97 Harry's POV
"What are they doing?" I asked, trying to watch Tom and Danny as subtly as I could, but Dougie was just that much closer to the door.
"They're talking!" Dougie grinned back at me, "Talking about things that Tom enjoys!" he bounced back over to me.
"Really?" I couldn't, could they really be talking about that, so soon after Tom's phone call to Natasha? Could he have already gotten up the courage? Wow.
"Looks like it!" Dougie continued to grin, "They were talking about Star Wars, and how Tom used to enjoy watching it, so they have to be having at talk about Tom enjoying himself!"
I breathed a sigh of relief, so glad that this was happening, even if we weren't part of the conversation. Tom desperately needed to hear that he could do things that he enjoyed without being treated like a criminal for doing so. If he was actually thinking about things to do for himself, and actually talking about it, that had to be a good sign, a sign that he was starting to improve. Or at least, was starting to think about himself again.
Though, I would have liked to be part of that conversation, see what he was saying, figure out how we could help. Danny wasn't the only one who wanted to help Tom find himself again, we were desperate too, and whatever Tom wanted, we would do. Even if it was ridiculous, or slightly insane. If Tom wanted it, and wanted to do it for himself, or had to do it for his own therapy, then we would jump to help, however we could.
"Harry, I know what you're thinking, that Tom's going to rush in and immediately know what he wants to do now, and we can jump right into it. But that's not how this is going to go." Dougie sighed, putting a hand on my chest comfortingly.
"I know Doug, I just... I want to get stuck in." I did know that we couldn't jump straight away, that we had to wait for Tom's signal, for him to decide for himself what he wanted to do, if anything. and, we had to wait for him to ask for our support. He had done well with the Natural History Museum trip, but that was one time, and asking didn't get any easier, I knew that too.
"Yeah, me too. But we have to be patient, okay? Let him come to us, let him decide for himself if he wants help or company, or anything. He may want to be by himself at first, in case he somehow 'fails' at whatever he's doing. It's one thing to start doing things that make you happy again, it's another to do it in front of others." Dougie would know, he'd been so unsure at first, constantly worried that he was doing things wrong, that he was making a spectacle of himself. He never had been, had always done brilliantly, but he had found it so hard to deal with things at first. It had been hard to watch, even harder to let him deal with it in his own ways too, but we had worked through it together.
Though, I guess Tom didn't really have anyone he felt like he could properly confide in. He didn't have a husband, or a wife, who would listen and support him. Had, in fact, had his wife treat him like dirt and put him in this situation, had stopped him from expressing his feelings and his own wants. It had to be hard to deal with that, and learn to talk and be open with people again.
"I get it, don't have to like it though." It had felt easier with Dougie somehow, maybe because things were slightly more... not straight forward, but maybe... more cause to effect? I wasn't sure how to put it, but things with Dougie had felt different to this.
Then again, that was probably because I hadn't treated Dougie like shit for years.
"None of us like it, all of us want to swoop in and save him, but we have to be respectful of Tom's pace. Let him come to us, and let him figure things out for himself. He's making great progress by talking about these things with someone, just let him do the rest of it at his own pace." Dougie sounded knowledgeable, and just a tad bit saddened too. I wrapped my arms around him in response, hating the look of sadness on his face, especially thanks to the subject matter.
"His pace, nothing faster." I promised, kissing his hair and burying my face in it.