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dawnsbreaking · 1 year

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not as smooth as we planned - chapter one

Harry and Rose get a second chance after the villa. pairing: Harry/CMC Rose chapter 1 of 4 chapter word count: 9,145 (i know) read on ao3

Despite winning a reality tv show and finding herself in a committed relationship with up-and-coming star Rafi Sayed, Rose Prichard was all too excited to go back to living a regular life after Love Island.

Rose loved her job as an event coordinator for a non-profit, despite the long hours and meager salary. After winning the prize money and moving in with Rafi, however, she no longer had to choose between a job that she loved and paying bills on time.

It had been Rafi’s idea for Rose to move in with him. He’d suggested it the night they won Love Island—before they were even technically a couple—and Rose resisted for as long as she could manage. It was far too soon, she knew that, but they’d been so close in the villa that resistance seemed futile in the end. She broke her lease and moved in with Rafi two months after the series finale.

Soon after the move, Rafi booked a breakout role and the job called him away for months at a time. In the year and a half that they’d lived together, Rafi had only been home with her for six collective months sprinkled throughout. Rose enjoyed spending her time alone or with friends in his lush flat— their lush flat—while he was away filming. It was idyllic, cooking meals in the fancy kitchen, entertaining guests in the well-decorated living room, and bringing her work home to a cozy spare bedroom turned home office. She hardly missed her boyfriend at all. That should have been the first sign that something wasn’t right.

On paper, Rose and Rafi made no sense. She was a private person, maintaining just enough social media presence to assure her distant relatives that she was still alive and, occasionally, using her fame after Love Island to promote charity events. Rafi, even before his stint on reality tv, had been a frequent purveyor of tasteful Instagram thirst traps and lifestyle vlog content. He thrived in the public eye and it was part of his career. It had been an uphill battle for him to get Rose to trust that the two of them could be compatible.

Rafi had joined Love Island late, infatuated with the girl he’d seen on the show. Rose had been there since day one but had yet to be swept off her feet. Harry, the boy she’d been most interested in before Rafi, was indecisive and immature. Rose gave up on him before the third recoupling, ending up in a friendship match with Camilo until Rafi’s arrival.

Rafi was already committed to Rose before the two had even spoken. His beach hut interviews were convincing love letters to a woman he’d never met that charmed the audience and caused viewers to root for the couple even before their first date.

Though Rose was slightly overwhelmed by Rafi’s initial feelings for her, he was able to prove himself as a partner and deepen his feelings beyond a crush on a girl on the telly. The optics were good. Of Rafi’s crush working out so well, of Rose learning to appreciate and understand and then return his feelings. Of someone coming in so late and so quickly becoming part of a strong couple. When they won, everyone but Rose seemed to have seen it coming.

After the show, their relationship remained somewhat public, despite Rose’s protests. When Rafi got invited to red carpet movie premieres, Rose’s name was listed on the invitation. Rafi’s publicist also encouraged him to post pictures of him and Rose together. He talked about her in interviews, included short clips of her reading or working in his vlogs, and even once took a brand deal promoting an app for couples, using her name in the copy of the ad.

There weren’t fights, really. Rose expressed her need for boundaries, continued to share the bare minimum on her own socials, and declined every brand deal and interview she was offered. She’d ask Rafi for discretion and be disappointed when he could only provide so much.

Rafi was back home for a short stint between filming outside the country and a small press tour for his show when Rose hit a wall with him. He made dinner and opened a bottle of wine, she filled him in on gossip from work and her friends.

“Oh,” he said, sounding startled at his own abrupt change of subject. “I forgot to tell you. There’s a premiere for my friend’s movie in a couple of weeks. I’m gonna fly you there for the night so you can come.”

The verbiage bothered Rose the most. He wasn’t asking, he was telling. She took a sip of wine and gathered her thoughts before asking, “What are the dates?”

The charity that Rose worked for had its annual fundraising event coming up, an event that she had been working to organize for the better part of the past year. She wouldn’t be able to travel so close to that event, she’d be too busy. Rafi should know that.

“I don’t know, it’s a Friday. About a month from today.” Rafi smiled, reached to lay a hand over hers on the table. “It’s an artsy film festival thing, I think you’ll like it.”

Rose knitted her brows at him. If he was right about the day, he’d planned on attending an event outside of the country the night of her fundraising event. She gave him a moment of silence, hoping he’d remember and correct himself without her having to break the bad news.

“What’s wrong? Do you not want to go?”

“Rafi, are you messing with me?” She’d been talking about this event for months, complaining about vendors and guests and tablecloths almost every time she spoke to him about work.

“Why would I be messing with you? We’re going to a film festival. Four weeks from today. What’s wrong with that?”

“Friday, four weeks from today, is the day of my fundraising event.”

What Rose expected from this revelation was just a few meters short of overreaction. She expected a rush from Rafi to apologize, a hurried explanation. She expected him to get his manager on the phone and cancel with the film festival. Have his assistant send a fruit basket and flowers to everyone involved.

Instead, he shrugged, squeezed her hand on the table. “I’ll tell them you won’t be able to make it.”

Rose withdrew her hand from his grasp, cradled it awkwardly in her lap as if nursing a physical injury. She frowned, giving Rafi yet another chance to self-correct. He raised a brow but kept his movie-star smile in place. Nothing. Rose hated conflict, even when it was unavoidable.

“What about my event?”

Rafi offered no solution, shrugged again. “You know I hate those things, anyway. Networking events.”

“Networking events?” Rose closed her mouth tight before she could say anything that might put her relationship in jeopardy. She was hosting a fundraising gala with a silent auction. Attendees certainly could network, but that was far from the focus of the event. Besides, his film festival certainly was a networking event. She didn’t argue, didn’t say any of this out loud. She stood, cleared her plate and his.

“Thank you for making dinner.”

Rose took the plates to the sink and started doing the washing up, her back turned to Rafi so that she didn’t have to keep her facial expressions in check. Rose was a terrible liar.

She could feel his eyes on her, though, watching her work to produce even breaths.

“I forgot to tell you,” she said, keeping her back to him. “I have to run to the office tonight and get some last minute work done. We added a couple of new organizations to the guest list so I need to get some paperwork ready for them.”

“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

Rose turned, facing him again. She decided that she didn’t care if he knew she was lying or not. “I’ve got meetings tomorrow.”

“Can’t be helped then.” Rafi shrugged. He was playing it cool, but Rose could see his shoulders tense as he took another sip of his wine.

“Thank you for dinner, again.” She kissed his cheek on her way to the door.

Harry had never expected Rose to pick him in the first place, so he wasn’t surprised when she’d ended up with someone else in the end. He wasn’t surprised when she won, either. Rose Prichard probably could have won no matter who stood next to her.

If it had been anyone else, his first instinct would have been toward anger. He’d never understood the phrase, ‘if you love someone, let them go’ before. But he adored Rose. He was happy for her, despite everything.

After the show, when life swept them up in separate directions, he wasn’t surprised that they stopped talking. If her social media was any indication, she was happy and busy. Harry didn’t resent their lack of communication or push too hard to keep her in his life, he accepted her shrinking away. Eventually, he unfollowed her on Instagram.

It was hard enough seeing Rafi on movie posters, he had to draw a line in the sand and move on.

Some things were easier said than done.

Harry wasn't sure if his eyes were working properly when he saw her again. The last time he'd seen Rose Prichard had been at the taping of the 'Islander's Tell All' part of the Love Island finale. She'd been with Rafi all night, then, and had barely spoken to Harry.

But there she was, more than a year later, in the flesh. And she was walking into his office building.

Since letting Love Island and all its trappings fade into his past, Harry had continued his original life plan with some slight alterations. He’d landed a job at a tech startup, after learning that he was better suited for back end stuff, programming alone in an office rather than trying to hold the world on his shoulders.

It was rewarding, doing something he was genuinely good at. Even if his life was less glamorous than he’d once hoped, he was happier for the stability and self-assuredness that he’d earned in the pivot.

Rose scanned a key card at his building’s entrance and Harry watched in horror and confusion as his past collided with his present.

The large office building was home to multiple companies that paid to rent spaces or entire floors. It was entirely possible that Rose worked somewhere in the building.

