On Her Majesty's Secret Service ~ H.S.

Chapter 18

The harsh sound of my watch beeping by my ear wakes me the next morning. My back aches tremendously as I try to get up and darkness surrounds me. Where am I? I'm not on my cot in the dorm. I stretch out my leg and hit a heavy piece of metal equipment. Oh. Of course. The gym.

I sit up slowly and stare at the dim glow of the watch attached to my wrist. 4:30. It's time for a fighting session with Harry. Will he be there this morning? Do I even have the energy to go? I feel relatively normal considering the events which transpired just 24 hours ago, but I'm still jumpy- Paranoid at my surroundings and anxious at every single noise I hear.

I try to push the nerves from my mind and slowly stand, already in my workout gear for the day. I decide I have to give combat training a shot. This is no time to give up. If anything, I need to get stronger so the next time I'm attacked I can actually defend myself. I just hope Harry shows up to teach me.

I shuffle the short distance from the gym to the boxing ring in the sports hall. To my utter delight, Harry stands quite tall, waiting for me. I haven't been this happy to see Harry since he, well, he saved my life. I don't feel any hate or rage or annoyance as I usually do. I'm actually looking forward to talking to him. I hope he feels the same.

I pad into the ring and stare at Harry. He watches me with a confused expression.

"Where did you sleep?"

Well I guess he doesn't see a need for any formalities.

"The gym."

"Why?"

I shrug instead of answering him and look to the ground. Harry takes this as a signal to stop the inquisition. I'm surprised he's sensitive enough to pick up on the fact that I don't want to discuss the topic.

"Right... Ready?" He continues on as if nothing happened. He widens his stance and I do the same. I don't think we'll be talking very much this session. I'm still anxious to see whether or not Harry's cold demeanour will make a reappearance or if he's going to continue to be nice for the rest of our time training. I really can't tell, but I do know what I want to do: not be an asshole anymore. I find I feel a whole lot better when Harry and I are getting along than when we aren't.

"Yeah, lets go."

The rest of our time passes in silence. You could count Harry's instructions as talking, but it's not a conversation. He says something and I do it. I'm not really sure what to say to him. The time feels inappropriate for joking- neither of us feel particularly light hearted after what happened in the swimming pool yesterday morning. I don't think it's the right time for a serious discussion, either. I'm afraid that if I try to reveal too many of Harry's emotions that he'll snap and we'll be back to square one. So, I take the diplomatic approach: staying quiet. It is awkward at times when my legs are wrapped around Harry's neck and we're in other compromising positions, but I manage to get through the session with only a handful of blushes.

I come away from the lesson feeling more light-hearted than I expected. Harry taught me a new move- where I climb up on top of my opponent- that might actually help against the bigger guys during combat training. I hope that our practice this morning is enough to get me through. I expect we'll be having another fighting assessment soon.

Harry and I part ways without a word. He heads to the mess hall while I retreat to the bathroom. I'm nervous to proceed into the dormitory while all the lights are still off and everyone's asleep. General Sanders has not come to wake everyone yet since it's only 5:45 in the morning. I'm glad I slept in my work out clothes so I don't have to go and retrieve some now.