A Lifetime With You // A Harry Styles Au

Chapter II - Tappezzeria

New Year's Day, 2020

When I wake I'm a little disoriented. I know Harry is still in my bed because I can feel his foot on my calf, but he's not holding me like I'd have expected him to be. I can't see a thing when I open my eyes. The room is pitch black, the only hint of light I can see being from the crack under the door. I don't mind Harry staying, or sleeping the way he needs to so that he's not unwell the next day, but how the hell does he expect me to see what I'm doing when the room is this dark?

I laugh quietly as I carefully find my feet. We used to manage fine when we lived together before. And we have lived together on occasion, back before Mummy found out about us. They were maybe simpler times, too. Mummy only found out about our relationship in the 1950s, and though we might have only been committed since 1889, we were spending time living together well before that.

I feel my way around the bed, guided only by that small slither of light that creeps in. I open the door only as much as I need to in order to slip out without waking him, but I can't help looking back just before I close the door.

Harry is sound asleep, which is usual. Not much could wake a vampire in the middle of the day unless you wafted a bag of blood in front of them. He lies on his front, one arm wedged under his pillow while the other dangles over the side of the bed. His head faces the wall on his side of the room, hair still loose and in a complete mess that straggles down his back. He's still bare, it would seem - the duvet covering him up just past his waist but his right leg peeks out at the side, bent at the knee to rest on top of the covers.

I know my hand is glowing again. I can feel it tingling in my skin. I carefully close the door, remaining standing still for just a moment longer to inspect my feelings. I'm glowing yellow - a tone of gold that doesn't tend to happen on its own anymore. It's a pure thing - it only happens when you're really happy, not when you just seem to think you are. Laughing means nothing - it's temporary, your joy could be gone momentarily if something were to change. A yellow palm only comes when your heart is truly happy.

I've adopted the habit of closing my palm when I know I'm glowing, usually because my emotions are betraying me and I'm embarrassed or annoyed about it. But this morning I don't want to. As I potter across the hall into the kitchen, I find myself stroking my palm with the thumb of my right hand.

I need to preoccupy myself for a while. I needed to do something today but I've forgotten what it was now that I know Harry is here. How stupid is that? I hope that making some breakfast and tea will jog my memory.

There's a noise that does distract me while I'm midway through pouring hot water into a clean mug - a familiar little chirp of a meow. My inhale of breath comes with a little squeak, and I look towards the door of the balcony to see my curious little feline sat waiting with a slight tip of her head.

I immediately abandon my breakfast, padding across the large open room in my bare feet to open the door for her. The smile on my face is delighted, but I just know that she's going to be less than impressed for having to wait for more than five seconds.

"Where have you been?" I ask in a loud whisper, ears giddy at the noise her paws make against the hardwood flooring. "Haven't seen you for about two months."

Aphrodite chirps loudly as she saunters through the room on her four paws, her white fur shimmying with each movement. It's grown much thicker now we're into the colder months. Knowing how sassy she can be, I can only imagine she's going to whine about it.

I follow after her as she heads straight for the kitchen, but the feline knows everything. She pauses near the doorway to the hall with a little startle, cowering ever so slightly before she turns her bright blue eyes onto me. I've never owned such a sceptical cat as Aphrodite. Sometimes I wish she hadn't found me.