Aurelie. [H.S]

CHAPTER 37

warning in advance: once again i'm not french! just learn a little bit at school, so sorry if it's not exact :)

15 December 2017

Kensington, London

Harry's POV

Looking down at the girl lay asleep on my chest, my heart fills with warmth. Her mouth opens and closes to regulate her breathing, her cheeks a perfect shade of rosey pink. Being unable to resist, I give her a quick peck before slipping out of the bedroom, throwing on some joggers and a jumper.

Tate stirs in his sleep, stretching out his midsection and rising towards me with a wag of his tail. "Come on, be quiet." I whisper to him, as if he could understand me.

I try to avoid the creaking of the door, trying not to wake the sleeping girl. We go downstairs to Tate's 'palace' as Aurelie likes to call it. He has a huge, fluffy, memory foam bed alongside a toy basket filled to the brim with overpriced toys, some even being kid's plush toys.

I fill up his bowl with his food and a bit of shredded chicken breast, "For the gains, buddy." I tell him as I put it down next to his filled water bowl.

Tate gets to work on his first meal of the day whilst I wander into the kitchen, opening the fridge and finding appropriate ingredients for a breakfast in bed.

It's the first time in a while that Aurelie's slept past eight, so I make the most of it. I pull together some scrambled egg on toast and a large glass of orange juice, since she decided to come for my pancakes that I used to make her the other day.

When I juggle everything back up the stairs to give to her, I'm surprised by the sound of her moving around in the bathroom. Placing the tray on the cabinet top, I knock on the en-suite door. "You alright in there, Ellie?"

She shuffles around some more, a stressed "I'm okay!" being thrown back at me. Reluctant to believe her, I stand for a minute with my head near the door, trying to find out what she's doing.

What's embarrassing is that I practically fall into the room when she opens the door, her eyes widening at my sudden entrance. "I think the real question is, are you okay?" she nervously laughs, closing the door behind her.

I tilt my head at her like a confused puppy, wondering what on earth is wrong with her. Her eyes don't look upset or rimmed red, so it must be something that doesn't involve crying.

"I made you breakfast..." I test the waters, seeing whether her problem is to do with food.

"Yes!" she leaps up to kiss my cheek, excited over the eggs and toast. So it's not to do with food.

She situates herself against the headboard, patting the pillow beside her for Tate to jump up. "Where am I going to sit now?" I ask hypothetically, putting my head in my hands.

She pats the bottom of the bed now, showing me the space where Tate usually lies. "Right here."

"You..." I point my finger at the dog menacingly, "are becoming far too entitled for my liking." I fall onto the bed with a huff, grabbing my own plate and tucking in.

Aurelie does the same, a huge grin on her face as she throws her arm across Tate's shoulders, pulling him in tight.

"You two are thick as thieves, you know?"

"Well you bought him for me, therefore you brought this upon yourself." she shrugs, taking a bite of toast with a crunch.

"Yeah, yeah." I roll my eyes, trying to avoid his wagging tail as Ellie pushes him a crust. I've been replaced by a dog.