Alouette goes through the report she wrote down herself one last time.
She's immensely glad for all the time she spent in her father's office and all the times she asked him about his work while growing up, because it's only thanks to him that she had an idea of what she's doing. Sure, her father has never made her write reports, but she's seen more than she can count and the Revolution's aren't too different from the Palace's. It took her about a week or so at the start to figure out how to do her work in a way that's at least acceptable. She isn't the best, but she also isn't the worst and that's enough. She knows how to do it well enough not to raise any suspicions. She'll miss it when she goes back to the Revolution. She likes having something to do.
It's been three days since the day Harry took her to the woods not too far from Northfair and ended up opening up to her a little bit. She's kept his secret.
Alouette gathers the papers and stands up, making sure her pencil skirt doesn't have any creases before walking to Harry's door.
She knocks on it twice and steps inside, not waiting for him to let her in. It's become one of her habits, and he still hasn't complained about it.
When she steps inside he's sitting behind his desk, staring at the screen of his laptop. He glances at her and stands up. Alouette is a little jealous of how polished his clothes look. He's always so effortlessly perfect, if she didn't know better she'd wonder if he's human at all.
"I wrote the report you wanted," she says, handing it to him.
Harry rounds his desk and takes the papers from her, a faint frown curving his eyebrows as he skims it quickly. He checks the other pages, the puzzled look not leaving his face, and then opens a folder on his desk. "This is wrong," he then says, turning to look at her. "Some of the data is wrong and so are the conclusions."
Alouette's mouth falls open in an o-shape. "I'm so sorry! I must've not noticed it. I'll fix it, I just need a pen." She's fretting now, and Harry tilts his head, seeming to find her nervousness somewhat enjoyable.
He takes a pen from his desk and hands it to her, and she sits on the couch on the side of the room, the papers on her legs.
She glances up, embarrassment flashing through her. "I just realised... could you give me the correct data?" She hates acknowledging that she's done something wrong in front of him. It's humiliating, especially knowing his very extensive scholastic record.
He walks towards her and puts the folder on the coffee table without a word. Alouette thanks him profusely and he walks back to his desk.
For about ten minutes they work together in silence, Alouette fixing her collection of mistakes and Harry doing nobody knows what. She sighs and double-checks every single information she has to make sure she won't end up making more mistakes while going forward.
After a while Harry stands up. There's a porcelain sound but Alouette doesn't look up, too focused on what she's doing. He moves to stand behind her, and her heartbeat speeds up. She hates when people look at what she's doing from over her shoulder, but she's also in no position to tell him not to, so she clenches her teeth and silently deals with it.
Suddenly the back of the couch dips. Alouette turns her head, almost letting out a gasp when she sees that Harry has leant his elbows on it and is much closer to her than he was before. He's eating something, and she shoots him a confused glance before realising that he's holding something in his hand for her to take.
A little red strawberry.
She gives him a little thankful smile and takes it and puts it in her mouth, the sweet taste spreading on her tongue and calming her down a little. She starts working a little slower.
Harry eats another strawberry and it isn't long before he's holding one up for her as well. This time she takes it with her teeth and then goes back to writing.
He puts the dish on the couch next to her and then goes back to his desk. She steals a glance at him as he sits on his chair and turns off his computer, starting to tidy up his desk. It's still afternoon, but there's no doubt he's getting ready to slow down and go back to his rooms soon.
She goes back to her report. Ten more minutes go by, and she's finally rewriting the conclusions. When she's done she checks everything a couple more times. She's never had the possibility of going to university due to her father's job, but she has no doubt this is how stressed someone feels before giving in an important paper. Even though she's quite certain Harry is scarier than any professor.
Alouette stands up and walks to him. "Here it is, Harry. Sorry for the delay."
He stands up and takes the paper sheets from her again. Her heart is jumping in her chest as he reads over it quickly, this time not finding anything he doesn't like.
"Aren't you a treasure?" He then comments, grazing Alouette's cheek with a finger. His lips meet hers in a kiss that's so unexpected that it leaves her breathless.
"You like it?" she asks, not even knowing why she's so eager to hear the reply.
"It's perfect," Harry whispers against her mouth. "So perfect."
Alouette closes the distance between them and presses her lips against his. He gasps against her mouth but then wraps his arms around her waist. She pulls him into her by the knot of his tie, her hand on his jaw as he deepens the kiss, his tongue delving into her mouth. She loses her balance and crashes against his desk; folders fall on the floor in a cloud of flying papers.
