Kissing Fire.

“If you need anything, be sure to call me,” Marina lectured for about the fifteenth time since we’d gotten to the airport.

“Yes, I know, Marines. I’ll be okay, though. But I’ll be sure to call everyday to check in,” I reassured her as I gave her another hug at the terminal.

“Okay, good. Are you sure you have everything you need? Not that Harry would mind getting you anything you needed…” She mumbled as she held onto my shoulders.

“Yes, Mother, I’ve got everything I need. Seriously, babe, relax. I’m going for a week, not a lifetime. It’ll be alright.”

“I know, I know. I’m just really going to miss you, Em. It’s gonna be weird here without you.” Her eyes started to glaze over and I quickly pulled her into another hug.

“Hey, hey, it’s gonna be okay. I’ll be back before you know it! And next time we’ll go over together!” I squeezed her tightly before we pulled apart and she seemed to be collecting herself.

“Yes, of course. Be sure to send the boys my love,” she stated with a smile right before my section was called to board. We exchanged one more tight hug before I skipped off to the plane.

If I tried to explain how excited I was to see Harold, we’d be here for decades. It was completely and utterly astounding how attached I had gotten to that boy in such a short period of time. A little troubling, honestly, but overall amazing. I just always felt so good when I was around him or talking to him. So with thoughts of Harry, I easily drifted to sleep for the duration of the plane ride. And soon, I was arriving in London.

I groggily snatched my backpack from under my seat and made my way off the plane with a bunch of other tired looking people. At least they understood where I was coming from. With a hint of confusion, I found the luggage carousel and waited for the buzzer to sound that would let me know that my luggage was on its way out. It was only when my phone buzzed in my bag that I remembered what exactly was happening.

Harold.

cheer up, love. you’re in london.

My head snapped up as I recalled that I was, in fact, in London and I was getting picked up by my wonderful boyfriend. I quickly whipped around, trying to spot the curly haired boy, which was proving to be more difficult than I’d expected. Finally, I spotted him idling in a corner, trying not to be spotted as he grinned over at me.

Realistically, I shouldn’t have bolted at him, as it caused much more attention than necessary, but I really couldn’t help myself. I needed to be in his arms as soon as possible. However, I felt less embarrassed as he moved to meet me halfway and soon my arms were thrown around his neck as he pulled me close.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Harry murmured into my hair as he pulled me off the ground and held me tightly. A small laugh escaped my lips as I grasped him as tightly as I could, afraid that he’d disappear if I let go. He set me down on the ground, but kept his arms around my middle as he placed kisses all over my face, causing small giggles to filter from my mouth. However, he was very clear about keeping his lips away from my own, which did not sit well with me at first. I mean, he asked me to be his girlfriend, yet he didn’t want to kiss me? Yeah, that’s promising. But I let it slide as he pulled me into his chest and held me tightly, placing featherlight kisses to my hair. “This is real, right? You’re not going to disappear and I’ll wake up to an empty bed, right?” he whispered into my shoulder as his arms somehow seemed to get tighter around my waist.

“Don’t worry, babe. I’m not going anywhere.” I smiled into his chest, breathing in his scent and trying to capture it for moments when I wasn’t with him. He placed a kiss to my shoulder before unwrapping me, but keeping one arm securely around my waist and then leading me back to the carousel to collect my suitcase. Before I even had a chance to react, he swiftly pulled my bag from the rotating belt and started to roll it along while leading me toward the exit.

“So how was your flight, love?” he asked, his arm still tightly slung around my waist.

“Eh, I honestly couldn’t tell you. I slept the entire way,” I let out with a chuckle as I looked up to his shining emerald eyes. A small laugh passed through his mouth as he nodded in understanding. “So what’s on the agenda for the evening, Mr. Styles?” I asked as I pulled away from him slightly and turned to face him, my fingers tangling with his.
A smile touched his lips at the name as he stared down at me, a deep glint in his eyes.

“I was thinking we’d head back to mine and I’d make you dinner, if that’s alright?”

“Of course that’s alright! I didn’t know you cooked.” A smile took over my lips as well as he told about how he used to work in a bakery and that he rather enjoyed cooking. “You live with Lou, yeah?” I recalled from one of our previous Skype calls.

