Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

WEEK ONE

Harry starts awake in the middle of the night. Sprawled on his back, the Alpha stares, unblinkingly, at the ceiling above him. Every part of him is aware of the being beside him.

He is alert. He is poised. He is ready.

There it is again!

A tiny whimper.

Harry lifts his head slowly. Curled up next to him, Harry’s arm as his pillow, is his lovely little mate. With the utmost care, Harry reaches over and sweeps Louis’ fringe from his eyes.

Louis’ lashes are fluttering against his cheeks. Brow furrowed with worry, Harry lays a hand over Louis’ chest and feels the rapid beating of his heart.

Nightmare.

Harry’s studied them in ABO Education, where boys learn how to care for their mates. When the time comes… Mrs Wallace would say at the beginning of each lesson or: when you’re older… But Harry, to everyone’s astonishment, was still in school when he became Louis’ Alpha.

Louis whimpers again, interrupting Harry’s train of thought.

With the gentlest movements, Harry gathers him into his arms. “You’re alright,” he soothes. “You’re alright…”

Louis sighs. His small hands unfurl over the inky swallows on Harry’s bare chest. He seeks out the crook of Harry’s neck, inhaling Harry’s spiced scent.

Harry holds him closer, hushing him gently until the tension bleeds from Louis’ body. He kisses the top of Louis’ head and whispers:

“Alpha’s here.”

THE FOLLOWING MORNING

“You’ve expressed concerns about your mate – is that right?” the bespectacled woman asks, sitting down on the chair opposite Harry. She’s holding the letter of recommendation sent to her by Harry’s doctor.

“Yeah,” Harry says, pushing a hand through his hair. “After what happened, you know, I wanna make sure he’s okay.”

“Of course,” the woman says. “Call me Margot. Over the next few weeks we'll work together to establish how well your mate – Louis, is it? – is coping. From there were can determine what steps need to be taken towards his recovery."

Harry nods.

“So, I’m going to start by asking you a few simple questions.” She pulls a notepad into her lap. “How did you and Louis meet?”

“We went to the same school."

Margot waits for him to elaborate.

Harry pulls at his bottom lip.  “And - er - one night, down in the common room, he went into heat – his first – and I… well…”

“Are you alright?”

At the sound of Harry’s voice the pretty, little thing appears to catch his breath.

“Are you alright?” Liam mimics Harry and scoffs. “Does he look alright, bro?”

Harry’s smile widens but he doesn’t take his intense, green-eyed gaze off the Omega. “It’s Louis, yeah?” he whispers, reaching out to brush feathery, caramel-coloured hair from eyes that are dark with hunger.

When the Omega doesn’t reply Harry glances at the dark-haired boy sat beside him.

“Yeah,” the boy says, watching Harry anxiously. “Yeah, his name’s Louis.”

“S’hot,” Louis tells Harry.

Harry nods sympathetically. “I know, love, I know.”

The Omega draws in a shaky breath. Harry looks down and sees him tracing curious fingers over the tendons of Harry’s wrist. “I need,” he gasps, “need…”

Harry forces himself to look away from the evidence of their dizzying size difference. (And blinks to dispel visions of this golden–skinned creature writhing underneath him, his virgin hole stuffed and leaking.) He thumbs away a tear welling in the corner of Louis’ eye. “What do you need, love?” he whispers.

Louis turns to look pleadingly at his friend.

Harry moves his other hand to Louis’ cheek, drawing Louis’ gaze back to him. “You need me, yeah?”

Louis nods desperately.

“Yeah,” Harry says. He tilts his head but his glossy quiff barely quivers. Leaning close, close enough that he can feel Louis’ tremulous breath on his lips, he purrs: “inside you?”

Harry clears his throat. “I never wanted anything so bad in my life. But I wanted to protect him too; to look after him, to make everything okay. And I knew that he needed more than just…” Harry hesitates then gestures lamely at his body. “He needed someone strong but – more importantly – he needed someone attentive and caring and patient. A true Alpha. He made me wanna to be that person.”

Margot looks intrigued. “Dr Higginson mentioned that Louis’ heat came particularly early?”

Harry nods. When he tells her Louis’ age her eyebrows arch comically.

“So, you’ve known each other for…?”

Harry’s face grows hot. “Seven weeks…”

She smiles at his embarrassment. “It’s not as rare as you think,” she promises. “And you’ve been mated for how long?”

“About three weeks.”

“And the attack occurred...?”

“Two weeks ago.”

“Okay, so…” Margot sits back. “Why don’t you tell me a bit about him?”

Harry is eager to oblige. “He’s spontaneous,” he begins. “And funny. He’s loud, loud… and loud. A bit of a troublemaker. That’s my favourite thing about him. He looks so innocent, you know? But he’s so bloody mischievous.” He pauses. “Not that he isn’t a good boy! For me, anyway. And when he wants to be… Wait, let me show you a photo of him.” He pulls out his phone. [Visual]    

Margot smiles when he shows her his background. “Sweet boy.”

“He is,” Harry says earnestly. “He’s so sweet." But he can't find the words to describe what it’s like to laugh so hard your stomach hurts and – a heartbeat later – to have your cheek nuzzled adoringly.  

“Pretty too,” Margot prompts.

Harry nods.

“And petite.”

Harry swallows. “He’s four-foot-eleven.”

As if this in the information she has been waiting for, Margot scribbles a note into the margin of her notepad.

Harry swallows.

“Can’t be easy...” Margot remarks, glancing up at him as though to gauge his reaction, “when everyone you meet is larger and stronger than you, capable of hurting you - if they want to - and there’s nothing you could do about it.”

