"Your scent, shit, it's so heady." Louis panted in his neck, the alpha's teeth nipping at his bondmark spot, pulling at the skin with his teeth. Louis' knot tugged at his already spent rim when he went to shift on the alpha's lap, his mouth falling open at the ache in his lower back. "Louis, you stupid fucker, it hurts." He didn't hold back the whine of pain that fell from his lips, his face squished against Louis' sweaty shoulder.
He could tell it took Louis a minute to process his words, but the alpha's much-belated response to his words did nothing but augment the budding ache that he was already starting to feel with each tiny movement of even his hips. "Fucking hell," Louis' voice was raspier like it always was after they had sex, and under any other circumstances, Harry would have probably offered the man a blowjob but of course, Louis' knot still hadn't gone down. "What hurts? Are you okay? Is it the bab—"
"No." He all but growled at the alpha in the muted lights of the candles he had lit for the sake of textbook romance, his hands gripping one of Louis' forearms as he tried to get in a better position; a position where the head of Louis' knot wasn't fucking stroking his prostate. It only resulted in pain he hadn't bargained for, a tear rolling down his cheek at the twinge of irritation that originated at the base of his spine.
"Sit still, you're only hurting yourself." The cold touch of Louis' hands on his hips mollified him a little, whether it be the tight grip Louis had on his hips or the spine-shivering cold touch of his hands, the ache in his back blurred as the alpha started rubbing tiny circles on his hip bones with the pad of his thumb. Harry could feel each callous of his palm, his heart stuttering in his chest as Louis latched himself onto his scent gland again.
"Were so good for me, weren't you, angel?" He frowned. Louis only called him an angel either when he was in heat or when he started acting clingy after sex. Was he not an angel the rest of the time? "No need to cry, hm? We'll put an ice pack over it once my knot goes down, yeah? How does that sound?"
He felt each moment of Louis' fingers as they slid their way into his hair, releasing his hair from the bun Harry had tied loosely earlier in the night. The hair-tie fell on his thigh, the ends of his hair were tickling the behind of his ear excruciatingly, and for some inexplicable reason, his senses were higher than they ever had been. He could perceive each trace of Louis' hands on his body, could feel the heat emanating from his body that only seemed to proliferate with the varsity jacket Louis had made him shrug on. His thighs burned in the aftermath of the actual exercise he had done tonight (somehow) after years of inactivity, and god, he had this irrefutable urge to eat cheesecake.
The one that had a hefty amount of blueberry compote on top of it. "Lou?" He heard the way Louis hummed in response, still carding his fingers through his sweaty curls. "Cheesecake?"
Louis sighed, "right now?"
He nodded, almost instantly, disregarding the annoyance sewn in Louis' voice. "The one with loads of blueberry compote." Louis' barely mumbled 'of course' didn't go unheard by him, but he was too tired to retaliate. He could already feel his eyes drooping, exhaustion weighing him down until he gave in and let himself nuzzle his face right against the alpha's scent gland. Just as he had expected, the scent of pine trees and lilies was thick there, too potent. It made him want to drench himself in the scent until he smelt completely like Louis. Perhaps, no other omega would then have the gall to openly flirt with Louis in front of him after that (as Vanessa had done, it had made him want to pluck each of her eyelashes tantalizingly and agonizingly). They would know then that he was Louis' omega. That he was carrying Louis' pup. No one else; especially not them.
When Louis transferred him on the soft sheets of the barely-used bed, Harry realized belatedly that the alpha's knot had finally flagged. He winced at the wetness between his thighs, clamping his eyes shut as a new splurge of Louis' cum mixed in with his own slick dribbled down from his perineum and onto his inner thighs. He couldn't help the whine that escaped his mouth when his befuddled brain grasped the possibility of ruining his alpha's jacket with the amalgamation of their bodily fluids. The jacket was as basic as they came, dark obsidian in color with white sleeves, it had Tomlinson scrawled in bold font on the back of it, the number 17 embroidered proudly above Louis' last name.
He had almost thrown a (rightful) fit over the fact that the jacket had smelt nothing like Louis. He had then made Louis sit on the couch and made him wear the jacket for about an hour (he had also personally doused the jacket with Louis' usual cologne afterwards, but that wasn't of much importance).
