personal best || harry styles au

eight

Harry couldn't remember the last time he was excited for Christmas; it was a feeling he hadn't even realised he had missed. Since his mum died, Harry had spent every Christmas alone so he was looking forward to being around people during the festive period.
"Harry!" Edie had swung open the front door before Harry even had the chance to knock, "Merry Christmas!" She wrapped her arms around his hips, squeezing him as tight as she could. "Did Santa leave you a stocking?"
"Oh, uh-" Harry's eyes flicked up to meet Maddie's - who had appeared from the living room, "-yeah, he left me a few nice things to wake up to." His gaze was still fixed on Maddie, taking in some of the finer details he hadn't first noticed: she'd used a pearl hairclip to push back some of her hair - which showed off her cheekbones - and the glitter from her eyeshadow made her eyes sparkle.
"Harry?"
"What?" He looked down at Edie's furrowed brow, "Oh- God, sorry. What about you? Did you get anything nice in your stocking?"
"Yes! I got lots of lovely bits." Edie giggled happily, "We got you some pres-"
"-hey, hey, hey." Maddie stepped forward, placing her hands on Edie's shoulders, "Don't ruin any surprises!" Edie stifled a laugh as she skipped away. Maddie couldn't help but smile at Harry's very 'Mark Darcy-esque' Christmas jumper. "You look nice." Really nice, she thought as she stepped closer to him.
"You do, too." Harry felt his cheeks turn the same shade of red as Rudolph's nose.
Maddie's smile fell as Harry walked past her to go and greet the rest of her family. Her eyes glanced up at the mistletoe that hung above the front door and she let out a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding. She looked at her reflection in the hallway mirror, shook off any angst that had built up since Harry arrived and went to join in with the festivities.
***
A Croft family Christmas wouldn't be complete without at least one argument and, this year, it was thanks to Ru not being able to understand his mother's depiction of 'Top Gun' during a game of Charades that the tradition continued.
"What are you flapping your arms for? That's not 'Top Gun', is it?" Ru flung himself back into the sofa, throwing his arms in the air.
"I was being a goose, Ru! There is a character called Goose!" Hannah threw the piece of paper back into the bowl, "If you'd have seen the film, you would know that."
"If you'd acted out the words 'Top' and 'Gun', I'd have got it."
Harry knew that he shouldn't be enjoying the argument but he was - it made him feel nostalgic.
David stood up, shushing both Ru and Hannah. "Calm down, children. Look, you didn't get the point so let's move on." He peered over his glasses at the scoresheet, "Maddie and Harry, you only need to get three points and then you've won, okay? No pressure."
"You can do it, Harry!" Edie called out from her spot next to Maddie on the sofa.
Harry shook his arms loose as he stood up, letting out a deep breath. "Okay, no pressure." His fingers swirled around in the bowl to try and find a piece of paper. Jaws. Easy, Harry thought. He mimed that it was a film with one word before sticking his hand on top of his head and chomping his teeth up and down.
"Jaws!" Maddie squealed.
"Yes!" Harry threw down the bit of paper, quickly grabbing another. Star Wars. He stuck up two fingers before miming a lightsaber fight, pretending to use 'The Force' and covering his mouth to mimic what Darth Vader's voice would sound like.
"Star Wars!"
Harry clapped his hands together, getting another piece of paper.
"Twenty seconds left!" David called out.
Hairspray. Harry shook his hand in the air before pretending to spray an imaginary can of hairspray over his hair.
"Uh- spray?" Maddie bit at the skin around her thumb, "Spray? Hair?" Harry gestured for her to keep going whilst maintaining his spraying manoeuvre. "Can? Can of spray?"
"Five seconds." David went to stop the timer, "Three... two-"
"-Hairspray!" Maddie shot up out of her seat.
"That's correct!" David filled in the scoresheet, "Maddie and Harry win!"
Maddie jumped forward into Harry's arms as they both cheered excitedly.
"Boo, get a room." Ru flicked a honey-roasted peanut at the winning pair, "One, your films were much easier and, two, you didn't have Mum on your team."
***
After dinner, the Crofts - and Harry - all bundled back into the living room to exchange presents. It had been a long time since Harry had felt so content, both his stomach and heart were so incredibly full - he was also pretty hammered so there were no complaints from him.
"Right, we're down to the last few gifts now. Harry, I think this one is from you?" Hannah reached under the tree, pulling out a rather big and very neatly wrapped present.
"Uh, yeah." Harry shuffled forward in his seat, "You don't need to open it now, if ya don't want? I don't- I don't mind."
"Don't be silly." Hannah's eyes glanced over the label, "David, you lucky boy. This one's for you."
David let out a cheer, taking the present off of Hannah and opening it carefully.
"What is it? What is it?" A giddy Ru edged closer to get a better look, "Fuck me, Harry- shit, sorry, Edes."
"It's a- uh-" David was left for words as he took in the gift in front of him, "-it's a framed vinyl of Rumours by Fleetwood Mac - my favourite album of all time but it- Stevie Nicks has written me a message." David turned to Harry, clutching the frame against his chest, "Thank you so much, I- I love it. God, you didn't- I'd have been happy with nothing."
