Harry Styles One Shots

Single dad harry

i.

Y/N wonders if the universe has something against her.

She doesn't think she's done anything to deserve it! Every time there is an old woman with bags, she offers her help, or when she's working and sees a customer scrambling for an extra dollar or quarter, she waves them off and takes it out of her own pocket. If her friend Adam forgets his lunch, she'll cut her sandwich in half during the lecture they share together and let him eat it since her day ends only one lecture after and he has to chug through a lab. And Niall – as lazy as he can be sometimes – will legitimately forget he has an essay due in a day, so she'll stay up with him late into the night compiling articles, being emotional support, and even helping him draft his introduction and thesis statement (to which he buys her dinner, fun things he finds when he's out shopping, or a back scratch when she requests it). Hell, she twisted her ankle once running after someone who dropped a whole lot of money (the exact amount she would've needed for a pair of shoes she'd been eying) and had to have Adam wrap it for her (since he's her roommate, he gets roped into a lot).

All of those things and more she doesn't even think twice about doing it!

Yet here she sits, a burning sting from the scrapes on both of her knees because her dog (a playful little chiwinnie mutt that had the saddest little face ever, appropriately named Eeyore) somehow snaked his way around her legs, got her all twisted up in the light blue nylon leash, and took her down to the ground because he saw a squirrel. Which would alright – scrapes suck sure, but she's got a wicked first-aid kit at home for falls such as these – however, the route her and Eeyore take for his walks is nowhere near where she lives at all. Though he's a relatively small puppy, she feels guilty that he's being subjected to the college lifestyle of a flat and no yard, so she likes to take him on extensive walks, one of which being that of a gated community that they kind of have to break into.

It's not in a creepy way though! For fuck sake, they had just been walking one day, and he had insisted on scaling up along this hill, and once they were at the top he had scampered down the gentle decline of the hill, covered in rich green grass towards a pretty little lake. She had thought he would be satisfied once he splashed around in the water for a second but then he tugged her towards a pathway, that led to a neighborhood of both steep hills and winding roads that he adored so passionately. Dare she say, his permanently sad face lit up that very first time, and she just couldn't not bring him back. He was her puppy for Christ sake, he deserved the world she's sure of it.

So every other day (or every other two days if she doesn't have the time allotted for their trot), she has Adam stop her off here before work, takes their walk, and pays Niall in a bakery good for a ride back home. She'd been here so often, people in the neighborhood had started nodding at her as she passes, shooting soft smiles; esteemed doctors, successful producers scuttering to their cars or leisurely making their way to their doors, maybe with bags of groceries, or a dog of their own in toe. She's fairly sure that they've mistaken her for some lawyer's daughter, because they've called her the same wrong name a few times, and one even asked how her father's firm was doing (she smiled wide and lied through her teeth as she said it was good, trying not to shit herself when it dawned on her she could probably be arrested for trespassing if things went sour. She hadn't even realized it was gated until about four weeks in when she stumbled upon the big iron entryway).

Though she feels bad for intruding on their living area, she keeps quiet, to herself, and always picks up after Eeyore if he decides he's going to do his business in the way too pretty grass along the sidewalk. If she's got an extra bag with her, she'll even pick up some of the stray litter she'd find every here and there, just to make herself feel better.

The damn things she'd do for this dog! Letting him eat the rest of her burrito because he's staring at her is one thing, but trespassing in a gated community is a whole other ordeal that she hardly thinks anyone would side with her on. Hell, the day she finds someone who would side with her on it, was most likely the day she found her soulmate.

That's why it really sucks that she's sat here on the sidewalk with two scraped knees, one bloody with a droplet caressing her skin and staining it a hue of red, because not only is she a far ways from her first aid kit, but she also had to work her way up and down a hill, leaving full potential for all sort of bacteria and germs to latch onto her. The thought makes her shudder – microbiology really did her in for it last semester – and she's just about to give herself up to Niall so that he could come to get her and bring a band-aid with him when something startles her.

By something, she means someone, and by someone she means what appears to be a child who looked awful familiar, maybe three or four gaping at her with wide eyes, "Oh no," he says through a sniffle, waddling forward, away from a ball that slips off into the street and reaching out for Eeyore, patting gently at his fur but staring at Y/N like she might be on her way out, "Yous got a ouchie," he points at her knee and she nods, eyes scanning the area to see if anyone might be around to claim him.

"Yeah," she pouts her mouth, brows tipping in, "Took a bit of a tumble, but I'll be alright. What's your name?"

His little face is still twisted with concern, looking from her scrape, to her face, "Teddy," he snuffles again – that sticky little kid snuffle that is permanent for some reason on every child – "My real name is T'eodor' but Daddy calls me Teddy 'cos. ..'cos" he thinks for a second, holding his hand out and wiggling his fingers like he's counting before stretching them all out again, and grinning that he's remembered, "Tha's my nickname."

Y/N nods and smiles, figuring that right now she isn't allowed to be the baby that she wants to be and whine over her scratched knee because there is an actual child standing in front of her, with no guardian, meaning she was responsible for him until she could find one, "Well, Teddy, that's a great name! I'm Y/N. Where is your Daddy at? We have to go tell him he's smart for naming you that."

He points at the house they're beside, that has a door swung wide open, and she's beginning to piece together what had led the little one out here, "There. S'this doggy, yours?" He crouches down again, awkwardly petting at Eeyore, but Eeyore merely licks and laps at his fingers while Teddy giggles.

"Yes, this is my doggy. His name is Eeyore." She scratches Eeyore's bum afterward, "He's a bit cross with me 'cos of the fall, but he seems to like you very much! You must be able to talk to doggies right?" Y/N begins to push herself to a stand, talking to him like she would any of the little ones in her family, and watches as he nods his head eagerly, "Well it seems to me you're a very special little guy. We should probably get you back to your Daddy so that he doesn't worry too much that such a cool son has up and ran off."

Theodore – or Teddy – begins to stand up with her, but before they could make any moves, there is a sharp cry of his name from a very familiar sounding voice. It's when Y/N turns to the left, towards the house that the boy had pointed at and claimed was his own, that she sees Harry Styles tripping over his feet across the yard to them. Or, what she called him, Mr. Styles, when she was sending him off with flowers from the floral shop she works as a summer job. The tall, very gorgeous businessman with striking green eyes, soft looking curls that she had only daydreamed once or twice about threading her fingers through, and a jawline made for modeling.

"Teddy," he begins, his brows knitted in, voice sturdy in his scolding, "What did Daddy say about going outside without anyone?"

Teddy looks beside himself, pouting deeply and looking down at the ground with a sour face, "Daddy say s'dangerous, 'cos I might get smushed by a car," he responds, turning to her with a very sincere look on his face, "M'not good at lookin' bof ways."

"I understand," she nods, "I'm not very good at look both ways either."

Teddy grins at her before turning back to Harry, reaching a sticky hand towards his cheek, "Please don' be mad."

He sighs, crouching down to his level, "M'not mad, Teddy Bear, you just know it scares Daddy is all. If one of the grown-ups is silly and doesn't lock the door, then you don't touch it, and tell Daddy so he can fix it, okay?"

Y/N only manages to snap out of her daze once his gaze turns towards her, "I'm sorry about him."

She shakes her head quickly, "He's no problem at all, really! I – he was just concerned about my knee, so s'probably my fault he wandered all the way down here."

Harry looks confused for a moment before his gaze turns down to her knees and his eyes widen, "Christ, are you okay?" His gaze flickers up to her.

"Daddy, I t'ink she's goin t'a die, if we don' fix her."

He slips his hands beneath Teddy's arms and raises him, tucking him onto his hip, "She's not goin' to die, Pet, s'just a scrape," he doesn't even look like he believes his own words though, "A nasty one at that. Where d'ya live, Love, I'll help ya to your –"

"No, it's fine, really!" She begins to unravel herself from the leash, "I think – I think I can make it." How was she supposed to tell him that she didn't live anywhere near here without sounding like an actual creep? She couldn't survive getting arrested and jail cells are breeding grounds for bacteria and infection which she was definitely not willing to chance her knee with.

But Harry looks unconvinced, biting hard on his bottom lip before saying, "At least let me fix up your knee before you go then?"

Opening her mouth, she's about to deny, but she figures that looks more suspicious – her hurrying off like that would give him more of a reason to be concerned when there was no concern necessary. So she nods her head, "Okay, yeah, that'd be good," Y/N agrees, and Harry grins graciously like she was doing him a favor, nodding towards his home as he begins to walk.

"Okay, jus' follow me up to the porch and have a seat. I'll bring the first aid kit out here." He says and she follows him, brows furrowed as they step through the far too perfect sod (she felt immense guilt that they were just letting it crunch beneath their shoes) towards the stairs to the porch. She winces when she has to bend her knees some to get up, plopping down onto the white wooden bench and its plush cushion with a soft huff. Eeyore sits beside the bench staring between her and the door in which they had disappeared through, almost like he was annoyed that their walk was getting cut short.

"This is your fault you little demon. Out of all the things I do for you!" She huffs quietly to him, "No milk bones for you tonight."

He grumbles like he understood what she'd just taken from him, turning from her and staring out towards the street, but before she can chastise him for being cantankerous, Harry and Teddy both walk out of the house equipped with a big first aid kit, and Teddy with a sucker tucked between his lips, "Alreet, alreet," Harry murmurs, taking a knee before her on the ground, "Lets clean this up."

They're quiet for the first few moments, as Harry picks her leg up with tender fingers uses a soft washcloth to wipe up the blood that had been trickling down her leg, blotting around the blood that pooled amongst the wound. She bites down on her lip as she watches him take out a very specific spray bottle – even as a child she hated this shit, and would avoid it at all costs – and apparently Teddy feels the same as he switches the hand holding onto the stick of his lollipop to the other, a soft, stubby little-fingered hand wrapping around her finger, "Thi'th it'th the wor'th part." He speaks around the candy and Y/N's shoulders slump, a soft giggle leaving her, and she notices Harry look over at where Teddy is holding onto her, brows raised like he hadn't expected this.

"I know," she responds with a nod of her head, looping her finger around his and giving a soft squeeze when Harry squirts it over the scrape, and Teddy jumps at the noise, "Thank Goodness I've got you here, or I might have started crying."

He smiles around his sucker and Y/N is about to take a second to coo to herself because this kid is fucking cute, but Harry speaks up from below her as he places the spray bottle, exchanging it for a little package of antibiotic ointment, "You work at the florist off main, right?"

The fact he had remembered her was confounding, leaving her with somewhat of a dumbstruck expression as she responds, "I do, yeah. Over summers it's good for some extra money."

