Annabel [h.s.]

twenty-two

Warm rays of sunlight stream through the open window and cast a golden hue around the room. Annabel's still asleep, the right side of her face pressed against the pillow and her hair a mess on the pillow and over her eyes. She's got the entire blanket wrapped around her with her feet and a part of her leg sticking out of the end.

Harry smiles to himself as he picks out a few more sweaters for her and places them next to the open suitcase at the edge of the bed. He likes being awake before her because he gets a chance to admire her in her most vulnerable state, and he doesn't have to worry about his feelings for a while because she can't catch him looking.

It shouldn't matter if she catches him looking because they both know. For fucks sake, she even said it when he asked her to a week ago. But there's something about acknowledging his feelings that really bothers him and he'd like to avoid stating the obvious for as long as he can. He thinks that maybe it will make it less real—less painful—if he just keeps it to himself.

The clock reads eight thirty and his smile falters slightly as he realizes that he has to wake her up so she has enough time to get ready.

Annabel stirs in her sleep, a gentle sigh escaping her lips as she cuddles into the blanket. An idea hits him and he climbs onto the bed until he's face to face with her. She doesn't even notice that he's there until he's peppering soft kisses over every part of her face and all of the skin that's not covered by the blanket.

He only gets three kisses in before she's awake, although she's trying her best to keep her eyes closed. Harry rolls his eyes and presses his lips against hers, pecking her lips repeatedly until she's smiling.

She removes her hands from beneath the blanket and softly pushes him away with her eyes still closed. "Stop it. 'm tired."

Harry laughs softly and kisses her eyelids because he read somewhere that these kisses show deep affection and are great for waking a loved one. Annabel's nose scrunches and she finally opens her eyes because she knows that he isn't going to leave her alone until she gets up. And she really liked how he chose to wake her up.

Annabel smiles at him with tired eyes, "Why do you hate me?"

He returns her smile and presses his lips to hers for a lingering kiss, "You know that I don't."

Without another word, he gets out of bed and resumes packing the suitcase with things that he hadn't really gotten to yet, like that nice lingerie she bought a few days ago but refused to let him see her in until she felt like the time was right.

Annabel's still waking up and she doesn't really think about what he's doing until after she's sat up, run a hand through her hair, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Curiosity pulls her lips up in a smile as he tucks her favorite book into the nearly brimming suitcase.

"What's that for?"

Harry smirks as he zips the suitcase, "It's a surprise. But you have to be ready in fifteen minutes or there won't be much of a surprise."

Her eyes light up instantly and he wishes that he'd had any of his cameras out because he loves it when she's excited like this.

"You're taking me on an adventure?"

Harry nods, his smile growing by the second. "Yes, now get dressed before I can't take you on an adventure."

She practically rushes out of bed and nearly trips because the blanket ends up catching her foot. They each laugh at her enthusiasm as she heads into the bathroom. He hasn't hinted at where they're going and she doesn't know how she should dress because she also didn't see what he was packing.