"Don't bother," Harry murmurs when she breaks away from the kiss to pick them up. He pulls her up onto the dark wooden surface of the desk. His hands are travelling down her frame and Alouette's head is spinning.
She tangles her fingers into his hair and her mouth crashes against his in a mess of stolen breaths and choked gasps. She feels his fingers graze her legs and shivers, the warmth of the touch shooting through her body. Harry pulls her dark grey skirt up and parts her legs, stepping in between them.
He kisses the corner of her mouth, her jawline, her neck and Alouette's brain turns to mud. She can't she can't she can't—
"What do you want?" Harry murmurs into her ear, his voice rough. The ground is getting closer and closer and she can see the end coming, she can see the stars falling and the earth crashing into the sun and nothing makes sense anymore, because his hands are on her body and he isn't letting go. "You have to tell me," he pushes when she doesn't reply.
"Touch me," she whispers. The words leave her mouth broken, a pale reflection of how they sounded in her mind. Her rationality and reality have turned into a puddle and they're now dripping away from her like rainwater from leaves after a storm.
"Touch you?" Harry muses. "Touch you how?"
What a bastard. A fleeting thought, so fragile and weak that all he needs to do to blow it away is squeeze her thigh gently.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help teasing you." His fingers walk up her thigh, goosebumps rising in the wake of their touch. He kisses her again and she wraps her arms around his neck, crossing her legs behind his back. He lets out a faint moan when her body is pressed against his.
Her skin is hot and her mind is flaming red, alarm signs sounding off so sharply that her ears are ringing. Harry presses a button under the desk and a click can be heard from the door.
"How about some privacy?" he says lowly, and a thrill of anticipation shoots down her spine. It's been too long, too many weeks of teasing and playing and too many months since the last time someone has held her like that, his touch leaves flames on her body.
He presses his mouth on hers again and undoes the first few buttons of her shirt with one hand. He intertwines his fingers in her hair and pulls her head back, leaving hot kisses down her neck and on her chest. He sucks gently at a spot right below her collarbone as his other hand slides dangerously low. He soothes the tender skin with his tongue right as his fingers hook around the band of her underwear.
"Is this okay?" he asks, and Alouette nods violently. In another life she'd be embarrassed by her own eagerness, but right now she can't think, can't bring herself to stop because this is what she's been unconsciously waiting for for weeks and it's to right and so wrong at the same time but so right, right, right—
"Yes, yes." Her breath trembles, her chest is rising and falling so fast and he can certainly feel it but she can't bring herself to care.
He takes a step back to slide the fabric off her legs, and she suddenly feels cold now that his body isn't pressed against hers anymore. She pulls him into her again and he lets out a happy hum against her lips. He raises her chin with a hand and kisses her again and again, until her mind is a cloud of smoke and unreleased tension.
She wants—no, needs—more. She needs to feel his touch on her skin, she needs him to keep kissing her until the world will come to an end and there will be no air left for her to inhale. She needs him to make her believe he likes her just as much as she likes him for a little while longer, she needs she needs she needs—
"Please," she breathes out, and Harry smiles.
His hand is sliding up her inner thigh again and suddenly his fingers are on her. She gasps and holds onto him tighter, feeling herself come apart under him as he teases her gently.
"Shit," Alouette lets out as he leaves slow kisses on her throat, his lips parted against her skin.
Harry's nose brushes against her neck and his mouth grazes her earlobe. "That's a new word coming from you," he murmurs in her ear, his voice dark. "That's too easy, you're not even going to make me try?"
He kisses her mouth and bites on her lower lip, his hand is between their bodies and Alouette can feel his touch right into her soul. Her legs are trembling and she could cry. It's been too long, too long, too long and Harry is there and he's all over her and she can't think, can't exist anymore.
She's tingling all over and a shiver runs through her at the overwhelming sensation. Harry notices and lets out a chuckle.
"You're so beautiful, Lark. It does things to my mind." The name that isn't hers but she's grown so fond of over the past few months makes her go crazy as it drips from his lips in a rich, warm tone that is so undeniably him.
She could fall apart under him. If he truly is here to trick her and drag her to the darkest depths of the ocean, she finds that she wouldn't mind as long as he stays by her side.
It feels so good and so right and she can't anymore. He sucks and teases a spot on her neck with his tongue, his movements more rushed when he feels her breath quickening. There are stars in her vision and white noise in her ears, warmth is spreading through her and she now knows that waiting at the end of her fall isn't the earth, but ocean waves. She won't stop at ground level, she'll sink much, much deeper.
