Bumping This Up Because It's Still My Favorite Piece That I Have Ever Written And We're Nearing The Territory

Bunny and the Pearl Choker

Nothing is going to stand against Harry’s way. The 20th of October would be perfect, must be perfect.

That’s Harry's current state of mind just as the new month rolled-in, the chilly autumn air already starting its full-pledged invasion of his sweet little flat.

‘Blankets, would she like blankets?’ he thinks, as he closes the stubborn window in his living area and fetches the new cream colored fluffy blanket from the basket filled with an assortment of other blankets in different sizes, colors, and textures, keen to not freeze his bones off while trying to be the best boyfriend there is on this planet.

‘No, don’t think so.’ Harry converses with his thoughts, taking a seat on his couch, ‘I always get new blankets for her every time we go out, that’s not special enough. Have to think better than that, Harry. Yup, that’s the right path to follow right now.’

See, Harry has the perfect idea on how he’s going to make a superb use of his free Friday afternoon when one of his uni professors called in sick late last night.

Harry’s plan is to spend the rest of his afternoon on his soft baby blue couch (his beautiful girlfriend always had the same shade painted on her nails prompting him to buy the couch in that color), freshly made latte with a few pumps of the pumpkin spice syrup (that his lovely girlfriend had bought him) resting on the coffee table for his convenience, the new cream colored fluffy blanket already wrapped around his bottom half (always a necessity to get new blankets because he’s cuddly girlfriend gets easily cold), and with his laptop perched on his lap ready to research away (and yes, the laptop also has a connection with his thoughtful girlfriend who had given him stickers of different kinds of bunnies doing different things to decorate it.)

Said beautiful, lovely, cuddly, and thoughtful girlfriend is going to celebrate her 21st birthday on the 20th of October; Harry’s perfect plan is to organize a perfect birthday for her with no other things needed to be said or thought over. He’ll take it upon himself to do it, as an obligation of a wonderful boyfriend who only wants the best for his girl on her special day.

Dedicating some time to planning is only the responsible way to go about planning anything that you want to garner immaculate results for, especially when Harry has no idea on what his girlfriend wants for her birthday.

Don’t get him wrong, he knows Sophia inside and out like the back of his hand, though he also knows how timid she is about voicing her wants especially when it's something material like a birthday present or something to do with celebrating her which she thinks are unnecessary actions cause she’s kind and modest like that.

Harry has done his part and obviously asked her in person, they value communication in their relationship so it was only wise for him to come forth and ask verbally of what she wants to do and have for her 21st before he starts scheming behind her back and it ending up to be a failure because it wasn’t what the birthday girl had wanted.

So just last week, while they were both cuddled together in the very same couch Harry is sitting on right now, he asked Sophia who was lying comfortably on top of him, face squished on his chest wrapping a chocolate brown blanket tighter around their bodies if she had any plans for her birthday.

The girl had stopped breathing in his comforting scent and nuzzling her face to his jumper, and looked at him, eyes lighting-up with a bit of surprise like she didn’t expect the question at all.

Instead of the usual wish of a 21st rager for a birthday, Sophia scrunches her nose adorably, thinking for a moment with her cute little bottom lip jutting out a bit just like every time they study together causing a distracted Harry every now and then.

“Hmmm.. I don’t know bunny. Maybe we can just bake something nice and have a movie marathon here? I’d really like it if we just watched Civil War again, haven’t seen Chris Evans in that film for awhile.”

And of course, her answer would be a sweet little movie night with a little baking at the side, a typical occurrence in their relationship as both utterly love a good, cozy chilled-in night. But that’s the thing, Harry thought, it was such a regular thing that they do all the time and her birthday should be something more special than that. Plus, he doesn’t want to share her attention with Chris bloody Evans on her birthday! That won’t do, it happens all the time already and Harry would especially want to be the one that provides a smashing time for her on her special day, not some super human in blue spandex with killer biceps (that, Harry can probably agree Chris Evans has it in the bag).

So Harry voiced out his thoughts, even adding in the fact that she also should think about what she wants as a gift and as expected, the pout on her pretty pink lips even got bigger, wide blue eyes looking owlishly at him.

“Don’t want anything out of the ordinary. Bunny, you’re already a good time to spend my birthday with, and an amazing gift too for being in my life.”

Now that was sweet, and Harry doesn’t have the heart to say otherwise when she comes nuzzling back to his chest almost purring in content like a cat.

But Harry won’t also let it slide that easily, knows deep down that no matter what Sophia says, his Sunflower would appreciate whatever effort he will bring to the table might it be baking and a movie marathon, or an all-planned birthday celebration outside the confines of their home.

That’s why here he is, immersing himself in full-concentration mode as he turns the power of his laptop on, sipping cautiously at the sweet and aromatic hot beverage on his favorite sunflower embossed mug.

Harry opens a new tab on Google, trying to rack his brain for any clue or inkling to what his girlfriend might want after consulting their friends if something might have slipped in their conversations with her.

Glenne, her best friend who she’s with most of the time that her and Harry are not attached to the hip, had mentioned nothing saying that conversations about Sophia’s 21st never even came-up in any of their conversations. That alone, has Harry slightly panicked already as he knows that the chances that any of their other friends have in knowing what Sophia might want, was possibly in the lower spectrum.

His assumptions we’re indeed confirmed upon asking Sarah, Mitch, and Jeff, all three leaving him with the same empty-handed results. All of their friends assured him though that Sophia’s a really sweet and simple girl that whatever Harry plans for her she would surely appreciate more than an average person.

The thing is, Harry knows that’s absolutely true. His Sunflower is the sweetest, most gentle and kind soul he has ever met, it does kind of feel silly that he’s stressing himself out over here trying to plan such an intricate thing for her birthday when he knows Sophia’s being genuine with just wanting a simple night-in with just the two of them together.

Harry shakes his head, determination winning over the better part of him as his fingers start typing away for possible 21st birthday celebration recommendations. He started with looking at blog posts and websites that show a list of possible activities and gifts to do, but then proceeded to look at certain activities when the broad selection was just overwhelming him.

After about 45 minutes of looking here and there on the internet, Harry’s luck still seemed to not have gotten any better and allowed himself a five minute break to make another cup of latte. While doing so, he looks at his discarded phone checking for any missed messages, his worries and slight tiredness from his research abruptly washes away just upon seeing the gorgeous smiling face of his girlfriend on his lockscreen from their recent trip to the South of France last summer. His Sunflower really basks in the glory of the summer season and its endless sunshine grandeur.

Suddenly, something clicks in him. Summer. Sophia loves summer more than any season and has always loved significantly all their activities during those times of the year. His mind instantly reels him back to every single summer picnic they shared, specifically noting her speechless awed expression at their last picnic in the South of France where Harry took her to the most gorgeous open field with luscious flowers sprinkled around, the lavenders a definite favorite with Sophia not failing to mention that detail to every person who asked them about their trip when they came back to uni after their holiday.

Clapping in excitement, Harry dopily makes his way back to the couch, cursing loudly when he sips on his new cup of pumpkin spice latte forgetting that it was still scorching hot.

That doesn’t deter him, already knowing how to use it to his advantage when Sophia comes to his place for dinner later and he can act all wounded-puppy-like and get her to kiss him better. For now, he must think of the best way to get about preparing a summer picnic for his lovely girlfriend in the bloody autumn weather.

Harry feels his luck starting to look better, typing the single letter ‘p’ on his browser suggests him to a Pinterest link that apparently has been visited on his laptop. Curiously, he opens the link knowing within himself that he has never visited this website, and oh my god did he hit the bloody jackpot without even exerting any effort!

The link opens to a Pinterest board filled with picnic ideas and aesthetic, upon looking further Harry realizes that Sophia must have, actually definitely, used his laptop to log-in her Pinterest account and apparently create a dedicated board for anything picnic related. It’s never been an issue for them to use each other's devices and log-in their accounts to it, knowing that neither of them has anything to hide nor any reason to snoop around in the first place. This however, is the only time Harry might be inclined to do so, for pure and honest intentions though!

Knowing deep down inside that he’s about to do nothing wrong at all, Harry decides to continue and starts taking notes dutifully, already finalizing ideas in his mind on the tangible things he has to prepare and get, already deciding on the overall theme and route he wants this picnic to be.

The next 30 minutes passes-by and Harry can confidently say that he has everything sorted plan-wise on this sweet and humble picnic for his girl, already sorted his schedule too on when to accomplish specific tasks.

He checks the time on his wall clock, realizing that he only has about an hour left before Sophia’s last class of the day ends, and he plans to pick her up and treat her to dinner in one of their favorite cafes just around town knowing that she’s most probably craving their strawberry smoothie cause he definitely is salivating thinking about the banana one.

With that in mind, Harry proceeds to look at the other boards on Sophia’s Pinterest, thinking might as well because it seems like his girlfriend had found a quiet solace on this app to project her wants and plans.

Again, Harry is astounded how the answers to his burning question of what to get her as a gift easily comes to his possession with just a simple scroll and click.

A pearl necklace, specifically a mini Vivienne Westwood Bas Relief Choker, is apparently the only material thing that his Sunflower wants and is too shy to tell him.

Well, looks like Harry has got some pearls to buy and woo his girlfriend with.

***

Maybe Harry has overestimated these divine blessings that have easily come to his hand, because here he is, waiting for the third time for this bloody pearl choker to get back in-stock on the website.

Apparently, everyone wanted to get the pearl chokers just at the same time that Harry needed it, as if he wasn’t the only one in London planning to surprise their girlfriend for their big 21. Relentlessly, Harry refreshes the website again and again while waiting for his French literature professor to enter the room, not noticing his two best mates sliding in on either seats beside him.

Jeff whistles, catching Harry’s attention; he’s looking at the screen of Harry’s laptop as if he knew the hardship of just wanting to get the bloody gift for your girlfriend but you can’t cause the universe was just feeling to torment him and make him wait.

“I hate to break it to you, H,” Jeff says, curving an arm around his shoulder, “There’s no bloody chance that you can get Soph that choker unless you call in to reserve it from your local store and then pick it up at the date they advise you with.”

Harry frowns, “How do I know that what you’re saying is credible?”

Jeff feigns a gasp, “Since when did you start questioning the legitimacy of my suggestions?”

Harry just raises an eyebrow in return, “Haven’t yet, but there’s always a first for everything.”

Mitch begins to laugh at Jeff’s shocked and affronted expression upon realizing that Harry wasn’t joking around in the first place with his question.

“Mate, this is fucking serious business here,” Mitch says to Jeff, raising his hand towards Harry’s direction, “We’re talking about a birthday gift for H’s little precious Sunflower, so we must understand the hostility here.”

Harry narrows his eyes at Mitch this time, “I don’t know if you just mocked my girlfriend or what, but I’m not having any of it, she really is special and precious to me more than you two could ever be.”

“Ouch!” the two boys say in unison before laughing loudly at Harry’s unrelenting cross expression.

“I would really appreciate it if the two of you stop laughing at my expense and actually offer some sensible help.”

The two boys clear their throat to settle their laughing fit before turning to Harry in a more serious manner, sensing that their boy is genuinely stressing about this.

“Haz,” Jeff says, “Trust me, my advice from earlier was not a joke. I had the same dilemma for Glenne’s Christmas gift last year from a different designer shop, and that was the exact same advice one of her friends had given me who frequents shopping on-demand designer items.”

Harry considers what Jeff said, thumb and index finger pinching on his bottom lip while turning his gaze to Mitch as if waiting for his input.

Mitch chuckles and raises his hands in defense, “Don’t come looking at me like I have the same wise words cause I haven’t gotten Sarah any of those kinds of gifts, you rich motherfuckers.”

That bursts out an unexpected laugh from Jeff and Harry who know that they are a bit more well-off than their other friends, but have never boasted it in-front of them or something. It’s just surprisingly funny that Mitch brought it up, who is most probably the less caring person about that aspect in their life; he’s a really good lad.

“But, I do know some other wise words which is that you won’t really lose anything if you tried Jeff’s advice here, and again, Soph would love whatever you give or don’t give her.”

Harry thinks that’s sound words, and decides to follow-through later that evening while lounging comfortably on Sophia’s pink satin sheets of her bed, the latter enjoying a much well-deserved relaxing evening shower on her ensuite.

Harry made sure that Sophia couldn't hear him making the call as the noise of the shower jets and the blow dryer later on would definitely help mask his voice from her earshot.

He feels heaven slowly opening up it’s gates again for him as the lady over the phone from Vivienne Westwood confirming that the pearl choker is in-stock and they can hold in on reserve for him for a maximum of four days and he needs to pick it up on their London branch between those days or else it will be given to another customer.

Harry easily agrees and a gleeful smile must have been present on his face because it’s the first thing his girlfriend notices upon appearing back in her bedroom, one of his old band tees adorning her upper body with pastel yellow lace panties the only thing covering her modesty.

“What’s that smile for, bunny? Something you wanna share to the room?” she asks, picking up her hairbrush from her princess-style vanity.

Harry giggles, making grabby hands for Sophia, carefully getting the hairbrush from her hand so he can do it himself. He loves brushing her long blonde princess looking hair, Sophia happily letting him as she positions herself comfortably in-between his parted legs.

“Can I not be happy to be in your company? I missed you so much, my Sunflower. Haven’t gotten the chance to have you all to myself.” Harry nuzzles his nose to her ear, making the girl giggle.

“Tickles, bunny!” Sophia says, trying to get away. Harry lets her go easily, but without a deep kiss on her ear as he continues to gently brush her long strands.

“But seriously though, I know you’re not telling me something so speak-up before I deny you my kissies tonight.”

Harry laughs, “Whoah, what’s gotten you so harsh tonight, lovie? Don’t know if I should take my chances, really.”

“Better not,” Sophia replies, reaching behind her to pinch his love handles as a joking warning.

“Heyyy..” Harry whines, “No need to get the claws out. I was just talking to the shop that I’m getting mom’s gift for the opening of the new branch of her florist shop here in London.”

“Ohhh!” Sophia claps her hands excitedly, such a cutie little bean, Harry thinks. “What did you get her?”

“Not gonna tell.”

Now it was Sophia’s turn to whine, “Heyyy no fair, have to tell me.”

“Says who?” Harry giggles, slowly fixing her hair in a soft plait for bed, “Don’t think there was a rulebook for this kind of thing in relationships.”

“Don’t need any of that crap,” without looking at her face, Harry knows Sophia’s pouting while saying that, “You’re going to tell me cause you love me so much.”

Harry laughs, rearranging the two of them after finishing her plait with Sophia now straddling his lap.

“Bunny, come on, tell me, please?”

Harry should have thought better when he decided to have her on his lap like this. Because with her pouting pink lips, perfectly cut wispy bangs falling just above her brow bone, and with her rounded crystal clear blue eyes looking up at him from under her long lashes, it’s a perfectly mixed concoction for Harry to bare his whole heart and soul to her waiting hands.

But that won’t do, Harry’s willpower must be stronger because his Sunflower deserves this birthday surprise and not some half-assed confession because he can’t resist her beautiful charm (she still is very much gorgeous, don’t get him wrong.)

So instead, Harry goes the joking route, “I do love you a whole lot, and I have no problem sharing matters with you, Sunflower. But, I must say that I think you’ve been a little cheeky bugger recently and talking to my mom behind my back does not sit lightly with me.”

Sophia’s eyes widen further, now more shocked than anything before she smirks, “Where did you ever get that information from, baby?”

Harry snorts, “Certainly not from you after I’ve gotten a text from my dear mother reprimanding me like a child because I apparently got so hungover during an exam day, and somebody saw it fitting to hand my arse to my mother to beat on!”

Sophia laughs really loudly, hitting Harry’s chest in reaction, “BUNNY! You can’t say the word arse and then refer it to Anne! You’re bloody crazy!”

Harry laughs along, switching their positions now again with Sophia under his body lying down now on her pink sheets, skin somehow glistening as the moonlight’s glow seeps through her window.

“Lovie, you’re the crazy one for telling me off to her in the first place. I feel kind of betrayed, really.”

“Awww..” Sophia coos at her boyfriend’s pouting face, “I didn’t mean anything bad about it, bunny it honestly just slipped out during our conversation and I didn’t even think she cared that much. It was mostly a funny story for me to share.”

“Why? Cause I almost puked at my professor’s desk after I passed my bullshit answers to his exam?”

“Yup, and the fact that Mitch said you also almost tripped while doing so.”

“You’re evil.” and Harry begins a tickle fight like no other.

***

If Harry thought his obstacles for this birthday present were over, then he’s probably shitting himself right now with how wrong and unprepared he was for this coming week.

It’s the week before Sophia’s actual birthday, Harry having contacted and ordered all the flowers, picnic set up and overall needed materials for that, and even the food. Everything had gone smoothly with that entire process, and after his almost slip-up of telling the birthday girl her birthday present, he thinks it’s all sunshines and rainbows from here on out.

Though that idea quickly flushes down the drain when the birthday girl herself was the first obstacle Harry has to overcome to get this pearl choker.

Harry was ready to leave her place, after having had another sleepover the previous night. Already dressed comfortably for the chilly weather, he was calling for Sophia to say his goodbyes in the guise of needing to leave for errands.

Instead of being greeted by Sophia in her usual loungewear of a lace boyshorts panties and a silk camisole top, Sophia was dressed in a similar comfortable fashion like him ready to combat the autumn London weather.

“Are we ready to go?” she asks brightly, slinging her favorite white Chanel purse across her body.

“We? Did we have plans that I forgot or something?” Harry asks, confused as to what’s happening.

“That’s a good question. We, my bunny, are going to get our manis and pedis done! I was able to book us an appointment at our favorite nail salon at the last minute, but thank god they had two free slots this afternoon.”

When Harry just stares at her, not reciprocating her excitement, he sees the moment Sophia’s face starts to fall, eyes lowering to the ground and white ankle booties turning inwards as a nervous gesture.

“Do you not want to go with me?” she asks quietly, ultimately breaking Harry’s heart at her sad tone.

“No,” Harry closes the gap between them and pulls her towards his chest in a tight hug, “No, Sunflower; obviously I would love to get our nails done. It’s just that I was caught off-guard is all.”

He presses numerous kisses on the top of her head, Sophia freezing on his hold.

“Oh no, did you need to do something important? Crap, I should have told you beforehand! I’m so sorry, Harry.”

That just won’t do, Harry thinks, how can he honestly say to her pouting dejected face that she basically ruined his plans for the day to get her birthday gift? He can’t do that to her, especially now that he’s tilting her chin up gently to meet his face and sees that her eyes have turned glassy, a tell-tale sign that she’s about to cry.

“Oh, Sunflower. No tears, please my love. I promise you didn’t ruin anything important. I feel loved and honored that you decided to surprise us with a good relaxing nail day. Thank you, my Sunflower, love you so much.”

Sophia’s lips begin to tremble despite Harry’s reassurance, a little tear falling. “Promise? Didn’t ruin your day?”

“Yes, my love. I promise.” Harry solemnly reassures again, kissing her lips softly and parting with an affectionate rub of his nose against hers.

“Okay, I love you too, bunny. So much.”

And Harry thinks that’s compensation enough for his misfortune for the day. Plus, it also doesn’t hurt that his girl requested to get the same polish that he’s getting, not one to usually do that but has reassured him that she wants to because she wants to show her how much she values Harry sharing his time of the day with her. To be honest, Sophia can have all his time if it means that she’d dote on him for their entire time out like what she did for the remaining of the day; never once leaving his side and hand always clasped with his as if she’d lose him with a bat of an eye.

***

The second day Harry tries his chances on getting the pearl choker, it wasn’t his ladylove to be blamed for the utter disaster that occurred next, it’s his dumbasses friends that are to be held responsible for whatever Harry might be inclined to do once he’s reached their destination.

This time, Harry was actually already in his car when the misfortune began. He gets a quick phone call while driving (thankfully he connected his phone to the system of his car, or his Sunflower would sure have killed him upon knowledge that he’s using his phone while driving) from his girlfriend herself, something about to drive safely to her place and that she’s ready to outshine his outfit for their night out.

First of all, why is he supposed to go to her place? Second, what outfit and night out? Harry takes a quick glance at his soft grey joggers, plain white jumper with a blue plaid jacket outfit, definitely nowhere near party ready.

On a red light, he picks up his phone to check his messages just to see if he missed something today. Just one tap of his messaging app, Harry sees their group chat and without further context, his quick scan of the party poppers emojis and the countless alcohol emojis is enough to tell Harry that he’s two best buds definitely planned a night out.

“Fuck!” Harry curses out loud, quickly dialing Jeff’s contact as the light turns green.

The moment Jeff picks up, Harry’s straight-on throwing profanities at him.

“Bloody fuck, Jeff! What were you thinking suggesting a night out on this specific night?! Jesus fucking christ mate, are you really shitting me right now?!”

Jeff whistles, “Well good afternoon to you too, H. Whatever brought this chirpy attitude? I’m very delighted really.”

Harry groans, “Fuck mate, just answer the fucking question so I know what to do! What’s this night out thing I’m seeing in the group chat?”

Jeff answers in an unsure tone, “Uhm, yeah, Mitch and I planned a last minute night out for the gang because as you already know, we need a congratulatory drink for surviving the big requirements we finished this week. I know you, specifically, want to celebrate that mock business proposal you just had for your Economics class, which you aced by the way, H. Big congrats on that one man!”

As if Harry wants to be praised right now, that’s the farthest thing he wants unless it’s being praised for being the best boyfriend because he finally secured that bloody birthday gift for his Sunflower. So, no thanks, not accepting any praises until he’s got that damn fucking pearl choker with him.

“I fucking knew you two would be the culprits for this, and yes, I would damn like a celebration for nailing that Econ project but under the confines of my own home later tonight without you two idiots ruining my fucking plans!”

Harry’s outburst definitely concerns Jeff now, unsure where it was all coming from. When the latter asks him to calm down, Harry snaps out of whatever red angry haze he was having, and thinks that it’s not safe for him to be driving under this state of anger and stress, choosing to stop at the nearest parking lot of an establishment he was driving by.

Calmly, Harry follows Jeff’s instructions over the phone to take deep calming breaths, grounding him and allowing some sense of clarity to clear his aggravated head.

“So,” Jeff begins after a considerable amount of silence, “Mind telling me why you almost had a stroke on the middle of the road, Mr. Always-Treating-Everyone-With-Kindness-Even-Though-I-Just-Saw-Them-Drop-Their-Dog’s-Shit-On-My-Front-Yard.”

“Heyy, that was only once, and I let them go because I’ve read somewhere before that feces is good for the fertilization of soil.”

Jeff snorts, “You don’t even garden, bullshit to that, or should I say, dogshit to that.”

Harry chuckles, no matter how lame and unfunny Jeff was being he knows it’s his friend’s way of making him feel better.

“Sorry Jeffrey,” Harry says as he begins to explain his earlier actions, “It’s just that I had this afternoon set to pick-up Soph’s gift from the Vivienne Westwood store in central London, and you and Mitch’s party just kind of ruined that really.”

“Oh shit,” Jeff replies, sounding a bit apologetic now, “Sorry H, I thought you were supposed to do that yesterday, or I swear I wouldn’t have instigated Mitch to plan this night out with me.”

“I was supposed to do it yesterday, but my lovely baby also made a last minute plan to get our nails done together, and who was I to reject her kind efforts?”

“Obviously you’re Harry Styles, the most whipped man on this planet.”

“Exactly,” Harry agrees wholeheartedly to Jeff’s teasing, “And for the record, I knew you were the mastermind to this night out cause my mate Mitch is a responsible young lad, unlike you.”

“Excuse me?!” Jeff asks in shock, “I don’t deserve this vile treatment alone, alright? I’d allow you to be a prick when Mitch is here with me because I’m not the only one red-handed here.”

Harry chuckles, starting to drive-out from the parking lot as he has considerably calmed down now, more accepting of the fact that his original plans have already been detoured for a night out in town.

“You’re the mastermind though, Mitch was only a perpetrator.” Harry points out, scoffing Jeff is his only reply, “You two, especially you, have to shoulder my drinks tonight for the massive inconvenience you’ve brought upon me.”

“Oh, so you’re still going? I’m sure the whole lot would understand if I explained to them your situation.”

Now it was Harry’s turn to scoff, “Did you seriously think I’d leave you lot with my girlfriend on a bloody night out at the pub without my supervision? Who the fuck is going to take care of my Sunflower when she gets too tired dancing? Who the hell would attend to her if she got too many drinks in?”

Harry continues to list down all the things and reasons on why it’s a bad idea for him not to come, making sure to throw his friends under the bus (as kindly as he can, though), and adding emphasis on his soppy words about his Sunflower. Harry thinks Jeff deserves his ears to bleed with love as he begins to tell him the number of ways a drunk Sophia would ask him (or purposefully bite and suck on his earlobe to get his attention, Harry’s not selective of the manner) to hand-feed her food as he changes his direction to the latter’s house.

When Jeff has dropped his call in the middle of him explaining the specific details of the changes in Sophia’s laugh indicating the level of drunkness she’s in (rude), Harry’s reached the front door of his girlfriend’s house sending her a quick test that he’s waiting in his car outside.

Sophia looks utterly gorgeous in her cozy all-black autumn-ready night-out dress, a mixture of soft and sexy encapsulated in one stunning blond goddess. Harry feels almost inadequate being in her presence when said goddess opens the passenger door of his car, her bang perfectly framing her lovely face that’s smiling up at him.

“Hey, bunny.” Sophia bends a bit on her seat to kiss Harry on the lips in greeting, “Thank you for picking me up.”

“Hello, my Sunflower,” Harry bends this time on his seat to catch her lips for another kiss, Sophia giggling as he accepts his affections with puckered lips, “You look really lovely.”

“Thank you, again baby. So sweet.” Sophia says and Harry can feel her eyes run down his form as he sets his car back on drive now on their way to the pub where they’ll meet everyone else.

He knows her wandering eyes are filled with curiosity at his very apparent un-night out ready outfit, knowing his reputation of always being dressed best for the occasion is under scrutiny right now.

Harry tries to play it cool, “Can feel you staring, lovie.”

This breaks Sophia’s attention from her rapt staring at her boyfriend, clearing her throat a little.

“Just appreciating your soft look tonight, bunny. Looks goods on you.”

Harry smirks, knowing full-well that his naturally kind Sunflower does not have it in her to criticize, and actually say what her mind’s telling her to. So Harry takes it upon himself to explain his lack-of proper attire without baring his current misfortunes about her birthday gift.

“Well I can feel your mind thinking all the way from here, on why I look like this. And just to let you know, I didn’t pull-out the skinny jeans and flowy button-ups cause I don’t want to freeze my legs and nipples to death from this bloody chilly autumn weather.”

Instead of the appeased reaction he thinks Sophia would give him, when he looks sideways to her for a bit, Harry sees her eyes narrowing at him with her supple pink stained lips pursing in a little pout.

“Are you sure that’s true?” She asks, and Harry freezes for a moment his mind telling him that she probably has an inkling already of his failed attempts to get her birthday gift.

Before his mind can spiral to kind ways that he can teach Jeff a lesson for having a big mouth (I mean, who else could have told her this point?) Sophia speaks again,

“Like you didn’t purposefully wear joggers and a tee to the pub just so I could look better than you, right?” Harry almost chokes on air, and Sophia must have thought he got offended so she scrambles to explain herself further.

“NOT that you look bad or anything,” Sophia reassures him quickly, small dainty hand finding purchase on his right thigh curling around it securely. “I mean, you still look so smoking hot, bunny. I don’t think anybody can pull this look off better than you, like all the girls and boys at the pub would definitely agree with me, and probably want you to pull them home or whatever kids call hooking-up nowadays.”

Harry definitely chokes on air right now as he explodes in surprised laughter, “I don’t know where to begin, Sunflower but I guess I can start by saying thank you for your kind words about my comfortable look tonight, highly appreciate your words of affection as always. Also, you don’t need me to look like this to look better than me, you always fucking are; you’re my gorgeous goddess of a Sunflower!”

Another look sideways to her, Harry sees the pink flush on her cheeks and her timid smile not unnoticed either. Harry takes his right hand off the steering wheel and instead clutches her hand on his thigh tightly, bringing the back of it to his lips for a sweet gentle kiss before saying directly in her eyes,

“Though I think I’d definitely, surely, certainly, undoubtedly, decline any ‘pulling’ tonight. I’d love to think I’d already pulled you ages ago, what do you say we go straight to the pulling portion of the night?”

Sophia squeaks from his suggestion, “HARRY! It’s not even night time yet and you’re already so crude!”

Harry laughs despite her reaction, knows that she’d love him no other way, soft grey joggers and crude words all together. Harry thinks she deserves that damn pearl choker even more now.

***

A night out at the pub with your mates and their girlfriends is always a smashing blast. But unquestionably, the hungover that comes the next day is the definite smashing blast of a time, literally.

Harry thinks that nothing is worse than dragging yourself out the bed with a pounding headache, the only thing keeping him sane and away from his beautiful, cuddly, sleeping girlfriend on his bed is the fact that said girlfriend is the sole reason why he’s getting-up this early and leaving with one last lingering kiss on Sophia’s forehead before he goes to his car ready to hit the shops.

But then maybe Harry’s so hungover that he actually thought nothing can go worse than his current state, as if everything has been sunshine and rainbows for the past two days when he was about to do this specific task at hand. Really, he should have clocked the misfortune coming his way, and he’s not proud of the way he allowed it to shock him and affect his already sour mood to intensify when the misfortune showed itself to him.

Now, it wasn’t because of his girlfriend, but also not because of his friends, this time around the misfortune is hidden in the face of his lovely mother.

Harry receives a call from his mother while on his way once again to the Vivienne Westwood store in the busy streets of London, saying that he needs her lovely son’s help in her floristry. Harry’s not sure who’s the hungover one here, because the last time he checked his mother’s floristry is in Cheshire and he's all the way in London, how can she need his help when he can’t possibly give any? And then it all makes sense when Anne explains (as if talking to a five-year old Harry) that she was currently in London needing his help at her new floristry branch in town.

The surge of annoyance that begins to thrum in his veins is not lost in his tone, “Mum, I thought that would still be for the weekend next week? Like near the end of the month?”

“Well I wasn’t doing anything for the entire day, so yesterday I thought I might as well head to London today just to make an early start with some of the tasks.”

“Well, you could have told me the same thing before springing this information to me at this moment, like I have other things to do too.”

He hears Anne’s sigh of resignation at his sour mood, “Love, I know you’re usually a pleasant morning person, but I honestly don’t know what’s causing this crankiness right now. Are you alright?”

