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The hospital room is silent but Louis can faintly hear yelling from the corridor outside. He´s curled up on the edge of the bed, eyes glued to the door as he waits for it to open. He wants to go out there and tell them to stop, to stop shouting. He´s too scared to do so though and he hates himself because of it, he knows he shouldn´t be scared of Niall and definitely not of Harry.
He knows Harry never meant to hurt him and that the bruise on his arm is nothing compared to what he has suffered through. He was upset and stressed out, Louis understands that. Harry couldn´t possibly have known how hard he was gripping Louis’ arm, he knows that Harry doesn´t really know how strong he can be at times, how fragile Louis really is.
Niall doesn´t know all of those things though and that is why he is currently shouting everybody’s ears off. Louis can´t hear what they´re saying but he guesses it is not something good, it´s mostly Niall he can hear and a lot of curse words, neither of those things surprises him.
Without really thinking about it Louis’ nails have been digging into his arm, to take his mind off things and he knows if Harry saw he would be furious. He probably is already; if Louis hadn´t said anything Niall wouldn´t be shouting at Harry and no one would have known how he got the bruise.
The door slams open and Louis can almost hear Niall curse somewhere in the house, he´s lost count of how many times Niall has fixed that door. Harry is standing in the opening and he doesn´t look happy, he doesn´t look particularly mad either, he looks almost solemn Louis notices as he swallows hard. It feels like Louis’ heart is about to jump out of his chest as Harry slowly walks up to him, he avoids Harry´s eyes as he stops in front of him, he´s too scared.
“Show me.” Harry´s voice sounds deeper than normal in the quiet room and Louis flinches, he doesn´t like where this is going.
“S-show you what Harry?” He glances up at him carefully and yeah okay, now he looks mad.
“You know exactly what I´m talking about Louis, now show me it.” He doesn´t raise his voice but Louis still bites his lip. He knows what Harry is talking about, of course he does. He knows what will happen if he does as Harry says though, he´ll get angry and Louis will get hurt, that´s how it always goes. He should be used to it by now but he isn´t, not with Harry.
Harry has always treated him so nicely and been so gentle with him. He has never expected anything from Louis even though Harry is an alpha and Louis is the last omega left, he has never put any pressure on him when it comes to that. Louis really doesn´t want to ruin any of that but for all he knows it might already be ruined, just because he couldn´t keep his stupid mouth shut.
“No.”
Harry´s fists clench at his sides as Louis speaks up, his eyebrows are furrowed and as he takes a step closer Louis turns his head to the side, waiting for the blow.
“Louis, show me the bruise.” He´s speaking between clenched teeth now but Louis still doesn´t cave, he´d rather have Harry hitting him for not obeying than seeing the damage that Louis knows he didn´t mean to do.
“No.” He says again and this time Harry sucks in a breath and Louis knows that Harry has had enough of Louis behaviour; he can see it in his eyes that are now no longer green.
“Show me the bruise Louis, now!” His voice rumbles through the whole room and Louis shudders. His voice sounded different this time, Louis has never heard it like that before and he realises in a daze that his ears are ringing. His head is pounding all of a sudden and his body is screaming at him to do as the alpha said.
It feels so new and scary to Louis that his eyes waters slightly, it hurts but he still reaches up with a shaking hand and pulls up his sleeve. His body immediately relaxes after that, he has done what he had been told. His ears are still ringing but the ache is gone, things are still a bit hazy but he´s glad that the pain it mostly gone now.
He had been so wrapped up in his inner struggle that he hadn´t noticed Harry had come closer and is now staring at him, he can feel his eyes burning through him now though so he shakes his head and looks up at Harry. To Louis surprise he doesn´t look angry anymore, just…sad. His brows are still furrowed but his shoulders have slumped forwards and his breathing is heavy, it´s almost like he´s trying to stop himself from crying.
