#harper stuff

WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO:

Make breakfast: harry

Cuddle the other for no reason: piper, probably, but harry definitely doesn’t mind a cuddle

Sleep on the couch after an argument: piper would probably make a big show of pulling out the extra sheets and sleeping on the couch if they got into a fight but she’d be regretting it when she was trying to fall asleep on the hard couch and harry would come down in the middle of the night and find her shifting on the couch and she’d pretend she was still mad at him but when he held out his hand and said ‘come on, petal, i miss you in bed’ she wouldn’t hesitate to take it

Drive and who is most likely to ride shotgun: harry’s driving if they want to get wherever they’re going without him pulling out all his hair with stress over piper’s terrible driving

Choose the music in the car: it’s a back and forth between them

Get jealous: both; piper’s would be more obvious, and harry’s would probably get him a bit possessive and hot and bothered

Break the expensive gift rule: harry because he’s fucking loaded

Remember anniversaries: both

Sneak sweets in the shopping cart: PIPER

Hog the covers at night: bertie

1. What do you do when the other is upset?

Piper: Harry is the worst when he’s upset because he gets all broody and he never wants to talk about what’s bothering him so usually its easier to let him come to me. He just has to work through things on his own sometimes and when he’s ready he’ll come talk it through with me. i just give him the space he needs until he’s ready to let me know what’s bothering him and then I just offer him whatever advice or support I can.

Harry: Piper is probably at the other end of the spectrum. She gets very emotional about things very easily, whether it’s anger or sadness or someone hurting her feelings. Usually I try and talk her down a bit so she isn’t so swept up in her emotions and then just help her in whatever way that she needs, whether its just to talk, or to help her find a solution, or even just to give her a hug.

2. Who is more romantic? Give examples.

Piper: Harry is definitely more romantic than I am. He’s always doing little things, like making me breakfast in bed, or offering a back massage after a long day, or surprising me with a date. And he’s got this habit of saying these things completely out of the blue that make my heart just melt. Or my toes curl, but usually he’s whispering those little things in my ear instead.

Harry: Okay, maybe I am a bit of a romantic, but Piper has her moments too. I mean, sure, she’s not the greatest cook --

Piper: hey!

Harry: -- and usually her schemes for dates somehow go wrong in the end and she once threw my back out trying to give me a massage but she always makes the effort and that’s what really matters.

3. What do your families think of your relationship?

Harry: My family have only met Piper over video chat and not in person but she’s still managed to win them over completely, naturally. I’m pretty sure my mum was just happy that I’d found someone to be with who understood me and loved me because I was so resistant to relationships in the past because of my job

Piper: It’s the same for me. My mum loves Harry. She’d been on me to settle down for ages which was ridiculous because I was only 23 and how many 23 year olds do you know that are settled down -- anyway, I’m pretty sure the fact that Harry was the one that managed to trap me into marriage so young made him a god in her eyes

Harry: What do you mean trap you? Of the two of us, I’m pretty sure I was the one being trapped.

Piper: You’re damn lucky I trapped you, I’m a blessing

Harry: There’s no one I’d rather be trapped by

Piper: You are such a bloody softie, honestly.

4. If you had to wear a couples costume for Halloween, what would you go as?

Piper: Couples costumes!! I have the perfect idea!

Harry: ... oh here we go

Piper: We would definitely dress up as Mulder and Scully, which is perfect because I’m a redhead and technically a doctor too and Harry’s very... uh...

Harry: No, go on, finish that sentence. What particular quality of Mulder’s do I embody so perfectly in your mind

Piper: I mean, even you can’t deny that you’re a bit of a conspiracy theorist

Harry: I’m a spy, I’m supposed to be skeptical, it’s part of the bloody job description!

Piper: Okay but you can’t deny that’s something Mulder would say too

5. Are you both earlier risers? Or do you both sleep in? Or is there one of each?

Harry: Piper would sleep in until the evening if she had the option, she is definitely not an early riser

Piper: And Harry is inhuman and likes to rise before the sun basically every day

Harry: I just prefer getting an early start to my day and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Although, I can be persuaded to stay in bed a little longer in the morning. With the right incentive, that is.

6. Do you have any routines at night? Before bed, in bed, etc.

Piper: Nighttime routines can be a bit of an ordeal with the kids. They’ve gotten used to things being a certain way and some of them don’t like having the plans deviate. Basically, I’m in charge of getting Violet ready for bed and tucking her in and Harry tackles Jack and keeps an eye on Sara who insists on doing everything on her own. And we swap out story time with the kids so one week Harry will do stories with Sara while I do stories with Violet and then we’ll swtich. And Jack just usually goes along with whoever picks him up first because he just likes a good cuddle before bed. So does Harry, for that matter.