Harry’s unsure if any of them would like his honest answer so he doesn’t even try answering it, instead asks what specific help she needs from him so he can get it done and over with.

Anne thankfully doesn’t push it and asks Harry (well more so instructs him, like he can deny anything his mother may ask of him no matter how annoyed he is) to get himself to her new shop and she’ll tell him what to do once he’s there, adding that he’ll probably do most of the heavy lifting stuff and moving of this and that so he’ll still have some time to do whatever errands she had interrupted.

Harry thinks it was thoughtful of his mother to take that into account, but her shop is literally the other way around from the shop he needs to go for his special errands. Knowing the amount of work he had helped his mother with all her other shops no matter how she labeled it ‘just the heavy lifting’, Harry’s sure he wouldn’t have enough time to get the pearl choker, especially after he tells Sophia that he’s mother is in town, his Sunflower would love to wine and dine her mother like the perfect host she is.

So bitterness aside, Harry tries to think of happy thoughts while once again, detouring his car to the opposite direction of the Vivienne Westwood store much to his displeasure. He doesn’t want to subject his lovely (well, generally lovely if today was to be counted) to anymore of his rather sour mood and even made a quick stop to one of their favorite cafes around the area to fetch a quick pastry as a breakfast for the two of them to solidify that thought of happy thoughts and positive mood.

Anne was obviously delighted to have her usual cheery and joyous boy back, the two working efficiently and amicably as they happily munched on their pastries, conversing here and there about what Harry has been up to and Uni, exchanging stories about their own friends and love ones like they haven’t just FaceTimed earlier this week.

“So, what are your plans for Soph’s birthday?” Anne asks while the two were taking a short break from their work, “I hope you have something up your sleeve because that lovely girl deserves to be treated right on her special day.”

Well, don’t I know it, Harry thinks to himself. “Yeah, I’ve got something planned for it. It’s a surprise though so am not going to tell you.”

Just like his girlfriend, his mother looks at him like what he’s just said was unacceptable, “Why ever not?”

“Because I know you two!” Harry laughs at the exaggerated look of offence on her face, he knows he’s got some of his jokester side from her!

“And what’s that supposed to mean then?”

“That you two ladies love to go behind my back and connive with each other to go against me!”

Anne laughs, “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about but it’s her birthday, not yours so I don’t know what we’ll connive about if it’s not something to surprise you with.”

Harry looks at her with a barely concealed look of skepticism in his eyes, “Sure, I’d just train my mind to forget the time you two decided to make plans for the both of you behind my back like I’m sort of chopped liver left alone to my own devices not worthy of you guys’ time.”

“Heyyy..” Anne whines just an exact carbon copy to the way her son does it, “We thought you had plans with Mitch and Jeff! Soph and I even tried inviting you after, once we found out that you weren’t doing anything important.”

“Yeah, sure,” Harry snorts, “you two decided to give me a text after you’ve finished the hair salon, the nail salon, and even hitting the shops. Sure, I would have loved to follow along when all the fun was basically over.” he finishes in heavy sarcasm.

Anne just looks at him with an unrelenting cheeky smile, “Nope, we stand by innocent up to this day.”

“Yup, still not going to tell you the plans for her 21st!”

Harry leaves her protesting mother, laughing at her squawking protests to at least give her some bits of information as he makes his way back to his working station ready once again to make Anne’s new floristry branch come alive.

He thinks his mother’s unyielding smile thrown at him the rest of the day was enough repayment for another failed attempt at this one last special task that can’t seem to be fulfilled no matter the effort he produces to try and make it happen. To be honest, he thinks that the effort he had exerted in trying to keep-in all his angry emotions is more tiring than actually all the driving he had wasted trying to reach the store. Maybe he should just let things fall to his hands than make a direct effort to make it happen?

***

The fourth and last day for Harry to be able to purchase the reserved pearl choker, he lets go; allows the universe to dictate whatever may happen for the rest of the day.

So he spends his Sunday letting his normal weekend routine take the lead. Harry wakes up quite early in the morning, does his meditation and usual good morning messages to his loved ones before heading to his kitchen to make some french toast, sending a picture of the dish to his girlfriend who’s reply already made his day a good one.

From: Goddess of a girlfriend 🌻: “y u awake? me still 😴”

To: Goddess of a girlfriend 🌻: “Yeah? Are you my sleeping Sunflower right now?”

From: Goddess of a girlfriend 🌻: “yes, ‘m ur 😴 🌻”

After Harry fonds over his non-verbal and strictly-emoji-speaking-in-the-morning ladylove, he continues with his day and begins to accomplish some chores in his flat that he had placed aside over the week due to his course work in uni and all the tasks he had to do for Sophia’s surprise birthday picnic. He didn’t even notice the hours pass by, shocked to see that it was almost lunch time when he picked his phone amongst the neatly folded fresh laundry on his bed, ready to be placed and organized in his closet.

As part of his usual Sunday routine, Harry and Sophia take turns going to each other’s places to have lunch together. Last week, they cooked some vegan sliders in Sophia’s flat, indicating that today would be in his place. With that, Harry goes to his kitchen whistling along to some Spice Girls song he and the gang had sang and danced along during their impromptu night out. He opens the door of his fridge, cataloging its contents and thinking of a possible meal they can enjoy making and eating together.

Harry dials Sophia’s contact on his phone, the FaceTime video that greets him is Sophia’s already wide doe-eyes opened even wider with her mascara wand ready in hand. Harry stands there in the middle of his kitchen just looking and admiring her for a moment as she delicately coats her long lashes with the product, sighing dreamily when she blinks and opens her eyes to look directly at Harry.

“Beautiful,” Harry whispers, not being able to contain himself.

Sophia giggles, “Thank you bunny, you are too. Are you wearing my fluffy pink dressing gown? The one with sparkles on them?”

That makes Harry look down at his attire, giggling too when the lights of the kitchen make the little sparkles speckled on his (or his Sunflower’s apparently) dressing gown gleam even more. “Yeah, I think I am Sunflower. Didn’t even notice that I put it on. It’s really comfy though, and you think I look pretty right?”

“Yeah, always are. Especially in that soft pink color, lovie.” Sophia coos.

“Then I’d probably keep it, if it makes my precious Sunflower call me pretty even if I have yet to take a shower and all that glamming stuff you’re doing right now.”

“Not going to complain, cause I like you in my stuff anyway. Plus, you’re always a pretty bunny, no need for extra glamming up.”

Harry preens at her words, “Thank you my love, I also would like to say that you don’t need prettifying too just to have lunch here with me.”

A look of confusion passes along Sophia’s face, lip gloss wand held mid-air at a halt, “Lunch? Did we have plans or something?”

Harry almost chuckles at her confused expression, especially when what she said resembled the one he did days ago during his first attempt to get her gift. “Uhm, our usual Sunday routine lunch, baby? I think we can cook some spiced grilled salmon, and I think I also have some ingredients to mix up a ceasar salad.”

Sophia gasps, like actually gasps with a hand covering her mouth. Before Harry can start to get concerned at her reaction, she begins to ramble with her words.

“Oh my god! Bunny! I forgot to tell you that Sarah and Glenne insisted that we have a much-needed girl time and went ahead to reserve a table at this new sushi place in town. I’m so sorry that I forgot to inform you, bunny. Now I’m sure your Sunday plans are ruined because of me! Oh my gosh, maybe I can still cancel or something? Though they have been really explicit in saying that no boys are allowed, and I’d probably worry about your safety if you tried to join us. But, maybe I-”

“Sunflower, calm down. Ladylove, relax. No need to stress over anything.”

Harry’s much needed interruption was easily received, Sophia quieting down with a sad pout left on her lips.

Harry thinks it’s funny that his Sunflower was stressing about a simple thing as forgetting to tell him that she and the girls had made an all-exclusive girls only lunch, knowing within himself that if the roles were reversed she would also allow him to change their Sunday lunch routine without extra explanation. So Harry shares his thoughts and reassures Sophia that she certainly didn’t ruin his weekend.

“Besides,” Harry says, still not liking the present sad doubting pout on her lips, “I think Glenne and Sarah’s threats have come across very clearly to me, like I have no doubt that bodily harm will be inflicted on me if I chose to crash you girls’ time.”

Sophia laughs at that, making Harry smile at being able to do that and decides to continue, “Why are you laughing? I’m being serious here, lovie! Have you seen your friends? They’re scary.”

“Now don’t insult them,” Sophia giggles, feign warning in her tone, “or they might actually hear you and beat you up either way.”

Harry laughs in complete triumph, glad that he’s girl seemed to be back and cheery without any traces of that earlier sense of hesitation and sadness. He only wants her to be happy and tranquil, very much proud that he’s one of the only blessed people on earth who can give that to her.

The two continue to chat for a few more minutes, Sophia finishing her hair and makeup while accompanying Harry who’s preparing his lunch, the girl even suggesting for him to message Jeff and Mitch to plan their own all-boys thing so they won’t feel left out. Harry accepts her grain of wisdom and wishes her a good day in return once his ladylove needed to go and leave him to his lonesome.

Harry enjoys his lunch, thumbs typing away to the boy’s group chat asking if they want to meet up at his place for snacks and videogames. To his complete shock, they declined instantly and Harry almost threw his phone on the wall (well maybe he was exaggerating a bit). It’s just that they never decline so easily on any lads plans , especially on a weekend. When he soon finds out why, Harry actually accidentally drops his phone to the floor as he clutches his stomach in loud laughter.

Apparently, Mitch and Jeff had a lot of pending uni course work to finish after being too hungover yesterday to even attempt doing any. Harry truly believes that karma’s a bitch (and wholeheartedly says the same thing to Mitch and Jeff), it only serves them right for ruining his plans last Friday.

Harry’s laughter ceases abruptly, eyes widening upon the realization that he actually has no plans for his day, definite zero plans with any of the people that are prone to interrupt them.

That may only mean one important thing, Harry thinks, quickly finishing his lunch and scrambling for his phone to text the last person that might need his time and alter the route of his day.

Anne replies to his text quite swiftly, Harry genuinely hearing angel’s sing in his flat with his mother’s words that none of his help will be needed for her shop today.

Fuck, is this actually my life right now? Harry thinks, trying to calm his excitement as he makes his way to have a shower and get dressed for the day. He’s learned these past few days that he should take every situation given to him lightly, or else he’d just get devastated when some misfortune ruins it again.

Alright, continue letting the universe do its thing Harry; don’t agitate it and don’t appear too eager or it might poke fun at you and decide to even mess further with your thin chances of being the best boyfriend on earth! Harry feels he might be going crazy if these are the thoughts he’s having while in the shower.

***

Harry’s legs are bouncing up and down on his seat inside his car during a red light, that anxious leg bouncing that you don’t even notice you’re doing nor can stop when you do.

It’s just that his GPS is telling him that the Vivienne Westwood store is literally three minutes away from this stoplight, and nothing bad has happened to Harry yet. He doesn’t really know what kind of misfortune might befall him today when he’s literally minutes away from his destination, but he’s also not that wishful thinking that nothing bad will happen at all. It’s not like he's looking for the misfortunes too (just paranoid, really), but he’d rather take the misfortune right now then later when he’s secured the goods.

Speaking of the goods, Harry was far too lost in his thoughts of fear that he didn’t even realize that now he’s parked just right in front of the Vivienne Westwood store, hands and eyes roaming across his body to check if nothing bad really happened to him on his way here. Astounded that he found nothing wrong or out of the ordinary, he slowly makes his way out of his car and inside the designer store.

The transaction was far too easy and smooth. The lady he talked over the phone with days ago presenting him the pearl choker itself not even five minutes in, making Harry way more skeptic when the pastel pink Vivienne Westwood paper bag was handed to him all kindly by the store clerk as if this was an everyday thing for them (which it probably is), but not for Harry who’s dealt far more stress and adversity in his life just trying to achieve this simple task.

“Thank you very much,” Harry says to the other kind store clerk who opened the door of the store for him as he exited, left hand clenched tightly to the strings of the paper bag.

On autopilot, Harry enters his car and gingerly places the paper bag on the passenger seat, going the extra mile and strapping it on the seat. On his drive back to his flat, he thinks it was quite uneventful, the triumph to the end of his birthday gift misfortunes seeming to be no triumph at all.

But later on, when he’s arrived at home and freely smiling and chuckling at the positive turn of events for the day, he realizes that he probably shouldn’t have downplayed his success by finally obtaining the pearl choker just like he had thought. Because the moment he enters his bedroom, he trips on absolutely nothing, as in just air, dropping hard to the floor with the paper bag just a few feet below his lying form on the ground. Harry groans loudly, absolutely knows that it’s what he gets for devaluing the kindness that the universe lent him earlier.

***

Nothing is going to stand against Harry’s way. The 20th of October would be perfect, must be perfect.

Harry thinks he’s earlier statement during the start of the month, might have been up to something right. How can it not when it’s the morning of the 20th of October and he’s got his Sunflower’s left nipple on his lips, sucking softly and contentedly.

Sophia feels a warm wet heat on her chest, stirring to her senses when she experiences the feeling intensify. She opens her sleep-blurred eyes, catching Harry’s green ones filled with unbridled mirth, abruptly springing back to life from the unadulterated heat creeping up her body. Harry gives her hardened nub a nip with his teeth, swiftly giving the pink nipple a lick to soothe the sting, Sophia’s back arches away from the mattress at the heady sensation.

“Nghhh..” Sophia exhales a mixture of a moan and a groan, hands grasping the messy curls on Harry’s head as the latter continues his loving assaults to her breasts, now alternating his attention on one rosy nipple to the other with the flesh of her tits being littered with adoring sucks and kisses too.

“Holy shit..ahh..” Sophia presses his face closer to her chest, “What the fuck did I wake up to? Jesus, your mouth bunny..nghh!”

With his big hands, Harry gently grabs both of Sophia’s breasts with one on each hand, squeezing it together and bringing it towards the middle of her chest, mouth opening wide and head ducking down to fit both nipples inside the wet heat of his salivating mouth, lips expertly sucking and tongue lusciously licking tight circles on her sensitive nubs.

Sophia’s back arches even further, mouth in a perpetual ‘o’ state as her boyfriend sucks one last deep kiss on her breasts, leaving with an audible pop and a string of his saliva connecting his lips to her breasts, now flushed pink from his earlier attention. Harry smiles devilishly at her already wrecked state, softly massaging the sides of her exposed body, realizing that the shirt of Harry’s that she wore last night was bunched up all the way to her neck.

“Because it’s your special day, I believe my Sunflower deserves some special tending to, right?” He wiggles his eyebrows exaggeratedly making Sophia shake her head in disbelief how he can turn from a dark sensual Harry and back to her often soft and goofy bunny with just a snap of a finger.

Instead of replying, Sophia makes a show of roaming her eyes to the shirt tucked on her neck and hand resting on the hem of it while the other goes to the side band of her white lacy thong, inching it up higher, giving a coy look at Harry’s wandering hungry eyes.

“I’m surprised I still have clothes on, honestly.”

Harry groans loudly, pushing aside her hand holding the hem of his shirt that she had comfortably worn for bedtime and takes the initiative to remove it from her body, throwing it aside somewhere in her room.

“You cheeky little bug,” Harry says amusedly, hands finding their way to touch her newly exposed skin, “Be thankful it’s your birthday..” his thumb and pointer finger rolling her right nipple under the pads.

Sophia exhales a long breath at the feeling, “Well aren’t you going to greet me first?” She takes his expert fingers away from her skin and brings it to her lips with a fleeting kiss before enveloping it with her mouth, sucking his fingers languidly.

The reaction she had wanted to elicit out of Harry was achieved in mere seconds, the latter withdrawing his fingers from her hot wet mouth and urgently surges his lips to hers in a heated passionate kiss. Sophia smiles in glee at his responsiveness, arms and legs wrapping tightly around Harry who’s body is completely glued on top of hers.

Unceasing kissing, top and bottom lips nipped and sucked from each other’s mouths, tongues touching and gliding together in a harmonious pattern of passion, big hands slowly caressing her delicate body with her dainty exhales the only thing coherent she can respond with.

“Fuck, you’re delectable.” Harry raps on her slicked bitten-red lips, expertly flipping their position, prompting a breath of shock from Sophia as Harry maneuvers their bodies in complete ease, his back resting on the headboard with his legs wide open, securely placing Sophia between them with her body leaning back against his heaving naked chest.

“Na-uh,” Harry whispers to her ears hotly, reaching over her closed bended legs to part them wide like his, left hand sliding down to her thighs gripping the milky white flesh while the other curves around her tummy to keep her in place.

Sophia mewls at his soft touches drifting from the bottom of her thigh to the top of it, hand on her belly quietly tapping and caressing her little roundness there, something she knows Harry’s quite obsessed with just like she is with his love handles.

“Bunny, please?” Sophia exhales on his neck where her head was resting, nuzzling it and leaving open-mouth wet kisses and licks to every area of skin she can reach. "Please, bunny? Please more, please..

Harry continues his apparent teasing, hands skimming her inner thighs before returning to her hip bone where the string of her thong is still in obstruction, his nimble fingers snapping it away from her skin, making Sophia gasp and slightly jolt from his hold. But when Harry decides to do no further than that and deliberately repeat his earlier actions, Sophia whines in complaint.

“Shhh, patience my little Sunflower,” Harry soothes, dropping kisses to her shoulder and pinching her now warm tummy. He raises both his legs to place over her parted ones to completely lock her in place, her modesty covered in nothing but her already wet lacy white thong on full display.

Sophia bites her bottom lip, having an inkling to the flow of her boyfriend’s next action as the latter places his right hand all over her pubic mound without any preamble.

“Ohhh fuck,” Sophia cries out softly, feeling Harry’s hand make a hearty grab of her vagina atop her soaked panties.

“Hmm..” Harry hums appreciatively, index and middle finger slowly sliding down to her still covered pussy lips, “So fucking wet already, is my Sunflower’s peach dripping her sweetness for me?”

“Mhhmm, always sweet and dripping for my bunny,” Sophia whimpers as she feels another surge of her arousal flow out of her entrance, Harry’s fingers making instant contact with it resulting in a loud groan of pleasure from her boyfriend.

“Shit, so insatiable, lovie, really dripping uncontrollably on my fingers.” He says almost in wonder, bringing his hand out from her thong, fingers glistening wet with her juices as he brings it to his mouth for a taste.

The couple moan noisily in unison, Harry from the familiar sweet tangy taste of her on his mouth, Sophia at the visual of her bunny enthusiastically licking and sucking his fingers clean, making sure to not waste any of her precious slick. All plans of teasing and drawing this out must have been erased from Harry’s usual sexual agenda as he briskly reached for the band of her arousal-ruined thong sliding it down her fully parted legs, stopping just below her knees.

“Keep those on,” He instructs her gently but firmly, “Will help keep your legs open while I’m having my way at your soaking sweet peach.”

Sophia nods her head uselessly, verbal words now a foreign concept as desire flooded her entire system. Harry seems satisfied with her response, probably feeling smug at his ability to completely render her speechless.

He continues his sweet assault to her body, right hand sliding to cup her entire bare cunt, feeling warmth emanate from within her accompanied with the sticky substance of her wetness. Sophia’s hips buck-up at the first touch of Harry’s fingers on her clit, moaning in appreciation when he gently moves his fingers in circles on the highly sensitive bud. Harry alternates his attention on her clit with bringing his fingers a bit lower to gather more of her wetness at the opening of her pussy lips, indulgently spreading it all over her cunt.

“Will you look at that?” Harry says, catching Sophia’s attention, enraptured by anything Harry does or says right now. She looks at his smirking face, following his line of vision which was resting on his right hand, the hand that has been giving her immense pleasure is completely coated in her thick white wetness.

“Fuck, that’s a lot Sunflower,” Harry brings the hand back down on her opening feeling around, the two of them looking down to see the continuous flow of her wetness, viscous and so much that she feels it pooling at her pink satin sheet and even seeping at the crack of her arse.

“You haven’t even come yet and you’re already so juicy and creamy,” Harry says in wonder, shamelessly bringing his hand to his mouth for another taste, dipping his fingers back on her pussy to scoop more after. Sophia groans and feels a flush run up her cheeks at how dirty and messy this all is.

“Bunny, you’re obscene. You can’t just keep eating that thing from my vagina!” Sophia exclaims in retaliation when Harry returns for the fourth dip, feeling sexual frustration slowly rising within her at the lack of attention and stimulation from her boyfriend.

Harry just looks at her coyly, pink lips stained white with her creamy wetness, “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it, baby.” and he surges forward to kiss her. Sophia can’t help the loud moan that erupts out of her when she tastes her own self from his lips, completely unprepared when Harry’s fingers suddenly part her opening and plunges two of his fingers up to the knuckle.

“Ohhh..uhh.. sweet jesus!” Sophia whimpers again and groans as Harry moves his fingers in and out of her pussy, thighs clenching when he uses his thumb to rub her clit, hands finding purchase at her pink sheets grasping it when Harry curls his fingers inside her, hitting that spongy spot inside.

“Ughh, that’s so good, so fucking good, oh god..” Sophia’s eyes shut close at the pleasure, moving her hips a bit to get his fingers deeper inside her.

“Yeah, so good?” Harry asks on her ear, incessantly moving his finger inside her to hit her g-spot dead-on, squeaky sound of her wetness surrounding the entire room, “Love me fucking your peach with my fingers, hm? Can’t believe this sweet pretty thing can be so messy and greedy. Look, don’t even want to let go of my fingers.” Harry makes a show of sliding his fingers out only for her pussy lips to clench and release more sticky wetness to keep him in place.

“Oh my god..” Sophia cries in pleasure when Harry swiftly plunges his fingers back, feeding her pussy the white creamy thickness it had already given out. He continues to fuck her with his fingers, his thumb flicking back up to her clit and Sophia feels her arousal building within her in an instant, thighs trying to close together but Harry clocks her before being able to. His left hand pushed her legs wide open again, threatening the white thong on the bottom of her knees to rip from how stretched out her legs are.

“Harry, ohhh god, bunny, sooo good, too much good!” Sophia wails helplessly, gripping Harry’s knee that was locking her legs in place, the latter only increasing the actions of his right hand on her pulsing cunt, fucking her deep in and out, his left hand having found its purpose on rubbing furiously side to side on her clit, Sophia’s body already shaking with all the sensations mixing together to create a joyful, whimpering mess out of her.

Harry knows her body inside and out, so he definitely must have noticed the signs of her impending orgasm, eyes trained on her extremely glistening wet pussy before looking at her face filled with uncontained sexual enjoyment.

Just when she’s about to reach her peak, Harry stops every movement of his hands. Sophia actually screams out in resentment, ready to berate him. Though she stops in her tracks when Harry rapidly moves away from her back and impressively pushes her own back to rest on the headboard while fitting himself between her parted legs, sliding her thong up to her ankles and raising her legs to rest on his shoulders.

With a wink thrown her way, Harry dives straight into her pussy, his lips, nose, and chin already wet just from the first contact. If Sophia’s moans were already something with just his fingers, the joys Harry’s skillful tongue can give her cannot compete with the heights and intensity her moans are reaching.

Harry prods and flicks his tongue inside her pussy, enjoying licking everything that comes out of her, nose even nuzzling her clit. It’s all too much and too sudden that Sophia begins to quiver intensely, head thrown back mewling deafeningly, hands tugging at Harry’s curls to warn him of her speedily approaching orgasm.

Instead of listening, Harry just devours her cunt even more enthusiastically, with so much more vigor. And when he knows that Sophia can’t hold it any longer, he slid his tongue out of her pussy and clamps it down on her clit to suck harshly, his slight nip at the highly sensitive nub the one to press the tap of her orgasm as Sophia shouts in utter ecstasy as she comes, her pussy squirting so much liquid wetting the entirety of Harry’s face as thick ropes of cum gush out of her entrance too.

Sophia feels so good yet so exhausted after, that she thinks she loses consciousness for a bit. The last thing she remembers is feeling more of her come stream out of her hole, its squeaky sound intensified as Harry begins to clean her with his now gentle tongue, the sight of him looking positively happy and satisfied while doing so, is enough reassurance that Harry won’t mind if she falls back to sleep again.

Before her eyes close, she catches Harry watching her, smiling proudly and looking quite ridiculous with her release spread everywhere on his face.

“Happy 21st birthday, my Sunflower. I love you always.”

***

“So are you going to tell me now where we’re going?”

“Again, how can it be a surprise if I just tell you now? Do you even know how a surprise goes? Or like what that even means?”

Harry snickers at the look of disdain Sophia is giving her, eyes returning back on the road in front of him as he drives the two of them to the secret destination for her birthday picnic.

After the very eventful morning they’ve had (which if anyone is asking, was definitely continued in the bathroom to Harry’s utter delight), the two had proceeded to get a head-start with their day, Harry informing Sophia giddily that her special day was indeed going to be much more special than her envisioned movie night and baking together.

Harry had prepared the two of them some vegan chocolate chip pancakes, Sophia trying her hardest to sweet talk him and get as much information about their day. Harry didn’t even bat an eye at her futile attempts to cuddle behind him while they were eating, whispering words of appreciation at his rather pleasant regard for her this morning, Harry only noses at her cheek and picked up his own fork to feed her another bite of their breakfast telling her to dress in her best summer dress.

Obviously, Sophia had looked at him like he had grown two heads as he consistently reassured her while getting ready that he wasn’t going crazy and there’s no way in hell that he would let her, on her bloody birthday even, to freeze her brain-off.

“You’re too young for that, not going to plan your demise on your 21st.” Harry had teased her, Sophia looked at him with mock disturbance.

“But you are planning my death? Like on my 23rd birthday, or something?”

“Nah, that’s too young. Maybe when we have an off-spring already so there’s still you in some form.”

“BUNNY! You’re so ridiculous!”

Harry had sufficiently distracted Sophia enough with his weird words to successfully hide her birthday gift somewhere in his car as his girlfriend followed his instructions of dressing in her chosen summer dress and left it to Harry to bring warmer gear.

When they were ready to leave her place, Sophia had looked at Harry with a clear sense of betrayal on her face, hands gesturing wildly at his attire of a cream colored long-sleeve button-up under a baby blue knitted jumper with a cute little chick stitched in the middle.

“What’s this?” She had asked in bewilderment. Harry had looked at his attire, unsure what she meant by her comment.

“Um, my jumper? I think mum got it for me a few weeks ago, want me to ask her where it’s from?”

Sophia had just stared at him in annoyance, “My question is not where you got it, it's more on why the heck are you wearing that and I’m wearing a sleeveless summer dress? Are you sure you’re just not taking the piss at me today?”

Harry knew he wasn’t supposed to laugh when his girlfriend seemed to be serious with her question, but she had that disgruntled kitten face on and he’s not immune to that so he laughed. Evidently, Sophia just got more annoyed at his reaction and had decided to completely ignore him as they had started their journey to her surprise. That just won’t do for Harry, especially when he had even made a special birthday-road trip playlist for her that she’s not commenting on or even singing along to. In the end, Harry relents and decides to tell her something about his surprise just to be back on her good side.

Of course, all he said was that it would be outdoors and that wherever it is, they’ll be eating their lunch there. Sophia thought once Harry had begun telling her some stuff, she could continue to squeeze every information out of him, but her boyfriend had better self-restraint now after the trials he had faced just for her damn birthday gift, so it would take him more than her silent treatment for him to spill his surprise. Instead, Harry had promised Sophia that she can wear his jumper later when she gets cold, knowing that she has more interest in his blue jumper than she had let on.

To Harry’s relief, it had appeased his girlfriend’s questioning for the greater part of their drive, except now when she decides she’s garnered more energy to start pestering Harry with questions again now that they’re about five minutes away from their destination.

“Whatever, you’re no fun.” Sophia says after Harry had just teased her right now about not being knowledgeable about surprises.

She knows that he was only joking and trying to deflect her questioning, so instead of indulging his segway for banter, Sophia moves closer to him by wrapping an arm around his position on the gear shift and nuzzles her face on the soft wool covering his biceps.

Harry chuckles at the sudden change in her demeanor, “You sleepy, baby?”

Sophia nods meekly, using his arm to cover her yawn, “Yeah, kinda. May you please tell me how near or far we are still? I’m sure that you can tell me.”

“Thank you for asking so nicely, Sunflower,” Harry giggles on her hair, dropping a little kiss on her bangs, “And yes, that I can surely tell you without giving away my amazing surprise; we’re about three to five minutes away.”

Sophia groans, rubbing her cheek on his jumper, “Maybe you can carry me there, or something?”

“Can’t, might trip on the grass and drop the two of us on our assess in the picnic set-up.”

The two gasp simultaneously after that, hands on their mouths in shock. Harry because he pretty much just blurted out that they’ll be having a picnic when they’re already inside the grounds of their destination, and Sophia because she didn’t even have to try anything this time for him to spill her birthday surprise.

“Shit!” Harry face palms himself, Sophia returning to sit properly on her seat unable to contain her enjoyment, “You weren’t supposed to know that! Forget that you heard anything!” He even points a finger at her for emphasis.

Sophia’s giggles only intensify at his adorable distressed kitten face, “Well I guess I should trust you more when you said that you’ll tell me about the surprise eventually; eventually meaning you’ll confess your own surprise literally a minute away to achieve it.”

“Shut it!” Harry says firmly, yet without any heat as he’s trying to control his laughter for he’s epic failure. Seriously, how does this happen to him? Sophia literally didn’t even do anything this time and he’s too-honest of a mouth just decided to spill valuable information.

Ultimately, Harry can’t hold in his laughter anymore (the fact he even tried is laughable on its own) and the couple enjoyed a few minutes of laughter in the parking lot of their destination, ending in a few fond kisses shared between the two.

Now that she knows the general gist of what this day will entail, Sophia excitedly accepted the knitted cardigan that Harry had brought for her, securing it tightly around her long pink satin summer dress as they make their way out of Harry’s car, the latter opening her door for her like the absolute gentleman that he is.

“I’m not wearing heels, no need for your arm around me.” Sophia says when Harry’s arm remained wrapped around her waist as they began to walk in the flat grounds of the massive park Harry had brought them this early afternoon.

“Don’t care, want you always by my side, lovie.” Harry retorts in a saccharine sweet voice, dropping a loud smack of his lips on her flushing cheeks.

“You’ve already prepared me a picnic, no need for extra sappy words. Love you a lot more for even arranging this day.” Sophia says, reaching for the arm around to hold on.

Harry looks at her side of the face, amazed, “You haven’t even seen it yet and you’re already dropping the ‘L-word’ bombs. What if it was shit?”

