Abandoned [h.s.]

nine

"Can I sleep with you in here Daddy?"

Harry smiled softly and kissed Lilly's forehead, "Of course princess. Daddy just has to put some clothes on okay? Skylar will watch you for a moment, okay?"

Lilly nodded and wiped at her eyes, her smile finally present, "Yes Daddy."

He grabbed a pair of underwear and the only pair of pajama pants he owned and slipped into the bathroom to change quickly.

Skylar was surprised at just how fast he returned and even more so when he asked her to step into the bathroom for a moment so he could talk to her, leaving Lilly alone on the bed and a small crack in the door so that he could see her.

He sighed briefly before running a hand through his hair, "Listen, I know that you really don't want to stay but will you stay for her? She really likes you and already thinks that you're 'sleeping over' now that she knows you're still here and it would mean a lot to her and myself, more so her."

Skylar only looked at him with this expression that he couldn't quite place before she nodded, "Okay, I'll stay."

He wanted to hug her but refrained on account of how she'd been after they'd slept together and how she continued to be with him now, "Thank you."

Harry had set Lilly up in the middle because she liked to be closest to him and where she could move around without being afraid of falling off the bed and Skylar took the other side, watching with a small smile as Lilly cuddled up to her father.

"I love you Daddy."

Skylar could see his smile clear in the darkness and thought of how beautiful it looked even when hardly visible. His smile had always been at the top of the things that she liked about him and she was glad that he still wore one just about everywhere he went.

Harry kissed her forehead, "I love you too princess, sweet dreams."

                                                                                                 . . .

Skylar woke to an empty bed and the sound of girlish giggles floating up from the kitchen downstairs. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned before heading downstairs where she found Harry cooking breakfast while singing and dancing around to Build Me Up Buttercup for a giggling Lilly.

"You dance funny Daddy!"

Harry playfully rolled his eyes and continued to follow through with his moderately terrible dance moves, "You don't have to be good at dancing to have fun sweetie, I'd show you but you're still hurt so I can't."

He frowned and Lilly smiled, "Daddy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

Lilly was practically beaming as he set down a plate filled with fruit and pancakes in front of her, "You're the bestest Daddy in the whole world!"

Skylar would remember the look of pure joy that he wore for the rest of her life.

He was practically radiating warmth, love, and happiness as he lifted her from her seat and hugged her close to him, his lips swiftly pressing to her cheek, "And you are the bestest girl in the whole world!"

Lilly giggled and hugged him closer, her eyes closing happily as she spoke, "I love you Daddy."

Harry was still beaming as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, "I love you more sweetheart."

Lilly shook her head, "No!"

Harry did the same, "Yes!"

"No!"

He only gave her a playful and questioning look as she continued to smile and shake her head, "That's im...impossible!"

Harry laughed very lightly, "And why is that?"

"Because I love you the mostest!"

He kissed her cheek again before settling her back in her chair, his hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright. You win. Good morning Skylar."

Skylar was caught off guard and her cheeks flushed, she hadn't even realized he'd noticed her presence.

"Good morning. Breakfast smells heavenly."

Harry nodded as he helped Lilly pour syrup on her pancakes so she didn't make a mess, "Thank you. Just have a seat and I'll get you a plate. Apple, orange, or milk?"

Lilly thanked him as he set the bottle back in the middle of the immaculate island and Skylar looked at him with a baffled expression.

He laughed as he turned around with a glass in his left hand, "Apple juice, orange juice, or milk. Which would you prefer?"

Skylar blinked and resisted the strong urge to smack herself on her forehead, "Orange juice please. Thank you."

Lilly spoke between mouthfuls of pancake, "Daddy makes the bestest pancakes ever!"

Skylar's eyebrow arched, "Does he now?"

Lilly nodded happily and hummed as she chewed her most recent mouthful.

She noticed that Harry continued to avoid meeting her eyes when they weren't speaking and felt terrible. But, he never did let her explain anything the night before either so that didn't help anything.

When they had finished eating, Skylar cleared her throat to get his attention. His eyes lifted immediately as he took another sip of his apple juice, Lilly liked it when they were having the same breakfast.

"Can we...you know...talk?"

She notched her head toward the hall to indicate that she meant away from Lilly. He didn't mind talking in front of her but when she did that he knew she meant about their encounter the previous night and he nodded.

"Lilly, would you like some more fruit while Daddy and Skylar talk?"

Lilly nodded happily, "Yes please Daddy."

He placed more berries on her plate and kissed her forehead before leading Skylar into the hall.

"If you're going to tell me that it was a mistake and you aren't interested in me that way, it's okay because I already know. Don't worry about it, happens a lot."

Skylar quickly shook her head, "No! No, that's not what I was going to say at all."

Harry nodded and waited patiently for her to continue, he was curious now because that's what she had made it seem like last night, "I just...I don't know. I can't move too fast and you know that and jumping into bed with you like that was just a mistake because it was way to fast for me and freaked me out. I'm sorry. I tried to explain last night but I ended up upsetting you so I left it alone."

Harry's expression hadn't wavered, "Can I ask you something?"

Skylar nodded and he continued, "At any point in time when we were best friends, before you left, did you ever have feelings for me?"

She smiled softly and averted her gaze to her painted toenails, "I fancied you so much for the longest time. I just couldn't ever tell with you because you were always so sweet to everyone. So I pretended that I didn't and that's why I ended up with Jonathan."

His smile nearly matched hers as he shoved his hands in his pockets, his eyes focused on her, "You were the only girl I was never nervous around, I guess that kind of masked it, huh?"

Skylar laughed and lifted her eyes to meet his, "Yeah, I guess so."

She kind of froze in place once she noticed that he was leaning closer to her, his head dipping down to her level and his soft lips kissing her own with such delicacy that she wanted to be kissed like that for the rest of her life.

"Can we start again? This time as more than friends?"