Pairing: Harry Styles/Nick Grimshaw

Rating: General Audiences

Triggers: None

The cold is biting as Harry hurries inside, a warm lump under his jacket struggling to free itself from his grip. It's not snowing, which is a pity since Harry loves a white Christmas, but the atmosphere still feels decidedly festive with all of the colored lights adoring the buildings guiding his steps.

He fights to maintain his hold on the bundle while simultaneously attempt to unearth his keys from his pocket. With a great deal of difficulty, he manages to open the door to Nick's place without incident.

"Hush now," Harry mumbles as his occupant gives out a whine. "We're home."

He accompanies his words by releasing the dog he's smuggled into Nick's - well actually their house. It had been hell trying to get the animal here without Nick knowing, but since it's his Christmas present, he made it work. 

The dog is some sort of collie mix, although he's smaller than the typically breed with slightly shorter hair. He's mostly black and white in coloring, but he's got brown rings around his eyes that make them look even bigger than they already are. He'd found him at the local shelter. Nick would hate if Harry went out and bought him a purebred, not that he would ever do that. There are so many homeless dogs that need a home. In fact, it had been difficult not to adopt them all, but this is the one that Harry had instantly fallen in love with.

The dog begins sniffing around at everything, his pointed nose nudging at the shoes lined up by the door before he moves on to the sofa. Harry lets him be, toeing off his boots and removing his heavy coat before joining the dog in the living room.

"Hey, King," Harry notices the dog seems to respond to the name the shelter had given him. His ears perk up and he stops his intense inspection of the coffee table. "Your other dad is going to be home soon, so I need you to hide in the bathroom soon. Can you be quiet for me in there? I'll leave you some treats and everything."

King stares at Harry with his liquid brown eyes, almost as if he understands what he's asking, either that or he knows the word 'treats' and he wants some. They don't have much time until Nick gets home, in fact, Harry's not entirely sure when that will be, but he assumes it's soon. It's Christmas Eve, and Nick had popped out to pick up some last-minute gift apparently, giving Harry the perfect opportunity to get King home and hidden.

"Come on, you can sniff at me all you want later," Harry promises the dog who is now pressed up against his knees. He shakes the small bag of treats in his pocket as motivation, and that's all it takes for King to follow him into the downstairs bathroom.

Harry forgot his dog bowl and the other things he'd purchased early for King in the car, so he places the treats on the floor. King doesn't seem to care. Most of them are gone by the time he closes the door. He makes sure he leaves the light on just in case King doesn't like the dark. Hopefully, Nick will be home soon in any case. He'd taken King outside before letting him get in the car, but he'd hate for Nick's surprise to be tainted by an accident on the floor for him to clean up later.

As Harry sits back down on the sofa, he mulls over his decision to get Nick a dog for Christmas. Part of him is afraid it might be too soon. It's barely six months since he lost Stinky, and about eight months since Pig had passed. Poor Piggy had gotten a rare type of kidney disease and hadn't been able to pull through, and not long after, Stinky had died as well. The vet wasn't sure why Stinky had declined so quickly. He'd simply stopped eating and listed around the house aimlessly before he fell so ill they'd made the hard decision to have him put down. Harry thinks he was broken-hearted after losing his best friend and he simply lost the will to live.

Their passing had been hard on both of them, but Nick had been truly devastated. The dogs were like his children, and Harry's worried King might not be a welcome replacement. But he hopes Nick will appreciate his new companion. They're both missed having an animal around the house, and King seems like the perfect fit.

Harry has just enough time to pour some wine and make sure all the Christmas lights and candles are lit when he hears the key turn in the lock. His heart starts beating faster just like it always does when he knows he's going to see Nick again. They don't spend nearly as much time apart as they used to, but his body still reacts like it's been months and not hours since he's seen his boyfriend.

"Honey...I'm home!" Nick drawls like he does literally every day. "I hope you're decent!"

"Like you'd care if I wasn't!" Harry replies.

"True..." Nick agrees, his airy laugh filling the space which his physical presence soon occupies.

