Chapter 10

In all of the time that Zahra and Harry had known each other, she had only been to his hotel room once, after the Cynthia incident. However, after that Harry seemed to be alright with having her there once in a while. She knew he associated a girl in his suite with his hook-ups, and Harry didn't do that anymore. It was a gray, chilly afternoon that seemed to seep into everything, making the city look just as gray and cold. The two of them were sat in the main room, him looking at real estate and her looking at gap-year programs.

"I'm thinking of buying a flat in Berlin," Harry had announced to her a few days ago.

"Really?" she had replied, surprised that he could so casually talk of laying out that kind of money.

"I've been living in this hotel like it was an apartment, which is fine, but it's not very private. It would be nice to have my own place here. I've been wanting to get place for a while now, but I haven't been able to convince my father yet. He prefers that I would be in England, closer to the other office, or even France. He owns a lab in Germany, but he wants me to be in the corporate side of things, not the science. But I guess it actually comes down to whether or not you want to stay around Berlin this summer."

"Me?" Zahra gulped.

"Well, of course you. If you're going to be travelling, I want to come along!"

She glanced over now and thought of the grin he had had on his face. In so many ways, Harry was making it clear that he wasn't going anywhere. He wanted to stay with her, be with her. Zahra honestly wasn't sure what they were anymore. Had their friendship just slipped into dating when she wasn't looking? Would he ask her if she wanted to go out with him, even though it felt almost after-the-fact? Where was this going to go? Was he just nervous to ask her? Did Harry Osborn get nervous?

"Do you want some tea?"

"Wh-what?" she blinked herself back into the present.

"Tea – would you like some?"

"Yes, please."

"You were really lost in thought there," he said with a laugh as he got up.

"I was just thinking about you," Zahra replied without thinking, and then felt a blush setting in.

Harry nearly tripped over himself, but played it cool. "Thinking about me?"

"About how you have to go out to France this weekend," Zahra said quickly, which was true, as she had thought about his father's suggestion to find a place there.

"Oh, right… well I kinda have to."

"If I didn't have to study, could I have come with you?"

"Come with me to Paris? Of course! Have you ever been?"

"Not yet. Is it really like how the movies always show it?"

He thought a moment. "Sometimes you'll be strolling along and it just hits you – you're in Paris. Yeah, it's magical. I wish you could come."

Zahra put down the tablet she had been browsing on. "I can't look at one more program," she yawned. "Is this what it's like all the time after high school? Decisions to make and not knowing what to do?"

"Pretty much."

"Does it get easier?"

Harry glanced up from the loose tea to Zahra sprawling out on the sofa, and smiled. "Once you figure out what's important to you, I think it does."

The three days that Harry spent in France had felt like three weeks to Zahra, despite the fact that they did either long phone or video calls every day. She was to meet him at one of their favourite cafes that afternoon; she was glad to be inside, as there was a bit of a storm blowing through and the rain was pelting down. Zahra checked her watch – it had already been 15 minutes past the time they were supposed to meet and no message from Harry. It was unusual because he was super punctual and would let her know if he was behind schedule. At 20 minutes past she decided to call him. No answer. She was officially worried.

Zahra's next call was to Brady. She tried not to bother the man too much, as he always seemed to have a lot going on, but he had also told her not to hesitate contacting him when needed.

"Hi, I was wondering if Harry is on his way. I couldn't reach him."

There was a pause on the other end. "Just a moment, let me check his schedule…. I have down that he's meeting you for lunch – you're at the establishment now?"

"Yes, I've been waiting for 20 minutes and haven't heard a thing from Harry."

"I'm at the hotel; Harry left here over an hour ago. As far as I know, he was completely aware of your lunch date because we went over his schedule this morning. He declined the car and was going to make his own way over there."

"He was going to walk? In this weather?"

"There's more I need to tell you, but first I'm going to come over in the car and get you, and then we'll go looking for Harry."

"Oh Brady, what if something happened-"

"Sit tight, I'll be right there. Call me if he appears."

