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Better Than a What?

Fic Advent Calendar: Day 1

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Authors Note: Door number 1 is officially open and what a better place to start than with Harry desperately trying to get ahold of something to keep up the tradition. Likes, reblogs and feedback in any form is welcome and always appreciated, my loves x

Word Count: 4.3k

***

“Ray, she’s going to be so sad, I can’t look her in the eye and let her down like this,” Harry stressed to his driver from the back seat of the car as he knuckled sleep from his eyes. It was early, too early for that matter and Harry had just landed back in London after a long and uncomfortable flight back from the U.S. He was supposed to be back a few days ago but a then a storm in the U.K that caused cancelled flights then the mass rebooking of flights caused Harry’s travel itinerary to be thrown up in the air. As the nights passed and the days trickled closer to the 1st of December, flights were getting busier and filling faster as people began to make journeys home and away for the festivities or for some winter sunshine. Harry just wanted to get home. God, he’d bloody missed her and the few unexpected additional days that he didn’t have planned into his countdown to get back to her was driving him a little stir crazy.

“If it’s the Y/N I know, she’ll just be happy to see you, she’ll get over it, Harry,” Ray, his driver, tried to console a stressed-out Harry as his eyes flicked up to see him in the back seat pinching his lower lip while frantically scrolling his phone.

“I jus’ wanted it to be perfect and I’ve already made an arse of it,” Harry muttered as he felt Ray shift down the gears, slowing down to take a right turn into a car park. The car park was, unsurprisingly, empty, given that it was 6:04 A.M on a Thursday morning. Harry looked up at the screen in the car as Ray pulled into a spot near the door, seeing the bold 1st of December date that was haunting him and the temperature that was sat at a frigid -1° Celsius. He unclipped his seatbelt and bolted from the car, pulling his beanie down and the hood of his jacket up to protect him from the bitter wind chill. He had to catch himself as his foot slipped on the edge of a frozen over puddle as he double timed it across the car park, the last thing he needed was to rock up at home not only empty handed but with scraped and bloody palms from an embarrassing fall in a car park. The bright lights were leading him toward the building much like the star to the baby Jesus Harry thought, but he was more hoping his fluorescent guiding star would take him not to a stable but to a cardboard sleeve with 25 perforated doors stamped on the front.

***

‘This year Tesco have created the Christmas Party-’ blared over the PA system as Harry entered the store that opened minutes earlier in haste as he flinched at the loud noise. He paced the aisles looking for their Christmas sweets and bolted down aisle 4 when the first glimpse of a selection box and a Terry’s Chocolate Orange came into view. His eyes flitted over the shelves, but he was in so much of a blind rush he wasn’t really processing any of it. There was a tired looking member of staff filling up the red tartan packages of shortbread just next to him who, fingers crossed, would be his angel Gabriel as he approached them.

“Scuse me, good mornin’, I know this is mental today of all days but, advent calendars?” Harry tailed off his question as the staff member jumped having not seen anyone enter the aisle alongside her.

“Oh, um you’ll be lucky if we do, if you just follow me down here," the colleague wandered further down the long aisle, pausing near the bottom, “looks like just the dairy and gluten free ones and Reese’s left,” they pointed out the products to Harry.

“She’s allergic to nuts,” Harry sighed, stumped as to what to try next, as the staff member gave him a sorrowful smile, “my Missus is going to kill me,” Harry laughed quietly as Sandra, Harry has finally caught site of their name badge, let out a soft breath of laughter hoping to ease Harry’s mind.

“I’m sure she won’t, m’love,” the sweet, older lady pat his arm, “but, between me and you, I’ve heard the corner shop 15 minutes down the road from here are overrun with advent calendars,” she gave him a sly wink and a soft smile.

“Y’absolute diamond,” Harry all but cheered but being the only customer in the shop thought he’d better reign it in. “I’d kiss you, but I can’t, then she’d definitely kill me, thank you s’much,” Harry joked before smiling gratefully before speed walking toward the exit, hoping this time he’ll miss the frozen puddle as he sprinted across the empty lot.

