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Chapter Text

Monday, December 1

Louis Tomlinson isn’t a fan of December.

He hasn’t always been this way, though. He remembers a time, back when he was still a child and the world as a whole seemed like a much kinder and simpler place than it has actually turned out to be, when he actually looked forward to December all year.

Between his birthday on Christmas Eve and the actual holiday itself, it used to be a busy but joyful month in the Tomlinson household. He remembers his Mum taking him and his sisters to town to look at all of the pretty lights (and thinking for the first few years that they were all for his birthday, rather than for Christmas), the way the colder weather excited him because it meant they would maybe get to see snow, how he used to build gingerbread houses and decorate cookies with his Nan and sisters every year, and how excited he would get leaving cookies and milk out for Santa before going to bed after a full day of birthday celebrations.

And although he will always look back at those memories very fondly, the whole month just seems to remind him of everything he’s lost and all that’s changed since then.

The Christmas lights and other holiday decorations plastered all over the city feel tacky to him, he always dreads cold days because he knows now all they really mean is discomfort and hassle, none of the festive baked goods he tries year after year ever manage to hold a candle to his Nan’s gingerbread, and thinking about all of the little things that used to feel magical back when he was a kid just makes him feel nostalgic for something he knows he’ll never be able to feel again.

Not to talk about how commercialised and over the top the whole thing has gotten these days, which just feels so forced and like it goes exactly against what Christmas used to mean for him.

As he makes his way to his flat from the tube after work, he wrinkles his nose at all of the decorated houses he walks past. It certainly doesn’t help that he’s had to listen to Christmas songs on repeat all day long either.

As a radio show host, Louis dreads December 1, when he has to trade all of his regular pop playlists for Christmas music.

In a time where a lot of people basically work their lives away, Louis considers himself really lucky to say that he absolutely loves his job.

Hosting his own radio show is something that he’s dreamed of since he was a child, and it barely feels like work to him and brings him so much joy every day.

Except for December. Though he guesses loving your job eleven out of twelve months of the year is still well above average, so he can hardly complain about it.

Still, as he finishes his walk home on the first evening of December, he already feels weary and apprehensive about what this month will bring.

Stepping into the flat he shares with his three best mates and hearing their voices stream in from their little kitchen instantly lifts Louis’ mood.

“Are you sure he’s not a creep or something?” He hears Liam ask. “I don’t know if I trust your judgment after what happened with the last guy.”

Louis toes off his shoes by the front door and joins his friends in the next room. Zayn, Louis’ oldest friend who he grew up close to and moved to London with years ago, is standing in front of the stove and stirring something that smells absolutely divine. Niall, Louis’ coworker turned best mate, and Liam, one of Niall’s previous flatmates and now Zayn’s boyfriend, are sitting at the dining table having what seems to be some sort of argument. 

“I am sure, Liam!” Niall contends. “I’ve known Harry since uni days, he’s a good guy, I swear!”

“That’s exactly what you said about Steve though, Niall,” Zayn says without looking up from the stove.

That name alone is enough to make Louis shudder. Steve was the last guy Niall brought in to be their flatmate after Liam and Zayn finally got their shit together and made their relationship official and started sharing the biggest room in the flat. They’d been spending most nights together for weeks anyways, and with the rising costs of everything, it just made sense for the four of them to find a new flatmate to fill Liam’s recently vacated room and split the rent with.

Steve was an acquaintance of Niall from school, and though Niall swore he was nice, the rest of them quickly came to the conclusion that they disagreed just a few days after the guy moved in.

He wasn’t outright mean or anything, but he was messy, never contributed to anything around the flat, and always seemed to be looking to pick fights over everything with the rest of them. It got to a point where Louis kind of dreaded coming home sometimes and would try to work his schedule so he could avoid being in the flat at the same time as Steve as much as possible.

Thankfully, he only stayed with them for about a month and a half before he got a job offer to be a tour boat driver in Chile or some other far away place Louis couldn’t be bothered to remember and he moved thousands of miles away from them.

“What are we talking about here?” Louis asks as he sinks into the chair next to Liam’s and looks over to Niall expectantly.

“Niall claims he’s found us a new flatmate again,” Liam says with an eye roll, “but we’re not so convinced.”

“Okay, okay. I know Steve may have been a little strange,” Niall says, which makes Louis scoff with how much of an understatement that is. “But I swear Harry is nothing like him! He’s like the nicest guy I’ve ever met, he’s super funny, and he’s got a bakery just a few blocks away from here.”

“How do you even know this Harry guy?” Louis asks.

“I met him in uni, we took a few business classes together,” Niall explains. “You know, before I dropped out and started working at the radio station with you, Lou.”

“And how do we know you’re right about this guy?” Zayn asks as he turns the stove off and turns to look at Louis. “Lou, I’m heating up broccoli cheddar soup, want some?”

Louis will never turn down a meal that’s been cooked for him. “Ohh, yes please!”

“Yeah, does he have social media or something so we can see for ourselves that he’s not another weird friend of yours?” Liam asks.

