"Yeah?"

"Yes," Harry sighs pleasantly, tipping his head forward, into his neck. He gives me more room to work with, so compliant under my hands. Soft eyelashes fluttering shut, brushing his cheeks and those lips I'm craving to feel against mine parts ever so slightly.

"Just like that, hm?" My voice was sultry and I began grinning upon seeing the field of goosebumps that rose along his arms. "Perfect, Sweetheart," his voice too does too much to me, his breath coming out slightly shallow. My fingers sink into his skin harder, working against his muscles along the back of his shoulders to his neck.

Harry was sitting on the edge of the bed and I kneeled behind him, peering over him perfectly to notice the way the front of his trousers were suddenly lacking space.

It was halfway zipped, not even buttoned since I decided to give him a massage in the middle of us getting dressed.

It's been a few days of us being back, allowing the sunshine after the storm to wrap us in a much needed hold. We haven't been separated for many of those days and we've grown quite comfortable to being with each other at the penthouse. A version of living here I much prefer over anything else.

We woke up a few minutes ago, showered together and somehow ended up like this.

"Any other part of you feels stiff, Harry? Is my talent required elsewhere?" Innocently curious, I pretended to be and of course, he catches on and isn't having it.

Harry turned around and my hands slid off his back. In the flash of a second, he had me pinned on the bed with both wrists trapped between one large hand of his. He hovers over me, his chain dangling in front of me and I bite the heart pendant, keeping it lightly between my teeth.

"Bad girl," Harry murmurs, sliding his knee between my legs and it's easy for him since I wore another skirt today. He rubs against my clothed cunt and I squirm beneath him, releasing the pendant.

His eyes are so hot and intent on me, studying every single reaction. My chin juts forward, trying for my lips to touch his but he pulls back the slightest. "Kiss me," I softly commanded.

"Yeah?" His other hand cups my jaw, finger dragging slowly along my bottom lip and my breath becomes lost somewhere. My tongue peeks out, licking his finger and I fail at attempting to bring his finger into my mouth.

"Bad, bad girl," Harry looks at me, disapproving yet I'm grinning. Making me suffer even more, he kisses around my face but refrains from my lips, no matter my attempts for him too.

His lips kissed over my cheek, leaving three of them in their usual spots but an extra cut on my forehead. It's been healing nicely and shouldn't leave a scar. It's usually hidden by my hair but now on the impact of hitting the mattress, it's out of my face and the cut is revealed.

"Please?" I grounded my hips against his knee, circling them and shit- it was a great feeling. "Can't resist you for too long," Harry smiles, giving in and as he makes the move to kiss me, the doorbell rings.

"No," I said flat out, to whoever is holding the control of the occurrences in my life because- take it back. I don't want it. I want Harry.

"Who could that be?" Harry is genuinely curious, sitting up and moving his knee as he releases my wrist. No, no. Take. It. Back.

The doorbell rings again and this time it's accompanied by my phone vibrating where it sat atop the pillows. Harry reaches for it, eyebrow furrowing as he reads the notification and then turns it to me.

I read the screen and screwed my eyes shut. Not again.

"This is the second time Finley has tried to cock block us, should I be concerned?" He wonders. I suddenly just remembered the plans I made with Fin a while ago, when Harry had disappeared and I was moving into the penthouse again.

"He wants to paint the patio," I sighed, opening my eyes. Harry slides off me so I can sit up. "Paint the patio?" Harry repeated and I wanted to laugh at how random he says it. We we both walked out of the room, not after he buttons and adjusts his trousers to conceal that he's hard beneath the front of it.

"Yeah. He learnt how to make paint in one of his courses and when he helped me move things in here, he said he could make this great shade of blue for the patio because the white doesn't go well," I explained as we walked down the staircase.

"Hey, I chose the white!" Harry protests, pouting a little. "Are you going to invite him in?"

"No," I huffed. Honestly, I'm surprised Fin is even awake this early. I'm trusting myself to make up an excuse on the spot because as I got closer to the door, I had none on my mind. Harry stayed back in the kitchen, taking interest at his rings he'd left on the counter and began to slide them onto his finger. I sighed and I unlocked the door.

"Sweet Pea!" Finley beams. It's always so contrary to see him so happy and vibrant as the person he is, a representation of sunshine. Yet his physical being sends a different message, his hair is raven black and he often lines his waterline with black eyeliner, his dark clothes fitting the same style as what Harry wears.

