Trophy (L.S)

Eighteen

This is probably my favorite chapter, not going to lie. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

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Louis wrinkled his nose at the stench that had wafted its way up into his nostrils, his eyes watering slightly as he coughed into the sleeve of Harry's jumper that he was wearing.

"Oh God, this is- this is what we smell like? I'm so sorry," he apologized with a chuckle of disbelief, turning around to face the alpha that stood in the doorway with the cleaning supplies in his hands.

Harry snorted. "Yeah, in our human forms, the smell of urine isn't very pleasant. It's alright though, I blame myself for not cleaning everything up properly."

The guest room was still in a state where stuffing littered the floor from the torn mattress and pillows, blankets still strewn about with Louis' scent all over them, and where the furniture was still knocked over.

Louis raised an eyebrow at his alpha, placing his hands on his hips. "You didn't clean this at all," he accused. "And we're just doing it now because your parents are coming over."

The alpha scoffed mockingly. "How dare you, I happened to have sprayed this room with Febreze. It's not my fault you distract me so much."

"Yeah, yeah, lie all you want, alpha."

Harry rolled his eyes fondly before dropping all the supplies on the floor below his sock covered feet. His beta had already picked up a couple blankets, a look of absolute disgust on his face, and Harry watched as Louis shoved them into the trash bag he had brought with him.

The alpha eventually crinkled his nose too, and he's honestly surprised he has lasted that long. Harry found himself gasping for breath dramatically, hoping to get a few giggles out of Louis, but the beta just glared at him.

"Are you going to help me Styles, or just stand there?"

Harry pouted at that. "I'm helping," he stated as he bent down to collect the little bit of stuffing around him. Within the few days that Louis had lived with Harry, the alpha had grown used to the smaller man's attitude, and knew when to keep his mouth shut if he didn't want the wild beta to get worked up.

The room was almost completely silent for a few minutes, the only sounds being the slight crinkles of the trash bags as they were moved about. However, the silence never lasted too long with Louis around, and Harry had actually grown to love that about the beta. His life used to be so quiet and lonely; he doesn't think he'll ever miss the quietness that was his house before.

"This sucks, why didn't you tell me to stop or something?"

The alpha hummed in acknowledgement, his gloved hands scrubbing on a stain in the middle of the plush carpet. He doesn't think the fake rug would be salvageable though, and he huffs dejectedly as he stops scrubbing and instead picks the thing up to throw away.

"Because you were scary, I didn't want to get bit."

Louis preened at that, his chest puffing out confidently. "I'm scary."

Harry couldn't help it as he let out a loud laugh. "Yes, you are. My big, scary beta."

"Who's a big, scary beta?" Liam made his presence known, the other alpha appearing in the doorway with his pajamas still on. His hair was a mess, meaning that he must've just woken up from his slumber on the living room couch. He had spent the night, much to Louis' dismay, but slowly, the beta was getting used to the idea of friendship.

Louis raised his hand excitedly though, happy with the distraction from cleaning. "Me!"

Liam smiled and nodded, seeming to agree. "Yes, I can see it."

Harry caught his best friend's eye and rolled his eyes fondly. The alpha then turned to his beta and gestured to get back to work.

Louis growled though before stamping a foot down childishly. "Liam's not helping, why should I?"

The alphas just blinked. Louis has the ability to switch moods in an instant, and they were still trying to figure the wild beta out.

"Babe, Liam didn't make the mess. Remember the things I've told you?"

They watched as Louis blanked, the poor beta seeming to be thinking a little too hard. However, the smaller man's face eventually lit up, and Harry knew he had found the answer.

"We should clean up after ourselves because it's the polite thing to do?" Louis seemed unsure of his response, his fingers fiddling in front of himself as he rocked on the balls of his feet.

Harry nodded, offering his beta a reassuring smile. Louis still had a lot to learn, but he's glad that the beta seemed to be learning quickly. "Yes, and it makes you more responsible. That's a really good answer though, darling, good job."

Louis beamed under the praise and immediately got back to tidying the room. Compared to when they first started, the room itself already looked a hundred times better. All the blankets had been picked up off the floor, and those that were soiled had been thrown into one of the many garbage bags; the pillows too.

Even Liam had eventually taken pity on the duo and made himself useful, the alpha quickly putting all the furniture back in their rightful places.

And maybe, just maybe, Louis could get used to this too.