Charlie

Chapter 1

Hey. This is destielshipper21 . Thanks for reading this. Y'all are great.

Today was the day of  Charlie's funeral. Harry had left early and went home. The flowers and family, friends, all the people gathered in a graveyard. People started to flood in and pay their respects to a dark-looking Louis. Harry couldn't take it anymore. The casket that held her and the somber audience was too much. It made everything too real.

Harry tries to distract himself by baking. He doesn't go near the side of the house where Charlie's bedroom is anymore, for he doesn't want to face it. He spend refuge in his kitchen and art studio.

He adamantly avoids Louis after he's been in her room. Sometimes for hours on end and later locks himself in his studio to draw and paint. He sleeps there most nights now.

As Harry goes to pull out a recipe, a picture of him and Charlie flutters onto the ground. It was taken by Louis after Harry and Charlie made their first pie together.

The pair was covered in flour and the pie was lopsided and disheveled, but Harry and Charlie had huge smiles. Harry and the child were wearing matching bandannas and outfits (one of Harry's favorite things to do with the her). Harry is holding Charlie while she proudly shows off her pie. The picture carries a flashback of that day to Harry's calamitous mind.

Harry pulls the pie out the oven and laughs loudly at the sight of the demolished dessert. His daughter covers her mouth and giggles shyly. "Oops," Harry says as Louis walks into the house, "Hi," he says as he hugs his husband from behind and kisses his cheek. Charlie squeals and yells playfully "Dadda! Me and Papa are baking! Get out of here! You'll just distract him."

Louis laughs and hugs his daughter tightly before saying "Ok princess, I'm leaving." He ruffles her hair and goes off toward his bedroom to change out of his work clothes.

Later, once the pie had cooled, Charlie and Harry take a bite of the fresh apple dessert. Charlie unexpectedly scrunched up her nose and says, "Papa it's salty. We did it wrong!" She giggles and Harry smiles lovingly and kisses her cheek. "We messed it up a bit love. But it was so much fun to spend time with my favorite girl." 

Harry's hair was soon put up in a bun as he tried to suppress the memory by making cookies which had turned into a very unstable coping mechanisms.

After setting the cookies into the oven he finds himself glancing out of the kitchen window. His green eyes land on the road and he watches as a car drives by. He can see her there, standing in the middle of the road. Her gulps and forces his eyes away. Harry would never be able to look at a road again.

His trance breaks at the sound of the oven alarm going off. He forces his emotions down as the sweet smell of desserts fill him. The feeling is gone when he hears Louis enter the house. "Harry, why did you leave the funeral early?"

Harry ignores his husband's question and quickly changes the dawning subject. "Oh Louis, you're home. I'm making cookies right now. When they cool you can have one, yeah?" Harry pulls them out of the oven and sets them on the counter. He wipes his hands on his apron quickly before smiling at his husband.

"Harry, are you okay," Louis asks. Harry can hardly look the older man in the eyes. His eyes are exactly like hers. The same shade of blue. He breaks his husband's gaze and glances at the oven.

"Of course I am, Love. Why wouldn't I be," Harry says as he takes the cookies off of the sheet to cool. He pulls a fake smile across his face, one that he knows doesn't reach his eyes.

"Because we--no, I just went to our daughters funeral and you left," Louis says. Harry clears his throat and speaks, still avoiding Louis' remarks.

"How about you go into the living room. I'll bring you something in a minute okay," He says and smiles. He sets the cookies down on the stove top, but doesn't look at Louis.

"No Harry, you're acting like nothing's wrong and our lives are just peachy! You never talk to me about anything anymore! Our daughter just passed away and you're brushing it off like it was nothing!" Harry moves towards the mixer and grabs a spatula, starting to mix the last of the dough together. He needed to do something with his hands.

Harry tenses before calming down again, his knuckles going white around the spatula handle. "Honey just let me finish this and I'll be going to bed okay?"

Louis gets even more annoyed with his husband as he continues to avoid the subject. "Harry, she's gone! Charlie is gone and you don't even care. Was she even anything to you? Do you even care that she's not running around anymore? She was my daughter Harry! How are you acting so content? Huh? 'Cause you don't seem to act like she meant anything to you any--."

Harry slams his hands onto the counter, not turning around before yelling. "Louis, she meant everything to me okay! Of course I care, so you don't get to question me about my feelings for our damn daughter. She is my daughter too. Now, get the hell out of my kitchen so I can finish my cookies in peace," He finishes.

He doesn't realize how badly his hands are shaking. Louis slowly backs out of the room, surprised and ready to leave the situation.

Harry starts to wipe the counters furiously, tears making their way to his unwilling eyes. He waits until his husband is out of the room to slide to the floor, covering his mouth as he sobs soundlessly, missing his little girl now more than ever.