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fishnets-fingers · 2 years

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Six Months - Part Nineteen

Summary - Layla desperately needs a vacation and her Aunt and Uncle come to her rescue. So, at twenty two, she packs her bag and jets off to America. Harry took a break from education and is now a full fledged content creator on OnlyFans. At twenty, he makes more money than almost all of his friends. What ensues when these two meet and realise the windows in their rooms face each other? How will paper airplanes bring them closer together?

PAIRING - camboy!harry x indian!oc

a/n - i’m baaaack! sorry for the break being longer than intended, it was harder for me to get into the headspace to write layla and harry the longer i stayed away. still don’t know if it turned out alright. special shoutout to @sunandherflores and @0oolookitsme for being the sweetest. there is a bit talking about maternal physical abuse, so please feel to skip that part if that’s triggering. as always, like and reblog. feed back is not only appreciated but much welcome. happy reading!

Word Count - 12.3k

Warnings - smut (sexy photoshoot, unprotected shower sex, mastrubation, sex toys), angst (blood, hitting, insecurities), fluff.

Masterpost (find previous parts here)

Layla: this could be us but you’re just being difficult.

Harry: I don’t know what you are talking about 🧐

Layla: please… 😒 i’ve been begging you to do this for me from the start!

Harry: Really?!? Guess, my memory is like a goldfish then.

Layla: lies. all lies. will you ever put on your little maid outfits for me? 🥺

Harry: I like that we have a little bit of intrigue in the relationship. Don’t you agree?

Layla: what intrigue, you rat bastard! you literally pulled out your dick and peed in front of me. all intrigue is out the window!

Harry: I really had to go and you were taking a long time in the bathroom.

Layla: i still can’t believe you did that smh

Harry: Your face was quite hilarious! You just stood there staring at me, frozen in place, with floss between your teeth lmao 😜

Layla: i know what you’re doing, harry styles. tsk tsk.

Harry: And what might that be??? 🤔

Layla: changing the subject! don’t think i’m gonna let this go!!!

Harry: It’s hilarious. You’ve seen only one picture of me in a maid outfit and you’re hooked 😂 Guess I’ve got some of that ✨raw sex appeal✨ huh?

Layla: who said i’ve only seen one??😏

Harry: There’s only one of my OF instagram and I haven’t shown you anything else.

Layla: you’re right. but as a subscriber, i have seen all the pictures and videos 😈

Harry: 😯😦😧😮

Layla: 😈😈😈

Harry: When did you subscribe?

Layla: you figure out 🥸

Harry: I’m gonna literally go and stalk and find you and boot you

Layla: why 😔

Harry: I told you that all you had to do was ask and I’d show you everything! Don’t waste your money, Lails. You have it all.

Layla: has it ever crossed your fat head that i’d like to support you?

Harry: You already support me in more ways than one.

Layla: oh.

Harry: Yeah, sweet girl, oh.

Layla: i hadn’t thought of that…

Harry: Wouldn’t expect a different answer 😘

Where are you guys rn?

Layla: oh we’re at cafe du monde. uncle’s gone to get us some beignets!!

Harry: Yum! That was the place Earl recommended yeah?

Layla: yup. we had some crawfish boil yesterday. delish!! i’m definitely falling in love with the city…

Harry clicks on the picture she sent, she was in her My Chemical Romance crop top smiling at the camera. She had a hair in a topknot, half up half down; hair ever so straight and long, bangs tucked away behind her ear. She’s holding a corn cob in one hand while sucking on a crawfish. There was a red ring around her mouth, no doubt from the seasoning. The picnic table in front of her had lots of shrimp, crawfish, lemon wedges, and corn cobs spread out on a newspaper.

Harry: Don’t you look cute!

Layla: thanks 🥰😚 oh, uncle’s back with the goods. gtg!

Harry: Alright. Have fun! I love you!

He locks his phone and moves over to his setup in the guest room. He was using the cloud backdrop from his mum’s party. He picks up the thick white comforter from the bed and lays it on the floor. His camera has already been set up on a tripod, a power cord connecting it to his MacBook, so he could look at the pictures as it was being taken.

He picks up his 35mm lens and screws it on. Harry hunches down and looks at the scene in front of him through his viewfinder. It looked very soft, especially with one of Layla’s skin coloured stockings stretched over the lens - ethereal. He clicks the shutter and looks at the picture on his laptop, and the corner of his mouth slump downward at what he sees. The lighting is still a bit too cool, for his liking. He sighs and walks over to the windows and opens them up, he fiddles with the light boxes, until he gets it exactly the way he wants it to be.

He goes over to Spotify and clicks on his playlist titled ‘nasties.’ Funnily enough, he’s never used it when he was actually having sex. Brown Eyes by Fleetwood Mac comes on and Harry smiles taking in the music that fills the vacuum. He hits shuffle - his playlist ranged from Doja Cat, Weeknd, Cigarettes After Sex to his old dirty 80s rock - and moves over to strip himself of his shorts. He was wearing his fishnets and his black briefs, shirtless on top, except for the black leather collar fastened around his neck.

With the remote in his hand, he goes to kneel on the white mattress, sitting back on his calves, leaning forward a little - palms flat on the mattress, biceps flexed. He presses the circular button and hears the camera click and his lightbox blink. He looks at his laptop screen, and parts his knees, the outline of his crotch visible and takes another picture. He took over a hundred pictures in the next two hours. Several clicks of him laying on his side - hand splayed out on his inner thigh. A few of him leaning backwards using his hands to support his weight, one leg bent at the knee resetting on the mattress, the other straight; he then bends his straightened leg at the knee, fleet planted firmly on the mattress. He then takes a few more of him after he folds his body and drapes his tattooed arm on his knee - his you booze you lose tattoo on display, head resting on his arm. For the final couple of shots, he gets up and gets closer to the camera, only his chin, neck and collarbones on display and uses his narrow black belt to thread into the metal hoop at the front of his collar, winding it around his palm and holding it taunt and takes a couple of pictures.

When he’s packing up, wearing a grey hoodie and a black pair of Nike shorts, taking apart the cables, he hears his phone buzz. He quickly makes his way over expecting a call from Layla but the corner of his mouth drops, when he looks at the caller ID.

“Yeah?” He says in a terse manner, after he presses the green button.

“Harry!” The voice chips, a familiar voice of a now unfamiliar person. “How are you, dear boy?”

“Alright.”

“What, I only get one word answers now?” He chuckles.

“What do you want, dad?” He sighs.

“Is it a crime to call up my son to check in?”

“No.”

“What are you doing right now?”

“Oh um,” his cheek flushes with colour as he looks around the room. It’s not like he could tell him he was taking pictures for his OnlyFans. “Just tidying up around the house.”

“Always the one to help your mum around the house. Guess some things don’t change.” Harry could hear him smiling on the other end of the line.

“You know me,” he manages to get out, rolling his eyes.

“Aren’t you gonna ask me what I’m up to?”

“What are you up to?”

“I’m in Manchester. Have been here for a few days for a few meetings with the mergers and acquisition team. Walked across the milkshake place you love - Shakeaway, the one at Chorlton. You remember those giant-”

“Yeah. The butterscotch and white maltesers ones.” He smiles, wistfully.

“And the brainfreeze we’d get drinking them,” he chuckles.

“Yeah.” Harry sighs.

The line goes silent, neither not knowing what to say next.

“H, what are you doing Christmas time? Do you wanna watch a game and grab a pint at a bar?”

“I won’t be in London, Dad.”

“Oh, you and mum off on a holiday?”

“We’re staying here in the States and celebrating.”

“That’s odd. Very unlike the two of you to not come home and celebrate with mum’s family.”

“Well, we’ve made a family for ourselves here. We might pop over to granddad and grandmum’s sometime after,” he says, although he doesn’t understand why he did add the last bit in.

“Oh. Thought I could see you. I picked up a Titanic record at the market the other day. Seems like an original. Pretty rare too; you can’t get the One Night in Eagle Rock anymore. Thought I could make it your Christmas present. It’s been two years since we’ve-”

“I know. Listen, I’ve got to go. Need to head to the post office soon. Told my gir - um… my friend that I’d ship some stuff of hers.” He wasn’t fully lying, he really did need to go ship Layla’s paintings of those kittens in babushkas, but he wasn’t gonna do it right now.

“Alright. You seem to be pretty busy. Hope you’ve applied to schools.”

“Yup. If everything goes well, might head to UCSD next autumn.”

“I’m positive it’ll all go smoothly, H.”

“Fingers crossed. Hey, thanks for picking up the vinyl, you didn’t have to.”

“Of course I had to, H. That’s our thing. I’m gonna let you go now.”

“Yeah. Bye.” He clicks the red button and collapses on the couch, letting out a big breath that he wasn’t aware of holding.

////

“Absolutely not,” Abi shakes her head.

“But why not?” Layla whines, holding up a small skull of a tortoise from the glass cabinet.

“It’s only six dollars. It’s the coolest thing in this room. Doesn’t this look like a dinosaur?” She asks, hoping to convince her.

“Nah uh.” Layla had managed to pull her uncle and aunt into a voodoo shop in the French Quarter. Ten minutes browsing in the small dimly lit, blood red room, that Abi frankly thought looked like a dingy basement from the sixties.

“What if I take it back home with me?”

“Who’s gonna let you fly with a skull?” She chuckles.

“Fair point.” She thinks for a while, thinking about another reason to make her aunt agree. “Please please, I promise to have it in my room,” she resorts in the end.

“It's not coming into my house. Nothing belonging to dead animals.”

“Look at this!” Vasanth waves them over to him, on the other side of the room. They both shuffle over to him, Layla grumbles putting back the tortoise shell in its place.

They look to see a small drawer pulled out containing different trinkets inside - buffalo tooth, shark tooth, racoon tooth, coyote tooth, crow bone, and alligator claw.

“Cool!” She exclaims picking up a buffalo tooth, which was larger than she expected to be. “This is like an ingredient list to a witches brew.” She picks up the alligator claw next. “One racoon tooth, two alligator paws, six drops of the blood of your enemy, stir in some bird saliva...” She prattles on, poorly mimicking a cackling voice of a stereotypical witch.

“Do birds even produce saliva?” Vasanth asks.

“I don’t know,” she shrugs, putting a glass case with a wooden frame into the small cart Abi was carrying. It already had a purple cardboard cylinder that her aunt picked up that was called ritual bath salt, there were two silk bandanas that Layla had picked out for Harry - one in red with blue patterns and other blue with white patterns, her uncle had picked out a black candle that smells like apples and cinnamon.

“What’s this kutti?” Her Aunt asks, turning over the glass frame and she’s faced with seven butterflies - all different shapes and colours - pinned to the white background.

“You said animals. They are insects,” she defends herself, when her aunt’s eyebrow arches. “And your husband is also on board with me. So it’s two against one,” Layla sticks her tongue out at her.

“That’s right! Democracy baby,” Vasanth exclaims, high fiving his niece. “Seven of these beauties for forty five dollars, that’s a steal.”

////

Harry sighs for the umpteenth time, he shuffles to his side, pulls up his sheets and tucks the ends under his chin. He just couldn’t sleep tonight. He looks at the ceramic ring dish, Layla made for him, on his night stand. It was such a thoughtful gesture from her to make him a dish to keep all his rings in place. He sighs again. It’s crazy that it’s only been four days and he misses her already, which is insane considering she has only been in his life for three months now. It’s ten past two at night and he’s sure she’s zonked out after sightseeing but it doesn’t stop him from unlocking his phone and texting her.

Harry: Hoi!!!

His eyebrows raise up when his phone immediately dings with a notification from her.

Layla: hi hi! what are you doing up?

Harry: Can’t sleep. Why aren’t you asleep?

Layla: mcr just released a new song out of the blue

Harry: So you’re trying to memorise it within a few hours for your fangirl cred?

Layla: know me so well. can’t look like a normie at the concert in december.

Harry: Won’t you look like a normie next to me?

Layla: i would but doesn’t matter. i’ll redeem emo points for you too!

how was your shoot today?

Harry: Went well. Wanna see some pics?

Layla: deffo

Harry: Shit everything is in my SD card. I do have one on my phone though.

He attaches the only picture he took with his phone, a picture of his feet - with his fishnets on - pressed flat against the white mattress topper. The black of his ‘big’ tattoo on his big toe and the mesh pattern contrasted with the white of the background.

Layla: i’ve said it before and i’m saying it again but that’s some nasty ass feetsies. goblin trotters, even.

Harry: I’m hard…

Layla: have i pavloved you so much that my insults are sending all the blood rushing to your dick lmao

Harry: Shut up, dickhead. I’ve been hard for a while now.

Layla: i see. i’d love to help you out but uncle and aunty are a foot away from me. so you’re on your own.

Harry: :(

Layla: sorry but i’ll make up for it when i’m back. promise babe.

Harry: Counting on it. Good night baby.

Layla: good night! maybe try using that egg vibrator thingie you got.

He does the exact same. He rummages through his drawers to find the grey drop. He then spits into his palm and strokes his length, palming at the head. He unlocks his phone to find some pictures of Layla he had taken. He moans out loud when her soft thighs come into view. She got a pair of embroidered butterfly panties off the internet and demanded he take sexy pictures of her because she felt cute in them. His tip spurts out pearls of precum and he spreads them down his length as he swipes through the series of pictures, hips bucking into his palms as he looks at the picture of her lifting up her white tennis skirt - thighs spread open - to show off her underwear. The next two were just of her thighs from different angles. His hips pick up the pace as he fucks his palm, warmth raging through his body. The last two of her taking off her underwear but her thighs took up most of the frame. He reaches for the vibrator, pressing the button before the little silicone starts vibrating and he touches it to the head of his leaking cock.

“Shit,” he curses, gritting his teeth of the new sensation.

What I would give to bite into her thick thighs right now, he thinks. He pictures himself pushing his cock in between her thighs, rocking until he spurts all over.

“Fuck sweet girl,” he whines, pressing onto the button again - the little machine’s intensity increases. He runs it up and down his shaft, eyes scrunching up as the pleasure plateaus.

He just needed the smallest push to tip him over the edge. He places the vibrator against his balls and wraps his hands against this throbbing member, mewling at the tingles shooting up his spine. He swipes his screen quickly landing on exactly what he was looking for - a picture of Layla on top of his chest, head tucked into his chest, eyes glazed over from her orgasm, dopey smile stretching across her face, lips swollen, hair mussed up the perfect way that screams ‘just had my boyfriend rail me on all fours,’ and a hickey near her collarbone. She had two of her fingers in Harry’s mouth - she just finished telling him that he was such a good boy for her.

He moans out loud, feeling himself soaring as the pleasure bursts. And he empties himself onto his stomach and hand, he continues pumping until the last few spurts of his hot come dribble on his fern tattoo.

The power she has over me, he thinks, smiling as he’s coming down from his high.

////

“I can’t believe you two are gonna eat that,” Abi exclaims, shaking her head at the two of them. She fishes her phone from her purse and takes a picture of the hurricane cocktail Layla ordered. Layla moves her face, so right behind the poco grande glass filled with the blood orange liquid and a slice of orange wedged on the rim, right next to a cherry. She makes a funny face in the background as her Aunt snaps away. The couple opted for a pina colada sans any alcohol, because of the growing little baby in Abi’s tummy.

“When you’re at Pat O’Brien’s you’ve gotta do it their way,” Vasanth shrugs, rotating the hot sauce bottle that was on the green table.

“What do you think it’ll taste like?” Layla asks her Uncle.

“Probably chicken.” The two were the adventurous eaters of the family.

“Oh, are you two excited to find out the sex of the baby?”

“Who says we don’t know?” Abi smirks.

“What?”

“We know. The doctor was able to tell us in the last check up,” Vasanth smiles.

“Well, tell me!”

“You’ll find out with the rest of the family in a few days at the function.”

“Oh come on, not fair! Tell me,” she presses.

“You’ll find out when தாத்தா பாட்டி (granddad and grandmum) find out.”

“What if I rub your feet and rub lotion on your stomach tonight? Will you tell me then? I’ll make it worth it,” Layla asks her Aunt.

“I won’t but you’re welcome to rub my feet,” Abi giggles.

The waiter comes back with their starters and distracts Layla. She looks at the plate in front of her. The bite sized crispy breaded pieces looked to be fried to a golden brown perfection. There was mayo dip placed next to a wedge of lemon. Tiny bits of green were dusted all over the plate, Layla could make out it was some herb from the smell. It looked very innocuous.

“Looks like KFC. Can’t tell that that's an alligator,” Abi says.

Vasanth and Layla both pick up a piece and bite into it. “Not bad. Sure you don’t want any?” Vasanth asks his wife, gesturing to the plate of alligator bites.

“No. I’ll stick to my vegetarian choice. Thank you. What does it taste like, hmm?”

“It’s tough.” Layla gets out with a mouthful as she chews. She cocks her head from side to side, trying to best decipher what it tastes like. “Like chicken,” Layla declares, picking up a napkin to wipe the mayo at the corner of her mouth. “Could pass as fried chicken definitely.”

////

“You got all the bags?” Layla grunts at her uncle, as she drops the last of their luggage on the front porch with a slight thud.

“Yeah.”

“Alright, I’m gonna pop over to Harry’s,” she says, hands going into the pockets of her sweats.

“We just got in,” Vasanth raises his brow.

“So?”

“Don’t you wanna shower first?”

“I’ll do it later.”

“You could do it now and then head over to your boyfriend’s,” he suggests.

“No,” she huffs.

“Go ahead, kutti. Bring over the package பாட்டி (grandmum) sent over,” Abi says, coming over to the threshold from the bathroom.

“Alright! See you!” She waves and jogs over to the house next door.

She quickly makes her way in, punching in the security code and quietly bounds up the stairs of the empty house. She sees him sitting on his desk, shirtless, broad shoulders hunched over the tiny black game console of hers. His greasy brown ringlets were haphazardly clipped away from his face. From the music Layla could tell that he was playing Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town. He got sucked into the game the minute he got to know that he could name his animals and his character. So much sucked into it that Layla’s Gameboy has only been on his bedside table for months now.

“Hi, farm boy,” she whispers, making him whip around.

His response is not one of surprise that she was expecting, and it almost offends her. She simply gives her a distracted smile and turns around to the backlit screen in his hands. “Give me a minute I just need to collect one more Goddess Gem, so I can marry the Harvest Goddess.”

“Excuse me?”

“What? She’s hard to impress,” he defends himself. “I finished digging up all the items in the spring and lake mine, and I bought a big bed. It’s the only thing left for me to marry her.”

“You do realise you can’t just ask her. You have to go to Carter and ask his permission to marry her in the confessional first.”

“Okay. Noted. Thanks, didn’t know that.”

“Wait?!? Why am I helping you?”

“What do you mean?” he asks, still glued to his game.

“Hello! I just got back after a week and came here straight to surprise you and you don’t even say hi,” she narrows her eyes at him.

“Just give me one moment,” he still fiddles with the buttons.

“Fine.” She huffs. “Guess, sex is off the table then. I’m gonna take a shower.” She unzips her lilac puffer jacket and shuffles it on his floor.

“Whoa, hold on now.” He flips the device close and puts it on the desk and walks towards her.

“Oh, that got your attention now, did it?” She grumbles, bunching up the end of her jumper and pulls it up her head, mussing up her hair in the process. She steps back when he goes to pull her in for a hug.

“Don’t be like that, Lails.”

She frowns at him, standing in a sports bra and grey sweats, arms crossed over her chest and tapping her socked foot on the floor.

“Come on, I was just in the zone. You know what that’s like when you’re playing,” he reasons.

She thinks about what he said, worrying her bottom lip. “Fine.” She rolls her eyes, letting out a big sigh.

“How about we start from the top?” He says, coming to cup her puffy cheeks between his large palms.

“I’d like that.”

“Hi, baby.” He whispers, bending down to nuzzle his nose against hers. “I missed you so fucking much.”

“I missed you too,” she replies, getting on her tiptoes - throwing her arms around his neck to balance herself - brushing her lips against his.

She rubs her hands against his stubbly, unshaven patchy scruff on his face. “What’s with the whiskers?”

“Didn’t really feel like shaving? What you don’t like my new look?”

“Can’t decide. Prickly,” she giggles, when he rubs his face against her neck, pushing his face away.

“How was your trip?” He asks, backing her up against the cream coloured wall.

“Good. I got you two silk bandanas. You know, so you can stop stealing my claw clips,” she smiles.

“Nice try but never.” He leans down and steals a kiss from her, it was needy, incessant and passionate. She swipes her tongue across his bottom lip, and he opens up letting her lick into his mouth and his hips involuntarily flexes into hers.

His hands slowly make their way down her torso, caressing her soft skin, as he kisses down her neck, sucking on the spot right below her ear, making her tug at his hair at the nape of his neck. He unties her drawstring and pushes down her sweats, making it pool at her ankles, smirking at her Batman underwear.

“Fuck, you’re so gorgeous you know that sweet girl,” he mutters, pupils blown out with wanton.

She shrugs and tugs him closer, running her hands down his taut torso, fingers tracing the outlines of the ferns. “Could say the same thing about you.”

He laughs. “I’m honoured.” His hands slide into her panties, one hand gripping onto her meaty bum, while the other teases at her damp folds, getting close to her nub but completely not touching it.

“Harry,” she complains, biting down on the column of his throat.

“What?” He smirks.

“You know what.”

“My sweet girl wants to be touched, huh?”

She nods. “Cut it out with the teasing,” she demands.

And he does. He pins her against the wall, dips his head into her chest so he can kiss and suck on the fleshy tops of her breasts, as he works her clit repeatedly by drawing circles and alternating it between back on forth motions on her hood - just how she likes it. Her moans and whimpers against his ear only eggs him to keep going until he helps her reach her peak. His erection feels unbelievably heavy, straining against the zipper of his trousers, he rubs himself against her thigh, in an asynchronous pace, to relieve the pressure.

“Ah, Harry,” Layla groans. Her fingers come to grip his wrist, stopping the ministration of his fingers. “Need you inside me when I come. Shower. Take me to the shower.”

He carries her to his en suite. They both quickly work themselves to get rid of their clothes and walk into the water. Layla grips on to his hair and pulls him in for a kiss, letting him suck on her bottom lip, breaking away ever so often to mewl as her closed fist works his cock, thumbing and his leaking slit.

“Baby, can I - uh fuck - feels good,” he grunts, as his hips work his throbbing member into her palm. “Can I not use a condom? Just wanna feel all of you.”

“Okay. Pull out, alright.”

She quickly turns around and presses herself against the tiles, chest flush, back curving, ass sticking out.

“Want this?” He checks in with her, as he’s roughly pumping himself, coming to stand behind her.

“Need it.”

Harry quickly guides himself into her, mesmerised by how she sucks him in with ease. Both moaning at the feeling, when he bottoms out.

“So exquisite for me, my sweet sweet girl,” he moans, hot breaths against her ear. She felt like heaven, all what he needed, warm, wet, tight, and loving. Things were much better without a condom. She was indescribable, almost like his antidote.

“Just like that. Keep doing that,” Layla tells him, when he drives his hips into her quickly.

He drives himself deeper and faster into her each time. Grunting against her ear, one hand steadying himself by gripping onto her hip, while the other snakes its way to toy with her clit, making her cry out in pleasure. He notices her hands - one gripping onto the shower handle, the other clawing onto the cold tile and he can’t help but feel jealous. So he pulls out quickly, kissing down her wet back, turning her around quickly, so she’s facing him.

“Want your hands on me,” he whines greedily, bringing her hands to rest on his shoulders. He gets between her hips in no time, one hand gripping onto the shower wall, the other coming to cradle the small of her back, her chest pressed against his in a delicious manner. Her leg comes to hook around his hips, getting on her tiptoes, they both cry out from how good they’re making each other feel. The sound of water was torrential but not enough to mask the way their skins were slapping against each other.

“Ah. Don’t - fuck fuck fuck. Don’t stop,” Layla cries out knowing full well he won’t, nails scratching down his back in a painful manner.

Tingly sparks shoot up his stomach at the delicious pain he’s experiencing with heightened pleasure. He stutters his hips into hers, harsher than he intends to, causing her to cry out.

“Hurts,” she gasps, tightening around him.

“Motherfuck,” he moans loudly. “Don’t. Or I’ll come,” he warns and she relaxes around his throbbing prick.

“Sorry. You okay?” He asks, pushing the sopping strands of hair away from her eyes, blinking away the beads of water that weighed down his eyelashes.

“Yeah. Think you went a bit hard on my cervix there,” she chuckles.

“Sorry. Got a bit excited when you scratched down my back.”

She chuckles. “That’s okay. I’m okay.” She pushes the water away from her face. “Make me come now.”

He works him slowly into her. Going slow and being much more gentle. “Faster, Harry,” she demands and he picks up speed, drawing circles with his hips, making her bite into his shoulder.

“Aargh,” she grunts, clutching onto his bicep, tightening around him again, much more relentlessly and tighter, band in her tummy stretched, ready to snap.

“Don’t. Don’t.” He can feel his control slipping, his rubber band snaps. “Fuck fuck fucking hell,” he curses, eyes screwed shut, pulling out of her hurriedly - just in time - as he comes all over her stomach – warmth spreading in his body.

She chuckles, pulling him closer for a kiss as his cock sputters ribbons, emptying himself. She could still feel him twitching between the two of them.

“Unacceptable,” he shakes his head, chastising himself for coming before her.

“Guess I got that gorilla grip, huh,” she jokes, as his come smears on his stomach, as she sucks on his neck, meeting with a blooming kiss mark when she pulls away.

He uses two of his fingers and scoops some on his hand and sucks it into his mouth, bending down to kiss her, tongue dancing with hers. He kisses and licks down her body, getting down on his knees as he runs his stubbly face against her inner thigh, making her shriek in response. He hooks her leg onto his shoulder, palms laying flat against her belly - holding her squirmy body still - as he dives into her folds, intending to take full advantage of what his scruff can do.

////

Warm. The thick duvet, afternoon sunlight slanting into the room and a certain someone curled up on him made him feel warm all over, yet he couldn’t bring himself to move and turn on the fan. Harry looks down to see a shock of her dark slightly damp hair fanned every which way, obstructing her face. He gently pushes her wild locks behind and smiles when he sees her let out soft snores through parted lips. His thumb absentmindedly comes to caress her cheek, as he stares at how her eyelashes fan across her face and the way her eyes move behind her closed lids. Poor thing, must be shattered from all the travel, he thinks.

Layla can sleep anywhere at any time, unlike him and she needed her full eight hours. She’s threatened to bite him if he ever woke her up early during the weekends for his runs. He’s seen her pull a few all nighters prepping for her classes - her lights are always on and her windows were open and that certainly caught his attention when he got up for a wee - and when he’d gone over the next day to check up, he’d found her snoozing away on the sofa.

It’s nice when he gets to hold her while he can. He never really had the opportunity to hold her through the night. They’d both start with a cuddle but would eventually need their own space, because they were both predominantly stomach sleepers.

Harry always knew that she wasn’t a big cuddle or a touch person but it always surprised him to no extreme when she’d be up for a good cuddle whenever he wants. He’d once asked her if she was just putting it up for his sake and she’d told him “I am not a touch person. I don’t really reach for people often. Dolphin is the only exception. I’d always pick the floor to sleep on rather than squeezing into a queen sized bed with my cousins. But the only cuddles I accept are from my Aunts. Vasanth had left for the States for his Masters before my parents started fighting. So they, all four of my Aunts, basically stepped in to take care of me. Being my Dad’s first cousins, they had good relationships with my mum and they were the only ones who were allowed to talk to me from my Dad’s side when we lived alone. They were the only ones who always treated me as their baby during that time. I’ve never had to pretend to be fine with them. I’ve felt the most at ease to cuddle with them. I don’t see them very often and they all have their own families now. Timeshare sucks, so I haven’t had a cuddle with anyone in years. Until you. I like cuddling with you because it makes me feel like that. Like safe and comfortable enough to let my guard down to accept your care. So no, I’m not putting up with it just because you’re a touch person. I look forward to it actually.” It knocked the soul out of him. He went home that night and cried himself to sleep knowing that he was able to provide a haven for his sweet girl.