***

He threw himself in the back of the car again, fastening his seatbelt as Ray piped up from the front seat again, “petrol station was a no, that’s Sainsbury’s and Tesco both a bust, where to next boss? I don’t think there’s an Asda round here,” Ray pondered, “and I think Y/N would be more offended with a posh Waitrose one than not getting one at all,” he let out a snort. The version of Y/N that Ray had become acquainted with was a woman of simple pleasures and a 10 quid advent calendar out of Waitrose was certainly not a simple pleasure to her, or at all necessary for that matter and Harry knew he was right. He distinctly remembers them being in a Waitrose two Christmases ago and hearing her mutter something along the lines of, “fucking Tory chocolate, imagine making an upper-class advent calendar, what’s wrong with the one quid Cadbury’s one?”

“Corner shop,” Harry gasped out catching his breath, he had actually sprinted across the car park the second he exited the shop and yes for your information, he did miss slipping on the puddle this time. “The corner shop closest to the house, f’you don’t mind Ray,” Harry directed, feeling a bit more confident, this little hole in the wall shop near their house has everything and little, old Ernie who ran it, has yet to let them down.

***

Harry was back out the car and entering the minuscule shop 15 minutes later, the bell over the door twinkling as the door passed over it. The shop was warm, it always was, Ernie had two plug-in, oil-filled radiators burning in that shop year-round. He had decorated for the holiday season, bits of tinsel taped round the bottoms of the shelves and some foil decorations straight from the 80s hanging from the ceiling. Ernie peering up from behind the glass cabinet he kept the pick’n’mix sweets in, his ancient cash register sat atop it that he refused to replace because “if it isn’t broken don’t fix it,” he reassured. He was clad, as always, in his brown overcoat, reminiscent of an old greengrocer’s, his thick-rimmed glasses with lenses even thicker so they made his eyes appear bigger than they were and of course, his signature tweed flat cap.

“Mr Styles,” the elderly gentleman proclaimed, his weathered hands clapping together as he spotted Harry entering the shop. “Long time no see, been away again, m’boy?” Ernie adored Harry as if he was one of his own, his oldest grandchild was a similar age to Harry and since they lived so far away as soon as Harry started appearing in Ernie’s shop, when he moved into the area when he was 18, Ernie had all but taken Harry under his wing and would always be a kind face to Harry if he needed it.

“Ern! It’s Harry and you know it,” Harry gave him a faux glare before propping himself up on the glass cabinet in front of Ernie. “Yep, jus’ back and how lucky are you that you are the first face I’ve seen,” Harry bat his eyelashes with a bright smile on his face before pinching a sour cherry sweet from the pick’n’mix tubs Ernie was stocking up for the day ahead.

“Not even that lovely girlfriend of yours?” Ernie asked, swatting Harry’s hand away from the sweets. “She’s popped in every day since you’ve been gone, you’re punching well above your weight with Miss Y/N, lad,” Ernie jested.

“And since when did Miss Y/N become y’favourite?” Harry gulped down the sour candy.

“She’s everyone’s favourite, is she not?” Ernie shrugged.

“I’ll jus’ send your Christmas present back then, will I?” Harry quirked an eyebrow up before relenting, “I suppose I can’t argue with that one, speaking of Y/N, she’s the reason I’m seeing your face before hers this cold and frosty morning,” Harry smiled sheepishly.

“Knew it, what do you need, Harry m’boy?”

“I need to get her an advent calendar,” he said shyly, “I know, I know it’s the 1st today and I’d usually have it by now, but I’ve been away and everywhere is already sold out,” Harry quickly justified, “and a little birdy told me you were the man to save me from the guilt of causing Y/N’s sad face.”

“I did have a lot left yesterday morning, but they flew out the door all afternoon and last night,” Ernie started, as Harry’s shoulders dropped, what the hell was he going to do.

“S’alright Ernie, I’ll figure something out,” he said sadly, mentally preparing to try every shop in the vicinity before going home to her.

“Here you, you didn’t let me finish,” Ern snapped Harry out his daze of trying to work out the closest shop to try next, knowing he was going to have to organise getting Ray paid overtime or some form of bonus for putting up with this, this morning. Harry quickly looked up at Ernie, seeing a glint of playfulness in the old man’s eye. “I was going to say, they were flying off the shelves all day yesterday and was down to my last few when I realised, I hadn’t seen you around,” Ernie turned his back on Harry and shuffled into the back room that was hidden away behind a beaded curtain that rattled and clicked as the beads bounced off each other when you passed through it. “An I jus’ thought to m’self, I bet young Styles will come calling at one point,” he called through from the back room, “so here we are,” Ernie came back with two distinctive purple rectangles that housed a Cadbury’s advent calendar in each. There it was, Harry’s version of baby Jesus, wrapped in carboard, and the corner shop was his stable. Did that make Ernie the virgin Mary then? Wait not important right now.

