Work In Progress |L.T| |A.U|

XXXI - Tomlinson

I'm sorry for the delay. If you've forgotten where the story reached, the last chapter ended with Rory's father arriving at the doorstep. Happy reading.

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XXXI - Tomlinson

The deafening silence in the flat rings through the air as all attention is fixed on the man standing on our doorstep.

His eyes glisten with unshed tears just like Rory's and the tension through the flat is palpable. He gulps, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down and he finally opens his mouth to utter a word.

"Princess..."

He'd barely finished the word before Rory tackles him into a hug. His arms soon wrap around her and soon both father-daughter are sobbing as they hold each other.

Rory's cries always send me to a frenzy. It panics me, and this urge to make it stop starts to itch from within. But this time, I know she needs it. It's been almost a month that she's talked to him and I know she'd missed him a lot.

"Dada..." She wails, burying her face into his chest.

"Sh... Princess, it's alright. Calm down... I'm here now." He rubs her back, kissing the side of her head before he lets his cheek rest on top of her head.

All the while, I stand there, watching them with their loving exchange. They stay in the same position for quite a while before finally breaking the embrace.

She sniffs, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the long sleeves of the oversized sweater of mine she's wearing. "C-Come on in."

Both walk in and I receive a mere glance from her father. Okay......

"Do you... Do you want anything? Water or... or tea... I know you like jasmine tea, I'll ju-"

"Aurora, I don't want anything. Just sit with me." He pats the empty space beside him on the couch and she immediately fills it.

She then looks at me and gives me a small but oh, so beautiful smile.

"I'll be in my room and give you guys some privacy." I announce before making way over to my room.

"Don't be silly Louis. Sit with us." I stop on my tracks hearing her voice.

"Maybe he should leave. We're in dire need of a father daughter time, princess."

He hates me... Great. The most important man in her life hates me.

"Dada!" She groans, quickly standing up. "I need to tell you something." Mr. Atkins frowns watching her make way to my side. I'm sure both of us are equally confused. (Well in our defence, Aurora is an immensely confusing person.) "We're dating now." Her hand finds mine, entwining our fingers before gripping my hand tight, I hold it back and try my best to suppress that smile,"We love each other."

His expression is livid, eyes fixated on our entwined hands. "Very well then. If you're happy, it's fine by me." He gives us a tight lipped smile, before Rory drags us to sit on the couch across him.

Our entwined hands rest on my lap and my sight is fixed on how her neatly manicured fingers fit perfectly between mine. I'm well aware of Mr. Atkins' dislike towards me and I wouldn't want to make things more awkward by making eye-contact.

"The other day..." Her voice is hesitant, but she continues, "mother said that you were ashamed of me."

He sighs, "I could never be ashamed of you, darling. In fact I'm proud of you."

From hindsight, I see her head snap to meet his gaze, "y-you are?"

"Of course. You proved your mother that you can do just fine without all the riches I spent on you, you have stood on your own two feet and I'm proud of you."