salute [h.s]

chapter 29 - prodigious polyglots & boisterous briefings

She hadn't seen it before but at the back of the room, under the loft of bookshelves, there was a little sunroom, small but entirely enclosed with glass that let the spring sun shine through brightly at most hours of the day. If she wasn't curled up on the couch with a book in her spare time, she was sitting at the little wooden table in the sunroom with her laptop, Bertie curled up in the dog bed at her side. It was at the table that she found Harry waiting a half hour later with plates of the eggy bread he'd made for her. It was Harry's way of saying thank you.

They'd been eating breakfast there together, just the two of them, ever since.

"What is so interesting that you won't put your book down for pancakes?"

Piper looked up when she felt the couch dip beside her. Sure enough, Harry was sitting at her side, looking relaxed in his joggers and t-shirt. His hair was a mess of curls around his face and she couldn't help herself from reaching up to tug one rebellious curl back behind his ear to keep it from escaping. Harry's toothy grin was a reward in and of itself and she curved her hand over his cheek, her thumb dipping into his dimple.

"Patience," she told him. "I'm almost done."

"Bring it with you then," Harry said as he took her by the elbow and attempted to drag her along as he rose to his feet. "I spent all that time cooking and I'm not letting it get cold just because you have no sense of self-control."

"Rude," Piper shot at him, noting the page number and then closing the book carefully, tucking it under her arm as she let Harry tow her around the sofa and toward the sunroom. Bertie, sneaky dog that he was, had crept on his belly almost all the way to the table, trying to seem sly. Two weeks in this house and he was already on his way to becoming a spy. "I can see you Bertie," she called out to the dog. "Step away from the table."

Bertie looked guiltily over his shoulder at Piper and then let out a long doggy sigh, trotting away to his bed by the window and flopping down onto it.

"This is nice," Piper said as they slipped into their chairs across from each other at the little wooden table. She set her book down carefully on the small space that wasn't holding their breakfast and by the time she looked up, Harry was smiling fondly at her. "What?"

"You say that every time."

"Well, it is nice," she justified, shrugging her shoulders. "I really like having breakfast together like this."

It was amazing how one sentence could make Harry perk up like nothing in the world could make him happier, his eyes brightening as he grinned madly, his dimples pressing into his cheeks. Piper flushed, embarrassed by his reaction for a reason she couldn't pin down. She distracted herself by picking up a strip of bacon off his plate and biting off one end. Before Harry could scold her for it (because he always did), she tossed the other half to Bertie who scampered out of his bed to get it.

They ate in comfortable silence for a bit because Piper couldn't do much else but enjoy Harry's amazing cooking and he seemed content to just watch her, sipping on his tea every so often. He finished eating long before she did (I'm a growing boy, Piper, I need my fuel) and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms comfortably over his chest. She looked up, swallowing her mouthful of pancakes before she asked, "did you want to talk about anything?"

"No, it's okay," he said with a shake of his head. It was one of the things that differed between her and Harry — she hated being left alone with her thoughts and would do anything to avoid it; he was content to just sit in silence and think of whatever came to mind."You can read your book if you like," he suggested, nodding toward it.

"Too dense to read while I'm eating," Piper said with a shake of her head, forking another mouthful of pancakes past her open lips.

"What is it?" Harry asked as he leaned forward, spinning the book around carefully so he could read the cover. His cheeks immediately dimpled with the force of his grin and his eyes gleamed brightly when he glanced up. "This is the book that Liam and I got you for Christmas."