Harry felt very sheepish at the sea of shocked faces all looking at him. The 'presents' part of Christmas was the bit that terrified him the most, he didn't want people to think that just because he had money the only gifts he could give them had to be expensive. He took the approach of quality over quantity; he would rather give less of something with more significant value than lots of something that didn't have a story behind it.
***
At 9:06pm on Christmas Day 2019, Harry Styles had completed his first official bedtime duty; Edie's teeth were brushed, she had clean pyjamas on and she'd been read a bedtime story - not perfectly considering his alcohol levels but, still, he'd tried.
"How's your Christmas been then, Ede? Rate it outta ten."
"Hmm..." Edie nestled down under the duvet, flicking her gaze between Harry and Maddie. "...I'd say a ten! I had a great day. Did you? Mummy said you don't celebrate Christmas."
"No, I-" Harry looked over to Maddie who mouthed a 'sorry' in his direction, "-I'm usually alone on Christmas so it- 's'nice to be with people. I've missed it."
"Edie, do you want to give Harry his final present before you go to bed?"
"Yes!" Edie clapped her hands together as Maddie walked over to the wardrobe, pulling out a brown scrapbook. "Harry, we made this especially for you."
Harry took hold of the book, tracing the glitter glued 'Edie' that was printed on the front cover. He turned each page carefully, admiring every photo and memento his eyes came across. The timeframe of the photos ranged from a heavily pregnant Maddie to Edie sitting at her new piano and Harry loved every single one of them. He let out a big sigh, clutching the scrapbook close to his chest, "Love it, Edes. Best present ever."
"Really?" The smile on Edie's face was huge, bigger than Maddie had ever seen.
"Promise." Harry reached his hand forward to tuck a piece of Edie's hair behind her ear but stopped himself, choosing instead to quickly stand up and mumble his way out of the room. He stood on the landing, silently cursing at himself for ruining what might have been a special moment.
Maddie stepped out of Edie's room, flicking off the light before pulling the door to. Her brows were pulled together as she walked towards a jittery Harry, "Are you okay?"
"I got carried away and- piece of hair- I didn't ask permission if I-"
"-she's your daughter, Harry. She's not going to mind if you touch a piece of her hair. She-" Maddie stopped.
"What?"
"Don't worry." Maddie cleared her throat, "Hey, I haven't given you your Christmas present yet."
"You didn't need to get me anything, Mad."
"It's only something small." She hurried over to her bedroom door, "Give me two minutes."
***
Maddie perched herself on the corner of her bed, calling for Harry to come in once she'd heard his quiet knock. She prepared herself for the butterflies that were about to appear as Harry walked in, just like they always did whenever she saw him. The only thing that had changed about Harry between now and a few minutes ago was that, along with the scrapbook, he was now also carrying a small cube-shaped box.
"What's in the box?"
"Well, not a severed head, that's for sure." Harry forced out a laugh, realising how stupid had sounded. "God- sorry- uh, it's for you. Christmas present."
"No, you've already given me something, Harry. You bought me some perfume, remember?"
"Can't just- not you, Mads." Harry shuffled forward, holding out the box for Maddie to take.
Maddie's fingers trembled as she unwrapped the box, she was racking her brains trying to think of what could be inside. She let out a gasp as her eyes read the word 'FOUNDRAE' printed on the lid of the cardboard case. "Harry, stop. This- it's too much."
He sat down beside her, covering one of her hands with his, "Please?"
"God, I- wait until you see what I got you." Maddie blew up a burst of air to try and rid the tears that brimmed her eyes. She opened the box, silently admiring the glistening necklace that stared back at her. It was beautiful. She ran her fingers over the diamond-studded Bowen knot before picking it up by the chain and holding it out in front of her. "It's beautiful." Harry took hold of the chain, unclasping the hook and bringing both ends to meet at the nape of Maddie's neck. She lifted up her hair to give Harry a clearer focus, ignoring the goosebumps she could feel appearing as a result of Harry's touch against her skin.
The corners of Harry's mouth twitched as he admired what was in front of him, "Suits you."
"Your turn." Maddie shoved her gift for Harry in the small gap between the two of them, hoping that would help to relieve some of the tension that filled the room. "Merry Christmas." She watched Harry's face light up as he unwrapped his gift. She liked how much Harry cared about every present he received, he was always so grateful - like he wasn't even expecting anything in the first place.
Harry held the mug beside his head, "What do you think? Does this look like 'World's Best Dad' to you?"
"Without a doubt." Maddie twiddled with her necklace.
"It- uh- there's something on the other side as well. On the necklace." Harry waited until Maddie had turned over the knot emblem to reveal an inscribed 'E' on the back before continuing, "The knot is a Bowen knot and it- uh- it's a symbol of true love. Between you and- uh- Edie, of course. Hence, the 'E'."
Maddie pressed a finger against Harry's lips, tracing the curve of his cupid's bow before closing the narrow distance between the two of them with a kiss. She pulled back first, resting her forehead against Harry's. "It's perf-"
It was Harry's turn to cut Maddie off with a kiss as his lips crashed against hers.