My Little Bird

Eleanor was practically giddy with excitement when Asher told her that she and Harry were going to have an official date. She had hurried Asher up the stairs to pick out an outfit and then she insisted on doing her hair and makeup. Eleanor seemed slightly disappointed when she was told they weren't actually going out somewhere. She adjusted Asher's outfit to make it more casual and managed to talk her into a very toned down version of the makeup she'd originally planned.

Asher was standing on his front steps at seven o'clock sharp. She knocked on the black front door before pushing it open and stepping inside, looking around to see which room he was in. The television was on in the living room but no one was in there. She dropped her bag onto the floor by the sofa and kicked off her sandals before continuing on into the kitchen, finding him standing in front of the sink filling a pot with water. She smiled when she saw that he had actually worn jeans without holes in the knees and a thin white jumper instead of one of his ratty old band tee shirts. This was him dressing up for a date and he looked damn good.

"How's it going, MasterChef?"

His entire body jerked in surprise, taking the pot he was holding in both hands with it and consequently splashing water all over the light hard wood floors and himself. The front of his shirt was completely soaked to the point that it was clinging to his body and she could see the enormous butterfly on his stomach through it. "Jesus you scared me!"

"I did knock first," she pointed out, an amused grin on her face.

"I know, I heard. I just-.....you walked in really quiet."

Asher laughed as she turned to head down the hallway to the large closet where his washer and dryer were tucked away, grabbing a few of the towels he hadn't washed yet before going back to the kitchen to help him clean up the spilt water. He took some of the towels and turned to walk over to the other end of the kitchen where the large puddle ended but as soon as he did, his feet shot out from under him and his body dropped to the floor with a loud thump.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" As soon as she got the confirmation that he was, she burst out laughing, clutching the edge of the grey granite counter top as tears collected in her blue eyes while he just laid there flat on his back, which was now soaked as thoroughly as his front, and pouted, crossing his arms over his chest like a five year old. She carefully eased closer, bending over him slightly as she tried to hold back her grin. "Are you sure?"

Before she could even register what was happening, his arm shot out and swiped against her legs, knocking her feet out from under her body and sending her flying backwards before she landed in the same position he had but in the opposite direction. "Oh my God, are you okay?" he asked, mocking her in a terrible rendition of an American accent.

"Yeah, totally, just broke my ass bone. No big deal," she retorted sarcastically. Harry laughed loudly as she groaned in pain and laid completely flat on her back, which she regretted when she felt the water instantly saturate the back of her hair. "You're a dick," she grumbled, nudging his shoulder with her foot. "That was just plain mean."

He sat up, propping his upper body on his elbows as he grinned at her, one hundred percent pleased with himself. "You laughed at me. You deserved it." She didn't even bother responding verbally to his comment, instead sticking both her middle fingers up at him. He chuckled again as he sat up completely and clambered to his feet, taking careful steps out of the kitchen as he shouted over his shoulder that he'd be right back.

Asher slowly pulled herself up onto her knees and grabbed the towels to begin soaking up the water that hadn't been mopped up by Harry's body or her own. Her silk shirt stuck to her back annoyingly as she leaned forward to reach the last bit of water in the corner of the room. She heard his thunderous footsteps on the staircase and a few moments later, he appeared in the doorway of the kitchen having changed from his wet clothes into some black athletic shorts and a sleeveless tee shirt. He had a pair of joggers and another shirt tucked under his arm and his wet clothes in his hands.

She stood to her feet and picked up all the towels, taking them down the hallway and putting them straight into the washer before she rejoined Harry in the kitchen. He handed her the clothes he'd brought for her and she quickly stripped off her wet clothes before replacing them with the extra long black thermal shirt. It reached past mid thigh and the sleeves went well past her fingertips. She left the joggers folded up on the counter as she took her wet clothes and his to the dryer.