Harry hums softly, "I knew you looked awful familiar," he mutters quietly, "You helped me create a bouquet of cosmos and catmint flowers for my receptionist, and then another with gardenias and primrose for my employee of the month. I'd never think to put those two together and both of them loved the combinations immensely; everyone does their job ten times better with a little floral encouragement, apparently." Tearing off the top of the packet, he squeezes the insides out, and smooths it over the scrape, "Are you interested in that? Something concerning flowers and plants?"

Shaking her head, Y/N watches as he opens the bandage with almost expert finesse, "Oh, not really no. It gives me a chance to utilize my useless botany facts though – if you ever need a tasteless version of how plants procreate, I'm ready."

With a soft chuckle, he slips it over her scrape and promptly moves to the next knee, "I'll be sure to call." He, again, washes the wound carefully, holding beneath her knee with his other hand. The rest of the bandaging is quiet and uneventful, while Harry works both quickly and efficiently, Teddy continues to shower Eeyore in attention, and Y/N quietly swoons over the man on his knees before her. He'd remembered her, which makes her once schoolyard crush bloom further.

Once he's all finished, he gives a good sigh, "There we are – all fixed."

"You've got t'a kiss it be'er, Daddy." Teddy removes his sucker to say, and Y/N feels her cheeks warm as Harry chokes on a laugh, covering it with a cough and reaching to knuckle at his child's head.

"Thank you," Y/N rushes to say, choosing not to mention the little suggestion from Teddy who is looking innocently between the two, and instead loses herself in the gentle jade-green gaze that warms her up from the insides out, "For all this. You're very kind."

Harry waves her off, "Don't mention it, honestly. Thanks for distracting him before he got to the street – or should I be thanking you," he turns his attention to Eeyore, who soaks the attention right up, showing off his neck for Harry to scratch, "Well, I need to go in and make dinner before someone gets grumpy. I'll hopefully see you around?"

Y/N smiles, "Yeah. See you around."

As Y/N scales the side of the hill, with Eeyore yanking her as she simultaneously messages Niall to come pick her up – she's sure of three things.

Mr. Styles is gorgeous.

Her heart is racing.

And she's definitely going to cave and give Eeyore a milk bone.

. . .

"Listen, all I'm saying is that someone's going to think you stole the fruity pebbles."

"Nobody is going to think I stole the fruity pebbl–"

"Walking around a grocery store, with it wide open! What, did you steal some milk too?"

"I don't even think they sell the singles her–"

"Oh, look a box of granola! Why don't we just hold 'em on her head and walk right past the cashier and right out of the –"

"For fuck sake, Adam, shut up!" Y/N finally huffs through an exasperated whine, bumping the cart with her hip as he pushes it, "You're worse than a father."

Was it unsightly to see someone eating their breakfast at 11AM while they were grocery shopping with their roommate? Of course it was, but a very hungry, sleep deprived Y/N had just gotten off an accidental double from the only edible cookie dough shop in the world to be open twenty-four fucking seven (her relief decided to cancel, so instead of getting off at 2AM as she was supposed to, she had to stay until the next relief came in). At that moment, she couldn't have given a care less what someone might think as she chews on her soggy fruity pebbles.

"I'm just saying," he raises his hand, "Once Niall and I walked in while he was eating a candy bar, and they wouldn't let us leave until he paid for it!"

Y/N puffs out a breath, "I'd like to see anyone try it. M'in no mood to be compliant or nice to anyone."

Adam reaches out and squeezes her shoulder, "Poor thing, you really are tired," he sighs, "When're you gonna get a different job? They don't treat you right there."

"Trust me, m'looking."

Y/N wants to leave and if it were easier to find a job then she definitely would've left a long time ago, but finding a free, decent paying job in a college town is like finding a needle in a haystack. The free cookie dough doesn't make up for the countless no-shows and long hours, nor does the piss poor paychecks she receives for the number of hours she continues to put into working. Once they had figured out she was reliable, they wanted her all the time, for when people called in, for late nights etc. and it used to be as soon as she started showing signs of wearing to the end of her tether, they give her a week of paid vacation or maybe even a bonus – but upon the boss's son taking over, that was stripped away.

So she's stuck, always tired, and working like a dog with nothing to show for it.

Now she's properly ruffled and is taking in a breath to start rehashing her tirade about how much of a shit show the entire situation is, when a very gentle voice catches her attention down towards the ground, "Y/N!"

There stood Theodore, staring up at her with moony eyes, grinning at his sense of recognition, and her brows raise, "Oh, hi Teddy," she says casually, ignoring Adam who she can feel is staring at her hard when she hands out the fruity pebbles carton to him, while she bends down to the young boy's height, "What're you doing here? Where's your daddy?"

Theodore looks behind himself, then to her with confusion taking his features, "I don' know," he shakes his head, "I saws some dough-nut and came t'a get it."

If how much Harry had panicked when he was outside by himself, Y/N couldn't imagine how much he must be panicking right now, so she offers Theodore her finger, "C'mon, we should go find him before he pops a blood vessel."

"Y/N," Adam begins, "Who is –"

"Teddy!" All of their heads turn down the aisle where Harry comes jogging, looking frazzled beyond belief, "For Christ sake, m'going to have to invest in a leash."

Theodore doesn't release her finger right away, waving at his dad like he didn't understand he was probably about to get in trouble, "Look daddy! I found Y/N here."

"I see that," he tries to catch his breath, shaking his head and looking to her sorrowfully, "Here we meet again like this – probably look like a shit father, can barely keep a handle on him."

Y/N's brows dip in, "Not at all, Mr. Styles. He's just got a little adventure in him is all," she gives Theodore's hand a squeeze, "I was the same growing up – my mum contemplated a leash many times."

"Hell, she's still like that," Adam tuts his tongue from beside them, "I blink and she's disappeared, find her staring at the sweets like a five-year-old."

Kissing her teeth at him, she says, "Oi, hush! Jus' 'cos you're a health nut doesn't mean we all have to be one."

Harry laughs, reaching out for Theodore who finally lets go of Y/N's hand in favor of running to his dad, "How's your knee?" He nods forward and down, towards where her knee has a new bandage while the other one has none at all and his grin only broadens when she does a show of pulling her leg up and swinging her leg back and forth.

"Right as rain! Thanks to you, that is." Looking from him to her knee thoughtfully, she nods her head, "You'd think you were some sort of medicinal village witch."

"Think I must've been in a past life." He jests, winking at her and she feels all melty, "Well, I best be off – I left the cart unattended. I'll see you later Y/N – don't be a stranger." Then he adds, like a second thought, "And don't let any of the workers see you with the fruity pebbles, they'll think you stole them."

Once they've disappeared around the corner, Y/N begins walking again only to be stopped by Adam (who is vibrating with "I told you so) coiling his fingers around her bicep, "When were you going to tell me you met such a smart, Adonis-like creature?" The look in his eyes is something Y/N often fears – both contemplative and hopeful like she might be pursuing something that she hadn't told him about. Adam was always keen on trying to set her up with people, both men and women alike. He claimed that she was too lonely for all the love she had stored up in her heart, and that's why she was always unleashing it in random bouts towards him in Niall, which...isn't entirely the truth, but not far from it. Y/N's not good at dating or opening herself up to just anyone; it takes time to poke and prod into her mind unless she's met someone she's truly comfortable with. Both Adam and Niall made her feel at home, warm and contented with her surroundings, which is why – at times – she'll pour her heart out in various forms. Whether it be baking Niall three dozen intricate fudge stuffed cookies or tidying Adam's room and bathroom, lying a new throw blanket, or that game he's been wanting desperately, out on his bed for him to come home to when he's stressed.

It's not like it goes unreciprocated, they do an abundance of things for her, but they both have significant others and they've relented to her one drunken night that they feel guilty leaving her all alone. Even when she tells them that she's more than indifferent with her solidarity. Did it suck sometimes? Sure it did! She would appreciate the warmth of a body beside her in bed, and that probably deep connection that comes when you've had someone inside your heart, and hell her fingers could use a break from getting herself off – but she's okay.

Though the thought of her and Harry together? The way Adam was looking at her like she had even a glimmer of a chance with whom he had labeled an "Adonis-like creature"? Albeit the thought is invigorating and flattering at best, she knows that it would never happen. She knows that he must have someone that he's with or crushing on at the very least, so she stands no chance.

So she shakes her head with a sharp roll of her eyes, "Before you even start, it's not happening Adam. He's like a proper prince and I look like I trudged my way up from a century in the sewer with Pennywise as my only companion."

Adam mocks the deep British lilt, "Don't be a stranger – is code for get my dick wet, sorry to sa–"

"Lower your voice." She grumbles, swatting his bicep hard, "He's still around here somewhere – and that's not true! Jus' bein nice."

Rolling his eyes, he begins pushing the cart again as they turn down into the frozen meals, "You're lucky Ni wasn't here, or he would've made a show of setting you two up, called the little one a bugger and offered to watch him during your guy's date."

With a grumbled huff, she takes her fruity pebbles back from him.

"Like I could manage a date – I'm too awkward with myself," she shakes her head, "The last time I went on a "date" it was with Michael Graham and he gave me a whole bottle of Rumchata and the box set series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to take home hoping to get his dick wet."

Adam's brows raise, "Did you?" and she remembers now that Niall had been the one with her during that encounter. Poor Michael had thought he'd been a shoe-in for a lay, but Y/N was a virgin, and not even the promise of a holiday cocktail and watching a twenty-year-old Sarah Michelle Geller kick ass was not enough of a reason to have her first with Michael of all people. As sweet as he was, he wanted to chat her ear off about ethics and philosophers, and she's almost positive that if he came inside of her even with a condom or with her on birth control, that she'd give miraculous birth to some spiritual baby that came out reciting Plato's Republic and that...that just sounded dreadful.

She shakes her head, "I told him I was on my period and let him keep the Rumchata. I did take Buffy though." Then she looks at him, nose scrunched, "Did I? Who do you think I am? Can't be bought off with liquor and a tv series," she stuffs the last spoonful of her cereal into her mouth, "He would've had to throw in a candle or two at the very least."

"Bet Mr. Styles –" he singsongs his name like a flute, a dreamy mockery of it, "Would buy you the whole damn franchise."

. . .

Y/N sees Harry and Teddy often on her walks with Eeyore and each time, he makes an effort to come down to the end of the driveway, inquiring how her day has been, petting Eeyore between the ears, calling Teddy down so that he could say hi. Teddy always bursts through the front door in a hurry, scampering down the lawn towards where she and his father stood, where Y/N entertains his three-year-old babbles and stories, and watches as he pets Eeyore. One time, Teddy even hugged her leg as a goodbye opposed to his usual wave, making her pinky swear to come back soon and inviting her to the pirate themed party he was meant to go to later that day.

