Stay Close [h.s.]

Chapter 7

{Harry's Point of View}

Kate fell asleep in the car as we drove to our country house. We hadn't even passed London's city limits before she nodded off, her head resting against the passenger window. Though asleep, her hand still held onto mine over the center console.

We decided to go to the country house for a few days before leaving for New York City. Finding time alone together had proven difficult. Once tour ended, we had the wedding and honeymoon, which provided some solace from work and public life, but by Friday we were due back in the spotlight for a few weeks to complete the honeymoon tour.

When we were dating, Kate and I worked hard to navigate our careers and relationship. We made mistakes along the way, occasionally choosing work over each other and dealing with the aftermath. We learned the importance of making each other a priority. Our relationship always had to come first. After getting engaged, we spent many nights deciding how to carve space in our careers for a marriage that would be happy and successful.

I picked my life path as a teenager. At the time, I thought I could see where I was headed and what my life would look like, but over the years my career became bigger than singing, bigger than me. Deciding when and what to sacrifice was not easy for me, but choosing Kate always was. More often than not, choosing Kate was the healthier choice. Sometimes choosing her meant a few more days off from work. It meant setting stricter boundaries. It meant sharing less with the media to protect her privacy.

Kate stirred beside me. Her fingers grasped mine a little tighter as she surfaced from sleep. "Are we close?" she asked in a soft, sleepy voice.

"Almost, baby. About a half an hour left."

"Good," she hummed, closing her eyes again. "I'm going to take a nap when we get there."

I chuckled. "Okay, love."

"And I'll need you there with me." She squeezed my hand again.

"Of course."

When she fell quiet, I knew she was asleep again.

Our drive reminded me of the first few weeks she spent on tour with One Direction. She visited the band during previous tours, but only for a few nights. She would visit certain cities for work and leave again. This tour, she spent weeks with us on the road, getting the full tour experience. It was hard for her, though she'd never admit it. She wasn't along as my girlfriend; she was there to work. And unlike me, she didn't have a team of people ready to do anything she asked. The dramatic difference in work environment and routine wore on her.

I pulled up to the property and typed in the code to open the gate. Kate woke up when I put the car in park and the doors unlocked. She sat up and rubbed her eye with her fist like a child.

"Thanks for driving," she yawned. "Sorry I wasn't much company on the way."

"That's okay," I smiled. I went around the car and opened her door. She took my hand as she jumped out. "Are you ready to continue the nap?"

"Yes. Take me to bed, Harry!" she teased, leading us into the house.

Kate stripped out of her jeans and t-shirt and climbed into our bed. She snuggled into the bedding and patted the empty spot beside her. "Come on."

I obliged, slipping out of my jeans and crawling into bed beside her. She curled against me, reaching her arm across my waist and snuggling against my shoulder. "Comfortable?"

"Very," she whispered, already drifting back to sleep.

Her skin was warm under my fingertips. I gently traced up and down her arm and placed a kiss on her forehead.