If I could fly (BOOK 2)

Walking

Darcy didn't wobble this time.

Harry noticed it the second she let go of the coffee table - no hesitation, no testing the air. Her feet planted with confidence now, balance instinctive instead of borrowed. She moved forward with purpose, arms lifted more out of habit than need, eyes locked on Y/N like she had somewhere important to be.

"Look at her," Harry breathed.

Y/N crouched a few feet away, hands open but still. "She doesn't need us to catch her anymore."

Darcy crossed the room without stopping, without panic. When she reached Y/N, she laughed - loud, triumphant - and immediately turned back toward Harry like she wanted him to see it too.

Harry felt it hit his chest hard. Pride and grief braided together in a way he was still learning how to hold.

"She's walking," he said quietly. "She's actually walking."

Y/N smiled up at him. "She's been ready. We're the ones catching up."

Darcy toddled toward him now, steps confident enough they almost looked casual. She grabbed onto his jeans, standing there proudly like she'd planned it that way all along.

Harry laughed through the lump in his throat and scooped her up, pressing his forehead to hers. "You're not waiting for anyone, are you?"

Darcy squealed and smacked his cheek with her palm, unimpressed by his emotional spiral.
Y/N watched them, heart full and aching all at once. "The world doesn't slow down," she said softly, "just because we're scared to let go."

Harry nodded, kissing Darcy's hair. "Yeah. I'm starting to understand that."

⸻

The studio felt familiar again - not tense, not new - just lived-in.

Harry stepped inside with Darcy balanced on his hip and Y/N at his side. The room shifted subtly, not awkwardly, just attentive.
He paused near the doorway, then smiled to himself.

"Right," he said gently. "I don't think I ever actually did this properly."

Kid Harpoon looked up from the console. Tyler straightened in his chair. Mitch turned, curious.
Harry adjusted Darcy automatically, careful and practiced. "This is Y/N. My wife."

Y/N smiled softly. "Hi."

"And this," Harry added, bouncing Darcy slightly when she squirmed, "is Darcy."

Darcy chose that moment to clap loudly, proud of herself.

Tyler laughed immediately. "Yeah, okay. She's perfect."

Kid Harpoon crouched slightly, instinctively lowering his voice. "Nice to meet you, Darcy."

Mitch stepped closer, careful not to crowd. "I'm Mitch."

Darcy studied him - serious, assessing - then suddenly broke into a wide, gummy smile.

Mitch froze. "Oh my."

Harry blinked. "Wow. She doesn't usually do that."

Y/N smiled. "You've been approved."

Darcy reached toward Mitch's sleeve like she'd made a decision.

Mitch laughed softly. "That's it. I'm emotionally attached now."

Harry grinned, something warm settling in his chest. "Yeah. That happens."

Darcy slid down to the floor with Harry's help and immediately became fascinated with a coiled cable like it was the most important thing in the room.
The room didn't shift after that.
If anything, it settled.

⸻

They got to work.

Mitch reached for the guitar first this time, rolling the strap over his shoulder. He played a slow, hollow progression - worn in, heavy with memory.

"That's Two Ghosts," Mitch said quietly.

Harry leaned forward. "That's exactly it."

"It's about two people who loved each other once," Mitch continued, eyes on the strings, "but stayed too long. Same faces. Different souls."

Harry listened instead of playing. "Like standing across from someone you recognize... but don't know anymore."

Mitch nodded. "You let it hurt. You didn't dress it up."

Kid Harpoon agreed. "That's why it works."

Mitch shifted the riff, lighter now, restless. "And Carolina - that's the other girl. Someone I met once. She was nervous about moving. Scared of change. But there was this wildness underneath it."

Harry smiled faintly. "The kind of person that stays with you even if nothing happens."

"Exactly," Mitch said.

Darcy babbled loudly and knocked the cable over again.
Everyone laughed.
Mitch glanced down at her. "She's got opinions."

Harry grinned. "Always."

Then Mitch's playing changed - sharper, louder, charged.

Harry sat up straighter. "That one."

"Only Angel," Mitch said. "But it's not chaos. It's not destruction."

Harry waited.

"It's reckless love," Mitch continued. "The kind only two people understand when they're so deep in it that it's consuming. Intense. Physical in a way that's tied to emotion, not just want."

Kid Harpoon leaned back. "Dangerous, but devoted."

Tyler nodded. "Private. Like it makes sense to no one else."

Harry's fingers hovered over his notebook. "The kind of love that doesn't need explaining."

"Exactly," Mitch said. "And what you did with it - you didn't shy away from that."

Harry scribbled quickly, singing fragments under his breath - heat, closeness, connection.

Y/N felt it immediately.

Not the story - the intention.

Harry glanced up, caught her eye, and winked.

Her heart flipped. Unbelievable.
That night, the house was quiet.

Darcy slept hard, worn out from learning how to move her body forward instead of just standing still. Harry lingered in her doorway before climbing into bed beside Y/N.

"I'm scared," he admitted.

"Of what?" Y/N asked.

"Letting people down," he said. "Fans. The boys. Everyone who expects me to stay the same."

She took his hand. "You're allowed to grow."

"There's no clock," she added. "The only timeline that matters is the one we're building here."

"With you," he said.

"With us," she corrected gently. "With her."

Harry glanced toward the crib, then back at Y/N. "She's not slowing down."

"She's not meant to," Y/N said softly. "Neither are you."

He kissed her - slow, certain.

For the first time since everything shifted, Harry didn't feel like he was trying to outrun his life.

He felt like he was walking into it - steady, forward, together.