All I want is you
With a title like this you know what to expect! H/N fluff not much substance but hopefully it'll leave you with a smile. My first fic ever... was reading some of fanfiction's guidance and they say " we're all aspiring writers" I'm not... just in withdrawal from series 15 ( this fic is set post series 15 so there may be spoilers if you haven't seen them all but nothing major) Enjoy!
It was 5:30am on a Saturday morning and Harry lay in bed wondering why he couldn't wake up this early naturally during the week. He suspected that his internal alarm clock had malfunctioned on this particular morning because it was his birthday and he didn't want it to be. There was something about 'big birthdays' that Harry observed seemed to have the effect of making you examine where you were in life and ask yourself awkward questions. Harry turned over to check the clock and found that he had been dwelling on these introspective thoughts for two hours. Finding that it was now 7:30am he heaved himself out of bed rubbing his head and headed to the kitchen in the hope that his customary cup of tea would give him a much needed kick-start.
Harry had reluctantly agreed to meet Nikki for a shopping trip because she said she hadn't got him a present yet and needed an outfit for the 'surprise' party that Leo was organising for that evening.
"You don't need to get me anything and you have more clothes than a branch of M&S I'm sure you already have something suitable" Harry had protested but Nikki had an uncanny way of getting her own way so he had resigned himself to spending his birthday in shopping hell.
Harry made himself some toast feeling slightly sorry for himself that there was nobody to treat him to breakfast in bed on his special day. He retrieved a meagre pile of envelopes from a drawer and tore into one which turned out to be from his Mum which bore a large metallic 40 to advertise to the word his arrival into middle-age. The rest of the cards could wait he decided and so he headed for the shower.
The shower served to distract harry nicely from his self-pity and he returned to his room to get dressed. He checked himself in the mirror and decided that he looked like he'd made a bit too much effort and picked out a more casual shirt, it was just a shopping trip with Nikki for heaven's sake. Harry's phone began buzzing as it vibrated on the kitchen counter and Harry wandered through to see who it was. Nikki's name flashed back at him as he picked up the phone and immediately heard... "Harry birthday to you..." being sung loudly and, he suspected, diliberately badly.
"Is this really necessary?" Harry objected, but Nikki continued, disregarding Harry's dramatic sigh.
"How does it feel?" she asked"
"How does what feel... being sung to at 8.00am ... painful"
" Being middle-aged"
"Oh thank you for pointing out my rapidly advancing age Nikki, the 40th anniversary of my birth had completely passed me by... thank goodness I've got you to give me these gentle reminders" Harry responded sarcastically.
" I didn't realise you were so sensitive about it, at least you're not at the 'dying your hair, buying a motorbike and having an affair' stage yet".
"yet?...Is this what I've got to look forward to all day?" asked Harry. Anyway how can I have an affair when I'm still woefully single as my loving mother keeps reminding me with ever-increasing frequency.
Sensing that the conversation had become a little too serious Nikki changed the subject by arranging that Harry would come around for 9ish.
" 9! Why the early start?"
" I've found a great out-of-town shopping centre and it'll take a while to get there". Harry groaned internally but agreed none the less.
Harry was determined to arrive at Nikki's promptly because he was convinced that despite her insistence that they should set off early, she would take forever to get ready. It was 08:55 when Harry arrived at Nikki's and tapped on the stained glass of her front door. True to form, Nikki answered the door in her dressing gown and with a toothbrush sticking out of her mouth.
"You're early" Nikki burbled through the foam in her mouth. "I'll be 10 minutes". Harry smirked but thought better than to wind her up, it might result in a longer shopping trip he thought to himself. Nikki disappeared into her room and Harry showed himself in to the lounge and sank down onto one of her couches. As he waited he idley inspected Nikki's flat, the surroundings being sat in that position brought back a fond memory for Harry of sharing a take-away with Nikki. He gazed at the place she had sat at the time and recalled looking at her, their eye-contact lingering longer and penetrating too deeply into one-another's thoughts to allow his usually well disguised feelings to remain that way. Harry had enjoyed staying with Nikki and had almost been surprised by how at ease and comfortable he felt in her home. It had felt a taster of getting his dreams fulfilled, everything he wanted but had no idea of how to get. Harry was roused from his thoughts by Nikki switching off her hairdrier.
"Do you have a razor?" Harry shouted though to Nikki.
"Erm... yes there's some in the bathroom cabinet. They're pink but they'll do the job."
"Great... it's just that I seem to have grown a full beard while I've been waiting" Harry teased.
"I should have seen that one coming, its been at least 10 minutes since your last wisecrack."
"Don't pretend you don't find me hilarious"
"Hmmm, or course in fact I'm slightly concerned that I may have cracked a rib from laughing so hard at your incredible wit"
"Do you need a doctor to check you over?" offered Harry.
"I bet you've used that line before"
"All those years at med school had to come in handy for something"
Harry smirked to himself as his eye caught sight of Nikki's fridge. He found himself re-living another particularly pleasant memory of trying to wrestle a crisp from Nikki. They flirted harmlessly all the time but this moment crossed an invisible line, standing in one another's personal space looking into each other's eyes and almost being able to hear sparks crackling between them. It was an amazing feeling and seemed to have sparked some of Harry's recent deep thinking sessions. Harry knew he had missed an opportunity to take the natural next step and felt a twinge of regret, he shook his head. "Get a grip" he thought to himself.
"Are you ok?" Nikki asked as she emerged from her room looking immaculate and carrying what appeared to be various dresses, shoes and bits of make-up. "...penny for your thoughts?"
"No... nothing... just fell into a trance because I'd been waiting so long. I thought you said you didn't have anything to wear tonight, so what's all this?" Harry said, changing the subject as he gestured towards her clothes.
"My back up plan. Can you take these out to the car Nikki asked rhetorically as she bundled the clothes onto Harry's lap.
"I don't suppose I have much of a choice" Harry said. Nikki was taking a large box out of a kitchen cupboard. "What's that?" he asked.
"None of your business" Nikki said mysteriously as she shooed Harry towards the door.
"It's my birthday cake isn't it"
"Maybe"
"Does Leo think I'm still in the dark?"
"Yes, so don't let on"
"It is my job to find out the truth, he couldn't really expect to get anything past me" Harry said his face inches from Nikki's as they went through the doorway
"Is that the case" Nikki said with an almost imperceptible grin as she returned his gaze.
Harry narrowed his eyes. "What, have I missed something?"
Nikki laughed as she locked the door and walked over to her car.
"You're so confident that you can read us... well we'll see. You don't mind if we go in my car do you? I feel a bit queezy so it's probably better if I drive."
"Hmmm nausea in the morning... is there something you need to tell me?" teased Harry.
"I'm not pregnant Harry. I just ate my breakfast too fast" Said Nikki as she fastened her seatbelt and pulled off.
Any reviews gratefully received ;)