Forced Reconciliation

53.

a/n: this chapter includes smut towards the end for those who are currently observing ramadan. I'll put a line through the middle when the smut starts so you can know to not go further if you choose. ily you all <3 enjoy! this is a long one.

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Andi Rhoades

I watch with a cheesy grin on my face as Ellie plops four more raspberries onto the already covered cake. "Okay, babe, think that's enough?"

She whips her head in my direction as if I've offended her. "No? Romey loves berries!" She turns back to look at Rome sitting in his high chair eating a banana. "You love berries, don't you Rome?" She pauses for a second as if waiting for him to speak. He smiles at the sound of his sister's voice and she takes that as her answer. "Told you momma. Romey loves razzy berries."

All I can manage to do is laugh at her thought process as she continues piling on the raspberries. I've got my elbows resting on the countertop as Ellie sits on top of it, busy at work. She's been excited ever since she found out we needed to make a cake for Rome's birthday, and woke up bright and early with Harry to bake it.

"Rome is this many?" Ellie holds up two fingers with her hand that's now cast-free.

"Mm," I push down one of her fingers so only one is up now. "This many. He's one year old. Can you believe that?" Ellie shakes her head as she starts placing the raspberries on her fingertips now before giggling at herself.

I can't help but watch Ellie as she gets herself excited over the way her own mind works. It's the purest form of entertainment, and I find myself zoning out just watching her and Rome multiple times throughout the day. They never fail to make me appreciate life a little bit more.

Just as Ellie pops the last raspberry into her mouth, I jump slightly at the feeling of two hands gliding up my body starting at my hips, drifting all the way up to my ribs. Harry's chest leans into me and his breath fans across the back of my neck, eliciting goosebumps across my legs and arms. His scent fills my senses completely in less than a second, something that I can hardly explain other than just saying that it smells like Harry.

It smells like home.

"Hey pretty girls," Harry presses a kiss to my cheek, then Ellie's. "Hi birthday boy," he leans over to kiss Rome on the head, never taking his hands off of me.

"Daddy, Rome is this many!" Ellie points with her index finger to show him.

Harry's eyes widen and his mouth opens in a surprised smile. "He is, El. Good job! You're so smart." His strong arms wrap around my waist fully now, and his lips attach to my neck in a longer kiss than before. He trails kisses upwards towards my ear before kissing me there. "Missed you," he whispers.

I turn in his arms to face him. "You were gone for like twenty minutes, H." I try not to laugh because I know he's serious, but it's so cute how clingy he is lately. He always has been, but more so since everything happened. With anyone else, there's no doubt that I would be turned off by this, but with him it's different. I look forward to him needing to be near me and I notice when he's next to me and isn't touching me at all.

I love it.

Harry just shrugs, his eyes flicking between me and Ellie as she still sits on the counter. "You feeling okay?" He checks in.

This is the other thing that's changed with him. He's always checking with me multiple times throughout the day, just enough that it's not annoying. Sometimes it's not even words, sometimes he'll just give me a look and I'll nod, confirming that I'm doing alright.

Two days from now, it'll be five weeks since the miscarriage. The month mark was harder than I expected, more so because Harry and I had therapy that day so it was just a lot of overwhelming feelings. I hadn't even realized it was a month until we were in therapy and our therapist, Melinda asked about the miscarriage.