Around him on the floor, he left painting supplies. Trays, paints, rollers, brushes, handles. Around his arm, he slid a roll of tape and over his shoulder, he had plastic cloth.

"Oh...you brought everything," I realised, wondering how am I supposed to tell him no now. "Yeah, someone on the elevator looked at me funny. Good morning, by the way. Hope I'm not too early, but I wanted to start well, early," he explains.

Oh, no. It's only seven in the morning and I haven't even had breakfast or a cup of tea or coffee.

"I..." I glanced at his supplies one more time, drawing my eyes back to his face where he was staring at me, waiting and...I can't do this. "Come in," I smiled, opening the door for him and even helping him carry some of his stuff inside.

He goes in before I do and next I hear a surprise shout of," Harry!" Shit. I didn't think that through.

I hurried my steps, joining Finley. Harry stands frozen in the middle of my kitchen, shirtless with only ink covering parts of his skin in artistic details. He stands with a container of peanut butter in his hand, eyebrows shot up as he's caught.

"What are you doing here?" Fin wonders. Harry glances at his bare chest and then back at finely. "Uh...fixing the sink," he says somewhat confidently. "The plumber didn't so I...yeah, needed fixing."

"So where's your shirt?" Finely tip toes, to have a look over the kitchen counter for Harry's shirt. "In the wash, Harry got it wet," I came in for the save. And he got me wet too apparently.

He's standing there in my kitchen, looking so edible. Right now, my mouth craved him more than my hands wanted to touch him. My lips craved running along the side of his neck, tracing the ink on his chest and abdomen with my tongue, the feel of his nipples between my teeth, kissing my way down his happy trail, biting the inked ferns as I do.

"Yeah." Harry awkwardly adds. "Rin, mind if I start breakfast...for the three of us," he requests, already taking out a few items from the fridge.

"It's-"

"Oh, shit...I forgot the paint thinners," Fin realises, looking at his little pool of supplies. Our breakfast conversation is forgotten. Don't even ask me what is paint thinners, I didn't know it existed but my brain assumes that the meaning is self-explanatory with the name of it. I think.

"I guess I can go back home for it?" He looks all gloomy and sad suddenly, distraught about forgetting this thinners thing. "I wouldn't want you to go all that way..." I say and an idea presents itself to me.

"I was going to suggest Harry and I go collect some breakfast. We can buy the paint thinners for you while we're out?" I blurted out my wonderful idea with a bright smile.

"That would be great!" Fin replies, the look now washed away off his face and I'm already relieved. "Uh, I'm kind of lacking clothes right now..." Harry inputs into the conversation.

"I'll go get you a shirt. Put those things away meantime," I say, beginning to run up the staircase. Harry returns all of the items to the fridge and shuts the door.

When I'm up in my room again, I grabbed the T-shirt Harry was just about to wear. Returning downstairs, I'm sizing him up back and forth between him and the shirt.

"This should fit, I guess," I say, a bit unsure. It didn't even cross my mind until he shrugs it off that Fin has probably seen him in this before but it's already done.

Harry and I slide into pairs of shoes and he takes his keys out of the little bowl.

"Help yourself to anything you need or call me if you can't find something," I tell Finley, with a look that I mean that completely and he brings his hand up for a salute.

"I will! And I'll send Harry a pic of the brand I need!" he tells us. His hands found mine as we walked to the elevator after shutting the door, swinging our interlocked hands between us.

Entering the elevator, the moment the doors shut, Harry used his hand in mine to yank me closer to him and spun us around. He had me pressed against the wall, in a rushed and heated kiss. My lips parted instantly, welcoming his tongue while his hands ventured down my body and damn it, the moment was cut too short.

He pried himself off me when the elevator dings, lips slightly swollen while air flooded into our nostrils. The doors parted and we strolled to his car as if nothing had happened.

Sitting in the car with Harry, watching his fingers tighten around the steering wheel or fall onto his thighs- which looks fantastic in the pants he wears, by the way- does things to me.

I'm not handling this well, that much is certain especially when the simple action of watching him turn the steering wheel has my thighs clenching themselves.

Luckily, we arrived at the hardware store soon after since pretty much everything is easily accessible to Beacon House. Harry unlocks my door, the sun hitting his golden skin so perfectly as he walks.

He locks the car and then slides his hand into mine, locking our fingers together. Bringing the back of my palm to his lips, he sponges a quick kiss there.

