december 27 - travelling for the holiday
1D fanfic/Salute Extra
Harry/Piper
*
They were going to miss their connection. Harry was sure of it. He kept checking his watch as he waited for Piper to finish up whatever the hell she was doing in the bathroom. When she finally emerged wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, her red hair pulled back in a messy bun, Harry stood from where he'd been leaning against the wall.
"You do realize that it's pissing rain and about ten degrees in London right now." He eyed her new outfit, a change from the business suit she'd been wearing on their first connection. They'd come from L.A. where they were meeting with liaisons from the CIA about a joint project in the New Year. It had been a couple of months since Piper had officially joined One Direction and she was settling into the role nicely. The great thing was that people seemed to just like her without any effort on her part. Maybe it was because she was younger and carried a certain positivity about their work but even the bigwigs took a shining to her. Harry was really proud of the work she'd done on the trip.
"You don't like it?" she asked cheekily as she struck a pose to model her change of attire.
"Piper, I'm tired," Harry said a bit shortly because he'd spent the entire flight worrying about her and hadn't had a moment to relax. "I just want to get onto our flight so I can sit down. Would you mind just telling me what's going on?"
Piper looked a little disheartened at his reaction, her big smile wavering a little, but she brushed it off and perked herself up almost right away. "We're not going back to London."
"We're what?" Harry wasn't totally convinced that he wasn't dreaming all this, already on their flight from Charlotte, NC, to London.
"I, um, I planned a bit of a surprise." She stepped closer so she was right in front of him and their conversation was a bit more private. Harry glanced at the people rushing around, then at the clock on the wall across from them, before finally looking down at Piper. She was smiling that hopeful smile again but she also seemed a bit nervous, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt. "I booked us off for a vacation for a week," she explained. "We're actually getting a connection to Turks and Caicos in about an hour."
Harry had a lot of questions running through his head — mostly logistical things and then the big one which was how the hell Piper managed to keep all of this a secret — but the one that ended up coming out was, "why?"
Piper's face fell and she pressed her lips together for a moment as she stared at the skin showing above the collar of his dress shirt. "It's our one year anniversary. Of our first date."
He could tell by the disappointment in her voice that she thought he'd forgotten. He hadn't. He could never forget that night. "You're a week early petal."
Her eyes brightened a bit as she looked up. He could see her piecing together what he'd said because bit by bit, her frown spread out into a wide toothy grin. He couldn't help but smile back when he saw that kind of joy on her face. "You remembered."
"'Course I did," Harry told her as he placed a hand on each hip and used his hold to pull her closer. "How could I possibly forget? It was a pretty unforgettable night."
"I thought that, with us travelling to L.A. anyways, I would figure out a trip we could take now rather than waiting. I wanted to go somewhere warm. It seems like whenever we travel together, it's never warm." She had a point. The last three trips they'd taken together were to Stockholm, Ottawa, and Tallinn. Not exactly the warmest destinations in the later months of the year. "I hope this is okay," she added warily as she eyed Harry nervously.
"It's definitely okay, petal," Harry said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. "I actually think it's very sweet. Sort of perfect. I do feel bad though."
"Why?"
"I didn't get you anything," he said with a frown. He hadn't even thought about it if he was totally honest. He wasn't sure how big of a deal Piper was planning on making about their anniversary. Apparently, a big deal.
"You didn't have to," she hurried to say. "You've done so much for me over the last year and I feel like I've never returned the favour —"
"You've saved my life," Harry reminded her. "Four times."
She shrugged as if that was no big deal which made Harry scoff a laugh. Trust Piper to completely minimize the importance of the fact that he wouldn't even be standing in that airport without her. "You've saved my life too," she countered which was undeniably true. They were evenly matched, him and Piper.
"Anyways," she continued before he could say another word, "the trip is nonrefundable so you can't say no. And you don't need to get me a present. We're going to be staying in a private cottage on one of the quieter islands with nothing to do but lie around in the sun and have a lot of sex." She pressed herself up against him delightfully and Harry had to use a lot of restraint not to touch her inappropriately in the middle of the airport. "That'll be my gift."
He kissed her, sweet and slow. She sagged against him as she sighed into his mouth, her arms coming around his neck to hold on to him. His hand slid under the back of her t-shirt so his palm was pressed flat against her warm skin. He loved touching her. It was one of his favourite activities. "Thank you," he said to her softly when they'd stopped kissing for the time being. "I love this idea. I really can't wait to spend a week alone with you. I feel like it's been ages since we've had any time to ourselves."
