A/N: Trigger warning- mentions of nonconsensual sex (not between main characters), mentions of recreational drug use, substance abuse
Owning a car had proven to be quite useful. Your mother had somehow convinced your father to loan you the money for a second hand car when you'd moved out, but you knew it was just so that he could control this aspect of your life. Having a car meant not being able to skip any holidays or family events, especially one that you'd not technically paid for. Because after this Christmas, when you'd be finally paying off your loan, you'd not be visiting for a long, looong time.
You'd told yourself you'd stop going home after uni, but you couldn't get yourself to do it until you got a job, saved up enough to be able to pay your father back, so that he'd not have anything to guilt trip you with.
So this was it. Finally, you'd saved up enough to pay your third and final instalment. You were giddy just thinking about it. Maybe you'd even move to another state. The world was your oyster now. As it was, you only lived 2 hours away from your hometown, and that was a little too close for your liking. No, you needed to be far away, as to not be able to "make it in time" for any other future family stuff. You were ready to cut all ties.
You contemplated this as you were driving to the airport, your brother was flying in from uni for Christmas holidays and you were the one designated to go collect him as it was "on your way home, anyway". Of course he got to go study at a better university, in a better state, doing something he actually enjoyed, while you'd been forced to pick something "realistic", as your parents had insisted. He could chase after his dreams, but not you. Typical.
Just 3 more days. That's it. Literally 3 more days, and then you could pretend like all of this had been just a fever dream. Your father had never beaten you growing up, you'd never seen your mother black and blue, you'd never been made to feel like you weren't worth a dime and everything was going to heal perfectly, no scars left to show for it. Which was utter bullshit of course, and you knew it, but you liked to pretend that running from your problems was actually going to solve them. Because at this point, there was little less you hadn't tried.
Your therapist was great, all of the ones you'd gone through had been in fact. But you just couldn't let this go, the trauma was there, ever present, like an eerie lingering feeling that you couldn't quite shake off. You'd tried the conventional methods-therapy, medication, self care, yoga, meditation, kickboxing... you name it; and then you'd tried the more unorthodox approaches that people desperate enough resort to in order to escape the reality of their lives and get out of their own heads even if just for a few hours at a time- your typical recreational drugs (nothing too crazy), meaningless casual sex, heavy drinking (typically alone at night while watching endless reruns of The Office), and maybe you'd begun abusively using sleeping pills at one point (never mixing with alcohol though), but you'd caught yourself right before it would've most likely begun to be a real problem. You were on the mend now though, you hadn't done any of that in a long while actually. You were even trying to give up smoking, a vice you'd had since you were 16 and that your parents still didn't know about. Mostly due to their own ignorance, you hadn't even tried hard enough to hide it.
You'd even given up therapy, but that was because you were desperate enough to finish paying your dad off to afford it.
So, you were particularly on edge these days. And understandably so. You hadn't smoked in close to 2 weeks, which was your new record, and you were certain this would prove extra difficult while at home, but still, you were determined not to let it deter you. You wanted to do better. You hadn't drank either, not since Thanksgiving. Especially after what that cursed bourbon had led to. Ugh. You didn't want to think about that. Especially since it correlated to another one of your issues.
You hadn't slept with anyone in 8 months, and it was beginning to be a problem. You'd stopped doing casual hookups and one night stands ever since one date that had taken a turn for the worse. He hadn't forced himself on you, not exactly, but you'd told him to stop at one particular point and then... he just didn't. Your therapist insisted that this was a matter you should've discussed more, but you kept telling yourself it was not such a big deal. Then she pointed out how you'd not wanted to be intimate with anyone ever since, avoided going out altogether, and deep down you knew she was right. But the implications of what she was hinting at were too heavy to process fully just then. So you shoved it to the back of your mind and just chose to pretend like it never happened. You shrugged it off, just like he did when you brought it up with him afterwards. He'd told you that he "knew you could take it" and that he was just "pushing your limits, helping you expand your sexual horizons". Just thinking about it made your blood boil.
