ii.
The first time Y/N had begun to realize she had feelings for Harry, the day had been cold.
The kind of cold that seeps into the muscles and stiffens them, casting each breath a ghostly plume in the air. Autumn always brought such a crisp, biting chill towards the end, when Halloween decorations are marked down half the regular price and mirthful stuffed turkeys start filling the shelves. Every shiver felt like it might just jar one enough to shatter their bones with a full-body tremble, goose pimples tickle up skin no matter how thick a coat over the arms.
She remembers it so clearly because she was doing very poorly at handling the cold. They had gone to see a movie at an old drive-in theatre that still ran in town, the projector's light cast the image across a largely abandoned slab of wall that had once been apart of a factory. Someone had bought out the estate, renovated the cracks and rebuilt some foundation so that it stood firm, and assembled across from it is where the projector was being run in a nice little shack, and a few meters away from that a concession stand with a wide variety of overly expensive foods.
It was Nathan and Ro in one and Harry and Y/N in the other (Isobel had not been in his life at that time). They had taken Harry's car because the back seats bent down and gave them an ample amount of space to stretch out, layout their snacks, and shift around as much as they wanted to. This was their first time going together, given Harry had already visited with Nathan and Ro, and Y/N had gone with what could have been a boyfriend but he gave her a far too slobbery cheek kiss, was wholly on Ben Affleck's side in Gone Girl and ate all of her nachos (so she had politely never contacted him again). She had idly mentioned this to Harry once and he told her he was committed to making sure she had the absolute best time she could have on this next visit.
So when he rolled around to pick her up, with a big cheesy grin as he told her to get in the front seat but don't even think about looking in the back, she hadn't known what to expect. Knew that Harry would put forth his best effort to make sure that she had the best time, but really how could you spruce up a drive-in other than maybe a cushion in the back so that her bum didn't feel like it would fall off by the end of the film. Maybe he brought them some food so they didn't have to waste money on the eight dollar tub of popcorn – she would be happy with that.
It was more than she could have ever expected though.
Not only had he laid the seats down, he covered the floor of the car with soft sheets, cushions, and blankets all spread out and piled neatly in a way so aesthetically pleasing she almost has half a mind to be jealous of his eye for stuff like this. The covers and cushions are various colors (proving he'd raided his own closet and bedspread to make things up), olive green, whites, pinks, all illuminated under the glow of battery operated fairy lights slung around the coat hooks. He brought an incredible amount of pillows as well, including some that have the armrests to lean back on, and included an old, thick quilt that she always slept with when she visited his flat (it was her favorite – she had told him it was because of the colors and design, which is certainly a part of it, but mostly she does because it smells like him and it lulls her to sleep...though she'd never tell him that).
Y/N had warded away tears as to not seem like an emotional baby, turned to face him and hugged him so tightly that she could feel each movement of the muscles in his chest when he chuckles. He was just too good, Y/N had decided. For anyone to ever think to put this much effort into something just because she had one foul experience, is enough to render her melty. He always managed to make her feel so special; like no matter what the world may dish out to her, she was important to him, and being important to Harry meant something. Especially when relationships, both romantic and platonic in the past, have left her feeling worn, beaten, and squeezed dry – he gave back to her what she gives and even then some.
