Butterfly Keeper // h.s. au

Chapter Twenty Nine

I wake suddenly, my eyes flying open and trying to adjust to the new found light in the room as quickly as possible. Harry's not in bed, I can immediately feel the absence of his presence as cool air tickles the back of my neck. I sit up, my hair pooling down my shoulders as I allow myself a short yawn before venturing out of bed to find Harry.

When I stumble into the kitchen I'm met with the most pleasant of surprises. Harry is sat on the top of his island table, hair messily perfect on the tops of his shoulders and a refreshed look on his bright face as he cradles the dark kitten in his arms. It's such a contrast, a small adorable creature being held by the man with tattooed arms and an unruly temper. But the kitten seems to soften that persona of his as he looks up at me guiltily with a half smile on his face.

"Well, well, well." I cross my arms smugly at him, earning me a roll of his eyes.

"She was whining to get out of her box," He murmurs quietly, stroking it's soft head as it nuzzles into his chest.

"She?" I ask, my curiosity being sparked.

"Yeah," He confirms, looking back up at me with a sheepish grin. "I checked."

I have to stop myself from going over there and joining him in his fawning over the small creature. He put up such a fuss last night about how she was only staying one night, and he wasn't even going to let me keep her in the first place. But yet here he is, looking at the kitten as if it's his very own beloved offspring as he scratches the area under her chin and can't seem to keep that grin off his lips.

"Harry," I clear my throat, trying to sound authoritative. "You gave me so much crap about wanting to keep her last night. You are such a hypocrite."

He looks up at me, his eyes a little wide and his lips in a firm pout as he cradles her close to his chest. "I've never gotten to keep a pet before." He tells me, a hint sadness in his voice.

And with that I can't seem to keep the act of indifference up any longer because that's exactly the way I feel. I know that he's being extra sweet on purpose, he's a master manipulator when it comes to pulling out his sensitive side at just the right times. But I push that thought aside, letting him get away with it as I quickly join his side. I inspect the adorable kitten more clearly now as my mind has been refreshed from sleep and a beam of sunlight coming from Harry's window illuminates her small figure at just the right angle. She looks even more adorable than my memories of her from last night, her small whiskers brushing Harry's shirt and her tiny paw placed on his arm.

As much as I want to bitch at him for being so stubborn and then changing his mind, I'm just glad that he's on my side now.

"You never had any pets as a kid?" I ask him as I run my index finger up the bridge of her nose, her eyes closing in delight with the action.

He shakes his head, a light frown on his lips. "Me and my mum lived with my Uncle after my dad died, he despises anything with a heartbeat to put it lightly."

I frown too, Harry's Uncle not sounding like greatest relative to grow up with. I'm not sure what I feel about the man though, Harry hasn't told me much about him. He mentioned once that he helped him get on his feet when his mom died, but that doesn't give me much to go by.

I smile at him sadly. "Don't worry, my mom would never let me have pets either. I would sneak left overs outside for the stray cats in our neighborhood to eat because I wanted to feel like I was taking care of them."

"You're good at taking care of things." He tells me, taking my hand and placing a kiss to the back of it.

It makes my heart melt at the kind gesture, causing me to reminisce on how far me and Harry have come from the past. He used to be so snappy and mean with me, and believe me, he still has the impatient attitude of a preteen, but he's come such a long way from who he was when we first met. He really let his guard down on our trip, and I've now seen sides of him that I always kind of knew he had hidden deep within. He says sweet things to me freely now, and he smiles more. I don't feel lost on him any longer, like I'm struggling to find where we stand, searching for a solid ground for us to rest upon. I feel complete, it's as simple as that.