His fingers weave into her hair, and he gently rubs at her scalp. Raspberry lips brush against her sweaty forehead. She was a natural caretaker. There probably wasn’t a time where she didn’t jump at the chance to take care of others - cooking, helping run errands, handiwork, helping with the orders at Earl’s, and knowing how to listen to others when they’d want to talk. She absolutely loved listening to his stories in a way that fed right into his ego; Layla always being so curious. He thinks back to a conversation they’d had when he was sitting on the lidded toilet watching her do her skincare routine at night.

“What did you just squirt from that?” He asks, watching her set down a dark amber frosted glass bottle on his counter.

“Vitamin C.” She responds, using her index to dot the serum at different points of her face, before softly massaging them into her skin.

“Do you know Narwhal’s have the same amount of vitamin c on an inch of its skin as half an orange?”

She shakes her head.

“Inuits used to use their skin to ward off scurvy.” “Interesting. Narwhals are those whales with a tusk, right?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen a few when I was in Churchill.” He says with a smile on his face.

“Aren’t they rare?”

“Hmm.” He makes his way to the counter, popping his butt on the marble top. A proud grin stretches across his face. “It was May and we were up North to get more data on the machine and while we were standing on the ice, setting up equipment, there were seven of these and they popped right up in the ice pockets to get some air. They go down super deep and they always remember to come back to the same ice pockets to get some air. They are also creatures of habit, quite like you. Too bad it’s killing them.” He sighs.

“How so?”

“Climate Change.”

Layla gives him a confused look as she squirts some of her aloe vera moisturising gel into her palm. “Oh, global warming and because of rising water temperatures?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No. See what’s why the word global warming pisses me off. It’s reinforcing the idea of heat to people who don’t know much about the science behind it. People in colder areas don't think it applies to them and everyone thinks the ice caps are melting. I’m not saying they aren’t, it is a pressing issue. But the earth is also getting cooler. Much much colder. That’s why I personally prefer the word climate change over global warming. Coming back to whales, because they are such creatures of habit, they come back to the same pockets of openings in the ice sheets for air. Suddenly, mostly due to a shift in the wind and these pockets freeze over fully or have a very small opening, this makes a whole pod fight to come to the surface for air while the weak ones drown. Sometimes, they get trapped in these tiny areas and get hunted by predators.”

“What are predators to living whales?” Her voice muffled as she applies some Vaseline on her lips.

“Polar bears, walruses and sometimes even the arctic foxes.”

“I didn’t know walruses and bears are powerful enough to take on whales.”

“They are- wait am I waffling about and boring you?” He stops. He’s been told that when he gets excited, he has a tendency to blather about it for ages.

“No you are not. I love getting to hear these snippets from your time in Manitoba. You must have worked so hard.”

“I was the youngest, and inexperienced, so I did meaningless work most of the time. But the people on the team were real nice.”

“Harry, don't sell yourself short. No one just gets to go on an all expense paid year long research expedition in the Arctic Circle, especially when they are right out of school.”

Boy did that stroke his ego. It felt nice coming from her, he knew she was sharp as a tack. She had the ability to read a forty page research article and condense it down to five lines and she’d hit all the right points. He was also envious of the way she’d instantly make abstract ideas and sound like it was as simple as breathing.

She always gave and gave, sometimes it resulted in back and forths just to get her to accept care from him. Care in the form of appreciation. Gratitude. Helping her with whatever she was doing. Helping her unwind with a massage or a movie. Paying for things. Wanting to spoil her. But it was hard sometimes. She was far too stubborn. He’d also notice the way her eyes flit around any room they walk into, assessing the situation, like she’s gauging the temperature of the water by dipping her toe in before taking the plunge. Taking care of people was her default mode, she’d find time to squeeze the act in even if she was slammed that day. His fingers drift to the exposed honey like skin under her collarbone, she was wearing his white ribbed tank and one of the sleeves had slid down her shoulder. He presses his lips to her sleep warm cheek, sighing in response to her scent crescendoing.

It was challenging to get her to just accept the smallest acts for care. Harry wondered sometimes if she’d short circuit if she can’t care for someone or something. As herculean it was to get her to shut up and go with it, he wasn’t gonna stop until the fact that he’s not gonna give up trying, until it’s driven deep into her thick skull.

She jerks in his arms and he stills not wanting her to wake up, she mumbles something incoherently and moves to lie on her back, but her left thigh was still wedged between his. Bare legs tangled together in the sheets. Faint red splotches, a result of friction, decorate her inner thigh, a reminder of the places his stubble traced her sensitive skin. Dimples carve into his cheek as he thinks back to their exchange an hour or so ago.

“What are you doing, babe?” Layla asks, while towelling her sopping wet raven strands, eyeing him as he picks up his razor.

“Shaving.” He replies, tearing his eyes away from his reflection on the sink mirror to look at her in just his briefs.

“Why?”

“Because you have beard burns on the inside of your thighs,” he tells her, nose scrunching as he deals with a phantom itch at the top of his nose.

“Don’t shave. Please.” She says softly.

“Baby, I don’t want to irritate your skin any more.”

“I can always put some aloe on it. It doesn’t really hurt. Keep it please, Har. I really liked how it felt when you went down on me,” she blushes.

“Is that so?” He asks coyly, putting the razor on the counter and turns his body towards her fully. Ego skyrocketing.

“Hmm.” She nods, giving him a shy smile.

“Okay, since you asked so nicely. I’ll maybe give this stubble thing a go for a few days. But I’m gonna shave before Abi’s ceremony.”

“Super!” She bites the plump of her bottom lip as she picks up the white tank top that Harry had hung on the rack for her.

////

Layla pushes a strand of hair that flips onto her forehead, obstructing her view, back with her wrist. She squints at the scrawny handwriting on the bound notebook in front of her. The blue ink had faded, the once white pages have now faded. But she could make out the instructions on the page. She squeezes a tablespoon of sriracha into the bowl containing mayonnaise.

A sizzle comes from the pan, from where Earl’s toasting their baguettes. She was over at his place for lunch. “How’d you like the piano duels?” He asks, referring to his recommendation to her New Orleans bucket list.

“Fun. I was surprised when one of the musicians started playing ice ice baby. I never really thought of it as a piano song,” she chuckles.

“I loved the video Harry showed of you rapping it on stage.”

“Oh. He came over last week?” She adds some more ingredients as per the book and mixes them into the sauce.

“Yeah to drop off my meds and he stayed over too. We geeked out over music, as usual. Missed you though. I didn’t know you could rap that good.”

“I’ve heard that song my whole life really; Appa (Dad) had it on repeat. Not that hard,” she shrugs.

“You’re full of surprises, little girl.” He brings the toasted baguettes to her so she can spread some of that remoulade on the golden brown pockets of dough.

“Your wife’s a genius. This po’ boy seems so different from the one I had in New Orleans. This is such a wealth of info, you really should look at printing this or typing this onto a computer,” she says, pointing to the book full of recipes.

Earl smiles. He goes to sit on one of the bar stools at the island. “I forgot it was there, to be honest. You were the first person who made me open it up after a long time when you asked me to teach you Gumbo all those months ago.”

“Oh. Didn’t you kids or grandkids ever try to make something from this when they’d visit?”

“Not really. Her recipes are always elaborate and time intensive. Everyone came over to relax, so spending over two hours on a recipe wasn’t at the top of their list.”

“They’re missing out. I would love to have something like this,” she brings the excess sauce that had dribbled into her thumb to her mouth to suck it off. “I’ve been begging my grandmum to write down her recipes and she always goes ‘why don’t you ask me to die already,’” she laughs at her own high pitched voice she picked to mimic her grandmum; her voice was the furthest away from that.

“I’m here!” His voice carries over to where the two were.

“Hi,” Layla greets him, when he gets to the top of the staircase. He drops his white tote on the ram recliner, and beelines straight to the kitchen, bending down to kiss Layla’s cheek.

“Yes, pretend like I don’t exist and go straight to your girlfriend,” Earl teases them.

“Lovely afternoon, is it not?” Harry takes Earl’s hand and presses his lips to his knuckles, cracking them all up.

Harry’s wearing a black button down with the word ‘Styles’ embroidered on his chest in white, against his chest. He was wearing a pair of hot pink and neon green checkered shorts - it looked like it was stitched from a curtain. His hair was not styled, his little clip at the top missing; instead his hair flopped down to his forehead, almost reaching down to his eyes. He looked so boyish, especially with the patchy scruff on his cheeks. He sits down on the stool next to Earl and drops his leather bound journal on the counter.

“We’re having po’ boys for lunch?” He asks, watching Layla wash some tomatoes and lettuce.

“Uh huh.” She answers, turning around to get the baked shrimp out of the oven. He can’t help but shamelessly stare at the swell of her ass as she bends down.

“Did you get me the snail poison?” Earl asks.

“Yeah. Left it downstairs in the greenhouse,” he answers.

“Wait, snail poison?!?” Layla exclaims.

“Yeah. There’s an infestation of them in my cabbage patches.”

“So you’re planning to kill them?”

Earl nods. “They’ve chowed down on almost all of my cabbages, those fat slimy bastards.”

“Don’t say that.” Layla scolds. “You can’t kill them,” she says in a stubborn voice.

“Oh yeah, little miss here is a lover of snails,” Harry chuckles at her cross demeanour.

“I’m sorry, Layla. I tried the natural route with the copper plate and it just didn’t work. It’s the only way.”

“No no. There has to be some other way to get rid of them without killing them,” she huffs, crossing her arms defensively against her chest.

“Well I’m all ears,” Earl says.

“Umm…” She thinks, biting down on her bottom lip. “Oh! How about I pick them up one by one, put them in a cardboard box and release them in the park. Harry will help me,” she says determinedly.

“Fat chance. I’m not touching those slimy things. You’re on your own, baby.”

Layla shoots him a dirty look.

“Honey,” Earl sighs. “Even if you do manage to get all of those snails, there are still eggs and it’s not a guarantee. I need to sell those cabbages to the local farmers. They aren’t gonna be of much use if they have been chewed through,” he reminds her.

She pouts at the two of them like a petulant toddler knowing she’s lost the battle. “Fine. But I’m mad at the two of you.”

“What did I do?” Harry exclaims. “He’s the one who’s doing it.”

“But you were the one who’s aiding him with this whole ordeal by getting him the poison.” She pointedly says, the baking tray still in her hands.

The next few minutes go by in silence as Layla gets to slicing up the tomatoes and lettuce. She keeps giving the two dirty looks every now and then as she arranges the thinly sliced tomatoes on a bed of lettuce.

“So what’s this?” Earl gestures to the journal hoping it would distract Layla.

“Nothing important.”

“He'd rather die than tell you what’s in there Earl. Don’t even try, you’d only be wasting your time,” Layla informs, as she picks up a spoon to transfer the shrimp on top of the tomatoes.

Harry rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

“Now I gotta know,” Earl turns towards him, giving him his full attention.

“It’s just…” He could feel the tips of his ears getting hot and by the way Layla is smirking at him, he can only imagine the blush spreading on his face. “I write sometimes and - just like dabble in it,” he tries to explain, his hand subconsciously reaching for his book, splaying his hand protectively over it.

“So, what do you write?” Earl asks.

“Umm… just things. Things that I see, emotions I experience, things that I like, things that pop up in my head.” He slides the book closer to him.

“So is it like poetry? I’m assuming because you read a lot of them,” Layla says, plating up their sandwiches.

“Yeah. Sometimes I do write a bit of them… sometimes they’re like journal entries. Sometimes I write down something people around me have said. Could be a movie quote.”

“That explains the Winnie the Pooh quote,” Layla says more to herself but they all could hear.

“Let’s head to the dining room. The boy’s uncomfortable. His ears are to his shoulders. Well, Harry, we get that it’s personal. But I would be happy to read whatever you write, if you are comfortable sharing.” Earl slips out of the barstool. “I’m gonna head to the restroom and wash up.”

“Thanks, Earl.” He nods and Earl squeezes his shoulders before he disappears into the hallway.

“Har, can you um, reach that mason jar of hot honey,” she points to one of the cabinets, that was way placed much further away from her grasp; it was out of direct sunlight pouring in from the open window.

“Yeah, short stuff.” He opens the counter and pulls out the glass jar with an exorbitant amount of sliced chillies. “I’m surprised your stubborn ass isn’t climbing over and getting it yourself.”

“Oh, I’m wearing skinny jeans and these ones really restrict my movement, especially at the thighs, so can’t really bend my legs more than ninety degrees. But they make my butt look so good. Plus, I think I’ve lost some weight, it’s loose around my tummy and hips,” she explains, getting the jar from him and popping it open to spoon some of that spicy honey onto all of their sandwiches. A slight drizzle for Harry and Earl, and two generous tablespoons -with all the sliced chillies -for her.

“Oh is the fermented honey thing you and Earl were making a week ago?”

“Yup. His wife’s cookbook is a wealth of all things fermentation. I didn’t even know you could add things to honey. Can you help me put these plates on the table?”

“Sure. Almost forgot to tell you this.” He gets closer to her, lips close to her ear like he’s gonna share a secret. “You look beautiful today,” he says, trailing his fingertips down her cheek. His feathery stroke tickles when he gets to the column of her neck, making her squirm. “Your shirt is just marvellous,” he cockily smirks, fingers coming to clasp her gold elephant pendant that rested on the centre of her collarbones.

“Is that so?” She smiles, rolling her eyes. She was wearing his shirt. A light cream shirt with vertical dark green stripes, she’d left the first few buttons undone - just like he would. She paired it with her favourite black skinny jeans, that she’s refused to part with since high school. Her signature hoops in her ear. The gold butterfly in her conch and the single diamond of her helix stud shimmers, throwing off fractals of sunlight. She had put a lip tint on, some brown liner at the outer corner of her lids, smudged to create an illusion of fuller lashes, her eyebrows bushy and straight - she hadn’t threaded it for a few weeks now, some shimmery gloss on the centre of her lids - making the gold particles scintillate on her honey wheat skin. Her hair is pulled back into a high ponytail, her bangs straight and unstyled, tucked behind her ears.

“Almost warrants a thank you to the person that bought it,” he says in a sing-song manner. His other hand comes up to her face, thumb rubbing her full bottom lip.

“Guess, I better call my boyfriend and thank him. Wonder what he’d say though,” she teases.

“I don’t know this boyfriend fellow of yours, but it were me I’d say something along the lines of ‘I know. My fashion taste is impeccable. Almost as impeccable as the way it’s draped on your body.” He bends down to button her lips against his.

“Idiot,” Layla mutters, when they break apart, chest heaving to draw in air. “Go set the table, will you,” she pushes him towards the dining room.

They scroll on their phones, waiting for Earl as they settle into the dining chairs. Harry shows her a funny meme and they both giggle as Earl makes his way towards the two.

“You okay?” Layla asks immediately, brows furrowing in concern.

“Yeah.” He replies in a soft voice, mopping his face with his pocket handkerchief.

“You look ashen. What’s wrong?” She prods, watching him sit, more slowly than normal.

“Just got a bit light headed when I was washing my face,” she says.

“We can go to the hospital. I’ll call mum and get my car,” Harry offers immediately.

“You two worry so much,” he chuckles. “I’m old these things happen more often now. It’s not the first time. I’ll be fine.”

“Earl,” Layla starts.

“I’m fine. Must just be from not eating. I only had a banana for breakfast. I’m sure I’ll perk up after lunch,” his eyes flit to the stuffed po’ boy in front of him.

“But if you feel ill in any way, let me know and we’ll go straight to the hospital,” Harry says.

Earl nods. The rest of their lunch goes in silence, all of them eating while listening to Idle Moments by Grant Greene. Earl can’t help but notice the little things between the two of them and how much they were in sync with each other. When Layla looks around the table for something, midbite, Harry wordlessly heads to the kitchen and brings her the bottle of sriracha. She smiles and says a muffled thank you to him, mouthful of food, and sheepishly smiles at the two of them as she proceeds to paint the inside of her sandwich with the fiery red condiment. When Harry knocks Layla’s phone off the table with his elbows, as he takes a sip of water, he watches Layla cover the edge of the wooden table with her palm while he’s bending down to pick her phone and on cue, Harry being klutzy as ever bumps into the same spot but comes in contact with her hand and not the sharp edge.

After lunch, the two head downstairs to clean up the floor shop and close up orders for the day. They’d convinced Earl to head to bed and not open up the shop for the rest of the day.

Harry’s using the swiffer to clean up the floor while Layla was standing on a step stool busy peering into her phone for different fonts - a white chalk in hand, as she writes down tomorrow’s special deals on the chalkboard. They each had one of Layla’s Airpods popped into their ear, while it was connected to Harry’s phone - playing tracks from his playlist. Irene Cara starts crooning What a Feeling and Harry slowly makes his way over to her, putting his arms around his neck and he wraps his hands around her waist, pulling her body flush to his.

“Dance with me,” he murmurs, lips brushing against her neck, making her shiver.

“Can’t,” she smirks against his jaw. He pulls back to look at her face and frowns. “I’m on a step stool. Very restricting movement wise, I’m afraid,” she teases him.

“Dickhead,” he whispers, rolling his eyes. God, was she a menace. “Sway with me then?”

“I’d like that very much.”

They both sway together, smiling at each other, both lovestruck fools - but one unable to recognise that. The added height for Layla changed things for them, instead of burrowing her face into his chest, this time they were almost on par with each other. Harry resting his nose on top of hers, their breaths igniting warmth against their skin, chests indescribably close, lips a hairline away from one and another - brushing every now and then as they moved. Smiles stretching across their faces, dimples fully making an appearance on their cheeks. Green eyes locked with her hickory hued orbs. Harrys mutters many ‘I love you’s in between the verses. They both felt so incredibly cocooned with each others’ endearment. It’s not a common occurrence, you see, seeing a stranger through your window and having them tight in your arms - a few months later, as you are baring your soul to them.

“Harry?” She says after the song ends

“Hmm,” he hums, in a drunken haze.

“Does it ever…” she trails off.

“Ever what, Lails?”

“Does it bother you that I haven’t said I love you back?” She asks him, lips gnawing on her bottom lip, eyes focusing - on her painting that Earl had hung up - behind his ear.

“Why would it bother me? I told you this last time, remember… I don’t want you to rush in any way or feel like you need to tell me that you love me. I can wait. I just need you to know that I do.” He kisses her temple.

“It’s just…” Her lower lip trembles and Harry can’t help but rub this thumb over it. “J-Ju-Just,” she stumbles with her words, chest heaving a sob threatening to breach the levee.

“Hey,” he coos. His hands come to tightly grip the back of her thighs, right where her bum ends, and plops her on the counter, nudging her knees and wiggling himself in between. His hands come to cup her face, lifting her head to read her eyes. “What is it? You can tell me anything,” he prods.

A bead slips down one of her eyes and he’s quick to wipe it away with his thumb. “It’s just that I feel so guilty when you say it and I don’t. Initially when you said it, it was all tingly but now I just feel bad that I can’t. You don’t deserve this. You’re so nice to me all the time and I feel like you should be with someone who deserves you, you know.” Her heavy wet eyelashes blink up at him.

“Lails, it is not your place to tell me what I deserve. I need to - no, I want to be with you. You don’t get to tell me otherwise. You’re the one I want - on purpose. I choose you on purpose. I’m sorry you’re feeling guilty. But you should have told me about this sooner, baby. Should I stop saying it? Would that help?” He tucks a loose lock of her hair behind her ear.

Layla thinks about it, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, eyes flitting down to his shirt she’s wearing; she inspects the way the fabric is bunched around the tops thighs. She smooths out the creases with her fingers, feeling the seam of her jeans digging into the side of her thighs - protesting against her movement.

“No,” she says, timidly. “I don’t know,” she huffs out frustratedly. “Maybe, I’m not explaining this properly.” She uses the back of her hand to wipe her nose. “I’m scared.”

“Scared?” He asks, eyebrows arching up as he caresses her cheeks, hoping to provide her some comfort.

“It’s just that I am not very comfortable or good at expressing affection towards others. Especially, verbally. Like it’s much more valuable in a way. Especially if I bring myself to tell someone that I love them and it will just make it that much harder to lose them.” She sniffles. “What I’m blabbering… I can’t umm..” she tries, but tears spring to her eyes, and she screws them shut, trying to even out her breathing - hunkering that memory deep down.

Layla was ten, she was busy hiding in the kitchen, using her new craft punches that her father dropped off at school when he came to visit. She only saw him at school now. Sometimes her grandparents would come with him. Her mother didn’t want her talking to them, so she’d kept it a secret. She kept the fact that her father, and sometimes her grandparents would come visit her in school grounds, after school hours for forty minutes. Her mother didn’t know about it because she had basketball practice till four thirty, and her mother came to pick her up after practice. He’d bought her a set of those paper punches which cut paper into different shapes. The same punchers, she used to make confetti with her colourful origami papers - she cut out many flowers, stars, hearts, butterflies, and fishes. Her mother had been sad when she came to pick her up. She had been sad all through that evening, so after Layla made dinner for them, her mother’s favourite - a simple vermicelli upma, she’d gone to execute her plan in motion. She went up to her mother, who was at the dining table, looking at a stack of papers wistfully and threw the confetti in her direction shouting a very loud ‘I love you, Amma’ - hoping it would cheer her up. But it went horribly wrong, her mother was startled, causing her to tip the opened water bottle all over the papers on the table. Her mother shouted profanities at her as Layla begged for forgiveness, she got up and grabbed a fistful of Layla’s hair and slammed it right on to the closest brick wall. ‘லூசுநாயே (stupid bitch)’ she yelled. Her jaw came into contact with cement first but Layla had managed to block the rest of her face from the wall by putting her palms in between her face and the wall. She couldn’t feel the pain but noticed blood on her shirt before she realised that blood was spouting from her mouth; she'd lost her first ever baby tooth from the impact - she’d found it two days later under the fridge, she’d later buried it in her backyard hoping she would grow a plant that would have teeth as flowers. Her mother quickly apologises telling her she didn’t mean to and she did this because she loves her, as she ushered Layla to the bathroom to help her rinse out the blood in her mouth. That was the last time she’d ever said I love you.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles shakily to Harry, after she’d shoved down that memory, blinking back the film in her eyes that made her vision hazy.

“It’s alright. You’re alright,” he tells her, he could tell she was struggling with something.

“It’s just that, it makes it more real, you know. And if something were to happen, it would make losing you so much harder. And I selfishly don’t want that.” She finishes. “I’m being stupid. Sorry.”

“Sweet girl,” he utters, resting his forehead against hers.

A snort escapes her lips and her hands immediately come to cover her mouth. “Sorry.” She giggles.

“Shut up. I don’t call you that only during sex,” he whines. Finding himself giggling with her even through his denial.

“Do you want me to start counting again?” She laughs.

“Don’t be a dickhead.” He presses his lips against her forehead.

“Can’t help it you know,” she shrugs.

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” he says, coming back to cup her face, feeling how warm her cheeks have gotten against his palms.

“Just know this, you mean the world to me, Har.”

////

“Thank you!” Layla tells the woman behind the counter with a polite smile as she tucks her receipt in her bag. She pushes the wooden panelled glass door of UPS and steps out onto the sidewalk.

She smooths out her now empty white tote that had her painting and folds it into a small square and slips it into the compartment of the black shoulder coach bag she “borrowed” from Abi.

Layla walks around town aimlessly for a while strolling to note how more people preferred sitting inside bistros than in the outdoor seating area. How the bright yellow and orange leaves were now more on the pavement than on the trees. Hotter drinks were a source of invitation into coffee shops, their icy refreshing drinks nowhere to be found on the chalkboards. How almost all the Halloween decorations outside of shop windows were sparse. Her breath hitches in her throat, a burn simmers in her tightening chest, she feels her lungs strain to exhale. She coughs into the crook of her elbow. Changing of the season had also set off her wheezing. No more backyard yoga in the mornings, she thinks as she shakes her turquoise inhaler before wrapping her lips around the mouth and pressing on the canister for a puff. She stays out on the sidewalk for a few seconds letting the meds do their work in freeing up her lungs, when a bright red and yellow sign catches her eye. She sticks her hand in to fish out her phone as she drops the inhaler back in her purse.

Layla: i’m downtown. fancy something from McDonalds?

Harry: Egg and cheese McGirddles, fries, and an Oreo McFlurry.

Layla: see you soon!!

Harry: Love you x

Layla : i know!!! xxx

It's almost midday when Layla turns into the familiar street, a shiver runs up her spine when a cool gust of wind picks up. Her body can’t handle wearing her Dad’s running shorts anymore, it was baggy and stopped right above her knees and the wind was just not working in her favour. She's glad her Uncle zipped her up in his NASCAR jacket because that was the only thing that’s keeping her teeth from chattering. The warmth of the fast food seeing through the thin brown paper bag keeps her hands toasty. Dear Maria, Count Me In by All Time Low was blasting through her AirPods. She must definitely start layering to keep up with the November weather.

As she turns into the familiar street, she hears someone call out her name. Her brow furrows as she pops one of her AirPods out to check and she hears it again. This time clearer.

“Layla! Kanna!” Nandhini Aunty’s familiar voice booms from across the other side of the street. She was standing outside of her garage. Her empty driveway now houses three new cars. A red hatchback had its truck wide open and Layla could see the trunk filled with different sized suitcases.

She smiles at her giving a polite wave in return hoping that it was just a simple exchange of pleasantries. Her stomach had been growling on her way back and all she could think of was pouring out the honey mustard sauce from the small dipping container onto her chicken sandwich. But Nandhini Aunty had other plans as she waved her over towards her house.

“What now?” She mutters to herself as she crosses the street with a smile, she was still salty that Nandhini Aunty ratted her and Harry out to her folks.

“Hello, kanna! How are you?” Nandhini Aunty smiles warmly at her, crows feet becoming more pronounced as she grins wider.

“Hi Aunty! I’m doing well. How are you? Must be super busy with the wedding in ten days.”

“Oh yes, kanna. Very very busy. We have family slated to come this entire week. In fact that’s why I called you over-”

“Oh, sure. What do you need Aunty? I can come and help out.” Layla immediately responds.

Dammit! Why did I fucking say that?!? She mentally smacks her forehead.

“No no, kanna. How sweet of you to offer but we’ve got it under control. I just want you to meet some of the cousins who’ve come in today. Just thought it would be nice for you to hang out with people your age.”

Layla laughs. “Nandhini Aunty, I hang out with Harry all the time.”

“I just meant someone from our culture. It’ll do you some good,” she responds, as she takes one of her hands between hers and gives it a gentle squeeze. Layla’s brows furrow as she looks at their hands.

“பசங்களா! லேலாவை சந்திக்க வாருங்கள்! (Kids! Come meet Layla!)” She yells out in the direction of the open front door.

Layla awkwardly stands there until she sees two men rush out in jeans and the flashiest sneakers. They were both obnoxiously rambunctious, shoving and cackling amongst themselves as they barreled towards the two of them.

“Where’s Pooja?” Nandhini Aunty asks one of the boys.

