Somehow this is where we ended up: in the back of the store in one of the two employee bathrooms. I can't even remember what was said out there, but I don't think there were many words before I took Harry's hand and pulled him through the crowd. Yes, I have guests and responsibilities to take care of tonight, but honestly? I don't care. All I could think about when I saw Harry is that I love him and I can't let him go. I will not be that girl that grows up slightly miserable because she let 'the one' get away. I refuse to just be okay for the rest of my life. I want to be happy, and Harry is my happiness. Well, Sophie too, but it's hard to enjoy being a parent when you're alone.

This dress is so tight that the more Harry kisses me the less I can actually breathe. Normally he'd be paying attention to areas other than my mouth, but every time he attempts that he quickly moves back to my lips and I'm robbed of oxygen and any hope of getting it back. It's the best kind of feeling.

"Harry, hold on." I push him back by his shoulders and the dark shade of his eyes almost startles me. I've learned to read Harry over the years and I know that look. It makes my insides clench in anticipation. My eyes flicker to his lips and I have to let out a laugh.

"What?" he asks, laughing a little as well.

"You have lipstick on your lips," I explain. He raises his eyebrows and I step around him to get some paper towel. He lets me wipe it off, but the blazing intensity of his stare makes my skin feel like it's burning.

"What did you actually want to talk about?" he asks quietly.

I toss the paper towel in the trash and take a deep breath to try and collect my thoughts, but being in such a small space with the buttons of his shirt undone and all these thoughts running through my head...it's not easy.

"I umm..." I reach to start buttoning up his shirt so I don't get distracted. "What you said last night, about me dating other people. What did you mean by that?"

He sighs. "Doesn't matter."

"Yes it does, Harry. It was enough for you to say you don't want this. You were clearly hurt and I want to fix it." He doesn't respond, so as I'm fastening the last button I would like to be done up, I start the conversation. "Did you see me with Zayn?"

He takes a deep breath and I slowly look back up at his face. He nods and I almost start laughing in relief, but I don't think he'd appreciate that very much. I do smile, though, and even that seems to annoy him a little bit.

"Harry, that wasn't a date," I assure him. "I've been out of it all week thinking about us, trying to figure out what to do. I wanted you, want you, but I wasn't sure if you were still the same person I fell in love with five years ago. Zayn offered to help me, basically let me vent to figure out what was in my head."

"So you talked to him about us?" he asks sourly.

"I needed to talk to someone, Harry. I was going crazy and Zayn is an impartial opinion since he doesn't know anything about our relationship. I wanted to know if I was over reacting about the whole Sam thing."

"So you're not-"

"No," I say immediately, shaking my head. I know where that was going and I don't want him to even say it. He lets out a breath and smiles, a happy and relieved smile.

"I feel like an asshole," he says quietly. I laugh.

"You are."

"Okay," he laughs. He shakes his head and I laugh a little.

"Harry, when you came to my place last night I wanted to tell you that I still love you and whatever happened when we were broken up doesn't change that." His eyes light up and I reach for his hands. "I want this. I want us, I want a family. I want to try again."

He closes his eyes and lifts one of my hands to his mouth. Faster than my mind can keep up with he wraps me in his arms so tight I can hardly breathe again.

"I thought I really fucked up," he says shakily. "Between Sam and what happened last night, I didn't think you would say that."

"Why would I ask you to come here if I wanted to end things?"

"I don't know. Dramatic effect?"

I laugh and put my hands on either side of his face to make him look at me. "I think we've had quite enough drama for a while. Don't you?"

He nods. "Hell, yeah."

---

When Harry and I finally emerge from the little restroom I hope I don't look too dischevelled. I fixed my hair and make up as well as I could with the limited supplies in my bag, but a girl can only put so many things in a clutch. Harry's presence is never forgotten and he remains by my side the entire evening, his hand around mine or on the small of my back regardless of who we're talking to. This feels so natural for us and I already regret having made both of us suffer this week. And Sophie.

"Harry, who is watching Sophie?" I ask suddenly. He laughs.

"Why do you freak out like that when she's not with me?"

"I don't freak out."

"A little." He runs my hair through his fingers. "Niall is with her."

"Who is Niall?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

"A friend of mine. He's watched her a bunch of times already, she knows him. He's a good guy, don't worry."

"Well then I want to meet him." I want to meet the man that's been taking care of my child without my knowledge. I guess I would have to assume Harry has a babysitter, I just didn't really think about it. I don't have Sophie on weekends, so the only babysitter I need is the daycare centre.

"Well then you will," he says. He smiles and reaches for two champagne flutes as they pass with a waiter. He hands me one and clinks his glass against mine with an adorable smile.

"Savannah, there you are."

I turn around to see my mother and Zayn walking towards me. Her faces lights up when she sees Harry next to me. Zayn's presence makes me a little nervous for Harry's sake, but when I look up at him he's just smiling at me.

"Zayn just spoke to one of the critics, and he said he's completely impressed with the line," she gushes. "Isn't that great!"

"That's amazing," I agree, though whatever happens tonight pales in comparison to having Harry next to me for it. "Mom, do you think it would be bad if I went home soon?"

