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Amongst the rolling hills in the English countryside were a small little town. Its villagers mostly kept to themselves, but they were in no way bitter or reluctant towards strangers. They just rather minded their own business.
In the middle of the town lived a large family, with seven kids. The oldest was 23 and the youngest only 18 months old. It was a big happy household filled with love and warmth. Their garden, like most of the gardens in town, were filled with blooming flowers and herbs.
Like the rest of the town they grew as much as they could themselves, sold or gave away what they couldn’t eat and bought what they couldn’t grow themselves.
Though this town was bursting with colours from the lush gardens, it didn’t look like much to the world. The fog that often lay heavy on the town made it look dull and lifeless, almost like a ghost town forgotten by everyone. But it wasn’t.
Louis had lived here all his life and knew everyone, more or less. At least enough to tilt his head and nod when he passed them by. It was rare that someone moved away and even rarer that someone moved in. They had a few empty houses from people that had passed away over the years or for some reason had decided to leave.
A thought that never had crossed Louis’ mind. He loved it here. Loved the calm pace, the winding roads and the green hills surrounding his beloved town. Of course he had been to the nearest city, but that life was too much for him. Too hectic. And there were just too many people.
Here, in his hometown, he could live a slow life, take the day as it came, and go to work everyday. Since he was a teenager he had helped out in the local grocery store and since he turned 18 he had also helped out in the pub. He had saved money through the years and would soon be able to buy a house of his own.
The only problem with living in a town like this was that not many people passed by, not even during the harvest fest or the small Christmas market they had every year. Therefore, it was hard to find a mate.
Another thing that made it hard for Louis to find a potential partner was that most alphas had a very pungent scent, that made his sensitive omega nose feel like it was on fire. He couldn’t handle it.
That’s also why he at 23 still was single, but not innocent and untouched. Just single. He had never met an alpha whose stench he could stand. However, he had always wanted to find someone to fall in love with, to buy a house with, and take long walks with.
So when a moving truck rolled into town with a man around his age following in a red car, with a dog in the backseat Louis’ interest peaked. He couldn’t tell by the looks alone if it was an alpha, because that’s not how it worked. And since the man was in a car, he couldn’t feel his scent either to try to determine his secondary gender.
While the alpha scent was often more earthy tones omegas often had a sweet scent. Like the alpha’s scent was made to calm omegas down and the omega’s scent were to draw the alphas in, like a delicious dessert waiting to be devoured.
Of course there were exceptions to the rules and not all alphas had that stench that made Louis’ nostril curl in distaste, but he hadn’t come across them yet. The worst of all was that he didn’t know exactly what scent it was that felt like a thousand beestings inside his nose. However, he knew some people who didn't have it, because he could stand his mum’s husband, Louis’ stepdad. Otherwise Louis had been out the door a long time ago.
All this flew through Louis’ head as he watched the cars drive up the hill and stop outside the house on top of it. An old, two floor, stone cottage that had been empty for as long as Louis could remember. It was an odd choice of house, Louis thought. It was gorgeous and all, but laid alone, away from all the other buildings. It stood there proudly, like it didn’t need the other houses. Like it looked down on them all and how cramped and close they were placed.
Louis watched as the man let the dog out of the car and how another man and a woman stepped out of the truck. They wasted no time and started to unload the cars straight away.
“It’s impolite to stare,” he heard his grandmother say from behind him. Startling him so much he let out a gasp and put a hand to his chest.
“I’m sorry,” he said, while he leaned in to greet her with a kiss to her cheek.
“But I must say I am intrigued to see who has chosen old Mr. Arkwright’s house,” she said, peeking over Louis’ shoulder to get a glimpse. “It’s just been empty for so long. Didn’t think anyone would ever buy it.”
Louis looked over his shoulder but the people were nowhere to be seen at the moment. He had only caught a quick glimpse at the driver in the red car, but he looked cute. Brown, curly hair sticking out under a beanie and a nice side profile. That’s what Louis had caught as they drove by.
“Should we ask if they need help?” Louis asked, hooking his arm under his grandmother’s.