“Oh, she’s feeding the baby. Prasath’s helping her like the good husband he is,” the man with the buzzcut tells her. “Hi, I’m Dhruv,” he extends his hand out boisterously to Layla.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Layla,” she introduces herself by wiggling her hand out of Nandhini’s grasp and gives Dhruv a firm shake. He was short but very built and had a long beard. His red shoes catch her eyes. “Cool shoes,” she compliments him.

“Thanks!” He beams.

“Those Jordans are his most prized possessions.” The other one tells her. “I’m Ashwin.” He extends his hand out in a more timid manner. His hair was wiry and the way it was cut made it so that it was fluffy at the top and with a fade on both sides. He had a navy blue jumper that had a bright red vertical stripe at his torso.

“Hi, Ashwin. Layla.” She shakes his hand and notices him fiddle with the belt loop of his jeans with his other hand.

“Layla here is getting her PhD soon,” Nandhini Aunty boasts.

“I have to get accepted into a school first though. But I appreciate your confidence,” she chuckles.

“Oh god. Nandhi Aunty is the worst! She went around telling everyone that I got into law school,” Dhruv tells Layla.

“That was seven years ago and not everyday someone I know gets into Harvard. I’ll be telling it some more at the wedding. We need to get you some proposals, you’re almost 32. When I was your age I had two children who were in elementary school,” Nandhini shakes her head, making the three roll their eyes.

“Sucks to be you,” Ashwin mocks.

“Don’t think you’re free, Ash. You’re mother and I are already in talks of finding you a girl. We need to start now.”

“But I’m only 27. You should really redirect your focus on this old unmarried cow here,” he points to Dhruv, making Layla laugh. She mumbles a quiet apology to Dhruv.

“No redirection of attention. You work at Apple now and-”

“You work at Apple? That’s so cool. You’re basically living the NRI dream,” Layla interjects Nandhini.

“Yeah. Been there for over two years now. Loving everything San Francisco has to offe-”

“Do you want to join us for lunch, Layla? You can hang out with them and I’m sure my daughter would love to meet you,” Nandhini Aunty interjects.

“Oh no. Thank you for the offer but I have lunch plans with Harry,” she lifts up the takeaway bag to emphasise her point. “I’ll be happy to hang out some other time.”

“We’re going to watch Beast in theatres in a few days. Do you wanna join us?” Dhruv asks.

“Oh, I’ve been listening to Halamithi Habibo all week! But I don’t wanna impose on a family activity.”

“Please. The more the merrier. It’s just us cousins.” Ashwin says.

“I didn’t know they released Tamil movies here.”

“They do in some theatres. Especially in places with a Tamil crowd. We have to drive to Charlotte to watch it.”

“Ah I see. You can count me in. I’m excited to see if it’ll top Thuppakki though. I doubt it but I’m willing to give it a chance,” Layla tells them, rocking on her heels.

“Super. We’ll let you know once we’ve booked tickets.” Ashwin tells her with a smile.

“Alright. See you all!” She waves and crosses the road to Harry’s house.

She gets in front of the door and opens up the brown bag and pulls out her french fry bag and pulls out a handful of them and drops them at the bottom of the bag. It may be a silly thing to do but she’ll never forget the look on Harry’s face, on their trip to Cape Hatteras and they opted to go through a drive through for lunch, when he discovered some loose extra french fries at the bottom of the bag. He declared that the gods of luck were on their side and swore that the loose french fries tasted so much better than the ones in the bag. She places the bag on the white railing and tries to seal both the brown bag and the french fry bag, so it looks inconspicuous. She’s been doing this every time they got fast food and the last thing she wants is for Harry to know that she tampered with it.

She rings the doorbell once she’s done and waits for him to answer the door. She could easily punch in the code and walk into the house but she prefers it this way. She hears some heavy shuffling of his feet and a few seconds later the door swings open.

“Hi, baby!” He yells still sweaty, from what Layla assumes was his pre-lunch workout session session. His hair was all gathered in a spout with a clip and the blue bandana, she got from New Orleans was tied around his head to keep the sweat off his face. He was shirtless and was just wearing the tiniest shorts she’d ever seen - it didn’t even cover an inch of the tiger tattoo on his thigh - and a pair of white socks.

“Hi you! I come bearing junk!” She exclaims, getting on her tippy toes to give him a big kiss.

“Hmm.” He sighs when their lips touch. “Thank you.”

“For what?” She asks. “The food or the kiss?”

“Bit of both really,” he smirks, grabbing the bag from her hand and opens it up, shuffling the contents in the process.

“Sweeeet!” He exclaims. “Loose fries!” He picks three up and pops it into his mouth. “I swear they’re laced with cocaine or some shit. Tastes so fucking better than normal fries,” he declared with his mouth full of fried potato.

“Oh, I know,” she agrees with him in a soft voice, a fond smile stretching across her face.

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK SO FAR!

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ironcaptainnataliabarnes · 5 years

Text

Red Roses (A Harry Hook x Reader/OC)

A/N: I am also writing this on my Wattpad (QueenBunnyBear). I am planning on making this a whole story, so I hope you all enjoy! All work is my own, please do not copy or claim as yours, thank you!

Summary: Ruby Hearts, daughter of the infamous Queen of Hearts, was abandoned by her mother when she was young and forced to live with her father, the King of Hearts, in Auradon. Harry Hook himself may be the only one who finds her madness enchanting. Will Ruby find her self falling for the rugged pirate, or will the roses bleed red?

Prologue: All in a Golden Afternoon / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

Snip snip.

The little girl sat and watched as her mother she snipped off the red, red roses. There was nothing wrong with them other than little imperfections; her mother mumbled them under her breath as she snip-snipped away.

"Too little. Too wide. Bruised. Not red enough."

The little girl never got to touch the enchanting red roses, never got to smell their aroma. Her mother's rosebush was the only splash of beauty in their ramshackle home on the Isle of the Lost.

So she sat, and watched, and held on tightly to her stuffed rabbit. The madness surrounding their family name scared off any possibility of real friends, even though the other kids on the Isle were quite scary themselves. Once, she went outside her home to see the daughter of Ursula; the dark skinned girl was crying and she wanted to help.

She sat next to her and asked "Are you okay?"

The sad girl only sniffled and shook her head. She would have hugged her. Would have given her words of solace had her mother not shrieked and run outside, waving the rose clippers.

"Off! Off! Off with your head and away from my daughter!"

Her mother had drug her back inside rather forcefully and she watched, sad, as the crying girl went on her way.

She was brought back to reality by a hook that had flew over the decaying fence surrounding their house. Curious, she stood and brushed off her clothes and skipped to where the metal object had landed, her rabbit still clutched in her hand. She picked up the rather large hook, confused as to why it was here, in the mad yard of all places. Suddenly, a head peeped into a vast gap in the fence. A boy's head. He was little, like her, with a pirate's hat lopsided on a head of dark hair and the most blue eyes she had ever seen. He gave her a smirk.

"I do believe that's my hook, lass," he said, his accent piquing her interest. She had never heard anyone else besides her mother and her frantic mutterings.

She walked over to the fence, hook in hand, and handed it to the boy. "Thank ye, very kindly. The name's Harry. Harry Hook," he said proudly, puffing out his tiny chest and putting his hand out for a shake. The girl giggled at his proud self and went to shake his hand, but was abruptly stopped by a pair of rose clippers flying past and landing in the fence next to the boy's head.

"RUBY!!" The mad woman yelled. She ran to her daughter and ripped her away from the boy in the fence. "You scoundrel! Off with you before I off with your head!"

She grabbed her daughter's arm, but the girl cried out in pain. Her mother let go only to have her hand covered in blood. Her daughter's blood. The clippers had sliced her arm when they flew past her, and now dark blood was dripping onto the dead grass. The girl turned back to see the boy, Harry, still watching from the fence, looking like he so badly wanted to help.

Tears ran down her face, but her mother seemed to not notice as she gripped her arm once more and ran into the rickety house, yelling nonsense at the top of her lungs.

The boy noticed the girl's stuffed rabbit lying on the ground. He picked it up, brushed off the dead leaves and grass, and vowed to himself he would return it to her the moment he could.

She didn't know what events happened the rest of that night, all she knew was the next morning her few belongings were packed and a black car was there to take her. Men in sharp suits held back her screaming mother while another guided her into the vehicle.

They drove her away, and she watched out the window, mesmerized, as the barrier over the island opened and the car drove through, over the water and beyond, her injured arm nearly forgotten. She didn't see little Harry Hook arrive right as the car took her away.

When the car stopped, she was at a castle, and her young mind whirled. A castle! Where am I?

The driver came around to open her door, and she was met by a very kingly man, and a kind looking woman at his side. her gaze almost missed the shorter man seeming very giddy.

The woman smiled at her.

"Welcome to Auradon, Ruby Hearts."

#harry hook x reader #harry hook #harry hook smut #harry hook x reader smut #harry hook descendants 3 #harry hook imagine #harry hook lemon #harry hook x reader lemon #I hope you all enjoy #harry hook x oc

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lowkeyaesthvtic · 5 years

Text

Evil Karma - Chapter 6

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Word Count: 2,147

Summary: After explaining her plan, Sofi gets a taste of true heaven...or is it true hell?

Pairings: Harry x Uma x OC

Rating: M

Warnings: swear words, descriptive foreplay, LOTS of dirty talk, a bit of orgasm denial, switch!OC, switch!Harry, dom!Uma, like a little bit of thigh riding?, FFM threesome, I’ll add more if I need to

Taglist: @hookedradge @descendantofthesparrow @newtshairdryer and again ANYBODY ELSE who wants to!!!

Author’s Note: This is my first time writing smut so I’m really sorry if it seems a bit rushed!!

Harry, Uma and I sat around the giant black cauldron in front of us. Uma had known very little about the room where her mother would fantasize about using her magic, but she knew enough to know where it was. “Wait, so how are we going to use Neverland magic if evil magic doesn’t work here?” Harry sat up straight and leaned forward to peak inside the cauldron, seeing nothing but a dark and seemingly bottomless abyss.

“That’s the point of the plan, Hooky. When Uma and I drink this potion, we’ll be able to use our magic again. We just need to wait until Mal comes back to the Isle. When she does, her beastly beau will follow suit, hoping to bring her back to the pretty pink clutches of Auradon. Mal’s little friends will probably somehow find out and go to the Isle with him to protect their King. At a moment where Ben isn’t the priority, we shackle him up and keep him tied in the Chip Shoppe. While he’s tied up, I’ll find a way to make him angry so he’ll show his primal instincts. Once that happens, just a few hairs from his head and we’ll be all set for revenge.” It was something I had theorized to Uma when I first came to the Isle. The magic that allows Ben to change from man to beast comes from his father. Ben’s father was the creator of the Isle and likely the reason that it’s an island with no magic, considering Belle has never had any magic capability. So, if we were to fight the fire with the match that sparked it, maybe the flame would dim down long enough for Uma and I to work our magic.

“How are you so sure that Mal will come back to the Isle to start all of this?” Uma kept a somewhat indifferent expression. I laid my hand down on her thigh and let my thumb roam around it rhythmically.

“You and I both know that Mal isn’t loving the princess act, my Captain. She’s bound to come back and try to reclaim her old territory eventually.”

“You haven’t even met her, duckling, how can you be so sure?” Harry leaned closer to me, resting his hook on the back of my neck. The sudden cold feeling from the metal raised goosebumps on my skin. I looked over to Uma, raising an eyebrow to ask permission. She gave a small nod, a teasing smirk spreading across her face.

I turned towards Harry and swiftly positioned myself on top of his right thigh. “You see, Hooky. I’ve got a good read on people. When you’re able to see into other people’s minds for as long as I was able to, it’s a lot easier to know things about people, even when they don’t tell you.”

Uma smiled and stood up before walking over to Harry and I. She sat herself on Harry’s other thigh and looked to me in amusement. “Really? Prove it, then, island girl.” My eyes shifted over to him, noticing his tongue subtly lingering across his bottom lip.

“Only if he wants me to,” A teasing chuckle came out in response. He leaned up from where he was sitting, moving his hands toward my top. I rolled my eyes and used a hand to push him back so he was leaning against the chair, practically laying down. “Nice to know you’re excited, but I can’t understand you if you don’t use your words.” He smirked and perked his chin up in a nod.

“Why don’t you make me, huh, duckling?” I shrugged and ran my fingers through his hair before finding a small lock and giving a quick tug. Harry quietly yelped in pleasure and looked over to Uma, looking her up and down. When I took a quick glance at my Captain, her expression seemed indifferent, but I knew she couldn’t look away.

“Okay..please, Sofi, prove it to us. Prove it to me.” I nodded my head and leaned down onto him, beginning to leave small kisses on his neck. Since I still had part of his hair in my hand, I had more access to his neck and collarbone. I put my hand under his shirt and began trailing my hand across his chest.

“Well, to start, you’re not as dominant as people think you are. I mean, maybe you have your days where you’d rather thrust into one of us until we’re a quivering mess but more often than not, you secretly love it when we take our time. It’s interesting not being the tease for a change, isn’t it?” Uma quietly giggled behind me. She knew I was right. “Second, you realized you had feelings for Uma when you were jacking off in the shower one night and realized that what finished you off was the thought of her riding you. It’d start off with her gently moving naked across your thigh, pulling you close and leaving marks that would stay for weeks, then, eventually, she’d practically rip off your clothes and take all of you in her mouth…” I slowly took Harry’s jacket off of him and slipped my overshirt off afterward. Thinking he would let me take him further, he pulled me closer to him and wrapped his fingers around a lock of my hair.

“God..please continue…”

“Why should I? I’ve proven myself, haven’t I?” I leaned my head closer to his, our foreheads touching and our lips inches away.

“You’re not ready for what will happen if you don’t.” He lowered his voice to a husky whisper. “I’ll ravage you right here on this chair. Tear you until you’re spent and yet you’ll still be begging for more.” I smirked and swiftly pulled his lips to mine. His lips were soft but his movements were rough and primal. I’d felt some needy men in the past, but none had been so shameless, raging like a heavenly sunshower. In the heat and excitement, I can hear a quick and deep “do it,” slip from Harry’s lips. Before I could question anything, I felt the cold metallic sensation of Harry’s hook slip across the back of my neck. After a quick gasp, I look behind me to see Uma with her hat, jacket, and belt discarded. “Do you really think I’d let you unravel him without a little help? Tell me, when was the last time you experienced two people at once?” As quick as a light switch, I was rendered nearly speechless. I never knew how she did it to me, but there was always something about her that put me in some sort of spell. Now I understood why Harry always said Uma’s name like a prayer. In the right mood, Uma carried herself like a god. I turned back to look at her. With her jacket gone, the dress she was wearing under had become much more form fitting. “Well look who’s not using their words, now?” Harry chuckled from behind and leaned up, starting to kiss my neck just as I had done to him before.

“Settle down, Harry. Don’t think because we’ve found a weakness in our girl that it means you can go Alpha. We all know who’s in charge here, don’t we?” I nodded my head. She walked over to me and gently lifted my chin. Between Harry’s nails leaving scratches down my back and Uma’s lips gently dancing with me, I felt like I had an angel in front of me and a devil behind me. Uma’s kiss was of a warm fire after a day in the snow. Her hands roamed toward the strap of my shirt and moved it downward. “Get off of him for a moment. I’ve got a better idea.” I quickly obeyed, shifting off of Harry’s thigh and returning to where I sat before this escapade had begun. I could feel small hitches in my breath and warmth forming around me. Harry prowled over to my side, beginning to leave deep and rough kisses on my neck and shoulders. I already knew that this would bruise, but I couldn’t care less. Uma stood tall in front of me and let her dress fall to the floor. Her breasts were perky and seemed as soft as the rest of her supple skin.

“Maybe you have done your homework on us, duckling. But guess what? So have we.” Feeling Harry’s voice on my skin sent shivers down my spine. Uma sat on top of my lap and flittered her fingers around the strap to my top. I raised my arms over my head and threw my top to the floor as I took it off. She slowly began kissing down my chest and towards one breast as Harry licked and nibbled at the other. I could feel myself starting to rub my thighs together, trying to gain some friction. Uma quietly chuckles and slowly moves her hand down towards my pants, then slowly pressing two fingers against my clothed heat. I let out a soft huff of breath, eager for more. Uma momentarily stopped and looked to Harry.

“Let’s speed this up, who knows when ma might come through here.” He growled excitedly in response. In the blink of an eye, all of us were completely undressed. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, what I was feeling, what I had the privilege to be a part of. I had seen Harry shirtless a few times. We’d be training together and, in the heat of the moment, he’d practically rip it off and attempt to use his muscles and wile to throw me off. Mentally, it’d definitely make my thoughts wander, but not as much as it did now. To go with his tense and chiseled arms and chest, Harry had a distinct “v line” that lead down to his cock. It was relatively average in length and surprisingly well groomed. What would end up blowing my mind was his girth and a curve towards the head. Uma, however, was practically a whole new world. Despite the muscle in her attitude, Uma was more on the slender and petite side. There was a small curve cascading down her body that wasn’t much of an hourglass, but still seemed to hit all of the right places. Her hips swayed like the waves of the ocean, and I was the sand she’d weaken with her tide.

I wish I could recount all of the little details of what had happened, and usually I would be able to. The main thing I remembered was the contrast in style from the two of them. Harry was a tease, pacing himself achingly while staying attentive to the both of us. Even when I wasn’t the priority, he still found some way to lift me higher. His fingers and tongue were godlike, nearly omniscient of how to keep the Captain and I begging for more. He was quite the devil indeed. If Harry were a devil, Uma was his succubus. She’d lure you in, thinking of being gentle, making you believe that there was a chance of getting her to beg. But that was quite the contrary. While Harry had times were he would be fast and brutal, Uma was torturously slow with the both of us. She’d throw in tiny praises, letting the both of us know how well we were doing, but soon after she’d make these tiny little threats and hints of denial. “If you even try to come before I’m done with you, I’ll make you pay,” “Tell me who you belong to, or I’ll stop right now.” She was the last of the three of us to reach her peak, Harry locking his lips with hers while I tasted her for the first time.

By the time all three of us were done and cleaned up, Harry had passed out with his head on Uma’s lap. I laid gently onto her shoulder and ran my hands gently through Harry’s dark locks. There was something mesmerizing about seeing someone who was usually so chaotic look so at peace. “Does he always fall asleep so quickly?” I joked to Uma, keeping my eyes locked on the sleeping beauty below me.

“Always...what about you? You aren’t tired from all of that?”

“No, I am, trust me. I just don’t sleep very much. In Neverland, you never knew when a Lost Boy was going to break into your tent to cause a ruckus or when some animal would try to ravage your camp like a fat kid at a buffet.” Uma smiled and laid a soft kiss on the top of my head. Maybe I didn’t know whether or not this plan would work, but as long as I had these two by my side, I’ll cherish every second of it.

#harry hook x reader #harry x uma #harry hook x oc #harry x reader x uma #uma daughter of ursula #huma x reader #huma x oc #huma #descendants x oc #harry x oc x uma #descendants #descendants x reader #harry hook #descendants fic #harry hook smut #harry hook x reader smut #descendants uma #uma x reader smut #harry hook x uma smut

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writings-of-dumpy · 5 years

Text

The Princess and the Pirate - Chapter 8 and Epilogue

A/N: I think this is the fastest I’ve ever written a story???? Whatever. I love it and I hope y’all did to. Enjoy! Warning: the meat of this part is smut, so wrap it before you tap it!

Tags: @itsgreatestlie

I took Harry’s hand and bit the inside of my lip as he led me to the dance floor. Ever so gently, he placed his hand on my waist and pulled me close to him. His other hand held mine gently and we swayed to the music with our eyes locked. I felt my pulse quicken with every move he made with me in spite of all that he had done to me,

“I’m… not sure what to say. I had everything planned out in my head, but seeing you here tonight, lookin’ the way you do right now… I can’t even begin to say what I thought I needed te,” he said lowly.

I relaxed myself a bit at the sincerity in his voice. This was the Harry I recognized. I nodded and asked, “What did you have planned out, Harry?”

He smiled slightly and pulled me slightly closer. “I had planned to make a huge apology and explain that it wasn’t me who did those things… That I was bein’ controlled by Jukes’ spell… But I know you deserve much more than that.”

I smiled slightly and blushed. “I think that apology is just fine. After all, you were spelled.”

Harry sighed. “I know… but I should have done something to not get spelled… I would never hurt you, and it kills me every day knowing that I did, even if it wasn’t me controlling myself.”

Harry stopped us and pulled me into a complete hug with his arms cradling my body to his. “Please, ye have t’know how sorry I am.”

I was engulfed in the embrace for a moment and I breathed in deeply, allowing me to inhale his seawater and must aroma that somehow seemed to always be about him, and yet his breath smelled of peppermints and something truly and uniquely Harry… something I didn’t smell on his breath the night of my capture.

I pulled away from his embrace reluctantly and gazed up into his eyes. As I looked, I found only the sky blue surrounded by specks of green and lined with coal liner. I could admire none of this when Harry was spelled, not even for the split second that his eyes flashed blue.

“It’s okay,” I told him and let out a breath that I hadn’t realized I was containing.

Harry’s eyes lit up and he smiled from ear to ear. “I’d hoped to hear tha from ye… Bu’first… I need to give ye something.”

I furrowed my brow and watched as he searched his pockets and pulled out a skinny paper box. I was skeptical at first, but then harry started to explain.

“So.. I wasn’t seein’ ya because I was in Neverland makin this for ye. I know it’s something tha’hurt ye before, but you once told me to take that and make it somethin’ beautiful. And beauty is hard to make, but with you in mind… Easy. Go ahead, open it,” Harry urged me. At this point the slower music had stopped and the room became upbeat and lively, so Harry and I moved to one side.

I opened the simple box and saw a platinum silver chain with an intricate vine pattern that lead down to a small and ornate fish hook shape that resembled the hook he had once carried around. The weapon that was used by horrible men to try and tear us apart was made into something extremely beautiful and now precious to me. I ran my finger along the chain gently and smiled.

“It’s… it’s beautiful, Harry.. This was your mother’s?” I asked. Harry smiled sadly.

“It was, but then it was mine, and now I’m giving it to you,” he said and then held up his ring-studded fingers and pointed to one shaped like a crown that was made out of the same metal. I noticed it had a small glow to it as it drew nearer to me. “And this is what I really wanted to show ye. Peter helped me enchant them with Pixie dust so that whene’r ye need me, I’ll be right there for ye. And when I need ye..” he continued and then gestured to his glowing ring. “I’ll find my way to you.”

My eyes welled up and I smiled. “Harry, I didn’t think you knew… This is incredible.”

Harry cocked his head to the side. “Know what…?”

I suddenly realized that he had no idea of my plans to leave for Arendelle tomorrow, which turned my tears of joy sour.

“There you two are! Come on, Ben and Evie are headed off on their honeymoon!” I heard Uma say from beside us. I looked over and saw Evie and Ben waiting for us with smiles on their faces.

Harry and I were pulled apart and we bid farewell to our friends. Evie hugged me with tears in her eyes.

“Have a safe trip tomorrow, okay? I know Arendelle isn’t far, but still. I want to know when you get there and call me with every detail! I don’t care that I’m on my honeymoon, okay?” she said to me in a hushed tone through teary eyes.

I heled her face and looked into her eyes with a playful smile. “Evie, this is your honeymoon, okay? Spend it with Ben, and I’ll see you in a week for my father’s coronation, okay?”

Evie smiled and hugged me tight. “I love you, be safe.”

“I love you too, Evie. Now go get that King of yours.”

~Harry~

I waved goodbye to Ben and Evie with the rest of the crowd in much higher spirits given that Rayla had finally spoken the words I had wanted to hear since I found out about Jukes’ horrid plan.

“Queen Evie is so brave… Tomorrow marks two of her friends who have left Auradon what with Princess Rayla’s departure,” Harry overheard a guest say behind him. His face contorted in confusion and he turned to them.

“’scuse me, I seem to be out of the loop. Couldn’t help but overhear ye say Rayla..?” he asked the two brunette girls who appeared to be twins. They looked at each other and then back at Harry and he recognized this behavior as belonging to the Tweedle Twins. These girls must be the daughters of one of them.

“Well, Princess Rayla,” one began. “Since her father is the rightful king of Arendelle,” the other continued. “She’s going to live there tomorrow morning,” they said together.

Harry gulped and nodded, then looked over towards the woman his heart both kept going and broke for. She seemed to be happy enough and as the red sunset illuminated her face, he concluded that he would only have tonight with her. Just one more night to let his feelings be known, and one more night before both of them left Auradon for good. Harry clutched his ring and headed towards her as the rest of the guests left.

“Care for a moonlit stroll?” he offered with his arm extended to her.

She smiled shyly and nodded. Harry noticed that she still held the box containing her necklace and wondered if it was glowing just as his ring was. They walked in comfortable silence until they were long past where they probably should have been for the wedding reception, but Harry didn’t mind. He supposed that they both subconsciously were headed towards their dorms, which Harry had felt like he hadn’t seen in ages. And after tonight, he wouldn’t need to see them again, for Harry had decided that since Rayla was royalty (Jukes wasn’t lying), he couldn’t have her, and he shouldn’t have her. She deserved, and was probably expected, to be with a Prince and then become Queen when the time was right.

Harry looked down at her fondly and noticed she was staring back up at him as they walked. A brief wind caused Rayla’s skin to pucker and she shivered. Harry’s instinct to keep her safe kicked in and he wrapped his jacket around her shoulders.

“Want to come inside?” he offered as they were next to Shang house.

She looked up at him and he swore his heart was about to burst. She looked at him with pure anguish in her eyes and he’d never seen such raw despair, not even in his own reflection. He knew what she was going to say, but if he heard her say it aloud, he’d be broken forever.

“Harry, I can’t accept this… I have to tell you—” she began, but Harry placed a finger to her lips.

“Don’t… please don’t say it. Please, just for tonight, pretend that nothing else matters. Rayla, I need you to accept this and take it wherever you please, but I can’t keep it. I know we only have tonight left, but I only need that long to tell you how I feel,” Harry said with a broken voice and he pulled her close to him with an arm around her waist. He could see the tears form in her eyes and he fought back his own.

“Harry…” she whimpered. “You... you can’t do this to me. Not again.”

Harry nodded and placed a hand on her cheek and his forehead rested on hers. His heart pounded in his ears and he nodded. “Just tonight. That’s all we have, Ray… Tha’s all ask of you.” Harry could taste the desperation in his words as he spoke them to her and only loud enough for her to hear, “I love you.”

He heard a small sob escape Rayla’s lips and unable to bear her sadness at his confession, he closed the space between them and pressed his lips against hers softly. A jolt of passion was sent through him like wildfire as he felt her lips mold to his and accept his kiss. He held back his tears and urged himself to think of only now with her. Harry made himself completely in the present and with her instead of worrying that his would be the last time he’d ever see her.

She pulled away for a moment and caught her breath. “Harry, we can’t… I just..” she stammered and Harry’s solemn face looked down at her emotionally conflicted one and he stroked her cheek as he took in every feature he could and committed this moment to memory. He didn’t know how long he had with her even tonight, so he needed to make it count.

“Come one, let’s get inside,” he invited her after another gust of wind made her curl closer to him for warmth. When they reached Harry’s room, he opened the door and let her in, then closed and locked it, remembering that Gil was spending time with Jay and Carlos tonight.

When Harry turned back to Rayla, she had placed the box down and held in her hands the necklace—and it was glowing. Harry couldn’t help but smile because he knew that meant she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. She looked up at him and held the necklace open.