("Aye, Matey, I hav' to sit this one out, yeah? Make sure to tell Blackbeard not to eat my slice of cake, the greedy worm.")

She hates how much her once small, wholesome crush on the guy who was precious with his son, and asked her what the difference between Lavender and Verbena was this past summer – had begun to burgeon like clusters of dandelions in spring. It was bothersome, the way her heart hammers in her chest while they speak, and for a period of time thereafter. At first, she had convinced herself it's because she's panicked he would find out that she definitely did not live in that neighborhood by the tattered state of the clothing she chooses to walk Eeyore in, but that didn't make much since when her heart doesn't speed up like that running into other neighbors. If anything, she's found herself oddly calm around them compared to how she feels when Harry's saying something smart about a group of crotchety grown men who sleep on hot stones and have a pole permanently stuffed in their bum. And the way he watches her speak, and consumes each word she says – even if it's a load of rambles – it makes it difficult to ignore her feelings. Even more so when he tells her not to call him, Mr. Styles, "It's awful formal and m'no customer in your store right now. N'I'm still under 27, you make me feel like I'm hitting forty."

She forgets that he isn't way ahead of her time wise, but life experience she'd say he's got a leg up, especially with a kid. Though he'd hint on his past lightly, what she could piece together was that Teddy was born while Harry and his girlfriend at the time were finishing up school. She'd not yet figured out how in the span of two to three years he had become second in command to a company, but she commends him for it.

She doesn't dare speak a word of it to Niall or Adam, not wanting to 1. Get their hopes up for something that most likely wouldn't amount to anything but a quiet puppy love, and 2. Because she's keen on pretending like she has no feelings at all. The only person who truly knows the depths of her feelings is Eeyore, who gives her this knowing look every time they're speaking with Harry. Like he can read every twitch of her fingers, and every time she fiddles with his leash when he says something even mildly flirty (he would just say he liked her shoes, or tell her she's smart, or once he'd even assured her that the thesis she had come up with seemed spot on for her essay, from what he could remember of the Childhood Development class he had taken). However, Eeyore is awfully judgmental for someone who gets spooked by his own toots, so she doesn't take him all too seriously.

(Plus, he's a dog.)

One would think she'd start attempting to get prettied up for him since she's got such a big crush, but she can't convince herself to wear anything cute or fancy, especially not when she'd just gotten off an odd hour shift, working from 4AM to 1PM after a 6PM to 11PM the night before. Which is why she is the way she is now, drudging through the walk like a proper zombie with Eeyore trotting happily at her side. Everything ached a fair degree, she'd lugged herself down the street, not seeing Harry or Teddy in the front yard – she presumes because this is much earlier than she usually walks him, but she'd gotten Niall to drive her before his shift at Geek Squad (he's a proper computer nerd, though you wouldn't expect it upon first glance) and Adam agreed to come to get her on his way back from Burlington for a new coat.

She's just about to pass his home when there's a cry of her name, "Y/N!"

It startles her to a stop, jumping and looking over to where Harry is running down his driveway towards her, looking incredibly frazzled, "Mr. Styles, hi," she turns to face him, reeling Eeyore back in, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

He's a bit winded, shaking his head, "No, no, not at all," he drags the hair back from his face, "My morning Nanny had to leave for a birthday party, so my evening Nanny was going to come early but she just quit over the phone, and Teddy's mum has long since decided that her trips to Cabo are more important than her fucking son," this is the most disorderly he's ever been around her. Normally he's so prim, proper, and put together, all his sentences seemingly calculated and thought out, like he'd chewed them over before he'd spoken them.

Now though – now he was frustrated, angry, and overwhelmed. For her to feel like the calm one in any situation is something to be concerned about.

"Listen, I know this is a lot – god, I know this is so fucking much to ask, too much, but Teddy loves you, he does – won't stop talking about you, and I have an incredibly important meeting in..." he checks his watch, "Twenty minutes, n'I'm fifteen minutes from the office. If you – god, I can't believe I'm asking you this, but could you watch Teddy for a few hours? I can pay you!"

That was...a lot, but nothing insane like burying a body. Y/N didn't think she was very good with children but she and Teddy get along well enough, and if it means Harry would stop panicking subsequently making her panic like his was radiating onto her – then she'd watch him for the whole damn night.

"I – yes, I can, Mr. Styles. Is Eeyore alright to come in?"

"Of course Eeyore can come in!" The relief rushes over him like a wave, as he reaches forward and in one swift move, pulls her into his body for a squeeze. Y/N gasps, suddenly pressed against his sinewy body for a few moments before he tears himself from her, looking startled by his own actions, "Christ, sorry, that –"

"It's fine!" She assures him, "That's fine, I love celebratory hugs."

Another bout of relief floods him, as he beckons her with him, ushering her towards the door, "Teddy is lying down for a nap and he should be asleep the whole time I'm gone, so you don't have to do anything, really. You're welcome to anything in the kitchen and there's a tv in the den that's all yours." They go through the door but Y/N has very little time to take in the sight of his home, only getting to glance at the wide foyer as Harry leads her deeper into the home, turning a corner and through the white open double doors into a large, lavish kitchen. Harry goes directly to the island countertop, scrambling for a notepad and a pen, "Here's my number, and the office number if you can't get ahold of me. If Teddy wakes up – which he shouldn't – but if he does, just put on a cartoon or summat and he'll be distracted." He rips the paper off the pad, handing it to her, "Text me and call me if you need anything at all. Thank you so much, I honestly can't even begin to explain how grateful I am."

"It's really no problem, I promise. I'll – would you feel more comfortable if I messaged you updates?"

Harry nods, "That'd be lovely –" he checks his watch again, muttering a soft curse to himself, "Fuck sake, I have to go. Thank you so so so much, you're a lifesaver. I'll be right back."

It's just like that, that Harry is gone, and Y/N is standing with Eeyore at her side in a home that's cost might surpass what she's paying in her tuition. The kitchen is all glossy, shined and scrubbed to such a degree she'd eat a meal off any surface; the floors porcelain, making the worn and beaten shoes that she had on looked like a scrap of fabric she'd wrapped around her foot. The cabinets are white, the countertops a marbled white, appliances of stainless steel, and overhanging to the island counter there are iron cast skillets, pots and pans that she'd never even dreamed of having but recognized from the expensive sections of Kohls where her and Adam often go to look at longingly.

Once she leaves the room, she goes towards what Harry had pointed towards and described as the den, and on her way she passes what seemed to be a fake living room first. The type of set up one would see on the front cover of an Architectural Digest, the appearance suggesting that nobody has set foot inside of it, or sat on the leather white couches for more than thirty minutes to an hour top. Once she ambles towards the den she sees the actual living room, with toys strewn on the floor, a juice box sucked dry lying haphazardly on its side, and a pair of child's pants slung on the armchair. The couch is big, a microfiber chaise sofa a dark-colored mix between grey and brown, the type of hue one would get to avoid stains from grubby little hands, sticky-ed by juice and tarts. In the far corner, there were a few crates filled with manila envelopes and tan files. There are three remotes placed on the sleek black coffee table and she's about ten minutes from throwing herself into a panic because she doesn't know which does what, and how is she meant to watch his kid if she doesn't know which remote turns the damn tv on – when a tired little voice comes up behind her.

"Clemi'tine?" He asks and Y/N turns to see Teddy, one hand clutching the puffy belly of his brown stuffed bunny's and the other knuckling tiredly at his eye, but once he realizes it's her he perks up and it makes Y/N's heart grow ten sizes too big for her chest, "Y/N! You're here!" He scutters up towards her, slinging his arms around her leg in something like a hug, "Goodie – don' like Clemmy anyways, she ne'ber le's me play with my race cars in the living room."

Y/N wonders what it must be like to be a child, with such an unworried, unquestioning gleam within his green-eyed gaze. Teddy doesn't give a rat why she's here, he's just happy that she is, and for a moment she tries to recount a time in her life where she wasn't full of questions and the need to know what is happening around her in order to feel comfortable or relax.

Crouching down to his height, she can't help the smile that pulls at her cheeks, "Well, that just won't do now will it?" She reaches out, poking out her pinky and wiggling it at him, "I'll wager you this Teds, as long as you're nice t'a me, you can play with your race cars all you want while I'm here. That sound good?"

With a toothy grin, he hooks his tiny pinky around her own.

. . .

Either Teddy is the picture perfect child, or Y/N's far better at babysitting than she could have ever thought she'd be because the time she spent with him went smoothly. He was such a gentle kid, playing with his race cars with careful, diligent (or as diligent as they could be) fingers and thoughtful movements, watching Paw Patrol with an intense gaze, and commenting on little things here and there, or looking back like he was making sure she was still sat on the couch behind him. About thirty minutes in, he handed her a black jeep looking car, "This one's me favorite, 'cos it looks like Daddy's car. Will you play cars wif, me?" He snuffles that little kid snuffle, reaching down for the bottom of his shirt so he could reach up and wipe the snot from his nose, but Y/N stopped his hand by the wrist and reaches over with a gentle, 'ah, ah, ah' for the coffee table for a tissue to blot at his nostrils, "You can play wif this one, if you want?"

And Y/N couldn't say no.

So, for the first time since she was maybe seven years old, Y/N plays with cars for about an hour until Teddy complained about the monster in his belly growling. Harry hadn't been specific about what she was supposed to feed him, but after having him tag along with her, she goes through the pantry and finds organic macaroni and cheese. When showing him the box, he gives her a big smile, nodding his head, and Y/N grabs her phone from her pocket and messages Harry that she'd be making Teddy dinner.

With the help of the cooking guidance she'd garnered from Adam (a panicked message in their group chat asking him how she knew if the elbow noodles were done if she couldn't through them at the wall), and the very descriptive box, she manages not to burn the house down. This, along with a little more digging in the fridge, she finds strawberries and carrot sticks (they seemed like a family that kept healthy if the organic macaroni opposed to the Kraft said anything) so she cuts them both up, sections them off. Part of her was worried that he wouldn't eat any of it, especially when Niall warns her that three-year-old's are notorious for not eating anything at all, something about his nephews food jag in which he refused everything but peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but Teddy cleans his plate and drinks all of his water. Y/N eats a plate too, hunched over the sink after setting him up on the booster at the island counter, while she pours the little that's left on the plate and searches each drawer for foil to pull over it, storing it in the microwave in case Harry wanted her subpar cooking as a quick snack granted he didn't feel like making dinner.

