What happened to a few hours, mate?" Louis' tone hinted at annoyance as he raised his eyebrows. He was leaning against the wall, clearly having been waiting for us.
After assuring Harry that another run to the store could wait and he'd all but forced me to take pain medication to relieve me of some of my period pain, he had explained that Louis urgently needed us at the agency. Urgently as in, let's take our sweet time and kiss for five extra minutes before we bother with driving.
Granted, I wasn't complaining, but Louis looked unhappy.
"That fucker Clyde is what happened," Harry grumbled back, and within seconds his arm was around my waist, holding me close to his side as if the grungy man would just pop up and hold a knife to my throat again.
Louis' mildly irritated expression turned into a shocked one. "Clyde? As in the guy that you took in about two years ago? That Clyde?"
"Is there another fucking Clyde?" Harry snapped back.
"Harry," I said condescendingly, glaring up at his tense face in disapproval. He let out a frustrated breath, one hand coming up to his face as he shook his head. "I'm just pissed off," he stated angrily. I could practically feel how stressed out he was, the upset feelings emanating off of his entire body.
"Louis," I glanced over to meet his blue gaze, "could you give us a minute?"
He met my eyes and sighed. "Alright," he agreed. I waited until he had retreated inside and the doors had shut behind him to turn to Harry, who had paced a few feet away. He was kicking at the loose gravel in the ground, shaking his head as he muttered something incoherent to my ears.
I slowly approached him and sighed when I heard what he was saying.
"Fucking worthless... I'm so fucked... why do I even try?..."
I felt Harry's body tense as I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind. "You're not worthless," I mumbled as I laid my cheek against his back. "Stop saying stuff like that."
Harry sighed and I felt his palms rest on top of mine. He entwined our fingers before pulling me around so that I was in front of him. I glanced up at him before leaning against his chest. Large hands combed gently through my hair.
"How the fuck am I going to do this?" he breathed. "How am I going to get Gemma back when I can barely keep you safe?"
I pulled away and stared up at Harry. He gazed back blankly, completely still as I placed my hands on either side of his face. "You can do this," I said, but before I could continue he was shaking his head at me and shifting his gaze. "Look at me," I whispered.
It took him a few moments to finally comply.
"You can do this," I repeated softly. "You need to have a bit more faith in yourself, Harry. Believe that you can do this and stop acting like you're useless and worthless, because you're not. Everyone in that building looks up to you. You're their leader and they look to you for guidance. They need you... I need you."
Harry sighed as my palms dropped away from his face. I was prepared to make him walk inside with me but he bent down, his forehead pressing gently to mine. "You've got me," he whispered, his hot breath tickling my face.
I knew that Louis and the boys were waiting for us inside. I knew that there were things we should be doing, things that were important, but Harry had this way of making all of those worries disappear. I pressed my mouth to his and he slowly parted my lips, his tongue wetting them.
I shuddered against him and he smirked at the reaction before guiding sloppy kisses down my neck. The simplest touches from Harry were enough to have me shivering, but I would blame it on the cold.