“Will you…?” she asked and Harry nodded. He took the clasps in his fingers and she moved her curled auburn hair away from the back of her neck and to one side. Once Harry had clasped the pieces together, he leaned down and kissed the soft flesh of her neck and pulled her against him. He felt her relax against him and he smiled.

“I love you so much,” he whispered in her ear. He swallowed hard. “You don’t have to go…”

She let out a breath and faced Harry. She held his hands and looked into his eyes as she spoke simply, “But who would I be if I stayed?”

Harry knew exactly what she meant. He knew she felt an obligation to her parents to try and fulfil her role as princess and he knew that her staying in Auradon would only create guilt and conflict within her. No matter how much Harry’s heart broke, he knew she wasn’t staying. This time, Rayla leaned up and kissed Harry’s lips. He returned her kiss with a concentrated fervor and the force of his kiss backed Rayla against the wall of his room. She didn’t stop him, though. Instead, she threaded her fingers into his hair and held him against her for as long as she could hold her breath.

“I’ve loved you for so long…. And when you said I couldn’t be loved, I knew it was true, but hearing it from you broke my heart..” she whimpered.

Harry stroked her face and shook his head as he shushed her softly. “Don’t think about any of that, love. We’ve only got tonight, princess. And tonight, I want ye to be mine.”

Rayla’s eyes met Harry’s and she nodded with a small smile. Harry leaned in and reattached his lips to hers with a newly kindled fire in his soul. He pulled her impossibly close and yet it wasn’t enough—he needed more. As they researched and memorized each other’s mouths, Harry’s hands found the corset tie on Rayla’s dress and he began to pull her out of the lovely garment. He was so focused on removing her clothes that he hadn’t noticed the work she had done on his suit. By now he was down to only the pair of shorts he had put on first when getting ready. He guided her over to his bed and he gently laid her down and made sure her leg was supported by the mattress. Once he was sure, he left a trail of wet and meaningful kisses along her thigh and then up her stomach until he reached her lips again.

When Harry pulled back to remove her undergarments, his eyes fell on the wound that his hook had created. His heart felt as though it had broken into a million pieces as his fingers lightly traced the puckered and pink skin that contrasted so harshly with her perfect porcelain complexion.

“Hey, it’s okay… Harry, I love you, be here with me, please,” he heard Rayla call to him from his trance of guilt. His eyes found her stormy sea colored irises and he leaned up to kiss her lips gingerly. Their kiss began as gentle and slowly became rougher and more passionate. Rayla’s hands traveled into Harry’s shorts and pulled the fabric away from his body. The amount of times he thought about this very moment, whether in the shower or during a fit of sleeplessness, he couldn’t have compared to the real experience. She silky touch of her hand against the hardened muscle of his manhood could have driven him mad, but he wasn’t about to succumb yet. He needed to see her—all of her.

Once Harry’s body was bare before her, he removed her remaining undergarments so quickly he feared tearing them in the back of his mind, but in the moment, he just needed her completely exposed before him. When she was, she was a sight to behold.

“Even the gods are jealous of ye, darlin’,” Harry said and ran his hands everywhere they could reach. He licked his middle ring-covered finger and slid it easily inside of her. Rayla’s vocalizations were as sinful as she looked. Harry burned this image into his mind—the woman he loved below him moaning for him to never stop and by the gods of the sea he worshipped, he would never until she told him. His fingers danced their way along her folds and Harry could feel his gaze getting darker and more lustful as she reacted so well to his touch. Her eyes were clenched closed and her hands clawed for anything to grip and settled on Harry’s arms as he flicked inside of her.

“Oh, Poseidon give me strength to bed this angel you’ve sent me,” Harry prayed in a gruff and hushed tone.

“Stop talking to Poseidon and make me yours,” Rayla replied. Harry laughed and kissed her nose before slipping inside of her. HE nearly collapsed at the pleasure.

“Fuckin’… Rayla you ever had a proper shag en yer life? Feels like the virgin Mary down there, fuck me,” Harry cursed and held himself up by placing his hands on either side of her head.

“Well not a proper shag, no. Not like this,” Rayla explained and pressed her hand against Harry’s chest above where his heart was screaming to let it out and be with this goddess.

Harry leant down and kissed her lips deeply and drank in every sound she emitted as he began to move inside of her. His pace was slow and almost teasing, but the look they shared was anything but flirtatious. No, Harry saw more than mere need to be satisfied in Rayla’s eyes. In her, he saw his whole being. His love, his life, his soul belonged to her now. Given the tear that ran down her face as their eyes made contact, he knew she felt it too.

Harry made love to her in a way that was only for her. He vowed to never take another like this because he knew that his very essence would be lost within her once she left his room. His movements elicited a cry of passion and pleasure from the both of them and somewhere between the perfuse declarations of love and their climaxes, Harry found peace. He held her in his arms and felt a tear fall from his face of pure emotion. With her in his arms, he drifted off to sleep with a final kiss.

“My love, be safe. Don’t forget that you’ll always, always be loved,” Harry said to her as they closed their eyes.

“I love you, Harry Hook,” he heard Rayla’s voice in the distance of his sleepiness. And that was enough for him.

EPILOGUE ~ 8 months later

Today was my 25th birthday, so the whole kingdom decided to show up to my father’s party that he held for me. As much as he wouldn’t admit it, he loved to throw balls and galas just as much as the next king. As I waded through the crowd of people I didn’t know, all of them wishing me a happy birthday, I searched for a face I hadn’t seen in about two weeks. I stood by the entrance and I saw the Auradon seal on the side of a carriage that was coming up the way. When the door opened, out popped King Ben, followed by Evie.

“Rayla! Happy birthday!” she squealed and ran to me despite the ridiculously high heels she wore. She handed me a small box and insisted that I open it immediately.

“Ben will try to stick his name on this, but this is all my doing,” Evie teased her husband.

I opened the box and saw an incredibly beautiful bracelet that resembled two very famous stars. I grinned and put it on. “Thank you so much, Evie!”

“Alright, quit hogging the birthday girl,” I heard Jay say from behind Ben and push past the king and queen. Without warning, I was hoisted up into the air and hugged tightly by him and he roared and walked into the castle with me.

I giggled and he sat me back down once we were all inside the palace ballroom. I smiled and greeted everyone and thanked them for coming. After a few minutes, they were mingling amongst my guests which left Uma and I together by the snack table.

“You know, I say a lot of stuff about royalty, but man do y’all make an amazing dessert table,” Uma commented.

I laughed and Evie and Ben came over to me looking very sneaky.

“We have a surprise for you,” Evie began.

“Well, it’s kind of for all of us, but today it’s for you,” Ben corrected.

I raised a brow. “Alright…”

Evie grinned and excitedly held up a black and white picture with a small human shape on it.

“Is this..?” I asked in shock.

“I’m pregnant!” Evie shrieked.

I smiled and hugged her close and then Ben.

“You guys, this is amazing, congratulations!” I told them through a wide smile.

“Now, where you come in… We were wondering if you’d be the godmother of our child?” Ben asked.

I was taken aback and gasped in delight. “Yes, I’d be honored! Who’s the godfather?”

Ben shrugged. “I don’t know yet… It takes a village, so maybe everyone.”

Evie scoffed and playfully hit him on the stomach, then handed him the picture and took my arm in hers. “Come on, let’s take a walk. It feels a bit stuffy in here.”

I smiled and walked out through the gardens with her to the courtyard and we sat down on the benches.

“How far along are you? You’re not even showing yet!” I asked her and she smiled.

“I’m about 8 weeks along. Doctor says that I should start showing in about a month. Ben’s done his best to keep the news quiet, but I get the feeling that once I start shopping in the maternity section, it will be a media circus,” Evie joked.

I smiled. “I’m sure you’ll look incredible in every photo.”

Evie laughed and squeezed my hand. “Now, let’s talk about you… I see you’re still wearing a certain piece of jewelry…”

It was true. Ever since the day I left Auradon to become the Princess of Arendelle, there wasn’t a day that went by without my neck being adorned with the necklace Harry gave me the night he made love to me.

“I told you, I can’t bring myself to take it off,” I told her and gently touched the necklace that faintly glowed.

Evie sighed. “I understand… I just hope someday you’ll find someone who will make you happy.”

I shrugged. “I don’t need anyone. Besides, Arendelle has some pretty strict laws about the princesses dating only princes.”

Evie nodded. “That grandfather of yours sounded like a very protective man of his daughters.”

I nodded and remembered my aunts telling me about their childhood being isolated out of fear the kingdom would rebel against my aunt Elsa’s powers. I felt so sad for them and I asked my dad to change the stupid sexist law, but he had enough on his plate at the time, so it was pushed aside.

“Well, I suppose he grew by the time my dad was born,” I said. I sighed as my thoughts were completely consumed with Harry. I subconsciously touched the hook on the chain and remembered what Harry told me about him always loving me.

“You might be pleased to know that nobody else has heard from him either. He went to Neverland and just… disappeared from our lives,” Evie told me. I nodded. Every day I told myself I’d find a way to see him again, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get ahold of him.

“We should probably head back before my dad sends guards to look for us..” I joked and Evie and I walked back to the ballroom. The twilight sky was beautiful tonight and as the crowd started to thin, only family and friends remained, which helped me out tremendously in terms of maneuvering crowds. There were still plenty of people wandering the ballroom, but at least I had room to walk without running into anyone.

“Great party,” my cousin Eugene said to me as I got myself some punch.

I rolled my eyes and smiled, “Thanks. Where’s Rapunzel?”

He looked around and then shrugged. “Probably out with your aunts and mother.”

I nodded and played with the hook on my necklace.

“Hey, I didn’t know that thing glowed,” Eugene commented.

I looked down and the necklace started to glow brighter. My heart began to race, and I looked around for him, any sign of him, but saw none. The necklace grew brighter and brighter, then Eugene cocked a brow and gestured behind me. I turned around and saw a man with chestnut hair bowing deeply to me.

“Your majesty,” I heard a Scottish accent I hadn’t heard in what felt like a lifetime. The man stood up straighter and I was met with a pair of eyes that I’d longed to see again and I was shocked.

“May I have this dance, Princess Rayla?” Harry asked me and extended his hand to me. I noticed the crown ring on his hand was glowing as bright as my necklace. I took his hand and smiled brightly through the tears that were forming in my eyes. He stood up straight and guided me to the dance floor and I was reminded of Ben and Evie’s wedding.

As we waltzed around the room, I noticed that he and I were the only ones dancing and out of the corner of my eye, I could see my friends staring in awe and happiness.

“You look different,” I said to him as we danced.

He smiled and held me tighter. “My memory doesn’t do you justice.”

I couldn’t stop smiling at the man I was dancing with and it appeared as though his smile only grew the longer we danced. When the song ended, his hand continued to hold onto mine, but lowered as we looked into each other’s eyes.

“Can we go somewhere to talk?” I asked him.

He nodded. “Wherever ye wish. It’s your birthday after all.”

I led him to the observatory that was adjacent to the ballroom and we sat on the top deck, surrounded by stars in the night sky.

“I’m so happy to see you…” I told him and held his hand. “What made you come back?”

Harry’s thumb caressed my hadn and he smiled at me.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’was you. You made me come back,” he explained. “I’ve been doing some research on Arendelle’s laws. Quite a few for the princess.”

I blushed as he winked at me and stood up. I followed and stood with him.

“It specifically says that the princess is to only be courted by a man of noble or royal blood,” Harry continued and began to pace.

“It does say that. But I’m sure we can make an exception…” I told him.

Harry shook his head. “I won’t ask yer father to do that. Courtship isn’t allowed for us, but I kept reading, and never once do these laws mention engagement restrictions…”

I furrowed my brow. “So that’s why Ana got married so quickly,” I said to myself.

I looked back over at Harry, whose eyes shone in the stars. He seemed taller now and more confident. He was still the Harry I loved, but he had an air about him that exuded more sophistication than I had seen with him previously.

He looked at me and held my hands. “With that being said…” he began. He pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a simple silver band with a diamond cut in a diamond shape and he knelt before me, then looked into my eyes and spoke with conviction and passion, “Your Royal Highness, Princess Rayla Porter. I have nothing to give you. No riches, no gems and no money. But ye’ve had my heart since the moment you said hello to me. I only have with me the clothes on my back and an eternal burning flame of love for you inside me that I’ll cherish until my dying breath. If yer ready to take this plunge wi’me, I’m all for you. I love you with everything I am, my princess. Will you marry me?”

I couldn’t help but begin to let my tears fall and I nodded my head. “Yes, Harry. Yes, I’ll marry you!”

He stood up and slipped the ring onto my finger and cradled my face in his hands as he held me for a passionate and longing kiss.

#Descendants fanfic #harry hook x oc #harry hook smut

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kiwicatastrophe · 5 years

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Harry Hook new fanfiction on Wattpad ❤️

I've just posted the first chapter to my Harry Hook fanfiction!

I'm very proud with how this fic is turning out and I finally decided it was time to start posting!

Please give it a chance if you wanna!

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daughterofgaston · 7 years

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Masterlist

PROMPTS

Harry:

You’re My Future

Nightmares

Princess’s Don’t Punch

The Lone Wolf

Just A Bad Day

Return to the Isle Part One Part Two

Fuck, I Love You (Smut)

Don’t Be Mad

You Aren’t As Smart As You Seem, Are You?

Like Father, Like Son

Dr. Hook

Trick or Treat (Halloween)

Gil:

A Helping Hand

I’m A Daddy?

What’s Meant to Be, Will Be

A Tale of Two Beasts

Awkward Admissions

Bad Day Lovin’ (Smut)

Birthday Bonds (GilxOC, nonromantic)

Uma:

A Little Bit of Chaos

Mal:

Evie:

Dentophobia (a personal imagine)

Ben:

The Jealous Beast (Smut)

Jay:

Protecting the Flower

You Don’t Like Him

But Jay!

It’s About Time

For the Love of Sports (Smut)

Carlos:

Villain’s Best Friend

Puppy Love

The Inner Isle’s Spy: Chapter One

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atlafan · 3 years

Text

Sweet Tooth - One Shot

a/n: dentistrry is here!! I only researched a couple of things, so if you’re in the dentistry/medical field please don’t come for me if things are inaccurate, it’s just a fic, you know? This ia really cute, sweet, datey fic, so I hope you enjoy! Feedback and reblogs are super helpful! (not proofread) Consider buying me a coffee if you’re able!

Warnings: fluff and smut (the word molested is used, nothing bad happens or has happened to the main characters, it’s just mentioned during a conversation)

Pairing: Harry x OC

Words: 18K

“Dad, I can go by myself.” Abby groans to her father.

“I have to make sure everything gets billed correctly. Your dentist said only two are impacted, so only half is covered my medical and the other half is covered by dental.”

She huffs out a sigh, but nods her head as they enter Tufts Medical Center. Abby was finally getting a consult for her wisdom teeth. Perhaps at the age of twenty she felt a little late to the game for this, but her mouth had only started to hurt a little this past year. She was a little nervous about being knocked out for surgery, but she also just wanted her mouth to feel better. It was the summer before her junior year of college, so now was the perfect time to get it done. Abby and her dad make their way through the building, and get to the floor they need to be on.

“Abigail Simmons.” Her dad says to the receptionist and she nods.

“Someone will be out for her shortly. Did you have her most recent x-rays sent to us?”

“Yes.” Her dad says, and they both go to take a seat.

Abby’s leg was bouncing and she was chewing on her bottom lip. It was just a consult, there was really nothing to be worried about.

“Abigail?” Her eyes widen as she looks over at the person who just said her name. He had a toothy smile and was wearing a set of blue scrubs. She and her father both stand up. “Hi, I’m Harry, you can follow me.” He smiles to the two of them as he leads them to the consult rooms. He gets Abby situated in the dental chair. “Just so you both know, I am a student, but a competent one, which is why one of the other nurses isn’t here, but one of them will come by shortly, and so will the doctor.” He sits down on the stool and wheels over to Abby as he puts his gloves on. “Heard your mouth’s been sore, huh?”

“Y-yeah.”

“She called me at school in tears.” Her dad says and she glares at him.

“College student?” Harry raises an eyebrow and looks back at the computer to review her x-rays. “How old are you?”

“Twenty.” Abby says.

“Your teeth are, like, really straight. Did you have braces?”

“When she was in middle school. She stills wears her retainer.”

Harry and Abby both look at her father and blink. He was really starting to piss her off. She could answer for herself.

“Well, you’ve got a very good girl here, don’t you, Mr. Simmons? Listen, uh, this is going to take a few minutes. I need to look at all of her teeth and confirm the ones that are impacted and if the other two have room or not. There’s another waiting area right over there. I’ll call you back over once the doctor’s here. Would that be alright?”

“It’s just…Abby’s really nervous-“

“Dad, please, I’m fine.”

“Alright.” Her dad sighs. “I’ll be right over there.”

“Bit of a helicopter you have there.” Harry smirks at her.

“Thank you for getting rid of him. I bring myself to the doctor all the time, but for whatever reason he was adamant about coming to this.”

“It’s major surgery I don’t blame him.” Harry grabs a bib to put around Abby. “So, you go by Abby?”

“Mhm.” She blushes as he clips the bib in place and adjusts her hair.

“Is it true, are you nervous?”

“A little…mostly about the surgery, not so much about the rest. I’m not one of those people that’s afraid of the dentist.”

“No worries, love, you’ll be in good hands with us.” He smiles. “I’m gonna put the chair back now, alright?”

“Okay.”

The chair slowly goes back, and he situates a pair of sunglasses onto her before fixing the light over her eyes.

“Could you open up for me as much as you can? I’ll try to be as gentle as possible since I know you’re experiencing a lot of discomfort.”

She nods and opens up wide. She feels his pinkies enter her mouth and feel around her gums. She winces a few times when he brushes up against the back of her mouth. She hears him whisper sorry a few times. Abby tries to focus on anything else. She focuses on how green his eyes are, and how seemingly perfect his skin is. Her mind wanders to how people get skin like that. What’s his routine? How could she get skin as smooth? Does he see a dermatologist regularly?

“Okay, Abby, I’m gonna out the chair back upright, and go grab your dad and the doctor. Hope that didn’t hurt too much.”

“It was fine, thank you.”

Abby’s dad, two nurses, Harry, and the doctor all come over to her to discuss her teeth. She definitely needed all four removed. They settle on a date for her to come back and have the procedure done, and Harry gives her the rundown on how to prep for the surgery.

“We’ll see you in a couple of weeks, Abby.” Harry smiles.

“You’ll be here?”

“You bet.”

Even though she was nervous as fuck to go under, she was almost excited to see the handsome dental student again. At least it was something to look forward to.

Abby had an early morning surgery, and she had to stop eating the night before. So she was exhausted and starving, not to mention she was a ball of nerves. Her dad drove her in for the appointment, and assured her he’d be there afterwards.

“Abby?” Harry comes out all scrubbed up and ready to go. She stands up and waves back to her dad before going with him. He brings her over to a consult chair and types on the computer. “Alright, whatcha have for breakfast?”

“N-nothing, I haven’t eaten since dinner last night.”

“Good girl.” He says without looking at her. “And what about a midnight snack?”

“Harry, I haven’t eaten since dinner last night.”

“You remembered my name?” He asks as he turns to her, and she blushes.

“Sort of hard to forget the British guy that told my dad to go sit somewhere else.” She smirks, and it makes him laugh. “Will you be in the operating room?”

“Yup, I’ll be there the whole time. I’m the hand holder.”

“The hand holder?”

“Mhm, while they’re helping you get to sleep I’ll be holding your hand, making sure you’re alright. I also get to put the IV in your arm.”

“Lucky you.” She deadpans and it makes him laugh again.

“What are you in school for?”

“Psychology. I’d like to be the type of doctor that doesn’t have to deal with all this.” She gestures around the room.

“Helping people on a whole other level, I see.” He nods.

The doctor comes over, and she must have gotten asked about four more times if she had eaten breakfast. She gets settled in the chair in the new room where she’d be operated on. She watches as Harry gets the IV in her arm, and then he holds her hand, just like he said he was. He was wearing a mask now, but she could tell he was smiling.

“Don’t worry, Abby, the next time you wake up these nasty teeth will be gone.”

She nods at him and squeezes his hand as they get the oxygen hooked up to her nose. His thumb rubs the back of her hand as a nurse puts the mask over her mouth, and her eyes slowly start to droop. The last image she has is Harry’s hand in hers.

When Abby wakes up, her eyes immediately well up with tears as she looks around the room. She sees her dad sitting in a chair reading a magazine, and she sees the IV still hooked up to her arm. She makes a whining noise and her dad looks over at her.

“Hey, you’re awake.” He smiles. “Everything went really well, honey. You did great.”

After about ten minutes a nurse comes in and takes the IV out. In her daze she tried looking for Harry, but she couldn’t find him. She was so delirious she could barely walk, and her dad had to help her to the car. She just wanted to say thank you to Harry for holding her hand, but she never got the chance.

Several years later, Abby had finished her master’s degree in counseling, and just finished up her licensure program. She already had a few different job opportunities lined up. The one she wanted most was at a local university at a counseling center. Being a student in today’s age was tough, and Abby wanted to be someone they could open up to. She had done extremely well in her postgraduate internship, so she had impeccable recommendations. She just needed to narrow things down to what school she wanted to work for, and that ultimately came down to benefits. She ended up going with UMASS Boston. It was a school a lot of her friends attended, so she sort of knew the campus, it was easy enough to get to by train, and the benefits were great.

After getting the first semester under her belt, Abby was feeling confident in what she was doing. She was truly helping students. She’d even be able to go for her PhD for free after she had six months under her belt. With winter break underway, Abby was getting caught up on some self-care, which meant going in for her annual cleaning.

“Hello, this is MidCity General Denstistry, may I please speak with Abigail Simmons?”

“This is she.”

“Hi, Abigail, this is a call to remind you of your appointment this week.”

“Right, Wednesday at 3PM?”

“Correct, and I have to inform you that your usual dentist, Dr. Morgan, has recently retired.”

“Oh…I mean good for her, I just liked her a lot.” Abby chuckles.

“Don’t worry, our new doctor, Dr. Styles, is amazing and everyone’s really like him so far. He’s taking over all of Dr. Morgan’s patients.”

“Okay, that should be fine. See you Wednesday!” Abby hangs up the phone and puts an extra reminder on her phone so she wouldn’t forget.

On Wednesday, she checked in and was brought into the back by a nurse, Marie. She was the dental assistant that would be doing her cleaning, nothing out of the ordinary. Although, Abby was starting to get aggravated because Marie kept sticking the pick into the same tooth in the back of her mouth. She hears Marie sigh.

“Abby, it seems like you may have a cavity. Dr. Styles will be able to confirm it. Let me polish you up, and then I’ll go get him.”

Before Abby has a chance to respond, Marie was already polishing her teeth. She was left to lay back in the chair while Marie went to get Dr. Styles.

“Hello, Miss Simmons.” Abby’s eyes widen when she hears his voice. He sits on a stool and wheels over next to her. “I’m Dr. Styles, nice to meet you.” He extends his hand to her and she takes it. “Mind if I take a quick peak at everything else before I inspect this possible cavity?”

“N-no, go ahead.”

“Thank you, open wide for me.”

She does so, and he sticks his gloved fingers into her mouth, feeling around her gums, and making sure everything’s alright. Next he grabs the tools and does a quick inspection of her overall mouth before poking at the tooth that Marie said was the problem. Abby notices how he hum along to the music playing on the radio. It was almost soothing.

“Okay, I’m gonna hit the button so you can sit up.” He says to her. Marie moves the light, and Abby takes the sunglasses she was given off. Her eyes widen again when she gets a good look at him.

Abby had come into contact with a lot of people in her life since the time she was twenty. It would be odd to remember someone that helped with her oral surgery, but too much was adding up. A man with a British accent, the same green eyes, and he was in the dental profession. She was finally going to get a chance to thank him.

“You have a cavity.” He sighs.

“I’ve never had one in my life.” She shakes her head.

“Happens to the best of us.” Dr. Styles chuckles. “Are you eating a lot of sweets?”

“Um, well, I’m a counselor at UMASS Boston, and I tend to suck on jolly ranchers when I’m meeting with students. Helps remind me to just sit and listen and not interrupt.”

“Ah, that’s a pretty good trick. Maybe try sugar free gum?”

“No, gum gives me a headache.” She shakes her head. “I prefer to suck than to chew.”

“Right.” He swallows. “Maybe try sucking on some mints then?”

“Sure, I can try that.” She smiles at him.

“Good girl.” He smiles back at her. That just sealed the deal it was definitely him. “Marie here will help you set up an appointment so I can take care of this for you.”

“You’ll be doing the procedure?”

“Mhm, you’re stuck with me now…unless you want to switch to another doctor, which I hope you don’t. Hope you’re not missing Dr. Morgan too much.”

“Not as much as I thought, that’s for sure. Um…this may be a weird question, but did you happen to be a student at Tufts Medical Center?”

“I was! It’s where I went after I got my bachelor’s. I can perform oral surgery, but I much prefer doing stuff like this. Can fill a cavity in my sleep. How did you know I went there?”

“I…this is going to sound so weird, but, like, six years ago you…held my hand when I got my wisdom teeth out.” Harry’s eyes widen at that. “Normally I wouldn’t remember someone so well, but…it’s not every day I have a British doctor.”

“Oh, wow, you remember me doing that?”

“Yeah, and we left before I ever got a chance to say thank you for keeping me so calm. So…thanks.” She blushes.

“I wish…I wish I remembered that. They often had me as the hand holder. How nice for our paths to cross again, huh? Promise to be just as good a dentist as I was at holding your hand.”

“That’s all I could hope for.” She smirks, and it makes him chuckle. “Right, well, Marie, please help Miss Simmons set up her appointment with me so we can get this cavity filled.”

“Sure thing, Dr. Styles.” Marie says as she makes a few clicks on the computer.

Just like that he was gone. He had grown into quite the handsome man since she last saw him. Not that he wasn’t before, but he looked more adult now. She wondered how much older he was than her. More importantly, she wondered if he was single.

It was about a week later when Abby came in to have her cavity taken care of. Marie was the dental assistant again which brought Abby some comfort. Marie gets her prepped in the chair as they wait for Harry to come into the private room.

“Alright, good morning, Miss Simmons.” He says brightly.

“You can just call me Abby if you want…” She says shyly.

“Okay, Abby, it is. Let’s fill this cavity, yeah?” He sits on the stool and wheels over to her. “Gotta give you a spot of nova cane, but before I do that we have to numb the area a bit, so this little thing that looks like a lollypop is gonna go in.” Abby nods. “Open up for me.” She does so. “Good girl, thank you.” He places the numbing stick inside her mouth and she scrunches her face. “I know, it doesn’t taste very good, sorry.” He stands back up. “I’ll be back in about five minutes.”

True to his word, Harry comes back five minutes later, and takes the numbing stick out of Abby’s mouth. Next he has her open up so he can administer the nova cane. He tells her she might feel a slight pinch, and she accidentally grabs onto his thigh.

“S-sorry.” Abby says as she takes her hand off him. “I may not be afraid of the dentist, but I really don’t like needles.”

Harry and Marie share a glance, and then Harry looks at Abby.

“Marie, would you mind handling the nova cane so I can hold Abby’s hand?”

“Sure thing, Dr. Styles.”

Harry hands the needle to Marie, and then Harry grabs onto Abby’s hand. He smiles softly at her, and she’s able to focus on him and not the needle going into her gums. Marie says it’s all set, so Harry gets back into position with the drill.

“If it hurts, just let me know and we can numb you a bit more.” Harry says to her. “It’ll be over before you know it.”

