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0nlythrowharrybeaux · 4 months

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Wonderful World - Part 20**

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! Thank you for your patience it's been a very wild few weeks for me. But thankfully everything is back to normal:) I hope you guys enjoy this one, it's getting close to the end here!

Wonderful World masterlist

Warnings: Potentially angsty themes: racially insensitive remarks, discrimination, mentions of conflicts regarding coming out. Smutty themes: fingering, oral (male and female receiving), multiple orgasms, size kink, unprotected sex, coming inside.

WC: 15.6K

Celeste had been quite overwhelmed the last couple weeks. With the end of the semester, winter concert, and the musical all happening right after the other she was very busy. Diana also had a rather busy end of the semester. One of her fellow faculty members got COVID and was out of commission for the rest of the semester. Since Diana had the lighter class load after teaching the most over the summer, she had been contracted for extra hours to take over those classes for the last 2 weeks. This meant that Celeste and Ben were spending most of their time between Harry and Grace. Like tonight, this professor had one evening class and it was their final, so Diana had to stay until the final student turned in their exam. It had also been Celeste’s final dress rehearsal for the musical, so she wasn’t free until 6pm, which worked out great with Harry’s schedule. it was nearing 8pm when the last person was submitting their test to her.

“Here you are, professor.”

“Perfect, have a great break!” She smiled with enthusiasm and the young man smiled and returned her pleasantry before hurrying out of the class.

She quickly texted Harry that she was just going to drop the exams off in her office and head out. Harry informed her that he was cooking spinach and chicken risotto for dinner and that Celeste was almost done with her homework. With a rumble in her tummy for what Harry was cooking she was quick about her last tasks and was soon on the way to his place.

When she arrived at Harry’s and rang the doorbell, Celeste was quick to open the door up. Immediately, the delicious scent of Harry’s cooking wafted out towards her.

“Wow, smells amazing!” Diana smiled as she took another deep breath as Celeste hugged her tight.

“I know right!” She agreed and Diana kissed her cheek quickly.

“Did you finish your paper?”

“Yeah, Harry reviewed it too. Said it was really good.”

“Oh great!”

“Mhmmm.” Celeste hummed happily snd guided her over to the kitchen.

“Hey, Di!” Harry greeted with a bright smile, “Hope you brought your appetite with you.” He said happily and she smiled upon seeing the little clip holding his longer strands of hair secured and out of his face. He was wearing an apron and had a towel draped over his shoulder.

“Oh, I sure did.” She assured and he chuckled, “It smells amazing.”

“Thank you.” He hummed happily as he turned back to the stove.

“Do you need help with anything?”

“Maybe just get the parmesan out of the fridge?”

“Oh sure.”

“Can I grate it though?” Celeste asked and they both said “yes” simultaneously which caused them all to chuckle.

Diana washed her hands first and then went to grab the cheese and get it out of it’s packaging before locating the grater and getting a chunk of it in there as Harry finished up the risotto. In about ten minutes Celeste was hurriedly clearing the table of her school stuff and then feeding Misty as Diana putt down their placemats and utensils while Harry served up the food and Celeste went around and added everyone’s desired grated parmesan. Soon enough they were all sitting down with steaming hot plates of the spinach risotto and gorgeously grilled filets of chicken breast resting beside that.

“Alright, dig in!” Harry announced and with that everyone started to eat. Harry liked to do this thing where they talked about the low and high points of their days, he mentally did it on his own just to practice gratitude, but it was nice to do it with others. So when he learned that Diana and Celeste generally talked about their days over dinner anyway (Celeste said that it was mostly her talking though) it was easy to introduce that into it the first time they had a meal together. And now it had been about hours dinners together in the last two weeks and well they all liked this format most because it gave everyone a chance to share. Celeste had mentioned to Harry that she loved it because it made it feel like they were their own little family. After they had each made a good dent in their meal she was first to bring up the topic.

“Okay, so highs and lows! I can go first!” She said and both Harry and Diana nodded and gave her their attention. “Mmmm, the low was that I heard some of the background girls saying something about me before rehearsal…” she mumbled, “But the high was that dress rehearsal was perfect so it didn’t bug me anymore.” She said excitedly.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Harry asked her with concern before Diana could even jump in and Celeste nodded.

“Yeah, it was just stupid gossip…nothing like before.” She assured them both, “I swear.” She insisted and Harry and Diana glanced at each other before she smiled at them.

“Alright, but just know if you need to, you can tell us anything, yeah?” Harry asked and Celeste nodded with a smile, “Good. Di, do you wanna go next?” He asked and she nodded.

“Sure. So my low is that I didn’t finish grading my exams before having to sit through some presentations this afternoon so I’ll have double grading tomorrow.” She said and Harry grimaced a bit, “Yeah, I have a big class and so does Gladys so it’s gonna be a big task.” She sighed, “Anyway, my high is this meal. It’s literally perfect, I love risotto! Thank you so much for this Harry, I needed this tonight.” She smiled at him and he went a little pink in the cheeks.

“Of course.” He responded quietly.

“You next.” Celeste said to him and he cleared his throat.

“Yeah…ummm, the low was that apparently the insurance company I’m trying to be a provider for “lost my application” or something like that. So just another set back in that department.” He explained, “And my high is also this dinner. It’s nice to get to spend time with you guys and not be alone. Especially after having a less than ideal day.” He explained and Celeste was beaming from ear to ear.

“I really enjoy this too. It’s nice to be able to process through our days with each other.” Diana added and this made Celeste’s smile even bigger.

“Me too. We should try to do this at least once a week! A little family dinner!” She suggested and Diana smiled at her.

“I would certainly make time for that.” Harry chimed in.

“Can we, mom?” Celeste asked with puppy-dog eyes.

“Yeah, I’d like that too.” She smiled at her and then at Harry.

“Perfect, we’ll figure it out for next year, yeah?” Harry asked Celeste and she nodded eagerly. “Oh ummm, also I was thinking, maybe after the musical we can have a little wrap party for Celeste here?” Harry said and Celeste gasped.

“Yes! Yes, please!” She begged and Diana chuckled.

“Here? Are you sure?” Diana asked Harry and he nodded.

“Yeah. We can cater in from that Italian place we went to after her spring concert? Invite her friends, the hot tub is out there, it’s not going to be too cold Thursday. And ummm, we grown ups can ummm, just have some down time?” He suggested.

“Yeah, we can talk about it in a bit. See how much I can help with and contribute.” She said and Harry nodded.

“Yes!” Celeste cheered, “Can I tell my friends tomorrow?”

“Yeah, of course.” Harry smiled and with that Celeste was on a high for the rest of the night. After they had a bit of ice cream for dessert Celeste moved over to the living room to study a bit for her Geometry exam the following day. Diana and Harry cleaned up a bit and it so nice to have this little taste of domesticity.

“OK, so for this wrap party…how many people should I expect?” Harry asked as Diana washed the dishes and handed them over for him to dry.

“Ummm, it’ll be five with us three, Grace and Henry. Her three main people. I would say Ruben and his girlfriend. Maybe Ben’s parents and also Vincent. I think we should invite Geri’s mom and Ozzy’s mom just in case. Also Ozzy has a little sister, so if the mom comes so will she.” Diana explained.

“OK, so we can plan for like 20/25 people.” Harrys said.

“Yeah, sounds good. Thank you for that, I hadn’t even thought of that. I’ve been a little overwhelmed the last few weeks.” Diana explained, “Let me know how much I ought to contribute so that I can get that to you right away.” She said glancing to him.

“Actually, Damian and I have it covered. He feels awful about not being able to fly back for the show so he recruited me to help him out with this.” Harry said and Diana sighed and turned to him with a knowing glance.

Damian wasn’t on vacation for Christmas until the 19th, that was when he flew back from New York and he would be staying with them until the 13th of January. He always went above and beyond when he missed things for Celeste. Usually he plotted with her, after all, she was his sister and Celeste was her kid so she was ultimately responsible for her expenses. Harry had always been very generous with them, especially over the last few weeks that she’d been caught off guard with all these new tasks. In her eyes, he had done more than enough for her and Celeste with that, so him pitching in to throw Celeste this little wrap party felt like too much.

“Harry, I have to help in some way.”

“You will, you can help me by…hmmm…” he said pensively and she chuckled.

“You guys already have everything ready don’t you?” She asked and he grinned and shrugged.

“We got excited…” he explained and she smiled, “She’s lucky to have you guys. Thank you.”

“Of course, love.” He smiled.

“Ummm, are you heading out for Christmas?”

“Actually my parents are coming out here this year.”

“Well would you guys want to have Christmas dinner with us?” She asked and his eyebrows arched up in excitement.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, I think it goes without saying that…that we love having you around. Just these last few weeks have been so wonderful and like…I mean, you know I appreciate it, but Celeste does too. A lot. And ummm, I think Christmas without you wouldn’t feel right.” She smiled.