“Louis.” He breathes out, his voice rough and before Louis really knows what´s happening Harry is on his knees in front of him. Harry´s hands are gripping Louis hips and Louis lets out a small gasp as Harry buries his face in his tummy. Louis stares at the alpha in disbelief and as Harry opens his mouth to speak Louis heart aches.
“I´m so sorry Louis, god I can´t believe I did that to you.” Louis shakes his head at the sound of disgust in Harry´s voice.
“No, Harry it´s okay.”
“It´s not okay Louis, I hurt you and I´m so fucking sorry. I didn´t realise, I-I was just so angry and I took it out on you even though I had no right to do that okay?” Louis nods slightly as he places his hands in Harry´s curls, he wants to comfort Harry, his inner omega is screaming at him to do so but he has no idea how to.
“Harry… it´s okay, I know you didn´t mean to.” He tries but Harry just shakes his head against Louis stomach, his eyes shut tightly.
“That doesn´t matter, I hurt you and I will never be able to forgive myself.” He looks pained and Louis whole body aces with him, he feels sick. He did this, he made Harry this upset. He´s a bad omega, useless and he should be punished for it.
“Please don´t say that, please. Just… just punish me and then we can forget this ever happened.” Harry looks up at him at the sound of his pained voice and he furrows his eyebrows.
“What? Louis no, this is not your fault okay? I´m glad you told Niall so I certainly won´t punish you for it. I made this mess and I will make sure to make it up to you, I don´t want you thinking like that.”
Louis looks down in shame; he´s made a fool of himself again, “Okay.”
He can´t think of anything else to say so he settles for that, Harry seems satisfied with that as well so he guesses it´s okay.
“Good, I promise you Louis I will personally make sure that you never get hurt ever again, not as long as I´m around anyway.” Louis smiles a little at that, he knows it´s impossible for Harry to prevent anything bad to happen to him but it´s a nice feeling, feeling protected, having someone to look out for him. He has never had that, not what he can remember anyway so he´s incredibly grateful for Harry´s loving words.
“Thank you Harry.” He tugs lightly at Harry’s curls which are still in between Louis fingers and Harry looks up at him with a big smile.
“Don´t thank me darling, I would do anything for you.” Louis blushes at the words but Harry doesn´t seem to notice as he stands up from his kneeling position, he groans as he straightens out his back and Louis bites his lip.
“You look knackered love; you need to get some sleep. It´s been a long and very eventful day so I understand you are tired.” He strokes Louis hair as he speaks and the action only makes Louis even more sleepy. His eyes feel incredibly heavy all of a sudden and Harry chuckles.
“Come on love, I know how much you hate this room so I won´t force you to sleep in it.” Louis wants to kiss him but instead he lets Harry help him up and lead him out of the room, most of his weight is resting on Harry but he doesn´t seem to mind, instead he just looks down at him fondly.
Louis bites his lip as they stop in front of his room, he really doesn´t want Harry to let go of him. He´s warm and solid next to him, all he feels is safe and content. He knows he won´t feel this good all alone in his room and he won’t get much sleep either thanks to the nightmares, he figures they will be even worse tonight as well thanks to the day’s events.
Harry interrupts his thoughts by nudging his cheek with his fingers and when Louis looks up Harry is looking down at him with so much love and adoration that it almost makes him dizzy.
“Are you gonna be okay sleeping alone love? If you´re not, you can sleep with me if you´d like?” He looks almost shy as he asks and it´s so strange seeing Harry like that, Louis shakes his head mentally.
“Are you sure? I don´t want to be in the way…”
Harry is shaking his head before Louis can even finish, “You won´t, you´re always welcome okay? Whenever you have trouble sleeping or anything else just come to me okay, I will always be here for you and besides, it would really calm me down quite a bit if you keep close. I´m still a bit on edge from the incident at the police station so yeah, I would very much appreciate it if you would stay in my room tonight.”
Louis is speechless after that and Harry looks a bit flustered, it´s a big thing that Harry has admitted and because of that Louis grabs Harry´s hand lightly and looks up at him.