Without thinking, Harry jogged to the door. He’d been enjoying a leisurely stroll before, early enough to work that he could enjoy walking the long way from the parking garage across the street. Seeing Rose had jump-started him like the espresso he’d planned on buying from the café next door. He scanned his badge and slowed to appear nonchalant as he walked in, he held his breath as he brushed past Rose and they stepped into the same elevator.

She looked up, eyes widening when she registered his presence and then his identity. He remembered nights by the pool, making her compete in staring contests just so he could swim in her eyes.

“Harry?”

“Oh my god!” He tried to play it off like he hadn’t seen her, but he suspected that Rose might be able to see right through him. He found he didn’t care. Something in him wanted her to know that he cared for her, even at risk to his pride. “What are you doing here?”

“I work here,” she said. “Do you work here?”

He beamed. “I’m a programmer on the sixth floor.”

Rose’s eyes lit up and she laughed, shaking her head. Her hair had grown since Harry had last seen her and she was even prettier than he remembered.

“That’s so weird. My new office is on the sixth floor.”

She had to be joking.

“You have to be joking.”

Rose laughed again. “Nope.” She pressed the button for the sixth floor as if to prove her point.

“Huh.”

“Why haven’t I seen you before?” Rose asked, stepping out of the elevator with some hesitation.

“Ah, I’ve been working from home…” Harry adjusted his backpack strap on his shoulder. Though he’d grown more confident, Rose’s clear gaze still had a way of making him self-conscious. He waved the question away. “Do you usually come in this early?”

It was just past five in the morning and they were among the only people in the building.

Rose frowned, seeming to take a moment to think about her answer. “I’m just trying to catch up on some things.”

Harry recognized the crease in her brow and wished she wouldn’t lie to him. He nodded, though, didn’t push the issue.

Harry had thought about seeing Rose again a terribly vast, innumerable amount of times. His imaginings ranged from the dark, where she laughed at him for thinking he might have ever had a chance, to the sweet, where she told him that she’d left Rafi and wanted to be with him instead. Now, in real life, none of those fantasies served him. He had no idea how to speak to her after all this time.

“What, um, company do you work for?”

The sixth floor was home to multiple companies besides Harry’s, since half of it was dedicated to a row of self-contained offices that served as overflow for higher-ups from other floors.

“The same charity as before,” she said, hesitating to say before Love Island. Harry nodded to communicate that he understood the impulse and she continued, letting their shared history remain unspoken, “I was promoted recently, though.”

“Oh, congrats!” The elevator doors opened again, depositing them on the sixth floor. It seemed that one had been round to turn on the lights, though. It was still completely dark.

“Thank you,” Rose said. Then, “Christ, it’s dark, still.”

Harry laughed and flicked on the torch on his phone, lighting Rose’s footpath. “I’m not sure where the switches are,” he said.

She walked forward confidently, finding a switch on the wall directly opposite the elevator.

Harry turned the torch back off. “Do you come in early a lot?”

Rose shrugged. “The new job is busy.” She looked off toward the hallway and Harry got the impression that she might be trying to shut the conversation down. He missed where he was a few seconds ago, trapped in an elevator where she couldn’t leave him.

In a desperate effort to preserve the conversation, Harry asked, “What is it you do, now? For the organization.”

“I’m still in event planning, but I’m pretty much in charge of the whole gala now. They made a position just for me, hence the office down here. They didn’t have room to give me an office where everyone else is.”

“It’s cool that you’re still doing the same stuff. Like, everyone else from the villa is basically an influencer, now.”

Rose laughed, shaking off the compliment. “Not you, though.”

Harry ruffled his hair, blushing. He occasionally helped with Nicky and Seb’s podcast, but Rose was right, he preferred the path his life had been on before Love Island—computer screens and tech startups. He could do with a bit more money, but he didn’t really enjoy all the attention of reality TV long term. “You couldn’t pay me enough.”

“We have that in common, then.” Rose’s smile was as genuine as ever, radiating warmth. She was gorgeous, inside and out.

Harry almost didn’t want to ask. “How’s Rafi, by the way?”

“Oh. Things with Rafi are good,” Rose said. Harry watched her hand toying with a loose thread that sprouted from the handle of her cloth tote bag. “He just got back yesterday from a shoot in Canada.”

“That’s good, then?” Harry couldn’t help but wonder why Rose would be at work so early instead of sleeping in with her boyfriend if he’d just returned home from a long trip. He didn’t voice the question, but it hung in the air regardless.

“Yeah!” Rose dropped the loose thread, clasping her hands in front of her to keep them still. “It’s a shame I’m so busy.” She laughed again, still a little stilted, and gestured lamely down the hall. “My office is number six, by the way—has a nameplate—if you ever need anything.”

Harry took a step back, taking the hint. “Of course, it was good seeing you, Rose.” He hurried to his desk, but her name lingered sweetly on his lips.

Rose didn’t know what to make of seeing Harry again. It was strange enough seeing people from the show on Instagram—Harry was right, most of them were influencers, now—or occasionally hearing about them from Rafi, who was better at keeping in touch with everyone. Seeing Harry at work was beyond strange.

For almost one entire hour, she did her best to throw herself into her emails. It greatly impeded her, though, that she hadn’t yet slept. Because of the disagreement with Rafi the night before and her subsequent all-nighter, she was both incredibly tired and almost three days ahead of her normal work schedule.

When Harry had asked her why she was in the office so early, she hadn’t had the heart nor pride to tell him that she’d been there all night, only having left the office briefly to stretch her legs and grab a spare phone charger from her car.

Sighing, she stood from her desk. It was a large rectangular glass desktop on a stained wooden frame, identical to the desk in her office at home. Both had been gifts from Rafi to celebrate her promotion since he’d been abroad when the promotion was finalized. She remembered the bittersweet feeling of receiving the gifts but wishing Rafi was there to celebrate with.

Harry wasn’t hard to find. The majority of the sixth floor was dedicated to large tables of open-concept desks where robust computers could be given sufficient room to breathe.

Rose smiled when she saw him. He was completely absorbed in his work, wearing a pair of large blue light glasses and over-ear headphones, staring dead into his monitor.

“Hey,” Rose said, waving her hand to get his attention. He removed his headphones and grinned up at her.

“What’s up?”

“Just needed a break,” she said. “And, I mean, what are the odds of us both working here and coming in early today? I felt rude for running off earlier.”

Harry gestured toward a rolling chair opposite him and scooted his monitor to the side so that he’d be able to see her past it. “Have a seat, then.”

“I mean, if you’re not too busy.”

He laughed, shook his head. “Nah, sit down.”

Rose sat, feeling at ease already in his presence. She’d liked Harry in the villa because he wasn’t intimidating. She had been instantly comfortable around him then too.

“What are you working on?” She asked. Harry kept typing, looking back and forth from her to the screen without losing pace.

He said, “I have a coding test coming up, I’m going for a better position on the programming team here.”

“Oh yeah?”

Harry nodded, a blush spreading on his cheeks. “I’m the only person up for the position internally, so it’s pretty much a done deal.”

“I hope you get it, then.”

Harry stilled his typing and studied Rose. His face lowered into a slight frown as he asked, “Is there a reason you're here and not at home with Rafi?" He paused, catching himself, and quickly added, "I mean, not like it's really my business but if something is wrong, you can talk to me.”

Rose wasn't sure what compelled her to be honest with Harry. She hadn't spoken to him nearly since the villa. It wasn't as if she’d consider him a particularly close friend, or even a contender for becoming one, but that lack of closeness also created a lack of permanence to the conversation. If she really wanted, she could spill her guts and then avoid Harry for the rest of her life. It hadn't been so hard not to see him before now.

"I kind of ran out of the house to avoid an argument," she said, slumping in her chair. "I do actually have work to do, but..."

Harry folded his arms and leaned back, giving her his full attention. “So, you’ve been here all night.”

Rose nodded in the affirmative, caught.

“Don't you have work to do?" She asked, unsure whether she did so to dissuade him from pushing further or out of guilt at having interrupted him.

He shrugged. "I've pretty much got this in the bag."

"The confidence!" Rose giggled, feeling lighter at his easy reply. She liked that about him, too, even if it had been a little infuriating in the villa, the confidence suited him now that he'd grown up a bit.

He had grown up a bit, Rose noticed. He seemed more self-assured and quietly confident than he had before. If the villa confidence had been an act, this new attitude was completely genuine.