“It’s so nice to hear you say that. I was thinking the same thing.” He confessed with a smile. “Wanted to see how we could manage to do something over the holidays. I talked to them about you and Celeste quite a bit, so I know they’d be really pleased to meet you.” He said a bit bashfully and she tried to hide her excited smile, but couldn’t help it.

“Well, I’d be delighted to meet them as well. I know Celeste will too. Have your parents been to Disneyland?” She asked and he shook his head.

“Probably not since I was a child and we went to the one in Paris. As great as it sounds, it’s the worst one.” He said and she hummed.

“That’s surprising…Well, I haven’t used my tickets discount this semester so I still have it. We can go do that? Doesn’t have to be all day. Maybe in the afternoon/evening so they can see the fireworks and the parade?”

“My mum does love fireworks…” he said and she smiled.

“Great! I can buy them tomorrow if you know what dates would work? When are they flying in? Can choose a day bit further down so they’re not too exhausted. How long are they staying?”

“They’re gonna be coming from a conference in Seattle on the 21st, so right after Damian.” He shared, “I can call them tomorrow morning and figure out if they would prefer to do it before or after Christmas and let you know?”

“Yeah, perfect.” Diana agreed.

“Also, it’s not lost on me that we’re due for a date. I was hoping I could steal you away this Saturday afternoon to go see The Nutcracker?” He asked and her eyebrows arched up, “I’ve always wanted to go see it.”

“Oh my god, me too! Yes! Yes, let’s do it!” She agreed quickly.

“Do you think we should bring Celeste and Ben?” He asked her.

“As much as I love my child, I’d like to have some time with you, just us.” She said. “Yeah, alright.” He agreed with a smile.

“I’m sure they’ll have some sort of plan now that they’re on break from school.” She said and he nodded.

“I like him…Ben.” Harry said as she handed him the last plate and she smiled.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. He’s so polite and kind and thoughtful.” He said and Diana nodded, “I see how he talks to Celeste and how he treats her as well. He’s far more mature than I was at his age to be honest.” He chuckled and Diana smiled.

“So seal of approval?”

“Definitely. Ruben too, they’re great kids.”

“Yeah, their parents did an excellent job.” Diana smiled and he nodded.

“Mom!” Celeste suddenly rushed into the kitchen making them both turn to her quickly.

“What is it?” She asked her right away.

“My calculator stopped working, we need to get a new one for the test tomorrow!” Celeste said with a bit of panic.

“Bring it here, you might just need new batteries.” Harry said to her and she smiled and hurried off to get it. She was back in moments and Harry looked at the little screws on the edges and smiled. “Perfect, I knew I didn’t buy that tiny screwdriver kit for nothing.” He said with a grin and Celeste smiled as well, “I have a container of batteries in the right compartment of the sideboard with the TV on it. Hopefully I have some that fit.” He said and Diana nodded and Celeste followed her while he went off to look for the screwdriver set. She located the container quickly and brought it back to the kitchen with Celeste in tow.

“Ummm, Harry and I were discussing some plans for Christmas. His parents are coming to town so I’ve invited them over for dinner-”

“Oh my god, yes! Yes, that’d be so cool!” She grinned excitedly and Diana chuckled.

“Great, just running it by you. Also, I think we might do a Disney trip with them, they’ve never been. Do you think Ben would want to join?”

“He can’t, they’re going up to Mammoth for Christmas and won’t be back until New Year’s eve. I was invited but I don’t know about skiing or snowboarding…I don’t know how and I heard you can get hurt really badly.”

“Yeah, that’s true-”

“How can you get hurt badly?” Harry asked as he came in with his glasses on his face and a little black pouch in his hand.

“Doing snow sports.” Diana said and he nodded.

“Oh, I knew a kid in school who went snowboarding on holiday with his family, like they always did, and in order to avoid an accident he ended up crashing into a tree trunk! He quite literally broke his entire face. Fractured skull, nose, jaw…he had to get implants because he lost basically all his front teeth and even had to have his nose rebuilt.” He said as he opened up the little pouch.

“Well good thing I declined the invite. I don’t want to break my face…” Celeste said lowly and Diana glanced to Harry as he looked up to her and then to Celeste.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, sorry. It was on a more advanced run, so for people who are doing this regularly or professionally-”

“Like Ben!” Celeste added with a tone of concern and he offered a bashful smile.

“You don’t have to worry, I’m sure he’ll be fine. That accident was a fluke.”

“All accidents are! That’s why they’re accidents.” She pointed out and he sighed.

“Sorry. But his dad is a firefighter and EMT and his mom a nurse, so I’m sure they’ll ensure he’s being as safe as possible.” He reassured her and she sighed.

“Yeah, I hope so.” She mumbled.

“We got on this topic because I was asking if I should count Ben for our family Disney trip.” Diana explained and Harry smiled a bit as he was grabbing the little screwdriver and then Diana glanced over to Celeste who was smirking. “What?” She questioned them both.

“Nothing…I’m excited to meet your parents, Harry. Are they as nice as you are?”

“Definitely.” He agreed with a smile and Celeste grinned.

“Mom, we’ll need to do some Mexican and English traditions so that we can learn about each other’s cultures!” She said as Harry screwed open the back of the calculator.

“Well, Mexicans celebrate on the 24th, that’s why we always do everything the night before. Traditionally there’s a piñata for the kids and then we open gifts at midnight. My family never really was too religious, but religious families will go to the midnight mass or to some mass the following day. And then it’s the recalentado.”

“What’s that?”, “What does that mean?” Harry and Celeste asked at the same time and she smiled.

“So literally translated it means “the reheat”. So we have the leftovers from our Christmas dinner, technically Christmas Eve dinner I guess…and uh, we’re just with the family for the day and then go home and that’s it. Each family might have their own little things, but in my family it was just that. I mean, if anything your uncle and I can make some traditional food, just a bit for everyone to try? Maybe we can get a couple little fire works, we did that too. I’m sure your uncle would love that…”

“Please! And tamales! I never get tamales!” Celeste said and Diana chuckled.

“You try making them then. Such a hassle…” Diana said to her and she and Harry chuckled.

“I can help!”

“Oh, you will. I mean, it won’t be so bad considering there won’t be many of us. But there are superstitions about it, like you can’t be angry while making them or the dough won’t fluff up right. They also say no men in the kitchen because the tamales will surely burn because the men are too distracting.”

“Because we’re too handsome?” Harry asked with a grin as he got the backing off of the calculator. Celeste chuckled.

“Actually it has more to do with men being too needy I think.” Diana grinned and Celeste chuckled again.

“Yeah, our kind does tend to excel at weaponized incompetence, doesn’t it?” He chuckled as he turned over the calculator and dumped out the batteries.

“What’s that?” Celeste asked with some confusion.

And well, Harry then launched into this entire spiel about what weaponized incompetence is and how to identify it all while he searched around for a corresponding battery for Celeste’s calculator. She was nodding along, completely captivated by what he was explaining to her, occasionally looking up from the task at hand.

Watching Harry be able to joke about but then turn it into a teaching moment really made Diana love him all the more. He was so gentle as he explained things to Celeste. He was patient and answered all of her questions, like she did. She knew it would get harder and harder to be patient and work up to telling Celeste about how she felt about him. Sure, right now she was in favor, but if she told her that they loved each other she would realize that this had started long before she instigated anything between them and that worried her just a bit.

It was around 10:30 when they’d gotten to their house and Celeste had followed Diana to the kitchen. Diana liked to have tea before bed, it helped her relax.

“Want some, mamita?”

“Please! Want to get good rest for the test tomorrow.” She said and Diana smiled and nodded.

“OK, I’ll bring it up to you, yeah?”

“Yeah, thank you. I’m going to shower quickly.” She said and hurried up the stairs. Diana looked in the fridge to see if she could pack anything for her and Celeste’s lunch tomorrow, but considering she hadn’t been cooking a lot this week there wasn’t much. With that she made their teas and was heading up to Celeste’s room. She went and set down her own mug and mag before heading back to Celeste’s room and knocking a few times.

“Come in!” Celeste called back.

Diana opened the door slowly and then made her way over to Celeste’s bed. She was getting settled in when Diana set the mug down on her bedside table.

“Feeling good about your test tomorrow?”

“Yeah, especially now that the calculator is fixed.” She said. “Ummm, mom earlier when you were telling us about Disney you referred to it as our family Disney trip. That’s why Harry and I were smiling at each other.” She explained and Diana felt her cheeks warming up with a blush.

“Oh…well, it is our family. I mean, us and uncle Damian-”

“And Harry.” Celeste added and Diana smiled.

“Yeah, he’s…basically part of the family now.” She said and Celeste’s smile widened. “Are you nervous to meet his parents?”

“Why would I be nervous?” Diana asked. She was, she was so nervous!

“Because it’s nerve-racking! I’m nervous!” She confessed and Diana smiled.

“Don’t be, mamita. They’re going to love you.” Diana assured.

