Waking up next to Harry, in his childhood home, was probably the best thing Louis could have wished for on his birthday. Harry was pressed up against his chest, his curls tickling Louis' nose.
Louis pressed himself closer. Harry was just so warm, and Louis felt so utterly cold without him. He inhaled his sent, exhaling deeply.
"Did you just sniff me?" came Harry's deep rumble. Slowly, he turned around in Louis' grasp so that they lay face to face. A soft smile was on his face, and Louis was so, so tempted to just lean in and kiss him.
"I so did," whispered Louis. "A problem?"
"Nah." Harry yawned. "Lou?"
"Mhm?"
"Happy birthday, love."
Butterflies basked in Louis' stomach. "And Merry Christmas to you." He placed a kiss on Harry's forehead. "You look so adorable right now."
"Shut up," giggled Harry. He pulled Louis' body closer to him by the waist.
"Why would I ever do that?" Louis asked, hiding his face in Harry's neck. "Fuck, you smell so good."
Harry chuckled. "How does it feel like to be twenty-two?"
"Pretty much the same as twenty-one, not gonna lie."
"I figured." Harry traced his fingers over Louis' spine underneath the T-shirt Louis had worn to bed. Goosebumps erupted on Louis' skin, and he sighed wistfully.
"This is perfect. Can we please just stay in bed all day?"
"You know we can't, love," Harry softly said. "It's the best day of the year. My boyfriend's birthday."
"And Christmas."
"Who cares about that sort of thing when there's you to celebrate?"
Louis blushed. "It has never truly felt like that."
Harry kissed the crown of his head. "I'm planning on trying to change that. You deserve to feel so, so celebrated."
Louis smiled softly. "Thank you."
"Can I start by giving you your birthday present?" Harry asked, propping up on his elbow.
"I wouldn't mind," Louis chuckled softly.
"Wait here." Harry kissed his forehead, slowly getting out of the bed.
Louis let his eyes follow Harry as he walked over to his bag on the floor. He was wearing a blue T-shirt with a duck on it, and his boxer briefs. Louis' eyes were glued to his arse as he bowed down.
"Lou, I can feel you staring." He began rummaging through his bag, chuckling softly as he did so.
"Can't help it when you look like that, Baby," Louis said.
"Sure." Harry shook his head amusedly, turning around. He was holding a small package in his hand, wrapped in red paper. "It's not that much, but I hope you like it."
"I'm sure it will be perfect," Louis said as Harry sat down in the bed beside him. Harry placed the present in his lap, Louis running his fingers over it. On one side it was soft, the other hard. "Can I open it?"
Harry wet his lips, nodding. "Yeah, you can."
Slowly, Louis unwrapped the paper, revealing the insides. A low gasp fell from his lips. "Oh, Haz." Inside was a copy of Jane Austin's Emma, tab after tab sticking out of it. The spine was broken, the corners slightly worn. When Louis flicked through it, he saw annotation after annotation, a warm feeling settling in his chest.
"There's more," whispered Harry, pointing at the wrapping.
Louis looked at what Harry pointed at, his heart melting even more. It was a scarf. It was red, just like the wrapping, knitted. Louis touched it, the yarn soft beneath his fingertips.
"It's 'cause you're always cold," Harry murmured. "And you refuse to dress warmly enough."
"I do," Louis weakly protested.
"Then where is your winter coat, Lou?"
"Um, my dog ate it."
"Lou, you don't have a dog."
"Oh. Well, shit."
Harry cackled, kissing Louis behind his ear. "What do you think? I know it's not a lot—"
"Haz, this is absolutely perfect. I... I don't know what to say. I can't wait to read this version of Emma, with all your notes. And I love the scarf. It's so bloody lovely."
"Yeah?"
"Yes." Louis leaned in to kiss Harry's cheek. "Thank you. I love them."
Harry leaned against Louis' side. "You're welcome." He kissed Louis' temple. "Happy birthday."
"Once again, thank you, Baby."
"Wanna go take a shower? I can give you a couple of birthday presents in there as well if you'd like." He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"God, you're a dork," Louis chuckled, leaning into Harry. "But yes. I'd like that, please."
* * *
Dressed in Christmas hats and sweaters, they descended the stairs forty-five minutes later. They were walking hand in hand, Louis in front of Harry. It was still only nine in the morning, and none of the girls seemed to be awake if they were to judge on the lack of noises. But Louis did smell pancakes from the kitchen.