Sophia snickers, squeezing his that’s curled against her hip, “Not possible, you know how much I adore picnics. And the fact that you’re giving me one in the middle of the bloody chilly autumn weather, makes me extra excited and grateful to know and see how you’ll pull this one off.”

Sophia’s excitement was certainly pleased upon seeing the special birthday picnic that Harry had gotten prepared for her. It was situated in the middle of an open area, the green grass free from any orange leaves that must fall from the various surrounding trees of the area. White pillars are stationed in the little stone walkway that they’re currently passing by to come nearer the picnic set-up.

Sophia’s positively awed when they finally reached the picnic set-up itself, admiring all the potted flower arrangements scattered around the vicinity. She claps in excitement as she scans the little pastries, sandwiches and snacks placed on the little low pink table for two on the ground, more flowers and some pink candles situated within the table are visible too.

“And I think this is the ultimate finishing touch for your birthday picnic,” Harry says, catching her attention to look at what he’s pointing out.

Sophia laughs as she notices for the first time the big white, fringy umbrella propped on the ground. “There’s no sunlight, H! This huge umbrella is definitely not needed.”

Harry only rolls his eyes at her, “Obviously, I know that. I still got it placed here though to take some cute pictures of you under it.”

“Some?” Sophia teases, knowing how often Harry makes her pose for pictures every time they go out.

“Now, you’re no fun,” Harry copies her earlier utterance at him in his car, “Is it such a shame that you have a dotting boyfriend that loves to have his Sunflower’s face all-over his technological devices and social media accounts?”

“No, not really, as long as said Sunflower can also take her turn taking pictures of her charming, enchanting, bewitching boyfriend?”

Harry places a hand on his heart, “I would love to, I thought you’d never ask.”

***

The picnic was a success, that much Harry can confidently say as he prepares Sophia’s third cup of lavender tea, seeming to be her new favorite thing thanks to Harry’s creative choices of food and beverages.

“Are you sure this is edible?” Sophia asks as they begin to eat a new box of pastries, pointing specifically at a sugar cookie frosted with white icing and a final touch of an edible flower in the middle.

She looks up at Harry after taking a photo of said cookie, he’s stopped mid-chew with his cheeks filled with the cookie in question looking at her sheepishly.

“I think it’s edible?” He answers, unsure. “It better fucking be cause I just stuffed my face with half of it in one bite.”

Sophia giggles, reaching over the table to wipe-off some of the crumbs that have fallen on the side of his lips, thumb digging on the dimple that was now caved-in on his cheek due to her caring touch. It hits her how much she’s in-love with this carefree and kind spirited angel, who has taken it upon himself to go the extra mile and prepare this picturesque summer picnic for her no matter the odds that the autumn weather had proposed. The simple action of actually giving his jumper for her to wear right after they had taken their photos, shows how he follows through with his promises and how genuine he is with his intentions.

“I love you,” Sophia blurts out, completely out of the blue if the widening of Harry’s eyes in clear surprise is any indication.

Harry holds her hand that is gently rubbing his cheek in affection, “I love you too, my Sunflower. I hope you’re having an amazing 21st birthday, I only want to make you happy all the time.”

“Aren’t you a simple man with simple dreams? Cause I can assure you that you do, in fact always make me happy.”

And that’s true, Sophia can write paragraphs upon paragraphs of the simple things that Harry does unknowingly or knowingly that always makes her feel like the happiest girl in the world. Might it be the simple mundane things, like picking her up after her class for uni because he knows how his company always gives her a sense of comfort and rest after such a stressful studios day, or how he sometimes gets her new blankets and quilts every time he goes out to the shops because he knows how she gets easily cold and love to smother herself with the warmth the cotton or wool provides, even if she’s got a whole collection of blankets already he consistently finds ways to spoil her. Like right now, Sophia feels all the happy hormones in her body springing alive as Harry slots her under his arm allowing her to borrow her face on his soft warm chest, the two cuddling close as Harry had expertly packed them a bunch of blankets that they can wrap themselves around with during their picnic. Theoretically, the amount of blankets he had brought makes it possible for them to have a few each, but Harry had been insistent on keeping her close to his side for the entirety of their day, promises of hand-feeding her their treats and sharing the last cup of lavender tea was enough persuasion for Sophia to share her blankets with him. And let’s be honest, is it really even a chore to be cuddled-up and snuggled warm in the strong secure arms of your boyfriend?

So Sophia contentedly spends the rest of her day in the coziness of Harry’s presence, conversations between the two were ever-present as they finished their way on every single morsel left of their delicious picnic delicacies.

“Crap, it’s finished,” Sophia informs Harry, raising the last pink box that contained their food and flipping it over to show her point. “I think you ate majority of the contents of this one, Bunny.”

Harry feigns a gasp, “Totally not true, you just think that cause I probably picked most of it with my hand, but fed it to your waiting mouth Ms. Birthday girl.”

“You make me sound like such a spoiled and starved person,” Sophia laughs.

“I mean you kinda are, don’t think I didn’t notice the times you physically grabbed my hand to feed you the sandwich that was supposed to be for me, not even a minute after finishing yours.”

“That only happened once!” Sophia defends her dignity, giggling along with her boyfriend. “And it’s not my fault you genuinely wanted to indulge me on everything I want to today, you spoil me enough on the regular, lovie.”

Harry sighs happily, not even trying to deny her point, “Totally true, and you so deserve much more than what I give you daily, Sunflower. And since it’s your birthday right now, it gives me a better reason to spoil you even more. Get ready for these special treats coming your way.”

Sophia doesn’t know what he means by that, staying planted on her cushion seat as Harry removes his hold around her to stand-up, instructing her to stay where she is and just leaving her with a wink. She doesn’t know where he’s headed, but chuckles to herself nonetheless upon witnessing a happily skipping Harry going somewhere to fetch some more treats for her.

Not even more than five minutes later, her boyfriend arrives back in her sight, this time around carrying something on his hands that’s covered in one of his woolen blankets that she loves to use when she’s at his flat. Whatever may be inside the thing he’s carrying, seems to be something important judging the way Harry takes his time to walk.

Instead of going back to his seat beside Sophia, Harry carefully places the blanket covered thing he was carrying just seconds ago. Sophia just looks at him curiously as Harry takes a seat on the bare grass beside it.

“Okay,” Harry claps his hands, an excited smile on his lips, “Before you open this very special parcel from me, I want you first to blow a candle and make a wish.”

Harry begins to reach inside the front pocket of his trousers, producing a tissue covered rainbow sprinkled cookie much to Sophia's surprise.

“I knew that one of the boxes was missing one treat,” She says in jest, as Harry smiles mischievously at her while retrieving a little pink candle on his other pocket together with a lighter.

“I honestly snuck this one in my pockets for a treat for myself later, like on our way back home in the car while you’re sleeping. Then I realized I did forget to reserve another treat for you to use as your birthday cake to wish on, since I know you’re not that keen on cakes in general.” Harry confesses, smiling sheepishly at her.

Sophia decides to tease him, “So thank the lord for your cheeky ways of sneaking a cookie in your pocket to munch on later without the knowledge of your girlfriend?”

“Exactly!” Harry says in utter agreement, “I knew you would always see the better light of any situation.”

Sophia just snorts at her bunny’s dorkiness, deciding to let his antics go and just appreciate his cute gesture as Harry twists the candle to stand properly in the middle of the cookie before lighting it up with the lighter on his other hand. It doesn’t even surprise her when Harry begins to sing her a happy birthday, voice deep and melodious as he asks her to close her pretty eyes and make a wish.

Her wish was simple, to just be able to spend all her next birthdays on this earth with her bunny right beside her. She blows the candle with a smile on her face just thinking about this time next year and wondering whatever cloying thing Harry might have under his sleeve for her 22nd.

Before her mind can get lost in any more exciting thoughts about their future together, Harry clears his throat gaining her attention. He has a timid smile on his lips, hand placing the cookie with a candle on the table before rubbing both his hands together as if ready to explain something, eyes darting back and forth from her eyes and the blanket covered package in front of them.

Sophia grins, “Is this my pressie?”

Harry returns her grin, “Yeah, it is. And for someone who has time and time again said they don’t want anything for their birthday, you seem oddly excited for this.”

Sophia squeaks in indignation, cheeks coloring with a blush in slight embarrassment, “Well I don’t need anything more special than you just being here with me and all, but that doesn’t meant I can’t appreciate or get excited when you decide to also give me some material things.”

Harry smiles kindly at her explanation, reaching over the parcel between them to give her a tender kiss on the lips, couldn’t resist biting her tempting plump bottom lip as they part.

“I know, my love. I was just kidding, no need to be embarrassed about anything, Sunflower. Besides, I think that I’m the one who’s supposed to be a little bit embarrassed here for what I’m about to confess.”

Now Sophia looks at Harry in confusion, unsure if she should feel concerned about where this conversation might lead to. Sensing her conflict, Harry reaches for both her hands to interlock with his own, resting it cautiously on the seemingly highly precious cargo between them.

“I’m not confessing anything extreme, so no need to worry your pretty little head over anything, my Sunflower.” Sophia trusts Harry with everything she has so his reassurance has simply calmed her whirling mind. She lets their connected touch to ground her, squeezing his hand reassuringly for him to continue.

Harry exhales soundly before breaking into a few chuckles, “It’s ridiculous how nervous I’m being when I know I technically didn’t even do anything wrong. It’s just that I know you’d ask eventually how I knew you wanted a picnic for your birthday, and I’m surprised it hasn’t even come up yet this entire afternoon.”

“It didn’t really cross my mind to be honest,” Sophia supplies, thumb rubbing his knuckles in thought. “I mean I just assumed you knew I loved picnics in general, cause we do it every summer wherever we maybe, and you wanted to give that experience to me on my special day.”

“Well maybe I wasn’t as smart as you thought I was then, since it didn’t come quickly to me what you had possibly wanted to do today besides a regular chill night-in together that you had specifically voiced about. Not going to lie, but it took me like half of a day to figure out what special thing to do for your birthday and what the heck I was going to get you.”

“Half a day isn’t bad at all, bunny. Is this what you’re nervous about telling me? Because you know that I don’t really care about that and I’d love you just as much even if you didn’t go the extra mile and plan this day out.”

“No, it’s not that,” Harry smiles, how can he not every time he’s girlfriend tells him she loves him, “And I love you so much too, Sunflower, even if you were too shy to express what you have wanted in the first place which made me result in doing something I’ve never done before.”

“What do you mean? You’ve planned a picnic date for us several times already.”

There’s once again that sheepish glint in Harry’s smile as he begins to just come out with what had occurred, “Well those times I knew you wanted to have a picnic, this time around I didn’t. So I’ve kind of stumbled upon your Pinterest account in my laptop upon researching for what special thing I can do, and I might have.. well I certainly did look around your boards and found out what kind of celebration and gift you wanted.”

“Alright, that’s all it is?”

Sophia watches in absolute amusement at the way Harry’s jaw suddenly drops, like he can’t believe what just came out of her mouth.

“What do you mean ‘that’s all it’? You’re not even mad or anything? I basically snooped into your private Pinterest account, Sunflower.”

Sophia just shrugs her shoulders, in a completely nonchalant way, “It’s really not a big deal, bunny. You know how much I value communication in our relationship and this just shows me that you do too. And it’s not really snooping when you didn’t actively try to find my Pinterest, it just stumbled upon your responsible hands.”

“Phew,” Harry breathes out in relief, right hand wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead, “Aren’t you a sweet little thing? Again, you really do see the positive perspective in every situation.”

“I mean, you might even want to call me a sweet and genius little thing for accidentally leaving my account open on your laptop, cause it literally brought me to this amazing summer picnic surprise in bloody autumn, and what I’m assuming is also a superb birthday pressie without even having to verbally confess it myself.”

“Ohh, so that’s how it is then?” Harry chuckles at the smug look on Sophia’s gentle features, “You think you’re such a clever little Sunflower for getting your silent way through this? Well if you’re that smart, then you for sure know what’s inside this little thing here? Cause baby, this was the farthest thing from easy to get.”

This time around, Sophia gives Harry a rather questioning expression, “For argument's sake, I would like to say that yeah, I’m a genius little Sunflower and definitely know what’s my pressie, but for sincere communications sake, I honestly have not opened my Pinterest for a good three to four months already? Like, I’m a sweet, genius, and quite forgetful little Sunflower?”

It really should be funny the way Harry actually physically deflates on his seat on the grass, no remnants of his joking humor left on his cherubic face in just like a flick of her dainty fingers. A pout begins to form on Sophia’s cold lips at the emerging almost deprecating sad smile on Harry’s similarly chilly wind-bitten lips.

“Well shit,” Harry lets out, squeezing their interlocked hands tighter with a quite dejected chuckle released, “Not going to lie, I had to go through a handful of shitty situations just to get you this gift, and I’m going to tell you all about it later. I just bloody hope you’ll still love it, even if you apparently have not opened your account for a few months now. But, I’d still love you nonetheless if you decide to return it and I’ll happily get you something else.”

“Oh, bunny. Come here,” Sophia lightly pulls on their connected hands to bring him towards her, the two meet half-way over the present in a crushing hug. Sophia tries her best to convey in her hug the reassurance her bunny needs, that there’s literally no room for him to be nervous about anything. Cradling his face, she scatters several sweet kisses all over his face, wanting that dimple on his cheek to appear once again.

“Bunny, I’m sure I'm still going to love your pressie no matter what it is, no need to worry about anything. Always grateful for anything you give me, right? I did still love those macaroni friendship bracelets you made for me way back in our younger days even if it got infested with ants later on and I still cleaned it and wore it the following day.”

“I guess,” Harry finally giggles, probably remembering seven-year old him tenderly kissing the ant-bitten red skin of her tiny wrist even if six-year old her had countlessly reassured his sad pouting face that everything was alright and they’re still the bestest of friends.

“It’s not an I guess, is a definite yes that I’m still going to adore whatever is in this, you know what, let’s actually open this now so you can see that I’m being honest like always.”

With one of their hands still intertwined, together they begin to unravel the blanket, revealing the pink Vivienne Westwood paper bag under it. Sophia’s eyes widen, locking her gaze on Harry’s green ones filled with growing excitement at her instant shock.

“Come on, open it, Sunflower. You precious baby, already astonished with just the parcel. And if you must know, you’re real treat is inside this.”

“I know, don’t tease me! Just feeling giddy all of a sudden!” The couple giggling continue to help each other retrieve a smaller white box inside the paper bag, Harry settling to let go of their joined hands and instead to place both of his palms on his smiling cheeks to watch in anticipation as Sophia opens the box to reveal the pear choker.

Exhaling a sigh of excited trepidation, Sophia cautiously holds the white box, slowly opening the lid with her eyes still solely focused on Harry’s face. When she had finally gotten in the open, Harry laughed at her unyielding eyes and attention still fixed on him and not her present.

“Sunflower, I know that you’re sincere when you say that my company is a present enough, but that pressie in your hands might get jelly that you think I’m more important.”

“You genuinely are more important than any material thing.”

Harry laughs, “Sunflower! Just look at it already, please, my ladylove?”

Sophia finally relents, Harry’s rather coquettish fluttering of his long eyelashes at her seems to always affect her. Eyes slowly trailing downward, Sophia has to blink her own eyes a few times in successive manner as the rare London sun seems to decide that it was the perfect moment to show itself in their autumn picnic. It's sunny beam hitting the pearls making it glisten far too brightly for her eyes.

Sophia catches on quickly after that, eyes widening even further with her cute little mouth opening in a stunned ‘o’ shape.

Harry raises his shoulders to reach his ears in an utterly adorable gesture, “Pearls for the most darling pearl of my life?”

And then Sophia cries.

Big fat tears began to slowly fall down her flushed cheeks, Harry instinctively collecting her inside his arms in a tight hug, whispering words of affection straight to her ear in a way to calm her down.

“I guess you like it then?” Harry asks when he can no longer feel any of her tears wetting the side of his neck.

“Is that even a question? Of course I bloody love it, bunny! How can I not?”

“Oh thank god, my humiliating face-first fall on the ground over thin air is not out of waste.”

“What?”

***

Sophia’s still in awe even after countless minutes of admiring the pearl choker with Harry, even when she had timidly asked the latter to clasp the pearl choker around her neck, or even after Harry had divulged the stories of his misfortune adventure of just wanting to get this present for her. Obviously, she couldn’t help but laugh at his ridiculous fall on the floor of his bedroom, not even shying away to say her wish of being there to see it first-hand.

Even right now, on their way back home to Harry’s flat, Sophia still can’t control her own hand from tenderly clutching the cold little pearls connecting together this beautiful and dreamy piece of jewelry. Her eyes go sideways, studying Harry’s magnificent side-profile while driving, his artisan chiseled jaw being emphasized even further from the flashing lights of the London city lights. He’s shining very brightly, Sophia thinks, not even just physically but even his aura within him seemed to be dazzling and glimmering with pure merriment.

“Hey, bunny?” Sophia calls for him quietly.

He turns his head upon her gentle request, “Yes, my Sunflower?” his left hand finding rest on her soft thigh.

Sophia can’t help the dreamy sigh that escapes her lips, “I know I’ve already expressed enough how much brightness and happiness you give me with your love. But, I don’t think I’ve ever told you straight out that you’re the best, like the best boyfriend ever because you are! Like you’re the bestest boyfriend in the world, my bunny.”

Harry Styles only wanted to be the best boyfriend on the planet when planning his girl’s special day. And yet here he is, delicately caressing the supple skin of her milky thigh where the hem of her pink satin dress had bunched-up, can’t quite believe that her now sleeping girlfriend had called him the bestest boyfriend in the world, now that’s enough retribution for everything related to that damn pearl choker.

"Show your Bunny that you love him so-oh-oh.." MASTERPOST

A best friends to lovers Christmas story featuring the best JB song of all time: Mistletoe.

Set in the too-white Winter Wonderland of a bungalow and the Cheshire Christmas Market, Bunny and Sunflower spend their first Christmas Eve together alone.

A sparkling 39.3k words, this is a holiday whirlwind of a story that's both soft and fluffy like the winter snow, and warm and crackling at the touch like sitting by the fireside.

My gift for myself and to all of you,

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, lovelies! 🌟

Chapters:

- The First Cup of Hot Chocolate

- The Second Serving of Cranberry Sausage Rolls

- The Third Piece of Mistletoe Cookies

Baby, don't you know? That you're my golden hour The color of my sky You've set my world on fire And I know, I know everything's gonna be alright.

hii i hope youre doing well since you haven’t been online recently and just felt like saying, i love your fics!! literally all of it, i always find myself searching your account when i want to read something fluffy

Why did I almost cry at this message? 🥺 I wasn't expecting such a sweet message to pop up so randomly in my busy life and it made my night 💕

Hearing people find comfort in my written works really melts my heart knowing at that time when I wrote it, I also found comfort in it 🌻

With that being said, I haven't been in any mood to write in over a year now and I never want to make it feel like a chore because those reading will feel the same energy. But that doesn't mean I'm closing the door completely with writing because I'll always go back to it, that's just how I'm wired.

But anyway, my appreciation for your kind words is astronomical 💫 The world really is brighter when there's the shade of kindness like yours 💛 Have the bestest time devouring all the fluff I've written, lovely! 🤗

i’m the anon you answered after honey bunny part 1 and omg you did not fail to deliver in part 2!!!!!!!!!!! i’m melting🥺🥺 i love them so much🥺

Thanks, lovely! 💖 That's good to hear considering this part was a bit harder to write 😆 And there will be quite a few 'melting' with alpha Bunny and omega Sunflower in the next part 🙈

HES - Bunny Shots

*** Stand-alone stories about Bunny and Sunflower set in no particular universe or timeline. These shots are not connected nor follow the same plot-line, unless specified.***

Happy reading, lovelies! 🌻

Grammy Bunny (post-Grammy party for the bunny.) Bunny's Love On Tour, Literally (before, during, and after Vegas.) Bunny and the Pearl Choker (the adventure of wanting to be the best boyfriend for Sunflower's 21st.) Bunny in Amalfi (Bunny just popped the question; engagement-moon shenanigans ensues.) Honey Bunny (For his every creation, one muse it behind it all. ABO au.) *ON-GOING*

"Yes please, Bunny." (Appreciation post for Bunny's Pleasing, with an addition of a curly bubby.) "Show your Bunny that you love him so-oh-oh.." (Best friends to lovers Christmas fic. featuring the best JB song of all time: Mistletoe.)

Gingerbread Bunny (When Bunny's Christmas Eve plans revolve around his two girls.)

Bunny and the Wine Nights at Gemma's (The times Gemma Styles failed to live her cupid dreams and the time she accidentally succeeded.)

Should Bunny Keep Driving? (Bunny as a McLaren F1 driver ft. yellow handbags, gelatos, and falling in love under champagne showers and Italian sunsets.)

The Bunny League (Bunny as a Mercedes F1 driver)

Your fics are amazing💗💗 so fluffy I'm obessed!!

You're too sweet! 🥺 I honestly don't have it in me to write anything angsty so I'll be happy to remain forever in the category of fluff-induced reads 🥰 Grateful that you've been enjoying my writings, lovely!

Honey Bunny

ABO universe setting.

For his every creation, one muse is behind it all.

Sometimes, individuals think they’ve somewhat got it figured out in life, that change is not something so monumental. But one should believe that if a lot can happen in a year, how much so in a single day? So they meet, on one ordinary day; and then everything else swiftly shifts. Stumbling upon each other might make them see beyond what they thought they’ve perceived before.

What’s that something hopeless romantic people say?

‘Love finds you, you don’t find love.’

Well great thing they’re both self-proclaimed saps; they just need to say that to each other over lingerie sketches and saccharine sweet honey treats.

The story of lingerie designer alpha Bunny, and ultimate honey baker omega Sunflower.

*~*~*

Story Masterlist:

- Part I

- Part II

- Part III

- Part IV

- Part V

"Yes please, Bunny."

It might have been an inevitable factor for Harry Styles to start his own beauty brand. As someone as pretty as him, people would definitely want to buy something that he made that can help them for even just a small fraction to look as good as him. Which yes, that includes having pretty nails as him.

Sophia would be losing her shit as well if he weren’t her husband already and she was out there trying to find the right type of people who takes good care of their nails because let’s face it, it says a lot about someone’s view on cleanliness if they don’t value the state of their nails or have no semblance of any nail care.

And to be completely honest, spouses or not, Sophia is still losing her shit at finally reaching the day where her husband’s new passion project is finally being unveiled and officially launched for people to consume and enjoy.

Sophia had been at every step of the process in Harry being the founder of this new beauty/skincare brand. From the moment he first pitched the idea to her when he was getting his nails done for the Watermelon Sugar music video shoot, to holding his hand while he proposed the idea with Jeff and his team a few months later while in quarantine.

It was a joy seeing Harry navigate this part of the business world that he has yet to dip his toes in, seeing her husband so excited with stories and new learnings to tell her at the end of the day, was a definite highlight that Sophia would miss now that Pleasing is officially being birthed for the world to see.

What she won’t miss however, is the energy of stress, looks of frowning faces, and voice so tired of Harry that Sophia had to actually intervene and demand his husband to take several days off in their house while she deals with the remaining matters herself.

The ever doting husband that he is, Harry obviously had begun to protest saying that he’d rather be stressed than for his wife to be the one to take the load and be the one bone-tired at the end of the day. Sophia had just laughed which caused Harry to pout even harder, she reassured him that regardless if she took his business matters, she would still be bone-tired at the end of the day. That’s what happens when you’re raising a one year old baby.

Charlie Edward Styles is the recently big champ in the Styles’ residence after turning the big number one just before Love on Tour started. Their baby boy is the most precious thing in their life with his luscious blonde locks that he definitely took from Harry when he was a child himself, plus all the other features of his father because Sophia feels slightly cheated on that her baby that she cooked and cared for in her stomach for nine months ended up looking like the exact carbon copy of her husband. It’s as if all the times she found herself dreamily staring at Harry during her pregnancy magically made their first born look exactly like him with green doe eyes, and dimples on both cheeks and all the other cuteness overload.

Anyway, enough being bitter about things that should be considered as a blessing and let's jump back up to the productive activities that Sophia had accomplished while she left her two babies at home to spend some much needed father and son quality time. Truthfully, there wasn't much left for her to do at that point in the process of building Pleasing. Most of the heavy decision making steps were already completed by Harry because it is his brand to begin with, which only left Sophia with logistic talks and to arrange and finalize the PR list.

It wasn’t really a chore, but Harry had still tended to her upon her arrival back at their home in Malibu like she had just worked a tedious nine to five job with a cruel boss that didn’t give her any breaktime. In reality, Sophia was very much not working a nine to five as she had left for the Pleasing office already after lunch since Charlie was creating a fuss in not wanting to drink the milk she had pumped the night before, cries only stopping when Sophia had allowed him to latch directly on her breast. At the same time, Sophia was given a lot of break time courtesy of her husband, the founder of the company, after he had apparently ‘slightly threatened’ (Jeff’s words, not hers) to fire anyone that makes his wife exhausted for unnecessary things.

Well there weren’t any unnecessary matters thrown her way, so all of Harry’s Pleasing employees were on a definite clear and so was the company itself as the early access launch date was confirmed which is set on the day of the San Diego show.

Today is that day and Sophia already feels the smile threatening her lips just thinking about it as she tries to soak in the last few minutes of complete calmness as she snuggles on the sheets of their hotel bed not wanting to fully wake-up yet. However, the pair of plump lips that is currently leaving wet kisses on the warm skin of her bare shoulder blades is not helping her resolve in any means, her eyes fluttering open in the morning light of the room as she finally breaks into a soft smile at the image that greets her.

Nothing warms Sophia’s heart then seeing a top less Harry with an equally topless little Charlie cuddled comfortably across his broad chest. Their baby boy has always loved having skin to skin contact with his parents right after he was born. It was always the final answer for almost anything when he starts getting fussy or irritated, it never failed to put the boy to a calm sleep.

Whenever Sophia points out how inconvenient it sometimes can be especially when they’re in public and the both of them can’t just whip out their shirts even if Harry might be a slight nudist, her husband would always say that the both of them are to blame for spoiling Charlie with skin to skin contact in the first place.

Sophia would roll her eyes every time Harry answers in that fashion, confidently asserting that it wasn’t because of them spoiling their son, it’s about their baby boy inheriting a certain gene from his father who is an absolute culprit for being obsessed with skin to skin contact with his wife even before they were married. Harry would obviously give her a petulant pout at her accusation, would even try to ignore her for a few minutes but only submitting to defeat and asking for his turn to snuggle on her chest after their little baby has gotten his fill of his mama’s loving touch. Who was Sophia to ignore her adorable husband’s turn to cuddle with her?

“Look who’s awake, bubby,” Harry whispers to the wide-awake Charlie with his widened green eyes staring intently at his father’s own. “It’s our pretty mama, bubby. Pretty mama is up already, what do you say when someone wakes-up, little man? We were practicing it earlier super quietly because we didn’t want to disturb mama’s beauty rest.”

The one year old certainly does not understand Harry’s question but his parents' early morning soft smiles must elicit something joyous within his little body as he answers his father’s question with a dimpled smile, gums all out cutely with his little baby teeth making an early morning appearance.

“Mama, mama.” Charlie squeals, making his parents laugh at his rather bright enthusiasm.

“Yes baby, that’s me, mama’s awake.” Sophia fondly replies as she gives him her finger to hold around his tiny fist. Harry chuckles with one of his hands gently fixing the messy blonde curls of his son that definitely rivals the state of his own chocolate brown locks.

“That’s not what we really practiced, bubby. But that’s okay cause you’re still a little cutie who can get away with just your adorable smile.” Harry says, puckering his lips to land a smattering of small kisses on his baby’s forehead.

“My Charlie bubby can get away, but I don’t think dada can escape greeting mama a good morning with a good morning kiss too.”

Harry laughs just as brightly as their son’s squeal from moments ago, the graveness of his morning voice sends a sudden warmth within Sophia. Their practically snuggled tight position in bed, allows Harry to raise his head to look at his wife admiringly while the latter bends just a little bit to be closer to him.

“Wasn't planning to, lovie.” Harry rasps with the sides of his lips curved upwards, “Good morning, my pretty sunflower, I hope you had a good sleep.”

“Good morning too, bunny.” Sophia hums in appreciation, her hands reaching down to lightly fix Harry’s disheveled curls, “Always have a good night's sleep whenever I’m with my boys. Now where’s my kiss?” She pats her lips with her index finger for emphasis.

“Oh silly me, how can dada forget such an essential thing?”

Sophia endearingly rolls her eyes at her husband before bending down to close the gap between them as Harry catches her bottom lip in a deep sweet kiss. Sophia sighs in contentment at the warm and wet feeling of their lips together, reluctantly pulling apart when they begin to hear the little protests coming from their little baby.

“Wait for your turn, bubby.” Harry teasingly scolds their now frowning son who’s trying to wiggle away from Harry’s hold around him to reach his mother.

Sophia giggles at the apparent jealous nature that her baby is displaying, obviously another trait that Charlie got from Harry without a doubt. It’s not really an inconvenience on her part as Harry gently transfers the squirming Charlie away from his chest to Sophia’s own, while their baby finally settles down with his little lips directly finding his mothers in a sweet and slobbery kiss.

“Why thank you for that loving gesture, my Charlie bubby. Mama loves your morning kisses.” Sophia coos at the now dimpling baby, his little chubby face dropping to nuzzle her neck as little baby giggles leave his smiling lips.

“Good morning my love.” Sophia doesn’t forget to whisper at her baby, hers and Harry’s hands gravitating towards the little body on her chest to caress his smooth baby skin. “Today’s the special day, bubby. Remember the one I keep telling you about? It’s dada’s launch date!”

Her enthusiasm does not faze the utterly relaxed infant on her chest, quite content at basking in his parent’s loving touch and attention. Harry on the other hand can’t keep his endeared laugh from escaping him.

“It’s not really that special of a day because not everyone can get their hands on the products yet. We’re just launching the website and the brand itself on social media.”

Sophia dismisses Harry’s modesty by getting his big hand to cradle her cheek, her lips leaving a little kiss on his thumb, “It’s still a lot special because today’s still launch day! Besides, you also forgot one of the biggest happenings for today which is your little Pleasing truck in Studio City later! How can you forget that, bunny?”

Harry chuckles, eyes looking so fond at her with his thumb affectionately glazing her full lips, “Let me guess, the Pleasing truck is so special for today that you yourself is going there later?”