No sir, that was borderline rape.
You frowned, switching on the radio. You really didn't need that realization to hit you in the middle of a traffic jam on the way to the airport. You flipped through the stations with shaky fingers, you needed a distraction but nothing good was on air, you really didn't need to hear the weather forecast on 5 different stations just then. Finally you found some decent music and turned the volume up, trying to drown your own thoughts.
It wasn't rape. You'd consented to it, you'd wanted to have sex with him. He just got carried away.
But you asked him to stop. And he didn't.
But you didn't really push him off of you or anything. You just stood there, waited for it to be over. And it's not like he hurt you or anything.
But you weren't enjoying it and you wanted him to stop.
But what did you expect? Hooking up with all these men, having one night stands one after the other? Men are jerks, some more than others, something like that was statistically bound to happen since men already can't take no for an answer. You just increased your chances of having it happen to you by being so promiscuous.
You groaned, hitting your steering wheel, honking the horn by accident. At least that managed to snap you out of your internal turmoil over that damned night. It happened. Get over it. Stop beating yourself up about it. No use crying over spilled milk.
You didn't quite remember how you made it the rest of the trip to the airport. Your mind kind of went blank, and you probably must've driven there on autopilot, which was absolutely concerning and made you realize that maybe you really weren't doing all that well. You would've killed for a cigarette.
You parked the car and made your way to the arrivals, you'd somehow made it in time, despite the traffic jam. Why you had to go greet him at the gate was beyond you, your brother was a big boy, surely he could manage carrying his own trolley to the darn parking lot.
As you sat there waiting, you fidgeted with a strand of hair, you'd noticed your nervous tics get worse each passing day, but you told yourself it was just withdrawal messing with you. Your nail polish was almost entirely chipped off, you'd picked at your mascara the whole way there in the car, and you'd bitten your lips to the point where you could taste blood. The cold outside didn't help them heal in the slightest, the moment they chapped you'd just nibble at them again.
You checked your phone and wondered what was the hold up. You went to check the arrivals board and of course, of course, his flight had been delayed. You sighed exasperatedly, he wouldn't be getting there for another 40 minutes, and at this point you felt like curling up into a ball in the middle of the airport and crying. It was the last straw. You could actually feel your eyes begin to water when you heard a familiar voice mumble beside you.
"Oh for fuck's sake..."
You squeezed your eyes shut, hoping upon hope you were mistaken, but you recognized that voice way quicker than you should've. You opened just one eye to peek to your right and sure enough, there stood Harry grimacing at the arrivals board. You wanted to turn your head immediately, since you were certain he hadn't noticed you, but you just couldn't look away. You watched his eyes move, reading the board, that frown line deepening, his hands resting on his hips, those rings. Just as you were about to finally force yourself to peel your eyes away from him, his eyes glanced in your direction, almost as if he'd sensed someone was staring.
You stared at each other for a long moment. You didn't know what to do. You thought you'd never run into him again. Which was kind of stupid on your part, considering that your brother and his daughter were still dating, and that they were both flying in from uni. You should've definitely anticipated this, but somehow you'd tricked your brain into thinking you'd never have to see him again after what had felt like a hit and run at his house for Thanksgiving.
As your mind raced, thinking of a way in which you could somehow explain the whole reason why you'd left like that, you saw a lazy smile grow on his face and you let out a breath you hadn't realized you were holding.
He took a step closer and the more he looked at you the more his smile faded and morphed into a worried expression "Hey. What's the matter? Have you been crying?". He was genuinely concerned, his voice grave with worry but gentle at the same time.
You swiped your fingers across your cheeks, checking for any traces of dampness. Crap, you were sure you looked a right mess "No..." you lied.
He frowned, nodding. He clearly wasn't buying it but didn't want to push you "Wanna go grab a cup of coffee while we wait for those two lovebirds?"