“I would love to stay in your room Harry, thank you.” Harry gives him a small smile and then he helps him down the corridor, Louis has never been in Harry’s room before so he´s a little nervous as Harry opens the big door and leads him inside.
The room is huge and painted in dark almost eerie colours. The black carpet underneath his feet is fluffy and Louis wiggles his toes, Harry turns on the light and Louis gapes at the gigantic bed that is taking up most of the room. The silk covers are a dark red colour and all Louis wants to do is bury himself underneath them.
“Welcome to my room, it´s not much but I like it so yeah.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal and Louis gapes at him, he has never seen such luxury before.
“You realise I have spent most of my life in a dirty basement right? This is like… heaven!” He exclaims but as he turns around to face Harry with a huge smile on his face Harry doesn´t look quite as excited. He looks both sad and angry, his eyes are locked on the floor but Louis can still feel them burning through him.
Louis can pretty much guess what he´s thinking about so he walks up to him (more like jumps thanks to his broken ankle) and when he reaches him he carefully places a hand on the alpha´s chest.
“Hey, don´t… don´t think about it okay? I don´t like you feeling guilty over something you didn´t even know about, you had nothing to do with it.” Harry places his hands on Louis’ hips as Louis tries to reassure him and shakes his head fondly.
“Darling, that´s my job. I´m supposed to take care of you, not the other way around.” He chuckles but Louis frowns.
“It´s not your job Harry, you barely know me.” Now it´s Harry´s time to frown but he doesn´t answer immediately, instead he helps him over to the bed and sits them down. Louis doesn´t have time to marvel at the softness under his bum because Harry is lightly gripping his chin and looking at him with his green eyes that seem so much more intense this time.
“You´re right, I barely know you but I would very much like to change that, if you´ll let me that is.”
“Of course I´ll let you, I´d love to get to know you Harry, properly and all that.” Harry smiles at the softness of Louis voice, he looks so incredibly beautiful with his flushed cheeks and teeth digging into his lip.
“I´m glad, now let me go and find you some clothes so that we can go to sleep.” Louis watches as he gets up and then he disappears through a door that Louis assumes leads to the closet but he can never be sure when it comes to Harry.
He appears a few minutes later with a triumphal smile on his face and clothes in his hands, “They might be a bit big but it will do for now, you´re just gonna sleep in them anyway.”
He tosses the clothes on the bed and Louis looks up at him with a smile.
“Thank you Harry.”
“No problem love, I´m gonna head into the bathroom so feel free to change. Unless… will you be okay changing or do you need my help?” He rubs at the back of his neck awkwardly as Louis stares at him with burning cheeks; the tension in the room has suddenly become ridiculously thick.
“I uh… I think I´ll be alright, I´ll call for you otherwise okay?” Louis looks just as awkward as Harry feels so he clears his throat and looks away.
“Okay, great, I´ll just… go now.” And with that he turns around and leaves the room before it can get even more awkward, he´s not sure his heart or Louis’ cheeks would be able to handle that.
Louis lets out a shaky breath as he stares at the now closed bathroom door, that was… different. He knows he definitely wouldn´t have minded Harry helping him get dressed but he can´t allow himself to have thoughts like that, not yet. He shakes his head as he pick up the clothes that Harry had given him, they will definitely be too big for him but for some reason his inner omega purrs at that so he guesses it won´t be a problem.
Once he has struggled out of his bloody and torn clothes which he throws down on the floor in disgust he picks up the sweatpants Harry had given him and sighs. They will most likely fall down if he stands so he puts them to the side and grabs the blue jumper instead. It´s soft and worn down and it smells just like Harry, it´s perfect and Louis almost purrs in content.
Harry steps into the bedroom just as Louis tugs on his jumper and Harry’s heart jumps slightly in his chest. He manages to catch a glimpse of ribs and bruises but also tan skin and white boxers. His hair is tousled from the movement and as Harry clears his throat Louis’ head snap over to him, a deep blush immediately covering his face.
