"Why are you still up?"

Looking up and taking a sudden deep breath, Harry blinked blearily at Elena. She was at the small bar, holding a glass of water. With the lights off, apart from the bar and one of the rooms, he was disoriented by the dimness of the room. Her messy hair as well as her camisole and shorts ensemble that was obviously meant for sleepwear. His body reacting before his mind could catch up, he reflexively straightened in his seat when she sat beside him. Luckily, she was more interested in his laptop.

"What are you working on?"she asked, her voice slightly husky from sleep. That didn't help his hard situation. Her voice was like adding oil to a sputtering flame. And being the weak man he was, he couldn't help leaning into her and allowing her slightly floral smell fill his nose.

Sleep?he suddenly realised, brows furrowing. What time was it? Noticing the clock at the corner of the screen, he was shocked to realise that it was four in the morning. Four! How had the time passed? He only remembered returning to the suite and getting on the computer. His intention had only been to try another angle before delving to what happened with Cameron and Sharon with Elena. Because what had happened was shocking. He knew that every couples had their fights and disagreement. Hell, he had even witnessed some of their fights. But this felt different.

Even so, it hit him that he hadn't done so. Had he been so engrossed that time had escaped him? Acting like how Elena feared? Cold sweat forming down his back, he waited nervously for her reaction. His mind was frantically thinking of rebuttals to anything she threw at him.

A few seconds passed. More seconds passed. Seconds become one minute. Two minutes. Three. Still nothing from her. Instead, she was so engrossed by what she was reading that was sitting half on him and the sofa trying to get comfortably closer to the screen. His nerves screaming for relief, he, nonetheless, moved away. And, for some reason, his arm wrapped around her waist automatically, allowing her to snuggle against him.

If someone came across them, it would look like a cosy picture of a couple in repose. That was until he revealed the sweat collecting on his back and the increasing panic in his eyes. Why wasn't she saying anything? Was she keeping this in for a future fight? Or did she not care? But that was wishful thinking. The fights and arguments she had against him were all about his work. And this was a big ammunition for her.

"I-I'm sorry,"he squeaked out. The way she looked at him was as if she hadn't heard him. This confused him further. Didn't women rejoice at making a man crumble at their feet? So why wasn't she rejoicing? Thinking that he had been too quiet, he said it again. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Ne-glec-ting you,"he responded, drawing each syllable out as if they were separate words. She cocked her head to the side, a cute movement in his opinion, and frowned.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about,"she said. Her words made him breath out a sigh of relief. All the tension left him. It was great that she didn't take this as a strike against him even though he did. Now he could focus on sharing and discussing what to do next-

"I mean, it's not like we're in a relationship where being together is a given. We're just here to get to the bottom of this puzzle named Xavier."

All the tension that had left him returned with a vengeance and exploded.

-------@@@@@------------

"What do you mean we're not in a relationship?"Harry demanded, his loud, belligerent voice making her eardrums ring. Startled away from the brain-tickling numbers, Elena turned to look at him and wondered what had set him off. She had to lean back slightly since his face was so close.

"What are you talking about?"she asked, annoyed. She didn't comprehend why he was mad. Her mind was still hindered from sleep so she was not functioning at full capacity. There might have been nuances that were missed but they certainly didn't warrant such hostility.

"What are you talking about?"he returned childishly. She gaped up at him, her thought processes coming to standstill. This was a side of him she have never thought existed. And she still didn't know what had triggered him.

"Harry, it's four in the morning and I'm having a hard time as it is sleeping. So please excuse me for not understanding your outrage. If it is not too hard, please explain slowly so we can get past this,"she requested slowly, her hands coming up to rub her temples. The ensuing silence made her look up and he had the most adorable face ever. It was like he was having an internal fight that was manifesting on his face. The way he cocked his head one way and then the other, as if addressing the opposing party. She couldn't help the smile lifting her lips. And then, with a sharp nod, as if having made his mind, he sat beside her.

"You're having trouble sleeping?"he asked gently, getting a hold of one of her hands. She was shocked. It never occurred to her that he would drop the subject. He had a tendency for stubborness. But she wasn't going to complain. It was nice to just talk with him.