You looked at him, confused. You'd not expected him to say that. "Sure... "
"All right, good. C'mon"
You kept a step behind him and he looked over his shoulder, gesturing for you to walk ahead "I don't know where we're headed" you explained
"I don't either" he shrugged "Not exactly my first choice, these airport cafés. We'll just pick one, I'm sure they're all equally terrible"
You nodded in agreement. The hustle and bustle of the airport thankfully acted as a buffer while you made your way to the café. You knew it was just a matter of time until you had to sit across from him and had to address the elephant in the room.
You ordered an iced coffee and Harry frowned at your choice before placing in his own order, black coffee. And if that didn't rub the age gap between you in your face, you didn't know what did.
"Don't tell me. You're that black coffee drinker that judges anyone that has the audacity of having it with sugar"
Harry raised his eyebrows "No, I was just surprised you'd be wanting something with ice in the middle of winter"
You side eyed him "Oh, no. It's worse than I thought" Harry tilted his head to the side waiting for you to go on "You're that person that never has ice cream unless it's hot outside, aren't you?"
He grinned "There's a word for those people, you know"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. "Normal""
You scoffed "On the contrary. The word you're looking for is "delusional""
He squinted his eyes at you, a smirk on his face as he leaned in to your side, his elbow rested over the counter waiting for your order "You know what I think? I think you were denied ice cream during winters as a child and now you're just rebelling against that"
You frowned, opened your mouth but the retort you were dying to give him never came out.
He raised his eyebrows and batted his eyelashes. Yeah, he was loving this.
Your coffees were ready, so you each grabbed your own and sat at one of the small round tables.
You grimaced watching him drink that scalding hot liquid that tasted like boiled old socks "How can you drink that?" you shivered, the very memory of that taste made your skin crawl "You know what?" it was your time to lean in across the table and squint your eyes at him "I bet you were denied tasting coffee as a kid and you convinced yourself you were gonna drink it the way grownups do when you finally got to"
"So you admit this is the proper way to drink coffee"
"That's not at all what I'm saying"
"You kinda are, though" he chuckled "But no. I genuinely like it black"
"Your taste buds must be nonexistent"
"I seem to recall you enjoying my cooking. You know, the stuff that I cooked with these talented fingers?" he wiggled his fingers at you and you slapped your forehead in embarrassment immediately. He chuckled at your reaction and went on "I happened to taste all of it while cooking with this talented tongue"
"Oh my God" you groaned and sinked into your chair, feeling yourself blush profusely
"Hey, all that praise went to my head. I'm pretty narcissistic like that"
You decided this was as good a moment as any, and looking at him from beneath your lashes you cleared your throat "Uhm, listen. I know it was awfully rude of me to leave the way I did that morning, after you were kind enough to have me over for dinner and what not. But I'm sure you know by now why I bolted, and I know it was childish of me, but I honestly couldn't handle facing you after forgetting my darn underwear in your bathroom like that. It was so embarrassing" you covered your face, wishing the ground would open up and swallow you whole "I can't believe I just forgot them in there! I washed them in the shower and then they weren't completely dry to wear and I meant to grab them on my way out, but then Emily asked if I wanted any leftovers for breakfast and one thing led to another and then when you went to take a shower it dawned on me that I'd just left them there and ughhh" you were talking a mile a minute but you just couldn't get yourself to shut up. Yeah, he got it. You forgot them there. Enough already.
But really, you were trying to play it off as though you'd ran away out of sheer embarrassment over having forgotten your panties in his bathroom, when in reality you'd ran because you thought he'd definitely see it as some perverted thing you'd done to try and grab his attention after all that weird exchange the previous night. The one where you'd grabbed his forearm for a little too long than necessary after having unwillingly implied sharing his bed and he pulled away as if electrocuted.
Yeah. Good times.
He looked at you this whole time, his expression unreadable. You expected him to laugh it off, reassure you in some way, but he just sat there looking at you. He eventually said "I have seen lingerie before though, you know"
"Oh. I know" He raised an eyebrow at that and you swore you'd have poured all the ice in your beverage on top of yourself and have it immediately melt off, that's how badly you were burning up with embarrassment "I just mean... oh, fuck it" you mumbled, pushing your drink to the side. You'd slurped all the coffee and was left with just water from the melting ice cubes anyways.
