"Okay, okay, that's done, and that's done," Harry looked around the counter quickly, double checking everything was presentable before looking at the timer on the oven. "Lou!" he called out.

After waiting a few moments though there was nothing.

Sometimes Harry cursed living in such a big place, but this was really the only complaint he had.

"Louis!!" he yelled louder.

"One minute!" a scream was heard back.

Harry let out a deep breath, glancing at the food behind him still cooking on the stove and opting to leave it for just a minute.

He made his way upstairs, hearing Nate's giggles from the hallway as he played in his room and that let Harry relax some knowing he was entertained.

"Babe?" he asked as soon as he reached his and Louis' bedroom.

The shorter man came out of the bathroom, looking a bit more than frazzled himself.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," Louis breathed out, "Nate was just a little tough to get ready and then I had to get ready, plus I gotta finish cleaning up and you obviously need help and-"

"Love," Harry smiled softly at him, needing him to calm down, "I'll help you clean up, you look like you got ready, just breathe for a second..."

Louis nodded back at him, knowing he probably seemed like a mental case but just like the last time Anne came into town he needed everything to go right.

"What did you need? I'm sorry, I'm doing my whole-" Louis waved his hands near his head, knowing he was overthinking.

"Any chance you can watch the food on the stove for a couple minutes? I just need to change," Harry said, hating that he was adding on to his boyfriend's imaginary stress load, "I'll help you clean up as soon as I'm done, promise."

"Yeah, I can do that, yeah," Louis nodded, letting out a deep breath as he started to head for the door.

Before he could reach it though Louis felt a hand grab his arm and when he looked up he saw his boyfriend gently grinning at him.

"I love you, thank you," he said quietly.

Louis doesn't know how those three magic words seem to put the world in order again, but he wasn't going to complain, not in the slightest.

"Love you too," he smiled at him, standing on his toes and pressing their lips together.

Harry gave his arm a gentle squeeze before letting Louis leave the room.

The blue eyed lad made sure to peek at Nate in his room to make sure he was okay before heading down to the kitchen.

Everything on the stove seemed to be coming along nicely and Harry already did all of their cold sides. Louis couldn't lie he was more than impressed with what his boyfriend put together, and with everything looking good he thought he could help out a bit and get their holiday punch ready.

He may have had to remind himself to take it somewhat easy on the alcohol when mixing it together, not wanting it too strong for anyone. But after a few taste tests and some tweaking it was up to his standards.

Louis made sure he had Nate's special sparkling juice ready to go as well, wanting him to have a little treat for the holiday.

And after making sure there was nothing left to do in the kitchen, the counters clean and everything in its place did Louis head into the living room to pick up.

Nate's new toys were taking up the entire room, some wrapping paper still strewn about and some of the gifts he and Harry got each other that were neglected to put away. One thing at a time was all Louis could think. Tackle one thing, and then on to the next.

"Nate!" Louis yelled towards the stairs.

And it may have taken a minute but the little patter of feet could be heard running down.

"Hey love, can you pick up your new toys and find a home for them in your room?" Louis asked, already going around the room to get loose wrappings.

"But I wanna show aunt Gemma and nana my toys, they stay here," Nate said, plopping himself on the carpet and reaching for one of his cars.

"Mate you can show them, but we need to clean the living room, c'mon," Louis tried to urge him, "when they get here you can take aunt Gemma and nan up to your room and show them all the cool stuff you got."

Nate huffed but did as he was told anyway, taking his sweet time picking up his toys and taking them to his room.

That was a win in Louis' book, that having to be one less thing he had to focus on. So as Nate moved like a snail picking up his toys and taking them upstairs Louis was almost running around to get the living room organized.

He got most of what he needed to clear up before his mind suddenly went to what he was really sent down here for and raced to the kitchen.

He skidded in front of the stove, his eyes going wide as he pulled lids off and made sure nothing burned.

"Everything okay?"

Louis jumped at Harry's voice, spinning around and saying a quick "it's fine!"

Harry raised his eyebrows at him, grabbing the blue eyed man's shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze. "Breathe, Lou..."

