Maren Morris: The Bones
Around eight in the morning my phone started blowing up, around the same time as Harry's and that was never a good sign.
"Love, what's going on? Why the hell does it sound like there's two earthquake epicentres beneath our nightstands?", Harry not being a fan of waking up, much less being rudely awoken, rubbed his eyes for a good minute before even acknowledging I said something.
"Secret's out teacup. There are photos of us at the airport with Josh and Alyssa, someone caught wind of the Blob and social media blew up with the story, which was later picked up by the tabloids. You know the rest.", he studied my face very timidly; afraid I'd break at any point. It was a bit harder to breathe knowing that it wasn't just our story, but it was now the world's story as well... but there was nothing unexpected about this.
"Okay. It was bound to happen sooner or later, right?", my answer not being the one he expected surprised him.
"Well yes, it was. But how do you feel about it?"
"I'm not gonna lie and say I don't care. But there's not much we can do about it. We have to accept that it's big news for the world, as it was for us a couple of months back. The only thing I feel strongly about is protecting Kaya after she's born. You chose this life and I chose to live it with you. She, on the other hand, will have no say in who her parents are and we cannot let them drag her face over social media and the glossies.", I had a lot of time to think about it and I was confident in how I felt regarding these new changes we'd have to make. Harry was always insanely private when it came to his personal life, friendships, family and relationships. Nothing would change in that sense, we'd still try and keep off social media, we'd take photos of Kaya for our eyes only and fiercely protect our family.
"We're on the same page. I just have to mention that, now that they know you're pregnant, every eye on the planet is going to be on us. We can talk about it with Jeff in January, it would make me feel better.", neither of us fully understood the gravity of our how our life was going to alter, but we tried hard to do our best and to be okay with it.
"Today is two years of us being in one another's life, can you believe it?", the thought never even crossed my mind, it was Christmas eve.
"Are you kidding? It feels like yesterday that I wrote you that letter. Wait here while I fetch your present.", he tried protesting, but I was already up and rummaging through Kaya's nursery for the little box I hid beneath a pile of nappies.
"I really hope you like it, I had it custom made.", the box was now in his hands and I couldn't hide my excitement. For two years, I'd been fascinated by Harry's rings, wanting to learn the story of each of them and how they made it onto his fingers. Now he'd have one that held the most special meaning.
"Teacup, it's precious.", he slid the silver band onto his middle finger and turned it around so the engraving was visible. I found the ring two months ago and loved its simplicity but felt it lacked character to become one of Harry's rings. So, I had Kaya's initials engraved on one side of it, thinking he could flip it over and hide the initials if he wanted to but he'd always have her close. A jewelry box appeared beside me on the bed, a bit bigger than the one I'd given Harry.
"Go on, open it.", the lid popped open and inside was a beautiful minimalist necklace with a coin like pendant. It seems we had the same idea, considering my pendant has Kaya's initials on one side as well.
"We're freakishly similar and it scares me.", Harry put the necklace on me and I leaned back into him, thinking about how I wished every moment with him could be my forever frozen frame.
"Wait, I almost forgot my gag gift for you.", the bag was stashed beneath our bed and I handed it to him, "You can no longer be a naked chef, but you're now a girl dad chef. We have to think of a way to explain this to our future son, if we ever have one.".
The rest of the morning was spent in a hurry, shuffling pieces of toast between us and bumping into each other by the coffee machine, trying to pack everything and be ready to hit the road. Anne, Gemma and Michal were very excited to meet Josh and Alyssa and I felt good going into the holidays knowing I'd be around people whose company I enjoy. My parents were travelling through Spain the entire month of December and I was extremely jealous for not being able to join them. They were going to come stay with us for a little while before Kaya is born, so we gave them this vacation as a thank you gift. It took us almost four hours to Holmes Chapel, but the drive up was anything but quiet. Josh and Harry ganged up on me and Alyssa, cracking jokes on our account. Harry even let Josh mend the DJ station of his car, which was a big mistake and he realized himself the moment Josh started playing hits from the 90s and early 2000s. Anne was already waiting at the doorstep while we pulled in, handing out big smiles and warm hugs.
"You've gotten bigger since I last saw you, hasn't she Harry?", those two were always trying to one up each other, but Harry knew she was pulling his leg and trying to get him to say something I'd reprimand him for.
"Mum, it's the baby, it's not teacup. It's wonderful she's growing steadily, we think.", my man had his answer ready since we passed Wolverhampton, probably.
"That's my boy! Come on, go set the bags upstairs and join us all for lunch.", more of Harry's family and school friends started showing up, which was both wonderful and exhausting. Everyone wanted to know when the baby was due and what we were going to call her. I even saw Anne giving one of the children a couple quid to ask me what the baby's name was. The house smelt of family and Christmas and it warmed my heart. Everyone shuffled out around nine, leaving us all pretty beat but with full tummies and happy souls. We'd all decided to go to bed and open presents tomorrow morning.
"Are you aware that next Christmas we'll be watching Love Actually with Kaya in our bed?", Harry's room was much smaller than the one we shared in London but cozy, nonetheless. We laid in the comfy bed, not breaking the tradition that brought us together two years ago. I didn't even watch the rest of the film because I couldn't keep my eyes off him. This man that crashed into my life so suddenly and never let me shake him off... this man that was patient enough to allow me the time I needed to fall in love with him. This man I barely gave a fighting chance in the beginning was now laying beside me, running his fingers over my hand and kissing the side of my face every now and again.
"Penny for your thoughts, as our American friends would put it?", the credits were rolling when Harry finally broke me out of the trance I was in.
"I love you, is all. I keep thinking about the past two years and the day we met. It brings me a lot of joy that we're gonna be thinking back to that day in the many years to come.", if looks could hug, the one Harry was giving me would squeeze my bones nice and tight.
The next couple of days were a blur of laughter, delicious food and incredible memories. Anne spent the whole of today getting everything ready – piles of food, a dozen kinds of alcohol, board games, the music station, decorations... everything had to be perfect for New Year's. By the time everyone gathered in their house, it was almost ten at night. Harry got very competitive with charades, Gemma's team ended up beating ours and she'd never let him live that down.
"Can I have everyone's attention, please? Thank you. It warms my heart that you all came tonight, there's nothing better than ringing in the new year surrounded by those you love the most. This one's special, though. As you all know, I'll become a gran this year and I wanted to take a moment and say a toast to Harry and Thea. You two spent a while complicating each other's lives before it clicked that you just had to be together and all would be well in the end. When I learned that Blob was on her way...", everyone laughed at Kaya's beloved nickname, "... it was a mix of hysterical joy and slight panic. You never think your kids are ready to become parents, but I've been watching you both these past months and I gotta say how proud I am of you. This little lady is so lucky to have you for parents and this entire family as the village that'll help raise her if push comes to shove. To all of us, but mainly to you two! Thanks for making me a witness to your love and passion. I love you!".
By the end of her speech there wasn't a dry eye in the room, and the clock struck midnight.
"Happy new year, teacup.", his lips found mine mere seconds after the calendar turned a new leaf. The last two years were memorable, from New York to Los Angeles, all through to London and Madrid. Numerous friendships, incredible opportunities and stories I'll remember as long as I live. But this year, there wasn't a chance in hell I'd ever forget 2022.
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A/N: a short and sweet Christmas with the Styles-Twist fam!
TPWK, always.
T.