Beautiful

Disclaimer: Spooks belongs to Kudos and the BBC.

A/N: This is an A/U set mid-series 5, where 5.5 is just a bad figment of our imagination.

"Is everyone in place?" Harry quietly asked Adam as the two men observed the room full of dignitaries assembled for the visit of Brian Haughey, the Taoiseach of Ireland.

"Almost. Jo and Zaf arrived 5 minutes ago and I just picked up my drink from Ros. The only person missing is my date, but she should be arriving any moment," Adam said as he turned to look towards the entry doors.

Harry was interested in the arrival of Adam's date as well, but for different reasons. He and Ruth had been seeing each other for a couple of months, though that information wasn't public, even to those on the Grid. After she turned down Harry's offer of a second date, he quietly arranged a dinner that no one else knew about and convinced Ruth that they had the potential for something wonderful. Since then their time together had been sporadic but he felt that they were getting somewhere as Ruth became more comfortable in their relationship. Although Harry knew there was nothing between her and Adam other than friendship, he still felt a stab of jealousy, mostly because Adam would have Ruth on his arm all night and Harry was stuck watching. A small gasp from Adam and the murmurs of others made him turn towards the noise to see what was causing the commotion.

It wasn't a what. It was a who.

Ruth.

He'd asked her about her dress, but all she had said was that it was just a dress and wasn't anything special. Obviously her analytical skills failed to realize the impact she would have in that dress.

It was a vivid red, emphasizing her wonderful curves without being tight or clingy and fell to the floor. It looked like it was strapless except for two wide straps, one that went over her left shoulder and the other around the upper part of her left arm. There was no plunging neckline or thigh-high slit, but Harry knew he'd never seen a more tantalizing dress. Her hair was down except for a beautiful jeweled comb that swept the right side of her hair up, which left her shoulder bare. Harry had a sudden urge to drag her off to a corner to kiss and caress her exposed skin.

"Wow. Aren't I the lucky one tonight," Adam murmured as Ruth made her way towards them.

Harry didn't trust himself to speak and wisely decided to sip his whisky instead.

"Alice, my dear, you look amazing!" Adam slipped an arm around her back and drew her close, leaning in to place a kiss on her cheek.

Ruth blushed a bright red that competed with the color of her dress. She looked down briefly before meeting Adam's eyes and whispering a thank you. She looked over at Harry, nervous about what he thought of how she looked. She was surprised to see the flash of desire in his eyes before he masked his emotions.

"Alice, you do look lovely this evening. Nick is a lucky man," Harry replied, working hard to keep his voice even.

"I'll do my best to fight off the other men. Considering the scene you caused when you arrived, I may have quite the battle on my hands," said Adam with a wide grin on his face.

Ruth snapped her gaze away from Harry to Adam. "What do you mean? What did I do?" Ruth's hands twisted together as a look of panic settled on her face. Harry knew she was mentally replaying her entrance to the hall.

Adam was quick to respond. "Relax, Alice. As I said, you look amazing and I wasn't the only one to notice. You turned heads when you walked through the door. People always notice a beautiful woman, thus they noticed you." Adam smiled as Ruth blushed again. "Would you like something to drink?"

Ruth took a deep breath before answering, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. "Yes, a glass of merlot, please. Thank you." She watched Adam walk away and then turned back towards Harry, only to find him watching her.

At that moment, Harry was thankful they were standing off to the side of the room, several feet away from anyone else. "I must say, I'm having doubts about your analytical skills," Harry said, breaking the peace between them.

A look of confusion settled over Ruth's face. Whatever she had expected Harry to say, that wasn't it. "I don't understand," she started before Harry took a step closer and dropped his voice to a whisper.

"You said your dress wasn't anything special. I completely disagree. The dress is stunning. But you, in this dress? Exquisite doesn't begin to describe how you look this evening." Despite his desire to touch her bare right shoulder, Harry just managed to keep his hand at his side.

Ruth was overwhelmed at Harry's words. She looked down at ground, afraid to meet his eyes and see his emotions. During their time together off the Grid, Harry hadn't been afraid to tell her that he found her beautiful, engaging, funny, and sexy, even though their relationship hadn't progressed beyond snogging like teenagers on the sofa. Despite hearing these compliments, a small part of Ruth couldn't quite believe that a man like Harry could find her attractive. She had confidence in her intellect and analytical skills, but when it came to her appearance and attractiveness to the opposite sex, that confidence was lacking. The sincerity in his voice made her smile, however. At the sound of approaching footsteps, Ruth looked up to see Adam handing her a glass of wine.

"Time to mingle. Ready to chat with a vast array of pompous blowhards?" Adam asked with a mischievous smile on his face.

His words had the desired effect on Ruth. Momentarily forgetting her analysis of Harry's comments, she smiled at Adam and grasped the offered glass. As she took a sip she linked her arm through Adam's, giving Harry a quick smile as she walked away.

"Harry, I appreciate you giving me a ride home," Ruth said as the car pulled up outside her home. "Would you like to come in for a drink?" They'd held hands for most of the drive and Ruth wasn't ready to give up the contact.

