twenty two

A/N: guess who got carried away and loves writing Harry's POV so much that they wrote a 12,000 word chapter. Me! Hope you guys enjoy it! Be safe and look after each other x

Harry's POV

Elena did good at the party last night, better than I thought she would given how tired she was. Then we got home and she crashed, hard, and she's been asleep for almost 10 hours. I on the other hand have been up for hours, even attended two meetings over video chat. But now I've got all my work done for the day and I'm so bored, I feel like waking her up.

I wander back down the hallway and push open the door to find her still curled up completely gone to the world. I've always found it kind of funny how she sleeps, even in a large bed without me she keeps to her side and tried to take up the least amount of room as possible. Every morning I constantly find myself wrapped around her, like I'm clinging onto her for dear life, scared she'll run again. But she won't, she confirmed it last night when she told me she'd move back in when we got back to London.

I climb back onto the bed and lie down with her, taking a moment to enjoy it. Her hair is a complete mess, all but shielding her peaceful features. I brush part of it away and tuck it behind her ear as gently as possible. Does this make me creepy? Watching her sleep? It's not like I'm gonna sit here all day and do it, just a few minutes before I wake her up.

Yesterday was exhausting, but seeing how happy she was the whole day made me want to do it all over again. The smallest details just made her so excited; the smells, the music, even the bloody landscaping was something to marvel at to her. I think I took at least 200 pictures of her, both with and without her knowledge. Yes I'm pathetic and no I don't care, I'm really fucking happy.

I stroke her cheek gently and eventually she starts to stir, making a soft groaning sound before her eyes squint open ever so slightly. Her lips instantly lift into a wide smile and her arm slides out to hug my around my waist.

"Hey you" She whispers groggily as she judges her body closer against mine. I tuck my arm around her and she lifts her head up to rest on my shoulder.

"Morning bub, how're you feeling?" I ask as I kiss the top of her head. One of her legs draped over my thigh and I feel my pants tightening almost instantly.

"Really good, I needed that big sleep. What time is it?" She sighs happily and leans her back over to pick up her phone from the bedside table.

"It's a little after ten, I figured you'd want to sleep but not that much" I tell her, playing with a loose strand of her hair once her head is placed back on my shoulder.

"Mhmm I should get in the shower" She mumbles as she rubs her eye and stretches herself out, her leg sliding down my thigh. I'm pretty sure she's completely oblivious about how much she's turning me on right now.

"Mind if I join?" I ask, sliding my hand across her hip underneath her T-shirt. I love what she wears to bed these days, one of my shirts and underwear, she has so much of her skin exposed and it's all for me. Elena sits up and giggles softly as she climbs out of the bed and starts walking towards the bathroom.

"Come on then" She softly calls to me, lifting the T-shirt up over her head and tossing it to the floor. I leap out of bed and join her in the bathroom just in time to watch her slide her underwear down her legs and step out of them. With a sideways glance at me, she steps into the shower and turns the tap, sending the water cascading down her back.

"Well are you just going to stand there staring or are you going to join me?" Elena speaks quietly over the sound of the water, looking at me over her shoulder. I make quick work of my clothes, ridding myself of the material and placing my watch down on the bench by the sink before I step into the space with her. Instantly she's in my grasp, and I press my lips against hers hurriedly as the water covers us both.

I reach my hand up behind her and move towards the soap, pumping a large amount into my hand as her lips trail down to my jaw. She's elevated her height by standing up on her tiptoes so that her lips reach mine with more ease. I begin to rub the soap in across her back and over her shoulders, eager to get my hands all over her. Elena responds to my touch with gentle whimpers, scratching at the skin on my chest and dragging her fingertips slowly down the front of my body.

One of her hands wraps around my length as I bury my face into her neck, softly biting at the skin as she circles her thumb around the tip. Soft moans start to tumble past her lips as my teeth graze against her ear.

"Tell me what you want" I command an answer, roughly cupping her ass in my hand. One of her hands clutches my shoulder as the other pumps my length at a slow torturous pace.

"I want you" she mumbles quietly.

"What do you want me to do?" I push her further, dying to hear her speak dirty words to me. I leave a trail of kisses down her neck and press her lower body close against mine.

"Touch me" She moans softly before my lips capture hers once more in a heated kiss. I bring my hand up to cup one of her breasts, my thumb flicking her nipple. Her grip on my shoulder tightens and her other hand still rubs my length slowly, her rhythm slowly becoming faster.

"Is this how you want me to touch you baby?" I tease her, biting down on her lower lip knowing full well that she wants me to focus my attention between her legs. I feel her whimper against my mouth as she realises she's going to have to direct me towards what she wants.

"Here" She lets go of my length and takes my hand, brushing it in between her thighs. I flutter my fingers gently against her skin and feel her body twitch against me, the simplest touch can drive her mad, I love that.

"Where are your manners" I tease her, kissing down her shoulder and slowly rubbing her inner thigh. Her arm completely wraps around me shoulder, fastening herself flush against me as though she's scared her knees will buckle.

"Please, please touch me" She gasps as I push my fingertips up her thigh and softly rub her clit. I watch in awe as her eyes become unfocused and her jaw falls open, her fingers weaving through my hair to tightly grip onto it, dragging my head down towards hers. Our tongues flicker against one another as we kiss roughly, I quicken the pace of my fingers and swallow her loud moans.

"Is this what you like baby?" I ask against her lips, she whimpers loudly and nods her head quickly.

"What about when my fingers are inside of you?" I push my middle and index finger inside of her halfway before easing them back in slowly, feeling her shudder against me. Her moans press loudly against my jaw as her hand grips my shoulder. She tightens around my fingers and I can tell that she's close already, but I'm not anywhere near finished with her yet.

"Please Harry, I need you inside me" She moans loudly as I quicken the pace of my fingers pushing and retreating inside of her. I pull my fingers out of her quickly and hold them up to her lip, she gazes at me hungrily and gently wraps her lips around my fingertips. Watching her tongue slowly work her way around my fingers has gotten me exactly where I need to be.

"Turn around" I order her and she immediately obeys, bracing her hands on the tiles as the surrounding bathroom coats us in a cloud of steam. I push her feet slightly apart with my foot and drag my cock along her clit from behind. Her hands curl in on themselves but there's nothing to grip on the flat tile wall. I can't wait any longer as I push myself quickly inside of her, feeling her clench and take all of me in. Elena stands up straighter and leans her head back onto my shoulder.

