Chapter Text
Somehow the night had ended like this. Harry and MC were sitting on the floor of Harry’s hotel room clumsily building the most elaborate Lego mansion. For how much the two had had to drink earlier at Tain’s bar it was fairly structurally sound. Even drunk, Harry was meticulous once committed to a task. MC was decidedly less careful. She laughed as Harry scrambled to build support columns for the “scenic patio” she had precariously added to the third floor.
“Thanks, Harry,” MC said through her giggles. “The Lego construction inspectors would have locked me away by now if I didn’t have you as an architectural consultant.”
“Pfft, I should let them.” As he wedged the second stack of bricks in place beneath the balcony, Harry smiled to himself. “You are a menace to the Lego community. Have you ever considered making something using the instruction manual?” The pout he earned from MC at that made his heart clench uncomfortably.
“Of course! But a secret base needs to be a bit dodgy otherwise it’s no fun…” MC’s voice trailed off as she began focusing on putting together a Roman bath.
They continued building in comfortable silence. Noticing that MC hadn’t contributed anything weird to the mansion for a few minutes, Harry looked over to see her leaning back on the sofa, eyes closed. He took a moment to take in MC’s peaceful form. Her mouth was hanging open and she was snoring a bit. A combination of sitting on the floor and shifting in her sleep had rumpled the elegant outfit MC had worn for Rachel’s event at the bar. Harry thought it was funny that MC snickered like a cartoon villain in her sleep.
Undoubtedly, MC was adorable. Not that the weirdo ever wasn’t. Still seeing her asleep made MC seem more youthful. It was a side of MC completely at odds with the air of confidence and maturity that radiated off of her at Rachel’s function. Harry was no stranger to putting on a show so he recognized immediately that was what MC was doing. Still, it had left him speechless when she first walked in the bar, glowing like pristine marble. By the time they had drunkenly stumbled back to his room MC had all but abandoned that ruse, excitement to build Lego monstrosities taking up too much of her mental capacity.
Harry could have spent hours just mapping the lines of her face but MC flinched in her sleep hard enough to shock herself back to consciousness.
“Shoot, it’s crazy late,” said MC as she checked her watch on one wrist while using the other to wipe at drool that wasn’t there. “Sorry, Harry, I’ll head out soon. Should we clean these up now?” MC indicated the pile of legos that littered the carpet.
Still groggy and slightly drunk, MC didn’t notice how intently Harry was looking at her, his eyes full of amusement. “Nah,” he said finally standing up. “We can finish it tomorrow.”
“Piu Piu barely let me come over today. I don’t know if he’d be willing to let me hang out again so soon…” Saying that, MC looked thoughtfully at their creation.
“Then why don’t you stay tonight?” Harry did his best to keep his voice neutral, still nervous about letting MC know just how desperately he enjoyed her company.
“Oh nice!” Now Harry had MC’s full attention. “Like a sleepover! My friends and I always play monopoly till we fall asleep then pick up where we left off in the morning!”
While Harry was grateful that MC seemed invested in the idea he was a little disappointed that she didn’t seem to feel at all embarrassed to spend the night alone in a hotel with him. Maybe he was just being sensitive.
Already making arrangements, MC got Harry’s attention. “Do you think you could lend me some pjs?” She looked down at her stunning, but already out of place sitting on the floor, outfit, completely unaware of the sudden image she had placed in Harry’s head.
MC in pjs. MC in HIS pjs. What would MC look like wearing his clothes? The silk pjs Harry favored were high quality but for some reason the thought occurred to him that MC’s skin would probably be softer. All his clothes, pajamas included, were specifically tailored to Harry’s large frame. MC would be lost in the excess fabric…
Without responding to MC, Harry left to pick out the nicest set of pjs in his dresser.
When Harry came back MC was asleep again. This time she had decided to curl up on the couch. Absently, Harry thought it was impressive how readily MC could fall asleep. It made him think back on all the half-finished conversations they had shared late at night and early in the morning. Until now, he hadn’t quite bought MC’s excuse that she had passed out each time. A part of Harry had wondered if she was just trying to spare his feelings and that she really just didn’t care all that much about their conversations, about him. That doubt was wiped from his mind at the scene before him of MC deep in a comfortable slumber while less than two minutes ago she had been animatedly planning a sleepover.
“Hey,” said Harry softly, amusement bleeding into his tone as he shook MC’s shoulder. “I brought a change of clothes for you. Hurry and get dressed before you pass out again.”
MC blinked blearily up at Harry. When her eyes landed on the pjs in Harry’s hands MC quickly sat up, suddenly looking much more awake.
“Wow!” She stared at the pale green satin set that Harry held out to her. “Can I really wear these?” Harry watched as MC lovingly stroked the carefully folded pjs.
“Why else would I give them to you?” Harry laughed at MC’s sudden hesitation. For someone who didn’t think twice about spending the night with a guy she met only a handful of times, MC seemed to be seriously considering the relatively harmless clothing in her lap. “What’s the problem?”
“It’s just that I see you wear these all the time in the photos you send.” MC held up the top for a better view, unknowingly confirming Harry’s suspicions. The light green perfectly complimented her hair. “I figured they must be your favorites. Is it really okay for me to borrow them?”
She was absolutely right. These were his favorite pajamas. They were comfortable and soft, like someone had crafted the material from spun air. More importantly, MC had somehow picked up on his attachment to them. Objectively Harry knew he was pretty easy to read. The things he liked, such as marble, pianos, and pjs, were commonly featured in the photos he sent to the chat.