Abby pinches her eyes closed the second the drill comes into contact with her tooth. Thank god Harry was wearing a mask because he couldn’t help but smile at how cute she looked. Luckily, Abby didn’t suffer too much. The procedure didn’t take too long, and she was sitting upright before she knew it.

“You did great.” Harry smiles at her. “So, that side of your mouth will be numb for a bit. Give it a few hours before you eat anything, avoid hot foods.” Abby just nods her head along, too embarrassed to speak because she knew she would sound stupid. “Have you made your appointment for your next cleaning?” She nods again. “Great, Marie, I’m just gonna go over another few things with Abby, feel free to go on your break.”

“Oh, alright. See you in six months, Abby.” Marie smiles, and leaves the room as Abby waves to her.

“I actually already went over everything with you. I…uh…just wanted her to step out.” Abby’s eyes widen at that. “I was actually wondering, um, if you’d like to go out for coffee sometime…you know, when you can have hot liquids again.” He blushes and so does she. She nods yes at him quickly. “You do? Great, um, can I have your number then?” Abby frantically reaches for the phone in her pocket, unlocks it, and then hands it to Harry so he can add his contact. “I’ll call you in a couple of days so we can set something up, yeah?”

She smiles and nods as she takes her phone back. Her heart was fluttering. She felt like she was in a dream or something. Coffee couldn’t come soon enough.

Harry called Abby a couple of days later, just like he said he would, and they agreed upon what coffee shop they should meet up at on Saturday. Her mouth was feeling much better, and she was really excited to see him. She was still in shock that he asked her out in the first place. She thought she’d have to wait another six months to see him again.

He got to the coffee shop first, and decided to wait outside for her. He smiles when he sees her and they step inside.

“It’s on me.” He says. “Get whatever you like.”

“Oh! That’s so nice of you.” Abby blushes. “Thanks.” They each order and grab a table to sit at. It was too cold outside to go for a walk.

“I just want to preface by saying I’ve never asked out a patient before.” Harry says to her.

“So…why ask me out then?”

“I just found it really endearing that you remembered me, and all you wanted to do was say thank you to me for doing something so simple.”

“Harry, I had just turned twenty, I was practically still a kid. I had never gone under or had a surgery before, I was petrified. My dad was just as nervous, you were the only thing that calmed me down.”

“So, that would make you roughly twenty-six now?”

“Yes it would.” She smiles as she takes a sip of her coffee. “How old are you?”

“I’ll be thirty-two next month.” It was an age difference both of them might have been against those years ago, but not now. They were both well into adulthood, had their careers, and had some life experience under their belts. “It’s killing me that I don’t remember you.”

“It’s really okay. You’ve probably seen so many patients. I’m sure years down the line I won’t remember every student I’ve met with.”

“Right, you said you’re a counselor at…?”

“UMASS Boston.”

“And how do you like doing that?”

“I love it, honestly. I feel so bad for these kids, they have so much on their plates, under all this pressure. It’s really brave of them to come ask for help, so I like giving them a safe space. Some meetings are more serious than others, so it’s never boring. I feel like I’m doing something worthwhile.”

“That’s amazing. Feel like I do better talking to people in small spurts, that’s what’s so great about being a dentist. People can’t strike up small talk when you’ve got your fingers in their mouth.” He laughs and so does Abby.

“How long have you been at MidCity for?”

“Like…six months, I think. I like it a lot, everyone’s really nice. Marie’s my favorite assistant, though, sometimes her kids come in and they’re really cute, and her wife bakes the best brownies.”

“She’s usually the one to do my cleanings, I like her a lot too.”

“Can I ask why you chose jolly ranchers to suck on? I mean, how many students are you meeting with? You must go through a ton.”

“I do.” She blushes in embarrassment. “I got them when they were on sale after Halloween…I’m definitely going to try the mints like you said.”

“Good, I’m glad.” He smiles as he takes a bite of his bagel.

“So, how does a doctor such as yourself not already have a girlfriend?”

“Getting right to it, huh?” He smirks and she nods. “Medical school takes up a lot of time, and then when I first started as an intern, I was constantly overworked. I was doing surgeries left and right, I was too exhausted to try and make anything serious work. Then I decided I’d rather be working at a practice. I still do a lot of teeth pulling, but not as much as I was. And now that things have slowed down a bit, I just haven’t met someone I’ve wanted to be serious with.” He shrugs. “What about you?”

“Same thing, sort of.” She giggles. “Grad school was a lot, and then interning was a lot. Now I’m just really settling into my job. I survived the first semester, now I feel like a pro.”

“That’s a good feeling to have. Is your commute long?”

“Not really, I just take the green line to the red and I’m there. Obviously the trains can be unpredictable, but it beats having to pay for a car and car insurance. What about you? Are you in the city, or out in the suburbs.”

“Oh, I’m in the city. I drive to work, though, I’ve got my own parking spot at the back of the building.”

“Well, we can’t all be so special.” She smirks.

“No, I suppose not.” He smirks back at her. “How’s your tooth feel, by the way?”

“Oh, it’s fine, thanks. You’re really good at your job. It was nice of you to hold my hand when Marie did the nova cane.”

“I felt so bad that you were scared.” He reaches across the table and places his hand over hers. “When you grabbed onto me I knew I had to do something.”

“God that was embarrassing. I would have felt so violated if someone did that to me.”

“It’s not like you grabbed my dick, Abby, it’s alright.” He gives her hand a squeeze.

“Right.” She lets out a nervous laugh. “So, do you work a standard Monday through Friday at MidCity, or how does all of that work?”

“Yup, pretty much.” He takes his hand away from hers. “I mean obviously if there’s an emergency we have to cancel appointments, but for the most part we leave spots open for surgeries so people are able to book those easy enough. I usually pop by the cleanings in between cavity fillings and other stuff.”

“What made you want to become a dentist?”

“Well, I knew I wanted to work in the medical field, but selfishly I didn’t want the long hours at hospitals. I don’t have to be on call, like, I don’t have to worry about emergencies in the middle of the night. Not often, anyways.”

“I feel like I would get grossed out looking at teeth all day.” Abby chuckles.

“It’s not as bad as you think. I try to separate the teeth from the person. Like, I was able to give all new teeth to this recovering meth addict. She had this incredible story, and I knew I had to help. She had been sober for five years, but no one would hire her because of her teeth. Now she’s working a corporate job doing great.”

“Oh, wow, that’s amazing.”

“You must have some great stories with your students.”

“Yeah, I’ve really bonded with a few of them. Sometimes they just need someone on their side, you know? A lot of them are first in their family to go to school, so they’re doing a lot on their own.”

“That’s a lot of pressure.”

“You have no idea.”

“Well, it’s good they have a nice person like you to help them.” Harry smiles warmly at her and she smiles back. “Would you, um, would you be interested in going out for dinner some time?”

“I…yeah, I’d love to.” She blinks a couple of times. “I’m free most nights right now because we’re on winter break.”

“You don’t have to go into your office at all?”

“I just answer emails from home.” Abby shrugs.

“Sweet deal.” Harry grins. “So, how would Thursday night work for you?”

“Thursday works great.” She smiles.

They both throw out all of their trash and step out of the coffee shop. They share a gentle hug, and go their separate ways. Harry said he’d call in a couple of days to let her know where he’d be taking her, and she was beyond excited.

Friday night, Harry picked Abby up in front of her building. When he saw her, he got out of the car to open the door for her and she giggled.

“That’s a nice coat.” He says to her.

“Thanks, I got it on sale at L.L. Bean back in August. Keeps me nice and warm.”

“Oh, I love shopping there! Once in a while I’ll take the drive up to New Hampshire to go to the actual store to get the really good stuff. The boots I got from there for the winter will last a life time.”

“Yeah, it’s just good quality stuff. I usually get a decent coupon in the mail or online.” She chews her bottom lip. Clearly Harry had a little more money than she did. “Where are we eating?”

“You’ll love it, it’s this nice Italian place at the North End. I remember you said Italian was something you liked when we spoke on the phone.”

Abby smiles at him and he looks at her briefly to smile back. He finds a place to park, somehow, and they walk towards the restaurants. She hadn’t been to the North End in a while since most of the places were expensive. Harry puts his hand on the small of her back as they walk in, and he tells the hostess he has a reservation. She leads them over to a table for two and he pulls out the chair for her.

“So, how’s your week been?” Abby asks him.

“Pretty good, fit this one person with a new tooth, did a couple of crowns. Same old, same old.” He shrugs. “How about you?”

“Good, I did some virtual sessions with some students who are having shitty winter breaks. I went into the office for a team retreat, and then I updated some spread sheets.” She chuckles.

“That’s nice of you to do virtual appointments.”

“It’s all part of the job.”

“Good evening, folks.” A waiter comes over with water and a basket of rolls. “I’m Parker, can I start you off with any drinks or appetizers?”

“Abby, would you care to get a bottle of white for the table?” Harry asks her.

“Oh, sure, that’s be great. Would Pinot Grigio be alright?”

“It’s perfect. A bottle of Piniot Grigio, please.” He looks down at the menu and furrows his brows at the appetizers. “Calamari?” He asks her and she nods. “Calamari, Parker.”

“Sounds great, I’ll be back in a moment with the wine and to take your dinner orders.”

“The calamari here is excellent, it’s lightly fried in peanut oil so it doesn’t feel heavy.”

“What do you recommend for an entrée?”

“Everything’s good. What are you in the mood for?”

Abby looks down at the menu and her eyebrows raise at the prices.

“Maybe just one of these pasta dishes.”

“Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Don’t get the cheapest thing on the menu. Get whatever you like, it’s my treat.”

“Harry, this is gonna be really expensive.”

“I wouldn’t have brought you here if I couldn’t afford it, please don’t worry about it.”

“O-okay, then…maybe the steak tips with the pan seared peppers.”

“If that’s what you want then you should have it.” Harry smiles. Parker comes over with the bottle of wine, and pours the first two glasses for them. “I’m really glad we could do this tonight.” He grins. “I…found something when I was going through some old things the other day.”

“Oh?” She raises an eyebrow as she sips on her drink.

“It was killing me that I couldn’t remember you, but then it hit me.” He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a card. “I’ve never been so thankful to be a packrat in my life.” He opens it and smiles. “Dear Harry, I never got a chance to say thank you when you held my hand before my surgery. I figured I’d drop this off when I came in to have my stitches removed. I hope this finds its way to you. You’re going to be a great doctor someday. Sincerely, Abby Simmons.” He smiles at her as he places the card back in his back pocket.

“You…you kept that?”

“It wasn’t often I got cards like that, so I kept it, and once in a while when I needed a pick me up I’d read it. As soon as I re-read it the other day I completely remembered you. I even remembered telling your dad to go sit in the other waiting room.”

“Oh my god.” Abby chuckles. “That was the greatest thing I had ever seen. Think that solidified the crush I had on you.”

“Telling your dad to basically leave you alone?”

“Yeah.” She smirks. “Super hot to see you be so sure of yourself and confident. Plus, he was really pissing me off, talking over me and answering for me.”

“Wow, so I guess I’m the one that away, huh?” He smirks.

“You certainly were. Although, I hadn’t thought about you in quite some time. It’s crazy that you ended up becoming my dentist.”

“Very crazy.” Parker comes over with the calamari and tells the two he’s going to put their orders in now. Harry watches as she sticks her fork into a piece and takes a bite. “You’re really cute, you know that?”

“I’ll take your word for it.” She smiles. “This is really good.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

The rest of the date goes really well. Abby and Harry continued to joke around and flirt. It wasn’t until the check came that she felt a little uncomfortable.

“How much is it?” She asks him nervously.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He smirks and slides his card into the slot, letting Parker take it. “Would you like to walk around for a bit, maybe get some dessert by the water?”

“That sounds great, but only if I can pay for dessert.”

“Deal.” He smiles.

Harry holds Abby’s hand as they walk through the little park by the water. Even though it was cold out, it was still a beautiful night. They duck into a gelato place for a little dessert. They decide to split something, which ends up being insanely romantic when Harry lifts his spoon to her lips. She makes a show of it as she takes a bite, licking her lips after and everything. He holds her hand during the drive, and lets her pick the radio station. He gets out and walks her up to the door once they get to her building.

“I had a lot of fun with you tonight.” She says to him.

“Me too.” He steps closer to her. “Do you see a third date in our future?”

“Definitely.” She nods. “Do you like bowling?”

“Love bowling. Are you, um, free Saturday night?”

“I can be.” She smiles. “Pick me up around seven?”

“It’s a date.” He smiles. The two stand there awkwardly for a moment, unsure if they should kiss or not, so instead Harry opens his arms for hug, and she wraps her arms around his neck. She kisses his cheek, and then he kisses hers. “I’ll see you Saturday, Abby.”

“See you Saturday, Harry.”

Harry was on cloud nine the next day at work. He couldn’t stop thinking about Abby, her smile, her laugh, the little beauty mark she has under right eye. He thought she was gorgeous, charming, and kind. Normally he’d never get involved with a patient, but he couldn’t help it with her. He thought it was so sweet that she remembered him after all this time, and he felt so relieved that he remembered her.

“You’ve had this dreamy look on your face all week, what’s with you?” Marie asks Harry while they’re eating lunch.

“I…sort of met someone, and we’ve been out a couple times…she’s great.”

“That’s great! Anyone I know?”

“Um…well, you know Abigail Simmons…”

“Of course I know Abby! Oh my god, is that why you asked me to step out of the room when you filled her cavity?!”

“I didn’t wanna ask her out in front of you.”

“Harry, since when do you date patients?” She whispers.

“Normally I wouldn’t, but it turns out I met her a long time ago. When I was a student at Tufts I assisted in removing her wisdom teeth.”

“Oh, wow, that’s incredible.” Marie blinks. “When are you seeing her again?”

“Tomorrow night. We’re going bowling, how fun is that?”

“Should be really fun.” Marie grins. “Look at you, putting yourself out there. Now Leigh and I can stop trying to set you up.”

“I’m excited about her. She’s got such a cool job too. I can’t wait to keep getting to know her.”

Since they were going bowling, they could easily just take the train, so Harry takes a cab to Abby’s building Saturday evening. He was wearing a nice pair of jeans and a sweater under his jacket. She comes down the stairs in her long coat, and a Patriots hat on top of her head.

“Hey.” He smiles at her, taking her in for a hug. “How are you?”

“Good.” She smiles up at him. “How are you?”

“Good, great, actually.” He takes her hand and they walk towards the nearest t-stop. They both swipe their Charlie Cards and hop onto the next train.

“I hope you’re okay with candle pins…I’m not good with the big balls.” Abby says to him as they hang onto the same pole of the crowded train.

“I love candle pinning.” He chuckles. “No worries.”

They get to the bowling alley, are given a lane, and get their shoes. Abby takes her hat off and fixes her hair, and then unzips her jacket. She had a pair of jeans on with a red turtleneck. Abby was a short, curvy thing, and Harry absolutely loved it. When Abby first met Harry back when she was twenty, she was a tiny size two, but now she was a comfortable size eight and was fully embracing it. She was healthy, and that was all that mattered.

“Do you want anything to drink? I could get us a pitcher of beer.” Harry says to her as they settle into their lane. “I could get us some pizza too.”

“That sounds great, thanks.” She smiles as she slips her shoes on.

“Be back in a tick.” Harry goes over to the snack bar and gets two slices of pizza and a pitcher of beer. “Here we are.” Harry fills two of the plastic cups up with the beer, and hands one to Abby. “Shall we?”

“Mhm, I already set up the score sheets.” She shows him the large sheet of paper. “Not that I care that much about the score…it’s just fun to keep track.”

Abby bowls first, knocking most of the pins down, and then gets the rest on her second throw. Harry couldn’t help but smile as he watched her to do a little jog and hop as she threw the ball down the lane. He goes up next and immediately gets a strike.

“Woohoo! Go, Harry!” Abby says as she takes a sip of her beer. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a strike before.”

“I could show you how if you want.”

“Isn’t it just luck?”

“Nope, it’s all physics.”

“And…you’re good with physics?”

“Had to take it during pre-med, I even tutored for it. Come on, I’ll show you.” Abby gets up and grabs one of the balls. Harry goes behind her, and puts his hand on one of her shoulders, moving her hair so he can speak closer to her ear. “Okay, so what you’re gonna want to do is walk a little closer to the line, swing the ball back, and let it fly.”

Abby turns slightly to look up at him. Her cheeks were flushed. She nods at him, and does exactly what he said to do, and she gets the strike.

“Oh my god!” She squeals and throws her arms around him. “I can’t believe that worked! You’re amazing!” She kisses his cheek.

“You did great! Nice to know you’re good at following directions.” He winks at her and grabs his next ball.

After three rounds of bowling, and two pitchers of beer, they both head out. They take the train back to the stop nearest to Abby’s apartment, and Harry walks her home.

“I had so much fun tonight, Harry.”

“Me too, I’m glad you suggested bowling.” They both stop in front of her steps. “Can I see you again next weekend?”

“I’d like that.”

“Maybe if it’s not too cold we could go ice skating at Frog Pond.”

“Oh, I’d love to do that! I have my own skates and everything.”

“Perfect.” He smiles and steps closer to her. She looks up at him with her big brown eyes. He didn’t think brown eyes as beautiful as hers existed. “Abby, can I kiss you?” He asks softly.

“Yes.” She nods and smiles up at him.

He cups her cheek and leans down to her. His lips press to hers, and he uses is other hand to cup her other cheek. It’s soft and gentle at first, it grows a little needier as she presses her body to his, but she stops him from walking up the stairs. She pulls away first and blushes.

“Um, well, goodnight.” She says to him.

“Yeah, goodnight.” He rubs the back of his neck. He was sorting of hoping she’d invite him up. It was the third date, after all. Maybe she was a fifth date kind of girl, which he had to respect. “I’ll call you at some point during the week. I’ve got a few different surgeries, though, so if you don’t hear from me a lot that’s why.”

“No worries.” She shrugs. “I’m getting ready for the students to return, and I have some meetings to go to, some seminars, so I’ll be busy myself. Wanna just plan for next Saturday?”

“Sounds good to me.” He leans again to kiss her again, and she happily kisses him back.

“Okay, goodnight for real.” She giggles and walks up her steps. She waves goodbye as she goes into her building and he sighs.

Abby sighs happily as she gets into her apartment and squeals. She immediately texts her best friend everything about her date with Harry. She was so excited about him, and couldn’t believe he was actually interested in her.

They texted here and there during the week. Abby got a little brave and sent him a mirror selfie of her dressed up for work, and he sent one back of himself in his scrubs ready to go in for surgery. Her jaw nearly dropped when she saw him. She had seen him in scrubs before, but it was ages ago. He filled them out so differently now. Plus, the thought of him being a doctor just did things to her insides that she couldn’t even describe. He thought she looked gorgeous in her pin striped slacks and blouse. He couldn’t but think about how lucky each student was that got to sit and talk with her.

Harry was exhausted by the end of the week. He must have extracted over a dozen teeth, filled a stupid amount of cavities, and put on ten different crowns. He couldn’t wait to see Abby Saturday. He asked her to go to the pond a little earlier in the evening so they could get dinner afterwards. The decided to just meet at the pond. She was easy enough to spot now that he knew what her long coat and Patriots hat looked like.

“Harry.” She smiles when she turns to see him. They hug and share a quick peck on the lips. “Did you catch up on some sleep?”

“I did.” He sighs as they find a bench to sit down on to put on their skates. “Been looking forward to seeing you all week. How’d your seminar go?”

“Oh, it was great! It ended up being more of a training, I have a new certification too.”

“That’s amazing, good for you. I’m constantly going to lectures and stuff to stay up to date. I’ve published a couple of things too to some medical journals.”

“That’s so cool! Once I’ve been at UMASS for six months I can start taking classes for free. I’m gonns go for my doctorate, so hopefully I can start publishing some work too.” They both stand up and make their way into the rink. Abby puts her hand out for Harry’s and he takes it as they start to glide on the ice.

“That’s great that they have a program like that for you.”

“I know! I was super happy when I saw that in the benefits package.”

They skate around the rink a few times, enjoying the music that was playing. Harry guides them over to the side for a little break. He presses her against it, his hands going onto the railing, caging her in. She looks up at him, and he leans in to kiss her. She tugs on his coat to pull him closer, and the kiss deepens slightly. Abby really liked kissing Harry. He always tasted like mint, probably because he was constantly chewing gum, and his lips were insanely soft. She starts smiling and so does he, and he presses his forehead to hers.

“Do you feel like going to eat now?” He says to her.

“Yeah.” She nods.

They end up going to a Mexican restaurant not too far from the pond. They each get margaritas and laugh a lot. Harry talks about what it’s like to extract teeth during a surgery, and Abby asks if people ever want to see their teeth afterwards. He asks Abby how she copes when she has to deal with a heavier situation at work, and she says her little Shih Tzu, Marvin, helps make her day a lot better.

“That’s nice your apartment allows pets.” He says to her.

“Yeah, he’s only, like, nine pounds, if that. He’s so cute, do you wanna see a picture?”

“Of course!” Abby pulls out her phone to show Harry a few pictures of Marvin, and even a selfie she took with him. “He’s so cute, and so are you.”

“Thanks.” She giggles.

“He looks like a little stuffed animal.”

“He really does.”

“Why a Shih Tzu?”

“They’re really smart. They’re tough to train because they’re so stubborn, but once they get a little older they start to listen, and they’re pretty self-sufficient alone during the day. Although, sometimes I sneak him into the office.”

“How old is he?”

“About two. Do you have any pets?”

“Nah, I’m not home enough to take care of anything else. But I love dogs, I think they’re great.”

“Well, maybe at some point you can meet little Marv.”

“I’d like that.”

They square up the tab and Harry walks Abby home once again. They kiss for a while outside her front door. He desperately wanted to feel her tongue on his, but she wouldn’t open her mouth up. His hands squeeze at her hips, and she tugs on his jacket like she had done earlier.

“Well, I better get up inside.” She says against his lips and he hums his response as he continues to kiss her. She giggles into him. “Harry.” She smiles and steps back from him.

“Sorry, I just really like kissing you.”

“I like kissing you too.”

“When can I see you again?”

She takes her phone out to check her calendar.

“Are you free on Friday?” She asks as she furrows her brows at her screen.

“I think so. We could go to dinner, if you like. There’s this really great Chinese place in China Town that I love going to if you’re interested.”

“That sounds great, Harry.” She smiles. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Maybe…um, maybe we could meet up for lunch, or something at some point during the week.”

“Do you have time for something like that?”

“I’m sure I do. I can look at my calendar and let you know which day works best.”

“Okay.” She nods. “I’d love to meet up for lunch.”

“Great.” He leans in to kiss her again. “Hope you and Marvin have a good night.”

“Oh, we will. He’s probably antsy for me to get up there and give him all the cuddles I can. Text me when you know which day works for lunch.” She smiles and heads inside.

Harry couldn’t believe a little dog was going to be getting all of her cuddles tonight and not him. She was slowly killing him. He respected that she might want to take things slow, but to still not invite him up? He sighs and orders an uber back to his condo, hoping he’ll be able to fall asleep easily, and not stay up thinking about the girl who was slowly creeping her way into his heart.

Abby was able to meet up with Harry on Tuesday, but only for a quick walk, which she thought would be a great opportunity for Harry to meet Marvin. She gets his sweater and harness on, leashes him up, and out the door she goes. Harry was standing outside her building, in his scrubs, and a jacket, with two hot chocolates.

“Thank you.” She smiles and takes the warm drink from him. “Harry, this is Marvin.”

“Aw.” He pouts, and squats down to put his hand in front of Marvin’s nose before he pets him. “Nice to meet you little guy.” He looks up at Abby. “He’s even cuter in person.”

“Right? I’m really excited we could get out for a little bit today. He loves when I can take him for a good walk.” Harry stands back up straight and they all start walking. “Were you in surgery today?”

“Yeah, early this morning, and I’ve got another one later this afternoon. Didn’t make much sense for me to put my other clothes back on.”

“You look cute in your scrubs.” Abby says, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Harry nudges her and he looks down at Marvin.

“He’s pretty quiet, huh?”

“He was yappy when I first got him, but he’s calmed down a lot. First summer I had him I spent a lot of time training him. Pretty much taught him not to bark unless someone’s trying to break in.”

“You must be good with discipline then.”

“I try to be. Although, I’m more of a fan of positive reinforcement.” They pull to the side as Marvin takes a tinkle near a fire hydrant. “Good boy, Marvin.” She says and gives him a kibble as a treat. “Kibbles are great treats. Can’t get fat off what he normally eats.”

“That’s really smart. Have you, uh, been laying off the jolly ranchers?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Dr. Styles, I didn’t realize we were in your office.”

“Abby…”

“I’ve been trying to, but I have a horrible sweet tooth. They’re the only candy I really eat. What’s the harm?”

“Your teeth rotting out?”

“Okay, good point. I mean, I haven’t had nearly as many since I’m not really meeting with students right now, and I’ve already gone out and bought a ton of mints for the next semester.”

“Good girl, that’s what I like to hear.”

“What do you say to your male patients?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s just…you say good girl a lot…do you do that with all your female patients, and if so…what do you say to your male patients? Also, I’m an adult woman. Do you say good girl to all adult women?”

“Abby.” Harry chuckles. “I think I’ve only ever said that to you.”

“Oh, fuck off, I bet you say it all the time.”

“I really don’t.”

“Then why me?”

“You’re cute, and I tend to be a flirt sometimes.”

“You consider calling me a good girl flirting?” She stops short and he turns to look at her.

“I do.” He nods, a smirk growing on his lips. “Do you want me to stop saying it to you?”

“N-no.”

“Alright then.” He grins and they continue walking until they get to Marvin’s turn around spot, and make their way back to Abby’s building. “I’m glad we got to meet up for a bit. Still on for Friday night?”

“Definitely.” She goes up on her tip toes to kiss him goodbye and inside she goes. Harry left her with butterflies in her stomach.

Harry was really hoping tonight would be the night something more happens between him and Abby. He just wanted to feel her body on his. He drives to her place around seven Friday night, and he waits outside the car for her.

“Hello, beautiful.” He says to her as she steps outside.

“Hey.” She smiles and kisses him. He opens the door for her and he jogs around the other side to get back in. He takes her hand in his as she drives towards China Town. “How was your day?”

“Good, really busy, but good. I tend to get a lot of kids on Fridays since it’s an easy day for them to miss school.”

“I bet the little kids love you.”

“They do, I like being goofy with them.” They get to the restaurant, and are seated. “Do you want to share a few things?”

“Sure, that sounds good.” She smiles. “I hardly ever come out here, how’d you find this place?”

“When I was at Tufts I used to come to China Town all the time since it’s close by. I got sick of eating at all of the same places, so I decided to come around here and branch out. This is obviously nicer, but I like it a lot.” They decide which dishes they want to share, and tell the waitress when she comes over. They both also order a couple of drinks. “The semester’s starting soon, right?”

“Yeah, on Monday, actually.”

“Oh, wow! Do you feel ready?”

“For the most part.” She nods. “The first week is usually quiet, and then I start to get booked out. That’s how it was last semester, anyways. I already have some of my regulars from last semester on my calendar for next week.”

“I bet they’re excited to see you, I know I would be.” He places his hand over hers and gives it a squeeze. “Abby, um, after dinner…I was wondering if you’d like to come back to my place for a bit.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet of you to offer, but I don’t want to leave Marvin for that long.” She takes a sip of her drink. “Another time, though.” She smiles and he nods at that.

A food runner brings their dishes over, and luckily nothing feels awkward, but Harry was sort of hoping that she’d offer to have him over after dinner instead. They both enjoy the food, and share a few laughs before heading back to Harry’s car. When he pulls up to her place they both linger for a moment.