"Yeah,"she revealed, leaning into him slightly. It was embarrassing how delighted she felt when his arm came around her and held her tight against him. Also it wasn't as if this was a rare gesture. They naturally gravitated together when they were on the same sofa or seat. But it felt different somehow. "It all started when I was finding an apartment. I guess all the moving around and working tired me out more than expected. Plus being this big makes finding a comfortable position difficult. Either they're pressing on my bladder or kidneys or ribs or stomach or spleen. Basically, everything hurts. And they're so much more active at night. I mean, I'm expecting that during their first couple of months but this is ridiculous. And I can't see my feet. I mean, I was preparing myself for this but it's ridiculous how inconvenient this is."

"That sounds tough,"he cooed soothingly periodically, the arm around her rubbing her stomach. Surprisingly, her previously jumping boys settled down nicely. Something she did often but had never yielded much effect apart from making her arm hurt. Scowling down at her stomach, she realised that they had shifted positions. With Harry bringing up one of his legs, she was situated more comfortably into the cradle of his thighs. And her head was lying on his chest, his heartbeat a calming beat in her ear. It was so comfortable she felt like sleep was just a stone's throw away.

Tears stung her eyes. She had never been aware that this was what she wanted. Just some alone time with her partner where she could complain and whine to her heart's content. Especially about something as monumental and tiring as growing a human in her. Two humans, to be exact in her case. This was so rare that she wanted to treasure this as long as possible.

Unfortunately, as always, all good things had to come to an end.

And the end for them was when Harry asked, "So why did you mean when you said we're not in a relationship?"

Sighing, she hugged his arm one last time, not knowing when they could do this again, and separated from him. She was still puzzled by his insistence on this issue but maybe clarifying their positions was a good idea.

"It's just as I said. We're not in a relationship where there's a implicit agreement that we'll spend every waking moment together. You have your own things to do, as do I. So I'm not mad that you spent practically six hours on your laptop,"she said nonchalantly. Or what she hoped was nonchalance. If she was being truthful, at least to herself, she had been hurt that he had switched on his computer the moment they had stepped foot into the suite. He hadn't even spared a glance at what she had bought during dinner.

That had brought to home that they were not in a normal relationship. The other men had at least asked about their ladies. She knew that he was busy and stressing about Xavier. But still it had hurt. Being surrounded by love, she was acutely aware that theirs was not love.

That wasn't to say that there weren't any gentle emotions. If there weren't, she wouldn't have plucked the courage and thrown aside her pride to come to him with these information. She was also sure he felt the same with her as he was always taking care of her, health and body. But that wasn't love. Feeling discouraged, she couldn't help but flare up when he spoke.

"Then why did you throw a fit before? Why did you say I'll be a bad father because all I'll care about is work when this is the perfect ammunition for you?"he probed further, poking on an open wound.

"Because you asked me to marry you,"she shouted, glaring at his scowling countenance. "That's a different matter entirely. And not the reason why we're here. That reason is to confront Xavier and get your job back. It's not about the boys, not about us."

"Not about us? This has everything to do with us. How can I provide for you if I don't have the company? How can I protect you if he's still out there? How?"he demanded loudly, his hands coming up to grip her shoulders. "Didn't you come back for my money too? There's so many strings tying us together-"

"You take that back,"she said through gritted teeth."I have never cared about your money, about your job. All I wanted was for you to be happy. With your life, your job. I actually came back to pass you the flashdrive. I never expected or wanted to be caught up in this."

"Then why are you still here? You're saying one thing and doing another. I don't understand with such mixed signals. You know what I want, for us to be a family. But you keep pushing me away while running to catch up to me. So what exactly do you want, Els?"

AN: Hey guys, how do you like the chapter? I know it focuses more on Els and Harry but I feel that it's needed before I go all out on their purpose in Las Vegas. I'd still like your opinion though. Does this kena/mash with the way they have been portrayed?

Anyways, please VOTE and COMMENT. 

THANKS

Next update: 23 October 2018