“Ernie, y’bloody… y’bloody angel,” Harry’s eyes lit up as Ernie shuffled back up to his place behind the till.

“What can I say? We aim to please,” Ernie was bashful at Harry’s compliment as Ernie tried to hand over the two advent calendars.

“Jus’ the one, Ern, keep that one for yourself, how much do I owe you?” Harry fished through his pocket for his wallet.

“M’wife’s had our advent calendars in the house since mid-November, she’s organised,” Ernie said pointedly.

“Oi,” Harry objected.

“Yeah, yeah, you’ve been away working. Keep it though, it’s yours,” Ernie smiled shoving the two calendars into Harry’s grip.

“M’trying to lay off sweets,” Harry let out, still in disbelief he managed to get his hands on them.

“Harry, you’ve stood there and ate a 10 pence mix-up worth of sour cherries since you’ve been in here,” Ernie and Harry looked down at the tub the offending candy lay in, and sure enough there was a dent in the pile shaped like Harry’s fingers. Oops.

“Well, how much do I owe you?” Harry asked again.

“Nope, a Christmas present for my two favourite customers,” Ernie shoved his hands in his pockets so he couldn’t accept any cash off the young man.

“Oh, give over, Ern, how muc-” Harry was cut off.

“No, Harry, now I’m going in that back room until you leave, I don’t want your money, jus’ don’t make my Y/N sad, alrigh’?” Ernie began his scuffle back into his back room.

“Your Y/N?” Harry called after him.

“Yeah, my Y/N, now get home to her before she wakes up without you,” Ernie stuck his head back out the beaded curtain to tell Harry off quickly before disappearing again. Harry hummed a quiet laugh, gripping onto the advent calendars under his arm.

“I’ll be back with your Christmas present at one point, Ern,” Harry called into the empty shop as he made his exit, knowing Ernie was listening for the twinkling bell that announced Harry’s leave, sounding out into the warm shop that was now, officially, sold out of advent calendars. Much to Ernie’s dismay, Harry had stuck a £10 note under the corner of one of the pick’n’mix tubs, that should cover the advent calendars. And the sour cherries.

***

It was 6.30am now, and Ray had just dropped Harry off at the house, sliding his key quietly in the lock as to not disturb the serene quiet that was cast over the house in the early morning. It was still dark out, and Y/N was expecting him back today so had left the porch light and the ceiling light of their entryway on for his return. Harry slipped inside the house leaving his bags by the door, he’ll deal with them in a while, after some time spent with his love. He kept the precious cargo of the advent calendars in his clutches. As he stood, he heard the rhythm of clip-clopping feet across the floors. Or should he say, the rhythmic clip-clopping of paws round the corner to greet him at speed.

“Hi Vince, m’boy,” Harry reached down, after depositing the advent calendars on their entry table, cooing softly before giving the golden retriever plenty of scratches behind his ear where he liked it, all while Vince tried to lick at whatever patch of Harry he could reach. All while his furry bum wiggled in excitement. Harry got down onto his knees to hug the dog closer to him, “you’re getting chunky, mummy’s been feeding you extra good since I’ve been gone again, eh?” Harry squeezed as Vince’s sides, there was definitely an extra layer of squish there that wasn’t before he left, if Y/N heard him commenting in it, he’d for sure get a row saying he was fat-shaming the dog and, ‘he’s just fluffy, Harry, leave him alone, look you’ve upset him now,’ when Vince was most definitely not upset as he basked in the extra attention from his parents.