“Harry.” He squeaks as he tugs at the hem of the jumper to cover himself, it almost falls down to his knees though so he relaxes a little as Harry slowly approaches.
“Was there something wrong with the sweatpants?” Louis can hear the smile in Harry´s voice so he bites his lips as he answers, eyes locked on his jumper covered hands.
“They were a bit big that´s all, I´ll be fine with just this.” Harry nods in understanding as he picks up the clothing and Louis old clothes as well.
“Well okay then, do you want to use the bathroom before we go to sleep? I have a spare toothbrush in there.” Louis nods and when Harry has put away the clothes he helps Louis into the bathroom that locks the door behind him. As Louis is in the bathroom Harry makes the bed ready and turns his phone off, he doesn´t want it to disturb them and Louis deserves to sleep in, Harry does too.
Louis steps out of the bathroom just as Harry has gotten in bed; he looks a little lost as he stands there by the door so Harry nods towards the other side of the bed with a small smile playing on his lips.
“I hope you don´t mind sharing, the bed is big enough for the both of us yeah?” He tries not to sound too confident seeing as Louis is a bit lost still, it´s hard though when he notices the blush covering the omegas cheeks as his eyes stay locked on Harry´s now bare torso.
“I uh… no, I don´t mind. Unless you don´t?” He bites his bottom lip and Harry almost groans.
“Of course I don’t, now come on before you fall asleep on the spot.” Louis scampers towards him as he pats the bed, he doesn´t want to read into the situation too much but what else can he do when little, pretty Louis is crawling into his bed wearing his jumper which is much too big on him making him look even tinier.
He can´t think like that though so he clears his throat and looks away, Louis keeps his distance once he´s settled down in the bed and for that Harry is thankful. Louis eyes are locked on the ceiling as he breathes heavily and when Harry has turned the light off Louis turns his head slightly to watch him instead.
“Harry?” He whispers and Harry looks back at him, he looks even more fragile in the dark and all he wants is to cuddle him close and never let go, that´s another thing he can´t do though so he just answers him instead in the same whispering tone.
“What is it Louis?”
Harry frowns as Louis hesitates, his small fingers fiddles with the covers for a while and then he finally answers him.
“When… when you saved me from those police officers, after that you-you said I was yours. Why did you do that?” Harry swallows thickly as Louis looks up at him with big confused eyes; he knew the question would come up eventually so he is sort of prepared, at least a little bit.
“Oh that, well I guess I just got a bit riled up. You were in danger and I knew from the second I saw you that you were something special that I needed to protect. Not just because you are an omega but because… because you treat me differently, you don´t see me like everyone else does. Even though you have been hurt so many times you still don´t fear me, you treat me like you treat Niall and you have no idea how much I appreciate that.”
Harry´s eyes are almost glowing in the dark and Louis has to look away for a few seconds, the whole moment feels so incredibly intense but he´s so afraid that it will disappear so he looks up at him again and then he grabs the alpha´s hand.
His hand is big and warm, a bit rough but Louis smiles at the feeling. It´s a hand that he could hold forever if he got the chance to, he doesn’t want to let go anytime soon and neither does he want to let go of the feeling he´s got in his belly.
“I-I had no idea you thought about it that way. I just figured you felt responsible for me because I´m the last omega and as an alpha it´s your duty or whatever to make sure I stay alive.” He mumbles and Harry´s hand tightens around his.
“Louis… look at me love, please?” He does and Louis bites his lip when he sees that Harry´s eyes are just as intense as they were that time he called Louis his.
“I never want you to think like that again Louis, understand? I protect you because I want to, you are too good for this world, for me but I promise you I will do everything I can to keep you safe and happy. I know that we barely know each other and that you don´t trust me fully yet but if you let me I will do anything to gain that trust and I will give you a chance to live the life you never had, a life where you are free to do whatever you want and if you´ll have me I would very much like to be by your side as you live it.”
