#softforcal

“Imagine all the time you’ll have to spend with me the quicker you finish that paper.” It’s like he has all these answers queued up and ready to go, and the truth is that he does because this is the third “break” she’s on, pestering him to provide her with attention. Every answer is the same, every response from her is the same, however eventually he has to glance up and scold her back to the dining room and finish her paper. She’d been stressing over it for so long and now that she’s four pages in, he doesn’t want her creative process to end because he’s agreed to a lengthy break. Besides, he knows her very well and once the break begins, once her laptop is forgotten and his is discarded, she’ll never get that studious mindset back and right now he can’t afford that. This paper has been bothering her to no end for the past few weeks and it’s the last remaining one. Just one more, he keeps telling her and they’ll be done for the semester, spending hours and hours putting copious amounts of love on each other, but she’s been stubborn.

Of course, she’s stubborn. It’s who she is.

Her hands slyly push his laptop off his lap and replaces it with her head, staring up at him. “Not a very flattering angle,” she lets him know, but did he really ask?

He finally looks down at her with a disappointed sigh – one that makes her heart hurt a bit, but it’s the price she’ll have to pay in order to get what she wants – and places his hands at his sides. “What are you doing?”

“Spending time with you.”

“Do I need to physically carry you back to the table?”

Her eyes widen and she raises one hand, running her fingers through his strands. “Maybe.”

He sighs once more and rises from the sofa, forcing his hands under her back to make her get off him. She lets out a yelp and a soft “no! no!” but he’s not listening. He stands to his full height and places his hands on her waist, easily picking her up and, despite her moans to put her down, he throws her over his shoulder and begins to walk to the table. 

“Put me down!” she grouses, crossing her arms. “I said put me–!”

He enters the kitchen and glances around. He opens up the refrigerator and removes something that she can’t detect. It’s placed on the counter and he continues to mess with some dish. He even walks to the sink once to wash whatever it is and once he’s finished, he’s still holding her with one arm, dangling over his shoulder, and walks back to the dining table. The dish is put down first and then his girlfriend.

She bats his hands away, a pissed off expression on her face. She looks at what he’s prepared. Strawberries. 

“Eat,” he says, pushing the bowl towards her.

“I can’t,” she shoots back stubbornly.

“Why not?”

“You didn’t give me a fork.”

His eyes soften a bit, a smile playing on his lips as he turns around to get her a fork. When he returns, she’s got the same look. 

“There you go. Eat.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” She says this, but she reaches for the snack anyway. He hums appreciatively and bends down to kiss the top of her head. 

“See you in a bit.”

“Whatever.”

***

Harry’s head picks up when he hears a noise that makes him want to immediately crumble to the floor. He stands up and slowly heads over to his girl. When he reaches the dining table, he’s briefly hit with a moment of blind panic because he’s unsure how to console her. She’s crying. Hard. Sometimes she requires space and sometimes she needs to be picked up and rolled into a sad sushi.

He decides – for his own sanity – that he needs to hold her, so he goes over and turns her chair to him, crouching down beside her. “Hey, love,” he whispers, running his hand softly over her calf. “What’s the matter?”

She’s crying so hard, face covered by her hands. She just shakes her head. 

“Sweetheart. Tell me, what’s goin’ on? Is the paper too hard?”

This time she nods, whining and making noises that makes him weak.

“It’s okay. Hey, lemme see you.” He holds her arms and gives them a little pull. Her hands fall away from her face to reveal her red, leaking eyes and quivering mouth. “Oh, love,” he whispers, standing up and bringing her to his chest. “Hey….”

She’s still crying, hiding her face in his shirt, her body trembling under his hands. He holds her tightly. “I’ve got ya,” he murmurs, rubbing her back softly. “It’s alright. Let it out.”

Her fingers bunch up his shirt in her palms, sniffling. It takes her a while to be able to speak, but finally she’s able to stop whimpering and her shudderings spaces out considerably. “Hate this.”

He pouts, pressing his head against hers. “I’ve got you.”

“H-Hate it so much.”

“How much do you have left?”

She sniffles. “250 words.”

“Oh, you’re almost there!” She doesn’t reply, only holding her tighter against him. “Wanna take a break now?”

She shakes her head. “Wanna finish this,” she croaks, pulling back and running the back of her hands over her face. “Get it over with and then…then you and I can cuddle?” Her voice is so sad, with the hint of hopefulness, so how can he say no even if he wanted to ?

“Of course. Just let me know when you’re done, okay? I’ll just be in the living room. I’m right here.”

She only nods and he kisses her head again before walking back to his spot. He’s got to check over his shoulder a few times just to be sure. 

***

“I’m all done,” she says quietly, sitting down beside him. A smile spreads over his lips immediately as he shuts his laptop and reaches for her.

“How are you feeling?” he asks quietly, bringing her around the back of the sofa towards him.

“Good,” she murmurs back. “Tired.” Before he can say anything, she adds softly, “Checked my other exams and papers though. Did really well on them.” If possible, the smile on his face continues to stretch across his face as she continues to speak. His hands tug her towards him hurriedly. “Passed all my classes really well.”

“Really? Oh, that’s wonderful! I’m so happy to hear that!”

A watery smile graces her own face. She nods as his hands cup her face. “Yeah.”

“I’m very proud of you!”

Those words. I’m proud of you. He’s happy with her. How warm they make her feel! She can listen to him praise her all day even if she had to do all those exams and tedious papers that made her want to pull her own hair out. He cradles her head to his chest passionately and continues delightfully, “Love, that’s so good. How do you want to celebrate?” He checks the time quickly behind her. “We still have time to get some ice cream. How do you feel about that?”