Harry blinks. “I never thought about it like that…” The smallest Omegas are the most desirable but their stature also means they are the most defenceless. "He wears our mark," Harry volunteers, “just here." With his fingertip he draws a circle on the nape of his neck.

“I imagine your presence would dissuade most Alphas from pursuing Louis, bond-mark or not,” Margot says. She gives him an appraising look. “You’re how tall?”

“Six-foot-five.” Yes, Harry thinks, because the most vulnerable Omegas need the strongest and most powerful Alphas to protect them. This means that many Alphas see Omegas that are as pretty and petite as Louis as rewards for their strength or symbols of their power. Not, as Harry now realises, precious creatures to be entrusted with. However, if Harry didn’t possess his impressive stature – and wasn’t, therefore, viewed as worthy of mating an Omega like Louis by other Alphas – Harry might never have had the opportunity to claim him at all. And, well- Harry doesn’t like to think about that. He glances down at his phone again and comes to a series of photographs of Louis playing football. “I love this one…” he murmurs and shows it Margot…

TWENTY MINUTES LATER

“…And this is us on our honeymoon,” Harry says. (Harry by means has money to spare; they spent their honeymoon in London.) “We were catching the tube and the wind from the tunnel knocked him over.” He shows her a picture of Louis wearing a pea-green jacket and a scowl.

Margot doesn’t look at it. “Harry – I’m afraid we’re getting off topic.”

“We’re here to talk about Louis, aren’t we?” Harry says, twisting one of the many rings that adorn his fingers.

Margot’s mouth twitches into a smile. “Yes, we are. But I can sense that you’re avoiding the actual purpose of our meeting. So-” She links her fingers together. “-I want you to tell me what happened.”

Harry takes a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. So.” He takes another deep breath. “I guess it began a few days after his first heat. This Alpha from my year started stalking him. Blair – that was his name: Harrison Blair – followed Louis between lessons, lurked around his locker, cornered him in the corridor… Louis was terrified of him."

A line has appeared between Margot’s eyebrows. "Was the attack pre-planned?"

Harry nods stiffly. "To an extent, I guess, yeah. I was in rut and I didn't trust myself to be around Louis. So I went home. When Blair found out Louis was unprotected he tracked him down – with a friend - and they attacked him. But me and Lou had bonded the week before (not that either of us knew at the time) and – even though I was at home - I felt his fear...”

Harry lifted his head, pushing damp hair from his eyes. The sweat turned cold on his back. Arousal gave way to terror. The hand twisting the sheets curled into a fist.

Something wasn't right.

“I returned to school as fast as I could.” Harry says, his voice a mumble. “They’d taken Louis to the swimming pool where I wouldn’t be able to smell him…But somehow I knew where he was…”

“Mate, slow down – wait-” Liam’s panicked shouts echoed throughout the courtyard.

But they barely penetrated the rage that clouded Harry’s mind. He kept running and his feet (and his heart) pulled him towards the swimming pool…

“…And then?” Margot prompts.

“Then I heard Louis screaming…” Harry whispers.

“NO! NO! NO! PLEASE! I’M HARRY’S! I’M HARRY’S!”

Harry erupted into the heat of the swimming pool.

He struggled to take in the scene in front of him. He saw the second Alpha – Grey – holding Louis up, covering his mouth, trapping his wrists against his chest. He saw Blair - his face contorted into an expression of triumph and lust - pushing Louis’ knees against his chest. He saw Blair’s cock – about to be forced inside Louis’ small, breakable body. 

And he didn’t stop running.

He was acutely aware of his feet pounding the stone floor, his thighs burning with exertion, his hands curling into deadly fists, his shoulders bracing for impact…

CRASH

“I took all three of them out. All I could think was: get them away from Louis and he can escape. I didn’t care what I had to do.”

Margot nods.

“And it worked,” Harry continues. “I had a friend with me – Liam. He dragged Louis out of the pool and locked him in a cupboard or something. I don’t know; everything is a blur – most of this is what I’ve been told. Blair was strangling me, holding my head under the water. I couldn’t breathe. But I managed to drag him under too… My vision had gone black. I remember grabbing his hair and hitting his head against the bottom of the pool until he let go of my throat. I think I passed out. Liam pulled me out of the pool too. When I woke up I was locked in the ‘rutting room’.”

By the minute shake of her head, Harry guesses that Margot does not agree with the way Alphas and Omegas are confined to rooms during their ruts and heats.

“That’s a very brave thing you did for Louis,” she says. Her gaze flickers to Harry’s throat, where his necktie fails to entirely conceal Blair’s purple finger marks. “And whilst you were locked up in the – er – ‘rutting room’ how long was it before you were you able to see Louis again?”

Dimples blossom in Harry's cheeks. "A few hours at most,” he says, grinning. “He broke into the room so he could be with me.”

Margot smiles. “Good boy,” she comments.

Harry's chest swells with pride.

“And between Louis entering the swimming pool and you entering the swimming pool, what happened?”

“When I arrived they were holding him like this-” Harry begins.

But Margot interrupts him: "-Before you arrived?"

"Um... They took his clothes off…?"

Margot frowns. "You don’t know?"

“I…” Harry hesitates. “When I came in they hadn’t – they were about to – but they ha-hadn’t…”

“So it appeared,” Margot points out. “However, for all we know, they had already forced Louis into doing something…” She speaks gently but in a way that makes Harry realise how stupid he’s been.

And bile rises in the back of his throat.