When she returned the second time, he had filled the pot with water again and set it on the stove to heat up. She slid onto one of the bar stools and crossed her left leg over her right as she watched him carefully set out a variety of things on the counter. He opened the drawer closest to him and pulled out a large chopping knife, quickly getting to work chopping the celery, the tomatoes, the green peppers, and then the garlic. She asked him if he needed any help but he insisted that he didn't and that he wanted to do it all by himself, so she let him.

She was pleasantly surprised at how well he seemed to know his way around the kitchen as he sautéed the vegetables and mixed all the ingredients together, stirring them up in a large pot. He dropped in a large handful of spaghetti noodles into the pot of water when it started to boil and then he walked over to where she was sitting, planting both hands on the counter behind her and blocking her in as he leaned forward to be right in her face. "I forgot to mention it, but you looked beautiful before."

Asher wrinkled her nose disapprovingly and scoffed, earning a look of confusion from him. "Are you saying I'm ugly now?"

He shook his head at her insulted act and smirked as he briefly glanced down before meeting her eyes again. "Of course not. I actually quite prefer you this way."

"I bet you do," she responded with a grin.

Harry leaned down to close the space between them, pressing his lips to hers gently at first. The moment her hands went up to tangle themselves in his curls, his found her hips and he pulled her body closer into his until she was flush against him. She left a trail of feather light kisses across his chiseled jaw and down his neck, her lips meeting the purplish marks she'd already made there. He slid a long finger under her chin, tilting her head up to kiss her again briefly before letting his lips travel down her neck to the spot just above her collarbone that seemed to drive her crazy. She lightly dragged her nails against his scalp as his teeth grazed her collarbone.

She could smell something burning, but she couldn't seem to string a sentence together so instead she just said his name, which came out as more of a breathy moan. He hummed against her skin in response but didn't stop what he was doing until she gave his curls a firm tug. He pulled back only slightly, just enough to look down into her eyes. "Something's burning," she was finally able to say when his mouth was no longer distracting her.

Confusion crossed his features for about half of a second before he cursed loudly and hurried back over to the stove. He scratched the back of his neck as he stared down at the two pots, not sure what was happening because they both looked fine. She hopped down from the stool and walked over to stand beside him, picking up one of the big spoons to stir the sauce. She could tell that there was a thick layer stuck to the bottom and she reached up to turn the burner off before setting the pot on one of the empty burners. He looked down at her expectantly as she turned back to him.

"It scorched on the bottom. The whole pot will taste burnt."

His mouth was set in a deep frown as he sighed and leaned back against the counter next to the stove, raking his fingers through his hair. "I guess it's take away then."

"I could try to make something if you want. What have you got to work with?"

"I used everything I bought in that disaster," he mumbled, nodding toward the stove as he crossed his arms over his chest.

She bit her lip to keep from smiling as she walked over to him, placing her hands on his cheeks and pulling his face down closer to her level. "Sorry I distracted you," she said sweetly.

His arms fell to his sides and his hands quickly found her hips, pulling her into him as a small smile made its way onto his face. "I'm not." She chuckled as he leaned down to connect their lips and her hands quickly slid up his arms, resting on his broad shoulders.

After a moment, she gently pushed him back and walked away from him completely, leaning against the counter on the other side of the kitchen. "I'm starving. What are we having for dinner?"

"What would you like?"

"Doesn't matter to me. You should pick as payment for being subjected to my family this weekend."

"You've already well paid me, love."

Asher's mouth dropped and she immediately slapped her sleeve-covered hands over her face, already feeling her cheeks heating up from the embarrassment. She knew they were probably a nice shade of deep pink as well. "You suck," she grumbled.

"No babe, that was you."

Her arms dropped to her sides as she gave him an incredulous look. "Shut up!" she gasped while he just laughed, completely amused with how bashful she'd suddenly become. The grin didn't leave his face as he crossed the kitchen to where she was, sliding one hand around the back of her neck and bringing her into his chest. She relaxed in his arms, the heat radiating off his body instantly warming hers. "Just because you decided to be a smug bastard and make those comments, I get to decide what we eat."