Louis looked back at him for a moment, knowing if he didn't relax he would probably explode. "I'm sorry..." he said quietly, "It's just- it's our first Christmas as a family and your mum is coming and-"

"Love," Harry cupped his cheek, "you don't need to stress, we're gonna have a great and fun holiday, please, relax," he felt like he was almost begging but at this point he couldn't stand to see his boyfriend freaking out for no reason.

Louis bit his lip, unable to meet Harry's eyes, "I've never... Well I've never hosted a holiday... Just want it to go well."

"And it will," Harry picked his chin up to look at him, "dinner is almost done and as soon as mum and Gem get here we can drink and eat and just hang out."

Louis could just nod back at him and try to calm his breathing. He was thinking too much, he knew he was, but today was important to him.

With Harry talking to him some more though and seeing that they really didn't have that much to do Louis felt like maybe he wouldn't be a complete mess when Anne and Gemma show up.

Harry sent him off to finish cleaning the living room and Louis was pleasantly surprised that Nate had actually picked all his toys up. Looking around he saw that maybe he really was freaking out over nothing. It was mostly Nate's toys that were everywhere so now Louis just had a few things to gather up and put away.

With a few trips upstairs the living room was clean and he may have double checked that Anne's room was ready for her.

"Buddy your nan and aunt are gonna be here any minute, you wanna come downstairs?" Louis popped his head into Nate's room.

Nate didn't need to hear another word before he ran at full speed out of the room with Princess on his heels.

Louis could just laugh to himself as he followed after the toddler, knowing he's been more than excited for his nana to visit. And that was more than evident at seeing the 3 year old waiting by the door in the foyer.

"Do you need anything love?" Harry asked, seeing Louis come into the kitchen.

"Maybe a drink," Louis chuckled as he threw himself into one of the breakfast bar stools.

Harry smiled back at him, getting a cup down for him and filling it with punch, "here you are sweetheart."

Louis gratefully accepted it, and it took everything in him not to chug it in one go. He was able to get through about three quarters of it before he heard a knock at the door.

"Nana!!"

The pair looked at each other as Nate shrieked, both of them stifling laughs as they headed into the foyer.

"Hi mum," Harry said happily, squishing Nate in his mum's arms as he hugged her, "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas to two of my favorite boys," Anne said, squeezing the two as hard as she could and kissing their heads, "and where's my other favorite boy?"

Harry lit up as he heard that, turning around to see Louis with pink cheeks.

"Hi Anne," Louis smiled at her, letting her put Nate down before he swooped in for a hug, "Happy Christmas, I'm really happy to have you here," he whispered to her.

Anne pulled away just enough to look at him, but before she could speak up a little hand was tugging on her.

"Nana! Nana! You gots ta see what papa and daddy get me for Christmas! All my toys in my room, you come see!"

The three adults were quiet though, Anne's eyes locking with Louis' for just a moment before she pulled him back into her chest for a strong hug.

"Oh love, oh my God," she said, holding everything in her so tears wouldn't fall.

Louis felt like he couldn't breathe with how hard he was being squeezed, but that didn't stop the soft grin that came over him as he hugged her back. "Is that okay? Like-"

"Oh honey, yes, yes, of course," Anne rushed out.

"Nana," Nate groaned, tugging on her again.

"Sweetheart I will see your toys, I promise," Anne said, scooping him up and kissing his cheek, "when did Louis become papa? I think it fits quite nicely."

Louis was sure his face was bright red as Anne winked at him and Harry pulled him into his side.

"It my surprise for papa's birthday!" Nate said excitedly as he jumped in her arms.

"What a thoughtful gift love," Anne tried not to choke up, her eyes shifting between the three boys.

"C'mon mum, why don't we fully let you in and get comfortable," Harry laughed, squeezing Louis quickly before picking her bag up, "you have anything else in the car?"

"I have quite a few presents I need to bring up. I'll be adding to this one's holiday haul," Anne smiled at her grandson in her arms.

Nate went wide eyed at that, not being shy as he let out a loud scream for more presents.

"Nathaniel, be polite, we'll be doing presents later," Harry reminded him.

