she can hardly believe she’d actually mustered up the courage to say the words , though the delivery had been that of someone who’d felt they were going to combust should they keep their mouth shut. each syllable’d spilled haphazardly from her lips , perfectly imperfect in their delivery. it’d made it all the more real , though there’s no faking the smile that graces her lips when he informs her that he’s her , quote : favorite person.
she’s eager to kiss him , eager to bask in the knowing of reciprocated fervor. her act of bravery has brought her elation , ease & , most of all , enlightenment. once the pair pull back , she still keeps her hand atop his , caressing his wrist with her thumb. & it makes her heart ache , that he should question his worth for even a second. the mere promise of knowing she will speak to him … it proves powerful enough to get her out of bed each & every morning , even when weighed down by the harrowing truths that have stemmed from her father’s wrongdoing. harry … his mere existence , is one of few impetus’ that can bring about a smile following such a betrayal. he is such an immovable FORCE , & liz has long since deduced that their connection is perhaps the only good thing to come out of her life’s upheaval.
❛ of course , harry. of course. ❜ the way she feels about it him … it’s the only thing she’s been sure of in what has felt like an eternity. her life as of late had been marked by uncertainty , so the formation of such feelings immediately presented liz with something foreign. comfort , consistency. loving harry propelled her back in time , to a space in which she knew no pain , no deceit. she felt like she could breathe , & in doing so it gave her the security to let go. to exhale , sans fear of drowning & sinking further , further down from everything she’d ever known. if anything , loving harry brought liz closer to herself. to who she wanted to be. it’s all very terrifying , falling in love like this – but to be with someone like him , for her very first time ? liz felt fortunate , & she intended to make it known.
❛ i’ll always want you around, okay? always. ❜ she hums once in thought , perking up just seconds later as if she’s just had the most brilliant epiphany. ❛ you … and all the things that make you you , are so special to me , harry. so let’s just … stay together for a long , long time alright? i don’t ever want to lose you. ❜
he’d admit: he’s thought about being the one to say it a lot. it had played on the younger osborn’s mind the more he let his feelings get in the way, and the weight that’s lifted off his shoulders at not having to be the one that mentioned it is monumental. harry osborn just simply didn’t do feelings. he’d work around them. he’d mess people around, but liz? she felt right, and just sat the way they were, it felt like something that had always supposed to have been there.
“you know, there’s not gonna be much peace for you if things get out anywhere.” that had been harry’s main worry. she wasn’t him. she hadn’t been in the public eye as much as he had been. getting scrutinized for the smallest things, not being able to live a normal life. that wasn’t something he had ever wanted for her. “are you okay with that? i don’t.. mind keeping things quiet, obviously.” no norman to know. maybe they’d agree on telling her mother. there’s a gentle hum of content. one harry hadn’t felt in a long time. it was just her, wasn’t it? the way nothing else in the room really mattered to him, just her. soft eyes glance down to her hand, the way her finger runs over scars that line his wrist. it would be a lot, really. to take on someone who knew that they weren’t okay, but he’d been open about that, hadn’t he? he was SURE he had.
❛ you don’t know how long i’ve been actually waiting to say that. had it all planned and everything. stole my thunder. ❛ there’s a nervous laugh. giggling school kids! he can hear his father muttering now, but the ELATION on harry’s face was almost comforting. it had been far too long since he’d felt comfortable enough with someone that weakness could be shown. harry’s hand moved to rest on hers, soothing circles brushing over her skin. it wasn’t surprising, really. trauma tends to bring people together in the most strange of ways. had he ever thought he’d like her like this when harry had watched liz walk away from homecoming? never. liz had always been too far from anyone’s reach. the girl of so many people’s dreams, but – the offer of being someone she could talk to if she needed, it had opened something up.
“ i’m always gonna panic about that, okay? you deserve someone a lot better than me. ❛ but his head rolled slightly, that friendly and warm smile appearing on pale skin again ❛ but — i guess you’re kind of stuck with me now, huh? ❛