Harry takes a deep breath after his little speech, his heart is hammering in his chest and he´s pretty sure Louis can hear it. He gets a little worried as he sees tears in Louis eyes and as his bottom lip starts to tremble he knows for sure that he´s messed up.
That´s why Harry gets the shock of his life as Louis all of a sudden throws himself at him, his arms wrap around his thick neck and all Harry can do at the moment is lie completely still as he stares at the small boy that is currently on top of him.
He can feel warm tears against his neck and when he has managed to collect himself a bit he wraps his arms around the small omega, still in a bit of a daze. Louis is mumbling things against his skin but he can´t hear a thing so he shakes his head slightly, a fond smile on his face.
“Darling I don´t understand a word you´re saying.” He gently brings Louis head up so that he can see his blue eyes, he´s still crying but he´s got a small smile on his face so Harry relaxes a little bit.
“That´s the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me.” His voice cracks at the end and Harry is now covered in tears and probably other things as well but Harry has got his arms full of boy, a boy that is crying because of him so he doesn´t really care.
“Shh love, don´t cry. No more tears for me please, I didn´t mean to make you cry.”
Louis laughs wetly at that, “I know, I´m sorry I just… do you really mean it? All of those things you said?”
Harry takes his head in between his hands at that and he looks at the small boy intensely as he rests his forehead against his.
“Of course I did, all of those things are true and I really hope you will believe them one day. I would very much like it if you were mine but it´s not my decision to make, it´s all up to you beautiful, just know that I am willing to wait forever.” Louis giggles at that and when he once again buries his head in Harry´s neck he sucks in a breath and his hands lightly squeezes Louis’ waist in reaction.
“I don´t think you´ll have to wait that long.” He mumbles but this time Harry hears him perfectly clear. His heart almost stops at the words but he tries not to show it, instead he breathes in Louis scent and closes his eyes. It´s a good enough answer for him; they can talk more about it later.
Louis is breathing heavily against him and when he realises that the boy has indeed fallen asleep on top of him he smiles softly and holds him tighter, later.
When Louis wakes up he feels incredibly warm and he is shocked when he realises he has slept through the whole night without a single nightmare. He´s so used to waking up screaming that it almost feels a bit strange. He´s surrounded by blankets and pillows and the sun is peaking through the curtains, he feels almost fuzzy inside and he welcomes the feeling with open arms. It´s been so long since he has felt so safe, comfortable even and he can´t even remember the last time he woke up with a smile on his face.
Something is missing though and as he sits up he realises what, Harry is nowhere to be seen. Louis frowns as he looks around the room, where could he be? Just as he´s about to get up and start searching he hears the shower running and he relaxes against the pillows once more. He´s just in the bathroom Louis, calm down he scolds himself.
He starts to think back about the previous night and he can´t help but to smile. They had talked, like actually talked things through. Harry wanted to get to know him, make Louis his and for some reason Louis had no problem with that. Harry was amazing, everything he could ever want in a mate and even though he knows he´s not exactly ready for a real relationship yet he feels calm. “I´m willing to wait forever” He had said, Louis feels warm all over at the memory. Harry would wait for him; he would give him time, no pressure.
Harry is nothing like he had imagined an alpha to be. Sure he´s fierce and dominant but he respects Louis wishes and treats him like an equal. Louis knows Harry is an alpha and that he will make mistakes but so will Louis, he is certainly not a perfect omega but that´s okay because Harry doesn´t seem to care. He accepts his flaws so Louis accepts his, no one is perfect but maybe, just maybe they´re perfect for each other. It certainly feels like it at least.
“You´re awake.” Louis jumps as the voice interrupts his train of thoughts, Harry is looking at him with his eyebrows slightly furrowed and Louis lets out a breath.
“You scared me.” He pouts making Harry smirk as he moves through the room.
“Sorry love, I´ll make more noise next time.” Louis rolls his eyes at this but he´s soon distracted as he realises that Harry is standing there in just a small towel wrapped around his hips. He can see the beginning of his happy trail and he swallows dryly as his eyes follows the small water drops that make their way down the alpha´s toned stomach.