“For the time being we’re going to treat Louis’ case as sexual assault,” Margot continues.

“His case- wait, what. Sexual assault?”

"Until, that is, you can find out what happened,” she adds.

Harry bridles. “It’s not like I haven’t tried talking to him about it,” he says. “But he always gets upset.”

Margot raises her eyebrows.

“So I make him some tea.”

“He’s bound to be upset by the memory,” Margot points out. “But you need to help him deal with what happened so that he can move past it.”

“Look,” Harry says, “I’m perfectly capable of looking after him. He’s been doing fine.” Except for the nightmares. “I just need you to tell me that he’s going to… he’s going to be okay.” As the words leave his mouth he realises he never prepared for the possibility that Louis isn’t okay. 

Margot, however, looks as though she expected him to say this. “You’ve proved that you’re capable of looking after Louis in a way most Alphas will never have to – if they’re lucky,” she says, in a thinly-veiled attempt to massage his ego. (It works, regardless.) “But to ignore what happened is the worst thing you can do. Now is the time to prove that you’re worthy of being Louis’ mate. Whilst it’s encouraging that Louis appears to be coping well it’s entirely possible that issues are festering and they could develop into post-traumatic-stress-disorder later on. Especially,” she adds, glancing once more at the letter from Dr Higginson, “with someone who’s first heat was so… difficult.”

Harry seethes.

She places the letter in her notepad and closes it. “You’re not expected to know how to cope with this kind of situation, Harry. It doesn’t reflect on your capabilities as an Alpha. I have decades of experience in dealing with Omega trauma. I’m here to guide you through the process.”

There’s a prolonged silence.

Margot sighs. “Let me provide an insight into what Louis is likely to be feeling.”

As she begins to speak Harry, albeit begrudgingly, flips his own notebook open and places his pen at the top of the page. [Visual]

“Louis probably feels isolated – like he's holding onto a dirty secret that makes him different from everybody else and which no one else can understand. You need to watch out for signs that he's distancing himself from friends and family and, most importantly, you need to let him know that you’re there to listen.”

Harry scribbles ‘Isolation’ down at the top of the page.

“Does he ever appear disoriented or overwhelmed? Does he seem anxious or scared? Does he have a difficult time concentrating?”

Harry’s pen flies across the page.

“Maybe he's suddenly lacking self-confidence. Simple decisions might suddenly seem monumental. So, this part is vital: you need to let him make as many of his own decisions as possible. This is the most common mistake an Alpha can make. Louis needs to feel like he’s regaining the control he lost when he was attacked.”

Harry circles this section and labels it: Loss of Control.

Margot is still speaking. “After an assault victims’ thoughts are typically preoccupied by the incident. Look out for nightmares or flashbacks, trouble sleeping, appetite changes, general anxiety or depression. Louis might feel like his life will never be the same. He needs time to grieve and to adjust so be gentle with him but let him know that his life will return to normal.”

Harry hesitates and then decides to title this section: Disruption of Daily Life.

“Fear,” Margot continues, and Harry writes this down and underlines it.

“Maybe he’s afraid to be alone; maybe he’s afraid to be with lots of people. Most Omegas are afraid to leave their Alpha’s side. Many Alphas are afraid to leave their Omegas’. Louis is likely to feel vulnerable. He may live in constant fear that he will be assaulted again. In this case you must do everything you can to make him feel safe…

“He’ll feel guilty.”

Harry has already covered three-quarters of the page. He looks up at Margot but she merely gestures that he should continue. He writes ‘Guilt’ and waits.

“Maybe he feels like he provoked his attackers. Or, as the assault resulted in your injury, maybe he’ll feel like he should have ‘let it happen’ to ensure your safety. You must assure him that he is not to blame," she concludes.

Harry examines what he's written. “S’bit overwhelming, to be honest,” he mumbles.

Margot nods understandingly. “Picture, then, how difficult it must be for Louis.”

LATER THAT MORNING

Harry opens the door to his bedroom and is - as usual - awed by the presence of his mate. Louis is sitting up in bed, a knitted jumper draped over his slight shoulders. His hair is fluffy from sleep, his expression is slightly dazed. As the hinges creak he raises eyes that are the colour of bluebells, always alight with adoration or mischief.

"Harr-eh," he croaks. His cheeks pink at the rasp to his voice.

Harry smiles, closing the door quietly and crossing the room. "Hi, love," he says softly.

Louis’ scent fills the room: more subtle than it once was but no less tantalising.

“Where’d you go?” Louis asks.

“I was at the gym,” Harry lies, dropping the gym bag he never used to the floor and sinking onto the bed. “Didn’t you see my text?”

Louis shakes his head. “I turned my phone off.”

“Why’d you do that?”

“Zayn keeps texting me…” Louis mumbles, shrugging.

Harry’s brow furrows.

In a blatant attempt to distract him, Louis leans forward and twirls a lock of Harry’s chocolate-coloured hair. “Cupcake…?" he says, “will you walk me to the shops?"

Harry is completely enamoured by his mate. But a thought crosses his mind that probably wouldn’t have occurred to him two hours ago. He hesitates and says: "This is Holmes Chapel, love, you don't need me to walk you to the shops, do you?”

Louis’ fingers still. He looks doubtful.

Harry’s heart sinks. He rearranges Louis' jumper: it's ones of his and frequently slips off Louis' shoulders. It's perfectly enticing. But Harry lives in a small village and, despite Louis' many allures, he doesn't need to worry about meeting a dangerous Alpha here. Harry, however, is determined to ensure that Louis always feels safe.

