A.

It took a moment for my senses to kick in as I woke up in a place I didn't recognise, and a timezone I wasn't accustomed to. My back was pressed to Harry's chest, and I had to carefully unwind his arms from my waist as he continued to exhale gentle snores between his lips.

I'd met Ben the night before, and he seemed really nice to me - especially when I saw how happy he made Celia. Ben's little girl, Livi, had been at a playdate, and so I'd meet her tomorrow - well, considering it was almost four am, today - and I'd also meet Gemma.

I padded into the small kitchen, careful not to wake either Liam or Harry, as I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and ran some water from the tap, filling the glass and pulling myself up onto the counter to sit down.

As far as I'd seen, Manchester wasn't too bad of a place. It did rain a lot, but as far as I was concerned - it was a beautiful English city. I was interested to see it, since Harry had grown up here - but for him it was a painful place for him to be. Harry had awful memories here, and I was so beyond proud of him for coming here, despite all of that, and making an effort.

"What are you doing up?" Harry's voice sounded from the doorway, and I looked up, setting my glass down.

"I don't know," I shrugged, as he padded towards me, "jet-lag, I'm guessing."

"Convenient, 'cause I can't sleep either," he rested a hand either side of me and stood between my legs, his hair sticking up on one side from the way he slept, yet his eyes appeared wide awake.

I weaved my hands into his hair, pressing a kiss to the side of his mouth, before bringing his lips to mine properly, his head tilting up to meet mine due to the elevation of the counter. Though I often didn't, I took it upon myself to slide my tongue along his bottom lip, but he gladly accepted and parted his lips. I reached my hand between us, running it smoothly over his crotch as he responded with a low groan into my mouth. I wasn't sure what had possessed me, but I felt myself wanting to give him more immediately.

I brought my lips to his neck, trailing open-mouthed kisses over his skin before sucking on it, drawing blood to the surface before soothing it with the flat of my tongue, my hand continuing to palm Harry through his sweatpants, his lips parting in the most captivating way as his eyes fluttered shut. I could feel him only hardening further as I slid my hand under his sweatpants to feel him through his boxers, the heat of him becoming more prominent as my hand edged closer to his skin. I tugged at the waistband of both his sweatpants and his boxers, Harry taking the hint to pull them down his legs, pooling at his feet.

"Fuck, Ana," he groaned huskily into my ear as my hand came into direct contact with his length, his skin silky smooth under my touch as he buried his head into my neck, a low gasp leaving his lips as I drew my thumb over his tip, collecting the precum from it and dragging my hand slowly along his length. Harry's head buried further into my neck and his curls brushed over my throat as he tried to press his lips to my skin, unable to as another breathy moan fell from his lips.

I hopped down from the counter, pressing a final kiss to Harry's jawline before dropping to my knees in front of him, taking him in my hand once more. I then brought my tongue to his tip, watching him carefully as his head tilted back, Harry's hand reaching for my hair as I wrapped my lips around him. I dipped my head down, taking Harry further into my mouth and bringing my head repeatedly back and forth, taking what I couldn't of him in my hand, looking up at him through my eyelashes as his eyes met mine only for a moment, and his hands tangled in my hair.

There was something about the vulnerability his gaze held as he watched me, lips parted and eyes struggling to remain open - it was a position I'd never seen him in, and it was unfamiliar, to say the least, but it only fuelled me further. He could barely support himself, a newfound weakness in himself when I touched him, as low groans left his lips and he differed so much further from the Harry anybody else saw, or ever would see.

"Ana, fucking hell," he hissed, his lip between his teeth as I brought my head back for a moment, swirling my tongue around his tip, before bringing my mouth back over him, trailing the flat of my tongue over him as I took as much of him in my mouth as I could.

Harry's hands suddenly left my hair, one of his hands gripping my wrist as he pulled me up from the floor, lifting me onto the counter with ease. Only wearing one of his shirts and my underwear, he easily slid his hands under the shirt and brought his lips to my own, his tongue running smoothly over mine as he curled his fingers over the waistband of my underwear and tugged them down my legs.

He dipped his head between my legs without warning, dragging a single slow line with his tongue up my center as a soft moan escaped my lips, and he brought his own lips back to mine, already allowing me to taste myself on my tongue as he wasted no time in pushing himself into me. My back arched into him as he pushed my legs further apart with his hand, thrusting into me quickly without hesitation, a gasp leaving my lips - I hadn't been with Harry this intimately in months, and the feel of his skin on mine was a feeling I'd missed and longed for more than anything.

"Harry," I let out a moan I was unable to stifle as he rocked continuously into me, his forehead pressing against mine as he held my gaze, eyes burning into mine. His pupils dilated as he watched me, his olive green irises darkening as his hand slid under his shirt on my body to cup my breast, thumb rolling over my nipple.

"Say my name again," he murmured, his eyes never leaving mine, picking up his pace as he continued to thrust into me mercilessly and hit a spot he knew drove me crazy.

"Fuck, Harry," I gasped as his hands gripped onto the tops of my thighs, reaching for my leg to tug it over his shoulder so he could thrust into me even deeper than before, my back against the cabinet as I moaned uncontrollably, low grunts leaving Harry's lips in response.

