Songbird [H.S]

FORTY-NINE

"Your daughter is one stubborn little thing, ain't she?" Zayn's amused voice drifts into the bedroom as he pushes the door open with his hip, Josie in his arms laying her head on his chest as she sucked on her dummy.

From his place behind his easel, Harry poked his head around the canvas to check on his little girl who had previously been crying in her cot from the nursery. Zayn had tried to put her down for a nap so that Harry could concentrate on doing the finishing touches on his exhibition pieces but it seemed as if the baby had other ideas.

"She's probably hungry, Zee. I'll go warm up a bottle for her, she'll fall asleep afterwards." Harry explained briefly, quickly wiping the paint off his hands using his apron before leaving the room. His heavy feet thudded down the stairs, getting quieter the further away he went. Josie seemed to pick up on this and began to whine, squirming in Zayn's arms to peer over his shoulder where her father had just disappeared.

She had been obsessed with Harry lately, demanding to be in his arms almost all day and whenever she wasn't she would cry. Sometimes she would scream the house down until Harry had no choice but to stop what he was doing and cuddle her in his arms.

Zayn had been around since early that morning, keeping Harry company as he gave one final push to finish all his paintings in time for the deadline the next day. Josie had been quite content playing with Zayn for hours while Harry painted peacefully without any interruption, making sure that Josie could still see him to avoid any tears. It seemed now, though, that as the baby girl grew tired she was only interested in Harry - crying into Zayn's chest now her father had gone out of sight completely. It didn't matter that you could hear him singing to himself as he waited for her bottle to warm up in the kitchen, Josie was insistent on crying.

"Sunny, you're so dramatic. I only left for a few minutes." Harry chuckled, shaking the bottle in his hand as he grabbed a bib from the dresser. Zayn tried to soothe her by brushing his finger against her cheek, something that would usually make her smile - only this time, it made the girl glare at him with annoyance as her arms outstretched for Harry to take her. It never failed to make the teenage father laugh to see his daughter with such an attitude when she was so young. Her teenage years were going to be interesting.

The tears stopped almost as soon as she was settled in Harry's arms, gulping down the milk in her bottle as if it was her first meal in weeks. While Harry sat down comfortably on the bed, talking softly to Josie as he fed her, Zayn took the chance to look over the painting sitting abandoned across the room. Most of the time, Harry was quite private about showing his unfinished work to people but Zayn was one of the only people who got to see the paintings in all their ugly stages. He valued his best friend's opinion and always followed his advice on what elements needed to be refined or changed - lending his own artistic opinion in return whenever Zayn asked for it.

"Is it any good? I'm not too sure about the background." Harry chewed his bottom lip anxiously as he waited for Zayn's feedback. Most of the paintings he'd done for the exhibition had come so easily for him. He knew exactly what he wanted to paint and it came out just as he pictured it in his mind, however, the last painting was proving to be the biggest challenge as he was working mainly from memory with only one reference image to help.

"It's beautiful, Harry. Has Mae seen it?"

"Not yet, wanted it to be a surprise." He smiled fondly as he pictured what Marley's reaction would be when she would finally see the painting she'd been trying to sneak a glance at for days. He knew she'd love it but was determined to make it completely perfect.

"I think it needs just a little more highlights on the hair but it's pretty much done." Zayn smiled politely, stepping away from the easel once his eyes scanned the canvas one final time. Josie had now finished her bottle and her eyes were growing heavy as Harry wiped her mouth. "I can take her if you want."