”

“We haven’t seen each other in weeks, Ash.”

“Come on, Gem, you know this is inevitable. We’ve been fighting constantly.” Yes. Because of him. “And I can’t remember the last time we had sex.”

“So you’re suggesting that we take a break so you could fuck other people?”

A long stretch of silence followed her question. Waves of anger splashed over her as she gripped the phone so tightly her knuckles turned white. She couldn’t believe she’d been so scared to tell him the truth, and then he’d proposed something like this without any sign of guilt.

“We both need this, Gem.”

“You’re right. We do,” she said despite the lump in her throat. “Goodbye, Ash.”

She ended the call before he could say another word and rushed to open the window. She needed some fresh air, otherwise, she might throw up.

Gripping the sides of the window frame, she took in a sharp breath. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a familiar Prius parked in front of the building. It looked like the one in Harry’s car collection, but wasn’t he in Holmes Chapel right now?

She’d gotten her answer as soon as the door was opened, and Isaac stepped out, phone in his hand. When he brought it up to his ear, her phone started buzzing, and she instantly grabbed it and tapped answer.

“Hello?”

“I’m here. Let’s go,” he said.

“What?”

“I’m driving you, remember?”

“Driving me where?”

“To Holmes Chapel.” His soft laugh melted the coldness remaining in her heart from the phone call with Asher. After an awkward pause, he said, “Oh shit, didn’t Harry tell you? He asked me to pick you up.”

She shook her head even though he couldn’t see. “I said I’d take the train.”

“You don’t have to. Your mum asked me to come for dinner and I just needed a reason to get out of town.”

Something told her Harry hadn’t asked him to pick her up, and she hated how good that made her feel.

When the thought of Asher crossed her mind, she snapped out of her fantasy. This wasn’t right. She was a hypocrite for being angry at Asher and then having butterflies thinking about her brother’s best friend. Clearly she wasn’t going to sit in a car with Isaac for three hours after what she’d done.

“Come on, Gem. We don’t have to talk about it.”

It.

He couldn’t even say the word. Her kiss must have disgusted him. She’d forced herself on him, and he was still nice enough to offer to drive her. He was only doing this because he was nice, because he was Isaac, not because he had feelings for her. Why would she want him to have feelings for her, anyway? She was still with Asher. Kind of. And she would eventually have to tell him that she’d cheated on him and then beg for his forgiveness.

Now that she thought about it, she believed she deserved this. She needed to start acting like a grown woman and dared to face what she’d done.

“Okay, give me a minute,” she told Isaac.

“All right.” A grin could be heard in his voice before the call disconnected. She sighed roughly, tucked her phone into the pocket of her jeans as she gathered essential things and quickly headed out.

When Isaac saw her walk toward him from the building, his first instinct was to shove his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, giving her a smile so courteous that it made her skin crawl. He loved giving and receiving hugs, but he didn’t do it with her anymore because she’d crossed the line.

He opened the door on the passenger side for her, and she got into his car, buckled her seatbelt as he got behind the wheel. The door was closed, muffling the traffic noise, and she could hear the pulse in her throat loud and clear.

She had to say something.

“What happened to the Range Rover?”

“Oh, this one’s Harry’s,” he said, his voice casual as he started the engine and drove back onto the street. “He lent it to Emilia so she could go to a movie audition. She asked me to return it.”

The nervousness was washed away by irritation as her face screwed up. “He lends her his cars now? Harry is anal about letting people drive his babies.”

“He did lend it to her. I asked him,” Isaac said with a shrug. “He said she’s basically family now.”

“I need to slap him when I see his stupid face.”

“And I need to watch that. Maybe film it, too,” he chuckled, eyes on the road.

She allowed a goofy smile to play on her lips, which vanished as she started to analyse what he’d said. “Did you meet Emilia today?”

“We did a photoshoot. She’s my new model.”

“Oh,” she said, unsure how she wanted that one word to sound.

Before she could dwell on the idea of him and Emilia, he broke the silence. “Harry said you’d asked him to go alone, but then you changed your mind. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” She tucked a strand behind her ear, fighting the urge to look at the side of his face as they talked. “I wanted him to fix the mess that he’d started, but then I realised he was an idiot and would most likely mess things up even more.”

That wasn’t the reason. Harry was no longer the careless kid who randomly brought up Winton and made their mum cry without knowing it. He was an adult and would figure out a sensible way to talk to their mum about Winton and Emilia. So why did Gemma insist on going home?

It took a moment’s thought for her to realise she’d done this out of guilt, and maybe desperation, too. She felt bad about forcing her brother to do the hard work, and at the same time, needed the safety of her family to escape from the stress her relationship had put upon her. She wished she could tell Isaac everything, but she didn’t want to make this trip about her.

“Are you mad at me?” His question brought her back to reality. Only then did she realise they had left the city and were heading onto a country road between large green fields. “Gem, are you mad at me?”

Her heart skipped a beat as she began to fidget with her handbag on her lap. He’d promised that they wouldn’t talk about the kiss. Did he lie to get her into this car?

“No, I’m not.” She winced at how forceful that sounded.

“Are you sure?”

“You said we didn’t have to talk about it,” she snapped and stiffened in her seat when he darted a quick glance her way before focusing on the road again.

He swallowed once. “I just don’t want us to be awkward with each other, Gem.”

“You’re right.” She lowered her face and scratched the tip of her nose. “I’m sorry for what I did. I wasn’t thinking.”

“I know why you did it.”

He did?

“You had a fight with your boyfriend and you were confused, right?”

“No, I–” She paused, feeling overwrought. “Why aren’t you upset? You should be angry at me.”

“No, I shouldn’t.”

“Yes, you should!” She almost turned and sat upright if it wasn’t for the seatbelt holding her back. “I kissed you when you didn’t want to be kissed. You should be angry.”

“Gemma,” the sound of her name vibrated with his warm laughter, and she felt her body melting into the leather seat. “I kissed you back, so I’m equally guilty here.”

Had he kissed her back? She couldn’t recall. The comforting scent of his cologne accompanied by the shock and guilt must have dulled her senses. But if he had kissed her back, did it mean he’d wanted her, too?

“Don’t worry,” he said after stealing another glance at her. “I know you’re in a long-term relationship. And I don’t want to mess it up, so let’s pretend it never happened. I think you weren’t aware that you were kissing me. I mean, someone like you would never kiss me.”

“Someone like me?” Her gaze jumped to the side of his face. “What does that mean?”

Thinking she was offended, he awkwardly explained, “That...that was meant to be a compliment. You’re a strong and independent woman. You’re smart, beautiful, funny–”

“Pull over,” she said, her heart pounding in her ears.

A glimpse of horror crossed his face as he faltered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to–”

“Pull over, Isaac.” Her voice was strained, her eyes intense. The car reached a standstill on the side of the road, and her mind was spiralling out of control as she unbuckled her seatbelt and launched herself across the gearshift. She was on his lap, arms wrapped around his neck.

His body was stiff as a board when he dropped his gaze to her mouth, making her wonder if he’d been thinking about her since they’d kissed. She knew she had. The memory made her lips tingle as if he’d kissed them again. She wanted him to kiss them again.

They brought their mouths together at the same time. His hands claimed her face to deepen the kiss, and euphoria shocked through her system as she kissed him harder. She fisted the fabric at his chest, pulling him closer while his hands swept down her back, squeezing her hips. In that moment, when they were alone on the empty road surrounded by windy green fields, something that was meant to be wrong, felt like the rightest thing she had ever done.

Harry had been waiting on the porch since he’d gotten the text message from Y/N. His mum had told him to wait inside, but watching the street somehow made time fly faster. Or so he hoped.

He rested his elbows on his knees, face between his palms, unconsciously tapping his right foot. He did deserve this. He’d blindsided her and now she was making him pay by going home with her ex. Fuck that lawyer kid. Who did he think he was? If there hadn’t been Niall and Alice, Harry would have driven all the way back to London to pick her up.

Twenty minutes felt like two hours as he waited, and when he spotted a car from a distance, he immediately bounced onto his feet. But it was Isaac and Gemma in his black Prius, not his Bambi.

“Wow, aren’t you excited to see me?” Gemma sneered as she stepped out of the vehicle and walked towards him.

Isaac greeted Harry with a hug, and Harry pulled away and nodded his head toward Gemma. “You didn’t have to drive her, you know. I could’ve picked her up at the station.”

Silent, Gemma thinned her lips as Isaac rubbed the back of his head. Why were they acting so awkward? Had Harry said something wrong?

“I know what’s going on here.” Harry put his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes at both of them. “You’re mad at me for lending Emi my car.”

Gemma’s shoulders dipped as she let out a sigh. “Even that name irritates me.”

“Oh, come on, Gem.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his chest, but she pushed him away. “That one is my least favourite,” he said, pointing to the Prius.

A corner of her lips quirked up as she brushed past him. “And you’re my least favourite person.”

Isaac tossed him the key and followed her, but before they made it to the porch, another car entered their street. Harry’s Bambi was here.

“My Bambi’s here!” he squealed like a little kid, making Gemma snort.

“Wait, Smiley’s here?”

“It’s weird that you still call her that, but yeah, Niall’s here, too,” he told Isaac and stalked toward the car which had pulled over in front of his house.

Niall got out first, stretching his limbs before pulling Harry in for an embrace. “You owed me, Harold.”

“I know. Thanks, mate.” Harry let go of Niall to hug Alice. “Didn’t know you were coming.”

“I didn’t either, but here I am. Lovely neighbourhood!” Alice lifted her shoulders as she adjusted the strap of her bag and then lowered her voice to almost a whisper, “Niall’s single, right?”

“Al! What are you whispering about?”

Harry’s gaze jumped to Y/N, who had finished saying goodbye to Blake. When Blake saw him, the kid raised a palm and a smile which looked fake as hell, but Harry managed to keep his calm and returned one just as plastic.

Y/N walked around the car and threw herself into Harry’s arms, holding his face and kissing his lips. He held her flat against him as he kissed her harder. He could hear Niall making a gagging noise, but he didn’t care as long as he got to rub this in Blake’s face. Because he was as mature as a nine-year-old, and he was fine with it.

“Stop eating her face, pervert.”

Gemma’s comment broke him and Y/N apart. He flipped his sister off and, with a smug look on his face, watched Blake’s car drive ahead and disappear at the end of the road. A swat on the chest made his eyes jump back to Y/N.

“You’re in so much trouble, Harry.” Her nose wrinkled, and he wondered if she knew how cute she looked when she made that face. He cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead when Gemma took their friends into the house.

“I’m sorry, babe. Why didn’t you text me sooner?” he said with a pout. “You waited until you were almost here to tell me you were coming.” With fucking Blake.

“Well, I knew you were going to wait on the porch. Couldn’t make you wait for three hours.”

His heart fluttered as he pressed a kiss to her temple. “You know me so well, kid.”

“I’m still pretty mad at you,” she said. “But I do have a lot to tell you about.”

“About your book?”

She smiled and nodded. He released a relieved sigh as he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “I was afraid that you’d be mad at me. The clip and everything.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Would you prefer that I’m mad at you?”

“No.” He shook his head and pecked her lips then either corner of it. “I’m a bad boyfriend. I should’ve driven you, not your stupid ex. Thank God for Niall and Alice.”

“Niall was even worse than you,” she giggled.

He nuzzled her neck, tilting her head up to press a series of kisses to her jaw. When his hands swept from her back to her spine, she snatched his wrists and pinned them to his chest. The way she arched an eyebrow and clicked her tongue made his cock swell against the fly of his pants. When her pupils dilated, he knew she felt it, but she didn’t acknowledge it and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips before pulling away.

“I have to say hi to Marcy and Dad. I’ll come over later, kay?”

“Tell them to join us for dinner.” He tugged her arm, not letting her go just yet. “Bradford and I can bond over our hatred for Blake. It’ll be fun.”

“I’m sure he’d love to come, consider how much he loves Isaac.”

“Damn it,” he cursed when she burst out laughing and cupped his face to kiss him twice on the cheeks. With a lovesick smile, he watched her pad across her front yard and waited until she’d gone into her house to finally return to his.

His mother was so happy to have so many guests that night. She’d cooked a big meal for everyone. Even Bradford and Marcy came to join them. Just like Harry’s promise, he and Bradford had bonded over their same intense dislike for Blake Roman. Y/N had to stuff their mouths with spaghetti so they would stop talking. Alice had won Niall over with her review about the first book she’d read in her life, and now Niall was reading the first book in his life. Weird, but cute.

What was even weirder, however, was to see his sister being so close with Isaac. They’d been whispering back and forth the whole night, and not once did Gemma mention Asher. Harry didn’t like Asher that much so he didn’t mind, and it was good to see Gemma happy again. He hadn’t seen her smile that big before. His mum, too.

His heart sank to the bottom of his chest as he remembered the reason they were all here. He had to tell his mum about Winton.

She would be so disappointed. She might even cry. And this dinner, all of these jokes, all this laughter would mean nothing when she heard about Winton and Emilia. Harry hated to be the reason the women he loved cry. But if he didn’t tell his mum, and she found out herself, he’d be the shittiest son in the world. This would hurt either way, one less than the other.

Dinner was over soon. While everyone gathered in the living room for a game, Harry and Gemma volunteered to clean up. Just like when they were kids, they did something wrong and volunteered to do the housework so the chance of them being forgiven would be higher. Harry knew what he’d done wrong. He didn’t know why Gemma was here.

“They’re playing Scrabble.”

The voice made him flinch before two arms wrapped around his waist, pulling her body toward his. Y/N tiptoed to kiss his neck, and he giggled like a little boy. Gemma gave them a funny look but didn’t say a word because she, and everyone else, was already used to their public affection.

“Let’s wait until tomorrow morning,” she told Harry, and his face screwed up.

“And ruin Mum’s entire Sunday?”

“Well, would you prefer that she stay up all night?”

“I agree with Gemma, baby.” Y/N tightened her grip around his waist, resting her cheek against his back. She felt so small pressed against him like this, and since he’d gone two days without fucking, the thought of holding her up against the wall and spreading her open with his arms beneath her knees was enough to turn his balls blue. He would make that fantasy a reality if Gemma weren’t here, and they weren’t one door away from the only group of people whose opinions about them mattered.

“Okay, tomorrow then,” he said and turned on the tap to wash his hands.

“Alice will sleep with me tonight,” Y/N said. “Niall or Isaac can use our guest room.”

“I’ll sacrifice Niall. Your guest room is shit, and I love Isaac a bit more than Niall.”

She pinched his side and he jumped, but her arms forced his body still.

“I’ll let Gemma pick then,” he said.

“What?” Gemma asked, distracted.

“Isaac and Niall,” he raised a smirk. “One will have to sleep in Y/N’s shitty guest room. One stays here with us.”

“It’s not shitty,” Y/N said in a protesting tone.

“Babe, I saw a rat the last time we had se—”

She smacked a hand over his mouth before he could finish the sentence. As Gemma rolled her eyes at them, he plucked Y/N’s fingers off his face and told his sister, “Go ahead. You pick.”

She opened her mouth. For a second, he thought she was going to answer, but then she released a huff and said, “I’m not doing this with you children.”

“Children?!” He dropped his jaw as she stalked out of the kitchen. Y/N dissolved into laughter as he spun around, took each of her arms and draped it over his shoulder.

A smile played on her lips, and she asked, “Do you wanna join them or go on a date with me?”

“Oooh, where is this date?”

“The cemetery.”

His face went blank for a second as she stifled a laugh. “Just kidding.” She pinched his cheeks. “I’m going to see my mum. You coming?”

“Why does it have to be now?”

“Are you coming or not?”

He was so whipped he would have gone without knowing it was the cemetery. “Fine. But if we see a ghost, I’m leaving you behind.”

She laughed and shoved him away, and they raced each other to the living room. They told everyone that they’d go out for a walk. And as he escorted her to the door, Niall and Alice started clapping and cheering, and Gemma tossed a pillow at Niall to get him to shut up.

