“Sweet?" You heard as you walked down the hallway with a laundry basket resting on your hip.
"Yeah?" You answered, opening the door to find Harry sitting at his desk with his laptop open and papers scattered out in front of him.
"Can you c'mere for a moment, please?" His hair had been touseled and tugged on, eyes tired and sore from the continuous strain being put on them from the bright computer screen for the past 12 hours.
You dropped the basket by the door and walked towards him. He took ahold of your hand, pulling you towards his lap and helping you settle across his thighs.
Your left arm draped across his shoulders as you sat down and he nuzzled into the dip between your neck and collarbone, letting out a tired sigh. Your right hand pushed his hair back from his forehead so you could place a kiss on his hairline.
"Okay?" You asked, resting your cheek on his head.
His arms tightened from where they were wrapped around your middle. “Yeah."
You combed your fingers through his hair, scratching slightly. He'd been in his office since he woke up that morning at 7 and it was nearing 8:30 in the evening, but he had yet to eat something other than the banana and cup of tea he grabbed for himself at the beginning of the day.
You had cooked dinner an hour ago and fed the kids but Harry refused to join in saying that he couldn't leave yet. He didn't want to leave in the middle of his work because he knew it would be harder to go back to it and start again. This was expected from him. When Harry got stressed, he tended to lock himself away and neglects to take care of himself so you made it your job to make sure he was hydrated, fed and not pushing himself too far.
"You didn't drink your water, babe."
"Later."
You sighed, resisting the urge to share your disaproval with him. "Time for a break?"
He shook his head. "Not yet."
"In an hour then?" You asked hopefully. "I'll warm up your dinner."
"M'not hungry." He mumbled.
"Yes, you are. Haven't eaten since this morning, Harry." You said a bit more sternly, hoping to convince him.
He was a silent for a long moment before he mumbled into your neck. "Can you bring it here?"
"If that means you'll eat it, of course." You agreed.
**
“Mornin’,” you heard from behind you. You turned around to see your husband walking into the kitchen, freshly showered and shaved with his dress pants on and a crisp white shirt buttoned half way. He leaned down to place a kiss against your temple as you mixed creamer into your coffee.
You smiled at him, pushing his mug of tea towards him. “Good morning. Made your tea."
He gripped the handles of his mug, raising it towards his lips and taking a long satisfying sip from it. “Thank you, sweet.”
“No problem. Ready for today?” You asked, taking a sip of the hot beverage from your own mug.
It was bright and early, birds still chirping outside and the sun casting an orange hue in the sky. You and Harry were the only two awake in the house, all three of your children still sound asleep in their rooms. You had woken up before him, gotten showered and dressed before nudging him awake and making your way towards the kitchen to start on your breakfast. The kids would be up soon to get themselves ready for school, so this was the only pre-teen and teenager free moment you got alone together.
“Yeah. I think so.”
“You’ll do great. Always do.”
His eyes crinkled as he smiled at you, shaking his head.
“Why’s your shirt untucked? And where’s your tie?”
“I’m tired, baby. Needed m’ tea.” He answered, proceeding to take a long sip from his mug. “And it’s laid out on the bed so don’t worry ‘bout it.”
“Don’t want you to be late is all.”
“Won’t be. Not when I’ve got you worryin’ about every little thing.” He teased.
You rolled your eyes at him, “your eggs are in the pan. I’m going to finish getting ready.”
He nodded, accepting your kiss to his cheek, as you walked past him with your mug towards your room.
**
“Sweet, can help me?” Harry called out.
“What do you need?” You asked, rolling the mascara wand across your lashes.
“Can’t seem to get my tie on right.” He replied, walking towards where you were standing in front of the bathroom mirror.
You faced him to see him fumbling with the knot he had mistakenly created. “Let me see.” You motioned for him to come closer to you so you could fix it.
You nudged his fingers away so you could replace them with yours, noticing that his hands were warmer than usual and tiny beads of perspiration were building up along his foreheaf. You looked up at him, meeting his eyes to find him looking very nervous.
“You okay, babe?”
He nodded quickly, “m’fine. Just can’t get this tie on right.”
You didn’t believe him but didn’t bother asking him anymore questions. When Harry was nervous, it was always better when he didn’t talk about what was bothering him because majority of the time it made it even more nervous.
You opened up the knot he had created and tied it up again so it fit under his chin properly. “There we go." You smoothed out his shirt, picking a lint of his shoulder before looking up at him, eyes still looking nervous and hands figdeting at his sides, palms swiping across his pant leg to wipe off the sweat building up from his nerves. You grabbed his chin between your fingers as you leaned up and placed a sweet kiss on his lips. “Better?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. “Lots.”
You gave him a smile, patting his chest. “Almost seven. Don’t be late."
“I won’t.”
**
“Have everything?” You had the front door open for him, as you watched him double and triple check his belongings.
“Yeah.”
“Do you know what time you’ll be done today?” You asked, leaning your head against the edge of the door.
“No idea.” He huffed, pulling his coat over his shoulders.
“Okay. Let me know when you do.”
“I will.”
“Here’s some tea.” You handed him a to-go cup of peppermint tea, “for your stomach.”
He looked at you and chuckled, shaking his head. Despite the countless times he told you he was fine, you still went ahead and treated him like he wasn’t. “Thank you, sweet, I love you.” He placed a warm, grateful kiss on your lips.
“Love you more. Good luck today."
