harry styles one shots

malibu (50's au)

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(Y/N) hummed in the kitchen, the hem of her powder blue dress swaying just below her knees as she listened to the shenanigans of Lucille Ball on the television set she had turned on in the living room. Tonight's dinner of a three-cheese lasagna was cooling on the stove top with the scent of basil and garlic warming the air. The pastry dough she'd just pulled from the refrigerator was still chilly as she rolled it out on the turquoise colored laminate covering her countertops, trying her best to make it thin enough she could see just a hint of the color underneath but not too thin as to ruin the hard work she put into layering the butter and pastry. Her diamond ring sat next to the sink, safely stashed away from tarnishing against the dinner she was finishing up for Harry's arrival home.

Just above her work station was a glass window, warped just like a funhouse mirror at the carnival Harry had taken her on their first date all that time ago, but it didn't hide the view of her backyard. She was still getting used to the view of the beach in the distance. Despite there being a row of neighbors to either side of their new home, the development they'd moved into not long ago still had the open space that (Y/N) was sure was going to be made into another set of homes if Harry's predictions about Malibu's growth were right.

Until then, she was going to take advantage of the sea view offered by her kitchen window, the sound of the waves crashing when she cracked open the glass, and the near constant sunshine that streamed through. Malibu was definitely a change from the rainy days she shared with Harry up until they moved less than a year ago, leaving their hometown where they fell in love to chase an opportunity he said could change their lives—set them up for a beautiful life together like the one he promised her in his wedding vows.

It was hard leaving her family, but being by Harry's side as they forged their own path outside of the small opportunities offered back home was more than enough to make up for the heartache.  She couldn't be more proud of the man she was watching him become outside of their family's shadows.

The company he'd been brought into was doing so well, Harry walking around town with pride in his chest and a glowing smile on his face every time he could indulge (Y/N) in a dinner at the nice seafood restaurant on the coast, or even just a fresh bouquet of flowers he picked up on his way home. Nothing could beat the day he came running through the front door after work, calling to her from where she was cleaning up after her own workday, bright smile molding his features and chest heaving with the breath he was catching after running through the house.

That was the day he told her about the major promotion he'd been offered, now seated just under the head of the company. The pay raise had been substantial—something they celebrated by buying their first television set—, and he'd be able to start coming home at reasonable times instead of doing the brunt work and staying late enough (Y/N) had to keep his dinner plate warm until he walked through the door hours after the sun dipped below the ocean line. It was what they had dreamed about the day they packed up and moved out West. It only made it better when (Y/N) realized that the promotion meant she no longer had to work as a secretary at town hall if she didn't want to (which she didn't. One of the councilman was a rat and did not respect the happy marriage she was in despite how many times she'd brought up the Mr. to her Mrs. or shown off the wedding photograph she had propped up on her desk).

Now, she'd had a few months to settle into the life they had dreamed about when they laid out on the soccer field back home at the school where they fell in love. She made friends with some of the other families in the neighborhood and took pleasure in keeping house for Harry—he called it their love nest. She reveled in taking care of the details; fluffing the pillows, arranging Harry's records in perfect display, and trying to tame her growing book collection though there was always at least three novels spaced out around the house she promised to return to later before getting distracted.