You knew today was going to drag, but by the time the clock struck one in the afternoon you were sure someone had slowed down the clock.

It was Friday, the day before you and Harry were due to fly back home to the UK, and as usual, the day before a holiday was always the worst.

Somehow the anticipation always seemed to surmount to a point that was almost unbearable, making everyday life seem utterly tedious when you knew what exciting thing would be happening very soon.

You were always excited about going home for the holidays; Christmas was one of, if not your favourite time of year, and spending it with your family and repeating the annual traditions you'd done since you were little meant the world to you.

But of course, bar your usual excitement, this was technically your first vacation with Harry now that you were together.

Yes, there was the weekend in the Hamptons back in the summer, but considering you were still fighting your feelings for Harry then, you weren't going to count it as a holiday with him. Although there was a huge tug in your gut whenever you thought about that weekend, and how glorious Harry looked bathed in the sun, and the countless opportunities there had been for a moment alone between you both...

Shaking your head slightly to dissipate your daydream, you promised yourself as soon as you both had the time you'd be sure to book a trip away to somewhere warm and sandy where Harry could wear those tiny yellow shorts every single day.

You sighed a little, as even though these thoughts of your future with Harry made you incredibly happy, the aftermath of your argument earlier in the week bought you crashing back down to reality.

The truth was neither of you had really made up since the argument. You'd both moved on from it yes, but no-one had explicitly said sorry or made an attempt to talk it through. It was weird, as you were no longer angry or upset, but there was no denying the weird tension around the office that had been underlying ever since your little run in with Liam.

Harry had certainly been acting up too. For example, one day he'd made Phoebe go and pick up your lunches instead of you in case she bumps into someone she shouldn't Harry had said, none too quietly. Or when he'd had a purposefully loud conversation with Niall about how he had no New Years Eve plans, even though Niall had admitted to also receiving the invite from Liam which had promptly wiped the smirk off Harry's face.

You didn't take much mind to it, blaming it mostly on general work stress as when the two of you had been home together, everything was absolutely fine, great even as you both gushed over your Christmas plans and how excited you both were about going home.

But you also knew it was purely just both of your stubborn natures coming to light when at work; you wouldn't back down from being Liam's friend and accepting his invite, whereas Harry wouldn't admit his reaction was mostly because of his underlying jealousy...at least that's how you saw it.

Part of you couldn't deny the obvious fact that yes, being caught by the paparazzi with Liam in the way you had was slightly problematic, but in the grand scheme of things once you were all seen at the New Years Eve party, all these silly rumours would be completely dispelled. Harry needed to learn to control his jealousy, and until he admitted that, you certainly wouldn't be backing down any time soon.

Deciding to stop going around in circles, you picked up your phone to answer your messages from Emmy - who was still harping on about bloody Winter Wonderland - and didn't notice when Harry quietly came out of his office.

"Hope you're not texting Liam," his voice made you jump slightly as you were engrossed in your response.

Putting your phone down and looking up at him with narrowed eyes as his comment finally sunk in, you were greeted with him lounging against your desk, one large palm supporting him on the surface.

"No need for that really is there H?" His comment had bugged you; he'd hardly left his office all day, and the one moment that he had, he was making petty comments.

"I'm only joking darling."

You sighed at his tone, getting tired of his silly behaviour and comments, "Whatever Harry, what did you want?"

"Just wanted to come see you," Harry replied, moving so both hands leant on the wood and his face was brought closer to yours.

"Well why don't you greet me with something a bit nicer next time?" you muttered.

"Hey, baby," he moved to tuck his hand under your chin so you were looking at him instead of fussing around your desk and avoiding his eyes. You looked at him patiently, with a slightly fed up pout, waiting for him to continue, "Sorry, I didn't realise you'd take it so seriously."

"It's not funny H, you've been a dick around the office all week because of him when I've done nothing wrong!" You shook your head out of his hand and turned to grab your coat and bag, "I'm going out to lunch with Phoebe, I'll see you later."

Swinging your coat into your arms you stalked around your desk, past a gaping, upset Harry and down the corridor to meet Phoebe.

◇

"We're literally going away to meet each others families and he's acting like some spoilt brat!" You ranted to Phoebe, your wine sloshing slightly in your glass as you gestured around.