"By the end of this week, we'll have spent so much time together, you'll be sick of me."
"I could never get sick of you, petal."
Piper gave him a hungry look and seemed for all intents and purposes like she was fighting with herself about whether being arrested was worth jumping him in the hallway and ripping his clothes off. Harry understood the feeling. He used to have the same feeling when he walked into T branch and saw her typing on her computer, wearing a look of concentration as she bit on her lip. He loved having her working with him but he would always miss those T branch days for that exact reason.
She forced herself to step away and take a deep breath. "Go change and put some shorts on," Piper instructed, pointing toward the men's room. "We have a flight to catch."
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He didn't put on shorts but he did change into a pair of comfortable jeans and a t-shirt, sunglasses hanging from the collar. It made the flight experience a lot nicer since he wasn't wearing a suit. Granted, his suits were pretty damn comfortable because he had them tailored expertly but it was much easier to sit back and relax wearing a worn pair of jeans.
Of course, sitting back and relaxing wasn't something that ever actually happened when he was on flights with Piper. She'd always been a terrible flier. On their first flight together, she'd practically sat in his lap the entire flight while he stroked her hair and tried to comfort her. It hadn't gotten much better since then despite the number of flights they'd taken. Usually if it was an overnight flight or a long trip, he'd surreptitiously drug her so she could sleep the flight away. It didn't work on these shorter flights.
Her anxiety was a bit irrational, especially since the engineering side of Piper knew all about aerodynamics and the mechanics of flying. He'd asked her what the problem was but she'd never been able to articulate it. Harry speculated that it was just her brain doing what it always did and thinking too hard. She was always worried about little improbabilities and got really jumpy at the slightest disturbance.
He'd learned little tricks that helped her out a bit — noise cancelling headphones for movies so she couldn't hear what was going on around her, always closing the window so she couldn't see the sky around them, making her sit in the window seat so she wasn't jolted by other passengers walking by. He always tucked a blanket around her even if she wasn't cold because blankets were sort of like Piper's security shield. The first thing he did once seated was ask the flight attendant to bring a hot tea the moment that they were permitted food and drinks and he forced Piper to drink it in little sips to calm down. He'd learned her quirks and it had helped quite a bit.
She'd been pretty good on the flight so far. It was a short one, just under three hours, so there wasn't in-flight movies or anything like that. Piper was sitting beside him wrapped up in her blanket like a burrito (the flight attendant had been tempted to say something but kept it to himself when Harry had given him a challenging look) and she was halfway through a thriller she had picked up in the airport gift shop. He thought maybe she was actually doing alright and that he might have time for a nap but then he noticed the tight hold she had on the book, her fingers turning white with the pressure. She was doing a very good job of hiding her anxiety, much better than usual. He probably wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't as observant as he was.
"How're you doing, petal?" he asked quietly as he leaned over toward her. She glanced up from her book and forced the most insincere smile onto her face, nodding shakily. "I know you better than that. I can tell when you're lying, Piper."
"Sorry," she sighed, closing the book with shaky hands. "I don't mean to be this way —"
"It's alright," Harry said gently, reaching over to brush her hair behind her ear, his hand lingering on her cheek momentarily. "You don't need to be sorry for being who you are." She nodded her understanding but it didn't erase any of the discomfort from her face. Harry wished he knew what to do to make it go away. He didn't, but he did know a way he could help. He pushed up the arm rest between them and then put his arm around her hips to drag her closer. When their sides were pressed tightly together, he wrapped both his arms around her and drew her into his chest. They got as close as they could with the seatbelts factored in, Harry shifting so his thighs slid under Piper's and she was resting against him completely. She let out a long breath as she curled up against him. "How's that? A little better?"
She nodded, her forehead bumping against his shoulder. "A little."
"Good," Harry murmured into her hair as he held her close. "Just try to relax. We'll be there before you know it and then it'll be just the two of us."
"Paradise," she said quietly.
Harry couldn't help but agree.
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She'd booked a private cottage on Pine Cay, a little privately owned island in Turks and Caicos. They were almost right on the beach and the bed had an unimpeded view of the bright blue waters. When Harry had guaranteed that once their guide was gone they would be totally and completely alone, he wasted little time in christening any surface he could find with Piper's lovely body. She was jelly by the time they were finished and chose to lounge naked on the bed while Harry unpacked their clothes.