Entering the hardware, he shows me the picture of what we're looking for, sent by Fin. He seems to know where we were heading so I just followed behind him.

Maybe, I was wrong though since he goes deep into the third aisle and it was definitely filled with paint supplies but where we stopped there aren't any paint thinners on the shelves, only other solvents.

Turning around, intending to meet his eyes and instead, I don't. His gaze is trapped on my ass and Harry quickly flicks his eyes to mine. I give him an 'I caught you' glare to which he sticks his tongue out, teasing me and proud.

I can't complain. So as I walked off, there was a little sass in my hips and I wore a satisfactory grin when I heard him groan in misery.

Walking further down the aisle, my eyes landed on the paint thinners in relief. Harry meets me and takes it before I can grab it, already heading to the cashier with the bottle.

It's my turn to have an eyeful of his ass which looks wonderful in the pants he wears, even his thick thighs filling out the pants as he takes each step.

Harry paid for the bottle and then we got back to the car.

Hidden between the cars, he pressed me against the car door and I didn't mind the slight burn from the hot sun because the next second, the sun was no longer hitting my eyes since he hides me from the glare.

It's a nice, slow kiss with our lips barely moving followed by a few pecks. My hands wind around his waist, drawing into me and that's when Harry drew the line, pulling away from me.

"Don't look at me like that, darling. I can't have my way with you in a hardware car park," he insisted with a look of distraught and contemplation.

"Remember that time you drove off the side of the road..." I recalled our dirty memories as my hand drags down his chest, landing on his pants button. Harry catches my wrist before I can do any good or harm.

"We can't do that again, babe. Finely is waiting for us, don't want him suspicious or worried, let's go," he sighs. He leaves a kiss on my forehead and another quick one on my lips.

I stepped forward, pushing off the door and he pulled it open for me. I got in and he shut the door behind me, walking around to slide into his side.

"Seatbelt," he reminds me as he's tugging on his own across his body and our both belts clicked into the lock at the same time.

"If you don't want to satisfy me, Harry, I can do it myself," I challenged once we were back on the road. Yes, ahead required his utmost attention yet his eyes darted to me with a warning glare.

My hands that rested on my bare thighs, playing with the edge of my skirt, slid between them. I slowly dragged my hand closer to my centre to prove that I wasn't joking.

"I'm not in the mood to crash a fucking car or be interrogated by Finley today, babe," Harry says in warning. When he notices I don't stop getting closer, his knuckles grew white around the wheel," Touch yourself and you'll be begging me to stop fucking you the next time my hands are on you."

He won't listen to the cries and pleas bound to leave my lips as he fucked me yet denies me any kind of release. The thought alone is enough to make my state much worse.

"You talk as if I wouldn't want that," I breathed, leaning my head back against the headrest and then tipping my head to the side to stare at him.

"For fuck's sake. What am I going to do with you?" A smile that can light me on fire in the best way and burst me into warmth. "I suggest fucking me as soon as possible," I insisted.

He smiles, grinning but he doesn't fulfill my request.

Arriving back at the penthouse, Harry parked his car beside mine in its usual reserved parking spaces and I took out the bottle of thinners. The lobby is scarce this morning so there isn't any wait for the elevator.

Shit, I forgot we were meant to stop for breakfast, probably since I wasn't hungry for food right now.

Upon entering the elevator, I left the bottle standing on the floor as the doors shut. Turning around, my eyes set on Harry and there's nothing but desire for this man standing in front of me.

His eyes assess me, his hand reaches for my waist to tug me closer to him and I absolutely loved the feel of his body pressed against mine. The only flaw was that we were clothed and well, in an elevator but that didn't bother me right now.

"Harry..." I say his name with such desperation, my eyes pleading with his.

"I want you," I said the words that my eyes have been telling him long before. "I want you bad, right now babe but we-" my lips grazing the rough underside of his jaw and his train of speech vanishes.

"Let me get us into an empty room, yeah?" He decides, his fingers sink into the skin covering my hip. "No, I want you now," I insisted, watching the conflicting eyes vanish just like that and his hands vanish from my waist.

My hands were already dragging slowly up his arms, sliding around his neck where they found home clasped at the nape of his neck, playing with the curls at the back of his head. I gave them a gentle tug and it was finally the last thing he needed.

The press of his body against mine becomes frantic and needy. "I can't control myself around you," Harry grunts, relishing in how desperate I am for him. He threads his fingers through my hair too and his lips swallow the whimpers leaving my mouth. Mine slides down his back, pushing him further into me.