“Yeah, of course I will,” he says and is immediately rewarded by Louis’ smile. “Come here," Harry says, holding out his arms.

Louis pushes the duvet off his legs, revealing that he is wearing only the jumper, and crawls across the bed into Harry’s lap. Harry suddenly finds that – though he still marvels at Louis’ slightness – he now worries about his fragility. He lets Louis inhale his scent for several moments, then asks:

 “You hungry?”

Louis pulls back. His pupils are blown wide. “‘M starving.”

“You are?" Harry says in surprise. "Mum’s downstairs. She would have made you breakfast if you asked.”

Louis drops his gaze. His eyelashes cast shadows over his cheeks. “Does she know about ‘what happened’…?”

The hand gripping Louis' waist tightens instinctively. “No, baby.”

“I feel like she can probably tell,” Louis whispers, toying with the sleeve of his jumper, “just by looking at me.”

“What…?”

“I need to piss,” Louis mutters, jumping off Harry's lap abruptly.

Harry watches him disappear into the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind him. Then he reaches down and pulls his notebook from his gym bag.

Shit.

WEEK TWO

“So, how’re things going with Louis?” Margot asks.

Harry scratches his knee, where his ripped jeans reveal bare skin, and gives her a weak smile.

Louis' scream pierces the silence.

Harry's eyes spring open. He vaults over the back of the sofa, sprints the few shorts steps from the living room into the hallway and bursts into the kitchen. The transformation from relaxed and idle, to agile and powerful is stunning.

He sees his younger cousin bent over Louis, a hand on his shoulder.

Harry takes him by the front of the shirt and shoves him against the counters. “What did you do?”

“What? Nothing – I-I swear! I asked him for a can of coke.”

Harry towers over him. “Yeah fucking right.” He releases him roughly, turns and tugs Louis away from him. “Louis, love,” he says gently, “what happened?”

“He-he-he sc-scared me,” Louis stammers.

Harry gives his cousin a filthy look. “What did he do?”

“N-nothing. He just scared me.” Louis pushes his face back into Harry’s chest. “He asked for a drink and it surprised me.”

Behind him the other Alpha breathes a sigh of relief. “See!” he exclaims.

“That happened two days ago. And that’s not all either.” Harry opens his notebook. "He's definitely showing signs that he's, like, distancing himself from his friends; um, that he's lost some confidence; that he's scared to leave my side... and he's also been quite distracted lately, like he's preoccupied, you know? And a couple of times I think I’ve noticed him shaking... "

“It’s usual for victims to be afraid of anyone that reminds them of their attackers. When you’re four-foot-eleven every Alpha is much the same – very big.”

“I know,” Harry says. “And I told my mum that my cousins’ visit would have to wait…”

Margot, however, is shaking her head. "He needs to feel comfortable around Alphas. It's up to you to take the steps to ensure he feels safe at all times.”

Harry’s mouth falls open in outrage but Margot is continuing: “though it's prudent to determine what his triggers are.”

“Blair used to call him a ‘kitten’,” Harry blurts out, eager to demonstrate his knowledge. “He hates that.”

“A lingering look; a particular smell – chlorine, for example; even something as simple as a specific shade of blue…” Margot says – as though Harry hadn’t spoken. “You’d be surprised – horrified, even – what memories they might conjure up.”

Harry nods. His meticulous note-taking over the last week suddenly seems a bit silly. Moreover, Margot’s unimpressed air is quickly becoming irritating.

“The important thing, Harry, is how you deal with the situations when they arise. So let's go back to this incident. Talk me though how you managed to calm him down. What sort of things did you say?"

Harry puffs his chest. He has a reputation for reassuring Omegas with just a few words. "You know, I told him that I’d die to keep him safe."

“How do you think that makes him feel?”

“Er…”

“Do you see how telling him you’ll die could be very upsetting?”

"To keep him safe though..." Harry argues.

Margot looks at him frankly. "With his Alpha dead, how safe is he likely to feel?"

"Right," Harry says, nodding. “Okay, yeah. I understand.”

"I suggest that you try and reinforce the idea that no one wants to hurt him."

Harry exhales. “Okay, right.” He feels like he forgot to revise for an exam.

“And how did the session go?”

Harry's heart sinks. Following the ‘can of coke incident’ he finally found the courage to speak to Louis.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Harry watch es the milk dissolve into Louis’ tea and suppresses a wave of nausea. He takes a deep breath, picks the mug up and moves into the living room.

“Hey, love,” he says. “Fancy a cuppa?”

Louis, who’s playing Fifa, pauses his game and watches Harry circle the sofa. “Thanks, Haz…” he says, reaching up to accept it from him. “I’ll put in with the other one, shall I?” He leans over and places it on the coffee table, where a mug of tea already sits, steaming.

“Oh,” Harry says bashfully.

Louis grins at him and picks up his controller again.

Harry’s heart starts to hammer. He sinks onto the sofa beside Louis. “Lou – can we talk about something?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you pause your game for a minute…? I mean: a few minutes. More like an hour.”

Louis does as he's told, placing the controller on the coffee table and picking up his first cup of tea. He’s wearing one of Harry’s denim shirts and, even though he’s rolled the sleeves up half a dozen times, the cuffs still swing around his delicate wrists.

Harry leans forward and takes his spare hand. "Louis, I want us to talk about 'what happened.'"

Louis watches him over his cup of tea. "What happened when?" he asks.

Harry runs his thumb over Louis’ fingers. “When Blair and Grey attacked you, love…”

Louis pulls his hand from Harry's grasp. “Why’re you bringing it up?” he says reproachfully.