"I thought it would be weird just lying around naked," she mused at one point, her eyes closed as she lay sprawled on the bed. Harry paused to take an appreciative look at his girlfriend since he knew he wouldn't be caught. "Like, whenever I heard of celebrities doing it, I never understood. But I sort of get it now. I like it."
"So do I."
She cracked one eye open to give him a deprecating stare. He just grinned wolfishly back at her, his mind already drifting off to inappropriate places. He'd had enough sex for now though and while he definitely appreciated the view, he was treating it as just that — an opportunity to look and not to touch. They had a whole night ahead of them to have their fun. Right now he wanted to get the little jobs out of the way, like unpacking and securing their important belongings, and then they would have their fun.
"I feel like a swim," Piper said a couple of minutes later as she rolled over and up, her feet planting on the ground for a moment before she rose to her feet. "Have you unpacked a swimsuit yet?"
He had unpacked a swimsuit, a sporty bikini that was very much Piper's style. She didn't go for things like lingerie. She'd tried a few times in an attempt to impress him but he could honestly say that he thought she was sexier when she was wearing a pair of her cute cotton knickers and one of his t-shirts. Piper preferred comfort over anything else so it didn't surprise him that this was a swimsuit with bottoms that, while small, would cover her bum up properly and a halter with thicker side straps than those string things that most women wore these days. He had no doubt that she would look incredibly sexy in her swimsuit anyways.
"We're on a private beach, aren't we petal?"
"Yes," Piper answered slowly as she squinted in his direction, trying to figure out where he was going with this thought. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"
"It just seems like a wasted opportunity covering up if we don't have to." Harry shrugged casually, not wanting to pressure Piper into doing something she didn't want to do. "It's just a thought."
"Would you be going without a swimsuit as well?" she asked as she stepped closer to him. Harry's eyes were immediately drawn to the gorgeous body shifting in his direction and he nearly lost all the thoughts in his head.
"Of course."
"Hmm. Now that," Piper purred as she ran her hand down his chest and under his shirt, yanking it up over his head, "is an idea I can get behind."
Private beach, it turned out, meant that they did not have to share, not that they couldn't be seen which they learned the hard way when a boat passed through the water not far from where they were skinny dipping. With how clear the water was here, Harry was pretty sure they got a show.
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"You missed a spot."
"Hmm?" Piper had obviously been so blissed out, enjoying the heat and the sunshine, that she'd sort of gone off into her own world. Her head rolled sideways in a disoriented way and she lazily reached a hand up to push her sunglasses up her forehead. She squinted at the bright light and eyed Harry.
"You missed a spot," he repeated with a grin as he ran his hand slowly up the calf she had thrown over his lap. He traced back down slowly, his fingers skimming the surface of her skin. He knew it tickled her because she jerked her leg around and nearly kneed him in the groin. It was only quick reflexes on his part that stopped her. He placed his whole hand over her leg, wrapping his fingers around so they tickled the back gently. "When you were shaving," he clarified when she continued to stare confused at him.
"No I didn't," she bit out, leaning forward and running her hand down her calf quickly.
"Yes, you did." Harry rubbed his fingers over the small patch of hair she hadn't caught with her razor. It was barely visible because her hair was so light against her pale skin and the sun reflecting off of her white legs disguised any imperfections. But he could feel it under his fingertips, a roughness in contrast to the infinity of smoothness around it right up the rest of her leg. "Right here. Just a little spot."
"Why would you tell me that?" Piper said exasperated as she waved her hands around dramatically. He loved when she spoke with exuberance like this, even when it was directed his way. She just had this life in her, this spirit, that couldn't be matched by anyone he had ever met before. It was one of the things about her that had always stood out to him — her outspokenness, her tendency to speak her mind, her strong opinions — and one of the things he loved about her. "Now all I'm going to be thinking about is that stupid patch of hair."
"I like it," Harry said as he ran his hand from the little patch up her thigh until his palm was cradling her hip. "It's very Piper-ish."
"What — disorganized and a total mess? Unfinished?"
"You're never unfinished, petal," Harry said in a low voice as he used his hold on her to maneuver her off him and down onto the bed. He wasted no time in lying her back and spreading over top of her, hovering over her on arms planted in the plush beach bed. "Not if I can help it."
"Smooth casanova."
