alone together || h.s au

nine: i wonder if you're feeling me too

Harry has written millions of words his entire life and yet he can't seem to find the right words to describe what he's feeling, what he's been feeling, in the past couple of weeks. To say he's happy would be an understatement; happy won't do his feelings justice.

Harry is... content. Sometimes he thinks his heart might burst from how elated he is, from how much he likes Min Ji. It's terrifying and overwhelming but damn it, he doesn't care. He hasn't felt this way in years so he welcomes the feelings, embraces them with open arms.

Everyone in the office notices Harry's extremely good mood and thanks to Niall, they also know the source of his cheerfulness and they tease him whenever they get the chance to do so. Again, he doesn't care. They can tease him all they want. He's walking on cloud nine and nothing can ruin his mood.

That said, every now and then he can't shake off the feeling that a part of him is just waiting for the other shoe to drop. He knows he should just live in the moment instead of worrying about the future but it's not easy to get rid of old habits. It's just how he's built, he thinks. When things are great, he has the tendency to worry that something bad might happen soon. That's how life works, after all.

He tries not to think too much about it this morning, though, as he kisses Min Ji goodbye, reluctant to leave his flat so he could get to work.

"See you after work?" Min Ji asks once they're standing outside of their flat building. They'll have to part ways so they could each get to work and Harry can't bring himself to let go of her hand. He's being ridiculous, he's aware of that, but Min Ji doesn't seem to mind as she squeezes his hand, beaming at him. "Or do you have plans with Niall and Brooklyn?"

"Not that I know of," Harry replies, shaking his head.

Min Ji's smile grows. "Then I'll see you after work."

"Not if I see you first."

Min Ji nods, and when she's about to walk in the opposite direction, Harry pulls her back to him, her body colliding against his. But since he's braced himself for the impact, he doesn't budge. He simply grins at her and presses his lips against hers one last time.

"I'll see you later," Harry whispers before he lets her go. Her smile is the last thing he sees before she turns around and walks away. Harry does the same.

When Harry gets to his office, he finds Niall in the break room with Fred. They're standing in front of the coffee pot, deep in conversation. The sight intrigues him so he walks inside and catches the end of Niall's sentence,

"...you have nothing to worry about, mate."

Harry stops next to Niall and kinks an eyebrow, "What're we talking about here?" His eyes dart from Niall to Fred whose cheeks are flushed with embarrassment, and then back to Niall.

Niall grins and he throws an arm around Fred's shoulder, squeezing him. Harry didn't think it's possible but Fred's pale skin turns even redder. "Fred, right here, is about to make his way up to HR with Elle and have a talk with Bernice."

Fred rolls his eyes, "It's not a big deal."

"So you and Elle are official?" Harry asks. Fred nods, lips pulled into a smile. "Way to go, mate. Congratulations."

Last he heard Fred finally worked up the courage and asked Elle out on a date (it turns out that Elle has always liked Fred too but she wasn't too sure if he feels the same way due to his shy nature and his very good poker face that doesn't give anything away) and as soon as the news broke out, bets were made.

Some bet that they wouldn't make it official, some bet that they would. Niall being the romantic that he is, bets on the latter. Harry wasn't around when they made the bets but he's on Niall's side no doubt. And it's not only because his friend has a winning streak when it comes to bets but also because he thinks Fred and Elle genuinely like each other and they look cute together.