"You don't even know how many times I've thought about this," Harry murmurs, his voice leading her back to him.
"Oh yeah?" Alouette asks, giving him a stubborn look in an attempt to regain a sliver of control over herself. She teased him so much in the past months, and yet he's the one that made her fall apart first. It feels so good, and maybe she hates him a little because of that. "And what else happens in your thoughts?" Her hand is on his jaw and she pulls him into a kiss.
"You truly want to know?" He breathes, and then drops to the ground in front of her. He kisses the inside of her thighs and pulls her closer to the edge of the desk, and then his mouth is on her.
Alouette lets out a broken cry at the magical yet overwhelming sensation and leans her head back. Her toes curl and she's falling. Her back arches against the desk and her mind is in flames. She lets out a faint moan and immediately bites on her finger not to let out a sound.
"God, Harry."
He looks at her when she calls out to him, his eyes glint dangerously. Her heart is beating so fast against her ribcage and she hates—hates—that it feels so right. She hates that she wants it so much, that she never wants his touch to leave her body. She's a mess and can't even let out a rational sentence because of how good he makes her feel. There's something of forbidden, of so sinful in it. They're opposites in behaviour and circumstances, they shouldn't be doing this but she can't bring herself to care, so she pushes the thought back, back, back— because she doesn't have to think about it now. Not when he's making her feel sensations she's never felt before.
It shouldn't be allowed, he shouldn't be allowed to be more than she's ever had and all she's secretly always wanted.
Alouette bites harder on her finger not to let out a sound. There's a deep silence in the office, only broken by her rushed breaths. Warmth bubbles up inside of her and her legs are trembling. He squeezes her thigh and it adds to the overpowering sensation and she can't hold back anymore.
She unravels under him and squeezes her eyes shut, falling back onto the desk. There are pens digging into her back but she can't feel them as waves of electricity spread through her.
Harry kisses the inside of her thigh and stands up, sucking his fingers clean while staring into her eyes. They look at each other for some moments, their pupils wide, not saying a word.
The warmth has left Alouette's body, and the air of the office feels cold against her hot skin. Her breath is starting to slow down and so is her heartbeat, and it terrifies her to realise that she doesn't regret it in the slightest. She'd do it all over again if she had the chance and she really, really doesn't know at what point that dark little corner of her mind decided that being with Harry in that way is what she wants.
They're supposed to be enemies—enemies don't kiss each other, don't make each other feel the way Harry made her feel. But she doesn't care about any of that, because she liked it. She liked it so much that it shocks her.
There's a sudden knock at the door.
"Mr. Styles, the files you asked for are here."
Alouette cheeks heat up when she recognises Evie's voice.
"One moment," Harry tells her, taking a step back to allow her to get off his desk.
Alouette picks up her underwear and puts it on again while purposely avoiding Harry's eyes. The more time passes, the more reality comes back to her, making her realise how reckless she's been. She buttons up her shirt and pulls down her skirt, straightening the clothes at best.
Harry picks up the papers that fell on the ground and puts them on his desk again, a little fleeting smile curving his lips. When she's presentable enough, he presses the button behind his desk, sitting on his chair and regarding her with a faraway, burning look.
"It was a pleasure to work with you," he tells her as the door opens and Evie steps inside.
Alouette's eyes widen in embarrassment. Evie greets her with a little nod and suddenly she can't stay here anymore.
"I need to go," she announces to no one in particular, and then runs out of the room.
Bad. Bad. Bad.
Her heels tap on the marble floors as she scurries towards the lift, and suddenly the temperature around her is rising for all the wrong reasons. She shouldn't have got carried away in that way. She shouldn't have liked it so much, considering everything.
Has she finally taken one step too close?
She gets out of the lift and goes to her room, closing the door and leaning against it, staring into nothing with shock painted on her face. Northfair shines like a precious jewel on the other side of the glass window, projecting pink, blue and green hues all around the darkened room.
What is her mind doing? Is she going crazy? She can't stop thinking of the way Harry's hands felt on her, and she hates that she has to fight back a smile every single time.
Alouette slides down to the floor, a frown on her face. Her fingers graze a piece of paper and she looks down, confused. Where has it come from? She's sure it wasn't on her when she left Harry's office.
She picks it up and unfolds it slowly, sudden terror overcoming her when she sees the words written on it. The letters are scrambled, following a code the Revolution always uses—the code she was taught growing up. Someone must've slipped it under the door while she wasn't here.
It takes her a few moments to make sense of the message, and when she does, she has to double-check a few other times.
7 days left. Come down in 3.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. x
Miki