“Yeah, but he said he’d give us the place for the night. He’s gonna go see El,” Harry explained as we reached his Range Rover. I nodded as he unlocked the car and placed my suitcase in the trunk before we made our way to the doors. Typically, I went to the right side of the car, only to realize that I was in Europe and that was not the passenger side. A loud laugh escaped Harry’s lips as he teased me, provoking me to stick my tongue out at him childishly before running off to the actual passenger side. Once we were both situated, we took off, the radio playing softly as we took in each other’s presence. Being in the car with Harry was exactly what I’d imagined it’d be like. Not that I imagined being in the car with Harry a lot. Because that’s just weird. But anywho, the air was filled with just the soft sounds of the radio and Harry’s gentle humming or singing. One hand was draped lazily atop the steering wheel while the other was linked with mine over the center console. It was pleasant and easy and just like everything else with Harry. And I loved that.

--

When we arrived at the apartment complex, we were greeted by a few paps who were dying to catch a shot of the new couple. Harry had tried to tell me to ignore them, but honestly, it was incredibly strange and ignoring them wasn’t quite an option. But I did my best and just let him guide me to the front doors of the building, keeping my eyes on the ground. We rode the elevator up and soon he was unlocking his door before pushing it open for me. I took in the expansive living space, slightly in awe. My apartment had nothing on this place.

“Loueh!” I cried into the seemingly empty apartment, only to hear a thud and then pounding footsteps as the older boy flung open his bedroom door and rushed to the living room.

“Emersoon!” he screamed as he grabbed me into his arms and spun me around.

“Well I think somebody missed me!” I giggled as he placed me back onto the ground.

“Well not as much at somebody-” he threw a not so subtle wink at Harry, “but of course I missed you! How could I not? And El’s been going nuts since I told her you were visiting. She demanded a girls’ day at some point this week,” he babbled, a happy grin on his face. I caught Harry looking over fondly, seemingly happy that I was getting along so well with his best friend. But it’s not too difficult to get along with Louis.

“Mm, I think I can manage that. But first, I have a lovely dinner date planned with my boyfriend,” I said with a wink before Louis let out a small laugh.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” he playfully grumbled as he stomped to his room to get some shoes. After a quick goodbye, I was left with the giant apartment and Harold.

“Hello, dahling,” I smirked as I looked over to the tall boy, who was still standing by my luggage, seeming to have not moved an inch.

“Hello, Kitten,” he murmured as he made his way over to me. His arms wrapped around me once again and I let out a contented sigh as I buried my face in his chest.

“I’m so happy I’m here,” I murmured, prompting a gentle hum in response from Harry as he rested his chin on top of my head. He held me for a few moments longer before deciding to give me a grand tour and drop my bags off in his room. Then we made our way to the kitchen so he could prepare this amazing dinner for me.

About a half hour later, the two of us were sitting down on the couch with plates filled with food, glasses of wine, and soft music playing from Harry’s stereo. He’d made a CD, filled with slow and sweet songs. A little cheesy, but absolutely adorable. Plus, it was nice background noise for while we ate. That way we were able to share stories and not worry about being drowned out by the TV or something. So Harry proceeded to tell me all about tour, ask how work was for me, and then tell me about his trip to see his family.

“They want to meet you, you know. ‘Specially my mum,” he told me before taking another bite of the chicken he’d prepared for us.

“Really? Why’s that?” I asked, my eyebrows crinkling slightly. I mean, it was sort of flattering, but we’d just started dating.

“She kept saying that you were different, that I was clearly much happier than I’ve ever been with a woman before. She said you sound interesting,” he chuckled as he looked over at me.

“Interesting? I guess… I’m just a girl from New York City. Nothing special,” I muttered, looking down to my food before taking a long sip of my wine.

“Oh, stop. You’re brilliant, Em. Don’t ever forget that.” His face was full of sincerity as I smiled over at him. He was always good with his words.

Once we’d finished eating, we sat talking for at least an hour before a familiar song filtered through the speakers. “Kiss Me” by Ed Sheeran had just started and I let out a small gasp.

“I love this song,” I gushed, a smile gathering on my face once more. Harry smiled fondly at me for a moment before abruptly standing and extending a hand toward me. “What are you doing?” I asked with a small giggle.