There wasn’t a particular reason that Y/N had chosen to plan a cemetery visit at this hour. She simply enjoyed strolling around town in the night as much as Harry did. When he was a teenager, he used to bring one of his dates to the field behind his house, and they had taken long walks under the night sky and made out in his car afterward.

He’d thought it’d been the most romantic experience in his life, until two years ago, when they’d visited her mother’s grave together. That was when he’d realised the cemetery could be romantic. Everything turned romantic when he was with her.

So if she wanted to walk around a graveyard at one in the morning, he would blindly follow, no questions asked.

After finding a safe parking spot, they walked to the tall iron gate that looked like the set of a Hitchcock movie. No one had bothered to polish it since the last time they’d been here, and he guessed no one intended to anyway.

Just like the last time, she snuck through an opening in the fence to get into the cemetery, and he tagged after, his heart thumping loudly. They’d better get to share a cell if they got arrested for trespassing.

It was a little foggy at 1 AM. The air was cold and the grass was damp. They padded across a desolate lot and were careful not to get their shoes dipped into the mud. As they followed the brick pathway, he negotiated his way around the gravestones, trying to keep up because she was walking too fast, like a ghost. The thought made him shiver. Probably not the best comparison to make when they were literally in a cemetery.

After a five minute walk, they finally arrived. Her mother’s headstone stood erect, bathed in light spilt from the ashen moon. Seeing the fresh flowers on the grave, Harry assumed Bradford had just visited his wife today. Y/N had told Harry that her dad came here every week to trim the grass and clean the stone. It was nice how much things had changed since their last visit.

As she squatted down to rearrange the flowers, Harry spotted a newly dug grave nearby and pointed to it, grinning. “Your mum’s getting a new neighbour.”

Y/N put a finger to her lips and shushed him. “Don’t disrespect the dead! They’ll come for you tonight!”

He scoffed at the threat, but as a cold breeze whisked right through his clothes, he immediately cowered to her side, and she doubled over, almost choking on her own laughter.

After giving her mother updates on her book and his Oscar nomination, Y/N kissed her fingers, pressed them against the moonwashed stone and bid her mother goodbye. They followed the same path weaved around tombstones to go back to the opening between the fence. With a feeling of being watched, Harry kept looking behind him as he clung onto Y/N like she was his weapon.

“Don’t look back,” she said. “My mum is following us.”

The shadow of a smile on her lips almost got him running for his life. He swore he’d never do this with her again, knowing for a fact that he would, if she only asked.

Once they returned to their parking spot, they retrieved two cans of Coca-Cola from Y/N’s bag and lay on their backs on the bonnet of his car to watch the stars. His adrenaline from their stroll across the cemetery was finally washed away as he listened to her ranting about her new book.

He wasn’t a writer so he wasn’t qualified to give her any advice. He mostly just listened, and because he knew Y/N didn’t want people’s advice. She vent her frustrations to feel better for a while, and most likely would end up doing whatever felt right to her.

Soon the topic of work bored her out. She extended a hand toward the sky and closed her fingers around nothing as if she was grasping the stars.

“Have you read The Little Prince?”

The random question put a smile to his lips. “The book Alice and Niall couldn’t shut up about during dinner?”

“Yeah.”

He took her hand that was in the air and brought it to his mouth so he could kiss her knuckles. “I have. Why?”

“My mum read it to me when I was little,” she said. “I used to wish I’d lived on the little prince’s tiny planet. All you needed to do was move your chair a few steps and you could see the night sky whenever you liked. We could live in this same moment, over and over again.”

“And never grow older,” his voice softened, and she replied with a quiet hum.

“Wouldn’t that be great?”

He cocked his head to the side and met her softened gaze. But then a hint of worry washed out that dreamy haze, and a line appeared between her brows.

“Do you sometimes wish I was cooler?”

That was a big shift from the story of the little prince. Surprised, he squeezed her fingers gently. “What do you mean? You’re always cool.”

“I mean, cool like...like your friends cool.” She huffed in frustration as she didn’t know how to properly get her point across, but he’d already figured it out.

“You should’ve told me the clip still bothers you,” he said with a frown, and the way she pursed her lips confirmed his speculations. “Bambi…”

“We used to have a lot in common when we were kids.” Her bottom lips trembled as her breaths quickened. “Now our lives are so different. And I’m fine with it, and I know you are too because we love each other. But sometimes it feels like…” She stalled, and with no intention of finishing that sentence, dropped her gaze to her hand in his. “I wish I fit better in your life, so when people see us together they’d just accept it without questioning why.”

“Why do you care what they think, Bambi?”

She bit her bottom lip, thinking for a second. “I’m trying not to. It’s hard.”

A smile stretched his lips as he leaned in, stroked his thumb across her cheek and kissed her mouth lightly. Her lashes fluttered when he pulled away.

“The little prince has a flower, right?” he asked.

“Yes, he has a rose,” she said with a pensive expression. “The only one on his planet.”

He nodded once. “If I remember correctly, she’s a very beautiful flower. She shows off her thorns and puts on a superior attitude, but is actually a sensitive little thing and doesn’t like to expose her vulnerability.”

“Oh no, I’m the flower,” she gasped, making him chuckle.

He brushed her hair out of her face and went on, “When the prince comes to the earth, he finds himself in a garden with hundreds of roses, all as gorgeous as the one he loves.”

She continued for him, “But he still thinks his rose is unique and more important than all of the other roses together.”

“Yes.” He propped himself up on an elbow to lie on his side. “And why is that?”

“Because he loves her, and he knows she loves him, too,” she said while caressing his face with the back of her hand.

“That’s right.” He nodded again. “Most people think the prince is stupid for travelling from planet to planet for a rose, but he doesn’t care what they think. No matter where he is, he always thinks about his little flower. He fell in love with her when he was little and has spent his whole life watering and caring for her. Love comes from investing in other people, isn’t it?”

Her smile widened as she combed her fingers through his hair, and her cheeks bloomed with colours when she drew him in and kissed him deeply. He melted from the intensity of her lips as his hands smoothed down her arm, squeezed her behind, and pulled her as close as he could. The hardness of his body against her softness. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. The butterflies in his stomach. He was spiralling out of control.

“I’m crazy about you,” he muttered against her lips and threaded his fingers in her locks. “I don’t care how different we are. When I first said I love you, I promised I’d stay. So I’m yours as long as you still want me, Bambi.”

The corners of her eyes crinkled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled his cheek. “I want you forever. Can you handle that?”

He drew her closer, and their bodies came flush together. “Forever and ever, baby,” he said before kissing her again.

#my girl series

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chibbybish · 4 years ago

Text

Breaking Point (Juice x Reader)

Part 1

TW: bullying

[requested by: @kchavez666]

[word count: 1279]

[reading time: 00:10:13]

New job, same old town, new life.

You weren't a fan of small towns, but cars and motorcycles were always your thing. Also, you really liked California, but being born in a small town you just had to save some money and go live the big city dream you always had.

Your aunt, Gemma, had offered you a job at Teller-Morrow to help you achieve your dream of leaving Charming for good. As a great addition to that, she was married to the president of the motorcycle club, Sons Of Anarchy. That was exciting, and as a young adult, you were, of course, looking forward to see what that's like.

Monday morning, 8:30, you had just arrived at Teller-Morrow. The gates were opened, so you got in, looking for your aunt.

"Half an hour late!" You heard her voice. You saw her coming towards you, smiling, opening her arms to hug you.

"Aunt Gemma!" You sang and hugged her.

"How are you sweetheart?" She asked after hugging you for a few seconds.

"I'm alright. I miss the city." You said, honestly.

"I get it." She smiled. "So, how was college?" She asked afterwards.

"Pretty difficult. But I met a lot of interesting people there!" You answered her question and started walking beside her.

"Any boyfriends?" Your aunt laughed.

"Just one. We dated for a year or so."

-Men, darling. Don't worry about them.

From the distance you saw your cousin Jax running towards you.

"It's y/n! It's y/n!" He beamed and violently hugged you.

"Hi there, dumbass." You hugged him back as he lifted you up. "I missed you so much!" You added.

"Welcome home." Clay came next.

"Hey there, uncle Clay." You smiled politely.

"My god, you are a fully grown woman now, aren't you?" He praised you.

"Aw, that's so nice of you!"

-It's equally nice that you're here to give us a hand with all this paperwork.

-I have been looking forward to it, actually.

-How come?

-Well, you're the president of Sons Of Anarchy uncle Clay!

Clay laughed after what you said.

"Oh so that's why you're excited." Jax laughed.

The three of you, walked towards Gemma's office.

She was already there, taking her jacket and car keys.

"I really do need a break." She exhaled. "It'd be nice if you, men of my life, showed my niece around and tell her what she has to do." She added and kissed your forehead.

"Welcome to the jungle baby. Good luck working with all that testosterone around here." She smiled and left the office.

"See you around aunt Gemma." You said before she got into her car.

"Okay so, paperwork. You note down which cars come in, which cars leave, you take their owners' keys and give them back once the repair over. Jax will explain all the rest." Clay explained. "Whatever you need, don't hesitate to come ask anyone available." He patted your back and left you alone with Jax.

"Want me to show you around, so you can meet the rest of the guys?" Your cousin asked.

"Sounds great." You smiled.

The two of you walked out of Gemma's office and started a small tour around Teller-Morrow.

"Guys, let me introduce to my cousin, y/n!" Jax yelled and a bunch of men gathered around the two of you.

"Y/n, this is Opie, Tig, Chibs, Happy, Bobby, Piney, Half-sack and Juice." Jax started introducing you to all of them, but the last one caught your attention. He had those amazing facial characteristics that were hard to ignore.

"Nice to meet you y/n!" One of them, Tig, said.

"I hope you don't feel uncomfortable with so many men around." Opie laughed.

"Oh, no, it's totally fine. Back in college I had three roommates, all of them were boys." You explained shyly.

"Sounds like someone had a lot of fun in college, huh." Chibs laughed.

"Well, not really." You said, uncomfortable.

Everybody greeted you and got back to work.

That boy, Juice, hadn't talk at all, and now you were curious about him.

"They can be really rude sometimes." Jax patted your back.

"Oh, no. I think they're all really nice." You assured him. You wanted to ask about Juice but decided to wait a little before you made any moves.

The day went by pretty okay and, by the afternoon, you had taken care of a lot of paper work.

"Y/n?" Opie knocked on the office door.

"Yeah?" You lifted your head to look at him.

"If you need a break you can always take one." He smiled. "You've been working non-stop for hours."

-You are right. I probably need a break.

You sighed and stood up, feeling your legs tired and your head sore.

Opie led you inside the clubhouse, where everyone was having their lunch break.

"Hello there!" Jax greeted you and kissed your cheek.

"Someone looks really tired." Chibs noticed.

"Yeah, there was a lot of work that had to be done." You smiled, tiringly.

You noticed Juice was sitting far from everyone else, in a corner.

"What happened to him?" Opie asked Jax.

"Not sure. He was fine this morning." Jax replied, looking at Juice.

Bobby left a plate full of food in front of you.

"There you go, miss." He said.

"I'm starving!" You exclaimed and started eating."Thank you Bobby." You spoke with your mouth full.

You'd still look at Juice randomly, not being able to fully focus on anything else.

After finishing with your lunch, you had the bright idea of talking to him.

You stood up and approached him.

"Hello." You smiled.

"What do you want?" He growled, leaving you speechless.

He seemed quite nervous and bothered.

"I was just wondering why won't you come sit with the rest of us." You question, feeling afraid of his reaction.

"Doesn't matter. I'm done with my break." He stood up and left the clubhouse, without even turning to look at you.

One by one, your little insecurities crawled on your neck, creating a tight knot that gave you a hard time breathing.

What did I do? You asked yourself.

You went back to your sit. None seemed to notice what has happened, instead everyone was loud and drunk, singing songs and talking about this and that.

It felt great being around them, but how Juice treated you was still bothering you. You felt a great weight on your shoulders putting you down.

"Everything okay?" You realised that Chibs was talking to you.

"Of course. I'm just a little tired." You smiled politely, praying that he'd leave you alone, because you already were on the verge of crying.

Little things like people making fun of your t shirt, or talking to you coldly would always make you feel bad.

After a while, Jax offered to give you a ride home. As you were exiting the clubhouse, Juice was going in, causing you two to bump into each other.

"Watch were you're going, for God's sake." He yelled, angrily, after realising what had happened.

"I'm really sorry." You apologized, frightened of his temper.

"I don't need an apology. Just leave." He seethed.

"What's your problem?" You asked, annoyed.

"You are my problem. Get out of my way." He slightly pushed you aside and got into the clubhouse, leaving you speechless once again.

This whole thing reminded you of how much you went through during school.

Boys would treat you like shit, they would point out all your insecurities, causing you to have anxiety and depression from a very young age.

"Ready to leave, y/n?" Jax got out and stood next to you.

"Yeah, sure." You smiled, ignoring all the bad thoughts and memories.

#samcro #sons of anarchy #soa imagine #soa #soa fanfiction #juice x reader #juice imagine #soa juice #juice #juice ortiz

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wowweeharrystyles · 5 years ago

Text

Part 6 | Home & Misunderstandings | 7.2K

‘Sequins & Zippers’ Summary: An internship with Harry Lambert transformed into a job of a lifetime - Aurora Del Gatto finds herself touring the world with the one & only Harry Styles as his ‘Head of Wardrobe.’ Aurora is nothing but nerves & excitement as she packs her bags & almost 100 custom designer suits that belong to an unbelievably kind rockstar. She never thought she’d fall in love on top of it all.

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Masterlist

a/n: thank you all for the lovely messages about sequins & zippers so far (& for being so understanding on me posting late this week) Please like & reblog to share with your friends, it really helps :) I hope you enjoyyyy :))))) Love you, mean it.

Germany and Birmingham go off without a hitch. Aurora has never felt this happy she thinks. In the arena’s and hotel rooms neither of them have a care in the world but Aurora does notice herself holding back from showing any sort of affection, unless Harry initiates it, when they’re in public. Granted, they’re rarely in public together but she still notices it. Most of the time the thought is fleeting, only appearing when she has the urge to tuck her face into his neck or press a kiss to his lips just cause she feels like it. The quick paced life of being on tour distracts her from thinking about it too much.

Harry was excited to be back home to spend a few days with his friends and family and to share his show with them. There’s no doubt about it that performing is his favourite thing and then add in seeing his family and he’s over the moon. Aurora on the other hand was a bit nervous. From the bit of conversation she had heard the other day when Harry was on the phone with his mom, she knew Anne knew about her. Harry made a comment in passing last night about how Aurora and Gemma would get along really well. That’s when it dawned on Aurora that she would be meeting Harry’s friends, his family. Being nervous is normal right? Aurora’s telling herself it is. She just doesn’t know if she’s more nervous to actually meet his family or that she doesn’t actually know what he’s told them what they are. What are they, even? She doesn’t want to ask, they’ve had enough conversations lately and she doesn’t want to add another to the list.

When she gets to the arena, there’s a lot of excitement as usual. There are more new faces than normal. Most of these new faces have “guest” lanyards hanging around their neck. Aurora assumes their friends, family, people she’ll get introduced to eventually. She goes about her business though, trying not to worry about what’s to come later, it’ll only make it all more nerve wracking. She goes through her normal routine before her phone rings.

- Finishing up lunch with my mum and sister right now and about to head to the arena. Are you there?” -

- yeah, I’m here, when will you get here? -

- Be there in 20minutes about -

- my mum and gems are excited to meet ya -

Aurora puts her phone face down on the table after she reads the last message. So they are prepared to meet me? Or is he just saying that to be nice? You really never know with Harry, but aurora doesn’t encourage the conversation.

A few minutes later her phone rings, expecting it to be her mom she flips it over. “Harry” flashes across the screen. She should’ve expected it.

“Hello?” she answers as normally as possible.

“Ror?”

“Yeah?”

“Mum and Gems are off to the loo. I know we never officially talked about you meeting them, but it’s inevitable yeah?”