Niall takes his phone out, typing for a few seconds before handing it over to Louis and Liam, an Instagram page filled with photos of baked goods and landscapes on the screen.

“There isn’t a single picture of him on there!” Liam says.

Niall shrugs. “So? Not having pictures of yourself on Instagram doesn’t make you a sociopath or anything of the sort as far as I know.”

“When would this Harry guy be able to move in anyway?” Zayn asks as he brings each one of them a bowl of soup from the kitchen before sitting between Niall and Liam.

“He’s moving in tomorrow,” Niall says.

Louis looks at him with wide eyes. “Moving in? Can’t we at least meet him first?”

Niall gives each of them a sheepish smile. “Sorry? We ran into each other a few days ago and he was telling me how he’s sort of in a pinch because his old lease ended last week and the landlord wouldn’t renew and he’s kind of been couch surfing since and I let it slip that we had a room available and that he could move in whenever he wanted and I didn’t really think none of you guys would object. I swear he’s really nice and normal!”

“You what?”

“Niall, for fuck’s sake!” 

“Zayn, this soup is so good! You reheated it so well,” Niall compliments, sneakily trying to take the heat off of himself.

It doesn’t work. “Don’t you dare try to change the subject right now,” Zayn warns him between two spoonfuls of soup.

“Did you really expect us to have nothing to say about you picking our new flatmate again?" Louis asks. “Even after Steve?”

“Ok, well maybe I got a little bit ahead of myself there,” Niall admits. “But I’m confident you guys will like Harry! And if it turns out that he’s awful, you can all throw me out of the flat along with him.”

Louis, Liam and Zayn share glances between each other before turning back to Niall. “Deal,” Louis says with a smirk, extending a hand in Niall’s direction to shake on it.

Niall only falters for a second before shaking Louis’ hand, sealing the deal.

“You better be right, Horan,” Louis teases, amused by the slightly concerned look on Niall’s face, who by the looks of it wasn’t expecting the others to take him up on that deal. 

It’s not long after that before they switch to other topics of conversation and resume their usual evening banter.

Somewhere between Liam and Niall bickering about who’s turn it is to wash the dishes and Zayn kissing Liam goodbye before quietly slipping out of the flat for his shift at the tattoo shop, Louis starts to feel the tension from the day loosen its grip on him.

He truly feels at home here with his boys, and who knows, maybe this December will surprise him.

Chapter Text

Tuesday, December 2

“This is it for me, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks for tuning in with me this afternoon, and I’ll be back tomorrow as always. Until then, please enjoy this last song, this is Last Christmas by Wham!”

Louis sighs in relief as he presses play on the last song of his radio segment for the day and gets to slip his headphones off.

It’s only the second day of him having to play Christmas music, but he’s already sick of it. Louis has a feeling the next three weeks are going to drag by.

Slipping out of the studio, he says his goodbyes to his producers and the few coworkers he crosses paths with as he drops by his desk to finish up a few preparations for tomorrow’s show. 

In just under an hour, he’s managed to research and come up with a few topics to discuss in between songs tomorrow as well as answer a few emails he’d been putting off. Satisfied, he shuts his laptop and gathers his things before heading for the tube.

It’s only a few stops between the radio station and their flat, and Louis puts his earbuds in and zones out for the duration of the ride until he hears the familiar station name being announced and hops off.

It’s cold outside and starting to get dark when Louis emerges from the underground, and, with a shiver, he makes a mental note to himself to start bringing his winter gear with him before he loses his fingers to frostbite.

For now though, he shoves his hands in his pockets and hopes that’ll be enough to keep his fingers for today.

Once he makes a turn on their street, he notices a small moving van parked by the entrance of their building, and he’s reminded of the conversation the four of them had yesterday.

He almost forgot they were getting a new flatmate today. Louis can only hope it will end better than it did the last time they let Niall pick someone.

The door to their flat is open when Louis makes it up the three flights of stairs to their floor, and he walks in only to be met by what has to be the most beautiful human being Louis has ever had the opportunity to lay eyes upon in all of his years on Earth.

He stands in the doorway and blinks at him, afraid the gorgeous man will disappear if Louis so much as moves a muscle.

The man is staring right back at him, a small frown forming on his face that somehow only adds to how handsome he is, which feels entirely unfair and like it shouldn’t really be allowed.

His eyes are a mossy shade of green and filled with kindness, his brown hair goes just past his ears, and it looks messy and curly and Louis has to resist reaching up to run his fingers through it. He’s just a few inches taller than Louis, with wide shoulders, toned arms, and most importantly legs for fucking days. His face is flushed and chiseled, and Louis thinks for a second he must have somehow died on the tube and stepped right into heaven, because this guy looks like a straight up angel.

“Louis! Good, you’re here!” Niall says, pulling Louis out of his head. “This is Harry, our new flatmate.”

Oh shit. Louis hadn’t connected the dots until just now, but obviously the very handsome man currently standing in their flat would be Harry.

And the thing is that Louis knows he shouldn’t be getting crushes on flatmates, especially not within mere minutes. He’s witnessed scenarios just like this one turn sour one too many times before to be stupid enough to get himself involved. 

