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Louis was chasing Lottie around. With a spoon.
“Lottie, I told you not to ruin this!”
“It’s just a shirt, Lou!” Harry yells out, trying not to giggle and ruin his recording.
Louis finally pins down his younger sister, whacking her playfully upside the head with fervor.
“Not the hair, Louis!”
“You. Spilled. Wine. On. The. Boy. I. Was. Going. To. Propose. To. Tonight. And. I. Warned. You. Not. To. Ruin. It.”
And that’s about the time Harry drops his camera.
Two Days Earlier
“...And, yeah, that’s the plan.” Louis shows Lottie the ring, a thin rose gold band wrapped in small diamonds. It certainly wasn’t the most expensive ring he’d gotten for his soon- to- be fiance with expensive tastes and long fingers, but Louis had been saving it in his back pocket for years, before they were famous.
During the X-Factor years, Harry was in love with a run-down thrift shop (It’s a consignment shop, Lou!) right down from the studio. Neither of them had much money, but that didn’t stop Harry for ogling for weeks at the tiny thing. He whined for a few days when the ring was sold (an extra $15 went to the owner just to keep quiet) and Louis just had to bite his tongue. The years went by with little mention of the ring, but Louis frequently caught Harry scrolling through the internet looking for something similar.
“Lou, I think you’re missing a crucial element in this plan,” Lottie smiled conspiratorially.
“And what is that, baby sister who undoubtedly knows less than me because of her lack of years around the-”
“Six siblings and three obsessive parents including Harry’s family does not make for a beautiful, calm environment for a proposal.”
Louis pauses for a moment, and frowns. Lottie has a point. “Well, I don’t care. You love Harry and you love me, and you’re gonna help me make sure everything is absolutely perfect.”
A sigh from the other side of the room. “Lou, I will try my best, but it would take Literally Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to cure the chaos of our family.”
“Lottie, you do talk a lot of shit about The Rock,” Louis signs and smiles. All will be well.
- - -
“Harry, we’re gonna be late!” Louis screams across the house, putting on his shoe.
Harry walks into the room, making Louis’ eyes widen and heart start racing. Ever since the first time Louis saw him, Harry has made him feel this starstruck. And the feeling was mutual, if the way Harry couldn’t control his pee stream at that instance was any indicator.
He was wearing an angelic light pink button down with pale white detailing, and a pussycat bow hanging down his neck. His jeans were just the right side of tight and his hair was kept just the way Louis liked lt, long and curly, left down to frame his jawbone and accent his smile. Somehow, his hair in this style even made Harry’s eyes look more green, which Louis didn’t know was possible.
“I don’t see what the big deal is about this dinner, Lou,” Harry drawls, sliding down onto the couch next to Louis, and putting on his ostentatious boots. “We go to dinner every year with our families for your birthday and Christmas and I’m always the one to rush you along. I just want to relax and have a good time with you this year.” Harry looks over at him suspiciously. “What’s going on? Are you pregnant?” He drops his hands down to Louis’ stomach, eyes wide.
They take one look into each other’s eyes and burst out laughing, Harry with his ridiculous excuse for a laugh that just adds fuel to the fire. Louis would do anything for this absurd, snorting boy. Even wrangle their two families together for a gorgeous proposal.
As his mind races back to the proposal, Louis takes a long breath and stops laughing. “Harry, hurry up! We have got to be on time this year!”
“Lou,” Harry rolls his eyes. “I literally just have to put my shoes on and we’re out the door. Just chill. Use some of that famous Tomlinson nonchalance.”
Louis sticks his tongue out at his soon-to-be fiance, making him laugh yet again. “C’mon Haz, we’re gonna be late,” he murmurs, grabbing Harry’s wrist and gently tugging him out the door and into the car.
A short ride later, Lottie is helping the two boys take all of the gifts into their home, and the younger kids are jumping around the two boys, almost making Louis drop fragile gifts for the older people in the house. Harry giggles, and bends down to Doris and Ernie’s height, smiling widely, then growls “The tickle monster is coming to get you!” then runs after the kids with tickling hands raised, leaving Louis with a huge smile on his face and a heavy gift in his arms. Lottie rolls her eyes at the fond, then helps Louis with the heavy box of fragiles.
After the two of them set the last of the gifts down, Louis walks into the dining room, where Anne and Jay are sitting across from each other, gabbing away with their tea. But as soon as the small boy walks into the room, both moms snap shut and look at Louis innocently.
“Hi, honey,” both say synchronously.
Louis reels back toward the door. “Okay then… just gonna walk away quickly from this nightmare…”
“No, wait! Sweetie, we have a couple questions about your… shenanigans for the night,” Jay says conspiratorially, winking at her son.
Louis grins widely, whipping his head from side to side for straggling family members before pulling the ring box from his coat pocket. Both moms draw in closer to look at the ring, and Anne smiles widely when she realizes from where it came.
