Take My Breath by AwayRealityBetterThanFiction on a03

Chapter 3

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Harry stood in the early morning sun watching as all the jets were being towed out toward the runway for today's first day of flying at 1D. Harry always liked to watch this process each morning. It calmed him, grounded him, and gave him time to clear his head and think. Today was no different, except the stakes were a little higher than normal this particular morning. In fact, everything was a little different this morning, even Harry himself.

As if summoned by his thoughts, there she was...his beautiful girl, Georgia Rose, shining like a precious gemstone in the light of daybreak. Third in line, she stood proudly waiting for him, just as eager to get up in the clouds as he was. Once all the planes were assembled in the hanger and being dutifully prepped and fueled, Harry made his way across the pavement until he was standing next to her.

"Hello, my darling. Happy to see you here, aren't I?" he murmured. He removed his flight glove, ignoring the early morning chill in the air, and stroked the side of her belly with his naked palm. "You and I, we're going to look after one another up there, yeah? Just like always." The crew attending to her ran a routine check on her landing gear, causing her to stir and groan in response. Harry smiled and hushed her gently, "Shh. I know, love. Soon. We'll be up there soon. Just you wait."

Harry continued to stroke her steel body from nose to tail as people scurried around him taking care of his lady.

"Thought I might find ya here," a voice called from behind him, heavily lilting accent coloring the words. Harry turned away from Georgia Rose and smiled brightly at Niall.

"Morning. How are you holding up, Craic?" Harry asked.

"Me? Oh, I'm fine, mate. Just fine. You know me. Us Irish can handle our drink."

Niall had been singing a very different tune earlier this morning when Harry had woken him up and all but shoved him through his morning routine. Niall had loudly and emphatically prayed for death to ease his suffering from the moment his bleary blue eyes blinked open. He spent a good few minutes retching over the porcelain throne before crawling into the shower and guzzling about a quart of black coffee. It seemed that an hour removed from that display, Niall was in a much better state, the excitement of today brightening his mood considerably. He didn't even look nervous...then again, Niall was never nervous. Harry, on the other hand, tended more towards jittery panic on occasion. That's why he always liked a few quiet moments with Georgia Rose each morning to get himself settled and to assure her that she was in good hands.

"We should probably make our way to the war room, eh?" Niall said, reaching an arm out to lead Harry away from their plane, but not before calling out to Georgia Rose over his shoulder, "You're looking lovely this morning, lassie! Looking forward to getting a ride later!"

"Be warned...if you 'toss cookies' in her cockpit today, it will be the last ride you get from her," Harry stated firmly.

Niall ignored the threat completely, knowing there was very little he could do to get himself kicked out of the seat behind Harry. "So how's my pilot feeling this fine morning?" Niall asked instead as they walked toward the main building.

Harry took a deep breath. "Feeling...steady."

"Good, good. Steady hands, steady plane. We're gonna be just fine today, Sparrow. Better 'n that, even. We're gonna be the best."

Harry smiled down at Niall. He always did this. The RIO was practically a barometer for Harry's tension and always tried to overcompensate. Harry loved him for it, even if it did little to ease his nerves. Until Harry got up in his plane, they were just empty words. Harry needed the stability of the yoke in his hand and the throttle in his grip to feel in control. Then he could allow himself to believe in Niall's praise.