december 22 - ugly sweaters
1D fanfic/Salute Extra
Harry/Piper
*
A year later
"Have you got the note ready?"
Harry glanced up from where he had been poised over the letter he had been writing, smiling at Piper as she peeked her head into the library where Harry had sequestered himself nearly an hour earlier. She quirked her eyebrows up in a silent question and then pointed toward the desk. "The note," she said again. "Are you finished? Because I've finally wrangled all four sweaters into the box and I want to put the note in before they explode out and I have to start all over again."
"Come here for a moment," Harry said, his voice coming out quieter than he had expected it to. Piper frowned a little, her brow crunching together in that way that drove Harry crazy and made him want to kiss her senselessly. She shuffled into the room and crossed over to the desk that Harry was sitting at. Instead of perching on the hardwood, she plopped herself right into his lap. His hands came up to touch her immediately because he was incapable of keeping his hands off of her if she was in proximity to him. One curved over her hip to hold her in place and the other landed on her upper thigh. When she leaned in for a kiss, he obliged.
"What's going on?" she asked. "Something wrong?"
"No," he said as he shook his head gently. "It's just tough to write these letters. I never feel like I say exactly what I want. I can't, not really."
Piper placed her arm around his shoulders and her hand patted where it landed. "She understands."
"Oh, are you an expert on my sister now?" Harry asked as he reached his hand over to tickle Piper's side gently. She giggled because she was very ticklish (which was so fucking cute) and then swatted Harry's hands away.
"Stop it!" she demanded as she took his hand firmly in her own and placed it back on her thigh, holding it there until she could be sure he wouldn't move it again. "Stop manhandling me and tell me what's on your mind. And don't —" she interjected quickly, sticking a finger in Harry's face and waving it about "— try to tell me it's nothing because I know it's something."
Harry jerked his head so he could snatch her finger between his teeth gently. When he succeeded, he wrapped his lips around the tip, sucking it into his mouth and swirling his tongue around it. Piper shivered hard enough that he felt her shimmy in his lap. She let out a low groan before pushing him off and taking her finger back. "Stop distracting me."
"I wasn't distracting you," Harry said with an innocent shrug that was in total contrast to his sly grin. "I was just demonstrating what we would be doing later on tonight."
"Presumptuous," Piper scolded, rolling her eyes.
Harry leaned in to press his lips to her jaw, mouthing a kiss there. "If you blow me tonight," Harry muttered into the sensitive skin, grinning when Piper shuddered in response, "I'll make it very worth your while."
"Fuck you," she said in a breathy voice as she sagged against Harry. He loved when she got all fluid and loose-limbed when she was aroused. It made it easier to have some of the more creative sex that they had. It was certainly never boring in the bedroom for the two of them. "Can we please focus on getting the present for your sister, your brother-in-law, and your nephews wrapped up before you try and seduce me?"
And there went his erection. "Christ, petal, you certainly know how to kill the mood. Was it necessary to individually list all of my family members, including the boys?"
"Just trying to keep you focused," she said back as she shuffled right out of his lap. He reached for her with a disappointed whine in the back of his throat, trying to grab her back. She was having no part of it and chose to lean over his desk, palms flat to the wood, as she surveyed what he had done. It took everything in him not to touch her arse when it was presented to him so nicely. "What have you got?"
"I wrote a recap of the year, which is that one sentence at the beginning, and then just sort of talked about general things. You know, my health and the places I'd travelled to and you —"
"Me?" she asked incredulously as she glanced over her shoulder.
"What do you mean, me? Of course I talked about you," Harry informed her, wondering why she was confused in the first place. "You're my girlfriend, petal."
"I don't know," she said as she squirmed a bit, obviously uncomfortable. "It's just that you never see Gemma and you hardly have the chance to talk. I don't know why you'd waste any time talking about me."
"Because I love you," Harry said quite plainly. "And I want to talk about you."
Piper's face flushed red, like she was embarrassed, and Harry couldn't for the life of him understand why. "Piper, we've been dating for a year. I'd hope you'd know how important you were to me by now."
"I do," she insisted but it didn't sound quite as confident as he was used to hearing from her. He was a little surprised to be honest. Sure, when they'd first started out, he'd been really tight lipped about how he felt but so had she and he hadn't doubted for one second that she loved him. So why would she doubt his love for her?
He placed a hand gently on her lower back, rubbing it in a circular motion before sliding it over to rest over her right hip. It hovered over an old scar, nearly a year old at this point. He'd never forget it though. It had been one of the scariest nights of his life. "In case you've recently suffered from memory loss which is the only reason I can think that you'd be confused here," he said to her, meeting her brown eyes with an earnest stare, "let me remind you of something very critical. I love you. I need you. You're important to me. And I'm not going anywhere so get used to me telling my sister all about you. And my mum."
"You talk to your mum about me?"
