hate & other words || h.s au

drabble: in which cleo and harry come up with a solution

"We have a problem," is the first thing I say when Harry opens the door for me. He has an irritated look on his face and it doesn't bother me because it's all for shows. He's just annoyed that I refuse to use the key he gave me and that I choose to knock on the door instead. We'll talk about this later but for now, "I'm serious. We have a problem."

"Hello to you too," he snorts as he steps aside to let me in. Once I'm inside, he closes the door and makes his way to the living room. I follow him. "What's this problem you're so worried about?" He asks as he returns to his seat on the couch.

I throw myself onto the couch as well, landing on his side. I grab Harry's arm and wrap it around me. Harry tightens his hold on me and a smile tugs at my lips. But that's before I remember why I'm here in the first place and that smile disappears as quickly as it appears. "So when I came downstairs today my mum bombarded me with wedding magazines."

"Okay, so?"

Harry doesn't seem to understand the gravity of this situation so I emphasise, "Wedding magazines, Harry, lots of them. She showed me some pictures of dresses, wedding venues, wedding food and drinks, and then she told me that if I wanted to I could wear the dress she wore on her wedding day or your mum's wedding dress because she told my mum that she'd love to see me wear it, and I don't know about you but I'm pretty sure that's her way of telling me that she wants us to get married."

I wait for Harry to say something but he remains quiet so I shift in his arm so I could take a look at his face but it displays nothing. No emotions or whatsoever. I nudge him in the rib and a frown appears between his brows.

"Were you listening?"

"Yes," he replies. He releases me from his arm as he leans forward and picks up the remote control. He turns off his television and I watch as he turns to face me. He doesn't look surprised. In fact he looks... collected. The complete opposite of me. I bet I look crazy right now but knowing Harry, he won't point it out.

"Why aren't you freaking out?" I frown at him. Harry runs a hand down his face and that only worries me. "Harry."

"Because my mum gave me her ring last week. It's a family ring, I guess, and she told me that she wanted I-- you to have it."

"Oh my God." I get up from Harry's couch and start pacing back and forth in front of him. I'm not a commitment-phobe, at least I don't think I am, but the thought of tying the knot with Harry freaks me out. We agreed to take things slow and hell, it took us a year into the relationship to finally say those three words so a wedding should be way further down the line. Perhaps in another three or four years. Or five. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"Because I know you'd freak out."

"And why aren't you?"

Harry gets up from the couch and places both hands on my shoulders to stop me from boring holes on his living room floor. 

"Cleo."

I actively avoid his eyes so he removes one hand from my shoulder and he tilts my chin so I'm looking straight into his eyes.

"I'm not going to propose now." He tells me. "You don't have to worry about that. Trust me, I'm not going to do it seconds after telling you that my mum gave me her ring. That wouldn't be a surprise and where's the fun in that?"

Laughter escapes my throat. "Right because you love surprises so much."

"And you act like you don't but you actually do." I roll my eyes at him. "You think I don't know my Cleo?"

I relax into him and wrap my arms around his neck, resting my head on his chest. "Sorry for freaking out on you," I say. "And I hope I didn't offend you. It's not that I don't wanna marry you but--"

"--You want to take things slow. I get it and I respect that. We can move at our own pace."

I pull back to look at him. He leans down and presses a kiss on my lips. "God I love you."

"I know," he smiles into the kiss. "And I love you too."

"But what're we going to do about our parents? They're gonna expect something and we can't lie to them again, can we?"

"Yeah, no. I do have a solution for that."

I kink an eyebrow at him. "Do tell."

"Move in with me," he says. Those words roll off of his tongue so easily like he's practiced it plenty of times before. In front of the mirror, I bet, and I can imagine him doing that.

"Are you... Are you sure?"

"I am," he nods. "It's usually what couples do, right? The next step in a relationship is usually the move in part and if we move in together, I think it'll get our parents off of our backs for a year or two."

"Huh." That actually makes a lot of sense. I can imagine how happy my parents would be when they find out that their only daughter will finally move out of their house.

"So...?"

"Do I have to move into Adam's old room or?"

"I mean if you want to." Harry shrugs. "But something tells me that my room is way, way better. Plus, you'd get a cuddle from yours truly every night."

"That's the worst sales pitch I've ever heard. Thank God you're not in sales," I say to him and he gapes at me, offended. "But you know what, I'm sold."

"Yeah?"

"Mhmm."

"So you'd move in with me?"

"Yes, Harry Styles, I'd move in with you. But wait, does this mean I'll have to use the key now?"

"I've wanted you to use the key since I gave it to you."

"Damn it." 

"No backing out now, Cleopatra. You've said yes to me."

"Well, I just hope you won't regret it."

Harry laughs low in his chest as he pulls me closer, pressing his lips to mine, sending shivers down my spine. His lips drift along my jaw and down, grazing the sensitive skin where my pulse beats fast. Then, he whispers, "Never."