“Harry-”

“Rory, I saw how you reacted when I mentioned you and Gems would get along well last night and then no response to my last text.” He pauses. “I’m not gonna make you meet them, but even if we weren’t, we weren’t, uhm,” he pauses again, clearly not sure what to call this either, “even if we weren’t us, how we are now, you would’ve met them anyways, yeah?” Aurora hums into the speaker in agreance. “But still, I’d like you to meet them.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“It’s important to me.” He can hear Aurora let out a deep breath on the other end. “I don’t want to stress you out though.”

“No, no, I’m fine, really. I want to meet them too.” Aurora pauses now. “Just, just, I don’t want to have a full blown conversation about this, but, what-”

“What are we?” Harry finishes her question.

“Uhm, yeah.”

“We’re just us, yeah? No need to label anything right now.”

“Uhm yeah, okay…” her voice trails off. She’s not sure how she feels about that answer.

“If it helps, I have absolutely no intentions of being with anyone else, you’re all there is for me.” Aurora smiles at the admission. There’s a feeling in her chest that makes her want to keep asking Harry, ask him what that really means, but she doesn’t.

“Well, the same goes for me.” She says eventually. “Okay, so now that that is out in the open, bring on Anne and Gem,” Aurora adds enthusiastically, trying to sound normal.

“Hah alright, we’ll see you in a bit yeah?” Harry chuckles.

“Mhm, but for the record I’m still nervous as shit.”

“They already love you, don’t worry about it okay? There’s no pressure whatsoever.”

When Harry walks into the green room, Anne and Gemma trailing behind him, he has a hot to go coffee cup in his hand. The fresh latte that is now in her hands distracts Aurora for a moment. The light kiss to her lips erases her mind completely, nerves washed away.

“Aurora, this is my mum, Anne and my sister, Gemma,” Harry introduces her to them, a light touch of his hand at her back. “Mum, Gems, this is Aurora.”

“Oh, it’s so lovely to meet you, dear,” Anne says sweetly, before pulling Aurora into a hug.

“Hi!” Gemma greets brightly once Anne pulls away. Aurora is pulled into another hug.

“Hi!” Aurora smiles back at both of them. “Happy to meet both of you. How was lunch?”

They continue the normal conversation about their lunch as they walk to Harry’s dressing room. Aurora thanks Harry for the latte and presses a kiss to his cheek when Anne and Gemma aren’t paying attention for a moment.

“So how are you liking being on the road?” Anne asks Aurora while they all get comfortable in the dressing room. Aurora opts to sit in the single arm chair that’s placed next to the couch.

“It’s different, but I’m really liking it. I never traveled much growing up so it’s been amazing to see all these new places.” Harry’s decided to sit on the armrest of aurora’s chair and she looks up to him with a questioning look.

“What?” He asks with a short chuckle.

“What do you mean ‘what’? Go sit on the couch with your mom,” she answers. She turns back to Anne who is sitting on the couch. “Whenever I came home during school breaks or something she would, well she still does, make me sit next to her on the couch or restaurant or wherever we were. Always says she needs to make the most out of having time with me.” Aurora looks back up to Harry who hasn’t moved yet. “Go on, then,” she encourages motioning to Anne and the couch.

Once Harry sits down on the couch next to his mom he relaxes and lets his head rest on her shoulder. There’s an instant change in his demeanor. She can’t put a finger on it exactly. It’s almost like his extra confident exterior breaks down. A boyish grin appears on his face as Anne pats his knee.

“Quite like her so far,” Anne whispers to Harry but Aurora catches it, just barely and smiles to herself.

“Mum, think she might’ve heard you,” Gemma points out with a laugh. Anne shrugs and smiles at Aurora. “What’s your favourite place you’ve been to so far?”

“Spain,” Harry answers for Aurora.

“Hey,” Aurora whines, “pretty sure Gemma was asking me.”

“I know that Ror, but I also know Spain was your favourite.”

“I mean yeah, but,” Aurora stops and sighs with a shake of her head.

“Why Spain?” Gemma asks through a laugh.

“We went to Fundación Joan Miró. I really love museums.”

“You should’ve seen Rory’s face when we got there. Kid in a candy store.” Harry adds

“Who else did you guys go with?” Anne asks, all while knowing the answer. Aurora almost cowers back, she realises she’s a bit self conscious about the expansive amount of time she and Harry have spent alone. She hasn’t even told her own mom about it all.

“Uhm, it was just Harry and I… he-he surprised me.” Anne nods slowly, a small smile appearing as fast as it disappears.

Gemma leans over to knock her fist against Harry’s knee. “Good work, lil’ bro.” She’s serious but has a joking tone to it.

“Right?” He responds with a laugh, then flashes Aurora a smile just for her.

Aurora doesn’t feel like she’s getting drilled with questions but she’s still on edge and knows they’re trying to get to know her better. Anne and Gemma excuse themselves after Anne receives a call from another family member who is about to get to the arena.

“I’ll see you later, Aurora! So great to finally meet you,” Gemma says, grabbing Aurora’s hand and giving it a squeeze as she leaves the room.

Anne kisses Harry on the cheek before leaving the room, giving Aurora a small smile.

Aurora lets out an exhale as she sinks into the couch, swinging her feet up to rest on the coffee table and letting her head fall back. Harry comes around to the back of the couch and taps her nose. Aurora’s eyes can’t focus on Harry’s upside down face so she closes them.

Harry chuckles. “Everything alright, darling?”

“Glad that’s over,” she says half-heartedly.

“Hey, it wasn’t that bad was it?” She opens her eyes and looks up at him.

“I mean no, but it was still nerve wracking… don’t think your mom likes me all that much.” Aurora’s voice tapers off.

“Hey, she likes you, trust me.” Harry makes his way to sit down next to her on the couch. He slides his arm between Aurora’s back and the back cushion of the couch. Pulling her into his chest he places a soft kiss to the top of her head and she tucks her legs up onto the couch, her knees leaning on top of Harry’s thigh. She fiddles with the zipper pull on his Adidas track jacket.

“She seemed a bit on the fence to me… but she has every right to be.” Aurora looks up at him. “She just met me, hell we’ve only been touring for barely a month!” Aurora looks back down to the zipper pull in between her thumb and pointer finger. “It’s okay though, we’ve got a full world tour to get her to like me.” Harry laughs at that. After some relaxing silence, he speaks up.

“She’s just seen a lot, I think.” Aurora pulls away from the comfortable place against him to give him a concerning look. “She’s my mum, she knows a lot, she’s seen a lot.” Aurora’s face doesn’t change to a look of understanding. Harry sighs. “She’s just watching out for me, I think? She doesn't want to see me get hurt.” He lets out a short breath. “I don’t know how to say this without sounding like a total prick. She’s just seen a lot of people come and go and she’s had to pick up the pieces a lot of times.”

“She’s your mom, she’s protecting you. Seriously, wholeheartedly, I get it.” Aurora reaches for Harry’s hands. “It’s fine really. Like I said, we’ve still got what 4 months left of the tour?” Aurora laughs and Harry joins in, “By the way, you did a really good job of not sounding like a prick.” Harry pulls her closer and kisses her through a smile. It’s quick and light and carefree and Aurora feels like she’s basking in the sun. Like Harry is her sun.

Harry heads to soundcheck and Gemma and Anne follow along as well as a few hometown friends that Aurora was introduced to. Aurora realises she has quite a bit of time till she needs to start prepping, Harry will be in soundcheck for a bit, give him time with his friends and family and then an hour blocked for meeting a few fans.

After spending time with Harry’s mom and sister she’s gotten a bit homesick and hasn’t noticed till right in this moment. There’s a sinking feeling in her chest. She feels guilty about not telling her mom about everything. She knows that once she tells her mom, it’s real. It’s always been like that. Even when she first got the job with Harry Lambert last year, she waited more than a day to tell her mom. It didn’t feel real, she couldn’t believe it, but the second she let the news roll off her tongue on a facetime call it hit her. It was so real and it was happening and that was her life. Surely, her own mother knows she hasn’t been sharing everything but her mother knows Aurora, knows not to push her and knows that she’ll tell her when she’s ready. Aurora always does.

“Rory!” Aurora’s mom’s voice sings on the other line. Aurora already feels the homesick feeling start to drift away.

“Hi mom! How are you?”

“I’m good, talking to you now, so I’m really good.” Aurora laughs. “How are you, sweetie?”

“Mom, I haven’t told you everything.” Aurora says quickly. Her mother laughs.

“I had a feeling,” her mom responds. “I can always tell, Rory, you know that.” Aurora groans audibly enough for her mother to hear. “So what's going on?”

“Remember when I went to the museum in Spain?” She hears her mom hum a yes. “Well I went with Harry… just Harry…”

“That’s sweet, you love museums.”

“Yeah and then later on, we-we,” Aurora doesn’t finish her sentence, she hates these conversations. She hates that it’s over the phone more.

“He kissed you?” She finishes her daughters sentence.

“Actually, I kissed him.” Aurora releases an involuntary giggle. “And now we’re in his hometown for the tour and I just met his mom and sister and all his childhood friends are here,” she rambles “and I just got really homesick and then guilty cause I haven’t told you everything.”

“Rory, take a breath please. Don’t feel guilty about not telling me. I am your mother but you don’t have to tell me everything. and being homesick is understandable, but it sounds like you’ve found something pretty special.”

“Mommmm,” Aurora whines.

“Hey, I'm telling you like it is. It is special and I hope you’re enjoying it.” Her mother pauses before continuing. “Rory, you’re my daughter so I’m going to say this ‘cause it’s what a mother is supposed to do, okay?” Aurora hums, she knows what’s coming next. “Don’t stress over any of it okay? If you’re happy, just accept that. Don’t worry about what’s next just enjoy it.”

Aurora thanks her mother for the advice after a few huffs and puffs against it. She stays on the phone with her mom as she curls up on the couch in the green room. They talk for almost another hour and when Aurora hangs up there’s a weight lifted off her chest. She feels happier, lighter and more content. Aurora’s finally told her mom, it’s actually real, but there’s still a lingering feeling in the back of her head. Aurora will always second guess her feelings and think there’s something wrong, that she should be completely content and happy with her life, it’s just how her brain works. She really hates it and tries to push it away but it’s always there.

| | | | |

“We’re going out tonight after the show, a local pub that we used to always go to.” Aurora meets Harry’s eyes from across the room where she is steaming his trousers. “It’s just family and friends, Mitch and everyone will probably go too.” Harry pauses, his eyes widening a little bit and Aurora knows exactly what is about to come out of his mouth. “I’d love it if you came with…” his eyes resemble those of a puppy. How can she say no to the face of the single person who makes her as happy as she is right now? Possibly the happiest she’s ever been?

“Yeah, I’ll come,” Aurora answers before her own thoughts fight it out. Harry’s eyes widened in shock. She giggles at his reaction

“Really?” Harry stands up from the couch as Aurora nods at him, confirming her response. He kisses Aurora on the forehead once Aurora finishes steaming his trousers. He places his hands on her hips as she rests hers on his chest. “You know,” he lets his head roll on his shoulders before meeting her eyes again, “I was also thinking,” his thumbs press into the flesh at her hips lightly, “I’m staying back home tonight and you should come with. Ditch your hotel room and come stay with me at home. Mum is making breakfast in the morning. She always makes my favourite breakfast when I’m home.” Harry’s smile is pure and genuine. Aurora has to block out the feeling of his thumbs now tracing circles on her hips.

“Harry, I don’t know,” Aurora says softly. “Thank you for the invite, but I don’t want to overstep.”

“You wouldn’t be overstepping, I just invited you.”

“No, Harry, it’s your mother’s house. Anyways, she probably wants to just spend time with you.” She fiddles with a loose thread on the neckline of his white t shirt and focuses on her hands instead of his eyes. “Regardless, I don’t think I’m ready to go home-home with you. You know meeting everyone is already a lot.”

“Okay,” Harry says solemnly.

“Please don’t be upset about this,” Aurora pleads. “It’s just too much for me right now, you’ve gotta understand that.” Harry nods and then lets out a deep breath. “Harry?” He hums. “Your mom will be happy to have time at home with just you, I don’t want to intrude.”

“I understand.” He presses a kiss to her hair and wraps his arms around her entire frame, pulling her into his chest.

“Honest?”

“Honest.” Another kiss to the top of her head.

Once Aurora has his red jacket buttoned, he cradles Aurora’s head in his hands and kisses her. Aurora is genuinely caught off guard and she pulls away just as his lips land on hers. She laughs and presses up to her toes to kiss him. His hands land on her lower back and he pulls her in closer. Aurora’s hands travel from where they were at the buttons of his jacket to the nape of his neck, her fingers weaving in the growing curls there. Aurora can’t help but bask in the moment, not a care in the world. He pulls her closer and she stumbles trying to keep her balance and lowers down to her flat feet. Harry’s lips follow hers, meeting them only after searching her eyes quickly.

Aurora’s learns that it doesn’t take much for her to get distracted, for time to feel like it halted. Harry has a way of clouding all of her judgement, no not clouding, blinding it, with the rays of sunshine he brings anytime he’s near. Harry seems to get distracted too cause neither of them hear the first voice that enters the room with them but they do hear the startled “Oh” that comes out of Anne’s mouth.

Aurora’s heart drops and her cheeks turn a dark shade of pink that completely overpowers the blush she put on this morning. Harry barely pulls away from her when his sister speaks up again.

“Jeff has been calling for you, clearly you were,” she motions between the 2 of you, still connected by Harry’s arm wrapped around your waist, “uh, busy.” When you feel Harry adjust his grip on your waist you take the opportunity to step away and finish your job. Harry huffs and gives Gemma a mocking look. Siblings. “What is your job anyway?” Gemma light heartedly jokes to Aurora. She whips around to face her, a shocked look on her face.

“Gemma, be nice,” Harry says harshly.

“Only meant it as a joke, I swear. Clearly she’s doing a good job, you’re actually dressed.” Gemma looks back to Aurora, an apologetic look on her face. “Seriously I only meant it as a joke. Honestly, getting him to put clothes on has always been a nightmare.” A roll of her eyes makes Aurora laugh.

“So him stripping down within seconds in our first fitting was normal?” It’s Gemma’s turn to look shocked. “Legit, went to hand him a suit to try on and turned around and he was already down to his boxers, had a changing room set up for him and everything, but guess I didn’t really need it.” Harry only shrugs his shoulders and takes the socks that Aurora hands him. Gemma is laughing along with Aurora.

“Just so you know, you two cannot be friends if all you’re gonna do is pick at me,” Harry says with a huff, sliding a sock on.

“What else are your sister and girlfriend supposed to do if not make fun of you?” Gemma retorts. Aurora’s stomach drops when she hears the word ‘Girlfriend’. What did Harry actually tell them? Did he call her that? Did he not explain they’re ‘not labeling it’? It’s then, when Gemma calls Aurora harry’s girlfriend that she realises what had been not settling all day. Why aren’t they really labeling it? If Harry really means that she’s the only one, why not be his ‘girlfriend’?

“I don’t know,” Harry doesn’t correct Gemma, “talk about things like nails and hair, go shopping or something!” Aurora hands Harry one of his black boots.

“Harry, that’s what we talk about,” Gemma motions between them.

“Gemma’s right, Harry and we also talk about those things.”

“Hah!” Gemma says with triumph. Anne is laughing quietly from the couch, clearly enjoying the sibling banter like nothing has changed since they were kids. “Anyways, Jeff has been looking for you.”

Aurora hands Harry his other boot and goes to walk away but he grabs her hand to signal for her to stay nearby.

“How do I look?” he asks, adjusting his jacket.

“Good,” Aurora smiles at him. She reaches for the right cuff of his jacket, un-bunching it from underneath the jacket sleeve so you could see the black and white stripe peak out a bit.

“Thanks, Rory.”

“My job, isn’t it?” She answers, looking up at him, her hands at her sides now. He presses a quick kiss to her temple, then says he’ll meet his mom and sister in a few minutes.

Aurora is left with Gemma and Anne as Harry briskly makes his way out of the dressing room to find Jeff. The second Harry is out of earshot and down the arena hallway Anne speaks up.

“I can’t help but notice that everyone seems to only call you Aurora,” Anne comments. Not what Aurora was expecting to be commented on. “But Harry solely calls you ‘Rory’ or even ‘Ror’.” Aurora lets out a soft giggle and smiles at Anne.

