Labels || H.S. [#Wattys2020]

O N E H U N D R E D A N D S I X

Louis called the following morning to assure Reagan that he would of course be back in time for lunch, basically confirming that the plan was on. What he hadn't told her was that Briana agreed much too quickly for his liking, but that would be an issue for another time. For now, Louis had to begin planning how to leak the news without it being traced back to him, just as Harry and Reagan had to go about revealing their own relationship.

Considering Reagan is becoming quite the savvy PR person, she had a few strategies they could use. She spent hours talking them through with Harry. But Harry, being Harry, had already planned it the day he realized he was in love with Reagan. He wouldn't let her know that, of course, but he knew there was only one way that it could be done. He had to tell the entire world, he had to do it in the middle of an interview. Something reminiscent of when Tom Cruise jumped up on Oprah's couch and shouted to the world how much he loved Katie Holmes, but not as embarrassing. Well, who was he kidding, even more, embarrassing but equally as endearing.

"Does it have to be done today?" He asked, yawning. He was feeling worn from having spent the entire night awake with her. Not that he minded, he would never mind.

Reagan nodded, "Louis is going to reveal the baby news on Good Morning America."

"That's tomorrow..." Harry said, too suprised at the fact that she was really willing to bring this all to light so quickly.

"Mhmm." She responded, nonchalantly.

He attempted to play it cool and asked, "Are you coming out to the filming with us?"

"I can't, I'm stuck here."

Harry frowned, "You can't go for one day?"

"I have a job here, Harry. You know that."

"But I want you with me if we're coming out to the public. You have no idea how bad it's going to get, Rae."

"So you want to protect me?"

Harry nodded, making Reagan smile, "I can take care of myself. "

"That's not the case."

"What's the case then?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't know. I just...I want to protect you. I know you can take care of yourself..."

"But I never knew I could, so let me do it this time, okay? I've never stood up for myself before, and I think it's time I did. So thanks, really, thank you. But...I need to do this." She looked away shyly, feeling as if she was revealing too much of herself at one time. She didn't think she could ever get used to being this close to someone, no matter who it was.

"It's about both of us, though." He rationalized.

"I know."

"You're not going to budge, are you?"

Reagan shook her head, "No."

Harry relented, "Fine. But at the first sign of trouble-"

"You're going to stay in New York and finish filming, and I will take care of it."

"Fine." He huffed.

"The only thing I'm really worried about is Lydia though."

"She's all the way in LA what could she possibly do?"

Reagan grimaced, "I wouldn't underestimate her."

"Besides, if we begin just slightly leaking stuff today and then confirm it on the same day that the baby news comes out, she'll have a much bigger problem on her hands."

"Wait, you're going to confirm it on Good Morning America, aren't you?" Reagan said, looking right through his plan.

"Well-"

"It's not a bad idea."

Harry's neck almost snapped from how quickly he turned to look at Reagan, "What?"

"You heard me. It's not a bad idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean from a PR point of view, you're totally right. If you confirmed we were together, and two minutes later Louis came out and told the world he was going to have a child, well, his news would bury ours in the trending sections."

"So what do we do now?"

Reagan smiled, "We get ourselves trending everywhere."

—✴—

So Reagan knew that eventually she would be forced to bring to light her relationship with Harry, but what she didn't know was that it would be so soon. But she was ready, that was for sure. The fact that she didn't second guess herself when they walked out of the hotel that day, hand in hand, just further reiterated the fact.

"You can't stop for autographs." Reagan mumbled, before they went out the back entrance. She knew it would be flooded, there wasn't a door that wasn't being guarded by fans outside the hotel. All they had to do was reach the car, literal baby steps.

"What do you mean I can't stop."

"We talked about this."

Harry sighed, but gave a nod. He tightened his grip around her hand instead, he could almost feel her body radiating anxiety. He knew she wanted so badly to be strong, to be this whole new person, but he wanted to help. He wanted to shelter her from the barrage of hate that would undoubtedly be focused on her for the next few weeks. He wanted to make sure that he did for her, what no one did for him when he first got into the business. Hopefully, she would let him.

"Alright, kids. Car is parked directly in front." Michael said, stepping before them to open the door. He looked at intertwined hands and raised his brow, "I thought the joke was over."

"What joke, mate?"

"The whole "We're all dating our campaign manager" thing."

"Yeah, it is." Harry said, his eyes growing dark, "I'm the only one dating her."

"Really?" Michael said, his voice sounding uneven because of the fact that he was holding back obvious laughter.

Reagan was about to tear into him when Harry finally said, "If you have something to say, just say it."

"I always thought you were the one in a relationship with the older one."

Reagan almost started laughing, she really did. Not that Harry's sexuality was a joke, she knew that he didn't care what people thought of him. But God, she really thought that Michael was going to say that she didn't look like his type. That her biggest fears were going to come to fruition before she even stepped out with Harry in public for the first time.

Harry nudged Reagan to get her to stop cackling and said, "Straight as an arrow, mate. Not that it would matter."

"You're right, you're right. No disrespect man, just really took me by surprise. But this is real right? The girls that were asking for your autograph were right, weren't they?" Michael asked.

Reagan nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, I'll make sure to keep an extra eye on you." He winked.

Reagan blushed, looking away quickly, "Thanks."

Harry didn't like that look one bit, and for the first time felt a pang of jealousy rising in his chest, "We really do have to go."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah. But like your girl said, you might not want to stop to sign anything. Not for a while. Not while she's with you at least."

Harry nodded, knowing that her safety came first. He would have to forgo fan interactions for a little while, as much as it pained him. But he knew it would all be worth it in the end, and he hoped Reagan thought the same.

"All right kids, get out there." Michael said, opening the door, "The world is waiting."