"It's not ruining your jacket." Over the thick mist obscuring his senses, he was somehow able to perceive the sloppy kiss Louis planted on the corner of his mouth before a loud thud, undoubtedly the sound of the door slamming shut, rang in his already sensitive ears. He let the words of reassurance float along with the fog in his mind, shifting on the bed to lay on his side, instead. His inner omega instantly picked up on the unfamiliar surroundings as soon as Louis left the room, tears blurring his already distorted vision, hands fisting the foreign sheets tightly.
It wasn't his nest, and that thought alone made him kick off the quilt Louis had covered him with, the hem of the jacket brushing against his bruised mid-thighs; Louis had a weird obsession with his thighs, and he was fond of being marked, it was a win-win situation, really. While he was halfway through plotting a successful escape from the room that seemed so alien to him in this state of mind, the sound of the door hitting the wall had him sitting up on the messy bed. He pushed himself to the top of the bed, breathing heavily as he tried to prepare himself to protect himself and his pup from the danger on the horizon.
The flight-or-fight instinct left his system as promptly as it had entered when he spotted Louis by the doorway, the alpha looking all sorts of bemused. "Why are you being so vigilant today?" Louis asked, pushing himself off from where he was leaning against the doorframe, stepping into the guest room. The first thing Harry noticed was how Louis' hands were devoid of the cheesecake he had requested very nicely, and secondarily, he noticed the nude form of the alpha. As always, Louis was unconcerned with his nudity as he climbed up on the bed, getting under the quilt wordlessly. "Cheesecake?" He couldn't help but ask, twisting his body around to meet Louis' eye, his head tilted to the side. "I thought we had one piece left from yesterday, but I guess you ate it?"
"Mhm, had it when I made you scent the jacket." He nodded earnestly, lying down before he cuddled into Louis' side. "If you knew it was finished then why did you tell me to get you a piece?" His face twisted in a scowl at Louis' rhetoric question. "Because I wanted one?" Louis' chest rumbled with laughter under his cheek. "Maybe, tomorrow?" The alpha proposed softly, undertones of hope detectable in his otherwise nonchalant tone.
"The baby might not want it tomorrow." He pressed, drawing tiny hearts across Louis' chest to distract himself. He did feel like a blood-sucking hellion, but he was extremely tired, and during the last two weeks, he had learned the fact that being tired eventually led to hunger. "It's 2 in the morning." Louis muttered before the alpha exhaled his defeat, "fine, but don't get picky with the store-bought cheesecake." He could only nod his head amidst all the excitement, the thought of finally having a cheesecake after so long was an award-winning melody to his pregnancy-induced ears.
"I never complain!" He called out just as Louis left the guest room, still naked. He hoped Cliff was still sleeping, Harry didn't wish for the poor thing to get scarred for life.
♚
As it unraveled, Harry did complain. A lot, in fact. "I can't believe I had to defrost a fucking piece of cheesecake that doesn't even have—" Harry paused to shovel a spoonful of cheesecake in his mouth.
"What did you expect? Me to knock on every baker's door and beg them to make me a fresh cheesecake? You told me you wouldn't complain about a store-bought cheesecake." Louis noticed the exact moment the icy exterior cracked a little, Harry still aggressively chewing the ("bland") dessert. "I wanted blueberry cheesecake." Of course, Harry would resort to whining as soon as rationale and legitimacy were thrown out of the window. "I told you we can buy a blueberry one tomorrow, didn't I?" He bent down to level his gaze with the omega, who was hunched over the kitchen island, head resting on the marble top.
"The baby might not—"
"Then we'll get what the baby wants tomorrow, okay?" Harry nodded solemnly, his posture drooping with clear defeat. That was easy. "What if the baby wants blueberry cheesecake right now, Lou?" He ran a hand down his face, exasperation drenching his next words as he took a perch on the stool directly from across the omega, "apparently, they don't produce frozen blueberry cheesecakes, so we'll have to live through this, yeah?" Harry nodded again, slicing through the piece of cake as if he hadn't just been griping about not wanting it. Rolling his eyes, he ambled up to the microwave to take out another thawed piece of cheesecake. "I'm sorry."
