Dour et Doux

Chapter 5

Your head head felt dizzy and stagnant at the same time. This is the man that had just, a few days ago, told you he wasn't ready to tell you he loved you, but he wants to move in? You understood that there was more danger surrounding the situation than you could probably recognize, but moving in? That seemed a bit drastic. However, the dark commanding look in his eyes that was underscored with notes of fear and urgency, told you that you should obey, at least for now. You took a long, slow breath and searched his eyes. He was your safe space, wasn't he?

You were taking so long to answer and he kept searching your face, looking for answers. Your nose was crinkled and brow furrowed in thought. If it wasn't such a serious moment, he would've kissed you then and there. He needed his faculties about him though. He hadn't known about the drugs and fake money, he knew they were shady and a bunch of assholes, but they always kept him away from any private dealings. He knew they blamed him for being caught and was terrified of what could happen to the two of you if they managed to get ahold of you. Not even frozen bank accounts could stop the amount of power and connections they had. His train of thought derailed when he saw you give the barest of nods. He'd never been more terrified, and yet had an overwhelming need to protect you at all costs. He wrapped his arms around you and kissed your temple. "I promise you. They'll never touch a hair on your head." He released you and took your hand giving it a reassuring squeeze, grinning widely. "Nice outfit by the way."

You blushed wildly and giggled. Only Harry could take a moment like this and make you laugh. You stood and led him through your house to your bedroom, mentally applauding yourself for cleaning it yesterday. It's currently 4:15 am and to be honest all you want to do is sleep, but you can tell by Harry's posture and darting eyes, that he won't feel comfortable until he's in his own apartment. He commented on the little collection of mementos on your bed and your heart leaped at his recollection of each moment. You packed as Harry rifled through your things. If anyone else were to do that, you'd be annoyed and feel invaded, but you knew everything was safe under Harry's gaze. You changed into some more discreet pants and buttoned his top, finished packing, and crossed over to him. "Ready?"

Your house was exactly as he had expected: tidy, eclectically decorated, and surrounded in mementos and photos that clearly meant a lot to you. As you packed he had wandered around, enjoying this look into your world outside of him. When he had finished perusing, he came back to your room and sat on your bed, proud that you chose to continue wearing his shirt. He nodded at your question and pulled you into his lap. "It's not really the time or place, but I'd really love to fuck you in that shirt sometime." You blushed and he smirked cheekily. "Until then, how about a proper hello." He trailed off and stared at your lips. You wrapped your arms around his neck and gazed at his. With as disheveled as he was, his lips remained plump and the perfect shade of pink. His tongue flicked out and grazed over his bottom lip as he dug his hand into your lower back. You tugged on his neck and crashed your lips together. He kissed you back with a passion not previously known by either of you. His tongue hungrily slipped past your lips and he pulled you flush against him. He needed to feel you and forget everything that had happened, even just for a moment, and so did you. You rebelled in each other as the pain, frustration, anger, and exhaustion slipped away.. In that moment there was no one else in the world, but you were interrupted by his ringing phone. He groaned and pulled away reluctantly, answering. "WHAT?" He snapped into the phone. The other end was shaky and hard to hear, but your stomach dropped to the floor as you could just make out, "Mr. Styles, I'm sorry, something's happened. I need you to meet me at your apartment immediately.

Harry jumped up and grabbed your hand. "We have to go." You grabbed at your bag as he dragged you from the room and you were thankful you'd slipped on shoes earlier. Apparently you weren't moving fast enough because he snapped at you. "Now Y/N." You held back a retort, knowing his stress was on another level and hurried after him. His head was filled with all kinds of questions and he hated that he snapped at you, but he knew you didn't realize what his ex-team was capable of. He found your keys by the door and he more demanded he drive than asked. You followed him out and into the car. You sat silently other than directing him through the quickest route to his apartment. His mind reeled at what they could have possibly done and he took your hand and intertwined your fingers to calm himself. He drove as quickly as possible and ran multiple red lights. Luckily, it was still early enough that traffic was light. He pulled up to the building and his jaw dropped. There were dozens of police cars and fire trucks and the dark black smoke that was slowly billowing from the top floor confirmed his team had found a way to get to him. Your eyes brimmed with tears and you squeezed his hand as tight as you could. You whispered "oh Harry, I'm so sorry." You now realized just how much danger the two of you were in. You hadn't really done anything, but obviously just being close to him put you in the line of fire. What if the two of you had driven to his apartment before he explained everything? Would you have been caught in the blaze? Harry's gut was turning and he jumped out of the car and quickly emptied the meager contents of his stomach. Your heart broke as you averted your eyes, took napkins and some gum out of your glovebox, and climbed out of your car. You walked around and handed him the napkins and rubbed his back as he dry heaved. You couldn't hold back the tears as you saw how fear and frustration wracked his body and vowed to yourself that you would protect this man at all costs. You knew there wasn't much you could do, but you also knew that, in this moment, you'd lay down life and limb for him. Harry felt weak and hated that his emotions were culminating in this fashion. Your soothing touch comforted him considerably and he rose to his full stature again, wiping his face and accepting the gum you offered. He stepped into your outstretched arms and welcomed your nonverbal encouragment. The fire and concern in your eyes was turning him on, which pissed him off. He felt gypped that as soon as he built up the courage to take you the way he pleased, the biggest shit storm of his life began. He tucked away his thoughts and turned his attention back to the matter at hand, promising himself at the next available moment he was fucking all of your combined problems away. As you hugged him, you felt him harden slightly against your stomach. You wanted to tell yourself that it was just a fluke, but couldn't help but wish he'd just shove you up against the car and screw your brains out. He pulled back and you shook the thoughts from your head. The two of you held hands and walked swiftly up to the taped off line. An officer recognized Harry and called him over. He questioned your presence, but Harry wasn't about to leave you on the street alone. The two of you were led up to Harry's penthouse and warned multiple times to prepare yourselves for what you were about to see. Harry wrapped his arm around your shoulders and kept you close. You welcomed the contact and wrapped your arm around his waist, gripping tightly. You stepped off the elevator and already realized you were in for a horrifying sight. The door was broken off its hinges and lying haphazardly on the floor. You stepped over it and stopped immediately upon entering the door. The first thing you saw was a message written in ominous, red lettering. "You should've kept your mouth shut. This is just the beginning." You sagged in his Harry's grip and he held onto you firmly. Harry's mind spun into overdrive as he scanned the room. The officer was explaining some crap about who they suspected and what could have happened. The only part he truly heard was the explanation about it being an expert job. The fire was controlled and only damaged Harry's bedroom. However, everything in his master suite was completely unsalvageable. Your heart picked up its pace as you scanned the destroyed area. Every piece of furniture was destroyed. From the beautiful love seat you and Charlie sat on that first night to the burgundy couch Harry fucked you on. Each and every piece of tangible memory you held so dear was ruined. Harry's priceless art collection that he so proudly showed to you and explained why he bought it, what he felt when he looked at it, gone. It was all in pieces. Harry's stomach felt the need to try to empty itself, of what he wasn't sure it was definitely void of anything. He kept his composure as best as possible and held back every tear and scream that threatened to escape. The officer took down Harry's information and statement. He then called another officer and they talked in hushed whispers momentarily. The first officer came back over and told the two of you he thought it best that the two of you be escorted to the airport to wait on his security team. Harry agreed and you were ushered back down to your car and then to the airport. Once there, you were taken to a booth upstairs to avoid crowds and fans. Harry held you close as you waited and the two of you fell asleep, completely exhausted from being up all night and the draining events of today.