"Is it good to be back?" Harry asked one morning three weeks later as he and Nikki lay in bed together. They had only got back to the house the night before but all three of them had been exhausted from their long day and had promptly gone to bed, ignoring the unpacking until the next day.
"I don't know" Nikki replied as she turned over onto her back to look at him "Yes because I think everyone is happy to get home after a holiday, and no because I didn't want it to end"
Harry noted Nikki's use of the word 'home', and forced the smile to stay off his face as he leant down to kiss her gently.
"What time is it?" Nikki then asked, Harry blocking her view of the clock. Her boyfriend quickly checked and then looked back at her.
"Nine o'clock"
"Don't want to get up yet" Nikki moaned as she ran one hand over her messy hair.
"Let's not then" Harry smiled and Nikki nodded, rolling them both over so Harry was on his back and Nikki was laying on his semi naked body, the only item of his clothing separating them being his boxers. Even then, Nikki's tank top and shorts weren't much either.
Harry wrapped his arms around her back and smiled as Nikki leant down to kiss him slowly and lazily, both still too tired to do anything else.
"I'm going to miss all this time together when we're back at school" Harry sighed as he broke the kiss and rested his head back on the pillows, stroking Nikki's back gently under her tank top as she propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at him.
"We'll probably be in the same classes"
"I know, but I don't think it will be appreciated if we suddenly start kissing in class" Harry chuckled and Nikki giggled quietly and shook her head.
"Suppose not" she shrugged "I suppose we could make up for it after school"
"On the days that you don't have to go back to your dad's" Harry told her, a hint of bitterness in his voice as Nikki sighed and shrugged. "Why won't you move in here? Even mum has asked you. She loves having you here, having another female to talk to"
"Because..." Nikki spluttered slightly as she tried to think of a reason "Legal purposes?"
"Legal purposes?" Harry repeated incredulously "Nikki you're sixteen, you can legally move out and all mum has to do is change a few things about who's living here and whatnot"
"But.."
"Coupled with the fact that your dad clearly doesn't look after you and has at points got physically violent with you"
"He was.."
"Nicola Jane Alexander if you say that he was drunk I won't be happy" Harry interrupted again and Nikki glared at him. "Good. You spend most of your time here anyway and it's just a pain and it's awkward every time you have to go back to your dad's just to see if he's alive"
Nikki sighed loudly and shook her head, wondering where Harry got his persistence from. Anne probably, although she did it in a roundabout way, Harry just didn't know the meaning of the word 'subtle'.
"Harry you're really not going to give up are you?" she chuckled and Harry shook his head and laughed at her.
"Nope. If I have to I will tie you to the bed to stop you leaving"
"Hmm, sounds good" Nikki smirked against his lips before she kissed him quickly, moving back in time to see a cheeky grin spreading over his face.
"Don't change the subject Nicola" Harry warned her and reached up with his free hand to poke her nose gently, making her screw her face up in a cute way. "Will you move in?"
"No"
"Nikki please" Harry begged her, flipping them both over so she was trapped under his body. "Okay so what if we hadn't started dating and we asked you to move in, would you?"
"I don't...maybe" Nikki shrugged. She wanted to move in with Harry and Anne, but she didn't want to take advantage.
"Why is it different because we're dating?" Harry asked as he shook his head, thoroughly confused. "What if we had just decided to move out and get a place of our own, hypothetically of course, what's the difference? Apart from mum being here of course"
"Because...we've been through this, what if we break up?" Nikki was desperate now and they both knew it.
"We won't"
"But..."
"Nikki will you stop trying to think up excuses, you want to move in here don't you?"
"Yes" Nikki sighed and Harry beamed at her.
"Good. Now will you move in here?"
"Yes" Nikki smiled and nodded, Harry grinning down at her before leaning down to kiss her passionately, both of them getting lost in each other.
"Mum, Nikki said yes" Harry grinned as he and Nikki walked into the room for a late breakfast, his mother only having just got up as well.
"Please tell me you didn't propose" Anne sighed, but her eyes twinkled with mirth as Harry spluttered out 'no' and Nikki giggled loudly as she went around making them all drinks.
"Mum, really" Harry muttered and shook his head "Nikki's agreed to move in"
"Really?" Anne beamed as she turned to the younger woman who nodded and smiled back at her. "That's brilliant, it's about time"
"You don't mind?"
"Don't be silly" Anne smiled as she pulled Nikki into her arms and hugged her "I'll be glad for the extra female company and to get you out of that house"
"Thank you" Nikki whispered against the older woman's shoulder, before pulling away slightly "What about all the legal things though? Tax and..."
"You're too young to be worrying about that" Anne shook her head as she interrupted Nikki and pressed a kiss to her forehead "I'll sort all that out once you've moved in properly"
"Will your dad be a problem?" Harry asked quietly as he started to make some toast.
"Probably" Nikki replied bitterly "He gets money for having me and that will stop when I move out"
"He can't stop you can you?"
"No he can't" Anne replied and shook her head "Nikki's legally allowed to move out and no-one can stop her"
"I told him I'd be back today" Nikki told the two Cunninghams "Unless he's gone on one of his..." she waved her hand around in a vague manner, even herself not knowing where and what he was doing. "I dunno"
"We can take James with us, can't we?" Harry then asked his mother "When we eventually move Nikki in, in case..." he trailed off and shrugged.
"In case dad decides to get violent?" Nikki sighed and Harry nodded "Poor unsuspecting James"
"We'll just tell him that he can help move some things, not that he's muscle just in case" Anne laughed and Nikki rolled her eyes as Harry chuckled loudly.
Nikki sat down at the kitchen table with her mug of coffee and smiled as Anne and Harry got into a friendly argument about whether or not James should be told that he was the muscle or not, a smile making its way onto her face as she realised that she had her family right here and the man who called himself her father had no place in that.
"So you want me to come and help you move some things" James said a few hours later as Anne explained about the situation, Nikki giving her permission to tell James about what her father had done to her. "Because Nikki is moving in here"
"Yes" Anne nodded and James turned to smirk at the two teenagers, Harry who was leaning on the back of the sofa, his arms crossed as he waited for James to give them the answer and Nikki who was perched on the arm of the sofa.
"You haven't got her pregnant have you?" James' smirk grew as Harry glared at the older man as the two women laughed at his reaction.
"No I bloody well haven't" Harry replied, a smile making its way onto his face "Why does everyone think that?"
"We were young once you know" James winked at him and Harry pulled a disgusted face.
"I don't want to know" he told the older man quickly "Will you help?"
"I take it you want me there just in case Nikki's father gets violent again" James then turned to Anne who tried to look innocent, reminding Nikki very much of Harry.
"No...okay yes" Anne nodded and James rolled his eyes at the three of them "It was Harry's idea, he's the one who is worried"
"and for good reason, if he hit his own daughter who knows what he'll do to the people taking her away"
"He was drunk" Nikki muttered and received glares from the two Cunninghams.
"Doesn't make it okay" James shrugged and then looked back at Anne while Nikki sighed quietly to herself. "Are we going now?"
"Yes" Harry nodded, eager to get his girlfriend away from the man who had hurt her too much in her life. Nikki gave him a grateful smile and Harry smiled lovingly back at her, making both adults chuckle and shake their heads as they walked from the room.
So it was either have Nikki move in, or have her go back to the house where I would be forced to be evil to her...I'm sure you prefer my decision :). Dunno what the age was back then for moving out but I'm using today's rules.
xxx