His other hand shoved into his pocket, reaching for his phone and after retrieving it, he could barely hold it properly. He takes a deep breath and I rediscover all the sweet spots on his neck while he is temporarily busy on the phone.

"Stop the elevator," Harry demands and just a second after, the elevator shakes, coming to a stop at a random floor. "Turn off the cameras in here," he lays down his second demand and another second later, the red light in the security camera vanishes, signalling that the cameras have stopped recording and are turned off.

Harry mutters, a kind yet rushed "thank you" to his employee and returns the phone to his pocket. Now both of his hands are free and he declines any more time wasted, they slide down my sides until he can grip the back of my bare thighs.

Once I'm lifted and my legs are wrapped around him, ankles locked on his ass, my fingers get to work on the buttons of his trousers, fumbling only when my back collides with the wall of the elevator.

Once the zipper is down to its lowest, I paused and gazed up at him. "Can I, Harry?" I asked and he smiles. "Yes, Sweetheart. Be a good girl and take me out," he permits and that's the final thing I needed.

I slide my hand beneath the band of his tight boxers. My fingers wrapped around his length and it's so relieving to feel him in my hands.

"Fuck, baby. You're so hard," I whined against his lips when I felt him, feeling the hardness of his thick cock beneath my palm. My other hand pushes down the tight material to free him. Harry sighs against my jaw where his lips are hovering, relieved he's no longer confined.

My head tips back as his fingers slide along my inner thigh, a teasing touch leading to my already soaking core. The cold presence of his rings worn on almost all of his fingers on my hot skin has me squirming for more.

Harry's mouth latches onto the side of my neck, kissing and nipping the skin as he brushes the front of my underwear.

Due to the lack of our time, we move with urgency. Harry pumps his length a few times, I can feel the motion of his hand but with the clothes jumbled between us, my eyes can't see the mouth-watering sight.

With absolute hunger, Harry stares at me. I could understand the feeling since it appears as if my insides were melting with burning lust, every inch of some sparked with desire for him.

"Harry, please," I whimpered. "Impatient girl," his tone is dripped in disapproval yet his eyes tell me a whole other story along with how much his body loves when I'm this way for him. "Fuckin' desperate for my cock, aren't you?"

"Yes," my thighs squeeze together, willing myself to ease the ache that only he can quench between them. Though it only lasts for about a second since I'm that much shoved into the wall he doesn't need to keep a hold of me so his free hand digs into my thighs, forcing them to relax to give him space to fit between them.

"These skirts always drive me wild," he murmurs. "I love getting to fuck you in them. Been thinking of it since the first time I saw you wearing one," he pushes it up my thighs until it's somewhat gathered at my hips. "Fuck- I hated myself for wanting you so badly," he groans.

"How easy it would be to fuck you," he breaths against my lips and finally, a finger hooking on the side of my underwear and tugs it to the other side. The head of his cock is already guiding to my centre.

"Just like this." Both of our mouths fall open at the deep sink of him sliding into me, even in a position like this. My eyes rolled back, fluttering shut, my nails sinking into his biceps, breaking through the skin.

Along with the hunger for each other soon came the ravishing. Hands glided along the side of my legs until his hands were over my ass, squeezing the flesh in his palms and yanking me closer to him, stealing a gasp off my lips.

"Come on, Harry. Harder. suddenly afraid to fuck your girl like slut she is?" I taunted, challenging him. Harry peers at me through his eyelashes with a look that promises I'm certain to regret my words.

I groaned at the next thrust he delivered, my hand flat on the wall for balance. He picks up his pace, lashing into me over and over again. Neither of us caring about the bruising marks he's leaving on my skin as he does.

"How does that feel, babe?" Harry wonders, concentration written all over his face. I can barely keep my eyes open, much less anything else. "Can't fucking talk now, huh?" It's his turn to do the taunting.

"Mine," he seethes, delivering his pounding thrust after thrust, his cock slipped in and out of me at a punishing pace that jolted me against the wall, questionable sounds leaving my lips that couldn't be controlled.

He pushes at the round neckline of my top until it stretches off my shoulder, revealing the red laced bra and his eyes are pleased at the sight, especially with the hardened peaks of my nipples pushing against the material.

"Come here," he commands but doesn't wait for me to actually do it. Holding my jaw, face angled as his mouth is pressed over mine, tongue slipping between my parted lips.