“I hope so.” She said and Diana hummed.“Ummm mom, tomorrow night, can you help me straighten my hair for the musical?” She asked and Diana looked at her with confusion.

“You don’t want to wear it curly?” She asked and Celeste sighed.

“That’s what…that’s what I heard the girls gossiping about in the costume room. Obviously, the other girl that got the call back is…she’s not…she looks the part, I guess.” Celeste sighed and Diana frowned as she heard Celeste say this. “And she was telling her friends that Dorothy isn’t black so that she hoped I at least did something to flatten my ugly hair for the real performance.” She shared with a frown and hurt in her eyes. Diana felt her own eyes welling up because it hurt to hear this. But this wasn’t a time for her to break down, she needed to focus on Celeste and to be there for her as she struggled with this racially discriminatory commentary that had been intended to hurt her feelings.

“Listen mamita, first off, Dorothy Gale is a fictional character. She is however we imagine her to be. But more importantly, Dorothy is more than just a little white girl, she represents anyone who has ever felt like they’ve lost their way. She’s courageous, strong, good-hearted, compassionate, and so determined! Much like someone else I know.” Diana smiled and Celeste did as well, “And if your teacher wanted to cast based on looks then that other girl would’ve gotten the part. But she didn’t, you did. I’m sure your teacher saw a lot of Dorothy in you and that made you the best choice to portray her. It’s not about how you look, it’s about the way you connect to the role.” She explained and Celeste exhaled and nodded as she tried to just listen to what her mom was saying, “Now, if you really want me to help you straighten your hair for the show because it’ll be easier of more comforbtale for you, I will. But I think that you portraying Dorothy exactly as you are would be the best move. Dorothy wouldn’t change for anyone and she certainly wouldn’t be discouraged by a couple of jealous and gossipy girls.” Diana said and Celeste bit her lip and sighed.

“You’re right. I don’t want to, I just…thought that maybe if I did people would focus more on the acting instead of the fact that I’m not…white.” She said and Diana nodded in understanding and reached for her hand.

“I get that. I’m sorry that people think that way and that it’s made you doubt yourself. And look, I know I’m your mom and in a way I feel a lot of your pain and concern and anxieties, but I will never truly understand the things you will go through as a mixed race woman and that pains me so much. But I promise you that I will always be here to share that load with you, that I will listen to you, and remind you of just how incredibly powerful you are. And you have so many people who love you and see that and who wouldn’t have you any other way.”

“Thank you, mom.” She hummed with welled up eyes.

“Oh, come here.” Diana sighed and Celeste crawled out of her sheet to hug around Diana tightly, “You’re going to be phenomenal. I love you so much, sweetheart.”

“I love you too.” Celeste responded happily. They just hugged for a few more seconds before they both pulled back. “Thank you.”

“Of course, mamita. Now, get some rest, okay? Big day tomorrow.” She said softly and Celeste nodded.

“G’night, mom.”

“Night, cariño.” Diana responded softly.

*********

Celeste’s musical debut was tonight and it coincided with Diana’s final presentations for her class. She would be making it in time, but she did want to get showered and changed for it. So Grace had picked Celeste up from school and got her home so that she could shower quickly before heading right back to school. Her call time was 4:15pm and the musical would start at 5:30, so they needed to move quickly. Diana had even honked at grace as she waited at the light to get out of their neighborhood and called out a “break a leg!” to an excited Celeste who had basically crawled over Grace’s lap to peer out the window and greet her. Harry had offered to pick Diana up so she was just confirming that he would be arriving at 5pm like planned before she got in the shower; they wanted to get there early to get good seats.

Diana was excited and nervous for Celeste. Obviously, she’d do a great job, but she couldn’t help but be a little concerned, especially after what Celeste had mentioned to her about those girls earlier in the week. It was just a high school play, but when school is your whole life something like that feels like the end of the world and obviously, this girl was still upset at not being cast in the leading role. She hadn’t realized the time until her phone started ringing beside her and she saw Harry’s name on her screen.

“Hey!”

“Hi, I’m outside. I texted since I’m a little early so if you’re not ready-”

“Oh no, I’m ready.” She responded, “Sorry, didn’t see your messages. I’ll be out right now.” She said and hung up. She had been waiting in the kitchen so she hurried out and locked up before making it out of the gate and into the front seat of Harry’s car. “Hi.” She smiled at him and he smiled back.

“Hi, you look very pretty, as usual.” He complimented before turning back to the steering wheel.

“You too.” She responded and they both chuckled as he took off.

“Sorry.” She said and he chuckled again and he reached for her hand and she let him take it. It didn’t take long for Harry to feel her leg bouncing up and down nervously.

“Are you nervous for Celeste or are you doing a surprise performance I don’t know about?” He asked her and she chuckled.

“I’m just a bit nervous for her.”

“She’s going to be great!”

“I know she will be but…the other day after we came back from yours, you know how she mentioned that she had heard some girls talking badly about her over dinner?”

“Yeah.” He confirmed already feeling some dread for whatever would come next.

“She…she asked me to straighten her hair for tonight because the girl who didn’t get the role of Dorothy said something about her hair being ugly because she wasn’t white.” She shared and Harry frowned as he turned to her briefly.

“What the fuck?”

“Yeah, she was sad about it and felt that if she didn’t straighten it for the performance that it would take away from the play because all people would focus on was the fact that she wasn’t white like Dorothy was in the film.”

“Did she?”

“No, I talked to her about Dorothy’s character and strength and how obviously her teacher saw more of Dorothy in her than in the other girl. If it had been about looks rather than talent and ability then he would’ve just cast this other girl instead. She seemed fine about it after that, but ummm…I’m not. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but what if this other girl tries to do something t-to ruin her moment? Like in Carrie! I mean, she worked so hard!”

“I see your point, but baby, it’s going to be fine. I think if this girl wanted the role that bad she would’ve done something to sabotage Celeste a long time ago. But if it’s going to give you peace of mind I can talk to the teacher when we get there, yeah? Mention it to him and just remind him of how she had been bullied last year so that he takes it seriously, he can have a look around the stage, yeah?”

“OK, yes. Please. Thank you.” Diana smiled at him and he nodded.

“Of course.”

“Did Celeste give you your ticket?”

“Wait. I needed a ticket?” He asked her and Diana’s eyes widened and then he chuckled and she scoffed, “I have my ticket. Right in here.” He said and slipped it out of the breast pocket of his jacket while they were at a stop light.

“You’re the worst.” She mumbled and he smiled.

“You need to relax a bit, love.”

“I am trying…I really am.” She mumbled.

“We got balcony seats right?” He asked and she nodded, “Good, told Damian I’d record Over the Rainbow for him.” Harry said and she smiled.

“That’s sweet of you.”

“I know.” He smiled and she chuckled.

They arrived a little after 5pm and Harry grabbed a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the backseat before they headed inside. There were three other people in the line to buy tickets. Thankfully, they had already bought Grace and Henry’s tickets beforehand with Celeste. One of the students was designated for repurchased tickets and once he returned the stub to them assured them that the usher at the steps would guide them to their reserved seats.

“So you’re Celeste’s parents?” The girl ushering asked them when she saw their ticket stubs.

“Yeah.” Diana smiled as she guided them up the stairs. This made Harry’s heart flip a bajillion times a minute because he did feel like her parent. He had no idea if Diana just didn’t want to bore this child by explaining that he wasn’t or if she actually did feel that he was her parent in some way, but either way it made him so happy.

“She killed it in rehearsals! She’s going to be so good!” The girl said and they both smiled and thanked her quietly as they. Made their way into the auditorium, “I think you guys will be really proud of her.” She said sweetly as she guided them back down to th eedge of the balcony. “These two are you seats. You can only save one seat per person, so up to two seats for you guys if you’re expecting anyone else.” She informed.

“Perfect, thank you.” Diana smiled and then the girl headed off. “Ok, here’s my coat and my bag to save the seats for Henry and Grace.” She said handing the things over to Harry who set them down in the tow empty seats beside him.

“Do you still want me to go find the teacher?”

“If you wouldn’t mind. Just for my peace of mind. His name is Mr. Hadley.”

“Of course. I’ll be back soon.” He said as he swiped his thumb over her cheek and then hurried up the stairs and out of the auditorium before going back down to the hallway. He asked the girl ushering if he could speak to Mr. Hadley and she nodded and guided him back stage through the band room. Everything had been moved aside to allow room for little vanity areas. Just the last couple students were getting their make up done. She guided him through to this empty hallway that served as the path from the band room to backstage.

“Wait here, I’ll go find him.” She smiled and hurried off. As he waited around silently he could hear people warming up their voices further down the large hall and he tried to pick out Celeste’s voice from the group, but it wasn’t an easy task. Just moments later Mr. Hadley was walking briskly behind the girl and she offered Harry a smiled before hurrying back out to her post.

“Hello, I’m Ken Hadley, the drama teacher. Mallory said you’re Celeste’s dad?” He asked as he extended his hand.

