The boys could see the wheels turning in her head, her brain working on overdrive to try to make sense of her thoughts. She was struggling to remind herself of embracing change, staying open minded and everything Mai had attempted to get in her head before leaving.
Genevie thought it was challenging enough to move in with five strangers, but no, let's add this upon the mountain of emotions, information, impressions and events she was already struggling to process. Hell, she was still figuring out how to deal with memories from years ago.
Still, the girl wanted to make Mai proud, she wanted to make herself proud. And she wanted to get better. She wanted variation, not to keep waking up and knowing that the day would be exactly like the day before. She wanted to experience new things, without feeling anxious because she didn't know what was happening next.
But couldn't she do that without agreeing to this? If she agreed to it, what would really happen? What if she wanted to back out? What if she didn't like it?
"If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask," Zayn's gentle voice cut through. He hadn't spoken a lot, in fact, he hadn't uttered a word since they decided on what movie they were watching. It made sense now; all movies suggested were safe for children.
She thought about what to ask, trying to sort out what was important to know. "Can I say no later? If I agree now but don't like it or feel uncomfortable?" Her gentle voice asked, and Liam was quick to assure her. "Of course, you can back out whenever you want. We would never do anything to intentionally make you uncomfortable, and if you ever feel that way, please tell us so we can talk about it. This is important even if you don't agree with this, okay?"
He looked seriously at her and Genevie nodded her head. He looked happy with the response and asked if she had anymore questions. She had questions, a lot of them, but she didn't know what to ask. "If I have any questions later, I can ask them, right?" She felt her shyness returning while everyone nodded, watching as she made herself smaller, curling up more.
A small, next to nonexistent sound emitted from her lips while she looked down on the carpeted floor after a moment of silence. "I can try." And the sound made the men's day, maybe whole year. The smiles on their faces would be enough to light up the whole world like nobody else.
"Okay, so what would you be okay with doing for now, Genevie?" Harry asked, Genevie feeling his chest vibrating while speaking. The others leaning in curiously while the girl thought of what to respond. She had no idea; she didn't even know what she was supposed to do.
Yeah, she understood they wanted her to act like a baby, and somewhere along the way she would start thinking like one too, but how? She shrugged her shoulders from her place on Harry's lap. He was actually quite comfortable and his smell something she wouldn't oppose snuggling into, something fruity mixed with his scent.
She could feel his muscles under the soft fabric of his t-shirt, the movement of his breathing relaxing her a bit further, slowly easing her out of her shell.
"Okay, how about we list some things, and you tell us what you're comfortable with? As we go, we will probably add new things, and you can just tell us if you don't agree with it. We just want to get an understanding of from where we're starting" Niall took over, earning a nod from her.
Feeling the need to not overwhelm the shy girl, Niall figured to start of easy. "Would you be okay with being held for longer periods?" After a few seconds of thinking she nodded, what would be the harm in trying, she could always change her answer.
They continued with different things for a while before Genevie yawned. Though they had eaten an early dinner, Harry decided it was time for sleep. He stood up with the girl still in his arms, her squealing in surprise before saying a quiet 'goodnight' to the three men still sitting, Zayn walking towards the stairs before them.
When Harry stood in front of the staircase, setting his foot down on the first step Genevie voiced her protest. "No, please I can walk" sounding frightened. Both Zayn and Harry paused their actions, surprised from her outburst, wondering how to tackle the situation.
"It's okay Sweetie, you're safe," Harry spoke soothingly while rubbing his thumb in gentle circles on the girl's back. In response she shook her head while stating, "you will drop me." Her voice displaying just how fearful she was of potentially being dropped.
"No, I won't darling, it's okay." He stayed on the ground until she calmed down. Still not on board with the idea of being carried upstairs. "If it helps, I can lift Niall up the stairs first?" Harry announced jokingly, Genevie letting out a small giggle at the thought. "You think that's funny? I promise I'm strong enough!" He stated, showing his arm muscles.
Genevie giggled again, this time allowing herself to really laugh. She recognized how good the man was at calming her down, even though they barely knew each other. It was scary, to think it was so easy to let someone in, her walls cracking less than 48 hours after first meeting the guy.
Maybe that was a good thing though? Letting someone in and allowing them to take control. Having someone to calm her down and make her laugh when Mai wasn't there. Mai would probably be proud of her for the moment of realization.
"Okay monster, I promise I won't drop you. Do you think we can try to go up the stairs?" Harry spoke, bringing her out of her thoughts. Genevie thought for a moment but hesitantly nodded. She clung to him for dear life when he took the first steps, squeezing him hard but Harry wasn't complaining. Zayn watched from the top of the stairs, finding her grip adorable.