"Every phone call," Harry told her which, granted, were not often but whenever they did talk, Piper was always part of the conversation. "Usually its her asking about you. It's been a long time since I've had a girlfriend to call home about in the first place. She's thrilled."
"I'd like to meet her one day," Piper said and then seemed to realize just what she'd admitted to. Immediately her lips curled in and she grimaced. "I mean, um, never mind."
Harry knew why she was acting all squirrelly. They didn't talk about his family very often because Harry had taken great measures to distance himself from his mum and stepdad, and his sister and her family, to keep them protected. He hadn't seen anyone in his immediate family in person for going on five years. Piper knew about what he did, about him keeping them separate, and she did her best to respect that. She didn't bring them up, always leaving it to him to talk about them if he wanted to. She never pushed him for information. On top of that, she'd made sure that Harry felt like a part of her own family. Sydney felt like a second mother to him. He was cordial with Mimi and he barely tolerated Andrew, just like Piper. They had become a surrogate family.
"I'd like you to meet her one day too," Harry told Piper, his voice softening. He felt a wave of happiness flood over him when Piper smiled just the littlest bit. "I think you would get along with her. She's quite like your mum, just a little less sneaky."
"My mum should win prizes for how sneaky she is," Piper said as she rolled her eyes.
"I don't know if I've ever told you," Harry said, "but I've come to love your mum like a second mum. It's been nice having a family to turn to when I couldn't go to mine."
Piper smiled widely, turning around so she was leaning her bum against the desk. She reached over, wiggling her fingers, and Harry did what she wanted and slid his hand into hers. They laced their fingers automatically, knitting their hands together in an unbreakable hold. "I know she thinks of you like a son. She loves you very much."
"Why is it so strange to you that I talk to my mum and sister about you when your mum treats me like a son?"
Piper shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know. They've always just felt like something you've had to yourself, you know? Because you never talk about them much. I mean, with how much time you seem to spend with my mum, it's inevitable that you'll become part of this crazy family. But I feel like your family is just, I don't know, not for me to be involved with."
Harry let out a long sigh because this was what he'd been worried about. He'd always had a bit of a hard time being open, with anyone. And while Piper made it easier to just relax and be himself, it still wasn't instinct for him to be upfront about things without being prompted. She probably felt like his family was off limits because he was so reluctant to talk about them. He didn't want her to feel that way. He wanted her to feel like she was a part of the Styles family.
"I promise, Piper, when it's safe, I'll take you up to Holmes Chapel to meet my mum. And my sister's whole family. The boys are a hassle apparently but I have a feeling you'll win them over. And Chris is pretty easy going. Gemma will probably give you a hard time because that's just how she is. But I know they'll all like you because I like you and I'm hard to please."
Piper snickered at that and Harry wasn't sure if it was because the idea was ridiculous or because she agreed whole-heartedly. Maybe he didn't want to know the answer. "I'd like that," she said finally.
"Come here," Harry said as he patted his leg. "Stop being so far away."
"If I sit, you'll start putting your hands all over me."
"And what, exactly, is so wrong with that?"
"Nothing I guess," she said with a sly little smirk as she pushed off the desk and perched herself on Harry's leg, his good leg. Immediately, his arms came around her middle, crossing over her stomach. One of his hands brushed the bottom of her breast, quite on purpose, and Piper sighed.
"So I had an idea."
"And what's that?" Piper asked as she looked down at him over her shoulder. The angle of the light hitting her face made her skin seem silky smooth and highlighted the pink of her cheeks. She wasn't wearing any makeup so her eyelashes were light and made her brown eyes seem so much bigger. When she grinned at him, his eyes immediately drifted to the gap between her second and third teeth on the left side, a remnant of the shift in her teeth before she'd gotten her implants. He thought it was the most perfect tooth gap he'd ever seen.
"I think you should sign the letter," he said as he tapped the sheet of paper he'd written his letter on. "I think the gift should be from both of us."
Piper's eyes widened, her eyebrows shooting right up her forehead. "You do?"
"I do," he agreed with a gentle nod of his head.
Piper pressed her lips together, quirking them up to the side as she surveyed the letter. After a moment of silence, he realized she was reading it. She kept sending him wary glances as if waiting for him to stop her. He didn't — he had nothing to hide.
By the time she was finished, she was smiling a proper smile. "I'd love to sign it. But do you think I could add something?"
"Sure," Harry said, a little surprised. He wasn't sure what Piper would want to say to his sister.
She surprised him by jumping up from his lap and hurrying around the desk and then right out of the room. He sat for a moment staring at the door, wondering what was happening. He'd been expecting Piper to write a little message on the letter, not to disappear to wherever to do whatever. Somehow, though, he wasn't surprised. Very little surprised him about Piper anymore. He'd gotten to know her, quirks and all, and he'd learned to just accept them as they came at him.
She appeared a couple of minutes later, waving about something in her hand. She perched back on Harry's leg happily and then held it up so he could see what it was.