“Uhm well, really only my mom calls me Ror or Rory, some of my good friends from childhood too. I always introduce myself as Aurora.” She looks between Gemma and Anne, who are clearly waiting for further explanation. “Harry started calling me Ror pretty early on, I think and it just stuck.” Aurora pauses again, smiling to herself. “It’s kind of nice that someone calls me it, here. Makes me a little less homesick.”

“That’s sweet,” Anne replies with a bright smile just like she’s seen on Harry’s face. “Seems pretty special.” They all leave the conversation at that. Aurora hopes that in some way, it shows Anne and Gemma too, that Aurora isn’t just some random girl in a long list of names.

The energy in the open space of the backstage is different tonight and Aurora can tell it’s because Harry’s home in sort of a sense. His family is here, his old friends are cracking jokes at him. Harry’s childhood best friend Jack is laughing with Mitch and she can tell Harry caught a glimpse of it. The expression on his face is nothing less than elated.

Everyone begins to give Harry hugs and wish him good luck. Aurora’s tried to focus on being in work mode, especially after Anne and Gemma startled them earlier. She cleaned up the dressing rooms after she finished getting him and his band ready, an excuse to hide her embarrassment from Anne walking in on Aurora and Harry. She knows she shouldn’t be embarrassed but she was working and she’s trying to stay on the better of Anne’s sides. This is all still very new for Aurora too. She notices Harry coming towards her as the room starts to clear out. He swings an arm around her shoulder as he waves to a handful of friends.

“Coming with Aurora?” Gemma asks, motioning towards the last of the group heading down the hallway.

“Oh, I should stay back here a bit longer actually, always do, just in case.”

“Ror, you’re good to go, promise I won’t rip a hole or anything!” Harry says. “Go on with them.” Harry presses a kiss to her temple and pushes her towards Gemma, Anne and the rest of his friends and family already farther ahead, still yelling choruses of “break a leg” and “good luck.”

“Promise?” Aurora says as Gemma grabs the crook of her elbow, pulling her along with her.

“Promise. I’ll see you guys after, okay?” Aurora leaves, getting pulled away by Gemma and a smile being shone back at Harry. He blows a dramatic kiss as her and she visibly rolls her eyes before turning around and catching up with Gemma and the group.

Anne walks over to where Gemma and Aurora are standing, 3 plastic cups of white wine in her hands. They’re standing in the barricaded Mix near B Stage and they all ‘cheers’ their wine as ‘Olivia’ comes to an end over the arena speakers. The lights dim down after 2 more songs and the screen that covers the stage lights up.

“Ohhhh,” Aurora awes at the visuals on the screen.

“Haven’t you seen these every night for the past month?” Gemma asks Aurora in surprise.

“Uhm, I guess I never make it into the crowd soon enough before the screen starts to lift?” How is Aurora supposed to tell Harry’s mother and sister that the two of them spend pretty much every last second together before he has to be on stage?

Anne released a surprised “Oh?”

“Uhm, it’s always one thing or the other,” Aurora begins, “tonight was a rarity in terms of time and preparation. Made sure to get everyone ready early cause y’all are here. But either something happens with Harry’s suit or his band’s clothes and I’ve gotta run around fixing it before curtain. Or if the time difference is just right, I’ll call my mom quick.”

As the rubix cube is completed on the screen, the screams of the audience become deafening. Anne reaches for both Aurora and Gemma’s hand. Aurora is startled by it but Anne gives her a reassuring squeeze, relaying she needs help to calm her nerves for her son stepping on stage. The arena is dark, “Should we just search romantic comedies and see what we find?” fills the speakers and the opening of Only Angel is barely heard over the screams. They get louder, even though Aurora didn’t think they could, as Harry comes into view, the screen almost out of the way to show his entire figure. Anne lets out a sigh of relief just as Harry reaches for the button of his jacket, unbuttoning it and then starts to make his way across to stage right.

Watching the show with Anne and Gemma and a handful of his friends is fun and a totally different experience than she’s had. She’s not alone, she’s not anxious about getting in and out of the audience, she’s able to comment about his performance and gush over him to people that really truly care about him and it’s not weird. She doesn’t feel weird about it. The proudest of proud smiles doesn’t leave Anne’s face for the entire show. It’s during one of the planned breaks in songs that Harry has the crowd sing Happy Birthday to Ben, one of his camera guys.

“Ben has a very important job. He’s on my good side,” Harry tells the audience. Aurora groans while nearly the entire audience giggles at his joke.

“Glad you get annoyed at him too,” Gemma comments with a light shove to Aurora’s shoulder.

“Has he always been this obnoxious?” Aurora questions.

“Yup,” Gemma turns to Aurora, “always has loved the attention,” she states with an eye roll.

It’s nearing the end of the show and Aurora is sad to see it end just as fast as it began. She doesn’t think she’ll ever get tired of seeing him perform. He finishes his normal speech before Sign of the Times but instead of taking a moment and starting it with a single spotlight shone on him he keeps talking.

“What could he possibly be doing now?” Gemma comments with a sigh and chuckle as Harry launches into a random improvised speech.

“Who knows.” Aurora answers in the same tone.

Harry tries to organize a sing along to “All You Need Is Love” for when he runs off stage before the ‘Encore’.

“Well, you got it wrong when I was explainin’ it, mate!” Harry shouts back to someone in the audience.

“Does his accent get thicker when he’s home?” Aurora asks Gemma. She noticed his voice got a bit deeper and she’s had to ask him to repeat himself more than normal today.

“I suppose so?” Gemma’s answer is phrased more like a question. “Why?”

“He just sounds a bit different tonight,” Aurora trails off.

“I guess hanging around with an American all the time wears off on him, huh?” Aurora doesn’t know how to take the comment right away. She’s still really unsure if Gemma and Anne really like Aurora or are just putting on a face to please Harry for the time being. “Hey,” Gemma’s voice brings Aurora back to the conversation, “I didn’t mean that in a bad way.” Gemma seems to be able to read Aurora just as Harry does. Maybe she really is just an open book.

“Oh, yeah I-I know,” Aurora stutters.

“He seems a bit different to me as well, but it’s not his accent.” Gemma looks to Aurora and makes sure she is paying attention to what she is about to say. “Seems really happy. Tour always takes a lot out of him, always has. But he seems really good right now. Haven’t seen him like this in a while.” Gemma smiles at Aurora and she smiles back as Harry begins singing “Sign Of The Times.”

| | | | |

“I’ll meet you lot at the pub okay?” Harry says to the group that is surrounding him. Aurora can hear him from down the hall, waiting in his dressing room. “Give me an hour to close it down and have a margarita waiting for me.” Someone says something that Aurora can’t make out. “Make sure there’s a Marg for Aurora too.” She blushes instantly and starts to busy herself with absolutely nothing,

Harry walks into his dressing room and straight away slides the red jacket off his shoulders but instead of handing it to Aurora he throws it on the closet chair. Aurora opens her mouth to comment on the action but Harry wraps his arms around her waist. Tucking his head into the crook of her neck, he lets out a sigh.

“Y’alright rockstar?” She questions, her breath hitting his skin at the back of his neck.

“Yeah, just always a little stressful when everyone is here.” Aurora takes his head in her hands and brings his lips to hers. The kiss is delicate and careful. She gives him a smile when she pulls away.

“Show was incredible, really.” She messes with one of the unruly curls at the top of his head. “You know, I’ve never seen the full opening with the screen and everything?”

“Really?”

“Normally back here with you. At the earliest, I only see the last part of the cube and the flash of lights before the screen lifts.” Harry is unbuttoning his shirt and handing his clothes to Aurora. Same thing every night, just a different city and different colour suits.

“Still coming out with me yeah?” He asks as he grabs a set of clean clothes and his toiletries bag from the nearby Gucci duffle that’s sitting open on the couch.

“Yeah, of course.” Aurora answers confidently.

“Good. I’m gonna shower and then we’ll go. Told Jack to have margarita’s waiting for us when we get there.”

| | | | |

“I had a good time with Gemma and your mom by the way,” Aurora says breaking the silence of the car ride. “Quite nice to have someone to make fun of you with.”

“Hey, that’s not nice,” Harry whines.

“Gotta keep you humble. Out of a sold out audience of adoring fans, having a few people knock you down is fiiiine.”

Harry keeps Aurora close most of the night, only leaving her side a few times. During those few times Harry’s friends come up to Aurora. Jack is the only one that she’s retained who he is. He asks all the questions a best friend should ask. “What are you two up to? What are you?” Only Aurora doesn’t really know so she simply answers, “We’re just us, I guess,” quoting Harry earlier. As the night goes on, the question is asked repeatedly and she’s sick of it honestly and she’s exhausted.

Meeting new people is tiring for Aurora, trying to be her best happy self all day to strangers is beyond exhausting. She needs to sleep, get these conversations out of her head and take time for herself, alone. She’ll talk to him about it later if it’s still bothering her the next day.

Aurora leaves the pub after saying goodnight to Harry, only allowing a kiss to her cheek. She knows she’s thinking too much, but she’s gotta get out of there, get some rest. It’s a conversation for another day, let him have his fun.

What Harry notices though, is that right after Aurora leaves, his friend Jack does too. Harry’s heart drops at the thought. He’s putting it all together in his head, like a puzzle, but he’s not seeing the same picture as Aurora is. Jack is irrelevant in Aurora’s head. Jack is the most relevant piece in Harry’s head.

| | | | |

Aurora texts Harry when she wakes up in the near empty hotel room, asking about his mom’s breakfast at home, how the rest of the night went and what his plans were for the day. He had mentioned he wanted to take her to his old bakery. Aurora takes the morning for herself, a face mask on and the latest episode of Criminal Minds playing on her computer. She doesn’t think about Harry not replying to her texts. She knows he’s at home, he’s probably got his phone on silent anyways. Aurora daydreams about him, content, sitting in the living room with his family, playing a board game like he’s told her they do on lazy days.

When 5pm rolls around, Aurora does begin to worry. She calls him instead. No answer. She calls again. No answer again. She leaves a voicemail. About an hour later a text comes through.

-Can we talk?-

-sure…-

Aurora’s nervous now. Anyways, isn’t she the one that should be asking to talk? She’s the one who’s been going over their conversation from yesterday repeatedly. She’s the one who couldn’t stop getting hung up on “let’s not label it” while sitting at the bar with him and his family last night.

20 minutes later Harry knocks at Aurora’s hotel room door. There’s a dark, sunken in look to him.

He felt like the sun yesterday, why does it feel so cloudy now?

He doesn’t even greet her. He walks in, letting the door close behind him. “Why didn’t you really want to come home with me last night?” He asks stiffly, his hands going to his hips.

“What?” Aurora asks, confused.

“What’s the real reason?”

“I told you yesterday. I felt like I was overstepping and it was too much too fast.”

“Right,” Harry says, a bit of attitude attached.

“What is going on here? Why are you acting like this?”

“Why am I?” He questions harshly. “You tell me, Aurora.” Her full name coming from his mouth in such a harsh tone hurts.

“Harry, I have no idea what is happening, right now.” Aurora sits down on the couch her arms crossed against her chest. “I’m clueless, really am.”

“Jack.”

“Jack?” Aurora doesn’t even register the name. It comes up blank in her mind.

“Yes, Jack, my best friend from home. The reason you were so closed off last night, the reason you wouldn’t come home with me. You went home with him instead.”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Harry?” Aurora yells, standing up from the couch. “You think I left with Jack? For fuck’s sake, I hadn’t even met him when you asked me to come back home with you!” She turns in a circle, she doesn’t even know what to do with herself. She’s angry now. How could he think that of her? “I told you why I didn’t want to go back to your mom’s house. Why can’t you believe me?”

“I saw you talking to him last night.”

“We were talking about YOU!”

“Bullshit. Why were you so closed off with me all night after talking to him?”

“Jesus christ. I need you to calm down for a second, please,” she pleads. She’s not about to have this conversation with him when he’s this upset. He lets out a breath, his shoulders dropping and he looks at her. “I was FINE for most of the night, but then Jack came to talk to me about YOU. He asked about what we were doing, what we WERE. He was doing his job as your best friend to check up on the girl you’re “seeing”,” she adds the air quotes. Aurora takes a deep breath. “I had already been seconding guessing our conversation from that morning, about not wanting to label it and then Gemma called me your girlfriend and you didn’t correct her. It’s not even that big of a deal really. No, actually, it is to me.” She looks up to him and she can see his face softening but it still has an edge to it. He’s still cloudy. “If I’m really all there is for you right now, why not fucking label it? What's the harm in that?” Aurora sits back on the couch. “I’ve put a lot on the line for you, for us, for this. God this all sounds so ridiculous, it’s barely been a month on tour, but we’re together almost everyday,” Aurora huffs. “How can you not trust me? How did you even put all of that together and get to the end result of me hooking up with Jack? Are you kidding me Harry?” Aurora sighs. She’s done nothing wrong here, there’s no reason for him to be upset. “I don’t know what happened between yesterday and now but I’m so lost.”

Silence fills the room. Harry doesn’t move much, sways back and forth on his feet, takes his bottom lip between his fingers like he always does when he’s thinking. The thought of him not trusting her is slowly chipping away the rough exterior she’s got on. She doesn’t offer an apology. He’s the one who needs to apologize. The room is uncomfortably silent and Aurora is afraid she’s gonna break down soon. She has to stand her ground. She alway cowers in relationships, it’s why she always ran. She can’t run now. 3 more months of tour is ahead of them. It’s not ending like this. Time feels never ending. The sound of the elevator interrupts the silence a few times but not enough to make it bearable.

Harry knows he’s fucked up. He finally moves from his place across the room and drops to his knees in front of Aurora on the couch. She has her arms crossed on her chest, closed off, tears begging to fall from her eyes. She’s unbelievably hurt that he would even think she would do something like that to him. Harry places his hands on her knees.

“I’m sorry.” It’s all he says for a moment. He traces invisible shapes on the fabric of Aurora’s leggings. “I’m such an idiot. Fucking hell. I don’t even have an excuse or explanation. I just saw you talking to him. You had left and then seconds later he did too. I’m a jealous prick, always have been. Drinking didn’t help and I was really hoping you were gonna change your mind by the end of the night. I wanted to wake up with you next to me. Next to me, at home.” He sighs. “I’m so sorry. I trust you, I really do. I just got ahead of myself.”

When a tear falls from the corner of Harry’s eye Aurora goes all soft. She can see how sorry he is from the look in his eyes. It was nothing more than a misunderstanding, emotions at an all time high.

Something can’t be too important if it doesn’t scare you a little.

Aurora takes his face in her hands and pulls him into a kiss. It’s hesitant at first and Harry is still the entire connection.

“Harry, you gotta trust me, okay?” He nods, sorrow heavy in his eyes. She hates seeing him this upset. She needs him to trust her more than anything. She kisses him again, this time he falls into it. His hands move from her knees and he rests his forearms on either side of her thighs on the couch cushions. Aurora leans back farther into the couch, pulling Harry’s face back with her. She snakes her hands into his hair and kisses him deep, his chest now resting against her knees. As they continue to kiss Harry wraps his arms around Aurora’s back and links his arms together against the couch. Aurora lets her knees fall open and harry’s torso falls into the now open space, his ribcage flush with her hips.

“Promise I trust you,” Harry says when he pulls away for a moment. Moving a bit so he can meet her eyes directly. “Sorry I was a dick,” he apologizes with a kiss to the sensitive skin behind Aurora’s ear.

“Harry,” she says softly.

‘Wait, Ror,” the nickname rolling off his tongue so easily, “why didn’t you say anything about the labeling? I had no idea.” She sighs. “We could have discussed it more.”

“I hadn’t realised it bothered me so much till Gemma said something.” She fiddles with the chain of the necklace that is hanging from Harry’s neck. “Didn’t know if I was overthinking or what. Then people kept asking and I didn’t know what you told them or didn’t.”

“Well what do you really want, Ror?”