“Lou Bear, is that the ring from that awful thrift shop from years ago?” She asks, with tears springing to her eyes. Louis smiles and nods his head, choosing to ignore the tragic nickname that’s stuck with him through the years.
“Oh baby, he’s going to love it, I just know it!” Jay says, pulling Louis in for a good squeeze, with Anne following suit. Both moms are clearly teary eyed and sniffly, proud of their loving kid for being so thoughtful. Louis was 100% not tearing up at their love and support.
Harry ruins the moment by knocking on the entrance to the dining room, “Hey guys, what’s going on with all these tears? I don’t see any onions around.”
All three of them groaned at the bad joke, Louis sensing the opportunity for a beautiful proposal. He turns around with a smile on his face and ring in hand, ready to pop the question, right as Harry turns his gaze downward to a crying Doris tugging at his leg.
Louis just sighs, pocketing the ring, and grabbing hold of Doris, talking her through the struggles of being 4 years old. Maybe at dinner, he thinks.
Harry stares after him, looking like he wants to stop Louis, but knows better/
“Harry, love, come join your mammas for some tea, won’t you?” Anne asks her son in a saccharine tone. Harry, not noticing his mother trying to change topics from what he just stepped into, just smiles and claps his hands together, pattng Louis in the back on his way out.
Two hours later, Harry and Louis are joined yet again after wrangling kids and dodging awkward parent questions. Dinner was stressful, since everyone was so busy catching up with one another that they forgot to cook up until the last minute, which meant all hands on deck. More than half the family crammed into a tiny kitchen was not Louis’ idea of a relaxing time, and just made him even more on edge. Add to the situation that Harry kept staring at his frazzled expression, and tried to pull him out of the kitchen more than once. But Louis was determined to make dinner perfect, so he wasn’t deterred by his almost-husband’s ways.
Because of this, everyone is thoroughly grateful when dessert is set in front of them, and the kids are all chewing adamantly at Jay’s famous berry cobbler. Louis senses this moment may never be so perfect again, so he stands up to say something important, nay life changing.
“Everyone, I’d like to call for a toast.” Louis lifts up his wine glass, filled with red, a housewarming present Harry insisted on bringing even though it’s as much his house as it is Louis’. Everyone around him starts to shuffle in excitement, adults standing to their feet, as they know what’s going to happen.
“I want to give a big thanks to a special someone-” Louis nudges Harry playfully, “for being so gracious and kind to me this last year as I took a break from my career to figure out what I want. And if anyone noticed, which I doubt strongly, I might have been a bit of an insufferable prat along the way.” The entire family laughs.
“Yeah, you definitely didn’t mope around for half the year at all,” Lottie shouts out, which, rude, Louis thinks.
“Me? I’d never! But Harry has been patient and endearing even when I put in that application to the McDonald’s down the road, and he’s stuck by me and pulled me out of every little tizzy I’ve gotten into. And for that I’m going to spend the rest of my life being thankful.”
Louis smiles and lifts up his glass, clinking it against Harry’s and resting a kiss on his cheek. The rest of the family soon follows suit, all clinking their glasses against one another and cheering for the most beautiful boy in the room.
Lottie is so excited she’s practically shaking, which causes her to nudge her glass against Harry’s with a little too much fervor. Harry, expecting a light clinking motion, reels back a little too quickly and red wine splashes in large quantity all over his angelic shirt. The entire room is quiet for about 12 seconds before Gemma starts cracking up, sending every one of the kids rolling in laughter and making the other adults giggle. Lottie and Harry even start to laugh as Louis looks on in enraged horror.
“C’mon Lou, it is kinda funny,” Harry giggles out with a huge smile.
Louis just sighs and grabs a wooden spoon, he’ll just have to avenge Harry himself.
“Lottie, I told you not to ruin this!”
“It’s just a shirt, Lou!” Harry yells out, trying not to giggle and ruin his recording.
Louis finally pins down his younger sister, whacking her playfully upside the head with fervor.
“Not the hair, Louis!”
“You. Spilled. Wine. On. The. Boy. I. Was. Going. To. Propose. To. Tonight. And. I. Warned. You. Not. To. Ruin. It.”
And that’s about the time Harry drops his phone.
Louis hears the smack of Harry’s phone against the floor, and looks up, like a deer in the headlights, realizing what he’d just said.
Harry, looking increasingly more pale, stalks slowly over to Louis and takes the spoon from his hands. Lottie quickly makes her escape, leaving the two of them in the middle of the floor, next to a burning fireplace, staring intently at each other. Louis is quick to tears, brimming with frustration at all the mishaps of the day.
“What did you just say, Louis?” Harry whispers, having a hard time finding the right words to say. He was intrigued by what he’d just heard, but never wanted to see Louis cry and wanted so badly to comfort him and shoo everyone else away. He settled for shielding their view of a crying Louis sitting cross legged on the floor by standing directly in between them and his Louis.