But he’s also never had such an attractive flatmate before.

Louis is so screwed.

“Oh, hi!” Louis forces himself to form words before Harry starts to think he’s some sort of staring creep. “Nice to meet you, I’m Louis.”

“Nice to meet you too, Louis,” Harry says with a smile that, combined with the soft way he just said Louis’ name, almost makes Louis go weak in the knees.

He shakes himself out of it though, determined to not make an idiot of himself in front of his new flatmate within an hour of meeting, then notices the boxes piled behind Harry and Niall in their living room. “Do you have more boxes to bring up?”

“A few more, yeah,” Harry answers. “We were just taking a bit of a break here, those stairs are quite something.”

Louis laughs, remembering how much he had cursed in those stairs when he, Liam, Niall and Zayn first moved into this flat together, making a promise to the lads and to himself to find a building with a lift if they ever had to move again. “Yeah, they’re pretty steep. Here, let me just put my stuff away and I’ll help you bring the rest up.”

“Sure, thanks,” Harry says, moving out of the way so Louis can enter the flat properly. 

Louis quickly makes his way to his room to drop off his work stuff, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it for a moment.

“Get it together, Tomlinson,” he mumbles to himself as he takes a deep breath.

He doesn’t remember the last time he’s felt like this about someone this fast, and he really needs to get a hold of himself before he does something incredibly stupid.

He’s only just met the guy, for fuck’s sake.

Taking a few more deep breaths, Louis opens the door and exits his room, only to run into Niall in the narrow hallway leading to each of their bedrooms.

“I was just coming to find you, Tommo,” Niall says. “Harry’s already gone down for more boxes.”

“You could have warned me, you know,” Louis says as he follows Niall out the front door and down the hallway towards the staircase.

Niall looks back at him and frowns. “Warned you about what? Did something happen at the station after I left?”

Louis shakes his head. “No, I mean about how hot your friend Harry is!”

Niall raises a brow at him and smirks. “Oh, that’s why you were staring at him when you came in!”

Louis only rolls his eyes as he and Niall start going down the stairs, already regretting this conversation. 

They’ve gone down two flights and are about to take on the last one when they cross paths with Harry, who’s now going back up to the flat with two large and heavy looking boxes stacked in his arms.

He’s wearing a fitted graphic t-shirt, and Louis can’t help but notice the way his arms are straining to carry the boxes, his muscles taut and making his tattooed arms look so fucking hot.

“Thanks for the help, guys!” Harry says with a smile as he passes by them, revealing dimples on either side of his beautiful face.

Louis is absolutely done for.

He doesn’t notice he stopped to stare again until Niall turns towards him from the bottom of the stairs with a smug smile and asks “Enjoying the show?” 

“Shut up, Horan!”

Chapter Text

Wednesday, December 3

For a few years now, Wednesday night has been “family dinner night” for Louis, Liam, Niall and Zayn.

With their various job schedules, it’s the one night of the week they are all pretty much guaranteed to be available for the evening, and they’ve made a little tradition of ordering a takeaway for dinner, eating all together, and spending the night with each other at the flat.

It was Liam that first accidentally referred to it as a family dinner about a year back, and it stuck.

Louis likes to think of these three idiots as his second, chosen family anyways, so it just makes sense, really. 

He’s last to make it home from work tonight, and he finds the lads sprawled out in the living room and arguing about what to order for dinner, as is the case most weeks.

Louis looks at the scene as he takes his coat and shoes off and puts them away by the door. Liam and Zayn are sitting together on the big sofa, draped over one another in a way that almost makes it hard to distinguish which limb belongs to which boy. Across the room, Niall is talking animatedly while perched on the arm of the loveseat, on the other side of which Harry is sitting, quietly looking at the other boys and their chaos.

“Good, Louis’ here!” Niall says loudly when he notices Louis' presence in the doorway. “Please talk some sense into these two! They want to get Chinese again even though we literally had that last week!”

“No, we had Indian last week,” Liam corrects. “We haven’t had a Chinese in a few weeks, actually.”

“Whatever,” Niall rolls his eyes. “We should get pizza! We’ve not ordered that in ages, right Louis? 

Louis shrugs as he makes his way into the room and sits on the floor, leaning his back against the loveseat and stretching his legs out in front of him. “Why don’t we just let Harry pick? It’s his first family dinner, he should get to choose.”

“Family dinner?” Harry speaks for the first time since Louis got home. 

“Wednesday nights are family dinner nights in this flat,” Zayn says matter-of-fact. “You better get used to the bickering now.”

An amused smile forms on Harry’s face at that, but he doesn’t ask any further questions. “I really don’t mind, I'll eat anything.”

“Oh, c’mon Harold,” Louis says, surprising even himself with the nickname. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those people that are allergic to making decisions!”

Harry blushes at the comment, which only fuels the rapidly growing crush Louis has been harboring since he first saw him yesterday.

“Yeah, Louis is right,” Liam says, giving Niall a pointed look. “You pick, we promise none of us will argue!”