“Absolutely! I knew I married you not only for your looks but also your wits!” Sophia gleefully says while Harry shakes his head in fondness at her teasing. “Glenne and I are going with Lamby as well. I want to bring my little Charlie with me but dada won’t allow you, huh?” Sophia asks their little quiet son who’s now reaching for Harry’s other hand so he can also have his father’s big paw cradling his chubby cheeks like his mom. Aren’t they just a sickeningly sweet family who can’t live without constant touching?

“Bubby can’t because it’s not safe for him, right my little man?” Harry replies for Charlie, “Dada trusts mama and auntie Glenne and Lamby and the security that mama will not be leaving without,” he says this with his eyes completely trained at Sophia who has been guilty of sometimes leaving the confines of their hotel without any form of security with her. That causes her husband to panic because every time that happens, it just wasn’t a lucky day for Sophia as something unkindly usually occurs after.

“But,” Harry continues talking, “dada does not want to overwhelm you with all the people there later, especially when mama is focused on helping dada’s fans to get their Pleasing items because our pretty mama is super sweet and caring even if she isn’t necessarily needed there.”

And that might be true, they have employees who are going to handle the Pleasing truck and the website orders but it just doesn’t sit well with Sophia that no part of Harry will be there to experience it as well. She can’t fault her husband for not being able to drive the Pleasing truck himself as he’s still currently on tour with a show later in the Pechange Arena here in San Diego. She might not be Harry, but she’s his wife and they share the last name and she cares for this project of his just as much as he does.

“That’s alright with mama,” Sophia says with a smile of understanding given to Harry, “My Charlie bubby can stay with dada here while mama dotes over dada’s fans because she wants to do so. And, Nana Anne is here, bubby! You can show her all your stuffies and introduce everyone from the tour, yeah?”

With travelling restrictions slightly lifted, Anne has finally been able to secure a flight from England to the US. She deserves to see her son perform his heart out on every stage, and the three of them have been seriously missing her presence ever since they embarked to America for the start of the tour.

Once Charlie was born, Harry and Sophia have decided that they didn’t want to raise any of their children in the hustling and bustling city of London, it was a unanimous decision to get a house built up in Cheshire to be more close to their other family members as Sophia also came from the same country town. With that being said and done, almost every weekend, Anne had been a constant guest at their country estate with Charlie never leaving his nana’s side the moment she stepped within the confines of their home.

Just the mention of his nana’s name gets Charlie excited as he exhibits right now. His earlier quiet solace in his mother’s neck is instantly broken down by excited babbling with Sophia and Harry only understanding the word ‘nana’ leaving his excited lips.

“Alright, alright.” Harry laughs at the change of energy from his son, “Why don’t you and mama get ready first in the bathroom because it seems to me you two are quite excited to get on with the day, yeah?”

Sophia giggles her agreeance, her beaming face is welcomed by Harry’s slightly stubbled cheek as he delivers another round of toes tingling kisses to her lips before parting and doing the same to their son.

That gives enough motivation for Sophia to finally rise from the bed, her giggling Charlie clasped tightly around her chest as she walks the two of them in the ensuite bathroom to go on with their daily morning routine. It’s nothing special as far as just needing to be properly clean and fresh, so it only takes the two of them about ten minutes before they’re done and heading back inside their hotel room looking and feeling ready for today’s activities.

And it seems like Sophia and Charlie are not the only ones who are ready with their day as what greets them upon their arrival back in the room greatly implies that Harry has been going about his day already.

“Bunny, what in the world…” Sophia trails off as her surprised clouded eyes look around the two parcels placed carefully on their still messy bed. “Did you seriously send Charlie and I the Pleasing PR kit?”

Harry’s standing by the end of the bed, arms crossed behind his back in a look of innocence, “I don’t know what you mean, sunflower.” he shrugs his shoulders in an act of casualness, “Someone just knocked on our door and delivered these gifts for the two of you. Not gonna lie, kind of felt put-off when I didn’t get any parcels addressed to me; the person who sent this has clear favoritism.”

“You’re so silly!” Sophia laughs at Harry’s acting skills, she hopes to god this is not the type of acting she will be seeing on the big screen when all the recent movies he’s filmed finally comes out. He might be really cute, but that’s just bad acting when even their one year old son is laughing at him.

“Si si dada!” Charlie squeals while pointing his cute little index finger at Harry who now can’t keep the grin from spreading across his face.

“I know, bubby, dada is so silly! So, so silly!” Charlie erupts in bubbling baby laughter as Sophia noses his little ears. Harry sighs in defeat from where he’s standing, Sophia can see that he isn’t really annoyed that they’re poking fun at him.

“Would it be enough if pretty mama and Charlie bubby just give dada a wonderful kiss in thanks for his kind acts?”

Harry doesn’t even have to ask that before she’s carefully running to close the distance between the three of them, and if she wasn’t carrying a highly precious cargo with her, Sophia would have jumped in Harry’s arms as he stumbled back in their bed with Sophia pinning him from above to attack him with loving kisses like he deserves. Instead, she settles with crowding his personal space in a tight hug, careful of the baby in between them, as she follows along Charlie's slobbery sweet kisses once Harry had offered his cheeks to them. Of course, once Sophia started attacking Harry on the lips, their little son followed along his mother this time causing Harry to scrunch his nose from all the wet saliva sticking to his skin.

“Thank you for the kisses my lovies,” Harry says after his wife and son had calmed down, “I can see that you really wanted to give your thanks, huh?” he wipes a hand on his stubbled cheek only to find it wet.

“Oh hush it, you love it, bunny!” Sophia says as she brings her and Charlie to the bed where their parcels are located. “You’d rather have slobbery kisses from us than biting kisses, right Charlie bubby?”

Harry chuckles as he plops himself on the bed beside his babies, “I guess you’re right, I don't want any more bites on my cheeks from my little vampire.” and he reaches for Charlie’s little fist to jokingly bite on, resulting in the latter to release infectious laughter.

When Charlie began teething, he wasn’t a cranky little mess that cannot be settled like most babies. Instead, he was really accepting of the teething toys and treats Sophia and Harry gave him to the point where anything he was allowed to put his mouth on, he would latch on and bite. That just happened to be Harry’s cheeks and lips whenever he gave his baby some love and kisses.

At first he didn’t mind it, finding it funny that Charlie found his face worth chomping on instead of Sophia’s nipples that Charlie never bit on even if that’s where his actual food was coming from. Until it became Sophia, the one laughing at him after their son decided to shift into a little baby vampire when he bit so hard on Harry’s cheek that some blood actually came out.

Thank the lord the teething phase was over, and Harry should be really thankful that he only gets wet and saliva-messy kisses from their little boy. At the same time, Sophia should be really saying her gratitude to her husband upon seeing the thoughtful gesture he had just done for Charlie and her.

The parcels weren’t anything special, it was the same black Pleasing box that Sophia had seen being made in their factory before. And upon opening the box, it also contained the Perfect Polish Set, the Pearlescent Illuminating Serum, the Pleasing Pen, and even the nail art stickers. What made this special is the miniature bouquet of pink and white tulips that are bunched together by a white ribbon with the black Pleasing logo printed into it. In addition, the black card that usually contained the greetings from the company is now replaced with Harry’s handwriting:

“For the answer to my every search of pleasing; I love you, my Sunflower 🤍”

“It’s too early for this,” Sophia whines to her husband who’s giggling at her awed expression, “you’re going to make me cry, bunny!”

“Oh stop being a baby!” Harry teases, shifting his focus to his son who’s struggling to open his own parcel, “Look at our Charlie bubby, he’s not even in tears when he’s the genuine baby in the room.”

Sophia might have felt sheepish from that obvious point, but that thought went straight out the door the instant Harry says ‘ta-da!’ when Charlie’s black box finally opened to reveal wooden toy versions of his Pleasing products with the exact colors, finishes, the fonts of the words, and every single detail is down to the t. It’s literally a baby toy version of his nail polishes and skincare products and Sophia can feel her heart wanting to burst out of her chest for the lengths Harry possibly took just to make this possible.

“Bunny,” she whispers in a soft tone, “really? Isn’t this quite over the top?”

Harry just shrugs, smiling almost timidly, “I didn’t want my little son to feel left out today.”

And that statement might have been a precursor for the way Sophia’s blue eyes start to get glassy, but what really hits the home run is the personal black card that Harry had also left in their baby’s box with the same cursive strokes of his handwriting:

“Because you’re presence is my ultimate pleasing, my little curly Charlie; dada loves you forever 🤍”

The tears cannot be stopped after reading that, Sophia wholeheartedly proclaims. It’s a definite interesting scene if anyone were to watch the way Harry coos soothingly at Sophia’s tear-stained cheeks the same time that Charlie copies his father’s cooing which is translated through baby blabbering which is far too loud for it to be soothing like a coo. But nonetheless, Sophia cuddles close to her boys to embrace all the love and comfort they don’t fail to give her every day, surprise parcels or not.

“Bunny, you didn’t have to do all that,” Sophia whispers into Harry’s warm pec where her face is currently resting on, “you know that bubby and I would be fine with just using the ones you already have at home.”

Harry sighs at her kind words, bare hands running up and down her back in a relaxing nature, “I know, but I wanted to do it, sunflower. I meant what I said earlier.”

“What did you say earlier? You said a lot of sweet things just this morning alone.” Sophia notes making the two of them giggle.

Harry leans down to leave a tender kiss on her forehead, lips never leaving her skin as he answers, “That the person who sent these parcels had clear favoritism; my sunflower and my curly Charlie are my favorites.”

Sophia knows she doesn’t need to reply to that, the words: “you’re are favorite too, dada bunny.” being left unsaid to allow themselves silence for this special moment in their little family.

*~*~*

“Mrs. Styles, go pose in front of the truck and be a supportive wife while I take the pictures.”

Sophia squeaks a laugh of shock at Harry Lambert’s order, following nonetheless when she hears Glenne and the dozens of her husband’s fans waiting in line for the Pleasing truck to open, laugh as well.

“The fact that I’m here means I’m fucking supportive of my husband, Lamby,” Sophia replies in faux haughtiness, taking position in front of the truck and raising her hands up in a peace sign to emulate the Styles in her, “don’t go questioning my innate supporting tendencies again, alright?”

Lambert rolls her eyes at her in jest, as he takes another round of pictures with Sophia now doing a variety of poses and not sticking to her husband’s laughable mandatory peace signs, “Whatever you say, Mrs. Styles, I bet that’s what you also say to your husband for him to allow you to walk the streets of Los Angeles wearing a shirt with his damn big face on it.”

The laughter of everyone who heard him (meaning the growing dozens of said husband’s fans waiting in line) makes Sophia flush just a little bit on the cheeks before she makes her way back beside her two friends with her narrowed eyes pointed at Lambert specifically.

“Fyi, this customized shirt has a picture of my husband that has only dropped today. Plus, I bet my husband’s beloved ring collection that if you Lamby, styled one of your clients with this specific shirt on them with my husband’s gorgeous face on it, everyone around the world would be scrambling on their feet to buy it and the shirts will be sold out in barely a minute.”

That’s the truth no matter how smug and cocky Sophia may sound.

Regardless of Lambert’s teasing, Sophia is highly proud of wearing her husband’s full face and body in that stunning Gucci lavender trousers, ripped black vest, while posing on a fucking motorcycle. Her possessive tendencies didn’t even protest when Dazed magazine wanted this specific picture to be one of the covers for their new issues featuring Harry as the new founder of Pleasing, no matter how much she dislikes people lusting and fantasizing over her husband.

She’s got years of training and experience to not get jealous so easily over people that technically give them their funds to be able to live a comfortable life and buy every single damn stuffie that Charlie wants because their little baby boy is currently obsessed with those. Being with Harry ever since his band days has also allowed Sophia to develop a sense of a business mindset, knowing full well that her predictions of selling the exact same shirt she’s wearing right now to everyone waiting in line, is not simply an act of wishful thinking.

Glenne thinks the same way as she says in laughter and complete brilliance, “Oh my god Soph, that’s such a good idea!” she slings an arm around Sophia which she returns gladly, “we should pitch that idea to Jeff later and then maybe Harry can be the one to pick the pictures of himself that will be printed on the shirts.”

Sophia nods eagerly, mind flowing in the same direction as her friend, “That’s a good start, and then the two of us could pick the cuts of the shirts because god help me, why hasn’t Harry and Jeff release freaking crop tops when that’s what we wear all the damn time.”

“Bloody hell!” Lambert exclaims breaking the business reverie of the two ladies, “You two need more friends if all you guys talk about is business and your husbands!”

Lambert might have a highly valid point, but Sophia and Glenne just look at each other for a minute before laughing at how absurd that idea is. Sure, they should spread out their wings and find more friends, but Sophia thinks that this one might be a wishful thinking idea when she’s learned to keep a close group of genuine friends instead of finding more that only end up being literal plastic people in both mind and soul.

She’d rather have Glenne as her closest friend aside from her husband and Jeff than befriending someone who only wants to be close to her because of their status. Besides, the four of them are content with each other’s close company, especially after the addition of baby Charlie which made everything just a little bit more bright. At this point, Sophia and Harry are actually leaving subtle hints that the two newlyweds should start expanding their family as well, subtle enough that they bought matching clothes for Charlie bubby and the hypothetical Azoff baby because they would be besties as well for sure.

Thinking about her husband and her little baby, makes Sophia miss her boys just a bit more apparent. Now that Glenne, Lambert, and her are done taking their pictures in front of the Pleasing truck, Harry’s employees actually start preparing to open the store within the side of the truck. It just leaves a few short minutes for Sophia to message her husband before fully immersing herself in helping and interacting with Harry’s fans.

To: Baby Dada Styles 🐇: “Ugh”

“I just love you so much”

“And it hurts so much to be apart from you!”

From: Baby Dada Styles 🐇: “Aww, now you’re going to make ME cry! I miss you too, sunflower! 😽”

To: Baby Dada Styles 🐇: “Oh, I didn’t mean you, bunny. I was saying those things for my Charlie bubby, but thanks for missing me, I guess? 🤨”

From: Baby Dada Styles 🐇: “So that’s the game we’re playing now, huh? Alright, I’ll just give my kissies to someone else then…”

To: Baby Dada Styles 🐇: “No you wouldn’t, you love me so much that you just physically can’t. Right, my spouse? 😏”

From: Baby Dada Styles 🐇: “I shouldn’t have told you that the word ‘spouse’ gives me a love boner. Now I got one and I have work, and you have work too so go back to work, spouse! ILY!”

To: Baby Dada Styles 🐇: “Eww that love boner better be staying away from my child, and I better get paid with kissies later for all this work I’m going to be doing for you. I love you, too my bunny! See ya later! 💞”

That was enough Harry Styles interaction that can last Sophia quite a good while to have the focus to actually work without itching to touch her husband and son. Thankfully, his fans were also not causing any loud disturbance or chaotic energy as the line started moved when the Pleasing truck finally opened its doors for customers.

For the next hour or so, Sophia and Glenne took turns handing customer’s their orders of the Perfect Polish Set, since it was the only product they would be selling in these shop-trucks. However, Sophia made sure to hand some classic ‘Pleasing’ stickers to everyone who bought anything, even giving several to those fans that complimented her shirt.

It’s always a fun time when Harry’s fans approach her, Sophia has always been down to get their pictures taken with her husband or even herself when the rare opportunity strikes. Having been in Harry’s life since he started his whole career, his fans have known early on that she’s a generally reserved person who does not like being on social media that very much. With that being said, Sophia highly appreciates the gentle and kind approach Harry’s fans give to her most of the time, even asking for her consent if they can post their pictures together on their respective social media accounts.

Today had been no exception as it seemed like every single one of Harry’s kindest supporters lined up in Studio City to give their words of gratitude and congratulation to the Styles' new business venture. Some of them even came bearing some gifts for their little son, Sophia laughing in fondness at one of the girls that handed her a frog stuffie wearing Harry’s Dorothy dress, complete with the bow and sparkly red boots that he wore during the first night of Harryween in NYC.

Probably sensing Sophia once again thinking about her boys, not long after, she receives a text from Anne that’s got her, Glenne, and Lamby saying goodbye to Harry’s wonderful supporters before riding back to San Diego.

From: Mama Anne 💗: “Sweetheart, your boys need you back. Matching pouting faces have been unleashed. Safe travels, my love.”

*~*~*

Sophia wasn’t in a panic after getting Anne’s message, already used to the similar kind of messages that she receives from Jeff whenever Glenne and her took the afternoon off to explore whatever city they’ve stopped for the show, leaving Harry and Charlie with the rest of the band and tour crew.

This type of thing always happens, whether on tour or not. Harry and Charlie just can’t have a full day without Sophia’s company, which has been a struggle at some point during the times that the girl wanted to have some alone and me time since it’s the healthy way to go with life. Though most of the time, like right now, it doesn’t bother Sophia that her baby boys are feeling clingy for her, as she herself usually succumbs to calling Harry and asking him to come back home whenever Charlie and her just misses his presence so much.

“Where’s my boys?” is the first thing Sophia says upon arriving at the backstage of tonight’s venue, foregoing any greetings when her eyes locate Charlie and Harry that are looking at her with similar states of disgruntledness with their matching unmoving pout on complete display like Anne had perfectly described.

“Mama’s here,” “MAMA! MAMA!” Her two boys simultaneously call for her, Sophia instantly gravitating towards their bare chested standing figures in her husband’s dressing room, not even noticing how Anne and the other people who were in the room just earlier, leave them in peace and privacy.

“Oh, my baby boys.” Sophia coos while a now sobbing Charlie clung to her torso in a tight hold as she carried the baby, Harry helping her quickly take her top off after their little boy began pawing it off in complete irritation.

“Okay, okay, bubby, just wait a minute,” Sophia soothes her son with a kiss to his still crying cheeks, thanking her husband after he helped her put on the Gucci robe Harry had specifically placed for her in his dressing room for times like this.

“There you go, my curly bubby, there you go,” Sophia hums as she settles comfortably on the couch, Harry not forgetting to help her prop some pillows behind her back for some comfortable support, both their hands gently soothes Charlie’s curly locks which helps him relax even more.

“I love you, my Charlie bubby,” Sophia replaces the baby’s salty tears with her tender kisses, “mama is here, mama’s going to cuddle you to sleep, my lovie.”

Thankfully, Charlie stops crying quickly after feeling the warmth of his mother’s bare skin against his. This allows Sophia to train her eyes on her husband that’s left standing in front of them on the couch.

“Bunny, what’s wrong?” Sophia asks in slight concern, eyes mapping the still visible frown on his face that usually disappears in an instant whenever he’s just missing her and she’s finally come back to his side. This time, it seems like something deeper is worrying her husband.

“I’m already back, my lovie. Do you want to cuddle with Charlie and I? Come, I have more space for my bunny, always have more space for you.” Sophia pats her side for Harry to sit on and cuddle her side.

Harry bites his bottom lip, a sign of troubled emotions in Sophia’s books, “I just feel really anxious, sunflower, have been feeling quite nervy for the past hours about the launch and how people are perceiving our products. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do, I can’t keep still but I don’t want to move too much as well or I might get tired before the show. Sunflower, I don’t know what to do, I -”

“Bunny, stop, you’re panicking yourself,” Sophia gently but firmly tells him, “let’s do some breathing exercise to calm you down, okay?”

Sophia guides her husband to some simple breathing techniques they usually do during their morning yoga sessions back at home, thinking to herself that if she only knew that Harry would panic himself thinking about these unnecessary things during his launch day, then she would have probably skipped going to LA and helping at the Pleasing truck if it would appease her husband’s mind and emotions with her by his side.

After Harry has considerably calmed down from his rambling, Sophia pats again her side of the couch and he thankfully doesn’t put up a fight as he busies himself to snuggling close under his wife’s arm, seeking as much warmth as he can get without monopolizing it all away since he’s not the only Styles boy in her life that needs his sunflower’s loving.

Harry might be a self-proclaimed jealous person, but he never is for his son which Sophia knows he really shouldn’t be, as every time Charlie wants to have skin to skin contact on her chest, Harry would just be two steps away from wanting to cuddle her side at the same time. Harry shouldn’t also be jealous since his favorite hair scratches are still present like right now, Harry’s own hands finding its way to delicately massage his son’s own curly locks.

With her nose buried in Harry’s hairline, Sophia breathes in her husband’s comforting scent while the latter does the same thing by nosing at her neck and collarbones.

“There’s nothing major you need to worry about, bunny,” Sophia whispers in the quiet room, “every single one that I’ve met today who bought your new products have nothing but kind words and praises to say. Now, if ever there are people online who are talking some shit about Pleasing, then that’s their problem for not having better things to do.”

Harry chuckles lightly, his free arm wrapping around Sophia’s waist to pull them closer together, “I get you, sunflower, I really do. I just don’t understand why I can’t quelch down these irrational fears I have. I’ve known for so long I can’t please everybody, and I made this project with the intent of showing that I’m done doing things while feeling fearful of the results, and have been doing a lot of things to show them that.”

Sophia hums her agreement, lips finding purchase on whatever patch of Harry’s skin she can reach, “It’s okay to feel slightly nervous when starting something new, H. Just don’t panic your own self like earlier. I don’t want my bunny feeling that type of way again, especially when I can help it.”

“And you do help, sunflower,” Harry mumbles onto her skin in such a reverent tone, “always make me feel better when I’m down or lost in my own unkind thoughts. I love you for that, so much, for understanding me every time.”

“I love you too, always, my bunny. It’s not really hard to understand that you’re feeling distressed when your face looks like you want to shit but can’t every time you need me to calm you down.”

“Heyyy,” Harry whines, the imprint of his smiling dimples not lost in Sophia’s vision, “now you’re just taking the piss and ruining our moment.”

“Today has been full of those bloody ‘moments’ ever since this morning, it’s alright to put an end to this one now.” Sophia points out in jest, feeling the vibrations of Harry’s quiet laughter on her warm skin.

“Fine, I’m going to take a nap to clear my head a bit more just like our little man here,” Harry relents, leaving one last deep kiss on Sophia’s neck before snuggling deeper into her body to find a comfortable spot to take a nap on.

No matter how tired Sophia feels from her earlier activities of helping at the Pleasing truck, interacting and accepting kind words and gifts from Harry’s lovely fans, and to even posing for Lambert’s bloody Instagram pictures, Sophia feels every single drop of tiredness leave her body as she contently watches her boys fall asleep in her hold.

There’s no better remedy to her exhaustion than knowing her husband and little son is safe and happy in her arms.

*~*~*

While Harry is in soundcheck, Sophia found it to be the perfect time to accomplish her plan for tonight after the concert while her husband is not in the same room as her.

“Bubby, what do you say about eating cake tonight?” Sophia converses with her son, Charlie watching his mother type away on her laptop while the two of them are sitting down on the baby’s playmat in the middle of Harry’s dressing room.

The baby lets out a positive noise at the mention of the sweet treat, tiny hands coming up to tap his mouth, “Nom nom?”

Sophia giggles at her son, “Yes, non nom, cake’s good, bubby. You like eating cake, my love?”

Charlie positively squeals in answer, fists holding his new Pleasing nail polish toys starts banging on the playmat at his apparent strong affirmation to his mother’s question.

“Alright, then I guess we are good at getting dada a cake for tonight,” Sophia nods her head as Charlie says “dada!” after she mentions his father, giggling when she watches her little baby looking around the room as if calling for his father would make him appear all of a sudden in the room.

“Mama!” Charlie calls for her attention, making Sophia stop her typing of filling up the cake’s order form online.

“Yes, my curly Charlie?”

Charlie tilts his head sideways, frowning up at his mother, “Dada?”

“Dada’s in soundcheck, bubby. You can see him later once he’s not busy anymore. Did you have fun with Nana Anne today while mama was away with auntie Glenne and Lamby?”

The mention of his grandmother’s name thankfully suppresses the fussing fit Sophia saw brewing in Charlie’s face after she had mentioned Harry was currently unavailable for him to be with. It’s just not her that their baby gets clingy over, Charlie is the splitting image of Harry so in Sophia’s opinion, it only makes sense that their little son likes following his father around to join whatever her husband was doing.

Fortunately, babies have a very short span of interest so Sophia indulges her baby blabbering joyously about his day with his nana even if it’s just baby noise. It gets Sophia to finish ordering the personalized cake for Harry tonight while giving the appropriate ‘oh?’ ‘yeah?’ ‘really, my Charlie bubby? Nana and you really did that?’

Her baby was smart though, so he loses interest at her nonsensical replies and crawls his way to her lap, making Sophia quickly put the laptop down on her side to help and welcome her baby to sit comfortably on top of her thighs.

“Mama!” Charlies says, looking at her and at her laptop with his index finger pointing at the screen where the picture of tonight’s treat is displayed.

“Yeah, that’s the cake for tonight, baby,” Sophia replies, offering her own fingers for Charlie to clutch on his tiny fists, bringing it straight to his little mouth to suck on because their son is at the age where he puts almost anything on his mouth for no reason. Good thing his new nail polish toys have no detachable parts unlike the real Pleasing nail polish bottle, so he can mouth over the round globes on his wooden toys all he wants.

“But that’s not the final look of the cake though,” Sophia continues to say when her baby keeps on pointing at the cake, “it’s going to be white with dada’s Pleasing logo at the top. It’s simple, but it’s buttercream frosting and the cake is made out of banana bread so you and dada will love it for sure.”

“Mama, nomnom?” Charlie says again, making Sophia giggle even at how redundant it is to talk to a one year old.

“Yes, it’s nomnom yummy, my Charlie bubby. Mama’s ordering it because she can’t cook for the life of her, so it’s safe to say it would be edible and good.”

Charlie makes a noise as if asking why his mother can’t cook so Sophia responds accordingly.

“Well, mama never really found cooking to be fun, that's why I didn’t have the interest to try and learn how to do it. But thank the heavens that your dada is a good cook, you of course already know that he used to be a baker.” Sophia rolls her eyes, remembering every time they visit Barbara’s bakery in Cheshire he would always tell their baby stories about his time there of being a ‘baker’, though Sophia can attest that he really wasn’t, when they applied and got the job together making her firsthand witness that Harry was definitely not baking in the bakery.

“Anyway, dada is good at that so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“What’s dada good at?”

Years of experience with Harry’s surprising antics makes Sophia immune to the sudden appearances her husband likes doing in the hopes of eliciting a scared reaction from her. That’s why Charlie and her just turn to the direction of his voice as he enters the room while closing the door.

“DADA!” of course their son is scrambling away from Sophia’s lap to run at his father’s dramatically opened arms on the end of the playmat waiting for Charlie’s hug like they haven’t seen each other in years.

“Oh my son, I’ve missed you so much! How did I survive those grave hours without you in my arms?”

Harry’s highly dramatic speech causes Sophia to snort and Charlie to squeal in baby laughter as Harry litters him with kisses upon kisses as the two of them gently tumble on the playmat in a lying position.

Smiling, Sophia clears her throat to get their attention, two pairs of her favorite green orbs staring back at her, “I believe dada also owes mama kissies for all the hard work she did earlier, yeah?”

“Mama!” Charlie claps his hands in what Sophia would assume as an agreement to her statement, making her raise an eyebrow at her husband to telepathically say ‘our baby agrees with me so get your bloody ass here and shower me with kissies!’ it’s too much of an aggressive request for their baby to be in earshot, regardless if he understands it or not.

Harry smirks, “Tell me first what you were referring to that I was good at earlier, before I made my presence known.”

He's not the only one good with surprises, Sophia can keep her own ground, thank you very much.

Confidently, she replies, “I was just telling our curly Charlie that you’re the good cook between the two of us because it seemed to me like he was requesting for me to cook him something when our little boy kept saying ‘nomnom’. That’s what it was only about, now can I have my kissies?”

Sophia doesn’t know if it’s because Harry might not believe her answer fully or they’re just so in sync with each other’s energies and auras that they kind of have an inkling when someone is hiding something, because he gives her this look like he’s not quite sure if he should already give her his kissies or should he push to get more answers.

Thankfully, Harry chose the former, the next thing Sophia knows is she’s getting lovingly attacked by Harry’s lips on every bare skin she has on display. It doesn’t help that she’s still wearing the Gucci robe with no top underneath it, Sophia squealing in giggles for Harry to stop when he starts lowering his kisses to reach her breasts. Their son does not really need to see this, like at all.

Said son then decides to join the action, probably feeling a bit jealous that his father wasn’t giving him any attention and all the loving kisses are only being capitalized by his mama. Charlie was Sophia’s saving grace as persistently squirmed his way to be in between his parents, babbling loudly with his tiny lips puckered out dramatically.

The two can’t really deny their baby anything, might it be new toys or the simple pleasure of kisses.

*~*~*

Harry’s San Diego show was an utter success; when did any of his shows ever sucked, really?

Contrary to what people may think, Sophia actually finds her husband’s concerts as a reprieve from any duties she may have on the daily. Even if their one year old baby is present, Harry’s concerts make Charlie so calm and enthralled just watching his father perform on stage with all the bright colorful lights shining on him, that their baby never makes a fuss every time it’s showtime.

With just the main task of making sure that Charlie’s personally made baby ear muffs are placed properly on his ears to protect his tiny eardrums from any damage, Sophia lets him walk around and bop his little body to his father’s music in the designated space for friends and family members of theirs are situated.

Sophia’s innate motherly skills however, makes her still on high alert to the whereabout of her baby even if she’s lounging around with a milkshake on her hand in one of the seats Glenne and her bring with them, because they’re just not young enough anymore to be able to stand the whole damn duration of the concert regardless if it’s her husband’s melodious voice or not. She gets called out for it, from time to time when Harry decides to address her in the crowd of thousands of people like they’re just having a normal conversation, asking if he’s already boring her too much that she needed to sit down during Adore You and have the time to think if they should break up or not.

Seriously, Harry’s a different crazy when he’s on stage.

And his son is another type of crazy when his dada is singing Watermelon Sugar on stage, which can be understandable in Sophia’s books because her dorky husband purposely changes a part of the lyrics at the first verse to elicit this crazed, squealing, and thumping reaction from Charlie.

“I want more berries,

and my curly Charlie;

Soph is wonderful and warm!”

Like a Pavlovian effect, their little Charlie is screaming ‘DADA!’ and ‘MAMA!’ just hearing his father’s loud voice saying his name and the name of his pretty mama, a thing that Harry did in tonight’s show which made Anne close to tears of laughter and fondness at the way her grandson was enthusiastically pointing to himself and calling for his nana as if asking, ‘Did you hear my dada saying my name in his song, nana? Nana, did you hear that?!’

