Be Your Everything

Harry was standing stock still, eyes wide and staring straight at Alice. The two had just shared a steamy kiss that had lasted over 30 seconds - longer than any other kiss they had shared before.
"Sorry,"she breathed, looking flustered. "I didn't mean-"
"What're you sorry for?"
She opened and closed her mouth a few times before replying uncertainly. "Kissing you?"
He adopted a firm tone and looked her directly in the eyes. He needed to get his point across. "You don't ever have to be sorry for kissing me."
The look in his eyes intrigued Alice. He looked so worried about her statement, that maybe he'd offended her in some way. Was he afraid that she might regret kissing him? "Okay then," she said quietly, "I'm not sorry."
A relieved smile broke out on his face. "Shall we see what's on telly?"
She nodded, but didn't hesitate to overanalyse the quick change of subject. She hadn't failed to notice how careful he was around her and it made her feel uncomfortable. She would have mentioned something about it sooner but was afraid of what his reaction might be. What if he got angry?
And then she realized exactly why he was treating her like she was a little china doll. She was always stressed about people lashing out at her. She was always afraid that Harry might snap and hit her, even though she knew he wouldn't.

Alice sat on the couch by herself watching as Harry shuffled around first the lounge room, then the kitchen. By the time he managed to sit himself down next to her the shadows had grown in length and the sun was going down.
Harry had dug in his mostly empty cupboards for something, anything, to tide them over until they ordered dinner. He would need to go out and get the two of them breakfast, come back to eat it with Alice, then go out again to go food shopping so they could stay alive for the next week.
Picking up the Tv remote, he offered Alice the bowl of crisps he had prepared. She took two wordlessly and without looking at him. It left him wondering if he'd overstepped some sort of invisible mark, but the only thing he could think of was kissing her (something that sent a wave of feeling coursing through him) - but she had been the instigator of that.

Alice was thinking about earlier, but the only thing she was worried about was that Harry would certainly be regretting it all by now. It really didn't matter how many times he told her it was okay, because Rick had programmed her mind to tell her that no boy could ever like her. Why would anyone even look twice at her? It still baffled her that he'd stuck this close to her for this long. She needed to get a job, even though she didn't know how, and earn her own money; she didn't want to be relying on harry - he would get sick of her and kick her to the curb eventually. Just like Rick had constantly threatened to do.
She jumped when the TV was clicked on and had to inwardly shake herself. All of these unwanted thoughts were making her sick of her own mind.
"Are you angry with me?" Harry voiced his uncertainties suddenly.
Alice's eyebrows rose in surprise. "No, of course not Why?"
He shrugged. "You just... seemed to be."
"Oh. Well, I'm not. Sorry..."
"You're sorry for not being mad?" his eyebrow rose comically.
Alice giggled. "Yes. I suppose I am."
"You are bonkers." He concluded.
"I take offense to that."
"I suppose you do." He mocked.
As the ridiculously dramatic music for the news reached their ears, Alice narrowed her eyes. "You're testing my patience, young man."
"Ooh, I'm shaking in my boots!"
"You're not wearing boots."
There was a comfortable silence. Neither of them were particularly paying attention to the news - Alice was watching a small bird flutter outside the window, the sun going down behind it. She smiled, allowing herself to enjoy those little things. She was constantly reminding herself to do that - to smile at small things and let go of all the bad things in her life. The latter was harder than she'd anticipated.

When the time came to order food harry felt his stomach clenching with hunger. "Do you know what you want?" he asked Alice, who was rereading the rectangular menu at the dining table.
"Erm..." she frowned and chewed her bottom lip. Another 5 minutes later she had informed him what she wanted and he wason the phone inn the kitchen. You know those moments that make you inexplicably happy? Alice was having one of those. She was listening to Harry's deep, soothing voice and watching the TV, which was on mute, wondering what it would be like to have a child running around in front of her, a ring on her finger - a family.