Scarlett
Harry stayed with her through the withdrawal, he even threw out all of her drugs and alcohol, allowing her to keep the cigarettes.
Those few days she felt worse than she had in her entire life. She'd gotten so needy she'd begged and pleaded for him to give her anything and got angry at him when he refused, telling him to get out and leave her alone, which of course he ignored.
Now that everything was out of her system, she was constantly fighting the urge to pick up old habits.
"How did you do this by yourself? Jesus Christ."
Harry laughed lightly, "I had a group and I knew my life would be better without all of that crap."
"What did you do all the time? All I know how to do is get fucked up and have sex all the time."
He laughed again and kissed her cheek making her smile, "They taught us things to keep our mind occupied. I drew you a lot if I'm being honest."
That piqued her interest, "Really? Can I see them?"
He shifted awkwardly behind her, "I suppose..."
Scarlett sat up and asked cheerily, "Where is it? In your bag?"
He sat up as well and hummed his response as he watched her bend down to retrieve it.
It didn't take long for her to find it and soon she was seated beside him on the couch, their legs touching and the sketchbook in her hand.
She opened the cover almost delicately, as if she were afraid to ruin it.
He watched the smile grow on her lips as her eyes scanned each detailed image.
"I didn't know you could do this kind of thing?"
She could have sworn a flush rose in his cheeks at the comment, "I didn't either. Not until a few months ago anyway."
Scarlett bit her lower lip as she turned to one sketch in particular, "Can I have this one?"
She had pointed to the only sketch that he had done in full color, his favourite.
His hand found hers, "How about I draw you a new one and I keep this one? It's my favourite one."
She turned to him and genuinely smiled, "I'd like that."
* * *
"Can I take you out on a date?" Harry asked, breaking the comfortable silence.
Scarlett thought about it for a moment and tried to answer without sounding too excited, "An actual, official date?"
His hand found hers and entwined their fingers, "Exactly that."
She smiled and he was beyond captivated, "I don't see why not. Where are we going?"
God was she excited! She'd never been on a nice date before, every time she'd been out it was all just for sex, and she was elated to finally experience how a date was supposed to go.
Harry smiled to himself, "It will ruin it if I tell you, so you'll just have to wait."
Scarlett rolled her eyes playfully, "Please tell me we're having sex afterwards at least, it's been a while."
Harry laughed lightly and kissed her cheek, "Wouldn't have it any other way."
She lit a cigarette and blew a plume of smoke in the air happily. It had been so long since she'd been off the drugs and it felt like the heavy burden had vanished.
Harry wore a pained expression, he didn't like the fact that she still smoked, but it was her decision and he couldn't do much about it.
"Scarlett?"
"Hmmm?"
"Do you ever want kids?" It was a completely out of the blue question, but he was curious and it might help her quit smoking depending on her answer.
She thought about it for a moment, "I suppose I would like to have at least one. But, I probably wouldn't be around long to raise him or her because of the heavy drug abuse complications, so probably not."
"Don't say that. You've turned things around, for the most part anyway."
She sighed, it was better to just keep her thoughts to herself; she knew what he was trying to do, but she wasn't ready to give it up yet.
* * *
Harry ended up taking her to a nice little restaurant on the other side of town, it wasn't really fancy but it did make her feel special nonetheless.
"You know, I don't think that I've ever been on a real date before, until now of course."
Harry gave her a look, "You can't be serious."
Scarlett nodded, "I am. Like I said, no one really wants a druggie and really, all it ever consisted of was sex."
He linked his hand with hers as they walked up to their building, "Well, congratulations on your first date then. I can promise you that there are many more to come."
She smiled and he pulled her closer and kissed her before she could say a word.
It was nice to finally be with someone, even if it began in a not-so-great way. Plus, now that the drugs were gone, she wasn't tired anymore and he was sweet more often than not.
He pulled away and she found herself asking, "Why do you keep doing that?"
Her cheeks were flushed as she looked away to find her key, embarrassed that she'd even asked such a stupid question.
Harry only did it again, pulling apart only for his lips to remain just above hers, "Because I want to and because I can."
Scarlett smiled and her nose scrunched up at his answer, "You're odd."
He raised an eyebrow and smirked, "But I'm yours."
A smile tugged at her lips as she opened the door to step inside, "Keep it up and you won't be much longer."
"Ouch baby, that burns." He joked which only made her giggle.
He watched, amused, as her face scrunched up again, "Stop making me do that, it's gross."
He let the door fall shut, locking it behind him and grabbing her waist to pull her closer, "Do what? Smile? Laugh? Giggle?"
She fought back the giggle both because she hated it and because she knew he wanted to hear it.
"All of that actually."
"Sorry, not going to happen." He replied before sweeping her off her feet and lifting her small frame onto his shoulders.
"Harry! Put me down!" Scarlett fought against him weakly as he carried her to the bedroom, each of them laughing the entire time.
"As you wish."
Her back hit the soft mattress and he gently climbed on top of her.
"I hate you." Scarlett stuck her tongue out at him.
"I hate you too."
His soft lips fell upon hers in a sweet, yet deep kiss and she couldn't help it to smile through it.
They'd certainly had sex before, multiple times at that, but this time everything was different. This time they didn't just have sex, this time they made love.
Scarlett laid her head on his chest, contented smile on her now swollen lips, "That was the first time anyone has ever made me feel so special. Thank you Harry."
Harry chuckled and she laughed lightly as his body shook under her, "Scarlett, you don't have to thank me for making love to you."
She took his hand and kissed the back of it, "I know, but I wanted to."
He smiled brightly although he knew that she couldn't see it, "Well then, you're very welcome. Let's get some sleep though, its late and I'm going job hunting tomorrow."
He kissed her cheek and she hummed happily in response, "Hmm okay. Goodnight Harry."
"Goodnight Scarlett."