#HERE"S PART 6 !!!#harry styles imagine #harry styles one shot #harry styles blurb #harry styles x reader #sequins & zippers #aurora on tour #harry styles fanfiction #one direction imagine

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ibelieveinharrystyles · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter Ten: Make A Wish

Forever? Masterlist

5th July 2017 Ashley woke up to the sound of Daisy babbling away happily in her cot, the sooner she could get a two bedroom flat the better. She climbed out of bed, greeting Daisy with a massive smile, “Hello birthday girl how are you?” She asked, lifting her out of the cot, getting a babble of random sounds back, she had recently learnt to say ‘mama’, something she had been overusing extensively. “Shall we have a special birthday breakfast? How about some pancakes?” Ashley asked Daisy as she took her through to the kitchen, resulting in an excited clap from Daisy as she put her in the safety of her highchair. She turned on the radio, hearing the familiar sound of Roman’s voice, understanding that Ashley was a single parent he offered to host the show on his own for the day to allow Ashley and Daisy to spend some quality time together. “Shall we listen to some of Uncle Harry’s music?” She asked Daisy as she weighed out the necessary ingredients for pancakes.

“Yeah! Yeah!” Daisy cried from her high chair, before Ashley began playing some classic One Direction out of the speakers in the kitchen.

London was in the middle of one of those heatwaves, the ones where one week it would be chucking it down with rain, and the next it's uncomfortably hot, For this reason Ashley thought it best to travel by bus, rather than subjecting herself and Daisy to the heat of the London Underground. Daisy seemed content though, she was sat on the seat beside Ashley, looking out of the window as they went past all the big monuments and crowds of people, Ashley spotted a heavily pregnant lady sat across from them, reminding her how unbearable she had found being pregnant with Daisy during the sweltering heat of summer, “How far gone are you? If you don’t mind me asking?” She asked the lady.

“Thirty seven weeks, if he doesn’t grow up to be a footballer these kicks will be wasted.” she told Ashley.

“Oh wow, I thought it was difficult carrying this one through summer, but she was born six weeks early.” Ashley replied.

“Oh goodness, how old is she?” She asked.

“It’s her first birthday today, we’re on our way to her uncle’s house for a birthday picnic.” Ashley explained.

“Oh you’re off the radio aren’t you? I listen to the breakfast show every morning, I think it’s wonderful.” She told Ashley.

“Thank you, I’m glad you enjoy it, as you can probably imagine, getting to work in the mornings after getting this little lady ready can be a struggle, but we make it work.”

When Ashley first mentioned to Harry that she wanted to organise some sort of birthday celebration for Daisy he jumped at the chance to host it, even though the guests only consisted of Anne, Gemma and Linda, he still wanted to pull out all the stops, Ashley’s knock on the door was answered almost instantly by Harry, a massive smile upon his face, like he had just won the lottery, “Hello birthday girl!” He cried, stretching his arms up in the air, which in turn made Daisy smile from ear to ear, Ashley passed Daisy to him, knowing how much she idolised her uncle, he led them both into the kitchen that had been decorated with an impressive jungle theme, green balloons in a vast variety of colours and sizes littered the high ceiling. Whilst on the island in the middle of the kitchen a two tier vanilla and chocolate birthday cake was sat, decorated with figures of jungle animals, also on the island were bowls of crisps and plates of Daisy’s favourite snacks.

“You didn’t have to do all of this H, she would’ve been fine with a cake from tesco and a bag of chocolate buttons.” Ashley sighed as Harry showed Daisy all the toy jungle animals.

“I wanted to, it looks like I’ll be on tour for her birthday next year, and my favourite little lady deserves spoiling.” Harry insisted.

Gemma, Anne and Linda had all arrived shortly after Ashley and Daisy and now the celebrations were in full swing, everyone was sat around the island snacking on the crisps and biscuits Harry had laid out. “Presents! Let’s do presents!” Harry declared, before disappearing and returning with several parcels wrapped in obnoxiously pink wrapping paper.

“Anyone would think Uncle Harry wanted to be your favourite,” Gemma said to Daisy who was currently sitting on her lap.

“I already am her favourite,” Harry informed Gemma, before miming tossing his hair, he placed the parcels on the table for Daisy, and with the help of her Auntie Gemma she unwrapped them one by one, Harry being Harry had gone all out, the presents ranged from a giraffe teddy to a pair of mini old skool vans, which Harry insisted were a necessity. Gemma treated her to a set of insanely soft pyjamas and a toy elephant, whilst Anne bought her a set of story books and Linda gave her a new dressing gown that looked like a giraffe.

“Thank you so much, all of you, these are such lovely presents, you’re a lucky lady aren’t you Daisy? What do you say to everyone?” Ashley said to Daisy.

“Ta!” she exclaimed, resulting in a mixture of sighs and claps from everyone sitting around the table.

“I’ve got you one more present,” Harry handed Ashley a green envelope, Ashley opened it hesitantly, inside was a picture from London Zoo, “Before I leave for tour, I’ve booked us a tour of London Zoo after they close, so that Daisy can see all the animals properly, and we won’t have to worry about the hassle from photographers and all that.”

“You’re a proper softie Styles,” Ashley said, moving round the island and wrapping her arms around him, “Thank you for all of this.”

After indulging in slices of Daisy’s birthday cake everyone agreed a walk across Hampstead Heath was necessary, Harry carried Daisy on his shoulders, who seemed to be having way too much fun playing with her uncle’s hair. Anne and Linda strolled behind, chatting about their children, and the adults they had become, whilst Gemma and Ashley walked side by side, “He loves her doesn’t he?” Ashley whispered softly.

“He’d do anything for her, they have the purest little friendship.” Gemma told her.

“I don’t know what I’d be doing if it weren’t for Harry, Daisy and I would’ve spent today watching all the Madagascar movies whilst eating our way through a chocolate cake, but he’s made this day so memorable for her.” Ashley replied as they all found a seat underneath a big tree to provide them with shade.

“You alright up there munchkin?” Ashley asked Daisy, gently stroking her cheek.

“I should probably get Daisy home soon, it's nearly her bedtime.” Ashley sighed, the sun was beginning to set over the heath, a golden glow dancing on all their bodies, the heath was pretty empty except for a few families and couples who were either enjoying the infrequent summer weather or taking their dogs for a well needed walk. Ashley hadn’t really clocked it at first, but there was a distinctive figure hovering by a tree across from them, being friends with Harry for as long as she had, she learnt to shrug off people loitering near them, assuming they were either a fan or a photographer. But when she caught a glimpse of this person again she realised she did in fact know them, “What the fuck,” she whispered under her breath, quiet enough that Daisy wouldn’t hear, but loud enough that Harry did hear, he glanced in the same direction as Ashley, realising what she had seen. Ashley stood up without saying a word and walked towards him.

“Well if it isn’t Harry Styles’ favourite baby mama,” He slurred, taking a swig of what must have been his fifth or so can of beer.

“What the fuck are you doing here Matt?” Ashley asked him, pushing him back.

“I just wanna see my daughter.” He told her, leaning against the tree.

“No, that’s not happening,” Ashley told him bitterly.

“Why? You scared I’ll see she actually has an uncanny resemblance to that prick over there?”

“Harry is not her dad!” Ashley told him.

“Well then why can’t I see her?”

“You lost the right to see her the day you told me you didn’t want anything to do with her, you know she was born six weeks early? She was kept in an incubator because she was too small, except you wouldn’t know that because you weren’t there, so excuse me for not wanting you to have anything to do with her.”

“Are you alright?” Ashley turned to see Harry, he had left Daisy in the capable care of Anne.

“Here’s your knight in shining armour coming to your rescue,” Matt slurred.

“I’m fine Harry, can you take Daisy back to yours? I don’t want her seeing this.” Ashley asked him.

“I’m not leaving you with him Ash.” Harry replied.

“How long did it take you mate?” Matt asked him.

“What are you on about?” Harry responded,

“To get her into bed? Didn’t take me too long if I’m honest-” Harry tried to swing a punch at him, but Ashley was quick to hold him back, pressing both her hands against his chest.

“H, he isn’t worth it.” She soothed, cupping his face with one hand, so as to make him look her in the eye, whilst still holding him back with the other.

“If you try and approach Ashley or Daisy again, you will be hearing from my lawyers, do you understand?” Harry asked him sternly.

“I get you big man, I’m not sticking around to deal with you and your emotional baggage.”

The group had now returned back to Harry’s house, Gemma, Linda and Anne were entertaining Daisy with cartoons in the living room, “You didn’t have to step in like that H,” Ashley whispered as she poured him a cup of tea.

“He was out of order.” Harry insisted as he took his mug of tea, “I wasn’t just going to stand there whilst he talked about you like that.”

“He’s not wrong though is he? I didn’t have to sleep with him that night, I just did anyway.” Ashley said, fiddling with the lid on the milk bottle.

“Just because you slept with him that doesn’t make you easy, you think I haven’t slept with people I regret?” Harry replied.

“It’s different for you, a man sleeps with twenty girls and he’s a lad, a girl sleeps with five men and she’s a slag.”

“You know I don’t think that don’t you?” Harry assured her.

“I know, because you are a gooden, and one day when Daisy brings a boy home I want him to be as good as you, and I think by having a positive male role model in her life like you, she will learn that she deserves someone who if she asks for the world will give her the universe.” Ashley told him.

“Is that you saying you think I am boyfriend material?” Harry grinned.

“Don’t push it Styles.”

#harry styles imagine #harry styles best friend fic #one shot #blurb #harry styles blurb #harry styles fanfic #fanart #treat people with kindness #harry styles #harry styles imagineharry styles instsgrsm #one direction #harry #harry styles imagines #harry styles fanfiction #best friend harry

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klaumiel · 4 years ago

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You are all I’ve got, Austin.//Chapter 4: The last poem.

I opened the door before Shaun even stopped the car and jumped out. I didn’t want to waste any second, I ran to the house, and straight to the kitchen where I had my charger.

‘ Turn on, you piece of shit!’ I shouted nervously trying to turn on my phone. Shaun stood next to me, rubbing my shoulder.

As soon as my phone was on, I opened Lovelik, and immediately my heart dropped and my eyes filled with tears.

‘’ you’ve been quiet for a while…

Can you just send an emoji or something

Anything to let me know you are okay

Please

…

Ok, I’m freaking out!!

You’ve been gone for too long, so I have to assume the worse

Bennie got you, and it’s all my fault

Please tell me I’m wrong

Please tell me I’m not responsible for more blood on my hands

I know you are there! Come on!

If we never talk again… I couldn’t live with myself

All I want is to know for sure, but I’m almost out of time

Tomorrow’s the day of my execution

Fuck…

It's so weird to see it written out like that

Like I know what the words mean, but it doesn’t feel real

…

They asked what I wanted for my last meal this morning

They usually offer a steak, but I asked for some candy instead

If I can’t have you with me …

At least I’ll have something sweet

…

Damn! I thought that might work

You always call me out for being cheesy

Please give me a sign …something

ANYTHING !

Well, I got something for you – one last poem

Here it goes…

At the start nothing left to lose-

Nothing to stop me from trying

At the end, with hands shaking –

I was immersed in a love undying

Now our souls will finally rest in memories

Lost without a trace

And forever will I be free to bask

In the light of your grace

That’s all I’ve got

Goodbye

I answered his message as fast as I could, with tears in my eyes and shaking hands. This can’t be goodbye, not like this!

‘This can’t be happening, Shaun!’ I cried ‘He is being executed today, we have to do something! I can’t let him die!... Maybe I should call the police station make sure that they informed the prison about the DNA … Shit, he isn’t answering! ‘ I hold my phone with hands shaking.

‘I will make a call now’ Shaun said, wiping my tears with his hands ‘They can’t go ahead with execution if there is new evidence.’

‘Please answer me …please be there. Austin god Damit!’ I cried

Suddenly an emoji popped next to my message. He is alive! Of course, he is, he can’t just leave me like that, my heart pounded in my chest, and I saw a message popping up

‘’WAIT- YOU’RE ALIVE!?’’

I smiled through tears. Duh!

I told him that I submitted Bennie’s DNA and they are testing it as we speak.

But the happiness didn’t last long, the guard came to get him. This can’t be the end!

‘Shaun, what did they tell you !?’ I asked getting more and more anxious

‘They informed his lawyer, he is on his way there. Austin will be fine Maya, take a deep breath and calm down. He will be okay ‘ Shaun said, approaching me and grabbed my hand, I squeezed my phone so hard I left a mark on my hand, and my fingers got numb.

‘But the guard just came to take him, he told me … Are you sure? ‘ I felt lighter, calmer but still not sure, what to think about this

‘Maya, they confirmed that prison is aware. The guard must’ve come for some other reason… hang on… he had his phone in the cell? I thought he kept it the library. ‘

‘He took it with him because he was worried, I wasn’t answering he thought I was dead.’

Shaun smiled gently ‘ You should rest, go to sleep for a little while, don’t worry, he will be fine.’

Shaun went back home. I took a quick shower, and laid on the sofa, put my phone on the loudest setting possible and quickly fell asleep.

A few hours later, loud sound woke me up. I sat up quickly looked outside; it was dark. Must’ve slept all day.

‘’How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways,

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.‘’

Is he saying what I think he is saying?

‘’I fucking love you.’’

I felt butterflies feeling my stomach, I smiled from ear to ear ‘I love you too!’ I answered.

I’ve been waiting for this moment for days. Only the thought of losing him proved me how much I loved him, how important to me he was. My worries he won’t feel the same vanished. Happiness filled me instantly, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. But there were happy tears.

He was fine, alive and most likely will be realised soon. We will finally be able to be together. I felt like I didn’t want to be without him ever again.

Bennie’s DNA was a match, and the judge accepted it as evidence in his case. His execution has been postponed, and he had court scheduled for the next morning. We talked for a little while longer. This time our conversation felt lighter, we finally said it. I couldn’t wait to be able to tell him in person.

Straight after I called Shaun and shared the good news. I also decided to call Gemma, she was my friend for the last ten years after all.

She listened, but she was cold and very distanced.

‘Gemma, what is going on? Did I do something wrong ?’ I decided to ask her

‘ No, everything is fine’ I knew it was a lie

‘Listen, I think we need to talk. Do you want to go for coffee before work tomorrow? I really need to know what’s going on.’

‘Sure, I will pop to your place at seven, ok? I need to go now. I am happy for you. See you tomorrow.’ She hang up before I managed to answer.

I was anxious but happy at the same time. Austin and I took our relationship to the next level, we managed to save his life, depending on the outcome of tomorrow’s court he could be a free man soon. The feeling of being able to finally see him was amazing.

The whole situation with Gemma was strange, but if she wanted to blow our friendship because of some stupid reason, I wouldn’t stop her. I had all I wanted at this moment, Austin

alive and safe, I knew I will probably have to wait for him, but I was ready for this.

I lied in bed reading his messages, his beautiful poems. He is such a melt, but I love him so much. Always playing the rough and scary guy but deep inside such a softy. He has never been in love, so he didn’t know how to act what to do, what to say, how to express his emotions but he did it the best way he could through his poems. I loved his soft side, only made him hotter.

The only thing that was missing that night was him next to me, his strong arms around me, but I knew deep inside that one day this will happen, and only the thought of what's going to happen once we finally get to be alone made me feel hot and dizzy. I wanted him so bad … If this wasn’t love, fuck knows what it was, but I didn’t care I just wanted to feel it.

Next morning, I woke up with a smile, it was a good feeling. From now, it will only get better.

Well, not entirely true.

I got ready to work, I was in the mood for some fancy clothes, I’ve put on my favourite black skater skirt, and cream ruffle trim shirt.

I was finishing straightening my hair when my doorbell rang.

‘Get in! The door is open’ I shouted from the corridor

‘You shouldn’t leave your door unlocked’ Gemma came in, dropped her laptop bag on the sofa and went to the kitchen to take some coffee.

I came downstairs, we started with the usual chat about work, but the innocent conversation quickly changed direction to something I didn’t expect.