She looks at Harry and then back at me with a stupid grin that I know means embarrassment. "Oh, of course. As long as one of us is here and you have to be up early for the opening tomorrow anyway. Why don't you two just head home now?"

"Now? I was going to stay-"

"No, no." She takes both of our glasses of champagne. "Go ahead."

"Have a good night, Zayn. Thanks for everything." He nods and we exchange easy smiles. Harry reaches his hand out, to my surprise, and shakes Zayn's hand.

"Congratulations," he says. I smile up at him and his hand slides over mine. "Shall we?"

It takes at least twenty minutes for us to get to the doors since so many people stop me to talk to me. Harry is the picture of patience, though, allowing me to talk and even contributing once in a while even though I know he has nothing in common with any of these people. When we get outside I realize how stuffy it was in there. We invited a lot of people hoping maybe half would come, but we had a major turn out.

"You did good, baby," Harry says, his arm around my shoulder as he kisses my head.

"I think it went well. I just hope tomorrow does."

"It will."

We walk down the street for a few minutes in silence. My gown is pretty formal, so we probably look a little ridiculous walking around New York. My mother and I hired a car service for tonight, but I completely forgot about it.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Harry asks. I think about that for a moment before shaking me head.

"No. Let's go to your apartment," I suggest. When I look up him he's smiling widely. "I should meet this Niall person, anyway."

We wander through the streets for a while, but eventually my shoes are killing my feet and we realize it's probably a little far to walk the whole way, so we just take a cab the rest of the way. Once we get to the building I realize how dumb this was. I don't exactly want to get back in this dress tomorrow morning, but I don't want to leave now. I'm exhausted and I want to see my baby and be with Harry and just enjoy this.

"Te elevator is out," Harry says, an apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry, I know your feet are sore."

"No, I'm fine." I bend down to remove my shoes, but before I can Harry scoops me up in his arms. "Harry, I'm too heavy for this."

"Oh, shut it." He starts climbing the stairs and I wonder how he'll manage four flights of them. He doesn't struggle, though, and I start thinking maybe he's working out a lot more than he's teaching at the gym. I am not light and he's not exactly twenty anymore.

"I'm impressed," I say when we get to the fourth floor. He doesn't set me down until we get to the door and he doesn't even seem tired.

"Just to warn you, Niall is...loud. And he'll probably say loads of embarrassing things."

I laugh. "I think I'll be all right."

He smiles and reaches behind me to push the door open. I step inside and laugh again when I see the massive mess of toys on the floor. Harry lets out an annoyed sigh and shuts he door again.

"It did not look like this when I left," he huffs. He walks into the living room, where there's a blonde man sleeping on the couch. Harry picks up one of Sophie's stuffed toys and throws it at his face.

"Woah what?" Niall sits up and looks at Harry, then throws the toy back at him. "What the hell?"

"First of all, you're supposed to be watching Sophie, not sleeping on my couch. Second, why is there shit everywhere?"

"Chill. What do you expect, you called me out of the blue to ask a favour. I didn't think that included cleaning your apartment."

"Did you take out every single one of Sophie's toys?" Harry asks, looking around at the floor. "It's like a toy store threw up in here!"

"Aren't you supposed to be getting laid right now?" Niall asks. I cover my mouth and Harry throws the toy at his face again, harder this time.

"You're a fucking idiot," Harry says. He gestures to me. "Savannah is here."

Niall looks over at me from the couch, and his eyes almost pop out of his head. My face flushes and Harry reaches down to cover Niall's eyes.

"Quit staring at her like that," Harry says. He laughs a little and looks at me. "Sorry. Apparently Niall doesn't get out much."

"Get off." Niall shoves at Harry and I laugh at their playful exchange. Harry shakes his head as Niall walks over to me. "Niall. Nice to meet you." He holds his hand out to me and I shake it.

"Savannah," I say. He laughs.

"Yeah, I know. Harry talks about you endlessly. Nice to finally put a face to a name, and everything else he told me about you."

"Okay, enough of that," Harry says, walking over to us. He pulls Niall's hand away from me. "How was Sophie?"

"That girl is trouble," he says, folding his arms. "She's cuter than anything and it's impossible to say no to those chubby cheeks."

"Yeah, we have that problem too," I say, laughing a little. Sophie is adorable, and I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom and she's always adorable to me. We literally have strangers stopping us on the street to tell us how cute she is.

"You're going to have fun when she's a teenager," Niall continues, clapping Harry on the back. Harry winces visibly.

"She's not going to be one,' he concludes. I laugh.

"Not possible, Harry."

"If she's as stunning as her mother you're going to have to get a gun," Niall says smoothly. I just laugh, but Harry hits him over the back of the head. "Quit hitting me!"

"Then stop flirting with her! I'm standing right here." He shoves Niall's arm. "Time to go."

"Okay, okay. Nice to mee you Savannah!"

"You too!" I call after him. Harry steps into the hall to talk to him so I start picking up the toys on the floor. After a moment I hear the door close and lock, and Harry comes to help me.