A hand momentarily leaves my thighs, sliding up my body until it reaches its destination. His palm cups over my bra, running his thumb over my hardened nipple only to pinch it between his fingers, eliciting a moan from me that's muffled by his mouth.

He's a grinning bastard when I can no longer keep kissing him as a result of his ruthless pace. "You fuck me so good, Harry," I can barely get the words out in one go the way he fucks into me each good fumbles with my thoughts, much less my speech.

"I know, babe," he's all smug," love taking care of my girl- my little freak slut- so well, giving her everything she needs." My forehead pressed against his, fingers sinking into his curls that are damp at the roots for a tug and every part of me tingles at the sound he makes over it.

He hits that perfect, sweet, sweet spot he's so familiar with, making me see stars dancing and twirling around my vision and in the darkness between every blink of my eyes. It's crazy how he manages to hit every perfect spot no matter the angle or position- how does he do that?

Harry looks so torn between feeling two things mostly. Pleased with himself for how he made me feel, so vividly displayed for him and doused in pleasure from fucking me.

"This cunt takes me so good," his face screws tight with rampant pleasure coasting through his veins, fucking into me with palpable desperation that my body continues to jolt up the wall slightly every time, somewhat tamed by his hand steadying me on my waist.

It makes me absolutely feral, the way he gives it to me without abandon or mercy, it's just him and I and nothing else matters in the world. There were beads of sweat dotting the sides of his forehead, cheeks already flushed with his dishevelled hair sticking out in all sorts of directions, the culprit of my hands raking and tugging through them as I took every single inch Harry gave me.

"Open your fucking mouth," Harry commands, looking as I feel, hovering over the tip of the precipice, close to the orgasm. He grabs my jaw, opening my mouth wider and my head drags down the wall as my head tips back further for him.

"You're so fucking perfect," Harry mutters. His tongue moves around his mouth and he spits into my mouth the spit. His hand latches onto my chin, slamming his lips over mine the moment I swallow.

My hips jut off the wall as I came hard around him without warning, walls clamping tight on his cock. My cries fill the elevator while Harry's hips slammed forward one final time and he fills me up, hot ropes of come spilling into me.

Waterfalls of bliss cascade over us both, pouring shower after shower. His hands are so tight on me, I feel them everywhere and I'm convinced I will even after he's no longer touching me.

My legs are tight and shaking around his hips, my entire being clutching onto him as Harry crashes into my chest, trapping me between him and the wall.

The air surrounding us feels so thick or maybe it's the fact our brains are still reconnecting with the familiarity of lungs that our breaths are short, panting, a constant rise and fall of our chest until it fades away as we came down from our highs, our breathing regulating and my thighs shift to a slight shiver.

Harry stays against me even as he softens inside, coming down from the orgasmic bliss, holding on tight to each other. My hand slides under his T-shirt without realising it even, rubbing my hands down the length of his back, nails grazing his skin. Not in a ticklish way, in a way that grounds him here to me as we settle into reality once more, no longer floating in the sea of clouds.

Unfortunately, the moment cannot last as long as we would have liked due to our setting and of course, our friend is still waiting for us a few levels above us.

"Are you okay?" Harry checks, pushing my messy hair behind my ears and I can feel his eyes glancing all over different details of me. "Yes, I am," I grinned," are you?"

"Always when I'm with you," he replies with the same energy. Carefully, he slides out of me and easily tucks himself back into his boxers, fixing them properly and then returns to me his undivided attention, helping me with my outfit after I discovered how to stand on my own two legs again.

He fixes my hair with concentration, moving curls around and patting them slightly to conceal the craziness. Then he zips up his pants and pushes the bottom through the hole, fixing his t-shirt over it.

Harry's phone reappears in his hand, calling the same person as he did a few moments ago to get the elevator back on while he runs his hands through his hair a few times.

He leaves a few kisses on my face with a sweet, cheeky smile that wrinkles the corners of his eyes and warms my insides because I love the signs of him being happy. His cheeks were still flushed, as are mine I expect but with the few minutes we have ourselves, I plead it's enough to diminish any signs of what happened here.

I'd never be ashamed or embarrassed of anything Harry and I have done, do or will ever do but it's for the sake of raising questions we couldn't really answer with Finley.

The elevator doors part a few seconds later, on the highest level where the penthouse is located. His hand wraps around my back, keeping me to his side providing the support that I needed since my legs still felt the equivalent to a jello.

