If I Could Fly

Found you

"Freddie..." I call out. We've been searching downstairs for 5 minutes now and if I'm honest I'm starting to get a bit worried. I have no idea where he is, and it doesn't help that the house is still a little unfamiliar to me.

"Oh, wait, I think I know where he is" Harry says, motioning for me to follow him as he leads us back through the kitchen and around to the back of the stairs where there is a little brown door just perfectly sized for a six-year-old.

Sure enough, I hear little snickers coming from inside where he's been hiding.

"Oh, what will we do? I just can't find Freddie anywhere!" I say loudly enough for him to hear. "Guess I'll just have to eat breakfast without him!" I exclaim

"NO!" Freddie shrieks, bursting out of the cupboard and running straight into my legs.
"Ha! Got ya!" I say, hauling him up and tickling his sides. He laughs loudly, kicking out against me as he shouts

"Stoooooooooop! Ewww! Daddy your all wet!"

"Oh! I'm all wet! I'm all wet am I? I wonder why! Do you know anything about that, Freddie?!?" I reply sarcastically, tickling him with new found gusto.

"Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Freddie concedes, breathing deeply as I let him go

"Little whatsit! What was that for?" I ask, pulling at my shirt which is now sticking uncomfortably to my front.

"You wouldn't wake up Daddy, so I had to find a way to make you" Freddie replies, looking up at me innocently.

I narrow my eyes at him and he grins in reply, looking a little too proud of what he's done for my likings.

"Anyway, you said breakfast... so can I get some coco pops?" He asks. I look up to Harry, but his eyes are busy dragging up and down my torso where my white shirt is now pretty much see-through. He blushes deeply as his eyes snap up to mine, and he clears his throat before replying

"Yeh, breakfast, right. You can go and sit at the table if you want, I'm just going to go and get your father a dry shirt." Freddie patters off into the kitchen, sitting at the table happily as he waits for his favourite cereal.

~~~

We spend the rest of the morning curled up on the sofa, watching Finding Nimo.
It's been a long time since I've felt so relaxed and I relish in the warmth of Harry's body next to mine.

All good things must come to an end though and as the movie finishes, I receive a call from Eleanor saying that she needs Freddie back before 12:00 so she can take him out for lunch with their friends, meaning that we need to leave.

"Freddie, darling, it's time to leave" I announce as I walk back into the room.

Freddie's smile falls instantly, and I feel terrible but I can't deny Eleanor's wishes, we are here so she can see Freddie after all.

"But Daddy-" Freddie starts
"Don't you but Daddy me, Mom wants to take you out to lunch with your friends. You haven't seen them in so long Freddie, you'll enjoy it come on" I reply sternly, taking his hands and pulling him up off the sofa. "Go use the bathroom and don't forget to brush your teeth, we don't want them rotting  now do we?" Freddie patters away, rounding the corner and going up the stairs.

"So, what're you doing after you drop Freddie off?" Harry asks, looking at me hopefully

"I'm going to head back to Zayn's, Saturday night is lads night so I dare say we'll end up going out... Don't you have a show tonight curly?"

"Yeh I do, actually it's my last show of the tour, it's pretty special"

"Oh, how long are you in LA then?" I ask, I had presumed he'd be flying halfway across the earth by tonight if I'm honest, and maybe I'm a bit hopeful but the idea of spending some time with him alone sends a flutter through my stomach.

"Tonight is actually my last show of the tour. So, I don't have to be anywhere for a while... It's kind of a ritual for me, I like to write when I'm out of the spotlight so I usually disappear for a while in between albums" Harry explains "How long are you two in LA for?"

"Freddie stays with El until Friday night and then we leave Saturday morning. I usually hover around Zayn's while we're in LA... it's nice to have some free time you know, without too much responsibility" I explain "don't get me wrong, Freddie is my absolute number one, and I'd never think twice if he needed me, but being a single father isn't easy and, yeh, it's nice to have someone around to help out for a bit. Most of the time it's just Freddie and I..." I trail off, lost in thought.

When my mom passed away my step-father took all the little kids under his wing. He became their parent, their support and their family.
But I was never really that close to him.
We never really got on, never really saw eye-to-eye and when he stepped in as father, I was sort of left out of the equation.

It hurt, I was depressed and alone and the only thing I really wanted was to be looked after. I felt like no one would care, no one would ever understand. As far as I was concerned, Everyone had left- even Eleanor when she left for LA, saying she'd found a job and wanted to move back home.

I'd be lying if I said it doesn't still keep me up at night sometimes, how easily the ones you love can leave. How temporary life is. I shudder.

"Hey" a strong arm circles my shoulder and I'm pulled into his warm chest. "Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asks quietly, resting his chin on the top of my head.

"Not now" I whisper back, tilting my head up slightly, resting my chin on his shoulder so I can hide my face in the warm crook of his neck. I inhale deeply, relishing in his smell, which admittedly is slightly creepy, but since when was I normal anyway? Exactly.

"Daddyyyyyy! Harryyyyyy!" I hear Freddie shout from upstairs.