I have no idea, Harry thinks. He swallows and says: "Because I want you to know that you can talk to me about it..."

Louis looks at him like he’s stupid. “I don't want to talk about it."

Harry carefully considers his next words. "I know… but I can't help you if I don't know what happened; if I don’t know what they did to you before I arrived."

Louis looks hurt. He starts to shake his head.

Harry reaches out to take his hand again but Louis recoils. He’s trembling so badly he has to put his tea down.

“Louis-”

“No,” Louis says, cutting him off. He clambers over the back of the sofa and drops to the floor.

“Lou?” Harry yelps, jumping up. “Lovie – wait. I’m sorry-”

But Louis is already storming away.

“…I can’t do that to him again,” Harry finishes.

Margot says nothing.  

"It's making him worse," Harry continues more firmly. "I won’t do it.”

"I understand how difficult it is for you-"

"Er, no, actually you don't," Harry says, his voice rising. He’s picturing the look on Louis' face when he said Blair's name. She doesn't know what it's like to have your mate stare at you like you betrayed him.

"It’s a process, Harry-."

"Okay – but he was his wonderful, happy self. Then I brought Blair up and he was sad for the rest of the day."

"You can’t ignore-"

"I'm not ignoring anything,” Harry interrupts hotly. “I think I’d know if my mate was-” He looks down at his note book and, simultaneously, realises that his hand is shaking too. “-in constant fear of being assaulted again.” His stomach lurches and he immediately regrets the pancakes he had for breakfast. (Even if Louis made them.) "You're supposed to be making him better, aren't you?" he continues. "Well, all that's happened is he's cried every - fucking - day!"

WEEK THREE

“Jay says he never leaves the house anymore,” Harry confesses. “Not unless I go with him.”

Margot watches him impassively.

"You were right," Harry continues. “Thanks for seeing me again.”

"It's a natural reaction,” Margot says.

Harry runs a hand through his hair and nods.

“It’s encouraging that you have a good relationship with Louis’ mother,” Margot continues: which marks the only positive feedback Harry’s received.

And which makes it twice as difficult to continue: “That’s the problem I wanted to talk about today…”

Margot’s smile stiffens. "Alright... Go ahead."

"He started asking me to leave marks higher on his neck."

“Please, Hazza… Please…” Big blue eyes bore into Harry’s. The pleas fall from behind a pair of small hands. “Bite me..." Louis begs.

At once, Harry bends over him and sinks his teeth into the nape of Louis’ neck, easily finding the familiar indents of their bond mark.

Louis removes his hands from over his mouth and rakes his nails down Harry’s back, who growls and pins Louis’ hips to the bed.

Louis cries out as Harry batters the sweet spot inside him.

But when Harry tries to pull back Louis tangles a hand in his hair and locks his ankles together at the small of Harry’s back, keeping him there. “M-More,” he pleads.

“Hush, angel,” Harry whispers.

Louis nods and covers his mouth again. Tears are swimming in his eyes.

“Good boy,” Harry praises and Louis shudders with pleasure.

He bares his neck invitingly and Harry bends his head once more, his curls falling across Louis’ neck as he starts nipping at Louis’ collarbones.

“No,” Louis gasps, putting a hand over Harry’s face and pushing it away from him. “Higher, Haz. Wa-want people t-to see.”

At this admission a second growl is ripped from Harry’s throat. His hips slam against Louis’ who attempts to smother his blissful cries from the ears of his mother and sisters, asleep in the rooms down the hall. Louis’ abdomen, glistening with sweat, jolts with each of Harry’s thrusts.

“Please,” Louis sobs – barely able to handle the intensity of Harry’s huge cock moving inside him. “Plea- Ahh-AHH!” He looks down, crying out in surprise as he comes all over himself. “H-H-Harry!” he cries, quivering uncontrollably. “OH! OH!”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Harry grunts as his own orgasm slams into him. He’s dimly aware of Louis begging: “mark me! Alpha – please,” before tossing his head back, displaying his throat in the ultimate sign of submission.

Crazed with the desire to possess, Harry dives down and marks Louis a thousand times along the column of his throat…

... He wakes up to the sight of sunlight falling on an empty bed and sound of laughter echoing up the stairs.

The turtleneck jumper that Harry picked out for Louis lies in a crumpled heap on the floor. The sight of it fills Harry with dread.

He rolls off the bed, pulls on a pair of sweatpants and jogs downstairs.

At the end of the hallway he can see Louis sitting on the kitchen table, feet dangling, pink-cheeked with laughter.

"Why couldn't you do my hair nicely like you do Harry's!" one of his sisters is wailing.

Louis is wearing a pure white sweater and showing off his new love bites: a scattering of scarlet across his neck and collarbones.

Harry edges towards the kitchen. “Lou,” he calls.

At the sound of Harry’s voice, Louis jumps off the table and runs at him, throwing his arms around Harry’s middle and pushing his face into Harry’s chest.

" Love,” Harry whispers urgently, “where’s your mum?”

Louis pulls back. “She’s in the utility room,” he says, resting his chin on the butterfly adorning Harry’s chest. “I think she wants to speak to you.”

Harry swallows. “Okay.” The moment his foot crosses the threshold to the utility room, however, a short, brown-haired woman is demanding: “does my son look like a chew toy to you?”

Harry shuts the door hastily. “Absolutely not!”

“It’s obscene,” Joanna spits. There are furious red patches on her cheeks. She’s gripping a potato peeler so tightly her knuckles are white.