The chat even showed how easily his mood was impacted by these material things. After his unflattering reaction to the destroyed piano Harry had expected MC to scold him, like Piu Piu had. But she hadn’t. Rather MC seemed to understand that even if it wasn’t functional anymore, the memories held by a broken piano could still be cherished. So, really, of course she would be concerned about Harry’s things. MC knew how sentimental Harry was about possessions and was being conscientious of his boundaries.
The fact that even drunk and half-asleep MC was still so caring melted Harry’s heart. It also pissed him off a little. While she was looking out for him, Harry was selfishly taking advantage of MC’s uninhibited behavior to get a glimpse of her in his favorite pajamas.
“It’s nothing,” Harry lied. “Just wear it so we can sleep.”
The smile MC shot up at Harry from the couch nearly blinded him. “Then, thanks! I’ve always wanted to try them on.” MC had hopped up to change in the bathroom, leaving Harry to sort out the tangle of thoughts that last statement of hers had provoked.
“What…”
Harry gaped unseeingly at the door MC had closed behind her. Without a task to distract himself, Harry turned instead to replaying MC’s words endlessly in his head. She had always wanted to try them on… It was impossible for Harry to not dwell on the implications of that careless statement.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” His brows furrowed in concentration as Harry thought through several possible meanings.
Option 1.) she thought they looked comfortable and wanted to see for herself. Objectively, this was the most likely reason MC had said that. However, it was also painfully predictable and the inner mechanisms of MC’s mind were rarely so transparent.
The second possibility was that she was simply curious as to what the pampered upper class wear to sleep. This was reasonable considering how often MC would tease him for his “lavish” lifestyle. But she never lingered long on the subject so Harry was inclined to reject this proposal as well.
Finally, Harry was forced to come back to his initial thought. That MC had wanted to wear his clothes for no particular reason. The reasoning was benign enough at first glance but it made Harry feel uncomfortable because it was the option with the greatest potential for disappointment. It suggested that MC had pictured herself in his clothes before, that she could just idly see herself trying them on. The image made Harry’s heart race against his will.
The casual nature of such an intimate gesture lead Harry to question, for the first time, if that bird had been right. Maybe it was best to keep MC and Harry from seeing each other in person. Because right now he felt as though he were digging his own grave, emotionally. What if he hadn’t been reading the situation right? It was possible MC didn’t think it was that big a deal, wearing his clothes. But for him, Harry felt as though he might as well have proposed. What possessed him to do any of this?
All his worries drained away when MC stepped out of the bathroom.
“Hey! I hope you don’t mind but I’m gunna skip the pants. They wouldn’t stay up and the shirt is basically a nightgown anyway.” MC did a comical little 360 spin that ended with finger guns pointed at Harry. That was one thing the chat had never prepared him for, how painfully silly MC was.
Harry had never been so grateful in his life for his ability to control his features. At that moment all he wanted to do was take a picture and maybe cry a bit at how amazing MC looked. The sleeves of the shirt were rolled up two or three times so that her hands were just barely visible. Saying that the shirt was practically a nightgown was an apt description. The hem of the soft green fabric brushed the top of her knees. While he managed not to propose on the spot, Harry couldn’t keep the flush from his cheeks completely.
“Great,” Harry finally choked out just slightly too late to not be awkward. “Ready for bed?”
He sincerely hoped MC didn’t notice how happy the sight of her right now made him. At the same time, Harry didn’t quite think it would be such a bad thing if she did…
Not that Harry had any expectations for the night, but he certainly wouldn’t have imagined the situation he now found himself in. He and MC were silently contemplating the bed from the bedroom entrance. The one bed.
He really hadn’t thought this through.
“So-,” started Harry, about to inform MC that she could use the bed while he slept on the couch.
At the same moment, however, MC said, “Oh dang! You weren’t kidding when you said there was enough room to join you. Your bed is huge!”
Harry flushed at the reminder of his previous drunken call. Luckily, MC was just as much a lightweight as he was so they were on even footing in the embarrassing behavior department tonight.
Without waiting for further instruction, MC bellyflopped on the bed. After allowing herself to sink into the plush comforters a bit, she rolled over and began to settle beneath the covers.
“Are you going to sleep standing up or what?” At MC’s question Harry realized that he hadn’t moved from the doorway. He hadn’t been breathing either but fortunately MC hadn’t picked up on that.
“Well, come on,” said MC, patting the Harry sized spot on the bed next to her. “Hit the light, too!”
Harry followed MC’s prompting in a mechanical fashion. His brain had given up as soon as MC had face-planted in his bed. It was too much. Watching her spread out on the bed while wearing his clothes was far too much. If he had had the mental capacity to feel embarrassed he might have said goodnight and gone back to the couch. But his weirdo had succeeded in ironing out every last wrinkle from Harry’s brain, leaving him no room to refuse her request. Not that he wanted to.
As he joined MC under the covers, Harry was brutally dragged back to reality. This was really happening. To avoid burning holes in MC’s head with the intensity of his stare he looked at the ceiling. But of course his weirdo couldn’t let his heart settle for even a moment. MC rolled over to poke Harry’s cheek. He couldn’t stop himself from turning to meet her gaze.
“Just so you know,” said MC with a serious look in her eyes, “I rotisserie in my sleep.”
“You what?”
“Like you know how rotisserie chickens constantly spin? I do that. So I’ll probably steal the covers at some point tonight.” Breaking eye-contact, MC turned away slightly to yawn.
Harry felt an upwelling of affection for MC at the little action. “You can try to steal it but I’m a professional burrito myself.” Not yet had Harry met someone more skilled at self-swaddling than himself. “Good luck.”
With that MC turned away from him with a chuckle before burying her face in the pillow. Harry smiled too as he went back to staring at the dark ceiling.