Amaryllis

18

Niall gets Louis a puppy for Christmas.

Well, sort of. He gets a puppy to keep "around the house", a small, sickly-looking thing that can't be more than two months old. Harry thinks it looks a bit like a hairy chihuahua.

"Oh my God," is Louis's first reaction.

"Are you insane?" is Liam's.

Zayn sits back, relaxed and drinking leftover eggnog just for the fun of it, and Harry, too amused to do anything but watch the situation unfold, joins him.

The gift-giving had gone over in a mood about as calm and festive as one would expect at the Tomlinson house; that is to say, it was a complete mayhem. Harry still has meat and fruit stuck in his hair from the food fight, and Zayn is refusing to go anywhere near the tree.

Harry had gotten them all matching wolf hats, Niall handed out boxes of some strange American sweets, Liam got all blushy when he gave them each a different personalised journal, and Zayn, who doesn't even celebrate Christmas, went with mix CDs, comics for Louis and Liam, a collection of Disney films for Harry and a set of signed guitar picks for Niall. Harry had felt more than a bit inadequate, because he hadn't evenknown Niall plays guitar.

Louis, of course, had gotten them all hilariously inappropriate t-shirts. Every one of them had a note tied to the tag inside - Harry’s just saidthanks for everything, Pup :) and it made him only a little misty-eyed.

After the gifts, they had drinks and talked like old ladies, and then Niall disappeared.

And now, there is a puppy. With a bow tied around its neck.

"It's gonna be good for you!" Niall is saying, just as Louis dares to approach the shaking, scared lump of dog in the corner.

"We're not even sure how dogs react to us, Ni," says Liam.

"Nonsense. Dad's done research, you should be, like, the dog whisperers."

"Do you think he'll like us?" Louis asks, eyes big and round like a child on Christmas morning, hand reaching out slowly towards the animal. His voice is so adorably worried, like he genuinely can't bear the thought of not being liked by a puppy.

"I'm sure," Harry says when everybody else stays silent. From the other side of the room, Louis beams at him.

"But what do we name him?"

"Louis, we're not—are we keeping it?" Liam asks incredulously, like it's the most outrageous idea he's ever heard. "You said you didn't like dogs!"

"I said no such thing," Louis coos towards the puppy, finally touching its head and scratching gently with his fingers. Its eyes close immediately in a pleased squint, tiny ears fluttering, and its short little tail is thumping an excited beat against the floor. "Oh, you're friendly," Louis grins at it, soft and open, not unlike the way he was with Lux. Harry can tell this isn't a usual occurrence in the house, if only by the way Zayn is smiling at the scene a little sadly.

"So we're keeping it, then," Liam says, voice lilting at the end, like it's a question.

"Obviously," Louis answers, and that's that.

Over the next few hours, in which Louis doesn't let go of the dog once, they argue over names. Well, Louis and the other three argue. Harry is too busy watching the boy he's in love with fall in love with a four-legged ball of fur. It's borderline ridiculous, the way Louis's eyes shine and his smile stretches just a little more every time the puppy happily licks his hand, but Harry suspects that the distinct lack of teasing from the boys is deliberate. He, too, would rather chew his own arm off than ruin Louis's happiness.