His hand drops the moment we stand in front of my door. He takes my chin, gentler than a few minutes ago, kissing me softly, savoring the short moment as much as we can. "I love you," I whispered against his lips and he smiled against them, his nose nudging mine happily.

"And I love you, my darling."

Unlocking the door from the outside and entering my penthouse, there were more people there than there were when we left. So much that our entry causes them to freeze in the kitchen and us as well the doorway.

"Hey!" Eddie beams, wiping peanut butter off the side of his lips. "Finny called a code red," he states as if that's meant to explain why he, Remi and Niall are presently here but it doesn't.

"What's the code red?" Harry walks ahead, taking some of the attention off me. I suppose it helps so they don't notice anything out of place that screams 'I just got fucked in the elevator!'

"Esrin's birthday is on your birthday!" Fin screams, grabbing the calendar magnetised to the fridge. I wasn't aware my birthday was written on the calendar but Harry didn't appear surprised so I assume he was the one who did it. "That means we have two birthday parties to plan, this is insane!"

"And therefore," Eddie shrugs his shoulders, to end Fin's point," a code red."

"It should be called a code confetti," Fin mutters in realisation, placing the calendar back on the fridge. "So wait, your birthdays are on the same day? And you're both turning twenty-six?" Eddie clarifies, lifting an eyebrow.

Harry and I turned to each other again and then back at them, both slowly nodding. "Damn. That's sick," he realises," how did we not know this before?" Fin spins around, walking around the countertop to us and he stops upon noticing Harry has his thinners.

"Paint thinners! Yes! Let's get started!" He grabs the bottle from Harry and strolls to his little pool of supplies at the glass sliding doors leading out to the patio. "I can't get paint on this, I'll go change my clothes into something better so I can help you," I decided, already heading for the staircase.

"Why do you look like that?" I heard Fin direct his question to Harry as I carefully walked up the stairs. "The elevator wasn't working from the 10th level, we had to use the stairs," He fills in casually, not missing the beat. "Oh, that explains why you took so long," he replies.

Making it up to my room, I went to the bathroom to pee and then clean myself off. I stripped all of my clothes and threw them into the laundry basket and shrugged into clean and breathable ones so that I wouldn't be mad if paint ended up all over it.

My feet drummed down the steps until I was at the bottom, swinging into the living room. Niall and Remi were already sitting on the sofa, his hand wrapped around her shoulder.

"Missed the days of living here?" I asked her. "Of course, I miss living with you, Es. You don't leave the toilet seat up in the middle of the night," she says bitterly but it's directed to Niall.

I laughed, sitting down next to them with some space in between. My legs and between them praise me for the break. "Is he treating you well?" it's a light question and honestly, I shouldn't be asking it but I still care.

I feel as if Niall has already changed so much from our time those years ago but I needed confirmation he isn't repeating old habits. He stiffens beside her, my eyes flickered to him to notice his frozen state but she hasn't noticed.

"Yes he does, he knows better than to do otherwise. I have a few bullets waiting for him if he doesn't behave," she nudges his side with her elbow. I know she'll never hurt him, she loves him too much for that. However, if it comes to it she will do whatever it takes if he ever crosses her lines.

I'm about to reply, when Eddie steals our attention, including Fin and Harry who were carefully stirring the paint buckets before pouring them into the tray.

"Oh for fuck's sake." His head snaps back and forth between Harry and me.

"You guys aren't even trying to hide it at this point!" Eddie fumes, dropping his hands dramatically at his sides, staring at us with wide eyes.

Next to him is a display stand where I have a few pictures framed mostly with my parents and me. There's one in the centre, the one Harry had framed of the both of us when we were little and he gifted me it for Christmas. Oh, shit.

Curiously, Fin goes to him. He sees the picture frame and turns to me," Is that photoshopped?" He wonders yet we're all more focused on Eddie.

"Uh- hide what, mate?" Harry says, challenging him to coax out what information he knows.

"Eddie, it's fine- let them tell us!" Fin scolds and by then I already had a clear image of what they were referring to but in my disbelief, I didn't accept it yet.

His eyes dart to him, considering his words with contemplation before sighing, shoulders sagging. He fishes out his phone from his pocket, tapping and swiping on the screen until he finds what he's in search of.

He shows Harry the screen and his eyebrows shot up slightly. "Oh, they know..." he voices, sliding the phone out of Eddie's hand to show me the picture, walking over to where I sat. With this, there was no choice but to accept it.