No matter how small that moment may be, it tired out her curly Charlie pretty fast after that. The rest of the concert was left with Anne and Sophia taking turns carrying the tired infant. When he no longer wants to be in Nana Anne’s arms, he’d call for his pretty mama. Then when he wants Nana Anne’s touch again, he calls for her so that pretty mama can transfer him to her.

If it hasn’t been clear yet, well it’s definitely clear now: their family spoils curly Charlie rotten without any traces of guilt left behind.

So with a tired baby welcoming a post-concert Harry, Sophia didn’t need to do any alterations for her plan to surprise her husband to progress, when it became a mutual decision to take the night-in while the others went out to celebrate the successful San Diego sold-out show and the launch of Pleasing.

Sophia’s surprise wasn’t even anything big, just the simple Pleasing cake she got personalized earlier, and some pink, black, and white balloons that she had asked Jeff to place in their room when Harry had left for the venue earlier in the day.

Regardless, Harry is still surprised upon entering their penthouse room to see said surprise sweetly arranged in the living room table.

“Sunflower,” Harry quietly says her pet name in awe, wary of the sleeping baby in his arms.

“Go put our baby to bed and then meet me here so we can have a little celebration.” Sophia smiles in understanding as she goes on her tippy toes to drop gentle kisses on Charlie’s sleep rumpled cheeks.

It only took Harry a good five minutes to get Charlie sorted for bed, Sophia feeling extremely blessed that even if her husband might be vastly tired from just doing a concert, he still does not neglect his fatherly duties and would even hold an argument if ever Sophia made him rest early without being able to have the chance to get his son ready for bed.

“Aww, that cake looks so cute,” Harry coos upon joining Sophia in the living room, placing the trusty baby monitor on the coffee table before sitting beside her so closely that she’s able to smell his freshly showered scent of apple shampoo, “did you bake it yourself?”

“Oh sod off!” Sophia chuckles while slightly nudging her shoulder to his, trying to jostle him away from their close proximity.

“I’m just kidding, sunflower,” Harry curves an arm around Sophia to get them cuddled close even more, his hand reaching to hold hers as he brings the back of it to his lips for a reverent kiss. “Thank you for this, lovie, the perfect way to celebrate this day for sure.”

Sophia giggles at that, “Your perception of a perfect celebration for a launch of your new beauty/skincare company and a successful sold-out show in San Diego, is to eat a cake your wife didn’t even bake you and drink some juice on a carton because said wife can’t also drink any alcoholic beverage?”

Harry dimples at her like she was just reading his mind spot-on, “Yup, and add to that: doing each other’s nails, that’s the most pleasing celebration I could ever ask for.”

When Sophia had first asked Harry why he named his new company ‘Pleasing’, his answer had been simple.

“I don’t know, I guess because the simple things in life like getting my nails done with my chosen color of polish just brings such genuine joy in me.”

“Is that also why your chosen tagline is ‘Find your pleasing’?”

“Yeah, I want others to find the joy in the little things and my nail polishes can possibly help them, I hope at least.”

“So you’re telling me that nail polish actually helped you find your pleasing moments?”

“Duh, getting to paint your nails for you is the most simplest yet euphoric moments for me that I can never forget and will always spark that wonderful feeling within me. That’s the essence of ‘Pleasing’ for me, sunflower.”

As if he didn’t just say the most sappiest thing he had ever said to her in their years of knowing each other. Which is a fucking big deal to say considering she’s known this sappy shit ever since they were ten, when the mushiest thing he has done by far was to beg Anne for more money to spend on a dang ring toss game during their joined family trip to a carnival, just to win Sophia a baby pink teddy bear the she didn’t even ask for. But apparently, her husband was trying to out-do himself as Harry proceeded to ask her that day:

“May I please paint your nails for you, my pretty sunflower?”

So when Harry asks her the same exact question tonight in their little celebration, Sophia answers just the same that time months ago, with the same feeling of adoration bubbling within her,

“Yes please, bunny.”

Honey Bunny - Part I

Story Masterpost for the other chapters

*~*~*

He is going to make her a slip dress, she’s his new inspiration.

Alright, maybe a definitive statement like that shouldn’t be his prerogative when he doesn’t even know who this lady is. He’s essentially going to make a piece of clothing that would be sold for quite a few hundred pounds for a complete stranger, a completely gorgeous omega though.

Harry Styles shakes his head at the current thoughts running in his head, right hand slicking back the long, wayward curls falling across his face obstructing the view of his sketchbook that’s open to a new blank page.

The page has been blank for almost a month now, and Harry doesn’t think he can afford to throw away such a brilliant (but possibly creepy) idea when he knows that by the end of the day, Jeff, his best friend and head of his creative department, would be ringing him up in the guise of checking in on him and then would try to extract information from Harry about his new collection. How can Jeff get anything from him when Harry himself has been sparse of ideas this entire life-altering few weeks.

You see, Harry owns the rapidly growing and flourishing lingerie and loungewear fashion brand of central London that everyone from across all ages and genders seem to adore dearly. Harry has founded his brand right after he finished fashion university in London, and named it, “Sweet Creature”, his literal baby made out of his sweat, tears, and passion. Harry’s not trying to be a typical cocky Alpha, but he can confidently say when asked that he deserves the title of being the next “it” lingerie name right after the infamous Victoria’s Secret. Heck, even the old sweet ladies that grew-up using Victoria’s Secret are now flocking Harry’s store and would kindly tell him that his baby is beyond better than the previous lingerie mogul.

There was a lot of fight in Harry to show people what he's got when he had first started his business. It’s not every time that a young lad from the small town of Holmes Chapel, Cheshire would excel in the big bustling town that is London, especially when it comes to the harsh and often uptight scene of fashion. He’s had to prove himself countless times in university, amongst his arrogant and posh peers who thought that a country boy like him does not have the skills and the eye for up-scale fashion like they do.

Harry’s not one to treat others awfully even if he sometimes thinks they deserve it. Though at the same time, the proud Alpha in him, and simply the fact that he’s a human being who knows his worth, would not allow anyone to walk down on him. Thus, the majority of his university days were spent with his chin high up in the air, strong stance walking along the corridors to go to his next class with nothing in mind but to continue to excel.

He might hear or see the nasty comments and looks his fellow peers give him, but he perfected the art of shutting them out. He was too keen to absorb knowledge and sharpen his fashion designing skills to fulfill his dreams of having his own fashion brand.

It paid off well in the end, thank you very much. Harry would rather subject himself for haters and strangers to think that he’s a snob and far too serious and borderline work obsessed, than to end up like the majority of his cocky and entitled peers who are now trying to contact his social media team asking them if they can promote his brand because they’re now social media influencers in the time being while they’re still in the process of starting their own brand.

Now, Harry’s not one to discredit anyone's process to work in establishing a name in the fashion industry because he experienced first hand how vile and tedious it is. But the audacity of some of his previous peers in wanting to work for him is seriously something he cannot stomach.

Some of them who had emailed his team he remembers as the ignorant and spoiled omegas in his class who is now playing the “helpless omega” card who in their email basically asserted that Harry is an alpha, definitely repeating per paragraph how kind he is, and that since he’s an alpha it’s expected in his biology and in society for him to care for omegas that are in need of help.

In Harry’s opinion, if you embody and practice human decency, alpha or not, his secondary gender has nothing to do with why he should care and help someone who had not done the same to him, and has blatantly given him an awful treatment in the past even when he did nothing to them. Besides, Harry has far more pressing matters to accomplish which involves growing his business internationally without the distraction of ill-motivated university acquaintances who are no doubt just playing with his kindness.

That’s what Harry had been very occupied with before this moment. Starting and growing his baby in London is one thing, but trying to perpetually build on his company whilst trying to establish a name internationally, is another completely difficult task.

Far from a complete two years in the fashion scene, Harry and his hardworking team had begun the tedious transition of making international recognition. Without a doubt, Harry had pushed every other part of his life at the back of the agenda, such as his initial plan of moving back to Cheshire after securing his own place in a homely village just about twenty minutes from Holmes Chapel where his mom still lives.

Harry feels absolutely privileged for being able to use his first few earnings to buy his own stoned country house, which definitely motivated him to push back his initial plan to move-in earlier in the year to place his focus first on his baby’s international pursuit.

Diligence and painstaking attention to every detail enabled Harry the success he had wanted in the international market. The workaholic alpha within him strikes in full-force after he sees how much people around the world seem to love wearing his undergarment pieces as outerwear, something that a lot of people in England have yet to take a massive interest in. Being the innovator that he is, Harry wanted to be the first one in his country to capitalize and promote this honestly brilliant and sexy fashion trend.

Jeff and his girlfriend Glenne, had told him that he was being a cocky and arrogant alpha like his peers from fashion university when Harry had relented to take a rest after their international market agenda before starting his new collection. Harry was honestly offended at that comment, never and ever would like to be likened to his previous acquaintances, and decided his stubborn arse would prove his friends wrong.

But half a month later and nothing but countless crumpled paper have littered Harry’s office instead of novel and highly creative ideas. Harry concedes with a petulant pout on his face as Jeff and Glenne’s smug smiles look at him over dinner in his office (because Harry wasn’t going admit defeat without trying really hard, and yes, it means eating take-out dinner in his closed office by himself) as they’ve finally convinced him to take a breather by finally packing his stuff and move to his new place in Cheshire.

So that’s what occurred, Harry packed all his belongings in his Range Rover and had thankfully only needed to make two trips from London to Cheshire to move all his stuff. Harry’s a country boy at heart, so it was genuinely a dream of his to settle back in the country gardens of his hometown. Inspiration is something he thought will come to him in a snap of a finger at the familiarity of his surroundings, always going home with new ideas after every bite of his mother’s scrumptious basque cheesecake.

But in reality, Harry can only eat so much of Anne’s comforting cheesecake before he bloats up with dairy instead of new propositions of garment silhouettes and lace patterns. He does not understand why it doesn’t work this time around, and it’s particularly annoying (and disgusting, to be honest) that rather than spending his time in his brand new marble work desk, he spent the majority of it in his fresh orange scented bathroom, shitting.

That must have been the sign that homemade, country-local goods are not the answer to his designer block. However, here he is, in his neighborhood bakery to consume more dairy infused goods if all the mouthwatering scents of something baking in the oven is any indication, when Harry had first entered the little, adorable cottage looking establishment.

If he’s being honest, it’s not the first time that the bakery has piqued his interest. Every time Harry re-established his morning jogging routine around his new neighborhood, there’s this unknown force that seems to stop the momentum of his jog once he neared the vicinity of the bakery. It makes him slow down on a walk, eyes drifting to the little windows slightly covered by white lace curtains.

He doesn’t want to admit it to himself, but the pretty smiling girl in her pastel yellow apron that she never fails to wear every time Harry had taken a peek at the window, was definitely one of the pushing factors that had made him finally enter the cottage bakery today. It was a little bit of a downer that she wasn’t there upon his arrival, but Harry quickly berated himself that he was here to gain much needed inspiration for his new collection, not to ogle at pretty little smiling girls.

But the thing is, she is a pretty little smiling cutie up close and personal. And Harry’s really trying his best to stop the ogling, but how can he when the moment the little bell on top of the door rang signalling a new arrival, Harry’s eyes and nose have turned upwards in their own accord at the sight and smell that began to permeate the quaint bakery.

It’s addictively sweet, that is. The new scent smells like fresh, saccharine sweet honeysuckle with hints of vanilla bean swirled into it. Not only that, but the sight of the girl is sickeningly sweet as well.

It’s her, was the first thought Harry had, the pretty girl he always sees when he takes a peek at the window, minus her pastel yellow apron as the smiling little creature was currently adorned with a silky blue slip dress, Harry’s detailed oriented eyes instantly sees the white lace trimmings of the breast cups of her dress that have stitches of little pastel yellow and pink flowers. But in all honesty, it’s her big blue eyes being framed by her wispy blonde bangs and her tiny dimpled smile that Harry fixates on.

Not even a full five minutes of the girl being in the bakery, Harry has decided that she’s his new inspiration for his upcoming collection like some sort of alpha child who has a crush on a beautiful girl trying to make her a ‘roses are red, violets are blue’ poem in primary school. Except right now, Harry’s more discrete at his staring with less chances of being caught, as he quietly looks from his flower printed cushion seat at the girl that’s now wearing her favorite pastel yellow apron with the matching oven mitts, humming sweetly while she takes out the freshly baked muffins from the oven.

There weren’t many customers in the bakery this early in the day, so Harry’s sharp alpha hearing, kind of, well what choice does he really have, is overhearing the conversation between the girl and the other two betas that he learns are her workers. It only surprises him a bit to learn that she’s the owner of this bakery taking in account that she’s an omega if her sweet scent and delicate physique can be any more of a tell.

In this current society where Harry luckily lives in, it has certainly moved a million miles away from the older status quo and societal standards that omegas should be kept within the confines of a home to become wives and caregivers. Providing them access to opportunities that can enable them to develop skills to move past that, was highly illegal before. Harry’s a hundred percent thankful that it is no longer the case today, though it’s still common for omegas to be in a subordinate position under alphas and betas with fewer opportunities open for them that goes beyond the care sector.

Harry’s definitely one of the advocates of providing more varied chances for omegas, being one of the first fashion brands that showcased both female and male omegas as the models of their garments. Harry honestly does not fathom how people don’t see the innate prettiness and air of elegance and gracefulness that every omega possesses, they’re quite literally born for this job.

Harry smiles to himself upon hearing the melodious quiet giggles that leave the omega’s lips at something one of her workers said, something about how the sweetness of her mother’s honey bees must have transferred to her boss based from her bright aura this morning. Harry can confidently agree, handwriting the word ‘honey’ on top of the rough sketch of the slip dress he made for her on his now miraculously not blank sketchpad.

Harry is stunned to say the least, because of this pretty stranger of an omega, he got his first inspiration in months with not just a snap of a finger, but just a blink of an eye. Harry is still fascinated at this swift progress of things, right hand expertly refining his design.

He always gets transfixed on designing whenever he has found that perfect idea to work on, mood always turning positive when he’s doing what he loves to do the most. His rapture is interrupted when he hears a little cough from his side.

He’s met with the sight of the adorable omega, looking (and smelling, let’s not forget about that vital detail, thank you) exceptionally breathtaking while standing just a feet away from where he’s seated, both of her arms crossed behind her back, looking all cute with that same smile Harry’s been seeing earlier, except now it’s directed at him quite surprisingly.

“Hi!” the omega says in a chirpy tone, head tilting to the side in a cute greeting.

Harry tries not to look too stunned at her undeniable charm, “Hey, may I help you?”

Giggles leave her glossy baby pink lips in answer, making Harry smile at the dulcet tune, “Oh, not really. I was actually here to ask you if you want any more of our honey goods?” she giggles again for whatever reason.

Harry obviously doesn’t mind her quite pleasant interruption, finding himself releasing his own little giggles at her adorable nature, “Well, I think I still have a little bit of my honey pancakes left, so maybe I’d take that offer late.”

“Are you sure?” she asks with that same cute tilt of her head to her shoulder, ocean blue eyes widening a bit.

Harry gets distracted by her charm, “I think?” he asks back, almost unsure if it’s the right thing to say. He sees the little quirk of the omega’s lips, Harry returning it as if he’s proud of himself for giving some sort of correct answer.

“What do you mean you think? I’m the one asking you.” she giggles even more, Harry’s honestly confused of what’s happening but all he knows is he wants to keep making her giggle like that.

“You’re correct, you’re asking me. Silly little me.” Harry agrees with her, shrugging his shoulders in a sheepish nature, preening at the way his silliness causes the omega to cover her giggling mouth with her dainty hand.

“I did smell some delicious scents just a few moments ago. I’m assuming those came from your other honey goods?”

“Oh yes!” the omega perks up at Harry’s question, “I forgot to tell you that my honey goods are freshly baked!”

Harry nods along at her bright enthusiasm, “Now that’s a shame. I would have quickly taken your offer earlier if you would have mentioned that they were freshly baked. I’m just saying, who doesn’t like freshly baked food? Crazy and horrible people, those are.”

The little omega nods her head in agreement, a small pout forming on her baby pink lips, its fullness definitely made more prominent with whatever shining lip gloss she’s wearing, “I know right, those people who can resist the goodness of freshly baked goodies are just sad. They probably lack hugs or something.”

Harry is taken aback to say the least; in complete awe at how adorable she is without even trying. The alpha can hear the genuineness in her tone, laced with dejection at the prospect that some people in the world are actually needing hugs. Harry doesn’t doubt that if he was one of the hug-starved people and had asked this kind omega for some, he probably wouldn’t have finished his sentence and the girl would be collecting him into her small arms in a gentle hug.

Sadly, he isn’t hug-starved and he can’t resist freshly baked treats. So maybe Harry should just find other ways to be able to get the omega to hug him? Maybe another day when he actually gets to know the name of the girl first. That's going to be a good incentive to come back to the bakery again, Harry thinks.

“Good thing I can’t withstand the gloriousness of freshly baked honey goodies,” Harry says instead when a cooing sound almost leaves his lips at the pout the omega was still sporting at him. “What are these specific delectables by the way?”

Some sort of dazzling energy seems to enter the omegas little body at his question, face positively beaming as she claps her hand in excitement. Harry’s so attuned to her every movement and expression that he really tries his best to control the drool that may slip from his mouth in utter amazement at her loveliness as he watches her animatedly list down her honey treats.

“We have three baked goodies that you might want to choose from, or you can just get them all if you wish,” She giggles, unknowingly coaxing Harry to actually just get everything she’s offering if that sweet noise leaves her lips again. The omega has no clue how much she’s affecting the alpha this early on in their meeting.

“Anyway, we have freshly made Belgian waffle bites paired with our homemade strawberry-infused honey, or you can opt for our Belgian chocolate honey if you like that more. To be honest, I prefer our chocolate honey with it and I add a bit of powdered sugar on top of it to make it extra sweet! And then, we also have our best seller honey cookies with a drizzle of pure honey, that’s one of my favorites to be honest. It’s simple, but very tasty and addictive once you start munching on them. I think I once ate ten of them in one sitting, that’s how amazing they are. While for the third but certainly not the least best of our freshly made goods, is my utmost ultimate favorite ever, my special corn muffins with honey butter! It’s really the yummiest in my opinion, especially when I also add some pure honey drizzles on top, it’s so good!”

Harry should be annoyed, is the thing. The owner of a bakery should not be rambling this much in front of a customer, usually they offer suggestions when the customer is at a loss of what to order, but they never elaborate on what their favorites are so fondly as the omega had done. Harry doesn’t like talkative strangers in general, especially when they’re this up close to him saying things he didn’t technically need to hear.

But the adorable little omega baker is fucking shining while talking his ears off about her honey goods, how can Harry be annoyed with that? Especially now that she has seemed to take a deep breath after her lengthy sharing, arms crossing behind her back again as her chin dips a little lower, looking quite shy all of a sudden.

“Plus, I baked them all myself.” she shares in a little timid tone, tips of her pristine white sneakers with pearl embellishment turning inwards.

Harry actually coos this time, a deep pleased sound leaving his chest resulting for the omega to perk up in interest and slight surprise.

“You did?” Harry asks in a clearly charmed tone, almost sounding like he’s talking to a baby. “You baked all those delicious sounding honey treats yourself?”

“I did.” the girl replies more confidently this time, “I made all the batter last night before I closed the bakery and also placed and formed them in their specific baking sheets or molds. My lovely workers were the ones who placed it in the oven though, cause I wasn’t here for opening today. Though I’m kinda sad I wasn’t the one who did it.”

Now that just won’t do, this lovely omega cannot be sad under any circumstances, especially when Harry can help it.

“That sounds truly lovely, and absolutely delicious because you still made them even if you weren’t the one who placed it in the oven.”

The omega undeniably preens at the obvious compliment, “Really, you think so?”

“Of course,” Harry replies without missing a beat, “In fact, I want a taste of all three of those goodies now.”

The omega gasps, delicate hands coming up to cover her mouth in surprise, “Oh my god, really?” she asks, blue eyes widening once again.

Harry chuckles at her surprised reaction; he can’t really find anything that she does annoying and it instead looks absolutely precious to his eyes. “Yeah, I really, really want to try them out all. You’re a good sales talker, and probably a fantastic baker too if the pancakes I just ate earlier were any indication.”

Harry feels smug at the rosy flush that is now tinting the omega’s cheeks, the sides of her lips turned upwards almost bashfully. The alpha might have a reputation of being too serious and passive, but he won’t deny that he’s also got some enchanting tricks hidden on the sleeves of his silk shirts just waiting for the right ones to be unleashed on. And yes, this lovely omega is definitely one of the few.

‘Thank you,” she first replies in a sweet tone, “How about I fetch those honey treats for you before they turn cold? I bet I’ve already wasted a lot of your time by my long chats. Sorry about that, I just noticed you’re new here and I’m always excited to share my love for honey goodies to others, especially when they’re freshly baked. Sorry, I’m rambling again.”

Harry frowns after her apology, watching in distaste at the embarrassed expression on the omega’s face as she places a fallen lock of her hair behind her ear. He doesn’t like the way he feels when he sees her looking uncomfortable, like she did something bad.

“Hey, none of those apologies, you didn’t waste my time or anything.” In fact, Harry thinks, it’s completely the other way around cause you’re basically the light on the end of my designer block tunnel that has just saved me from getting anymore berating from my best friend. Obviously he can’t say that or it will surely overwhelm her.

“Actually, I need a refill on my sugar content so I can properly do my sketches now that I’ve already finished my portion of pancakes. Your baked goods will do just the trick, I’m sure.”

The girl still looks quite unsure, but Harry tries to settle her worries by giving her his most friendly smile that he can muster, and it probably worked when not a moment later she returns it.

“Alright, if you say so. I’ll just go and serve it to you.”

Harry nods his head in acknowledgement, allowing the girl to leave his side to get her baked goods. Harry sighs wistfully at the few moments of being back to his solace, feeling like his acting quite foolish for feeling so attached all of a sudden with just their first interaction.

The layout of her bakery even allows him to see the girl preparing his order due to the open kitchen layout of the bakery where there’s only the white marbled kitchen counter that is separating the kitchen from the dining area. Customers are able to see their food getting cooked or prepared, which is fantastic because all the amazing aromas of the honey infused food are always present.

Harry is actually enthralled at the cozy atmosphere this cottage style bakery is emulating. Everything is white and made mostly out of wood like that of the round tables and chairs, or the few shelves attached to the walls with little vintage trinkets displayed in them. The omega seems to love pastels as well, since it’s the only pop of color visible in her bakery.

From the pastel pink color of her vintage fridge, to the baby blue color of her toaster and coffee machine, it’s not a surprise that her mugs and plates she uses to serve customers are also in a pastel yellow like that of her apron and oven mitts. The lighting inside also almost feels quite whimsical with the warm and bright fairy lights scattered around the bakery, the vibe almost feeling like a magical cottage with fairies hiding somewhere in the various vases of flowers. Everything just feels homely and warm and utterly sweet and charming.

When she returned with a wooden tray filled with three little plates containing Harry’s order, the omega was now wearing a white cardigan with heart-shaped pearls as its buttons. Harry stands up from his seat to help her with the food regardless of her fruitless attempt of wanting to do it by herself. Harry’s a true gentleman regardless if he knows the person he’s helping or not, real credit to his mum for raising him well.

Harry was sure that the omega was going to leave his company the moment she’s placed all of Harry’s food on the table, still probably thinking that he wants her out of his way the quickest possible moment which is entirely far from the truth.

In fact, Harry’s going to channel his inner I’m-Confident-And-Charming-And-We-Both-Know-It-So-Don’t-Resist-It alpha within him that has gone very dormant after the lack of trying on his part to actually seriously charm someone. It’s been awhile since he’s fancied someone, it even feels as if he actually hasn’t properly fancied someone than in this moment, for the instant connection and warming feelings he’s feeling right now is quite foreign to him.

So, he puts his brave face on and calls for the omega’s attention when she did announce that she’d be leaving him to enjoy his food.

“Hm?” the girl hums in question and looks up at Harry from beneath her lashes. If Harry’s feeling really confident, he’d say that the look on her ocean blue eyes is one of relief that the alpha didn’t let their interaction end from there.

Harry smiles with his own dimples popping on his cheeks, “I just realized, I actually haven’t gotten your name. Is it by any chance, Sunflower, since you have a pin of it on the left upper side of your apron where people usually put their name placards on. If it is, I’d say it’s a beautiful name, quite fitting even.”

The melodious giggles she lets out once again leaves Harry waiting at the edge of his seat for more, eyes noticing the way her French tip nails on her slender fingers begin to toy at the crochet sunflower pin that Harry has just noticed.

“That’s sweet of you to say,” she says truthfully, “But I don’t think my parents wanted to name me after a flower so it’s actually Sophia, my name’s Sophia Ford.” and she waves her hand in a little greeting as if it’s the first time she’s going to talk to the alpha.

Harry dramatically sighs in relief, right hand clutching his chest in full effect, “Oh thank god your name wasn’t honey, or that would have been a real shame.”

An indignant squawk of surprise comes out of Sophia, both hands resting on her hips as she narrows her eyes at a now smirking Harry. The alpha thinks she’s supposed to be giving him a menacing look, but in reality it just translates to a cute disgruntled kitten face. Definitely not harmful looking from any angle.

“What’s that supposed to mean? I love the name honey.”

Harry snorts unattractively, “I mean clearly,” he replies while gesturing at the plated food on his table and then around the entire vicinity of the cottage bakery, “I’ll even go as far and say that you live and breathe the name honey.”

A loud laugh springs out of the omega all of a sudden, the volume startling Harry just a little bit as it’s the first time Sophia had really laughed instead of her little giggles. The high pitched noise was still melodious to his ears and Harry’s resigned to the fact that everything that probably comes out from the omega will always be a sweet sounding melody to him.

Jesus, since when did he become so much of a sap? Get it together, Styles!

Harry pushes his curls away from his face in a nervous gesture that he knows he does whenever he feels uncomfortable or as this situation brings forth for the first time, also when he’s skittish around a pretty omega lady that’s too adorable for this cruel world. He meets her blue eyes with a smile of his own, chuckling at himself quietly for the mushy and soft emotions that Sophia brings out of him without her even knowing it.

“I didn’t mean anything bad about it,” he clarifies, “I just knew myself that if your name were honey, I would have probably made countless puns about it and why you serve just everything honey in your bakery.”

Sophia seems interested in this, “Oh, so you’re the jokester in the friend group then? I adore funny people!”

Did she just say she adored him? I mean not directly but Harry still reacts to her statement with an undeniable flush creeping from his neck to the tips of his little ears. He chuckles instead when Sophia asks him to give her a little sample of his comedy.

“I’m flattered that you instantly thought I am a funny guy just from my simple statement. But to be honest, I’d rather not test my puns right now because I quite want to keep conversing with you without annoying you away with my jokes.”

Harry smirks, trying to keep it looking not too much of a cocky alpha when he notices Sophia blush unrestrainedly at the clear indication of his statement. What can he say, he apparently doesn’t have to channel anything deeper in him when it evidently comes quite naturally for him to charm possible mates. And yes, Harry’s mind is of course already running to mating when he had just met Sophia.

“Someone funny and an apparent charmer,” Sophia points out with a playful lift of an eyebrow, “I’d honestly enjoy continuing chatting with you if only for the fact that I don’t make the habit of talking to strangers.”

This time, Harry laughs a honking laugh, one that he’s only comfortable letting out with his friends and family. But the embarrassing loud noise doesn’t even horrify him regardless if he’s in the presence of a beautiful omega.

Sophia makes him feel comfortable, and it’s not the most surprising discovery he’s come across with today when he literally decided to center his whole new collection towards the girl in less than five minutes since he’s seen her in person.

“I’m so sorry, didn’t mean to be rude,” Harry lets out after controlling his laughter, “I’m Harry Styles, and let me just say your mother has raised you really well when you seem to remember the empirical importance of not talking to strangers. Kudos to your mum really, absolutely lovely she is.”

Giggling, Sophia shakes her head slightly at the alpha, “Nice to meet you, Harry. I really appreciate your kind words to my mother, and I can confirm that she is very lovely even if you actually haven’t met her yet.” The two are smiling at each other like idiots, “I would normally want to at least get to know someone better first before I take them to meet my mom for them to see how truly exquisite she is.”

Seems like Harry’s not the only one who’s innately enchanting when trying to look for a possible mate.

“Then let’s get to know each other better then,” Harry coyly replies, not one to waste the perfect opportunity Sophia had just unknowingly handed to him. “How about you take a seat here with me and walk me through the process of making these honey goodies while talking about each other to see how well our mothers raised us, because I have you know, my mother’s rather amazing too.”

Sophia looks totally surprised at Harry’s proposition, the alpha’s starting to realize that amidst the cheeky and playful character she’s showing right now, Sophia seems to be shy and gentle yet extremely friendly at her core.

Sophia crosses her arms on her back once more, Harry noticing something about her again and he thinks this is a nervous tick of the girl as he also notices the girl’s toes turned inwards to each other like earlier.

“I’m not sure,” Sophia replies in an apologetic tone, blue eyes looking conflicted, “I think I have to go back to the kitchen and help Georgie and Sabrina with some things.”

She pouts her lips towards the direction of the kitchen, Harry assuming that the names she had just mentioned were those of the two betas that are now currently looking at the two of them with pure interest in their features. Harry returns the highly interested smiles the two betas were giving them while cleaning some of the used plates and muffin pans, even waving his hand a little for proper pleasantries (and maybe to show them he’s a kind alpha that has good intentions with their boss) which they happily return.

“Are you sure?” Harry asks Sophia, eyes still trained on the two betas that don’t seem to be doing anything important or in need of the omegas' help.

If he’s being honest, he can feel the double meaning of the betas’ looks, those piercing eyes are surely filled with excitement and intrigue, like this doesn’t seem to be a normal scenario in their bakery. Which really, Harry is rather fucking thankful for because just the thought of other alphas (or based from Sophia’s innate beauty and kindness, whatever gender and secondary gender) taking the same interest and finding an instant connection with the omega, makes his skin crawl with anger, disgust, and jealousy.

Harry’s assumption was solidified when one of the betas winked at him, while the other gestured for him to continue chatting with their boss, while said boss is turned backwards to them. Harry smirked in triumph at the very green signal on having the right to monopolize Sophia’s attention right now, giving a little nod of thanks.

“I think your working bees can handle a few minutes by themselves, doesn’t seem like they need any help or anything,” Harry observes casually, Sophia looking behind her back to their kitchen where the two betas are trying their best to seem like they weren’t just watching the two of them intently a few seconds back.