Perplexed, he was quick to spin on his heels to face the omega, his squinted gaze falling on a crestfallen Harry who had dropped his spoon on the table (outstandingly surprising), his lips pulled in an involuntary pout. "I'm so ungrateful." The first tear fell, and the next followed, and the next until Harry's face was splotched with tear stains that kept getting washed over by a new batch of tears with each tick of the clock. Louis barely had the chance to scratch his head before the sniffles turned into soft sobs. "Why— you're not ungrateful, hey, I need you to stop getting yourself worked up over absolutely nothing." He was by Harry's side in a matter of seconds, his hand already finding its way in the omega's hair.
It didn't take Harry a second to push his face against Louis' stomach, the omega's arms wreathing around his waist. "Am I overreacting?" Harry's voice was muffled, brittle as it teetered on the edge of cracking. "Yes— no, I mean no. You're pregnant, so I guess that justifies it?" He should have probably never opened his mouth. "Excuse me?" Harry reverted to sitting up straight on the stool without leaning against him for support, red-rimmed eyes peering up at him. Louis assumed the omega was aggrieved by his comment if his scrunched-up nose and squinted eyes were anything to go by. "Cheesecake?" He offered meekly, already making his way to the kitchen counter where he had placed the piece of cheesecake he had defrosted for himself. Food was his last resort, obviously it was. Nowadays, it seemed as if Harry loved food more than anything.
Johnny had called him up the other day, asking if everything was alright. Of course, Louis had been defensive and had snapped at the concerned beta who had then droned on about how he had caught Harry mindlessly munching on food during his shifts.
"Nothing, sir. It's just, Mr. Tomlinson has been eating thoughtlessly during his shifts, and I've had many workers come up to me with complaints about how they are never allowed to eat unless it's lunchtime."
"Then you fucking make sure he has everything he likes to eat in your fucking café."
Louis had personally made sure to visit the café the next day by accidentally being early to pick Harry up from work. Nothing had changed. Johnny must have had picked up on his riled behavior for the beta had called him later in the night to elucidate his plans properly. Louis had been pleased to hear about the arrangements. Johnny was willing to give 3/4th of his office to build a refreshment area for the employees. After a little encouragement from him, Johnny had agreed to stock it up with Harry's preferred foods and drinks in just two days ("as soon as they deliver the mini-fridge, sir").
"Yes please, Lou." Harry sniveled, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "Need anything on top of it, angel? We've got strawberry preserve." He saw the exact moment the gears in Harry's head started churning, the green of his eyes brightening as his eyes widened in delight. Oh god. Louis didn't have the heart to hear the next words he was sure were to tumble out of Harry's mouth. He was seconds away from spiraling down the pit of self-regret; he shouldn't have offered anything. Harry was fine eating the classic cheesecake a few minutes later, and surely he would have been fine with eating it again now.
"Do we have mustard?"
It was a combination that was painful to even hear. It was the most abominable thing he had heard coming out from Harry's mouth (it definitely topped the 'the wind makes nice waves' comment).
"No." A blatant lie that he wasn't ashamed of.
"Oh." Harry frowned, shoulders hunching forward in dejectedness. "We'll have to go shopping for it tomorrow then." He gave out a thoughtless nod of his head in response, popping a piece of cheesecake in the microwave for himself since Harry had already started devouring the sliver of dessert he had cut for himself. "I think there's still a little left from earlier?" His face blanched as Harry stood up from his seat. Between a breath or two, Harry was opening the refrigerator door, crouching down to sift through the shelves to search for his new-found obsession. "We have plenty of it!"
Harry was retrieving the half-empty jar of mustard just a few minutes later, an eye-blinding grin toying on his lips. Louis was left to contemplate the life decisions that had led him to this point: seeing an omega happily polish off the mustard-clotted cheesecake.
Turned out what had happened that night was just a tiny preview of what his life was about to become. As Harry finished his third month, the mustard sauce had become the least of his worries. With the end of his first trimester, Harry was keen on telling their families together about the pregnancy. Which was what landed him here, in the most awkward dinner he had to sit through, with his mum gushing over Harry's skincare routine— because, of course, she was just as oblivious as him, and the oversized jumpers did a good job at concealing the omega's minute bump. "You are absolutely glowing, darlin'!" Louis winced when she reached forward to pinch one of Harry's cheeks. Harry just basked in the attention like he always did, rosy cheeks and bright eyes, a wide smile that complemented the 'glow' his mother kept prattling about.