It was a photo of Harry and me kissing between the cars. Taken a while ago when Harry and I had gone shopping and fucked in his car after receiving the news we had to meet them at a bar.

We kissed outside in the parking lot before going into the bar. "There's more, swipe the screen," Eddie murmurs and Harry comes closer so we both can see the picture as he slides his thumb across the screen.

It's from the same day, with our outfits more put together since it was before we had sex. It was once again between cars, in the parking lot of the mall. This kiss was more intense than the other, even that much can be told just by the expressions worn on our occupied faces.

"Eddie and I received those two pictures on New Year's Eve, just before you opened the door to let us in. It was an unknown number," Fin takes the liberty of explaining. Niall who sits near me gives us a hard look, one that tells us who this is from- the same person that's been bothering me for far too long.

"We didn't say anything, wanted you guys to come forth with your relationship or situationship first," Fin says with soft, guilty eyes. "We've all had our suspicions from before receiving these, you guys were probably good at keeping your lips shut but the way you...operate around each other sold it out before anyone else could have."

"It was the most surprising yet unsurprising thing ever. I could never see either of you two in a relationship yet picturing you together sounds perfect at the same time," Eddie adds.

"Unsurprising?"

"Yes! We've seen you in Harry's clothes! Plus you guys had different excuses why you couldn't answer the door that day before New years. Her shoes-" Finley's little ramble of points he's probably been waiting to spit out becomes interrupted.

"The only confirmation we needed was you two wearing matching necklaces since Christmas. Did you think we'd not notice something as obvious as that?" Eddie points out. Oh. His amusing eyes flickered back and forth from Harry to me.

"We weren't hellbent on keeping us a secret, just enjoyed the privacy of being in our own little world," Harry shrugs his shoulders and they didn't need more explanation than that.

"So you two are serious then?" Fin wonders. "Very," I answered and they appear to be waiting for more than that but it's all they're getting. Harry then opens his mouth and- never mind.

"The picture isn't photoshopped. Rin and I have more history than we let on, that we let you guys know," Harry reveals. I believe that Harry has told Niall since he works so close to him, I guess I can assume that Remi knows from him but I can't be sure.

"As you know, I was adopted when I was fifteen and before that, I lived at an orphanage in Rin's home town. Her family was there a lot so we became really great friends, spent years together and then we had to separate," their eyebrows shot up as Harry exposed the shocking information so casually to them. I can practically see the questions swimming around their heads.

"It was a very lucky coincidence that Remi was friends with us both and brought us together again. But this time we became...more," I took the wheel from Harry. Our lives were filled with factors that aligned us together.

"That's fucking crazy. But I love that you two are together," Fin beams. "Yeah, I'm happy you have each other. You know that 'you hurt her and I'll kill you' speech? Well, that applies to both of you," Eddie says strictly.

"You've got nothing to worry about," Harry assures them. All the hurt has already been done. I glanced at Niall. Kind of.

"Oh my god, Eddie is this a sign?" Finley gasps, staring at Eddie with widened eyes, hands to his face. "What is?" He scrunches his face.

"That we should be together! Remi has Niall, and Esrin has Harry. We're the last two left!" He blurts out, grinning. "No," Eddie spits out flatly but that doesn't stop Fin from throwing himself at him and smothering him with kisses all over his face.

"Personal space! Oh fuck, get off of me you-" Eddie pushes Fin away, wiping his face but he too is smiling as much as he wishes to hate it. Fin blows him a kiss and then focuses his attention back on Harry and me.

"Now, where's the food?" Finley politely asks with a small smile. Oh. "I'll make us all something," Harry decides and he gets on it, dragging Niall with him.

Watching them interact tugs my heartstrings because I don't know who is more screwed when Harry finds out, him or I.

Wait. Today makes it an entire week since Niall and I had that phone call.

I tried to push that revelation away and focused on helping Fin with painting the patio. Stepping outside, the only places welcomed for painting are the walls that frame the glass sliding doors and at the end of the patio, the short wall wrapped around to encase and finish off the patio.

Out here was designed by Harry as well as the rest of the penthouse mostly. All of the furniture was intended to be outdoors. Ahead, there's an L-shaped couch intended to sit and watch the view ahead along with a coffee table.

At the further end, there's a table with six seats, three on either end and two separate lounge recliner chairs. Around the space, there are a few plants that bring everything together nicely. I didn't really notice they were here until I saw Harry watering them when I woke up yesterday morning.

