Echo Of Us • Zarry

EU 3

Harry always loves a birthday party. He rarely says no to attending one and strangely enough, he prefers other people's parties to his own. Organizing them is also lots of fun, especially if they're meant to be a surprise. Regrettably, he doesn't have much time for that, only for the very closest people to him.

But for Amara, Harry has all the time in the world for planning a birthday party.

Five is an important milestone. This year, Zayn's got Amara for her birthday since she was with Gigi on her previous birthday. And if Harry loves birthday parties, he loves children's birthday parties the most. So much unbridled joy and chaos in one place is truly a sight to see.

Harry shoos Zayn away from the planning and cracks down on it. He invites her entire nursery class, along with the parents because four to five-year-olds need to be supervised at all times. It's January so the yard is pretty unused and the party has to be constrained within the house but they'll make do.

And he does go all out. Decorations, face-painting, a magician, princess impersonators. It's all there. As Harry walks around the party, surveying the pleasant chaos, he mentally pats himself on the back. He doesn't know the people here, not really, but he made an effort to try and learn as many names as possible before the party. He's chatted to a few people at drop-off and pick-up but it's not like he's a part of PTA or something. Some people have warned him about doing this in his own house, so many strangers in his private home but Harry waved it off. Amara goes to a posh nursery, it's not like these people really care for 'celebrities'. They're probably being judgy but Harry hasn't seen anyone scoff at the shelf with his and Zayn's awards yet so all is well. As long as the kids have fun, Harry will make small talk with anyone in the world.

The house is quite crowded as Harry meanders to the kitchen to pick up the cake and get it ready for the big event - blowing the candles. Of course, he got catering for the party, he's not insane, but he made the cake for Amara. It's just a small little nice thing Harry likes to do for the people he loves. Like, baking a cake doesn't take much time at all, it's not hard but it's made with love and care, and that is what truly matters.

Harry gets the cake from the fridge and one of the servers starts getting the cupcakes he's ordered ready. It's not a big cake, Harry's not that good at baking, so he needed the backup from an actual bakery so everyone at the party got their hands on some cake. From one of the drawers in the kitchen island, Harry pulls out the number 5 candle he got, along with five thin long candles and puts them into the vanilla-coconut cake. And to light them all, he grabs the spare long lighter for the fireplace, from the same drawer.

Then, he pulls out his phone and sends Zayn a text to get the lights. When Harry's planning something, he truly plans it. As he hears a slight collective sound of surprise from the main area of the party, that's when Harry picks up the cake and makes his way to the living room. He starts singing 'Happy Birthday' as he tries not to drop the cake stand and everyone joins in right away.

Amara is already waiting by the table, barely sat on the couch with Zayn, who tries to hold her in place so doesn't plummet straight into Harry and make them both fall on their arses. Her eyes are wide as she giggles, set firmly on the candles.

The song ends just as Harry places the cake on the table and everyone starts clapping. "Happy birthday, Amara!" Harry exclaims and joins Amara and Zayn on the sofa. He pulls her into his side and kisses her hair. "Do you want to make a wish?"

"Yes, daddy!" Amara claps her hands. She turns to the cake, frowning at it. Then she looks at Harry again, "Do I have one or five wishes? Because I'm five."

Harry smiles and slides to the very edge of the sofa. "Since you're so smart, you can have five wishes. Do you want me and baba to help you?"

Amara shakes her head. "No, I can do it."