offshore | h.s

15

HARRY STYLES

10:21 PM

I'm lying in bed, feeling tired but not quite ready to sleep yet. Suddenly, I hear Avery crying coming from her bedroom down the hall. I get up and make my way to her room, where I hear Gen trying to soothe her.

"Baby, you need to sleep, okay? Mum's so tired." I hear her plead from the other side of the door. and I immediately feel bad for her. 

I peer into the room and see Avery red-faced and letting out loud cries, while Gen is rocking her, trying as best as she can to calm her daughter down. 

I open the door and walk over to them, and Gen looks up at me with a tired expression. "She won't fucking go to sleep," she mutters, sounding defeated. I know how hard it is for Gen to handle Avery when she's like this, and I want to do my best to help her. 

"Can I try?" I ask, holding my arms out to Avery. Gen nods, gratefully passing her over to me.

"What's wrong, Ave?" I ask. "Don't you want to go to sleep?"

Avery just keeps crying, tears streaming down her face. Gen looks at me, clearly at a loss for what to do. I start to gently sway with the little girl in my arms, trying to calm her down.

After a few moments, I start to sing softly to her. "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day, when it's cold outside, I've got the month of May..."

As I begin to sing the words to "My Girl", I can't help but feel like this is a full circle moment. It was mine and Gen's song. And now I'm singing it to her daughter. I don't know if it'll calm her, but it's worth a try.

I look over to Gen and see her standing in the corner, a small tear running down her cheek. I feel the butterflies fluttering around in my stomach as I see her smile, obviously thinking the same as me.

"I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way, my girl..."

To my surprise, Avery's crying starts to slow down. She looks up at me with big, watery eyes, and I can see the tears beginning to dry up on her cheeks.

As I keep singing, her breathing gets slower and slower, until finally, she falls asleep in my arms. Relief washes over me as I look back over at Gen, who's now got a look of wonder on her face.

"How did you do that?" she whispers, stunned. 

I shrug as I continue to rock Avery in my arms, making sure she won't wake up again, before carefully laying her down in bed, and tucking her in. 

I look down at her sleeping face, feeling a sense of contentment wash over me. I know that Gen must be relieved too.

We stand there in silence for a moment, both of us watching Avery as she sleeps peacefully. I put my arm around Gen, and she leans her head on my shoulder.

We stand there for a while longer, just enjoying the peaceful moment. Eventually, we make our way out of Avery's room and into my own, and Gen snuggles into my side. I can feel the warmth of her body against mine, and I wrap my arm around her, pulling her closer.

"Thank you for helping me with Ave," she says softly. "She's been in such a horrible mood lately. I don't know what's gotten into her."

"Of course. I'm always here to help." I give her a gentle squeeze. "She's just trying to wrap her head around everything that's changed recently."

As we settle onto my bed, I can't help but feel a surge of desire for her. It's been so long since we've been this close, and I've missed her touch, her scent, the way her body feels against mine.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Gen says, her voice muffled by my chest.

"You'd manage," I reply, kissing the top of her head. 

But I don't want to rush anything. I know we need to have a conversation about where we stand, about what's going on between us. So when she looks up at me and asks, "What are we?" I know I need to give her an honest answer.

"I don't know," I say, stroking her hair. "But I know how I feel about you. I don't think I ever stopped loving you, Gen. I know our lives have changed so much, but I want to start again. I want to be with you."

The words just seemed to have fallen out of my mouth, and nerves fill my body awaiting her response. 

She looks up at me with those beautiful green eyes, and I can see the love and the uncertainty in them. "Are you sure, Harry? I don't want you to feel like you have to do this. And I have Ave..." She trails off. "I'm just not sure how she'll adjust to all of this."

"Hey, I understand," I reply. "I know that Avery will be confused by all of it, and it'll be tough at first. But if you want to try, I'm ready."

She smiles at me, and I can feel my heart swell with love for her. "Okay," she says softly. "Let's try again."

I lean in and kiss her gently, savouring the taste of her lips. It feels like coming home like we were always meant to be together.

As we break the kiss, I pull her close again, holding her tight. I don't want to let her go, ever.

"You're my girl, Evie," I say. "You always have been."

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really short chapter but i just wanted to get something out for all of you lovely people!!