Harry smiled at her. "I'd love to. I don't want to end the evening just yet." He exited the car and moved around to help her step out of the car. They made their way into her house where he removed her wrap and hung it in the entryway, adding his jacket as well as she moved into the kitchen.

"Tea or whisky?" she called as he moved towards her voice.

"Whisky, please. I would have had more to keep me sane in the presence of all those politicians, but I wanted to drive you home myself so we could spend some time together." He moved to stand closer to her and remembering his earlier urge, he allowed himself to reach out and brush his fingers along her bare shoulder and down her arm. "I know I told you earlier, but it bears repeating that you look amazing in this dress. No other woman even came close to matching your beauty tonight." His hand reversed its journey and was slowly making its way back up to her shoulder.

"Harry..." She started as she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Ruth, I'm serious. No one has affected my life like you. No one ever has. I find even the little things appealing, like the way you tuck your hair behind your ear." With his hands on her shoulders he gently turned her to face him and then his hand rose and brushed over the top of her ear, mimicking her earlier action. "It makes me want to run my fingers through your hair and then brush it behind your ear and down your neck." Harry's fingers followed the path he'd just described.

Ruth had lifted her eyes to Harry's, but as his words sunk in she looked away. Even though his voice was sincere and his touch gentle, she was afraid of the genuine emotions in his eyes.

"Ruth, why won't you look at me? Did I say something wrong?" Harry asked when her eyes stayed firmly aimed at the far wall. Harry reached up and cupped her cheek, gently moving her head slightly so she would shift her eyes back to his. "Please tell me if I've done something to make you uncomfortable."

Ruth shook her head slightly and then moved her eyes back to meet Harry's. "No, you didn't say anything wrong. I.. It's hard for me to hear you say those things. I've never been complimented like that, even by the one serious boyfriend I had at university. When that relationship soured, he became quite mean and said a lot of things that were very hurtful and have stuck with me. Part of me knows that he said them just because he knew they would hurt, but that doesn't stop the little voice in my head saying that those things were true, and that the few compliments he paid me during our relationship were all lies."

Harry simply sighed and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. It was hard for him to hear about others who had treated her so poorly in the past. "I'm sorry to hear that. Would you like me to have him thrown in the Tower of London?" He glanced down at her, hoping to at least get a smile out of her.

It worked. "That would be lovely, thank you," she said.

Harry laughed while pulling back from her slightly. "I'll get on that tomorrow." He paused, wanting to say something but not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

"You're thinking loudly," Ruth said, interrupting his thoughts.

"I want to tell you something but I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Ruth shrugged her shoulders before dropping her gaze. "You don't have to say anything; it's okay."

Harry moved his hands to her cheeks and tilted her head up so she would look at him. "Ruth, I wish you could see yourself as I see you; beautiful, smart, thoughtful, caring, and so much more. Then you would understand why I want you in my life so desperately. It's why I set up our second date, because I've never felt this way about anyone and I'd have never forgiven myself if I didn't try to convince you that we could have something wonderful together."

Harry was suddenly afraid that his words may have been too much for her take in and to believe. He let his hands move away from her face and to around her shoulders, pulling her close in to his body, hoping that he hadn't scared her away.

They stood close together for several minutes before Harry heard mumbling coming from the area of his chest. Pulling back he asked, "What did you say?"

Ruth moved back to rest her head on Harry's chest but increased the volume of her voice. "We're more alike than you think."

"And why do you say that?"

"You asked me once what I saw in you. I told you that I find you intelligent, compassionate, handsome, and far too charming for your own good. For me, you are what I've always wanted in a man, and yet I could tell that you didn't really believe me."

Harry remembered the conversation. "You're right. I hadn't thought about it like that. I guess… I guess it's hard for me to understand why someone as young and vibrant as you would choose to be with someone with a sketchy past and more scars than is altogether healthy like me."

Ruth moved to look Harry in the eye. "And I wonder why someone as powerful and sexy as you would be interested in someone as plain and bookish as me." She smiled at him in an attempt to lighten the conversation. "The bad stuff is easier to believe, isn't it?"

Harry nodded in agreement.

"Since we can agree on that, how about we also agree that we each see qualities in the other that we ourselves have trouble acknowledging, but that when we pay a compliment to one another, we recognize that it's a statement based in truth and honesty and we accept the compliment gracefully."

Harry placed a kiss on Ruth's head. "I can agree to that. And I will make it a point to compliment you daily so you will finally believe that I find you beautiful and funny, delightful and distractingly sexy."

"Thank you," Ruth said with sincerity as she reached up to quickly kiss him. "Time for that drink, I think. Here's your whisky and I'm going to turn on the kettle for some tea and then take these shoes off, if you don't mind. They are killing my feet."

"Ruth, you can take off whatever you like. There will be no complaints from me," said Harry with a teasing yet suggestive glint in his eye.

Having turned the kettle on, Ruth walked towards the front hall to deposit her shoes. "I'll keep it in mind, Harry. I may just take you up on that idea," she said as she walked out of the kitchen.

He tried not to choke on his drink as her words sunk in. Setting the glass down, he quickly followed her, the kettle in the kitchen long forgotten.

A/N: I have to admit that One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" was the inspiration for this piece and you can see a few of the lines repurposed in the story.