A.

"Anastasia," the sound of my mother's voice sounded from the other side of my bedroom door, before it swung open without warning.

I stood up from my window seat, placing my phone down beside me after hitting send on my reply to Harry, "Yes?"

She sighed, edging closer to where I stood, suddenly looking very small without the added height of her heels, "I heard Harry's coming to dinner tonight."

"Yes," I said quietly, "he is. And he'll be here any minute."

My mother sat down on the edge of my bed, crossing one leg over the other as she blew out yet another sigh, "I don't like that boy, Anastasia."

"I know. You made that pretty clear when you sent him 5000 miles away," I said calmly, turning to walk away and sit in the chair by my vanity, "which you had no reason to do."

"He was corrupting you and your future," she said defensively, and I scoffed, turning in my chair to face her.

"Do you realise how patronising you sound?" I chuckled humourlessly, "you ruined his life, and for what? Because he loves me - that's why."

"Anastasia, you don't know a thing about love," she scoffed, and I narrowed my eyes.

"I know that I love Harry very, very much - and that he loves me. And if in your heart you have even an ounce of respect and love for me - you'll try tonight."

My mother's eyes hardened, if possible, even more, and as she opened her mouth to speak, suddenly Harry appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, I'm-" he paused, catching sight of my mother seated on my bed, and closing his mouth quickly, "sorry, I'll just-"

"No, you're fine, Harry," she bit her lip, her tone slightly cold as she stood up from my bed and smoothed out her skirt, "I'll see you two in fifteen minutes for dinner," she said before leaving the room without another word.

"Hey," I stood up from my chair once she'd left the room, a smile pulling at my lips as I took note of his new hair, much shorter than before but still long - the unruly curls still skimming the middle of his neck - it looked good, but much neater, "Nice hair."

"You think?" he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a hug which I gladly accepted, as he pressed a kiss to my forehead. I nodded, resting my fingers at the nape of his neck.

"I like it," I told him, a playful grin on my lips, "love it, actually. Very sophisticated."

"Oh, you know me - very sophisticated. Practically my middle name," he pinched my hip, "What was your mum talking to you about?"

"Nothing important," I shrugged dismissively, "same as before, and I think I'm now dreading dinner even more than before. She still wants to deny the fact we're together."

"She'll get used to it, love," he assured me, "don't worry about her. And besides - aren't I supposed to be the nervous one? Meeting the parents and all?"

I smiled softly, taking his face in my hands, "Thank you for trying even after everything that they've done."

"I still don't like them," he warned, pecking my lips, "But if this is what you want.."

"It is," I nodded, "I love you."

"Huh?" he raised an eyebrow teasingly, "I didn't quite catch that."

"I love you," I repeated, a grin tugging on my lips.

"What?" he chuckled a little, pulling me closer to him, "One more time?"

"I love you, Harry," I said a final time, laughing now as he pulled my face to his, peppering kisses over my skin as my laughter continued, his quick kisses covering my face.

"Mm," he hummed, "I love you too," he rested his hands in the curve of my waist, "you look so beautiful."

My cheeks heated like they always did when he paid me a compliment, "Thank you. Are you ready for this dinner, then?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," he shrugged, "what's the worst that can happen?"

"Don't even tempt me to think about that," I groaned, and he shot me a cheeky grin.

"Well, at the end of the day - I love you, and you love me, and- wait, tell me you love me again."

"Shut up."

"We'll be fine. Fine," he promised, reaching for my hand, "Let's go."

I exhaled, grabbing his hand and heading for the stairs, murmuring a final 'I love you' into his ear as we reached the bottom of them, which he returned without skipping a beat, pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

"We're here," I said as we walked into the dining room, glancing at Harry as he blew out a deep breath, forcing a smile onto his face.

"Harry," my dad stood up from his chair, and I shot him a grateful smile as he extended his hand for Harry to take, shaking it, "I should probably reintroduce myself, I suppose.. I'm David Levin - you can call me Dave."

Harry cleared his throat awkwardly, "Uh - nice to meet you - again - Dave.." I rested my hand on his arm, his shoulders dropping from their tense position.

"And, uh," my dad shifted just as awkwardly, glancing over at my mother who remained in her seat; arms folded and lips pursed, as she eyed Harry carefully, "my wife, Julie."

Harry nodded in her direction, as my dad took his seat again, signalling for us to sit down in the two chairs opposite him and my mother. We sat down, and I rested a reassuring hand on Harry's knee.

My dad spoke up, a light and awkward chuckle leaving his lips as he took a sip of his wine, "Well - I should probably start by clearing the air a little, hm?" he began, much to my surprise as Harry rested his hand over mine, "Harry - I probably owe you an apology. I acted irrationally with the way I interfered with your personal life, due to my own equally as irrational concerns. I apologise for hurting you and my daughter in such a way. I'm sure you're a lovely young man, and you evidently make my daughter very happy - I took a small situation and blew it out of proportion. If you truly love my daughter, which at this point I believe you do; then I respect that."

My jaw dropped - I had expected my dad to act somewhat civil with Harry, but I hadn't at all expected an apology of any kind from him, and clearly - judging by the look on his face - Harry wasn't either.

