Poppy/H.S

Chapter 29

"What took you so long, daddy?" Poppy scolds Harry, as if she was his actual parent, and not visa versa. This small interaction between them makes me smile, admiring the pure relationship the of them have.

"I think it took us a relatively optimal time to get here," Harry clears his throat, not having expected to be interrogated by his own daughter.

He looks at me, fighting a smile, the corners of his lips threatening to turn up.

"No, you were walking really slowly," she argues, crossing her arms on her chest. "The evidence says otherwise. John is the witness of all this."

"This is one of the times when I need to question myself if you're really five years old," he shakes his head, laughing.

"Just do the math, daddy," she rolls her eyes, pouting.

"It's my fault," I join the funny conversation, not wanting Harry to take all the blame.

Harry looks at me immediately, our eyes meeting as he seems rather confused by my sudden, but honest confession. I don't want Poppy to be mad at him.

"I don't believe you," Poppy shakes her head, pouting as she looks at me. "Prove it," she scoffs.

She's cute when she's trying to be mad.

"Well, you see those high-heeled winter boots I'm wearing?" I ask her, stepping one of my feet forward, so that she could see my shoes better.

"Yeah, they're very pretty," she says, admiring my shoes. "I want to wear shoes like that when I grow up."

"This is the first time I'm wearing them, actually," I admit. "It makes my feet feel very funny and I have trouble walking fast," I explain, exaggerating only a tiny bit. "I think I might have gotten a blister or two."

I feel Harry's gaze set on me, so I turn my head slightly to the left to see him better, our eyes locking. However, I don't expect to be met with a sympathetic look coming from him, his eyes sad and burning into mine.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he whispers, sounding defeated and hopeless.

"Told you what?"

"That your feet hurt," he specifies, his eyes still deeply focused on me. "I could've parked closer to the entrance."

"I didn't think it was that important," I admit, brushing it off. "Sorry."

"Can you tell me next time?" he asks me out of the blue. "Please," he adds.

"Yeah, sure, I mean, if that's what you want," I smile, feeling a little flustered, as if I couldn't get any words out of my mouth. "I guess I'm just not used to having other people care about the way I feel, so I just keep it to myself most of the time."

"Thank you," he whispers, smiling when he spots the redness on my cheeks.

"No," I shake my head, arguing. "Thank you for caring," I add, avoiding his puppy eyes.

"Thought we made it clear about that caring stuff a while ago," he whispers, so that only I can hear him.

I blush, to which Harry clears his throat, grinning at me, his pearly white teeth on full display.

"Now I understand why it had taken you so long," Poppy states, making me chuckle. "Sorry for falsely accusing you of walking slowly by intention."

"That's alright, Pops," I laugh out loud, my head falling back. "You'd make a great lawyer."

"I would?" she asks me, and I swear I could see the hearts in her eyes and the tiny wheels turning in her head as she thought of becoming a lawyer.