Silver and Cold |h.s.|

23. Vulnerabilities

The ticking of the clock on the mantle was a not-so-gentle reminder that you had been sitting on Harry's couch for going on an hour now and you'd still not been allowed to see him. It just kept ticking and ticking and ticking and you did your best to drown the sound out but it was both a blessing and a curse. The ticking served as a way for you to fixate all of your energy because if you had been sitting in silence you're pretty sure you would have gone crazy out here while Niall did his best to help his friend, your human.

But time was still passing and now it seemed more like a mockery of every second you wanted to be in his bedroom to comfort him and yet weren't allowed.

Not allowed....funny.

You were giving Niall the courtesy of obeying, for now. As soon as you'd gotten them both safely home from the bar, Niall had practically barked the order to stay in the living room without any explanation. You wanted to fight him on it. Hell, you'd helped Harry through many nights with his nightmares, so you felt up to the challenge to comfort him now when he was lost to his mind and vivid memories that replayed like a bad movie over and over in his head.

But no, Niall had given you a look that you took as alpha male dominance that only worked on his pack and even though his orders didn't have a hold on you, you'd just nodded and then took a seat on the emerald green couch and now here you were...a little over an hour later....and no progress.

No nothing.

No hint of Harry being okay or being worse than he'd been when you'd gotten back home.

Not a peep.

Your hands initially had rested on your lap where they began picking at dead skin around your nails about 15 minutes into your wait. You finally drew blood and had to then sit on your hands so that you'd just stop and relax.

Then your knee started bouncing and when that knee grew tired, the other picked up for it. You'd finally crossed your legs in front of you on the couch and with no extremities left to harbor your antsy energy, you began fixating on the clock on the mantle and now you wanted to destroy it if only to get all of your pent up frustration out.

Because this was frustrating.

It was frustrating that you were sitting here when you should be in that room, holding him. He was yours and you were his and even though he'd only just admitted that tonight...it was real. It meant something. It meant that everything you'd ever felt for Harry was returned and the way that acknowledgement filled you up with the warmest delight was how you knew that you needed to be in that room.

Even if it was just to console him. To just lay beside him and whisper that it was going to be okay. Because it was.

You had one another and he was going to be okay.

The ticking somehow magnified and your golden eyes darted to the clock and glared. Niall had about 5 more minutes before you were barging into that bedroom whether he liked it or not.

But before you could even begin a countdown, the door to Harry's bedroom opened and Niall walks out, a hand running through his hair to squeeze at the back of his neck.

You stand up so quickly you aren't sure how you managed not to trip and fall in the process. Your heart is beating so fast you know he can hear it as he lifts his blue gaze to you before letting out a long sigh.

Niall makes his way over to you, sitting down in Harry's recliner, dropping his head into his hands, rubbing his eyes with his palms before looking down at the floor.

"It's not as bad as it has been in the past but...it's still not good." His voice is weary, tired, and for only a moment your hand reaches to place on his shoulder for comfort but you immediately draw back before he notices. Niall is Harry's best friend, so of course you feel sympathy for him, watching him struggle as Harry struggles too. It's not something you'd wish on anyone, not even Niall.