"Fine," Nate huffed, "but c'mon nana, I show you my toys," he wiggled out of her arms before taking off for the stairs.

"I'll grab your stuff from the car mum, you can go with him," Harry said, his son being his demanding little self.

Anne smiled back at him as she passed him her keys, not wasting any time before heading for the stairs.

Harry had Louis come with him down to the car, knowing his mum she probably went way overboard with presents. And his suspicions were unfortunately correct when he saw the entire front and back seats loaded with gifts.

The pair may have had to take two trips but as soon as the presents were laying under their tree they were quick to throw themselves onto the couch and attempt to warm up from the cold.

They could only sit for so long though before there was another knock at the door.

Harry let out a deep breath before pushing himself up, heading towards the door and as soon as opening it trying not to stumble at the force that knocked into him.

"Happy Christmas!" Gemma yelled as she crushed him in a hug.

"Yeah, hi, Happy Christmas," Harry managed out.

Gemma gave him one more squeeze before carrying her gifts into the living room and giving Louis the exact same treatment as her brother.

Harry rolled his eyes fondly as he heard his boyfriend almost choking as Gemma hugged him. But now that everyone was here the real fun could begin. So Harry wasted no time in getting a couple drinks together for everyone, and even pulling out Nate's sparkling juice before taking everything into the living room.

"Figured you could use another one," he winked at him as he passed Louis a glass and took a seat next to him.

"Trying to get me drunk Styles?" Louis muttered to him as he wiggled his eyebrows.

Harry smirked back at him and shrugged about to say something before his sister stopped him.

"Keep it together you two, it's only the beginning of the night," she said, reaching for a glass herself.

Harry blushed to himself as Louis cleared his throat and sipped at his drink, the curly haired man finding himself needing a cup himself.

"Oh Gem!"

"Aunt Gemma!"

They perked up at the yells, Anne wasting no time as she rushed towards her daughter with Nate right after her.

Of course as soon as the 3 year old saw all the new presents that laid under their tree though he was quick to give that all his attention.

"Nate," Harry warned as he raised his eyebrows at him, his son trying to peek into bags.

Nate's head snapped up, biting his lip and backing away from the gifts as he saw the look his daddy was giving him.

"If you guys are actually ready we can eat, foods all set," Harry smiled at his sister and mum.

Everyone was quick to groan at that, Louis passing Anne a drink and Nate his little juice. The toddler's eyes lit up as he skipped off to the table and scrambled into his booster seat.

Louis helped Harry get everything from the kitchen and put it on the table, as soon as everything was set did he feel like he could really breathe.

Everyone was here, they had drinks and the food looked more than great, now it was just time to enjoy the company.

Of course it was only 5 minutes into dinner that Gemma basically had a heart attack though at hearing Nate call Louis papa. Just like her mother she looked close to tears and didn't waste a second to leap out of her chair to crush the blue eyed man.

Nate though was at a complete loss, having no clue why everyone was crying over this.

"Oh my God, you've just had the best two days," Gemma said as she took her seat, "just your birthday yesterday, and today! How was today? You went to your mum's right?"

"Yeah, we finally made a trip up to mum's," Louis smiled, his eyes catching Harry's, "she absolutely loves these two, did before she even met them if I'm honest."

"Do you have siblings Louis? Were they there?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, there's-"

"Lots of girls," Nate interrupted.

The table couldn't contain their laughter as they saw Nate wrinkle his nose and shake his head, obviously way too used to their boys lifestyle.

"Lots of girls," Louis chuckled and nodded along, "5 little sisters and a little brother."

"Wow, that must've been so great to see all of them," Anne smiled at him, "how was the drive there, did Nate do okay?"

Louis swallowed his food, looking over to Harry and seeing him raise his eyebrows at him. "We uh, w-well we actually uhm, flew there..."

Gemma and Anne looked at him confused, Harry just waiting for his boyfriend to explain his craziness.

"You flew there?" Anne asked slowly

"Y-yeah, well, you know-" Louis scratched the back of his neck, trying to find his words, "It's a three and a half hour drive one way and that would be hard for Nate and that way we weren't in the car half the day."

