This Relationship of Ours (+Extras)

Mia meets Harry's father

Anonymous said:

i wonder what went down when mia met harrys dad

***

Harry locks eyes with his father before Mia realizes who the man walking toward them is. His face falls and a swear tumbles from his mouth. He doesn't have the chance to push her away or quietly excuse himself as he watches the older man stop behind Mia and raise a brow at his son, clearly pleased that he's caught them.

Harry's jaw clenches and as Mia turns around to curiously look at what's made his face go hard, he wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her into his side effortlessly. Her brows pull together, peering at the older man and then her boyfriend with the most earnest interest, eyes going wide when Harry says, "I didn't think you'd be here...Dad."

"Precisely the reason why I didn't tell you," the older man replies, eyes narrowed slightly. "You wouldn't have come to your own company party. What does that tell the world about us?" He turns his attention to Mia and holds his hand out. "And you must be Amelia. Harry's been hiding you from me."

"It's Mia," Harry interjects, tightening his hold on her when Mia gives her hand to his father and shakes it firmly.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Styles," she says with a small smile. "I do prefer Mia."

"I've heard a bit about you. Good things. I hope you can say the same about me."

Harry's jaw is clenched, she realizes, when she sneaks a quick look at him. "I have heard about you too," is the reply Mia comes up with after racking her brain with something that won't disappoint or offend the wealthy looking man in front of her. His gray hair is neatly trimmed, aligned with his beard, the hand she'd shook now in his pocket, and the other holding a drink.

A smile spreads across Mr. Styles' face as he takes a slow sip. "Nice to finally put a face to the name. It's kind of him to bring you along. Harry once told me you work at a small company. Must feel great to see a real company party."

Mia is stumped. Is she supposed to be offended? "Uh, yeah." Harry's still stoic beside her, simply watching the exchange unfold.

"How long have you been seeing my son?"

"Oh, well, about 5 months. I just moved here from America."

"That's funny. I seem to recall Harry mentioning you a year or two ago," he replies with a slight frown, his wrinkles deepening.

"We broke up before she moved to London. In fact, we just reconvened 5 months ago, so that is where you've heard about her," Harry finally says, clearing his throat.

"Ah, so why am I meeting you now, dear? Seems like this is quite serious."

Mia begins to fidget under his heavy gaze, realizing where she'd been stared down by a pair of green eyes before, her ex dominant right next to her, keeping her in place. His hip moves against hers gently, but his legs stay grounded. She tries to think of something else to say. Anything would be good, but she slowly feels her tense shoulders give in, caving under his burning stare.

Harry, thankfully, answers for her. "Yes, we're quite serious. I've never had time to introduce you to her before considering she was always at school or, now, working."

He ignores Harry and keeps talking to Mia, "I see. You should definitely come over for dinner sometime. It would be an excuse to see my son outside of work. Since you've been seeing each other for over two years, it would only be right for you to meet the rest of the family."

"She's already met mum and Gemma," Harry says evenly. "We've been to their place many times."

Mr. Styles drags his eyes up to his son's, and Mia suddenly feels very small between the men towering over her, seeming as if they're a split second away from being at each other's throats. The tension between them is thick, almost causing a wrong reaction from her as she sometimes finds herself on the brink of laughter during such awkward situations.

"Has she met my family though?"

His family? Why are they talking about her as if she's not there?

"She hasn't met your wife, no," Harry grits.

"She should. She is, after all, your mother, and therefore family."

"Anne is my mother."

"My wife is also your–"

"Your family is not mine."

"Harold." The sharpness in Mr. Styles' voice makes Mia jump, her hand tightening around Harry's.

She scrambles to think of something. "Oh shoot! You know what?" Mia speaks up quickly, holding up her drink awkwardly, "I've finished my drink." She turns to Harry. "Why don't we get another drink?"

Harry blinks and glances down at her, giving her a tight lipped nod. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Styles," she says politely, clearly in a rush to get away from the angered man.

"You too, Amelia," he replies in his gruff voice, brushing past Harry to remove himself from the situation. As he passes his son, Harry mutters, "It's Mia," unable to keep his hands from forming into fists, but the words fall onto deaf ears. His father is soon out of sight, mixed with the rest of the people in expensive suits holding drinks and Mia is left with Harry at the bar.

"I'm sorry you had to meet him," Harry says after he orders her another drink, unbuttoning his jacket buttons. "I've kept you away from him for a long time. You were going to have to meet him sooner or later."

"Yeah," Mia says quietly with a small chuckle, taking a slow sip of her drink, "that could have gone better."

"Honestly it could have gone a lot worse too."

"So we got lucky."

Harry massages his temples roughly. "Sure."

She frowns, watching his fingers work over her head, trailing down to his jaw where a three day old stubble rests. She places her drink down and rests her hands on his chest, smoothing out his button down shirt. "Hey, don't stress over it, okay? I couldn't care less if he liked me or not."

He glances down at her, sighing. "I know, but I really wanted to keep you away from him. He's a source of negativity. I despise him."

"Me too, but at least we got it over with." When Harry begins to develop a stormy look in his eyes, lips pressed together tightly, she continues, "Why don't we go home, my love? I'm just about ready, and it seems like you could definitely use some cheering up..." she drags her hands down his torso, grinning up at him, stepping up onto her tiptoes. Her fingers latch onto one of his belt loops and pulls him toward her hard.

This makes him break and smile, steadying himself with one hand on the bar and the other on her back. "Are you trying to bribe me with sex, Mia?" he hums, bringing her closer to him.

"Well I think it would make us both happy..." she leans up and kisses his jaw. "So why not? I'm so bored of all these rich people. Can we go home please?"

"We've only been here for an hour."

"Yeah, and we've said hello to half the people here. Come on..." She pouts, kissing the corner of his mouth now. "Ever since you came over with that suit on...I've literally just wanted to get my mouth on you."

Harry swallows a groan, her words falling to his crotch. "Mia, we're in public. Behave yourself."

"I can't," she whines softly. "But you can take me home and get a real nice blowie. Doesn't that sound amazing?"

He can't hide his smile any longer, chuckling softly as he takes her drink and puts it on the bar, reaching for her hand. "You're so annoying, do you know that?" With a gentle yank, he turns her around, leading her out of the mass of people. They begin to walk to the exit, quickening their pace when a group of people slowly begin to make their way towards them. "Such a fucking brat."

"Right," she giggles, grabbing onto his tie, leaning into him. "But you love it."