Dealing With Absence » h. styles au

53ᴿᴰ CHAPTER

He’s close and there’s not enough light to reach his whole face, just half of it, but it’s enough to highlight the soft, glassy green of his irises. Her laugh is slowly dying down, but the remnants of if still cut through her chest in a final sigh, only then taking away every vestige of a smile from her face.

Harry bites more harshly on his lip. “What’s so funny?”

Leesh sighs again, this time not looking at his eyes as she keeps running her hands over his head, watching as her fingers tug gently at the curled ends instead. Quietly, she mumbles “Me. I probably look pathetic right now.”

He smiles wider, even softer, if that’s possible. “Yeah, a bit,” he confesses, and something about his tone catches her attention, so she glances back to his eyes, and now not only are they soft, but they’re sorry. There’s about dozens of feelings sweeping through them, so many she can’t decipher; just a few she recognises from facing them on the mirror every morning.

“Thank you,” she attempts sarcasm, but somehow it comes out like relief, and God, doesn’t she look pathetic.

Harry doesn’t seem to think so, pulling her against him even tighter – and no, that isn’t possible at this point, it really isn’t, but he does it anyway. Her curves are all squished against him, their bodies touching from shoulders to feet, as he slips one leg inbetween hers, forcing her back with his own body until they’re both against the wall, her shoulders uncomfortable where part of them are pressed to the bump of the window case, but she won’t complain now, she really won’t.

He then drops his head to the crook of her neck and kisses it. Kisses once, twice, thrice; moves down to her collarbones, moving his hand up and prying her skin from her shirt as he pulls it down until one sleeve is hanging on her upper arm, shoulder naked. He takes advantage of it by ghosting his lips from her collarbone all up the freed area, sucking gently on the base of her neck before moving all the way to her shoulders again.

When he bites down, it’s more of a subtle nip than anything else, and the sensation makes Elisha press her lips on a tight line, restraining every noise she might want to make and break the moment.

The next few seconds are filled with Harry’s lips against her burning skin, nosing at the same area over and over again, eyes closed and lips ghosting over everywhere; up and down, right and left, until he reaches the lobe of her ear and grazes it with his front teeth before blowing on them, hiding his face on her hair.

“I missed you,” he whispers, like it’s a secret, like no one else besides her is supposed to know, but he must make sure at least she does. It comes with an amount of trust she didn’t expect; his tone heavy and meaningful, and she knows those tree words are not only what he means.

It means more. It means “I need you”, and “It’s been fucking hell without you”, and “I’m so empty when you’re not by my side”.

Ask her how she knows that, she can’t tell. But the way he presses his lips to the corner of her mouth right after, hesitating, asking, doubting – like she’s ever going to be able to deny this – just proves she’s right.

She nods to an unanswered question, tilting her head just enough so his lips land on hers, and then words are not necessary anymore.

Harry kisses gently, first. Just moulds the shape of their mouths together, not opening much, just brushing. At first it’s about pecks and nibbles, pressure, feeling, learning. But the second he opens his mouth wider, it’s so much more. It’s trying to say all the things neither of them did, sucking on her tongue and taking control over the pace of the kiss, and pressing her even tighter against the wall.