“No,” she said and shook her head slightly. “We’ll give them time to come to us. We should not intrude. You know the ways around here.”
Louis knew all too well. In this town they surely helped each other, but only if someone asked for it. They didn’t push or stick their nose where it didn’t belong. And right now, Louis’ nose did not belong up on that hill, offering help to the person or people moving into it. In time Louis would meet them, he worked at the only grocery store and the only pub. As long as the new person or people weren't trying to stay away from the world all together, they would swing by in due time.
“Was that a moving truck I saw passing by?” Louis’ mum asked as Louis and his grandmother stepped inside. “Was it just passing through?”
“No, someone is moving into Mr. Arkwright’s old house,” Louis said, walking straight up to his baby siblings, giving them each a kiss on the head, where they were sat by the kitchen table.
“Hi, my little rascals,” he said and both of them giggled delightfully.
“That’s an odd choice of house,” Louis’ mum stated. “But it’s a gorgeous house. It deserves to be lived in.”
Louis had hoped that the people he had seen today would swing by the pub later that night, when he was at work, but they didn’t. Maybe they hadn't settled in yet. Maybe they needed a bit more time before they met the people of the town.
On his way home that night, he kicked some rocks in frustration, because the most logical thing was that the man and woman, who looked a bit older than Louis’ mum, were the ones moving in. Not the young man in the red car. The young man Louis wouldn’t mind seeing again. At least to just get a real look at him and maybe get to know his scent. Just to know if Louis could even be near him.
Since they hadn’t come by the pub Louis reasoned that he probably wouldn’t see the young man again or at least not in a very long time.
When he reached the door he looked up on the hill and saw a small light in one of the rooms on the top floor. A warm light standing out in the dark of the night, making the house look even more haunted than it could do in daylight during the heavy fog.
With a slow hand he turned the key, he didn’t want to wake up the house, especially the little ones. So he silently snuck in like he did every night he had worked at the pub, but today that lonely light on top of the hill was dancing around in his head as he walked upstairs to his bedroom.
A week had passed since Louis had seen the red car and the moving truck. The red car was still there and he had heard the dog bark a few times, but he still hadn’t seen the person or people that now lived in the house. However, every night when he came home from the pub, that one lonely light was shining on the top floor. Almost like a beacon in the night, guiding Louis home. There was a pull inside of him, towards the light, but like his grandmother had said ‘We’ll give them time to come to us.’ So Louis just had to wait.
When he came downstairs, four of his siblings, four sisters, had already left for school, but his mum and the two little ones were there waiting for him with the breakfast ready.
“Morning, dear,” his mum greeted him.
“Morning, mum,” he said, walking over towards her, to give her cheek a kiss. It was just something he had always done, since he was a little boy. Every morning, if his mum was home, he gave her a kiss. Then he gave the little ones a kiss each as well, they were all a part of his morning routine now.
“When you’re done with breakfast, I’m heading over to your grandmother to drop Doris and Ernie off, before I head to work,” his mum informed him. “Lottie will pick them up after school. I saw your schedule for today, so don’t worry about that.”
Louis gave his mum a smile, appreciating that she took his schedule into consideration, even if it wasn’t necessary. He would have time to pick up the twins between his daytime job and going to the pub for an extra shift there. He usually tried to avoid double shifts, but one of the owners at the pub was sick, so Louis had offered to help.
After breakfast, he helped his mum get the twins into the stroller and then waved them off. He was just about to start his morning walk, when a dog came sprinting down the hill. Tongue out and running like he was finally free. As soon as the dog saw Louis however, it slowed down, aiming towards him with happy skips.
“Crumpet!” Louis heard someone call from up the hill.
“Are you Crumpet?” Louis said, happily petting the dog, who wagged his tail and let out some happy sounds. “We need to get you back. Yes, we do,” Louis continued, grabbing the dog's collar and starting to walk the dog back up the hill.
When he was halfway up, he saw the young man standing there, with the same beanie on, the curls sticking out below it. He was even more gorgeous than Louis had ever imagined.
“Yeah, run to him,” Louis said, when he felt Crumpet tugging, ready to head back home.