"So, the charity gala I've been planning, right?" Rose said, still not completely sure of her desire to vent to Harry but not unsure enough to fight the words from falling from her mouth.

"Right," Harry affirmed. He’d heard about the galas when they’d been a couple on Love Island, she’d been involved in their planning then, too.

"It's literally all I do all year. I plan this event, it goes great, then I start over and plan the one for next year. Like, literally once a year all of my work gets to pay off."

Harry pushed his keyboard away and folded his hands in front of him, making a show of closely listening.

"So Rafi and I were having dinner and all of the sudden, he's talking about this movie premiere he wants me to go to..." Rose huffed, speaking faster as the irritation came back to her. "Which, like, fine. But it's the same weekend as my gala.”

Harry made a shocked face, covering his mouth with a dramatic flair. "No! Really?”

"Yeah!" It felt good to have someone validate her feelings, even if that someone wasn't her boyfriend. "Right? He didn't even apologize or anything. He just said that I didn't have to go and laughed it off."

"Wait," Harry said. "So, he's not even going to go with you?”

"Yes!" Rose felt more justified in her anger by the second, realizing she wasn't completely crazy for how mad she was. "At this point, I'm not even sure I want him to come."

As she said that, Rose realized that it sunk to the heart of the issue. She didn’t want Rafi at the gala if he didn’t want to be there. A small part of her, though, panged at the thought as a slideshow of her time with Rafi passed her by. The brand deals she didn't want to take part in and the press events she loathed. Rafi’s career at the cost of her privacy.

The first opportunity had come to return the favor and Rafi had fallen completely flat.

When Rose had coupled with Harry on their first day in the villa, Harry had felt like he'd won the lottery. He was stunned at first that she was interested in him at all, but he'd have felt that way about any of the girls. She was way out of his league, and he'd made a joke to her to that effect on the first day. But as time passed and they were able to get to know each other more, he realized just how lucky he was.

Rose was radiant and kind. She was able to keep the peace with people around her. She rose above the drama in the villa easily and always managed to come out on top of things. She was funny, too, and smart. Conversations with her were fortifying to Harry in a way that seemed rare and precious.

After just the few days they had together as a couple, he could see himself really falling for her.

Then he'd messed it all up. He got intimidated, worried that she wasn't really as into him as she let on. He'd started to get the sense that she was further out of his league than he'd originally suspected, that she was starting to get tired of him.

When his insecurities got the better of him, Harry started entertaining other options. He flirted with girls he cared less about because they would hurt his feelings less when they moved on. It felt cliché beyond cliché, so he'd never admitted it to a soul, but he broke things off with Rose because he liked her too much.

She didn't know this, though, she thought that the breakup was mutual, that they both wanted to explore other options. If she was upset, she didn't show it, didn't even give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd made the wrong choice. He knew that she was being charitable and kind and thinking of others like always. She didn't want a disagreement, so a disagreement was avoided.

She had liked him, though, he’d realized all too late, and he'd blown it.

To add insult to injury, Rafi had stolen the show completely when he’d arrived.

Rafi made a spectacle of how much he liked Rose, throwing Harry under the bus while he was at it. Rafi was a real man, Rafi wouldn't take a diamond like Rose for granted, Rafi could show her just how made up his mind was.

It had made Harry want to leave the show early. But he’d stayed, made his bed, got nice and cozy in it.

He was happy that Rose was happy, but he’d never been Rafi’s biggest fan.

Now, hearing Rose complain about him so charitably after he'd done something so careless and needlessly mean, he had to hold back all of the harsh things he wished he could say. He’d always thought that Rose was too nice for her own good.

"Maybe he'll realize his mistake after you ran away in the middle of the night. Like, he has to, right?"

Rose shrugged, looking completely at a loss. "He doesn't pay all that much attention to my silly moods. He knows that if I really have a problem, I'll let him know."

Harry raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really? You will?"

"Okay..." Rose blushed. "Point taken."

Harry wished that she'd be more assertive. So many mean people that didn't deserve to assert themselves so much did so all the time. People like Rose deserved to get their way more often.

“Look, maybe this isn’t my place but Rafi should already know he's fucked up. Like, you shouldn't have to tell him that the thing you've spent a whole year on means something to you." He leaned forward, speaking faster, hoping to keep Rose from interjecting before he’d convinced her of his point. He liked the feeling of having nothing to lose with Rose, being able to tell her exactly what he thought. “Like, what if he spent a year working on a movie and you wouldn't even go to see it because you had plans with a friend the night of the premiere?"

Rose blanched, seeming all at once to realize the extent of her own hurt feelings. She said nothing, let her shoulders sink with the weight of what she felt.

"Maybe someone should send him anonymous hatemail..." Harry spoke without thinking, blushing when he realized he was thinking out loud. Lucky for him, though, Rose found it funny. She shook her head at him but giggled despite incredulity.

"Please don't," she said. "Christ, though, maybe I’m more angry than I thought because I am tempted.”

"You should be! That was a dick move."

"God," she said after a moment. "You're right."

“Of course I am.” Harry chuckled, downplaying the moment to keep her from sinking again.

"You know, actually…” Rose smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. It was a good look on her, sweet Rosie almost never looked mischievous. "If he does decide to ditch me, I could use a date."

“Surely he won't completely ditch you," Harry said, brushing the insinuation off. He didn’t want to get his hopes up. "Come on."

"He might." Rose sighed, resting her chin in her hands, despondent. "He didn't even think twice before telling me that I could just go alone."

"God, what an ass." Harry paused, covering his mouth. "I didn't just say that."

A laugh slipped past Rose's lips at his serious reaction. Harry was relieved to see her laugh.

“It's totally okay, he is being an ass." She rubbed her face, collecting herself again, and added, "I'm sorry, by the way, if that would be weird... I just, I don't know."

"If what would be weird?"

"You coming to the gala with me. I didn't mean... You know."

Villa history hardly seemed like history, but Harry got her meaning. "No, not at all. I'd be honored to come.”

She smiled, radiant. Harry never realized before this that he could miss someone so much when they were right in front of him.

For the first time since she'd been hired at her organization, Rose left work early. She went straight home after lunch, practicing what she was going to say to Rafi the entire drive from the office. Harry was right, Rafi shouldn't have to be told how much the gala meant to Rose, it wasn't too much to ask for her to want him to be there. Or at the very least to expect some kind of remorse for not being there.

She knew he’d be home. During the weeks Rafi was off of work, he spent most of his time at the flat doing small press things over the phone and watching movies in his pajamas. Rose would almost envy all of his free time if she didn't love her job so much.

"Rose?" Rafi was standing in the kitchen, he called her name when she came in the door, surprised to hear her. "Put out all the fires?"

Rose resented the sardonic tone that crept at the edges of his voice. He had a bad habit of not taking her work seriously, of treating her just a bit like she was silly for working so hard when she didn’t need to be working at all.

She set her tote bag in a dining chair, keeping quiet. Rose didn't want to engage in an argument right away, even if she felt she had grounds to win it.

"I got a lot done," she said. "I want to talk, though.”

Rafi made a low noise in the back of his throat, a dismissive hum. “Aren’t you tired? You were out all night.”

He was right, she was exhausted. But as much as she wanted sleep, she didn’t want to do so before she’d at least attempted a resolution of the conflict. Part of her wished she'd taken a nap on the couch in her office. It wouldn't have been comfortable, but she might feel a touch more coherent if she had.

"You need your sleep, my love," Rafi said, his voice softening. He took a step toward her around the kitchen island and reached out to brush a strand of hair out of her face.

“Why don’t we talk after you get some rest? I promise it’ll go better if you’re not running on empty.”

Rose sighed, relenting almost immediately. As much as she didn’t want to have this conversation, she especially didn’t want to have it go poorly. She had a better chance of expressing herself properly if she was better rested.

“You’re right,” she said, letting him take her to bed.

The morning of Harry's interview, he was surprised to learn that he wasn't nervous. He was confident in the fact that he’d done good work. He deserved the job.

In his school years, working as an intern on the business side of things, Harry had always felt a little out of his depth. He’d never felt able to measure up to his coworkers or mentors, nor could he pinpoint what was missing. It was refreshing to be in a completely different position now, knowing he was the best man for his job.