She shakes her head. Her eyes are closed, simply breathing in his scent. There’s nothing warmer than his embrace and nothing quite as soothing like his hands holding her tight, clinging to her as if she’s as therapeutic as he is to her. His expensive smell, his curls tickling her jaw enough to make her squirm…all of this makes her feel at home. She’s at home with him and this is where she belongs.

“Wanna stay here with you. Y’warm.”

He lays his head on hers. “We can do that.” He holds her, rubbing her back as she goes limp in his arms. “Do you want to take a bath?”

She thinks that it’s ridiculous that he even has to ask her. When has she ever said no to a bath?

“With you?” she softly asks.

“Of course with me.”

She picks her head up just to say: “Did you buy the bubbles? We ran out.”

He laughs gently, eyes shining with fond. “I did actually. Last week. Shall we try them out?” his tone changes quickly though, suddenly concerned. “You must be so exhausted. Did you eat dinner? Are you hungry? I’d rather you eat first because I know you get sleepy in the bath and you just wanna dry off and head to bed afterwards. You always pick sleep over food.”

She doesn’t know how it happens, but her eyes suddenly well up with tears, emotional at how caring and attentive he is. She paws at his chest. “Not hungry,” she whines quietly. “Bath sounds good.”

“Alrighty.”

She feels him tighten his arms around her and she thinks that he’s going to stay in this embrace, but for the second time in that evening, he picks her up and begins walking out of the living room. She does little to stop him, just laying her head on his shoulder and sighing. 

She’s carried to the bathroom where she’s put down on the floor gently and then he reaches for the knobs. Hot water first then lukewarm water. They’ve taken plenty of baths together to know the deal. She watches as his hand tests the water before wiping it down his sweats and reaching into the cabinet. She moves out of his way, swiping a hand over her face to catch any tears, and he notices, sending her a soft “you alright?” to which she nods back to. 

The tub is beginning to fill so he begins to grapple at his clothing, removing anything valuable. His phone is placed on the sink along with his watch. Again, she watches from the side as he begins to undress. When he’s down to his boxers, goosebumps spread over all his tattoos, he looks at her and holds his hand out. 

A bit timidly, she places her hand in his and he brings her closer, hand on her waist. 

He reaches for her shirt, and her hand falls away from him, instead raising her arms so he’s able to pull away the material easier. He smiles when her head emerges from after he tugs the shirt off and then reaches for her jeans. She helps him out by moving her hips back and forth and he wiggles her out of the tight jeans. She steps out of them. Goosebumps cover over her own skin so she wraps her arms around herself. 

“”S almost done,” he murmurs, bringing her into a hug. “How are you feeling now?”

“Still good.” She takes the bubbles from him and opens it up, dropping a bit into the water. It turns a lovely pink and then she shuts the water. “Let’s go in.”

She reaches around her and twists her bra clasp and then the underwear follows. Harry just watches adoringly and then follows suit with his boxers. “Want me to test it first, baby?”

“I’ve got it.” She reaches in and tests the water up to her elbow. “It’s perfect.”

He beckons her in and she hums contently as she lowers herself into the water. 

He sits on the opposite side of the tub, legs outstretched and a blissful sigh falling from his lips. 

“Think we both needed this,” she whispers, eyes closing.

“Reckon we did.”

“It’s so good.”

“I know baby. You deserve it more you know? Those exams really took the life out of you and it really paid off, huh?”

She just nods gently. She slips down further until the bubbles are covering her breasts, all the way up to her shoulders. “Yeah.”

“My smart baby.”

She cracks an eye open at that, a smile spreading across her face. It’s a tired one, but it’s there. “Your baby?” She nudges her boyfriend’s thigh with her toe. “I like when you say that.”

“Yeah?” he hums, splashing the water a bit back. “Do you like it when I say that I love you?”

She takes a deep breath. “You know I do.” She nudges his thigh again, a little lighter. “And I love you back.”

He places a wet hand on his chest dramatically. “Do you?”

“You know I do.”

“Do I?”

“Harry!”

He chuckles lightly, nodding. “Yeah, yeah. I know, baby.”

She submerges a bit more into the water. “I love how you love me.”

“How I love you?”

“Yes,” she says dreamily. “I love how you gave me fruit. And how you’re supportive. And…” she trails off, voice quieter. “I love how you kiss me and hug me and tell me how proud you are of me even though you don’t understand my school work.”

“Baby,” he whispers, “that’s my job. I’m your boyfriend. I’m always going to be supportive.”

“I know but,” she sighs and glances up, “I know people who have just mediocre boyfriends and then there’s you and you’re just…you’re so…good, you know? I’m so happy that I have someone like you.”

His eyes have gone all soft watching her struggle with her words. “Darling, I–”

“I just can’t express it sometimes and yeah you forced me to eat strawberries and offered the break, and I didn’t like it, but it was what was best for me and I’m just thinking, what if I didn’t have a person like you to keep me healthy.” She’s fully rambling now. “Do I treat you as well as you treat me?”

“You do,” he softly insists. He crosses the line between them and is on her side, pulling her in between his legs and holding her close. “You have no idea how much you take care of me. And all that? I just really enjoy doing it. You’re my love and I can’t think of a time I wouldn’t take care of you. Hey,” he kisses her head firmly. “I love you. And I’m so fucking proud of you.”

She stares up at him with sparkling eyes. He cups her cheeks and forces a smile on her face because of the bubbles lingering on their skin now. “Yeah?”

“Yes,” he says, kissing her forehead and then her nose,and then finally her mouth. She melts into the kiss, heart rate spiking, her hands cupping his jaw as well. “My good girl.”