“Yeah, sort of.” He chuckled, “Ummm, I just wanted to come talk to you because her mum mentioned something to me that Celeste shared had happened earlier in the week that’s causing her some concern.” Harry said and his brows furrowed, “I don’t know if you’re aware that Celeste was bullied very badly last year?”

“Yeah, I did hear about that. Did someone do something to her?” He asked immediately.

“It appears that one of the girls is upset that she won the role of Dorothy and Celeste heard her making some racist remarks. Things about her hair and how she’s not white so she shouldn’t have gotten that part.” Ken frowned upon hearing this, “She just shared this with her a few days ago and so now her mum is a bit worried, given her history with bullying that one of the girls might try to retaliate in some way or try and set her up. I know that it might seem like a stretch but given the way they humiliated her on social media last year-”

“No, she has every right to feel concerned. I think I know who that might be and I will certainly speak to her about what she said before we start, but we can do a walk through of the stage if that would make you feel more comfortable? Most of our backdrops are one dimensional so those are fine ummm…we can look through her props as well, just to ensure there are no prank items or anything.”

“Yeah, of course. Thank you so much for understanding.” Harry said and Ken nodded and had him follow him down the stage. The stage hands were already busy finalizing the set up for the opening scene. And he had them look through all the levers and turned on the stage lights so they could look up at the scaffolding. There was a gate to get up there to change any bulbs on the lights, but it was locked and only the head custodian had the key. They looked in her props and everything was in order. “Well thank you again so much for being willing to give me a walk through, Ken.”

“It’s not a problem. I was bullied a lot through high school for being a thespian and I don’t think my parents or teachers did nearly enough to make me feel safe. I don’t want anyone else to ever feel like I don’t take their comfort and safety seriously.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. But it’s a relief to know that there are people as caring as you in the school system. These kids need it, so thank you.” Harry said and he smiled and nodded. Just then, a few girls walked by and Ken’s eyes were averted away from Harry’s.

“Makenzie, Ella, and Trinity hold on for a sec!” He called after them and they stopped right before they made it back the stage. “I’m gonna talk to them about what it is they were saying. Do you need someone to show you out?”

“It’s alright. Just through there, right?” He pointed to the band room door and Ken nodded. “Thank you again, Ken. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.” He smiled before hurrying off and guiding the girls somewhere a bit more private from all the kids helping out with set up. Harry was just about to turn around to head out when he heard Celeste.

“Harry?” She called in question and he turned down to face the long hallway and saw her coming forward in full costume. She had her hair styled in the traditional double braids and the checkered white and blue dress as well and he smiled wide.

“Whoa! Look at you! You look great.” He smiled with pride and she chuckled a bit nervously.

“Thank you.” She hummed, “What’re you doing back here?”

“Your mom wanted me to talk to Mr. Hadley about what those girls said about you. She was worried they might try and get back at you or do something to try and embarrass you tonight.” He said and she sighed.

“Yeah, I was…a bit concerned too. Especially since I decided not to straighten my hair like they were saying.” She explained.

“Well, he looked through the entire stage with me and we checked all your props and everything is looking perfect.” He reassured her and she let out a big sigh.

“Oh, thank you. That makes me feel better.” She said with a relieved smile.

“I’m glad.” Harry hummed and then his smile dropped, “I’m so sorry you had to hear that. I will always have your back and stand up for you when you need me too. And not just for this kind of thing, for whatever you need.” He assured her.

“I know you will.” She said softly.

“Good.” He smiled, “I love you, petal.”

“I love you too.” She said and hugged him tighter and he chuckled as he hugged her back.

“You’re going to be wonderful. I know your mum is a lot less competitive than me and would never say this, but I’m not her, so I will encourage you go out there and kill it. Show ‘em why you got the part, petal. Rub it in their faces a bit, yeah?” He said and she chuckled and nodded.

“I will do it for you.” She assured.

“Nuh-uh. Not for me. Not for your mom. Do it for yourself. Make yourself proud of what you’ve accomplished.” He said with a final squeeze around her shoulders before pulling back from their hug, “Just know that your mum and I are proud of you regardless.”

“Thank you.” She smiled wide at him.

“Of course.” He assured her.

“Did you guys actually get the balcony seats like I requested?” She asked and Harry nodded.

“Yep, front and center. We were able to save spots for Grace and Henry as well so we’ll all be up there. Is Ben’s family coming?”

“Yeah, just his dad and Vincent though. His mom had to work, but they should all be up there too with Ruben and Heather.”

“Great. So you know where to look.” He said and she smiled and nodded, “Alright petal, let me get out of your hair.” He said and she smiled.

“Ummm, tell my mom thanks as well, please?”

“Yeah, love. Break a leg!” He exclaimed happily before he made his way back to the band room with a final wave. On his way up he heard Henry and turned to see him submitting his tickets to the student at the table outside of the theater so he went over to them and greeted them happily before taking them up and to their seats.

“Hey guys!” Diana greeted them happily when she saw them all coming in, it was starting to fill up with just 15 minutes before the start. “We saved you some seats.” She said and Grace thanked her as she sat down beside her and then Harry took a seat to Diana’s right. “Were you able to talk to her teacher?”

“Yeah, he was really sweet. He checked the stage and props she’ll be using and I even saw him pull the girls that were saying those things to the side. She’s going to be just fine, OK? I promise.”

“OK, thank you so much.” She said quietly as her hand reached for his.

“Of course, love.” He assured her.

“I even saw her in her full costume. She looks great!”

“Yeah?” Diana asked quietly and Harry nodded with a big smile. “Oh god, thank you. Really, thank you so much for checking in with her. I feel so much better.”

“Good, love. I think she needed the reassurance too.” He smiled and squeezed her hand.

“Hey guys!” They heard and turned to see Josh, Vince, Ben, Ruben and Heather all coming down to the row behind them. They also had a bouquet of flowers and a little gift bag with them which was such a sweet gesture. Diana thanked them all for coming and hugged them and properly introduced everyone to each other. They were all chatting as the auditorium filled up more and more until it was just jumbled up conversations until the house lights started to flick on and off, signaling that the show was about to start.

Diana was absolutely elated when the lights came down, she was nearly trembling in her seat when the curtain started coming up and moments later there she was, her gorgeous girl. She turned to Harry who was also smiling wide at her before they both glanced back to the stage. And boy, was Celeste killing it! She was doing a phenomenal job and had even adopted a kind of Southern accent that Diana had no idea she could even do! And when she sang! God, she was covered in goosebumps. She even heard a few people sniffling around her and the roars of applause that she received when she finished “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was beyond anything that she would have imagined. Yes, she sounded amazing and she knew she’d do well, but being on the stage just brought something else out of her. She even got a standing ovation after it.

And when the production was over and the cast did their bows she got another ovation. Diana could basically feel the joy radiating off of her from up on the balcony as Harry whistled loudly for her and she, Grace, and Henry shouted at the top of their lungs. Celeste shielded her eyes a bit from the stage light to get a glimpse of them and even waved at them all briefly before doing the final round of bows before they walked off stage. Soon after the house lights came on and Josh grabbed Y/N’s shoulders and she whipped around.

“She was unbelievable!” He praise and she smiled wide.

“Better than when we rehearsed even!” Diana chuckled.

“I cried.” Vincent said and she chuckled.

Soon after Diana introduced everyone properly and Josh even shot her a look after she introduced Harry. They’d waved at each other before when Harry had given Celeste and Ben a lift, but this was their first proper introduction. They were chatting a bit before Grace took Harry’s keys and her and Henry headed off to pick up the food and get everything set up while the rest of them waited for Celeste to come out. They were just chatting for a few minutes when Mr. Hadley came up and invited them backstage to get a few photos with Celeste before she got out of her costume.

“Hi!” Celeste gasped with joy when Mr. Hadley announced himself. She first hugged her mom and Harry, who handed over the flowers as they fawned over her. Then, Ben came over and said hello with a timid kiss to her lips, he had Ozzy and Geri on FaceTime since they had sat somewhere else. Josh, Vincent, Ruben, and Heather also greeted her with zeal.

“Alright, let’s do photos!” Harry said excitedly and soon they were heading over to the stage with the lovely Kansas inspired backdrop and they had several photos taken before they let Celeste get changed out of her costume.

Once again, both Diana and Harry thanked Mr. Hadley once again and then headed out into the hallway to wait. Josh offered to get some wine for the grown ups and so they headed off to the store and Ben hung back to ride with Diana, Harry, and Celeste. Geri and Ozzy soon joined with Geri’s mom, Carla, and she introduced Harry to her and they chatted until Celeste came out.

“Can we follow you?” Carla asked Diana who nodded.

“Yeah, of course!” We parked right by administration, so we’ll wait by the gate.

“Wonderful, thank you.” Carla smiled and guided Geri and Ozzy away to their car.