As a celebration of his newfound confidence and an indulgence in a guilty fantasy, Harry bought an extra donut and cup of coffee from his favorite café on his way to the office. He took them straight up to the sixth floor and to Rose Prichard’s office.

When he reached her door, he realized that his hands were too full to properly knock. He laughed, gently knocking his head against the glass door to get her attention.

Rose’s smile when she saw him could have launched a thousand ships.

"What's this for?" She asked, letting him in and accepting the coffee and pastry bag as he offered them to her.

"It's a good luck breakfast!"

“That’s right, your interview is today, isn’t it?”

Harry loved that she’d remembered.

"Yes! And I'm, like, not nervous at all." He'd done a lot of practicing. A lot of late night hours in the office hoping to see Rose. When she didn't show, he’d at least been able to focus his energy on acing the coding test.

"You're gonna crush it." Rose took the lid off of her coffee, blowing it gently before taking a careful sip. “I don’t know why you brought me coffee as a good luck charm, but thank you.”

"Of course." Harry blushed. He liked doing things for her.

Harry took a seat on the small sofa opposite Rose's desk. In the time since he'd started working on her floor, he'd seen her reading or lounging on this couch just after the end of her work day. He'd wondered at first what she needed with a couch in her office, but it seemed that she got good use out of it. Her office was like a second home to her.

He wondered once or twice if she enjoyed being work more than she enjoyed being home.

"I meant to ask," Harry said, pulling Rose's attention back up from her computer monitor. She'd immediately returned to her email mid-conversation. She'd been a bit of a space case in the last couple of days, but her gala was approaching quickly and Harry knew she was constantly worrying about minor details. Harry knew she must be thinking about it all hours of the day. "How did the conversation with Rafi go?"

She gave Harry a guilty look and his heart sank. He knew what she was going to say before she said it.

“We didn’t really talk.”

“You didn’t…” Harry sounded more surprised than he felt. In the time that he’d known Rose, he’d never known her to be confrontational. She enjoyed keeping the peace, even if it meant swallowing her guts.

“I tried, but I was too tired that day to be coherent and then we only just brushed past it.” She resumed typing, keeping a level tone of voice as a show of nonchalance. “It just kept getting further and further away until it felt silly bringing it up again.”

“Are you still upset?”

She considered for a moment too long for the answer to be no, regardless of what she wanted to tell him.

“Rose.” Harry did his best impression of a stern parent. It didn’t suit him, but he persisted. “You’ve got to talk to him soon, doesn’t he leave for his trip this week?”

“Right.”

“Well there you are. He’s not going to fly back last minute if he doesn’t think this is important to you.” Harry kept what he wanted to say back. He wanted to remind her that Rafi should know better without being told. But he didn’t want Rose to think he was outright bashing her boyfriend by remaining so firmly against him. Even if Rafi objectively deserved the bashing.

“I’ll try to talk to him again,” Rose said. Harry wasn’t convinced.

“Promise?” He stood halfway to reach out to her, offering a pinky in a silly—but hopefully sincere—gesture of solidarity.

She rolled her eyes but locked her pinky with his. Her touch sparked electricity that traveled all the way to his bones. “I promise.”

Rose stormed into the apartment, dropping her keys and bag on the entry table with a clatter. She didn't want to lose any of the momentum she'd worked up in the car this time.

“We need to talk,” she said. Telling, not asking.

“What’s wrong, Rosie?” Rafi looked shocked, but he maintained a level voice. He was wearing nothing but a nice pair of silk pajama bottoms and had been relaxing in front of the TV when Rose barged in, flustered. All things considered, he was taking the intrusion in stride.

All in one breath, before she could even take a seat next to him on the couch, Rose said, “I’m upset about you not coming to my gala. Like, I know you have other things going on—which is fine. But you don’t even seem sad about it or sorry you’ll miss it.”

Rose stopped speaking just long enough to sit next to him on the couch, pulling one leg up next to her so that she could face him in her seat. She continued, “It’s really hurt my feelings, Raf. I didn’t want to make a big deal of it before, but…”

She trailed off, trying desperately to blink away tears. It had been made into a joke on Love Island that Rose cried easily and often, which made her all the more self-conscious now.

“Rosie…” Rafi reached for her, pulling her to scoot closer and lean into his bare chest. He closed his strong arms around her when she complied. Rose hated how her easy tears always toppled the balance of these types of conversations. How quickly the other party stopped taking her seriously when she started crying.

She didn’t want to be coddled, she wanted to be heard.

“Rosie, come here.” Rafi smoothed her hair down as she tried to collect herself, but her efforts were very nearly in vain. She felt hysterical.

“How long have you been holding onto this?” He asked.

The tears came faster. It had been almost two weeks since he’d told her about the film festival.

“I didn’t want to make it a thing,” she whimpered, feeling pathetic.

“It’s okay.” Rafi smoothed her hair again, pressed a kiss to her forehead. “It’s alright, baby.”

The angry, frustrated part of her wondered if he was ever going to actually apologize or if he’d just continue to comfort her meaninglessly. He acted like she was upset at someone or something completely separated from him. Like he was saving her from her own sadness, detached from all meaning.

“Do you know what I mean, though?” Her rising anger kept the tears at bay long enough for her to speak again. “I feel dismissed.”

Rafi shook his head. “I know, but you’re not going to like what I have to tell you.”

Frowning, Rose said nothing. She pulled back, daring him to say what she knew was coming.

“Well, if I’d known sooner how much it meant to you I would have been able to change things but…” He trailed off. She got the gist. This wasn’t his fault anymore. He’d surely have been more considerate if she’d given him proper notice.

Rose cut him off. “So that’s it, then?” Her voice was soft, not malicious even if she deserved to be.

“I’m sorry,” Rafi said. He tried to reach for her arms again but she shook him off. “It’s out of my hands!”

Rose recoiled, sinking into herself once more. Speaking her mind hadn’t fixed anything, but at least she knew that she had a right to be angry. She stood, took quick steps towards the door. “I’m going back to work.”

“You’re not.” Rafi gave an incredulous laugh.

“I am.” She punctuated the sentence with the rattle of her keys being retrieved from the entry table. “This was my lunch break.”

“Rose, please.”

“If you can’t change anything, fine.” She opened the door, took a step outside. “Forget I said anything.”

Rose shut the door gently behind her, wishing she had the strength of conviction to slam it.

When Harry's interview ended and he was told that he'd be moved to the better postion, he was first thrilled, then struck by an odd desire to run directly to Rose's office to deliver the good news. He hadn’t even called his mother yet but, there he was, taking the elevator back up to the sixth floor.

He arrived to find that the lights had been turned off and Rose was no longer there. It was odd for her, to be gone this early in the day.

Harry knew that he should hope that she was talking to Rafi, finally getting the apology she deserved, but he wished despite this that she was just taking her lunch or in a meeting, that she’d be back before the end of the day.

Without Rose to share his news with, Harry went back to the first floor. He’d taken the rest of the day off for the interview, since it was scheduled after his lunch. His second instinct was to step outside and call his mom.

In front of the office building, Harry dialed his mom’s cell and took a seat on one of the large, concrete blocks that replaced actual benches in favor of a brutalist, corporate aesthetic.

“You have good news?” Harry’s mom had texted him a sweet good luck message that morning. She would be happy with him even if he hadn’t been given the job, but he was filled with pride to tell her that he had.

“I got the job,” he said. He smiled down at the cracks in the sidewalk, warmth rising to his cheeks at getting to say the thing out loud. “I’m really excited.”

“I’m proud of you,” his mom told him. He was overjoyed. “Really, good job, son.”

“Thank’s mom.” Harry kicked his legs, feeling unusually boyish despite his grown-up accomplishment. He looked up at the sky, trying to take in the moment. So much of him had changed in the last few years. It was like he could feel his frontal lobe developing in real time.

He’d grown into a man his mother was unequivocally proud of.

Harry’s mom told him about what she was cooking for dinner and about some home-town gossip and Harry listened patiently, happy for the distraction from wondering where Rose was.

When he finally hung up the phone, he almost didn’t believe his eyes when he looked up and saw her. It was as if Rose had been conjured from his mind and placed in the street in front of him.

“Rosie!” He hopped up from the bench, waving to get her attention before she entered the office building. He wasn't sure why the nickname had come to him, but it felt comfortable, like he’d said it a hundred times before.

