normal text - speaking, speaking & signing
bold text - BSL
Includes - mild smut x
-
Harry cautiously steps out of the cottage and into the simple glass indoor garden set up by Sophie. He navigates the small path from her now slightly frosty outdoor garden and enters the warm space.
It is a beautiful space with indoor plants, active aromatherapy and a tea setting for three. He is a little agitated after his failed attempt to express his true feelings to Blue.
It was supposed to be him uttering those three words and sealing it with a beautiful letter he managed to get penned in a vintage bookstore just outside Holmes Chapel.
Everything was going according to plan until he attempted speaking and didn't get it right. He inhales the soothing smell of jasmine and catches Sophie staring at him with concerned eyes.
"Where's she?" she calmly asks, speaking and signing.
"Joining us," he swiftly responds.
"Are you okay?" the older woman is studying his facial expression.
Harry quickly nods with a forced smile and makes his way to an empty seat.
Without a beat, Blue hurries out after him and startles into the indoor garden with a growing smile on her face. It takes her by surprise and she instantly feels like she's in a mini botanical house.
"Feels like kew in here," she giggles.
"That was the inspiration, believe it or not," Sophie smiles.
Blue looks at Harry who instantly avoids her gaze and she rolls her eyes, wondering what the hell is going on with him. She helps herself to a chair but before she's able to sit, her phone goes off.
"Hang on, I have to take this. It's mum," Blue explains to Harry and Sophie.
"Take all your time, we're here," Sophie replies.
Blue steps away with a smile and answers her call. Sophie softly touches Harry's tense shoulders and he nearly flinches before calming down.
Great, he was clearly distracted for his old teacher to notice and reach out.
"You scared me," he points out.
"You're worrying me," she smiles.
"Why's that?" he frowns.
"You're being cagey," she says.
"No worries, that." Harry clears his throat and adjusts on the chair.
With the way his curious eyes dance after Blue, it is pretty obvious whatever is bugging him is about her and Sophie cannot help but the nosey grown-up here.
She leans closer to keep eye contact with him and raises an eyebrow.
"What did you do?" she asks.
"Why did I have to do something?" his lips quirks disbelievingly.
"You're acting like it. Tell me now so I can defend you, just in case," Sophie giggles.
"Well, I don't think I have done something wrong," Harry rolls his eyes.
"Didn't say it had to be wrong. You just did something, didn't you?" she squints at him.
"Wow, you're still annoying, aren't you?" he smiles her way.
"I got worse after the divorce," Sophie wiggles her eyebrows. "Tell me everything, baby."
Harry exhales and stares at Blue for a deep moment.
The way her smile shines like there's nothing wrong in the world does it for him. He knows how he's watched that smile evolve from exhausted to sincere.
Standing there in his t-shirt over her sweatpants makes her look tender and he still cannot believe she's truly down to do this relationship of a thing with him. Of all people.
"I told her that I love her," he is cold.
"Oh dear. What did she say?" Sophie grows concerned.
"She doesn't know that's what I said," he gives a low chuckle.
"Wait, you verbally said it?" she smiles with pride bursting through her heart.
"I tried and it didn't work," he is a little irritated.
Sophie calmly holds his wrist, giving him a supportive hold.
"It's not meant to be perfect and you could have simply repeated yourself," she explains.
"It's humiliating," he frowns.
"That's your insecurity speaking. Blue doesn't think that," she replies.
"I care about what I think too," Harry sighs.
"As you should, but you need to stop beating yourself up in the process." Sophie is right and he knows that.
"Nevermind, the moment has passed," he shrugs.
"No, it ain't. I can give you space post tea. In fact, you should do this right after her phone call," she starts urging him.
"What's the rush? She probably doesn't feel the same thing," Harry smiles a little.
Sophie clutches her actual pearls and widens her eyes.
"When did you become so negative?" she sounds hurt.
"Living in London does that to you," he stifles a laugh.
"Harry, I'm serious. You were never like this. You had so much positive thoughts and energy, what happened?" she stares at him, worried.
"I'm just being realistic. I haven't loved like this in a while and I logically fear it being one-sided," he explains.
"What if it's one-sided? Is that the worst thing that can happen?" she asks.
"No, but it'd hurt like fuck." Harry replies.
Sophie exhales in understanding and taps his knee with care.
"You've come a long way in life. You've done so well for yourself and she seems like a great person," she says.
