"I think this one's pretty cool, though."

I craned my neck around as Harry lifted his arm and twisted it to show me the large ship inked onto his bicep.

"I like this one," I ran my fingertips over the black heart that was inked just above the ship, before moving my hand to the more literal heart on his arm, "or there's the actual heart on you. Why did you get these ones?"

"I wear my heart on my sleeve, I'm not afraid, to say what I mean, mean what I say," he belted out suddenly, "set myself up, let myself down, I may be a fool to spread it around-"

"Shush," I hissed at him, "it's nearly midnight."

"Oh yeah, whoops," he leant further back against my knees, leaning his head back to rest it on my lap. He sat on the floor, I sat on the couch, his back often shifting from between my legs to resting on them, as I ran my fingers through his hair.

"Your hair is so long now," I mumbled, playing with the strands between my fingers.

"Which is why I've been wearing it up so often."

I hummed, "do you have any hair ties on you?"

He nodded, bringing his arm around as I snatched the two from his wrist, before his arm fell back to his lap.

"Tilt your head back a bit, I'm trying something," I told him, and he did as I said.

"Don't make me look like an idiot, yeah?" I could practically hear his grin, though I couldn't see his face.

"I would never," I parted his hair down the middle, tying his hair on one side and focusing on the other. I brought the strands around my fingers, looping them over each other.

"I bet you look so cute while you're concentrating right now, and I can't even see."

I continued braiding down the left side of Harry's head, completing a french braid in a few minutes, thanks to his hair only reaching his shoulders, "Half done," I murmured, turning my attention to the other side.

"At this rate we'll be here til Christmas," Harry joked, knowing we were only a few minutes away, and I laughed, calling him an idiot as I began a braid to match the first. He fed me a leftover cold chicken nugget from the discarded bag of food, his palm closed around my knee as he sat between the two, pressing kisses over my jeans to the side of my knee, causing me to smile as I tied the second braid.

"Done," I declared, "turn around." He did so, turning to face me and standing up, towering over me once more, "how cute."

"I'm not cute," he grumbled, resting an arm either side of my head as he leant down to press a kiss to the tip of my nose, clambering onto the couch next to me and bringing his arm around me to pull me onto his lap.

I grabbed my phone from the coffee table, snapping a picture of him as he rested his chin on my shoulder, unable to hide the smile from his face. He was relaxed; he was happy - the best type of Harry.

"No paparazzi," he mumbled, burying his face into my neck as my back rested against his chest, and I continued to snap pictures of him, as he pressed his lips lovingly to my jaw and cheek, pinching my hip in the way he often did to make the both of us laugh. I put my phone back down, checking the time. 11:56.

"Almost Christmas," I sighed contently, shifting my position in his lap so I straddled him, our eyes now meeting.

"Don't you have to kiss at midnight?"

"That's New Years," I corrected, and he shrugged.

"Well, I'm going to kiss you anyway."

I gently ran my thumb over the edge of his braid, his hand resting on my waist as he watched me closely, "you look gorgeous."

I buried my head in his neck, pressing a soft kiss to the skin as his hand rubbed circles on my back, now, and my hand rested gently on his jaw.

"We need mistletoe," I looked at him now, and he chuckled.

"I don't need mistletoe to kiss you, it's cliché."

"Exactly," I stood up causing him to whine at me to return to my position on his lap, "I have one minute to find some mistletoe in this house."

I bolted out of the room, charging into the kitchen in search for some mistletoe, yanking open every drawer I came across.

"Clock's ticking!" Harry called from the living room as I finally found a piece of mistletoe, running back into the living room as Harry stood up, yanking the piece from my hand to hold it above both of our heads, "It's 12:01."

"I don't care," I murmured in response as my lip met his, the initial roughness of his kiss never failing to send a shock of electricity straight to my bones. The heat of his hand on my hip still managed to arise goosebumps on the skin, my arms hooked around his neck as we kissed; the passion prominent as ever and the fire burning in my veins.

"Merry Christmas," I spoke against his lips as our kiss broke.

"Merry Christmas," he returned, bringing the mistletoe back down to eye-level, scanning it closely, "Ana?"