She turned and the corner of her mouth budged into a hint of a smile. “What are you doing out here?”

He held up his phone, shook it for emphasis. “Calling my mom.”

The realization struck her and she gasped, dropping all casual pretense for sincere excitement. “Ah! Did you get the job?”

Harry flushed, head to toe, warm with pride like he’d taken a shot of liquor. He was sure his cheeks were tinged with pink, but he didn’t entirely mind.

“I did.”

“Oh my god!” Rose beamed at him. “Harry, that’s amazing!”

He didn’t remember the last time he’d heard her say his name, but the sound of it made him dizzy. He looked down, kicked at the air in front of his foot. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m really glad.”

“I’m glad for you! Are you coming back inside?” She asked. “Or did you take time off for the interview?”

“They told me I could take the day.” Emboldened by his recent luck, he asked, “Have you eaten lunch already?”

Since she’d taken her lunch break to try to talk to Rafi, Rose knew that the responsible thing would be to grab something from a vending machine, go back to her office, and resume work. She found that she didn’t want that, though. In direct contrast to the last few weeks, where she had felt safest while locked away in her office, Rose didn’t want to go back to work.

She wanted to go to the Pho place Harry suggested for lunch. To stay with him for the rest of the day. She felt uncharacteristically carefree when she had his positive attitude to bask in, and a woefully neglected piece of her wanted to hold onto the feeling for as long as she could.

As a compromise—because Rose couldn’t abandon the gala as much as she wanted to—she invited Harry up to her office and they ordered Pho to be delivered.

While they waited for their food, Rose answered emails and called vendors. She had no extra time to spare away from gala preparations. Harry was patient, chatted to her about her work when she could spare the focus and played a game on his phone when she couldn’t.

Rose enjoyed Harry’s company, even if they weren’t speaking.

When the food came, they cleared space on Rose’s desk to eat. It was cramped, since she didn’t want to get hot broth too near her computer. They had to sit on the same side of the desk, elbows bumping for the fact that Harry was left-handed.

“We could switch sides,” Harry said, giggling at yet another accidental bump.

Rose shook her head, giggling as she scooted a tiny bit away. “No, it’s fine. I’m sorry my desk is only really built for one.”

“I don’t mind being cozy.” As if to prove his point, Harry bumped her elbow with his again, a playful jab. “But we wouldn’t have this problem if you traded me seats.”

“I didn’t know you were left handed.” She bumped him back. “Isn’t it weird how little we actually learned about each other? You know, on the show?”

In the nearly two weeks since they’d been reacquainted, neither of them had really mentioned the reality television shaped elephant in the room. It had been easy not to address their shared history, to let any past heartaches fade into the background. Rose wasn’t sure what made her bring it up, then.

Maybe it was getting harder to spend time with Harry without thinking about what it had been like to kiss him.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.

“I didn’t really know you were left-handed, to start.”

On Love Island, they hadn’t been allowed to talk about certain things early on. Their conversations were kept infuriatingly shallow until the end, manufacturing an artificial sense of closeness between the finalists and keeping drama front and center. Rose knew the basics; Harry was from York, he’d still been a student then. They’d swapped descriptions of their family dynamics and anecdotes about their studies. Harry had once bragged about how early he woke up every morning to recite positive affirmations.

Plastic kiddie pool shallow.

“To be fair, I was too busy trying to impress you to open up much,” Harry admitted. Rose stared down into her bowl, too startled by his honesty to meet his eyes. “I mean, that’s how everyone was, though.”

“Right, we didn’t get into a lot of deep conversations until the end.”

“No,” Harry chuckled. “I mean, everyone was trying to impress you.”

Rose turned, knitting her brows at him. She’d never understood this impression people had of her time on the show—that she’d been particularly well liked or desired. On some level, something like that had to be true for her to have won in the end, but she’d assumed that the popular vote had been won in large part by Rafi’s charisma, not her’s.

“Everyone was trying to impress everyone,” she told him. “But things were weird there, we had to be these silly, exaggerated versions of ourselves in order to stand out. I don’t feel like I really got to know anyone until after.”

“Does that include Rafi?”

“I think so,” Rose admitted. “Not entirely a bad thing, but... I don’t know, there’s a reason reality TV relationships don’t usually work out.”

Harry paused, a crease forming between his brows as he seemed to see through to the heart of Rose’s sudden nostalgic turn. “Did you talk to him?”

Rose sighed, nodded. She’d suspected that her feelings about the argument with Rafi would catch up to her eventually, but she’d hoped to at least finish lunch first.

“Here’s the thing,” Harry said. “If you don’t want to talk about it again, we don’t have to. But if you need to vent, I really do care for you, Rose.”

She could only bear to let the sincerity of his statement linger for a moment before it was too much.

“It didn’t go well,” Rose said. She could start there, understated. “I mean, basically exactly what you predicted happened.”

“Meaning?”

Tears welled in her eyes already. Rose wished for the second time that day that her heart were just a touch further from her sleeve.

“He said that if he’d known sooner then he could have changed his plans, but…” Her voice cracked and she trailed off, looking away from him in an attempt to preserve her pride.

When she looked back, Harry’s face was twisted into a deep frown, barely holding back anger. Then, seeing her eyes again, his gaze softened into a look of deep concern.

“Can I offer some unsolicited advice?” He asked.

Harry hated to see Rose cry.

Only once in the villa had she cried in front of him, but her easy tears had been made into a running joke by the producers and the narrator on the show. Harry remembered hearing the narrator joke about it for the first time, how furious it had made him. That had been one of the first things that made him want to distance himself from the franchise entirely.

“If I grant permission I don’t think it’s unsolicited advice anymore,” Rose joked, a sad attempt at a laugh bubbling from her chest. “But go ahead.”

“I think you should consider what this means for the rest of the relationship.” He wasted no time getting to the point. In the time since Rose’s first argument with Rafi, Harry had been consumed with desire to fix things for her. But he had his reasons to hesitate to get involved. He didn’t want to seem like he was rooting for a breakup or judging Rafi too harshly, even if he suspected that Rose didn’t know he still harbored feelings for her. Here he was, though, past the point of no return.

He continued, “Like, if you think you can accept that your feelings were hurt and that he’s probably not going to fix this, then you can move on. But if you can’t…” The insinuation hung between them without Harry having to say the words. He didn’t want to tell her to break up with him outright. Even if that was objectively what he thought she should do.

He expected Rose to reel back or offer some kind of rebuttal or defense of Rafi. She didn’t, though. Instead, she twisted her hands together in silence for a moment. Then, “God, Harry, when did you get so wise?”

Harry blushed, surprised at the comment. He’d never once been accused of being wise. “Oh, you know…”

Rose took a moment, silently collecting herself, brushing her eyes with the backs of her hands. She must wear very waterproof mascara, Harry imagined, the corner of his lip twitching up at the thought.

“What are you smiling at?” She narrowed her eyes, but cracked a smile at the same time, only selling her attempt at annoyance halfway.

“Is your mascara waterproof?” He asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Very funny. Yes it is.”

Without thinking, he reached for her arm, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“You know, I hated how they made that a thing for you. On the show.” He pulled his hand back, cradling it in his lap as if to keep himself from reaching for her again. “It made me so mad seeing them trivialize your feelings the way they did.”

Rose gave him a doe-eyed look, like she didn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth.

“Oh, um…” She wiped her eyes again then looked around the room to avoid eye contact. He remembered how she fled from moments of sincerity in the villa. How much Rafi had been required to push her to make her realize his feelings were genuine. “I appreciate that.”

Rose had feared conviction like this when she’d first moved in with Rafi. The conviction that she should break up with him without knowledge of where she would go if she did.

She resented the fact that the name on the lease was his. Since he paid most of the bills, it meant that she would be the one who would have to leave. Even if she’d been the one that spent the most time in the flat, making it a home.

After her lunch with Harry, Rose told him that she needed time to think and to focus on work. Even though a tiny part of her wanted him to push back and not leave her to herself, Harry absconded without protest.

Rose thought about texting Rafi and preparing him for a conversation when she got home, but she couldn’t work up the nerve. She finished her work for the day, tried not to think about the conversation ahead, drove home without a plan.

As she walked up the stairs to the front door, her phone dinged. A text from Harry wishing her luck. She walked into the flat smiling, grateful for Harry’s support.

