Chapter Text
Waking up without an alarm was always kind of heavenly for Louis, but it was made even better with the addition of Harry in his arms, still snoring softly. Louis peeked at the clock, surprised to find that he’d slept later than he usually did on his days off. Still, he didn’t feel like waking Harry up just yet, so instead he just laid in bed savoring the warmth of their bodies next to each other and the fact that Harry somehow smelled vaguely like vanilla even after so many hours out of the kitchen.
At some point, Louis drifted back to sleep, stirring awake an hour later as Harry rolled over in his arms to nuzzle against his chest and whisper a soft, “good morning.”
“Morning, love,” Louis said, kissing the top of Harry’s head. They didn’t need to be at Louis’ mom’s house until mid-afternoon, which meant they had hours to do whatever they felt like. When Louis told Harry as much, the look Harry got in his eyes said it all, and they stayed in bed for quite a while after that, until they were sated and sticky and in equally desperate need of showers, coffee, and breakfast, preferably in that order.
Once they were out of the shower, Harry set to work making breakfast-- his mom’s Christmas french toast, bacon, and eggs --while Louis made coffee. It was decadent and unhurried and everything that Louis wanted for their first morning together, and even when they’d finished eating Louis found himself wanting to drag his feet to keep the day from being over too quickly.
“I just had a terrible realization,” Harry said from his spot in Louis’ arms as they cuddled on the couch, the credits of A Muppet Christmas Carol starting to roll.
“Is it that this day is going to end and we won’t be able to spend tomorrow exactly like this? Because if so,” Louis paused to kiss Harry’s head, “same.”
Harry giggled, grabbing Louis’ arm and pulling it further around himself. “No, but thank you for that terrible reminder. It’s actually that I don’t have clothes to wear to your family’s house, so we’ll need to stop by mine so I can change quickly.” Harry laid his head back against Louis’ chest. “Also, I was already going to ask if we could stop by the coffee shop so I could grab something to bring to your family, since I don’t have gifts for any of them.”
“Ooh, what do you have waiting at the shop?” Louis slipped a hand beneath the t-shirt Harry was wearing to touch the soft skin of his belly, delighting in the way it made Harry pause and shiver before answering.
“Mmm, it’s actually a secret until I post my video.”
“And when will you be doing that?” Louis asked.
“Shit. Soon, I guess.” Harry sighed, running a finger up and down Louis’ forearm. “But I think it feels like doing that means the day is definitely half over.”
Louis hummed. “Would you want to spend tonight over here too? Go to work together tomorrow?” From the angle they were cuddling at, Louis could only see part of Harry’s face, but he couldn’t miss the smile that brought out.
“Two nights in a row? It’s not too much?”
“Oh, it’s definitely not too much. You’re welcome over here as much as you’d like, really.” Louis only realized after he’d said it that he might sound a bit over-eager to most people, and he only hoped that Harry wasn’t one of them.
“You’re welcome at mine, too, but it’s a little drafty and Ray keeps opposite hours to me, so at night he’s a little loud and in the morning you have to be extra quiet.”
Louis breathed a small sigh of relief at Harry’s easy response. At least he didn’t have to scramble to explain himself. “No housemates here, that’s a bonus.” Harry just nodded, nuzzling a little closer to Louis.
“Think we have time for an episode of holiday Bake-Off before we need to go?” Harry asked.
They didn’t, really, especially if traffic wasn’t great, but Louis wasn’t particularly keen on leaving the little cuddle pile he and Harry were in. “I’m afraid that’s too long. But we could watch one of those videos from-- what’s her name? Clara Savage?”
“Claire Saffitz?” Harry asked, barely containing a laugh. Louis huffed, and Harry gave him a playful swat on the hand. “You were very close. And that sounds perfect, actually.”
It really was timed just right-- the video Harry picked wasn’t much more than twenty minutes long, and Louis got to hold onto Harry as they watched, listening to the little sounds he made at all her choices. Louis was dying to find out what they all meant, which ones were interest and which ones derision, but lying there together on Christmas day, it felt like maybe he had the time.
When they got to Harry’s house a little while later, Louis followed him up to his place, opening the door to find a group of people that included Sasha standing in the kitchen around numerous take-out containers that Louis recognized from his favorite Chinese place. As Harry went to upload his video and get changed, Louis met or re-met everyone and had to turn down an eggroll no less than three times thanks to everyone’s easy generosity. The kitchen was still charred in places, with only a few signs that the kitchen repairs were underway, and Louis made a mental note to remind himself to ask how that was going.