“Chinese,” Harry decides after a moment of thinking. “That’s my favourite.”

Niall groans and reaches over to playfully smack Harry’s arm. “You give a guy a place to stay and then he goes and betrays you the next day.”

“Sorry?” Harry says sheepishly. 

“I’m only joking, H,” Niall says. “You know I don’t really mind.”

And so Louis asks everyone what they want and goes to the kitchen to order their Chinese takeaway.

When he gets back to his spot in the living room, he takes advantage of a moment of quiet to get to know their new flatmate.

“So, Harry,” he starts, smiling when Harry looks up and their eyes meet. “Niall said you’re a baker?”

Harry nods. “Yeah, I actually own a little bakery just a few streets away from here.”

“Does that mean we’ll get free baked goods?” Liam asks hopefully, “You know, as your flatmates.”

Harry laughs at the question, and Louis has to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from getting up and kissing Harry right then and there, because the sound he’s just produced is what Louis imagines the gates of heaven opening might sound like. “Yeah, I often bring home any extras at the end of the day.”

“Sweet,” Niall says. “Free food!”

The rest of them laugh fondly.

“What do you guys do?” Harry asks. 

“I’m a tattoo artist,” Zayn says first, “and responsible for almost all of the ink you can see on these two,” he adds as he points to Louis and Liam.

“I work at the radio station with Niall,” Louis says. “I do the afternoon show right after his.”

“And I’m a firefighter,” Liam answers last.

They spend the next two hours getting to know Harry and introducing themselves to him in return, learning about where each of them grew up, how they met each other, exchanging stories from their childhoods, and stuffing their faces with Chinese food once it gets here.

Louis just finds himself feeling more and more endeared each time Harry opens his mouth to speak and Louis learns a new little fact or story about him.

His interest is particularly piqued when Harry asks whether Liam and Zayn are together and, after confirming that they are indeed a couple, Zayn casually asks Harry if he’s in a relationship too, and Harry reveals that he is in fact single.

Louis makes a mental note to thank Zayn for asking him that later.

Before long, it’s starting to get late and Louis can’t help but notice Harry trying to hide his yawns and struggling to keep up with the conversation. He’d noted that their new flatmate had already left the flat when Louis got out of bed around 8 this morning, guessing that Harry probably had to get to the bakery quite early to prepare for the day.

It’s all very cute, but Louis doesn’t want him to stay up just for their benefit.

Thankfully, Niall speaks up before he has to say something about it. “Right, I think it’s just about bed time for me.” He also has to get up quite early since he hosts the weekday morning show at the station, something Louis is quite happy he doesn’t have to do. He’s definitely not a morning person.

“Wait!” Liam says as Niall gets up. “We should pick names for our annual secret Santa, so it’ll give us enough time to think of gifts.”

“Oh that’s a good idea,” Niall agrees, walking to the kitchen before returning with a pad of paper, a pen and a bowl he hands to Zayn.

Zayn starts tearing out little pieces of paper and writing their names on them. Once he gets to the last one, he bites his bottom lip and looks up at Harry. “Harry, are you joining? It’s just for fun, no need to go over the top.”

“Oh,” Harry hesitates. “I wouldn’t want to impose on your traditions or anything, I don’t have to–”

“You obviously don’t have to join if you don’t want to,” Louis interjects, “but I think we all agree you seem like a great guy and we’d love to have you participate if you want to.”

“Absolutely,” Zayn says.

“Yeah, no pressure though, of course,” Liam adds.

“C’mon H, it’ll be fun,” Niall says last.

That seems to convince Harry. “Yeah okay, I’ll join. As long as you guys are sure.”

“We are,” Zayn announces as he tears one more piece of paper and writes Harry’s name on it before folding them all, placing them in the bowl and giving it a few shakes. 

“Right, Louis’ the oldest, so he goes first,” Liam says as he takes the bowl from Zayn and holds it out towards Louis, before turning to Harry with a frown. “Unless! Harry, how old are you?”

“Thirty one.”

“Oh, that makes you the baby!” Niall says. “Right, Louis’ still the oldest then.”

“Cheers, Niall,” Louis says as he reaches into the bowl and picks out a name.

Unfolding the little piece of paper, he keeps a straight face as he reads out the five letters in Zayn’s messy handwriting. HARRY.

That’s just his luck that he would pick the person he knows the least to have to buy a present for.

He’s only just starting to scratch the surface of who Harry is as a person, and he can’t quite base his present off of the fact that he’s a good looking 31 year old man from Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, who moved to London to get a business degree and fulfill his dream of opening his own bakery.

He reasons he has plenty of time still to get to know Harry and the kind of things he would like as a present.

Not only that, but Louis certainly wants to get to know him. The few tidbits of information he’s heard about Harry today have only left him craving even more.

Not only is he absolutely gorgeous, but he seems to be kind, funny and authentic, though also pretty shy, and Louis is dying to know what else he’ll discover if only he can manage to get him to come out of his shell a little bit more.

He really hopes he’ll get to find out. 

Chapter Text

Thursday, December 4

“You like him, don’t you?” Niall asks as he exits the radio studio just as Louis is about to enter.

