Don't you love it when your jealous nephew throws your fucking laptop in the hotel pool?

"Have you seen the paper yet?" He asked sullenly, tossing him a warding stone.

"Yeah. I'm sorry Harry, if I'd known-"

"No, it's my fault, I knew they'd find me eventually, and I let my guard down anyways."

"It's not your fault, it's theirs for being such horrid people." Bill ran a hand through his hair, frowning. "I'm sorry they roped you up with me, I'm hardly bachelor of the year." He joked weakly. Harry laughed.

"I don't mind that it's you, I could do much worse in that department." He gave a small smile. "It's just that I was stupid and let you get sucked into all this... mess." He gestured at himself. "I don't even know how to go forward with this."

"Well, those photos are pretty damning. There's no way they'd believe us if we just told them they were wrong."

"Damned if you do, damned if you don't," Harry sighed. They worked in silence for a few moments.

"How did they even get those on-site photos?"

"I don't know. I'm not happy about it either." Harry scoffed, dropping his pencil onto the blue paper in front of him.

"Lunch!" Came the call, and they both glanced towards the source, then each other.

"Talk about this later?"

"Yeah. Let's go eat before the food's all gone." Harry grinned, holding his hand out to Bill cheekily.

"Don't test me."

Bess and Vi were their source to the grapevine of gossip flooding in.

"So, there's betting on an engagement."

"What? What business is that of theirs?" Harry huffed.

"None, but they do it in good nature, don't worry."

"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions," Bess mumbled around a full mouth. Vi elbowed her.

"Mind your manners." She looked to Harry. "There's quite a bit on a wedding before this whole dig is over. Apparently, y'all court real quick over here." Harry nearly choked on the bit of bread he'd just taken a bite of. Bill shrugged.

"It'd be a nice place for one, we're not too far from the Nile." Vi nodded thoughtfully.

"You know, no matter what you say, there's going to be some assholes are going to believe it. So play it up."

"What?" He didn't actually want to know.

"Yeah. Go wild, get caught mackin' in cupboards, frisking in the alleys. Showin' each other off every chance you get." Bess gestured between the two. "Once you get sick of it, give 'em an explosive break up; the more collateral damage the better. They'll eat it up, and when the next big thing rolls along, well, you'll be cold product."

"I mean, that's one way to do it. But there's gotta be some other options, right?"

"Mmm, not really. Any other path would just end up ineffective, as far as I can tell."

"No one's saying you have to go with her hare-brained idea." Vi glared at Bess, before directing a placating smile on Harry's direction. "I'm sure if you wait it out, people will forget about it."

"Uh huh, sure."

It only got worse from there. Harry found himself withdrawing from what had been an easy friendship with Bill in an effort to curtail the tabloids, but they only got worse. He wasn't sure what hurt more, the looks Bill thought he didn't witness or the loneliness that gnawed at his chest, something the cold of late nights did nothing to ease. Awkward, stilted conversations fell roughly against the stone floors between them, and more and more frequently they resulted in arguments. Soon enough they stopped talking at all, and time passed both faster than he could track and agonizingly slowly. Bess had to quite literally drag him out of the tent with the rest of them.

They managed to get inside the bar without incident, and after a few hard drinks, Harry felt optimistic that they might just make it through the night.

"Wanna blowjob?" Came the voice from just behind him. He spun, bemused.

"Excuse me?" Bill held two whipped cream topped shots, an attempt at a peace treaty, even if only for tonight.

"C'mon, you know you do," He handed one to Harry, winking. He took it begrudgingly, rolling his eyes. "I'm usually the one offering, that's all," he timed it just as Bill tipped his head back. Bill sputtered, caught off guard, and nearly ended up with a face full of whipped cream. Harry cackled, nearly doubled over.

"That's no fair, that wasn't even a good one!"

"Shut- shut up and take your blowjob like- like a man!" Harry wheezed, leaning back against the bartop as he pressed a hand to his grin in an attempt to stifle his laughing.

"Fine." He tossed it back, and then slammed the thick plastic on the counter. Harry followed suit, far more pleased than he thought he should be.

-.-

They finally stepped outside, and that was when it all fell apart.

Cameras flashed, 'razzi catcalled, and Harry severely considered becoming the next dark lord. Bill pulled him close, seemingly instinctively, flipping the cameras the middle finger so at least some of the photos couldn't be used.

How bloody dare they? Harry seethed, hand fisting in Bill's shirt. Someone cooed, or well, tried to, but to be heard over the ruckus it sounded more like a taunt, a catcall, and that was it. The straw that broke the camel's back. Harry threw himself from Bill's side, fist cocked back and aimed straight for the reporter's mouth. May'be they'd think twice about speaking with a few teeth missing. Bill yanked him back, and he missed the reporter by the skin of his teeth, struggling against Bill's grip.

Some bit of reason in the back of his head told him he was acting wild and like a child, but his alcohol-fueled rage didn't care. They'd ruined something good between him and Bill, something he'd enjoyed simply just because. And now they want to hack it even more, they couldn't even let him grieve over it in peace. He wanted to make them pay. Bill finally wrestled him into the car, and as they pulled away from the bar, hot tears burned behind his eyes.

"They just can't leave well enough alone! I hate it!" He yelled, fists clenching and unclenching as he tried to work through the heat burning his veins and stealing the air from his lungs. It was overwhelming. It hurt to exist. Bill pulled him close, and he buried his face in the soft cotton of his shirt, breathing deep in an attempt to calm himself. "It's not fair." He mumbled, tone just short of a whining child.

"I know, Harry. Try to get some sleep, tomorrow's a new day." He rubbed circles against Harry's back, soothing him until the younger's breathing slowed, evened out, and then he just held him, watching the streets go by through the car's window. Tomorrow was a new day, yes, but would it be better?