She just looked at you intently, listening carefully to your every word as she was very aware of not interrupting a woman while she was ranting about her boyfriend.

But also very aware of another reason Harry had been acting a little out of character.

"I really just hope he's on his man period or something Pheebs, because he really needs to get over himself otherwise this is proving all of my worries about mixing work and dating!" You huffed out a breath and took a long gulp of wine to soothe your now dry throat, finishing the last of the drink.

"You good?" Phoebe asked with a quirk of her eyebrow as she plucked the wine bottle from its cooler and topped up your glass.

"Thank you," you murmured, staring at your fingers holding down the slim stem before looking up and giving her a half awkward, half appreciative glance, "and yes much better."

You hadn't meant to offload on Phoebe this strongly, but once she had asked - and with the help of some alcohol - the flood gates had just opened and you were finally able to release your pent up frustration, even if parts of it were a little overdramatic.

"Now listen," she leant forward and touched your hand lightly across the table, "You have every right to be frustrated, men are...consistently infuriating."

"Amen," you muttered before popping a forkful of your meal into your mouth, conscious of how your food had barely been touched whereas Phoebes was almost finished.

"But that doesn't mean it's the end of everything and you should be questioning your relationship with Harry - sometimes they just have a weird way of showing their emotions, but the best thing to do is talk to him about it."

You nodded, knowing she was absolutely right, "I just don't understand why Liam is affecting him so much you know? Harry is so sure, so confident in himself - it's one of the reasons I was first so smitten by him -"

"Yeah I know," Phoebe quipped, smirking at you knowingly over her glass.

You waved her off with a roll of your eyes and a smile, "Alright I guess I deserved that! But I just don't get it..."

Phoebe looked at you silently for a moment, and you swear you saw a flash of excitement dance in her sapphire eyes, "Why don't we enjoy our lunch and have some more wine and then you can talk Harry's ear off on your six hour flight tomorrow hm?"

You craned your neck back and laughed at the thought, "Sounds like a plan to me, now come on tell me about you, surely you've got some goss to update me on!"

Phoebe, much to your surprise when you had found out, had some really A-list friends who brunched almost every weekend and got invites to all the coolest parties around New York. In reality it made sense with how classy and sophisticated she was, "I do actually..."

You squealed lightly, eager to hear what she was going to say, "Do tell!"

"I was at this cocktail party a few weeks ago that my friend Josephine organised and I met someone there..."

A gasp left your mouth at her revelation, completely not expecting her to say what she had just said. You knew that dating for her was quite hit and miss; if a man came along she didn't shut it down, but because of her exceedingly high memories of her husband Daniel - or Danny as she typically called him - they never usually went further than a first date.

"Oh Pheebs that's amazing! What is he like?" You asked excitedly.

She smiled what could only be classed as a smitten one and tucked her hair behind her ear, "Well his name is James and honestly Cecy, he's gorgeous," a dreamy look came over her eyes as she spoke, "He's tall and blonde with a great beard and these super sweet brown eyes, ooh, plus his arms!"

You laughed at her description, completely overcome by how happy she seemed, "He sounds wonderful! What does he do?"

"So he's a sports agent, but works from home because he has a little three year old daughter."

"Aw wow that's adorable, but if he has a child..." you trailed off letting the obvious question hang in the air.

"This is, as morbid as it sounds, one of the best parts. His wife died during childbirth - so around the same time Danny died - and being widowed was one of the things we bonded over; he just understood everything I felt, and of course there was more to the conversation than just our dead partners," she chuckled slightly.

You smiled warmly at her, "Phoebe wow...it sounds like he's everything you'd possibly want!"

She nodded gladly, pleased to have found a friend in you, one she could confide even her darkest thoughts in, "I know right, plus he supports the same baseball team as Danny did, so I know he'd approve."

A lump came to your throat at the expression on her face; a deep, wistful one full of hope that you'd never be able to name, but you knew it was something she'd not felt in a very long time and that alone was enough to move you.

◇

Your lunch with Phoebe had progressed well into late afternoon, along with another bottle of wine, so when you'd both stumbled back into the building giggling and gripping onto each other for support in your heels, you knew no more work would be happening today.

The elevator opened with a loud ping signalling the arrival at your floor.