Harry's breath catches in his throat when Nick enters his line of sight. His hair is tousled and windblown, his red-tinted cheeks and slightly chapped lips completing the perfect image of a winter kissed face. Harry always thinks Nick is handsome, but right now he looks positively radiant. He's making Harry feel like the love-struck teenager he used to be instead of the supposedly stable adult he claims he is.

"But sadly I am decent, at least for now," he belatedly finds his voice, "Merry Christmas Eve by the way."

"Yes it is, isn't it," Nick grins. He unwinds his scarf from his neck, only to loop it across Harry's shoulders and pull him in for an awkward kiss since Harry's still sitting down. "It's always a good day when I get to come home to my favorite boy."

Harry feels like he's just taken a large gulp of hot chocolate at Nick's words. His stomach is warm and his limbs tingle as he basks in the joy of this moment.

"Oh, am I your favorite now?" Harry teases because he can. "I thought Finchy held that title."

"Nah, not anymore," Nick plays along. "Plus he's not here right now, out of sight, out of mind, or whatever that saying is." Nick ends his statement by flopping down onto the couch next to Harry, a content sigh leaving his lips when Harry snuggles into him instinctually.

"So..." Harry can't keep the growing excitement out of his tone, "I know it's not Christmas yet, but I've got a present for you that sort of can't wait until tomorrow."

"Harold, how many times do I have to tell you that your dick doesn't count as a present," Nick sighs, earning himself a friendly nudge in the process.

"Haha, you're so funny, but no...it's not any part of my body actually."

"Oh, is that so?" Nick asks. "So what is so important that it can't wait until Christmas?"

"Can I show you?" Harry asks tentatively, his nerves bubbling up again without his consent.

"Of course, darling. I assume this gift isn't under the tree?" He glances toward the brightly lit pine that takes up the corner of the living room. There are some presents underneath it, but nothing that hasn't already been there for a few days. Harry couldn't get Nick just one thing, and Nick seems to have the same problem.

"No...it's actually in the bathroom."

"Are you sure you're not trying to talk me into shower sex?" Nick jokes. "Because I'm all for it if you are."

"No - get your mind out of the gutter!" Harry groans as he leads the way toward the downstairs bathroom.

"True, sex is much better in the upstairs bathroom anyway...it has that amazing bench in it."

Harry doesn't dignify Nick with a reply, but he does roll his eyes fondly at him. "Now...if you don't like it...you can tell me. I know I probably should have discussed this with you beforehand, but I really wanted it to be a surprise, and -"

"Hazza, I'm sure whatever it is, I'll love it, but all of this suspense is going to give me a heart attack if you keep it up for much longer."

"Alright, sorry...um okay, here goes."

Harry braces himself as he opens the door to the toilet. King barrels past him instantly, heading straight to Nick who is frozen right behind Harry. After giving Nick a few curious sniffs, it seems he decides he likes him if the happy bark he lets out means anything at all.

"Oh my god," Nick gasps, his eyes glimmering with emotion as he crouched down to King's level. "Is this our dog?"

"Yeah, if you like him that is."

"Like him? I love him," Nick whispers as he pets at King's ears. "Does he have a name?"

"The shelter called him King, but you can always change it if you want." Upon hearing his name, King turns toward Harry with his tongue hanging out as if to say 'yes, you called?'

"Looks like he already knows his name, isn't that right King," Nick cooes. King turns back to Nick, his head bumping into his thigh as he demands more attention. "Yes, who's a good boy, yes you are."

"I was nervous it would be too soon to get another dog, but I feel in love with him, and it seems like he's smitten with you too."

"He's perfect, Harry, honestly. Thank you so much for thinking of this. I couldn't ask for a better gift."

If Harry thought his happiness before was akin to swallowing a mouthful of hot chocolate, now he feels as if the sun has taken residence inside his stomach. He's never felt so warm and full of love for Nick as he does at this moment. Nick is laughing as King starts licking at his cheeks, his paws balanced on his knees so he can reach every inch of his skin.

"Merry Christmas, Nick."

"Speaking of early presents," Nick says when he manages to extract himself from King's loving grasp, "I was out getting you something too. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I don't think I can wait until then either."

"Don't tell me you got me a puppy too? Harry laughs, but the sounds quickly dies down when he notices Nick swallowing nervously.

"Uh...no...nothing like that, but it might mean taking on almost as much responsibility if you say yes that is."

