"Alright I should have the adjustments made in the next couple of days. We'll do one last fitting the night before?" Annabelle asks as I walk her to the front door.
"Yeah that sounds good, just let me know where I need to be and I'll be there," I swing open the door, trying not to seem too eager for her leave. She's been here for two hours though, could she please get a move on?
"I'll call you when the color swatches come in for the after party dress. I'll see you next week," Annabelle states, and I know it was a quick sentence but it feels like she's droning.
"Yeah that's great, bye Annabelle!" I rush out, closing the door behind her. I let out a relieved sigh once the lock clicks, turning around to walk back towards the kitchen.
"What's the rush?" Celeste speaks up from the kitchen table. I settle into the chair next to her, resting my chin in my hand.
"It's been go go go for the past two weeks. I'm pretty sure I've slept like four hours in the past three days... and that was the last thing I had to do before my one day weekend officially starts," I say dreamily. I love having days off.
"So is Harry coming here or are you going over there?" Celeste asks amusedly, standing up to clear her dishes.
"Well I was planning on going over there BUT if you really miss me I could stay here and the two of us could watch a movie?" I suggest. Celeste and I haven't had nearly as many girl's nights lately, especially with Safia since her schedule is just as hectic as mine.
"That's alright I have to be at the hospital early tomorrow morning anyways, you go enjoy yourself."
I nod my head until a thought crosses my mind, making me set down my water glass, "Tomorrow is Friday. You always work afternoons on Friday." Celeste turns away from me, clearing her throat, yet she doesn't answer me.
"Oh my god! You're going to Tom's house aren't you!"
Celeste gives me a glare and begins wiping up the counters. "I don't know why you think you have to hide it from me. I'm not judging," I point out, a smirk on my face. Celeste scrubs harder at a spot, only giving me a subtle glance.
"That smirk is why I'm not telling you. You're going to start asking for details and I'm not sharing details about that," Celeste points a finger at me. I try to suppress a wider smile, taking a sip of water to disguise it.
"Alright, alright... I won't ask any questions, but Safia is definitely hearing about this and I can't save you from her questions. And you already know she's going to have a lot." Safia is the queen of gossip, there's no way she'd let a detail go unnoticed.
Celeste throws the rag she was using to wipe down the counter at me, and I have to hold up my hands to shield my face from it. "Stop being annoying!" Celeste shouts.
"I love you! In fact I love you so much that just in case, you have the whole house to yourself for the next fourteen hours at least. Have fun tonight," I wink and blow her a kiss as I walk into the foyer, slipping my feet into a pair of slides. The walk to Harry's is a bit cold since it's night time in late November and all, but I oddly enjoy it. I pull the sleeves of my hoodie over my hands and take my time, taking in all of the extravagant houses on the way. This is the first time I've been by myself with silence in weeks.
I let myself into Harry's since the door is unlocked, and slip off my shoes before following the sound of Harry's guitar into the living room. He looks up as soon as I walk into the space, his mouth forming a soft smile, dimples deep in his cheek. He slides the guitar strap back over his head and sets the guitar against the couch before patting his leg.
I settle into his lap, wrapping my arms loosely around his neck. I rest my head atop his brown curls while he winds his arms around me. "Hello," I say shyly, causing him to chuckle lowly.
"Hey," He squeezes tighter, "Look at you getting all dressed up for me."
I look down at my outfit; fleece pink pajama pants, one of his black Nike hoodies that's three sizes too big for me, and fuzzy socks. I laugh internally about how out of place I probably looked walking through this rich neighborhood in these clothes. What can I say? I always go all out for him.
I kick one of my legs up in front of us, flexing my foot. "Look at my socks. They have hedgehogs on them. Very fancy."
"Very cute," He compliments, and I put my foot back down, "Seriously, I love that you feel like you don't have to try for me... I love you like this."
I instantly feel a blush creep onto my cheeks, and I'm grateful that he's not looking at my face. This man has been complimenting me for three years, I should be better about accepting them by now. "Well I'm glad because if you expected more from me I might crack under the pressure," I muse.
I kiss the top of his head and stand up, heading for the kitchen, "I'm making some tea, do you want some?"
Harry shakes his head, pulling the guitar back into his lap where I was just occupying. "I'm okay but while you're up, do you mind bringing me a new pack of strings? They should be in the drawer on the left in the credenza over there."
Once I get the water started in the kettle I walk over to the table he pointed out and open the drawer to find the strings. As I'm rifling through, I find a stack of polaroids all kept together by a rubber band. I undo the band and spread them apart, seeing how many there are. Maybe twenty?
"What are these?" I ask, a knowing tone. I hold them up for him to see and Harry's mouth gapes open. He sets his guitar down again and makes his way to me. I look back down at them, noticing the array of colors, each picture a different mix. I flip the top one over and notice a date on the back.
"Harry Styles," I grin, "Have you been getting your aura read?"
Harry rests his hand on my back and picks up one of the photos of him against the familiar white wall, "Guilty... I started going every time I'm in New York. Apparently your aura changes every month. The lady who owns the shop and I are pretty well acquainted now."
"I'm not going to lie, I think this is really freaking cute," I confess, "What made you decide to go back though?" My mind flashes back to that day in New York where I dragged a reluctant Harry into the worn down crystal shop. He was totally wary until the photos taken of us knew more about us than even we did.
Harry clears his throat, "That last night in New York when I woke up and you were already gone I felt really lost and I had no friends in the city to talk to or anything and I felt like I needed to come to grips with what had just happened... I couldn't even decipher my own emotions so I went back in hopes that the colors would tell my something."