"Oh god yes" She loudly moans, pressing her face into my jaw as I hold onto her hips and start to slowly thrust into her

"Touch yourself" I tell her, placing my chin on her shoulder to give myself a good vantage point. She whimpers as I watch her hand slip down off the wall and disappear in between her legs. Her fingers make small slow circles as I hurry the pace of my thrusting from behind.

"Please, I want your hand, I want you to do it" She whimpers loudly as she picks up my hand from her hip and brings it down to the apex of her thighs. I start to press against her, allowing the natural movement of her jerking hips to give her pleasure.

"You only like it when it's my hands huh baby? I'm the only one that makes you feel good?" My teeth pull on her earlobe as I groan roughly against her ear. She curses loudly and starts to push her hips back against mine as I thrust harder against her.

"Only you, it only feels good when it's you" She twists her head and moans loudly against my lips as she speaks. Her words drive me insane, she can't make herself feel good without me there. Sounds like I have a few things to teach her, but right now I'm chasing her release. I quicken the movement of my hand and my hips.

"Tell me how good it feels" I implore, my other hand pressing deeply into her hips and quickening the thrusts into her.

"It's so good, my god it's so fucking good. I can't ever get enough, I'm so close" Her whimpers are loud against my mouth as we kiss sloppily. I work my fingers roughly against her clit, urging her on.

"Let go baby, cum for me" I tell her. Her head lays against my shoulder and her eyes go slightly wide. Her body shakes as I feel her detonate around me, her moans loudly echoing off of the tiled walls. Her release triggers my own and I flex my hip deeply into her, emptying myself into her. I support her in my arms as she continues to shake and whimper softly before I slip out of her. Her hands grip onto my arms as she turns her body around and curls herself against me, pressing her body flush against me underneath the warm water.

"You okay baby?" I ask, gently stroking her hair.

"I'm seeing stars" She giggles against my chest as she continues to pant. We spend a few moments recovering ourselves, wrapped up in one another's embrace.

"Okay I need to actually have a shower" She softly giggles as she takes a step out of my embrace and reaches for the shampoo bottle.

"I'll help, and I'll actually help this time" I promise her with a small grin. And I do, for the most part, but I mostly just watch her wash her hair and clean her body. She really is a sight, my very own personal goddess. Eventually she shuts the water off and I step out of the shower and hand her a towel, wrapping my own one around my waist and picking up the clothes I was wearing before off the floor. Elena wanders back into the bedroom while I dry off and get dressed back into my clothes.

When I join her in the bedroom she's already half dressed in a set of pale blue bra and underwear. The colour works so perfectly set against her skin as she moves back over to her clothes and takes out a small black sundress. Thank you LA heatwave.

"Want some coffee?" I ask her as I run the towel back through my hair. She grins softly as she slides the dress down her body.

"Yes please" I cross the room and press a soft to her lips before heading down the hall and into the kitchen. I can hear her hairdryer starting up as I put on a pot of coffee, staring out at the view through the large windows at the back of the room. I really do love it here, in a different way than I love New York. I don't think I could ever live here, but New York's a different story.

I still can't quite believe that when we get back to London, she's going to move back in with me. But the more I think about it the more I don't want to live in that penthouse anymore. It used to work great for me, living in the place where I conducted a lot of my business, but it also meant that there was no end to the workday. Now that didn't used to matter, but it does now that I have Elena. When we get back I should redouble my search for a new place, for us, something that could be ours instead of just mine.

"Shit, missed a call from Heather" Elena mumbles as she enters the kitchen, her hair now dry and white sneakers covering her feet. I almost laugh to myself knowing what's about to happen; Elena's phone is so busted that all phone conversations are in loud speaker, so she has no choice in whether or not I hear what Heather has to say. This should be good.

"Hey Heather, I'm so sorry I missed your call! We were just in the shower" Elena grins at her phone and gives Heather a wave.

"Oh were we? Did we have a fun shower?" Heather teases and I stifle a laugh as the realisation of what she's just accidentally admitted to washes over Elena's face.

"It was great. Hi Heather" I walk behind Elena and wave to the phone as I pass, making my way to the coffee pot. Elena swats my arm as I pass by, while I hear Heather snickering.

"So did you guys just run different showers at the same time or did you just happen to bump into each other while you were in there..." I hear Heather continue to tease while Elena's face turns a shade of red I don't think I've ever seen.

"How are you?! How is everything Heather?" Elena rapidly changes the subject as she snatches the cup of coffee I just poured for myself out of my hand. So rude, I love her so much.

"Things are okay here. I hope you guys were able to contain yourselves while you were at Disneyland because you know if you're caught you can get a lifetime ban" Heather presses on, undeterred by Elena's death glare. I bet she wishes she had a new phone where her sound wasn't broken now.

"How's the morning sickness? I hope you're not throwing up everywhere!" Elena asks in a tone that might make you think she'd love for Heather to be throwing up everywhere.

"Haven't had any this week, hopefully that stage is all finished but I'm not holding my breath. So what kinds of things do you do in the shower exactly..."

"I'm hanging up now!" Elena cuts her off loudly   

"Oh relax, I'm only teasing. Was Disneyland everything you dreamed of?" Heather sighs happily, seemingly finished with the her teasing, for now. I feel like I've overstayed my welcome but I'm not moving, I want to hear Elena tell her all about her day yesterday.

"Oh my god it was so much better than I could have ever hoped for! We got to go on like every ride without waiting in lines, the weather was beautiful and Harry even posed for photos!" Elena gushes as she takes another sip of her coffee.

"He did?! I'll be honest I didn't think he would ever be boyfriend material, no offence, very glad to see that I'm wrong!" Heather says, receiving a warning look from Elena. I roll my eyes and walk up behind Elena and give her a kiss on the cheek, enjoying the almost terrified look that manifests itself onto Heathers face.

"No offence taken Heather, even I thought I was a lost cause for a while there" I smile back at the phone. It's true, I used to look around and see my friends become boring and pathetic when they got a girlfriend. Now that I know what it's like though, I almost feel jealous that they've been able to experience more of it than I have.

"Well I'm glad you guys had fun, outside of the shower" Heather gives Elena a wicked grin.

"Keep talking and I won't bring you back any presents" Elena threatens with the soft hint of a smile. I know that's complete bullshit, she got her a few things yesterday already and I know for a fact she'll just give them to her anyway. Elena smiles at her phone before retreating back into the bedroom with it, probably a smart move. She emerges a few minutes later as she's saying goodbye to Heather.

"Alright that seals the deal I need a new phone" Elena says the moment the call ends, pushing the phone across the counter like it's diseased.

"Then let's go get you one" I tell her before I'm reminded of the text I got this morning during one of my meetings.