‘So Gemma, I can’t be postponing this any longer. We are friends for ten years, I can see that something is wrong. You are very distant ever since things with Austin been getting serious. You seem to be cold, and I can feel you want to tell me something. Now is the time’ I sat up straighter ‘Why did you say that Austin and I have no future, why are you so against him? You don’t even know him… Or something is happening that you don’t want to tell me about.’

She looked at the mug, clearly getting annoyed.

‘Maya, I have to say it … nobody else will. You look so happy I didn’t want to disturb this, but someone has to tell you. You should've stopped this at the begging when you found out he is on a death row. What are you doing with your life? This supposed to be just for fun, you took this whole dating online a bit too seriously. Frist Albert, days talking about how bad you feel about telling him to fuck off because you are not ready, instead of having fun one night like you did and let him go, forget it. Then Austin… If I knew that you will get so attached to him I would never tell you swipe… this is insane Maya! You can’t be in love with the guy you never met! A criminal! Luke wasn’t enough for you? Abuse, drugs, gangs, didn’t this teach you a lesson to stay away from guys like this?’ Her voice slowly started to rise

‘Austin is not like Luke, he is not a criminal.’ I was lost of words, I had no idea she saw it that way.

‘ He is in prison, so he is a criminal. How do you even know he is real? You never met him, never heard him speak. He could be someone else…You got so naïve recently. ‘

‘What are you talking about, he is real. Gemma… this is crazy. Where is this all coming from ?! ’

‘What is crazy? Being realistic? Let’s assume he is real, and he gets out of prison, what then? Do you really believe this will be a happy ever after? You will be a cute couple, doing cute coupley things? Open your eyes, Maya! He’s been locked for seven years, he has no idea what’s outside, who will give him a job? Are you ready to be his babysitter? What do you know about his past? Nothing, only a few bits that aren’t pretty. What if he goes back to old habits, gangs, criminal world. Are you ready to follow him? Since when you got so soft and fucking naïve and weak? Life is not a pretty fairytale.’

I just stood there with my mouth open lost for words.

‘ I just wanted you to know that I won’t be sticking around if you choose him. I have a career I can’t allow myself being linked to a murderer.’

This was the point where she crossed the line, I couldn’t sit there and listen to the bullshit that was coming out of her mouth.

‘ He is not a murderer Gemma! He is innocent! Why you hate him so much!? We proved his innocence last night! How can you say all that? You suppose to be my friend. Didn’t you say you want me to be happy? So guess what … Finally, I can see a possibility to be happy, after everything, after moths taking medications to be able to function every day. After sleepless miserable nights, I can finally live normally Gemma. And if you don’t like it .. well .. it is your call.’ I really hoped she will understand.

‘ You see, that’s the problem with you. Is always you. I’m sick of it Maya, I’m sick of being the second, always ‘’the friend’’, your shadow. You are always the centre of attention. Wherever you walk, everyone sees you, everyone adores you, and I am always behind. I’m sick of cleaning your mess all the time, making sure that you are OK… I told you to don’t get involved with Luke, but you didn’t listen to me, he nearly killed you, and you still felt sorry for him. He was a fucking junky, stealing your stuff and selling it for drugs, and you still felt sorry for him. And I was there listening to your bullshit every day telling you to leave him. But you didn’t listen to me. The fantastic Maya with her golden heart trying to help a junky, and when shit went down, everyone felt sorry for you. Poor Maya went through hell, but you put yourself in this shit. And you are doing it again…I’m tired Maya.. tired of being a second-best, you always get the best, and I am left with scraps. Every guy I ever laid my eyes on was interested in you … not me … you. Even Greg… still hoping you might change your mind. And now, you choosing a criminal again… I can’t … I can’t be here for you anymore.’ She was angry, her tone was cold, this wasn’t my friend; this was someone else.

‘ Are you serious right now ?! How can you say that? I’ve been there for you every time you needed me, in college when your parents were divorcing I sat with you every night making sure you are OK. Helping you with your studies so you can pass the year. I stepped out if off my comfort zone every time you needed me. I’ve always put you; first, every guy I ever liked, you wanted so as a good friend. I always stepped aside for you to have fun for a few nights and toss them away like a used toy! So many potential relationships left for you play with. Why do you think I end up with Luke, huh?! Because I knew you wouldn’t want him so I finally could have someone just to myself, no matter how fucked up he was, but he was the only mine… Who risked her job to save your stupid ass when you decided to sleep with your married boss and got fired?! I did! I lied to Greg told him you have a finance degree so you could get a job. I’ve been helping you every day to do simple shit, just to don’t raise suspicions and don’t get you fired… I stepped away again for you and Greg because you wanted him. I could give him a chance, I could try to love him, but I didn’t because of you, for you to be happy. And what did you do? Fucked him a few times as you always do, just to get a promotion. I let that slip… because that‘s what friends do. I am baffled…I had no idea you really thought I am such a bad friend?’

‘Is pointless to try to explain it to you. You won’t understand, you are too perfect to understand. I need to be by myself for a while, think about what to do with my life. You choose a different path. And I am happy for you, but I can’t be here for you with this. I can’t be your friend, not like that. You choose him, and that’s ok. But I can’t be a part of this, I need to think about my career and reputation. He is a criminal, if you can see the cons of this relationship, I am not the person to hold your hand this time’ She got up and walked to the living room to grab her laptop bag ‘Greg and I broke up, there is no point for me to try with him if he still thinks about you. I am also looking for another job I’m hoping to find something soon’ She looked at me and walked to the door

I stood in the middle of the kitchen, I couldn’t believe it. I was hurt, angry and confused.

I just lost my best friend, well someone who I thought was my best friend.

I called Greg and told him I will be working from home for the next few weeks. I promised him to explain everything, but he sounded like he already knew.

I focused on work that day, trying to forget what happened that morning. After everything, I’ve done for her. Is that what a bad friend does? Caring? Maybe I didn’t do enough?

Later in the afternoon when I thought it can’t be worse I heard back from Austin, the judge decided he won’t be released yet, but they postponed his execution. Police were looking for Bennie. I knew it is not going to take long because I told them where I left him, that’s why I had to spend so much time at the station, filing a report, it was self-defence after all.

But a few hours later Bennie’s been arrested and put in the same jail as Austin.

He was in grave danger, with Bennie and his thugs being there he could be killed. So his lawyer managed to get him an immediate transfer to another prison, but that meant we might lose contact if he couldn’t smuggle his phone. This was shit, but his life was more important than that, we could figure something out. My dad knows people, I could always find a way.

In a matter of minutes, he was gone, just like that. From now on, I had no idea if he was OK, if the transfer was successful, where he was. Only thing I knew was how much I loved him, he was everything I’ve got to keep me sane, he was my happiness wherever he was.

#austin #austin russo fanfic #austin russo #lovelink fanfic #lovelink austin

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crossbows-and-moonshine · 5 years ago

Text

For the birthday girl!

For @risingphoenix761 because it's her birthday!!!

Happy day of birth, thank you for being born you amazing human. :)

Continue on for some MacManus goodness.

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Gemma made her way home from work leisurely, just enjoying the walk and the cool breeze. She often found herself peering in shop windows on her way and just admiring things, and today it was a beautiful silver necklace that caught her eye in the jeweller's window. It had an ornate Celtic style design on it, it was really pretty. She suddenly felt her purse being yanked off her shoulder, jostling her whole body as it left. Her head whipped around only to see some asshole running off with it, like fuck she was going to just stand there, naturally she started chasing him.

“The fuck dude?!” She called out, furious someone tried to steal her fucking purse. It wasn't so much that it had valuable stuff inside, it was the principle of the whole thing.

She was running down the street when she noticed two men stood outside an Irish pub, she hadn't ever been in there but she had been tempted more than a few times. They were chatting to each other as she approached, the man still running in front of her. The men looked on and as the guy reached them, the brown-haired boy stuck his foot out, sending him tumbling to the ground with a thud and a groan. The blonde one crouched down, tearing the purse from his grasp and tossing it the darker haired guy. Gemma was panting as she caught up, trying to get her lungs to work and fill up once again as she looked on curiously.

“It’s not very polite te steal a ladies purse now is it?” The blonde one smirked as he stood up, looking down at the man.

“Aye, didn’t yer Ma teach ye any manners?” The other one huffed, glaring at him. The asshole was still on the floor looking up at them unsure of what they might do.

“Well go on then, fuck off!” The darker boy growled, making the man scramble to his feet and scurry off. Gemma couldn't really blame him, the scowl the guy was sporting looked pretty menacing. But as he looked at her, it practically melted off his face and he gave her a lopsided grin.

“Thank you.” She smiled, still slightly breathless. She was looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to hand her the purse, but he just held it almost like he forgot he had it. The lighter haired one looked to him with a quirked brow, looking more than amused.

“Suits ye Murph.” He smirked, making the other one frown confused and look down, his eyes widening as he realised.

“Oh fuck, sorry girl.” He said sheepishly, the tips of his ears turning pink as the lighter haired one laughed at him.

“I’m Connor, this is me brother Murphy.” He smiled warmly at her, making her return it.

“I’m Gemma. Thanks...for this.” She said softly with a smile.

“No need te thank us love. We did what anyone would do.” Murphy replied with a shrug.

“Not anyone, I ran past quite a few people that didn't bother to help.” She snorted, making the boys glance to each other. They never understood how people could watch on when something bad was happening, it just wasn't in them to do that.

“Can I buy you a drink or something? To say thanks?” She asked, her eyes darting to the pub behind them.

“Ye don’t have te lass. It’s fine.” Connor reassured, making her shake her head.

“No, I want to.” She insisted. Both boys grinned at her.

“Aye alright.” Murphy smirked as he lead the way inside.

It was a little crowded and louder than she thought it would be but she didn't mind it, the atmosphere was pretty laid back. The boys lead her to a booth and sat down next to each other as she took a seat opposite them.

“What would ye like te drink lass?” Connor asked with a charming smile. They were both devilishly handsome if she was honest, the accent didn't hurt any either.

“Uh, whatever you guys have.” She said as she rummaged around in her purse before pulling out some money.

“Nah, this one’s on us love, ye can buy the next one.” Murphy said with a smirk, making her raise a brow. She wasn't really planning on more than one drink but she couldn't find it in her to say anything.

“Okay.” She relented, stuffing the money in her jacket pocket so it would be easier to get to later.

She lost count of the number of rounds bought, but the little fuckers ended up paying for all of them. She was too inebriated to mention it though, she kept remembering and went to say something, only to be distracted by something funny the boys said or watching them amused as they bickered back and forth. The three of them were ridiculously drunk by this point.

“Ye wanna come back te ours? Saves ye a trip home and all wit’ ye bein’ sloshed.” Murphy asked her, that devilish grin plastered on his face. She shrugged as she slurped the last of her beer and she was too drunk to notice the look the brothers gave each other. They all got up and got their coats on leaving the bar into the chilly night air.

She swayed on her feet and the brothers were no better, what was it about fresh air that made you feel drunker? Murphy slung an arm around her shoulder and she glanced at him with a grin. She was practically staring at him, her alcohol-soaked brain malfunctioning at how pretty he was, she found it hard to look away. His smirk told her he was loving it though, being openly admired. She broke out of her stupor by Connor wrapping an arm around her waist and when she looked to her left to look at him, he gave her a cheeky wink. The walk home was amusing, the boys bickering and singing along to songs she didn't even know but she was enjoying herself.

“Come In, Come In, we'll do the best we can.” Murphy belted out obnoxiously.

“Come In, Come In, bring yer whole bloody clan.” Connor continued dramatically, making an inelegant snort leave her lips.

“Take it nice and easy and we'll take ye by the hand, set ye down and treat ye decent,' I'm an Irish man!” The finished, having her in stitches at their theatrics.

Soon enough they were at their place, she didn't know what she was expecting but the booze probably helped lessen the fear of stepping foot in the place without a hazmat suit on. She pulled off her coat and tossed it onto the couch carelessly, watching as the brothers took their coats off too and their rosaries and hung them on the nails near the door. They had a way of moving in smooth synchronisation with each other that just fascinated her. She didn't even realise she was staring again until she caught Murphy's eye and he smirked. He sauntered over, seemingly graceful even when he’d had one too many to drink, she bit her lower lip as he stood right in front of her, in her personal space.

“So love, whose bed ye wanna share?” He asked with a quirked brow, making her glance to the mattresses.

“Can we push them together?” She asked, drunk Gemma really wanted to be in the middle of these two gorgeous Irishmen, she wasn't about to lie to herself, she was far too drunk. Murphy glanced to Connor questionably and Connor grinned, walking over and pushing his mattress until it met his brothers, making one big bed.

“Seems good te me.” He shrugged before peeling his shirt off.

Once again she was left staring at them as they undressed into their boxers. She really couldn't help herself.

“Ye gonna get ready for bed then Gemma?” Murphy snorted at her, making her cheeks flush as she nodded. She kicked off her shoes and shimmied out of her pants, turning around to remove her bra without taking her shirt off. She placed the clothes on the beat-up couch before walking over to the mattresses, noticing how the boys left space for her in the middle. She got in, laying on her back under the cover and her eyes fluttered closed. She was startled with she felt them wrap their arms around her, but it felt nice. She started drifting off again when she felt Murphy's hands start to wander south, her breathing hitching wondering where he was going with this. At the same time, Connors' hand slipped up her shirt and she gasped when he palmed her breast softly. Murphy took the opportunity to slide his fingers into her panties and a soft moan left her lips when he rubbed her clit teasingly. She opened her eyes, glancing to Murphy and they locked eyes for a minute.

It was intense, having both of them touch her that way and if she wasn't drunk she might have felt a little self-conscious about having all of that attention. Murphy slipped two fingers inside of her as Connor pinched her nipple and a louder moan left her lips, she saw how Murphy's eyes darkened and she heard Connor rumble a growl. The next thing she knew, Murphy's lips were crashing onto hers, kissing her bruisingly and stealing the air from her lungs. She felt Connor kissing and nipping her neck, since she was kissing his brother, the angle was perfect. Every touch had her moaning into the kiss as her back arched up, feeling the fire starting to ignite inside of her. Connors hand left her breast and started trailing down her stomach at a teasingly slow rate as Murphy finally came up for air. She turned to Connor then and he leaned in, kissing her deeply, slower than his brother but it still made her toes curl.

Connors' hand joined the party then, rubbing circles around her clit as Murphy fucked her with his fingers, curling them and hitting that sweet spot inside of her, making her moan wantonly against Connors' lips. She bit her lip, trying to stifle the moans so the whole of Boston didn't fucking hear her as her body writhed in pleasure.

“Let us hear ye love.” Murphy growled into her ear, nipping it teasingly.

“Aye, cum for us lass.” Connor purred, rubbing her clit a little faster. It was like the dam broke as a keening moan left her lips, her back arching up off the bed. The boys watched her with rapt attention as she fell over the edge, riding out her high. When she finally came back down to earth, her body went limp and she felt weightless, her eyes fluttering closed. The boys withdrew their hands, Murphy sucking his clean as Connor rubbed her lips with his fingers, making her open her eyes, blinking at him tiredly. He slipped his fingers inside of her mouth with a smirk, watching as she sucked them clean for him.

When he removed them, she hummed softly. The combination of the alcohol and the mind-blowing orgasm the boys gave her left her exhausted and she had no control over her eyelids anymore, they felt like lead. They closed once more and within seconds, she was out like a light, making the brothers glance to each other amused.

“Fuckin’ hell, maybe we shouldn't let her drink so much next time.” Murphy snorted, adjusting his hard cock through his boxer as he tried to ignore it, curling around her. Connor just barked a laugh at him, laying on his side and wrapping an arm above his brothers around her.

Taglist; @daryldixonandfrogs @arlaina28 @divadinag

#boondock saints #boondock saints drabble #boondock saints imagine #murphy macmanus #murphy macmanus imagine #murphy macmanus drabble #connor macmanus #connor macmanus imagine #connor macmanus drabble

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thirstygirlclub · 6 years ago

Text

Candy - Juice x Male Reader

This weeks Male Reader Monday! Sorry it’s late! I stayed up until 4am to write this so please be kind!

The club sat around the table waiting for Clay to call the meeting into session. The sound of his phone clattering into the box with the rest of them before he sat at the head of the table.