It was there, though. The whole 'pregnancy glow' wasn't just a myth. He could see it when Harry kissed him before falling asleep, could see it in the morning, could see it when he would go to pick Harry up from work. Louis had always been fascinated by glows. His fascination had gone so far that his mother, at some point in his childhood, had resorted to teasing him by calling him a fucking moth (of all things). He was just glad he had grown out of his 'glow-in-the-dark stickers' phase; that obsession of his had destroyed not only the ceiling of his room but also the walls. As of now, he could already feel his fascination with the unexplainable glow on Harry's face amplifying with each passing day.
Maybe, it was a personal prejudice, but Louis liked to think Harry wore his pregnancy better than any other people he had ever come across. "Thank y—" Meredith cut Harry off, waving her perfectly manicured hand dismissively. "Don't you think he's just so beautiful, Anne? I can't believe he even agreed to marry my Louis." She turned towards Harry's mother, who had been watching the interaction with a small smile tugging at her red-pigmented lips.
Louis snorted under his breath, taking a sip of his water. Agreed. "It's an arranged marriage, don't think it entails agreeing in it." If his mother was sitting next to him, she would have definitely whacked his head. Good thing Harry was there to protect him from the wrath of his mother. "Well, you're happy now, aren't you?" He pressed his lips together in discontent, busying himself in finishing his steak. "Answer your mother, Louis." Rolling his eyes, he placed his silverware on his plate, resting back in his chair to look Mark properly in the eye. He jerked his chin softly towards the general direction of Harry as he spoke, "why don't you ask him if he is happy being married to a dickhead of an alpha, who you raised proudly?"
Louis was no omega activist, far from it. But Harry had suggested how highlighting Everett's qualitative traits could help Mark see the blue-eyed omega in a different light. He figured he could start by emphasizing an omega's attributes in general before focusing on the bigger picture. Selflessness, for instance. Undoubtedly, omegas were the paragon of selflessness.
"Louis? Why don't you help me bring dessert for everyone, hm?" It wasn't an order, and his thoughts were proved correct when he forced himself to avert his gaze from Mark and towards his mother, who was staring at him with a challenging glint evident in her eyes. "Tell him to fucking stop meddling in my business." He hissed as soon as they entered the kitchen, his mum's chuckle only doing the task of agitating him even more. "I respect your dislike towards him, but you don't have to show your resentment towards him while your in-laws are present. Have you seen how awkward Mr. Styles gets?" He could only roll his eyes, keeping the refrigerator door open for his mother as she took out an air-tight container of what suspiciously looked like brownies.
"Not as if he invites me over unless he has to show me off." She didn't respond, not as if he had expected her to. She always kept quiet on matters like this, and it was what always pissed him off. "Don't you get tired of living with a preposterous fucker?" Her hands tightened around the sides of the container, knuckles waning into a bleak white. "Don't," she murmured curtly, brushing past him to plod her way to the crockery cabinet. "What? He made you give up the pup you carried in your womb for nine months, don't you get tired of pretending that you don't miss Everett?" Stiffening discernibly for a moment, she continued to carry on with the task, wholly ignoring him and his words. "He doesn't even let you contact your own son, let alone meet him, and you still tolerate his loser arse?"
"Stop with that, Louis. Go to the dining room, I don't need you annoying me here."
"Would you want me to do the same?" She turned around at that, her features twisted in bemusement, "what?"
"Would you want me to give away my pup to some rogue if they turn out to be an omega?" She looked affronted by his words, indignant if not furious. "What are you on?"
"Harry's pregnant, and I want him and my pup to be safe from Mark."
Moments later, when Harry and he announced the pregnancy at the dining table together, both Anne and his mum acted surprised. Nonetheless, it was funny to see Harry get bombarded with hugs and praises (a lot of advice, too). Mark was over the moon, his aged features holding a certain amount of happiness Louis hadn't seen in ages. When Louis had glanced towards Carl, he had caught Anne nudging him gently only for the alpha to mutter a soft 'I've known about this since ages, do I really have to act surprised?'
Over the chaotic mess that the dining room had become, Louis had caught his mother's gaze. She had only nodded at him, and surprisingly, a smile was what he had responded with.
Running away was the only feasible option.