“Thanks again for dinner, Harry, I had a great time.”

“Me too.” He looks at her. “Can I ask you something?” She nods yes at him. “Are you, uh, seeing anyone else? It’s okay if you are, we never said this was exclusive, I guess I’d just like to know.”

“No, I’m not seeing anyone else. I would have told you if I was dating around. Are you seeing anyone else?”

“No.”

“Okay.” She smiles. “Good to know.” She leans across the console to kiss him, and he kisses her back. He turns his body more so he can cup her jaw. “Are you busy tomorrow?”

“I…I don’t think so, I mean, just usual weekend errand type stuff. Might be grabbing drinks with some friends in the evening, why?”

“I was just thinking maybe, um, you could come over for dinner, but if you’re busy-“

“I can cancel. I can get drinks with them any time.”

“Don’t be silly.” She smiles. “We can do it another night. We’ll figure it out. I better get upstairs.” She pecks his lips. “Goodnight.” She gets out of the car, leaving him speechless. He wanted to rip his hair out at this point.

“Harry, how things going with that girl you’ve been seeing?” Greg asks him as they sit in a booth at the bar.

“Yeah, you still like her?” Lenny asks.

“Things are going well.” He nods. “But I can’t seem to figure her out. We’ve been out, like, six times and she still hasn’t invited me up to her place. I invited her back to mind last night, and she said she didn’t want to leave her dog alone for long.”

“Have you kissed?” Greg asks.

“Yeah, we’ve kissed plenty of times. We just haven’t done anything else. I mean, we don’t need to jump right into bed, but it’d be nice to do a little more.”

“I get what you’re saying, man.” Lenny says. “Maybe she’s just nervous.”

“I didn’t think I was giving her a reason to be.” Harry sighs. “She invited me over tonight, but I stupidly told her I had plans with you lot.”

“What are you doing with us then?! Go pick up some dessert, and go get your girl!” Greg says.

“I can’t just show up at her place…I’ll look like a stalker. What if she’s not even home?”

“So text her.” Lenny shrugs. “See if she’s around and ask if you can stop by. Tell her you’re at bar in the neighborhood.”

“But I’m not. She’ll know I’m lying.”

“Dude, just text her and see if she’s around.” Greg says.

Harry takes out his phone and types out a text. He hesitates before hitting send.

Harry: Hey, Abby! Are you home? I’m finishing up with my friends a bit earlier than I thought…maybe I could bring some dessert over?

Abby: Hey! Yeah, I’m home, snuggled up with Marv. I’d love it if you came by, especially if there’s dessert involved lol

Harry: Great! I can be by in about 30 minutes

Abby: sounds good! See you soon

“Alright, I’m gonna go up to the bar and get a lava cake to go. Thanks for being so cool about this guys.”

“No worries, H.” Lenny says. “Good luck.”

Harry races to Abby’s once he’s gotten the cake, and she buzzes him in. He knocks on her door, and she opens it for him.

“Hey.” She smiles and steps aside. “Come on in.”

“Thanks.” He pecks her cheek. “Hope you like chocolate lava cake.”

“Love it.” She takes it from him. “So…this is it. It’s just a studio.” She blushes. “But the kitchen is its own area, which is nice.”

“It’s great.” He smiles at her. “You’ve definitely utilized the space.”

There’s a large monitor mounted on the wall, a desk underneath it with Abby’s laptop, and an HDMI cord connecting both. There’s a small couch a few feet back, and then her bed is up against the opposite wall. Everything was neat and tidy.

“I use this wireless mouse as a remote, and I have a Fire Stick.” She says. Marvin comes trotting in from the kitchen. “Marv, you remember Harry. I’m just gonna stick this in the kitchen. Feel free to make yourself comfortable.” She walks into the kitchen as Harry sits down on the couch. Marvin jumps up to sit in his lap.

“Hey, little guy.” Harry pets his head and scratches behind his ears. Abby comes back out. She looks really cute tonight. She was wearing glasses, her hair tied to the side in a braid, leggings and an off the shoulder sweater. “Hope I’m not intruding on your cozy evening.”

“Not at all! I’m really glad you texted, actually. Did you have fun with your friends?”

“I did, yeah.”

“Are they dentists too?”

“Mhm, we lived together while we were in medical school. Lenny and Greg.”

“Where do they both work?”

“At other practices around the city. Greg’s actually an orthodontist. They’re both junior partners, though, I’m the first of the three of us to become a senior partner at a practice. Guess that was the one good thing about Dr. Morgan leaving MidCity.”

“You’re so successful.” She bites her bottom lip and looks down at Marvin in Harry’s lap. “Look at that, you’re here five minutes and he already liked you better than me.” She reaches and takes Marvin from Harry, snuggling him to her chest before putting him on the ground.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses.”

“Oh, I don’t. They’re just blue light blockers.” She takes them off and sets them on the side table next to the couch. “They help a lot when I’m on the computer for a while.”

“Ah.” He nods.

“What’s your place like?”

“I’ve got a condo, uh, it’s a three bedroom, but I use one as a home office.”

“Wow, good for you.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t always get to live so comfortably.”

“You’ve earned it, I bet you work really hard.” She smiles.

“I’m sure you work hard too.”

“True.” She nods. “But I’m paying off loans, and this is all I can really afford.”

“It’s a great place.” He assures her. “I wish the studio I had when I first started out was half as nice as this. I certainly didn’t keep things as neat as you.”

“Oh, I just rushed around to clean things up before you got here. It was a mess.” She laughs.

“I’m glad you were cool with me coming by.” He puts his hand over hers, rubbing his thumb along the back of her hand. “I’ve been having a great time with you this last month.”

“Me too.”

“My birthday’s next weekend, and…um, a ton of us are getting together at this pub…I’d love it if you could come.”

“Oh! Sure, would it be Saturday?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m there, I’d love to go. That’s so nice of you to invite me.” She leans in and kisses his cheek.

He looks at her, his eyes locking in on her lips. He leans in and presses his lips to hers. Her arms go around his neck to pull him closer, her fingers tangling with the curls on the nape of his neck. His arms wrap around her, hands splaying on her back to have her chest pressed to his. He lightly sucks on her bottom lip, and she opens up wider for him. He nearly groans as he licks into her, finally. She tugs on his hair as her tongue molds to his. One of his hands slides down her back and around to the front of her stomach. He just about reaches the band of her leggings when she grabs his hand, and moves it to her hip. He gives a squeeze and she whimpers into him. He plants kisses along her jaw to her earlobe, nibbling on it gently until he kisses on her neck. He mouths at her skin before sucking on her and she gasps.

“Don’t leave a mark.” She grunts, and she feels him nod against her skin. “H-Harry, is this the only reason you wanted to come see me tonight?” She blurts out and he stops to look at her.

“What? No.” He shakes his head. “I genuinely wanted to see you and split that cake. And…I mean…yeah, I’ve been wanting to do a little bit of this.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I like you a lot, Abby, I can’t help it.”

“I like you a lot too.” She gives him a soft smile. “We can keep kissing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm.” She nods and brings her hand to the back of his neck to pull him back to her. This time she nibbles on his bottom lip and his hands go to her hips, squeezing and kneading. “Mm, but I don’t wanna go any further than this…not yet anyways. I hope that’s alright.”

“Of course it is.”

“I just…sort of wanna see where this is going before something so serious happens between us.”

“I get it.” He smiles. “I know you’ll be worth the wait.”

Harry: hope the first day of the semester has been treating you well!

Abby couldn’t help but smile at her phone. She knew Harry was extremely busy at work, so the fact that he took a moment to text her meant so much. The only thing was he texted her during a staff meeting, and her colleague Maya noticed her goofy smile.

“Abby, how was your break?” Maya asks her after the meeting.

“It was good! Um, I sort of started seeing someone.”

“Shut up! That’s amazing, who is it, how’d you meet?”

“His name is Harry…he’s, um, my dentist.”

“Oh, my, a doctor?”

“Yeah.” Abby nods. “We actually met years ago when he was still a student, and he just so happened to take over for my other dentist who apparently retired. It’s been a little over a month. He’s super nice, and funny…and he’s really fucking handsome.” She says the last part quietly.

“Good for you. Do you have a picture of him?”

“There’s one on the practice’s website. I haven’t, like, taken a selfie with yet. Although, I wish I had when he took me ice skating.” She pulls up MidCity’s website on her phone and shows Maya.

“Holy shit! He is handsome.”

“It’s going really well too. He’s met Marvin, and he invited me to his birthday party this weekend.”

“Wow, so you’re gonna get to meet his friends already?”

“I guess so.” She smiles. “The only thing is…do I get him a gift? And if so, what do I get him? I feel like it should be casual because everything’s so new still, but if it’s too casual he might think I’m not as into him as I am.”

“Shit, yeah, that’s a tough one.” Maya steps further into Abby’s office. The girls were close, so they were used to talking about personal things. “Have you slept with him yet? You could wear something for him to unwrap.”

“No, we haven’t.” Abby sighs. “I’m trying to take things slow with him because I really like him. We’ve made out a couple of times…”

“So…is that a no?”

“I don’t know, birthday sex as a gift? I feel like that’s so…cliché or something? Plus, I feel like he’ll be expecting it. I want it to feel more special than that.” She bites her bottom lip in thought.

“Oh! Have you been out to eat with him much?”

“Yeah, a ton, why?”

“Did you notice him order any specific types of alcohol?”

“Yeah! On our first real date he had this really nice bottle of white wine ordered to our table. It was delicious, and he loved it. I remember what it was, I could just get a bottle of that and a card, right?”

“I think that’s a totally acceptable gift. It’s sentimental, so it shows you put some thought into it, but also casual enough to show you’re not a psycho.”

“Exactly.”

Abby: you’re so sweet! It’s been a little busy with meetings and stuff, but other than that no fires to put out. Thanks so much for thinking of me, I hope you’re having a good day too! 😘

Harry didn’t want Abby to walk into the pub by herself, so he said he’d pick her up on his way. She insisted he didn’t need to, but he insisted that he did. She had a black dress on with black tights and blue heels. She zips up her long coat and runs her fingers through her hair. Her phone buzzes with a text from Harry that he’s downstairs with the uber. She takes a deep breath, grabs her gift, and heads downstairs.

“Happy birthday.” She smiles and gives him a peck on the cheek.

“Thanks, beautiful.” He opens the door for her and goes around to the other side. “Is that for me?” He points to the bag she’s settled into her lap.

“Maybe.” She shrugs a shoulder.

“You didn’t have to get me anything.” He places his hand on her thigh.

“I said maybe, so this could easily not be for you. I guess you’ll find out later.” She side eyes him and it makes him laugh.

“How was your first week back to campus?”

“Exhausting.” She sighs. “But I caught up on sleep this morning. Everyone was excited to see Marvin.” She chuckles. “And it was good to see my friends and students.”

“That’s good.” Harry smiles.

“What about you? How was your week?”

“Busy. I had four different surgeries, a ton of cavities, and a fuck ton of cleaning check ins. I think a lot of college kids were getting in their bi-annual visits before going back to school.”

“Ohhh, yup, I bet that’s what it was. Is there ever a time of year you’re super busy?”

“I would say summers I do a lot of wisdom teeth removals, so I get bogged down there. Everything’s pretty consistent, though.”

“So, who’s going to be at this party?”

“My friends Greg and Lenny, who are very excited to meet you.” Harry smiles and gives Abby’s thigh a squeeze. “Some people from work, you know Marie, and Dr. Morgan’s going to be there as well. Some other med school buddies will be there. I’m only thirty-two it’s not really a big deal.” He shrugs.

“I’m excited to meet your friends too.” She smiles. “And it’ll be good that I’ll know a couple of people so you won’t feel like you have to babysit me.”

“Aw, babe, I wouldn’t feel like that. I wouldn’t leave your side if that’s what you wanted, no worries.”

She nods and smiles nervously at him. He just called her ‘babe’ and it filled her tummy with butterflies. The driver pulls up in front of the pub, and Harry gets out first so he can open Abby’s door. She smiles at him as he puts his hand on the small of her back to lead her inside.

“There he is!” Greg exclaims. “Happy birthday, H!” The two hug.

“Thanks, mate, this is Abby. Abby, this is Greg.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” She says to him.

“Same to you, you’re even lovelier than Harry described.”

Abby giggles at that, and Harry leads her over to the coat room. It seems the whole pub had been rented out for his party. There was a small table for gifts, so she sets hers down.

“Wow, you look amazing.” Harry says, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.

“Thanks.” She smiles and leans in to peck his lips. “Wanna introduce me to some other people?”

“Yeah, come on.” He takes her hand and leads her back to everyone.

Abby gets introduced to Lenny, and some of Harry’s other doctor friends. She then gives Dr. Morgan a big hug, and she says hello to Marie and her wife. Harry gets Abby a glass of wine, and much to her surprise, he keeps his arm hooked around her waist for most of the evening. He clearly wanted her close by. His friends were kind, not at all arrogant, which was a tad unexpected since there were a lot of people with deep pockets in the room. Maybe doctors weren’t as snotty because they also had large student loan debts. They engaged her in conversation, asking about her work, and why the heck she wanted to spend her time with Harry, which made a lot of people laugh. Harry lit up when he was explaining how he and Abby actually met ears ago, and he talked about the card she had sent along to him, making her blush a bit. Everyone found the story to be quite endearing.

“Are you having a good time?” Harry asks Abby as they go up to the bar together.

“I am, your friends are great. Are you? It’s your birthday.”

“I’m having a wonderful time, even more so since you’re here.” He kisses her cheek and hands her a new glass of wine.

A tray of cupcakes is brought out, and everyone sings happy birthday to Harry. He blows out a few candles and thanks everyone for coming. The cupcakes were delicious, clearly from a nice bakery. Harry notices Abby getting a little bit of frosting on the corner of her mouth, and before she can grab a napkin, he’s catching it with his thumb and sucking it into his mouth. Her eyes widen as he winks at her.

“Th-thank you.” She says, clearing her throat.

“Don’t mention it.” He pecks her lips. “I was wondering something…”

“What is it?”

“Would you like to come home with me tonight? I thought it would be nice to spend some time alone after being so social.”

“Oh, um, yeah, I’d like that.” She nods.

“Will Marvin be alright without you?”

“Yeah, my, um, neighbor’s kid is actually watching him tonight. She’s a great pet sitter. I…I told her I may not be coming home tonight, so she’s fully prepared for a sleepover.”

Harry’s smile grows, and he kisses her again. After making the rounds to say goodbye to everyone, getting their coats, gathering all of the gifts, the two get into an uber to head to Harry’s condo. There’s a doorman that says hello to Harry and gives Abby a warm smile. She follows him through the lobby to the elevators. They step inside, and Harry hits a number on one of the higher floors. He leads her to his door, and he gets it open. She follows him into his living area, and they set his gifts down. He takes her coat for her, and hangs it up in his front closet.

“This is…a really nice place.” She says as she looks around.

“I’ll give you the full tour in a moment, I’ve been dying to open your gift all night.”

“Oh.” She blushes. “It’s really nothing special.”

He gives her an unconvinced look, and grabs the bag he remembers her bringing. They both sit down on the coach, and she watches him reach inside.

“A card, classic.” He smirks and sets it aside. He reaches back inside and pulls out the bottle of wine. “This is one of my favorites! How did you know?”

“I remember you ordering it when we went to that Italian place.” She smiles and he hugs her.

“Mind if I open it, or have you had enough for the night?”

“I’d love some.”

“Great! Just hang tight.”

Harry goes into the kitchen with the bottle. While she’s waiting patiently on the couch, Abby hears music come on. She sees a Bluetooth speaker light up, he must have turned it on from his phone. He comes out with two glasses of wine, and hands her one as he sits back down.

“Thank you.” She says as she takes a sip.

“No, thank you. This was really nice of you. You’ve got a great memory.” He takes a sip and sets the glass down on a coaster on his coffee table. She does the same. “My friends adored you, by the way. I’ve already got the texts to prove it.”

“I’m glad I made such a good first impression.” She inches closer to him.

He reaches to tuck some hair behind her ear, and he leans in to kiss her. She wraps her arms around his neck, and opens her mouth for him. One of his hands falls to her thigh as the other one cups her cheek. Her fingers work their way into his hair, and he squeezes her hip.

“Abby.” He breathes, and moves to kiss on her neck, just under her earlobe.

She lets her heels fall off as she pushes him back farther on the couch. She moves to straddle one of his thighs, and she brings her lips back to his. His hands move up and down her back until they reach just above her bum. She grabs his hands and moves them down to her ass. He groans into her as he squeezes, loving how plump she is. She kisses along his jaw and to his neck, and she rolls her hips down onto his thigh. He raises it to help press into her. She whimpers into his neck, and he cups her cheeks so she’ll at him.

“Do you wanna take this to the bedroom?” He asks softly.

“I don’t wanna go to sleep yet.”

“I didn’t think you did.” He smirks.

“No, I just…I mean, if we go in there…that’s all I’ll want to do.”

“Sleep?” She nods her head yes. “Oh.”

“Harry, I’m sorry.” She sighs. “I know it’s your birthday, and you were probably hoping for some…stuff to go down between us, but I think we should wait a little longer. Is that okay?”

“Abby, I wasn’t expecting us to do anything. I mean, if we had of course it would have been nice, but it’s okay.” He assures her. “I’m just happy you wanted to come back with me.”

She leans back in to kiss him, and they continue to grope each other as they kiss. Their tongues swirl around each other, and she continues to rock back and forth on his thigh. She lets him puts his hands on her breasts, and he kneads them through her dress. He moves her to lay down on the couch and he settles himself between her legs as he hovers over her. He kisses on the tops of her breasts that were now spilling out of her dress. He sucks and bites on the plushier areas, eliciting a moan from her.

“H-Harry, maybe we should cool it before you turn me into a leopard.”

He chuckles against her and pecks her lips before he sits up.

“Would you spend the night?”

“I’d love to.”

He helps her up off the couch and leads her to the bedroom. He flips the switch for the lights, and her eyes widen. His bedroom was neat, almost a little too neat. She raises a suspicious eyebrow at him.

“I…um, have a housekeeper.” He clears his throat. “Let me just grab a few things for you. I’m assuming you’ll want something to sleep in?”

“Please.” She chuckles, watching him move to his dresser for a tee shirt and pajama bottoms.

She follows him into his en suite as he opens the closet inside to look for a spare washcloth and toothbrush. He sets everything down on his double vanity and smiles at her.

“Use whatever you need, beautiful.” He kisses her cheek and steps out to give her some privacy.

Abby strips herself of her clothes, and then washes her face. She brushes her teeth, runs her fingers through her hair, and then puts on the clothes Harry set aside for her. They were so soft and smelled just like him. She sighs happily and makes her way back into his bedroom. He smiles at her and stands up from the bed.

“Get comfortable, I’m just gonna do my thing.” He tells her and she nods. “There’s a spare phone charger on that side of the bed if you need it.” He points to the right side and she smiles.

When he’s done in the bathroom he comes out in a pair of plaid bottoms, but he’s gotten rid of his shirt altogether. He was littered with tattoos which really surprised her. She thought he only had the one little cross on his hand.

“When did you get all of those?” She asks as he gets into bed with her.

“All of what? Oh! My tattoos? Years and years ago, when I was a stupid teenager.” He chuckles. “Haven’t added to the collection in a while.” He looks down at himself. “Do you, uh, not like tattoos?”

“No! I think they’re really cool.” She furrows her brows as she scans his chest. “They’re so interesting.”

“Thanks.” He smirks.

“Did they hurt?”

“Some more than others. You sort of get used to it after a while. I’m assuming you don’t have any?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Just a few piercings.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.” She tucks some hair behind her ear. “Got my cartilage, and three holes in each lobe.”

“Noticed those, I love the earrings you wear.”

“And…” She pulls the blankets back a bit and pulls the shirt she’s wearing up slightly to reveal her belly button. “Got this done when I was twenty-two. I always wanted one and said fuck it.”

“It’s cute.” He smiles as he admire the jewel attached to her naval. “Now that had to have hurt.” He says as she puts her shirt back down.

“It honestly wasn’t as bad as I thought. It was just a little pinch, the guy took really good care of me. I was a little light headed after, and it was sore for a few days, but other than that it was fine.”

They stay up talking for a bit until they eventually fall asleep. Abby had moves to rest her head on Harry’s chest, and that’s how she fell asleep, to the smooth rhythm of his heartbeat. Harry couldn’t remember the last time someone spent the night in his bed and it didn’t involve sex, there was something sort of sweet about not doing anything and still be able to fall asleep together comfortably. Maybe there was something to this taking it slow thing.

The next morning, Abby woke up being spooned by Harry. His breath was fanning over the back of her neck, and he had a leg between hers. His arm was strung across her lower stomach lazily. She grabs her phone and sees that it’s about 8:30. She yawns and wiggles a bit to adjust herself. She feels his lips press a kiss into the back of her neck and his arm tightens around her stomach.

“You awake, darling?” He coos and it nearly makes her melt.

“Mhm.” It’s all she can manage to say.

“Good morning then.” He kisses the back of her neck again.

“Good morning.” She rolls over to her other side to look at him and he gives her a sleep smile. He leans into peck her nose, and he rubs at her side.

“Sleep alright?”

“Yeah, did you?”

“Mhm.” He nods. “I’m gonna wash up and then make us some breakfast, how does that sound?”

“Sounds amazing, Harry.”

He gets up and makes his way to the bathroom. When he comes out he’s thrown a shirt on, and Abby gets up to freshen up herself. She washes her face and brushes her teeth, putting her bra on under the shirt he had given her so she wasn’t putting on a show for him. She comes out to his kitchen and smells fresh coffee. She wanted to roll her eyes as she saw him using a French press.

“Hope you like hazelnut, it’s the only flavor I’ve got.”

“It’s perfect. Got any creamer?”

“Mhm, in the fridge.” He points to it and she opens it up, grabbing the creamer on the top shelf. It was pretty much full.

“I don’t use it myself, mostly keep it for guests.” He pours the coffee into two mugs.

“Ah, and do you have guests often?”

“None that I’d want to have a sleepover with, if that’s what you’re asking.” He kisses her cheek, and she pours the creamer into her coffee. “Now, what can I make you? What do you like for breakfast?”

“Oh, nothing fancy.” She shrugs. “Whatever you feel like making is fine.”

“Eggs and toast?”

“Works for me. Can I help?”

“You can help by just having a seat.”

Abby smiles and sits down on one of the stools at Harry’s kitchen island while he works to get the eggs out of the fridge. He ends up making scrambled eggs for the two of them to keep things quick. It was a pleasant breakfast. Abby thought it was cute that Harry genuinely read from the morning newspaper. She was resting her chin on her palm watching him.

“Anything interesting going on?” She asks him.

“Nah, it’s all negative.” He sighs as he flips a page.

“Could I have the funnies?”

“Sure!” Harry finds the chunk with the comics and slides it over to her.

“Thanks, I used to look forward to this every Sunday when my dad would pick up The Globe.”

“What was your favorite?”

“There was this one called Opus. There were all these different characters, and the story was pretty linear, which I thought was cool. I actually saved the last comic strip in a scrap book. The main characters, Opus the penguin, had gone missing or something and he was trying to find himself. It really tugged at my heartstrings.”

“Sometimes I forget not all of the funnies are just for kids.”

“I’m also partial to Family Circus, and I loved Zits.”

Harry smiles and goes back to reading the paper. He liked going over the sports and arts sections most. Abby helps him clean up the dishes and then she goes to get dressed.

“Do you want some sweat pants to wear so you don’t have to put all of that back on?”

“No, I’m okay. I’m just gonna put the dress on.”

“Won’t you be cold without the stockings?”

“I’ll be alright, but thanks.”

“Let me at list drive you home.”

“Okay.” She nods.

The ride was comfortably quiet as Harry kept his hand in Abby’s. He pulls over to the side to stop in front of her building, and they look at each other. Smiles grow on both of their faces.

“You already know what I’m going to ask.” He says to her.

“I know, but I wanna hear you say it.”

“Alright, when can I see you next?”

“Hmm…what about Tuesday night? We could go to a movie. Tickets are cheaper on Tuesdays so we can splurge on snacks.”

“I like the way you think. I’d love to go to a movie. You pick, and just tell me what time I need to meet you.”

“Sounds good.” She leans in to peck his lips. “Talk to you soon.” She gets out of the car and heads up to her apartment. Chrissy, the teenager watching Marvin, was sitting on her couch watching TV. “Hey, Chrissy. I already paid you on Venmo.”

“I saw! Thanks so much.” She stands up.

“Thanks for watching him all night.” Abby scoops up Marvin and cuddles him to her chest. “I hope he wasn’t too much trouble.”

“Not at all, he was great. He was my little study buddy.”

“Perfect. Well, enjoy your Sunday. Tell your parents thanks too.”

“I will, have a good day.” Chrissy heads out and Abby sets Marvin back down.

“Alright, Mumma’s gonna take a shower and then she’ll take you for a nice, long walk, sound good?” Marvin yips excitedly at her. “S’what I thought.”

Harry was fucked. He was running late and couldn’t get to a phone because he was in the middle of a surgery. Of course the one time there’s a few delays and complications he actually has somewhere to be. He was supposed to meet Abby at 6:45PM, it was already 6:30, there was no way in hell he was going to make it. He did his best to stay focused so he could do right by his patient. By the time he was done it was 7:45PM. He tried to call Abby, but her phone went right to voicemail.”

“Shit.” He says to himself.

“Dr. Styles.” Marie says. “You should change, you’re still scrubbed up and you have blood on you. Go home and shower, she’ll understand.”

“I just wish she’d turn her phone on…”

“Maybe she went to the movie alone.” Marie shrugs. “She could be one of those good people who actually turns their phone off.”

“Right, yeah. I’m gonna freshen up here, and then I’m gonna try to catch her outside the theater.”

Harry does just that, using the hospital locker room to have a quick shower. He rushes to the movie theater and waits outside. The movie they were supposed to see should be wrapping up any moment, so he goes into the lobby to watch for her. Hopefully she was actually there.

Abby throws out her trash and walks towards the main lobby. She was just turning her phone back on when she saw Harry standing there with a very apologetic look on his face. She sighs and walks over to him.

“I’m so sorry.” He starts. “I tried calling as soon as I could, but your phone went right to voicemail.”

“I turned it off when the previews started.” She chews on her bottom lip. “What happened?”

“My last surgery of the day got delayed, and then there were some complications…everything’s fine now, but it wasn’t an easy extraction. I had to really take my time, I’m so sorry. I swear this won’t happen a lot.” He looks down at his shoes and then back to her. “Was it a good movie at least?”

“It was alright.” She sighs. “Would have been better if I had someone to make comments to.” She nudges his shoulder.

“How can I make it up to you? Are you hungry? We could-“

“I already ate, it’s okay. I know you didn’t do anything on purpose. It’s getting late, so I’m just going to head home.”

“I feel terrible.”

“Don’t.” She smiles. “Shit happens.”

“Let me at least take you home, I drove here.”

“Sure.” She takes his hand in hers as they walk out of the theater. “Are you hungry?”

“Starved, actually, but I can just eat when I get home.”

“Don’t be silly, I have leftovers. You can come up and eat if you want.”

“I’d like that.”

Once they’re up in her apartment, Harry plays with Marvin while Abby heats up her leftover stir fry and rice. She hands Harry the warm bowl and they both sit down at the small table she has in her kitchen.

“Is it hot enough?” She asks him.

“It’s perfect, thank you.” He eats a little and then looks at her. “I really do feel terrible that you waited and had to sit alone…”

“It’s really okay. It’s not my first time going to the movies by myself.” She shrugs. “I’m pretty independent.”