“Ok, that was Jury,” he said when he sat down, “we have a package to pick up and look after for him.”

“A package? Clay you know we don’t do drugs-” Jax started to say and shuffled in his seat.

“It’s not drugs. It’s a person. A stripper. We’re looking after her while Jury gets his club up and running in Vegas.”

All the guys started whooping and Chibs drummed on the table excitedly. The thought of looking after a stripper thrilled them. They talked among themselves about who was going to fuck her first, what would she be like and speculating over what she would look like.

“Where are we getting her from?” Jax asked once they had calmed down.

“Candy’s gonna meet us in a motel in Modesto,” Clay chuckled at the name, “and we’re gonna bring her back here until Jury’s ready. We set off in a couple of days, get yourselves ready boys.”

Your legs were splayed out in front of you as you sat on the sidewalk outside the motel. Your baggy jeans dragged across the dusty ground of the parking lot. The lollipop that you had bought rattled over your teeth while you absentmindedly stared off into the distance as the sound of motorcycles filled the air. That was your ride.

They turned into the parking lot and cast a skeptical glance over you as they parked up and looked around. Two men started talking among themselves quietly. One pulled out a phone from their pocket and dialed a number before putting it to his ear. Your phone immediately started ringing in your pocket and you smirked.

“Hello?” You asked, eyes not leaving the guy with the phone.

“Candy?” They said incredulously and you chuckled darkly.

“Turn around Babe, I’m all packed and ready for you.”

He spun around to look at you, holding the phone to your ear and smirking. All of their eyes went wide as you stood up and ended the call. You dragged your bag across the concrete towards the men, rolling the candy around in your mouth as you looked over them.

“(Y/N),” you introduced the man with the phone.

“Jax,” he said with a disbelieving laugh then proceeded to introduce you to all of his friends.

“Sorry we were just expecting... a girl, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah I get it,” you shrugged, “Jury didn’t explain about his club? All male strip club in Vegas. He’s gonna make mega-bucks, man. Women are horny too. You should think about it.”

Jax laughed again and shook his head. The tall man, Opie, grabbed your bag and threw it into the back of the van. You couldn’t help feeling unnerved by the van but climbed in anyway; they couldn’t do anything to hurt you when they were supposed to be watching you. Jury was completely paranoid that someone from another club would try and get to you. There was a couple of other clubs that owned businesses in Vegas and they would do anything to get to Jury’s club.

You had a feeling they would have expected a girl stripper. The look on all of their faces when they realised you were a dude was the funniest thing you had seen for a while. On the journey to Charming you played on your phone, texting your friends as their prospect drove. He was chatty enough, a little awkward maybe, but friendly.

“You think I could be a stripper?” Half-Sack asked, “Like, would I make money?”

“Beef up a bit,” You told him, not looking up from your phone, “then sure.”

He shuffled around in his seat, almost in excitement and nodded. He was funny.

You were shown into their clubhouse. None of the car/motorcycle stuff interested you particularly but you could appreciate good decor when you saw it.

“Here’s how it’s gonna go,” Clay told you, “you don’t go anywhere without one of us. You come to the clubhouse everyday. You ride in the van if you wanna go anywhere.”

“Seriously? I’m on lockdown?” You scoffed and crossed your arms as you leaned against the pool table.

“You’re Jury’s prize pony,” Chibs laughed.

“So I’m living... where? Here?”

“You’re gonna be Juice’s ward,” Clay continued and pointed over to the young, smiley man, “since he has a spare room for you.”

“I’ve lived with uglier people,” You winked at them, “I’m sure I can cope.”

Lockdown was not fun at all. Sometimes a guy just wants to go somewhere alone and not have to worry about annoying your babysitter and there was absolutely nothing of interest in TM for you. They had tried to get you helping around the garage to curb your boredom but if anything cars made it worse. You just ended up lounging around dramatically.

What you really waited for was when the work day ended and you could go back to Juice’s house because he had a million games and gaming systems that you would play together. You particularly liked the violent war games which was fine by Juice. He was actually shocked about how good you were at them; you often beat him.

“How has it only been two weeks?!” You lamented as you lay across the seats in the cash office, “When’s Jury going to get his shit together?”

Gemma laughed as she sorted through the files. When suddenly there was running footsteps and Juice burst through the open door.

“Shit,” he breathed, “I thought you’d gone. Clay would have killed me. Since when do you come in here?”

You turned your head to him and raised your eyebrows at him, “Since I found out how much more interesting it is in here with Gemma than it is out there with you.”

Juice rolled his eyes and stepped in, folding his arms over his chest and looking at you completely unimpressed.

“Clay nearly had my ass when he saw you missing.”

You snorted out a laugh and lay back down. In your opinion they had taken the whole baby sitting thing way out of proportion. Juice especially. If you weren’t in his line of sight at all times he would get worried but maybe that was something to do with Clay.

“Gemma’s babysitting me now. At ease soldier.”

Juice laughed and went to sit on your legs but you moved them just in time; lifting them so he could sit on the chairs and then put them across his lap. Gemma looked across you both with a sly smile but kept looking down at the files.

“You boys seem to be getting close,” she observed innocently.

“(Y/N)’s great at COD,” Juice said excitedly and drummed his hands on your shins, “We’ve beat almost everyone online! Never had someone as good before. Don’t tell Hap though; he’ll kill me.”

Gemma laughed but promised she wouldn’t. Clay started shouting for Juice to go back to work and he groaned. He moved your legs off of him and stood up but tugged at your shirt to tell you that you had to go as well. You bid goodbye to Gemma and followed Juice back out to the garage, squinting in the sun.

You and Juice grew closer as your time in Charming went on. It went beyond just gaming and you would go to the gym together so you could keep fit for when you eventually went to Nevada with the other charter. He was a good gym buddy and always encouraged you and pushed you to do more and you would do the same for him. It was a good partnership.

It was obvious that you would get close when you lived together for a while but every now and again you would catch Juice looking at you. It was when he thought you weren’t looking or couldn’t see him but you could always feel it. You didn’t think he was into guys; you had seen him with enough girls but you also knew that didn’t really mean anything. He might just not be open about his feelings.

Often, when he was drunk, Juice would become more emotional with you; the facade of tough biker guy would slip and he would open up to you. You would sit together on the couch and he would just talk. He tried to hide his tears the first few times but when you had wiped his eyes for him, hugged him and told him it was ok, he stopped hiding it. You knew he had been holding in everything for a long, long time and just needed to express how he felt.

“I’m sorry,” Juice slurred after one night of off loading, “I feel bad talking to you about this shit.”

“Nah,” you waved off his comment, “we’re friends, right? You’ve been through some messed up shit. It’s good to talk about it.”

Juice wiped his eyes and nodded. You rubbed his shoulder in a way that you hoped was comforting and smiled at him. Then Juice got a determined look on his face, like he had decided something, then suddenly leaned forwards. His hand went to your cheek clumsily as he pressed his lips to yours. You gasped lightly then pressed back; closing your eyes and kissing him back. But, almost as soon as you did he pulled back quickly then scrambled back away from you. You looked at him feeling both rejected and confused. He said nothing as he stood up and stumbled through the house to go to his room.

The next day, Juice acted like nothing happened. He talked like normal and whenever you tried to bring it up he changed the subject quickly so you just gave up, chalking it up to him being drunk and emotional.

The day finally came for you to leave. It had taken Jury a month to get his strip club up and running but now all he needed was his dancers. From what you had gathered you were the only guy from out of town. All you needed to do was wait for the Nevada charter to arrive to take you to your new home.

“Today’s the day, huh?” Juice asked over his morning coffee, “How do you feel?”

“Can’t wait!” You grinned, “I’m finally gonna be able to go out on my own!”

There was something behind his smile that you couldn’t place but you ignored it.

At the garage you met with Jury. He greeted you in a friendly way, shaking your hand and patting your shoulder firmly. He was the one that had offered you this big job and you couldn’t wait to get started.

“Ready to go?” Jury asked you after they had had a few drinks and greeted their friends.

“Yeah, just give me a second to say bye to everyone.”

You went around the club, hugging them and saying goodbye cheerily but when you got to Juice you felt slightly less than happy. You pulled him into a hug that maybe lasted longer than you had planned, rubbed his back and squeezed him slightly.

“You’re gonna be good, ok?” You told him quietly, “And I got your username and whatever so we can still play online together. Right?”

“Yeah,” Juice said hoarsely, “yeah, sure.”

“Thanks for looking after me, Juice.”

He nodded and stepped back from you then folded his arms. You said your final goodbyes then climbed into Nevada charter’s van; excited to be starting your new life in Las Vegas.

With you gone Juice’s house seemed empty. You worked at night in the strip club so your online gaming sessions were rare but when they did happen it was like nothing had changed. You talked over the microphone during the games but he felt like he couldn’t be the same as when he spoke to you in person.

It took him a long time to come to terms with his feelings but he couldn’t stop thinking about kissing you, then he couldn’t stop thinking of the way you had kissed him back. It wasn’t just the kiss though, it was everything about the way you had been with him and how you listened to his past, how you had wiped away his tears and hugged him.

That was when Juice realised that he loved you.

He didn’t care that it was the middle of the night or that he had work in a couple of days. He grabbed his keys and a hoodie before he slipped his kutte over his shoulders. Then, with only the map on his phone to lead the way, he started his journey to Vegas.

The trip was long and painful; sitting on a motorcycle for 10 hours wasn’t the most fun thing he had done but it was necessary. With only a couple of stops along the way he entered the city of Las Vegas at 10am. He only knew the name of the club and not where it was that you lived. He cursed himself for never getting your address. He decided to wait outside the club either until you or someone else showed up.

Eventually, at 12pm a woman parked up outside. She glanced over Juice’s kutte and immediately recognised who he was.

“You one of Jury’s boys?” She asked as she unlocked the door.

“Nah,” Juice shook his head, “Clay’s. I’m looking for one of your dancers. (Y/N). Candy?”

“Got himself into trouble has he? He lives in an apartment on Theresa Avenue. You want the address?”

Juice nodded.

You rolled out of bed when there was a rapid knock on your door. For a moment you thought it could have been police or drug dealers but there was no reason for either of them to be at your apartment. When you opened the door for a split second you saw Juice looking tired and emotional before he all but tackled you into a hug.

“Juice?!” You asked incredulously, not believing your eyes, “What are-”

Then he cupped your cheeks slightly too roughly then pressed his lips to yours. It was like last time except this time there wasn’t the faint taste of beer or tears. He didn’t even let you speak before he pushed you into the apartment and closed the door.

“What-”

“I love you,” Juice mumbled against your lips, “I love you. Please, (Y/N) just- please.”

You nodded, agreeing with whatever he was saying when he was pressing you up against the wall like he was. You grabbed the front of his kutte and dragged him through to your bedroom.

#sons of anarchy #male reader #male reader monday #juice ortiz #juice ortiz imagine #juice ortiz fanfiction #juice ortiz headcanon #juice ortiz x reader #sons of anarchy fanfiction #sons of anarchy imagine #sons of anarchy headcanon

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h-styles-babes · 6 years ago

Text

What About Us? | Part XII

I know it’s been literal forever since I last updated, and I apologize. But I just couldn’t get myself to write anything substantial for this story for the longest time. And then I realised why. Because this is the end for these two and their little bub. They’ve had their challenges and crossed those bridges and now they get their happily ever after. So this chapter spans quite a bit of time.

Even though this is the last official chapter, i will be posting an epilogue, hopefully sooner rather than later. Thank you all so much for coming along with me on this journey that stemmed from an anon’s request months and months ago. Wherever they are, I hope this story did your idea justice. xx

TWELVE

Life regained its normalcy after the holidays, albeit a hectic normalcy, but one void of press appearances and shows and meetings with music executives.

Harry and Val spent the day before and Christmas Eve with Val’s family to fit in their festivities. There was a lot of cooking and reteaching Harry how to make tamales while Mateo teased him about how lumpy and uneven his masa was spread. However, Julia reminded Mateo he had no room to talk because he’d taken the easy task of filling the tamales and wrapping them. She’d then given Harry constructive feedback about how to better spread the masa, to which he’d stuck his tongue out at Mateo. Val loved seeing her family and Harry getting along so well again. There’d been a time when Harry had come back into her life that she thought they wouldn’t be on good terms ever again. But they’d absorbed Harry back into their close family easily, and the fact that they all adored Milo and loved how great of a dad Harry was definitely didn’t hurt.

They hadn’t told anyone that they’d gotten engaged, since they’d agreed on a long engagement, but Val never removed the ring from her finger now that it had gone back down to its normal size after giving birth. Her mum didn’t pick up on it until Val was helping her to soak the husks in hot water before they’d started their tamale-making. Val had been pulling a handful from the water and wringing them out when she heard her mother gasp. Fearing she’d cut herself or burned herself or something of the like, Val quickly dropped the husks and turned to her mother beside her. However, before she could make a passing glance to assess whatever injury she was expecting, her mum grabbed her left hand, nearly yanking Val’s arm from the socket with her eagerness.

“¿Qué es esto?” she questioned excitably, rubbing her thumb over the abnormally shaped ring with reverence.

“El anillo de compromiso,” Val told her, trying to retain her grin. She knew her mother would be a bit upset when she told her when Harry proposed and how long they’d kept it from her, but she was still excited. She also knew Julia would be upset when she told her that they weren’t getting married any time soon, but she’d probably take that a bit better.

“He proposed?” Julia nearly squealed, taking a closer look at the ring. “Qué bonita! When?” She had that gleam in her eyes that she got every time something romantic happened. She was in for a surprise when Val told her exactly how and when Harry proposed, but her upset with him was only momentary after Val assured her she wouldn’t want it any other way.

That night turned into a celebration of their engagement and a promise that they’d tell Julia right away once they actually started planning for the wedding. They both assured her that that wouldn’t happen for a while yet, but she was still satisfied to be counted in the loop.

On Christmas morning, Val, Harry and Milo made the drive up to Holmes Chapel to spend the next few days with Harry’s family. Anne was quicker than her own mother to spot the ring on Val’s finger, and she congratulated them both before stealing their son for some Gran and Milo time, as she dubbed it.

They exchanged gifts when Gemma showed up with Michael, and Anne had a roast prepared for dinner. When Gemma found out about the engagement, Harry teased her about being younger and the first one getting married. Gemma just rolled her eyes in good nature, but Val caught the look on Michael’s face. If he wasn’t already planning on proposing, the idea definitely sat well with him and was fixed in his head. She’d be surprised if he wasn’t calling Harry up in the next year asking if it was alright if he asked his sister to marry him.

Their engagement snuck by the press and the fans for months. They never publicly announced it and never felt the need to, since everyone’s interest was still on Milo, which was fine by them. They posted their photos every once in a while, and people got their fix from mostly Anne’s account, who was more than happy to share photos of her first grandchild. Also, Val didn’t go out much, seeing as she was still on maternity leave until February, and when Harry went out and was confronted by paparazzi, they asked about the baby or his upcoming tour, not his relationship status.

But all good things come to an end, and Harry and Val finally stepped out of the house together, sans Milo, in January. They’d set aside some time for a date night and dropped Milo off with Julia and Rick for the evening. Harry had made reservations at their favourite sushi restaurant, which Val was very excited for, since she hadn’t had raw fish since she’d found out she was pregnant. Even if they were mobbed by paparazzi, she wouldn’t be deterred because she was only focused on getting to experience the delight of spicy tuna again.

They made it inside the restaurant with no fanfare. It was a Thursday, and while the restaurant was mildly busy, it wasn’t bustling like it would have been on the weekend. They were sat in a corner, slightly removed from the other customers, but not too far that they seemed completely standoffish, just enough to give them some privacy. There hadn’t seemed to be any whispers as they were sat, and no one seemed to be paying particular attention to them as they ordered drinks.

Their meal went swimmingly with no interruptions and the ease of two people in love having some time together again after the birth of their son. Val never stopped smiling and Harry maintained a moony look on his face all evening. They were completely blissed out with each other the entire time, enjoying their first night as parents without their baby. And while they missed him terribly and occasionally allowed the conversation to revolve around him, they were grateful for the opportunity to step away. Val would be starting back at work soon, and Harry’s tour resumed in March, so who knew when they’d get tome together like this again?

