If I could fly (BOOK 2)

Headlines

Harry woke before the room did.

Morning light slipped through the curtains in thin, pale lines, brushing over the walls and the quiet stillness of the hotel room. Y/N slept on her side, one arm curved instinctively toward the bassinet even in rest. Darcy lay peacefully inside it, tiny chest rising and falling, her whole world contained in sleep.

For a moment, nothing else existed.
Then Harry reached for his phone.
He only meant to check the time.
The screen lit up immediately-notifications stacked on top of each other, vibrating insistently in his hand.

Photos.
Headlines.
Names.

Harry Styles proposes to longtime partner Y/N.
Engagement caught on camera.
Fans react as proposal photos spread.

No guessing. No mystery.

They knew exactly who she was.

Harry sat up slowly, chest tightening-not with panic, not with regret, but with instinct. He turned the phone face-down on the nightstand like it might intrude if he let it stay lit, then leaned toward the bassinet instead, watching Darcy breathe.

"Alright," he murmured quietly. "We'll do this right."

⸻

The performance later that night was loud in the way in-between shows always were-tight, electric, buzzing with energy that barely had time to settle. Harry poured everything into it, letting the stage burn off some of the pressure humming under his skin.

It wasn't enough.

The interview afterward came fast, congratulations layered with questions before he could even catch his breath.

"So when's the wedding?"
"Will Y/N be stepping back from public life?"
"What does this mean for Darcy?"
"Was the proposal planned?"

Harry's smile stayed in place, but something in his eyes hardened.

"We're happy," he said clearly. "And we're keeping the rest private."

Another question came anyway.

"Where will you be getting married?"

Harry inhaled slowly.

"I'm not talking about my family," he said, voice firm, immovable. "That's not up for discussion."

He stood before anyone could push again.

⸻

Back at the hotel, the noise finally fell away.

Y/N sat on the edge of the bed with Darcy sleeping nearby, phone in her hand. Harry hovered close, watching her carefully as she scrolled through the photos for the first time herself.

She paused on one image longer than the rest.

Harry on one knee.
Her hands over her mouth.
The kiss, frozen mid-motion.

She exhaled slowly.

"They caught it," she said.

Harry nodded. "Yeah."

She looked at him then-not upset, not shaken. Just grounded.

"It is what it is," she said calmly. "They didn't take it from us. We still lived it."

Something in Harry's chest finally loosened. He crossed the room and took her hand, squeezing gently.

"You're sure?" he asked.

She nodded. "I am."

Harry glanced back at the photo once more, eyes sharp for detail, then let out a slow breath.

"At least they can't see Darcy's face," he said firmly. "That part stays ours."

Y/N smiled, something steady and sure in her expression. "Yeah. That matters."

Before either of them could say more, the door opened without warning.

Louis and Liam popped their heads in.

"Good news," Louis announced.

Harry sighed. "What."

"They got us in the pictures," Liam said flatly.

Harry blinked. "They what?"

Louis stepped fully inside, holding up his phone. "Zoom in."

Harry and Y/N leaned closer.

Behind the tree-clear as day-were four figures.

Louis crouched dramatically.
Liam half-standing, half-panicking.
Niall mid-whisper, holding Darcy like priceless cargo.
Zayn standing a step back, calm as ever, like he was supervising a documentary.

Y/N burst out laughing.

"Oh my god," she said, covering her mouth. "You can actually see you."

Louis pointed proudly. "That's my good side."

Liam groaned. "We look like criminals."

Harry shook his head, laughing despite himself. "I. Ant believe you brought the baby."

Louis shrugged. "She insisted."

Darcy stirred softly in her bassinet, as if she'd heard her name.

Y/N set the phone down, the decision settling fully now.

"Okay," she said. "If the world was going to see it anyway... at least it got the whole picture."

Harry smiled at her-warm, steady, protective without needing to be loud.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "And the most important part stays with us."

⸻

That night, the room finally went still again.

Darcy slept peacefully. The ring glinted softly on Y/N's hand. Harry lay on his side facing her, one hand resting near the bassinet like a promise he didn't need to say out loud.

"I don't want to disappear," Y/N said softly. "But I don't want to lose us."

Harry rolled closer immediately.

"You won't," he said-not gently. Certain.

She searched his face. "You can't promise that."

"Yes," he replied without hesitation. "I can."

He took her hand and pressed it to his chest.

"I promise I will never let the world decide how we live," he said. "I'll walk away from interviews. I'll shut doors. I'll slow everything down if I have to. But I won't let anyone make you feel like you're borrowing your own life."

Her eyes filled.

"I chose you knowing exactly what this life looks like," he continued. "And I'll choose you again every time it gets loud."

She leaned into him, forehead resting against his.

"I believe you," she whispered.

He kissed her hair. "Good. Because I mean it."

Across the room, Darcy sighed softly in her sleep.

And for the first time since the world caught up to them, everything felt steady-not because the noise was gone, but because they had decided what mattered.