Even if Louis saw him run up the rest of the hill, he followed, seeing this as his opportunity to say hello. The expression on the young man’s face was however not an inviting one. More concerned. Like something bothered him. Like he wasn’t really sure how to act.
“I’m sorry,” he said, when Louis had reached the top. Still at least ten metres in between them.
“No worries,” Louis replied, with a happy smile, hoping it would help calm whatever made the young man seem so uneasy. “I’m Louis. I live down the hill.”
“Oh, I’m Harry. I live there,” he said and pointed to the house behind him. “Just moved in.”
Louis took a few steps closer, hoping that he could stay and chat for a while, get to know the new person a bit but Harry let out a low growl which made Louis back away instinctively.
“Easy there, Alpha,” Louis said, half joke, half slightly panicked. Why would a complete stranger growl at him the first time they met?
“Sorry, I… I just prefer to be alone,” Harry let out. With practiced hands he put the leash onto Crumpet’s collar and was just about to walk away when a breeze swept by, catching Harry’s scent, sending it straight towards Louis. On reflex Louis breathed in, letting the faint scent travel into his nostrils.
Harry’s scent didn’t feel like fire or a thousand beestings. It smelled like a warm afternoon at his grandparents, with a cup of tea. It was sweet and inviting. Like apple pie with cinnamon. A perfect, soft scent that made Louis crave more.
“I like your scent,” Louis said, softly, but he saw the expression change in Harry’s eyes. Saw them grow wide, his nostrils flaring and another growl escaping his lips. Then he tugged Crumpet’s leash and headed back towards his house without saying anything else.
For probably over a minute Louis didn’t move. He just stood there staring at the dark brown front door and wondered what had just happened. Never before had an Alpha growled at him twice in under five minutes. If he thought about it he wasn’t sure an alpha had ever growled at him. Not in that way at least.
It was like Harry didn’t want anyone to come close to him, Louis just didn’t understand why.
What confused him even more was that the growl clearly showed he was an Alpha, because Omegas didn’t growl. They could mewl under distress or whine, but not growl. However, the sweet scent of apple pie and cinnamon was more Omega-like than Alpha-like. Harry was a conundrum that Louis couldn’t solve today.
Even as Louis started to walk, Harry’s pleasant scent lingered inside Louis’ nose and he didn’t bother if it stayed there. It made him feel warm and comforted just like he felt when he visited his grandparents. A feeling he didn’t mind carrying with him all day long.
During the day and night at work Louis had thought more about Harry and the way Louis clearly had stepped on some toes, he hadn’t meant to step on. So the next morning, he hurried to the local bookstore as soon as they opened, then sat down at the bakery next to it.
Since he didn’t want to intrude on Harry’s privacy Louis had decided to write a letter, but he had wanted to do it on nice stationary, not just a simple piece of white paper. What he had to say needed to be framed by soft flowers in pink and maroon.
Dear Harry,
I’m sorry that I offended you yesterday. I don’t know exactly what I did, but I could see the effects on you and I send my deepest apologies.
I’m sending you this letter, since I don’t want to intrude more than necessary. Please, know that I didn’t mean anything bad.
It might be wrong of me to bring up your scent again, but just know that I have a very sensitive nose and most Alpha scents feel like I’ve snorted acid. Your scent was a pleasant surprise that reminded me of cosy autumn days.
Best regards,
Louis Tomlinson.
Did he have to rewrite it three times because he misspelt words and his handwriting looked like crap? Yes, but that didn’t matter, because this apology was important. Even if they might never speak again, Louis wanted Harry to know that he was sorry and that the compliment had been exactly that, a compliment.
He neatly folded the paper and tucked it into the envelope and with his best handwriting he wrote Harry’s address on the back. This was the best way to do it, he argued – posting the letter even if it would take a day or two before it reached Harry.
When he had finished his cup of tea, he bought pastries, posted the letter and then headed over to his grandparents house.
“Hi, love,” his grandmother greeted him when he opened the door and Louis leaned in to kiss her cheek like he always did. “You’re just in time for tea.”
“Perfect timing. I’ve brought pastries for us,” Louis said, showing off the box from the bakery.
