Reverberate - an Echo of Us sequel |Zarry|

eight.

Harry's heart was mended.

He went through a lot of anguish over the past two years but when it's summer and he finds himself on the road with Isla, Milo and Leo, he can confidently say that his heart has healed from everything that happened with Zayn and their divorce. It took some therapy, a lot of writing and a lot of redecorating of the house.

Christmas was a strange time with Zayn's amiability and his attempt to kiss Harry. Thankfully, it didn't ruin their agreement about having a peaceful divorce and no custody issues. Harry spent Christmas with his family up north, then had a lovely holiday with Leo and by the time he got back to London, Zayn had already left. Two weeks after that, he was signing the divorce papers and he was a free man.

January was tough and Harry had a low moment when he cried the day he signed the divorce agreement, in bed at night with Leo holding him. It hurt, forsaking so many years of love, of partnership but life changes and he had to move on. He wasn't unhappy, he was mourning. He knew he couldn't ever come back to it but there was happiness in all those years, and so much love he used to feel like he could choke on it sometimes. All that has since dissipated and he cried most of the grief out that night while Leo, someone new Harry put his love into, was holding him and telling him that it was going to be alright, that it is okay to feel grief over something you're leaving for your own good. And he was right because in the morning, Harry woke up with a mild headache but with a clear head and a weight lifted off his chest. He and Leo made love in the morning and took the twins to the theatre in the afternoon.

Over the course of the next months, to categorise his past and current feelings, Harry went over everything with his therapist and wrote more music in a short period of time than he ever did before. It felt cathartic, to finally get rid of everything that was emotionally weighing him down and for the first time in years, he felt happy almost every day. He didn't fear what a text on Leo's phone would reveal, he knew the man who was with him was with him because he wanted to be, because he loved the current him and he didn't feel an obligation to a twenty-something version of him. It was almost too good to be true but after years of the state of constant heartbreak, Harry decided that he deserved this and nothing less.

Starting in February, Zayn had Isla and Milo for a weekend every month. The twins enjoyed their time, and Amara was almost always with them too. The arrangement worked fine and Harry texted with Zayn like they were normal people and not villains from a bad superhero movie.

Harry put an album out in late May, the falling in love one and took the kids and Leo on a short European tour. He had longer breaks between dates so they could sightsee and an easier schedule with two or three dates in one city to both satisfy the demand and make sure the kids could handle it okay.

Between the Paris and Munich shows, they end up in a lovely chalet in the mountains to unwind for a few days. It's utterly silent, sunny and beautiful with nothing but meadows, hills and mountains around them. The perfect escape between thousands of screaming people every night.

Harry is sitting on a deck chair outside with a book, sunglasses on and he feels at peace as he lowers the book and watches Leo play some made-up game with the twins in the grass. He can't help but smile as he looks at them because this was a pipe dream to him, from the moment he realised he couldn't keep on with having an open marriage, it seemed preposterous to think that one day he's gonna love someone else and that person would fully accept him, even with all the baggage he's had, even if some of the baggage are two adorable almost four-year-old kids.

He puts a bookmark in and decides to join them. He plops down on the grass between Isla and Milo, opposite Leo. "What are you rascals up to?" Harry asks as he puts an arm around each kid. "Leaving me out of all the fun I see."