Diana turned to Harry with a smile as she saw Celeste and Ben get ahead and Ben put his arm around Celeste’s shoulders as she was carrying her bouquets of flowers. Several people stopped her to congratulate her on her way out which made her feel a bit bashful, but Diana and Harry felt nothing but pride coursing their veins at her accomplishment.

***********

Celeste was practically vibrating with excitement and adrenaline even on the car ride home. Ben was telling her that Vincent cried when she did over the rainbow and that made her giggle a bit. She was really hungry and eager to get started on her little wrap party. She had also invited Mr. Hadley, but he had some plans, but she would be sure to bring him some dessert the following day. She was really just mining her business, taking in her surroundings when they stopped at a light. That’s when she saw Harry glance to her mom, but when she looked over at her, she was already looking at him. This entire time she’d been trying to encourage his crush on her mom. She wasn’t blind, he’d seen him get flustered over her a few times, after all, her mom was gorgeous person inside and out. But now it seemed that maybe this crush was actually being reciprocated. She felt herself get even more excited and turned to Ben.

“Hey ummm, random question…” she whispered to him and he nodded, urging her to go on, “During the play, were my parents holding hands or…like looking at each other like they are now?” She asked him.

“Your parents?” He whispered back with a grin and she rolled her eyes.

“You know what I mean, my mom and Harry!” She urged his response.

“Ummm…I don’t know. Why? Are you still trying to set them up?”

“Yes, yes I am. I mean, look at the way they look at each other next time. They at the very least like each other!” She said and Ben smiled as he glanced over at them briefly.

“What if they’re already dating in secret?” He asked and she glanced over at them again.

“No, they’re both far too obvious.” She said and then started to giggle and Ben laughed along a bit.

“Hey, what’re you two gossiping about back there. Don’t think we can’t hear your little whispers!” Harry said with a grin as his eyes met Celeste’s through the rearview mirror and she went all pink in the face.

“Nothing!” She giggled and then turned to Ben who was shaking his head at her mischief.

Celeste had really just romanticized the idea of having a little family with Harry. He had really come through for them over the last several months and she knew that her mom saw this as well. She knew that it was hard for her mom to take those steps in her romantic life, she was scared, but she just hoped that she could see what she had right in front of her. Harry truly felt like the parent she’d been missing. He just got her on a level so close to her mom and he meshed so well with them together. He also got along with her uncle, who tended to be very protective over them. So if anyone could bypass him then surely they were a good fit! She just wanted so badly for her mom to come around.

When they got to Harry’s, Celeste was nearly teary-eyed over the whole scene with her friends and people she loved and cared for. She was over the moon with how proud and encouraging everyone was to her. She ate with her friends and soon they were heading off into the hot tub. Yes, it was a bit cold out, but hence the hot tub. It was roomy enough for all of them and so they spent a large part of their time out there chatting about their plans for winter break.

**********

“Harry is a hottie.” Josh said to Diana with a grin as he came into the kitchen to pour himself another glass of wine as she was. She smiled and nodded.

“That he is…”

“I really like him. I mean, not only did he look after my kid, but he very clearly cares about yours and that’s not all that easy to find.”

“I know…I think Celeste is trying to set us up.”

“Oh, is she?”

“Yeah.” Diana chuckled, “He asked me on a date on Saturday to go see the Nutcracker ballet?”

“Oh, how nice!”

“If you’re not working would you mind taking Celeste for the afternoon?”

“Of course!”

“Thank you. I believe the show starts at 3pm, so we might head out around 1:30 to have a quick bite and then go see the ballet. I’ll let you know tomorrow if we’re planning on dinner as well.”

“Sounds good. I can have her out of the house by noon.” He said and she laughed a bit. “It’s really rare to find someone who connect with you and your child the way Harry has to you guys. I mean, I’m so lucky that Vince has also connected with my sons. It took a bit for them to also see him as a father figure, but he was so consistent and patient with them.”

“I can imagine it was hard…was coming out harder for you with the kids?”

“Yes and no…” he sighed, “Yes because I never planned on actually having a relationship like the one I have with Vince. I was planning on just staying around playing pretend with Elena until she inevitably found someone else to be with or my father passed. I know that without his influence my mom would come around. I guess I just never expected to have everything I wanted.” He explained. “It wasn’t until I met Vince that I actually…regretted what Elena and I did to some extent. Like of course I love my sons and I love being a father, but at the time I thought that if I hadn’t been so desperate to keep up appearances with my family then maybe I would have the ability to just go off and have a relationship they way I wanted, you know? Like I felt if I pursued anything with Vince I would have to…abandon my family.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. Almost like, you were torn; like you felt you had to choose your kids or Vince.” She said and he nodded.

“Exactly. I felt like I couldn’t be myself because Elena and I were playing house and I would disappoint them because we had committed to trying to have a family together. Elena knew I was into men but we agreed that we wouldn’t see anyone else once we had Ruben.”

“How did you meet Vince?” She asked.

“On the job.” He smiled, “It was a car accident. My crew and him and his partner were the first responders. I don’t know, when we started talking when we had gotten the parties involved on their way to the hospital there was just this…look we shared. We just started out as friends, we both recognized that we weren’t straight and bonded over the fact that we were still on career paths that could be discriminatory towards us internally. Like now the people at my station know about me. But I guess for him it wasn’t just his family that he had to hide things from, it was at work too. Only his partner knows about him and she’s a woman, LAPD is still evolving a bit.” He explained.

“That’s so tough.”

“It is, but you know, we started to fall for each other through that friendship and he made me feel so happy and I didn’t want to choose. So then I approached it from a father’s perspective. Like if one my sons were also dealing with something like this, what would be the best thing for them? So I told Elena that I had met someone and had fallen in love. And after many conversations with Elena and with her getting to know Vince for a while, I decided that I would come out to my sons. I wanted to be honest with them and built trust with them, they were like 8 and 9 at the time, so they had been used to Elena and I. Getting used to Vince was definitely a bit of an uphill battle, but here we are now. And I know it can be hard to talk about this with Celeste, but this thing with Harry, that’s your opportunity to build trust with Celeste.” He said and she nodded.

“You’re right. I mean, I invited his family over for Christmas dinner, they’re coming from England. And we’ll be going to Disneyland as well. So ummm…I don’t know, do I tell her after this date or after the holidays? That’s the bit to figure out.”

“I say talk to Harry so that you can both sit down and come up with a plan together. You deserve to be happy and I’m sure Celeste will be thrilled with this based on what Ben has told me.” He smiled and she nodded.

“Yeah, I think that’d be a great topic of discussion this Saturday.”

“Yeah, talk about your future together.” He smiled.

“Thank you. You’ve been such a wonderful friend, Josh.”

“As have you.” He smiled at her. They soon returned to the dining room and Y/N sat down between Grace and Harry.

“Alright?” Harry asked her with a hand over her knee and she smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, baby. Josh is gonna pick up Celeste around noon on Saturday, that way we can have lunch and then get to the theater.”

“Perfect.” He smiled.

The rest of the time went by quickly and soon everyone was helping clean up as the kids dried off and got changed back into their clothes. They were all saying their goodbye’s and of course, Ben’s family were last to leave as the two loved up teens said their farewell.

“Thanks so much for coming by Josh and Vince, it really means so much that you guys came by.”

“Of course, we wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Vince smiled as he hugged Diana goodbye and soon she, Harry, and Celeste were waving goodbye from his doorstep as they drove off.

“Do you need help with anything else before we head out?”

“Just take a bit of leftovers for lunch?” Harry said and Celeste smiled.

“I definitely will.” She assured and Harry chuckled and helped pack up some stuff for her before they headed off to their own place.

Celeste was pretty exhausted after the day she had and she still had the jazz combo winter concert the following evening, so Diana was really insistent upon her getting ready for bed as soon as they got in. She made her a cup of tea and took it up to her before she headed up to her own bedroom for the night.

“Can I come in?” Diana called through the door and Celeste called out her permission before Diana came in.

“Brought your tea.” She said and set it down on the coaster on her bedside table.

“Thank you.” She hummed.

“Did you have fun?”

“So much…all day was pretty great. Thank you guys for the party.”

“That was all Harry and your uncle.” Diana informed and Celeste smiled.

“That’s sweet of them…”

“Super sweet.” Diana agreed with a smile, “Ummm, I wanted to talk to you about something real quick.”

“OK.” Celeste hummed.

“So on Saturday Josh is gonna come get you to spend them day with them and Ben because I ummm, I have a-a date.” She said and Celeste’s lips turned up in a grin.

“Oh my god! Wow with who?”

“That’s private.” Diana said quickly and Celeste sighed.

“Moooom…” she whined.

“I just…it’s not what I want to keep it a secret from you. I just think I should discuss this with them first before I talk to you about it. That’s all.”

“Have you been dating this person for a while?”

“No.”

“Have you liked this person for a while?”

“Yeah, I have.”