Niall is one of the hosts of the morning radio show that finishes just before Louis’ mid-day slot starts, meaning that they often run into each other like this.

“Like who?” Louis asks, feigning ignorance even though he knows exactly who Niall is talking about.

“Harry,” Niall says in a way that lets Louis know he’s not buying his bullshit act.

Louis shrugs. “He seems nice,” he says. “Much better than Steve, that’s for sure.”

“Well, that’s a very low bar to beat, isn’t it?” Niall laughs. “But no, I mean that you like him.”

“I’ve only just met him two days ago, Niall,” Louis states. “That’s hardly enough time to get to know him, really.”

Niall gives him a pointed look. “You’re deflecting! Besides, there is such a thing as love at first sight, you know?”

“Infatuation at first sight, maybe, but not love, c’mon,” Louis argues. “Don’t give me that bullshit, you can’t be in love with someone you’ve not even met properly.”

“Are you saying you’re infatuated with Harry?” Niall teases, smirking.

“You’re an idiot, Nialler.” Louis rolls his eyes and pushes his way into the studio. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a show to host.”

“How convenient,” Niall says with a laugh just before the door closes behind Louis, who sighs as he sinks into his chair.

The thing is that Niall is right, but Louis knows he would never hear the end of it if he ever admitted it.

He does actually have to start the show though, so he thankfully doesn't have too long to dwell on it. 

Louis slips on his headphones and adjusts his mic, clearing his throat as the “ON AIR” signs on the wall in front of him turns on.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” he launches into his little introduction. “If this is your first time tuning in, my name’s Louis Tomlinson and I’ll be with you here through the afternoon. If you don’t mind, I think we’ll get right in and start with a classic today, here’s Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee for you.”

The song starts playing and Louis turns the volume of his headphones down until he can just barely hear the melody and goes through his notes for the day before queuing the next few songs.

Somewhere in the second hour of the show, between White Christmas by Bing Crosby and Michael Bublé’s version of It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, Louis zones out and gets through the rest of his segment on autopilot.

He swears someone must be trying to show him what his version of hell may look like when he steps into the flat that evening to the sound of The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole.

“Liam,” he accuses when he sees his flatmate in the living room. “I thought you knew the rules around Christmas music in this flat?”

Liam looks up from his phone. “I’m not the one who put that song on.”

“Well then who di–” Louis stops when he sees Harry walk in from the kitchen, biting his bottom lip as he looks at Louis.

“Are you guys not Christmas people?” He asks, sounding almost disappointed.

Liam laughs. “Louis isn’t. He’s a bit of a Christmas hater,” he says in a teasing tone.

“Oh, sorry,” Harry says, reaching for his phone in his back pocket. “I can turn it off.”

“I don’t hate Christmas,” Louis tries to defend himself, rolling his eyes when Liam snorts at him. “It’s just that I listen to Christmas music all day long for work, so I get sick of it pretty easily.”

“Oh, okay,” Harry raises a brow at him, but turns the music off regardless. “You’re one of those people.”

Louis frowns at him. “Sorry?”

“The kind of people who act like Christmas is a disturbance,” Harry explains. “A Grinch.”

“I’m not a Grinch!” Louis gasps. “You try listening to festive music for hours every day! You’ll see, it’ll get old real fast.”

“I do actually,” Harry argues. “I play Christmas songs all day long at the bakery this time of year. It puts customers in a great mood.”

Louis doesn’t have much of an answer for that, and he resists the urge to smack Liam when he laughs at him again.

“No worries, though. I’ll go to my room next time I want to play Christmas music here,” Harry says.

Okay, so Louis feels like a bit of a dick right now. He’s about to apologize, but Harry speaks up again before he can.

“By the way, I left some cookies in the kitchen,” he says with a smile. “Feel free to help yourself.”

“You know you don’t need to let Niall pressure you into bringing free baked goods home, right?” Louis asks as he makes his way to the kitchen. He’s got a massive sweet tooth and he’s never one to pass up an opportunity for a good cookie.

Harry laughs, and it sounds just as angelic as the last few times Louis got to hear it.

“I know, but I wasn’t lying when I said there’s often extras to bring home at the end of the day,” Harry assures him. “I’m always more than happy to share.”

“Well I’m certainly not going to complain about it,” Louis says as he opens the box Harry has left on the counter to reveal half a dozen or so of the biggest, most delicious looking chocolate chip cookies Louis has ever seen. “Did you make those yourself?”

“Yeah, I make pretty much everything we sell myself,” Harry says. “I love being a business owner, but baking is still my favourite part.”

Louis smiles at that as he takes one of the cookies and bites into it.

Not only do they look good, but they also taste incredible. Soft yet chewy, sweet without being too much, and with just the perfect amount of chocolate chips.

“I think this may be the best cookie I’ve ever tasted,” Louis says before he’s even finished chewing his first bite.

Harry blushes at the compliment, and Louis feels proud to have been the one to have made that pretty shade of pink appear on Harry’s cheeks. 

“Thanks,” he says. “It took me months to perfect that recipe.”