By the time that she heard an alarm system say front door open, and Harry appears at the entrance of the den, she had tidied the floor from the disarray it'd been in and Teddy had fallen back asleep with his body slouched over Eeyore, his thumb nestled in the crater of his lips. With his brows raised, he waves her over to him and Y/N very cautiously raises from the cushions, telling Eeyore to stay with a silent raise of her finger. Quietly creeping out of the den, she follows Harry towards the kitchen, and goes to the counter, hiking herself up on the barstool and watching as he reached for a glass from the cupboard, "So, not only do I recruit you last minute to watch Teddy, but you feed him, somehow lay him back down for the night, and tidy up the den? Were you sent from heaven?"

Y/N snorts, shaking her head, "He's just a little angel is all. Was very nice as long as I let him play with his race cars."

"Course, those blasted little things," he takes a sip of his water, "But everything went well?" She nods, "Thank god! You really are a godsend, I don' know what I would've done – guess, I would've had to strap him up and take him with me, but a post-nap Teddy is usually a grumpy little devil – he took scissors to my favorite Rolling Stones shirt, 1978 tour my Dad went to when he was young; I still have the scraps of it." He looks wistfully, "Apparently not with you though; did he give you a run for your money though? Look dead on your feet."

She pouts her mouth, "Aish, do I really look that bad?" Rumpling her lips, she slumps over the counter, holding her face up with her palm, "My job runs me like a dog, and that on top of school is y'know – a lot. Plus mothering Eeyore is a full-time job," Harry chuckles, and her heart just about bursts into two (she blames it on being sleepy and that in turn making her softer), "I think I've slept for 4 hours in the past 24 hours?"

"Poor thing," he shakes his head, frowning, "You work at the cookie dough place right? Who needs cookie dough 24/7?"

"Y'know, you'd think after a year of working there I would have the answer, but I'm just as lost as you." A yawn overtakes her, eyes watering with false alarm tears, like speaking about it reminded her just how spent she was. She would have to uber out of here, probably by the diner a couple blocks over, and while she didn't fancy walking with the sun going down, she couldn't ask Adam to come all the way out here when he's already at home. "I should probably get going though – still have an essay to finish, and hopefully I'll be able to sleep for ten minutes before class tomorrow."

Harry's lips draw down slightly like he might have forgotten she was going home in the first place, "Oh, of course, I don't want to keep you," he nods, "But please let me take you back home. It's gotten far too chilly for you and Eeyore to walk."

Y/N's heart drops to her stomach, "Mr. Styles, really –" she begins but he's shaking his head.

"I insist. And," he reaches into his back pocket, taking out a brown leather wallet and opening it with a flick of his wrist. He fishes out a wad of money, far more than the fifty dollar bills she once got for babysitting her cousins for a night, "For what you did for me tonight. I'll never be able to express how thankful I am, so I figure a couple hundred would be good, yeah?"

Her eyes are wide, mouth watering at the sight of that much money that was about to be handed over to her – but she couldn't...she just couldn't. Adam would smite her for it, but she refuses – it doesn't feel like she's earned it at all, "Mr. Styles, really, you don't have to pay me. He was really good, all I did was play with him for a few hours –"

"Well, now I insist you take it," he walks briskly to her, taking her by the wrist and flipping her hand palm up before sliding the money into her grasp, "You played with him? Neither of his Nanny's play with him and I'm paying them a ridiculous amount a month. Please – it'll give me some peace of mind for ambushing you with this."

With a pout, she allows him to guide her fingers closed around the paper, a slew of tingles where his hand had touched her own from her wrist to the tips of her fingers. Like the ones described in movies and books; the ones that make our heart race, and your face warm, and your breathing bate, like the very bit of your brain that controls all of that is firm in their grasp, "Mr. Styles –" she begins but he's quick to stop her.

"Harry, Love, call me Harry. Nasty habit that," he drags his tie the rest of the way down and off, "Now c'mon, I'll get Teddy in his booster and we'll swing you –"

"I don't live in this neighborhood," Y/N finally admits and while it feels like a weight floating off of her shoulders, her hands tremble some. He'd never directly asked her if she lived around here, nor did she ever tell him that she did live around here, but that didn't get her off the chopping block. How she sees it, there's no way he won't be put off that she sneaks into this neighborhood to walk her bloody dog, "I – I live in a two-person apartment, and while it's spacious enough, I feel bad that Eeyore doesn't have a yard or anything but it's all I can afford and when I was walking him around outside this neighborhood, he dragged me up a hill – I didn't even realize that it was gonna lead here. Hadn't known it was gated really either until too late into it, and Eeyore just loves it here. His permanently sad face goes bright and I just...I kept bringing him back." She sighs, knuckling at her eyes, "I...if you want me to stop walking around here, I understand 'cos –"

Again, Harry cuts her off, and though she's expecting him to yell at her and call the police or something equally dramatic (she'd begun mentally preparing to be taken away in a county sheriff car, and how shit it would look on a scholarship application), "Hey, hey, hey," Harry is still standing before her, and his face doesn't read any anger or discomfort with her presence – rather, a weird sort of sympathy, "Listen, Y/N, with all due respect, I knew you didn't live around here." Her face drops to an 'oh', "People around here are proper snobs, you were too sweet t'a be one of them. Plus you work at a cookie dough place and you've told a story or too about being stressed about money, so I kind of figured."

"And you're not mad?" She questions in disbelief, eyes like saucers.

"Why would I be? You've been walking around here for what – two-three months? There've been no mysterious break-ins since then, and you're sweet as all hell," he replies, a small smile, "Now, gimme your address, Pet. I'll take you home."

. . .

Telling Niall and Adam was the stupidest thing she could have done.

"The scene is set; babysitter is a cute, awkwardly sultry girl who is desperate for a buck meets sexy, young millionaire with a child."

"Babysitter is a bit of an off the cuff criminal but he doesn't care."

"He treats her with his cock to pay for the wonderful job she's done watching over his kid." And then, with a lowered voice, "G'na give you a kiddo of our own, lemme breed you bab-"

"That's enough!" Y/N squawks, taking the couch pillow she'd been laying on and spiraling it at Niall's head while she kicks out her foot towards Adam who catches it while he laughs, "I watched the kid once I'm hardly a babysitter. You two are demons, m'never telling you anything ever again and that's final."

It had slipped out! They'd all been hanging out, Y/N was on her second piece of pizza with her legs flopped over Adam's lap, Eeyore snoring on the ground beside Niall and Sixteen Candles forgotten on the tv. She had been thinking about how lucky whoever the girl Harry had his sights set on must be in the middle of the movie, which led to her feeling all smiley and warm thinking about how sweet he was to Teddy, and recalling how inconsiderately hot he looked while he was driving, and the dimples that pop when he smiles and tells her to have a good night that turned her to mush. She wanted to gush about it – talk to someone other than Eeyore, so she lets it all leave her in a breath.

Adam had pointed and cried, "I knew it! You fucking like him!"

And Niall had pouted his lips, "Cuuute, didn't know you were into Daddies."

Then they fell into their little porno fantasy and Y/N regretted letting them know anything at all.

"Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute," Niall huffs after narrowly dodging the pillow, "We're just joking, Pet, c'mon. Plus, we aren't so far off – remember my friend Minnie? She babysat for this guy up until a year ago, and they were fucking the whole time. Tell us more about Mr. Styles."

Y/N tilts her head, cheek pressed to her knuckles, palm to the couch cushion, Adam is squeezing at her calf in a halfhearted massage as she breaks her vow, "I told you everything already. He's dreamy and he's so sweet with his kid and he's gentle and gave me way too much for watching his kid and he's got fucking dimples – and there is no way that he would ever be interested in me."

"Don't say that," Adam pats her ankle, "You're a top pick, Lovie, he's lucky you have your sights set on him."

She opens her mouth, about to respond with about a dozen different reasons as to why he was completely off the fucking mark when her phone dings in her ear and she just about jumps out of her skin. Her hand slaps down against the phone, tilting the screen to her face and seeing Harry had messaged her.

Hi Y/N, this is Harry in case you didn't save the number. Would you be willing to come over tomorrow around 5PM? I'd like to discuss some things with you.

Dinner will be prepared so don't eat! (Although it won't be as delicious as the macaroni that you prepared. I ate the rest.)

Her face must give her away and she doesn't realize that Adam is reading over her shoulder until he gasps, "Niall, they're fucking." He says definitively.

"Shut up!"

. . .

Entering this neighborhood feels different when Eeyore isn't by her side and she's technically breaking in. This time, Adam gives her a ride to send her off and opposed to scaling the side of a hill, they drive up to the large gate, detailed patterns molded from the iron. There's a call box with a camera focusing in on them, "Hello?" Harry's voice is raspy, deep, and there's a distinct sizzle in the background of food being prepped on a skillet; her mouth waters at the thought of what she might get for dinner tonight, thankful that it isn't another stuffed ravioli frozen meal with approximately three lousy ravioli's for far too much money.

Y/N stretches across the middle console, "Hi Mr. Styles," she calls out into the intercom, "It's Y/N. My friend Adam is here to drop me off."

"What'd I say about "Mr. Styles" huh? You better fix it or m'not letting you in me house." A sharp piiiiiiing sounds into the air, echoing into the quiet suburbs. With the size of the gates, one might expect them to creak open slow, their monstrous presence pushing the air out of the way with a groan. Instead, they swing open quietly, welcoming two very broke college students into a world they could only dream of, Adam's eyes going moony and wide while he gawks at the houses they pass on the winding, hilly roads.

"Fuck sake," he says, awe dripping from his words, "You didn't tell me he was this loaded! What is he part of a drug trade or something?"

She shakes her head, "No, no, he's the second command of some company though," she leans back into her seat, beginning to gather her things, "No matter how many times I walk through here, it never gets less Emerald City-esque."

Adam tuts his tongue, "All this money and nowhere to spend it other than – oh, you're shitting me is that a damn elevator?"

The amazement and envy course through Adam in the same way they did her, her first walkthrough, the entire way to Harry's house where he drops her off. A part of her wishes that Adam could have come in with her; it'd sure make her feel much more comfortable. Not that she isn't comfortable with Harry, but she's not good at formal if that's what this is meant to be, and the company of Adam or even Niall for that matter would bring some ease to her bones. The nerves wouldn't be rattling her so much as she tells Adam to wish her luck and in return, he says, "Godspeed."