Harry: There’s nothing wrong with liking a good cuddle. It’s nice, sometimes, after all the hustle and bustle during the day at work and with the kids to just lie with Piper in my arms and just be together. When she’s not in the mood to read before bed, she sort of likes to just burrow against me and snuggle in and I really like that time. Except when she gets a bit handsy during cuddle time

Piper: Excuse you, you love when I get handsy during cuddle time because it generally means you’re going to end up getting off

Harry: Maybe, but don’t pretend you don’t have ulterior motives too

Piper: Oh, I’m never pretending, I always have ulterior motives and luckily for me, you’re very easy to convince.

7. What nicknames do you have for each other?

Harry: Piper will always be my petal

Piper: I don’t really have any nicknames for Harry, although every now and then I’ll call him ‘baby’ by accident and he never seems to mind

8. Say you had a child, who is the strict parent and who is the lenient parent?

Harry: I think we’re both pretty balanced actually. I wouldn’t say either of us is more lenient or more strict with the kids than the other one is.

Piper: I definitely agree. I think I always expected it to be me being the lenient one and Harry being the strict one, just because of our personalities, but the kids bring out a playful side in Harry that sort of mellows out the stricter habits he’s picked up over the years from his job, and I think I’m okay with being firm when I have to.

Harry: The important thing with Piper and I is that we’re on the same page with how we deal with the kids getting emotional or acting out. We’re all about talking in this family, rather than getting angry or upset, and I think that helps a lot

Piper: But we’ve got three amazing kids so it’s not too hard to keep it balanced. You know, I think, overall, we’ve done a pretty damn good job raising our family.

Harry: I couldn’t agree more.

9. Would you rather go to a fancy restaurant for a date or stay at home and watch movies with pizza?

Piper: I think movies and pizza is more common with us because of the kids so I always think its really nice going out to a fancy restaurant once in a while just to keep the romance alive.

Harry: I agree, I love taking Piper out. Seeing her all dolled up always drives me crazy and I always have a good time teasing her a bit and making her blush to get her all riled up so when we get back to an empty house and the kids are away, we can relive some excellent past dates we’ve had

Piper: Thank god Louis and El take the kids for the night because it’s always a struggle keeping quiet on date night

10. What first attracted you about the other person?

Piper: Obviously Harry’s incredibly handsome so that helped attract me to him but I think the thing that really sealed the deal was that he was so confident but that there was a gentle side of him underneath it. When we first met, I was a bit thrown off my how assertive he was but also thought it was incredibly sexy. But it wasn’t until I saw how sweet he was, how kind and tender and loving he was with me even though we’d only just met, how he cared about me and wasn’t ashamed to show it -- that’s when I knew it was love.

The dog stared at her for a long minute and then quirked his head playfully.

“Ugh, let’s go,” Piper said as she opened the back door, letting the dog jump down and circle around her feet twice before he ran off to explore the garage. She slammed the back door shut and hiked her bag up on her shoulder heading for the door into the house. “Come on, let’s go. Oi!” she called out when she saw the dog had his head stuck in a bag of potting soil. “Get out of there!”

She kept a foot out to hold the Jack Russell back as she opened the garage door, calling out a serious “heel” before she pulled it away. The dog took a couple of excited steps forward and then stopped himself, backing it right back up and repeating the pattern. It was as close to a proper ‘heel’ as he could get but it was better than what he’d been able to do earlier in the week when he and Piper had first met.

“Is that you, petal?” 

“It’s me,” Piper called out and, assuming that he’d been included in the greeting, the Jack Russell let out a single bark that said ‘I’m here!’

And just like that, the whole house descended into madness. The barks and scrambling footsteps of 6 dogs racing through the house nearly drowned out the loud music (Bowie, as it turned out which somehow didn’t surprise Piper at all, knowing Harry’s taste in music). Harry’s head craned around the doorway to the kitchen, a curious furrow in his brow. He let out a groan when he saw the little dog at her feet nearly shaking with his desire to go and play with the other dogs.

“Piper,” he said shortly as he stepped into the hall, “What did I say about the dogs? We can’t –” He was interrupted by the puppy brigade skidding into the hall, practically galloping toward the new friend standing at Piper’s side. Harry tried to sidestep the pack but ended up getting butted in the leg by all of them at least once and was nearly upended right onto his bum by the Great Dane who always forgot he was a big dog. He only just managed to right himself before he ended up sprawled on the floor and Piper grimaced apologetically when he pressed his lips together reproachfully.

But she didn’t have time to do much else because she was suddenly covered in dogs coming to greet her and she crouched so she could pet each of them. Bertie, the tamest of the group as the oldest and the unquestionable leader of them, bumped his nose against her cheek in greeting and then circled to sniff around their new friend.

“Guys, this is Baxter,” Piper introduced as she patted whichever dog pressed against her. Most of them had already started sniffing at Baxter who was stiller than she’d ever seen him as all these bigger dogs sniffed at him. “He’s going to be staying with us for a while.”