“Well..” Sophia bites her lip, still in a clash of what to do. Harry’s quite distracted at the vision of her of her plump glossy baby pink lips being bitten down by her sharp pearly whites, shaking his head to clear the thought out before it progresses to something else that can result to a very unwanted stiffy, now that’s going to really scare the omega away.

Instead, Harry tries to soothe Sophia’s worries by calling to the two betas himself, “You guys are alright without Sophia there for a few minutes, yeah? It’s Georgie and Sabrina, right?” He throws them that big charismatic smile Glenne always tells him to do whenever he’s invited to red carpets, just to seal the deal for good measure really.

The two nod their heads rather more enthusiastically than necessary for such a simple question, Harry can’t help but chuckle as the two ladies talk over each other to share their agreement with him. Well, aren’t they excited to get rid of their boss? He doesn’t forget to introduce himself this time, not wanting them to think this is a one time only thing without the need for them to remember his name.

“I guess I can spare some time to be with you,” Sophia smiles prettily at Harry, “But I do have to go when more people come in.”

Harry nods in acknowledgement, standing up from his seat to pull out a chair for Sophia to sit on, “Lucky me, I guess. And don’t worry, I’ll share your time and attention when more customers arrive. But no promises if they’re cute little nans who will for sure steal all of your attention.”

Sophia’s bright sounding laugh is the perfect start to them getting to know each other over lingerie sketches and saccharine sweet honey treats.

*~*~*

The second time Harry returns to the cottage bakery, Sophia is the first person he sees upon entering. The omega seems to be in her element, whisking a bowl of batter for one of her honey goodies which he’s learned from their lengthy conversation yesterday is her passion and prerogative in life.

The Hunny Pot, is Sophia’s baby like that of Harry and his lingerie brand business. He’s learned that the omega grew-up in a loving home of beekeepers, both her parents inheriting the family business of cultivating and harvesting honey from their hundreds of bee colonies, in their bee farm located at the backyard of her childhood home.

Sophia was keen to involve bees in her future career for she has grown to love these magnificent creatures, but never found the knack of being an actual beekeeper. Instead, she wanted to pursue her culinary dreams which she discovered after a summer filled with baking in her nan’s kitchen when she stayed at her place in London that one time.

Coincidentally, it’s also the time she realized that the city life was not for her, which Harry can totally agree with. It’s like a breath of fresh air to get to know someone who has through and through grew-up in Cheshire without getting blinded by the promises of a better life in the busy urban city of London.

“Harry!” Sophia calls for him when she notices his arrival, “You really are a morning person, not that I doubted what you said yesterday.”

Harry chuckles at her honest statement, walking towards the kitchen counter where she is to greet her and make his order for a honey filled breakfast.

“Good morning, sunflower,” the pet name rolls off easily from his tongue, smiling in a bit of confidence at the way the omega visibly preens at it.

She surprises Harry further when she reaches over the kitchen counter to give him a hug, which he gladly accepts and truly basks in. This close to her proximity and her scent gland intensifies that floral and sweet honeysuckle and vanilla bean of her scent, going straight to fill all of the alpha’s senses.

“Morning, bunny.”

The syrupy tone of her greeting mixed with the use of her pet name for him, is the perfect concoction for Harry to almost groan in pleasure. The ‘bunny’ came from yesterday's conversation as well, when Harry shows him a few of his designs from his bunny designed sketchbook after telling her what he did for a living. That prompted her to ask him on how he does some of his sketches, and Harry can’t deny the kind girl of anything even this early on in their meeting and decides to bring out his bunny designed pencil case, containing his bunny designed colored pencils and pens, to do a short and easy live demonstration.

Obviously, Sophia notices the common theme of bunnies with his belongings, and Harry can’t even find it in himself to feel embarrassed when Sophia seemed very endeared and awed upon knowing that Harry didn’t mind (and actually really love) using them since it was a personal gift from his mom for his last birthday. And then the pet name stuck after that.

It’s crazy how it’s just day two of being just friends, and they already have their designated pet names for each other. Heck, Harry doesn’t even give specific pet names for his own friends or family members, Sophia is a definite special person to him if there’s not enough indications already.

“Feels good to prove you right,” Harry jokes as he rests his forearms on the kitchen counter, watching Sophia continue her baking prep business. “Something tells me you’re an early riser too, and that yesterday was just an anomaly from the ordinary.”

Sophia nods in a smile, the earlier liquid batter she was whisking has now formed to a soft dough, “Yeah, you’re correct. I like opening the bakery by myself, it feels just right to do so. Yesterday I wasn’t able to do it because I actually came from my parents house to pick-up more jars of honey for the bakery.”

Harry nods in understanding and interest. He’s acquired from Sophia that if he ever goes to Tesco or other commercial stores, he shouldn’t simply trust the shelved honey jars that are labeled ‘natural, locally-made honey’ because a lot of the time those big companies try to deceive their customers by placing such stickers on them without meaning it genuinely.

But if you go to The Hunny Pot, she can assure him that every variety of honey they use and sell is fresh, natural, and homemade. You can even ask her questions about their process of how they care for their bees and how they harvest the honey properly without harming the bees. It was highly informative, both for Harry getting to know Sophia’s passions, and that too of an educational level on the vital importance of bees in our ecosystem.

By the end of their talk, Harry shared that he was adamant to visit their family’s bee farm sometime in the future and learn how things are done first hand.

The omega didn’t turn down the idea in the slightest, she was actually overjoyed that Harry had expressed such thoughts saying that it was one of her main objectives in starting her bakery: to spread to others the significance of securing the propagation of bees while also sharing with them the benefits and tastiness of their honey.

If Harry wasn’t as hooked as before, the alpha’s certainly in deep now in whatever this pleasant thing that is brewing between them.

“Good to hear I’d be getting a hug in greeting from you every morning then,” Harry says in honesty, pointing a finger to a dimpling Sophia, “though I’m still holding to that promise of yours that I’d get to tag along the next time you make rounds to get a new batch of honey from your family farm.”

“Yes, I didn’t forget, don’t worry.” Sophia placates him easily, fetching a kitchen towel to wipe her hands with. “I’ll go get your order then?”

Harry dimples right back at her before nodding and moves along to the front of the till section of the kitchen counter to look at the aboved menu, written beautifully in cursive. His thumb and index finger raising unconsciously to pinch his bottom lip in thought.

“I think I’ll go for your honey pancakes again, with the honey butter. Though I’d like to try some of that cinnamon honey you recommended yesterday, and maybe a side of chopped bananas if you guys have some.”

Sophia dutifully types his order on the touch screen of her register, blue eyes gazing up curiously at Harry after, “What are the bananas for?”

Not a usual question to ask your customer, but Harry thinks they’ve established enough that it’s just not the route their relationship would stay at. They’re friends now at the very least.

“I just like bananas in general,” Harry shrugs conversationally, “but I do love some good banana pancakes for breakfast. And since you guys don’t have that specifically in the menu, I’ll just get it as a side.”

“I’ll just make you a separate pancake batter mixed with chopped bananas then.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.” Harry kindly dismisses her thoughtful suggestion, “don’t want to burden you with unnecessary extra work, bananas in a bowl is totally fine, unpeeled whole banana is totally fine too and I’ll just peel it myself.”

“Bunny,” Sophia giggles while trying to prep the ingredients for Harry’s banana pancakes because apparently his persuasive business skills does not work that easily with her, “it’s not a burden, it’s just banana pancakes, really. Plus, don’t even dare thinking that I’d serve my customer, especially a friend of mine, unpeeled bananas in a bowl. That just sounds utterly horrible.”

“Alright, if you insist then,” Harry surrenders with a grin on his face, “and sorry for insinuating something so horrific like serving unpeeled bananas, never again.”

“You better,” Sophia giggles while Harry watches her begging to crack eggs on a bowl, halting her movements with a measuring cup in one hand, “Oh, I didn’t get your beverage of choice.”

“Just some English breakfast tea, please. And maybe with a spoonful of fresh honey? What flavor do you reckon will match perfectly with it?”

“I think you’d like our peppermint honey, it gives a good cooling sensation to the taste of the tea. Plus, you smell like peppermint so I think you’d naturally like it.”

The pleased smirk that begins to form on Harry’s face is uncontrollable, especially when he sees the rosy tint that begins to develop on the apples of Sophia’s cheeks upon realizing what she had just said.

It is not uncommon nor rude to notice someone’s scent. In fact, it’s part of the biology of their secondary genders to find smells that either attract or repel them, these personal and unique scents were innate to them for this specific reason. It’s just that people nowadays tend to veer away from using scent as the primary reason to get together with someone, which in Harry’s opinion is just rightfully so. Basing one's commitment to the other just solely on their scent and nothing else, does not provide someone a comprehensive understanding of what they're getting themselves into.

Thus, it is quite rare in today’s time for someone to mention it straight to the face of someone, people preferably keeping it to themselves if they like or dislike someone’s scent. For Harry, he actually appreciates when people compliment his scent, not that Sophia just did but mentioning it in front of him without a face of disgust is a good indication that she probably does.

“So does that mean you naturally like vanilla beans too?” Harry cheekily replies in return, the faint gasp that leaves Sophia’s glossy baby pink lips is not unheard.

Sophia hums instead in lieu of a verbal response, “Mhm, I do love adding some vanilla bean honey on my tea, though I like green tea better than English tea.”

She swiftly prepares the batter of Harry’s banana pancakes, clearly attuned with her cooking skills as she does it quickly yet efficiently with refined moves. Harry thinks she doesn’t want to talk about scents anymore and begins thinking of other topics they can talk about while she’s cooking when the latter surprises him with a question.

“Did I make you uncomfortable?” Sophia suddenly squeaks, embarrassment coloring her face when Harry gives her a look of confusion, “Me mentioning that you smell like peppermints? I’m sorry if it did, it’s just that it was so prominent when I gave you a hug earlier and it didn’t seem to want to leave my senses that I just blurted it out so randomly. Now I think I just upset you, I’m so sorry.”

‘Hey, hey,” Harry softly says, walking to go behind the kitchen counter (cause he apparently can’t help his typically reserved self) to go beside her and hold her hands in his. Sophia looks more despondent when he does, thinking he would probably just go near her to berate her face to face or something absurd like that.

Instead, he coaxes her to turn her downcast eyes to look at him as he reaches for her delicate hands before he squeezes their now held hands reassuringly. She feels warm, soft, and tiny; his big paws absolutely cover her tiny hands. Harry’s breath hitches a little when the sweet little omega has to raise her head a little just to look at him, such a precious tiny creature.

“I’m not upset, sunflower, not even in the slightest.” Harry reassures the hesitant omega, he doesn’t know how but he can somehow smell the slight agitation and fear in her scent that has gradually changed from its really sweet note earlier, and he doesn’t like that one bit, keen to change it back as soon as possible.

“Are you sure?” Sophia says meekly, “Because I made the same mistake with my other friends before, like I mentioned their scents out of the blue but I didn’t say anything mean or awful and they said it was alright. But then I overheard them talk behind my back how they honestly thought it was a rude thing for me to do.”

She was frowning deep while remembering such moments, Harry feeling irritation entered his system upon hearing some twats that have the audacity to talk behind Sophia’s back and call the sweet little thing rude.

“Well they’re the rude ones for not being adult enough to say their true feelings in front of your face,” Harry replies with conviction, “Besides, scents are a big part of our biology, I don’t understand what’s so unethical about bringing it in a conversation. I personally don’t care when people do, I actually like it when people compliment it.”

“You do?” Sophia asks in a hopeful tone, as if seeking for further reassurance that she didn’t mess up anything which she didn’t (and never did, that’s for you twats who called her rude).

“Yeah, I do,” Harry nods, “I feel somewhat pleased that people can notice something so innate and unique about me and the fact it’s rare for someone to say that nowadays is something I can’t completely grasp, like it’s part of who we are as human and our secondary genders and we can’t take that away. If someone likes my scent, I honestly give them the free reign to say it to me, it makes me feel appreciated on some level, you know?”

“I like your scent bunny,” Sophia bravely replies, the alpha feeling a sense of enamour at seeing such confidence spring out from her when she was nothing but shy and apologetic seconds ago. “It’s minty and cool like peppermint, but you also have deep hints of sandalwood which is such an earthy scent that makes me feel warm all over at the same time.”

Although Sophia says this to him with her wide eyes trained solely on Harry’s green orbs, the latter can still detect her inner timidness through the unrelenting blush scattered all over her face now. Added with the shaky tone of her voice, Harry knows this is a novelty experience for Sophia, complimenting someone about their scent, and he’s right proud for her surge of confidence and honesty.

“You smell like honeysuckle and vanilla bean,” Harry notes, letting go of one of Sophia’s hands to place a fallen strand of her silky blonde hair, loving the way she tilts her head to follow the touch of his hand. “Just the perfect scent blend of sweet, creamy, and floral all mixed together so harmoniously that I almost feel like it’s meant for people to inhale and get addicted to. I definitely like it.”

A dopey smile graces Sophia’s features, she lets out a pleased sounding sigh, “Yeah, I agree”

“That you smell really good and perfect?”

“No,” she giggles, taking hold of Harry’s hand that had decided to linger on her face to thumb softly at her dimpled cheek, “That people should compliment others about their scents more, because it makes people feel appreciated. I felt appreciated when you said those nice words about mine.”

“And I felt appreciated when you noticed my scent earlier too,” Harry points out as a means to show her as a whole his earlier point of not being upset about anything, “So next time, don’t worry your pretty little head about things like that around me, I just want you to feel comfortable to be always honest with what you feel and think around me. I’m not going to judge, that’s just not who I am.”

Sophia nods her head in acknowledgement, “Likewise, I’m not a judgy person so you can be honest with me at all times.” and then she mumbles quietly just for Harry to hear, “I just want to be your good friend so I promise I won’t worry so easily and I’d just talk to you about what I feel.”

“You are my good friend already,” Harry doesn’t hesitate to tell her in earnest, not wanting her to think she has to bare her entire body and soul for her to gain a place in his life. In fact, Harry might be the one who will accidentally bare his entire body and soul to her with how much he already feels for her when they’re supposedly just friends. But that’s another thought for another day, he knows.

“Really? So you wouldn't need me to compliment your scent anymore to feel appreciated?” the omega quips in a teasing tone making Harry chuckle at her wonderfulness.

“I mean, if you want to, I wouldn’t be opposed to it at all.” Harry responds nonchalantly as if he’s not bursting at the seams with joy on the inside just thinking about the prospect of being blessed enough to hear Sophia say words of admiration for his scent every time he does his morning order because best believe, Harry will be returning here every breakfast until the foreseeable future.

“Okay.” Smiling innocently, the omega moves her head a little bit to the side and delivers a tiny peck on Harry’s thumb, the plumpness of her lips mixed with the sticky layer of gloss that makes her lips dazzle creates this sharp and enticing sensation within Harry.

He can’t believe she just did that, he can’t believe he just got a feel of her lips. Harry can’t fathom anything right now.

Sophia kisses his thumb once again for good measure, most probably not noticing the dazed look on Harry’s face and how her simple actions are causing an uproar of heavenly feelings within him.

“Alright, now go find a seat and wait for me to finish making your order. I don’t want you standing up so long here waiting for it when I like to take my time making everything perfect.”

Oh how Harry would love to take his time making her feel perfect.

But he can’t say that or else someone might actually be upset and he wouldn’t want that in the slightest. Instead, he lets go of his hold on any parts of Sophia (very reluctantly might he add) and tries to return her charming beam before choosing the nearest table to the side of the kitchen counter. A way to prevent himself from accidentally blurting out something he might regret while still being near the proximity of the omega.

As much as he would be totally content in coming to the cottage bakery to do nothing and just look and bask in Sophia’s magnificent aura, he actually really needs to continue with his lingerie sketching for his new collection. Granted that he has found his muse, it won’t magically make clothes appear out of thin air no matter how much people say love is the most powerful thing in the world. He needs to exert actual effort for his ideas to come in tangible fruition.

Harry allows himself one last interaction with Sophia when the latter serves him his breakfast, thanking her profusely for her kindness that she took the extra mile to actually make him banana pancakes when she didn’t have to. The ever-darling omega just waves him off with her delicate hand matched with the adorable craters on her cheeks.

It’s quite a good thing that shortly after, customers began to trickle in the bakery including her two beta workers. Harry sees the way the two omegas seemed surprised upon catching Sophia and him conversing again today and he makes sure to greet them a good morning so they can start slowly getting used to his presence here. Their lingering stares he also feels when he reaches for Sophia’s hand to give it a little squeeze of goodbye and talk to you later when she needs to go back to work and tend to the growing hungry customers waiting for their orders to be taken and prepared.

Sighing wistfully, Harry retrieves his needed materials to continue his sketch of the first piece which is the slip dress, smiling like a fool when he sees the prints of bunnies on his materials thinking how something so unimportant to him before suddenly has a special meaning to it now. Jesus, he really has it bad already and is yet to harness this newly found inspiration into something actually productive.

He looks at his unfinished sketch from yesterday, instantly deciding to change a detail in the bust area to add a little window-like opening to show some bit of skin like that of the front cut in Sophia’s mint green gingham dress that she’s wearing today. The lace trimmings on the cups of the dress, Harry decides to retain as he really liked how it looked on the omega’s outfit yesterday. But he chooses to add slits on the side of the slip dress and add the same white lace trimmings to it because he believes it’s the lacking factor from Sophia’s exquisite dress the day before.

It was a definite no brainer for Harry to make the back of the dress backless, with quite a low cut. Just imagining the stunning curve of Sophia’s back on the dress and how it would perfectly be accentuated by this sexy, yet demure style of slip dress, has Harry sketching her the dress in the first place.

Harry then proceeded to finalize the fabrics he would use, already bringing out his laptop to email his sewing team that he needs these specific textures and colors while also answering to other work emails that he can’t ignore just because he’s moved out of London.

Jeff (and Glenne because the two come in a package to always torment Harry’s life) will have his head if he concludes to leave his baby in London and find a new baby - like a literal one - in Cheshire. Harry had been seriously appalled when the two voiced that concern to him just right before he was making the move, like what, did they just think Harry would wed and bed the first omega he sees and fancies in Cheshire?

Well, when he thinks about it now, maybe his close friends are not that far off?

Putting that serious (and quite alarming?) thought away, Harry carries on with whatever work he needs to accomplish for today. The high of finishing his first sketch for the very first piece of his new collection, prevented the alpha from noticing how the time had just flown by past him. His work reverie only being broken down by a familiar cough that illuminates his positive energy even more.

He turns his attention to his side to where a smiling Sophia is standing, both hands clasped in her front, “Hi!”

“Hey,” Harry responds, not failing to notice the strawberry pink cardigan that is now worn by the omega and how the color would most probably look good on her lips as well, “What’s up, sunflower?”

“Well it’s lunch time already and I noticed you were so engrossed in your work that you might forget to take a break and eat if I don’t come here myself to ask for your order.”

Her natural caring instincts makes Harry beam, not being one to be subjected to such caring attention aside from his mother, “My bad, I really get quite into it when I’m working on something, especially when it’s a new collection. Sorry for making you stand up and all, let me just pack up a bit of my stuff before I head to the till to order.”

“Oh, no it’s alright, H.” Sophia cuts in, gesturing her arms for him to not stand up and start packing away, “It’s absolutely not a bother to ask for your order in your seat, I actually wanted to do it so you don’t get distracted from whatever your working on or get extra tired from coming up to the till.”

Harry wants to say that the kitchen counter is literally five steps away from where he’s sitting, but he finds himself accepting her natural attentive nature and thinks that the girl might feel bad if Harry just doesn’t accept what she had wanted to do for him as she had just clearly stated.

“Thank you, sunflower, very nice of you to offer me such luxury of being the only customer that the owner of the bakery comes up to and takes their order on their seat like some sort of alpha.” he jokes eliciting a laugh from himself and Sophia.

“Shut up,” a flushed Sophia says in a laugh, “And news flash: you are an alpha.”

“And alphas get really hungry,” Harry says, hands tapping his flat belly that he knows would growl in hunger any minute now, “What’s in the freshly baked menu today, chef? I think I need a good hearty one cause I honestly feel like I can eat an entire elephant-size amount of food with how hungry all that sketching made me feel.”

Giggling at his dramatics, Sophia begins to list down verbally the freshly baked honey goods for lunch. Harry must be completely hungry or tired because he zones out the entire time Sophia was talking, focusing only on the tuneful lilt of her voice making his mind swirl in a syrupy sweet orbit.

“So, what’s your pick?” Sophia excitedly exclaims, breaking Harry’s honeyed-out haze.

“How about you pick for me?” Harry replies in lieu of saying ‘I actually got lost in your beautiful tone so I didn’t understand anything you said, but you sounded really beautiful so don’t feel offended or anything.’

Sophia quirks an eyebrow good naturedly, “Are you sure? You might now like what I pick.”

“Nah, I can pretty much eat anything, sunflower. I think it would be good if you actually pick food for me to widen my palette because if it were my decision, I’d stick to banana pancakes every time. Breakfast was really marvelous, by the way. Thanks again for making it.”

Sophia accepts his answer and tells Harry to stop thanking her because it was really a no big deal. He lets her believe what she wants to believe because he’s a giving man like that as Sophia makes her way back to the kitchen to pick his lunch for him.

He thinks he made the right choice of giving her that power as he’s presented with five different kinds of scones that range from sweet to savory flavors that, of course, still have an element of honey in them. Harry had given Sophia a feign frown of repulsion at the meaning behind her serving him five scones like some sort of hungry animal.

“You did say you can eat an amount of food as big as an elephant earlier,” Sophia points out with a squinting of her eyes at him.

“That was me joking and exaggerating, it was not for you to think I’m an actual pig of an alpha who eats a lot of food.”

“There’s nothing wrong about eating, just enjoy it, bunny. And you’re not a pig, you’re just an adult alpha who needs more sustenance than the rest of us.”

“How are you so understanding?” Harry can’t help but say in awe.

Sophia shrugs her shoulders in a way that shouldn’t be cute but it is when she does it, “It’s just human decency, I guess. I’m not going to judge or criticize someone just because of the amount of food they eat, they’re not harming anyone while doing it.”

Oh what an omega of his own heart, Harry swoons with his cheeks dimpling in a smile, nose scrunching in his utter desire to keep this sweet little creature in his pocket to protect forever from all those other horrible people that don’t understand the vitality of practicing human decency like the two of them share.

Sophia leaves him shortly after to attend to a group of nans who wanted a refill of their teas (see, Harry knew the lovely little oldies would charm and steal all of Sophia’s attention away from him) as Harry begins to dig in the array of wonderful smelling scones in front of him. Not even a full 15 minutes and he devoured all of them.

So it might not be a surprise when Harry stands up this time to head to the till to order the honey cookies he absolutely enjoyed from yesterday to a smirking Georgie who was currently tending the register.

And maybe it also shouldn’t be a surprise that no matter all the ardent attention Sophia would give to all the nans in the bakery, Harry’s sure he’s the only lucky one who gets three extra honey cookies in his plate from the naturally caring and gracious omega that doesn’t care that he eats a lot.

*~*~*

The next few times Harry visits the bakery early in the morning, Sophia does not only make him his banana pancakes without prompt, but she also greets him in a warm hug like the perfect morning sun that lights up Harry’s day the moment he sees her radiating so bright.

They also made it a little fun game between them to choose for each other on what flavor of honey they would be adding in their cuppas. Harry only thinks it was a justified response for Sophia to join him in his morning cuppa with her cup of matcha after the omega had decided to be a little minx and placed lemon flavored honey on his tea. He can’t be the only one suffering with a highly unattractive soured face while she goes about having her fun.

Although Harry does not have it in his heart to add any repulsing flavored honey that wouldn’t match her drink. So call him a sap all you want but he rather appreciates to keep seeing Sophia’s chuffed expression for every sweet honey flavor he places on her matcha. Harry can have all the sour ones and you won’t hear him complain as long as Sophia remains to be the sweet little bee that she is like the white chocolate infused honey Harry chose for her that day.

Another new somewhat permanent feature that they’ve found in this routine of theirs is that Harry now always takes residence on the table nearest to the kitchen counter. He’s one of the first customers of the bakery every morning so the seat was always free. It’s not like he has ulterior motives for always picking that seat, like observing the way Sophia carefully transfers honey into her personalized mini jars with pastel colored bows, or how she has a specific manner of plating her honey creations that exudes a lot of finesse and precision.

Yup, Harry definitely did not pick the best seat in the house for any reason.

It’s a blessing that Harry is still able to work efficiently in the bakery regardless of the newfound attention and care he’s receiving from Sophia. It still takes him a second look on his watch to make sure he reads the right time whenever he realizes that the day is already half way done. This scenario happens so frequently that Sophia has taken it upon herself to just serve him whatever fresh baked goods they had that day for lunch without even asking him.

When it first happened, Harry was not only surprised but he also felt bad for once again not being present enough to check the time. The omega baker has told him quite a few times already how she doesn’t like it that Harry seems to forget about his health and well-being whenever he's too deep into his work.

Normally, Harry would retort that it’s really not the first time he has neglected lunch time when he has a new collection stewing, but Sophia’s narrowed blue eyes and downward curl of her lips is enough for Harry to concede and believe that skipping lunch today would exceptionally deteriorate his health.

So he really made it a mission of his to be more conscious of his time to not worry or upset the omega. But he’s yet again forgotten that time and now Sophia was now placing various plates of honey pastries for him like an entitled alpha.

That thought had bothered Harry thinking that he might have made Sophia feel like she needed to serve him food without him asking for it like some sort of autocratic and spoiled prick that’s just waiting for people to tend to him. His anxious thoughts were soothed by Sophia as she had made him sit back on his seat after the frenzied way he stood to apologize to her, standing between his parted thighs to cup both of his cheeks in her gentle hold.

“Harry, what are you talking about? You’re not an entitled prick so stop apologizing,” she said in a firm tone, thumbs gently stroking his cheeks as a little timid smiles curls on her glossed lips, “I wanted to serve you food because I think it’s the most sustainable way to do so since you always forget to take track of your time. And before you apologize again, I see that you’re trying to follow my requests of taking better care of your health for not eating late. I just think that the best solution is for me to just serve you your food without interrupting your work to ask for what you want when you just let me pick it out for you every time.”

When she placed it that way, it made complete sense. But Harry still felt bad regardless.

“I still feel quite upset though,” Harry confessed in a pout, “don’t want you ever thinking that I’m entitled of your hospitality like those other bigoted alphas. I’m not like them, I promise, sunflower.”

“And I know you aren’t, far from it, bunny,” Sophia replies softly as if talking to a stressed child, a little sigh escaped her lips and a rosy tint begins to bloom on her skin which got the alpha’s attention, “You’re not a spoiled alpha either, since it was my free agency to spoil you with my care and attention. I don’t think that makes you spoiled if I believe it isn’t.”

And Harry just about almost busted a knot right then and there. Almost, he said almost, don’t you worry he’s not really a filthy alpha.

Instead, Harry had looked at the omega like she was the most ethereal and unreal creature on this earth. A dreamy sigh had certainly escaped his lips a thousand times that day when Sophia had finally soothed him well enough to leave and continue her work while he pined from a far (it was only five feet away but semantics really) thinking how fucking blessed he is for having met the omega.

Harry might have said he feared that she thought he was spoiled, but he doesn’t feel any ounce of guilt when Sophia returns to his table much later in the afternoon, spoiling him further with a baby blue floral printed plate filled with his slowly becoming favorite: honey cookies.

When they had first conversed and Sophia had shared that these cookies were addicting and that she once ate ten of them in one sitting, Harry thought it couldn’t possibly be as addicting as her scent.

But boy is he wrong. On a regular afternoon Harry consumed eleven honey cookies. And in a particularly amazing afternoon where he was just feeling exceptionally ravenous, Harry had devoured twenty honey cookies in one sitting.

So the alpha is hooked not only by the enamoring aura of the baker omega, but that too of her amazing honey treats which if Harry doesn’t know any better, he would assume she places some sort of witch craft into her batter, no doubt about that.

At this point, it’s really just a cherry on the top of everything sensational when he feels Sophia take a deep breathe of his scent when they hug in the mornings (or at lunch as a thanks when Sophia serves him his food, in the afternoon when Sophia asks if he wants more honey cookies, or when he has to leave to call it a day; Harry’s not picky with their hugs) and then proceeds to compliment him about it because she somehow thinks he deserves to be appreciated so much more than he already feels in her company.

So maybe Jeff and Glenn are right to fear that he's going to be finding a new baby now that he has moved back to the countryside.

His baby sunflower.

*~*~*

It’s the first time in two weeks that Harry entered the cottage bakery after lunch instead of early in the morning.

The first thing he notices upon just a few more walks before he reaches the place, is the constant opening and closing of the door allowing the heavenly scents of baking honey delights to travel outside in the crisp England air. Harry feels something pleasant tug in his stomach, lips curling up in their own accord at the prospect of finally getting a whiff of a much more divine scent of honeysuckle and vanilla bean from someone pretty special inside the bakery.

The alpha politely holds the door open for a couple of people that are leaving the bakery, smiling politely at a few of them who he knows are also neighborhood people that frequent The Hunny Pot. Upon finally entering, Harry notices the lengthy line that has formed within the bakery, not at all used to seeing such organized chaos as his often shut out from his surroundings by this time in his favorite corner nook working away with his eyes intervally taking a peek on the whereabout of the owner of the shop to check how she’s doing.

Except today seemed to be of the normal kind as he notices that his usual table is currently occupied by three omegas upon nearing the front of the line in the till section. Technically, there’s no such thing as designated seats here so Harry shouldn’t feel put out about this, it’s just bloody seats. But he can’t help the little irked feeling that rises within him when he’s right beside that seating area as the line progresses.

First of, he feels the blatant stares the three omegas are throwing his way and he doesn't like that at all. Granted that his line of work in the fashion scene made it synonymous for him to be frequently ogled at, Harry does not appreciate it when it happens outside any fashion events, particularly in his neighborhood bakery where he’s supposed to feel comfortable and normal, not his public confident and somewhat cocky public persona as one of London’s most successful and well-known bachelor fashion designers.

But what really raises his hackles is their mixed scent that is now permeating his favorite space.

Harry does not want to smell anything in his usual corner nook other than the peppermint and sandalwood tones of his scent, and Sophia’s honeysuckle and vanilla bean goodness. Any other scent than that around his working space, repulses Harry. Well maybe repulse is such a strong word, but it’s definitely in the lines of complete distaste.