"And what did they tell you?" I ask quietly, looking down at the array of pictures. Harry hands me the one in his hand, a muddied red and brown surrounding him.
"That I was angry... I think more at myself more than you. I understand why you did what you did but I didn't quite understand what I was doing. And I was afraid. I was really fucking scared."
I set down the picture and hold up another one, "What about this one?"
Harry inspects the picture and a smile creeps back to his face, and I know that getting off the topic was a good idea, "This was right after I saw you in Georgia. The bright orange means that I was living my life vibrantly, and the bright red means that I was full of energy and passion. That was a good month for me."
I set down the picture carefully and pick up one more, his face almost completely obscured by a cloud of pink, "When was this?"
Harry's smile widens and he leans over my shoulder to get a better look at it, "That was soon after we got back together. Apparently even my aura can't hide that I'm in love."
I wrap my arms around his torso, pulling him close to me, "That was cheesy but I'm going to let that one slide."
I feel Harry's chest vibrate underneath my cheek as he laughs, running a hand over the back of my head. I stand up on my tippy toes to give him a kiss before I gather all the pictures back up and wrap them up, putting them back in their rightful place. Harry grabs the strings that I was supposed to grab and goes back to the guitar while I finish up my tea. I can't believe this guy is real.
"So how was your week? I feel like I've hardly seen you," Harry asks, tuning his guitar quietly.
"Long, but I'm just about done with press which is exciting. I have tomorrow off, a Buzzfeed interview the next day and then I'm finally done." Harry got to come back to LA after London while I had to travel to New York then back to California to promote the movie. All of it has been exciting, but I'm ready for things to settle back down.
"Have you decided what you're going to do next?"
"Ugh no," I rest my elbows on the counter, "After the new year I'll have promoting for the film I just wrapped and then who knows? Oh, I got everything set up with Vogue to do the whole 'Hollywood has toxic expectations which gave me an eating disorder' expose so I guess that's exciting. What about you? Did you choose a date for the album release?"
"That is exciting. And also no... I want to catch all of my fans off guard and there was some speculation that it was coming out in December and because they guessed that I'm definitely pushing it back. Maybe April?"
"You're so mean to these people. They give you all their money and you do them so dirty sometimes," I joke, draining the rest of my tea.
"Oh but you should see their reactions. It's priceless to watch them go insane."
I rinse out my empty mug and set it into the dishwasher, "Harry Styles I've said it once and I'll say it again... you're toxic."
"That's your opinion," he challenges, "But seriously, how are you doing?"
"Just stressed, but that's nothing new. I can't even imagine not being stressed about something at this point."
"How about a bath? Help you relax?"
****
Once Harry is in the deep gold tub I come in next, settling in between his legs. He pulls me against his chest, hands rubbing up and down my arms. I let myself relax into him, running my hands through the bubbles on the surface.
"This is nice. Why don't we do this more often?" I ask, pressing a kiss to Harry's jaw.
"Because it's rare that both of us have the time," Harry responds.
"What if I just gave up acting? Then I'd have plenty of time to do stuff like this."
"You don't want to give up acting, Lilian," Harry remarks seriously.
"Yeah, you're right. I don't... But did we really have to choose such overwhelming careers? I mean I love it most days but I'm drowning over here lately."
"The only reason it's so crazy right now is because you're so successful, which is something you should be proud of, Lil. But I do get it... so let's talk about something not so overwhelming? Christmas is coming up," He points out. He's not pointing out anything that I haven't realized already. Celeste and I have already started decorating the house and holiday candles are permeating every room.
"What day do you leave for London?"
"The 23rd. Are you sure you don't want to come?" Anne invited me to come over for Christmas this year and I felt like shit for turning it down. I just feel like I need to be with my family, especially because there's a possibility this could be Harper's last Christmas... I hate thinking that way but I also can't ignore the reality.
"Nah, I think I need to be home with... everything," I mutter. Harry wraps his arms around me so his hands are resting on my stomach and presses a sweet kiss to my temple.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? I can tell my mum, she'd understand." I shake my head right away, interlacing my fingers with his.
"No, you go be with your family... Next year we'll be together," I say with confidence, "This year we'll just celebrate before you leave."
Harry shifts his hands to my shoulders and begins rubbing out the knots. My shoulders tense slightly at the pressure before they relax, his fingers working magic. If I get another day off soon I should really get a massage. I need to text Kelsey.
"Anything you want in particular this year?" Harry brings me back.
I contemplate his question, going through a mental list of things I might want, but nothing stands out. "I'm the worst person to buy gifts for," I admit, "I feel like I have everything I want and anything I might need I can buy for myself. But I'd be happy with anything you got me, even if it's nothing."
"Yeah I'm the same way," He agrees easily, "How about we make it a challenge? We'll get each other one thing but we can't spend any money?"
I love spending money on people, but I agree easily, excited by any type of challenge. I bring my hand out of the water and he wraps his pinky around mine, doing a mini shake on it. We chat lightly for the rest of our night, and I have to stop my mind from wandering to a reel of ideas.
____________
A/N: Ummmm thank you for 50k??? I started this story because the idea came to me and I was bored in quarantine, but I honestly didn't expect anyone to read. I was really just writing it for myself but I'm so happy I get to share it with you guys :,)
I know that this story isn't as intense or complex as a lot of others on this app, but I think that sometimes a break to read something wholesome is needed. Do you agree? Should I write more soft Harry after this? AHHHH I can't decide.