Wedlock - Harry Styles A.U

nineteen

Harry

The day continues as if nothing ever happened.

Moana is the next movie to play and the twins singing and dancing is what wakes Peter up in a mood. He had opened his mouth to complain but stopped when he caught me staring him down. They were having a good time and if he wanted to complain about that, I was more than happy to ask him to leave.

Of course, Frozen was next on and of course, the twins continued to sing and dance like nobody's watching - just like I had taught them to. If I'm honest, a part of me was hoping that by this point, Peter would be so bored of this that he'd just leave with Clea so we could be alone but instead, he asked if I had any beer and when given one, he just sat there and drank.

I didn't take him for the kind of person to drink but I guess today is just full of surprises.

At some point during Moana, Edora had managed to get closer to me and very slowly she had started to curl her body into mine and rest her head on my shoulder. I'm not sure how it happened or why I allowed it to but that is where she stayed right up until I announced I was going to make something for dinner.

She hadn't quite made it to sleep so she was sitting up and asking if I wanted her to do it. I wasn't entirely sure if this was part of her act to please her father or if she genuinely wanted to help but either way, I told her no. I'm home and more than capable.

It takes me an hour and a half to get the twins fed, washed and put to bed. It past seven o'clock by the time they'd settled down and slowly drifted to sleep. We always read a story together in one room so gently, I'm lifting Albie off of Lula's bed and take him to his own. He stirs a little when I put him down but doesn't wake. I tuck him in and leave a kiss on his head before going back to Lula's room to do the same. I grab a baby monitor, wish them a good night before heading back downstairs.

I was really hoping that her parents would be gone by now but they've made themselves at home, drinking my beers and relaxing on my sofa with full control of the tv and takeaway containers on their laps.

"We ordered some for you." Clea announces when she catches me looking at them as I walk into the room.

"Thanks." I mumble and although it's a sweet gesture, I don't intend to have any of it.

My eyes drift to the sofa where Edora is spread across it, the blanket to her chin, fast asleep. Soft little snores exhale from her lips and her eyes flutter ever so slightly as she dreams. She looks so peaceful - not a frown or worry line in sight.

I want to pick her up and carry her to my room so she can sleep comfortably and peacefully but I'm afraid if I move her, she'll wake and somehow I just know that she won't go back to sleep. I know that she'll see her parents welcoming themselves to my things and immediately apologise and try to have them leave. She'd put all her energy into that, that she wouldn't take what she needs, which is rest. She's exhausted.

I go to sit down on the small armchair in the corner of the room but I feel her parents' eyes on me. They're staring me down, testing me for what to do next so I stop and turn to Edora. I sit down in the small gap between the arm of the chair and her head before gently lifting her head, shuffling closer to her and gently placing her head in my lap. I pull the blanket back up to wrap around her and begin to play with her hair.

Her mum gives me a satisfied smile whilst her dad looks like he couldn't have cared less about what I did.

Two hours.

For two hours I suffer watching a series of football matches for the sake of being polite to her father. He drinks beer after beer and has casual conversations with me about the game as if I actually give a fuck. Clea tapped out ages ago and sat on her phone, uninterested, over an hour ago. Edora has peacefully slept through her father's comments and occasionally shouts when something goes wrong in the match. I'm just glad the house is big enough that the twins wouldn't be able to hear him because if he woke them, I'd be pissed.