Y/N panics for a few seconds trying to decipher what knock would be too police-like and what would be to quiet for him to hear, before she decides that she's an idiot for overthinking her knocking style and joes goes ahead and rings the doorbell. The autumn weather chills her, wrapping around her bones as she waits, hearing the click of shoes against hardwood, before the knob turns and Harry's form is in the doorway. He nearly takes her breath away, in the most stereotypical puppy love way, in casual clothes – or, as casual as he allowed himself to be she supposes. Instead of a suit, he wears a plain cotton white tee, tucked into a pair of mauve corduroy pants, and loafers – loafers! How cute was that? "Y/N! So glad you made it."

Grinning, Y/N gives small, dazzling jazz hands, "I came for the promise of food."

"And food you shall get," he's terribly debonair, stepping backward and out of the way as he pushes the door open wider, "You'll have to deal with my less than perfected cooking, the chef I usually get for meetings was all booked for the week."

"Meetings?" Y/N asks, following him into the home, shutting the door behind her and locking it with a flip of her fingers. There are so many nooks and crannies they pass that Y/N would like to explore through, and an entire second floor that was probably suitable for royalty (or at least she'd think so, but she also lives in a shabby little flat with a messy Adam, so anything would be a step up).

"Yeah, maybe that wasn't the right word for it, but I do have some things I want to speak with you about. An idea or two." Passing the threshold of the kitchen, he leads her through it to another room, with red walls and burgundy trim, a dining table set for two with a bowl of rolls and another of steamy vegetables, along with a step up seat where Teddy sits, kicking his feet and playing with two dolls – one a superhero (she doesn't know which) the other a Barbie. When he hears his father reenter the room, he turns around, eyes brightening.

"Y/N!" He cheers happily, kicking his feet a little quicker now, stretching out his arms and waving the dolls in both hands, "Daddy didn't says you were coming to eat wif us!"

Harry squeezes Teddy's shoulder before looping around the table, pulling the chair across from him out and motioning for her to come sit, "Well, that's what we call a surprise Bug; you remember what that is?"

Y/N thanks him quietly, smiling wide as she sits down, and Teddy responds like a mantra, "S'when we don' tell Auntie Gem what her presents are, even if they're w'eally cool."

As he helps her scoot in, Harry raises his voice a few octaves, "Auntie Gems, I hope you wike the ear–ings Daddy and I gots, they are very shiny." She laughs and as Harry walks towards the entryway, it looks like he's buzzing from her giggle, a skip in his step as he disappears into the kitchen.

Turning her attention to Teddy, she leans in, "It's okay, I'm not very good at keeping surprises either." He gives her a big, toothy grin, clapping his hands, "Who are your friends?" She points to the two dolls he had been playing with, that has subsequently been laid on the kiddy table while he'd been distracted. He picks them back up, picking up the superhero and wiggling it at her.

"This is Thor, but I call 'im Jeffery, 'cos of Daddy's friend and he has hair on his face," he rhapsodizes, then he picks up the Barbie, "And this is Jenny, my day Nanny. They are tryin' to fly but she can't!" His eyes are two globes leaking an innocence that pervades her with warmth; he was so god damn cute! Absolutely precious, she doesn't know how Harry gets any work done with this little gumdrop around.

"Oh no," she gasps, matching the alarm he wore on his face, "That's horrible!"

"Terrible, innit?" Harry reappears, only this time holding a French ceramic bakeware pan with two pot holders, setting it down in the middle of them, "A potato casserole, steamed broccoli and carrots, and rolls! Now, I know it's not Chef Ramsey material, but m'right proud of it."

Y/N's taken away, "Oh whoa," she gapes, "You should be proud of it, this looks amazing. Might have to eat the whole pan."

"You're welcome to," he grins, setting the pot holders down beside the plates, before using the spoon to scoop out a small portion of the casserole for Teddy, then a scoop of vegetables, reaching for a bowl and tearing it in half, "I was in college what? Two years ago? I haven't forgotten the struggles of microwave meals and cereal." He hands her the serving spoon, "I don't wanna decide how much you are willing to eat for you."

After she's made her plate and while Harry does his own (after cutting up Teddy's vegetables), he finally sits down and turns his sights on her with a sigh, "So, I'm sure you're wondering why you're here," he begins and she nods as she butters her roll, "Well, I have a bit of a proposition for you, if you're willing to hear it?" He seems a bit nervous, which is unlike him – other than that frazzled man she'd encountered the other night, he's always cool, calm, and collected like he's got a hold of a situation at any given moment.

"Course, I'm willing," she encourages him and he gives a slanted smile like a thank you before continuing.

"Teddy loves you – like, positively loves you, and my evening Nanny, as you know, has quit so I've been looking but nobody...nobody seems like the perfect fit, and you do." He clears his throat, taking a sip of his water, "I know that this is a lot, and you've only watched him once, but he's been gushing over you, and you treat him well – talk to him, keep him engaged. You'd be perfect for it. Now I don't need an answer tonight, I'd just like you to chew on it, however I would like to persuade you with the fact that you could quit that cookie dough job that's keeping you up so late at night, I will pay you well, just let me know how much your bills are and I will work around that including money that you will have for yourself to spend. Eeyore is welcome anytime, you can bring your schoolwork, and –"

"Jesus Christ, hold on!" She stops him, fingers looped around a fork, what she had scooped onto it slowly falling off, "I'll do it, yeah? You sold me on it when you asked."

"Really?" He gapes, "You'll really do it?"

Nodding, Y/N digs her fork into the casserole, "Yeah, I'll do it. Teddy's a doll, and the cookie dough place has squeezed me dry. I think this could be really good."

She's telling the truth – a chance to do her homework, no worrying about Eeyore when she's gone for long stretches, and a good lump sum of money all for watching what might be the world's gentlest child? Sure, she knows every rose has its thorns, and she's bound to witness a certified three-year-old tantrum at some point, but she'd be willing to endure it.

Plus, more time with Harry? The deal couldn't have been sweeter.

"Perfect!" He cheers, reaching over and patting Teddy's messy face with a napkin, "You're a godsend, aren't ya? Could smother you in kisses right now!"

Harry pauses for a moment, realizing his own words and Y/N's breathing catches just slightly.

"Kissin' is gross, Daddy." Teddy murmurs around a mouthful.

. . .

The information that comes with caring for Teddy is plentiful, but not inordinate.

Harry has Teddy on Monday's, Wednesdays, and Fridays and half of Sundays. He works from 10AM to 4PM, but it's often that he has to bring work home which is why he requires both a morning and evening Nanny (plus when his shifts run later than he anticipated). So Jenny – as Harry had described, a sweet, forty-year-old woman who reminds him of his first boss when he was a teenager – comes at 8:30AM to sit and be with Teddy while Harry gets ready and leaves for work. She prepares his lunch at noon and leaves once the evening Nanny shows (in this case, it would be at 2PM regarding Y/N), to which the evening Nanny takes over. He admits to her that the reason he had been home recently earlier in the evening or Teddy was running out of the home, is because his evening Nanny (Clementine) had been calling in or leaving early. Jenny was staying as long as she could but Harry had to come home early, which meant bringing homework, which also means sticking Teddy in his playroom while he worked in his office or setting the den up as a makeshift office and plopping Teddy beside him, and that just wasn't fair to Teddy.

So she would stay from 2PM to 8PM on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Fridays, with her Tuesdays and Thursdays open if he needs someone. She finds, through context clues mostly, that Teddy's mother – while she loves him – wasn't incredible with timing, liked her vacations, and was a bit...unreliable to say the least. Which saddens her for Teddy and Harry both, especially since Harry had suited himself for being a father, even if he hadn't been particularly ready to be one. It makes her want to coddle them both – do what she can to make their lives as easy and happy as they can be.

Harry writes a list of foods that Teddy likes and doesn't like but tells her that otherwise, she could make anything she wanted as long as it was suitable for Teddy to eat as well. He gets his bath after dinner, and a little time to play before bed. Harry tells her from 2PM to 5PM they're free to do as they pleased as well, to which he tells her that there as an SUV in the garage and the keys are on a hook in the kitchen – which makes her gape at him. Y/N had her license but she could never afford a car, so she was limited to being the designated driver with Adam's or Niall's, and for him to just throw that out there? It felt like a weird, bent out of shape version of Pretty Woman, minus the prostitution and diamond necklace.

He also tells her that there are some events that he goes to, in which he likes Teddy to attend with him not only to show off his little angel but he would need her to attend as well to keep an eye on him. He let her know he would let her know a week in advance for her to get prepped for it.

And that was all there was to it, is what Harry had told her. He said that Teddy liked her so much, he figured he'd seldom act out in front of her so their days would be easy. He told her to call or message whenever she needed something, and when he was home, just to run up to his office and he'd be there.

He thanks her endlessly for accepting the job and asks if she could begin next Monday, giving her enough time to let her job know that she'd be leaving. After they finished eating, Harry reaches over and offers his hand, "This meeting was a success, if I do say so meself!" He chirped.

Y/N claps her palm against his, trying not to be obvious at how enamored she was seeing the size comparison of his hand decorated in rings, compared to hers, "Pleasure doing business with you."

Harry laughs – loud and carefree, with those damned dimples, and his eyes sparkling beneath the chandelier light, licking her insides with a giddiness that was borderline embarrassing.

This puppy love crush was going to kick her on her bum, for sure.

. . .

"Ni, you have to carry the one I think."

"Why would I carry the 1?"

"'Cos that's how you have it in the example?"

"What bloody example do I carry the 1?" Niall snatches the paper from her hands, eyes scanning over the paper scrupulously, his irritation clear when a gust of wind blows and folds the page. It was an uncharacteristically warm day for it being the beginning of November so her and Niall were sat in the quad while she attempted to help him with his Calculus. She wasn't even that good at Calculus in the first place, so she didn't know what she could really do for him, but she's fairly certain he just likes her there for emotional support. That and her snacks, including a parfait that she lets him take a bite of every time he gets a question right (and when he gets them wrong, because she feels bad). Though she figures she would be much better help had she not been so nervous for her first time babysitting Teddy, but that was the only thing on her mind.

Adam appeared suddenly, dropping his books down on the table and shaking it a bit, "Hello Gremlins, what are we doing?"

"Oh, I did carry the 1." Niall murmurs mostly to himself, to which Adam's brows furrow and he turns towards her.

"Calculus," she responds, "He's got an exam tomorrow."

"Disgusting," Adam responds, giving a mocking shiver, "How about you then? What time am I taking you over there?"

Niall looks up from his paper, finally drawn from it to the conversation, circling his answer and pointing at it, and Y/N smiles and nods, handing over the parfait, "Over where?" He questions before spooning in a mouthful.

"Aish, you never listen do you?" Adam chides him, before reaching over and pinching at her cheek playfully, "She starts babysitting today, for her beautiful Daddy Mr. Styles."