First, we moved around the few pieces of furniture out here to get them away from the main areas and spreaded the plastic sheets to catch any drops from touching the floors. Fin lines a strip away from the flooring with painter's tape, ensuring it's secure enough so paint won't seep through.

By then, Harry and Niall joined us outside with plates of sandwiches and cups of coffee. We sat down together and munched away at them.

When the cups were empty and scrums were left on the plate, I took the liberty of helping Niall back with the dirty dishes. His body went into alarm when I stood up to help him, attempting to play it cool but it was enough to fool the others, not me.

I waited until we were in the kitchen, far enough from the others to say something. "It's been a week," I reminded him, an eyebrow raised suggestively.

"I know, I planned today. But you can't possibly expect me to tell him with everyone else here," he defends, giving me a torn look. "I'll tell him soon, I promised you. I will, okay? As soon as I can," he reassures.

"Niall..." I sighed, looking out the patio to where Harry is rolling the paint roller in the tray, soaking it with the blue. "I will," he insists and nothing about him tells me he's lying.

"Last chance." With that, I left him there and went back to the others.

The painting process begins soon after and Harry messes around with the sound system and soon we have music playing. He's in disagreement that blue paint would look better and much prefers the white he had chosen but still assists when he can.

Fin and I do the inner wall that frames the sliding doors. Harry and Eddie did the wrap around wall, Niall and Remi helping them when we realised there was limited time and it would require around three coats.

They stick around past lunchtime since the paint needed an extra layer than we assumed. We ordered food that was delivered to us and by the time we were finished eating and messing around, the paint was dried and prepared for its final layer.

Eddie is less obvious with the way he and Fin have been observing us the entire time, Harry and I interacting. Fin was a squealing mess when Harry simply rested his hand over my shoulder. PDA with them is bound to be interesting.

I offered to let them stay longer but they all had plans for the rest of the day. When they're gone and the final coat is dried, Harry helps me strip off the paint tape and readjust the furniture outdoors properly.

The doorbell rings while I'm finding a movie for us to watch and Harry goes over to see who it could be. I hear the door open, not paying mind to it until I hear Harry.

"What are you doing here?" There was distaste in his voice, directed to whoever is behind the door and I quickly dropped the remote and turned around.

"Zayn."

Zayn's eyes fight to look over Harry's shoulder to where I am walking towards them. "Esrin, can I speak to you, please?" He politely requests. "Louis told me I can find you here."

Now standing with Harry, I place my hand on his shoulder and he eases slightly. "It's okay, find the movie. I can handle this," I assured him. He glances at me with contemplation rocking the waves of the green ocean in his eyes but gives in a second later, leaving me with Zayn.

"What's up?" I asked, opening the door more and stepping aside.

"I figured it was best if I came to you myself or not try to negotiate somewhere else..." he says, nervously. He steps inside cautiously, in new territory and I shut the door behind him. His weight is pronounced from one side to the other as he fidgets around.

"I had a birthday recently and I organised this lunch thing for the entire staff and...it was a mess! I hired a planner and even then couldn't get the simple thing done as well as you..."

"I'm only good for your occasions?" I summarised the point he was getting at. "No! Let me finish. That was one of the things but I'm miserable in meetings! You know when investors ask me unexpected questions you always save the day and I'm miserable without you. There's a big process that goes on every day at Malik Creations and everything is slower without you."

"I know our work relationship has not been as professional as it needs to be but I'd like it if we could gather a common ground this time around because I don't think I have worked well with anyone else in the time I've taken over the family company. Every day you're not working there I'm reminded of that," he states.

"I don't think you're supposed to let an employee know how indisposable they are, Zayn," I hummed. "Yeah, well...I'm desperate. Will you please come back?" he sighs, rolling his eyes at the fact.

Zayn Malik is standing at my door begging me to return to working for him. That's unbelievable.

"I'll think about it," I decided to stay. He's in relief to hear that it isn't a no but still distressed because it's not a yes either.

"Please do. If you need any terms to be met if you return, I'll try my best to meet them. Things will be different. I know that now," he concludes.

"Okay. I'll...let you know soon," I insisted. Zayn nods and says his final goodbye, turning around and helping himself out.

Just as I was about to shut the door, he yelled," Wait!" Concerned, even Harry bolted off the sofa near the TV and came rushing as I pushed open the door again.

Zayn stands with a bouquet of white tulips.

"These were at the door."

Finally, am I right?