The living room was dark, though, and Rafi was gone. Because he wasn’t in town much, he didn’t drive, so there was no way to judge whether or not he was home by a car outside the building.

Rose went to the bedroom and her office, just in case, but he was nowhere to be found. She was halfway through typing a text asking where he was when she saw the note on the kitchen counter.

Rose,

I had to catch a flight, they need me on set early. I’ll call you when I get in tonight.

Rafi

so sorry this was way more self indulgent and much longer than it needed to be. cheers.

tags: @starsarestars @lasswithumor

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litgwritersroom · 2 years

Note

can someone please do a smut fanfic with harry ? where they like won a challenge or smth and get to go to the hideaway for the night? thank you sm if you do :)

HOW THE TURN TABLES

S3 | Harry/MC | 2300+ words | @crimswnred

Zoe and Harry have been in a couple for the most part of the season but it's the first night the Hideaway is open. NSFW

"... and the winning couple is…"

Harry grabbed Zoe's hand and closed his eyes, hoping for the best. The challenge had been the hardest of the season so far — the first physical they had — and it was worth a night on the Hideaway. Every couple had done their best to win this thing and, to make his anxiety worse, they were picking the winners based on how fast they completed the race.

It had been challenging from the moment Harry took a look at what Zoe was wearing. Her tanned skin was completely exposed if not for a white crop top that was too tight for its own good and tiny little red shorts that, god, made her legs look divine. She was the most majestic out of all the others and he knew that his eyes wouldn't be leaving her any time soon.

Then, the girls had to get wet. And the one thing everybody knew about tight white tees was that they turned see-through when they were wet. Right there, Harry's semi had become a full-on hard-on and it only got worse as the challenge progressed.

"Don't worry," Zoe whispered beside him and squeezed his hand. "We can rock those communal bedrooms all night."

She was right and they had been doing so for the past week. But this was the Hideaway and if anyone deserved it, it was them. They were the couple who were together for the longest time out of the others this season and boy, he needed this time alone with her.

Because Zoe was the fittest, hottest, sexiest and most gorgeous woman he had ever met in his life and the things that would cross his mind were not speakable or doable in a communal bedroom. He needed a space where it was just the two of them.

"We need to win, Zo."

And as he whispered that, Viv announced: "Harry and Zoe!"

The rest of the day dragged itself until it was the time for them to finally part to the Hideaway, with a cheer from the other islanders, the ones that would have to settle for the communal bedroom and Seb's snores for the night while Zoe and Harry had strawberries and champagne and sex.

Mainly sex.

He had left with his party outfit — a white shirt that was already unbuttoned, a tie that was now only a decorative item around his neck and a pair of black trousers — but Zoe? Zoe had dressed for the occasion.

Her hair was slightly curly at the end, something he hadn't seen her wear before, but that looked sexy nonetheless. She had a white robe that covered her body and a white pair of underwear she was wearing under it. She had white slippers on that matched the robe, but Harry was more interested in what she looked without it all.

"This place looks great," he said as soon as they stepped inside and his eyes got used to the neon lights. "Wanna pop the champagne?"

"I want you to sit down."

Her sharp tone made the hair on his nape stand and his body immediately followed what had felt like an order. He took a seat on the edge of the bed and eyed her expectantly.

She moved closer and kissed him, mouth open and tongue ready to take him, her hands exploring his hand before her nails scratched his nape. Harry couldn't help but moan into the kiss, motivated by the blissful sensation. Zoe promptly put herself between his legs, her knee brushing against his bulge deliberately.

"Zoe," he called for her as she broke off their kiss.

She winked at him and moved her hands to take his shirt off, dropping it somewhere near the bed — Harry couldn't care less. Then, she opened her robe, revealing her silk matching set of underwear, both barely covering anything, and slid the clothing piece out of her arms, letting it fall on the ground.

Zoe straddled him, flipping her hair back before pulling him by the tie. She brought him closer and he felt his cock twitching under her as she whispered in his ear: "Do you mind if I use this?" He shook his head and swallowed hard, and she pushed him into the bed, back to the mattress. She took him by the mouth, kissing him mouth-open, tongues almost fighting and it was distraction enough for her to bring both his hands over his head.

"What are you doing?" He wondered in a quiet whisper. But she was already tying him up to the headboard.

"Don't worry," she giggled, giving the tie the last knot. "You'll love it."

He nodded in response, a smirk growing on his lips as she lowered down and down. Her lips left a trail of hot wet kisses on his skin, all the way through his abs until she reached his trousers. Her hands worked with his zipper and buttons, rolling it out of his body but then… Nothing.

He looked over where she was, finding nothing but his own body and he then he moved his head around the best he could due to his position. "Where'd you go?" He asked, his position not helping with his search at all.

"Grabbing a condom," she answered but there was something wrong with her voice, almost as if she had her mouth full…

"What's that in your mouth?" He asked again and she giggled before straddling him again.

She looked at him with mischief in her eyes and opened her mouth, poking her tongue out of it so he could see. There was nothing. "You're getting paranoid, love, we can stop if you don't trust me yet…"

His eyes widened. "No, no, l trust you!"

"Really?" She smiled, her eyes brighter than all of the neon lights.

And god, he would do anything for that smile. "Really."

She winked at him, lowering her head back to where it was. Slowly, she played with the hem of his boxers, fiddling with it before setting his hard-on free. The expectancy was killing him, the fact he couldn't see what she was doing made his heart beat faster than it ever did. He could feel his blood pumping directly to his dick, the silence falling in the room and then…

It was cold. Ice cold. She had her mouth around his cock, her tongue twirling and making him flinch. "Fuck," he groaned under his breath and he could swear she sighed in satisfaction. She must have slipped an ice cube back then, probably the reason why she was talking like that, and now Harry could feel every inch of her tongue on his sensitive skin as she turned and bopped her head.

"Fuck, Zoe," he gasped. "So fucking good."

He could feel her smile as her hands joined her mouth, and now her tongue was focused on the tip of his cock while she pumped him, working him until breaking point. And as if she knew what was coming, she took him back into her mouth, letting him bulk his hips in a sloppy rhythm until he was coming undone inside her.

Her mouth left his dick with a pop before she moved to let him recover. "God, Zo," he said after a few seconds, panting, before turning to her.

His eyes widened as soon as they found her. She was sitting down on the bed, facing him, legs spread open. One of her hands was holding herself in position, behind her; the other was moving her underwear a little to the side, just enough so she could reach it.

"Come here," he asked, but she shook her head. "Please?"

Instead of giving in, she flipped her hair back again and moved her hand between her legs, her fingertips slowly tracing circles around her clit. Fuck, fuck, fuck… Harry thought, already feeling his blood rushing again.

Unable to keep a slow pace, she got faster and faster, small and beautifully high-pitched moans escaping her mouth. She looked gorgeous, nipples poking through her silky bra as drops of sweat dripped down her neck and her mouth hung open, she furrowed her brows and kept going.

"Fuck, Harry," she called for him, shutting her eyes. His name had never sounded so better in anyone else's voice before.

He watched her pull two fingers inside, her hips involuntarily shaking as she fingered herself. His cock twitched painfully, completely hard again as she called his name. He couldn't take his eyes off her, her fingers that moved inside and out again.

"Yeah, Zo," he encouraged her. "Cum for me, baby."

She hummed deliciously loud to his words, licking her lips wet as her hands kept working faster and faster until Harry could see her legs shaking and she jerked her head back.

"Yes yes, yes, yes," she said, over and over again, each time getting higher and higher. And then, she was completely undone, back to the mattress and all Harry could hear was her voice. "Jesus Christ."

She sat up and leaned towards Harry again, and he felt the knot of the tie get looser. "We are already done?"

"Fuck no," she said with a short chuckle. "I just desperately need you over me fucking me senseless, like, right this minute."

She didn't need to tell him twice. Harry caught her by her neck as soon as he was set free, swiftly moving her body under his and grabbing her hands, tying her in a similar position as he was moments before. God blessed the day he decided to take that tie to Love Island.

"Damn," she bit down her lower lip, trying to prevent a giggle from escaping her. "How the turn tables, huh?"

He roared with laughter before kissing her again. "I love you so fucking much Zoe."

"I love you, too, Harry," she said, smiling.