Harry pulled himself out of me entirely, before thrusting into me a single time with such force that my thighs began to shake, my lip drawn between my teeth as I neared my end. We were both sweating at this point, Harry's forehead glistening against my own as well as the rest of his face, the dim light of the kitchen reflecting off his skin as his hair stuck up randomly and clung to patches of his face and neck.

"You close, baby?" he pressed, a soft hum leaving my lips in response as I struggled to form words, Harry's lips curling into an 'o' shape as he thrust his hardest and fastest yet into me, repeatedly doing so as the counter shook and creaked, as the both of us came undone, Harry releasing more or less when I did, pushing the both of us through our highs.

"Fucking hell," he groaned once he'd pulled out of me, pressing his forehead to my shoulder, "I missed you so, so much."

"I missed you," I returned, exhaling deeply as I pressed my lips to his briefly.

"I have a feeling we'll both be able to sleep, now."

We had Liam by our side when we turned up to Celia and Ben's the next night, Liam as excited to see them as we had been.

Harry walked in without warning once more, his hand resting on the small of my back as he guided me through the hall, Liam following closely behind.

Harry turned to me, "I don't know where Gem is, but-"

"Is that my baby brother I hear?" an accent similar to Harry's sounded from the room ahead of us, and I looked up to see a girl a little taller than me but still much smaller than Harry, her hair an ombre from brown to blonde, and her lips painted red with freckles covering her skin. Her physical features, beside those, were incredibly similar to Harry's.

"You're only twenty-two, Gem," Harry said matter-of-factly, sending her one of the most genuine grins I'd seen him possess as he pulled her into a hug, and I couldn't help but smile at how comfortable he seemed.

"Don't remind me - we both know I'm only getting older," she huffed playfully, sending him a grin in return as she turned to Liam.

"Hey, big sis," Liam winked, squeezing her tightly before Celia called his name from the kitchen, to which he responded by following the sound.

"And who's this?" Gemma asked, now - turning her attention to me and clearly noting Harry's arm around my waist.

"This is Ana," Harry butted in, "my girlfriend."

Gemma raised her eyebrows, "Oh, this is Ana."

"It's lovely to meet you," I smiled politely, and she eyed me for a moment before drawing me into a hug.

"Let's skip the formalities - I'm Gemma, Harry's much cooler older sibling," she beamed at me.

"That could've have sounded less cool if you tried," Harry remarked, and she scoffed, turning back to me.

"You're way prettier than I thought you'd be," she said.

I chuckled nervously, "um, thank you?"

"Oh, it was a compliment! I didn't expect somebody as great as you to be with someone as shitty as my brother."

"Stop harassing my Ana, Gem," Harry joked, "I don't need her acting as annoying as you."

"Actually, Ana," Gemma shot me another kind smile, "can I talk to you outside for a moment? Without the twat beside you?"

I laughed lightly, glancing at Harry before turning back to Gemma, "yes, of course," I nodded, suddenly feeling a pang of nerves as I kissed Harry's cheek and followed Gemma outside onto the patio.

"So," she let out a content sigh, flopping down onto a chair and crossing one leg over the other, "this probably seems totally weird, but I just wanted to talk."

"Sure," I nodded, "what did you want to talk about?"

"You and my brother," she pushed her sunglasses into her hair, "how long have you been together?"

"Um.." I trailed off, "we were together last December until he moved back here, and then more or less since he got back to Seattle."

"Aha!" she exclaimed suddenly, causing me to jump, "I knew you were the reason he was so happy at Christmas! The lying bastard-"

"Did he tell you we weren't together?" I mused, and she nodded.

"Basically, yeah."

"Fair enough - we went through a lot and I wasn't sure if we would be again, as much as him," I said honestly.

"Did he fuck up and do something?" she asked skeptically, and I shook my head.

"No. He did nothing wrong."

"Do you love him?" she pressed, and I felt a smile pull at my lips.

"Yes, I do. I love him so much," I told her, feeling slightly awkward since she was his sibling.

Gemma sat back in her chair, watching me closely, "Thank you, Ana. You've helped him a lot."

I opened my mouth to speak, but instead she continued.

"I can tell he really loves you. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you, and how his face lights up when you speak - and I've only known you two minutes!" she chuckled, "he was miserable last time he was here, and I know now that it's you who has fixed that. So thank you," she repeated, leaning forward to draw me into another hug.

'Fix'. Both her, and Harry seemed to think that was what I had done, but it was something I didn't understand that. To fix Harry would insinuate that he had been broken to begin with, but he hadn't - Harry wasn't broken, he'd only believed he was; Harry had believed he was beyond hope and fixation - but he wasn't. He'd only needed to see who he truly was, and if it was me who could bring that out in him, then so be it. As long as he was happy, and doing well - that was all I could ask for. Harry was the best I'd seen him be since I met him, and for all I knew, he was content. And I was endlessly in love with him, and I would truly love him until the day I died.

The sound of glass shattering separated Gemma and I's hug in an instant, as we both stood up confusedly, Gemma's eyebrows furrowing.

"What the hell was that?" she rushed towards the door and inside, as I followed closely behind, a rush of worry spreading through my veins without hesitation.

We stepped into the open hallway where the sound had come from, where a man stood with his back to us, Harry facing him with a look of pure rage in his eyes, the glass shattered at the man's feet, clearly having hit the wall beside him.

"Oh my God.." Gemma whispered hoarsely, taking a slow step backwards and cupping her hands over her mouth, "That's my dad."