A few minutes later the car pulled up in front of the café, and Zahra, who had been waiting outside, jumped into the front passenger seat. Brady gave her a quizzical look, since neither she nor Harry ever sat up front.

"Still nothing?" he asked.

"No."

"Alright, I have a couple ideas of where he might go."

"You said there was something else going on?"

"Harry had a phone call with his father's assistant this morning. I can't tell you the details, but it wasn't good. After that, he had a call with his father. That was even worse. It may have been the worst argument I've heard yet. Harry was upset after that, to say the least, and said he had to go out for air; he wanted to be alone for a while."

"That's awful!"

They came to a park and Brady stopped the car. There still wasn't anyone in sight.

"Harry always goes to the water when he needs to think. He's come here a few times."

"Should we split up and look for him?" Zahra asked.

"Safety in numbers," Brady replied simply, though really thinking that he couldn't afford to lose track of both young people. He got an enormous umbrella out of the trunk and they set out into the park.

It took a while but eventually Zahra spotted a figure whom she recognized sitting hunched over on a bench. "Harry!" she called out to him.

He straightened up immediately and looked in the direction of her voice. Harry was ready to catch her in his arms as Zahra ran over to him. Brady lingered behind with the umbrella, letting them have a moment.

"Harry, I was so worried about you!" she exclaimed. "When you didn't show up at the café, I had to phone Brady."

He took a frantic look at his watch, cringed, and swore. "I totally lost track of time! My battery is dead – I've been on the phone all morning. That's so lame of me, I should have been more aware. I'm sorry for making you worry."

"Are you alright? What's going on?"

"I had a serious argument with my father. I'll be able to tell you about it soon, but not yet."

"Okay, I understand."

Zahra noticed something behind Harry and stopped short. He looked back to see what had caught her attention. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice that," he muttered. Broken glass lay scattered across the ground.

"Did you cut yourself at all?"

"No, I'm fine. It's just that…" he paused and looked into her sweet face, "well, I came down here fully prepared to drink myself into a stupor. But then I thought about that night in Austria, and how you deserve so much more than a drunkard. I don't ever want to see that look on your face again."

If it hadn't been raining Harry would have been able to see the tears in Zahra's eyes as she looked at him with pride, but she was already soaked and mascara streamed down her face. She grasped his cold hands tightly in her own and gazed at him with an absorbing intensity. "Harry… I love you."

His eyes widened. "I love you, Zahra. I've loved you since the first time I saw you laugh."

She pushed his soaked hair out of his face. Taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, Harry leaned in and kissed her gently. This immense feeling washed over him, that he need never kiss anyone but her ever again. It was indescribable, but sounded down through his entire being. He had never been more sure of anything in his life – he loved her completely.

Zahra had expected their first kiss to be special, but she was unprepared by how overwhelmed by emotion she felt. It was knowing that she had finally come home, found a place for her heart to be; she was light-headed from the sheer physical reaction. It was only when a shiver went through his body under her hands, did she also feel the chill of the weather they stood in.

"You're soaked to the bone," Zahra told him.

Harry tried to shrug it off and grinned. "But you've warmed me right up."

Huddled together, they walked back to the car. By the time they got there, Brady, who had gone ahead, had found a blanket to wrap Harry up in and ushered them inside.

"I'll go straight to the parkade," Brady told his employer, "then you can take the elevator up instead of walking through the lobby looking like you went for a swim."

"Much appreciated. After that would you take Zahra back home?"

"Wait, what?" she asked, confused.

"I'm serious. You're not coming back to the hotel so we can make-out like I used to do with every girl. I want to do things differently. And it's just too tempting because I want you so much right now."

He kissed her again and she knew he meant it. Brady kept his eyes on the road, but if anyone had looked they would have seen a small smile on that granite face of his.

Author's note: ten chapters in and it's been a slow burn for sure... I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the story thus far, as there are many more chapters to edit and post. Also, Brady is definitely their biggest shipper and would probably call their ship name Hahra.