“I know- I’m sorry, honestly-”

“-I have young children in this house,” she rages.

“Jay – I understand, like, where you’re coming from…” Harry throws a glance at the door and lowers his voice. “But it’s what makes him feel safe.”

“How convenient-”

“-On the contrary,” Margot interrupts. “It’s pretty clear that Louis doesn’t feel safe.”

Harry’s mouth moves wordlessly for a moment. Then he drops his gaze, cheeks burning with shame.

“You’re still not sure if he was assaulted,” Margot says quietly, “but do you see, now, that it’s very likely?”

Harry nods. His throat is so tight he doesn’t trust himself to speak.

“Have you broached the subject again?” Margot continues.

Harry glances up at her. Her pen is moving steadily across the page in front of her. “The last time I brought it up he knocked over the cup of tea I bought him,” Harry replies. He pulls nervously at his bottom lip, watching her pen move from left to right, left to right, left to right… “I don’t – I don’t know what to do…”

“How could you?” she says, looking up at him. “You don’t even know whether he was raped or not.”

To his surprise, Harry feels tears prickle in the corner of his eyes. “I’m doing everything I can to make him feel safe,” he insists and, utterly humiliated, he feels his voice break.

“Well, frankly, Harry,” Margot says. “It’s ridiculous to think that mauling his neck could solve anything.”

WEEK FOUR

Harry lied in bed and watches the hours move from four a.m. to eight a.m.

He’s been planning the manoeuvre that will relocate Louis’ cheek from his chest, to the pillow for the last hour. But at the first sign of movement, Louis lifts his head. There are purple shadows under his eyes.

“Were you awake?” Harry asks, surprised.

Louis shrugs and lays his head back down.

“Sorry, lovie, I have to get up,” Harry whispers, stroking his hair.

With the utmost reluctance, Louis allows Harry to slide out of bed.

He goes into the bathroom to shower and put on his gym clothes. When he returns Louis asks immediately: “where are you going?”

“Gym,” Harry replies, sitting beside him and starting to scrape his hair into a bun.

Louis reaches up to help him, carefully collecting each curl in his fist.

“I won’t be more than an hour-and-a-half,” Harry murmurs, bowing his head as Louis ties his hair up with the spare hairband he keeps on his wrist. “Promise.”

Louis sits back on his heels. “That’s okay,” he mumbles.

Harry picks his gym bag up. “We could get pizza for lunch or something?”

At once, Louis brightens up. “Yeah!”

Harry grins, swooping down to kiss their bond-mark, making Louis giggle-gasp. “I’ll pick you up at ten-thirty then?” Harry suggests. “And we can go to the cinema and get Pizza Express after?”

“Huh?” Louis says, cocking his head. “‘Aven’t you heard of supermarkets? Just pick me up a pepperoni from Tesco.” He hops off the bed and crosses over to Harry’s laundry basket, emerging from it a moment later with an armful of Harry’s jumpers. “Pizza for breakfast,” he cheers. “’Appy days!”  He returns to the bed, clutching his bundle to his chest, and lies back down.

Harry drapes the duvet over him, trying to hide his disappointment. “Sounds good,” he says. He hesitates, then crouches down beside the bed. “While I’m gone will you try and get some sleep?” he pleads.

Louis buries his nose in one of Harry’s jumpers and nods obediently.

“Good boy,” Harry whispers, leaning forward and kissing him. He picks up his gym bag and crosses to the door. But when he glances back Louis is staring, unblinkingly, at the opposite wall.

HALF AN HOUR LATER

Harry smothers a yawn against the back of his hand. “He’s ignored his best friend for weeks. He hasn't left the house in days. One minute he’ll be taking the piss out of me or one of his sisters – then his expression’ll go, like, glazed; as if he’s suddenly remembering something. When he’s like this I can’t get him to eat; I don’t need to worry about nightmares because he won’t sleep-”

“Okay," Margot interrupts and Harry looks up from his notes, wide-eyed and scared. Margot tilts her head speculatively. "And how to you?"

“Me?” Harry repeats in surprise.

Margot nods.

“I guess I - um - I didn't get much sleep either." He twirls one of his rings. "I had a nightmare," he admits.

“What was it about?”

“I don’t really wanna think about it.”

“Like Omega like Alpha.”

“Um…” Harry pinches the bridge of nose and flinches as he conjures up the images that terrorized him last night.

“ NO!” Harry is fighting to free himself from invisible hands. “I’ll kill you!” he bellows. “I’ll kill you for touching him! NO! LOUIS!”

One tiny hand claws at the stone slabs that surround the swimming pool. At the pitiful attempt to escape, a huge Alpha lays a hand against a head of caramel-coloured hair and presses a tear-stained cheek into the ground. Louis cries out in pain as the Alpha fucks him mercilessly into the floor.

“Louis!” Harry shouts. “Louis. No!”

SNAP!

Louis releases a piercing scream as his hips break-

“-Careful!”

Harry breaks off. Looking down he sees blood running over his fingers. He’s shattered the cup of water in his hand. “Shit,” he mutters dumbly.

“Don’t move,” Margot says. “Alright, just be careful.” She collects what’s left of the glass and shows him to the bathroom.

Embarrassed, Harry returns to her office after ten minutes.

“The thing is Harry…" Margot says, watching him fall into the sofa, "the fact that this is affecting you, as an Alpha, so severely gives me grave concerns about Louis’ headspace at the moment." [Visual]

Harry nods mutely.  

“I’m afraid my confidence in your ability to help Louis recover is fading.”

"Wait - what are you saying?" Harry interrupts.