"Right I'm getting my stuff and I'm going, I know Harry won't mind," she said as she turned to pull you into a tight hug, "Have a lovely time back at home, I can't wait to hear all about it."

You squeezed her back, "Thank you Pheebs, you too, have a wonderful Christmas," you pulled away and she began to walk towards her desk before you spoke again, "Ooh! And don't forget to keep me updated about James!"

She giggled at the mention of his name, "I actually just text him and asked if he wanted to come round tonight," Phoebe admitted with a wiggle of her eyebrows, indicating one thing as she approached her desk.

You let out a shriek at what she was implying, "You minx! Be safe!" You shouted behind you as you turned to go to your desk.

"Of course!"

Laughing to yourself as you reached your chair, you slumped down into it with a happy sigh, dropping your bag and slipping your heels off in relief as the tipsy feeling washed over you.

Craning your neck up towards Harry's door, you were surprised to see how dark it was. You'd been expecting him to come out and apologise for earlier as soon as you got back, but so far, there was no movement.

You huffed and placed your hands on each arm of your chair to help push yourself up, swaying just a little as you did so. Removing your coat and laying it haphazardly on your chair, you started for Harry's door.

Choosing to swing the door open with no prior warning, a little bit too riled up what with the small amount of alcohol still buzzing around your body, you grabbed the handle and pushed.

"I don't know why you're sitting in here when - oh."

Your sentence died in your throat when you realised what you'd just walked in on.

Harry's office was completely covered in glowing candles; all over his desk, the shelves and cupboards, and even scattered around the floor. A large bouquet of Christmas roses laid, waiting for you, on his desk next to a white leather bound notebook which you'd never seen before, the soft notes of his guitar filling your ears.

And then your gaze landed on Harry, sat on his orange sofa, with an amused expression on his face at your slightly raucous entry, strumming a soft tune you didn't recognise.

"Hello to you too gorgeous."

You just stared at him, your mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as one hand came up questioningly to gesture in shock around his office.

Harry chuckled at you, stood there frozen, before putting his guitar down and making his way over to you, white shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal his tattooed forearms as you blinked at him. He couldn't quite believe how pretty you looked bathed in the flickering light of the candles, a slight rosy hue to your cheeks - god he loved you so much.

When he reached you he placed a soft kiss to your cheek and ran his hands down your arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake, before joining with your soft hands.

"Harry," you whispered, not trusting your voice to be any louder, as his hair ticked your cheek as he pulled away, "W-what is all of this?"

"It's for you my love, c'mon follow me," he let go of one of your hands and tugged the other one to follow his lead.

You swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling very emotional as you gazed around Harry's office once more. Had he really done all of this for you?

Harry led you to his couch, "Sit here," he instructed, placing a kiss to your forehead once you were seated and then moving away towards his desk to grab the bouquet and mystery notebook.

Once he was sat next to you he spoke again, "First of all I want to apologise for being, as you rightly said earlier, a dick all week," he passed you the bouquet as he atoned, and you took it with a small smile, now feeling a lot calmer than you had a few moments ago, "I know I shouldn't have acted the way I did, and I don't have any excuses, apart from being rather nervous about today. But I promise I will clean my act up, as it's not what you deserve."

You looked at him with your brow furrowed in confusion, "Nervous about what H?"

He swiped under his nose and glanced down at his feet before meeting your gaze, "Um, well, I've had this planned for a while and wanted to make sure it was special."

"What exactly is this?" You said with a small giggle, still in the dark about why he'd gone to all these lengths for you.

"I want to ask you something."

You heart dropped and then came slamming back up into your ribcage at his words, "You can ask me anything baby, always," you encouraged, placing a hand on his bouncing knee.

Harry nodded and swallowed before taking your hand on his knee into his own, "I think it's about time I officially asked you to by my girlfriend."

A giddy laugh bubbled up as you grinned at his words before leaning forward and wrapping your arms around his neck, "Yes Harry of course!" You cried into his neck as he pulled you onto his lap.

You felt him sigh in relief, as he hugged you tight into his body, your legs hanging over his own. After a few moments you pulled away to kiss him softly on the mouth, "Why were you so nervous about that? Surely you knew I was going to say yes."

"I did," he replied, somewhat proudly and with that famous smirk, "I'm nervous about showing you this," and then he reached behind himself to grab the white notebook and your curiosity instantly spiked.