Harry’s frowning by the time he reaches the front of the line, already thinking of borrowing one of Sophia’s floral scented disinfectant spray to use later when the three omegas have left. He thinks that would at least reduce the scent of strangers without him having to tell the omega herself to scent his work nook like some sort of territorial nest.

He is so displeased by the idea of having lost the comforting smell of Sophia in his favorite spot that he does not notice instantly the look of pure worry on said omega’s face.

“Harry, oh my god you’re here!” Sophia exclaims far too loudly in the front of the register, surprising Harry.

His frown deepens when he smells strong tones of worry and distress in Sophia’s scent, expression going tensed and rigid at the possible scenarios that might have caused that change in her scent.

“What happened?” Harry finds himself asking without any preamble of a greeting, “What’s wrong, sunflower? Who hurt you?” The hard edge of his tone is not mistaken for anything but serious business.

Sophia’s eyes skirt to the side, Harry following the path of her eyes in quick succession which lands to the earlier aforementioned three omega ladies sitting on his spot. His nostrils flare in displeasure as he glances a look at Sophia again, only to see the omega biting her lip in some agitated tell with her wide blue eyes darting from him and at the table just near her side.

“Sunflower, tell me what they fucking did to you so I can make it better,” Harry says through gritted teeth. If his annoyance earlier was quite insignificant in some regards, well if the way Sophia’s eyes widen like saucers after he just asked that to her, Harry is starting to feel the furious protective alpha side of his seep through his veins alerting him of possible threat.

When Sophia remains mute at her stand behind the register with her mouth agape in shock, her scent still remains smelling of unease and panic, Harry’s jaw tenses harder with his fists curling up so tight that his knuckles are white. The fact that the normally communicative and honest girl has been left speechless right now, speaks volumes of alarm to the alpha.

“If you’re not going to say anything sunflower, I’m going to take care of it myself,” fueled by unbridled anger, Harry turns to make the short distance to the table filled with purpose, his willed force breaking in an instant upon the cry of plea from the omega that suddenly strains his ears.

“Alpha!” panic and distress drips all over Sophia’s voice, everything in Harry forgets all of his earlier anger just from that one word utterance from her.

“Don’t go,” the omega pleads in alarm, wide blue eyes casted with a glassy sheen, “alpha don’t leave me here, please!” her arms are outstretched as if she’s trying to reach for the angered riddled Harry without provoking him even further.

It’s one thing for Sophia to call on Harry when she needs help with lifting heavy things when she’s cooking in the kitchen, and a completely different thing when an omega calls for an alpha in downright pleading nature.

Harry has not moved faster in his life as he drifts back in front of Sophia, hands reaching across the kitchen counter to cradle her face in his shaking hold. He sees the way Sophia visibly calms down the moment his skin touches hers, the omega’s own hands clasps around his wrists in a tight squeeze, the contact anchors the two away from the swaying currents of indignation and worry.

With Sophia’s eyes closed, Harry is able to take a deep breath in an attempt to calm his relatively still agitated state, “Omega, I cannot simply be here to comfort you when I know you’re not telling me what they did to you so I can make everything completely better.”

Sophia’s eyes flutter open, panic no longer pooled around her irises though a tint of worry is still clouding over her blue orbs, “They didn’t do anything to me, alpha. You don’t need to fix anything anymore, just stay here with me.”

“Are you being truthful with me or you just don’t want me to cause a scene that’s why you’re not telling me what really happened?”

Before Sophia can reply to his firm question, a third voice breaks their little tensed cocoon.

“You’re already causing a scene, Harry,” Sabrina states matter of factly as she eyes the two with obvious concern, “Soph, why don’t you take Harry with you in the backroom for a few minutes so you can also take that rest I’ve been coaxing you to do since earlier.”

Little alarm bells hackles in Harry’s mind once again, “Why has she needed to take a rest since a while ago?” he asks in a deep frown, eyes turning back from the omega still grasping his wrists and the determined beta on her side.

“It’s nothing serious, Harry,” Sabrina exhales, “Alright, Soph, go take him in the backroom for the both of you to talk and calm down or something, Georgie and I will take care of the bakery first.”

Sophia nods in response, thumbs rubbing soothing circles on Harry’s wrists, “Okay, I’ll be back in a few, don’t worry.”

Sophia drops her hold on Harry, the latter already prepared for protests that all of his questions are being answered half heartedly as she rounds her way to go beside him. Harry finds it to be the perfect opportunity to train her gaze on the three omega suspects still sitting on his coroner nook, eyes hardening in warning as he looks at the three ladies that are now slowly turning pale around the edges at being subjected from such a heated stare of displeasure coming from an alpha.

“I suggest the three of you to tell me right now what you did to Sophia before I lose all my patience and start listing the reasons why it’s such a disgrace for omegas to gang-up on other fellow omegas like you don’t even know how hard it is already to be an omega in this society. Do you guys have no human decency for fucks sake?!”

Harry’s unrelenting and honest outburst is halted by the little hand worming its way on his balled up fists, tension slightly leaving his form in having Sophia’s anchoring touch back.

“Alpha, stop.” Sophia chastises him firmly, “I already told you they didn’t do any harm to me, you’re just scaring my customers away.”

Harry looks down at Sophia who is now starting to tug his hand in some sort of retreat, with a tone of disbelief he replies, “Well they should be scared of coming here in the first place with malice intentions instead of pure ones like everyone else. You’re not losing any customers if it’s the likes of them.”

“Harry!” Sophia loudly gasps in affront, “I said stop it already, you’re coming with me now.”

Harry allows her to drag him by his hand to the backroom if only for the incentive of finally getting full answers to his questions because in the end, Harry’s priority is Sophia’s safety and well-being and not to educate other omegas on why they shouldn’t treat others badly cause they should already know that for it’s common sense.

Although he does spare one last glance of warning at the three omegas that still have the audacity to stay in his corner nook, except now he can clearly see that it’s the last place they want to be in right now. Good, that should teach them a lesson.

“Stop looking at them,” Sophia chides him as they stop in front of a door with Harry’s head still turned towards the direction of the busy dining area of the bakery, “Alpha come on, focus your attention on me.”

Like a knee-jerk reaction, Harry’s gaze locks down on Sophia’s eyes, both arms wrapping around the omega as a form of complete compliance to her request. “Is something the matter, omega? What do you need my full attention for? Is something wrong, what hurts?”

Instead of the cry of hurt that the highly worried Harry is expecting, Sophia’s heavenly giggles are what is presented to him. “Why are you so worried? Such a silly alpha.”

Harry does not understand her strange reaction to his justified worried attitude when the omega has yet to divulge on everything that he had asked concerning her well-being since earlier. Nevertheless, Harry follows Sophia inside the backroom which he assumes is their little break room and office.

With a slight look around, Harry can tell that it still followed the same all white motif of the bakery with the added pops of pastels scattered around the room like the peach couch in the side and the pastel yellow iMac in one of the desks which he already knows without a doubt is Sophia’s. His little glance around is interrupted by the soft call of his name and sees Sophia sitting nicely on the peach couch as she taps the area beside her for him to take a seat.

There’s a little smile in her glossed lips that Harry knows is there as part of the means to calm his agitated inner alpha, but Harry finds himself shaking his head a little in refusal causing an instant downward tilt on the side of her lips.

Not wanting the panicked expression to return in Sophia’s features, Harry quickly replies with his excuse, “Omega, I do not think I can sit properly beside you without still having the slightest clue on why you looked so distressed and upset earlier. I need to be able to see you if you want me to remain calm.”

Harry runs his hands through his long curls as a way to lessen the stress he’s feeling all the way up to his fingertips, eyes finding Sophia’s pout on her comfortable seat on the couch.

“But I need you beside me if you want me to be calm,” Sophia rebuttals in a little whine that Harry in this high alert state cannot ignore no matter how conflicted he feels.

“Compromise, how about a compromise,” It’s not a question but more of a statement that Harry heavily breathes out, walking to shorten the distance between them as he stands in front of Sophia. The latter gives him a confused look before it morphs to one of understanding and relief when Harry slowly drops his bum on the floor and crosses his legs together in a comfortable sitting position on the floor. His big ringed hands grasping the omega’s dainty ones in a warm hold.

“My attention is all yours from here on out,” Harry strongly shares, “Now will you please let me out of my misery omega before I completely lose my mind out of concern over you.”

It might be a tad bit dramatic to say but Harry is genuinely serious when he said that no matter his natural flair of being a slightly dramatic diva. It graces an amused little smile from Sophia’s lips, gently tugging their clasped hands closer to her.

“I don’t understand what I have to say more for you to believe me,” Sophia softly replies, eyes falling on the glistening rings on Harry’s fingers, “I promise that those omegas earlier didn’t do anything to me, nothing at all. I really want you to stop being angry and worried over me for no reason, alpha.”

Harry sighs, not liking the sad tune of her voice for thinking that he doesn’t believe her, “Omega, I believe you but you have to understand where I’m coming from too. I entered the bakery today and saw you looking so worried for the first time since I met you. What made it worse is that I actually smelled the panic and worry in your scent which you know, I am very attuned to.”

Sophia slightly drops her head in a timid nature, “Okay, I get where you’re coming from. But as I’ve said, you don’t have to be so troubled about me even if I smelled of panic and worry, like it was because of a silly reason and not something so deep.”

Harry frowns, not appreciating the way she can just simply downturn her feelings as something silly and not worth of care and attention, “I don’t think it’s silly when you called for me in distress, cried for my alpha in distress.”

The redness that starts to bloom all over Sophia’s exposed skin matches quite perfectly with her pink square neckline dress, blue eyes peeking through her mascara coated lashes to look at Harry’s soul, “Was that bad? Did it make you feel uncomfortable?”

Give it to Sophia, the sweetest omega on earth who thinks Harry being called an alpha is something disagreeable that made him feel uncomfortable when in reality, it’s anything but that. Granted that it’s unusual for people to call others by their secondary gender if they’re not mates, since when did Harry pay close attention to following such unnatural societal norms that deprives people from accessing their inner, primal selves.

“Of course not, sunflower,” Harry assures her in an endeared tone, squeezing their intertwined hands in comfort, “it might have alerted my alpha on full protective mode but it also centered me a bit to focus my attention on your well-being and not letting my mind wander to ways that I can do to avenge you from your perpetrators.”

Sophia giggles at his wording, “Well thank jesus there weren’t any real perpetrators to avenge me for.”

“I know, but that doesn’t change the fact that you were downright distressed and I had the right to worry over you.”

And that’s the hard truth. Harry cannot simply be scolded for his earlier actions when his primal protective instinct as an alpha was brought out by a clearly upset omega. Harry thinks that Sophia might not know the magnitude of how he felt earlier to the point that he wanted to climb over the kitchen counter to drape himself all over her while his nose drops down to her scent gland to scent her.

Scenting is a way to stake claim over someone’s mate or as Harry wanted to accomplish earlier, was to scent Sophia as a means to release calming pheromones that can lessen her panicked state. Scenting strangers is a blatant scandal, while scenting friends and family members is also not agreeable in society. Now, Harry and Sophia are just friends, although they both know they’re pretty close (way closer) than normal just friends, that other people in his position would think it’s justifiable like the earlier situation for scenting to occur. But Harry is not like the others, his alpha who would not scent anyone without their consent regardless if the omega was frazzled and in clear need of calming.

Besides, they’re in this weird position of being way more close than usual friends but less intimate than a standard couple that Harry cannot just step over that invisible line that might blur everything all together. Call him cliché all you want, but Harry would rather remain as simply, a hundred percent just Sophia’s friend instead of stepping that line and coming on the other end scaring the omega away not wanting both his romantic love but also his platonic affection.

“It’s still embarrassing though,” Sophia mumbles almost to herself, quiet enough that Harry’s sharp alpha hearing came in handy this time.

“Then it’s okay if it’s embarrassing,” Harry conceded, “because it’s just me and when did I ever care if you’re embarrassing? All I want is for you to feel comfortable and truly honest with me, and that includes whether something is embarrassing or not.”

Maybe it should be a revelation in some form when Sophia whimpers audibly for Harry, tugging their touching hands for reasons Harry cannot understand.

“What? What do you want, omega?”

Another whimper leaves Sophia’s lips, although this time it has an added tone of annoyance like she can’t fathom why Harry is not complying to her. Well Harry can’t give her what she wants when she doesn’t ask for it verbally, a surprise yelp leaving him when Sophia launches herself at him almost toppling the both of them on the floor as she wraps both legs around his waist and arms snaking around his neck, Harry’s own steadying her position on his lap.

“Need to be held by you to say what happened,” she whispers in reply to Harry’s unasked question for her sudden movement. Harry just returns her hold, enclosing her little body with his much larger one in a tight but not suffocating hug.

“Alright, whatever you want, sunflower. I’m just going to listen here.”

“I still think it’s silly,” Sophia begins, resting her head on the crease of her arms that's atop Harry’s shoulder, “but in a nutshell, I was just really worried and stressed out when you didn’t arrive this morning like you usually do. I don’t know why I was so panicked but I’ve been really quite on the edge and agitated as the morning shift passed by to the point where Georgie and Sabrina noticed. It probably heightened even more to the point where you were able to smell it on my scent when you finally arrived. God was I so relieved when I finally saw you, that you’re safe and nothing’s wrong.”

Harry might just cry right here. He really wills any tears not to drop from the bubbling beautiful and amazing feelings he has inside from Sophia’s explanation that’s trying to spill over him.

Harry coos without any care in the world, hands affectionately running through Sophia’s blonde locks as he allows her to pull his body closer to hers like there’s even any space that needs to be closed between them.

“Oh now I feel awful,” Harry realizes as Sophia’s words finally make complete sense to him, “I was the cause of your distressed state, not those three omegas. That’s quite unkindly of me.”

Sophia breaks away from her little hiding spot near his neck to look at him, “No, don’t feel awful. It’s not your fault I got instantly panicked when you didn’t come in the morning like the usual. That’s so expecting of me that you always have to go to my bakery every morning as if you have nothing else to do with your life. It’s really my fault for worrying so easily, not yours, bunny.”

“Still,” Harry protests with a little pout, “As your friend, I should have said something before I left in the afternoon yesterday that you shouldn’t be expecting me this morning so you didn’t have to worry about me. I’m sorry, sunflower. It totally crossed my mind with all the work things I had to do in London.”

Sophia tilts her head to the side in a cute fashion, curiously asking, “London? So you went to London this morning?”

“No, I came home from London this morning,” Harry clarifies with a smile when Sophia reaches for one of his curly ringlets to twirl around her finger, squeezing her hip in fondness, “I drove to London yesterday after I was here the whole morning and afternoon. I fixed and started a lot of stuff in our office, and I even pulled an all-nighter to make sure everything's sorted with our on-going lingerie campaign.”

“Oh, I see,” Sophia nods her head in understanding, “I also pull some all-nighters sometimes when I’m working on a new honey recipe for the bakery, though I make sure I’m well fed and sustained for the strenuous activities. You had your dinner and a midnight snack I presume?”

Harry finds himself biting his bottom lip in slight guilt, knowing the next words that is going to come out of him will not please the omega who is now looking expectantly at him.

“I didn’t have time for dinner but my midnight snack was delicious,” he doesn’t miss the way Sophia’s blue eyes narrow in slight animosity for his answer, Harry thinks she’s not full-out chastising him for the fact that he at least had a midnight snack to keep him fed.

Or so he thought.

“Okay, but you did have breakfast this morning, yeah? And your lunch too cause you arrived at my door after lunch time already.”

When Harry just shakes his head in answer with a now full-on look of guilt covering his features, Sophia stops playing with his curls to sternly fold her arms in front of her chest.

“Harry!” She calls out his name in rampant annoyance, “Have you seriously not eaten your breakfast and lunch?”

Harry nods his head in answer, “I’m sorry, sunflower, it’s just that I was so tired from my all-nighter in the office and then I decided to drive back to Cheshire right after I finished all my pending work in London around 2:00 AM. By the time I arrived back home it was already 5:00 AM so I went straight to bed and slept without fixing any alarm. The next time I woke-up, it was already 1:00 PM. I didn’t really have it in me to prepare any food because I wanted to go straight here to see you.”

Although Sophia is still looking at him in a disapproving light, the little edges of her lips that’s slowly turning up tells Harry that he’s on the clear.

“How can I be totally angry with you when you’re going to end it on a sweet note?” Sophia huffs, trying to fight her smile to break her face, having a hard time to follow through when Harry begins to giggle at her adorableness. Her attempts were commendable in Harry’s opinion, but she breaks into giggles not a few seconds later which will always be a joy to hear.

“I still don’t like that you neglected your meal times for sleeping,” Sophia reminds him, trying to be stern, index finger pushing slightly on his chest for emphasis, “but thank you for not laughing at me when I told you the real reason why I got upset.”

Harry grins in pure tenderness, reaching for Sophia's little arms and wrapping it around his own neck to get her to hug him back again.

“How can I laugh at your reasoning when you also ended it on a sweet note?” Harry whispers to her ear before singing in contentment, “I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m positively beaming with affection right now. I don’t think anyone has made me feel so cared for and appreciated like this except for my own mother.”

Harry’s heartfelt admission leads Sophia to drop a little kiss on his cheekbone, Harry feeling the warmth of her gaze and the sweet stickiness of her gloss on his skin.

“Me too,” Sophia replies, eyes casted with a cloud of awe, “I can’t believe my omega called for you in dire need and that you responded so perfectly protective over it. Didn’t know that was ever possible.”

“Why not?” Harry frowns.

Sophia shrugs her shoulders, head tilting to the side in thought, “I don’t know, just never had someone who cares so much about me like you. And someone that I’d care so dearly in return too. I feel so many deep things about you that I can’t even make complete sense of them sometimes, you know?”

Harry knows. Harry fucking knows.

He might be reading this all wrong but he thinks this is the omega’s way of silently telling him that whatever they have is special, something way deeper than just being friends. His thinking of reply something in return that can help lead to proving his wishful thoughts right when something ruins the entire mood.

Something being Harry’s bloody betraying stomach that decides to growl in hunger at that exact moment. The two look at each other in surprise at the loud noise, before they laugh in unison at what just transpired.

“Time to feed that hungry stomach of yours if you want to keep on being all big and protective alpha on me. Can’t do that if you don’t have proper sustenance in you.”

If she puts it that way, how can Harry decline?

*~*~*

The first thing Sophia does after she’s asked Harry to help her in the kitchen to make the both of them some food (which Harry found weird because the omega rarely wanted his presence in the kitchen, usually shooing him away to wait and ‘sit pretty’ on his seat whenever he attempted to offer his help) is to cover her nose when they’ve reached his usual corner nook spot.

“Blech!” She reacts unattractively, “Why does it reek so badly here?”

Harry frowns, carefully placing the tray of their food that he was holding, down on the surface of the table. His nose works in its own accord to smell whatever it was repulsing Sophia but is left with nothing but the earlier scents of the three omegas that he wrongfully berated earlier.

“I’m not sure what you’re smelling,” Harry notes, pulling the single chair that Sophia usually sits on for her.

Sophia’s frown just deepens, one hand pinching her nose while the other is also covering the bottom holes of her nostrils, “It smells so strongly of roses and gardenia, yuck.”

Harry gives her a questioning look, thinking that Sophia had never told him she disliked said flowers, but shrugs nonetheless thinking that there’s so much more to learn about the omega which excites him.

“Yeah, it smells like those flowers.” Harry agrees, “I think the scent came from the three omegas that we're here a while ago. Which, you have to tell me if they come back here, hopefully I didn’t fully scare them away from ever going here again, so I can personally apologize for my wrongly accused actions.”

Harry’s about to take his seat on the corner seat, stopping abruptly when a now familiar cry of distress emits from Sophia, alerting his senses like before.

“No, don’t sit down,” Sophia asserts in full don’t-even-dare-think-of-disobeying-me attitude as she very reluctantly removes her hands on his nose in favor of scenting his corner nook seat.

Harry’s jaw is literally dropped as the scene of Sophia making her way around his favorite seat to thoroughly scent the area as much as she can unfold before his eyes. He clears his throat when he almost chokes on his own saliva that was trying to drip down his mouth as Sophia’s honeysuckle and vanilla bean scent began to strongly permeate his vicinity and all his bloody senses.

“What are you doing?” Harry asks, trying to find his voice from all the surprised emotions in him.

Sophia finishes scenting one of the throw pillows on the seat, eyes turning into displeased little slits like she can’t believe Harry even needed to ask why she was obsessively scenting his favorite spot right now.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m taking away those horrible scents. I don’t want our space smelling of others. Do you not want my scent here or something?”

“No! Of course not!” Harry rapidly replies to that awful thought, still caught-up on what the omega had just said that he can’t even reply to anything other than that.

“Good,” Sophia smiles brightly all of a sudden, “It’s not like I would have accepted any answer really.” she giggles so innocently like she didn’t just make Harry’s heart combust in ashes at her blatant claiming of their space, allowing only their scents to be contained in it.

“Okay! You can take a seat already, bunny.” Sophia claps excitedly, Harry moving on autopilot as he tucks her chair in when she sits on it, finished with her scenting spree, before he makes his way to sit himself. Though he is stopped once again by a hand on his wrist.

Sophia is looking at him demurely from underneath her lashes, “May you please sit down beside me today, bunny? Want you near me right now, please.”

Harry falls even more on this sweet honey-daze spell that Sophia has unknowingly placed upon him, finding himself nodding at her request while Sophia gleefully guides him to the seat beside hers with her hand now clasped on his own.

Harry does not know what was happening really, trying to catch-up with his wits when Sophia gives all of her attention to him like she’s never done before. As much as they are normally close when they’re together, they’re never this close-close.

Never has Sophia taken his plate of banana pancakes to her side of the table, never has she sliced it for him into tiny pieces, and never ever has she hand fed him the now tiny pieces of banana pancakes doused with cinnamon honey. Except she’s doing it now, fork raised in her delicate hold waiting for Harry to finish his bite to serve him another one.

It’s surprising but definitely not out of character for her as Harry knows how innately caring and affectionate the omega is. He watches on as Sophia takes a bite from his serving of pancakes with the same knife and fork she used for him, smiling fondly when even in mid-chew, the omega seemed to have her attention still trained on him as she reaches over his face to thumb away the little dollop of honey that have collected on the side of his lips.

“Why are you extra caring today, sunflower?” Harry can’t help but ask after Sophia happily hands him his glass cup of English tea (with lavender honey today) like it’s such a joy to be tasked with such.

“Nothing in particular,” Sophia chirps, attention focused on spreading honey butter on the croissant that they’re now going to share, “I just feel like compensating for the lack of time and attention I didn’t give you when you didn’t come in for breakfast today.”

Harry frowns at that, trying to not be instantly upset at what she had just said, “If you’re just taking extra care of me because you think you have to, please stop.” he whispers in a sad tone, “I don’t want you doing something nice for me just to compensate. I don’t want you to ever do that for me.”

Harry knows he’s pouting like a sad and neglected puppy, which he has every reason for upon knowing that Sophia is just being extra sweet to him because she basically feels like she just needs to compensate for something Harry does not know. It even saddens him even more thinking that he made the omega feel like she owed him something to compensate for to begin with.

“Oh, that’s not what I mean, bunny,” Sophia replies in slight alarm, hands frantically grasping the alpha’s hand that’s now nervously playing with his rings. “I shouldn't have said the word ‘compensate’, I think it’s a really wrong way of describing what I feel.”

Despite her remorseful tone, Harry doesn’t find it in himself to seek her apologetic aura. He lets her continue to touch his ringed fingers though provides no further look or response in her direction.

“Harry, look at me please.” Sophia requests with a gentle lilt in her voice, “Come on, I can’t correct myself to you if you’re not looking at me. Bunny, please.”

“Don’t wanna,” Harry stubbornly shakes his head in answer, feeling Sophia’s grip on his fingers tighten as she places his hand on her lap.

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to.”

“Stop being difficult,” Sophia lightly reprimands him, “I’m not going to give you honey cookies later if you don’t want to look at me right now.”

This catches Harry’s attention much more than it probably should, head raising up from its earlier crestfallen descent, yet still not turning his head to the omega’s direction and instead looks ahead on the other occupied chairs in the bakery.

“You can’t do that,” Harry replies, “I’m a paying customer so it’s illegal and unethical for you to not give me something that I paid for.”

“Fine,” he hears Sophia say from his side, not realizing until now how close they’re apparently sitting to each other as he feels her warm breath hit his jaw when she puffs out a breath of determination.

“I’m just not going to give you extra honey cookies then.”

Now that’s just pure evil in Harry’s books.

His head snaps to her direction, a satisfied grin falls over Sophia’s lips at her desired outcome. Harry only narrows his eyes at her, with no real heat behind them despite what he had hoped to convey, with his bottom lip popping out in a pout.

“Why are you threatening me when you already made me quite upset with your words?”

Sophia returns his pout with her own glossed one, “I didn’t mean to upset you earlier, that’s why I’ve been calling for your attention to look at me so I can apologize properly. Instead you decided to be a stubborn alpha.”

“Was not.”

“Was too.”

“I’m never stubborn.”

Sophia chortles uncontrollably, “I don’t think that’s a good argument to make while still having that stubborn pout on your lips.”

“Well I have full rights to be pouting right now when you just said straight to my face that you’re hand feeding me my favorite banana pancakes because you wanted to compensate for something that I apparently made you feel like you owed me for.” Harry’s stubborn pout turns into that of a saddened one, downcast eyes can’t bear to look at the unpleasant tinge in Sophia’s own eyes. “Frankly, that last bit upset me the most.”

“Oh, alpha.” Sophia coos in a soft wounded tone, closing the already non-existent space between them by enclosing all his blue melancholic energy in a warm hug, the omega practically sitting on his lap once more.

“I’m sorry that I made you feel that awful, bunny, not what I meant at all, not even in the slightest.” She holds his face so delicately on her dainty tiny hands like he’s such a precious cargo, sympathetic blue eyes captivating Harry’s downturned ones despite how much he doesn’t want Sophia to feel guilty.

“What I was trying to say, but failed to do so cause I’m crap at expressing my feelings to words,” a self-deprecating smile can be heard on her tone making Harry frown every time she views her wonderful self in a negative light, “but I’m going to try my bestest to still do so, cause that’s what you deserve.”

Harry doesn’t deserve her kindness, that’s the hard truth. Though the determination is clear in her eyes like Harry’s never seen before, hands on his cheeks slightly trembling in undeniable nerves making Harry instantly wrap a hold on her tiny wrists to anchor her like the little bit of solace she had given him earlier during his raging fit.

“What I’m feeling is that, there’s this deep foreign emotion in me that makes me want to be so attentive and caring towards you,” Sophia presses her thumb on Harry’s lips, sensing the rebuttal coming, “and before you even say anything mean about yourself, like that crazy thought you always have of you forcing me to do things, which you should stop by the way . Because that’s not what I’m feeling, I wanted, no I needed, to give you all of my attention right now and every dose of care I have in me. I don’t know what it is, but my omega just needs this.”

She finished with a nervous expression, plump baby pink bottom lip caught between her front teeth. It’s such an astounding thing to hear, that..huge thing she just said that Harry can’t still quite believe really left her lips.

It can definitely be said that no omega, actually no person, has ever been affected by his alpha to the point where it’s a necessity for the omega in Sophia to bestow him with utmost care, attention, and vigilance, because that’s what this all boils down to when Harry’s properly thought about it. It should probably scare him even in the slightest that he can apparently affect Sophia in such a profound way, tapping into a part of her primal instincts to essentially tend to his alpha. This definitely doesn’t affect any of Harry’s previous already culminating tremendously stupefying lovey-dovey feelings because how can it?

Yeah, he’s screwed, he’s done for.

Harry adoringly stares at the sweetest creature he’s blessedly fallen upon without any ounce of shame at his obvious dreamy gawking. With that being said, maybe he should change the name of his lingerie company now because there’s no way his baby can rival that of this girl’s honey personified nature.

He plucks a kiss on her thumb that’s still resting on his lips, preening at the way it results in a timid smile from Sophia, probably also reminiscing that first time she did that similar affection towards him back in the days where they had just first met like Harry is fondly thinking of right now. It’s crazy how close they’ve become in such a short period of time, both metaphorically, referring to their tight-knit bond as friends, and literally with the way they always find themselves almost attached at the hip when in the same place.

“If you put it that way,” Harry says in answer to her previous heart-swooning utterance, “then your actions don’t upset me in the slightest, makes me feel over the moon in fact that I’m apparently not the only one who has harboured such extensive emotions in this friendship.”

Sophia gasps in honest surprise, “You feel it too? Like these new, jumbled emotions that I don’t know what they are but they’re pleasant ones, are bubbling up inside my small body that sometimes feels so overwhelming cause the only time I can release them is when you’re with me, and I get to shower you with my emotions. Is that how it feels for you too?”

Harry laughs a loud one, positively sold with her explanation, “That’s a really brilliant way to describe it, sunflower, but I think it won’t work for me as I have a very much larger body than yours so my jumbled pleasant emotions are probably way more than what you just described, but it’s alright, I can carry on feeling much for you than you do.”

Harry’s teasing evokes another gasp from Sophia, this time out of offense.

“Excuse me?! You can’t just belittle my feelings like that! I have you know,” Sophia animatedly taps the button of Harry’s nose for emphasis, making the latter quite cross-eyed just looking at it, “I might have a tiny body cause I’m an omega, but that doesn’t equal how much I can feel inside me.”

“Yeah, sure,” Harry dismisses her with a light tap on her hip, “I still think it won’t compare to my naturally, smothering ways of affection.”

Sophia snorts at his confident words, “Who was the one feeding you pancakes and sitting on your lap right now?”

Alright, she has a slight point, Harry thinks giving that to her, “It’s because you haven’t given me enough recovery time for me to dote on you, as if your obsessive scenting earlier didn’t cause my heart to combust with so much emotions it’s surprising that I’m still alive.”

Instead of looking timid like Sophia would usually react after Harry mentions something that she has done in a teasing way, the sweet angel just smirks at him like it’s a regular thing that she does.

“What can I say, I guess you’re not the only one who has the ability to smother someone with affection,”

Harry thinks his heart just stopped beating all together.

“Sunflower, smother me with all your loving feelings all you want then.”

*~*~*

The next time Harry has to do another business errand in London, he’s made sure to message Sophia beforehand as for her to not worry about his safety and whereabouts like last time. It shouldn’t have taken them this long to exchange phone numbers, but Harry’s pleased to know that it still gives him butterflies of excitement when he makes a walk from his place to the bakery every morning despite their unrelenting exchange of text messages at the times that they’re apart.