"Good morning, Mom," he called out, walking through the living room to the kitchen. Harry followed him, hands still intertwined between them.
"Sweetheart," Jay greeted them as they stepped inside. She was also dressed in a Christmas sweater, her hair collected in a bun. In front of her on the stove, pancakes were baking. "Happy birthday."
Louis let go of Harry, stepping over to her. He placed a kiss on her cheek. "Thank you. Breakfast smells lovely."
"Only the best for my birthday boy." She beamed at him. "Good morning, Harry. Slept well?"
"Yeah, I did," Harry said. "Thank you, Jay."
"Sit down, you two." Jay gestured to the table. "I'll make you some tea. And then give you your presents from me, Louis. Also, your dad comes by in two hours and will be staying for about two and a half before he drives up North to spend the rest of his day with his friends."
"Sounds lovely," Louis said. "I've missed him."
"I know you have," Jay said, smiling.
Jay continued making pancakes, Louis directing his attention to Harry. Softly he said, "Merry Christmas, love."
Harry intertwined their fingers on the table. "Happy birthday, Lou."
"Excited to meet my father?" Louis questioned, playing around with Harry's fingers.
"Kinda, yeah," Harry grinned. "And nervous as hell."
"No need to be," Jay said, placing some tea mugs in front of them. She put tea bags in them and poured boiling water into them. "Mark is looking forward to meeting you. You'll crawl right under his skin as you've done with the rest of us."
Harry's cheeks reddened, and Louis had to refrain from looking at him with heart-eyes.
Soon, his sisters joined them, and Louis opened the presents from his mom. The girls inissted on waiting till later. They then all moved to the living room, finding their Home Alone DVD. Halfway through the movie, a knock sounded on the door.
"Must be Dad," Louis said. "I'll get it. I haven't seen him in ages." Louis stood up, placed a kiss on Harry's forehead, and began the walk to the front door.
He opened it, and there was Mark Tomlinson. His dad. Louis' face broke into a beam. "Dad, hi."
"Louis, my boy," Mark warmly said, holding his arms out. Louis immediately stepped into his embrace, holding him close.
"I have missed you."
"I missed you too," Mark said, patting Louis' back. "It's good to see you. I can't wait to hear all about this opportunity with Hans in person. And Harry of course. He's here, right? I've been dying to meet him."
"Yeah, yeah, he is," Louis smiled. "He's excited to meet you, too."
Mark stepped inside. "Don't think I've seen you smile this much in a long time, Louis. He must be a very special lad."
Louis' teeth sunk into his bottom lip, but his smile still managed to blossom. "Yeah, he... he really is. A lot. Yeah. He's very special."
Mark, after having taken his shoes off, followed Louis into the living room, the girls immediately throwing themselves on him. Jay greeted him with a smile. Harry tentatively stood up. Louis quickly went to him, intertwining their fingers. "Come, love."
"That's what she said," Harry weakly said.
Louis rolled his eyes fondly, pulling Harry along up to his dad. "Dad, this is my boyfriend Harry."
"Hi." Harry held his free hand out for Mark to shake. "Lovely to meet you."
"I can only say the same," Mark said, shaking Harry's hand.
After introductions, they returned to the couch, Harry leaning against Louis' side. They watched the rest of the movie, and then it was time to put ornaments on the tree and the presents under the branches for the following morning.
Harry got the honour of putting the star on top.
After it was deemed Christmas baking, the smell of cookie dough soon filling the whole house. Halfway through, Mark unfortunately had to leave, hugging everyone—including Harry—goodbye.
The cookies tasted amazing, and they then decided to drive to the lake to skate for about an hour. Jay stayed back, beginning to prepare their dinner, so it was Louis who drove.
Harry hadn't gotten much better at ice skating since their first date weeks ago. But the day they had also skated at the lake a few days prior had made him slightly better. Louis smiled brightly at him as Harry managed to skate alone without falling, but he also didn't mind holding his hand after Harry claimed that he couldn't risk falling at all.
After, they returned home, freezing. They all let the fire from the chimney soothe their bodies back to warmth. Harry went to help Jay in the kitchen, and Louis unwrapped his sisters' birthday presents.
He kissed them all on their cheeks, holding each present delicately. "Thank you so much," he said over and over again.