"Grimmy," Harry gasps when Nick shuffles until he's directly in front of Harry, his weight balanced on one knee as his hand pulls out a small black box from his rear pocket.

"Now you don't have to say yes to this, god knows I am not the sort of lad who needs titles and such to make me happy, but...well - the past few years have been some of the happiest of my life. I love you living with me, I love you being my boyfriend, I am in love with you in general, so I thought I'd ask if maybe...you'd like to be my husband as well?"

Harry forgets how to breathe when Nick opens the box he's holding. Inside is a gorgeous ring. In the middle is a massive opal, the white tones filled with shimmering colors that instantly capture Harry's attention. The band is decorated as well with what looks to be small diamonds of varying colors interspersed with pearls. Harry loves the ring instantly.

"Nicholas...are you serious?" he says instead of the 'yes' he means to. He just can't believe this is happening. He hadn't expected this at all, especially not tonight, if ever. He knows Nick's feelings about marriage. He still has periods where he's afraid of commitment even though he's already trusted Harry with his heart and his home, but this - it seems almost like a fairytale, or a Christmas miracle.

"I - if you're not ready, you don't have to say anything, we can put this on a shelf for later -"

"Of course I want to marry you, you idiot! God, just put the ring on my finger before I start crying," Harry chokes out, his happiness swelling his throat and making it difficult for him to produce coherent words. His insides have now become a supernova, a plethora of warm and adoration exploding through every one of his nerve endings simultaneously.

"Oh thank god," Nick exhales, "bloody Styles, you scared me half to death there," he chuckles under his breath as he shakily extracts the ring from the cushion it's perched on. Harry has to force himself to pry his hands away from his mouth so he can hold his left ring finger out for Nick, the one finger he's never put a ring on himself because he was always hoping this moment would one day happen. The ring fits like a glove. Harry can't stop staring at it once it's on. It's perfect, just like Nick.

"I - I love it, I love you. Oh my god, I'm engaged," Harry sobs happily.

"Don't act so surprised," Nick scoffs, but Harry doesn't miss the slight sheen his eyes have taken on. "It was bound to happen eventually, so I thought I'd get it out of the way before you realize that shacking up with an old DJ isn't all that it's cracked up to be."

"Oh sod off," Harry croaks, his eyes never leaving his new ring. "You'd have to throw me out to get me to leave and you know it."

"Yeah...well, I'm pretty crazy about you too, and it would be nice to be able to have it all official."

"God - Nick - I..."

Harry doesn't know what he's trying to say, so he ends up kissing Nick instead. The melding is a bit frantic and messy, but it's wonderful all at the same time. Nick kisses him back with just as much intensity, his tongue darting past Harry's lips eagerly when Harry falls to his knees so they can be closer together. They only pull apart when King nudges his way between them, his cold nose distracting them from their brief moment of passion when he attempts to join in on the fun.

"Oh - yes, hello sweetie. Sorry we're ignoring you. I bet you need to go out soon huh?" Nick grins, his smile stretching so wide it creates those lovely eye crinkles that Harry has always adored.

"Probably," Harry nods, but he can't help but pull Nick in for one more quick kiss. "And oh god - I have to call my mum, and Jeffery, and everyone! I'm you're fiancé!"

"Uh...your mum might already know," Nick chuckles. "I decided to ask her permission first. I know it's a bit old fashion, and not exactly the intended parent, but I wanted her approval before I did anything."

"Nicholas Grimshaw, I am so bloody in love with you," Harry exhales. "Now hurry up and let King out so we can call whoever you didn't tell, then maybe we can take that shower you assumed you were getting earlier."

"Sounds like a great way to spend Christmas Eve."

"And every day after that," Harry can't help but add, but it's true. He has a suspicion that every day is going to feel like Christmas for some time now that he can officially call Nick his.

So I know I really should be working on updating  Here's to the Heartache instead of writing random Christmas fluff but...I did this instead. The world needs more schmoopy Gryles fics.

I apologize if this isn't my best work. I wrote most of this at the DPS office while having a panic attack while trying to renew my license so yeah...it might not be great but I am fond of it and I hope some of you enjoy it as well.

I love you all so very much xxx

- starr