Duality [H.S.]

Chapter Ten

A/N: TW for brief mention of depression.

Saturday, 24th July 2021

Having only returned home from Naples last night, Eloise had been intent on a lazy day around the house. But an early morning phone call quickly put paid to that... Well, sort of.

Blindly fumbling for her phone on her bedside table whilst dodging a grumbling Harry's sleepy swipes, she was surprised enough to see it was Adele.

Then doubly so to learn she is finally back in London. With her mum keen to treat Angelo to a touristy day of sightseeing, she's eager to spend time with them.

She was set on a big night out for old times' sake, but Eloise pushed for a much-needed proper catch-up instead. With her pooped after an intense couple of weeks of filming and Rosie still feeling a little peaky with morning sickness, she talked Adele into coming to Hampstead instead.

>

She reminded Rosie on the doorstep not to mention anything about Bond. "You know how gobby she can be!"

"Trust me, that NDA was terrifying. My lips are sealed... Besides, you'll inevitably be the one drinking, not me."

Blanching, Eloise stepped aside with a groan.

After a quick tour of the house - which Adele still hadn't yet seen in person - they settled out on the patio where they've now been chatting since lunchtime. Harry had whipped up some of his famous fish tacos.

Despite some lingering underlying tension over her lengthy absence and intermittently disappearing during her divorce, it doesn't take long for it to feel near enough like normal between them. They slot back into each other's groove easily enough.

Having caught up on their families, Rosie's pregnancy, and various current projects, talk turned to Lucas' Instagram post.

Eloise switched her phone to silent to focus on the girls, but the screen keeps lighting up with notifications. There's still a lot of buzz about it all.

With their permission, he uploaded the video of them getting swarmed at the hotel pool. As the England Rugby team vice-captain, he has a decent enough following of his own and certainly knows a thing or two about scrums and mauls. They figured his reputation for acting first and thinking later might be useful in case the initial response didn't go Harry and Eloise's way... But, taking heed of their publicist's advice, he did at least edit plenty of emojis into the video. Angel baby faces saw to Dylan, Freya, Grace, and Ruby's privacy, whilst a plethora of clown and poop emojis should ensure the supposed fans and their families won't come slithering out of the woodwork protesting about defamation.

When the initial response looked favourable, and with Harry's fans already spreading it like wildfire, Eloise reposted it from her public profile with a lengthy caption. 'This is hard to watch, but even harder to contend with in reality... So kindly take this as our plea: We accept that our chosen careers bring some attention. And, one day, our children will make their own choice. But until then we will never intentionally publicise them, so ask in the press and on social media that you refrain from revealing their identities. We will always try to be polite and courteous to anyone, including paps just trying to earn a living, but please don't take advantage of that. We'd prefer people not approach us when we are with our babies, but, if you do, please be mindful and respectful. They're still so little and you can see how uncomfortable and overwhelming it can be... Upset them and you'll upset us. And we won't keep asking as politely.' For once, she intentionally left the comments unlimited.

Harry retweeted her post and the video. 'I can't articulate better than El already has... Our son and daughter's childhoods aren't your currency. Please respect that and kindly help us in trying to maintain their privacy. Call out accounts and outlets that don't. Here's to a little more TPWK, please... H.'