♚
Harry's body started filling over the course of his fourth month. Plump was the only word he could use to describe Harry's bum these days. For fuck's sake, even his loose trousers were tight around the swell of his arse. "Those look awful." Harry shot him a dirty look through the mirror of the dingy changing room they were confined in, examining his body in the hideous printed pants. Harry hadn't even finished his fourth month; surely, they didn't need maternity clothes this early, right? Louis knew most of his pants still fit, only the skin-tight trousers had gone out of the window.
But Harry had insisted they get loose-fitted and soft clothes since the buttons of his trousers were irritating against his skin, and thus, could hurt the baby— total bullshit, but Louis rolled with it. The last time they had met Athena, the woman had informed them how Harry could start interacting with the baby at the 14th week. So, since last week, Louis had to get accustomed to hearing Harry talk in hushed whispers to the baby in the early mornings, instead of enjoying the feeling of Harry's eyes on him. Louis still hadn't given in to the temptation to talk to the baby (no matter how hard Harry had tried to persuade him). Talking to a mound of protruding flesh sounded and looked just weird (it wasn't weird when Harry did it, but considering that Harry was the one carrying the baby, he supposed it made sense).
"I wasn't going to buy it anyway." The omega stuck his tongue out at him, turning around to pick another pair of pants from the pile of clothes Louis was forced to carry around. "I still think you should buy that dress we saw—"
"Shut up." Harry's face was pinched, cheeks flushed in what Louis presumed was anger. Once again, like he always did, Louis settled for a roll of his eyes, leaning his body weight against the door of the changing room. "Your thighs would look great in a dress, y'know?" He muttered, gaze fixating on the omega's bare thighs. The alabaster skin was blemished with teeth marks and bruises, and god, had he mentioned how they had gotten in a proper shape with all the yoga Harry had started doing from last month?
"Shut up, or I'm kicking you out," Harry mumbled offhandedly, bending down to slide the simple, pastel-colored pants up his legs. As discreetly as he could, Louis adjusted his tightening pants, using the pile of clothes to his aid. "You think you'd need more panties? Y'know, the whole soft things for the baby? Briefs and boxers are ought to get irritating." This time, for a change, he was the one who was rewarded with a roll of eyes from Harry. "Are you sure you aren't nearing your rut? You are being too horny for me to handle."
"Been taking my suppressants." He said matter-of-factly. "And besides, my rut was scheduled in April, it's already the middle of May." Louis was the one who had come up with the idea of suppressants (for him, of course, since Harry was already pregnant, he wouldn't be getting his heat for the time being). He had been scared of getting aggressive with a pregnant Harry, and hence, suppressants were the only alternative available. "I know that, was only kidding."
They returned home to an overexcited Cliff welcoming them with slobbery licks. Louis was quick to show Zayn his way out (they had unofficially proclaimed him to watch for Cliff whenever they had to run some errands), the blue-haired alpha leaving with a complaint of not being appreciated enough. Much to his chagrin, Harry hadn't bought the dress, only a few yoga pants, and maternity pants. He was sure the omega had some vendetta against him. Louis was a man of very little desires, and now he was being denied those little (almost non-existent) desires. Unfair, honestly.
"Louis! Give me the clothes you wore today."
"I'm wearing them right now." He called out from the bathroom, placing his toothbrush in the holder because, god forbid, he ever discarded it on top of the sink. "I know. Remove them quickly, I need them." Harry was inside the bathroom in the blink of an eye, hands resting on his hips. "At least, let me piss myself in peace." He would have whined if he could. While the absurd cravings had ebbed a little into the second trimester, Louis could spot some groundbreaking behavioral changes here and there. And after several experiences, Louis had reached to the conclusion that meeting Harry's tiny demands was the way to go unless he wished to be left to his own devices sexually. A measly hand could never compare to Harry's alluring mouth or his hole, really.
"B-But I'm making a nest for you, and don't you want to just fall asleep as soon as you enter the bedroom?" A nest for him, he snorted. "Ha—"
"Lou, please? Your jumper needs to be in the nest or it won't be a nest."
Sighing in defeat, he shed his jumper, passing it to the ebullient omega in front of him. Harry left the bathroom after pressing his lips against his in a short-lived kiss.
Unfair, really.
♚
Bro, finishing this was a pain in ass. Had to get this out before I start uni from tomorrow again and get busy 😍
Anyways, how've ya been? Drank enough water? Had your meals? Slept enough? Hoed around? Wanked?
THOUGHTS?
SUGGESTIONS?