“You still here Louis?” Harry sounds way too cocky for Louis liking so he snaps out of it with a shake of his head. Harry is looking at him with an eyebrow raised and a small smirk on his lips so Louis groans and throws a pillow at him.
“Stop that!” The pillow hits him right in the face and Harry splutters.
“Stop what? I didn´t do anything.” Louis can hear the smile in his voice so he groans once again and throws himself backwards on the bed.
“Stop looking so pleased with yourself.” He whines and Harry chuckles as he makes his way towards the closet. It´s not fair how affected he gets by Harry´s body, why does he have to be so damn attractive? Louis stares at the ceiling as he ponders this while Harry gets dressed, quickly in case Louis Is about to look up, he wouldn´t want to fluster the poor lad further.
“Are you going to stay there all day and feel sorry for yourself or are you going to get dressed and have breakfast with me?” He sounds fond so Louis looks at him and sighs.
“Ugh fine, I don´t have my clothes here though.”
“I went to your room earlier to fetch you some jeans.” He throws the trousers next to him and Louis frowns.
“No shirt?”
Harry looks pleased again as he nods towards his closet, “You can wear one of mine.”
Oh, well that was not what Louis had expected.
“Why?” Now it´s Harry´s time to sigh and he walks up to him as he puts a watch on his left arm.
“Because you look adorable in my clothes, now hurry up and get ready. I´ll be down in the dining room, come when you´re ready.” He kisses Louis forehead and then he leaves the room. Louis has to sit there for a while before he can move his legs, he can still feel the kiss on his skin and he has to force himself into the bathroom.
Once he´s done in the bathroom and dressed in his black skinny jeans and a maroon sweater of Harry´s he makes his way downstairs, slowly thanks to his ankle and with his heart beating loudly in his chest. The dining room is a huge room where everyone eats their meals, it´s almost like a school cafeteria, to least according to Niall. Louis has never been there, he has always eaten his meals in his room and in the beginning in the hospital room.
It’s not like he has been avoiding the rest of the pack, he´s passed a few in the hallways but that´s pretty much it. He doesn´t know how much they know about him but he has a feeling that they don´t like him very much. He is after all an outsider, he doesn´t belong anywhere and anyone knows that outsiders tend to become a danger to the packs.
With this in mind he slowly opens the door to the big room and the noise that reaches his ears is almost deafening. The whole pack seem to be having breakfast at the same time and they´re all talking, children are yelling and running around the room banging on plates and throwing things. Louis stares at the chaos in front of him and just as he´s about to exit the room he spots Harry.
He´s sitting at the biggest table in the middle of the room, Niall is there as well along with two other men that he recognises as Liam and Zayn. He has never spoken to them before but both Niall and Harry has talked about them quite a lot. They´re all very good friends and Liam and Zayn are Harry´s right hand men.
Niall sees him first and he gets up from his chair as he waves him over.
“Louis! We´re over here!” Louis flushes as almost everyone in the room turns around to stare at him. They have quieted down now as Louis makes his way across the room and towards the table. He can feel their eyes on him and he tries desperately not to trip.
Niall has sat down now and when Louis has finally reached them Harry pulls him down in a chair next to him, with Niall in front of him.
“Hi.” Harry murmurs against his hair and Louis immediately relaxes against the arm that Harry has slung over the back of his chair.
“Hi.” He says a bit breathless and he can hear Niall snicker, Harry glares at him and then he slides a plate full of food towards Louis.
“Eat up.”
Louis stares at the plate in disbelief, “I can´t eat all of this, I´ll explode.”
“Of course you can, you need to eat more Louis. You´re way too underweight, right Niall?” Niall nods with his mouth full of food and Harry leans back with his arms now crossed over his chest. Louis groans as he sends a hurt look towards Niall, he is a doctor after all though so Louis picks up a fork and starts eating.