"Hey you remember Mitch from last night?" I ask as she takes a handful of grapes from the bowl on the counter and starts to eat them one by one.

"Was that the guy in the striped shirt or the one that wouldn't stop talking about his boat?" She asks, her eyes squinting slightly.

"Stripes. He's throwing a party at his house tonight and wants us to come. You'll be able to drink at this one and a bunch of my friends will be there, if you're interested" I offer. I haven't hung out with Mitch in so long and he throws amazing parties, even by my standard. We've been friends since we were kids, he and I were some of the lucky ones who actually made something out of ourselves.

"So I can drink and chase your friends around for stories about you, totally in" Elena grins as she collects her bag from the back of a chair and shoves the useless phone inside it.

"All they'll really be able to tell you is about what I was like in my early twenties" I tell her as we make our way out into the garage and climb into the convertible. I speak for the majority of them. I'm sure Mitch will be too busy hosting the party to spend time talking with Elena, and even if he does I know he'll keep his mouth shut about all the personal stuff he's learned about me over the years.

"So when you were my age, so like the 60's right?" Elena teases as she clicks in her seatbelt and leans away from me as I tickle her side.

"Cheeky" I grin as I open the garage door and start the car.

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"Any interest in the watch at all?" I ask Elena as I peer down at the models of Apple Watches in front of me.

"None at all. I have everything I need stop trying to spend money" Elena smiles beside me, trying to tug on my arm. I managed to talk her around to getting a new laptop as well as the newest phone model.

"But you don't have a watch" I reply, I know having it will make her life easier even though I know I'm pushing my luck here.

"Because I don't need one now come on I need to find a new dress to wear tonight" I allow her to pull me away this time as we walk to the check out desk.

"Thank you" Elena mumbles, standing up on her tiptoes and kissing my cheek as we walk out of the store.

"You don't need to thank me every time I buy you something, especially not something you need" I tell her as her hand finds mine and our fingers interlock.

"Of course I do, you do so much for me and it would be awful of me to not thank you when you do" She replies firmly as we walk into a large boutique down the road, Elena will definitely be able to find something in here. As though she can smell money, an energetic assistant bounces over to us to offer her assistance.

"Oh um, that would be great thanks. I'm looking for a dress to wear to a party tonight" Elena tells her politely as I take the shopping bags from her.

"I love parties! Okay let's find you something amazing" The young girl grins enthusiastically as she takes Elena's hand and begins to lead her further into the store, asking a flurry of questions. I'm about to follow when my pocket starts to rapidly vibrate. I take it out and answer it immediately.

"Hey Gem" I answer the call and keep an eye on Elena who's having dresses held up against her chest by the assistant.

"Hi! How's your trip?!" My sister asks excitedly as I pace around the front section of the store.

"Yeah it's been pretty great so far. I survived Disneyland yesterday" I reveal with a small smile.

"I bet Elena had the best time, how is my little sis?" She answers, throwing me a little with that last part.

"Uh she's great, since when did you start calling her sis?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at the ground.

"I'm just practising for when you marry her in the not so distant future" She giggles over the other end of the phone and I whip my head around, almost scared that Elena could have heard. Instead I see her over at the other end of the store being lured into the dressing rooms with about a dozen dresses on hangers.

"Alright enough of that" I reprimand her. "You do understand that Elena is literally 20 and not looking to get married right now". I mean, that's what I assume at least. We haven't really talked about marriage, and I feel like maybe it's way early for that especially when I change my mind so frequently about whether I want to get married or not. Some days I know for sure that marriage only makes people become more miserable, and other days I need her to be my wife and have my last name so fucking badly.

"I know I know, but she's very mature for her age so I wouldn't be surprised if she started all that sort of thing early. Speaking of, the reason why I'm calling is that I wanted to ask you and Elena if you'd consider becoming godparents to Charlie and Theo" Her question makes me quite literally stop in my tracks.

"Are you serious?" I ask, completely dumbfounded.

"Yeah I am. We never did it when Charlie was born but now that we have Theo as well I feel like we should get all our ducks in a row in case the worst happens" She answers solemnly. The thought of something happening to my sister like that is too unbearable to dwell on.

"No I get that, that's smart. But why would you pick me?" I ask her genuinely, I mean I totally get asking Elena but I don't know where her logic comes from for picking me.

"Harry, you're my brother and I love you. I know the kid thing was never your strong suit but this last year you've been so great with Charlie. She's bonded to you so closely and I know you'd have the same kind of thing with Theo." Gemma explains sympathetically. I'm almost starting to panic sweat at the thought of having to raise Charlie and Theo. I love those kids, but I'm not Gemma, I could never do what she does.

"How does Michael feel about that?" I ask as I start to slowly walk over to the dressing rooms.

"He's 100% on board. You know it's so totally unlikely that anything would happen where you'd need to actually step in, but I'd love it if you were acting as a role model to the two of them. And Elena too, Charlie loves her auntie Lena and she was so incredible with Theo. Just ask her for me? Or if she's there I'll ask her?" She says as I step into the dressing room. Elena stands in a slinky silver dress, examining herself in a full length mirror. She looks heavenly, but her face falls slightly when she sees me on the phone.

"It's Gemma" I tell her as I take the phone away from my cheek. "She wants to talk to you" Her lips snap immediately back up into a smile as she rushes over and takes the phone from me.

"Hey Gemma it's Elena" She says excitedly into the phone, practically buzzing as they exchange pleasantries. I love that they get along so well. I watch as Elena plays with the strap of her dress, nodding as Gemma seems to be giving her a big speech. I can almost tell from the look on her face when Gemma asks her, her eyes widen and her cheeks immediately flush a soft pink.

"Oh wow..." Is all Elena manages to say before she goes back to nodding, obviously Gemma has begun to ramble again. Her head quickly turns to me as I sit down on a couch opposite her, the look in her eye is almost equal parts of honour and terror.

"Y-you know you don't just have to ask me because Harry and I are dating, you can ask one of your other friends I don't mind..." Elena offers Gemma an escape, but the answering smile that appears in her face means that Gemma wants Elena to be the kids godmother independent of whether we're dating or not. Elena looks back to me for confirmation, comfort, something - so I give her a small smile and nod my head. If she's okay with it, I am too.

"O-okay, I'd be so honoured Gemma I adore them both so much" Elena gushes, almost seeming out of breath.

"Yeah of course, alright here he is" I stand up and go to take the phone back from her before she keeps hold of it, close to her ear with two hands. "Love you too Gemma, and to the kids and Michael too okay? Okay, bye!" Her grin is shy as she hands the phone back to me. I place a kiss on her forehead and mouth the word 'beautiful', referring to the dress before she walks back into her dressing room and shuts the door.