“I just don’t want you thinking this is something that’s going to happen a lot. It’s so rare for a surgery like this to not be timely.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” She gives him a reassuring smile. “It’s really sweet you still showed up at the theater like you did. We’re together now, that’s all that really matters.”

Harry finishes eating and cleans up his bowl. He stands with his hands in his pockets by the door and she stands with her arms crossed. Neither were sure what to do. It was really too late to hang out any longer since they both needed to work the next day.

“Are you free Friday night?” He asks her. “We could go to dinner if you like.”

“Sure, that sounds nice. Wanna say seven?”

“Works for me. I’ll pick you up then.” He caresses her cheek and kisses her. They both linger for a moment before letting go. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” She sighs after he leaves. It sucked being at the movies alone, but it meant the world to her that he still showed up at the end. It really showed his character, and for that she was grateful. She was still trying to gauge what kind of guy Harry was, and she had finally come to the conclusion that he was a good one.

“Two months and still nothing?” Greg asks Harry one Sunday evening as he and Lenny came over to watch the hockey game.

“Yeah.” Harry sighs as he sips on his beer. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love kissing her and, and she’s let me touch her over her clothes, but…I don’t know, she’s not as desperate and grabby as I am. What if she’s just not as into me?”

“I don’t think she’d be seeing you still if she wasn’t into you.” Lenny says. “How old is she again?”

“Twenty-six, why?”

“Well, maybe she’s hoping for things to be a little more official before she goes all the way with you.”

“Define official.” Harry mutters.

“Maybe she wants to know if you’re her boyfriend.” Lenny states.

“God, do you really think she’s hung up on some stupid label? We’re dating, we’re together, I think that’s pretty clear.”

“Remember when I dated that younger girl? She was, like, twenty-three?” Greg says and the guys both nod. “Well, she wanted to know what the status was after a few months. Obviously it didn’t work out because of the age difference, but these things matter to the younger women. They wanna know what to refer to you. Boyfriend is a lot easier to say than having to say the guy I’m seeing.”

“So, you have to ask yourself, do you want to be Abby’s boyfriend?” Lenny asks him. “If you don’t see things working out long term with her you should break it off.”

“I definitely don’t want to break it off. I really like her, and I like spending time with her.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I’m going to her place on Thursday for dinner, maybe we can talk about it then.”

“Yeah? She cooking for you again?” Greg asks.

“Mhm.” Harry smiles. “She really likes cooking for me, I don’t know why. I don’t mind it, she always makes something delicious.”

“Do you ever cook for her?” Lenny asks.

“Sure.” Harry shrugs. “We take turns.”

“That’s good, those things should definitely go both ways.” Greg says. “I bet you she just wants to make sure you’re not going to up and leave the second she lets you hit it.”

“I don’t know why she’d even think I’d do something like that…”

“Maybe she’s been burned in the past.” Lenny shrugs. “Have you had the ex talk?”

“No.” Harry shakes his head. “It doesn’t seem like something we’ve needed to talk about…but maybe we do.”

Thursday night Harry goes over to Abby’s with a bottle of wine and a box of chocolate chip cookies. He liked bringing dessert the times she made dinner for him.

“Hey.” She smiles and kisses him once he’s inside. She must’ve had a long day at work because she was still in her work clothes. Most times when Harry came over she had already changed into comfier clothes. “How was your day?”

“It was good, how about yours?” He hands her the wine and cookies and follows her into the kitchen.

“Long.” She sighs. “I had some heavier appointments today.” She blinks a few times. “I…I cried with a student today.” She looks at him, tearing up.

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry, come here.” He opens his arms for her and she’s comforted by his embrace. He rests his chin on the top of her head. “Are you allowed to tell me what happened?”

“Yeah.” She sniffles and looks up at him. “This male student…he had a rough go of it in high school. A teacher…molested him, and it was this whole thing. He’s from a small town in Vermont so everyone knew. He came here to get away from it, you know? Make a fresh start? He’s started to see this girl that he really likes, and he’s petrified of her finding out, and he’s not sure if he should just tell her or if he should keep it to himself. But he’s afraid she might find out anyways somehow. I felt terrible. I mean, what kind of sick fuck uses their position of power over a kid like that, you know?”

“That’s…awful, beyond awful.” Harry frowns down at Abby.

“I just couldn’t keep it together, especially when he started crying, so I cried too. Then we both started laughing, and he was able to calm down and we talked about things more.” She steps back from Harry and wipes under eyes.

“I guess the upside is that you created such a welcoming environment that he felt safe enough to be so vulnerable with you.”

“Yeah.” She nods. “I suppose that’s a silver lining, thanks.” She smiles. “Anyways, we’re going to meet bi-weekly now just for little check ins.” She sighs and moves to stir the pot of pasta that’s on the stove. “I’m making pasta and meat sauce, hope that’s alright.”

“It’s great, Abby. Can I do anything?”

“No, everything’s just about done. Um, would you actually mind taking Marv out quickly for me? He just ate and I haven’t had a chance to take him out to do his business.”

“You got it.”

It wasn’t Harry’s first time taking Marvin out, so he really didn’t mind. He leashes him up and takes him down to the street. Marvin does his business, and Harry gets him back upstairs. By the time he comes back, Abby’s plated up dinner, and gotten the wine open and poured.

“Thank you.” She says to him, and leans down to pat Marvin’s head. “Ready to eat?”

“Mhm, thank you for cooking.”

“Oh, it was nothing.” She smiles. “I like when we get to have dinner together.”

“Me too, babe.” He takes a bite of food and moans. “This is amazing, Ab.”

“Thanks.” She blushes and takes a sip of her wine. “Harry, um, there’s something I…well…I’m just gonna come right out and say it.” She takes a deep breath as he looks at her. “Am I…am I your girlfriend?”

Harry’s concerned face softens into a smile.

“I’d like you to be.” He says to her. “I was actually going to bring this up tonight, guess you beat me to it.”

“Oh.” She says, a little surprised. “Well, good, okay.” She nods and takes a bite of food.

“I like you a lot, and I know it’s been a couple of months. I’m still having a great time with you.”

“Same here!” She assures him. “I just, you know, I don’t know what to tell my friends sometimes when they ask about you.”

“Well, now you can tell them about your boyfriend, yeah?” He smirks. “When do I get to meet these friends, hm? You’ve met all of mine.”

“That’s true.” She chews her bottom lip. “Well, I could arrange for a night out at a bar some weekend. We all love going out to dance and stuff…”

“Sounds like fun.”

“You’d be into something like that?”

“Sure, why not?”

“You just don’t exactly seem like the type of person who would enjoy going to a stuffy club with a ton of drunk people.”

“Hey, I know how to hang. Set it up and I’ll be there.”

“Great, I’ll text them.” She smiles, her body was buzzing with excitement. Harry stands up abruptly and comes over to her side of the table, cupping her jaw. He slots his lips over hers, sucking on her bottom lip and then letting her go before he sits back down. “Wh-what was that for?”

“Just wanted to give my girlfriend a kiss.” He shrugs, a smirk forming on his lips.

“Oh.” Her face had to be beat red at this point. They look at each other and smile. This time it’s Abby who decides to be bold. She gets up and sits on his lap side saddle. She grabs her phone and opens up SnapChat because it was better for taking selfies.

“What are you doing?”

“We hardly have any pictures together. Now that you’re my boyfriend that’s going to change. Smile.” She says to him, and he does as she says, taking a very cute picture.

“Send that to me?”

Abby presses her lips to his. Getting through dinner was going to take a little longer tonight.

Harry could, in fact, not hang. It was midnight and he was fighting to stay awake. He wished Abby had planned their big night out with her friends for a Saturday not Friday. It was a long week, and Harry just wanted to go to bed. He thought her friends were interesting. There was Billy, Abby’s absolute best friend. Billy happens to be trans, which Harry didn’t care about at all because Billy’s life was none of his business. Then there was Amy and Gina, Abby’s roommates from undergrad. They were all getting along fine, but the club was loud, packed, and sticky. Abby was having a good time, though, so what could he do?

“Another drink, Harry? Next round’s on me.” Billy says to him.

“Oh, no thank you. Think I’m gonna cool it.”

“Cool it?” Amy scoffs. “The night just started. Ab, hold old did you say he was again?”

“Don’t tease him.” Abby hooks an arm around Harry’s waist. “He’s thirty-two, a doctor, and he had a long week.” She looks up at him. “You’ve last two hours, go home if you want.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow.” She puckers her lips and he kisses her.

“It was really nice meeting all of you. We’ll have to do it again sometime…maybe on a night I didn’t have two different surgeries.” He kisses Abby again. “Text me when you get home so I know you got back safe?”

“Will do, bye, babe!” Harry heads out, and Abby looks back at her friends. “He’s cute, right?”

“Very.” Gina says. “He seemed like he was having fun at the beginning.”

“He’s just tired.” Abby sighs. “We should have waited until tomorrow. He really is a lot of fun.”

“I’m sure he is.” Billy says with a smile. “So, you really haven’t slept with him yet?”

“No.” Abby shakes her head.

“What’s the hold up?” Amy asks.

“I just haven’t felt ready.” Abby shrugs. “He’s a really good kisser, though, so I know I’m close to getting there with him.”

“You haven’t even sucked his dick?” Gina asks.

“No, but I’ve felt it. We grind on each other a lot. But I always have us stop before it gets to be too much.”

“I’ve literally never known you to not want to fuck a guy you’ve been seeing.” Billy says.

“I know…I just…it all just feels like a dream come true still, and I’m afraid that once we do it something will go wrong and we’ll stop seeing each other. I have no idea why I feel like that, but I do.” Abby says.

“He’d be an idiot to let you go.” Amy says. “Do it when you’re ready, but I think I speak for the three of us when I say we approve of him.”

“Thanks, that means a lot.” The four share a group hug and go back out to the dancefloor to enjoy the rest of their night.

It was a rainy Saturday at the beginning of April. Harry told Abby to bring Marvin over to his place so they could get cozy for a lazy day of watching movies and being cozy. She happily accepted. The two of them really needed a day to relax. Abby was booked solid at work right now, and Harry was starting to get booked out with more and more wisdom teeth appointments. Harry liked when Abby would bring Marvin over. He had gotten a little dog bed for him and some toys. Harry even got him a little food and water bowl.

Abby was really falling for Harry. He made her feel safe, and he was beyond considerate. She also couldn’t believe how patient he was being. They were together three months, just entering the fourth, and they still hadn’t had sex yet. She knew he wanted it, of course, and she really wanted it too.

They were curled up on the couch together while Marvin was snoozing on his little dig bed. Neither had ever watched The Mindy Project before so they were binging it. Abby couldn’t believe what she was about to do, but she couldn’t help from blurting it out.

“Harry?” She looks up at him.

“Yeah?” He looks down at her.

“I…I love you.” His eyes widen as he looks at her, his mouth falling open. “Oh my god, it’s too soon, right? I…I…I…” Before she can ramble on anymore, he’s kissing her, hard.

“Christ, Abby.” He presses his forehead to hers. “I love you too.” He kisses her again.

“Really?”

“Of course I do. You couldn’t tell? I’ve got your picture framed on my night table, and I’ve got all this stuff here for Marvin, and I keep your favorite snacks in the pantry…”

She moves to straddle him, pushing his shoulders back into the couch. She slots her mouth over his, and he holds her close to him. She sucks on his bottom lip, making him groan.

“Harry, bring me to your bedroom, now.”

“Y-you wanna go to sleep?” He looks at her confused.

“No, I want you to fuck me.” She looks at him with dark eyes.

“Really?”

“Yes!”

He doesn’t question her again. Instead, he lifts her up and quickly carries her down the hall to his bedroom. He gets her on the bed, hovers over her, and starts by getting her shirt off. His eyes widen when he sees the lace bra she was wearing. He furrows his brows as he gets her leggings off. He glares at her when he sees that her panties match her bra.

“What is it?” She asks innocently.

“There’s this old saying that goes along the lines of if the girl’s wearing matching underwear, then she’s the one who decided to have sex.” Abby blinks at him. “Were you planning for this tonight?”

“I was hoping.” She sits up on her elbows. “I…I’ve been fucked over before, and I really wanted to make sure I knew how we felt about each other before we did this. I’m sorry that I made us wait so long.”

“Don’t be sorry, baby.” He caresses her cheek. “I’ll admit I was a little frustrated in the beginning, but…I’m sort of glad we waited. It’ll be more special now.”

“Exactly!” She beams at him. “Can…can we get back to it now?”

He chuckles and takes his shirt off and pants off. He hovers over her and kisses on her neck and chest. He reaches behind her to unhook her bra, and tugs it away. His lips wrap around one of her nipples, and he licks around it. He sucks on her, and it makes her moan. He licks over to her other breast, and sucks on her other nipple. She pushes his head closer to her chest and tugs at his hair. He kisses and nips his way down her soft tummy. She lifts her hips as he tugs her panties off. He opens her legs and sucks a bruise into her thigh. She gasps at that and groans. He licks a flat stripe up her slit and to her clit. He does this a few times, just to get a good taste of her.

He looks up at her as his tongue flicks back and forth on her clit. He presses a hand on her pelvis and pushes up so he can see her better. He sucks on her clit and she moans out. His fingers work around her folds, feeling her wetness, and then he slides his middle finger in. He gets his ring finger in as well, and starts to pump in and out of her. He moans into her as his hips rut against the bed. She grabs at his hair as his fingers start to rub against her front wall. Abby starts panting and breathing heavier.

“Fuck, Harry, please don’t stop!”

He groans into her as his answer, and keeps doing everything exactly the same to help get her there. Her hips move along with his face, and her body starts to feel warm all over. She cries out as she comes to her release. He retracts his fingers, and he sucks on her wet center before sitting up. She catches her breath and smiles at him. He smiles at her and gets his boxers off. She whimpers when she looks at his hard dick. She crawls towards him and wraps her hand around him. She kisses his tip and wraps her lips around him.

“God, I’ve been dreaming about this.” He groans as his head rolls back while she starts to bob up and down on him. She goes down enough to choke on him, and then she pulls off. “Do you want me to use a condom?”

“No, I’m on the pill. I wanna feel you.”

He nods and gets back onto the bed with her. She opens her legs back up for him, and he rubs the head of his cock along her folds and clit. Her hips press up towards him in anticipation. He slowly presses into her, and her mouth falls open.

“Jesus, you’re so fucking tight.” He grunts as he bottoms out.

“Move.” She tells him. “Move, Harry.” She whines, and he starts to rock in and out of her. She clutches at his biceps and digs her nails in. “Oh my god.” She moans.

“Feels good?”

“Feels amazing.” She bites her bottom lip. “Go harder.”

“Yeah, want me to fuck you hard?”

“Fuck, yeah, really give it to me.”

He gives her a wicked grin, and then pulls out of her. He flips her onto her stomach and slides back in. He grips the back of her neck, and his other hand rests at the base of her spine. He takes a deep breath, pulls out almost all the way, and then snaps his hips back into her. She gasps, and he does it again. He smacks her ass, and continues to fuck into her hard. The hand at the base of her spine slides around to her clit and he rubs it. It doesn’t take her long to lose it again. He pulls out and sits up against his headboard. Abby sinks down on him as he grips her hips. They move in sync together as she rides him. She licks into his mouth and they both moan. His hands grab all over her body, unsure of where he liked squeezing the most. He fondles her breasts for a bit before deciding to stick with her ass.

“You’re so fucking beautiful like this, Abby.” He says as he kisses on her neck. “I want you to come for me again.” He snakes a hand between them so he can rub her clit again.

“Fuck, yes, oh my god, Harry!” She grinds faster on him. “I want you to come inside me.”

“Shit, fuck.” He moans out and they come at the same time. “Fuck, Abby.” He breathes and kisses her, sucking on her bottom lip. Her fingers tangle back into his hair.

“Was it, um, worth the wait?”

“Oh my god, of course it was. I wanna fuck you over and over.” He smirks at her and she giggles.

“I think that can be arranged.” She pecks his lips. “Would you ever want to, um, tie me to the bed?”

“Oh, baby, if I didn’t love you before.”

#sweet tooth #harry styles #harry styles one shot #harry styles imagine #harry styles x oc #harry styles smut #harry styles fluff #dentist!harry #dentistrry #harry styles oc #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfic

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pastelbatfandoms · 2 years

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First Sentence Tag

Rules: List 10 of your published fics and their first sentences, and then tag other writers to do it.

Idk any other writers on here,personally,so I’ll be either skipping that or tagging just my favorites. I also may do this again,because I have more then just 10 fics! may also do more than one sentence.

Most of these are series,will put my one shots in another post. LMK if I should showcase more then one chapter!

Wells of Hearts (The Flash Fic, Reverse Flash, Polyamoures Wells, meta OC, eventual smut, Soulmates and Twin flames,series)

He came out of the portal in a flash, All Bolero hat and black with his Drumsticks and ‘Cool Cat’ attitude. I’ll admit while I found him as attractive as all the other Wells, this Harrison or “HR” as he liked to be called, seemed like he was trying too hard.

Mischief on Wings (Loki x OC, Valkyrie soulmate,shield maiden, childhood friends,series)

Loki was here she could feel it. “That’s impossible…” Amara whispered to herself.

The Alpha (Teen Wolf fic, Peter Hale’s mate, Werewolf, possibly toxic, Alpha/Beta dynamic, eventual smut, age gap,series)

Marianna heard footsteps behind her,slow,confident,methodical. Who would dare just stroll into her and Peter’s den like this? Well her den now.

Kings and Queen of Disaster (The Walking Dead, Post apocalyptic, OC, Merle Dixon, The Govenar, Negan, smut, toxic relationship, Cheating, D/S dynamic, angst, age gap, series)

It was sunny,birds were chirping. I sat in My favorite chair,reading my favorite book. It was a nice calming day,well as nice as it could be being The zombie Apocalypse and all.

Half God Half Devil (AHS, Apocalypse as well as Murder House & Freakshow with the coven witches, Michael Langdon soulmate, toxic Dandy Mott with OC, reincarnation, angst, trauma, satanic themes, smut, series)

She was dead. Had been for 11 years now,at 21 Helena never thought she’d be here.

The Kings of Hell (Supernatural smut, My character from AHS is crossing over, Crowley, Lucifer, threesome, power play, slight blood play, Queen of Hell,one shot. Will be more.)

I was The Queen of Hell,I could do whatever I wanted and I had. Ordering the lesser demons about,torturing deserving humans,hell even giving a few hunters a run for their money,and yet I was bored.

The Dream Lovers (Nightmare on Elm Street, Robert is actually Freddy Krueger, split personality, age gap romance, trauma, toxic relationships, eventual smut, series.)

I first met Robert Englund on the set of Freddy Vs Jason. I had always been a fan of The NOES Movies and an even bigger fangirl of Freddy Krueger. I was always a different child and as a Teenager not much had changed.

Gods and Pirates (The Descendants, not pg, age gap but their gods, Hades, Harry Hook, The Daughter of Hercules and Meg, songs,fluff, smut, angst, love triangle, VK’s make an appearance. Series)

It’s hard only being a Half God. Half on Earth Half on Olympus,Half Powers that she barely knew how to use. Out of everyone she knew her Father understood the most.

A Perfect Distraction ( Harry Potter one shot. Will become a series, Lucius Malfoy x OC, Slytherin x Ravenclaw, polyamory,high school sweethearts, lovers to enemies to lovers, angst, smut, fluff, Surprise appearance by a certain professor.)

They were a sight to behold,Rhiannon and Lucius,as he led her to the center of the ballroom. Rhiannon in a long midnight blue silk dress,Lucius decked out in a crushed velvet black suit with a Slytherin broach attached to one lapel,his long platinum hair tied back with a black satin ribbon.

Mughead (Riverdale fic, teenage angst, Jughead Jones x OC, FP Jones, High school sweethearts, fluff,love triangle, alcoholism, cheating, eventual smut, Jughead is ASexual, gang wars,series.)

I had known The Core Four as they were affectionately called,since Middle School,6th grade to be exact,when I was transferred to Riverdale from Washington.

I became fast friends with Kevin Keller who introduced me to Archie Andrews,Betty Cooper,Veronica Lodge and Jughead Jones.

#fanfiction #supernatural #Reverse Flash #Council of wells #ahs #riverdale #Lucius malfoy #disney's descendants #the walking dead #freddy kruger x reader #Peter hale #Loki #Teen wolf #My OCs

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aciid-eater · 4 years

Text

𝕸𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙

𝕸𝖞 𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖔 𝖆𝖈𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖒𝖎𝖆

Katsuki Bakugou

“Trying it out” NSFW

“I don’t like rain”

“You were crying”

Deaf! Bakugou HCs

“I won’t leave you”

“Rejection hurts”

One sided love

s/o with haphephobia

Eijirow Kirishima

“Spots”

Sub Kirishima NSFW

“Missing me” NSFW

“Come out and play” part 1 part 2

“I’m in Love”

“Face down, Ass up” NSFW

One sided love

s/o with haphephobia

Denki Kaminari

s/o with haphephobia

Hanta Sero

s/o with haphephobia

Mina Ashido

s/o with haphephobia

Shoji Mezo

“Canvas” part 2

Mirio Togata

“Save me, Love me” part 1 part 2 part 3 part4

Tamaki Amajiki

One sided love

Uraraka Ochako

One sided love

𝕯𝖗 𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖓𝖊

Tsukasa Shishio

“First meetings”

“Better” NSFW

Senku Ishigami

Senku smut NSFW

Yandere Senku Hcs

𝕬𝖛𝖆𝖙𝖆𝖗: 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖆𝖎𝖗𝖇𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗

Sokka

“The universe”

Zuko

“You poor thing” part 1 part 2

𝕳𝖆𝖎𝖐𝖞𝖚𝖚!

Tanaka Ryuunosuke

“Good Days” Black!Reader NSFW

“The girl on Karasano” part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4

“Who’s that?”

Asahi Azumane

Nsfw headcons

“Punishment”NSFW

“Big and Scary”

“Sensitive” NSFW

“We’re something to look at” part 1 part 2

Tsukishima Kei

Tsukishima x Kageyama’s ex! Reader part 2

“Let me love on you” Poc reader

Nsfw Hcs

𝕯𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖓 𝕾𝖑𝖆𝖞𝖊𝖗

Tanjiro Kamado

“Oh Tanjiro”

𝕯𝖎𝖆𝖗𝖞 𝖔𝖋 𝖆 𝖜𝖎𝖒𝖕𝖞 𝖐𝖎𝖉

Cheater! Rodrick x reader

Poc reader drabble

𝕯𝖊𝖘𝖈𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖘

Harry hook

“touching you” part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4

“Siren’s song”

𝕾𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘

“Teenage Fantasy” Rodrick Heffley x reader [COMPLETED]

Part 1• Part 2• Part3• Part4• Part5

“Save me, Love me” Mirio Togata x reader

Part 1• Part 2• Part 3• Part 4

“Come out and play” Eijiro Kirishima x reader

Part 1• Part 2

“The girl on Karasano” Ryuunosuke Tanaka x reader

Part 1• Part 2• Part 3• Part 4

“You Poor Thing” Zuko x reader

Part 1• Part 2

“We’re something to look at”

Part 1• Part 2

“Touching you” Harry hook

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4

“How Unusual” Sam x oc! poc! reader

before you read • Part 1 • Part 2

#sokka x reader #shoji smut #bakugou smut #bakugou x reader #diary of a wimpy kid #kirishima lemon #mha kirishima #kirishima x reader #dr.stone fanfiction #dr.stone x reader #shishio tsukasa x reader #senku smut #rodrick heffley x reader #masterlist

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lem0nshark-writes · 3 years

Note

Hi there, I'm new to your blog and I wanted to ask who do you write for and what are your rules. Asking so if I make a request I don't over cross the boundaries. Thank you ❤️

Hey there :) Welcome to my blog & thank you so much for reading! 💕

My requests are not open yet cuz I wanna finish up some fics I started working on but you can request already and I'll put them on a list for later :) I was going to open requests for just Gotham for now cuz I'm hooked as hecc XD But I'm also willing to do these: The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings, The Arcana, Star Wars ((all 3 trilogies, Rogue One, The Mandalorian)), What We Do In The Shadows ((both the movie & the show)). (( ofc I will keep updating this list as it changes :) )) But do always ask if you don't see your fandom on the list, I might have forgotten to add it & I'm willing to write for it! :) Some rules & notes: • I will do x male readers (I'm also willing to do gn readers too so don't be afraid to request) x male characters (only exception are Asra & Valdemar cuz I love them a wholeass lot so yesXD) ((love you ladies but there's just not enough male & gender neutral x readers out there)) • I'm willing to write fluff, smut, angst,.. :) • I will not write incest, rape, characters under 18 (unless it's fluff and both character are around the same age or it's a friendship kind of a fic (aka I will write smut only for 18+ characters)) • I will write for movies & tv shows only (only exception is The Arcana) • I will not write for anime (didn't watch many), video games (didn't play many), celebrities or real life people, character x ocs, Harry Potter (don't want to support transphobia) • having a bit of a plot / concept / idea / prompt is always welcome and will probably have me write your fic a lot faster That's what I got so far, might have forgotten some stuff but that's the general idea :) but again if you have any questions about what you want to request or just some general questions do not be afraid to ask 😊 Also I will do a full on proper update w/ fandoms & rules & stuff once I open my requests :) Sorry for the longass reply but ye huehue Have a nice day! 💕

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writeroutoftime · 4 years

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march fic recommendations

hello! so I think we all know that sometimes we don’t appreciate writers as much as we should here on tumblr. they are amazing people that write some wonderful stories for us (for free) and they put a lot of time and effort into doing so. to honor that, each month, I’m going to be posting a fic rec list with a whole bunch of stories I have recently read and loved, and that I want to share with you all. and if you find some you like? let that author know their work is appreciated!! (let’s all support authors more!)

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Hold My Girl by @captain-ariel-barnes - this one HURTS let me just tell you. it is absolutely beautiful and does a wonderful job at not only portraying bucky, but also the feeling that I'm sure a lot of couples who were split up because of wwii felt. like I said this story is amazing but it left me crying and my heart hurting - in the best way possible!

Soft by @chillingbucky - oh my goodness did this story hit home for me. for the most part, I’ve been pretty confident with my body but also have wanted to change to boost that confidence even more and then felt worse when I didn’t stick through with my new plan.this story perfectly encapsulates those feelings and it nearly brought me to tears over how incredible bucky was at comforting the reader. when I read this it was the first story I read that day and it put me in such a great mindset!!

Lifelong Love Song Series by @suz-123 - even though this is not a bucky x reader (it’s an oc), this story is beautiful and the way it portrays bucky just feels so right and so spot on. there is fluff, angst, hurt, comfort, love, everything in this story. you should definitely read this series!

The House by @softlybarnes - ahhhh!! that is what I have to say for this story because it is so darn cute! bucky just makes me swoon (as always) and there is a great relationship between him and the reader! also, now I really want to fall in love and buy a fixer-upper house with the guy I marry. overall, if you want something fluffy that is extremely well written, this is one of those stories.

Truth Hurts by @ussgallifreyfics - this story is so different than other fics that tackle this same topic, but it the best way possible! the beginning hurts, but slowly bucky starts to come into the story and it is so sweet. not only that, but there is a lot of power from within the reader, which is AWESOME! heck yeah we can rescue ourselves (but if Bucky wants to help as well, I won’t be mad lol)

Lemon Pie Series by @nacho-bucky - I have reread this series like three times already, and it is just perfection! not only do we get 40′s bucky, but we get a HAPPY BUCKY WHO SURVIVES THE WAR AND GETS TO START A FAMILY! Each chapter/snippet is just so beautifully written, and I get pulled into the story each and ever time. bucky just makes me want to swoon, and if I don’t find someone who treats me the way bucky treats the reader in this series, I do not what I will do. but, this and all cait’s stories are amazing so please go read this, it will make your day!