You stayed quiet and watched him patiently with wide glowing eyes. He was so gorgeous; the dimmed light catching in his curls making some of the strands golden, light green cautious eyes that flickered like the candles around the room.

He gripped the notebook in his large palms, steeling himself before locking eyes with you and putting it out for you to take. You took the notebook from his outstretched hands, trying not to be too eager and stroked the firm leather, running your thumb over the gold C.S. at the bottom centre of the front cover. It was almost an exact replica of the one you'd bought him for his birthday all those months ago.

"Harry it's so lovely," you cooed.

"Open it," he urged, looking at you with big, expectant eyes as he fiddled with his fingers which rested in your lap.

You glanced back up at him with a soft smile, before opening the front cover and flicking to the first page. When your eyes scanned the familiar scrawl a gasped whimper left your lips.

"Harry..." you breathed, snapping your eyes back up to him, his form swimming before you due to the tears in your eyes.

"I thought it was about time you understood my feelings for you, but I didn't want to just regift my own journal back to you," he chuckled lowly, "So I rewrote it all - in my neatest handwriting might I add."

You let out a teary laugh, removing one hand from the treasure in your grasp to wipe at the moisture under your eyes.

"And also because I know how nosy you are," he cupped your chin and swiped his thumb across your cheekbone with a huge grin, as you nodded in agreement, "I thought this would be the perfect gift for you, because I know that I tease, but it's just so you're always reminded of just how much I love you."

Harry's emerald eyes peered into your own with all the intensity of a thousand suns and it took every part of you not to burst into ugly sobs, but instead dropping the journal into your lap and gripping his wonderful face to bring towards your own.

The kiss was one of the most powerful you'd shared, and even though it was mixed with your salty tears, it said everything you wanted it to say; conveyed all of the love that coursed through your body for the man sat next to you.

"God H, I love you, I love you, I love you," you mumbled against his lips before drawing back and picking up the notebook again and fanning through the countless pages filled with Harry's writing.

"Don't read them in front of me!" He said in whiny voice, covering his eyes with one of his large hands.

You giggled at his dramatic ways before choosing to put down the journal and the now slightly crumpled flowers on the floor, and swinging your leg around so that you were straddling his lap, the velvet sofa cool under your legs.

"Promise you'll play me some though?"

"Of course baby - that's what I was playing when you came in, want me to carry on?"

"No, I've got something else I want to do in mind now," you told Harry with a sultry look, subtly shifting your hips against his.

"Oh is that so?" He said eagerly, gripping your hips tightly.

"Mmhmm," you hummed, looping your arms around his neck, fingers trailing up into his curls.

Harry gave you a lusty smirk, flashing his pearly teeth, eyelids hooded as he stared between your eyes and awaiting lips, "C'mere then my perfect girlfriend."

You crashed your lips together again, your tongues instantly swiping into each other mouths, never tiring of the feeling of kissing Harry, of how perfectly your mouths fit together. It wasn't long until your bodies were practically one, his hands roaming every inch of your skin he could reach.

"Stand up Cecelia," his husky voice went straight between your thighs and the small moan that left your mouth at the loss of his lips meant you nearly missed his command.

But you rose off Harry, albeit it on slightly shaky knees, and stood anticipating his next order. His eyes scanned from your feet to your head as slowly as ever, like a panther watching his prey and it made you squirm in the best possible way.

His hands skimmed the back of your knees, all the way up until he was brushing past your bum, not before giving it a harsh squeeze which made a squeak leave your lips, and hooking his fingers into the waistband of your tights. The silky material was dragged languidly down your legs, Harry's fingers leaving sparks along your skin.

Once they reached the floor you stepped forward out of them, into Harry's parted knees, ready to find your place back on his lap, when his hands on your hips stopped you, "No, not on me pretty girl, least not yet," he added with a deep-dimpled smirk, standing up and taking your hands and swapping places with you so that you were sat in front of his tall frame.

And then, before you could ask what he was up too, he was dropping to his knees in front of you and gripping your thighs with just an edge of roughness and spreading you open.

Your gasp of surprise filled the air, the cool air hitting your already damp panties oddly pleasurable. Harry wasted no time, immediately reaching forward to tug at the silk fabric and pull them down your legs until he was flinging them behind him as you giggled.

