december 24, 2015. england.
on the morning of louis' twenty-fourth birthday, harry wakes him early with an exceptional blowjob. they have to leave to go to doncaster soon to visit louis' family, so harry needed to give him his birthday sex early. this means that they had a very long night the day before, but harry still wanted to give louis a little bit more on his actual birthday. harry is fully aware that he is louis' favorite gift to unwrap, and he can't say he loves it any less.
at this point, louis would be one hundred percent okay with staying in bed with harry all day. he would be more than happy to oblige to the two of them entertaining each other in bed for as long as they can go. he feels so much bliss right now, he doesn't want to ever get up. they can't stay in bed forever, though. they are supposed to arrive in donny in just a few hours, so they really need to get going soon.
ever since the couple got married and their families became one big family, they have all spent the holidays in doncaster together. louis' family is by far the largest, so it is easiest for everyone else to meet up there. they arrive on louis' birthday and get to spend the rest of the day with each other. harry and louis spend the night in louis' old bedroom, while gemma, anne, and robin stay in a nearby hotel. they then get to all spend christmas day together, before parting ways and heading back home on boxing day.
it's their favorite tradition. their whole family doesn't get to meet up often, and the holidays are the best time of the year. the kids get so excited, and it is always when the band is on a short break from touring and dealing with management, so they are under so much less stress than usual.
it's a rare occasion away from the public eye and management where they can just be themselves. they have no image they have to uphold in front of their families, and there, they are loved even though they are together.
they never have to worry about facing judgement while around liam or niall, and zayn when he was still in the band, but besides them, they have to hide from most people. being in such a large group of people who love them is always a nice thing to be around.
eventually, louis and harry drag themselves out of bed and get ready for the day. they already have their bags packed with everything they're going to need while in doncaster, so that saves them some time.
harry rushes a little bit extra to get downstairs so he can make a birthday breakfast for his husband. he strongly believes that you cannot go wrong with pancakes and a nice kettle of tea. he made sure to get up a little earlier than necessary so he would have time to prepare a nice meal for his husband to start his day.
while harry cooks, louis steps outside to smoke his morning cigarette. he has gotten in the bad habit of going out to smoke before grabbing a coat, so he has to deal with the cold bitterness of the december air with nothing to keep him warm. he has a jumper on, as the kids all love his fun christmas jumpers when he sees them, but that definitely isn't good enough protection from the cold. usually, louis just ends up using this as an excuse for extra cuddles from harry once he gets back inside.
once his cigarette is burnt out, louis heads back in. harry is just getting off the phone with someone while in the process of flipping a pancake. louis walks behind him and slides his cold hands under his shirt, making him jump and nearly drop the pancake.
"stop that," harry groans, pushing louis' hands away.
"but my hands are cold," louis says with a giggle. "let me warm them up."
harry places down the spatula and turns around, grasping louis' hands in his. he brings them up to his lips to place a kiss on his icy fingertips. "i'm not the one who makes you go out without a coat on. you're lucky you haven't gotten sick yet."
"yeah, yeah, whatever. i'll have you to take care of me if i do," louis rolls his eyes and stands on his toes to kiss harry's lips. "who was on the phone?" he asks, curiously.
"just gemma," harry replies. "she's looking forward to seeing you."
"yeah, she better be. i'm a pleasure to be around."
"of course you are, sunflower," harry agrees. he turns back to the grill to flip another pancake before it burns.
harry flips another pancake onto the plate filled with the pancakes that are already finished, and with the plate in one hand and louis' hand in the other, he walks them over to the table. he pulls out the chair for louis like the true gentleman that he is. he brings over the steaming kettle that was busy brewing louis' favorite yorkshire tea, and pours a cup for him. he then brings over a bottle of maple syrup to the table.
"you should start to eat before the pancakes get cold," harry instructs.
"what about you, though?" louis asks, so grateful that harry is doing this for him, but not wanting his husband to be stuck with cold pancakes.
harry shakes his head. "i have to make sure they don't burn," he says, acknowledging the griddle that is still on.
"please sit with me? you can get up when you need to flip them," louis begs, showing harry the eyes he knows harry can't say no to.
sighing in defeat, harry sits down in the chair next to louis and helps himself to a couple of the fresh pancakes.
harry hates sounding too cocky or boastful, but he can make some damn good pancakes and his cooking skills are something louis takes advantage of often. most of the time when they are home, harry cooks, so this is nothing unusual, but it still is something nice for him to do for louis on his birthday.
once the pancakes are all eaten, they pack everything into their car and start their journey to donny. louis drives while harry messes with the radio and points out any interesting landmarks he notices as they drive by. honestly, driving with harry is like driving with a child. although, doris and ernest might be less distracting.
the drive doesn't last too long. soon enough, they are walking in the front door of louis' childhood home and being greeted by a tight, welcoming hug from jay.
harry's family have already arrived and settled in. gemma is busy playing with doris and ernest, so the twins hardly notice when their big brother walks in. louis' other siblings race to get the first hug from him, excitedly wishing him happy birthday.
they all eat a quick lunch while catching up, before jay announces that it is time for louis to get his birthday presents with a wide smile on her face. there was a unanimous decision that harry's gift for him should go first.