By the time he’s arrived in the cottage bakery that afternoon after a late night in London, Harry frowns at the little piece of paper that is propped on his corner nook spot that he can see while waiting in the line to get his order. He’s not sure what that’s supposed to be, knowing that Sophia does not take reservations at her place.

When he’s right beside the table being second in line already, Harry gets a clearer look on the carefully placed baby blue paper on the table. His name catches his eyes in an instant, the familiar refined cursive not mistakable as well. Giggles of child-like euphoria bursts out of him as he notices the little drawn on bunnies at the sides of the paper, one of them holding a plate with a stack of pancakes and the other munching on cookies with it’s face admittedly filled with it.

“Good afternoon, bunny,” Sophia smiles brightly at him when he reaches the front of the line. Harry rolls his eyes good naturedly at her act of innocence like she just didn’t make his whole day by reserving his table for him in such a cute fashion.

“Oh come here,” Harry reaches out to hug the omega, the latter giggling as Harry coos words of gratitude in her ear while they take in each other's scents as much as a few seconds can allow them.

“You’re such a dear thing,” Harry says after letting go of their hug.

“Thank you,” Sophia tilts her head at the side while grinning at Harry, “I thought it was really clever for me to make the sign, so your spot won’t be taken when you arrive this afternoon.”

Harry smirks at finally having a stamp of validity from the owner herself that it really is Harry’s spot. Yeah, it’s the territorial alpha in him talking, what can we really do about it?

“You are very smart,” Harry agrees, “and creative too! I absolutely adore your little bunny drawings on the side, artistic masterpiece that one.”

Sophia unequivocally preens at Harry’s praise, “You did? That’s brilliant!” The omega claps her hand in surprised joy, “I didn’t want it to look boring with just your name, so I decided to spend a few minutes drawing two bunnies on them. Did you see what they were holding?”

Her excited tone is matched by Harry’s equally exuberant grin, “I did, made me extra hungry seeing my favorite honey treats on those bunnies paws.”

A giggling Sophia is always a sight, but a giggling Sophia who reaches over to gently grab Harry’s cheeks to squish together in a fish-looking pout is a total marvel with the way the omega almost purrs in delight.

“I know, I made sure to make one of the bunnies snacking on your favorite honey cookies with this exact adorable puffy face you have when you snack on them so happily.”

Harry can’t really reply properly with the way his face is squished together as Sophia continues softly murmuring indistinguishable words that he assumes is what she does when she pets adorable pets.

Is Harry annoyed that he might have been mistaken as an actual adorable bunny? No, not really. Sophia can definitely continue her cooing at him if he’s rewarded with her pleased little noises every time he scrunches his nose at her when she squeezes just a little bit harder on his cheeks.

Harry is basking in her smothering of affection.

*~*~*

It’s officially a month since Harry and Sophia have met and become the bestest of friends.

With that being said, Harry’s new lingerie collection is certainly taking a lot more of his time than he wants to with a lot more trips to London to guide and supervise his team with his first design.

Harry already knows that this upcoming collection would be the most dear to his heart compared to all the ones he’s done in the past. He is not going to settle for the next best thing in making his designs come true, requesting his head seamstress, Mitch, to create the first tangible sample of the slip dress using only the finest quality of materials.

At first, Mitch and Jeff had looked at him with surprise after he listed out specific instructions on how he wants this dress to be done during one of their meetings. To be fair, he’s never paid this close attention to detail to any of his other collections except his first one which is understandable since that collection would determine if he would make it or break it in the fashion industry.

Well it did make him and now he’s ignoring the raised brow Mitch and Jeff are giving him as he instructs them that he has to be alerted right away after the first sample is made. A very out of character thing for him to order when he’s done sketches in the past only to forget about them until Mitch rings him up to view it.

It’s good that his close friends don’t question him after their meeting, Jeff addressing his slightly unusual behavior but saying that he won’t question Harry this time around because whatever is happening with him, seems to be doing wonders for their upcoming collection. Mitch, always the quiet one, just taps Harry on the back in understanding of his requests.

That’s good, and Harry’s relieved he’s yet to explain the deeper meaning of this new collection and how his creative process involves the woman that just tilted the axis of his entire worldview in life into something more honey sweet.

That honey sweet thing is something he’s missing right now as focusing on his work in London also means less time in the sunflower’s whimsical cottage bakery. Harry’s past the point of ignoring the way he’s missing Sophia, bombarding the latter with lengthy messages of how he wishes Sophia was right there beside him to tell off Jeff who’s bullying him as per usual.

The omega replies back with short replies of how he should be kind to his best friend, choosing to reply to his messages of honest longing with pictures of her cat, Tilly, with edited effects of hearts in the background or tears on the gray fluff’s sapphire blue eyes. As per Sophia’s explanation after he admitted of being quite an old man with technology, not understanding the edited pictures as replies instead of normal, ‘ancient’ text messages using English words like he does, that it apparently means she’s missing him really bad too.

Harry is still confused as to what her cat has to do with the way they’re missing each other. But when Sophia sends another picture, now with her pouting face and blue wide eyes looking at the camera beside the cat’s similar expression complete with the cutely dilated blue orbs, Harry gets it now.

To: Honeyed 🌻: “So you look like a snuggly cat when you’re missing me that’s why you sent me pictures of Tilly?”

From: Honeyed 🌻: “Precisely! 🤗 But I look way cuter than her, right? Don’t worry, I won’t tell her your reply so she won’t get mad at you when the two of you meet.”

To: Honeyed 🌻: “Then it’s a definite yes 🤭 just promise no telling! Want to get along with your baby when I meet her.”

From: Honeyed 🌻: “I promise, bunny. Now go back to work and BE KIND to Jeff! Missing you still so much! 💛”

That specific exchange was two days ago, now Harry’s just coming up the corner to the cottage bakery to finally have some time with Sophia because they both really need it if those messages are anything to go by.

Harry really appreciates the slow and barely existing crowd in the mornings, appreciating it especially more right now as he enters the bakery with the little bell on top of the door signaling his arrival.

His breath absolutely gets caught-up in his throat as he watches in some sort of slow-motion sequence of Sophia twirls around to see the newcomer with her radiant blonde hair perfectly swaying along with her movement like a summer breeze just flew by in that exact same moment.

“Harry! You’re here!” she exclaims, far too bright and loud for such an early hour in the morning as she drops the rolling pin that she was using on the kitchen surface.

“Heya,” Harry grins, waving his right hand cheekily while staying put at his position near the door like he’s not itching to crash Sophia in a hug.

But it seems like he doesn’t need to worry any further as Sophia says in a still shock-ridded voice: “Oh my god!” and starts bolting towards him only allowing Harry a few seconds to stabilize himself when the omega evidently jumps on open arms, wrapping all herself tightly on his waiting and willing body.

“Bunny, you’re actually here,” Sophia murmurs still in surprise at his ear, “Oh my god I missed you so much, so so much.” arms and legs tightening around Harry making him bubble up with elation.

“I can tell, you literally have been saying the same phrases ever since you saw me.”

Harry’s teasing results in a little nip on his earlobe that is no doubt from the warm omega in his arms making him hiss, “Ouch, what was that for, sunflower?”

“You weren’t being very kind with my honesty, that’s why. Plus, you haven’t even returned my I missed yous.”

Without a look at her face, Harry already knows she’s pouting at him, “Yeah, that’s very unkind of me, huh?”

Sophia hums her agreement, nosing at his earlobe like a true snuggly puppy, “Very, didn’t appreciate it.”

Harry chuckles knowing that there’s not real heat behind her almost whining words, “I’m sorry, sunflower, was just joking like the usual silly ‘ol me, but I did miss you too. Truly missed you so much, my sweet honey treats baker.”

Like a Pavlovian effect, the mention of her honey goodies makes Harry’s stomach grumble in hunger. It’s not the first time it had ruined a tender moment between them (not only that one time in the backroom, mind you) so Harry no longer feels embarrassed about it as it only makes the omega dote over him by eagerly making him his special banana pancakes while making sure he stays still on his corner nook after they’ve chosen the flavor of the honey they would add to their morning cuppas.

Sophia leaves a featherlight kiss on his cheekbone while Harry raises his head a little to nose on her temple in adoration before they let go of each other. Of course, it must be understood that some semblance of togetherness must still be retained after missing each other so much these past few days, hands naturally intertwining together as they walk back to the kitchen counter.

In need of keeping their hands held, Harry follows beside Sophia on the other side of the kitchen counter where he usually isn’t allowed to be in. Heart beating fast at how domestic it looks and feels with them along together in the kitchen as no customers are present yet, nor are the two betas working for Sophia.

“What honey do you want to add to my matcha today?” Sophia asks him with that sweet little tilt to her head that Harry has definitely missed.

“Uhm, let me think..” Harry ponders, fingers pinching his bottom lip in thought.

Before he can even think properly, a furry gray blob suddenly comes out of nowhere and jumps on Harry making him yelp so loudly without a care of how he sounds.

“TILLY!” Sophia bellows in return as Harry feels the unmistakable kitten claws settling on his torso with his hands instinctively trying to remove the cat from his body as you never know when the sharp nails are coming in contact with his skin.

Thankfully, Sophia comes into the rescue to get her cat away from Harry, although without a fight as the usually cute and snuggly grey chubby furrball that Harry always sees on his phone, has suddenly transformed to an extremely angry looking kitten who’s continuously hissing at Harry like he’s offended her or something.

“What in the world was that?” Harry can’t help but ask as Sophia tries to calm down her cat who is still enjoying the scared wince in Harry’s features every time she hisses at his direction.

“I don’t know, I brought her in today so you two can finally meet,” Sophia turns to him with an apologetic look before turning to look at her cat again with a much stern expression on, “Tilly, that was rude, why did you do that to mama’s friend?”

She’s properly scolding the cat already in a way that makes her still sound like she’s just cooing at something, only Sophia can do that. But like earlier, Tilly just keeps her menacing little blue eyes trained on Harry, watching his every movement while hissing every once in a while when she thinks Harry is going to make his way beside the omega.

He does not know what he’s done to clearly upset the cat, but he kind of has an inkling to what it may be.

“I think it would be best if I take my seat already, it seems like she doesn’t want me beside you, or even near you.” Harry shrugs, trying not to sound too affected when in fact he kind of is.

This is Sophia’s dearest baby cat that she adores just as much as her affinity for honey and bees and everything pastel from her dainty little dresses to her soft to the touch collection of cardigans. So Harry believes it’s only logical that he wants her to like him, or at the very least, for them to get along.

But without even talking yet to the cat, she already decides she despises him to the point where bodily harm is about to be inflicted on him if he remains to be anywhere near her mama.

“What?” Sophia frowns at him, “That’s not true, Tilly loves everyone that’s kind, yeah baby? Harry’s kind my love, you wanna meet mama’s best friend? I thought earlier you were excited to do so when we were getting ready this morning.”

When Sophia motions for him as an invitation to be introduced properly, the cat stands up in alert from her cautious seat on the kitchen counter when she notices Harry nearing their way. Harry stops moving but Sophia calls for him again saying Tilly’s just stretching her little limbs so he follows along.

But now that Harry’s beside her, Tilly starts hissing so loudly again with her claws stretching out ready to pounce again. Except this time, Sophia instantly covers Harry’s front so the cat can’t quite pursue her motives.

“Tilly! What are you doing, young lady? That’s very mean, we never do that.” Sophia reprimands the grey cat much more firmly than earlier, her arms reaching behind her to wrap around Harry. “Harry is very kind, my love. We don’t need any of that rude hissing, and please put your claws back cause that’s dangerous.”

Tilly actually obeys her mother this time, though clearly still in alert and warry of Harry’s presence as she retains her untrusting gaze on him.

“Hey, Tilly, nice to finally meet you.” Harry decides to say with his chin perched on top of Sophia's head when the latter just kept on looking at her cat with a look of disappointment that the alpha decides he never wants to be on the receiving end of.

Staying true to her character, Tilly hisses in reply to Harry’s polite greeting making him laugh for some reason as Sophia gasps, sounding so appalled like her cat hasn’t been hissing at Harry this entire time already.

“I am so sorry,” Sophia turns around to properly hold Harry on his waist, head raising up to look at him in the eyes with an embarrassed light casting her beautiful features and a sad pout gracing her glossed baby pink lips. “I don’t know why she’s acting so mean today, and especially towards you that I always say only good things about.”

Hearing that makes Harry forget of the intimidating cat still looking at him, instead he places his hands on Sophia’s bare shoulders to rub it affectionately, “You talk about me to your cat?”

Sophia simply nods, Harry positively preening at this new information especially when she explains more. “Of course I would. You’re a very important person in my life just as much as she is.”

Harry’s face scrunches in that smile he knows Sophia’s quite smitten with, “Thank you, sunflower, you’re so cute when you’re being sweetly honest with me.” he pinches her cheek for good measure as Sophia giggles at his touch, “But I still think I should leave you here on your own before she thinks I’m beginning to become more important to you than her.”

“Well maybe you are,” Sophia innocently replies, making Harry gasp in shock this time at her apparent cheekiness.

“Sunflower, quiet down or she might hear you,” Harry widens his eyes comically, “don’t want her getting upset with me any further.”

“Alright, just because I don’t think I can be able to tend any of your scratches without crying if she does gets her claws on you successfully this time,” Sophia concedes making Harry chuckle at her specific reasoning, “but I still think she needs some sort of retribution for her very unkindly actions.”

“Maybe no special honey treats for her today?” Harry suggests.

Sophia puckers her lips in thought, “Yeah, I think that would be a good one.”

“Excellent,” Harry squeezes her collarbones fondly, “more for me then!”

The day goes on after that initial interaction (or lack thereof) and Harry’s quite down to report back that Tilly is still hostile towards him regardless of him doing basically nothing to cause such aggressive behavior.

Sophia has remained pretty cross with her cat all day as well, particularly when she prevents her from joining Harry at their corner at any chance she tries to have a word with him or to share their cuppa together. Claws and hissing and beady little frightening eyes always coming out like the usual routine every single time Harry even tries to look at the omega.

The busy afternoon rush puts a halt on Tilly’s threatening gazes at Harry as the cat chooses to focus her attention on Sophia like some sort of guard dog. Harry will certainly hire her for the job when there’s a need for it, that little grey furrball can be bloody scary without even doing anything. Harry can attest, he’s been on the receiving end of it all day now.

Similarly, Harry pays no mind to Tilly’s blatant hostility as he gets submerged in his own work related agendas. He spent the majority of the day answering emails from their main office in London, and the occasional matters he needed to attend to from their international branches. He’s also keeping a close eye on the updates from Mitch regarding the status of the fabric they ordered all the way from Japan as Harry had firmly stated it has to be that specific kind for his precious slip dress. It’s honestly quite a pain when Harry thinks about it, because the longer it takes for Mitch to make the dress, the prolonged time it would be for Harry to create his next piece for the collection.

Usually, he just sketches and sketches once the inspiration starts to flow but this time around, Harry is really taking his time to perfect everything. He can’t just start the next piece when the first one is made and he notices some needed alterations if ever his drawings cannot be translated that well in the finished fabric form of the dress.

Nevertheless, Harry doesn’t find it in himself to be that all worried as Jeff (and Glenne) has left his neck after reporting back with something really promising. They’re obviously under the impression that being back home in the countryside of Cheshire and much nearer to his mom, has probably propelled Harry’s inspiration back on track. Harry would just tell them the complete story once he’s settled with the fact that he can’t keep Sophia’s sweetness all to himself any longer

Harry’s fairly lost in his head regarding all these that it takes him in complete surprise and panic when he suddenly hears that already familiar (as much as he despises for it to be familiar) whine from the omega baker, a loud clattering of something falling on the ground follows after. Harry springing fast on his own feet ready to take action when he hears another whimper, now laced with an undertone of pain.

“Omega!” He all but says in alarm as he sees the sight of Sophia clutching the top of her chest where her collarbones are located in obvious pain, elbow propped on the kitchen counter as Sabrina and Georgie stand beside her with the first aid kit on hand.

“No, I’m alright. I don’t need any first aid, I think.” Sophia mumbles reassuringly to the two fussing betas who are trying to seek her injury. Despite the baker’s assurance that she is alright, Harry can clearly hear the underlying tone of discomfort in her voice as he situates himself near her.

“What happened, omega?” Harry asks in barely concealed urgency, eye raking up her form to check any signs of injury.

Sabrina and Georgie removed themselves from Sophia’s immediate side when the latter suddenly elicited a whimper of pain for Harry.

“Alpha, I dropped the pan that I was trying to place inside the top cupboard there,” Sophia whines pitifully, her glassy eyes raising up to look at the offending cupboards that is technically, really high for her to reach by herself without any help. “Now it hurts.”

“Oh, omega. What hurts?” Harry replies instead in concern, being cross with her for not asking for his help when doing such a futile task considering her short stature can be later discussed. Harry needs to appease the fretful alpha within him after hearing such unnerving noises from the omega.

“Here,” Sophia pouts at Harry with her dainty hands slightly clutching her collarbones, “it hurts here.”

Her wobbling lips and little sniffles is the last thing Harry registers before taking the last few strides to gather her in his arms.

Obviously, this entire chaotic ordeal made Harry forget of the omega’s little menace of a cat child that’s visiting the bakery today, the alpha only remembering when he feels the unmistakable sharp edge of her claws as Tilly scratches his legs when he had tried to close the distance between Sophia and him.

“Fuck!” Harry curses at the now positively growling cat who’s looking at him like he’s the perpetrator who caused her mother harm. “Stop scratching me, Tilly. I need to help your mother.”

The growling and hissing just keeps getting louder as Harry is forced to keep on removing the angry cat that keeps on latching on his leg, losing his patience when he hears Sophia’s sniffling become louder in obvious distress.

“For fuck’s sake, I have no time for this!” the deep, alpha timbre in Harry’s voice as he agitatedly removes the cat from his body, somehow stops the cat from resisting his ministrations.

Harry sighs in complete annoyance, hard green eyes staring straight to that of the undying fierce blue orbs of the cat, “Tilly, your mother is hurt and I need to help her, alright? So please stop trying to attack me. And before you hiss at me again, I didn’t do it. I’m here to make sure she’s going to be tended to and that she won’t have to be subjected to any harm again. I’m here to protect her just as much as you are. We’re both here to protect mama, alright?”

Harry doesn’t know what type of response he’s really looking for when talking to a cat, but he thinks that Tilly might understand the tone of his voice and the look on his face when all the fight in her rounded fluffy body leaves her. She wiggles out of Harry’s hold and stays put beside him, head turned towards Sophia’s direction, mewing.

Harry sighs in relief at whatever sort of compromise they have just achieved in that moment, finally turning his full attention to the silently crying omega to get that hug he’s been wanting to give her.

Sophia goes pliant in his hold, whining a little when Harry’s tight hold around her causes to strain her bruised collarbones, “Ouch, that hurts.”

“Sorry, I’m sorry. I was just trying to make sure nothing is broken.” Harry soothes her quickly, hands rubbing up and down her blonde hair in a comforting manner, “Does anything else hurt?”

Harry puts a little bit of distance between them, eyes intently focusing on searching her physique for any signs of other bruising, frowning deeply when he notices her right collarbone turning slightly purple from the impact of the steel pan falling on it.

“Nothing,” Sophia shakes her head while sniffling, knuckles rubbing at her eyes to stop the little streams of tears from falling any further, “I don’t know why I’m crying so much, I think I was just shocked at the loud noise. My collarbone hurts but not as much as when I accidentally cut my pinky open before.”

Harry groans, sounding like he’s the one in pain this time, “Omega, please do not start saying bloody things like that, I can’t take it.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to be bad,” the omega sniffles, Harry stilling for a moment and groaning again for a completely different reason this time.

“Not being bad,” Harry tries to say in a calm tone without sounding so affected by her choice of words, it’s inappropriate to feel the hot and burning little coil inside him right now. “Just clumsy and stubborn for not asking my help to reach a very high cupboard.”

Sophia just whines at the undeniable little chide in Harry’s statement, gently squishing her face to his torso in fear of being scolded much more.

Harry sighs, dropping a kiss to the top of her head, “We should go to the backroom, omega. I have to make sure you’re completely looked after.”

The alpha said his thanks to the two betas that have resumed working, reassuring them that he’d tend to any of Sophia’s bruises in the backroom while gladly accepting the first aid kit they’d brought out earlier. The omega baker still docile on his hold around her as he leads them back to the now familiar door of the backroom. He’s almost forgotten again of the watchful little creature that was standing beside him earlier until said cat does her familiar hiss when Harry almost closed the door on her face.

“Oh, sorry Tilly,” he apologizes, rolling his eyes after when the only response he gets is a snarl and a not-so gentle flick of the tail on his chin making him wince at her violent antics.

He forgoes any more cross words with Tilly and instead guides Sophia to take a seat on the peach couch as he prepares the first aid kit on the coffee table situated in front of it. Harry feels Sophia’s eyes watching him attentively as he’s forced to take his time arranging the content of the kit when the latter didn’t want to let go of one of his hands.

That’s perfectly fine for Harry as he’s quite adept now with using one hand for tasks having a lot of practice time whenever they eat together, the omega keeping their intertwined hands on her thigh as they feed themselves and each other with their remaining free hand.

Harry thinks he might even be an expert at this point with this whole doing task with one hand thing as no whines of pain leave Sophia’s lips as he carefully tends to her bruising collarbone with a soothing ointment. His eyes are focused intently not only on her bruise but as well as her facial features to see if he’s not hurting her by tending to her purpling bruise.

“All done,” Harry softly says, placing the little tub of ointment back on the coffee table before turning his focus back on the fortunately no longer crying omega. “What else do you want me to do to make you feel better, sunflower?”

Sophia’s quite red all over her face from her crying earlier, even the remaining exposed skin from today’s outfit of a lilac ribbed tube top is flushed with the same rosy-red tint. There’s no longer a downturned tilt to her lips, Harry making sure he’s wiped it all away with his gentle strokes to her face as he helped her dry her little tears earlier. but pouting is still a thing she’s exhibiting which tells Harry that she needs a little bit more tender affection.

“Cuddle on your lap, please, bunny?”

“Love, anything for you.” Harry honestly responds, slowly placing his hands on her waist to guide her down on his lap as Sophia expertly wraps herself on his toned body.

For the amount of times they’ve already done this sort of thing, Harry already knows the drill as Sophia tucks herself near his neck, resting her face on his shoulder where he rhythmically rubs her cheek on the silky material of Harry’s usual shirts finding comfort.

On the other hand, Harry brings his hands to rest on the omega’s supple love handles on either side of her slightly curvaceous physique, breathing in her sweet scent in utter contentment as he noses along her temple and her ear.

The serene calmness that they always get from cuddling like this is hampered today by the mewling neglected cat that’s now rubbing herself on Harry’s ankles, surprising him for a moment.

He looks down at Tilly without having to disturb the little peaceful and warm snuggle cocoon that Sophia and him are currently encased in, brow quirking in question when the cat continues to meow for attention without any aggressive actions being threatened at him.

“What’s it, Tilly?” Harry asks quietly as to not disturb the peaceful omega straddling his lap, “Your mother’s fine already, no need for those meowing sounds.”

Tilly quiets down a bit, although not completely as she continues to speak in the only way that cats can not allow Harry to bask in the silence of having Sophia in his arms.

“Do you want to join us, or something?” Harry asks again when the cat began to show signs of impatience at Harry’s lack of competence for being able to understand her language.

Tilly completely stops her pawing and meowing, head tilting to the side as she blinks at Harry in response.

Yeah, she definitely looks like her mother, Harry muses to himself in amusement while trying to stop the fond smile to escape his features as the cat has yet to apologize or stop her unjustified hatred towards him. No matter how adorable the grey furrball is, Harry knows not to trust her so wholly as there’s a fiery and despicable energy within her fluffy chubby body waiting to be unleashed with just one ‘wrong’ move from him.

“Alright, I guess you can join us,” Harry concedes, bending a little to pick Tilly’s waiting raised arms, “but you gotta keep quiet because mama needs to rest, okay?”

Tilly doesn’t reply and choses instead to paw his hands away from her once she’s on top of the couch with them. See, Harry knows he’s not completely on the clear yet with her abhorrent dislike for him.

“Okay, okay, geez,” Harry quietly says in surrender, “not going to hold you anymore but you got to stop squirming if you want to cuddle with us. I’m not going to leave your mama here just because you can’t stand being near me.”

If cats can roll their eyes, Harry’s sure that’s what he exactly gets in reply from Tilly as the cat huffs at him all irritably while squirming her body in between their sides with the majority of her resting on Sophia’s thigh finding the perfect comfortable position to cuddle in.

Harry sighs thinking of today’s turn of events when the peace and quiet is finally able to fill and permeate his entire system.

It’s a lot for just wanting to stop missing the honeyd omega, but Harry knows he won’t have it any other way, with the annoyingly adorable half-demon cat and all.

*~*~*

Harry’s everyday visits at the bakery certainly helps his relationship with Sophia cat child to develop a little bit better each time the omega brings Tilly with her.

By no means are Harry and Tilly suddenly besties after that one afternoon and the following days of being with each other. Though they’ve definitely reached a clear common ground on where they both stand in the omega baker’s life.

The two of them just want Sophia to be happy and safe all the time, that’s just that. So Tilly just needs to trust Harry that he won’t do anything that will harm or endanger Sophia, and she should remember that he’s not the enemy here. Harry has said time and time again to the cat that they’re here to work together to make sure her mother is always safe and protected.

Of course, no matter how conniving and threatening Tilly can be, she’s still a cat who doesn’t have the same rational as a human who can understand the English language. That’s why Harry is already starting to get used to the occasional hissing from Tilly whenever he feeds Sophia her favorite honey corn muffins, discerning that the cat might not understand his verbal reassurance that he’s not going to overfeed or choke the omega.

“Your patience with her is so commendable,” Sophia notes as she takes her afternoon break with Harry on his corner nook, her eyes reflecting fascination as she watches Harry try his best to pet Tilly only for her to squirm away from his big hands only to come rolling back again on his side.

She’s definitely starting to warm up to him no matter if she denies it, Harry thinks, turning to smile at Sophia.

“I’m also surprised at the amount of patience I have for her,” Harry admits, “I’m not usually one to tolerate rudeness from people, but I apparently can for pets. Plus, I kind of understand why she’s being mean to me in some way.”

Sophia accepts the tea spoon filled with today’s dish of honey and cheese soufflé that Harry’s raised on his hand waiting for her mouth to open, “What do you mean?”

Harry tuts at her actions, “Please don’t talk when your mouth is full, sunflower.”

Sophia smiles sheepishly at him in some sort of apology, finishing the spoonful that the alpha had fed her before curiosity struck back again within her as she eagerly asks Harry the same question.

“In my opinion, she’s just being territorial with her mother, which is you,” Harry points out helpfully with an endeared smile at Sophia’s adorable confused look.

“Why does she feel the need to be territorial over me when you didn’t even do anything?”

Harry shrugs, “She probably felt and thought that I was a possible threat. I noticed some similarities with her and alpha baby me. Because when I was a child, I remember being extremely displeased, borderline territorial for my mother’s attention whenever we went to parks or parties where there’s a lot of people that might take her away from me. I was a proper jealous and possessive mess back in my diaper days.”

Instead of the laugh that Harry expects Sophia to react with on his rather ridiculous story, what he finds instead is a cooing Sophia with a dreamy look clouding her doe-like blue irises.

“Oh my god,” she gushes, “you were surely a proper cutie back then, huh? Frowning like an angry bunny in pictures when Anne had to help other children.”

Harry giggles at her way of thinking, “I’m not sure if I was that cute but I can confirm that frowning pictures of me in my relative’s parties because mum wasn’t by my line of sight, definitely exists. Anne Styles is a very clever mother who will not throw away items like that in the hopes of getting me embarrassed in the future, and will probably take a picture of my embarrassed reaction as well.”

Sophia giggles a happy sound, offering Harry the last honey cookie on the plate, “I definitely have to see those pictures myself when you take me to her home for a visit. And I don’t think it’s embarrassing, knowing how cute you are today means you’re superbly cute before as a little alpha pup for sure.”

Harry just munches on his mouthful of honey cookies, lips curling up in exuberance at Sophia’s twinkling eyes while talking about visiting his mother and how cute she thinks he is. He’s definitely not turning pink up to his tiny ears, nope.

That’s a thing with them now, actually. Talking about plans, like tangible plans, normally monumental types of big plans like that of going to each other’s childhood home to meet their respective parents. Granted that specific intentions are present for the purpose of the visit, - Harry to learn about her family’s bee farm first hand, Sophia to learn how Anne makes her homemade honey soaps she’s quite fond of - it still can’t escape Harry’s mind that this is essentially ‘meeting the parents’ type of ‘meeting the parents’ nevertheless that they’re just best friends. It feels so much more than just that.

At these specific instances, it makes the alpha realize how much he views what Sophia and him have as something more than just platonic relations. He already knew deep inside him when he started conversing with her that very first day, that he kind of doesn’t want to keep it in the platonic realm once he gets to know her properly.

And that’s what he’s been doing the past month, what they’ve been doing all this time. They’re already the bestest of friends (sorry Jeff) right now without any question.

Harry was quite clear with himself that he wasn’t going to come in strong with his not-so platonic intentions in the beginning of their friendship as to not scare the omega away from how forthcoming and intense he can be. Harry hasn’t really done this ever, this entire serious relationship thing, that’s why he’s also cautious with his words and actions not wanting to hurt in any way just because he’s inexperienced in this regard.

But no matter how he tries to keep it in himself, his deep affection towards the omega just ends up unfolding in one way or the other if it wasn’t already clear how much unknowing control Sophia’s omega has on his alpha and vice-versa. The rapt caring attention, affectionate words, electricity zapping touches and the warm cuddling and scent inhaling hugs, are just the tip of the iceberg of how connected their inner energies are.

And it might be wishful thinking, but he really thinks it’s not, that Sophia might share the same aims as him. She’s a naturally timid and gentle soul no matter how friendly and bubbly she seems, that Harry most of the time feels that Sophia’s just waiting for him to make an actual move on her, too shy to start the conversation herself regardless that they both don’t believe that it’s always supposed to be the alpha that should ask the omega out on a date.

It’s just a matter of time, is Harry's resolve to this situation at all the times he’s taken a time to think about it.

Just a matter of time before he shows his complete and unyielding devotion to the omega.