“No.” Piper glanced up, sighing when she saw that Harry was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, a fierce scowl on his face. Piper gave Harry the best puppy dog eyes she could manage, pouting her lip out gently. Harry looked like he was going to give in for a second, unable to say no to the infamous Stone pout (the one all three of their kids had mastered by now), but he shook his head firmly instead. “No, Piper. We can’t bring in another dog.”

“But he’s just a little one,” Piper argued, plucking Baxter out of the puppy pile he’d been buried under and holding him up so his adorable little doggy face was pressed against her pouty face. “He’s so cute, Harry.”

“This is the fifth dog you’ve brought home this week!” Harry blew out a breath to calm himself and ran his hand through his hair. “This can’t continue, Piper. We’ve got more dogs than people now.”

There were seven altogether now – the Styles family dogs, Bertie and their Husky mix, Attie; plus the five dogs Piper had brought home from the shelter this week. Piper had to admit, it was a lot to handle. The cost of food alone was going to be exorbitant. She could understand why Harry was frustrated.

But he didn’t get it. He wasn’t at that shelter every day, watching these dogs being tossed aside because they weren’t the right breed to fight, being killed off because they wouldn’t make money. Piper couldn’t let that happen.

“Harry, please,” Piper said as she put Baxter back down, looking up at Harry pleadingly. “I know it’s a lot but it’s just until we can get them adopted. I just – I can’t just leave them there to die.”

Harry’s expression softened and he let out a gentle sigh, walking down the hall toward her. A couple of the dogs broke off to run around his feet and Harry reached down to pluck Attie off the ground and tuck the puppy under his arm as he knelt down in front of Piper. A reluctant smile slipped onto his face as he was surrounded by their dogs who all sniffed and licked at him lovingly. Underneath that burly exterior he sometimes tried to perpetuate he was a big marshmallow and he loved all of these dogs just as much as she did.

“I’m sorry,” he said to Piper. Her brow furrowed as she looked up, trying to figure out why. Harry’s mouth pressed into a tight line and he shook his head. “I know this mission has been really tough on you. I should be a little more sympathetic.”

It had started out as a simple favour she was doing for some friends at MI5 – they’d gotten wind of a dog fighting ring operating out of a shelter just outside of the city. Dogs that were rescued or donated were being selected for their fighting abilities and the discarded dogs were being euthanized, a gross violation of a number of protective laws. They needed someone who was really good with dogs to go undercover within the organization to collect evidence for the charges and Piper, having two well trained dogs of her own, was asked to step in.

She’d been fine at first, making the right connections within the shelter to get the information she needed, but on her fourth day, she’d finally been shown the basement. It was dark and dank, and smelled horrible, packed with tiny cages that held the dogs that weren’t selected for fighting. It had broken Piper’s heart, seeing all those poor dogs who had nothing wrong with them except the wrong temperament for fighting, or the wrong build. She couldn’t stand by and let them be killed for that so she’d started sneaking them home.

She was probably going to blow her cover soon, once they noticed dogs were going missing, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t try to do something.

Harry seemed to sense that too because he clicked his tongue gently and leaned in, wrapping his free hand around the nape of her neck and dragging her forward so he could kiss her. It was soft and sweet, and Piper sighed against his mouth.

It would have been a perfect moment if Attie hadn’t propped herself up on Harry’s chest and licked right up the side of Piper’s face.

She pulled back with a laugh, reaching over to grab Attie from Harry and hold the Husky puppy up to her face so they were nose to nose. “Excuse me, miss,” she mumbled to the dog, who stuck her little tongue out and licked Piper’s nose delicately. “Do you mind? We were having a nice moment.”

Harry had the audacity to laugh but he was quickly trampled down by the Great Dane, Rocky, and attacked with kisses. His chuckles turned into exasperated cackles as he tried and failed to push Rocky off, which just encouraged the other dogs to join in on the fun. Piper set Attie down beside her so she could pull out her phone and snap a couple of photos to use as blackmail later.

“Mummy?”

Piper looked up, a grin stretching onto her face when she saw Violet standing at the far end of the hall. She was wearing a pair of fairy wings and a tiara on her head, and had a bashful little blush on her cheeks as she watched her father getting mauled by puppies, his shrieking laughs echoing down the hall.

“Hello my darling,” Piper greeted warmly, waving Violet over. She’d always been the quiet one of the lot but also the most curious, and she eyed Harry suspiciously as she took small steps down the hall. “They’re just playing,” Piper assured her when she caught Violet’s lips twisting nervously. “Come on, I brought a new friend home. Come say hello.”

Violet perked right up, her socked feet slipping on the hardwood as she raced down the hallway toward the puppy pile. She dove right into Piper’s arms, wrapping her own small arms tightly around Piper’s shoulders. Her breath was hot against Piper’s ear as she leaned in and whispered, “I love you, mummy.”

