Leather and Lace • Zarry

2. Santa Baby

Zayn looked over at Harry sitting in the passenger seat of his Range Rover on the drive home from his parent's house in Manchester that Christmas Eve night, watching him with complete adoration as he sang along to Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney and the Wings with those dimples and that loose curl that fell just right above his eyes and Harry brushed it back with one ring fingered hand along with his festive, well-manicured red holiday nails.

Everything about this time of year seemed so much more special now that Zayn's family had accepted them as a couple, and it was not only their first married holiday together, it was the first Christmas Eve celebration at the Maliks that Harry was invited to. And Zayn's parents had even bought Harry this nice baby blue cashmere jumper and a gift certificate to Harry's favorite spa in London, while his sisters went in together and gifted Harry this first edition original mono LP of The Rolling Stones' England's Newest Hitmakers from 1964 after Zayn suggested that Harry liked to collect rare and vintage items of the things he loved.

And they cared enough to find it. And their celebration had been so joyous because throughout the night it was Harry, in his most naturally charming ways, who made them all laugh with his jokes that were so bad, they were good and he had offered to help Trisha cook and clean the dishes afterward, even smoked a cigar outside with Yaser, although he hated cigars, and complimented his sisters on their outfits, spending more time than necessary asking about the details of their accessories and that was just Harry, so adorable and lovable, the perfect guest at any event and Zayn really couldn't have imagined marrying anyone better.

But it was getting rather late into the night on the drive back to their home in the outskirts of London, and that field where the sunflowers once grew was now desolate and bare due to winter's curse, but at least their house was lit up with the most ridiculous amount of white lights, as per Harry's request.

It was decked out along the trim, along the windows, glittering and shining, complete with luminescent icicles hanging from the trees and this exquisite three meter tall tree that was also lit up as they neared, glowing in the broad bay window adorned with so many ribbons and bows and sparkling ornaments that were a bit unconventional, less traditional Christmas colors, but instead consisted of every color of the rainbow, and everything felt warm and comforting, just as it should be. Zayn pulled the car up to their little winter wonderland within minutes and promptly turned the heated seats off, while Harry reached over and grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed it.

"Let's give each other one gift tonight," he said softly.

"I thought you said you wanted to go to bed early," Zayn replied as he returned Harry's squeeze and rubbed his thumb gently over the top of it.

"I do, but your gift can't wait until the morning," Harry commented as he reached around to grab the bag of gifts they had received from the Maliks and exited the car.

"Why not? Sounds a bit suspicious," Zayn returned as he followed Harry inside their house and flipped on the light switch, but Harry made no further comment as he pulled a small branch of mistletoe out of from the pocket of his black parka and reached above Zayn's head, holding it there.

"I've been waiting all night for this," he spoke, smiling a little as he stared into Zayn's brown eyes and moved in a bit closer to him with a look of intent.

"One day we'll all feel comfortable enough to be affectionate in front of my family...I promise, but thank you for being so understanding and just so good with them," Zayn commented sincerely as he returned Harry's little smile and mimicked his movement, his head leaning in toward Harry's slightly parted pink lips.

"Anything for you," he breathed back, green eyes darting down to zone in on the shape of Zayn's lips, soft and supple, warm and inviting, and Zayn slowly closed the gap between their mouths.