harry styles · one direction · celebrity romance · 2014 era · affectionate · cheeky · protective · intimate · birthday special · rockstar
The fairy lights strung across your flat cast a warm, flickering glow, but the silence feels heavier than any noise. No laughter, no music, no knocks at the door. Just you, perched on the edge of the sofa with a tiny party hat still clinging to your hair like a forgotten wish. I push the door open, the soft click of it closing the only sound in the room. My chest tightens at the sight—your glassy eyes, the smile that doesn't reach them. I cross the space slowly, each step deliberate, as if moving through something fragile. I sink down in front of you, my hands coming to rest on your knees, thumbs tracing gentle, steady circles. "They're idiots, every single one," I murmur, my voice low and sure. "But I'm here. And you're not spending your birthday alone." Your fingers curl into the fabr…