"Your mother was a lovely woman to work with, and an incredibly helpful, loyal member of this household," my dad continued, "and I want you to let her know that if she wishes to return to Seattle and pick up work here again - she is welcome to, all costs covered."

My eyes widened, glancing quickly at my mother, a look of surprise on her own face. I then turned to Harry, who blinked in confusion for a second, chewing on his lip.

"Right.. um, well - I appreciate that," he nodded, rubbing circles with his thumb on the back of my hand, though I really should've been the one soothing him, "Mum's very happy back in Manchester.. but she'd be glad to know what you think, and um - thank you for apologising."

My dad smiled, nodding as the food got set in front of us, all of us settling in to eat, my mother remaining silent.

"So, Harry," my dad swallowed what he was chewing, "What are your interests then?"

"Besides alcohol and drugs, you mean?" my mother snorted from beside him all of a sudden, and I widened my eyes.

"Julie, don't," my dad shot her a glare, as she shrugged taking a bite of her food.

Harry's jaw clenched, "no - it's okay.." he trailed off awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

"Harry's very into literature," I spoke up, filling the silence as my dad nodded approvingly, taking a sip of his wine.

"Ah, who's your favourite?" he asked Harry, preparing to test his knowledge.

"Jane Austen, probably," Harry said honestly, as I squeezed his hand.

My dad's face lit up, "Is that so? I must say, 'Pride and Prejudice' is a great favourite of mine.. I was pretty delighted to find Anastasia reading it a few months ago," he said, and Harry shot me a warm smile, absorbing the fact I had been reading his favourites while he was gone, "I'm guessing that's from your influence, then."

"Must be," Harry chuckled, and my dad nodded.

"Well, you'd never have caught her reading a book otherwise," he grinned, causing Harry to laugh properly this time.

"Hey!" I groaned half-heartedly, though a smile still pulled at my lips at my dad and Harry seeming to get along well all of a sudden.

"Tell you what, actually - I have one of the original copies of 'Persuasion' in my study. When we're finished here at dinner, I'm sure I could lend it to you," my dad had extended the olive branch, and I felt a sigh of relief as Harry smiled and took it.

"Yeah, I'd like that - thank you," he responded happily. I glanced at my mother now, still sitting silently in her seat, refusing to say a word - but I didn't mind. I'd rather she was silent than she patronised Harry.

When we'd finished eating, and our plates were cleared, my dad turned his attention to my mother for a moment - muttering a conversation with her as she responded with blunt replies.

"See, that wasn't too bad," I nudged Harry so only he could hear, and he began to grin.

"Yeah, your dad's alright," he whispered back to me, pecking my lips silently when my parents weren't looking.

"Thank you for this, H," I smiled up at him, which he returned.

"S'for the blowjob, baby," he whispered back again, a smirk pulling on his lips, and I bit back a laugh as my dad cleared his throat.

"Right - you'll want to see this book then, son?" my dad offered kindly to Harry, as Harry began to stand from his chair. "I won't keep him too long, Anastasia."

I reached up to quickly whisper in Harry's ear, "the blowjob is a limited time offer - hurry back."

Harry stiffened for a moment, shooting me a playful glare as he followed my dad out of the room, leaving me alone with my mother.

She stared at me for a moment, before standing up from her chair, and edging over to the door. She paused, resting her hand on my shoulder for a moment, "he's a nice boy, Anastasia," she said, before walking out of the room without another word.

I frowned. Was she crazy? She had stayed silent for the whole dinner, the only thing she said being a rude comment directed at Harry - but then she says that? She was strange, and I'd never understand her.

I stood up from my chair, leaving the room to head towards my dad's study, peeking through the glass to see him standing with Harry, book in hand as they seemingly discussed literature of some kind. I knocked on the door.

"Hey," a soft smile pulled on my lips, "is it okay if I have him back now, Dad?"

"Sure is," my dad nodded, "stay out of trouble, you two," he shook Harry's hand again, patting his shoulder, "it was lovely to meet you properly, Harry."

"You too, sir," Harry said politely, heading over to meet me in the doorway, and follow me outside, "Can we go for a walk?" he asked me once we were out of my dad's way, and I nodded, heading for the front door as Harry placed the book down on the table, grabbing a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it as soon as we were out of the door.

"How was it?" I asked, as he wound an arm around my waist, turning his head to face me so I could press a kiss to his lips.

"He's okay.. nice, actually," he said honestly, taking a drag from his cigarette, "your mum, though.. not so much."

"It's weird actually," I agreed, "she acted like a total asshat during dinner, and then told me you seemed like a nice guy afterwards."

"She did?" Harry laughed, "crazy old bat."

"Tell me about it," I said, stopping in my tracks to spin around and face him. I leant up, pressing my lips to his, our lips moulding together with ease as his other arm wound around my waist, tugging me closer to him as we kissed, his tongue running smoothly over mine.

"What was that for?" a grin tugged at his lips.

"Do I need a reason?"

"I love you," he murmured, pressing his forehead to my own and dragging his thumb gently over my bottom lip.

"I love you too, baby," I responded with ease, grabbing his hand in my own to tug him further along the path.