Epilogue: Part 1
~In places that we've never been,
For reasons we don't understand~
CHRISTMAS EVE, TEN YEARS LATER
"Dad!" Infinity Tomlinson is ten years old, with the brightest blue eyes and long, ratty, brown hair. She stumbles around the house with chunky snow boots on, looking for her dad. Turning the corner to the kitchen, there's Harry, pulling the pigs in a blanket out of the oven.
He looks over at her with a smile, sporting a "Kiss the Chef" apron with his longer hair pulled back in a bun. "What's going on, lovely?"
"I'm hungry," She whines, rolling her head around her neck in a bratty move that shows that she hasn't quite mastered the technique of just doing it with her eyes.
Harry continues his cooking, almost ignoring her presence in the entry to the room. "Well, you know what time dinner is." Fin sulks into the room, pulling herself up to sit on the counter next to the sweets. Glancing at his turned back, she dips her finger into the perfectly frosted cupcake next to her thigh. "Infinity!" He yells, catching her. But he's not really angry; there's no way he could ever be mad at her. The doorbell rings from the front of the house, and he kicks her shoe to get her attention. "Go see who's here already."
She walks to the front door and opens it, knowing that it'll be unlocked as always. They live in a nice neighborhood where nobody would try to rob them. Besides, any criminals trying to take their things should be more worried about who lives there than what they could score a decent buck off of.
Standing tall above her are Liam and Zayn. "Hi, Fin!" Zayn exclaims excitedly, but it's Liam who dives in for a hug. He picks her up, spinning her down the front hallway as presents fall to the floor with a clatter out of his arms.
Finally, he sets her down, and rests against the wall with a dizzy smile. "You're almost as tall as me now. Won't be able to pick you up anymore."
Zayn is the one who shuts the door, struggling to do so with a heavy child on his hip. A three year old is clinging to him, but kicks his legs to be put down once they are inside. Grant's winter coat slips out as he slides down to the floor. "Shoes off!" Zayn chastises him, so he plops to the ground and begins pulling them off.
Liam and Zayn adopted the child when he was still an infant, getting to experience most of his entire life. And the two of them love everything about being dads - playing outside, bedtime stories, the temper tantrums.
Infinity is still updating Liam about what's going on at school when the door opens again, filling the already-crowded entryway once more. A head with the brightest red hair popped through the small hole in the door. "Zayn, let me in," Niall complained.
Liam grabbed the back of Grant's jacket, pulling him away from the door so that he wouldn't get hurt. Then Zayn was picking up the gifts they had dropped and moving to the living room to place them under the tree. Grant excitedly follows him, knowing that Harry's house always had toys. The other dad and the ten year old trail behind, still chatting lightly.
Niall finally enters, shaking the snow off of him. Closely following is a young girl with kinky hair the same color as her father's. The presents are being carried by the girl's mother, Olivia. Back in the day, she was Liam's best friend. And one trip by Niall to New York had him falling head over heels in love. Then was marriage and a baby carriage.
Olivia quickly skipped to the living room to set the gifts down. "Fin, Carmen is here!" Not noticing before, Fin turns around quickly to greet her cousin and the two run off to play in the playroom. Three years apart in age, but the closest of friends.
"Livvie!" Harry dusts his hands off of flour in the kitchen, extending his arms for a hug. She runs into them, relishing in the smell of baked goods and cologne. Sometimes she swears that if she had a chance at all, Harry and her would run away together and get married. "Oh, I'm so glad that you could make it! Come help me with the potatoes, yes?"
The two immediately got to chatting while finishing up the fancy dinner that was the custom in the household every Christmas Eve. In the background, the door opened again and shuffling footsteps could be heard. "Harry!" came the whining voice of Lottie, and he peeked his head out to see her.
"Sit down!"
Harry pulls out a chair for her, and she cradles her very pregnant belly and rolls her eyes. "I'm not a porcelain doll. I could still play full tackle American football."
"She very much cannot," comes a voice from the doorway. It's Louise Teasdale struggling under the weight of boxes and bags from both groups - her and Lottie. The two of them had become close friends after meeting a couple times in the past couple of years.
Lux appears behind her mother, exclaiming in delight at seeing everyone gathered in the living room. She goes straight to the baby and kneels on the floor. Teenagers are always obsessed with playing with babies, and as a thirteen year old, she was now a teenager. Lou soon joins her after setting each present on the floor nicely.
