salute [h.s]

all because of an earache

Harry had come over and Piper had originally thought it was because he was looking to get laid, which she had no problems with, but the longer he was in her flat, the more she realized that tonight was not going to end in any bedroom fun. Something was going on with Harry that she couldn't quite figure out.

He was just really quiet. Not that he was normally chatty because he wasn't. He sometimes had quite a bit to say but even when he did, he said it so slowly sometimes that it felt like by the time a couple minutes had passed he only got through one sentence. Piper was used to it by now and had even come to relish the slow drawl of his voice, the languid way he sounded out his vowels with his northern accent.

She was finding it odd, really, having him there when he wasn't really doing anything. He was sitting on her bed, leaning up against the headboard propped on the only two pillows she owned, his legs were crossed at the ankle and his arms were crossed over his chest. He was scowling at the episode of Brooklyn Nine Nine that was playing on Channel 4. Granted, Piper wasn't sure whether the scowl was because Andy Samberg was an acquired taste but she suspected it was more than that. There was just something about him that was different.

"You alright?" Piper asked from the doorway. Harry glanced over, his eyebrows crunched up, and sort of shrugged his shoulder up.

"Fine, petal."

"Are you hungry?" Piper asked because she felt like this weird interaction had gone on for too long and she wanted it to be over. "I can make something. I think I have some potatoes in the fridge and there's chicken stock in the freezer although I'm not sure what I can do with that..."

"Sure," was all Harry said before he turned his gaze back to the TV.

Piper knew then, with absolute and complete certainty, that something was very wrong. Harry wouldn't ever eat anything she made, not when he knew how bad she was at cooking. He wasn't even very comfortable with her eating her own food creations when he wasn't around. Something was going on if he wasn't barring her entrance to the kitchen.

She watched him for a moment, trying to put on her super spy shoes and actually pay attention. He didn't have a runny nose or a cough or anything so she didn't think he was sick. He didn't have a bad day at work because he was Harry Styles the badass spy so that was pretty much impossible. He wasn't moping over a bad breakup because, hello, here she was, fabulous as ever.

And then he did that thing that he did a moment ago, the shrug of his shoulder. The left one. Accompanied by a head tilt sideways so that his ear pressed down on his upraised shoulder. He held the pose and then let it drop, his attention drawn to the screen. He shuffled his body a bit, squinted at the screen, and then he did the shoulder thing again.

If that didn't point to his ear as the root of the problem, him reaching his hand up to tug on it certainly did.

"Harry," Piper said softly as she stepped forward into the bedroom slowly, crossing over to her bed.

He looked up with a little smile that Piper knew he was doing for her sake because it wasn't really his smile, just a facsimile. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"That's my question," she said as she perched on the side of the bed, her hand drifting to rest across his body and on his hip. His hand immediately curved over hers, holding it in place.

"I'm fine."

She shook her head at him, ignoring him in favour of reaching up to feel his forehead. His skin was warm but not so warm that she thought it was a fever. "Something is obviously bothering you."

He was quiet for a moment and Piper suspected he was trying to come up with something that would make him sound invincible and indestructible. Eventually he just sighed wearily like he was carrying the world on his shoulders. "It's just my ear."

"Does it hurt?" Piper asked redundantly as she reached up to cup her palm over his left ear gently. He tilted his head into her hand, letting her cradle it.

"A little."

"Is it an infection? You don't feel like you have a fever."

"Not an infection," he grumbled as his eyes drifted shut slowly. She noticed the bags under his eyes now that there wasn't brilliant green distracting her. They were like deep purple bruises across his cheekbones. "It just hurts."

"Can I get you anything?" Piper asked, swiping her thumb gently over the lines across his brow, smoothing them out gently. Harry's eyes stayed closed but his lips twitched up at the corners into a little smile.

"Just you."

"Even with an earache, you're smooth," Piper said indulgently, making Harry chuckle softly. "C'mon, push over." Harry grumbled but did as he was told, making room for her on her bed. She spread out with her back against the headboard and then opened her arms. It only took a moment for Harry to turn into her side, curling against her with his head pillowed on her stomach, his sore ear resting against the fabric of her shirt. He got quite clingy when he was feeling ill.

"If you were feeling poorly, you didn't have to come over tonight," Piper murmured to Harry as she threaded her fingers through his hair, rubbing soothing circles into his scalp.

"I wanted to see you," he mumbled, pulling himself closer to her, speaking the words into her stomach. "I needed to see you."

Piper smiled to herself as her heart fluttered happily in her chest. Harry was always taking care of her, always looking out for her. He was her champion, and for as tough as he could be, he could also be sweet and tender. It hadn't been that long ago that he had pulled her close, in this bed, when she had been so sick she could barely move. Now she was getting the chance to return the favour and to be there for him when he was ill.

It felt nice to be needed, especially by someone as strong as Harry. For him to trust her when he was so vulnerable was the best reassurance that Piper could have asked for. She felt so close to him right now, so connected.

And all because of an earache.