“Good boy.” Harry praises and Louis almost chokes on his eggs, Niall barks out a laugh as Louis’ ears turn red. He bites his lip and as he continues eating he sneaks glances at Liam and Zayn. Liam is having a conversation with Niall, his voice is low but he looks kind. His eyes holds nothing but sincerity and Louis decides that he likes Liam.
Zayn on the other hand looks tense as he sits quietly next to Harry. His dark eyes are locked on something across the room and his fists clenches occasionally where they rest against his thighs. When he looks up at Harry he notices that he is looking at Zayn as well, he looks deep in thought so he turns towards Niall again.
“Niall?” He says it quietly but it still feels like everyone stares at him as soon as he opens his mouth.
“Yeah Lou?” Niall has turned towards him now and both him and Liam are looking at him, Niall looks concerned and Liam almost looks a bit surprised.
“Why is everyone staring at me?” Harry looks up at this; he almost looks like he´s in pain and Niall doesn´t look much better either.
“Um… well, I might have let it slip that you´re an omega…” Louis stares at Niall in disbelief who refuses to look at him, he´s got his eyes locked on the table as he speaks which is really unusual for Niall.
“Niall!”
“I know, I´m sorry Louis! I really didn´t mean to but I suck at keeping secrets so I told one person and in this place it´s almost impossible to keep something between just a few people.”
He looks genuinely upset so Louis sighs in defeat, he can´t be mad at Niall. The pack would have found out some other way eventually so they might as well hear it from Niall, at least he can answer their questions when they come, Louis would never be able to.
“Also you spent the night in Harry´s room, which everyone knows about of course and now you´re wearing his jumper.” Liam says and Louis blushes, Niall turns his head to stare at both him and Harry and Louis really just wants to sink through the floor.
“And that´s a big deal? I mean, it´s not like we did anything.” Louis’ voice sounds incredibly squeaky all of a sudden and Zayn snorts.
“Of course it´s a big deal, it doesn’t matter if you did anything or not. No one has ever spent the night in Harry´s room, let alone slept in his bed so yeah this is pretty huge.” He shrugs and Louis looks up at Harry with questioning eyes.
“Really? Is that true?”
“It is.” That´s all he gets but apparently Niall feels the need to elaborate.
“Every person that he has, you know… done the deed with has only been here for like an hour and then gentleman Harry here is calling them a taxi and that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. They don´t even do it in his bedroom either, it´s always some poor guestroom that gets occupied.” Harry doesn´t look very happy once Niall has finished his story but Louis is glad that Niall told him.
Well, maybe he´s not so happy about the part about Harry sleeping with a bunch of people that isn´t Louis, wait what? Louis blushes at his own thoughts but when Niall raises a questioning brow at him he just shakes his head, he really doesn’t want to repeat that out loud.
He feels a bit special now though, knowing that he´s the only one that has ever slept in Harry´s bed, with Harry even. It might be silly but he feels calmer somehow, knowing that he isn´t just somebody to Harry. He actually means something to him, he isn´t just someone he wants to shag.
Something still feels a bit off though, some pieces are still missing and he wants to know what it is.
“It´s not just that though, is it?” Harry clenches his eyes shut as he asks this and Louis almost wants to take it back, a little scared of the answer now.
“You´re right, it´s not. You´re an outsider Louis, an unmated omega that just showed up here and drew attention to our pack. Some are not too fond of the idea of you staying here, they´re scared and that´s understandable.” As Harry explains this Louis looks around the room and he feels his heart sink a little. People are still looking at him, some look angry, others just look intrigued and Louis doesn´t know what´s worse.
He feels a hand on his thigh and as he looks up he´s met with Harry´s worried eyes, he looks down expecting the worst.
“Louis, darling look at me please.” He does and now everyone at the table is looking at them, even Zayn this time.
“You are going to stay right here, understand? I couldn´t care less about what the others think, if they have a problem with you being here then they can leave. This is where you belong love, this is your home now.” Louis sniffles at the end of Harry speech and he feels silly for crying so he hides his head in Harry´s neck, something that doesn´t go unnoticed by the pack.