Y/N snorts, rolling her eyes and looping her fingers around his wrist, pulling him off, "Shut up, will you? I'm nervous as is, I don't have time to think about him being pretty."

Soundly, Niall scrapes the granola off the side of the cup, grunting to garner their attention before he swallows, "Nothing to be nervous about, you're a natural. Take care of me and Adam well enough, don't you? Reckon we would've long since fallen off the map if not for you." He points at her with the spoon, "Except when you threatened to cut me prick off, don' do that, y'might get fired."

"Oi, to be fair, you're an obnoxious drunk and kept annoying Eeyore," she grumbles, plucking a grape from the small Tupperware container of fruit she brought, "Besides, Teddy's more well behaved than the both of you combined, I don't worry about that. Just don't wanna mess anything up, y'know? Disappoint him or anythin'."

Adam rumples his lips at her, taking a grape of his own and slipping it between his mouth, biting down and she can hear the juice burst from it, "Like you could disappoint him, I'm fairly certain you could twist his bollocks and he'd kiss the ground you walk on." He shakes his head, "I'd kill to see the two of you interact, you very clearly both like one another but you're probably both stupid enough to believe the other doesn't like them at all."

He's not far off, at least considering her. She does like him – a lot – and she figures if the situation had been different and he was just some curly-haired cutie in her lecture hall, she would probably stare longingly, maybe see him at a party, and toss back a shot or two before she goes to speak with him. In this case, she can talk to him, but he's so accomplished and far too fucking gorgeous to even think about having a relationship with her. Y/N guesses that he's only so nice to her because he feels sorry for her; he often reminds her that he was in college but two years ago, and there's no doubt he could see how tired she always was, and she didn't make it a secret that she hated her job. He took pity on her, that's why he popped those dimples at her...not for any reason other.

She clips the top of the plasticware back on over her grapes, dragging herself from that reverie before she makes herself sad, "Enough about that, tell me something yeah? Pretend you're a three-year-old boy –"

"Not far off for Niall then." Adam jests and Niall hits him with the flat of his palm.

"–what would you guys want to eat for dinner?"

They both reply at once.

"Chicken nuggets."

. . .

It might have been the best first day of a job that Y/N has ever had.

The day had started easy enough. Jenny handed over the reins, shaking Y/N's hand and smiling so warmly she understands why Harry speaks so highly of her. She explains to her that Teddy was in a bit of a fussy mood but she thinks it's because he didn't get much sleep the night before so he might be due for a nap anytime soon. Y/N doesn't get a chance to ask what kept him up, because Teddy comes racing out, a happy cry of her name, beckoning Y/N to lift him up.

After Jenny left, she could tell that Teddy was sleepy but he wasn't being grumpy with her. He played with Eeyore for a little while and taught Y/N how to play Super-Action-Ballerina Heroes which includes a lot of prancing, a lot of fighting crime, and a lot of Y/N calling timeouts because Christ the last time she moved this much she was in sophomore year of high school. Teddy is golden as ever, always checking on her, aiding her when she just can't "stop the bad guy", offering a sip of his juice box because it's "superhero juice". Is dad taught him how to be very polite and chivalrous and that's kind of adorable – Teddy is sweeter to her than most grown men are to their wives.

They managed to play until around four, when Y/N tells him that all superheroes need sustenance, explaining exactly what that word meant as she looked into the freezer and saw organic chicken nuggets. She preheated the oven and gave Teddy a choice of what fruit he would want and what vegetable he'd like. He decides on broccoli ("s'long as it's cut-ed in small pieces please."), and cantaloupe, so she cuts them while the chicken nuggets cook in the oven, placing them on the plate like a proper chef. She finds that they have sauce cups – like actual separate cups for sauces rather than just pushing it on the plate! So she put ketchup in it, set Teddy up in the countertop booster, and cleaned up while he ate.

Once he's finished, she gave him twenty minutes to digest his food before she proclaimed it bath time. Teddy was ecstatic for it, proving for the umpteenth time tonight that he was unlike any other little boy. All of her cousins were little filth mongers so she wasn't expecting for him to so willingly lead her to the bathroom upstairs (she keeps behind him just in case he takes a tumble backward), but he had. She filled it a quarter of the way, suds him up, shampooed the little blonde curls sprouting at the top of his head, and she didn't even mind when she was getting splashed when he slaps the water with his small palms. She wrapped him in a towel with a duck on the hood, "What a cute little duckie you are!" She had cooed, and he grinned, and shouted quack, quack, quack! for the remainder of their walk from the bathroom to his room.

Teddy's room is probably every three-year-old's dream. The walls are painted with a beautiful mural of the night sky on the ceiling, the walls were painted a soft tan hue, with decorations all over, of animals, rocket ships, trees ("I like trees!"). There were steps leading up to his bed, that had supports so that he couldn't roll off in the middle of the night. There are two dressers and one closet, leading Y/N to believe that he has a different outfit for most likely every single day of the year. With ample searching, she found a set of footie pajamas decorated in cats and one decorated in turkeys, and she let him pick out which one he wanted.

Harry had messaged her that he was running a little late, so by 8PM, she had Teddy fed, washed, and ready for bed. And the poor thing must've been quite tuckered out, because he requested to sit in her lap opposed to besides Eeyore, and fell asleep. His cheek was pressed to her chest, ear close to her heartbeat, breathing slow, thumb stuck in his mouth though she wiggles it out once he's fallen asleep.

So when Harry does walk in, beginning with, "Sorry, Love, I promise not everyday will be like this, there was a complication with some paperwork I needed to sort out and..." he trails, looking at the scene before him, and Y/N puts a finger to her lips as he walks down into the den, a smile gracing his lips, "Oh," his voice drops, just a decibel above a whisper, "Now how in the world did you get him to sleep?"

She shrugs as much as she can with the Teddy on her body, "He just asked to lay in my lap and he clocked out," she places her hand on his back and rubs it in a circle once, "Should I take him to his bed, while you get settled?"

"No, no, I got 'im, Love," he murmurs, leaning down and drawing Teddy away – at first he whines in his sleep, holding tighter to her but eventually he gives, "C'mere, big boy," Harry heaves, drawing him to his body, "I'll be back in a tick."

While Harry is putting Teddy to bed, she hurries to clean up the mess that was in the living room, tossing Teddy's toys into his toy box, tossing the juice boxes into the bin, and refolding the throw blanket that had rumpled in their time together. Then she moves Eeyore's sleeping form closer to the arm of the couch, and sets the remotes as they were on the table before sitting back down just as Harry walks in, brows raising, "It's well appreciated, but you don't have to clean you know? We have a maid in the mornings."

"I don't like leaving my messes, even if they aren't entirely mine, y'know?" She shakes her head, "Plus, m'always griping at Niall n' Adam for it, if they found out I was being a hypocrite they would excommunicate me from the group." Harry laughs, and once again, her chests bursts with warmth, "Anyway, I'll get out of your hair! There were no leftover chicken nuggets but if you want I can pop some into the oven before I go."

"You're Teddy's Nanny, not mine, Pet, but thank you," he looks at the clock, "Is Adam coming to get you?"

She shakes her head, "No, m'pretty sure he's studying for his Organic Chemistry exam, but I can just take an uber," she reaches for her phone that's set on the table, "Where's the best place for them to pick me up? Outside of the gate right?"

"No, no, no, that won't be necessary," he tells her, before jogging up the few stairs of the den and turning left, returning only when he's got a set of keys in his hand, "Take the SUV, yeah? Ubers give me the creeps, I don' want you in one of them. And this way you've got your own ride over here on Wednesday. Sound good?"

Her mouth falls open, brows cinched as she shakes her head, "Harry, I – I can't just –"

"Oi, lookie there," he grins, stepping towards her, taking her by the wrist carefully, slipping the set of keys into her hand, "That's the first time you've called me by name." Her gaze drops down to where he's holding her hand in his two, one holding the back and the other keeping her fingers tight over the keys, "Take the car, yeah? I wouldn't offer if I wasn't sure of it."

"Thank you – I – I don't know what to say." It's true – she feels absolutely speechless.

Harry hums, giving her hands one last squeeze.

"Say Goodnight, and get your bum home."

. . .

Throughout the course of November and into December, things fall into a lovely pattern.

After her last lecture, she spends her downtime with either Adam or Niall, either in the library studying (and by studying, she means Adam pleading with her to walk on his back because of his piss poor mattress), or at the Starbucks on campus downing an espresso so that she can keep up with an excitable Teddy. She drives herself to Harry's, Jenny passes over the baton, and Y/N is given Theodore the great. Some days they play until it's time for dinner, she might take him to the toy store and buy him a new goodie or on a drive to look at the Christmas lights, and other days, she asks Teddy if it's okay for her to work on some school work as long as she turns on cartoons and he can play with his race cars in the den. She makes Teddy dinner, gives him his bath (she starts bringing a tank top solely for his tub time, since he just finds so much humor in splashing) dresses him for bed and they either go to his den for a little show, or – if Harry is home – they retreat to his room and Harry reads him a story (Teddy insists that she do the voice for some of the characters because Daddy doesn't do it right). Once Teddy is asleep, Y/N would go to Harry's office to let him know she put him to bed and they'd talk with each other for a while, and they learn a lot about one another. Like how Harry is much sweeter and softer than he even lets on; how stressed he could be raising a child and taking care of his position in the company, little anecdotes about his childhood, or being in college, or even stories of Teddy that he's said to have never shared with anyone, "Not even his mum." And in turn, he wants to know everything about her, working her open easily until she's sharing stories that she hasn't told anyone either. She's never felt this close to someone meant to be her boss, and she's also never had this big of a stupid crush on her boss either (granted most of her bosses were middle age to elderly women in her time working).

When she's with them though, she feels like she's a part of a little family – like they adopted her into it for a few hours every day she works and it's nice.

She holds those moments close to her heart, reveling in them long after she's gone.

(Hell, she even gets them both Christmas presents and she usually waits a year or two of knowing someone before she starts dishing out gifts. They're both wrapped and sitting in the back seat of the car he lets her use, so she can't forget them when she finally gives them out.)

In her time with them, she learns how to cook plenty more things. Adam gives her recipes that he deems suitable for a child and her to both and joy, with enough leftovers to leave for Harry, so she'll make the food with Adam once the night before, and then she'll do it again at Harry's kitchen (with better equipment – Adam is persistent in telling her to ask Harry if he needs a full-time chef). Harry praises her for most of them, though she's pretty sure he's only doing it to be nice. When she lets him know that she was learning how to cook bit by bit so that she can make the food good, Harry seemed taken aback by this.