He chuckled, shaking his head slowly at your reaction and even bit his lower lip which sent you spiraling. This man was so confusing. One moment he pulls away like you might have rabies and the next it's almost like he's... flirting? But you knew rationally that he was just trying to put you at ease with what was clearly an uncomfortable situation for you.
"So, no hard feelings?"
He chuckled deep in his chest at that, looking away and you furrowed your brows- what was so funny now? He glanced back at you and you felt like squirming under his gaze, the smirk on his face was doing things to you, and you were wondering when this feeling was going to wear off, when was he not going to turn you into a rambling mess, and most importantly when were you going to stop crossing your legs in an unconscious search for some kind of friction.
"Sure" he eventually said but he looked at you as though he was searching for something on your face.
"Great" you glanced at your phone "Let's head back, they should be landing any minute now"
Neither of you talked on your way back to the arrivals gate, but thankfully you saw people were already coming out. Finally, you saw Emily who quickly spotted her father and waved enthusiastically at him, and you smiled seeing her so genuinely happy, but then quickly knitted your brows in confusion. Where was your brother?
You were pretty sure Emily hadn't even seen you there, she just sprinted into her father's arms and as you watched their embrace from the side, you couldn't help but have your heart sink a little.
Your father had never, not once taken you into his arms like that, let alone held you and not let go as if he hadn't seen you in ages. The tears were threatening to spill again, so you just looked away, giving them a bit of privacy.
"How was your flight?" you could hear him mumble against the top of her head
"Boring. I think I fell asleep at one point, I'm kinda in a cranky mood now"
"Uh-oh" Harry chuckled, "Hey, but where's your boyfriend?"
"Oh, he decided not to come. Said he'd only just visited his folks for Thanksgiving, so" she shrugged as she pulled away
"He what?"
Emily turned abruptly at that "Oh, Y/N, didn't see you there!" she gave you a confused look
Harry gave you in turn a concerned look and you just stared at them for a moment before explaining "What do you mean he decided not to come? This is a joke, right?"
Emily glanced at her father then back at you "Sorry... I'm guessing you're here to collect him? He didn't tell you he cancelled his flight?"
You inhaled sharply, turning away from them "I'm sorry" you managed, looking over your shoulder "I'm just gonna... Merry Christmas!"
You rushed towards the exit, forcing yourself not to run. You needed to make it to your car first before you could unleash the waterworks. This was all just too overwhelming.
Here you were at 25, still forced to visit home for every damn holiday but your spoiled brat of a brother gets to skip his first Christmas after moving out? The fuck!? And then nobody in your family even bothered to tell you he wasn't coming anymore?!
The moment you stepped outside you sprinted towards the parking lot. You stopped for a second to compose yourself, trying to remember where you'd parked, and then sprinted to the car. You hugged the steering wheel, letting go of all the pent up frustration that was clutching your heart in a vise grip. Tears just flowed, your whole body shaking, but you couldn't even catch a breath. Fuck it. Fuck it all to hell. You recognized that this was not just about your stupid family, this was stemming from your realization from earlier on your way to the airport, and you just never felt more alone in the world.
A gentle rasp to the driver's window startled you, and you pulled yourself upright to look to your left just to see... Harry? Who was looking at you from the other side of the window, a stern concerned look on his face.
You used the back of your sleeves to wipe at your face as you lowered the window, you couldn't care less at the moment about what you looked like, not even to him.
"Yeah?" you almost didn't recognize your own voice.
He bent his knees to be eye level with you "Y/N... what happened, love? Are you all right? What's happening? Talk to me" his voice was gentle yet reassuring. It was comforting and genuinely sounded like he gave a fuck, not that he was just curious as to why you'd ran off like the lunatic that you were. He was visibly panting as well, having chased after you, but even so his presence was calming and just enveloped you in a blanket of protectiveness. You couldn't explain it. It just did.