She leaned to kiss him again but he backed off, leaving her lips to meet the skin of her neck and chest, kissing all over her collarbone, slowly. With her position, he couldn't take her bra off completely, so he lowered the piece, just enough so he could take her nipples in his mouth, flickering and alternating between them with his tongue, prompting tiny little moans and hums that bubbled out of her.

"Don't be a tease…" she begged as she brought both her legs up, him in the middle, but Harry could only chuckle in response.

"Says you." He said right back before his lips could move lower and lower, kissing her stomach and hips before moving to her thighs, then inner thighs and then finally hovering over her slit.

But then he backed off, making her whimper. "Harry," she cried out loud, puckering her lips at him, but he didn't bother. Instead, he brought his thumb to her lower lip and she immediately licked it, wrapping her mouth around it as she had done with his dick some minutes back. She sucked it, sloppy, releasing it with yet another loud 'pop'.

She smirked and he mirrored her, lowering his thumb between them as he slowly rubbed her clit. "Open," he said before kissing one of her knees. She obeyed, spreading her legs even further than before, letting him keep his movements on her sweet spot.

"Tell me what you want," he said, positioning himself.

"I want you inside me," she whimpered.

He slid his cock against her entrance, teasing her. "Ask for it," he said. No, ordered. God, she could drive him mad sometimes.

"Harry, please, fuck me?" She begged and he saw her eyes turn into those fuck me beautiful blues she had.

Not being able to keep it together for another second, Harry thrust inside her slowly enough to make her gasp. He kept a calm pace, matching the movements of his finger, and brought one of her legs to his shoulders, slowly caressing her thigh and occasionally planting kisses on her skin.

"Faster, baby, please," Zoe pleaded.

Harry's blood was pumping and he could feel every inch of his skin catching on fire every time she would let one of her high-pitched moans out. But having her tied and pleading? It was a kind of satisfaction on its own, one that Harry had never had before. One that made him crave for her, more and more.

He lifted his pace, holding onto the bed's headboard, his hips moved faster and harder, and he could feel drops of sweat forming and dripping on his forehead. "Fuck, hmm…" she groaned under him and he could see her clasping her hands, her fingernails dug deep into her own skin. "Just like that, Harry, yes, yes, yes."

His eyes ran down her, drinking her every move. She was fucking gorgeous, with dark hair messed by the sheets, perfect tits that bounced under him with each thrust, plumped red lips that were now open as a long, delicious moan left her. Having her like that had always felt magical as if Harry had just won life's lottery and someone had forgotten to tell him.

"Fuck," he roared, an urgency to close the gap between them filling his chest.

Kissing the leg over his shoulder, he brought the other up before lowering down, the new position allowing him to reach deeper inside her and kiss her with all the love he had in his heart.

She moaned quietly into the kiss, each movement causing a new reaction from her. He felt her legs twitching under him, her walls clenched around him and she released his mouth, calling his name as she came undone.

Harry pressed his forehead against hers, riding her through her peak until he, too, was a complete mess and his pace became sloppy. When he felt his climax, he pulled out of her, letting her catch her breath as he pumped himself until he was cumming over her stomach.

He moved to lay beside her, kissing her neck and cheeks over and over again as he untied her hands from the headboard. She giggled, massaging her wrists as she huddled closer to him.

"Fuck me," he heard her saying and chuckled. "I hope they let us be here again."

"Already thinking about next time?" Harry joked as he hugged her.

She sighed, nodding slowly. "You think we can try blindfolded next?"

#litg #love island the game #litg season 3 #litg harry #writers room #litg writers room #crimswnred #litg fanfic #prompt #ask #litg ask

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calla-lilly · 1 year

Note

hi!! these artbreeders are looking amazing, may i request one for harry beloved when you’re finished with s2? 💕

he 🥺

#if anyone's wondering why he has a THICC neck #artbreeder merged his hand into his neck and idk how to fix it :')#if anyone wants to see an early version of thick neck harry lmk lol #but i hope i did him justice 😭 s3 artstyle was a bit harder to translate in artbreeder #but feel free to ask for islanders from any season :3 #litg #litg s3 #litg harry

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mrsbsmooth · 2 months

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Hi. I need your help! I want to rewrite Harry Zhou's character for my writing. What sort of things that he lacks to make him improve? Not too perfect, but flawed like a real human. You seem have more knowledge about almost everything in LITG.

No need to make long summary. I am more than grateful. Thank you.

Hi lovely!

I’ll be honest I am not the person to ask about Harry. He is one of my least favourite characters 😂

You know who you absolutely should ask though? @queen-of-boops. She loves Harry and has written some wonderful fics for him that almost made me not despise him temporarily. (Almost).

#litg Harry #litg #litg s3

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rebelrayne · 4 months

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I wasn't supposed to post this yet, but wanted to brighten your day, @queen-of-boops! Thank you for being an amazing friend- love you!

Read on AO3

#litg #litg ff #litg fanfic #litg harry #litg joyo

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litgreadersroom · 9 months

Text

Chaptered Fics

Incomplete works are marked with italics.

Choppy Waters by Queen_Of_Boops different, but the same by lithopsy Dream a Little Dream of Me by BattleBelle23 Ten Things I Hate About You by rebelrayne

Oneshots

How the Turn Tables by crimswnred light the candles by lithopsy Not Just On Christmas by margotmuses Notebooks by whatisreggieshortfor Play To Win by Queen_Of_Boops

#litg fanfic #litg harry #litg harry masterlist #litg harry au #litg harry post villa #litg harry villa

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queen-of-boops · 2 months

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Hey do you have any NSFW headcanons for Harry

Bdjbskaucyhskahd, DO I EVER! I'm 99% sure I know who this is but I'm always happy to scream about my boy so sorry not sorry if this gets long.

Canon, he's into roleplay

Into light bondage and loves tying a girl up with his tie or vice versa

The man wants to be the best at everything. You know what that means? It means he's gonna do everything in his power to make sure you have the best damn night of your life. He'll be watching your every move and listening to every sound to figure out what you like most.

Gets really excited when she decides to take the lead

When he's into you, he struggles to keep his hands off you, which means you often end up hooking up in a bathroom or coat closet cause neither of you could wait to get home.

Not into teasing. He wants you and he wants you now. When someone does try to tease him, he just gets that angry pouty face of his and tells you in no uncertain terms that's he not exactly feeling patient.

Not always romantic, but when he makes a point of it, he'll go all in on the romance: candles, champagne, a brand new playlist, the works.

LOVES seeing a girl in formal wear (this one is canon but needs to be emphasized)

He's also LOUD. The boy literally does not know the meaning of quiet when you've got your hands on him.

After the act, he's a big cuddler, he'll curl right up next to you and never want to let you go.

Big on other after care too: fixing your hair and makeup after you went at it in the closet, making sure you're as relaxed and comfortable as possible, bringing a glass of water to have when you're done, etc.

#litg #litg harry #litg harry zhong #mo answers asks #litg headcanons

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beesandfigs-abandoned · 2 years

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Not a Harry stan, but he is a cutie!! ☺️

@0shewrites0

#litg harry #litg #litg s3 #litg fanart

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whatisreggieshortfor · 1 year

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Operations Go Awry

This is a mess, but my Operation Nope fic for the @litgwritersroom prompt.

The moment Lily walked in hanging off Harry’s arm, Elladine saw her chance. Normally, she wouldn’t be this person. Never. She would’ve felt sympathy for Devyn when Harry forgot her name as he introduced the girls. But she had to admit it, at least to herself, that she was jealous of the friendship Nicky had with Devyn. Jealous of the way the two of them could share looks and understand each other when she couldn’t. It was the only issue she had with Devyn. So when Genevieve told her that she’d talked to Lily, and Nicky was her back up plan if Harry wasn’t interested- well, she wasn’t going to lose her man over Devyn’s couple. She already lost him to Devyn enough times when they went to have chats and left her alone.

So she cornered Lily on her first day, asking her if she really wanted Harry.

Lily’s eyes were narrowed as she looked Elladine over, “Why would you wanna help me? Isn’t she like the best mate of the love of your life or whatever?”

Elladine rolled her eyes as she responded, “Technically, but sometimes I feel like I can’t trust their intentions with each other. They’ve ditched me constantly to have private chats, and how much he compares her to a sister is such an overcompensation. Feels like-“

“Like he latched on to you early and fancies her now but doesn’t know how to break the news.” Lily smirked knowingly, Elladine returned it with a nod before leveling her with a scowl.