"happy birthday, darling," harry says while leading louis over to a large box, grinning ear to ear.
louis' younger siblings all gather around, curiously. jay and dan stand back, as well as harry's family. harry has already told them what the gift is, so they are just looking forward to seeing louis' reaction.
louis reluctantly lets go of harry's hand to take the lid off of the box. he doesn't know exactly what he was expecting, but he certainly was not expecting the tiny black puppy that started jumping at him.
"what the hell?" he exclaims, dropping to his knees to gather the puppy into his arms, bubbling with joy. he laughs as the puppy licks his face and tries to climb all over him.
harry steps back to stand next to jay. she reaches out and takes his hand, giving it a squeeze. she is so thankful to see the happiness on louis' face and is so glad that harry is able to provide that. usually, jay would have to tell louis off for swearing in front of the kids, but right now, she doesn't even care. all that matters is the smile he is wearing right now.
the kids all coo at the adorable puppy, and as soon as he turns his attention away from louis, he is bounding over towards them, wanting the attention from the six pairs of hands that belong to all of louis' siblings.
eyes filled with tears of happiness, louis turns towards harry. he stands up and jumps into harry's arms. harry catches him and grips his thighs, keeping louis' legs wrapped around his waist. louis wraps his arms around the back of harry's neck and starts covering his face with kisses. "thank you, thank you," he repeats.
"i planned everything out already. i know that you prefer to be in england when we're off, so you'll be able to have him then, and when we're away working, your family, gemma, and eleanor have all agreed to watch him," harry explains in a hurry, wanting louis to be confident that this would work. he put a lot of thought into it. he didn't want to adopt the puppy and then have to bring him back because he didn't plan for their bizarre lives.
"it'll be perfect. thank you," louis promises, kissing harry one last time before letting go and sitting on the floor. the small puppy bounds over to him and climbs into his arms, making louis fall even more in love.
harry sits next to him, stretching out his long legs, allowing the puppy to climb over to him. "now, you'll have someone to keep you company when i'm away."
louis leans over to kiss harry's jaw. usually he would make a joke about not needing harry anymore because he now has a dog, but he can't do that today. he is too emotional and in love to say anything else.
louis strokes the puppy's soft fur, loving how quickly he started trusting him. he knows that it sometimes takes dogs a little while to get close to new owners, so it makes him feel good that the puppy already seems to like him.
"have you thought of a name?" harry asks, watching louis interact with the puppy. to him, there is nothing more precious than the sight of the pure joy louis has on his face right now.
"maybe clifford," louis suggests. "that way he can grow big and strong from all of the love we will give him."
harry chuckles and nods his head. "i think clifford suits him well."
"where did you find him?"
"i went to a few shelters around london. when i saw him i knew you would fall in love with him. i met up with gemma and we went shopping for food and beds and toys and everything for him together and then she took him home so i could surprise you," harry explains.
louis turns to where gemma is sitting on the sofa with a wide smile on her face. "thank you so much, gemma."
"you're lucky i love you, lou. if harry asked me to do this for anyone else i probably would have refused," gemma jokes.
louis makes himself a mental note to give her a big hug once the puppy gets off his lap and he's able to stand up. she deserves it. he is so thankful for her and everything she has done. louis has always been the oldest and has spent his whole life taking care of his younger siblings. gemma is the closest thing he has to an older sibling, and he loves the little things she does to take care of him.
after louis opens his gifts from the rest of their families, he and harry take clifford out on a walk. louis' younger siblings had wanted to join them, but jay convinced them to stay home so the couple could have some time alone for the first time with their new family member. they promised to bring the kids along with them tomorrow, though.
not much happens in doncaster, so louis and harry don't worry too much about being seen together. they both have on coats, hats, and sunglasses, so it is unlikely that they will even be recognized. hand in hand, they walk around the small neighborhood with louis holding onto clifford's leash.
although he is not trained yet, clifford is thankfully quite small, so louis has no issues getting him to walk correctly. the puppy is so curious, sniffing every crack in the sidewalk and every pile of snow alongside the road. to louis, his innocent curiosity is the cutest thing in the world.
as they walk, louis tells harry little anecdotes about everything they passed. his times playing in the park and feeding the ducks that live near the pond, and pointing out the entrance to the woods where he used to spend every day after school in a treehouse he built with his friends.
harry takes in every word louis says. he has been to donny many times now, but he and louis have never walked around alone like this. louis is unlocking another piece of his childhood to share with harry, which only makes him love louis more.
they don't go too far on their walk. it is quite cold outside, and clifford is only a baby and his legs are small, so he gets tired easily. harry thinks of clifford as being a parallel to louis with that, but he doesn't dare to say so out loud.
back at home, jay is just finishing making dinner when louis and harry arrive. they all eat together and then spend some more time with one another, before the youngest twins have to go to bed. it is getting late, so anne, robin, and gemma head to their hotel to prepare to get up early the next morning for all of the kids who are going to be so excited for christmas.
somehow after louis and harry have crashed and are cuddling in bed, exhausted from the day, clifford climbs out of his bed and jumps onto the bed with his new people. he lays between their legs, which both louis and harry find to be the sweetest thing in the world. louis can definitely get used to this.
"i got him for you because i thought that would be our next step in having a family together," harry speaks up after feeling clifford jump up. "neither of us are ready for kids yet, i think we both know that," he pauses for a moment until he feels louis nod in agreement. "now we have someone we can raise together that is going to be a lot better than a child for us right now."
"this means the world to me, harry. thank you," louis grips onto harry just a little bit tighter.
"i love you. happy birthday, sunflower."
w.c. 2548