"But?" he looks at her.
"You cannot enjoy it if you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. When you constantly anticipate negativity in the guise of being realistic, you miss out on actually living your life and taking in experiences." Sophie explains with care.
Harry sharply exhales knowing this woman is right and he slowly nods in agreement.
"The last time I loved, it didn't end well and you know that," he reminds her.
"From all our chats, that's the same thing you said happened to Blue," she turns the tables.
"Shit," he scoffs. "You're right."
"It's beautifully no longer about only you. You're in this together with someone who also deserves the goodness of pure love," she smiles.
"Fine. I'll think about something," Harry gives her a genuine smile.
Blue listens to her mother wrap up the call with a deep hearted rant about her sister and her messy last minute shopping habits.
She rolls her eyes and hums to prove she's still on the line as the woman continues talking and ranting.
"I said nobody eats plantains on christmas morning and she reported me to mum, you know how your grandmother gets about Jamaican heritage," she continues.
"Have you tried talking to Aunty about this?" Blue sighs again.
"You know there's summat wrong with that lady, I give up," the woman is the one sighing now.
"Okay but I really have to go now. Tea's probably iced and that's not what the host intended," Blue points out.
"Bloody 'ell, I talked your ears off. Okay, send my love to H and Anne, text me, okay?"
Before Blue can respond, the call ends. She exhales in relief and smiles at a sweet moment with her mother.
As she turns to join them at the table, she sees Harry walking to her and she frowns a little, wondering if he's ready to give her a reply.
Staying angry at him is a little hard when he's looking so comfy and soft in the garden. He knows this and takes advantage of it. He awkwardly stands before her and towers her, maintaining eye contact.
"What do you want?" she blinks at him.
"We should talk," he replies.
"No. We don't have to," she shrugs.
"Okay, you're pissed," he points out.
"No shit," she feigns surprise.
"I have to check the lemon loaf in the oven!" Sophie announces and dashes out.
Blue tries to walk away from him but he gently pulls her back, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her to his chest.
"No! You don't get to be cute right now," she struggles.
Harry realises he cannot communicate when his hands are busy and he lets her go, looking back with a frown.
"Where's she?" he asks.
"She went to check her oven," she replies.
"Well, we can properly talk alone with the garden to ourselves." He smiles, a little.
"What do you want to talk about?" Blue frowns.
"What happened there. It was stupid and I should have answered." he explains.
"Except, I don't even know what happened because you have refused to tell me," she folds her arms, staring at him.
"Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do," he sighs.
Blue notices that he's having a hard time and she gently touches his face.
"What's bothering you? You've been off for some days now and I've been giving you space to deal with it, but I'm worried," she says.
"Thanks for the concern, but I promise you it's nothing," Harry smiles a little.
"That's a bloody forced smile. Get real with me," Blue nudges him.
"I'm going to repeat what I said in there," he tells her.
"I think you should say it how you said it. I wasn't even looking at you because you hid your face, mate," she points out.
That's true and he knows it.
"Fine, but be kind, okay?" he lightly warns.
"Wait, you're not dumping me, are you?" she grows worried. "Wait! Are you testing out a new career? You're asking me to be kind and - "
"I can't hear you but you need to stop talking," he quickly stops her.
"Go on then, lay it all on me," she exhales and gestures for him to speak.
Harry clears his throat for like three times and deeply exhales. He knows it will never be as clear as day but he knows when he puts some effort into it, people actually understand his speech.
Deep down, he knows Blue understands him and he knows Sophie is right about him being bitterly hard on himself. It will take some time to stop being like this and he's willing to try.
"I l-love...you." Harry speaks, biting down his lip.
Blue stares at this beautiful man with intense feelings gathering in her chest and making their way to her eyes as he speaks.
That voice of his is beautiful. It's deep and guttural, and just perfect. She never wants him to feel uncomfortable.
This moment feels like something she has personally anticipated but she didn't expect it so soon or during their first holiday together.
It's a lot of emotions happening all at once and she wants to address it with the care and tenderness it deserves.
"You do?" she signs, tears glossing her eyes.
"I do," he nods.
Without expecting it, more tears gather and Blue places a palm on her cheek in an attempt to stop this awful spilling of tears.
She sniffs and repeatedly bats her lids, waiting for the tears to hold on.
