Harry Styles Imagines/Blurbs

You Can't Sleep

You turned over in bed again, a finger rubbing the last bits of mascara from under your eye as it had too many times already. You sighed at the coolness of the sheets and the emptiness of the bed. Getting through the days was fairly easy-- with work, social time, and all the usual life things to be done, it wasn't so much of a problem. But, by the time night rolled around and you came home to an empty house, crawled into an empty bed, and tried to fall asleep with an empty feeling right in the middle of your heart, Harry's absence was all too apparent.

It all felt so cold, so alien, so unsettling. Which, you thought, was rather weird since before you'd met Harry, sleeping by yourself had never been an issue. But, after all this time, sleeping anywhere other than with him was hard. Your heart just sort of ached.

And so, you did the very thing you'd tried to talk yourself out of time and again (and failed every time). With a tentative push, your cellphone screen lit up your face.

"Hello?" a groggy voice answered.

"Hi, it's me," your own tired voice eeked out. Your head laid on your crooked arm as you stared into the darkness. Hearing Harry's voice wasn't the same as having him right next to you, but it was something.

"Love, you alright?" he asked with his usual greeting, though his words sounded a bit more slurred than usual, no doubt a result of him being taken from his own slumber. You rather liked the gravely timbre it gave to his voice.

"Sorry to wake you," you spoke softly. "I can't sleep."

"You miss me?" he playfully grunted, pleased.

You tried to hold in your smile, even though he wouldn't be able to see it either way. "No, not really. You took Reggie," you played back, referencing your dog. Since you knew you'd have a busy weekend with work, Harry had taken Reggie with him when he went home to visit his mum. "You know he's my favorite cuddler."

A low chuckle rose quietly from the other end. "He is quite a good cuddler, I'll give you that. We're having a right nice cuddle right now, actually--"

"Heeyy..." you objected. His need to always rub that sort of thing in was both endearing and maddening. Mostly it made you giggle.

Harry all but ignored you, only showing his amusement at your protests through his voice rising just a bit higher, though still hoarse with sleep. "-- but to say he's your favorite cuddler... I dunno, that's a pretty big title."

You chuckled at the banter. "I mean, yeah, you're right. But I'm not really sure if there's anyone else who even comes close to his level of cuddling, so I mean... I think he deserves the title."

This time it was Harry's turn to object. "Heeeyyyyyyy..."

"Well currently you're doing a pretty crap job, I'm just saying," you reminded him, a bit of playful sarcasm in your voice.

Harry's chuckles rose again. "Sorry, love," he admitted defeat. He sighed sleepily. "Reggie wishes you were here."

Your eyes blinked slowly as a smile crept up your sleepy face. "Just Reggie?"

"Mm... no, not just Reggie," Harry mumbled back. You liked hearing him all snoozy and raspy. "I'm pretty sure mum would've liked to see you too."

You would have rolled your eyes had you had the energy, but as it was, you merely muttered, "Seriously..."

Harry blew a small chuckle out of his nose, amused by his own stupid humor. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, of course I wish you were here," his husky voice assured.

"Even though I call you in the middle of the night?" you countered.

"Well if you were snuggled up here beside me, you wouldn't have to call, would you?" he played.

"True, true," you agreed, giggling quietly. "How about we make a deal then?"

"I'm listening," Harry prompted.

"Why don't you come home tomorrow, and instead of me calling you in the middle of the night, I'll just cuddle Reggie?"

"That is... not how I expected... I feel like I'm not benefiting very much from this scenario," Harry croaked, not even trying to hide his amusement. "How about I come home tomorrow and instead of calling me in the middle of the night, I'll just cuddle you instead?"

You paused for a moment, pretending to weigh your options. "How about instead of calling you in the middle of the night, you, me, AND Reggie cuddle instead?"

Harry laughed a sleepy laugh. "Okay fine, deal."

You rather liked the fact that things with Harry were so easy, so free and fun and comfortable. You liked the ease of jokes, the warmth of subtle comforts, the casualness of late-night, groggy voices. And, most of all, you liked how much you truly missed him, even when he was only gone for a few days, because that just proved the fact that having him around meant being home.