Timeless [ A Harry Styles OU ] {1/2}

eighteen

a/n: this chapter is a little on the longer side but the next one will be shorter so it'll balance out x

also for reference meri jaan means "loved one" or "darling"

To say that Harry loved being back at his mum's house was a gross understatement. There wasn't a word in the dictionary that could describe the ease Harry felt from the moment he walked through the front door. The familiar scent of his childhood home, the serene calm that encased every inch of space, the quietness that he so often craved in his everyday life. It was more than comfortable, it allowed him to forget his troubles for just a little bit — and that meant everything.

Like now, he's seated on the back porch wrapped in a blanket with one of his mother's cats purring contently in his lap, a beanie holding in his curls and keeping his ears warm. He's carefully caressing his index finger down the fur on the cat's head. It's eyes are closed and it's practically leaning into Harry's calming touch, blissfully unaware of the faint shadow of a smile that is on Harry's face.

It doesn't even stir when the back door opens and Anne steps out with a cup of tea in either hand. She shoots her son a smile so similar to his, if anyone else had been there they'd be stunned by the resemblance between the mother and the son. "She's missed you," Anne says, leaning down to hand Harry his cup of tea.

Harry takes it from her carefully, startling a bit as the cat jumps out of his lap and scurries back inside before the door shuts. "Think she's just needy fo' attention, mum."

Anne frowns at her son as she settles into the chair next to him, setting her cup of tea down and pulling the blanket draped around her shoulders tighter to her body. "Don't say that, Harry. My poor kitty."

Harry laughs softly under his breath before he takes a sip of the tea, closing his eyes as the liquid covers his tongue. It's true, he's more attuned to coffee nowadays, but there's no denying that a cup of his mum's tea can fix any and every problem.

Well, almost.

The quiet air around the mother and son absorbs their thoughts, the bare trees shivering in the brisk afternoon air. It's so quiet, in fact, that they can hear the angry rustling of the few remaining leaves on the sidewalk below. It'll be Christmas soon and the neighborhood is at a calm for the time being. Soon relatives and friends for all the neighbors and their own house will be piling into the thin street, every available inch of the asphalt taken over by vehicles. It's the first Christmas they'll be spending without Robin and Harry's forever grateful that Rhea had coordinated the tour dates so they were done well before the holiday season kicked into gear in Cheshire. Gemma and Michael were coming down later tonight and they'd all be decorating the tree together. The Selley's would be coming down tomorrow along with the forecasted Christmas snow.

Harry's so focused on the way the steam from his cuppa is winding up into the brisk air that he doesn't notice his mother's concerned eyes watching him as she sips at her own tea. He's caught her observing him a few times since he came home a week ago, but instead of giving her a chance to voice what's on her mind he makes a joke about how he still looks the same he did a few months ago. Or he changes the topic, asking about fixing things around her home and about how her friends are doing.