Louis takes another bite of the cookie, fully chewing and swallowing before speaking again this time. He wouldn’t want Harry to think he’s a full on caveman. “It really shows. I’ll have to come down to the bakery to check out your other offerings if they’re anything as good as these are.”

“I’d be more than happy to see you there,” Harry says. 

“What is it called?” Louis asks. “Your bakery?”

“Flour Power.”

Louis can’t help the amused smile that creeps on his face. “As in f-l-o-u-r?”

“Sure is,” Harry confirms with a proud smirk.

Louis laughs. “Are you actually serious?”

“Deadly,” Harry says. “What, is it not to your taste either?”

“No, I love it,” Louis says. “Suits you.”

“Does it?” Harry looks at him expectantly.

Louis nods. “Yeah, it’s funny and cute,” he starts, only hesitating for a second before he adds, “like you.”

That makes the flush from earlier return to Harry’s face, who just stands there looking at Louis with a surprised look on his face.

“Anyways,” Louis says as he decides to take his leave before he gets himself into further trouble by confessing his love for Harry right there and then. “Thanks for the cookie!”

When he looks back a moment later, Harry is smiling to himself, still standing exactly where Louis left him.

Chapter Text

Friday, December 5

Louis exhales a sigh of relief as he steps into the flat on Friday evening.

Between the fact that it’s the first week of December, which seems to have made a lot of people around London lose their senses a bit, getting a new flatmate in the middle of the week, and just his overall usual weariness after a full week of work, Louis is tired and more than ready for the weekend.

His schedule is wide open with not a single plan in sight, and Louis is looking forward to doing as little as humanly possible for the next two days.

Thinking about who out of his best mates will be home tonight to keep him company, Louis doesn't have to wonder for very long when he sees Niall and Harry chatting in the living room as soon as he enters.

“Hey, Lou,” Harry greets him, and Louis tries his best to ignore the fact that simply hearing him call him that nickname makes butterflies erupt in his stomach.

“Tommo!” Niall says. “We’re meeting Liam at the pub in about an hour if you want to join.”

Thinking it over, Louis comes to the conclusion that a pint or two at the pub with his friends would indeed be a great way to start the weekend. Plus, that gives him just enough time to get ready. “Sounds great,” he says. “I’ll just go get cleaned up and I’ll come with, yeah?”

Niall nods at him before turning back to Harry and continuing their conversation. 

Louis makes his way to his room, shutting the door behind him and looking at his reflection in the full length mirror that’s on the back of his door.

He needs a shave, as his stubble is getting scruffier than he usually lets it get, and he could definitely do with a change of clothes, especially since he spilled coffee on his shirt earlier and it left an annoying stain even after he tried to rinse it out.

Haphazardly throwing his work things on the foot of his bed, he leaves his room again and heads to their shared bathroom at the end of the hallway, smiling at the sound of Niall and Harry’s voices in a heated conversation about the Eagles he can hear from the living room. 

Grabbing his shaving kit from under the sink, Louis makes quick work of shaving his face smooth, finding comfort in the familiar strokes of the razor gliding along his skin.

Once he’s satisfied, he rinses his face and pats it dry to admire his handiwork. Being clean shaven like this always makes him look and feel a few years younger, and it also highlights the sculpted lines of his cheekbones and jaw.

He knows he looks good like this, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t hoping Harry would notice.

Going back to his room, he starts trying to figure out what he’s going to wear to the pub. He’s not going to go all out, because then Niall and Liam would notice and most likely give him hell for it, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to pick something that he looks good in.

Scanning over all the options in his wardrobe, Louis’ eyes land on a blue knit jumper his sister got him for his birthday a year or two ago. It’s soft and comfortable, and every time he wears it at work, he gets several compliments on how it makes his eyes look even bluer than normal.

Deciding that’s what he’s going to wear, he grabs the jumper, along with a pair of dark jeans, and changes into the clean clothes.

Giving himself another look in the mirror on the back of his door, he can’t help but give the reflection a little satisfied smirk.

He looks pretty good, but still casual enough that it shouldn’t raise any suspicions from the lads.

When he makes it out of his room, Niall is by himself in the living room, and he looks up at Louis when he hears him walk in.

“Well don’t you clean up nicely, Tommo!” he says as he gives Louis a nod of appreciation. “Harry’s just gone to his room to change real quick and then we’ll be ready to head out.”

“Cool,” Louis says as he sinks onto the sofa opposite Niall’s.

He’s barely been scrolling on his phone for a minute when the sound of Harry’s footsteps reach his ears. 

“Ok, I’m ready now, Niall,” Harry announces as he joins them in the living room. “We can–oh Louis!”

“Hi,” Louis says with an amused smile.

“Your eyes,” Harry says dreamily before seemingly regaining control of his mouth. “That shirt looks really good on you.”

“Thanks.”

The little smirk quickly leaves Louis’ face when he gets a proper look at Harry though. Because the way Harry looks right now is just plain unfair.