“I said I was going to propose and Lottie ruined it.” Louis shrugs bashfully.
Harry just nods, then smiles, “Lottie didn’t ruin anything, my love. Do you want to give it another go?”
Louis sniffles, then nods, reaching into his pocket, then stopping short. His eyes widen at Harry dramatically.
“Where is the ring?”
- - -
“Did you really think that would go as planned?” Harry asks, laughing slightly as they get ready for bed, back in their own flat.
Louis pauses from unbuttoning his shirt, and scoffs. “Well, to be fair, Harold, it did work! I got you snagged, didn’t I?”
Walking around the bed dividing the two of them, Harry smiles, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy’s waist.
”All things considered, you did a wonderful job, baby,” he kisses Louis to punctuate his seriousness. “Much better than I’ve done tonight.”
Louis reels back. “What is that supposed to mean, Haz? You were on your best behaviour tonight. I only remember you making a few banana jokes.”
Harry scoffs. “That was peak comedy, thank you! Doris and Ernie laughed. Plus, that’s not what I meant.” He pulls a frown that Louis just has to kiss away, both of them momentarily lost in each other, forgetting the conversation.
Then Louis, always curious, stops the nonverbal conversation. “Harry, seriously, you’re always so lovely with the family and perfect with the kids. What do you mean by that?”
Louis’ arms are removed from Harry’s back, as Harry crosses back over to his side of the bed, and into his dresser. Out of the drawer comes a black velvet ring box, which Harry opens to reveal a shiny grey ring, one Louis remembers from a few months back inside a window display he was impressed by.
Louis just gasps, and smiles, grabbing the ring from him. “You weren’t going to propose with this tonight, were you?” He asks, the events of the night making much more sense to him.
Harry just nods bashfully. The aggressively calm demeanor getting ready, wearing a ridiculously hot outfit, and all the times Harry had tried to pull Louis away from the family made a lot more sense now. Louis couldn’t help but to finally laugh at the events of the night.
“Of course we would try to propose to one another on the same night!” Louis is full-on belly laughing now, which sends his fiance into a fit of giggles as well. They both smile at each other, relieved that neither of them were too upset by the change in the night’s plans.
Both of them finish getting ready for bed in a comfortable silence, simultaneously pulling down the covers. As Harry gets comfortable against Louis’ chest, Louis sighs. “I really thought tonight would go well for us, Hazza,” he says.
“I know, my love. I thought it would be a wonderful night for the both of us as well. But it hasn’t been all bad! We got some cobbler out of it.”
“It’s just that I’ve been planning this since your birthday when you mentioned that it had been so long since the family had gotten together. And I knew it would mean the world to you if everyone you loved was around when I asked to get married. But then the boys pulled out for their own plans a month ago and it all went to shit from there.”
Harry can tell that he’s pretty worked up about this, and to be fair, he really isn’t amused about it, either. “I know exactly how you feel, Louis. I’ve been planning this since you saw that ring outside the little jewellery shop in Pars and wouldn’t buy it for yourself because you wanted to spend all your money on me. Which, by the way, Louis William Tomlinson, we’re both millionaires, we should buy pretty things for ourselves. But I saw how happy you were just to love me and I knew right then that I had to marry you and give you the whole world. And I know how much you love your family and how much you want them there for major life events, so I just kind of knew today would be a good day.”
Harry looks up to Louis from his spot on his chest, feeling increasingly more even breaths puff against his hair, and notices the Louis, from all his stress accumulated by today, has passed out while he was talking. Oh well, Louis had always said how calming Harry’s voice was to him, and this certainly wouldn’t be the first or the last time that the smaller boy would rudely interrupt a good conversation with his dozing habit. Harry just sighs, and follows Louis into the land of sleep.
- - -
The next day is Louis and Harry’s first Christmas together as fiances, which makes them both animated and happy to sit by the tree watching each other open presents accumulated from the last year. Harry gets a new toothbrush and a few new expensive shirts, Louis gets a framed letter stating that Harry has donated half a million dollars in his name to UNICEF. Rich people don’t have very good Christmases because they buy everything they want throughout the year, anyways, Louis thinks.
Both of them are excited for tonight, when Liam and Niall show up and they exchange gifts, and get drunk off their asses. Louis can’t wait to show off his smart ring to the two of them, and Harry already has about eight million puns set up about his rose gold ring.
But for the next few hours, the newly engaged couple are happy to sit in front of the fire, warming their toes and enjoying one another’s company. Louis tosses sweets into Harry’s mouth from across the fireplace, which Harry makes dives to catch with his ridiculous frog mouth, and Louis swears he couldn’t be any happier, and more relieved that the proposal went without serious injury or murder. Of course, they just have to get through all the preparations for the wedding, but that’s still a ways off and, of course, everything will be perfect for their special day. It won’t go wrong, Louis tells himself, and curls himself closer into Harry.