me, him, and the moon ☾ l.s.

fourteen - the arrangement

"Wow," Harry breathed. The tangle of nerves inside of him had only grown after watching Louis, threads of anxiety weaving themselves together to form a heavy pit in the bottom of his stomach. "That was . . . just wow."

"I've had an entire year of practice," Louis brushed him off.

"I know, but still!" the younger boy exclaimed. "That seemed . . . easy. Natural."

"Omegas have the hardest time controlling their transitions," Louis explained. "Alphas can usually control their features without any pain. You have the same amount of control as I do, but it will hurt you to grow claws and teeth a lot more than it hurts me."

Harry pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's not fair."

Louis smiled fondly, lifting his hand to reach out and pinch Harry's cheek affectionately. "I know, love. I'm sorry. If I could take all of your pain away, you know I would do it in a heartbeat," he said kindly. After a pause, he encouraged Harry, "Ready to try?"

With a bit of reluctance, he replied, "I guess."

"Just focus. You probably won't get it today, so don't beat yourself up. It'll take practice."

Harry exhaled shakily. He closed his eyes, forcing his mind to focus on growing, just like Louis said. He winced at the sharp pain that suddenly shot through his hand. He could feel the shake and stretch of his bones, but nothing happened. His shoulders slumped in disappointment, and he pouted, opening his eyes to find Louis smiling proudly at him. "I suck."

"That's alright. You tried, baby."

"I still suck."

"That was wonderful for your first try. I could see how hard you were focusing," Louis comforted him. "We'll keep practicing. I'll have the other boys talk you through it, too. Everyone has a unique mental process for transitioning, and maybe one of theirs will be better at helping you figure it out."

"Maybe," Harry echoed, although his tone held more despondency than hope.

With a firm grip on the omega's hip, Louis pulled Harry flush against his chest, holding him close. Harry leaned in, waiting for a kiss; instead, Louis said thoughtfully, "Even once you learn to transition, it'll be hard to find you intimidating. You're much too pretty to be a wolf."

"Charming," Harry teased against Louis's lips.

Louis snorted. "Trouble, I think you said." He cupped Harry's law, starting to lean in.

"Oh, shit, I'm so going to be late for work!" Harry realized suddenly. He grabbed a jacket off of his dresser and shoved Louis to get him moving, too. The alpha just laughed, taking hold of Harry's head and pressing a firm kiss to the younger boy's soft curls. Unfortunately, Harry wasn't quite in the mood anymore, and he pushed Louis away from him, hurrying toward the door as he called over his shoulder, "Get out of my house or you'll really be in trouble!"

/

"What is this meeting about anyway?" Niall wondered aloud. He and Harry had just left the infirmary after their shift, which had ended early so that all of the healers could attend the mandatory pack meeting. The whole town had shut down for the afternoon, and the entire pack was currently making their way to the main square.

"I'm not sure. Alpha Tomlinson called it so last minute, though, so it must be something important." Harry yelped when someone grabbed him from behind, lifting him off of his feet and spinning him around. "Louis, stop!" he shrieked, gripping the older boy's forearms tightly.

Louis just laughed, pressing his lips against the back of Harry's head before he set his boyfriend back on his feet. "Hi, love."

"You won't be laughing when I have a heart attack," Harry grumbled, although he let the alpha sling an arm loosely around his shoulders.