"Hey" I say softly as I sit back down.

"I love her so much Harry don't you ever let her go" Gemma tells me in a wistful tone.

"Promise I won't, so we're all set then?" I smile.

"Almost. We need to do a christening for them, so I'll start planning it for when you guys get back, which is..?"

"The 14th".

"Got it! Okay I'll let you get back to your vacation. Have fun and relax, love you" She says.

"Love you too Gem, love to Theo and Charlie too" I tell her. I know Elena did, but I feel like it's weird to send love to my brother in law, especially since half the time I find him annoying as fuck. The call ends and I'm left with waiting for Elena to try on her next dress.

The assistant springs up next to me and heads directly for Elena's dressing room, knocking once on the door and handing her a long shoe box through the small crack in the door.

"I've got a good feeling about this one babes!" She calls through the door to Elena, I can't decide if she's overbearing and annoying or if she's actually being nice. I hear a small laugh from the other side of the door.

"I think I agree, that other one showed just a little bit too much skin" I can hear the smile in Elena's voice as she answers back through the closed door. I hear the soft sound of a zipper before the door swings open.

Elena shyly walks out to view herself in the big floor to ceiling mirrors in front of the assistant and I. She's in a black dress that looks like a blazer that reaches just below her mid thigh. The long box the girl handed through the door makes sense now, as she's managing not to topple over in pitch black knee high boots. Let's just say that if I were a cartoon character my tongue would be dragging along the ground and my eyes would have popped out of my head.

"Oh babes that's the one, you look so hot it's insane" The assistant pipes up, making a great point. Elena rugs at the bottom of the material slightly, trying to ease it down her legs and cover more of her skin.

"It's not too short?" Elena turns around and asks me, I somehow manage to pull my attention away from her cleavage and look her in the eye. She shakes her head with a small smirk as she realises where my gaze has been.

"It looks phenomenal" I sit back in the seat and reply.

"That's not the question I asked" Her head tilts to the side and she gives me a soft grin as she speaks.

"It's the perfect amount of short, so long as you don't bend down" I answer her. Elena sighs and turns her attention back to the mirror, bringing her hair back behind her ears and smoothing out the dress over her stomach. She lets out one finally sigh before nodding her head.

"Okay I'll take this, the boots too" She confirms, to which the assistant literally starts clapping.

"Amazing! I'll get it all rung up at the counter, you take your time getting dressed" She responds before she bounces away. Elena walks back into the changing room and closes the door.

"Need any help baby?" I call to her through the door the second it shuts. Fuck I'd love to just take her against the door right now.

"I'm good!" She calls back.

"Alright then, I'll just go pay" I grin at the shut door and pick up the bags from the Apple Store and leave the changing room area.

"Harry Edward Styles don't you dare!" She yells out from behind the closed door, but I'm already half way to the counter and the music playing on the shop floor effectively drowns her out.

"She looked so incredible in that!" The girl squeals and starts typing into the computer behind the cash register. I take out my card and nod my head.

"She absolutely did" I respond as she gestures to the card reader beside me. $565. That's a decent amount. I wave my card in front of the reader and type in the code before Elena joins me, handing the clothes over the counter for the girl to start packing them up.

"Thanks for your help" Elena says to the assistant as she takes the bags from her and we make a quick exit for the door.

"Did you know that Gemma was going to ask us to be godparents?" Elena asks me the second we leave the store.

"I had no clue, she asked me like 2 minutes before I handed the phone to you" I reassure her.

"How do you feel about it?" She asks, squinting up at me as the sun hits her eyes.

"Seriously questioning her judgement with regard to picking me, but if that's what she wants then I won't stand in the way" I reply with small nod.

"I mean it's not that big of a deal right? It's not much more work than you currently do as their uncle right? I don't have godparents so I'm very vague about the concept"

"Elena. If something happens to Gemma and Michael, as godparents we would be given custody of Charlie and Theo" She stops dead in her tracks as I explain it to her. The shock on her face is washed away as she points towards me and starts giggling.

"Good one Harry"

"Elena I'm serious, that's what it means" She slowly realises that I'm not kidding, and her small smile slips away.

"Oh wow, that's a lot of pressure" She sighs heavily and start to walk again. I quicken my pace to catch up with her.

"If you don't want to do it you don-"

"I do want to, it's just freaky that someone would trust me with their kid like that" She answers uneasily. I'm not sure why she's so surprised, I'm sure if Heather has her baby she'd make her the godmother too. If I had been dating anyone else and Gemma has asked this I would have said absolutely not and told Gemma she was out of her ducking mind. And I would be more freaked out if I didn't see a future with her, and that there was a possibility that I'd be stuck raising my niece and nephew with an ex. But this isn't just anyone, it's Elena. That changes things.

"It's so unlikely that that would happen though, so mainly it's just Gemma's sneaky way of ensuring that we visit her more" I offer an alternative explanation, which makes Elena laugh slightly.

"I wouldn't put it past her to try something like that, you do only tend to go there for special occasions" Elena replies, slightly more upbeat than she was 30 seconds ago.

"It'll probably work too" I sigh as we reach the car and load the bags into the backseat.

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I walk back into the bedroom after I've left Elena to get ready, but she's still searching through a small bag that she's taken out of her suitcase.

"What's wrong?" I ask her, leaning against the doorway as she rifles through some small chains. I notice as she flips her hair around to look at me she's wearing the earrings I got her when we first started going out. They look great, I'm so glad she still uses them.

"I feel likes it's missing something. I'm trying to find one of my rings but I think I left it at home" She sighs in defeat. She already has on her small daisy ring, I don't think she ever even takes that one off.

"Here, will this work?" I slip off my gold ring and hold it out to her. She looks at me doubtfully before grinning and taking it out of my hand. It's a small gold band I got when my grandfather died ten years ago, I wear it on my pinky because that's the only finger it will fit on. Elena tries it on a few different fingers before settling on the fourth one, grinning as it slides on perfectly.

"This is perfect, thank you" She stands up and places a soft kiss on my lips. I like that she'll be wearing my ring, not that anyone is going to notice but I'll know - and I like that feeling.

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"You look truly phenomenal" I tell her again as the car starts up a small incline on the way to Mitch's house. It's further up into the hills and it's quite a bit bigger than mine, which is kind of annoying but it also makes him responsible for throwing lots of parties so I let it slide.

