In A Twinkling (Larry Stylinson)

December 1 - Wednesday

It had started the same way as most of Louis' hair-brained schemes did; to make his Nan happy.

The list of said schemes—well-meaning as they might've been in their original intent—had all resulted in varying degrees of catastrophe, so why he thought this one would be any different is anyone's guess.

For starters, there had been the unfortunate Christmas Cat Singing Incident. Determined that at age five he knew best, and convinced that this Santa Claus bloke was taking credit for all the presents his Nan and Pop were buying him, he'd hidden behind the Christmas Tree to catch Santa out red-handed. He'd waited in his chosen spot, which had a perfect view of the chimney in readiness to spring out with a triumphant Gotcha! when the moment arose. Unfortunately, he'd done such a good job at being stealthy that Tipsy, their beloved family cat (who was getting on in years) hadn't anticipated his presence. When Louis had stretched out his leg she'd shot up about six-feet in the air, pulled down the Christmas lights, and toppled the tree, landing her tail in the glowing embers of the slowly extinguishing open fire. She was fine, all things considered, but given her trauma and reaction when anything even remotely resembling a bit of tinsel crossed her path, that was the last Christmas Tree they'd been able to put up until after her passing a number of years later.

Another in his long list of well-meaning endeavours, was the time when Louis, at a very precocious eight-years-old, had decided that his Nan deserved breakfast in bed on her birthday. So, he'd gotten up early to prepare a feast for the three of them and nearly burned the house down. It was only a small fire really, although the house did retain the aroma of charred bacon for quite some time thereafter.

Then, at age eleven and having just finished a marathon of all the James Bond movies with his best mates Liam and Niall, he'd decided that their neighbour, Mr Smith, was leading a double life. He was far too kind and generous and clearly something was amiss. He was always so pleasant, popping around for tea and bringing sweet treats from his frequent business trips to far away places. Louis had resolved that he therefore must've had ulterior motives and had snuck over when he thought Mr Smith wasn't home. He'd gone through his rubbish and, when he didn't immediately find incriminating evidence like they do in all crime shows, he'd climbed in through a window to investigate further and scared the living daylights out of the poor man while he was quietly doing a crossword puzzle in his sitting room. To this day Louis is still sure he was a secret agent or something. Who actually has a name like John Smith anyway?

But his latest misadventure might actually take the proverbial cake, which is saying something given his history of appallingly bad schemes.

This time he's invented a boyfriend. Perhaps not his finest moment, or his most robust plan, but he'll stand by the fact that it's done from a place of love, and just wanting to make his Nan—who he adores more than anyone in the world—happy.

The idea was innocent enough, harmless even, tame by Louis' standards really. It's not like he would ever get found out anyway.

His Nan was a romantic at heart. She fell in love with Louis' Pop—her beloved Billy—at a social dance and, after a brief courtship, they'd married and lived a wonderful life for over fifty years until he passed away a few years ago.

Louis' Nan only wished for Louis to experience the same happiness and joyful existence with someone he loved by his side, but Louis was singularly focused on his career, for now. By his reasoning, there was plenty of time to find that special someone to settle down with once he'd established himself and moved up the ranks of the corporate ladder. When he was ready, he'd simply put himself out there, find a partner, buy a house in a little village somewhere, and get a dog. One of those big fluffy things that would curl up by the fireside or at his and his dream man's feet. See. Everything was planned out and he'd make it a reality, all in good time.