Songbird [H.S]

TWENTY-NINE

23 weeks pregnant

"What are you drawing?" Marley hummed quietly as she lay naked in bed next to the boy - the sheets pulled up to cover her chest.

She hadn't realised she'd fallen asleep until she was woken by the noise of soft scratches of a pencil against paper as Harry sketched silently beside her. The girl noticed he'd pulled on a pair of boxers while she was sleeping and she smiled knowing it was just in case one of her siblings burst into the room without warning.

"Do you even need to ask, lovie?" He smiled down at her fondly as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with a content sigh. "You've always been my biggest muse."

The evening light cast a slight glow among the room, framing Marley's peaceful features perfectly as she slept. The moment Harry noticed how pretty she looked sleeping beside him, he felt the familiar tug in his heart that made him need to pick up his sketchbook immediately. It was a similar feeling to what Marley was currently feeling - seeing the way the sunset hues of golden pink kissed his soft features. He looked almost god-like with his curls dangling in front of his face, his tattooed torso moving ever so slightly as he continued his sketch. He was like a prince in a fairy tale. Her gorgeous prince Harry.

She needed to take a photo of him. This was such a simple moment but she felt so content lying next to him on the summer evening that she wanted to savour it forever. It was quiet moments like these that felt the most special.

"Stay there." She demanded, making the boy frown as he watched her slip out from under the covers and grab the camera laying on her dresser. While the girl had decided to drop out of school, she continued photography as more of a hobby. She enjoyed it better when she could do it in her own time and not against an assignment deadline. Her bedroom walls were filled with her developed film, mostly of her and Harry throughout their relationship.

Some of Harry kissing her bump. Some of her kissing Harry. Some Harry had taken of Marley. Most pictures Marley had taken of Harry.

Every photo was a perfect memory worth savouring.

"What are you doing?" He chuckled when he heard the click of a camera. Marley had climbed back into bed and was adjusting her lens to perfectly capture the way the light was shining into the room. Harry's sketchbook lay open on the sheets between them, the page displaying a couple of sketches of Marley asleep and how the covers draped over her growing bump.

"Just admiring my muse." She smirked, making Harry roll his eyes. "Carry on, babe. Don't mind me."

Harry gave Marley a cheeky smile, his eyes glinting playfully as he dared to move from his position on the bed and across the room. While he thought it would annoy the girl he was no longer in the position she wanted, the soft clicks of the camera told him otherwise. Glancing at his girlfriend, he noticed she was watching him through her camera lens - a fond smile tugging at her lips as she continued to snap photos of him as he walked around.

Before long, Harry began to pose for the camera, jutting his hip out and placing his hand under his chin as he gave her a sassy pout. He stuck out his tongue while going cross-eyed. He pretended to flex his muscles like one of the strongmen you might see at the circus. He gave the camera the middle finger while frowning. Soon the couple were doubled over in a fit of giggles as Harry continued to make up more goofy poses for Marley to photograph. Each one getting even sillier than the one before.

Making his way over to Marley's record player, the boy picked out one of her records and carefully set it to play. He gave Marley a knowing look in the brief moment they waited for the first song to start.

Second Hand News.

"I should've known you were gonna put this one on." Marley laughed in realisation. Rumours had been deemed their album, not only by the couple themselves but by their family too and it was always playing softly in the evenings while they spoke about their future.