Praise the Mutilated World

Chapter 3

He buttoned his pants as quick as he could, sprayed deodorant on, and pulled out his favorite mint green shirt from his closet. His heart pounded as his eyes darted over to the clock on the wall, and just as he'd started to button his shirt, the second bell rang to tell him the group was at his door.

Another wave of disbelief coursed through him, but he made his way across the apartment in long, fast strides.He took a deep breath and tried to pretend his anxiety wasn't racing, that his palms weren't sweaty and that his heart wasn't pounding.

Then, he opened the door.

Two men dressed in the standard all white bureau uniform stood on either side of Louis, but Harry didn't pay them any attention. All Harry could bring himself to do was look at Louis - and it took him a few seconds too long to be able to say anything, to be able to think anything, to be able to comprehend everything that was happening. His heart was still pounding and the words he wanted to say all felt jumbled, tangled and unable to be said in the exact way he wanted to say them.

The omega was right in front of him and he was absolutely stunning.

He'd known what he looked like from the images, from the clip that had been sent to him, but seeing him in person made the photos seem like they could never compare.

The facility had dressed him in a soft set of pale blue hospital pajamas, with a matching pair of slippers. There were few stray strands of hair covering part of Louis' face, and he was slow as he reached up to move them out of his eyes, tucking them back behind his ears. His eyes were wide and he wasn't smiling, but he didn't look unhappy, either, just a bit confused.

"Hi, hello, please come in," He choked out a beat too late, but the two men brought the omega inside and all Harry could bring himself to do was smile. Louis' eyes darted around the apartment, but he didn't say anything.

He looked exhausted, perhaps a little dazed, and Harry couldn't blame him. If he'd had anything similar to the wild emotional ride of a day he'd had himself, then the omega had every excuse to be tired.

"Here's all of the materials that come alongside a new match," One of the men said, handing him a white, cardboard box. He remembered reading what would be in it, so he didn't think to pay it much attention - but rather he just set it on the counter. "Do you still accept the match?"

"Yes, yes, of course," He said, not even having to think about it. Not accepting a match wasn't something he could've ever imagined - giving up the prospect of a family. A match was a match for a reason, and he knew that he and Louis were going to be perfect for each other, compatible in every way that the system deemed necessary for the two of them.

It was beyond exciting.

"Then we will leave you be. Congratulations on the match."

"Yes, thank you so much," He said, grinning. It was the words he'd always wanted to hear. The news he'd always wanted to get. Slowly, the anxiety inside of his chest simmered down and faded into excitement instead.

It wasn't the kind of excitement he thought it would be - but rather it was dull, just barely there, but still so, so obvious. It was the kind of excitement that he thought would be spread out over such a long period of time that it couldn't be overwhelming just yet. He was excited for their bonding period, excited to get to know Louis - both as a person and as his partner - and he was most excited for moving on with his life.

For too long it felt like he was stuck in a limbo, trapped in a part of his life he wanted nothing more than to get over. Of course, through all of that he'd known that this was the only way to move on, but then, having it, he was thrilled.