Once in a Lifetime

Thirty-Eight.

After months of their routine, Harry and Louis were officially settled into London life. They stopped missing home, instead appreciating what the city had to offer and how lucky they were to be experiencing it. For weeks they had been spending as much time with Niall and Liam as their conflicting schedules would allow, but it still never felt like enough. The last time the four of them got together, Niall introduced them to his new girlfriend, Abigail, who he had met in line at the post office. He had kept it a secret until he knew it was serious, and now that they had decided to tell people, Louis could see how happy Niall was. She had the same sense of humour as Niall, long auburn hair that reached just below her shoulders, and green eyes that glistened when Niall told a rubbish joke. They were cute together, and, most importantly, she was Irish.

It didn't take long for Christmas to creep up on them, Niall and Abigail flying back to Ireland for the holidays whilst Liam, Louis and Harry drove the three-hour journey north. They dropped Liam off in Wolverhampton before continuing on to Doncaster. They had decided to spend the first week of the Christmas period with Louis' family and the second week with Harry's family, and they were thrilled when both families agreed with the idea. Anne had actually invited Louis' mum and sisters over for Christmas Day before they had made a plan, but Jay had politely declined. Louis knew that Anne and his mum had been getting on since their son's left Manchester, and Anne had even gone to Doncaster for a day trip where she met Zayn's mum, who had been eager to meet Louis' mother-in-law.

By the time Harry pulled up outside Louis' childhood home on December 23rd, it was already dark, so they both grabbed their bags and headed for the front door.

"Louis!" Daisy squealed the moment she saw her big brother, running up and hugging him as he dropped his bags in the hallway.

"Hey, Dais, where's everyone else?" he asked when nobody else came to greet them.

"Mum's in the kitchen with-"

"Yay! You brought Harry!" Phoebe cheered when she came down the stairs, high-fiving Louis' boyfriend instead of acknowledging his presence.

"You didn't think I'd miss Christmas with my favourite girls, did you?" Harry questioned, bending down to pick up Phoebe as Daisy giggled.

"Harry, put her down, she's too old to be carried!" Louis laughed, rolling his eyes when Phoebe pouted. "Anyway, where's my mother?" Louis called, walking through the house towards the kitchen. When he walked in, he stopped completely still. Harry obviously hadn't noticed, because he collided with Louis' back, knocking him forward slightly.

"Hi Lou, I thought I heard your voice. How was the drive?" his mum asked, acting like nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

"Uh, it was, uh, what's going on?" he eventually asked, looking between the two people sat at the table.

"Louis, this is Dan. We've been together for a few months and decided that now was the best time for you to meet him." Louis didn't know what to do. He knew his mum was dating again, she deserved to find someone who made her happy, but he hadn't expected to come home and have a new man sitting in the kitchen.

"Can I have a moment with you please, mum?" She nodded, Dan standing up and smiling gently at Louis as he took the girls into the living room. Harry went to take their bags upstairs after saying hello to Jay, telling Louis that he'd be back soon.

"Lou, I know this is a lot to take in, but we didn't want to tell you something like this over the phone and you haven't exactly been home a lot since you left, which is completely fine, you're an adult after all. Dan and I wanted to know what we were before he met you lot, and he only met the girls for the first-time last week, so I don't want you to worry that this is all happening too quickly," Jay explained whilst Louis sat across from her.