"Hm?"

"Baby, this is mint," he twirled the plant between his fingers, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Are you kidding me?" I groaned, sitting down on the couch as Harry kneeled on the floor so he was level with me, "Just pretend it was mistletoe."

"Your secret is safe with me, love," he grinned, pushing his hands up my legs and onto my knees, "Ana?"

"Mhm?"

"I know we said no presents.." he trailed off, and my eyes widened.

"Harry, you better not have-"

"I did," he chuckled, standing up and grabbing his coat from the other couch and searching through the pockets.

"Harry," I whined, "you know I didn't get you anything. I thought we weren't doing it."

"I know, I lied," he said simply, his hand clutching something I couldn't make out as he dumped his coat back down and walked back over to me, kneeling between my legs once more. He handed me a small box; rounded corners made of black velvet. I ran my thumb over the box carefully, eyeing Harry with an equal amount of care.

"Harry, I-"

"Open it, then," he blinked, watching me closely as I knew he was nervous now.

I did as I was told, lifting the lid of the box to reveal a thin silver chain; a bracelet. It had a small heart the size of my pinkie hanging from the chain, and as I flipped it over, taking note of the tiny letter. 'H'.

"Harry," I bit my lip, tears welling in my eyes as I met his gaze.

"What, you don't like it?" his eyebrows furrowed, and I shook my head.

"I love it, baby," I cupped his face in my hands, letting out a breathy laugh while he did too, "I love it so much."

"Yeah?" his face broke into a grin, as I brought his face to mine, peppering his face with kisses of gratitude, a beautiful, light laugh leaving his lips.

"Thank you," I pressed a final kiss to his lips, as he took the bracelet from my hand, taking my wrist in his hand. He hooked it around my wrist, fastening the clasp while his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth with concentration.

"And now," he held my wrist in his hands, "you can't get rid of me. I'm here; my initial is here. Always."

I looked down at my wrist, running my thumb over the chain as the smile grew on my face to match his.

"You're amazing," was all I could murmur as he brought my lips to his once more.

-

I was woken by the cool air meeting my arms, the gentle touch I had been enveloped in gently lifted from me, and I let my eyes flutter open. Harry stood above me, my eyes focusing slowly - his shirt sleeves rolled up, his shoes discarded and his braids still sat in his hair; they were messy, now - but still there. His face was tired, but his smile didn't falter as our eyes met, and he crouched back to my level.

"Where are you going?" I asked sleepily, reaching for his hand which he let me take.

"Home, baby," he said softly, tilting his head slightly to match my position against a couch pillow.

"Why? What time is it?"

"Almost six," he ran his thumb over my cheek, and all I did was nod, slightly reluctant to let him leave, though I knew he had no choice. I hadn't remembered falling asleep, but I was still exhausted. "Call me later, yeah?"

I mumbled a yes as sleep began to pull me back under, as I felt his soft lips press a sweet kiss to my forehead, and then to my lips before he straightened back up, fumbling with what must have been his boots before walking out of the room. And then I was asleep again.

Being with Harry gave me a happiness like no other. He made me feel like no other; provided me with a heat, an electricity that nobody else could.

When I'd met Harry, I'd never have pictured him as the guy I'd sleep in the arms of, think of before I went to sleep and immediately woke up. I never thought I'd crave and yearn for his fingertips on my skin and his lips on my own. I never thought I could fall so hard for somebody who originally couldn't offer the same. I knew he struggled; he'd never been with someone - not properly. Yet when we were together, everything seemed to come so easily. It just felt right, and that was all there was to it. He'd told me multiple times how his actions with me came naturally, and I liked that; I loved that. How he didn't have to think about and consider every move he made with me - he was just him. He acted on instinct, he acted himself, and he was comfortable. We were easy, as we should be. It wasn't a constant battle; an internal conflict.

I'd been in relationships before; not many, but I had. I knew how it felt to like somebody; be infatuated with them. But with Harry, it was so much more than that. Just his touch; his kiss; his stare - it clouded my mind and overpowered my senses.

He was everywhere; he was everything.

And I was okay with that.

**