All their eyes were on him, Harry more amused rather than Gemma and Anne's shocked faces.

"He has this thing with private planes," Harry teased his boyfriend.

"I love the plane!" Nate chimed in.

"It's just a time saver," Louis defended himself.

"Hell Lou, I would if I could," Gemma scoffed.

That let Louis relax a little bit knowing at least she didn't think he was insane like her brother does.

At least for the rest of dinner he didn't have his boyfriend teasing him. Everyone was more focused on Nate as he went on and on about his presents and how amazing his Christmas has been.

If anything Harry and Louis could hear him go on forever, their hearts melting at hearing what a great holiday it's been for him. Not just him though, but the two of them as well. The past two days for them have been more than either of them thought they would be, and their Christmas dinner was just getting started.

*~*

Harry shuffled his feet quietly down the hall, coming up to the door and knocking softly at it.

"Come in."

Harry twisted the knob and popped his head in, smiling to himself as he saw his mum sitting on the bed. "Hey mum, settled okay?"

"Very settled," she grinned back at him, "I love it here, it feels like such a home."

Harry raised his eyebrows at that, if possible his smile only growing. "Lou would love to hear that."

Anne watched her son as he took a seat on the bed, reaching a hand over and rubbing his back. "How was today with his family? He didn't talk much about it at dinner."

"It was good, really," Harry said with a soft grin as he nodded at her, "they're all so sweet and full of energy, I like them a lot, especially his mum."

"That's great sweetheart, I'm so happy you finally got to meet them. I know you were aching to for a little while now," Anne teased him.

Harry bit his lip to hide his smile as he looked at his mum through his eyelashes and shrugged, "I uh... I may have found out why it took a little..."

Anne furrowed her eyebrows as she looked back at him, her son seeming like he was trying not to beam. "And why did it?"

"Well you see... Lou's never brought anyone home to meet his mum, never, not once," Harry said quietly, his mum looking at him surprised, "and while I was there his mum pulled me aside when Lou was playing with Nate outside and she- w-well she-"

"She what honey?" Anne asked, reaching for his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"She said that Louis said he was only going to bring home the person he was going to marry."

Anne's jaw fell as she heard what her son rushed out, placing a hand over her mouth and shaking her head. "Oh Harry..."

"Mum I-..." he didn't have the words, just smiling so wide he had to hide his face in his hands.

Anne wrapped her arms around him, him quickly hugging her back with all his strength.

"It hasn't been that long, I know it hasn't but-"

"Harry," she stopped him, not needing him to justify anything, "he's your family, love..."

He was still for a second, trying to blink away the slow welling tears in his eyes as he nodded back at his mum.

"A-and it's not like it's gonna happen anytime soon, I mean I don't think," Harry said quietly, "but... I mean, just knowing that he wants that, that he wholeheartedly wants a life with Nate and I, it- God it makes me so happy," he said through a watery chuckle as he wiped his eyes.

"That's amazing love," Anne said softly as she hugged him again.

"And of course we've talked about being together for the long run, and we've talked about kids but this- this just confirms everything," Harry mumbled into her neck, knowing he could go on and on.

Anne smiled into his hair, giving him one more squeeze and kissing his cheek, "I'm so happy for you sweetheart, you really found a one in a million.

Harry couldn't nod fast enough as he tried to even his breathing, "mum he's everything..."

"Don't be afraid to tell him that love," Anne said softly, "maybe tonight, end the holiday on the best note."

Harry had to hold back a chuckle, knowing he and Louis would definitely be celebrating the holiday later tonight.

"Thanks for being an ear mum, I just had to tell someone, it was kind of killing me," he said sheepishly.

"Always honey."

"Alright well I'll leave you for the night," Harry smiled at her, "we'll see you for breakfast."

"Okay sweetheart, I love you," Anne grinned back at him.

Harry said his "I Love you's" back before heading out of the room and down the hall. He pushed open his and Louis' bedroom door, his eyes immediately landing on his mostly naked boyfriend reading in bed.

"Hello love."

Louis looked up, his eyes crinkling at seeing him come into the room, "hey, your mum good?"