“OK how long?” She asked and Diana just gave her a knowing look and Celeste sighed, “Mmmm…do I know them?”

“Can you stop!?” Diana laughed and Celeste rolled her eyes.

“Fine…” Celeste huffed. “So where are you going?”

“To see the Nutcracker.”

“Without me?!”

“Last time I checked you’re creeped out by the rat king.” Diana said.

“I still like the music! Tchaikovsky’s awesome.”

“OK, we can go next year then.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Diana confirmed and Celeste smiled.

“Well, have fun.” Celeste said as Diana stood from the corner of her bed, “…I guess.” She mumbled quietly after.

“You guess?” Diana questioned as she shot Celeste a glance.

“Yeah. I’m not fully approving of this until I know who it is.” Celeste decided.

Diana now knew full well that Celeste wanted her to date Harry, but she just wasn’t saying it. She appreciated that she wasn’t trying to force anything and meddle in her personal business. But in this case, Diana was like ten steps ahead and maybe she wanted to just mess with her a bit until they both told her that they wanted to be together. She knows it would make Celeste feel like they got the hint after her many subtle remarks, so she’d give her that satisfaction.

“And why is that?” Diana asked her. Wanting to know why she was withholding her approval.

“Because maybe you can do better.” Celeste reasoned.

“Mmm, I don’t think so.” Diana smiled. When she said this Celeste looked a little worried.

“Are you positive about that?”

“Definitely.” Diana smiled.

“Well what if I don’t like them?”

“I’m confident you will.”

“As much as I like Henry? Or…maybe even Harry?” She asked. And there it was…Diana chuckled. “Because you know, it’d be hard to get me to like someone as much as I like Harry. Like I’d go as far as saying it’s nearly impossible.” She said.

“I am well aware.” She smiled, “And speaking of, Harry’s going to pick us up for your concert tomorrow as well. We all agreed over dinner to go out with you kids.”

“Who’s all?”

“Josh and Vince, Elena will be joining too. Geri’s parents and Ozzy’s as well.”

“Where are we going?”

“Some BBQ place that Geri’s mom knows the owner of. They have a party room or something that we can use.”

“OK cool. Grace told me she has her holiday party so she and Henry can’t come.”

“Yeah, I know.” Diana frowned, “But I’m glad they got to see you in the play!”

“Right.” Celeste smiled.

“Alright kiddo, I’ll let you get some rest. Love you.”

“Night, mom! Love you.” Celeste said happily as Diana offered a smile before heading out of her bedroom.

************

The next few days had been pretty great. Diana really focused on grading as much as possible in order to be as stress free as possible during her winter break starting on Saturday, with her date with Harry. She had been able to complete mostly everything on her work agenda and just needed to finish grading the exams for the class she was subbing for. But grades weren’t officially due until the 19th, so she felt good about that being her only remaining task for the semester. But on Saturday she woke up feeling sick to her stomach, she was so nervous and anxious that it genuinely made her feel ill.

She wasn’t anxious for her date with Harry, she was more anxious about the conversation about when they wanted to tell Celeste that they were pursuing more? Obviously, she would have no problem with it, but she didn’t want to jump the gun. Especially with his parents coming for the holidays, she didn’t want to make it more than it was because sure, there was love between them, but there was more required to make a relationship work than just love. They were still needing to work through all the stages of a relationship, they couldn’t just jump into the deep end. All of her anxiety was building up and she felt that she might have an anxiety attack until she opened her front door for Harry and was met with his kind eyes and beautiful smile. He was holding an interesting little box and he smiled.

“I ummm, brought you some chocolates. These super fancy kinds that apparently are the best in LA.” He said and she smiled.

“Thank you.”

“Also, you look beautiful.”

“As do you.” She responded, her cheeks still warm from his compliment. “I was about to have nervous breakdown.” She confessed, “But that’s gone now.”

“Chocolate has that effect on people.” He joked and she giggled.

“Let me set this down and we can go.”

“Perfect.” He agreed and she was back in just a few moments. She locked up and their arms locked as they walked over to his car and in moments they were taking off.

“So how about I treat you to lunch since you’re treating me to everything else.” She suggested as they drove off.

“If you really want to.” He smiled as he reached for her hand and she let their fingers intertwine.

“I really do. We can get pho! It’s chilly out.”

“Yeah, perfect.” He agreed and soon she was directing him to a place near to the theater where they would see the ballet.

Soon enough they were being seated and looking over the menus, trying yo decide what kind of soups they would get. Diana was getting a bit antsy though; she just wanted to talk to Harry about their plan to share their interest in each other with Celeste. So as soon as the waiter had assured them their food would be out shortly Diana decided to bite the bullet.

“Ummm, Harry.”

“Yeah, love?”

“So as you know, Celeste is…rooting for us to be together. Which is great!” She said and he nodded, “But ummm…she’s getting really curious about who I want to date and I guess I’m just wondering when we could talk to her about us?” She said and he smiled, “I mean, I know that even though our feelings are deep we still have to learn to be a couple and make time for that, you know?”

“Right.” He agreed.

“So I just don’t know if it’s a good idea to share it with her immediately or if we should wait a bit more? What do you think?”

“I mean, she is quite obnoxious with knowing isn’t she?” Harry smiled and Diana giggled and nodded.

“So annoying, you have no idea…” she rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Like obviously, I want her to know so that she stops insinuating things and throwing hints, you know?” Diana nodded in agreement, “But I mean, if she knows, do you think she’ll just back off a bit and let us figure it out? Or will she be too excited and try to push things to move along.”

“Definitely the second…I’m surprised she hasn’t been as meddlesome as she typically is.” Diana smiled, “But ummm…like with your family coming over and stuff, I also don’t want to pretend that I don’t love and care for you in the way that I do.” She explained.

“Yeah, I was thinking about that too…maybe we just need to be really firm with Celeste and set some boundaries while we figure out our relationship.”

“Mmm yeah. Just let her know that as much as she might happy about it, it’s our relationship and we need space to figure that out.” Diana said and he nodded, “Like for example, PDA-”

“I don’t know that I’m comfortable with PDA.” He said and she nodded quickly.

“Yeah. Like how we are now is fine. A hug, a kiss on the cheek to say hello and goodbye.”

“Yeah, exactly.” He concurred.

“OK good…I know this will sound awfully judgy but I’ve seen how…like Kourtney Kardashian and Travis like…fully make out and grope in front of their kids with reckless abandon and its’ just so…disgusting?” She said and he laughed, “Like, love that people find their person and whatnot but there are social boundaries to respect for other people’s comfort as well and maybe that’s just me being a prude? But in my mind it’s like, how could I tell my child anything about their behavior when I’m behaving like that in front of everyone?”

“Oh, I fully agree. Lead by example! And well, it can also be traumatizing to kids if they’re exposed to too much. I know she’s older and knows more things, but also she’s seen you being single for most of her life, so I’m sure even just the bare minimum will be something for her to get used to. So please don’t feel the need to up the ante on my account. I won’t be offended if we just stick to how things are for now.” He assured her and she nodded.

“OK, thank you.” She said with relief.

“So you…watch the Kardashian show?” He asked with a grin and she shrugged.

“Why deny it?” She smiled and he chuckled.

“Hey, s’nothing to be ashamed of. I use Henry’s Hulu account just for that! I’m watching it religiously on Sundays.” He confessed and she giggled.

“Seriously?”

“Oh yeah! We can do it together if you want so that I’m not shouting at my TV all alone when things get heated.” He smiled and she giggled.

“OK, yeah we can plan a little watching party sometime.” She agreed and he nodded. “Another minor concern I have is that Celeste may already views us as a family unit and would expect a fast transition into more.”

“Mmm, yeah.” Harry said, “I can see that happening if she gets overexcited about it.”

“Yeah, like I don’t want major changes or living arrangements to change unless we get married, you know? Like…what if things don’t work out like we want, it would be so weird for all of us if we made a move like that too fast.” She explained and he nodded.

“I couldn’t agree more. I also wouldn’t feel comfortable staying at yours overnight and stuff if we share our relationship with her. I would want complete privacy until we reach a point like marriage where we are ready to have a shared space.”

“Yes. I fully agree.” She smiled and he did as well.

“So basically, we want a very normal escalation in our relationship and we want it as private as possible.”

“Correct.” Diana confirmed.

“I’m so glad we’re on the same page.” He sighed in relief and she smiled.

“Seems like we always kind of are.” She said and he nodded.

“Ummm, also just to revisit an old topic…If we end up getting married, kids…” he said and she sighed.

“I still don’t want another.” She said and he sighed in relief again.

“Okay, great.” He chuckled, “I mean, I have given it some thought because of us and Celeste but I just think their age gap would be way too big and like honestly, I don’t think I’d ever want to deal with a baby.” He said sincerely and Diana laughed.

“Yeah, you really don’t…babies are…too much in every sense of the word. Thankfully, Celeste developed skills very rapidly because she was mostly around adults growing up, but as soon as she started getting out of the baby phase I was so excited.”