“If there isn’t a significant breakthrough this week I’m going to have to recommend Louis’ case to a specialist.”

LATER THAT DAY, LOUIS

Harry has been particularly clingy since he returned from the gym this morning but Louis, like all Omegas, thrives off his Alpha’s affection. Whilst he hates being small he gets aroused simply by comparing the size of his everything to Harry’s hand, like the splay of Harry's fingers on his thigh. The smell of spiced honey (their combined scent) wafting from his sun-kissed skin is dizzying. And, though Harry’s stories are long-winded and often completely pointless, Louis adores the way he tells them. He could listen to Harry’s dulcet tones forever.

So it infuriates him when Harry’s friends mock his story-telling, or cut him off. Only Louis is allowed to do that.

“Was that seriously it?” Liam says as Harry finishes rambling about the French bakery he discovered last weekend.

“Because we all love hearing how Zayn’s eyes remind you of that whiskey your Dad drank in Spain,” Louis snaps.

Niall cackles. “You can’t take the piss outta Harry now he’s got this one around, Liam,” he says.

Liam reaches out to pinch Louis' cheek. "That's because he's one smitten kitten!"

Louis doesn’t see Harry’s eyes dart towards him. But he’s aware that the weight beside him shifts, the hand on his thigh disappears and – with it – Louis’ anchor is gone too. The sound of his panicked breathing fills his ears.

“Hey, kitten…”

Louis starts violently. He reaches out. "Harry?"

"I'm right here, Louis." But Harry's voice sounds very far away. “Are you alright?” An arm circles his waist, forcing a sudden whimper from him.

“Hey… kitten…”

Louis cries out, squirming from Blair's grasp. That time Louis didn’t simply hear Blair’s voice; he felt his hot breath on the back of his neck.

“It’s just you and me…”

Panic like he's never known bubbles up inside Louis. “Don’t you fucking – don’t touch me!” he snarls.

“Louis?” Harry’s voice drifts through the blue swimming in front of him.

They’re gonna tear him open, they said they would. There’s nothing Louis can do to stop them. “Please,” he begs, “please don’t…don’t let them hu-hurt me.”

Someone takes him by the shoulders. Terror cuts through him. They’re so big.

Louis covers his face with both hands. “NO!” he screams. “NO! NO! NO!”

He can hear shouting, scuffling. The hands are wrenched away from him but he continues to beg: “PLEASE! I’M HARRY’S. I’M HARRY’S!”

Louis doesn’t know what else to say. Because that was the moment he was confronted with the pointlessness of his struggles. He was about to be raped.

There’s silence, punctuated only by the sound of his gasping.

Then a pair of small hands pries his fingers away from his face. The smell of almonds tickles his nose and Niall’s blonde head swims into focus.

"Come on, pet," Niall whispers. He looks frightened but determined. "You're alright."

Louis absorbs the scene in front of him in confusing bursts. The cream-coloured couch that belongs to Harry’s living room. The sunlight beating down on the pale blue carpet. The breeze drifting in through the patio doors. 

"You’re alright… Harry is here, see?" Niall tells him.

Louis bolts upright.

Standing a few feet away, his Alpha looks distraught. His eyes are red; his hand is shaking violently as he rakes it through his hair. Liam, standing beside him, is gripping his shoulder and speaking reassuringly.

“See, mate – he’s okay, yeah? He’s okay…” Liam murmurs. It looks like he's been physically restraining him.

Completely overwhelmed, Louis bursts into tears. He’s instantly swept into Harry’s embrace. He pushes his face into Harry’s neck and clings to Harry with a strength he didn’t realise he possessed. The rapid beating of their hearts echo in each other’s chest…

HARRY

Harry’s babbling in Louis’ ear. “You’re alright. I’m here, lovie, I’m here…” He clutches Louis close. “You scared me,” he whispers.

Louis sobs even harder. "I'm sorry.” His tears are pooling in the dips of Harry’s collarbones.

“Don’t be sorry. It’s okay, love. It’s okay.” Harry wills his heart to stop beating so hard. He raises his head and beckons Liam over. “Can you make him some tea?" he says quietly.

At once, Louis stiffens in his arms.

As Liam murmurs: “‘course I will, mate,” Louis pushes at Harry’s chest, hard enough to make it clear he wants to be put down. Now.  

He lets Louis drop to the floor and, to Harry’s bewilderment, the Omega’s eyes are blazing with anger. “I don’t wanna talk about it, Harry,” he seethes.

“Lovie, let me help you-”

“I just told you,” Louis snarls, backing away from him. “I d-don’t want to talk about it!”

Harry yearns to comfort him. “I’m worried about you-”

“-And you think a cup of teas gonna make it better?” Louis shouts. “They hurt me, they molested me! And you keep bringing it up! I said I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!”

The room spins. They molested me. They molested me. They molested me. The words echo in Harry's ears.

"They-they..." he hears himself stutter.

Louis' eyes are very round. He looks like he wishes he could swallow the words back up.

Harry feels violently ill.

Louis takes another step back. His eyes dart towards the staircase.

Terrified that he’s going to try and run away, Harry closes the distance between them and takes him by the shoulders. When he speaks his voice trembles with suppressed emotion. "You're right, love, you’re right. Tea won't make it better. We need to talk about it."

Louis shakes his head vigorously. "No."

Harry holds him still. “Louis. Listen to me.”

Louis continues to shake his head. “No-”

“Louis-”

“Harry,” Liam interrupts, “for God’s sake – what’s the matter with you?”

But Niall mutters: “Liam – I think we should go.”