“Look, I know Nicky is your back up. So let’s just…tip the scales for Harry’s decision.” Elladine glanced around the two of them, trying to ensure there were no eavesdroppers. Seb wasn’t too far away, but he was fast asleep on the sun lounger.

Lily leaned a little closer anyway, “What did you have in mind?”

“Do you remember Operation Nope last season?”

Seb knew that Nicky sometimes felt torn between Elladine and Devyn. He couldn’t blame the guy- where Elladine was the picture of an easygoing relationship, Devyn brought out Nicky’s fun side and challenged him. Nicky had even told Seb- and only Seb- at each recoupling that he thought of picking his best mate, even though he had no idea how she’d react. But then he’d end up playing it safe and choosing the same girl since the beginning. Seb couldn’t blame Elladine for being cautious of their friendship when he knew those things, but he couldn’t believe he’d heard her plan this either.

As soon as Elladine and Lily had separated, Seb ‘woke up’, taking just a minute to act out like he was stretching out from a nap, before going off in search of Viv and Nicky.

“That’s the plan I heard.” Seb told them as he finished the story, he wasn’t sure if they’d believe him, but he needed to tell someone what was happening.

“You can’t have heard it right, mate.” Nicky shook his head, “Elladine wouldn’t-“

Viv quietly interrupted, “I don’t know, Nicks, when I told her that Lily said you were her back up plan, she looked absolutely livid. I’ve never seen her look like that. She’s always felt a little threatened by Devyn- to have someone else planning to vie for your attention might’ve-“

“Might’ve what? Pushed her over the edge?” Nicky shook his head, “No way.”

The couple speaking to him weren’t sure what to say- Viv trusted what Seb said he heard, but Nicky just couldn’t imagine the girl he was with ruining something good for his best mate like that. And then Bill chose that moment to wander over, like the secret gossip monger he was, “Bloody hell, mate, you hear Dev kissed Rafi after their date?”

All three of them went stone still as their heads jerked to the roofer, “What did you say?” Nicky’s voiced was laced with disbelief.

Bill nodded, lips pursed, “Didn’t expect her to do that to my lad so late in the game, but maybe she’s been doing just that the whole time- playing the game.”

“Who told you that?” The boys startled at the intensity in Viv’s voice. Intensity wasn’t her style, she was sweet and soft.

Bill shrugged anyway, “I was there when Elladine told Harry. Guess her and Lily were walking past and saw it happen.”

“Elladine. And Lily?” Seb’s tone could only be described as skeptical.

“Does Devyn know?” Nicky asked. He believed Seb now, because as much as he wanted to think Elladine wouldn’t do that to her, he knew Devyn wouldn’t do that to Harry.

The roofer shook his head, “Harry’s waiting for her to admit it. I keep telling him to just call her out.” Nicky shot to his feet, Seb and Viv quickly following as he hurried out of the room, leaving a confused and annoyed Bill in their wake.

When the party started, Harry was astutely avoiding Devyn, so Nicky stuck by her side. He didn’t care that he was giving Elladine the cold shoulder to do it, he wasn’t the only one- he was pretty sure sweet Genevieve was mentally thinking of all the medical ways she could hit her without leaving a mark judging by the expression on her face. The girl in question was masking her annoyance with a sad pout- or attempting to at least. Nicky couldn’t stop analyzing everything about her now that he knew she would do this. But he teamed up with Seb and Viv, and they made sure that Devyn was able to enjoy the party with DJ Timmy Smalls.

And then the tone rang out.

Everyone looked around until their gazes fell on a smirking Lily, and an annoyed looking Rafi. The blonde girl stepped forward, hand on her hip as she directed that smirk straight at Devyn. Nicky saw Genevieve’s glare intensify at it as Lily spoke, “I came here with one person in mind, and at first I thought he wasn’t going to be interested.” Her smirk grew, “But then he told me to pick him. So I’m coupling up with Harry.”

Devyn whirled around to where Harry was standing next to Bill as the boy in question started walking over to the blonde, “Wow. And you just weren’t going to tell me, yeah?”

Harry scoffed, “Like you’re one to talk after what you did.”

“Pray tell, you arse. What did I do?” Devyn’s glare was almost as threatening as Genevieve’s, and Nicky clasped a hand to her shoulder as he answered.

“There’s been a rumor, Dev.” He emphasized the word as he scowled at Elladine, who had the grace to look shocked.

“A rumor, my ass!” Harry yelled, “Ella saw her do it!”

Devyn’s glare spun around to her ‘friend’, “You saw me do what exactly?”

“Pretty sure I can fill in that blank, and clear it up while I’m at it.” Rafi shook his head, arms crossing over his chest, “Elladine told Harry that she saw you kiss me. Said you were planning to have me pick you. I know, because Lily told me about their little plan.” He turned and looked Harry right in the eye, “But that never happened. She said she only wanted one person, and that she was happy with you.”

Harry’s face paled for a second before he scowled, “Yeah, sure. Of course you’d say that.”

“You’re bloody right I would! Because it’s the truth, you absolute prat.”

Devyn huffed a humorless laugh, “You know what? Fine. Good riddance. I’ve never been sure you actually liked me, all you ever talk about is winning. If Viv hadn’t chosen better by picking Seb, you’d still be flip flopping between us.” Harry opened his mouth, but Devyn got his face, poking her finger into his chest, “I only wanted one person here, and it actually wasn’t you.” Before he could say anything, she spun around to the other Islanders, “Who actually believed I did that?”

At first no one moved, but then Tai was calling people out, “Bill, Yaz, I know you both bought into that bullshit. Miki probably did too if Bill was the one that told her.”

AJ awkwardly stepped forward herself, “I didn’t really believe it, but I wasn’t sure either because you told me you weren’t sold on Harry.”

Devyn pointed her finger at AJ, “You get a pass, I can see why you’d believe it. The rest of you that fell for it, goodbye. Do not contact me on the outside.”

“G-goodbye?” Nicky sputtered as Devyn stopped in front of him on her way out.

Devyn shrugged, “Rafi said if he couldn’t pick me, he was going to walk. He knows who I want, but I can’t have him, so with half the villa willing to believe I’d go kiss someone I wasn’t with- I’d rather just follow him out. He’ll make a good friend on the outside.”

“Who did you want?” Seb asked, and Devyn scowled at the gleam in his eye.

“Like you don’t know, you little knob.”

Seb smirked, “Well, Nicky, how you feeling about your couple?”

He scoffed, “What couple?” Elladine gasped, but Nicky ignored her, “If she was willing to do that to someone she knows I care about, then I’m not sticking around. I’ll leave with these two.”

Seb clapped his hands, “Okay. If you’re both leaving, I’m just gonna say it-“

“Don’t you dare!” Viv tried to cover his mouth with her hand while everyone watched confused, but he ducked around her.

“One of you need to confess! I’m sure Rafi knows exactly what I mean.”

The actor nodded seriously, “Honestly, at this point it needs to be out in the open. Nicky settled for Elladine, Devyn settled for Harry.”

Nicky looked at his best mate, gobsmacked, “Do- do you like me?”

Devyn rolled her eyes, scowl still stuck on her face at being put on the spot. He knew she hated that. “Obviously. But I’m a sister to you so-“

“Bloody hell- I’ve never wanted to kiss my sister this much!” Seb snorted, but Nicky ignored him. “So…their operation was technically a success, but how about we head out on a date on the outside?”

Devyn’s lip twitched upward, “Dammit, Nicks, I’m trying to be pissed here.”

He shrugged, “So be pissed with me on the outside, Dev.”

“Fine.” She finally smiled, flipping Elladine off as she turned to Seb and Viv, “You two better win this. No one deserves it more.” She gave them a hug before grabbing Nicky’s hand, he immediately interlaced their fingers. “Viv, you call me on the outside. The five of us will get lunch.”

Rafi groaned, “Great, I get to fifth wheel.”

“Naw,” She smirked, “Tai, Ciaran, and AJ get to join for not being stupid about me.” He laughed with Nicky and Devyn as they moved to pack up their bags.

Masterlist

#litg #litg season 3 #litg nicky #litg harry #litg mc #litg Lily #litg Elladine

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