Piper couldn’t help her beaming smile and just pulled Violet in tight. “Love you too, flower. Did you have fun at daycare today? That’s certainly quite the costume you’ve got there.”

Before Violet could answer, there was two sets of pounding footsteps on the floor and their two other children appeared in the hall. Sara was still in her football kit from her kid’s club practice earlier in the afternoon, her hair falling out of its ponytail so she had wispy strands of red hair falling in her face. She was holding onto Jack’s hand, her little brother looking up at her with wide eyes as if waiting for directions. When he caught sight of Piper at the end of the hall, he broke away from Sara and took off at a run. “Mummy!”

Piper just managed to catch her toddler as he flung himself at her, letting him sit on her other leg and sharing her lap with Violet. He curled up against her, letting out a sigh as he tucked his head against her shoulder. Piper guessed he’d skipped his nap today and desperately needed one. She caught Harry’s eye as he managed to pull himself up off the floor, shaking off the dogs who tried to cling on. When she nodded toward the dozy boy leaning against her, Harry just sighed and shook his head. So, it was going to be one of those nights tonight. Jack would be snoozing over his dinner and up past midnight, if experience was anything to go by.

“Mummy, mummy,” Sara called out, catching Piper’s attention as she plopped onto her knees beside Harry. She blew at the hair that had fallen in her face, her eyes lighting up as she looked at the dogs all around them. “Did you bring another one?”

“This is Baxter,” Harry told their daughter, gently pushing the Jack Russell in her direction. Sara sucked in a gasp almost right away, cooing about how cute he was as she pulled him close. She giggled as Baxter licked under her chin excitedly.

“Can he sleep in my room?” Violet mumbled, watching Sara being kissed by the little dog with a frown on her face. Piper gave her back a rub, trying not to coo over how cute Violet’s little jealous face was. It probably wasn’t the sort of thing she should be encouraging.

“No, he’s going to sleep in my room,” Sara said firmly, trying to exert her older sister authority.

“No, me,” Jack chimed in though he did it sleepily and Piper suspected he didn’t know what he was actually fighting for.

“I’m oldest, I –” Sara had to stop to spit a piece of hair out of her mouth and Harry sighed, shuffling over so he could yank out her ponytail and make it again, sweeping the hair out of Sara’s face. “I get to choose where he sleeps.”

“Actually, I’m the oldest,” Harry corrected, “so I guess I get to choose where he sleeps.” All the kids immediately began pleading their cases, their voices raising over one another, but Harry just talked right over them as he tightened Sara’s ponytail. “And all the dogs are going to sleep in their own beds tonight.”

Piper scoffed, rolling her eyes. He said that every night and then every night, one of the dogs ended up in all the kids beds, the rest crowding into Piper and Harry’s room. Bertie was the only dog who actually did what he was supposed to but that was because his doggy bed was in Piper and Harry’s room already, while the others were all in the family room downstairs.

Harry levelled her with a disparaging look and Piper just shrugged, smiling sweetly at Harry until he was forced to smile too. 

“We’ll let the dogs choose, how about that,” Piper offered as a compromise. That’s usually how it ended up going anyway. “What do you say, Attie?” Piper asked their husky. “Does that sound good?”

Attie must’ve taken Piper saying her name as an invitation because she leapt into Piper’s lap and place her little paws on Piper’s collerbone so she could lick Piper’s face. Piper laughed, turning her face away so she didn’t end up with a dog tongue in her mouth, and she promptly lost her balance trying to squirm away, falling onto her back. The kids squealed as they went down, laughing brightly as they watched their mum being licked to death by a puppy standing on her chest, and then suddenly all the dogs were on them, flopping over Piper and the kids. Piper felt Sara pushing her way into the pile, giggling as she was immediately smothered by Bertie who flopped across her tummy. She scratched at the older dog’s head as she curled up against her sister’s side.

Piper sucked in a gasp, her ribs hurting from laughing so hard, and popped her eyes open to find Harry standing over them, his phone out. He was grinning toothily at his family, those delectable dimples of his pressing into his cheeks and Piper felt herself smiling in response because damn, she loved that gorgeous grin of his and she still couldn’t believe sometimes that she was married to this handsome, brilliant, kind man.

And then she realized just what he was doing when the shutter clicked on his phone.

“Don’t you dare,” she growled though it shifted into a laugh as the french bulldog snuffled at her neck. “Harry, no! No pictures!”

“Call it payback,” he told her. Apparently she hadn’t been as sneaky as she thought earlier when she’d snapped those pictures of him. “Come on, kiddos, give us a smile.”

Their children all looked up with beaming grins – some of the dogs looked up too – and Piper was forced to grin when she felt Bertie nudge her side, as if to say let’s go Pips you’ve got to get in on the fun.