“Sounds like music to my ears,” his grandfather chuckled from the living room.
Even if his grandfather also had that special alpha scent that Louis was sensitive to, it wasn’t as pungent and Louis could stand being around him. He wouldn’t have it any other way, he loved his grandfather. It would be sad if he couldn’t spend time with him.
“I was at the book store and got you a new book each,” Louis said, as he sat down on the sofa.
“You spoil us,” Louis’ grandmother scolded when she came in with a tray filled with a teapot and cups.
“Yes, I do,” Louis said, straightening his back and smiling proudly. “And I think the word you’re searching for is ‘thank you’.” He added a wink, which made his grandmother chuckle delightfully.
“Thank you, Louis,” she said, with a warm smile. “I passed the new young man that have moved in up on the hill, when I was out on a walk. His dog is the happiest I’ve ever seen. And I must say, the young man had a lovely scent.”
Louis hummed over the rim of his cup. The steam from the tea finding its way up his nose and cheeks, warming them a little. He thought back to the scent. To the warm apples and cinnamon. The scent might’ve even had a small hint of vanilla. Delightful either way.
“Just don’t tell him that. It makes him growl,” Louis said, before taking a sip of his tea, watching the expressions on his grandparents faces change. Both frowning, pursing their lips.
“That’s not very nice,” his grandmother stated and his grandfather hummed his agreement. “He seems shy,” she continued and Louis nodded. Maybe it had just been shyness spilling over, making him react like Louis was a threat to his peace.
A few days passed. Louis didn’t expect a letter back, he had said what he needed to say and would leave Harry alone if that’s how Harry wanted it.
However, when Louis was on his way home from another shift at the pub one night, a little earlier than usual, he saw Harry and Crumpet coming towards him. This was Louis’ way home so he couldn’t turn around or choose another path. He saw Harry stiffen just for a short moment, but then continued walking towards him.
When they were a few metres away from each other Harry stopped, but let Crumpet walk up to Louis, happily wagging his tail and letting out small huffs as Louis petted him.
“I’m…” Harry started and Louis looked up at him, seeing the reflection of the street light in his green eyes. “I’m sorry for my behaviour the other day. I’ve received your letter and you’ve done nothing wrong, but I appreciated it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Louis said, earnestly. Harry still seemed tense, as he stood there, pigeon toed and fiddling with the leash. “I’m not gonna bother you again.”
“Oh,” Harry let out almost disappointed and Louis looked at him surprised. He hadn’t been prepared for that reaction, he didn’t know what to say, so he just kept looking at Harry.
“I…” Harry started, but pursed his lips, biting at the bottom one as he was thinking about how to continue. “I moved here to get away from people, but I… I don’t want to push people away, especially kind people, like you.”
Even in the dark night, only lit up by the streetlights Louis could see Harry blush. A hint of pink appeared on his cheeks, making him impossibly cuter.
“If… If you want to,” Harry continued. “You could maybe come by for a cup of tea, or to say hi to Crumpet. He seems to like you and he’s a good judge of character. But only if you want to.”
“I would love that,” Louis said, smiling back at Harry, trying his best to convey calmness so Harry could relax. “I’m working the entire day tomorrow, but what about Sunday afternoon? Would that work for you?”
“Yes, Sunday works fine,” Harry said, his voice trembling just a bit at the last word. “S–see you then,” he added and hurried away down the street before Louis got the chance to say goodnight.
However, he didn’t mind, because this was a win.
On Sunday afternoon Louis had put on a clean pair of jeans, with rips over the knees, paired with a white knitted sweater his grandmother had made him. He wasn’t much for fancy shoes, so he put on the cleanest pair of sneakers he could find. Working in a pub surely had messed up most of his shoes.
Maybe he put too much effort into it all but he wanted to give a good first… Third… Or was it the fourth impression? If he counted the letter it was the fourth, for sure.
He grabbed his coat from the rack by the front door and called a ‘goodbye’ into the house before he left. The chilly autumn air hit his face, cooling it down as he started to walk up the hill.