"It's funny because I feel the same way about you," she huffs out a breath.
"You do?" he's taken aback.
"Yes, silly. I love you so much, it scares me," Blue admits, fighting her tears.
"Why the hell are you crying so much?" He fights a smile.
"I'm emotional, deal the hell with it!" she struggles not to sound like a child about to wail for candy.
"Okay - sorry. Stop crying, please,"
Harry practically begs her as he helps her wipe away the tears and helps her gather herself but the moment is far from over.
She lets out a soothing breath and takes his hand in hers for a minute.
It feels right just holding the man she loves in silence and he responds by pressing a soft kiss on her forehead, appreciating whatever is going on right now.
"What now?" she asks, with a smirk.
-
The tea went on longer than expected but getting a text from Anne saying she was going out for the afternoon was enough to keep the spark.
Harry and Blue carefully lock the doors of the cottage and retreat to his bedroom, lips staying pressed to each other.
As soon as they step into his bedroom, she's eagerly helping him peel off his outfits.
They awkwardly help each other undress and Blue nearly trips on her winter socks, but he helps her to the bed.
She pulls away from his lips and brings her lips to his cold neck, loving the sensation. Harry carefully places her on the bed and helps her unhook the stubborn bra.
"It is so hard for a bloody cheap thing!" she almost screams.
He laughs at her struggle and calmly takes it off her.
It lands somewhere on the heap of their clothing and they don't bother checking. He starts peppering her collarbone with kisses as he lowers himself and maps his way down to her belly.
The flesh is fuller than usual. A little holiday weight, no, not pregnancy, hurts nobody.
He kisses the flesh of her stomach and brings his fingers to twist the cotton fabric of her underwear.
Without hesitation, he starts tugging the item down, bringing his mouth to kiss between her thighs.
"Whoa...that tickles," she physically cringes.
Harry releases his fingers from her underwear. "Let me know what works for you, okay?"
"I know we've done this before but communication changes every bloody time," she smiles.
"Tap me three times when you need me to stop, fair?" he asks.
"Sure. Continue," she bites down her lip as the tickling sensation returns.
Returning to his work, he pulls the underwear down to her knees and keeps his head nestled between her thick thighs. His lips work their way around her inner thighs as they start approaching her centre.
Blue brings her fingers to his hair, which is normally a good sign that's loving whatever he's doing, and he continues. This continues till his tongue swipes into her centre and she lets out a deep moan, fisting on both the bedsheet and his hair.
"That's working...yes," she cries out.
Except he cannot hear her, so the cat must be wondering what the hell is going on in that bedroom.
This continues for some minutes until Blue taps him three times and gestures at him to come up.
Harry moves up, pressing his lips to the skin of her bare chest and bringing a finger to lightly tickle her nipple.
Blue laughs a little and pushes his hand away.
"I thought you liked that," he asks with a smile.
"I like everything your hand does to my body," she replies.
"But?" he frowns.
"I'm still basking in the moment of you telling me that you love me," she points out.
Harry smiles as he adjusts next to her on the bed and Blue awkwardly pulls her underwear up, leaning on her side to stare at him.
"I didn't expect your answer," he admits.
"I know. It's very typical of you," she nods.
"Hey, I'm trying my best with the whole positivity thing," he scowls.
"It's not that. You just need to appreciate yourself more, you have no idea how awesome of a person you truly are," Blue kisses him after speaking.
"Why don't you show me instead of telling me?" he wiggles his eyebrows.
"I want to do everything to your body, but right now, I really just want to cuddle, is that okay?" she asks, a little worried.
Harry sits up. "Of course, it's more than okay."
"Are you sure? We were in the middle of something," she replies.
"I don't care if you only want to eat cereal or watch the clouds. I'm down for anything with you," he explains.
"It's true. I love you." Blue says, tears stinging her eyes.
"I love you," Harry kisses her. "You really need to stop crying babe."
Harry wraps his arms around her and brings her closer to his body. They stay in stillness and silence for a long moment, basking in their newly formed love. He knows he's still going to show more expressions of love and a part of him is scared but that fear feels more like excitement.
Blue stays safely wrapped up in Harry's arms and love, realising she's never felt this way before and it terrifies her. It's the type of fear that encourages you and that's not something she's experienced. She closes her eyes and lets it be still.
They know the moment they trip and fall, the love they have is their parachute and that's enough.
.