They made it up without dropping someone, Genevie flushing beet red with embarrassment, still tightly hugging Harry. The man in question didn't comment on it, happily holding the sweet girl, affectionately petting her hair.
"So, this is your room, if you want it," Harry said, sounding a bit insecure, like she wouldn't like the room. He opened the door -the door that Liam had quickly closed earlier - and walked in. Genevie had considered the other room childish, but this just screamed baby. Walls painted in happy colors, a bed with bars on the sides and what she could only guess was a toy chest in the corner along with other furniture. The room was fairly big, a lot of floor space covered with a velvet rug.
"Because we don't know what age you'll feel comfortable with, we have a bit of everything," he went on to explain, turning around. Everything looked nice, expensive, like something she shouldn't touch. But the difference between her old house and this, was that this house still held a feeling of home. It still had that cozy touch, like hot cocoa and a blanket gave you in the winter.
"Okay, there's a toothbrush and everything else in the bathroom." Harry pointed to a door she hadn't noticed. "Call if you need anything, we'll be outside." She nodded and was let down, her toes meeting the carpet.
Liam walked into the room after knocking while Genevie brushed her teeth. He handed Zayn a warm bottle adorned with blue and purple butterflies.
Zayn looked hesitantly from the bottle to Harry and Liam before asking, "You think she'll take this?" which Harry shrugged to. "She did agree to try it, if she doesn't like it she can get water instead," Liam said confidently, giving his worrying husband a reassuring squeeze of his hand and a sweet kiss before leaving with Harry in tow after shouting a 'good night' to Genevie.
Genevie opened the bathroom door and gently stepped out to find Zayn sitting in a rocking chair, the bottle placed on a table beside him. "Come here," he gestured with his hands for her to come sit which she did, standing in front of him he lifted her up. She adjusted herself in his lap, trying to find a comfortable position.
She had gotten a t-shirt and a pair of shorts to change into, everything many sizes too big, making her look even more adorable than she already was, how that was possible was a mystery. Zayn was already bursting from the cuteness.
She had agreed to try to sleep in the more childish room, she agreed to most of their suggestions actually. But she couldn't deny that it was different, not like anything she was used to.
Zayn rocked them for a bit while Genevie settled in his lap before he took the bottle and brought it to Genevie's lips. She frowned at the weird sensation and kept her lips sealed. "Just try a bit love, I promise it's nice." Zayn pleaded, succeeding in coaxing her to open her mouth. Her lips closed hesitantly around the rubber, the feeling strange. He tilted the bottle when Genevie made no move to drink anything, the movement bringing some milk out of the bottle.
It was intimate, and the girl felt embarrassed. The milk was warm, and it didn't taste that great either, sweet and vanilla, the more she drank the more it tasted like a dessert. She didn't understand why it was warm, she bet it would be a hundred times better cold. But it was bearable, and she managed to finish the bottle somehow, Zayn stating how good she was many times.
They stayed in the chair, both comfortable, the only sound their slow breathing, the quietness something that usually stressed Genevie out.
It was disturbing (though less disturbing than normal), she felt her thoughts knocking on the door to the space of peace she had made in her mind, but she could hold them off for a bit longer, focusing on Zayn's chest moving up and down effectively warded them off. Her fingers idly trailing a tattoo on his hand, the beautiful design interesting her.
She had to admit, the milk had made her a bit sleepy, and the exhaustion was quickly catching up with her. She knew that she needed music to sleep though, and she had no idea where her phone was. She yawned again, otherwise staying in the same soothing position she had been in the last half an hour. "You tired?" Zayn asked, he too yawning.
She nodded her head, not wanting to disturb the bubble of tranquility they had created. Zayn petted her head, dragging his fingers through her hair. The touch calming, her head resting on Zayn's front, eyes closed. When Zayn eventually started humming 'Little Things' softly, he felt her body relax, her breathing evening out.
He continued the humming, not stopping small words from escaping here and there, while placing the delicate girl in her crib, gently and precisely covering her with the blanket and securing the bars around her with minimal sound.
He left the soft light of a pink nightlight on and left the room after a minute of quietly observing the girl with nothing but adoration in his dark eyes.
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Well hello! It's been a while, sorry for that! I'm going to blame the delay on writer's block and family this time.
So, what do we think? Any thoughts, spelling mistakes, ideas or something else?
If you enjoyed the chapter please vote, comment, continue reading and be the amazayn human you are!
Hopefully the next chapter will be up within a week, but I'm not promising anything,
'Til Next Time
See ya!