“Louis,” Harry says, ignoring them both. “Listen to me.”

Louis glares at him.

“Talk to me,” Harry implores. He’s vaguely aware of Liam and Niall moving into the kitchen. “Talk to Alpha."

Louis squeezes his eyes shut. His eyelashes are wet with tears. “I-I tried to stop them,” he chokes out. He shakes his head and makes another half-hearted attempt to pull away; then covers his face. “But I c-c-couldn’t,” he sobs. “They were t-too stro-o-ong and there wasn’t – there wasn’t anything I c-c-could d-do.”

Harry’s heart breaks. He tugs Louis close and holds him against his chest for a long time. He hates that his mate has had to cope with so much.

Eventually Louis pulls back, takes a deep breath and says: “B-B-Blair put-” he wipes his tears away furiously- “B-Blair put his fingers inside me.”

Harry lets his eyes flutter close in a moment of horror.

“They said they’d t-t-tear me open if they had to and they-” Louis swallows “-they b-b-both kissed me…”

“You’re so brave for telling me,” Harry whispers.

Louis shakes his head pitifully. “I don’t feel brave.” He looks down at his trembling hands and glares at them.

“You feel powerless?” Harry guesses.

Louis looks up abruptly, eyes wide with surprise. “Yeah.”

“‘Course you do,” Harry murmurs. “Come here…” He takes Louis’ hand and guides him over to the sofa, sitting down with him. “You’re not powerless. They tried to hurt you but you’re stronger than that, aren’t you?”

At once Louis sits up straighter. “Yeah, of course.”

Harry smiles. “Good boy… And they’re rotting in a jail cell right now, because of you. So – from the way I see it – you’re not powerless at all.”

Louis considers this. He wipes his eyes. “Yeah,” he says, “I never thought about it like that.”

A burst of pride fills Harry’s chest. For the first time in weeks he feels capable of being Louis’ Alpha again. “And – most importantly,” he continues, “I’ll always be there to protect you…”

At this Louis, however, starts shaking his head again.

Harry’s expression falls. “What is it, love?” He can see tears sparkling on Louis’ eyelashes.

“You almost d-d-died,” Louis croaks. “And it was my fault-”

“-No, no, no – Louis, it wasn’t your fault. None of what happened was your fault-”

“-B-but if it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t have got hurt,” Louis protests tearfully.

“If it wasn’t for Blair,” Harry corrects.

To Harry’s despair, Louis flinches at the mention of his attacker. But you’ve taken the first step to help him, Harry tells himself, and, though it’s a long road, they’re finally moving forward. “You need to believe me, lovie, please.” He takes Louis’ cheeks between in palms. The temptation to declare: I’d die for you is all-consuming but he knows Louis won’t appreciate that. He swallows. “H-How can you doubt that?”

“It’s something the nurse said,” Louis mutters. “She said that if I learned to control myself none of it would have happened. That I was pitting Alphas against each other.”

“When did she say this?” Harry says, shocked.

Louis smiles. “You were there,” he says softly. Harry is still cupping his cheeks and so he turns his face and rubs his tear-streaked cheeks into Harry’s palm. “But it was when you were in rut,” he continues, “I don’t think you really heard her.”

“First of all, Blair and Grey are the ones who need to learn some – fucking – control,” Harry says. He puts a finger under Louis’ chin and lifts it up. “Second of all – you can’t help being the prettiest boy in the whole world.”

Louis rolls his eyes, pushing Harry’s hand away.

“And Alphas are gonna fight for the honour of knowing your name for the rest of your life,” Harry continues passionately.

That startles a laugh out of Louis. “Don’t be stupid,” he says.  

“But it won’t mean they want to hurt you,” Harry says firmly. “True Alphas - like Liam and me - wanna be the reason an Omega feels safe, wanna be the reason they’re happy. Any Omega that thinks otherwise has been lied to… Okay?”

Louis hesitates but, eventually, he nods.

“…So is that why you won’t you go outside?” Harry ventures.

Louis nods. “First it was because I thought another Alpha might wanna hurt me,” he mumbles, dragging his sleeve under his eyes. “But then I realised if that was true I was putting you in danger…”

Harry’s cheeks are burning. Unable to stop himself, he reaches out and drags Louis into his lap. “It’s me that’s supposed to protect you, you know?”

Louis frowns. “You’re my Alpha,” he insists. “I need to keep you safe too.”

Harry presses a kiss to their bond mark. “It seems like we’re going to try and out love each other for the rest of our lives,” he murmurs. He smooths Louis’ fringe to the side. “Do you feel a bit better?”

Louis toys with the hem of his jumper. “A bit, yeah.”

“In a couple of days can we talk about ‘what happened’ again?”

Louis huffs. “I dunno why-” he starts to say.

“Because it’s not healthy to bottle everything up, Louis,” Harry whispers, brushing his thumb over the purple shadows beneath Louis’ eyes.

Louis gulps. “Well, what do you wanna talk about?” he asks apprehensively.

“We’re gonna talk about how it’s not your fault again. I wanna make sure you believe it. But there’s other stuff too. Stuff like… why you won’t text Zayn back.”

Louis tugs at his fringe but – after a prolonged pause – he nods. “Fine.”

“Good boy,” Harry praises, relief colouring his tone.

Unable to help himself, Louis beams. He throws his arms around Harry’s neck. “I love you, Alpha,” he mumbles.

Harry holds him tight. “I love you too.”

Louis pulls back, still sniffling but now with happy tears in his eyes. “Now where’s Liam with that cup of tea?”