If I could fly (BOOK 2)

Uncle duties

Tour restarting felt strangely familiar and completely new all at once.

The arena hummed with the usual pre-show chaos - crew hauling equipment across the floor, lighting rigs adjusting overhead, sound checks echoing through empty rows of seats. The boys slipped easily back into their rhythm, voices overlapping in loud, affectionate arguments that felt like home.

What had changed was Darcy.
The moment Harry walked into the dressing room carrying her, the entire band lit up.

"Look at her!" Niall said immediately, reaching for her tiny hand. "She's doubled in size since I last saw her."

"She has not doubled," Liam argued, though he was already crouching beside them, studying her like she might respond.

Louis leaned over Harry's shoulder, grinning. "Mate, she's getting personality now. That's dangerous."

Zayn stepped forward quietly, brushing a gentle finger against Darcy's foot. "She's watching everything," he murmured.

Darcy blinked up at them, wide-eyed, her tiny fingers grabbing blindly at Harry's shirt like she already understood she belonged there. Y/N sat on the couch nearby, smiling softly - but her attention drifted back toward Harry without meaning to.

His hair had grown longer again.

Soft curls brushed just below his shoulders now, loose and slightly wild, falling around his face every time he laughed. The movement framed him differently - older, sharper, effortlessly confident in a way she hadn't fully processed before.

Her eyes traced the familiar angles of his face, the way the overhead lights carved shadows along his cheekbones, making his features look almost sculpted. His jaw flexed when he smiled down at Darcy, his entire expression softening instantly.

Then he glanced up.

Those green eyes caught the light - bright, warm, unmistakably the same shade she saw every time Darcy looked up at them. The resemblance hit her all over again, and her breath caught slightly.

He smiled when he realized she was staring.

And suddenly she couldn't stop.

⸻

The show blurred past in adrenaline, lights, and noise.

Y/N stood just offstage with Darcy tucked safely against her chest, headphones covering the baby's ears while Harry moved across the stage like it was second nature. Every movement felt sharper tonight. Every lyric heavier.

Twice, he glanced toward her.

Quick, grounding looks that made her stomach flip.

By the time the set ended and they slipped backstage again, her pulse still hadn't settled.

Louis appeared immediately, arms out. "Give me the small human. Uncle duties."

Y/N hesitated only a second before carefully handing Darcy over.

Louis adjusted her easily, bouncing her gently while she blinked up at him.

"See?" he grinned. "Professional."

Harry was halfway through pulling his in-ears out when he turned toward Y/N - and froze when he realized Darcy wasn't in her arms.

"Where-"

"She's with Louis," Y/N said quickly.

He barely had time to nod before her hand shot forward, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him toward her.

"Come with me," she said, breath already uneven.

Harry didn't hesitate.

He followed immediately as she tugged him down a quieter hallway, weaving past unused dressing rooms until she shoved open the first empty one and pulled him inside. The door shut sharply behind them.