Thomas Shelby x Reader

If Only You Knew by @im-not-looking-for-forgiveness - while this is technically a tommy x reader story, it really focuses on the friendship between the reader and lizzie stark, which I absolutely loved! it is such a healthy change to see lizzie portrayed in a nice way instead of a bitch as she often is written in stories. we love girls supporting girls, which is this story!

My Dear Charlie by @kadwrites -again, another story that is technically tommy x reader, but focuses on a different relationship, and this time it is between the reader and charlie! what I love about this story is, it highlights the love that one can feel for a child that isn’t biologically theirs, which is just a reminder of how important it is to show our love to others and to demonstrate our appreciation to those who do love us. also, I love that this story focuses on an older charlie, which is something I haven’t really seen yet.

Matches by @rhxegals - now this one really does focus on tommy and the reader, and I adore it! we get to see the reader confront tommy and I love when the reader is his equal in the sense that neither of them stand for being lied to or being left out of things. not only that, but we also see a more vulnerable side of tommy, and we get to understand his protective side a bit more which I am also a fan of!

this drabble by @connerkennt - it is short and sweet but powerful! it really shows (again) how protective tommy is over those he loves and I adore protective tommy! (alfie also plays a role in this drabble, which is always a plus!)

John Shelby x Reader

Something Unexplained by @justauthoring - man do I love john shelby, and if you do too, this is the story for you. just the way that olivia describes how john loves the reader makes my heart absolutely gush! I don’t want to spoil anything, so you just have to read it! (and there are so many other wonderful stories on this blog to check out after you finish this one!)

Steve Rogers x Reader

Beauty and the Beast AU by @kayteewritessteve - I am so so glad I found this story when I did so that I can include it on this list! au’s are some of my favorite stories to read/write, and the fact that this is beauty and the beast and mob!steve is absolutely amazing!! kaytee does such a wonderful job with drawing you into the story and really making you feel the power and emotions of the scene! only the first few chapters are up now, but they are great!

Peter Parker x Reader

Moving On by @midtownpetey - my goodness, this one really hits right in the feels! I was tearing up throughout this entire story, because it is so beautifully written and really highlights the process of moving on when losing a loved one. it is not a graphic story, but the healing aspect, learning to move on when you feel like you can’t, that’s really what got me!

Harry Potter x Reader

Under the Stars by @lvmosity - this story is just pure fluff and it’s an actually harry potter story, which I feel like is so rare here on tumblr. anyway, I love how it’s just the reader and the golden trio worried about getting dates for the yule ball! there’s no underlying threat, just teens being teens, and harry being adorably awkward!

Scott Lang x Reader

Blue Dresses and Daises by @mypassionsarenysins - I just want to take this moment to appreciate the heck out of this story because it is absolutely amazing! not only is it a scott lang story (who is severely underappreciated! which why? he’s a dork and it’s paul rudd!) but this story is just filled with so much love that it makes me so happy and smiley. definitely a good one if you’re feeling down or you just want something extra fluffy!

Bonnie Gold x Reader

Ring Girl by @blinder-secrets - okay so I recently just got into bonnie gold stories, and man am I glad I did because this one is wonderful! bonnie is just so cute but he is also so protective over the reader, and it makes my heart swell! I love when you can feel how intense a relationship is through writing, and that’s what this is.

Roger Taylor x Reader

Hold Me Close Before I Go by @queenrogah - sobbing, just pure sobbing! well first of all, this story is slightly inspired by the song ‘so close’ from enchanted and I LOVE that song, so I was hooked from the beginning. but this story is very angsty but also mixes together so beautiful to tell this story of lost love between roger and the reader. it combines the past and the present so well, that truly tugs at your heartstrings for an emotional roller-coaster that is so worth it!

Long Distance by @dreamer821 - alright this is super long, but I promise it is so worth reading!! from the beginning, I was hooked and I got to witness this amazing story and all the love there is between roger and the reader. there is a bit of smut in this story, but the whole story really goes to show how powerful love is even when two people aren’t always near each other. it’s one of those stories that can restore your faith in love!

Laurie Laurence x Reader

Lost Love by @lotsoffandomimagines - ever since I saw little women in theaters, I have been looking for a laurie story, and this is the first one I found. oh my goodness, it is AMAZING, and I truly hope that there is a second part. but this story just draws you in and makes you fall for laurie, then comes there with that ending! I know I’m not describing this as best as I could, but trust me, the writing is beautiful and it wonderfully emotional. go read it! (also the gif of laurie is perfect!)

What I Wished I Said by @lillie-writes - do you want an angsty laurie story? well, here you go! this story is the form of the letter, and it made me tear up by the time I reached the end. it is so simple, but so heartbreaking. you can just feel how much laurie loves the reader and how much he wants to apologize, and I just wanted to find a way to hug him and comfort him. you will not be disappointed with this story!

Ransom Drysdale x Reader (Knives Out)

this drabble by @terry-perry- oh my goodness!! alright, first, I love knives out, and second, I love chris evans as ransom drysdale in that movie even though he is an asshole. however, this drabble does a wonderful job at showing a different side of ransom and how dedicated he and the reader are to their relationship!

Haunted by @et-lesailes = this is such a powerful story! now there is a trigger warning for this one so please be mindful of that but this story does a wonderful job at tackling such a difficult topic and how sometimes opening to another person can be exactly what you did. (and we also get to see more soft, non-asshole ransom which is always great!)

#march fic rec #fic rec #bucky barnes x reader #peaky blinders imagine #roger taylor x reader #peter parker x reader #laurie laurence x reader #marvel x reader #steve rogers x reader #scott lang x reader #ransom drysdale x reader #harry potter x reader

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ironcaptainnataliabarnes · 5 years

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Red Roses (A Harry Hook x Reader/OC)

A/N: Yall. This chapter is hella long. I hope you all enjoyed it!! If you see any mistakes at all please let me know so I can fix it pronto! This is such a fun story to write and I'm glad people are liking it! If you have any ideas or requests you would like me to add in future chapters, let me know! This is for you guys! <3 :)

Prologue / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2: The Pool of Tears

It only made perfect, logical sense that Uma, Gil, and Harry managed to weasel their way into every single one of Ruby's classes. Suddenly she wasn't a person made of stone hidden in the back of the class anymore. She had friends. Friends that legitimately either didn't care that she was mildly insane or refused to believe she was crazy at all. Surprisingly, Ruby found herself enjoying her newfound gang of friends.

At first, Ruby thought her little mind palace she enjoyed in Art 101 would be ultimately ruined, but she enjoyed teaching Uma and Harry how to paint and keeping Gil from drinking another bottle of paint. (He claimed the white paint was milk, and continued to drink it all until he got sick.) The boys had even joined the Tourney team, and even though Harry dissed the game everyday, Ruby knew he liked having a way to expel his own frustrations.

Ruby and Uma became close friends after they shared their mutual hatred of Mal. The purple haired girl had given a particularly nasty glare at Uma when Ruby asked if she had disliked Uma.

"Dislike?" Uma had scoffed. "That girl hates me. And trust me when I say the feeling is mutual."

"What happened between you two? Does it...is that why you were crying that day?"

Uma had nodded and told the story of how she earned the nickname Shrimpy from the daughter of Maleficent. The normally calm and collected pirate even broke down into tears, and Ruby had held her in the comfort of Uma's dorm room, consoling the girl like she had wanted to years ago.

But that had been weeks ago. Uma had now made Ruby an official part of her pirate crew, not considering the fact the majority of her crew was still on the Isle, but that didn't seem to bother Uma. The two girls were sitting on the bleachers, waiting for the Tourney game between Auradon Prep and Hogwarts High to start.

"Goddd it's so hot," Uma complained, fanning herself with her hand.

"It's a good thing I told you to ditch all the leather. You'd be fried like a walrus in winter by now if you were still wearing it," Ruby replied, giggling at the thought of a walrus covered in snow.

Uma snorted, "Right. You'd think this place being full of magic, someone would come up with a way to fix the heat."

"Exactly," Ruby nodded in agreement. "This weather is not the best for tea time. Unless it's iced tea. But then it wouldn't really be tea at all would it?"

Uma made a confused yet amused face and jumped in surprise when Auradon's band began to play, trumpets and drums echoing across the field as the Tourney team ran out. The crowd began to cheer and clap, but of course Ruby and Uma were mainly cheering for Harry and Gil.

The game had gone by quickly, Auradon beating Hogwarts High to a pulp, winning 16-3. Of course it was only possible for Ben and Jay to score because Harry was basically mauling down every enemy in his way.

As Uma and Ruby stepped off the bleachers to go find Harry and Gil, they were stopped by Evie, ever present smile on her face.

"Hey!" She greeted cheerfully. "Sorry to bother you, but Ruby I was wondering if you were free Friday?"

"Next Friday?" Ruby cocked her head in question. What was Friday? It would be the 24th of the month then, the only thing she would be doing was-

The 24th.

Friday was Ruby's birthday.

She told only Evie of her dislike for her birthday last year. Why was she bringing it up? Did she tell anyone else?

"U-um, no I wasn't really planning anything I guess. Why?"

"Just checking! Toodaloo!" Evie skipped off, locking her elbow with Doug as the band walked back towards the school.

"What's Friday?" Uma asked Ruby, shaking the girl from her thoughts.

"Oh, nothing important." Ruby dismissed the question. It wasn't a lie.

Just then, Harry and Gil ran up, helmets off and sweating from the game. Ruby somewhat hated her mind for even thinking it, but she couldn't help but find Harry even more attractive after he finished a game. Something about how his muscles glistened, and his blue eyes seemed brighter with the rush of the game-

They were looking at her. Shoot. She had been ogling at Harry for what felt like ages that her mind blocked out any and all conversation around her.

"W-what?" Ruby asked, ignoring the way she felt her cheeks flush when Harry smirked slightly. It was as if the pirate could read her thoughts. How scary that would be.

"Uma just told us about the special Friday," Gil told her, still exuberant even after an exhausting game.

Ruby flashed Uma a glare. Clearly her dismissal of the day didn't work on the girl.

"Tell us, Heart," Ruby felt an involuntary shiver at Harry's given nickname for her. "Wha's so special about that particular Friday, hmm?"

"Honestly, you guys, it's nothing. 'A tea party with iced tea instead of tea tea' nothing," Ruby covered her nose in mock disgust. "Now you two need a serious shower. You smell worse than the freezing walrus."

Jay ran up to the group, having been talking to the coach, and gave a pat on the back to Gil. "Nice work, man! When you dodged that guy in the second half, dude that was epic!" he exclaimed.

"Dude, no way! When you spun off of Ben to make that shot, that was so incredible!" Gil jumped with excitement.

"We totally deserve a celebratory drink for that win. Whaddya say, man? You down?"

"Definitely, dude! I'll catch up with you guys later," Gil said before running off with Jay.

Harry scoffed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Hones'ly. 'S like I didn't just batter down half the enemy's team to win. I LIKE DRINKING TOO!" He yelled towards the boys, though they were already out of earshot.

Ruby giggled while Uma rolled her eyes at her first mate. "You can drink in the shower for all I care, you really smell like dog."

"Ughhh fineeee," Harry complained head thrown back in defeat as they walked back to the dormitories.

It was ritual by now for the gang to meet up in one of their dorm rooms at least once a week for no particular reason other than to be stupid in the confines of their own rooms. Ruby's curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she actually brought four iced teas for the group. Not a one of them enjoyed, especially Gil, who's knack of liking everything had its limits. Uma had the marvelous idea of sneaking into the kitchen, it was late after all and no one would be there. Needless to say, the school food storage needed to be replenished, and soon.

Thursday classes had come and gone, and Ruby's illusion of her vase of roses singing a sweet tune was broken by knocks at her door. She had expected Harry, of all people, but was quite surprised by Ben's form in her doorway. It had been a while since she and been had talked; ever since Uma and the boys showed up and Ben having to take on more kingly activities, there hadn't been much time for the two friends to hang out. Ruby instantly felt guilt at not having at least tried to find time to hang out with her first friend.

"Ben! Hey, what, uh, what can I do for ya?" Ruby asked, pushing down her guilt and putting a smile on her face. Her hair probably looked a mess, and her clothes were most definitely wrinkled, but she knew Ben really didn't care.

"Hey, Ruby. It's been a short while, hasn't it?" He greeted her back. He seemed kind of nervous, his hands wringing together in front of him.

Ruby's guilt instantly resurfaced. "Ben, I'm so sorry-"

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Ruby. I actually came to ask you something," He said, smiling at the shorter girl.

Ruby raised an eyebrow in question.

"I was wondering if you could paint something for me?" Ben asked her, hope in is voice.

"Oh, OH. Yeah, of course, sure!" Ruby paced back into her room excitedly, images already running through her head of what she could paint for Auradon's king. "What were you thinking? Because I've been having this idea of like a half beast thing that-"

"No actually, Ruby uh," Ben's eyes flicked towards Ruby hesitantly, as if he was scared of her. That's odd, Ruby thought.

"I was hoping you could paint Mal for me," Ben finished.

Ruby stopped her mind's ideas and stood frozen on her rug. She looked at Ben somewhat accusingly. "What."

"I know, I know," Ben said, arms out and moving to stand in front of Ruby. "I know you two don't really get along but I want to do something nice for her and she mentioned to me about how all the royalty here have their portraits hanging everywhere and I thought it would be nice if I could do that for her and well you're the best painter there is Ruby and I just-"

"Ben, oh my aces, calm down!" Ruby told him, effectively stopping Ben's rambling. She put a hand to her head. She did have a hatred for Mal, but Ben had tried hard to be Ruby's friend since she was first brought to Auradon. She couldn't just tell him no.

She sighed, "Okay. Okay, I'll do it. But I'm going to need a picture or something. I don't find myself gazing misty eyed at your girlfriend all that much, Mr Benjamin."

Ben had already turned to walk back out of Ruby's dorm. "No, it's okay I get it- wait, you'll do it?" Ruby nodded. "Oh, this is great! Here-" he pulled out his wallet and handed her a picture of said girlfriend. "Thank you so much Ruby. You really are the best."

Ben pulled her in for a hug as she answered with a smile. "No problem."

Friday morning Ruby rolled out of bed sluggishly, gasping when she saw the time. She dressed quickly in a simple red top with black jeans, and threw her long hair up in a pony tail before practically running to her first class. As her classes rolled on, she tried not to think about what shenanigans Evie was up to.

Ever since Ruby had moved to Auradon, her father saw her birthday as a spectacular event. He tried throwing her birthday parties, but of course no one would come. He tried taking her out for ice cream, but it was unbearably hot and the ice cream melted. Birthday's just weren't meant for Ruby. In her time on the Isle, birthdays were treated as every other day, nothing special in it whatsoever. She used to wake up hoping her mother would have something special for her, but Ruby was greeted with the same fear as always. Ruby was used to this, and never saw any importance in her birthday anyway. After all, it was just like every other unbirthday, wasn't it? In her first year at Auradon Prep, Evie had questioned her, claiming it odd a whole year had gone and she never celebrated on any single day. Of course, Evie found out the truth, but Ruby eventually convinced her to not make a big deal out of it, and made the blue haired girl promise to not tell a soul. "No one would want to come to a party for me anyway," Ruby had claimed. "They'll be too scared I'll go off with their tiny hatless heads."

Evidently, this year, Evie had different plans. And Ruby was slightly scared.

Ruby had barely been in her room for five minutes after classes were finished before Evie materialized at her door.

"You, my wonderful friend, are coming with me," the overly excited girl said.

Ruby blindly threw her bag on her bed as Evie grabbed her arm and tugged her along to Evie's dorm. Ruby marveled at the clothes along one of the walls; Evie's room was always filled with outfits she had designed, and they were always incredible.

"Any particular reason you dragged me to your fashion show of a room, E?" Ruby asked, feeling the silk of white skirt with black patterns.

"Yes, actually," Evie answered, grabbing Ruby by the shoulders and spinning her around.

The sight of the dress in front of Ruby made every coherent thought leave her brain.

She must have gasped, or made some sort of awestruck face because Evie smiled and wrapped an arm around Ruby's shoulders. "Do you like it?" the blue haired girl asked.

"Evie," Ruby started, taking slow steps toward the wonder of a ball gown and cautiously ran a hand over the intricate rose design on the front. "I honestly don't have the words. I think the Hare must have put some sort of drug in my tea today. I can't- Evie this is beautiful."

"Good. I'm glad you love it!" Evie clapped her hands excitedly. She walked to the back of the dress and unzipped it from the mannequin. "Now let's get it on you."

"Yes, let's- wait, what?" Ruby shook from her daze.

"Come on, no time to lose. Undress, Ruby!" Evie exclaimed.

Despite Ruby's confusion, she really wanted to wear the gorgeous dress. Maybe this was what Evie was planning. To make a gown for Ruby. Any thoughts about her birthday disappeared once Ruby saw herself in the dress.

Evie danced around her, making last minute adjustments while Ruby gaped at herself in the mirror. Evie stepped away, looking proud. "Give us a spin," she said.

Ruby lifted the sides of the dress slightly and twirled. The gown was light and it swirled around her legs as she came to a stop. Ruby couldn't help the huge smile on her face. "This is so amazing, Evie," she turned to her friend, "but what exactly is this for?"

Evie's eyes sparkled mischievously. "You'll see. Now come, sit."

Ruby did as told, and watched as Evie deftly pinned a braid to the crown of Ruby's hair and brushed the tangles out of the rest. It was when Evie placed a small crown inlaid with a heart-shaped ruby that Ruby became nervous. "Evie, really, what's going on?" she hated how her voice shook with the question.

"Put on these shoes, and let's go find out," Evie answered, handing Ruby a pair of dark red heels.

Ruby quickly slipped on the heels and tried not to trip as Evie rushed her out of the door. She led the girl to what was unmistakably the school's ball room. Ben was waiting outside the doors, dressed immaculately in a deep blue suit. Evie gave him a nod before disappearing, not before smiling widely at Ruby.

"Ben, maybe you'll give me some answers?" Ruby looked up at her friend, and saw the same glint she had seen in Evie's eyes. Ruby was hopeful, clearly Ben wouldn't keep her in the dark, would he? But her hope simmered as Ben kept his mouth loyally shut.

Suddenly, Fairy Godmother opened the doors. "It's time!"

Ben gave a bow to Ruby, gesturing towards the open doors with a hand, "Shall we?"

Ruby hooked her hand onto Ben's outstretched elbow, and he led her through the doors. Ruby put a hand to her mouth to stifle another gasp as they walked out to the top of the ballroom steps.

The filled room collectively yelled "Happy birthday!" upon seeing Ruby enter. She couldn't believe it. There were actual people here, for her.

"Ben, what-"

"Welcome, dear Ruby, to your birthday party," Ben bowed once more. Ruby caught sight of Uma, Gil and Harry at the bottom of the stairs, but her eyes found themselves stuck on Harry.

He was dressed like a gentleman but still looked ruggedly handsome with his black tousled hair and smudged eyeliner, his hook hanging from his belt loop. He winked at Ruby, shamelessly devouring how gorgeous she looked in her ball gown.

Ruby would have been stuck at the top of the stairs all day had Evie not once again materialized next to her, dressed in a beautiful blue gown. She grabbed Ruby's hand. "Come on, it's much more fun at the bottom of these stairs," she whispered to her. They made it to Uma and the boys on the ballroom floor, Evie leaving Ruby with a hug and a "Happy birthday, Ruby" before disappearing to find Doug. Ruby turned towards her gang of friends accusingly.

"Did you guys know?" She asked.

"Since las' week, Heart," Harry answered, ever present smirk on his face.

"Yeah, Evie told us the whole deal and had us outfits made. I honestly didn't think I'd look this good in a dress," Uma said. She was right. Her sea green dress was really alluring.

"This place is so amazing, there's tables full of food!" Gil exclaimed, charming in his suit.

"Guys, I-"

"It's okay, Ruby," Uma assured her, giving her a hug. "It's your first birthday party. Let's have some fun," she smiled and winked at her friend. Ruby hesitantly smiled back.

Suddenly trumpets blared as Ben appeared on the overhead balcony, Mal at his side.

"Thank you everyone for coming! As you all know, today is our very own Ruby Hearts' birthday! I think it's about time we get this party started!" He announced, earning cheers from the crowd.

Ruby just stared, silent and still shocked at the whole ordeal. Were these people really here for her?

"'S alright, Heart," Harry's unmistakable voice whispered behind her. His breath was hot on her ear as he spoke, "You deserve this, lass."

She turned around and saw a genuine smile playing at Harry's lips that somehow eased her own fear. She smiled broadly at the pirate. "Thank you, Harry," she whispered back.

"Whoooo!" Gil's cheer broke the moment, the boy jumped in and began dancing wildly to the music. Laughing, Ruby and Harry joined in, Uma reluctantly joining the sway.

The night flew by, song after song, the gang stayed dancing together the entire time. Ruby could tell it was late in the night, but no one at the party seemed to care. She felt a poke at her shoulder and turned to see Carlos, Jay, and Evie. She gave each of them a hug as they wished her happy birthday.

"Evie, you know I'm so thankful for this," Ruby started, as she waved to Carlos and Jay who were whisked away by the crowd. "But a whole ball?"

"You know I would only have the best for you," She answered, giving Ruby a smile. "Besides, it wasn't just my idea."

Ruby's curiosity was instantly piqued. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Ben and I might have let it slip to Uma and Harry about your birthday coming up and how we really wanted to do something for you and Harry came up with this marvelous idea to have a ball since you're technically a princess so Uma and her gang helped us set all this up and we invited literally the entire school and-"

"Whoa, whoa wait," Ruby interrupted her. "This was Harry's idea?"

Evie nodded right as a slow song started. She was pulled away by Doug but winked at Ruby when she noticed Harry showed up at the girl's side.

"Ruby," Harry greeted, dipping into a bow, amused look on his face. "Will ye do me the 'onor of dancin' with me?" He held out his hand for her to take.

Ruby knew her face was flushed. She was still processing how this was Harry's idea, and what did Evie say about him saying she was a princess? She didn't know if her brain would function enough to be so close to Harry Hook, gazing into his eyes as she danced with him to the slow tune-

Ruby blinked out of her daze. She could do this. Her hand met Harry's outstretched one and his smirk grew to a smile as he pulled her closer. Her breath hitched when his other hand came to her waist, and he immediately pulled her into the dance steps.

"Don't tell me Harry Hook's been taking dancing lessons, now?" Ruby questioned amusingly, fighting down her blush.

Harry spun Ruby with the waltz, pulling her closer so that she could feel his breath when he spoke. "'S almost like sword fighting, really."

A blur of blue captured Ruby's eye, and she craned her neck to peer behind Harry. Uma stood, watching the two dance and Ruby almost missed the wink she gave her. At the food table behind Uma, Ruby caught sight of Gil chugging down the entire punch bowl and Jay seemingly egging him on. She snorted and turned her gaze back to Harry, feeling bold.

"So, Mr. Hook," Ruby danced her fingers up Harry's arm. His jaw tensed ever so slightly. "What's this I hear about you planning this whole thing?"

Harry's ears immediately turned pink. "Well, er," he cleared his throat. "Uma an' Gil came up with the plan too, ye know."

Harry let go of Ruby's hand to come rest at her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The waltz was over by now, but neither seemed to notice or care. "How kind," she looked up at the pirate. "You know, this party is kind of for you too," she said.

"How so, Heart?"

"Well, it's my birthday, but that means it's also you're unbirthday! And really that's just as worthy as celebrating in my opinion." Ruby's tone was joking, but Harry's eyes were piercing as they held each other. He moved his head so that his mouth was next to Ruby's ear. Her arms tightened around him, fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Ye've no idea how beautiful ye are, Ruby," Harry whispered, husky voice making a shiver course through Ruby's body. "All these other goons are jealous of my own little princess,"

Her breathing hitched, and she pulled her head back to peer at Harry's face. His eyes seemed filled with that same sensation Ruby felt but couldn't quite name. His striking blue eyes darted to her lips as his left hand cupped her face. Ruby was quite aware of the almost nonexistent space between them, of the erratic beating of both of their hearts. She whispered his name, not believing her eyes as the moment played out.

"UGH! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" a girl's voice yelled, causing Ruby and Harry to jump apart. They shared a look and made their way to were the commotion was.

There was a circle around Uma and Mal, the former's dress covered in punch.

"You ran into me!" Mal yelled at Uma. "Maybe you should watch where you're going!"

"Look, I know time in Boradon has made you insane, but I would think you know how to walk," Uma snapped back, giving up at wiping off punch from her dress.

Mal scoffed. "If you're so uncomfortable here then you should have stayed in that sandbox where you belong!"

In the blink of an eye Uma pounced on Mal, snarling with her arms outstretched. A full on girl fight broke out, hair being pulled and dresses being torn. It lasted all of two seconds before Ben and Gil rushed in pulling the two girls apart. They continued to yell insults at each other, but all Ruby could see was the floor covered in ice. She watched as every step and stomp of feet caused it to move to the brink of shattering. Ruby had had enough.

"STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!" She yelled, effectively surprising and silencing everyone in the room. "It's PUNCH! You're not dying and if you don't stop this petty little fight then the frozen floor with collapse and we'll all be eaten by the Jabborwock!"

"Just as insane as ever! You should have stayed with your crazy mother," Mal scoffed before marching out, Ben casting an apologetic look before running after her. Uma tried to apologize to Ruby, but she couldn't hear a thing over the cracking ice.

"Just-..no," was all Ruby could say before she too left the ballroom. She couldn't make it to her room before the tears came.

She fell down onto her bed, letting the water flow. She knew a party was a horrible idea. No one wanted to be there for her, they were there because it was just a party. Maybe Mal was right. Maybe she should have stayed on the Isle with her mother. Maybe she would have learned how to scare everyone away and build a wall around her heart, so maybe then she wouldn't be hurt as easily.

After what felt like ages, Ruby heard a knock at her door. She sniffled as whoever it was walked in and sat next to her on the bed.

"Tears don't belong on that pretty face, lass," Harry said, pulling Ruby up and wiping said tears from her face. She sniffled as he did so.

"I just don't understand, Harry."

"I know, Heart," he said, sad to see her so upset. "Some things are jus' too hard to understand."

Ruby nodded, her mind just registering her sore feet and legs.

"Oh! I, erm, I've got something for ye, Heart," Harry said, changing the mood of the conversation with just a singe sentence. He had something for her?

"What is it?" Ruby asked, rubbing an eye.

"Well, I've been wanting to give it back to ye for a while, but it jus' never seemed like the right moment," Harry told her, ears turning pink as he pulled out something from behind his back.

It was a little stuffed rabbit.

Ruby gasped, new tears forming at her eyes as she recognized her old toy, the one she had lost that fated day.

"Look at ye, getting all happy over a wee toy," Harry joked, happy to see the light in Ruby's eyes again.

"Harry Hook, you thief!" Ruby exclaimed, tackling the boy in a hug. He fell back on the bed, arms wrapping around Ruby's form.

They laid on the bed holding each other for a while, Harry's hand making mindless patterns on Ruby's scarred arm. Ruby had never been more happy than she was in his arms. What is happening? She thought.

"D'ye think they're mad?" Harry asked.

Ruby wasn't sure who exactly he was talking about. "They can't help it," she answered anyway. "We're all a bit mad here."

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