Once in a Lifetime

Twenty-One.

L: 'You talk to your family about me? xx'

H: 'Every single day xx'

L: 'And they wouldn't mind me crashing their celebrations? xx'

H: 'No, but I wouldn't care even if they did xx'

L: 'Then yes, Tea, No Sugar, I'd love to spend tomorrow night with you xx'

The next day, after explaining to his mum his new plans, loading his bags into the car and saying a tearful goodbye to his family, Louis found himself pulling up outside the address Harry had given him. It was the final day of the year, and Louis was nervous to meet Harry's family for the first time. After taking a calming breath, he made his way up the front path, gently knocking on the door. When it opened, Louis forgot how to use his words.

"Hello, my dear, you must be Louis, I'm Anne, come on in!" A woman with brown hair and motherly eyes said, opening the door further so Louis so could step inside.

"Uh, y- yeah, thank you," Louis stumbled, starting to regret his decision to come.

"It's lovely to have you here, Harry hasn't stopped talking about you! Please, come into the kitchen so we can introduce ourselves!" Louis followed Harry's mum through the house, eventually entering the kitchen where two other people were waiting for him. Still no sign of Harry, though. "Okay, so this is my husband, Robin and my daughter, Gemma, and this is Louis," Anne announced, pointing to each person as she said their name.

"It's n- nice to meet you all," Louis stammered, his nerves still getting the better of him. He had never been very good at meeting people's families, especially when the person he was there for hadn't shown themselves yet.

"So, you're the famous Louis, maybe now you're here Harry will stop going on about you all the time," Robin smiled, causing Louis to look down at his feet to hide his blush.

"Honestly, you have no idea how much we've heard about you over the past week, I feel like I've known you my whole life," Gemma laughed, and Louis looked up at the sound of her laughter. It sounded just like Harry's.

"Only good things, I hope," Louis said, trying to be polite to his hosts.

"Of course, love, Harry seems to think very highly of you, and we look forward to discovering why," Anne continued, smiling over at Louis. They were a welcoming family, and as the conversation carried on, Louis felt more at ease with them. As Louis was sat at the breakfast bar with Harry's family, talking about what Harry was like as a child, Louis heard the front door open and close.

"Mum, I'm back!" Harry called out, and Louis heard his footsteps coming closer. "I haven't heard from- Louis you're here!" he grinned, instantly dropping his bag on the floor, and wrapping his arms around Louis from behind. "How was the drive? Have they been nice to you? I'm sorry I didn't know you were here yet," Harry chattered, and Louis noticed the fond smile on Anne's lips. Once he'd settled down, he took Louis upstairs to show him his room. It was the antithesis of Louis'. The walls were painted in a dark red, all the furniture matching and organised. There were lamps on the bedside tables, framed photos and pieces of art hung on the walls, and a TV on the wall opposite the double bed. They sat on the bed together, talking about the drive over and what they had been doing in the week since they last saw each other. Even though they'd talked every day, telling the stories to Harry in person felt even better. They didn't realise how long they had been talking, because when Anne called to tell them dinner was ready, they were both surprised that it was already 7pm.

"Louis, Harry insisted I make this meal as it's your favourite, so I hope it's up to your standards," Anne said as they all sat around the table. Louis smiled, thanking her for her efforts when he saw the chicken, stuffed with mozzarella, wrapped in Parma ham, with a side of homemade mashed potatoes on the table. He playfully rolled his eyes at Harry as they all dug into the meal, the conversation flowing easily. Louis felt comfortable with Harry's family, especially when Gemma tried to do everything in her power to annoy Harry. When they had finished, they settled onto the sofas, Robin bringing out the board games that they played whilst sipping alcohol and eating bowls of crisps. As the clock ticked closer to midnight, Louis excused himself to the garden, phoning his mum to say Happy New Year to them all. At 11.55pm, he sat alone on the edge of the decking, staring up at the stars that littered the dark sky.

"Happy New Year, Zaynie. My first year without you, and it feels strange not celebrating with you in the middle of a party or eating pizza in my bed. I miss you, Z," Louis whispered into the air, looking at his phone to check the time. 11.57pm. As he was about to stand up to join the others, he felt Harry sit down beside him.

"Thank you for being here, Lou," he whispered, not wanting to break the peacefulness just yet.

"Thank you for inviting me," Louis replied, turning to face Harry. "Thank you for being everything I needed over the last few months, there's no one else I'd rather end this year with than you." As they looked into each other's eyes, Louis noticed how close they were. He could feel Harry's warm breath on his cold skin, and without a thought he reached out to tuck some of his curls behind his ear.

"I look forward to what the next year has instore for us," Harry said, his eyes darting between Louis' features. Aroundthem, the whole country was starting the ten second countdown, but all they couldsee was each other. Slowly, Harry inched forward, Louis swallowing thickly ashis hand moved down to the back of Harry's neck. Louis could feel Harry's handon his thigh, and as they both closed their eyes, Harry closed the gap betweenthem. The fireworks lit up the night sky, signalling a new year and a freshstart. But, for Louis and Harry, the fireworks exploded inside of them bothtoo, their hearts beating just as loudly as the fireworks booming above them.