"I can do this," he says. "You can go get something to wear."

"I'll help." He takes my hands and makes my stand up. "Harry-"

"Go change," he commands. He kisses me quickly and spins me around. "Get something of mine to wear."

"Fine." I stick my tongue out at him as I disappear into the hall and hear him laughing as I walk to the bedroom. This place feels so familiar, and now that we're together again it feels like home already. I love my apartment, but I don't need all the space and fancy finishings. I just need my family.

I take out a massive t-shirt and hold it to my nose before I set it on the bed. The most comforting thing in the world for me is the smell of Harry's clothes. I try to reach behind me for the zipper of my dress, but my hand doesn't quite reach so I walk back out to the living room.

"Harry, can you unzip me?" I ask. He tosses some toys in a bin and nods, walking over as I tun around. I put my hands on the front so it doesn't fall down and his fingers glide across my back before his fingers tug at the zipper. Slowly, far too slowly, he slides it down the track and when it gets to the bottom I quickly turn around.

"You're umm...you're not wearing a bra?" Harry asks nervously. I laugh a little and quickly peck his lips.

When I get the dress off and the shirt on, I head back out to the living room. The toys have all been collected and Harry's jacket has been tossed carelessly on the couch. When he hears me he half-turns, and I see that the buttons of his top have been undone.

"You hate dressing up now, don't you?" I ask. He shrugs.

"I never really liked it, but I had to when I was teaching. I've gotten used to wearing regular clothes now."

"Did-"

I hear a door click open and we both turn to look at the hallway. Sophie emerges from her room, stuffed animal in her hand, still dressed in regular clothes with her blankie in hand.

"Daddy?" She walks into the kitchen and finally realizes that I'm here, too. "Mummy!"

She holds her hands out to me and lift her into my arms, setting her on my hip. She leans her head on my shoulder and looks at Harry, smiling instantly. He leans in towards her and leaves a few sloppy kisses on her cheek, eliciting a giggle from her.

"Did you have fun with Niall?" Harry asks, pushing her hair back from her eyes. She nods and sucks at her thumb. "Good. What are you doing up, angel?"

"Me hear you," she mumbles with her thumb in her mouth.

"Back to bed," I say. Harry smiles at me.

"I'm just making some tea, do you want some?"

I nod and walk back to Sophie's room with her. I sit her on the bed and dig through her drawers for some pajamas to put her in. She sits quietly, her thumb in her mouth and her eyes closed. I can't even imagine how confusing this is for her. Harry and I are going to have to figure out some sort of system so she doesn't have a hard time.

I take her out of the dress she was wearing and put a pajama set on her. She lets me lift her back to her pillow and is asleep before I even have the blankets around her. I gently pry her thumb out of her mouth and kiss her head before I walk out of the room and back to Harry. He's already seated on the couch with two mugs on the table in front of him, waiting for me.

"We have to get her to stop sucking her thumb," I say, sitting next to him. "It can mess up her teeth."

"Can we worry about that tomorrow?" he suggests, handing me a mug. I nod and he wraps an arm around my shoulders, my body pulled against his with our legs overlapping. "Do you want me to sleep on the couch?"

"Can we worry about that tomorrow?" I ask. He laughs and kisses the tip of my nose.

"I thought when you changed into my clothes it would consist of more than a t-shirt," he says lowly. I sip at my tea and bat my eyelashes innocently. Harry just laughs and we sit there together for a while, not talking much but just enjoying the moment. I love these quiet, simple moments with him. It feels like nothing ever changed with us, like we're still hiding out in his loft because we can't go anywhere else.

"Remember that time I stayed at your house?" Harry asks, his finger combing through my hair.

"The first time?" He nods and I look up at him. "Yeah, I do."

"That's what this feels like," he says quietly. "Finally a peaceful moment is the craziness that is our relationship."

"Do you think it'll always be like this?" I whisper. I'm sure we could get through much more, but I don't want to have to get through life. I want to live it.

"I don't know." He sighs and kisses my forehead. "But either way, we're going to be okay."

I stand from the couch and take his hand, desperate for a mattress and pillow. He follows me willingly and when we get to his room I push his shirt from his shoulders. I don't want to think about the future right now. All I want to do is spend tonight with him, just enjoying being in his arms again. He starts undoing his belt and I climb under the covers, Harry flicking off the lights and climbing in next to me in only his boxers.

"This is what I missed," he says quietly. His arms wind around my waist and our legs tangle together naturally, just like they used to. "Sleeping next to you."

"That's all you missed?" I tease. He smiles and fits his mouth to mine for a moment.

"I missed everything," he whispers. I get chills down my spine and settle against his chest, revelling in his warmth.

I missed everything, too. But now we don't have to miss anything.

Notes

yaaaaaaay :) finally.

im excited to get on with the rest. i got lots of plans so we'll see what happens ;) sorry to keep you guys waiting so long for this chapter. i wrote it once but i legit hated it, it was so dumb. so i just started over when i actually had some inspiration and voila! so yea :) hope you guys like itttt.

comment, rate, subscribe :)