“You didn’t get even a little sad?”

“Definitely not. It was a lot easier when I knew what she needed from me instead of just guessing which cry meant what.” She explained with a smile, “Obviously she was far more active as a toddler, but not in a way that was draining like when she was a baby. I think the sadness and nostalgia has been hitting a lot more now as she grows into her own, independent person. It's a bit sad because she’s not my little girl any more, but it’s also really nice to see how far she’s come.”

“Yeah, I can imagine.” Harry smiled. “I don’t think I’m missing out if I don’t have my own biological child. I like your child as my own, so we’re good in that capacity. Just ummm, just letting you know in case my parents bring it up or something. I know they’re a bit keen on me having a change of heart, but it’s not going to happen.”

“Well we’re definitely on the same page with that.” She assured him. “I know that hiding things is never a good thing, but I am a bit worried that things might go wrong if we…share this. I don’t want anything to go wrong. I love you and I…want you in my life for as long as possible.” She shared and Harry’s hand reached out for hers and took it.

“I love you too and I’m scared too. I’m not even going to lie about that.” He said with a nervous smile, “But I trust you with my heart and with my feelings and I know that we’ll do right by each other all the time. I know it’s going to be a bit tricky at first, but we’ll get through it together, yeah?”

“Yeah.” She smiled.

***********

The ballet had been absolutely breathtaking. Both of them had been on the edge of their seats as they watched the dancers the whole time. They were still quite full from their big bowls of pho, so as they strolled to Harry’s car, hand in hand.

“That was so worth it.”

“I agree! Thank you so much for inviting me to this Harry.”

“Course, love.” He smiled. He opened up her door and let her get settled in before he got in as well.

“I should’ve put Celeste in ballet…so cool.” She said and he smiled.

“I mean her musicianship is also so cool.”

“That’s true, she’s really good at that as well.” Diana said and Harry nodded.

“Honestly, she should consider taking private lessons when she goes to college. Could do session work for record labels and stuff.”

“Ooh, you’re right…she has mentioned it with college before. One of the counselors at her summer camp is a music major.” Diana recalled.

“I know that I’m not technically her father, but when we get to that stage of things I would love to come with you guys on like tours and things like that.”

“Oh of course! You and Damian.” Diana smiled.

“OK, so what’s our next move?” He asked her, “I was planning for dinner, but are you hungry at all yet?”

“Not at all.” She giggled and he chuckled.

“OK, same. I don’t know why the pho bowls are so big even when we got the smalls.” He said and she sighed.

“Yeah, it’s always like that though. Ummm, we could go back home to mine or yours? Grace was gonna pick up Celeste from Josh’s. I may have…packed her an overnight bag just in case.” Diana said and Harry glanced at her with a suggestive look.

“Professor Beltran…” he teased her and she felt her face going all hot as she giggled and shook her head bashfully.

“Oh hush…s’not like you weren’t hoping for it.” She said and he chuckled and leaned over the console and grabbed her jaw with one hand as he guided his lips over her own.

Their kiss started out slow, lethargic almost, drenched with the longing for each other they’d been repressing. Soon that energy of affection and relief turned completely salacious. Their mouths moved together with urgency, their teeth collided occasionally while they’d go in to bite and suck at each other’s lips.

“Mmm… I’ve…missed you…so much.” She hummed and he smiled into their kiss.

“Me too, baby.”

“Should we go to yours?” She asked and he nodded. “Let’s go then.” She said and they pulled apart to get home.

Diana had been thinking about the physical aspect of her relationship with Harry for a while now. He had absolutely blown her mind before and she needed that again. She needed him in ways she hadn’t needed someone in a long time. She was itching to feel him, skin to skin. The drive to his place couldn’t go by any faster, even if they’d been going 100 miles an hour. She felt hot all over and so impatient. Her hand tightening around his made him smiled.

“S’alright baby, we’ll be there soon.”

“Not soon enough.” She mumbled and he smiled.

Harry felt the same way. He obviously loved and cared for her very much, but he was a man with needs. Just as she was a woman with needs. And while Harry had recently indulged in hookups within the last year, she really hadn’t apart from the fooling around they had done. He wanted to exceed her expectations like he had the last time she was in his bed. He was fully committed to her and he wanted to show that to her physically as well.

They soon made it to his house and the moment the front door closed behind her he was pushing her up against it by her hips as they kissed hungrily. He was helping her slip her coat off while she got out of her heels. He chuckled as suddenly the height difference between them suddenly became too great.

“Sorry.” She giggled as she tiptoed to reach his lips better once again, but he was instead scooping her under the bum with his big, strong arms and holding her up level to his face again.

“Better?” He asked and she nodded.

Diana gently wrapped her legs around his hips to hold on better. One of her arms was looped around his neck and the other she held his jaw with before leaning into another kiss. This one was slower and deeper, shifting the mood from urgent to indulgent. There was still urgency but they weren’t going to just jump into it. There was still a sense of urgency, but it was being channeled very differently. They wanted to cherish the time they had right now, to draw it out and take advantage of it. So when Harry was dropping them both into his bed he kissed her as he blindly helped her undress. His kisses started to migrate down her body, giving attention to all of her sensitive spots, making her wriggle and gasp and giggle from the feeling his mouth imparted on the way until he was at the seam of her underwear.

“Can I get these off?” He asked.

“Yes, please.” She consented without hesitation and he was quick to remove the thin fabric from her body and shoved it into his pocket before dragging his fingers down her thighs and splaying them open for him to get between her legs. Diana was nearly trembling with anticipation, “Please, Har- mmm, fuck!” She gasped as his mouth latched over her center in a sloppy kiss and then he got to work. His tongue was working tirelessly on her clit, making her orgasm build steadily as his fingers worked their way into her tight little hole. She was moaning and doing her best to hold still as the combination of the two made her brain start to go all fuzzy and he vision to blur.

Harry’s moan of delight and his whispered words of appreciation and encouragement gave her all the more pleasure. It was allowing her to just feel everything he was doing to her all the better. He started pushing in a bit deeper until she gasped as his finger tips opened her up enough to get right against her spot. Her skin had broken out in goosebumps and her breath had hitched. Harry stopped for a second and she assumed he was going to check on her, but truly, he was just giving her a moment before he started rubbing and swirling his fingers into it. She moaned out a joyous sound and couldn’t even help it as she writhed beneath him an dug her fingers into his curls. Harry groaned against her as he started to gently suck at her clit until she was tense and trembling beneath him.

“I’m- oh baby, m’gonna come!” She mewled right before she started to fall apart. Diana’s vision went white and her back arched at this perfectly glorious feelings of warmth that was rippling through her body. She was moaning out with each wave that would form at the depths of her core and travel down to the tips of her toes, causing them to curl as she tried to not wriggle too much beneath him.

But that first orgasm was the hurdle to get over, after that it was easy for Harry to give her a few more orgasms this way. She was trembling and overstimulated, practically incoherent as he coaxed another orgasm out of her with his fingers up against her g-spot. She was panting shakily. She was an absolute sticky mess; her arousal and cum had completely drenched his fingers and the sounds were so sinful every time he’d plunge his fingers inside. Harry was obsessed with swallowing down her greedy pleads for him to keep going.

“Yeah, baby? Gonna give me another one?” He asked her and she nodded and whined pitifully before her eyes fluttered shut and he felt her walls contracting around his fingers. “There you go…Fuck, you’re making such a big mess.” He hummed as she started to twitch from the oversensitivity. Her hand flew down to his and wrapped around his wrist and he grinned at the feeling of her nails digging into his skin. It was too much for her now. He took the hint and stopped rubbing into her spot and moved his thumb off of her clit. He just left his fingers lodged up inside though, he didn’t want her to feel empty yet.

“Are you alright?” He sniggered and she sighed.

“I think so…still- ummm, I’m still seeing spots.” She confessed quietly.

“Five orgasms’ll do that to you.” He chuckled and she groaned.

“Five?” She sighed and he chuckled and leaned down to kiss her lips.

“Mhmm.” He confirmed, “I may have gotten a little carried away.” He admitted a bit bashfully.

“I think I can forgive you for this one.” Diana said tiredly and he chuckled. “But now s’your turn so-”

“If I wore you out too much we don’t have to.” He assured her and she smiled.

“You did wear me out, but that’ll just make me last a bit longer so…you’re in for a ride.” She whispered and he chuckled.

“Figuratively or literally?” He asked her and Diana bit her lip.

“Ummm, whichever you prefer.” She responded timidly. “I could get on top. I’m…way out of practice but ummm, if we start out like that I can…learn how you like it.” She reasoned and he swore his entire stomach flipped with excitement. She wanted to learn how he liked it because they were on their way to being a couple. For real this time.

“Yeah, but only if you’re not too tired for it.” He assured her once more and she smiled.