His chest vibrated with a laugh and he kissed the top of her head before letting her go and walking over to the small drawer at the end of the counter. He pulled out a stack of about twenty different menus from take away places near his flat and laid them all out on the counter before dramatically moving his arms back and forth in front of them, much like they were a prize on a game show. She rolled her eyes as she walked over to him and began flipping through the stack before finally deciding to just order a pizza. "Not exactly a romantic date meal," he told her, picking up the phone and dialing the number.

Asher just stuck her tongue out at him and went into the living room while he called in their order. When he joined her a few minutes later, he had a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hands. He set it all down on the coffee table and dropped onto the sofa next to where she was curled up, her knees pulled up to her chest and tucked inside the massive thermal she was wearing. "Oooh fancy! You're letting me drink your expensive wine?"

He chuckled as he uncorked the bottle and poured some into each glass. "I'm not entirely sure it's a good idea considering how you handled the mimosas earlier."

"Well, I guess you'll find out won't you?" she replied with a grin, taking one of the glasses from his hand. Wine wasn't one of the beverages she usually opted for so she certainly couldn't call herself an expert, but this was quite possibly the best tasting wine in the entire world. She'd never particularly enjoyed the taste of any alcohol she drank, but this one was a different story. She couldn't stop sipping it. She'd already finished two glasses by the time the doorbell rang.

She was pouring a third when Harry returned to the living room with the pizza, setting it down on the table before taking his seat again. "Whoa slow down there, lightweight. Don't want you gettin' plastered."

"Too late," she giggled, putting the glass to her lips again. "Already well on my way."

He shook his head, a grin tugging at his lips as he set the stack of paper napkins on top of the box aside and opened it, grabbing a slice from his half and taking a huge bite. She finally put her glass down to grab a slice herself and he picked up the remote control, turning off the television set and then turning on a music player, the sounds of Passion Pit starting to play softly in the background.

Harry watched her out of the corner of his eye before his attention shifted solely onto the gold charm of her necklace. The questions had been nagging him since the night before when they were talking on the bench at the beach. She'd been the one to mention it, but only as a brief footnote in a speech on why her parents were the way they were. He'd put the pieces together, but he found himself wanting to know more. As weird as it might have sounded, he felt like maybe learning that information might help him know her better.

"Ash, can I ask you something?"

"Of course," she replied, placing her uneaten crust in the empty space of the box and grabbing a napkin to wipe the grease from her fingertips. "What is it?"

"Is he why you never take that necklace off?"

Her head snapped up at his completely unexpected question and her hand automatically reached up to wrap around the charm that hung from the gold chain around her neck. She could already feel a lump forming in her throat as she blinked, her eyes beginning to sting. Her head felt a little fuzzy thanks to the wine. "You pay close attention," she murmured after a moment.

Harry instantly regretted bringing it up when he saw the look on her face. He dropped what was left of the slice in his hand back into the box and turned his body toward her. "I just-.....When you were telling me about your tattoos, you said one friend got the sun and one friend got the moon. Then last night you said the second name again but you mentioned a relationship. And I noticed you're always wearing that necklace."

Asher nodded slowly, licking over her lips before she spoke. "My parents would've been furious if they'd known he was my boyfriend. Caleb knew, and I told Eleanor, but we kept it a secret from everyone else. We'd been together for almost a year when he died." She paused and shook her head, and he watched her carefully as she subconsciously began tracing the invisible lines connecting the stars on her thigh. "We were at our diner in our booth at two in the morning on his last Christmas Eve when he put the necklace on me and it hasn't left my neck since."

He slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side, kissing the top of her head. "I'm sorry, Ash. I can't imagine how hard that must've been for you."

She sucked in a breath through her nose as if she had been deprived of oxygen for an entire day and buried her face in the crook of his neck. "Why'd you ask me about that?" she mumbled into his skin.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "It's just been on my mind."

Asher pulled back so that she could look at him, but he kept his arm in place around her body, not letting her go very far. "Can we change the subject now?"

"Of course. What would you like to talk about?"

She only offered him a small smile before she hooked her index finger around the silver chain of his cross necklace and pulled him forward, catching his lips with hers for the millionth time that weekend.