The compliments double after that.

It's when she's attempting a three cheese lasagna and Harry gets home early, that he tells her there will be a little change in their plans, "Remember how I said there were events I like to show Teddy off at? There is one next Friday night, Christmas themed, a few big shots are coming to make my life a nightmare," he dips his finger into the sauce, licking it off his finger and humming low, "Tha's good, Pet, what'd you put in there?"

"Garlic, ground red pepper, and basil," she responds, "What should I wear? Is there a theme?"

Harry goes to the counter where she had Teddy set up, lifting him from the stool, encouraging Teddy to latch around his finger with his tiny hand, and Y/N attempts not to coo aloud, "I've contacted my tailor, and she's picked a few dresses out that you can go try on. As long as that's okay?"

"Oh, sure, that's okay," she says, pushing the lasagna into the oven and setting the timer for forty minutes, "How much should I bring to pay for it?"

"They're already paid for." He answers quickly and Y/N gasps, spinning around and slapping him with the potholder, "Oi, oi, I know you don't like me buying ya' stuff but –"

"But nothing Harry," she grumbles at him, "Tell me how much they are so I can pay you back."

He had a nasty habit of purchasing things for her; it's only ever small things but still, she gets disgruntled by it, whether it be food that he brought home from a company dinner, or a new set of gloves because she had talked about how she lost her pair. Once after an extensive chat about how much Y/N loves red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing, Harry had brought her a dozen of them. It was sweet but made her feel bad, considering he had already done so much for her it wasn't necessary for him to do anymore, but Harry was adamant in his gifting to her.

"Nuh uh," he shakes his head, "Teds, can you say 'we don't accept money for gifts, especially when that person deserves them 'cos they're amazing at their job and sweet as can be'?"

Teddy was only half listening, so he shakes one hand and his head, looking at one of his cars intently, "No monies, no monies for gifts."

Harry pouts his mouth, "It'll be a fun night! You and Teddy can be my dates." The words slip out of his mouth before she thinks he even realizes, his eyes bugging from his face, "I–I meant –"

"It'll be fun," Y/N cuts him off, saving the both of them from whatever awkward thing was about to happen, and he looks at her gratefully as she continues, "I've never been to anything like that before, hopefully Teddy can show me the ropes so I don't make a right fool of myself."

"Oh yeah, he's a pro when it comes to this stuff," he teases, "Give him ten minutes, he's got everyone in the room wrapped around his finger."

. . .

If someone had asked Y/N that on a Friday night, instead of coaxing a drunk Niall off of a table, or cramming for an exam with Adam, that she would be in a far too expensive, glittery red gown, holding onto a child whose dressed to the nines in a suit and entranced by her earrings, at some big fancy gala that the child's father was attending – well, she probably would've laughed so hard she busted a lung. She would tell them that there's no way anything like that could happen to her; that she wouldn't be running around her and Adam's small little flat panicking about finding the heels that went with the dress, one earring on, and Adam chasing after her with a bobby pin to keep her hair in place. Would roll her eyes, and exclaim that Eeyore wouldn't have had one of the shoes in his mouth the whole time and her earring had been in her hand the ten minutes she spent looking for it. Would chortle if someone said she would make it to their house just in time, just for the guy whose kid she's babysitting would look her up and down, letting his gaze bore into her eyes just to say sincerely, "You look beautiful."

She'd just let out her ugliest, loudest cackle.

Yet here she was, her forearm supporting Teddy's bum as she makes a plate for him from the banquet halls food selection, which hadn't been made quite with a child's pallet in mind. She's cursing in her mind because her feet ache in these shoes, and most the people surrounding her are smarmy snobs, and she's been dragged into at least two conversations about absolutely nothing in the twenty minutes that they've been there. Things could be worse though, and even if she isn't having a fantastic time, she's had plenty of practice faking a smile for people in her time with cookie dough, of all things.

Harry had given her a pep talk on the way here, explaining that there are going to be a lot of people that she wasn't going to like, and a lot of people who would be so fake nice that it's borderline rude. "You just ignore 'em, play nice if you'd like, or tell 'em off either will do." He had teased her and she breathed a huffed laugh through her nose in response to it. He explained that there would be food, and a few seats if she could catch one, but most of it is for standing, mingling, talking business. Harry would bring them over to meet a few people here and there so he could introduce Teddy, but for the most part, they're welcome to roam about. Teddy was allowed to bring one toy race car to keep himself preoccupied and Y/N had her phone in case things got really boring.

The banquet hall is glamorous – gorgeous, glitzy chandeliers appearing to be made of crystals, a royal blue color scheme, live music playing low and calming, and an actual, honest to fucking god, ice sculpture of a fish! That plus nine dozen men and women who look like they were born in a chrysalis made of diamonds, it was something out of a proper movie. Hell, even Teddy seemed enamored, telling her, "That big fishy is clear! How's he out of water?"

Once she had made Teddy a plate, she was scoping out a place for them to sit so that he could eat it (and nibbling on a jam tart for herself), but as soon as she found a free space she'd been intercepted by an Armani suit wearing Harry, his hair styled in his curls, eyes a bright green, with a glass of bubbly champagne resting between his fingers, "I have a few people I'd like you to meet, if you're willing?" He proposes, and Y/N's brows raise, nodding enthusiastically and nearly reaching down to swipe her crumby hands on her dress but stops herself just before she could. She wasn't used to wearing things that she couldn't dust her fingers off on, and this garment, in all it's gala-esque glory – was definitely not something for jam tart to be clinging to the fabric. Harry must see her confliction, because she's presented with a handkerchief, and he swipes off her fingers for her.

"Thank you," she says graciously, "Are you sure you want me to meet 'em to do and not just take Teddy, 'cos I don't know if I'm really good at these things. Might muck things up."

"Nonsense," Harry comforts her, halfheartedly folding the handkerchief and stuffing it back in his pocket, and taking the plate of food from her so she could reposition Teddy, as they begin walking deep into the banquet hall, winding between people, "You'll be fine. These are the non-jackasses m'taking you too." Y/N nods, following after him, saving Teddy's car from slipping through his fingers, to which he says, "T'ank you." with a big grin and holds tighter to her.

They come upon a group of men and women, all looking esteemed and flawless, laughing amongst themselves until Harry walks up and they pause to look over them, "I present to you," he begins, wiggling his finger beneath Teddy's armpit, erupting a giggle from him "My little king Teddy, and Y/N."

"Hi," Y/N responds politely, saying lowly into Teddy's hear, "Say hello buddy."

Teddy, who had taken to hiding his face into her throat, reappeared momentarily to wave, saying "Hiiiiiii," in a shy little voice before hiding himself once again and the lot of them chuckle warmly.

"So this is the nanny Harry's so fond of," a brown-haired man across from her begins and she can feel Harry tense up beside her, "You don't sound a bit like Fran Drescher so thank god for that. I'm Nick," he offers her his hand to shake, which she accepts with a smile, "And this is my boyfriend Johnathan," he motions towards the bloke beside him, who also offers a hand for her to shake, "This dress suits you well! I'd wager you were a model of some sort. N wonder Harry's always gushing over –"

"S'enough Nick." Harry cuts him off, speaking through his teeth.

Y/N huffs out a laugh, shaking her head quickly, "No way," she responds, "Camera's don't suit me; reckon in real life I might look decent but in a lens, I'm a right Gremlin."

They all chuckle warmly, invitingly, and Y/N looks to Harry to see that he's looking rather triumphant, like one might when introducing a girlfriend and finding that his family and friends are accepting, and like her. It does weird things to her chest; makes her heart rump and thump as they lock eyes and he looks away sheepishly but still with a smile playing at his mouth. She shifts Teddy to her other hip, as the rest introduce themselves, including Carol who stood at least five inches taller than her and manages a portion of Harry's company, Greg who had a thick Scottish accent who flew from Scotland to make it here, and Amelia who is stunning and accomplished, letting her know that she owned several restaurants in various parts of multiple countries.

All of them are friendly enough but Y/N does eventually excuse her and Teddy, letting them know that it was time for him to eat and they all but rush her off like he was a little king in need of food. Harry hands her the plate of food, presses a kiss to Teddy's forehead and stops her when she's about to leave by a gentle hand on her bicep, "I'll find you in a little while so I can watch him and you have a chance to eat, yeah? Come get me if you need anything."

For a moment, it almost looks like he's about to kiss her on the lips as a parting but it looks like he catches himself, eyes going a bit wide but he's too far in to stop it so he plants one on her cheek. They'd never done that before and Y/N doesn't know if it's because he got swept up in introducing her and Teddy to people or what but it leaves her with feeling flushed and giddy, the skin of her cheek tingling where his lips had touched against hers. She's trying really hard not to show that she'd been thrown into a bit of a tizzy because of him but she always wore her emotions right on her face, unable to hide them even the slightest bit, so if anybody saw her right now they'd be sure to figure out that she was all torn up because someone she liked had kissed her in some way.

As she finally sits down with Teddy, seating him in her lap so that he could comfortably reach the table and except that she would be feeding him mostly because meatloaf was messy and he would get it all over his little suit. While she cuts up the food, she's flustered, and while she's feeding it to Teddy, she's flustered. All this time her feelings for Harry had long since bloomed, but the flower of it was growing exponentially, turning into a bouquet, then a full garden, to acres of just flowers alone. And he's been doing little things – kissing her on the cheek, calling her and Teddy his dates, touching her more often almost like he was finding excuses too...it felt like he was tricking her. Making her feel like she had a chance with him, when she didn't – she knows she didn't.

Because she's the nanny, when is she going to get that through her thick skull? If Harry's going to date someone, he probably wants them to be around his age, even if he's not that much older than her. Someone who already got their life sorted out, not the college student who watches his child for a little while so that he can get work done. As much as she's grown to love Teddy, she's most likely not cut out to be any sort of motherly figure for him. Hell, how could she be when a peck on the damn cheek throws her into an existential crisis?

"Y/N?" Teddy takes her from her inner monologue, and she looks to see he's got sauce on his face that she promptly swipes away with her thumb, "Can we sing baby shark doot doot?"

"Oh Teds," she sighs, forking up a sliced carrot – she can't stand that damn song, "You're lucky I love you, yeah?"

He grins, "I wove you too."

As if her heart couldn't grow any more in her chest!

These Styles boys are really trying to kill her, aren't they?

It's when she begins singing the damned song, with him holding onto her fingers with either hand so she can move his arms with the words, that a man walks up to them. At first, she ignores him, figuring that he was just waiting for someone around this area, but then he clears his throat and she looks up to see he's staring at them, "Hey, I'm here for Teddy."