"You don't have to keep saying that, but thank you, you look really handsome" She grins as she fumbles with the material of her dress. It's so short, I could move it about 4 inches up and I'd see her underwear, and if we weren't being driven to the party by a stranger I'd be very tempted. I'm not so sure why she thinks I look so good as I'm just in black jeans and a white button down shirt. It's pretty much just the same as what I always wear, so I guess I'm glad to know she always thinks I look 'really handsome'.

We pull into his street and are immediately greeted with a plethora of cars lined up on either side of the it. Just beyond the cars is a gigantic modern mansion with already a dozen people outside lined up at food trucks stationed on the grass. Multicoloured lights illuminate the side of his house, Mitch has really gone all out.

"Oh, so by party you meant frat boy house party?" Elena queries with a soft grin.

"Like you know what a house party looks like" I tease her sarcastically, giving her knee a soft squeeze. My girl doesn't get out much. I don't know if it's just that my brain doesn't want to picture her drunk at a random house party or if the sight is really just unbelievable, but I can't picture it at all.

"I have gone to one thank you very much!" She laughs softly, quick to defend herself.

"Did you mistake it for book club?" I tease. She sighs happily and shakes her head.

"No, I picked heather up because she got too drunk" She replies sheepishly.

"Ah that makes sense" I smile as the car comes to a stop. The driver immediately jumps out of the car and opens Elena's door while I climb out and join her on the curb. I wrap my arm around her waist as we make our way up towards the house, I can already hear the loud thumping music resonating from inside - luckily there aren't any neighbours close by or else this party would be shut down very quickly.

Elena tilts her head to rest on my shoulder as we approach the entryway, which is quite a bit easier now that she's wearing these boots. I'm trying not to picture her in just the boots and nothing else, I'll save that for later. She's about to say something to me as we walk through the open door before Mitch instantly catches sight of us and hurries towards us excitedly, squeezing past the masses of people.

"You guys made it!" He greets us warmly, shaking my hand and giving Elena a kiss on the cheek.

"Fuck Harry you really are punching above your weight with this one" Mitch marvels at Elena, scanning her up and down as though he's trying to commit her to memory. I'm about to remind him that he's engaged before he waves over a waiter carrying a large tray of shots. "Everyone needs to take a shot before entering, house rules"

Elena giggles but takes a shot off the tray and brings it up to her nose, instantly recoiling at the smell. "This smells like hand sanitiser" She says as I take one of the small glasses in my hand.

"It's just tequila, come on you two down the hatch!" Mitch encourages before Elena and I exchange a glass and shrug, pouring the liquid down our throats. It burns as it moves through my system but I'm used to it, Elena coughs slightly and covers her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Good Job Rookie!" Mitch congratulates her as I rub her back. I guess it takes effect relatively quickly as Elena removes her hand from her mouth and smiles warmly. "Come on in, enjoy the party!" Mitch turns and walks us further into the house. There's got to be at least 200 people here upon first glance, some of them I recognise from events around LA.

"Oh my god you guys are here!" I hear a high pitched squeal from the left and turn to see Francesca Sutton hurrying towards Elena and I.

"Francesca! Hi!" Elena greets her with a grin and gets herself wrapped up in Francesca's hug. Elena's a very tolerant person - she'll put up with a lot from other people, and that sometimes runs the risk of becoming friends with annoying social media influencers like Francesca Sutton. Maybe I just find her annoying because I know her well, she's nice enough but in large doses I find myself looking for the nearest exit.

"I didn't know you were in LA" Francesca reluctantly breaks the hug with Elena and hugs my side. I pat her back for a few seconds before the embrace ends.

"We're only here for a few more days" I reply.

"Oh well then we need to hang out!" Francesca gasps and grasps Elena's hands. "Tomorrow; you, me and some of my girlfriends. We'll go to the spa, do some shopping, it will be so much fun!" Elena seems caught off guard, the grin on her face from first greeting Francesca must be hurting her now. Do I really want Elena spending time with Francesca and her vapid friends when we could be spending time together? Not really, but if I have some hours where she's occupied I can schedule some meetings I was hoping to get done while I was here.

"Oh I um...I don't know, I don't know What we're doing tomorrow" Elena turns to me with a smile urging me to jump in, I'm not sure if it's to give her a way out or to encourage her. I'm assuming that Mitch's fiancée Sarah will be amongst this group, and I know she'll look out for Elena while they're out together.

"No plans for tomorrow, just have her back by dinner please" I tell them both with a soft smile, tucking some of Elena's hair behind her ear. That way I can still spend time with her after I've got all my work done. And who knows, maybe a little feminine peer pressure is all she needs to start properly spending my money.

"Fantastic! I'll have a car pick you up around ten!" Francesca celebrates by clapping her hands together. "Come on, you have to meet my friends" She grins and threads her arm through Elena and begins to pull her towards the other side of the room. She seems to be okay with it as she turns to me and waves with a small grin on her red lips, that one shot of tequila did the trick. I'm about to find a bar and get myself a drink before I rough hand is clasping my shoulder.

"Harry fucking Styles, good to see you mate" Benji, an old mate of mine from New York shakes my hand with a vice grip. He's gotten significantly more LA mogul than the last time I saw him; he's got a tan now and he's wearing sneakers with joggers that I bet cost more than peoples first cars.

"How've you been Benji?" I ask as I locate a bar across the room and motion for him to walk with me.

"Yeah I'm great! But how are you man? Saw that chick you brought with you she's pretty nice" He winks at me as we reach the bar, I lean forward and tell the bartender my order before leaning back to respond to Benji.

"That's my girlfriend Elena, we're here for a few more days before we go to New York for a week" I explain, watching his face split open with a grin.

"Dude that's awesome! I've been hoping to run into you for a while actually, I've got a great investment opportunity for you..." Benji begins as my drink is handed to me in a red solo cup. Seriously Mitch? You're telling the bartenders to put an expensive glass of whiskey into a cup used for beer at frat parties? I sigh and take a sip anyway, sounds like I'm going to need it.

"Benji, we've talked about this before, I'm not looking to invest in anymore software developments" I reiterate the point I've been stuck on for years.

"And I understand that, if you'll just give me 30 minutes of your time and I promise I'll never ask again" Benji promises as I lean against the bar and strain my eyes as I look for my girl. I find her almost instantly doing a group shot with a circle of about 5 other girls, Sarah's with her thankfully.

"Make it fifteen" I tell Benji as we move ourselves outside away from all of the loud music and the hoards of people.

Benji's pitch isn't half bad, I tell him I'll think about it if he sends me all the information so that I can forward it on to my team. If they confirm what he's talking about, then I could potentially be on board. He keeps his word and we're done in relatively quickly and I depart back inside to find Elena. She's not where I last saw her, and I'm struggling to find the group of girls she was with as well.