“You really mean that?” Harry strokes his back and rests his head on top of Louis’.
“Of course I do, you´re mine remember?”
Louis heart does a little jump at those words and he smiles a little, “Yeah, I remember.”
He looks up at Harry now and he´s staring down at him with so much love in his eyes that Louis doesn´t know what to do about.
“Good, and don´t you ever forget it.”
Things move on after that and as days pass Louis starts to heal, both physically and mentally. Niall helps him with his health, telling him when to eat and what. He encourages him to walk around more to get his ankle used to it and his ribs as well. He feels stronger and almost like one of the pack. He still hasn´t really talked to anyone yet but they have stopped staring at him after Harry had a pack meeting where he told them everything they needed to know about Louis and that he was willing to share. Harry had told them to accept Louis or get lost and that seemed to do the trick because things calmed down after that and now he even gets a few smiles from people as he passes them in the corridors.
Harry insisted that he would continue to sleep in Harry´s room so that´s what he did, it felt so good sleeping without any nightmares and sleeping next to a handsome alpha didn´t hurt as well. Harry had started to spend a lot of time with him now, when he wasn´t working that is so that they could get to know each other better and Louis loved the attention, not that he would ever admit it though.
He loves the fact that he knows practically everything about Harry now and that Harry knows him like the back of his hand. It´s easier to talk with Harry now and he feels incredibly lost and sad on days where Harry has to work. He knows he probably shouldn´t get so attached to an alpha he isn´t even mated to, yet, he is staying positive about the matter. Never in his life has he been an omega that longs for an alpha to mate with, it had never even crossed his mind before and now it seems like the only thing he can think about.
He likes to imagine what it would be like, being mated to Harry and every time he does he smiles like a complete idiot for about an hour until someone snaps him out of it. Harry has asked him a few times what he´s thinking about when he gets like that but he has never answered him. How embarrassing would that be?
He doesn´t even know if Harry wants to mate with him, if he even wants to mate at all. Perhaps he likes being alone and he only likes Louis a friend? He tries to shake those thoughts out of his head because he knows that Harry does in fact like him as more than a friend, he just doesn’t know how far he´s willing to go with louis. They haven´t even kissed yet and Louis is pretty sure that´s not a good sign.
It´s when Louis has been at the pack house for about four months when Harry runs up to him when he´s leaving the dining room after lunch.
“There you are love, I´ve been looking everywhere for you.” He sounds breathless and he´s got a paper tightly grasped in his hand.
“Well here I am, what is it?” Harry looks excited so he knows it can´t be something bad, at least he hopes so.
“I got an email from the court Louis, they´re locked away for life, every single one of them!” Louis stares at him for a while, trying to figure out what he´s talking about and once it hits him he starts crying.
“Oh my god.”
“They can never touch you again darling, you´re free.” Harry is beaming at him and Louis is pretty sure he has never seen him smile so big before.
“I can´t believe it.” Louis squeals out eventually and now he´s smiling as well, he feels so incredibly happy that he doesn´t really know what to do with himself. He moves towards Harry to hug him but Harry lifts him up by the waist instead and twirls him around.
“You´re free Louis, those bastards are far away now and you can do anything you want!” Louis laughs as Harry twirls him like he weighs nothing, he can’t believe it´s finally over. He looks up at Harry who stops abruptly and just stares back at him, eyes shining. He´s still holding him, Louis feet above the ground and his breath hitches slightly in his throat as Harry´s face comes closer.
This is it, he thinks as his eyes flickers down to the alpha´s lips, it´s finally happening. He can feel Harry´s breath against his face now and just as he´s about to close his eyes his feet are touching the ground again. He looks up incredibly confused and Harry stares back at him with an unreadable expression on his face. He opens his mouth as if he´s about to say something but then he shakes his head and turns around. Louis heart aches a little as he watches Harry walk away the same way he came from and if he cries himself to sleep that night in his old bedroom, cold and alone again, no one has to know.