He’s wearing a pair of black skinny jeans that are so tight Louis is almost wondering how he even managed to put them on in the first place, making his already long legs look fucking phenomenal. He’s paired them with a loose flower-patterned shirt with several of the buttons undone, exposing a handful of tattoos along the top of his chest.

If a piano were to mysteriously fall from the sky and crush Louis to his death in this exact moment, he would die a happy man, because Harry looks incredibly hot right now and it’s making Louis feel a million different ways.

“Love the jeans, Harold,” Louis says as he forces himself to stop staring again.

Harry smiles at him, dimples on full show, and blushes, and Louis thinks he deserves a medal for not dropping dead right then and there at the sight of him.

“Alright you two, stop staring at each other and let’s go,” Niall intervenes. “Lou, you know how moody Liam gets when we make him wait.”

“Sure,” Louis answers, uncertain whether he should thank Niall or smack him for calling him out like that.

Bundled up in their coats against the cold, the three of them make the short walk over to their usual pub a few blocks away, where they find Liam waiting for them at a table near the back, waving them down when he spots his friends.

“Payno!” Louis greets as they make their way over to him. “Have you been waiting long?”

“No, I just got here,” Liam answers, “I was just about to go get the first round at the bar actually.”

“I’ll come help you,” Harry offers, quickly taking off his coat and draping it over the back of one of the chairs before following Liam to the bar.

As they sit next to each other on one side of the table, Niall clears his throat expectantly, and Louis raises a brow at him. “Can I help you?”

“You should tell him,” Niall says.

“Tell who what?” Louis asks, a bit confused.

“Tell Harry that you have a crush on him,” Niall clarifies.

“Niall, keep it down, please,” Louis says, looking over to make sure Harry is still out of earshot by the bar. “I do not have a crush on him.”

Niall gives him a smug smile. “Sure Lou, you just keep telling yourself that and see where that gets you.”

“I do not!” Louis repeats, unsure who he’s actually trying to convince here.

“You can’t fool me, Tommo,” Niall says.

Before Louis can add anything else, Liam and Harry return to the table with their drinks, and Harry places a beer in front of Louis before sitting across from him.

“Thanks,” Louis says, noticing the glass of white wine in Harry’s other hand. “Not a beer drinker?”

Harry scrunches his nose, looking entirely too adorable. “No, I’m more of a wine guy myself.”

Louis nods, filing that bit of information in his brain for later all while telling himself it doesn’t mean anything that he wants to remember all of Harry’s details.

Yeah, maybe Niall’s right.

Chapter Text

Saturday, December 6

It’s almost 11 a.m. on Saturday when Louis hears the door to the flat open and shut, and he frowns from where he’s sprawled out on the loveseat.

Liam and Zayn are tangled together on the other sofa, Zayn dozing off while Liam is playing some game on his phone, Niall is eating a bowl of cereal at the dining table, and Louis had assumed Harry was still sleeping, since he hadn’t seen him come out of his bedroom since he’d woken up two hours ago.

Which is why he’s surprised to see Harry toeing off his shoes by the door when he cranes his neck to look for the source of the noise.

“You were out? I thought you were still sleeping,” Louis says, catching Harry's attention.

“I’ve been out since 5 a.m. actually,” Harry reveals.

Louis gasps. “Why? It’s Saturday!”

Harry laughs. “Unfortunately, the bakery can’t run itself just because it’s Saturday.”

Now that Louis’ looking a little more closely, he notices streaks of flour on the jeans Harry’s wearing, as well as the white pastry box he’s holding.

“Does it mean you have to get up before 5 a.m. every single day?” Niall asks between two mouthfuls of cereal. “I mean, I get up early for work too, but at least I get the weekends off to sleep in a bit.”

“The bakery’s closed on Sundays, so I don’t have to go in then,” Harry explains. “But I do go in to bake from Monday to Saturday.”

Liam looks up from his phone. “Couldn’t you hire someone to take over a few days a week? That sounds like a lot of work.”

“I do have employees that could take over if I needed them to, but I actually don’t mind doing it myself. Maybe that’ll change one day, but I still really enjoy baking everything myself for now, so I do,” Harry says as he places the white box he’s carrying on the kitchen counter. “I brought you guys danishes by the way, baked fresh this morning.”

If the cookies he brought home a few days ago were any indication, Louis has a feeling they’re in for a treat with these danishes as well. “Thanks, Harold!”

“Awesome,” Niall says, already abandoning his cereal to grab one of the pastries.

“My pleasure! Enjoy!” Harry says before disappearing down the hallway.

After allowing himself a few more minutes of lounging on the couch, Louis coaxes himself up and heads to the kitchen to grab a danish for himself.

He has to suppress the moan threatening to escape from his lips after the first bite. Louis doesn’t know how on Earth they got so lucky to end up with such a talented baker for a flatmate, but he’s certainly not complaining about it.

He chats with Niall for a bit as he finishes eating before heading to his room to get ready for the day. He’s not really planning on going anywhere, but it still wouldn’t hurt to change out of his pajamas, even if it’s only to swap them for one of his numerous tracksuits. 