Harry froze, his eyes narrowing and his face pulling into a scowl as he stared at the bed just to the side of his girlfriend's gorgeous face. "Get out of my ear."
"I was just checking in." Harry could practically hear the smug grin on Louis's face. He rolled his eyes and sat up onto his knees, resting gently against Piper's thighs to keep her in place. He wasn't done with her yet.
"This is the third time you've interrupted me when we explicitly agreed that you're not allowed to listen in when I'm off duty. You're lucky you're my best mate, Lou, or I'd kill you. Painfully. And slowly."
"Yeah, yeah, Mr. Secret Agent Man. I'm so scared. And I wasn't just listening in. I was trying to give you some pertinent information and didn't want to interrupt your lovely conversation."
"You're a twat," Harry snapped at his friend. He felt Piper's delicate hand on his thigh, smoothing over the tense muscles there. When he looked down, she was watching him with the most adorable scrunched expression, obviously confused. She tapped her ear gently and Harry nodded. "Listen, I don't have time for you. Go away."
"I do actually have something important for you, from C. Something he wants you to do while you're there."
There was an instinctual drive that started up in Harry that urged him to go, go, go, to get the job done. That sort of efficiency had practically been built into him. When a command came down, especially one that came directly from C, it was his natural inclination to drop everything and ask when and where.
One look at Piper, smiling fondly at him while she waited for him to finish his call, her fingers rubbing gently up and down his thighs in a light massage, and he was tamping down those natural instincts. He would never do that to her, leave her in the middle of their vacation. She'd worked hard to plan out this trip and had miraculously managed to keep it a surprise. He could tell she was obviously happy to be here with him and he didn't want to ruin everything by putting work first and running off.
"Sorry Louis," Harry said dismissively. "I'm on vacation. That means no contact and C knows that. If you'd be so kind as to remind him, that would be a big help."
"You sure, Harry?" Louis asked warily. Harry wasn't surprised by his reaction — he'd never turned down work before. But that had been before Piper came into his life. He had more important things going on than just work now. "It sounded pretty important."
"Right now, the only thing that's important to me is trying to keep my beautiful girlfriend's abnormally pale skin from getting burned while we lounge in the sun." Piper scrunched her nose up distastefully, giving him a dirty look. Harry, done with the conversation, leaned forward to kiss her nose gently, making her scrunch it up even more. She was ticklish pretty much everywhere. He loved it.
"Can you at least wait until I get off the call before you start snogging. I can hear you."
"Goodbye Louis," Harry said as he pressed his lips to Piper's jaw in an open-mouthed kiss that made her grin and giggle, squirming a bit. "I'll talk to you in four days when we get home." He said it pointedly in a way that clearly said don't you dare interrupt me again.
"Use protection," was Louis's last contribution to the conversation before the low hum that usually accompanied the open line of the transmission disappeared and the only sound Harry could hear was the sound of the ocean, the rustling of the filmy curtains on the posts of the beach bed shifting in the breeze, and Piper's heavy breathing as she attacked Harry's neck with her lips. Harry tilted his head so her lips hit his instead and stole a breathtaking kiss from his beautiful girlfriend.
"Did you just choose me over work?" Piper asked while Harry was sucking a bruise into the skin over her collarbone. He was astounded sometimes that her brain worked the way it did. Here they were in an intimate moment and it was still reviewing the one-sided conversation it had just overheard.
"Yes," Harry informed her as his fingers caught the edge of the cup on her bikini top, yanking the material aside to expose Piper's breast to his hungry mouth. "I know my priorities."
She gasped as he licked the underside of her breast before circling his lips around her nipple. "Oh yes," she panted as she fisted a hand in his hair in that way she did that made Harry so painfully hard for her, "yes you do."
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"Harry? Did you get the stuff?"
He pushed the door closed, shoving the keys back into his pocket. He was already rifling through the grocery bag with supplies from the resort's main building, searching for the tube of aloe vera cream he'd gotten. "I'm here, petal. I got some cream that should help. Has it gotten any better?"
"No," she murmured into the pillow. She tried to shuffle over but the second she moved she was cringing and whining in pain.
"Don't move yet," Harry instructed sternly as he dumped the other things he'd brought and moved to the bed. He put a knee up onto the mattress and then swung himself up and over her so he was straddling her thighs. "Just stay still while I get this on your back, okay?"