Brows furrowing, Y/N tilts her head, "Um, what?"

"I'm here for Teddy. M'a friend of his mum, she told Harry that she wanted the little guy after the banquet." He seems pretty uninterested with the conversation which only makes Y/N warier, as she wraps her arm around Teddy and holds him more securely to her.

"Mr. Styles said nothing about that," she tells him and this seems to grate his nerves to some degree.

"Listen, can ya not be difficult? M'not kidnapping him or anything, jus' give me the fucking kid."

Not only was Y/N alarmed but she was right appalled, spinning Teddy around in her lap and he latches his arms around her neck as she stands, holding him closely, "First of all, don't cuss in front of him," she begins, brows clinched to the middle, trying to keep her voice from raising as to not draw attention to them, "Second of all, no, I'm not comfortable giving him to someone I don't know when Mr. Styles has said nothing about it. Now, if you'll excuse me."

She walks away, eyes scanning the room to find Harry, eventually seeing him in a completely different group of people than she had left him in. A bead of guilt fills her when she sees that he's laughing, having a nice time, as she's noticed things to do with Teddy's mum sours his mood ten fold. This isn't something that can wait though, just in case it was something Harry had forgotten to mention, though she does doubt that.

When he locks eyes with her, at first he smiles, but his face knits in concern when he sees the distress on her face, politely excusing himself from the group before meeting her halfway, "What's wrong?"

"This guy is saying that Teddy's mother told him to come get him because she wanted him after the banquet. I'm sorry in advance if he was supposed to and I just caused a stink for nothing, but I didn't feel comfortable just handing him off."

The light in Harry's face drains completely, a look of anger overcoming him, something that she's not used to seeing from him. It makes her panic a little bit – who was that guy then? Had he actually been a friend of Teddy's mum? Harry had to have some sort of history with him for him to look so pissed off rather than scared that a strange man was requesting his child. She's got a lot of questions but right now doesn't seem like to time to ask them, as Harry shoves his hand into his pocket, grabbing his keys and handing them to her, "Take Teddy home," he tells her, "Lock the door and turn on the alarm system."

Her stomach drops, "How will you get hom–" she begins but he's quick to cut her off.

"I'll meet you there, Love, don't worry," he murmurs, "Just take Teddy straight home, please."

With a bead of panic dribbling down her spine, she takes his keys.

. . .

Y/N's left in the dark for at least an hour.

Once she gets Teddy home, she unlocks the door with trembling fingers, and sets the alarm immediately, humming baby shark to Teddy so that he wouldn't pick up on her worry. She gets him out of his little tuxedo and gives him his bath, letting him choose the shark footie pajamas to dress into after. She even helps him brush his teeth, getting him ready for bed, but while he had a busy day and should knock out soon, he was still a little wired from some of the sugar she had allowed him to partake in tonight. When she hears a car pull up, she scrambles to the window, shoulders relaxing when she realizes that it's Harry stalking up the driveway.

She can hear him before he gets through the door, though she can't make out the muffled argument until he disarms the alarm and walks through the door, "For fuck sake Maisie, you can't keep pulling this shit!" He all but shouts and Y/N looks over to Teddy, concerned that he would be upset but he seems unbothered. She doesn't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing; on one hand, she's happy that it doesn't scare him, but on the other hand, she wonders if it doesn't scare him because he's just used to it.

"No...no, I told you – no, you listen! For once will you just listen!" He growls, setting the alarm back up, "I told you that I would bring him to you early tomorrow morning – oh fuck off, I always keep my promises. Today is my day with him and I let you know that we would be at the banquet, now tell me why the hell your boyfriend is coming 'round asking my Nanny to give him Teddy?" There's a moment where she can hear her on the other end of the phone, making out only bits of and pieces, but the general statement was, "I don't have to ask, I'm his mother." To which Harry responds, "Then bloody act like it! Come pick him up yourself next time, he's not driving off with the bloke you cheated on me with... .'cos I don't trust the fucking guy, why else? I'm his boss, I've seen his records."

There are a few more moments of the argument before Harry ends it with telling her that he needed to put Teddy to bed and to call him in the morning when she's not just had a night out with her friends (Y/N presumes she's drunk). He tosses his phone onto the decorative table in the foyer, a whispered curse of fuck, beneath his breath as he loosens the tie around his neck before he looks over to see Y/N staring at him worried and Teddy leaning against her with his thumb stuck in his mouth.

"I –" he begins, his shoulders slumping, voice going softer, "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"It's okay," she assures him, "I've witnessed a fair share of family trouble in my day. Are you alright though?"

Harry gives a solemn nod saying that he was definitely not alright, making a beeline for Teddy, who he picks up and holds him, "Hi, bear," he kisses the soft apple of Teddy's cheeks, "How're you doing? You sleepy?" Teddy nods, but instead of dipping his face down into Harry's shoulder like he normally does when he's tired, he presses his palm to Harry's face.

"Daddy's mad?" He inquires and Harry shakes his head, smiling up at him.

"Course not, Pet, don't you worry your lil head over it, yeah?"

The moment is soft, gentle and sweet, but Y/N could tell Harry is still peeved. Though her mind sparks a flame once she remembers that she had the presents for the two of them in the car, which she had been waiting to give them closer to Christmas, but figured now – after a busy, stressful day – was good a time as any. So she stands abruptly, startling Harry some, before she says, "I just remembered I've got something for the both of you!" She cheers, "An early Christmas present after a day like today, seems necessary."

She reaches into her bag for the keys as Harry starts with, "Hey, you didn't have to get us anyth–"

"Please," she wraps the key loop around her finger, "As if you go out of your way to make my life easier and I don't give you a bloody present. Give me a second."

Scuttering out to the car to get them, she finds the two presents, one of which is an extensive racing track for Teddy's race cars that costed the same amount as one of her books for this past semester, and the other, a vintage 1978 Rolling Stones tour tee that she had to barter with a man on Ebay for. She had been so excited wrapping them that Adam had cooed at her, saying she was precious before she batted his cheek-pinching fingers away from her face.

She gives them both their presents as they're seated on the couch, and it's only when she bends down to sit on the floor that she realizes she's still in the gown, so she has to hike it up some so she can sit comfortably, "Go on then, open them, open them!" She encourages and they both do, Teddy a little more chaotically, his mouth dropping open in a huge, almost comical gasp looking at his father with wide eyes.

"Daddy, s'a race car track for my race cars!" He exclaims.

"Holy cow, it is!" Harry cheers, his present halfway opened on his lap, "What do you say, Bub?"

Teddy just about trips over himself to her, wrapping his arms around her neck and pressing a big, slobbery kiss to her cheek, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He repeats, squeezing her tightly, 'You're the best ever!"

"You're welcome Teddy," she laughs as she loops her arm around him in return, her cheek smushed by his own, one of her eyes squeezed shut. Harry's watching over them fondly until Y/N nods her head towards his partially unwrapped present, "Open it the rest of the way."

So he does, peeling apart the wrapping delicately, and in almost Teddy like fashion, his mouth drops open and a gasp leaves him, looking up to her, then down to the shirt, then back to her, "You didn't!" He begins, reaching in and fanning out the t-shirt, his eyes wide as saucers as he looks it over, before clutching it to his chest like a prize, "How did you – where did you –"

"Turns out, a lot of people were really into the Rolling Stones and had the same shirt. Who would've thought?" She teases him, "It's the only one I could find that wasn't in tatters."

"This must've cost an arm and a leg," he sounds sure of it, looking down at it again, and he looks so grateful that she's about to burst – the traces of his stress from tonight momentarily vanished.

"It was worth it though." She tells him, "I wanted to say thank you for being so kind to me, and for allowing me to be apart of your guy's life. You lot mean more to me than a paycheck and I'm fairly certain if I didn't need money to survive, I would do this all for free."

It's Harry's turn to round the table, as he drops to his knees to wrap his arms around her and Teddy both, squeezing her tightly. While Y/N was reveling in it, it was apparent it was too tight for Teddy, who says, "Daddy you're g'na pop me!" And though he loosens his arms, he still stays near, "Thank you so much," he's smiling, those damn dimples popping, making her feel all too warm, "You're amazing, you know that?"

She giggles, heartbeat roaring in her ears, "No need to butter me up, you've got your gift already!"

Before they could get any further, Teddy yawns loudly, stretching out his arms towards the sky and Y/N turns towards him, "Someone's ready for bed, huh?" She positions herself to her knees, slipping her hands beneath his armpits and heaving him up with her, "You have to go to bed now so you can wake up really early tomorrow and play with your race track, yeah?"

Teddy nods excitedly, though he looks to Harry and says, "Daddy come too, please?"

So both Harry and Y/N take him up to bed, lying him down on his mattress, and they really try Y/N's patients with tongue twisters while they read him Dr. Seuss's Fox in Socks. Teddy giggles when she fumbles but encourages her to try again and Harry teases her that he's the best tongue twister-er that has ever lived before tripping over his tongue on Bricks and Blocks on Knox on box. It's a relieving end of the night for all three of them, all the anxiety from previous having melted away into laughter and rhymes.

Once they've finished, Harry leans over and gives Teddy a kiss on the forehead and Y/N is only going to pat his belly like she usually does, but Teddy all but insists that she give him a goodnight kiss too. Everything is good – normal and nice.

Then Teddy says it.

"I love you Daddy, love you Mummy." Before he closes his eyes.

Y/N and Harry pause at the door.

What do they say to that? How do they correct that? Are they meant to?

"I love you too, Teddy." Harry replies and Y/N leaves it at a goodnight before they exit the room.

Y/N immediately begins to defend herself, not wanting Harry to be offended in any way or thinking that she was referring to herself as Teddy's mother when he's not around. She's shaking her head and wondering if he can see her panic, but he merely looks a bit in his thoughts above all other things, "He's – he's never done that before and I've never – Harry, I've never referred to myself as his mum or anythin' like that, so like – don't be mad, it's dark, it was probably a slip of the –"

"Why would I be mad?" He asks her and he reaches up, cradling her cheek in his pal, gently brushing the pad of his thumb against the skin, "You take care of him so well – take care of me...you probably see him more than his own mum does, since she's always leaving him with a Nanny when he goes over there. You're a positive, motherly figure in his life." He says all of this thoughtfully, all while leaning in closer and closer to her, and Y/N's blood is roaring in her ears as he first, pushes his lips against her forehead. A gentle kiss, like he might be kissing her goodnight or something.

But when he draws away, he only lowers, and presses his velvety soft, warm lips to her mouth, muffling the small squeak that leaves her.

Holy shit.

Holy shit!