“I think me n’you will be going for a run tomorrow morning, hmm?” Harry clutched Vince’s head behind his floppy ears as Vince began to grumble, the tell-tale noise he always made before barking. “Hey, hey, hey, Vincent,” Harry chastised, using the dog’s Sunday name, the golden retriever named after Y/N’s favourite painter. “No barking, you’ll wake Mum and I’m trying m’best to stay on her good side, yeah? Back to bed for a little while mate, an’ I’ll make you scrambled egg for your breakfast.” Vince seemed happy enough with that, nuzzled into Harry’s head for a second before giving him a sly lick along his cheek before trotting back to his bed in the living room. Harry got back to his feet, finally shedding his jacket, and kicking his shoes from his feet, the shoes left in a heap by the door and the jacket bundled into a ball on the entry table where he swapped it out for the advent calendars.

He crept quietly upstairs, hoping his entrance and early morning meeting with Vince hadn’t disturbed his sleeping girlfriend. Along the hall, he saw the door to their bedroom opened a crack, just enough for Vince to push open if he wanted to come up for a cuddle, or more likely, Y/N called for the dog to come up because she wanted a cuddle. Harry pushed the door open softly, the hinge of the door giving the faintest squeak as it gave way. What a site, there she was. His Y/N cocooned in duvet, blankets, and pillows, lying on her stomach, head turned to the side, her face was pressed into what was usually Harry’s pillow, hair in some sort of pile on top of her head, curled tendrils and frizzy wisps of hair escaping it and framing her beautifully squished face. She was out for the count, as Harry smiled at her sleepy form. His feet carried him across to their bed in a daze, as he sat on the edge of the bed, his free hand coming up to rub the furrow from her brow and hold her face in the palm of his hand, the difference in temperature between her skin and Harry’s hand stirring her from her deep sleep, her hand coming up to slap whatever was disturbing her off her face only to be met with the back of Harry’s hand as she gripped it quickly.

Squinting one eye open, “Har?” she croaked out, keeping her hand on top of his as his thumb brushed the high point of her cheek.

“Mhm, good mornin, love,” he smiled down at her.

“You’re back,” she sighed, her hand removing his from her face, tangling their fingers together, “you’re cold,” she stated.

“S’minus 1 outside,” he confirmed as Y/N pouted before wriggling backwards in their bed and opening the duvet to him, eyes still partially scrunched closed.

“In please, don’t like you cold,” patting blindly on the space in bed next to her she wanted him to crawl into.

Harry left the advent calendars on the bedside table before laying down with her as she flopped the duvet back over the pair of them as Harry brought her over to cuddle up to him, her eyes fluttering closed as her face found the crook of his neck. “Thought you always liked me, hm?” he teased lightly, thrilled to have her back in his arms.

“I do, I love you all the time, but I don’t like you being cold,” she explained, lips pushing against his neck in a kiss, he’d lay one on her good and proper when she came round from being asleep a bit more. “Fligh-,” she cut herself off with a yawn, “flight good?” she asked.

“Was as good as it can be for a 10-hour flight, slept a tonne,” Harry’s hand ran laps up and down her back as her own hand found purchase on Harry’s midsection, nails scratching his stomach over his clothes.

She hummed in response, letting a silence fall over the pair, if you listened closely, you could hear Vince padding around downstairs, playing with one of his toys, clearly not loving the idea of going back to bed when he had the promise of scrambled eggs for breakfast on the brain but leaving his parents to it, he’d get his food when they came down. “What did y’put on the bedside table?” she questioned after remembering hearing him set something down.

“Ah yes,” Harry reached over grabbing the offending objects that just looked like two purple blobs to Y/N without her glasses or contact lenses as she reached blindly behind her for the frames on her own bedside table before popping them on her face and blinking herself awake. “Oh, there she is,” Harry smiled fondly at her, finally seeing her eyes wide open, looking more herself now.

“You remembered,” Y/N pouted as Harry handed over her advent calendar as he put his own back on the table. The tradition had started when Y/N had first moved out of her parents into a place of her own, her and Harry were relatively new at that point and didn’t expect anything when she told him.

“D’you know what she said to me, she goes, ‘your too old for me to be buying your advent calendar now, Y/N, plus you live 4 hours away from us, what do you want me to do? Pop by after the food shop?’ my own bloody mother. I bet you any money she buys my brother one because he only lives a few streets over.”

So, Harry showed up at her front door, early, on the 1st of December that year with a Cadbury’s advent calendar he had paid a quid for (thank you very much Tesco Clubcard for the money off) and so began the tradition of getting Y/N’s advent calendar for her every year.

