Deserve [H.S.]

Chapter 20

REALITY

-Some time later-

Harry woke up, feeling the warm, soothing rays of the sun beaming across his face due to the already opened curtains. He knew who had opened those curtains that morning, because Noah did that every day that she woke up earlier than him. He didn't know how he knew that, but he just somehow knew.

The only sounds Harry could hear were coming from the kitchen: pots being clanked around, pans searing on the stove, fridge doors being opened. He also heard what he thought were small footsteps running around somewhere in the house.

When Harry woke up even more, he realized that the bed he was sleeping on was not familiar to him. It felt much softer than his own bed and it smelled more like Noah than normal. Where was he?

Soon enough, he opened his eyes and glanced around the room, finding that it was a room he had never been in before. Nothing looked familiar to him which made him start to worry. What the fuck was going on? Where was he?

Harry's eyes trailed to his night stand, noticing his usual ring holder was there. That brought some relief to him, as at least he recognized something there. However, the only ring on it was a single, silver band unlike any of his normal rings. A wedding ring.

Harry sat up on the bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before he picked the ring off of the holder, bringing it closer for inspection. On the inside, he noticed that the words 'Onward & Upward' were inscribed, which made his heart pump a little faster, but he didn't know why. What the fuck was going on?

Nonetheless, he put the ring back down and quickly found a pair of shorts and a shirt to throw on, since he had just slept in his boxers. Once he was dressed, he made his way out of the room. The house he was walking in was entirely unfamiliar to him, but he just followed the sounds to the kitchen because he figured, if Noah really was there, that's where she'd be.

Eventually, Harry made it there. The first thing he noticed when he stepped into the doorway was Noah with her back to him. She was standing at the stove, clearly focusing on whatever she was cooking. The kitchen itself was also unfamiliar to Harry, so he was beginning to get really worried and confused.

"Noah?" He asked in a quiet, timid voice, scared of what was going on.

Noah spun around immediately, with a wide smile covering her face. "Handsome! You're finally up," she said, holding her arms out for a hug.

It took Harry a moment to react because he could hardly keep his eyes off of the large bump that was protruding from Noah's shirt. A baby bump. What the fuck was going on?

Harry was still confused beyond belief, but he stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around her nonetheless, feeling how big of a difference it was to hug her given the bump between them.

"Hi, munchkin," he said, unable to think of anything else to say, unable to stop his eyes from trailing down to her belly.

"I'm just making breakfast, baby. You hungry yet?"

Noah pinched his cheek lightly before turning around and tending to whatever was cooking in the pan she had on the stove.

Baby. His eyes took another glance at the bump.

"Um, yeah, sure. Thanks."

Harry received a glance over Noah's shoulder in response with that wide smile still making an appearance. "You're most welcome. Also, don't forget to grab some bagels from our favorite place when you go into the city today."