You shook your head "I know I must seem mad. I promise I'm not trying to be dramatic. It's not just my brother skipping Christmas and my family not even bothering to tell me..." you inhaled profusely, trying to steady your breathing. Your tears were still silently rolling down your cheeks as you just dropped your gaze to your hands in your lap and felt your chin tremble "I'm alright. Really. Sorry. You didn't have to... check up on me. I'm fine"
"You're not fine" he said, his voice still quiet but with an edge to it. He was visibly upset seeing you like this. "Let me move your car, the airport's parking lot is gonna fine you if you leave it here, and I'll drive you home. I'm not letting you drive like this"
"No, no. Really. That won't be necessary. Besides..." you bit your lip, taking the decision right there and then "I'm not going home"
"You're not? Well, where are you staying? I'll drive you there, doesn't matter. C'mon" he opened the door and held out his hand for you "C'mon love, let's get you in the passenger's seat"
"No, wait. I mean... I don't know"
Harry asked as gently as possible "What do you mean?"
You slowly looked up at him "I just mean... I don't know where I'm going. I'll try and book a hotel, don't think I can drive back today. But it's the holidays so I might have to... Really, I'm fine. I'll calm down. I just... need a minute"
Harry inhaled sharply and after a moment of deliberation he reached for your hand and pulled you out, gently but confidently "You can think about it later, let's get you out of here for now, hm?"
You let him walk you around the car to the passenger's seat almost as if in a trance. He even closed the door making sure he didn't push it shut too harshly.
He then got inside, started the engine and silently drove you out of the parking lot and into a good spot where your car would be safe. As he opened the trunk and got your luggage out you got out of the car as well.
"Ready?" he smiled at you
"Harry..." you sighed "You're too kind. But I'm a big girl. I'll be fine. I'll just go grab a cup of coffee somewhere and search for some airbnbs or something"
"I know you are... This is not me saying you can't handle it, it's me saying you shouldn't have to. Fuck. It's Christmas Eve, Y/N" he sighed audibly through his nose "You shouldn't be carrying a trolley around town trying to find lodgings on Christmas Eve. And you shouldn't be crying in the first place... It's not my place, I'm not trying to impose. And if you're not comfortable, let me know. But I'd really feel a whole lot better if you came home with us, don't spend Christmas alone in an airbnb or driving. Nobody deserves that... Certainly not a sweet girl like you, hm?" he gave you a lopsided smile and your heart was fit to burst. Nobody, literally nobody had ever been this kind to you. How could you say no to that?
"I couldn't possibly impose, Harry..."
He rolled his eyes "Again with the imposing!" he chuckled exasperatedly "We've been over this! I offered. When I say something, I mean it, Y/N. I'm not just being courteous"
"Yeah, but, what about Emily? She didn't sign up for this. She was going to spend Christmas Eve with her father, not have her boyfriend's loser sister butt in"
"You don't know Emily, she'd never think that. Besides, I'm sure she's beginning to see your brother in a different light already"
You groaned "Ah man, he's gonna kill me. I keep painting him in such a bad light for you"
"You're doing no such thing. He's the one doing it all by himself. But forget about him. Or your family. It's making you sad. C'mon" he walked off, pulling the trolley behind him and you reluctantly followed him back towards the parking lot
You felt really weird seeing Emily look at the two of you approaching the car, a confused look on her face. She lowered her window as you got closer "Y/N! Are you all right? What happened?"
"She's fine" Harry said, cheerily, trying to signal his daughter not to insist on the matter. "Y/N is gonna spend some time with us, is that all right?"
"...Sure!"
"Great. Now let's get this show on the road"
*
Harry had decorated.
The whole house was littered in Christmas ornaments, the tree was beautiful, and your heart just ached. This was what Christmas was to most people. You'd never really had that. But you didn't allow yourself to think about that, not when you'd still not had a window of opportunity to cry your eyes out yet. Because as much as you genuinely appreciated Harry doing this, you kinda really wanted to be alone just then.
