Burn

The morning was warm and the sun was bright as Rae used her hand to shield her eyes, walking out to Harry’s car. She stopped in her tracks and frowned, looking to see Lily waving in the back seat, which really puzzled her. This morning they were going on a date, and here Lily was, sitting in the back.

In the drivers seat, Harry shot her a large grin, leaning over and opening the door from the inside. Rae slowly got inside, giving him a narrow-eyed look before turning around and greeting Lily with a large smile, reaching back and squeezing her thigh.

Turning back around, she examined Harry, who was smirking to himself as he began to drive. “Is kidnapping my little cousin all a part of you grand plan?” she asked him, focusing in front of her. “And did my aunt just let you take her?”

“Of course she did,” he replied, turning onto a road and leaning back into the seat, completely relaxed. The pop station was on in the car, something he never listened to. Rae realized it was for Lily’s amusement. “Your aunt love’s me, despite what you may think.”

“Hmm.” It was true, Lily’s mother was rather fond of Harry, mainly because the little girl was completely enthralled by him. It was nice, to have Lily so excited about someone. “I suppose I’ll have to warn her about you.”

“Yeah?”

She grinned. “Yeah.”

Rae relaxed, letting Harry drive where he was taking them. It turned out he was taking them to the park, which made her smile. Lily surely loved the park, and they always had the best snack foods there as well.

Getting out of the car, Harry took responsibility of scooping Lily up, preferring to carry her even though she was totally capable of walking. Harry always liked to treat the girl younger than she really was, a fact which made Rae laugh constantly.

“You spoil her,” Rae teased, poking the younger girl in the sides and making her laugh. Lily buried her face in Harry’s neck, making him smile. He looked extremely happy, whenever he was with the little girl. He had become her family, of sorts. “It’s okay, I do too.”

The trio walked throughout the park until they arrived at the part where a playground was set up. Harry told Rae to wait a moment, and she did while Harry took Lily to the playground, going down the slide with her and laughing wildly with her as he chased her around.

Rae watched from the bench, her eyes following their every movement and her lips curving into a smile. The way he interacted with her was beautiful, and she could just imagine the father he would make someday. But he had to fix his anger first.

Just yesterday, Harry had gone to his first meeting for anger management. Though he came out slightly frustrated and shaken up, he said it was different than he would have thought, and he was willing to give it a chance. Rae had been extremely proud.

When Lily made a friend with one of the other girls, Harry left the small girl to her own devices, trotting over to Rae and sitting down on the bench next to her, tossing his arm around the back of her lightly. He wasn’t holding her into his side, but it was clear by the way they sat that they were together of sorts.

“You adore her,” Rae commented, not stating it as a question. She looked at Harry, whose green eyes were focused on the little girl. He nodded. “Of course, she does that to many.”

Harry shrugged. “She reminds me of a girl I once knew that lived down the street,” he explained, smiling when Lily went down the slide. It made Rae smile too. “We used to play together. But she never had a good family, and when they moved, I knew in my heart she was going to grow up with parents like mine. I guess I just… want to make sure Lily has lots of people in her life.”

Rae touched his hand lightly, drawing his attention to her. “You really never fail to surprise me, you know?”

He grinned and leaned towards her, placing a kiss on her cheek. “I know.”

*

Dr. Richard Bastian had never expected to see Rae in the park from afar. On the contrary, he had only gone there for a morning run, though he did not often. Slowing his pace, he saw Rae sitting on a bench- he knew her head of hair any day. His eyes then wandered from his daughter to the tall boy that he knew instantly was Harry.

At first, Dr. Bastian had it in his mind to go over there and break them apart. But then he swallowed that reaction, a puzzling look coming over his face as Harry climbed up onto the slide area, and it was then that he realized Lily was sitting in front of him.

Watching in absolute shock, for thirty minutes, Rae’s father stood there, watching the way the Styles boy interacted with his six year old niece. For a long time, he had never thought that someone like Harry could ever show a gentle side to him. With Lily, Richard could see that Harry was gentle and then some.

Astounded, he continued to stare as Harry joined his daughter on the bench. Though he could not see Rae’s face, her postures and movements were something he had grown to be familiar with.

Loathe as he was to admit that he may have been wrong, he began to see how happy the two were together. It did not matter how hard he tried to see through it, how hard he tried to see around it, he could not deny in his heart that sitting there on that bench, the two of them were the happiest people in the world.

Licking his lips, he slowly made his way towards them, his footfalls heavy and with purpose. He felt very ashamed, and slightly abashed, knowing what he was going to say as he walked over there. It was very difficult for a grown man to admit he was wrong. But it was even harder when it was to your child.

When he was close enough, Rae’s father cleared his throat. She caught the sound immediately, turning to face him. Her eyes, so much like his own widened and a crease went through her forehead. “Dad?”

He hesitated for a moment before he found his words. “Morning, I was going for a run… and… saw you.” His eyes then moved onto Harry, who was looking at him with a blank expression. He did not seem angry, and he did not seem uncomfortable. He simply looked like he accepted the way things were, and he wasn’t going to push it. “Morning, Harry.”

Both Rae and Harry blinked in surprise. “Morning, Sir.”

“Lily seems to be very fond of you.”

He smiled a bit, nodding. “Yeah… I think she’s fond of me.”

“Well, she has a very good sense of character. I assume she gets it from Rae. Certainly not me.”

For a moment, Rae and Harry hesitated. But then a huge grin spread across Rae’s face, when she understood his words of acceptance. The light that lit up his daughter’s life in that moment, was brighter than he had ever seen.

Rae looked at Harry, and the look of fondness and love that washed over her features was something Richard had only seen once. It was when his wife had looked at him. Like everything else in the world could be on fire, as long as he was okay. That’s how Rae looked at Harry. And that’s how he looked back at her.

The feeling of his wife’s absence throbbed for a moment, as he watched the two young adults exchange words without speaking. He had once known what it was like to be that in love. But he knew that deep down in his heart, this is all he could ever want for his darling girl, for the one thing that brought him great joy in life. He wanted love for her, someone who would fight for her.

Richard knew that Harry Styles would love Rae until the end of his days. And that was enough.