“M’not. Let’s just ummm, get you undressed.” She said timidly and he nodded and gave her one more peck to her lips before he knelt up to get started. “I’ll do it.” She said and he smiled as she rolled out of his bed to get this task underway.

Diana had him stand as she reached up and undid the buttons of his shirt. His hands were on her hips, fingers sinking into her suppled skin as her lips trailed down his jaw and neck…then his chest and tummy… then she was kissing down his abs as her fingers reached his belt. She knelt and glanced up at him and he nodded his approval for her to continue. And with his consent she was quick to unfasten it before sliding her hands up his thighs, palming over his erection that tucked against his left thigh. She kissed down his happy trail and reared back to put her focus on his button and zipper. Her fingers were quick in their task and soon enough, Harry’s eager hands were helping her get his pants down along with his briefs. And sure, she was overcome with this wave of anxiety once more, but she pushed it aside and grabbed his erection in the palm of her soft, warm hand.

She glanced up at him and Harry’s eyebrows were knitted together as he watched her stroking his cock at a leisurely pace. He was quite big and he watched her considering getting him in her mouth.

“You can get me in your mouth, love.”

“Yeah?” She asked and he nodded eagerly. With that she had him sit on the bed and she walked the short distance over on her knees before getting him back in her hand. She gave a few strokes before dipping down and then she pulled back up. “Ummm, I’m very…out of practice in this s-so if you want to guide me how y-you prefer it then-”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll tell you, yeah?” She nodded, “Sure you want to do this?”

“So badly.” She smiled and he chuckled and thumbed over her cheek before she dipped down.

She gave the length of him one full lick from base to tip before licking around his tip. And after a moment of that she just placed his tip into her mouth and sucked. The tension in his thighs and the soft groan that left his mouth were enough to tell her she was doing something he liked. She sunk down, feeling confident to take more and that’s when Harry grabbed her hair and it made her mind go fuzzy so she sunk down further and gagged when he hit the back of her mouth.

“Fuck…” he sighed and pulled her up a bit, “Baby, you might get greedy and want to take more and more, but you don’t have t’take it all, love.” He said and she glanced up at him and he just about melted to see her tearful eyes, “I’m quite big, yeah?” He asked and she hummed in agreement, and her walls fluttered around absolutely nothing just from hearing him say how big he was. “So I know s’gonna take some getting used to.” He assured her, “Only go as far as is comfortable for you right now, s’still feels so good for me. Love that hot little mouth so much already and how you rub your tongue under the tip…fuck, just like that.” He smiled before biting on his lip, “That’s good, baby.” He encouraged her.

He loved the feeling of pleasure bubbling up inside of his tummy and spreading through his body. He could’t believe how quickly he was getting ready to burst. Sure this wasn’t extraordinarily super human head, but it was from the person he loved, and not only that, but her first in a while and he loved knowing that she wanted this with him, that’s what got him off.

“You can stroke what doesn’t fit with your hand…yeah, like that. Fuck, that’s-that’s absolutely perfect, baby. You can even suck a little harder if you want m’not made of glass.” He assured her and she gave a harder suck and the moan that left his throat had her covered in goosebumps, “Oh shit…shit that’s so fucking good, Di.” He whined as he pulled her up and down by her hair, setting a pace that would have him on the edge in no time. He had been quite dry over the last several months, so he knew that if he came it’d be a big one that just proved hard to recover from and he didn’t want to stop her, but he just needed to let her know.

“Baby, m’so close…i-if you want to have sex I shouldn’t come yet, s’ been a while and I don’t think I’ll-oh fuck, wanna last for you f’you want to tonight.” He said and she gently pulled off. Her eyes met his and she smiled.

“I still want to.” She assured him and he smiled.

“Sure?”

“Very sure.” She assured him and he helped her up.

“Let me get a condom-”

“Did you reverse your vasectomy?” She asked with a giggle and he shook his head.

“No, but ummm, just in case y’don’t want me to like…actually finish inside.”

“Is it crazy if I want you to?” She asked and he bit his lip and shook his head.

“I don’t think so.” He said, “But then again, I’m a little biased.” He chuckled and she smiled.

“Well if you want to and I want to then…s’fine I suppose.” She shrugged and he smiled.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She confirmed.

With that he scooped her up from the edge of the bed and dropped her at the top half of it before he straddled her lap and kissed her deeply. His hands felt at the curves of her body, groping at her breasts, tweaking her nipples, feeling her build…Harry was obsessed with every inch of her.

Diana felt the same about him. She loved the feel of his muscular and lean body up against her own. His skin was so warm and soft to the touch. His back muscles were so pronounced, she couldn’t stop feeling them under her fingers as his cock slipped between her folds, getting drenched up in her arousal for him. She did want to be on top, so when she pushed against his shoulder he got the hint and wrapped his arm around her waist before turning them over without a hitch. Her hands smoothed down from his shoulders to his pecs, they were big and sturdy, she loved the tickles from the smattering of hair he had against them. She had a weakness for body hair. She ground into him and gasped when his tip nudged against her clit, still so sensitive from before. But she was aching for it, she was hurting to feel all full of him.

“Can I?” She asked and he nodded.

“Yeah, whenever you’re ready.” He said and she bit her lip as she pressed herself to sit up.

She asked Harry to sit up as well and soon he was propped up against his headboard stroking himself a couple times as Diana just made the decision to bite the bullet. She wanted this with him. In the depths of her heart she knew that he was the person she’d been waiting for all along. There was no need to be scared of what this meant for them, she wasn’t just giving her body to some random. This was Harry, the man she loved, the man who loved her back and who had waited for her. Who had been so patient and understanding. The person who hurt for her the way she’d been hurting for him. Fate had allowed everything to fall into a perfect place where they could finally be what they were meant to be. With that in mind she guided her body over his own perfectly and started to lower herself over him. She could feel his thick tip crowning into her entrance and she just wanted it to give way so badly. So she directed more of her weight downwards until the tight ring of muscles gave way and stretched around his girth. They both moaned in unison at the feeling of their bodies connecting in that way. They’d both been craving it for so long and it was finally happening.

“Fuck baby, you feel so good!” She gasped as he thrusted up against her and she started to grind down into his lap.

“You too, love. Fuck, feels. So. good…” He grunted as he kissed at her neck. She hugged around his head, letting him nestle his face against her neck as he tightened his hold around her waist, keeping her body flush to his. “Fuck, you’re doing everything right, keep grinding like that, feels so fucking nice.” He praised, his toes already starting to curl.

Diana was reeling from the pressure inside of her, he was up against that spot he’d completely ravaged earlier and it was making her skin covered in goosebumps. Over and over, with each grind she was feeling his tip kissing that deep part of her that was making her tummy swell with flutters and for her breathing to quicken. She couldn’t even speak, just moan his name and slur curses when he’d drive up into her hard. She was trying to last for him, but when he snuck a hand between them to rub at her clit, her unraveling began. Her moves over him were getting erratic, but he corrected and guided her pace as they continued building their orgasms together.

“Getting close, yeah?” He panted and she nodded and gasped as he stilled deep inside, “Can feel it…fuck, I feel you squeezing so hard. You’re gonna make me come…fuck, gonna get such a big fucking load, baby.” He huffed and she moaned in anticipation.

“Please Harry, please. I want it so bad!” She pleaded, adding a slight bounce to her movements. Her ears were starting to ring and her vision going blurry as she knocked her head back, gasping for air.

“Fuck baby, just-just a few more seconds…m’right there…” he gritted out and finally he was right up at the edge with her, “Oh fuck, I’m gonna come. Come with me, Di. Please baby, come with me.” He panted desperately.

She just gasped and her breathing hitched as she reached the peak and then suddenly the most salacious moan left her mouth as she started to come undone. It was an explosion of tingles and euphoria that was making her brain malfunction. She was trembling as he held her down against him, she could feel his cock throbbing, spilling his seed into her, making a mess of them both. He was moaning against her throat, panting against her sweaty skin, holding her as if she was his only tether to reality. It was perfect. They went through their highs together, speechless and completely satisfied. And moments later they were coming down through it together. Their bodies were trembling, their emotions were heightened, their minds a puddle of mush. But despite all of those things, the one thing that they could fully trust was their gut. And Diana’s gut told her that this was it.

“I love you so much.” She whispered as she kissed the side of Harry’s head.

“I love you, Di.” Harry mumbled against the column of her throat at the exact same time. They were quiet for a beat before they both giggled and pulled back to look at each other. When Harry looked into her tearful eyes he couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. He hadn’t ever loved like this before.

“I promise you, we’re going to have a long and wonderful life together, Diana.” He said and she smiled. “I know it’s hard for you to let people in, so thank you for letting me in. I complete you and you complete me, love.” He said and she nodded and sniffled. “Couldn’t possibly go on without my other half, could I?” He asked and she sputtered on a cry and kissed his lips.

“S’gonna be so good.” She mumbled against his lips and he smiled and kissed her once more.

“It is.” He said with conviction.

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