"Hey stranger" A tall blonde weaves her way through the crowd towards me and my stomach immediately inverts on itself. Fuck this.

"Hi Poppy, how are you?" I address her briefly before continuing to scan over the top of her head for Elena. Of course the one party I take Elena to my ex girlfriend shows up and now I can't find her.

"I'm great, how are you? I didn't know you would be here" She grins and places a hand on her hip. The red dress stretches and clings to her hips tightly, her body has definitely changed since the last time I saw her. I think she's had some work done, her lips look a little over inflated too.

"Yeah I'm fine, I'm on vacation" I tell her as I try and slide past her to end the conversation. I still can't find Elena. Fuck, the puzzle pieces start to fit; Francesca and Poppy know each other, what if she's already spoken to Elena. Fuck I have to find her.

"Thats good! You always did work too hard. What's it been, like 3 years?" She doesn't take the hint and weaves through the crowds with me.

"Is that all?" I mumble underneath my breath. Poppy was just a friend for a while, then we started screwing no strings attached. Meanwhile I was still sleeping with other people, she wasn't, she accused me of cheating and I said I'm not because well it wasn't a relationship. What I later found out was that she had already been in love with me for a few years before we started having sex. So we 'broke up' and now she thinks I'm the devil. Where the fuck is Elena?

"How long are you here for? We should catch up, like old times!" She puts her hand on my arm and pulls me to a stop. I nudge my shoulder away so that her hand falls back to her side, the last thing I need is for Elena to see something like that and freak out on me, besides I don't even want her touching me.

"Not the best idea, I'm seeing someone" I tell her quickly before polishing off the rest of my drink and taking another scan of this side of the room. A look of what seems to be shock casts itself over Poppy's face as she interprets my words. Oh thank fuck, maybe she hasn't met Elena yet.

"Wow, that's great. I mean, I'd heard rumours ages ago that you were dating someone but I didn't know that was still going on. Congrats" Poppy replies solemnly, I guess she's a little disappointed to hear that.

"Yeah thanks, I gotta go, good to see you Poppy" I say goodbye quickly and rush past her before she can stop me. I'm fed up with looking for her, I take my phone out of my pocket and call her number.

"Baby!" She picks up on the fourth ring, her voice loud enough for me to hear it over the music. I can't hear loud music behind her, but I can hear her giggling and telling someone that it's me who's calling.

"Bub where are you?" I place my finger into my other ear and strain to hear her answer.

"We got hungry so we're getting food! They have kebabs!" She answers excitedly as I immediately exit the house and make my way over to the food trucks parked on the lawn. Thank god she's eating, it sounds like she's already had too much to drink. I instantly see her leaning her back against the side of the truck with a half eaten kebab in one hand and her phone in the other. She looks up and her grin lights up her face.

"I've gotta go I'll talk to you later!" She exclaims to me through the phone before hanging up and rushing towards me. "Hi baby" She purrs as she wraps one of her arms around my waist and hugs her body against my side.

"You alright love?" I ask after I kiss the top of her head. The other girls that she was with are all crowding around the other trucks to get their food, I'm glad they've stuck with her.

"I'm having sooo much fun. Sarah found me a drink that's pink and you can't even taste the alcohol in it!" Her words come out as giggles as she tilts her chin up to look at my face. Thank fuck she's a happy drunk, I like seeing her let loose and have fun.

"That's great baby, I'm sorry I got pulled away" I tell her as she takes a bite of her kebab, it does smell incredible I may have to get myself one.

"That's okay! Are you having fun?" She asks, batting her eyelashes up at me after she swallows her food.

"I am now" I reply honestly. Being with my friends is alright, but nothing compares to having her by my side. Her lips pout out slightly after I speak.

"Your friends are super nice!" She tells me. I contemplate telling her about Poppy, just to give her a heads up in case she approaches her. I don't want her to think I've lied or anything, but what if it ruins her mood and her night. I'll just have to keep a closer eye on her and tell her in the morning.

"They're pretty cool" I nod my head as I reply. Sarah and one of her friends join us a few seconds later and I'm reintroduced to Lucy, one of Francesca's influencer friends.

"We're going dancing now come on!" Lucy says as she gestures towards the house to Elena, who looks up at me with a smile as though she's asking for permission.

"Go on" I reassure her, no sooner have the words left my mouth that a kiss is pressed against my lips and a half eaten kebab placed into my hands before she practically takes off running with her friends. I have to stand and laugh to myself for a second as I watch her go, so excited to get back to dancing with her new friends. I bite into the kebab and finish it within a few minutes, fuck that's good. I throw the wrapper back into the bin and head back inside, eager to find a good spot to keep an eye on her from.

I grab a drink from the bar and scan the room again to try and find her. She's not anywhere to be seen in the small area where people are dancing, there has to be somewhere else where they all are. Fuck, I've got to stop letting her out of my sight like this. Over on the other side of the room there's another section where people are dancing, but they're so clumped together it will be hard to find her, so I start to mount the stairs to get a better vantage point. I manage to find Mitch on the second floor landing overlooking everyone below.

"Hey Mitch, you seen Elena?" I ask as he leans against the bannister overlooking the ground floor. I try and scan the room for her, but there's over a hundred people it's hard to pick out any person in particular.

"Seen her? She's currently tearing up the dance floor with my fiancée. See for yourself" He points towards a large group of people. There she is, dancing her heart out with a large group of people who act like they've been best friends for years. She laughs as one of the girls spins her around, and keeps laughing as she continues to spin before she bumps into one of the other girls, causing them all to just laugh that much harder.

"She's so fucking wasted" I grin as I observe her, I've never seen her this drunk in my life. Ironically I think she has more rhythm when she's drunk than when she's sober, as her body moves perfectly in time with the music. I'm ready to throw myself down the stairs and be by her side in 5 seconds flat if any guys start heading her way. Seeing the way she looks right now it's a matter of when and not if. A tray of shots are brought over to them by one of the bar tenders and they all take one, Elena seems to struggle less this time around. She's going to be very hungover for her day with Francesca tomorrow. Poor baby.

"Look at our ladies H. One day they'll give us babies, but for now they're dancing like amazing drunken idiots" Mitch marvels as he clinks his glass into mine and swigs, I take a swig of mine too and grin. The song changes and all of the girls seem to approve of it, grasping each other's arms and excitedly yelling the lyrics to one another.

"My god, what has this chick done to you?" Mitch asks out of the blue.

"What?" I keep my eyes on her as she tousles her hair to the side.