Thankfully, it was getting late, and you hoped upon hope that Harry would offer up his bedroom again. Because the sofa wasn't going to be private enough for your sobfest.
"Who's hungry?"
You were readying yourself to make up an excuse, you really weren't in the mood for anything to eat, when Emily beat you to it "Actually, dad, I promised the gang I'll be going caroling with them this evening. We're thinking of surprising our highschool teachers, especially Mr. Brook. Oh my God, he's gonna flip!" she squealed "I wonder if they remember us"
"Of course they remember you, sweetums, they only just got you out of their hair" Harry sighed, a smile in his voice "But this is news to me, you never mentioned this over the phone. What about... our movie tradition?"
"Maybe Y/N wants to watch with you?" she turned to look at you expectantly. You were watching this debate almost hazily. You were dead beat.
"I doubt it, look at her. She's tired. Besides, it's our tradition" he pouted playfully and you felt bad just then for intruding into their little bubble like that. But darn if seeing him act all cute like that wasn't adorable.
"I am. I literally cannot wait to crash on your sofa"
"We're not having this debate again, either" he warned, giving you a look. Ok, sir! You just nodded. The bed it was. Sweet.
"We'll watch it tomorrow. C'mon. Don't be upset with me" she pouted back "I won't have a good time if I know you're wallowing at home like this"
He chuckled, waving her off "I won't be, I'm just messing with ya. It's just my kid is growing up and doesn't want to do what we've always done for Christmas Eve anymore. It's always been our thing. I'm allowed a moment, aren't I?"
Your ears had heard him loud and clear, telling his daughter he was just messing with her, but you didn't miss the twinkle in his eyes, and crap, you might have to cry for that as well tonight. It was so bittersweet. He really loved her so much.
You doubted your father had ever loved you. Much less get emotional over something like that. You'd never shared any special father-daughter moments. Hell, you hadn't made it home tonight, and nobody had called to see if you were ok.
"Aww!" Emily hugged her father and gave him a peck on his dimpled cheek "Thanks, dad! I'll try not to be too late. Don't wait up"
He scoffed "As if! Be back by 11"
"What? Dad! I'm in uni now, how come I still get a curfew?"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
Emily scoffed "Maybe I should've stayed back with Derek, so I could stay out as late as I wanted" she quickly glanced at you and muttered "Sorry"
"Hey" Harry's tone changed a bit "It's not up for debate, Ems. Eleven."
The girl sighed but still half smiled at him "All right, fine" she then went into her room to change quickly and left just as quick. Meanwhile you were fidgeting, sitting on the edge of the sofa. You desperately needed Harry to give you the ok so that you could go crash into that magic bed of his. Only this time, you were planning on a different way to blow off some steam.
Harry carried your trolley into the master bedroom and you followed, desperate to finally change out of those clothes and plop into bed. After he set your luggage on the floor next to the bed, he slowly turned towards you and placed his hands on his hips. "So, uhm. I know I said it was my Christmas Eve tradition with Emily, but I'm kinda worried I am, in fact, gonna wallow if I don't see Home Alone on cable television this year" he pulled on his earlobe ever so slightly "I know you're probably exhausted..."
You rolled your eyes playfully at him and smiled "I'll watch Home Alone with you, Harry. You big ol' softie"
"I'll have you know manly men watch Christmas movies" he furrowed his brows, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips
"Case in point. I'll just take a shower if it's alright, first. I can't wait to get out of these clothes"
Harry blinked at you, as if taken aback for a moment and then cleared his throat, smiled and left you to it. It didn't register to you until later in the shower how that had sounded. What was it about this man that made everything turn into sexual innuendo around him?
You made sure not to leave any undergarments in his shower, changed into sweats and a t-shirt you'd packed in lieu of pajamas that you hoped he wouldn't mind.