The air was fresh. The trees had just started to turn orange and yellow, but the fog still dulled all the colours. Even so, Louis wouldn’t change it for the world. This was his place on earth, his hometown. He didn’t mind how it felt like the fog seeped in through his clothes, almost making them damp from the humid air alone. He didn’t mind how the grey stone houses looked even greyer and almost abandoned. Or how the cemetery always looked a little more spooky than was necessary.
The nervousness spread in his body as he continued up the hill, creating tingles in his fingers, forming a small knot in his stomach. But it was mixed with excitement, because he was going to meet Harry and Crumpet. He was going to get to see how Harry lived and possibly get to know who he was. Maybe even why he had growled at Louis and that made the nervousness easier to handle.
It wasn’t often Louis got the chance to meet a new person, to get to know a new person, so when he got the chance he really wanted to take it.
Before he knocked on the door he took a steadying breath and shook the tingles away from his hands. Harry opened only a few seconds after Louis had knocked and Crumpet came running towards him. After Louis had given Crumpet his pets he looked at Harry, both nervously smiling while saying hello.
“Welcome,” Harry said. “I still haven’t managed to get everything done, so it’s a bit messy.”
“Oh, I still bet it’s better than the mess I create in my room,” Louis chuckled, as he toed off his shoes and hung up his coat. Today Harry didn’t wear a beanie and Louis got to see the full effect of Harry’s brown curls, how they framed his face.
“I’ve made tea for us, but I can make coffee if you rather prefer that and I’ve baked some cookies as well,” Harry said, leading the way into his kitchen.
The cabinets were old, with a rough finish, but in some way Harry had made it all work together with his furniture that seemed to be a concoction of stuff picked up from different places. In some way, it all matched even if it didn’t match at all.
“I buy most stuff second hand. I like it that way. I want to know my furniture has lived a life already, it gives them character,” he explained.
“It looks like you’ve lived here all your life the way you’ve put everything together already,” Louis said, sitting down on one of the chairs. The white paint was chipped and showed some dark wood underneath. Then he added, “And tea is fine, by the way,” making Harry huff out a little laugh. The first laugh Louis had ever heard from him and it settled deep in Louis’ chest.
“I… I want to be honest with you, since you were honest in your letter,” Harry said, sitting down at the table as well. “I’ve been mocked for my scent all my life. I’m clearly an Alpha, but my scent isn’t. It has affected me badly and to top it all off, I’m allergic to all scent neutralisers.”
Harry’s fists were clenched on top of the table, his shoulders almost pulled up to his ears and a sadness lacing his eyes as he spoke.
“An Alpha’s scent should be earthy and calming to an Omega, not compete with sweetness,” Harry added, shame finding its way to every word.
“I know that this might not help at all. It won’t erase what you’ve been through,” Louis said, trying to catch Harry’s eyes, but he was looking down at his hands on the table. Fingers fiddling nervously.
“I felt a great amount of comfort in your scent. It felt warm and cozy and calming, in the best of ways. It reminded me of how my grandparents' house smells during autumn. The love I feel when I’m there.”
That’s when Harry looked up at him, through his lashes, making Louis’ breath hitch and his heart skipped a beat. A smile tugged at Harry’s lips and Louis could see in his eyes that the words had made an impact. It had affected Harry in the way Louis had intended.
“Thank you,” Harry whispered. “That means a lot.”
Louis smiled back at him and from that moment, the tension that had been there before just ran away, out the door. They smiled, they talked and they laughed, while getting to know each other. Harry took Louis on a tour around the house. It was rather big for only one person and Harry didn’t have furniture yet to fill all the rooms, but the ones that were done were decorated with love. Every piece carefully collected and placed in a perfect spot made especially for that piece alone.
“This was nice,” Harry said, when Louis put his shoes and coat back on. “We should do it again.”
“We really should,” Louis said, smiling brightly, then looked into Harry’s green, warm eyes longer than necessary. He just couldn’t pull away. He couldn’t stop looking.
“You know what,” Harry said. “I think we better walk you home, so you don’t get lost on your way.”
The words made their way from Harry’s mouth, straight into Louis’ chest, wrapping around Louis’ heart. Hugging it. Comforting it. Giving it a promise of so much more.