Butterfly Keeper // h.s. au

Chapter Forty Three

"I didn't bleed though," I muse with wonder in my words as I tuck the fluffy sheet further over my upper half.

    "That means we did it right," He chuckles, smiling at me with a lightness to his features. He looks happy. Genuinely happy. I hope he can see the same in me.

    "Are there other signs that we did it right?" I ask with a giggle, winking at him as I hide my face halfway under the covers.

    "Hmm, lets go over the check list and see," He moves his hand out above him and holds an imaginary pen in his other, "You came, check. I came, double check. Got you to moan my name and even the word fuck a grand total of five times, definitely giving that a fuçking massive check-"

    "Okay okay okay," I laugh out with embarrassment, covering my face with my hands as he manages to pry them away.

    "Where did my rebel, zipper-opener go?" He asks teasingly.

    "She's on hiatus," I blush, desperately pulling my blanket up from its slow descent down my chest.

    He holds that childish grin on his face, rolling his eyes as he notices me struggling with the blanket. He takes the liberty of pulling it off me all together so he can gather me in his arms.

    "Harold!" I cry, bringing it back up over my shoulders as I sit in his lap, both of us free of any clothing.

    "What?" He drawls out innocently.

    "Whuuut?" I coo back in my mocking British accent causing him to give me a stare full of dry humor.

    "Hey, speaking of hiatuses," I begin, running a strand of his hair between my fingers while avoiding his eyes. "Um, did you really mean what you said at the Christmas tree farm? About leaving town."

    He sighs and pulls the blanket around the both of us, pressing his forehead against mine so that the tips of our noses touch.

    "Of course. Is that something that you'd want?"

    I purse my lips, Harry taking this as an opportunity to press a sloppy kiss to them. I back my face away from his, giving him a look that doesn't stand a chance against his lowered brows and large puppy dog eyes.

    "I have been thinking about it a lot ever since you said that," I admit and smooch his lips back once, causing dimples to appear deep in his cheeks as he nods along to my words and tries not to appear too excited. "And I think I would like that. But I just don't know where we would go."

    "Anywhere you want," He shrugs, intertwining both our hands together between us and then arranging them so that our palms and fingers are pressed flat against each other, showing how small my hands are compared to his.

    I hesitate slightly before asking, "What about your Uncle?"

    A momentary crease forms between his brows as he thinks this over.

    "If that bastard wants to talk to me he can come find me himself. He won't stop me from finally living my damn life." He breathes out.

    My smile fades at his lack there of. Just the mention of his uncle seems to take a toll on his mood. I wish I could see inside him to know what he's really thinking.

    "Hey," I take my hands from his to cup his face, bringing his darkened eyes up to mine. "I think we should go somewhere warm. Like Emerald Isle except with new places we haven't explored yet."

    His features lighten, the shadow of a dimple forming in his right cheek.

    "So we can fuçk on the beach?"

    I choke on nothing but air and my own embarrassment, coughing while Harry pats my back with a twitching grin.

    "Have you ever been to Florida?" He asks once I've regained my composure, resting his hands on my thighs. I shake my head no, causing my short hair to swing around my face. That's definitely something I'm not used to.

    "We could go there, if that's not too far. Be those people who get up at the asś crack of dawn and walk the beach, piss the neighbors off with our late night antics. And I know some other places along the Outer Banks that I think you'd like." He suggests.

    I try to picture that, me and Harry walking the beach hand in hand with the sun rising in the sky, illuminating and tearing away the darkness. I can see myself brushing his saltwater covered curls behind his ears and kissing his lips with no one to see except the sea itself. I can picture him blasting Arctic Monkeys while we make pancakes on a Sunday morning, his smirk while he mouths his favorite verse from his favorite song of theirs. And I can see it all so clearly that it almost scares me

    "C?"

    I look up to his curious features observing me, the sun lighting up his curls from the window above the bed. We've been up all night, but everything that took place in the darkness feels like it's blown by in a second.

    "Is something wrong?" He asks, a hint of worry in accented voice.

    I lean forward and wrap my arms around his shoulders, burying my face in his neck. His breathing stops in that short space between him processing my movements and pressing his face into my shoulder. His curls caress my cheeks with their soft, wispy, ends. It's something I've grown to love about hugging him.

    The blanket falls from my body but this time I don't feel exposed like the last. It almost feels more normal, being together in our truest forms like this. I can feel his heartbeat thudding through my chest, his breathing drawing evenly in my ear.

    "I'm excited, and nervous. Because a future that perfect doesn't seem possible." I confess to him.

    He pulls me closer, tightening his arm around my back. The cold metal of his rings bring a small flush of goosebumps to my skin but it's also a mixture of the butterflies swarming in my stomach.

    "Believe me, you don't know how many times I've thought that," His lips move against my skin to slowly form each of his words, "But with you everything seems different, so I'm hoping maybe this is the part where things don't fall to shít..."

    "Me too," I whisper into his hair, holding him close and feeling the body of my human being breathe in and out. 'I wish I could protect you and keep you from all the hurt in this world,' I say to him through my thoughts, not having the courage to emote those things out loud like he always did. 'I wish I could tuck you in my arms and keep you safe forever.'

TRIPLE UPDATE LIKE WUHHHH??? Sorry I'm just really proud of myself lol. I know it's super short but I didn't really think it fit with the last chapter so it got one of it's own.

The edit up top is actually one of my own (: I'll post it on my insta for anyone who wants a better look at it.

QUESTION OF THE CHAPPIE: I WANT PREDICTIONS FAM WE'RE SO CLOSE TO THE END I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE THINKIN!

Thank you for all the love! I'd return it back to you in froyo but for now my deep a$s writing will have to do.

Much much love,

-M xx