Praise the Mutilated World

Chapter 3

That's why he had been sent this -- so he could fully know his new match, so they could be compatible physically when the time came. But he didn't like the idea of looking over Louis's naked body when the omega wasn't here in front of him and aware of what was happening.

Harry switched back to neck up view, and saw a new icon in the corner with the silhouette of a talking head. He tapped it, and the image shifted. Louis smiles brightly, and his lips moved in time with audio that started playing through the speakers

"Hello, Mr. Styles," Louis said with a smile on his face, "I can't wait to meet you."

Harry kept hitting play, over and over. Maybe he was hoping for Louis to say something else, but he kept saying the standard message. That was fine. Harry was already enthralled by his voice, how soft and musical it was, high and feminine, his words a little rounded out. He must be from Neighborhood Two, he thought, just because he didn't recognize that as a Neighborhood One accent.

After about thirty plays, a flashing reminder popped up, telling him that Louis would be arriving in less than an hour. Harry switched back to the profile, and luckily, Louis's face followed him as he scrolled.

He read the information slowly. Louis was 24 years old, 170 centimeters tall, and weighed 68 kilograms. This was his first assignment. He had no allergies or health issues but was slightly underweight — which the file assured could be fixed with appetite stimulants.

He was in the upper intelligence percentile for his age and gender. He was non-aggressive but shy. He was best suited to small groups but Harry could socialize him for larger groups as needed. ALL marked him as a good companion and his suggested sources of entertainment were marked as reading and solving puzzles. If Harry was interested in bringing Louis to parties, he had high musical aptitude and a lovely singing voice that might be pleasing to guests.

The end of the file offered another reminder: Your match will be delivered at 15:00. Prepare accordingly.

*

Time hadn't felt real in the hours since he received the notification.

Harry, naturally, was a clean person, but as he pulled his hair back into a headband and wiped sweat from his forehead, the reality of it set in. He'd spent the last several hours cleaning, scrubbing everything to near perfection, washing all of his bedsheets and duvet, but he finally finished.

He took a deep breath as he looked around his own home and realized that it was soon going to be his and Louis'. He was about to start a family, about to start the life he'd been longing for for so long.

All he could do was smile at the thought.

The doorbell rang as Harry stepped off of the treadmill and the noise set every nerve ending in his body on high alert.

His heart skipped a beat and his head snapped in the direction of the noise, eyes wide. A part of him almost couldn't believe this was real, couldn't believe that everything he'd ever wanted was finally happening, that the thing he'd dreamed of since he was a child was right in front of him.

After all the years of seeing other people's matches, other people's babies, other people's lives, it was finally time for him to start his own. It was overwhelming in a way he didn't fully know how to comprehend, and all he could do was rush to toss on his jeans as he made his way to the door.

He pressed the button that allowed the group bringing Louis to him to have access to the building and ran to his room. Tossing his running shoes off and somewhere across the room followed by his socks, he grabbed another pair from the top drawer and slipped the cloth over his feet. The small circular robot he'd bought a few years back zoomed over to the discarded items on the ground, the whirring noise of the wheels filling the room, and picked the clothes up to take them to their place.