The poor thing. He had thought they were going to make it through the whole trip without her getting a sunburn but on their second last day, it had finally happened. She brought enough sunscreen for three regular people but with skin as pale as hers it was easy for her skin to burn. She'd been so careful except this morning. While he had been out snorkling, she'd spread out on the beach bed with a book wearing only her bottoms and a sarong that covered her legs so she could get rid of the tan lines from her bikini. Harry had personally spread a layer of sunscreen over her back and shoulders so it wouldn't turn into a burn.
She'd fallen asleep. By the time Harry was back on land, she'd been snoozing in the sun for hours, slowly baking in the midday sun. She'd been fine when he first woke her up, complaining about being thirsty but not reporting any pain. It had only taken about an hour for the burn to really set in to the point where moving even an inch tugged at the raw skin and hurt her enough to pull a whimper out of her.
"This is going to be cold," he warned her as he squirted some of the aloe gel onto his hands, rubbing them together. The second he touched the cool gel to her red back, she jumped about a foot in the air. "Just give it a second to set in," he said as he slowly began to rub the gel in circles over her shoulder. Eventually he felt the muscles relaxing beneath his touch and knew the aloe was doing its job.
She flinched each time he touched a patch of skin he hadn't reached yet but she got used to the sensation much quicker. It took nearly twenty minutes to spread the cooling agent over every inch of her burned back and neck but it was worth it for the relieved sigh that slipped from her lips as he climbed off of her. "Better?" Harry asked as he dropped the half empty tube on the bedside table and headed for the bathroom.
"Much," he heard her reply before he stepped away to wash his hands.
He climbed into bed next to her with his grocery bag in hand. The chances of Piper getting up to go to the resort for dinner were extremely slim so he'd brought back a couple of easy to eat foods. He took a moment to put on some quiet music from Piper's phone — the resort didn't have a telly — before stretching out beside her and placing a hand on her forehead. Like he'd feared, she was warm and he suspected she'd gotten sunstroke as well. "Are you feeling alright otherwise? Do you have a headache? Are you sick to your stomach?"
"Headache," she murmured as she tilted her head to rest her cheek on the pillow, her eyes glancing up to meet his. "Dizzy. M'head is all swimmy."
"Okay, petal," Harry said soothingly as he pulled a bottle of water out of the bag and stuck a straw into the top, holding it out for her. She took little sips of it when he told her too, going slow so she didn't make herself sick. "Could you eat?" Piper groaned and shook her head. "Just a little. Some fruit and maybe some cucumber. It'll help with the dehydration."
She acquiesced and Harry spent the next half an hour intermittently feeding her cubes of watermelon and slices of cucumber. She complained about him babying her a bit but he just shushed her, offering her the next bit of food to eat. Maybe he was babying her but when she was hurt in any way, including a wicked sunburn, it was his natural instinct to tend to her and take care of her. He didn't care if it hurt her pride. He just wanted to see her get better.
When he tried to get her to drink a bit more, he realized she had drifted off to sleep. He thought it was a blessing that she could sleep through the pain. Hopefully she'd wake in the morning feeling better and renewed and they could enjoy their last day on the island. Until then, he'd have to keep himself amused.
He'd like to say that he borrowed one of Piper's books to keep himself busy. There was no public wifi on the island — there weren't even phones in the rooms — so he couldn't do any work. Reading was the only escape available and he'd like to say he used it.
But if he was being honest, he spent most of the night watching Piper sleep at his side, marvelling at her soft features and listening to every single word she muttered in her sleep. It was better than what any book could offer him.
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Thankfully Piper was feeling better in the morning but did not feel up to braving the sun, no matter how much sunscreen was involved. She'd put on one of Harry's t-shirts that wouldn't press on her back and just wore that and her knickers down to the beach bed. Harry made sure to secure the thick fabric cover over the top to block out the sun so Piper could sit in the shade but still enjoy the view of the water. They lay together for most of the midday and afternoon, just relaxing. Piper was lying on her stomach across Harry's chest, reading to him in a slow melodic voice from her book. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo had never sounded as romantic as it did from Piper's lips in her soft reading voice.
They trekked to the main building of the resort for their last night's dinner. Piper was covered head to foot in a flowing maxi dress with short sleeves that protected her shoulders from the sun and was keeping her face shaded by a floppy brimmed hat. She wasn't taking any chances while there was still daylight.