"Yeah, she's more than comfortable in her room," Harry chuckled as he yanked his shirt off then reached for his pants button.

"Good," Louis said happily, "I love having her here, your sister too."

Harry kicked his pants off and threw himself onto the bed next to Louis, the older lad placing his book on the bedside table and wrapping his arms around him.

"Does your mum ever come down here to visit?" he asked, resting his head on the older man's shoulder.

"Uhm, no, not really," Louis said quietly, "you know she's just busy with the kids."

Harry nodded against him, today being the first real insight he's had into Louis' family. His boyfriend has talked about them and loves them of course, Harry can easily see that. But he also saw how Louis has always been a bit by himself. He's a fair amount older than his next sibling and the others are all pretty close in age. And sure, he and Louis have talked about his mum and how busy she is with them, but Harry really saw that Louis had his life, and his mum had her own, and it's always been like that.

"Well I'm really happy I got to meet them today... It means a lot," Harry whispered, picking his head up to meet his eyes.

"It means more that you came with me," Louis said, running his hand down the younger lad's back, "this is the happiest I've ever been..."

Harry just looked at him for a second, his emotions already so high but now his boyfriend wasn't helping. "Me too..." it barely came out, "I love you so much Lou..."

Louis looked into his eyes, a smile immediately coming over him as he saw what he always does; honesty, truth. "I love you too... So fuckin much, it almost scares me."

Harry's own grin only grew as he heard the older lad, not wasting a second before connecting their lips.

Louis wrapped his arms around him, pulling him just enough so he could get Harry on his back without disconnecting their lips. He settled himself on top of him, their mouths moving lazily together as their legs became tangled at the end of the bed.

It was slow, Louis allowing no room between them as Harry's hand was lost in his hair while the other roamed his side. They didn't need talking to tell how the other felt, this was everything they needed. The gentle touches, shaky breaths exchanged between them and kisses that made time stop.

"To many more Christmases Lou," Harry pulled centimeters away, carding his fingers through the back of his hair.

Louis bit his lip, trying to hide his growing smile as he nodded, "to many, many, more Christmases," he whispered, dipping his head and capturing his lips.

*~*

Louis rubbed his hand over his eyes, blinking a few times before placing his glasses back on his nose.

His agent sent him three new scripts to look through since he finished up what he needed to for Horton, but Louis wasn't even sure if he wanted to pick up a new project. One was a tv show, and the other two were movies. Just reading through them though the thought of more work gave him a headache.

But Louis gave the two movie scripts his time, having nothing to do until he has to pick Nate up from daycare. He read over lines and tried to think if either character was something he really wanted to play. After dedicating almost 2 hours to each script though his eyes were almost burning at this point.

Not even needing to think too hard about it, he threw the script he had in his hand onto the desk and made his way out of the office.

"Princess! C'mere love!" Louis called out once he reached the foyer.

The little patter of claws could be heard running towards him, as soon as Princess was in eye shot she let out a happy bark.

"There you are," he smiled down at the pug as he pulled his shoes on, "what do you think about maybe surprising Nate at daycare, hm?"

At the sight of her leash getting pulled out she was quick to circle around yelp excitedly. And it may have taken Louis a minute or two to get her to calm down enough to actually clip her leash to her.

As soon as he was bundled up for the cold and Princess had her pretty pink sweater on, they headed for the car.

Louis knew Nate would be over the moon at seeing Princess, and there was no doubt in his mind he would be showing her off to all his little friends. So as soon as the pug was situated in the car he was on the road.

Louis was always grateful how close Gemma's daycare was, Harry's studio too. It made life so much easier since it seemed he and his boyfriend were constantly running between the two.

He made it to the daycare quick enough, parking his car and getting Princess out before he rushed through the cold. As soon as he opened the door he heard the shrieks of children, all of them running around and playing in the open room.

Louis looked around for Gemma, his eyes quickly finding her and smiling to himself as he made his way over to her.

"Hey Gem."

She jumped at his voice, quickly turning around and seeing who it was before wrapping her arms around his neck.

Louis didn't try to hide the laugh that escaped him, Gemm basically attacking him every time she sees him.