He went to the kitchen, leaning against the doorway as he observed Harry help his mom. His curls were collected in a small bun, an apron secured around his waist. Louis smiled fondly at the sight.
"Hello, you two," he said, taking a few more steps into the room. "How's dinner getting along?"
"Great," Harry said, stirring around in a bowl of—
"Is that cake dough?" Louis questioned, walking up to Harry.
"Yep," Harry grinned. "I'm making you a birthday cake."
"Haz, you didn't have to," Louis chuckled. "It's just extra work, and we already have loads of snacks—"
"Hush," Harry said. "Your mom already told me about this, how you always say it's fine, but now we are two in the kitchen, and you're getting a birthday cake. Live with it."
Louis wet his lips, whispering, "Thank you, Baby."
Harry leaned over to kiss Louis' temple. "Only the best for you."
Louis could feel heat pool in his stomach, a pleasant warmth spreading in every single one of his limbs. "Anything I can help with?"
"Even if you knew how to cook, no," Jay said. "We've got this. You just relax."
"I'm not sure whether to be offended or not," Louis said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Alas, can I stay out here and keep you company, then?"
"Always." Harry placed a chaste kiss on his lips.
Jay beamed at them from across the room.
* * *
Dinner tasted absolutely amazing, just as Louis had been sure it would. After, Harry carried out the birthday cake, and they sang Happy Birthday, Louis blowing out the few candles on the cake. He smiled adoringly up at Harry.
They then went to the living room, wine for the grown-ups, and soda for the kids. At eleven, everyone except Louis and Harry retreated to their rooms. Soft music was playing from Spotify on the television. Harry was lying between Louis' legs on the couch, Louis' fingers scratching over his scalp.
Harry hummed, snuggling closer to Louis. "This has possibly been the best Christmas I've had."
"Yeah?"
"Mhmm." Harry yawned slightly. "Did you have a good birthday?"
"The greatest of all birthdays," whispered Louis, kissing Harry's temple. "Thank you."
Harry reached up, letting his fingers trace along Louis' jaw. "I'm glad."
"Wanna know the absolute best thing about it, though?" Louis softly asked.
Harry nodded. "Tell me."
"The best thing was having the best person in the world by my side all day," Louis murmured, kissing Harry's earlobe. "You made this day magical. You made me feel seen and taken care of. Thank you."
Harry's cheeks tinted red. "Oh." He turned around in Louis' hold, facing him. He cupped Louis' face in his hands. The song on the television changed to Until I Found You, Stephen Sanchez's voice filling the room. "I wanna make you feel seen every single day. I wanna take care of you every single moment."
Louis' breath hitched in his throat. "I can only say the same," he whispered. Harry's face was so close. His lips plumb and red. Kissable. "I wanna do that and more."
Harry wet his lips, something in his eyes Louis couldn't quite grasp his mind around. It was a look beyond tender. It made the butterflies swarm in Louis' stomach.
"Can I kiss you?" Harry asked, soft. He was always so fucking soft.
"Can I admit something to you first?" Louis asked.
"Anything."
"The first time I saw you wasn't in the Starbucks."
Harry's eyebrows touched his hairline. "It wasn't?"
Louis shook his head. "No. It... it was from afar, on the first day of the semester. You accidentally dropped all your things, and my attention was immediately drawn to you, and God, Harry, never before had I seen anyone so beautiful. At that moment I knew I was gonna fall for you. Every time I saw you in the hallways I longed to ask you for your name, your number. That day in the Starbucks I didn't even know it was you until you turned around, and to this day it is one of the happiest moments in my life. Meeting you made all my moments in life just a tad happier, knowing I had you."
Harry's lips parted in surprise. "I didn't know that."
Louis shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "Now you do."
"I really, really wanna kiss you."
"What are you waiting for, silly?"
"I don't know either." Harry surged forward, connecting their lips.
Harry tasted like red wine and all of Louis' future plans. He caressed Louis' face like he was a fragile object, tender and soft, though the press of his mouth was anything but. His tongue moved languidly against Louis', warm and soft. So, so perfect.
They parted, Harry's forehead still resting against Louis' forehead. "Dance with me," he whispered.
"What?"
"You heard me."
So they danced. Close to each other as they moved through the living room. Arms wrapped around the other, Louis' chin resting against Harry's chest. The music was playing softly.
Louis was so, so happy.
He really was falling in love.