"I just made a joke about you having kids and you smiled. Where is the old Harry who gagged when I told him I wanted to marry Sarah?" His question makes me want to laugh. I do recall doing that. I also recall calling him a bloody idiot for wanting to get married and told him that if I ever talked about getting married he was given permission to shoot me in the head.

"Dunno, things are different now" I shrug and take another sip of my drink. I check on Elena, who looks like she's in the mosh pit at a rock concert the way her and her new friends are jumping around their little circle.

"She's the one, isn't she?" He states in an almost whisper. I don't do this, I don't have deep conversations with my friends about my feelings. That used to be because I didn't ever feel like this.

"What are you on about?" I ask him to give me more time to consider his question.

"You heard me, she's the one. Someone has finally tamed the beast" He replies with a grin. It amuses me as I'm reminded of my conversation with Elena at Disneyland. Maybe she really is Belle, and maybe I'm the Beast. I don't know how that story ends but I know how I want ours to end.

"Shut up" I tell him with a grin and have another drink.

"Have you told her everything about what happened when you were growing up?" Mitch inquires, not nearly as drunk as I thought he was as he steers the conversation into a more serious direction.

"She knows a bit" I sigh softly. "Not everything"

"You ever going to tell her?" He asks. I shake my head and watch her as she moves with such grace and ease. One of the girls takes out a phone and gathers them all into a selfie, a photo that I know Elena will look like a goddess in.

"Don't you think you should? I know you don't like talking about your dad but he's the whole reason why you've held back from relationships all these years. You don't think it's gonna cause issues down the road?" Mitch presses on, undeterred by my refusal to acknowledge what he's saying. He's right of course, I've stayed away from relationships because I don't want to be like my dad, I don't want to do what he did or become who he was. But I can control it, I don't need to talk about it, and I don't need it placing any doubt in Elena's mind about whether or not she should stay with me. I need this girl, and I won't lose her.

"We're good" I tell Mitch, keeping my eyes on my girl down below. Another song change leads to another happy jumping moment. Sarah catches sight of us and waves before getting Elena's attention and pointing to us. Elena's smile lights up the dimly lit room when she makes eye contact with me, in that earth shattering way that catches you by surprise. They both start gesturing to us to come and join them, Mitch and I are on the same page and shake our head. Sarah shrugs and goes back to dancing, but Elena pouts out her lip and holds her hand out towards me despite the fact that I'm one storey up and twenty feet away.

"Mate you're not gonna..." Mitch trails off, his tone displaying a delighted shock as I turn towards the stairs and start to hurry down them to my girl. "You're Fucking whipped mate!" He calls after me with a loud laugh. I push my way through the crowd of people towards my girl, who's practically buzzing when I finally reach her.

"You're coming to dance with me!" Elena states the obvious before she throws her arms around my shoulders and kisses my lips hard, as though she's been deprived since the last time I saw her. She tastes of strawberries and vodka, and she's somehow managed to get glitter in her hair.

"No not dance, you know I don't dance" I inform her, placing my hands on her hips as she wriggles them around in perfect rhythm with the music.

"You've danced with me before" Her rebuttal is slurred but true, I've slowed danced with her on one occasion, but I don't dance.

"That was slow dancing, that was different." I tell her, leaning my head down closer to her so that she can hear me. Her fingers wind their way through my hair. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Like 6" She shrugs with a soft giggle. I narrow my eyes, the smile refusing to slip from my lips.

"6 what, baby?" I ask. She sighs and tilts her head.

"I had like four of those little shot things, then I had three drinks in between those" She rattles off her list, and it amuses me immensely that her calculations are wrong. She looks at me for a beat before she brings her forehead against my chin and giggles. "Harry I'm so drunk"

"Yes you are my love" I chuckle as well, at least she has some insight left, though who knows how much longer that will last. "I blame Sarah"

"I do too. Hey Sarah!" She whispers the first sentence before tilting her head back and calling loudly for Sarah. Sarah's black hair whips around and she grins at the two of us. "It's your fault I'm drunk!" Elena slurs.

"I regret nothing!" Sarah laughs as she responds, swinging her hips back around to face her back to us. Elena's fingers slip down from my hair to the nape of my neck.

"Should we get going?" I ask her as she turns her attention back to me, her nails scratching at the skin of my neck. I love it when she scratches me, it sends a warm shock through my body. I've got to get her home before she gets any drunker.

"Only if you dance with me" Elena whines as she tilts her head up to pepper kisses along my jaw and throat. I feel like a fucking King; the girl that everyone has been watching all night is clinging to me like I'm a life raft. I'm a lucky man.

"Trust me you don't want me to dance with you" I answer as her hands slowly fall from my neck down to my hands, trying to coax me into dancing as she sways her hips while pushing and pulling on my arms alternately. I shake my head and let out a small chuckle at her attempt, watching her smile grow wider as I put up very little resistance.

"Harry! There you are I thought you left?" My stomach drops as Poppy makes a sudden appearance by my side, immediately taking a half-step backwards when Elena hugs herself closely into my side.

"I'm Poppy? Harry's ex-girlfriend" Poppy puts on a sickly sweet smile and smugly holds her hand out to Elena to shake. I loosen my grip on Elena slightly, if she wants to run I won't put up much of a fight. To my surprise, Elena grins sincerely and shakes Poppy's hand.

"I'm Elena, I'm his girlfriend now" Elena states proudly, a soft smirk playing on her lips.

I cough awkwardly. They just keep staring at each other, Poppy's bravado slowly slipping away as their hands falls back to their sides before Elena slowly threads her hand through my hair.

"Harry. Can we go talk outside, just for a few minutes" Poppy turns her attention back to me, looking at me hopefully. Before I even get the chance to mumble out an excuse, Elena steps in.

"No he's not going to do that, he's here with me". Her lips are smiling but I think her words cut Poppy like a knife as she's thrown off by Elena's statement. Even I'm caught off guard, I don't think I've ever seen her this confident - the liquors definitely helped her out on this one. Elena places her hand on my chest and tilts her head at Poppy, seemingly ready for whatever Poppy's about to hit her with.

"I wasn't asking you, I was asking him" Poppy says in a hurried tone.

"And I'm telling you, that he's not interested. So, enjoy the rest of your night Poppy, super nice to meet you" Elena giggles as she tugs on my arm, pulling me in the opposite direction of a dumbfounded Poppy through the crowds of people.

"Elena..." I pull gently on her arm to bring her to a stop. She spins around and wraps her arms around my shoulders, kissing me roughly and tugging me down towards her. I indulge in her, slipping my tongue into her mouth and gripping my fingertips into her waist. I can feel her heart racing's against my chest and she presses herself against me. This is not the reaction I would have expected from her after meeting my ex-girlfriend, but Drunk Elena is certainly a surprise. I illicit a moan from her as I bite down on her bottom lip.