Harry was all soft touches, placing a gentle kiss against your lips, until he wasn't - instead grabbing the backs of your knees and pulling you swiftly towards the edge of his orange sofa so that your heat was mere inches from his face.

With one final hungry look, and without pre-warning, he ducked under the hem of your dress and licked a long stripe from the bottom of your entrance all the way to your clit, circling his tongue when he reached it.

You moaned loudly, completely overwhelmed with the pleasure Harry was so quickly giving to you. Each stroke of his tongue sent wave after wave of bliss through your body, and when he moaned directly over your clit, your threw your head back with a cry of his name.

His practiced movements combined with the small buzz of alcohol you still had running through your veins had that coiled feeling in your lower stomach developing much quicker than you had expected.

"H-harry please, I'm close," you panted out, your thighs tensing around his head.

He hummed in reply and your back arched at the sensation. Within an instant, Harry was moving even closer into your heat, licking and sucking reverently, and also managing to snake a finger up and begin pumping it quickly in and out of you.

The combination of his finger and tongue made your orgasm loom incredibly quickly, and after a few more minutes of his skilful, sinful motions, you were clenching around his finger as he leant back to coach you through your orgasm.

Once you came back down to earth, Harry was already suckling at his fingers, enjoying the taste of you until the very end. You watched him through hooded eyes, shocked at how easily your libido was stirring again so soon, purely just from watching Harry.

His gazed moved to you then, as if he knew you were watching him, "All good baby?"

"Mm, of course," you purred as he began to move from his kneeling position to lay over your body.

Harry started to kiss your neck and move you both to a laying down position when you stopped him, "H?"

"Yes," he mumbled against your jaw.

"Not here."

That brought his head whipping up to look at you, "What? Not in my office? But I've just -"

"No, not on your sofa," you specified.

His mouth formed an 'o' in understanding before it quirked up into a suggestive smirk, "Where would you like me to fuck you then Miss Stone?"

The question made you exhale a quiet whimper, before swallowing thickly, "The window."

You watched as Harry's pupils dilated at your request, thinking of the countless times he'd imagined fucking you up against the very windows you were suggesting, completely unbeknownst to you.

"Your wish is my command baby," and then he was hoisting you up with his arms locked under your thighs so that they were wrapped around his waist, your hands gripping tightly to his shoulders.

You laughed giddily at his gentlemanly nature, not even letting you walk to your destination, but secretly loving the way his strong arms held you up as he manoeuvred around the candles.

But when your feet were touching the floor and you were being spun around and pushed into the cold window by Harry's demanding hands, all laughter was replaced by an incessant need to have him taking control and ramming into you as soon as possible.

And once he had unbuckled his belt, the sound of his checkered trousers and pants dropping to the floor being music to your ears, he was wrapping one firm arm around your middle from behind and using the other to guide his throbbing dick straight into your slick entrance with a hard thrust.

"Harry!" You moaned loudly at how quickly he filled and stretched your walls, the feeling being one of your favourites.

"That's it pretty girl, moan for me so the whole city can hear," Harry's voice was right next to your ear and his proximity and low tone had you leaning your neck back against his shoulder.

Harry continued to pound into you, keeping you close to him, right up against the now steamy glass until the last notes of the sunset had faded and the stars began to come out, your intertwined bodies glowing from the flickering candles as he made you his time and time again.

guys I had the best time writing this chapter lmao, its so good to be back with hecy <33

I know this chapter has been a long time coming so I made sure for it to be a nice long one filled with a little bit of angst, some cute friendship stuff, some MAJOR fluff and then ofc some good old smut ;) to make it up to you all for being so wonderful and patient with me 

honestly the thought of harry fucking you up against a window as you look out across new York is just *takes a moment* my idea of heaven but I had to cut it a little short cos otherwise we'd be here for years lol but I hope it was still good enough!!

next chapter should hopefully be up in about a week, like I've said before the next chapter, possibly chapters, will be some lovely xmas fluff before we crack on with the pending drama woohoo

in the meantime if you fancy reading more of my writing, I've got a one shots book which I would love for you guys to check out if you want too!! I recently updated so go and give it some love :))

anyway enough from me, thank you guys so so much for just being downright incredible and being so patient with me while I've been terrible with updating lmao, love you all to bits <3

kait x