Bonnie and Graham were waiting for them in the dining room, their plates already filled from the buffet. Harry escorted Piper through the line, being patient of her moving a little slower even when the other diners hummed and hawed. They didn't hesitate before joining Bonnie and Graham at their table. They'd met the older couple on the first night at the resort because they were forced to share a table when no others were available. It happened again and again so by the third night's dinner, Harry and Piper had just joined Bonnie and Graham even though other seats were available. The couple, vacationing from Canada, were very sweet and quite entertaining.
"We've missed you two," Bonnie said in her boisterous, slightly too loud voice as she looked between the two of them. "Where have you been?"
"Enjoying some alone time," Graham muttered in his wife's direction. She gave him a side look before rolling her eyes.
They were a hilarious couple because outwardly they seemed like complete opposites. Bonnie was loud and bright and energetic. Graham was quiet and stern and stubborn. But they worked so well together. Watching them with each other was like watching the point where a rushing rapid and a gentle river meet in the ocean, blending into one. Bonnie and Graham together was the confluence.
Harry liked to think that him and Piper had the same dynamic. They were very different as well — Harry, due to extensive training, played things close to the chest while Piper was much freer with her emotions and her thoughts. Harry was less impulsive and gave everything more consideration. Piper wasn't afraid to take chances and deal with the consequences. Harry was a tad controlling (although Piper might use a different word than tad) and Piper didn't like to be controlled. Somehow, though, they worked. Well, if he did say so himself.
"Is everything alright?" Bonnie asked in a motherly sort of way as she looked warily between Harry and Piper, who was pushing around her food on her plate. Her stomach was still a little unsettled because the dizziness from the dehydration hadn't dissipated yet.
"Piper got quite the sunburn so she wasn't up for coming out last night," Harry explained as he watched his girlfriend carefully. She looked up from the plate and gave Bonnie a smile that was more of a grimace than anything.
"Not a sun person?" Bonnie asked.
"Apparently not."
Harry placed his hand gently on her back. Before they'd come down for dinner, he'd applied another layer of aloe gel that helped cool her skin. Still, he was careful of the pressure he used when he touched her. She looked over and when she tried a smile this time around, it looked more natural.
"You two," Bonnie cooed as she placed her hands on her cheeks and looked at the two of them with hearts in her eyes. "You're the sweetest couple I've ever seen. A real winter couple."
"A winter couple?" Harry questioned with a chuckle. That was one he hadn't heard before.
"Oh, you know," Bonnie said as she waved Harry off as if he was the silly one, "one of those couples who has so much heat between them they could warm a cold night." Piper's face flushed bright red under the light tan she'd managed to cultivate. "Winter couples are the cuddlers, the ones that like to stay close to each other, with warm personalities on the inside."
"Darling," Graham said quietly once Bonnie had stopped for a breath, "you sound absolutely insane right now."
"You know what I mean," she scolded as she swatted his arm. "I swear, it's a real thing. Back home in Edmonton, there are these couples that come out of the woodwork when it gets really cold. The winter couples."
"They never last," Graham interrupted. "It's all just for the sake of keeping busy when the weather's terrible."
"We lasted," Bonnie reminded him which stopped whatever Graham had been about to add from slipping out. He looked over at his wife thoughtfully and then gave her a little smile.
"We did, didn't we?"
"Harry and I fell in love in the winter," Piper mumbled as she let her fork drop, done with her dinner before she'd even started. She sat back, squishing Harry's hand between her and the chair. When she remembered he was touching her, she sort of leaned into him. It was natural for him to shift his body so she could recline against him comfortably. He never minded having Piper leaning against him — he liked having her close. "And I think we're going to last."
"I think you're right," Harry said quietly as he leaned over to press a delicate kiss to her chapped lips. Piper tucked her head against his shoulder and watched Bonnie and Graham with tired eyes. Harry caught Graham's gaze and had to force back the smile when Graham waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Bonnie, on the other hand, looked like she was on the verge of tears, smiling so hard it took over her face.
"So when's the wedding?" she asked.
Harry and Piper shared a glance, a long lingering look that held numerous past conversations in it. It was Piper who smiled first, a proper smile that she'd kept hidden over the last couple of days. Harry could never keep his smile in check when she was beaming like that.
They startled Bonnie by bursting into loud laughter, the two of them lost in their own inside conversations. Bonnie could only look helplessly at her husband.
"Was it something I said?"