Harry returns to the kitchen with Olivia. "Where's John?" He questions.
"Family obligation," Lottie rolls her eyes as they discuss her husband. "We're still figuring out how to balance the holidays as a married couple." A new marriage, and a baby soon to go along with it. One Direction was all grown up now.
Lottie stands, moving into the kitchen and surveying the food to come. "Let me get the girls to help set the table," Olivia says, patting Harry's back and moving out for a moment. Meanwhile, the pregnant woman moves to the chocolate cake sitting on the back of the farthest counter and dips her finger into the frosting lightly. Then she stood at the fridge to look at this season's Christmas cards.
There is an official one with red trim that said "Happy Holidays from Cowell and Company." A picture of Simon's staff is shown, but on the back is a personal message to the family, sending them all the love. To herself, Lottie nots that he is looking pretty old. Then there's one from Perrie and Palmer, who had taken ridiculously long to both tell each other how they felt, and were now happier than ever. Lastly, there is a picture of Luke and his wife on the beach, hand in hand, deeply in love.
A loud bang signals the front door being thrown open, but no noise follows. Harry moves to the hallway to look out, and he sees his daughter sprinting full speed down the icy driveway to see her mother, Eleanor. Who is carrying more gifts than anyone so far, and not just for Infinity either. "Hello, darling," Harry kisses his daughter's mother on the cheek. "Fin, shut the door. And don't leave it open."
"But the weather outside is lovely," Fin crosses her arms, coming over to give him a hug and receive some loving comfort. He leans down to kiss her forehead and stare into her beautiful eyes. After a moment she begins to squirm, and that's when he feels that she's holding something.
"Where did you get that?"
"I took it from the neighbor's house." Fin is holding a soccer ball in her child-like hands, looking up at him. "They left for holiday and it was just in the yard. I was thinking Carmen, Lux, and I could play after dinner."
"Well, it's cold, Fin," Eleanor notes.
Harry scrunches his nose up, thinking about how nostalgic her behavior was making him feel. Wasn't it just the other day when it was Louis doing the same thing? "Put the ball outside for now, babe. It's covered in snow."
Olivia and Carmen were setting the table, and Fin reluctantly went to help them. She hated responsibility and chores, as most children do, but she managed to get her homework done and have good grades. That was probably Harry's stabling influence overcoming her genetics.
Then it was just Lottie and Harry in the kitchen. "Stop eating the frosting." He yells at her lightly, startling her as he enters the room once more.
"Why'd you even make a cake?" She asks.
His whole body turns. "You know what today is." His voice is a threat and full of anger.
Lottie deflects. "Yes, but Carmen can't eat gluten. And Zayn's on some weird no carb things."
"Believe me, I know, Lottie." She sighs and looks out the window at the front yard. Harry had spent hours out there with a ladder putting up lights and setting up various Christmas decorations. Yes he hated doing it every year, but it was worth it to see the way that his daughter's eyes would light up everytime they came home and it was dark out. Everything was always for her.
The snow is starting to fall again, and Lottie rubs her giant belly comfortingly. There's a slamming of the front door opening once again, and Harry snaps. "Infinity! Shut the door!"
"They're twins aren't they?" She laughs, referring to her niece's crazy behavior. "Drives you crazy, I'm sure."
"God, I miss him," Harry huffs his breath out, pausing for a moment. His hands are on the edge of the stove as he regains control of his composure. A crowded house and all of these people are stressing him out.
"Miss who?"
Louis appears in the doorway with rosy cheeks. His snow boots are identical to his daughter's, but he isn't wearing a jacket. The outline of his cigarette box is clearly seen through his sweatpants. "Miss you." Harry leans over to peck his husband on his cheek. "Because you're always outside smoking."
"Hey, I'm cutting back," He quips in retaliation. Grabbing Harry's hips, he pulls him in for a long and deep kisses.
Harry leans on him, staring into his blue eyes. "Tell your daughter to stop stealing soccer balls from the neighbors."
"Hey, she's your daughter too, Hazza."
"Yeah, yeah," Infinity says, just a couple feet away. "Stop kissing please? It's gross." Her and Carmen make fake puking noises, only to be shooed away by Olivia telling them to go play in the playroom until dinner is ready.
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