When Harry had first introduced Y/N to his friends, they had teased him.
It wasn't necessarily because of her per se. Truthfully, everyone loved her from the very moment he brought her to them. She was so cordial, all bright eyes and beaming smiles, and carried herself in a certain way that made her seem so endearing, whimsical. As if she was a whole other sentient together, too perfect for words. Too pure, even. When she stood next to Harry, they were so obviously made for each other, with Y/N exactly balancing the calm demeanour of Harry's with her own bubbly vibrance. But when she left, Harry distinctly remembers Jeff chuckling playfully and jabbing at him with what he thought was a harmless joke: that she's too young for Harry (he had put it, to be blunt, "a cradle snatcher" and Harry had only laughed, simply shrugging the comment off).
At first, Harry hadn't an idea what he could mean by that because when it's only a five year difference, nineteen doesn't sound so young to his twenty-four. It wouldn't be strange to any other passersby eye to see her with him on the street. She was by no means immature or childish either. In fact, Harry often thought her to be more professional than him and every other snarky businessman out there. But the more he thought about it, the more he began to worry. Not for his own wellbeing, but for hers because in a world that could be so cruel, she is just so damn good. Anything could hurt her. Even Harry, and the thought of that happening was one he decided quickly he wasn't fond of. When he looks at her, he can only see her in such an innocent light. From the way her nose crinkles when she smiles so wide at him, to the way her eyes shimmer so magnificently and in awe whenever she looks to him, to the dorky laugh that could be so loud when he tickled her or joked with her, and the way she giggles when he holds her hand and brushes his thumb over her knuckles or when he stretches his arm around her shoulders. When Harry thinks of everything good and soft in the world, he thinks of her.
So, he began to worry, and about certain details that may seem small to others but held so much weight for him. If he held her a certain way, touched her a certain way, how would she react? If he flirted with her the same way he chatted up other girls, would she be comfortable? If he kissed her a little too vigorously and hot, would she pull away from him? If he told her how he felt about her - how he truly felt, deep in his heart - would she push him away? Would she be too scared to love him in the way he loved her? He had to be careful - cautious, even - with her, treating her as if she were such a fragile angel, too great to be tainted by him.
But little did he know how much it was affecting her, and how similarly she felt to him because when Y/N had first introduced Harry to her friends, they had teased her.
To her, five years of a difference didn't sound so tremendous either. Then her friends felt the need to warn her in a way that was meant to be lighthearted and suggestive that a more mature man like Harry is going to need someone more "experienced" than her. That he'll just get bored of her as time goes on. That she needs to think up new ways to keep him entertained and interested. Truthfully, she thought it to be ridiculous. But then the worrying thought crept upon her, gradually at first and then all at once, and suddenly she was afraid. Afraid of losing him when they had only just started dating, afraid of making a fool of herself by not pertaining to his interests.
It is the reason why she begins projecting herself with a certain type of confidence around him in an attempt to prove herself to him. As if she really even had to. As if he even really cares. It is why their first kiss is because of her because, up until that point, Harry had only held her hand and pecked her cheek and her forehead, and she was yearning for something more to end the night with; because an ardent kiss on the lips would keep him around and the way she could thread her fingers through his hair and then curl up in his arms afterward makes it worth it. It is why sometimes she dresses so temptingly when she goes out with Harry, in a tight dress that shows off her curves to her favourite pair of jeans that she knows makes her butt look perfect because she needs a way to keep his attention on her and not the other pretty girls loitering by the bar or looking him over with hooded eyes and sultry smirks (although, he never once strays to look at them, though she is too busy fretting to even notice); because then when Harry sees her looking absolutely divine, he can't help but to put his hands on her, stronghold on her waist, then lower to her hips, and the small of her back and the way she finds his eyes lingering on her as if she's the only person in the entire room to the way he sheds his coat and offers it to her all makes it worth it. It's all that she can do when sometimes she fears she is noticing Harry hesitate around her, but she can only hope she's just mistaken.
