Floss // A Harry Styles AU

twenty-five

"No, no, no," I hissed, frantically stepping outside the house. I pulled the door closed behind me, "This isn't happening right now - you can't be here."

Federico laughed, resting his hand under my elbow as I pushed him away from the house. "It's nice to see you, too, Floss."

"No, stop it." I said and pulled my arm away from him. "Stop it. I don't know why you're here, but you just can't be. Okay?"

He paused, cocking his head. He realised that I wasn't pissing around - I watched it dawn on his face. "I don't understand. I thought you'd be happy." Somehow, he was more Italian than before. At least in his accent, anyway.

"No, I'm not happy!" I squealed, body vibrating with anxiety. "What are you doing here?"

This was absolutely not the time for him to decide he wanted to be a daddy. It would be the definition of shit timing - a disaster, a catastrophe, a motherfucking clusterfuck of shit. I had a sick child and he could not be around here fucking her head up even more. Trying to get her to process the fact that she was even ill seemed to be challenging enough, because Ruby just assumed it was a great way to have time off school. I didn't know how to gently tell her it was more serious than just a couple of sick days. She could die. And now Rico was here, somehow, fucking it all up even more.

And then I had a horrible thought - what if he was here because of that? Had my parents told him? It seemed unlikely, but it was possible. I was so wrapped up in having Harry around to look after us I hadn't even considered telling Rico. It didn't seem important, but maybe it should've. He made the decision all those years ago not to have an interest in her life, only sending the fees he thought were appropriate to help bring her up. I never judged him for that. But turning up now was a calamity. I could write an endless list about how psychologically damaged it could make her. My baby did not deserve that; she did not deserve to be both.

"Flo," Federico said quietly, and I winced at the nickname, "don't make me sad. I came back for you - I always said I would."

I squeezed my eyes closed, rubbing the balls of my hands into my eyes. "We were kids, Rico. I never expected you to actually come back - you went home. To your home. And I stayed here in mine."

"Well, I missed your home." He said, a sharpness to his tone. "I want it to be our home, like we always said it could be. Do you not want that?"

"Dios mío, Rico," I was exasperated, "¡han pasado ocho años! Las cosas son diferentes, tengo otra mierda en marcha. No puedes simplemente aparecer aquí y esperar que las cosas vuelvan a la normalidad." It's been eight years! Things are different now, I've got different shit going on. You can't just show up here and expect things to go back to normal.

He easily slipped into Spanish, "¡Pensé que sería una agradable sorpresa! Lo pasamos tan bien juntos, estaba enamorado de ti. Quería volver y, no sé, hacerlo de nuevo. Verdadero." I thought it'd be a nice surprise! We had such a good time together - I was in love with you. I wanted to come back and, I don't know, do it again. For real.

"¡No nos contactó una vez! Vas a joderle la cabeza, Rico, y no es justo. ¿Pensaste en eso cuando te subiste a un avión para venir a jugar a familias felices?" You didn't contact us once! You're gonna fuck with her head, Rico, and it's not fair. Did you think about that when you hopped on a plane to come and play happy families?

He was about to argue back, but he stalled, a deep frown tugging fiercely at his brows. "Wait, what? Who are y-,"

"-Mummy?"

My heart dropped out of my arse at the sound of Ruby's voice, and I whirled around to look at her as she held a curious expression. She'd wrapped herself in a big towel, knowing not to drip water through the house.