It was a photograph, an old one. He and Piper were standing side by side, nearly touching but not quite. They were both wearing navy Christmas sweaters — his a borrowed cardigan that was meant to be a present for her brother. He'd never intended to keep it. He still had it hanging in the closet upstairs.
He marvelled for a moment at the picture. It was quite early in their relationship but even then, the chemistry was clear between them. They were looking at each other's sweaters. Harry was frowning a bit, his brow crunched and his jaw tight. Piper had a half smile on her face, her eyes crinkled as she laughed. Somehow, the photograph had captured a moment in time that was so Piper & Harry. It was sort of amazing.
"I want to put this in with the letter," Piper said. "You said in there that Gemma asked what I looked like and that you didn't have the words to describe how beautiful I was — which, by the way, was so romantic."
"I try," Harry said, amused, as he watched Piper scramble around, looking for a pen.
"So let's put this in. Maybe Gemma won't be so angry about getting ugly sweaters for Christmas if she sees you wearing one. And then, that way, she'll know what I look like and she'll know a little bit about me."
"I think," Harry said as he leaned forward so his mouth was by her ear, "that this is a wonderful idea."
"Really?"
"Gemma will get a kick out of this picture," Harry admitted. "Although, she'll take the piss out of me for the rest of my life because of it. The sacrifices I make for you, petal."
Piper turned her head and pressed her lips to his gently. "You're too good to me."
"You deserve it all."
She gave him a lingering look, her cheeks still turned up in a smile. She took in a long breath and then let it out slowly, as if she was just sort of inhabiting the moment. Eventually she shook it off and turned back to her work. She wrote a little message on the back of the picture to explain when it was taken (Harry tried not to be endeared by the fact that Piper knew the exact date) and then wrote her name beside Harry's on the letter with a flourish.
"There," she said with a satisfied finality. "Done. Now let's go get this thing wrapped up so we can ship it in time for Christmas." She got up, already folding the letter in thirds to fit in the envelope. When she saw Harry still sitting in his chair, she rolled her eyes and waved him up. "Come on, lazy. I might need to borrow a finger for the bow."
"You can borrow my fingers for anything, petal."
-
They'd sent his sister and her family matching Christmas sweaters, obnoxious red things with white snowflakes and reindeer and trees. The whole nine yards. It had been Piper's idea while they had been shopping together to get something for the family to wear for Christmas. It had been Harry's idea to get the ugly sweaters because he knew Gemma would hate them.
About a week after Christmas, a thick envelope came in the mail with a return address from his sister. Harry waited until Piper got home from work before he opened it so she could be there. After all, she'd contributed to the gift this year. It was only fair that she got part of Gemma's wrath in return. They curled up in the living room in front of the fire, Piper practically in his lap and sprawled over his torso as well. He could barely see around her mess of red hair which was perched precariously on the top of her head in what passed for a bun these days. He had to shove it out of the way to be able to read the letter.
Gemma's note was as follows:
You little shit.
Matching sweaters? What the fuck is wrong with you? Chris LOVED them and insisted that we all wear them for the day. For his whole family to see. His mother made us take about a billion pictures, one of which is in the envelope so you can laugh at it (again, Chris' idea, I would have burned it if I had the choice).
In terms of how everything is going here, it's good. Chris is doing well at work and so am I. Max broke his foot playing outside in the snow on Christmas Day night so I spent boxing day in the hospital. He's fine, before you ask, and he's being a little snot about it to be honest. Chris is falling all over himself to cater to him hand and foot but I know Max is milking it. I saw him playing with Freddie like it was no big deal and then he pretended it hurt when I walked in. He's picked up a few too many of his uncle's special skills if you ask me. You haven't seen him since he was a baby but I'm sure this is your fault somehow. Freddie got cast in his school play. They're doing Little Red Riding Hood and he's been cast as the grandmother, if you can believe it. His teacher is apparently quite 'progressive' and doesn't believe in gender roles, whatever that means. Freddie seems pretty jazzed about it though so who am I to complain? I'll send you pictures.
I'm sure you've talked to mum but in case you haven't, her and Robin are doing well. They came up for Christmas Day which was disastrous. Chris' family is so socially inept. Mum was uncomfortable the entire time though she pretended she wasn't. Robin just kept trying to tell jokes and nobody got them. It was sort of awful but it was nice seeing everyone together. Wish you could have been here. You and Piper, I should say.
I got the picture which made the sweaters you sent only slightly less atrocious. You looked really stupid in it, just so you know.
Piper is absolutely gorgeous and I can tell she isn't wearing makeup in that picture so fuck her. She seems quite a bit younger than you — how did you manage that? Why the hell would she waste her time with an old guy like you? She seems really great though. Just as pretty as you said she was, and I can tell just by the way you two look at each other that she means a lot to you and you to her. I'm really happy for you, H. You deserve someone like her.
Tell her I can't wait to meet the woman who managed to get my brother into a Christmas sweater. She's a goddess in my eyes.
Love to both of you,
Gemma xx