He’s just passing by the bathroom when the door swings open and out comes Harry, apparently fresh out of the shower and completely bare save for a towel tied around his waist.

Louis can’t help but let his eyes roam, noticing the expansive collection of tattoos Harry has over his tanned skin. A pair of birds under his collarbones, a butterfly on his stomach, and laurels sitting dangerously low on his torso, just above his towel. Louis would love to know the story behind each and every one of them. And he’s so fit too, with smooth toned abs Louis has to stop himself from reaching over to touch.

“Louis!” Harry exclaims, stepping aside. “I wasn’t expecting to see you!”

Louis does his best to shake himself away from the thoughts that are rapidly filling his mind. “Well I didn’t know you’d be walking around here half naked, did I?” 

“I forgot to bring clothes to change into.” Harry blushes. “I’ll just–yeah,” he says before quickly heading to his room and shutting the door behind him, leaving Louis in the hallway wondering if he imagined the whole interaction.

But no, he can’t have, because the image of Harry’s half naked body haunts him for the rest of the day, and he catches himself zoning out and thinking about it so many times it’s almost worrying.

Damn Harry Styles for looking this hot. 

He’s more than happy to accept the distraction when Zayn offers him a smoke that evening. They sit together, precariously perched on the windowsill of the open living room window, which is the only way Liam will allow them to smoke in here.

As Louis exhales slowly, he tries to think of a way to break the tension between him and Harry. Things have been a bit awkward since their little encounter this morning, neither of them wanting to bring it up first and just dancing around each other in the flat in order to avoid it.

“Look, it’s that cat again!” Zayn points out as they’re about to head back in, gesturing to a little ginger cat walking on the ledge of their building just a few feet away. They’ve seen it around a few times before, but it’s never come close enough to let them pet him.

“A cat?” Harry asks, coming up to the window to have a look.

Almost as soon as Harry pokes his head out of the window, the cat notices him and immediately starts walking towards him.

It’s almost comical, but Louis would be lying if he said he didn’t understand the cat’s pull towards Harry. There’s just something so attractive about him.

The cat meows as it walks up to the window, and Harry gently picks it up and brings it inside, cradling the small thing in his arms.

“You must be so cold out there,” he coos to the cat, which meows back at him.

Zayn approaches to pet it, grinning when the cat purrs at him. “I don’t think it belongs to anyone. It doesn’t have a collar and I’ve seen it roaming around outside a few times lately.”

“It can’t be more than a few months old,” Harry says “It’s so small.”

The cat burrows itself closer to Harry, almost as if trying to convince him not to put it back outside.

“Can we keep it?” Harry asks hopefully, then, after a quick examination of the cat. “Her, can we keep her?”

“More than fine by me,” Zayn says. “I keep a small bag of cat food in the kitchen to feed the strays sometimes. And I know Liam won’t mind, we both love animals,” he adds, seeing as Liam had left a few hours ago for a shift at work.

“We can keep it as long as I don’t have to clean up after her,” Niall says nonchalantly.

“Lou?” 

And the thing is that Louis’ never been a fan of cats, but there’s something about the way Harry’s face has lit up in the few minutes he’s been holding the cat, combined with the way he just called him “Lou” in the softest, most hopeful voice ever that makes it absolutely impossible for him to say no to him.

“Sure,” Louis agrees. “We can keep her.”

Zayn looks over at him with an amused smile, but doesn’t say anything about it, instead turning to Harry. “What should we call her?”

Harry seems to think about it for a minute, sitting on the sofa and smiling when the little ginger cat curls up in his lap. “What about Noelle?”

“I like that,” Niall says. “Seems fitting.”

“Suits her,” Zayn adds.

And so Noelle becomes a part of their little family, spending the rest of the night content to snuggle with Harry.

“Hey,” Harry says a while later, catching the other lads’ attention. “Do you guys not decorate for Christmas?”

“Not really,” Niall answers. “All of us usually go back home for the actual day anyways.”

“Not even a Christmas tree?” Harry asks, brows furrowed.

Zayn shrugs. “It’s not that I don’t want a tree, I guess we just never actually get around to getting one.”

“That’s unacceptable,” Harry shakes his head. “Is everyone free tomorrow?”

Louis frowns but nods, watching as Niall does the same and Zayn confirms that he and Liam are also both free tomorrow.

“Then it’s settled,” Harry says. “There’s a Christmas tree farm not too far from here, we'll go and get a tree tomorrow.”

“We’re doing what, now?” Louis asks.

“You already said you were free!” Harry says. “Or are you against Christmas trees as well as Christmas music?”

Louis laughs. “I don’t mind a tree, I just don’t see why we all need to go.”

“C’mon, it’ll be fun! Festive!” Harry argues. “And it can be our first outing all together as flatmates.”

“Fine.” 

Louis finds he relents entirely too easily when it comes to Harry. He notices Zayn look at him again with the same amused expression as earlier, but Louis just shakes his head and looks away.

“Hear that Noelle?” Harry gently says to the cat that’s still in his lap. “We’re getting you a proper tree.”

And if Louis’ heart skips a beat at how adorable the interaction is, then no one has to know, right?