“’Course I remembered, had that organised for ages for me coming back, m’heart,” Harry lied through his teeth while acting as nonchalant as possible.

“You went and got it this morning, didn’t you?” Y/N saw right through him every damn time.

“Landed an hour earlier than I told you I would, had to go to four shops,” he smiled sheepishly.

“Knew it, liar,” she lay the calendar on the duvet before she pinched his side and kissing him on the cheek.

“Ernie saved my arse in the end,” Harry admitted.

“Good ol’ Ernie, eh? H, y’know I wouldn’t have really been angry if you didn’t get me an advent calendar, right? Would’ve played it up a bit obviously because God knows I like the attention, but I never would’ve actually been upset with you, I’m not that much of a cow,” she said seriously.

“No, no I know, but it’s tradition now innit, I would’ve been way more upset with m’self if I didn’t manage to get it, so get it opened, sweetness,” he pushed the calendar back into her grip.

“Open yours too then, Ernie must have had loads left if you got yourself one too,” she waited for Harry to grab his.

“No actually, last two left, tried to tell him to keep it for himself but he insisted, told me he had his already,” they both searched their calendars for the elusive number 1.

“Oh, yeah his wife told me she sorted the two of them with calendars weeks ago... fuck me, have you found it yet?” Y/N complained, thinking she had found it in the middle but was disappointed when she saw it was door 11 instead.

“Oh! There it is, bottom right next to the 17, how do you know Ernie’s wife?” Harry looked at her incredulously before having to point out door number 1 when Y/N still couldn’t find it.

“Ernie’s wife?” Y/N dug her thumb into the perforated cardboard to pop the door open. “Oh, Sandra, yeah, she works in the-”

“Tesco down the road,” they said at the same time.

“How do you know that?” Y/N questioned him as she tore open the foil covering of the chocolate hidden below.

“Long story,” Harry laughed before popping his own chocolate out and laying it flat on his hand, “c’mon then, what did y’get?”

“Little chocolate stocking? Is that meant to be a stocking or is it a sleigh?” she squinted at the sweet as Harry peered over at her hand and was just as stumped.

“M’sure it’ll taste the same either way. I’ve got a much more distinguishable snowman,” he held up the chocolate in her before tossing it in his open mouth as Y/N did the same. “Jesus,” he moaned, “you forget how good that Cadbury’s chocolate is.”

“Mhmm,” Y/N moaned letting it melt on her tongue, “that’s better than an orgasm.”

“Oi, get all the way to fuck with that one,” Harry laughed, taking the two advent calendars, and returning them to the bedside table before rolling over to hover over the top of Y/N. “’Better than an orgasm’ my bloody arse, it is,” he tickled her sides as she shrieked in laughter trying to kick free of the duvet and blankets, she was bundled in and out of Harry’s grasp.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!!” Y/N squealed trying to grip Harry’s hands to get them away from her body.

He relented as she gasped for air, “that’s what I thought, pretty girl, now gimme a kiss, I’m long overdue,” as Harry sank some of his bodyweight against her, holding himself up by his forearms as Y/N strained her neck up to meet his lips with her own. Their lips moving together in synchronicity, Harry sucked gently on her bottom lip before his tongue met hers briefly before they broke away with a short peck. “Mm tastes like dairy milk,” Harry laughed, swiping his thumb over her bottom lip removing the remnants of their kiss and a little chocolate.

“I mean it is sometimes better than an orgasm,” Y/N said bravely before she leapt from their bed before Harry could catch her.

“That’s it, lovie,” Harry said chasing after her round their bedroom. They heard Vince start barking from downstairs once he overheard all the hilarity and as Y/N began to make haste for the bedroom door to go appease Vince, Harry caught her from behind, wrapping his arms around her middle. “I promised I’d make him scrambled eggs for breakfast, but the second we’re done, me n’you are coming straight back up here and I’ll show you how much better an orgasm can be, yeah?” Harry pressed as a kiss to her cheek as he slipped past her out their bedroom, calling out to Vince that he was coming and if he didn’t hush up the eggs were out of the question. Y/N stood trying to catch her breath, noticing that Harry had taken their advent calendars with him to sit on top of their mantlepiece for the next 24 days.

***

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