Roman Holiday | h.s

Twenty-Seven *

"You look happy today," Kevin commented, leaning over Anna's desk with a smile.

"I am," she replied simply, unable to keep her grin off her face.

"Who is it?" He asked, which made her roll her eyes.

"Harry, obviously." She hissed, looking around. Everyone in the office had pretty much gotten over it all a few weeks ago, and she didn't want to rehash it.

"You're joking?" He asked and immediately sat down opposite her.

"I'm not! He surprised me yesterday, turns out he's not been ignoring me - I've been accidentally ignoring him." Anna quickly, and quietly. Saying this reminded her that she needed to check her social media.

"What? Details, regazza!" (girl) Kevin exclaimed, making her clamp her hand over his mouth. She glanced up at the clock, realising it was nearly lunch and then released her hand.

"Let's grab lunch, I'll tell you it all there."

So she filled Kevin in on their reunion, who sat with his mouth agape - over pasta.

"But what's going to happen now?" He asked, which she hadn't even thought about. But it was a question that had loomed over Harry's thoughts since last night, he just didn't want to spoil their evening.

He had spent his day packing up his apartment, choosing things to send back home to London and which things to take with him on tour. As it got emptied, he felt a little emptier himself. It finalised that he would be going, that he couldn't just stay in Rome forever with his girl. He had commitments to fulfil and people he couldn't let down. Not to mention, his happiness. He belonged on stages around the world, but he also felt at home with Anna.

He found himself stuck as he had a question he wanted to ask her, but he knew the answer would be no. He just wasn't prepared for it, unfortunately - time was not on his side as he had four days left before he jetted off. So he planned to ask tonight.

When she showed up at five that evening, looking breathtaking as always - he couldn't help but beam at her despite the lingering question at the back of his mind.

"Ciao, Mr Styles." Anna spoke, stepping up on her tiptoes to peck his lips before entering his home.

"Ciao, Miss D'Angelo." He responded, closing the door. When he turned back around he watched as she slowly rotated around, eyes fixated on the living room.

"Così vuoto." (So empty) She whispered.

"I know, it's weird isn't it." He replied, following her eyes around the room. Where there was once photos of them together tucked in the corner of the mirror - they were gone. Various art prints - normally pinned to the walls, also gone. It was void of Harry. She thought that it no longer brought her warmth to be here, it felt cold and empty. The only redeeming factor was that he was still here.

"Should we eat?" He asked, gesturing to the dining room.

"Yes, I'm starving!" She snapped out of her daze and followed him down.

"I brought wine." She told him and lifted a bottle of vintage wine out of her bag to hand to him.

"Oooh, vintage. Very fancy, tesoro." He laughed but brought in the food he had made and some glasses.

"You remembered!" She exclaimed as he brought in the correct glasses for their wine.

"How could I not, I was sternly chastised for using the wrong one before." He laughed, recalling their date where she told him off for pouring it into a champagne flute.

"Apologies, mi amor." She laughed in return and they dug into their food.

"So, I was wondering..." they both spoke the words at the same time, which resulted in their eyes glancing upward to meet each others. Harry gestured for her to go first.

"What happens now?" She asked simply, the question which had been on his lips. The question he had no answer to.

"I was wondering the same," he started.

"I was going to ask you, if you wanted to come on tour with me." He asked, making both of their hearts beat out of their chests. Her initial reaction would have been to jump up and exclaim 'yes!' but living in the real world, she knew it wasn't possible.

"I don't know what to say." She replied slowly.

"Say yes." He pleaded.

"I don't think I can," she admitted quietly, immediately his heart sank.

"It's not that I don't want to, I'd love nothing more than to travel the world with you." She reassured him.

"So say yes?" He was failing to see the reasoning behind her choice.

"I can't. I have a job, I can't just leave for months." She told him, and she could see his brain working in overdrive to try and resolve the obstacle.

"I can get you meetings with other designers, find one that can let you work remotely and-"

"No."

They stared at each other for a moment.

"I love you, so much, Harry. But I don't want you to buy me a career," she sighed, placing her hands over his.

"I'm making so much progress at Gustavo. But I haven't been there long enough to make demands, like working remotely." She spoke softly, trying not to upset him. Instead he stared numbly at the table.

He was shocked, that she wouldn't let him help her. But he also understood, she was a strong and independent woman before she met him - so why would she change that. He also knew there was no greater pride than building your own career, so he couldn't fault her or her choices at all.

"How can long distance even work." He mumbled, trying not to get upset.

"We can only try." She smiled sadly.