Harry came out, this time with a messenger bag around his shoulder that Louis knew contained clothes and necessities, and he couldn’t help the little burst of pleasure it gave him. It only grew when Harry told Ray that he wouldn’t be back that evening and Ray’s response was a simple, “niiiice,” along with a fist bump. Sasha caught Louis’ slight nod as Ray spoke and thankfully hid her laughter behind her hand.
“It shouldn’t take me long to grab the cake,” Harry said as they got back into the car.
“Long enough for me to watch your video?” Louis asked, resting his hand on Harry’s thigh. Harry’s smile turned a little shy.
“Well, it is a quick one, but maybe not that quick?” Harry wrinkled his nose. “Still, you can watch it if you want to so you’ll know what to expect.”
“You sure?” Louis turned the car on and checked his mirrors before giving Harry one more glance. Harry nodded decisively.
“Yes, go for it. Maybe I’ll use the bathroom while I’m in there, give you a few more minutes.”
They made it to the coffee shop in just a few minutes, Louis handing his keys over to Harry and checking that he remembered how to work the alarm from watching it done. As Louis waited for him to get back, he opened the notification for Harry’s latest video and pressed play, leaning back in his seat to enjoy the last of the Advent-ure content. Knowing that whatever Harry was making was getting a big reveal at his family’s Christmas dinner definitely made him even more excited and curious than usual.
“Can you believe we’ve made it?” Harry said in a voiceover as the camera panned over the coffee shop’s kitchen from early on Christmas Eve. Louis recognized the rising dough and muffin tins on sheet trays waiting to be filled with batter, once again marveling at how much Harry had gotten done that day. “I’ve been busier than usual, and it’s been the best few days I’ve had in ages. Hope you’re ready, because here we go.”
Harry made a Bûche de Noël, starting from a pumpkin roll recipe and making a cinnamon and nutmeg spiced cream cheese filling and covered with a rich whipped ganache that he textured with a fork to give it a log-like appearance. He garnished it with some of the mistletoe meringues he’d made, and in its final appearance he gave it the slightest dusting of powdered sugar “for a traditional wintery vibe.” It wasn’t the most complicated thing Harry had made that month, but it definitely managed to look like a showstopper. If Louis’ family hadn’t already been impressed with Harry’s baking skills, this would’ve done it for sure.
“I know this seems complicated, but at the end of the day, you could also just leave it mostly bare and call it a pumpkin roll, since that what this base actually is, or you could top it with a chocolate glaze and say it’s a Lincoln log, like those building toys I played with as a kid.” Harry shrugged, then leaned down to rest his chin in his hand with the bake in front of him. “Personally, I’m taking this one over to meet someone special’s family, and I don’t care what they call it as long as it helps them like me.” He then stage whispered, “I’m trying to stick around for a while, you know.”
Louis couldn’t contain his fondness, letting his head fall back against the headrest as he groaned a little, shaking his head and smiling. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said to the video.
“Whatever happens, I hope they like my styles, because I really, really like yours. Merry Christmas!”
“So fucking adorable, I swear to God,” Louis said, leaning into his phone like Harry was inside of it. As Louis put his phone aside, he turned to check Harry’s progress and found him standing right outside the car, looking inside with the sweetest smile on his face. He’d definitely heard everything Louis said. Louis gave him a little wave and Harry opened the door.
“I hate to do this, but I realized I only saw how to turn off the alarm, not how to set it, and I didn’t want to mess anything up,” Harry said, setting the cake down in the passenger seat.
“It’s no problem, love,” Louis said, unbuckling his seatbelt and taking his business keys back from Harry. “How long were you standing there?”
“Long enough to once again get confirmation that you really do like me, which is, uh, very good,” Harry ran a hand through his hair, looking down instead of at Louis. “Because I really do like you too.”
“Oh, you like my styles?” Louis asked, reaching out to boop Harry’s nose. Harry looked up at him and nodded with a smile on his face.
“I really, really do,” Harry said. “Actually I like your everything.” Louis had to kiss him about it for several minutes, long enough that he was sure they were technically going to be late to his family’s house, but he didn’t really care.