As you made your way into the living room area, you were met with the coziest visual ever. Harry was sat on the couch, his Pink Floyd t-shirt making a guest appearance once more, he was wearing different sweats though and he was barefoot again, his feet propped onto the coffee table. The whole living room was bathed in the Christmas lights coming from the tree that sat right next to the TV console. He'd even hung fairy lights all over, candles were lit, hot cocoa was waiting on the coffee table and he'd even topped the mugs with tiny marshmallows "Don't tell Emily about the marshmallows though" he smiled watching you take in what he'd done with the place "I don't really let her have any in the evenings since they're too sugary, but I figured you could use a little boost of energy"
"Harry, this is so great. I might actually make it through the whole thing. But if I pass out just nudge me and I'll go to bed, please don't let me drool and snore with Home Alone in the background, ok? I couldn't handle that happen today as well"
You plopped on the other end of the sofa and he looked over at you "Wanna talk about today?" he asked softly, taking you by surprise
"Uh... not really" you said, reaching for your mug. You had to scoot a bit closer in doing so
"Did you text your parents telling them where you were?"
You scoffed "They never even bothered calling to tell me not to stop at the airport to pick up my brother that they knew, I'm sure, wasn't coming. Had they not known, they'd have called only to ask about him. But they didn't"
Harry furrowed his brows "That's... terrible, Y/N. Truly. C'mon. Forget I said anything. It's about to start, get cozy" he grabbed a blanket and handed it to you and you felt like you were the main character to a Hallmark movie. This was all just heartachingly perfect.
"Oh wow. You really weren't kidding about watching this on cable television, were you?"
He shrugged, "Streaming it is just not the same, y'know?"
"Oh, oh!" you clapped, the opening credits were rolling "It's starting!"
Harry side eyed you "Oh ok, you big ol' softie"
You couldn't help but stick your tongue out at him for imitating you "Oh, shush"
"I like to make commentary on the side, is that gonna be a problem?" he gave you a mock serious expression and you cackled
"Of course you do. Hey. Your house, your rules"
"Damn right" he smirked and your eyes lingered a bit longer, taking in how his eyes crinkled in delight as he watched the beginning of the movie unfold.
*
"Shhh. It's all right"
"No, stop! Please!..."
"Hey. Hey, Y/N! Wake up, love, come on. That's it. Hey. It's all right, you're all right. You were having a bad dream"
"What?..." you squinted, your eyes adjusting to the light coming from the TV and the Christmas tree next to it "Wait. Did I fall asleep? You should've woken me up..." you grunted, rubbing at your eyes.
"You were just sleeping so peacefully... Until you weren't. Are you ok?"
"What? Oh." flashes of your nightmare rolled before your eyes and you squeezed them shut, willing them away. "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine"
"You're not fine" he said, softly, barely audible over the sound of Kevin's antics. He'd turned the volume down, as it were.
"No, I'm ok. Just a nightmare... I'm just gonna..." you gestured towards the master bedroom
"Yeah, of course. I'm here if you need me, ok?"
You winced as he said that, your back already turned to him on your way to bed "Thanks. Good night, Harry" you glanced back at him, and you took him in for a last time before rounding the corner, taking note of his disheveled curls especially. Darnit, he was so hot it hurt. "Thank you... for everything"
"Don't mention it" he smiled "G'night, Y/N"
You groaned finally getting in bed. You'd forgotten just how incredibly perfect this bed was. You glanced at your phone, it was half past ten so Emily hadn't come home yet. But you were low on battery.
You really didn't want a repeat of the last time you'd woken up there and hadn't known what time or year it was, for that matter, after that good night sleep. You glanced toward your trolley, it was on the other side of the bed. You even stretched your arm towards it, dramatically. Fuck, you really didn't feel like getting out of bed to go rummaging through your luggage for your charger.
You glanced over to the nightstand. Maybe Harry had one in there, somewhere. Surely he wouldn't mind you borrowing it.
Maybe he would mind you snooping around in his stuff to find it, but that was a different story.
You pulled the drawer to the nightstand and your eyes landed on something a little too familiar to be sitting on top of Harry's things like that.
Your eyes widened as your fingers gingerly picked up none other than your very own panties, looking at them in disbelief.
...Motherfucker.
A/N: soooooo. that happened 👀💕
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