“Dance with me,” he replied easily as I gingerly placed my small hand in his large one. He quickly pulled me up from the couch and placed his hands on my waist, pulling me close to his body. My arms instinctively went around his neck as I steadied myself out before I gently rested my head on his chest. His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me even closer as we swayed slowly to Ed’s voice. A smile reached my lips as I thought of how cliche yet cute this whole thing was. Sometimes I felt like a lot of things with Harry were cliche. But then again, that’s one of the things I came to love most about him. He quietly sang the lyrics into my ear, his lips barely grazing my earlobe at times, which sent thousands of shivers up my spine. He was just too damn good at what he was doing.

“Yeah, I’ve been feeling everything from hate to love, from love to lust, from lust to truth. I guess that’s how I know you. So I’ll hold you close to help you give it up.”

The words drifted through the air as Harry pulled back slightly, his nose rubbing against mine. Our eyes met and our lips ghosted over each other, his breath lightly hitting my face.

“I can’t explain how happy I am that you’re here, or how much you’ve come to mean to me in such a short amount of time. But I really, really like you, Emerson,” he whispered, his eyes never leaving mine.

“I really, really like you, too, Harry,” I murmured, brushing my nose against his once again.

“Could- could I kiss you?” His voice was so soft that it nearly broke me. Never in a million years did I think that Harry Styles was this sweet, innocent boy with so much love to give. So without even thinking, that tiny word slipped off my tongue.

“Yes.”

His lips met mine in a soft kiss, something I also wasn’t expecting. It was gentle yet passionate and filled with so many emotions in those few seconds. He was letting himself be vulnerable, and I was letting myself be vulnerable, and with that kiss we understood each other.
When we pulled apart, his forehead came to rest on my own, his eyes softly closing as the song finished. The next song picked up, one I was unfamiliar with, and we continued to move to the music, just holding each other. As sappy as that sounds. But it was perfect. It was everything I wanted in that moment. Harry was everything I wanted in that moment.

“Sorry to barge in, but- oh! Oh god, I’ve ruined it!”

Harry and I sprang apart as the voice loudly infiltrated our quite space and we both looked over to see a bashful looking-

“Liam? What’re you doing here?” Harry groaned as he slowly pulled his arms away from me. Liam rubbed nervously at the back of his neck as he looked over at the two of us.

“I’m so sorry, I just- Dani’s coming over and I was wondering if I could steal a bottle of wine from you. I haven’t got time to run to the store and I knew you had good stuff and- oh god, I feel so horrible, though. I didn’t realize you and Emerson were- were having that moment. God, I just feel horrid. I am so sorry, I-” Liam rambled as he played nervously with his hands.

“No, it’s- it’s fine. I’ll go grab you something,” Harry mumbled distractedly before moving to the kitchen.

“I’m so sorry,” Liam muttered as he came over to hug me.

“Awh, it’s okay, Liam. It was an honest mistake. Don’t worry, okay?” I laughed as I held him tightly.

“Okay. I just- you guys were so cute and I feel like I totally interrupted something. Did I interrupt anything?” His mouth was moving a mile a minute and I couldn’t help but giggle at how scared he was that he’d messed something up.

“Liam, breathe. We were just dancing. Don’t beat yourself up, okay?” He nodded with a small sigh and pulled me into another quick hug as Harry reentered the room.

“White okay?” he asked as he passed the wine bottle over to Liam.

“That’s great. Cheers, Hazza. Sorry for ruining your date!” he called as he quickly fled the apartment, leaving Harry to turn to me nervously.

“‘m sorry about that, Kitten,” he muttered as he flopped onto the couch.

“Hey, don’t worry, sweetheart. It’s not a big deal. Nothing that’ll ruin our night. You up for a movie?” I asked as I placed myself onto the couch next to him.

“Sure! What’re you in the mood for?” he asked as he got up to look through his and Louis’s expansive DVD collection.

“Mm, whatever you’d like. I’m not too picky,” I replied easily as I watched him. Yeah, it was probably a little creepy, but I just liked to watch him move sometimes. Simple things like brushing his hair from his face or the way he stretched could send the butterflies into a tizzy.

“What about Love Actually?” he queried as he looked over his shoulder at me.

“After my heart, are we? That’s one of my favorites,” I chuckled, causing a large grin to come to his face.

“Mine too,” he replied as he popped the movie in and slunk back over to the couch. Once the movie had started, he pulled me over to him, my head falling onto his chest. He draped a blanket over the top of us and placed a small kiss on top of my head and his arm around my shoulder. “I could get used to this,” he murmured.

And I couldn’t have agreed more if I tried.