"Oh you brought Princess!" she said excitedly, getting down to the dog's height and squishing her face.

"Thought it'd be a fun surprise," he said happily, "where's-"

"Papa!"

His question was quickly answered as he heard the scream, it not being a second later a little body crashed into him.

"Wello hello love," Louis laughed before scooping him up.

"I swear I will never get used to this," Gemma said as she looked between the two, her heart melting every time she heard her nephew say papa.

"Me neither," Louis said quietly as he smiled down at Nate in his arms.

"Papa! Papa you bring Princess!" Nate said quickly, his eyes going wide at seeing his dog, "I show her to my friends."

Louis tried not to drop Nate as he scrambled out of his arms and snatched the leash from him. He wasn't so surprised to see the toddler sprinting away with the pug, all his little friends running up to him and yelling as they saw the animal.

Princess had all the attention her little heart desired and the kids seemed more than thrilled at seeing her. It wasn't long though that Nate was screaming for him, begging to do voices.

"Go do what you do best handsome," Gemma chuckled and winked at him, hearing the kids' pleas.

Louis smiled back at her, wasting no time in heading over to the group of toddlers and fulfilling every demand they had. He would get two lines into a character before a fit of giggles were heard and screams and requests for a different character were shouted.

Louis was sure he had done about fifteen different voices, but every time he did a new one the room filled with laughter, and he could say it was easily one of his favorite sounds. He loved kids, he loved making them happy but above all he would give anything everyday to get the look he was getting from Nate.

The 3 year old had his eyes locked on him, his laughter the loudest of the group. And he wasn't shy in the slightest as he told Louis to do his best voices and then proceeded to brag that that was "his papa".

Louis would do voices forever just to get Nate's reactions, but time ended up getting away from him and before he knew it other parents were showing up to pick up their kids.

He started to get Nate's things together, bundling him up for the cold and doing the same to himself before they said goodbye to all his little friends and Gemma.

"Did you have fun buddy?" Louis asked once they were settled in the car.

"The most fun!" Nate said happily, "happy you and Princess come cause now all my friends hear you voices."

Louis glanced into the rear view mirror and at the 3 year old, his smile growing as he heard him. "You okay stopping by the studio real quick and seeing how daddy's doing?"

"Okay," Nate shrugged.

They made the two minute drive down the road, Louis hopping out and helping Nate and Princess out of the car before leading the two inside.

"Daddy!" Nate said excitedly as soon as they walked through the door.

Harry whipped around in his chair, his dimples popping out as he saw the two, "you got the whole army here huh?" he asked, standing up from his chair.

"Papa come to daycare with Princess and do voices," Nate said, as soon as he got to his father tugging on him to be picked up.

"Oh did he?" Harry asked with raised eyebrows, looking over to his boyfriend and seeing him try to bite back a smile.

Nate nodded back at him as his daddy scooped him up and hugged him, not wasting a second before wrapping his arms around his neck.

"How was your day love?" Louis asked.

"Busy," Harry breathed out, "I had like 20 messages from over the holidays from people asking to do shoots, and my schedule is already so booked out, I gotta figure something out.

Louis looked back at him softly for a moment, knowing since they did the interview at the premier there's been too many people wanting to get pictures done from Louis Tomlinson's boyfriend.

"The amount of business is good though right? I mean, it's nice that so many people wanna come here."

"Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, I love making money," Harry laughed, "I just gotta figure out some scheduling stuff and talk to people about specifics of their shoots. Honestly I'm booking like 3 months out at this point, even with Sam and Nolan."

"That's amazing H," Louis smiled at him, "do you uh, do you think you'll be working more or...?"

Harry shook his head, pulling Nate in impossibly closer as he kissed his head, "no I told the guys I'm done at 5. Gotta have time with my boys."

Louis' smile only grew at hearing that, loving that Harry's studio was doing so well and he didn't have to slave away to get everything done. And it made him even happier that his boyfriend let him steal him away from work to come home with them. He may have even convinced the younger lad to let him take them out for dinner. And even though today wasn't anything special, just another day for them, Louis was reminded that he could easily do this for the rest of his life.