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When they landed in Heathrow, it was raining hard and the cold, damp air blew right through the arrivals section every time the door was opened. Piper, who hadn't changed out of her shorts, pulled on a pair of wellies to cover her calves and wrapped herself in a long puffy winter coat. With her tanned face, it was quite a sight.
Louis and Eleanor were waiting in the main part of arrivals and both of them waved when Harry and Piper came into sight. Harry and Eleanor exchanged a gentle hug while Louis swept Piper into a tight cuddle. She yelped and tried to squirm away. Louis, thinking she was just playing around, hugged tighter.
"Lay off," Harry snapped as he forcibly pushed Louis away. "She's got a bad sunburn."
"Aw, Pips. What rubbish luck," Louis said sympathetically as he loosened his hold. She just shrugged lazily. She was exhausted, Harry could tell. He'd forced her to take an ambien because, with the achy pain she was still experiencing in her back, an overseas flight was going to be a disaster. He'd waited until she'd been asleep for a half hour before he let himself fall asleep at her side. Something must have happened during the flight because when he woke up an hour before landing, she was curled in a ball in her seat, practically shaking, and had chewed off all the skin around her thumbnail. What she needed right now was a long sleep at home where she felt safe.
"We've got the car waiting outside," Eleanor told them. Her eyes drifted toward Piper and hovered there for a moment before her cheek quirked up. "I think its best we get home as soon as we can."
Harry furrowed his brow, confused, and looked over at his girlfriend. She was standing absolutely still, hunched over a bit, and was staring at the ground with drooping eyelids. She was so tired she was about to fall asleep standing up. Harry wasn't sure why but he found the whole thing extremely endearing.
"Here, take this," Harry said as he slid the suitcase in Louis's direction. It clocked him in the knees and Louis winced.
"I missed you crazy kids," he muttered sarcastically under his breath as he rubbed his knee, taking the suitcase in one hand. "Remind me when you're going on vacation again?"
Eleanor gave her boyfriend a disapproving scowl as she smacked his arm. "Behave," she said warningly before looking up at Harry, her expression taking a 180 as she smiled lightly. "I'm assuming you'll be right behind us?"
When Harry nodded, she pushed Louis ahead of her in the direction of the exit. Harry moved over to Piper, touching her shoulder gently. "Petal? You still with me?"
She mumbled something under her breath that sounded distinctly like 'chocolate-covered strawberries' and Harry knew she was long gone. With a sigh, he slid his arm around her back and then the other behind her knees, swooping her up into his arms in one smooth movement. She grumbled a bit but didn't wake up. Harry took a moment to make sure he had a strong hold on her and then trekked after Louis and Eleanor toward the car.
Piper's head had lolled sideways by the time he reached the Range Rover idling at the curb and she was muttering nonsense words into his skin, tickling his throat. Louis hopped out of the car to open the door when he saw them walking toward the car and he was grinning like an idiot as Harry tried to get Piper in the car without bumping her head. "Looks like you had a nice trip," he said with a strange amused undertone to his voice. "You certainly wore her out."
Harry jabbed his foot out backward and caught Louis in the shin, making his best mate curse as he bent over to hold his sore leg. Harry tried not to be pleased with himself as he pushed Piper across the seats and then followed in behind her but he couldn't help it when Eleanor winked approvingly at him in the rearview mirror. Louis was grumbling as he slid into the driver's seat and took the car out of park. Harry buckled Piper in, letting her rest back against the seat as she dozed, and then buckled himself in on the other side of the car.
"It must have been so nice being alone together in the heat and the sun," Eleanor said quietly once they were on the road headed into the city. "Love is so easy in the summer. It always gets harder in the winter with the grey and the damp and the snow."
Harry thought back to what Bonnie had said about winter couples. It was funny that he didn't understand it completely until just now. Because when he looked out at the early winter skies, he didn't see grey or dampness. He saw the promise of white fluffy snow, of warm fires and fresh air. He imagined bundling up Piper to go out and unwrapping her like a present when they got home. He remembered cold kisses that warmed him head to foot and generating heat having fun under the covers. Him and Piper were a winter couple. The summer was nice but there was nothing like a winter romance.
"I love her in the sun and in the snow." He glanced over at Piper who was sleeping with her lips parted gently, her breath coming out in slow exhalations. Her cheeks were flushed the way they always got when it was cold out, two rounds of red on her pale face. He loved to kiss those flushed patches because they were like a physical sign of love, of arousal and affection.
She was never more beautiful than she was in the winter.