When they exited the restaurant a few hours later, there were a few paparazzi outside, but nothing crazy, and Harry was able to politely move past them with a few greetings, answers to questions, and well wishes. Val kept her hand up over her eyes, still not accustomed to the bright flashes of the cameras, and she allowed Harry to guide her to car.

“Well, that wasn’t too bad,” she commented as Harry made his way out of the car park, careful to avoid any straggling photographers.

“No, could’ve been much worse,” Harry agreed. He reached across the center console and took hold of Val’s hand. “Now let’s go home and enjoy havin’ the house to ourselves for a night.”

When they awoke the next morning, it was to Harry’s phone buzzing on the nightstand. It was much too early for them to be awake after how late they’d been up the night before, but when Harry saw it was Jeff, he knew he had to answer it.

“Jeffrey. It’s very early on a Friday, and I’m not working. Why are yeh callin’ me?” he grumbled. Val stirred beside him, groaning into his shoulder when she realised they weren’t going back to sleep.

“Well, I was woken up in the middle of the night by every major magazine in America and the UK asking for a statement on the ring Val’s got on her finger, so we’re in the same boat, H.”

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed and he sat up a little in bed. Val grumbled again peeked an eye open at him. When she realised the look on his face was not necessarily good, she huffed and sat up too. They definitely weren’t going back to sleep any time soon.

“What are yeh talkin’ about?” Harry asked his friend.

“When you and Val went out last night, someone got photos of that ring on her finger. So will you please tell me if it’s a statement piece or did you actually get engaged and not tell me?”

Luckily, Jeff didn’t sound upset and more amused than anything, but Harry was still a little concerned about the fact that their engagement would be out.

“We’re engaged. We just haven’t really told anyone besides out families,” Harry told him.

“Thanks a lot, Hersh,” Jeff teased. “Well, congratulations, but what am I telling the press?”

Val requested the phone from Harry with a polite wave of her hand. He figured he’d let her handle this one this time.

“Jeff, just let ‘em know we’re engaged but not gettin’ married any time soon. We’re like Liam and Miley. Just enjoyin’ bein’ together.”

“Funnily enough, they broke up before getting engaged, too.”

“Hilarious,” Val deadpanned.

“You know I love you,” he reassured to appease her. “Alright, I’ll let them know. There’ll definitely be some fan backlash, but hopefully it’ll be minor considering how much they seem to love Milo.”

“Our little saving grace,” Val agreed. “Would you like to speak to Harry again?”

“No, we’re good. Now go back to sleep. Heard it was your first night without the little guy.”

“It was. You go back to bed too,” Val insisted seriously. “It’s nearly half one over there.”

“As soon as I get a statement out, I’ll be back in bed, promise.”

“Goodnight, Jeffrey.” Val hung up the phone and handed it back to Harry. “All sorted. Now, back to sleep.”

She tucked herself back in under their cosy blankets and Harry chuckled at her.

“Should’ve hired yeh on as part of my staff. Handled that like a pro,” he joked, settling back in beside her.

Her eyes were already closed. “I’m just not in the mood for the press to run our lives this year. I’m a mum now; I’m not takin’ shit from anyone, including the press or your nasty fans.”

“They’re not all bad,” Harry defended, pressing his lips to her forehead.

“That’s why I specified. Now sleep. Mum’s droppin’ Milo off at noon and I’m knackered.”

A confirmation of their engagement went exactly as they’d expected it would. A majority of the fans on social media were excited and congratulatory of the news, citing how great it would be for Milo for his parents to be married and how long-time coming this news was, considering how long Val and Harry had been together. There was a small group that weren’t happy, per se, but acknowledged that Harry could do whatever he wanted with his life, and if this made him happy, it was fine by them. And then there were those that were downright nasty, and Val made sure just to scroll past all those comments and posts without a second glance.

This was her life and her family. And she was being honest about not giving a shit about what press or fans had to say about any of it. She reminded Harry of these things when he came home concerned from the grocery store one day after being bombarded by paps. He was a bit more frazzled than usual and kept asking Val if she was holding up alright, but she promised him she was fine, and they’d be the last thing on people’s minds eventually.

By the time Val returned to work in mid-February, that seemed to be the case. She was able to walk into the studio every morning without wayward fans standing by, waiting for a chance to get a picture of her or ask her about the engagement.

Nick, however, was all over her as soon as she walked in, even though he’d definitely seen her in her time away. In fact, he’d been round for dinner just the week prior and had posted some cute photos of Milo onto his Instagram to commemorate it.

The months passed quicker than either Harry or Val would have liked. Before they knew it, Harry was leaving for his second tour, and Milo was already six months old. Unfortunately, Milo and Val couldn’t join him for this one, due to Val being back at work, so they got by with daily FaceTimes, constant calls, and flowing text conversations between Val and Harry. Val was getting antsy having Harry away for so long, but she sated both her and Milo’s need to feel near to him by blasting his album throughout the house. Milo was absolutely smitten with his father’s voice, and he bounced along happily in his little saucer when he heard him.

Milo was crawling by the time Harry left, and by mid-April, he was nearly sprinting across the house on his knees. Val had had to invest in some of those little pads for his knees, because he was getting bruised from crawling around on their hardwood floors. He followed his mummy around everywhere and was happy to move back and forth just as she did when she was getting ready for work in the morning.

Val had started using her mum as a babysitter for Milo, since she wasn’t keen on the idea of getting a nanny, even though Harry had suggested it on more than one occasion. Val was set on being a normal family, though, and normal families didn’t have nannies, and they used their already-structured support system to raise their child. Since Harry was gone, too, Anne came nearly every weekend, spending time with Milo so that Val could get work done and have a little down time to herself, since she was basically a single parent when Harry was away. She got a little time to visit with her old flatmates and Nick in a non-work sense, which she found really helped her wind down from her long weeks of working and being a parent.

Before she knew it, Harry was arriving back in London. As he stepped into the house, Val could tell he was absolutely exhausted from his travels and all the shows he’d done, but she was sure she’d never seen a larger smile on his face than in that moment. It was midday, so Milo was sat in his saucer, clumsily tinkering with all the little toys that were attached to the tray. He’d just woken from a nap only twenty minutes before, so he was especially zealous when he realised Harry was back. He squealed like Val had become used to when he got excited, and started bouncing vigorously. Harry scooped him up and promptly covered him in kisses, causing him to giggle.

“He’s missed you,” Val told Harry as he sunk down into the couch beside her.

“I’ve missed him, too. Hated not bein’ here with yeh,” Harry said, looking first at their son and then at Val. “What about mummy, huh? She miss me, too?” The look in his eyes was a look that Val had definitely missed in the time that he was gone. Their longing for one another could only be expressed so well over Skype.

“Immensely,” Val told him. She leaned over and pressed a quick but firm kiss to his waiting mouth. “However, our reunion will have to wait until this one goes to bed tonight.”

“How’re we doin’ on the sleeping front?” Harry asked.

Milo had started going longer between waking up throughout the night, since he was able to go longer without feeding, since Val had started introducing soft foods to his diet. They’d started with things like baby food and apple sauce near the six month mark and had gradually worked their way up to things like bananas and rice as he’d gotten more teeth in. Her own mother had suggested waiting until around a year to start giving him more solids, as he’d have more teeth in and a more hardy stomach by that point.

“We’re up to eight whole hours at a time. Been puttin’ him down at around eleven and he’ll wake up around seven to eat, and then he’s back out until nine or ten. I’ve been so rested lately. Think you’ll be able to catch up on sleep easier this time around.”

“That’s great,” Harry hummed, his eyes falling closed as Milo’s little fingers wrapped around one of the longer strands of his hair. “Can’t believe how much I’ve missed.”

Val leaned into Harry’s side and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “He still knows who his daddy is, though. So I think we’re doin’ the best we can.”

“At least he hasn’t started walkin’ yet. Or talkin’,” Harry murmured, reaching up to pull away Milo’s grabby little fingers.

“Think he was waitin’ for you to come back. He’s able to stand himself up, but no steps yet.”

Harry looked into his son’s eyes as the baby stared back at him, flashing his dad a drool-filled grin. “Gonna wait to walk until your dad is around, right? Best not do it when abuelita is watchin’ yeh.”

Milo blew a raspberry and Harry nodded his head. “Thanks, bub.”

Harry and Val fell into a comfortable routine soon after Harry returned from tour. Val would leave for work early in the morning, leaving Milo and Harry together. Milo would wake a few hours after his mum left, and Harry would feed him one of the bottles Val left in the fridge and fall back asleep by the time he finished. As he slept, Harry would fit in a work out and a shower, and by the time Milo woke up again, Harry would have some baby cereal ready for him to eat. They’d spend the morning playing and Harry would read to him all the baby books his mum had suggested to him. They’d work on Milo’s mobility skills, and Harry was convinced he’d have his son walking in no time. By noon, Milo would be ready for some lunch and then a two hour nap where Harry would fit in his own meal and some work stuff. By the time Milo woke up, Val would be back home, and they’d all spend the rest of the day doing whatever errands they needed to do together as a family.

When Harry had a trip to Italy for his Gucci campaign, him and Val used it as a short vacation for the two of them, leaving Milo with Anne for it. Harry and Val spent about a week in Italy, and between Harry’s work obligations, they’d wander around the town, taking in the local culture and having romantic dinners at small little cafes. Harry worked on his Italian, and Val would laugh at him for his pronunciation, but he didn’t mind, because he just enjoyed being with her, even if she was making fun of him most of the time.

When they returned, it was to Milo taking his very first steps when seeing his parents walking through the door of his nan’s house, and both Harry and Val had smothered him in kisses as they celebrated. Milo obviously didn’t know what the big deal was, but he squealed along with everyone else and giggled as their lips tickled his chubby little cheeks. Val posted a video to Instagram and Twitter later that evening to announce his big accomplishment.

Harry walked into the house after a run early in the morning to Milo sitting in his high chair at the kitchen counter while Val stood at the stove, cooking what smelled like eggs, a pot of coffee percolating next to her. Milo was carefully picking up cheerios off his tray, inspecting them, and then popping them in his mouth, then clapping his hands after his successful venture. Valentina was cooing to him in Spanish, and Harry could make out terms of endearment and praises over him doing such a good job with eating on his own.

“Comeremos tan pronto como papá regrese,” she told him. She obviously hadn’t heard Harry come in.

“Papá es aquí,” Harry tried, dropping his phone on the counter. He leaned over and kissed Milo’s forehead after sweeping his hair off his forehead. Milo’s hair had taken on a wave as it had gotten longer, and Harry was glad to see he’d gotten some of his features without the messy curl Harry’s own hair had. He also had his green eyes, but the rest of his face was definitely his mum’s, with Harry’s lighter complexion. He was a cute little kid, objectively, and subjectively, Harry thought he was the cutest baby that ever was.

“Cute,” Val snickered, amused at his attempt. Technically, the sentence was right, but his accent was horrible. He couldn’t seem to drop the English lilt, no matter how much he tried. It was endearing, honestly.

“I’m gonna have to learn more Spanish if we want him to be bilingual,” Harry commented. He grabbed a few pieces of cereal off of Milo’s tray and threw them in his mouth, and his son made an angry grunting sound, making a cute little frowny face.

“You can learn with him,” Val told him, flashing him a smile over her shoulder. She turned off the stove burner and pulled the pan off the heat. “¿Puedes conseguir los platos, cariño?”

Harry didn’t understand half that sentence, but he knew she asked about plates, so he got two glass ones for them and a plastic one for Milo out of the cabinet. Val smiled at him when he handed them to her.

“Think you’ll get long just fine,” she told him.

Harry kissed her. “I’ve got a good teacher.” He winked at her and took the plate full of eggs that she offered him.

Val rolled her eyes. “There’s toast on the table.”

Harry and Val set about getting themselves together to get sat down or breakfast. Milo was rolled to the dining table to join his parents, and Harry took it upon himself this time to feed him in between bites to himself. Val served the two adults mugs of coffee and a sippy cup of watered down cranberry juice for Milo. This was their typical morning when Val and Harry had free mornings.

Nick had graduated from the Breakfast Show to one of the afternoon time slots, and Val had decided to make the move with him, so she had a lot of free mornings these days. She was taking the time to focus on more independent work now, so she was currently working on an opinion piece of current popular events and their place in society. It was coming along nicely, and it wasn’t due out for another two weeks, but Harry was already itching to get his hands on a completed article when it was eventually printed in The Daily Telegraph. One of the editors of the paper had read and liked some of Val’s previous work, so when the opportunity arose for this piece to be featured, they had contacted her to see if she wanted it. Obviously, Val said yes immediately, since it was always her dream to be a proper published journalist. Radio One had been a great platform, and she’d love to work with BBC further as the years went on, but for the time being, she’d take an opportunity wherever she could get it. She was aspiring to commit to written journalism full time once their son got a little bit older and she’d have more free time.

“Someone’s first birthday is comin’ up,” Harry commented as he watched Milo navigate picking up chunks of scrambled eggs and plopping them in his mouth.

“I know, I’ve been thinkin’ about what to do for him,” Val told him. “I really wanna get him a piñata and watch him smash his chubby little hands into a cake.”

“He’s not really gonna be able to hit the piñata,” Harry reasoned, trying to imagine his boy wielding a bat or some sort of stick. He was as coordinated as any nearly one year old should be, but that seemed like a bit much to ask of him yet.

“No, but he’ll get to enjoy candy raining onto the ground, and that’s all that really matters,” Val shrugged, flashing Harry a smile.

Harry chuckled and said he’d agree to help her out when it came to the planning. It was only the beginning of August, so they were still a month out from the big day, and they both agreed to keeping it just family and close friends. It wouldn’t take much to plan, they knew, but it was still exciting that their baby was going to be a year old.

As the three of them sat there and had a simple breakfast together, Val couldn’t help but reflect on how much a whirlwind the last year and a half had been. The Val of early 2017 would have never been able to imagine that this would be her life come August of 2018. When she’d found out she was pregnant, it quite legitimately felt like her world was crumbling in around itself and she had no way of stopping it. She was pregnant with her baby’s father out of the picture after a bit of a heated break up, and her situation was only more complicated by the fact that her ex boyfriend was Harry Styles. It had felt like there was no way to go up from there.

Now, there was no where to go but up. Harry and her had somehow rebuilt their relationship into something that was even more beautiful and fulfilling than it had been before, and they had a beautiful son to show for all their hard work. They could proudly say they were engaged and ready to take on whatever life threw at them together, whether that be the trials and tribulations of Harry’s flourishing solo career or the budding possibilities of Val’s step into journalism, or simply the prospect of having to raise this tiny person they’d created into adulthood. None of it would be easy, but Val was pretty damn certain that they’d kick ass as long as they were together. And she never expected that to change.

So it was no surprise to herself when she blurted out, “Let’s get married.”

Harry looked up at her from where he’d been helping Milo scoop up the last of his eggs to successfully shovel into his mouth. He raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. “I’ve already proposed, darling. I thought we’d already agreed that we’re getting married eventually?”

Val shook her head. “I don’t want eventually. I don’t want to go much longer not being your wife.”

Harry’s smile softened. “You’re ready to start plannin’ a wedding?”

She shook her head again and smiled at him. “I don’t need a fancy wedding, Harry. And I don’t think you’re one for it, either. I just want to be married to you.”

Harry chuckled, seemingly a little shocked but equally excited about the idea of not waiting anymore. “Yeh really think our mums would be happy if we just went and get a license signed at a courthouse tomorrow?”

Val rolled her eyes. “Obviously not. I just meant I don’t want a big production that takes us a year and a half to plan. I want a private ceremony with out closest friends and family and none of the hubbub of something huge. That’s all I want. And considering you’re available for the next few months, why not now?”

Harry leaned across the table, and grasping the back of her head gently, smeared his mouth over hers in a tender kiss that held all the promise of their future. “I think that’s a fantastic idea.”

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