Vivacious [H.S]

Twenty Six

Image of Raphael attached, due to popular demand

Harry stepped out of the mental health center, phone in his hand as he called his driver, waiting for him to pick him up and bring him to the warehouse. 

"Harry?" A voice called, accent all too familiar, Harry turned around and was greeted with Raphael's sheepish smile, his long hair tied up into a bun sporting a striped shirt, espadrilles and a bag of freshly baked baguettes was in his mind. Harry couldn't decipher if his outfit was a joke or if he actually walked around like that. 

"You couldn't look more French even if you tried." Harry remarked when Raphael had finally approached him, Aurelie's brother laughed loudly at the comment, draping an arm around Harry's shoulder as he greeted him. Normally, Harry would have hated this sort of relation, but lately, it had been getting easier for Harry. His heart was less heavy and his need for control and blood was, well, less. He hadn't been to The Pit in days and he felt good overall. He looked over at Raphael, his large smile causing Harry's own lips to stretch into a grin and the two men fell into a fit of chuckles. 

"Thank you for yesterday, Harry, vraiment merci." Harry shrugged, patting his his shoulder as if to say it was alright. 

"No, I really am, I know I said some things about Aurelie and-"

"Raphael, it's fine." Harry assured, the two stood together in silence, not necessarily a comfortable silence but it wasn't too awkward either. 

"Are you waiting for someone?" Raphael asked and Harry nodded, quickly glancing at his phone for the time.

"Yes, my driver." Harry responded casually and Raphael raised an impressed brow. "How's Aurelie doing?" 

"Good, good, except she and Jax had a massive fight this morning." Harry's head shot up, his attention now completely captured. 

"Really? What about?" He feigned obliviousness even though he knew damn well what they might have fought about. 

"Jax stood her up two days ago and his excuse was well, just that, an excuse. Aurelie wasn't having it."

"Oh. I hope they make up soon." Harry lied, smiling discreetly.  

"It was a pretty intense fight."

"Like, break up bad?" Harry asked, doing little to hide the hopefulness in his voice. 

"He spoke about you, how he doesn't trust you and how he doesn't you around her which is something Aurelie absolutely hates-"

"What?" Harry's tone was slightly panicky, the last thing he needed was for Jax to convince Aurelie he was dangerous, even if that was the truth. 

"Aurelie defended you, if that's what you're worried about. Jax is my friend and I love him, but even I think his suspicions are misplaced, you're a nice guy Harry. You taking care of drunk me is just proof of that." Harry beamed at the compliment, his heart swelling with that fluttery feeling he had been getting a lot lately. 

"Thank you, I hope they work it out." Raphael hummed in response before turning to give Harry a serious look. 

"Harry, I'm thinking of going back to France. Yesterday was an eye-opener, coming home drunk like that, it wasn't right. It wasn't fair to Aurelie or to myself. I came here to find myself but I think I'm just using that as an excuse to run away from my responsibilities-"

"I think you should go." Harry said quickly, the stunned look Raphael gave him causing him to backtrack slightly. "What I mean is, getting drunk and sleeping around isn't going to help you with anything and, in complete honesty, it makes things that much harder for Aurelie. She's always so concerned about you." Harry sighed falsely, fighting a smirk while Raphael looked away sadly.