After The End: Book 1

28. Nothing to be scared of

Naomis POV

My parents took the news surprisingly well. I could tell they weren't thrilled and my dad didn't stop glaring at Louis for the rest of the night but he still smiled at me and told me he was excited for my real life to begin. My mum embraced Louis just as avidly when he left as she had when he arrived. She told me to call to discuss "baby shopping."

The drive home had been pleasant and me and Louis both had visibly relaxed from the tension of the pre reveal.

We hadn't gotten back home to Louis flat until almost 11 pm. When we arrived we found a very peculiar and admittedly adorable sight. In the darkness of the living room, Lux and Harry were on the couch. Harry was dead asleep, his feet up on the couch beside him and his head leaned on Lux's shoulder. He was snoring very quietly but it was still audible. He was wearing that woman's cardigan over his pajamas again. Beside him, Lux was awake and smiling up at us. She brought a finger to her lips and said "Shhhh! The babies sleeping."

The tv was on in front of her. They were watching the notebook apparently, before Harry had lost consciousness.

Louis smiled at Harry's apparent condition before carrying the leftovers my mother had sent home to the kitchen. I approached Lux on the couch.

In a whisper, she said "How did the parents take the news?"

"Better than expected," I told her softly.  "They're excited to be grandparents."

"I told you so," Lux teased. "Your parents are softy's." She'd never met them but she'd heard a fair mix of complaints and praise about them from me.

"And how did you two do?" I asked gesturing to Harry's sleeping form.

Lux smiled down at him. "I think I'm in love with him."

I laughed. "He's unavailable Lux. He's told you that."

She looks up dreamily. "I don't care. I'll wait around forever for him." She kissed his nose like I'd seen her do in his bedroom causing him to stir momentarily before going back to the light snoring.

"Lux," I warned. Her tone was a little too serious for me. We had the Harry conversation almost every day now. She was allowing herself to become absolutely smitten and it was obvious. She still made habit of sexually harassing him every day, but there was a tenderness where there used to be pure flirtation. They were friends. They had inside jokes and fought like children. Harry didn't insult her near as often now, but I'd heard him assert the boundary frequently. He'd told her no. He'd told her friends only. He was committed to making sobriety priority and that meant no Lux. "You can't have him."

She frowned. "I know...but I can still want him."

"It's still just friends, right?" I clarified. Harry normally wouldn't even touch Lux. I found it a little odd that he was cuddled so close to her.

Lux followed my gaze and smiled. "He started on the other side of the couch. He's just a cuddly sleeper. And apparently he likes chick flicks."

She gestured to the movie. She took one more look at the sleeping face of her pet before grabbing his hand and rousing him. Harry blinked hard once before opening his eyes and taking in the conscious world again. Once registering whose shoulder his head was on he made a somewhat fake looking disgusted face and sat up. He seemed to register my presence and smiled sleepily.

"Did they kill Louis?" He asked.

Louis bounded back into the room. "No, I lived."

Harry rose, rubbing his eyes. "Good, I'd never figure out how to pay rent without you."