"You're mine" she mumbles against my lips, echoing my constant thoughts when I'm with her. You're mine, you're mine, you're mine.

"Completely" I promise her, bringing one of my hands up to cup her cheek as her grin slowly starts to return. Her doe brown eyes stare up at me and straight into my newly revived soul.

"Now you have to dance with me" She says cheekily as she pulls herself slightly out of my embrace, slowly swaying her body around the small area of space we have to ourselves.

"Dance with meeee" She sweetly whines as she moves, gently swaying her her hips and rolling her shoulders. I stand completely still, but I do lift my arm up to spin her around slowly. She gives a small happy yelp as I do so, eager to take the little reciprocity I'll give her.

"More" She demands with a grin as she presses her chest against mine. "Or I bet I can find someone else who will" Her eyes light up as she teases me. I know she's right, she gives a guy one look and he'll be all over her like a moth to a flame. And I do owe it to her, she was basically just accosted by my past.

I give in, and allow myself to slowly move with the music. I do the bare minimum, but it seems to be good enough for Elena as she happily twirls around me. I mostly just sway from side to side in time with the music and keep my hands on Elena; spinning her, holding her waist, trailing my fingers down her back. Song after song passes by, and eventually Elena seems to be slowing down. Perhaps there is a god.

"Let's go home baby" I whisper to her as she lays her head on my shoulder. She nods her head and takes my hand as I lead her back towards the front door.

"Don't we have to say goodbye?" Elena quietly asks me as I finish texting our driver to come and pick us up. He replies quickly that he's only five minutes away before I tuck the phone back into my pocket.

"I mean...you don't have to" I try and convince her, but I can already see her polite nature taking back over her body, so we hunt down Mitch at the bar.

"We're heading off, thanks for a great night mate" I announce to him as we approach, clasping his hand in a tight handshake as he grins at Elena's form still wrapped around my waist. It's as though she's afraid I'll slip away.

"It's been great having you guys, Sarah and I will be in London in a few weeks we should catch up then" Mitch says before Elena detaches from my hip and gives him a small side hug.

"You are a wonderful little lady" Mitch praises Elena after they separate. "Thank you for loving my friend" I roll my eyes at his sentimentality and pull for Elena to follow me back out of the house as she thanks him for the party.

"He's so nice, I like him a lot" Elena tells me as we step outside, the food trucks that littered the front lawn appear to be shutting down for the night. I scan the line of parked cars before I find ours, which has been idling right in front of the path.

"He's always been a good mate" I reply as I open up Elena's door for her and slide in after her. The driver wordlessly greets me with a nod before he starts to drive us back down the hill. "Did you have a nice night?" I ask her as she lays her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes.

"It was awesome" she sleepily grins. I know I shouldn't let her fall asleep in the car since we're only a few minutes away from our house, but I do. I rub my thumb over her knee and try to come to terms about the massive day that we've had. I can't believe Poppy nearly ruined our night, I hate to think about how differently that would have gone had Elena not been drunk or had I not been there.

Eventually the car pulls up outside of place and the driver steps out and opens my door. I gently prop Elena up on the seat and climb out, scooping her up into my arms and carrying her up the pathway up to the house.

"Harry..." she mumbles sleepily as we reach the front door, where I clumsily unlock the door and bring us inside.

"We're home baby, lets get ready for bed" I tell her as I immediately take her down the hallway towards the bedroom. I stand her up just inside the bedroom and start to get undressed. Elena kicks off her shoes and immediately flips down onto the bed.

"Come on bub wake up, you have to take your makeup off" I softly nudge her.

"Do it foooorrrr me" She mumbles quietly as I take my jacket off and throw it over a chair in the corner.

"Elena..." I chuckle gently as I rub her shoulder, she flips onto her back but keeps her eyes closed.

"Just take the make up wipes and smush them all over my face until you see my skin again" She instructs me, her words slightly slurred. I sigh in defeat and sit down on the edge of the bed beside her and take the makeup wipes off of the side table.

"You'll have to get up eventually you know, to get undressed and brush your teeth" I remind her as I take one of the wipes out of the packet.

"I know" she sighs with a small smile as I press the wipe against her face, delicately moving it across her skin. "You have to press down more" She instructs me.

"Just don't want to hurt you bub" I reply, applying a little bit more pressure. Small streaks of makeup start to accumulate on the wipe and I start to see her softer pale skin peak through. It takes a few minutes, and several different wipes but eventually all of the makeup has been scrubbed away.

"All done" I tell her, rubbing my hand across her shoulder, she grins as she slowly sits up, opening her eyes and kissing my lips.

"Thank you baby" She purrs before her body sways to a stand at the side of the bed. "Help me"

I laugh at her demeanour and stand up, assisting her as we peel the dress off of her body, leaving her in her bra, her underwear, and those fucking boots. I take a mental image, she's far to drunk to consent to anything right now, and help her out of those clothes and into my Pink Floyd shirt and a pair of my clean boxers. I walk with her to the bathroom and she sits on the bench-top beside the sink.

"Poppy's very pretty" Elena pouts softly as I put toothpaste onto her toothbrush and hand it to her. I shrug and do the same to mine.

"I used to think so, not now" I tell her as I start to brush my teeth. She smiles with the toothbrush in her mouth, slowly and clumsily brushing her teeth. A comfortable silence follows, I place my hand on her thigh and softly rub my thumb against her skin. For some reason this feels crazy intimate.

"How ong war oo togefa?" She asks with the toothbrush in her mouth. I grin as I decipher what she's asking, though I'm not sure we should be talking about this while she's so drunk.

"We were never official, but it was a couple of months" I shrug as I half answer the question, Elena seems satisfied as she nods her head. She leans over the sink and spits before running the water back over the brush. I do the same before helping her slide off the bench and holding her hand as we walk back to the bedroom.

"I looked hot tonight" Elena says suddenly as we both climb into bed. I sit up with a grin as she pulls the covers over herself and immediately curls herself into my side.

"You always look hot baby, but tonight you looked spectacular" I compliment her as she lays her leg over mine and I switch off the lamp on my side of the bed.

"I love you" She mumbles into my chest as I settle back down into the bed, watching as her eyes go from slowly blinking to shut completely in a matter of seconds.

"I love you too bub, sweet dreams" I tell her as I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly against my chest. Where in my life did I do something so right to deserve this? What good deed did I do where the universe decided to reward me with her? I fall asleep trying to figure it out.

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