"Harry Edward --" Louis coughed, barely catching himself before he garnered Harry's wrath for forgetting his name change yet again. "Tomlinson," he corrected, barely maintaining the scolding edge in his tone. "I told you not to stand on that chair, so if you fall, I'm not going to catch you."
"Liar," Harry laughed. The poorly-made chair wobbled again, and Louis cursed, lunging for the cheap piece of furniture to steady it. He made a mental note to toss it out the window as soon as Harry stepped off of it.
"Harry, please get down."
Harry strained to reach the last corner of the tapestry. "I've almost got it -- there!" He finally pinned the fabric to the wall, cheering dramatically. The chair creaked again, and Louis nearly fainted.
"I'm honestly begging you. I'm about to have a heart attack."
"Not even twenty two years old and your heart's already failing? Impressive," Harry teased. Still, he complied, reaching for Louis's arm as he climbed down from the death-trap piece of furniture.
Louis rolled his eyes, helping Harry safely to the floor with a steady hand. "It's a gift that comes with being your alpha."
Harry laughed, wrapping his arms around his mate's neck. "I love you," he said with a smile, as if those three words could make up for all of the stress he had caused Louis over their short years together.
"Sure you do," Louis teased. He laid a sweet kiss to the uplifted corner of Harry's mouth, pulling back just as quickly.
The omega pouted. "Kiss me," he complained.
"I just did."
"No, kiss me. Really kiss me," he explained earnestly, as if Louis didn't already know.
"Greedy," Louis chided, but he was already leaning in again to claim Harry's mouth.
Harry sighed contentedly against his lips, pressing into his chest like he wanted Louis to absorb him completely. Louis's tongue slipped into his mouth, a hand on the small of his waist pulling him in closer, and butterflies swarmed from Harry's stomach all the way up to his heart.
By now, they definitely knew the way.
"Can we go upstairs?" he whispered against Louis's mouth. The alpha didn't pull back to answer, only kissing him more urgently. His hands slipped from Harry's hips to his bum, squeezing hard.
"Yuck!" Niall's voice rang through the room right then.
Louis groaned, breaking their heated kiss and resting his forehead against Harry's, his eyes still closed. Harry grabbed Louis's hands and raised them back to his waist, pressing a consolation kiss against his mate's cheek.
The beta continued, shameless. "I'm so sick of walking in on you two smashing faces. Can we reinstate designated sex days, please?"
"It's not their fault you walk into every unlocked room unannounced," Zayn pointed out.
"They should lock the doors, then!"
"Like I'm going to stop and lock the door every time I want to kiss my own mate," Louis replied, looping an arm around the back of Harry's neck. "As if."
"It's common courtesy," Niall shot back.
"It's also common courtesy to knock on a closed door."
Harry tried and failed to hide his amused smile by pressing his face into Louis's arm, only barely suppressing the giggle that bubbled up in the back of his throat. The pack house wasn't the cave, but it was the next best thing. They were all under one roof (for now, at least) and Harry's heart had never been so full.
He thought back to living with his father -- the fear of coming home and not knowing what was waiting for him. Now, he came home from the infirmary every night with his best friend beside him, knowing that his alpha -- and his right and left hand men -- would be right there, too.
The pack hadn't exactly accepted him, but Harry didn't live in fear anymore. Even Louis's father didn't scare him. As Head Alpha, the first thing that Louis had done was to reestablish the trade routes that connected their lands to witch territory. It wasn't an immediate fix, of course, but it was the first step.
"Food's on the table," Harry told Niall. "I thought you were going to help, but you didn't show." He pouted a bit, leaning further into Louis's arm as he muttered under his breath, "At least not until the exact moment I was finally about to get fucked."
Louis snorted. He reached over to give Harry's thigh a reprimanding pinch, his eyes glittering with amusement.
Niall was oblivious, for once. "No more oatmeal!" he cheered, sliding into the seat across from Harry.
Harry's frown deepened. "I think I did pretty well with what we had in the woods!" he protested. "I never once served you plain oatmeal, did I? I always made it interesting!"
"Even interesting oatmeal is still oatmeal."
"Oi," Louis cut in, shooting the beta a sharp glare. He wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders, resting his arm over the back of his omega's chair. "Leave him alone. His oatmeal always tastes wonderful."
"Ew," Zayn said, scrunching his nose. Niall burst out laughing.
"Oh, for fuck's sake. I didn't mean -- you're all disgusting. Perverts, the lot of you." Louis rolled his eyes, rubbing a hand over the back of Harry's neck when he saw the omega's flaming cheeks out of the corner of his eye.
"We need to establish some boundaries. I know way too much about all of your sex lives," Liam agreed.
Harry just laughed. "I think living in a cave for a year pretty much ruined any chance we have at maintaining boundaries. Sorry, Li."
"Yeah, too late," Zayn grinned.
Louis cut in. "So you don't want to know about how yesterday, Harry and I --"
"Louis!" four voices interrupted at the same time, one amused, one annoyed, one a little bit too excited, and one reprimanding.
"Fine, fine!" the alpha laughed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll just wait for Niall to walk in on us again so he can tell you himself."
"It's better to get information directly from the source, anyway. The eye witness," Zayn replied.
Harry scrunched his nose. "Aren't Louis and I the direct sources? Since we're the ones . . . um."
"Okay, gross. Seriously. We're done talking about this," Liam said, and even though Niall and Harry both had to muffle their laughter behind mouthfuls of oatmeal, they all listened.
As soon as they finished eating, Liam pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket, and they started a game. Harry only lasted a few rounds before he decided that his brain was too tired for card logic and convinced Niall to take his place. The beta had sworn off of card games for a while, claiming that Louis and Harry had an unfair advantage, but he seemed to accept Louis's argument that the advantage didn't apply if Harry wasn't even playing.
"I just think that the pack as a whole would be happier if you made playing cards a law," Niall was explaining. "Like, certain nights could be mandatory card nights. Anyone doing anything other than playing cards gets tossed in jail."
Louis nodded absentmindedly, studying his hand. "I'll take it under consideration."
"No, you won't."
"No, I definitely won't."
As their friends launched into yet another debate about the best ways that Louis could change the pack as Head Alpha, Louis turned his attention to Harry, who had scooted his chair close enough that he could curl up under Louis's arm. Rubbing the tip of his nose against his mate's temple, he asked softly, "Tired, omega?"
Harry shrugged, pushing his fist into his itchy eye. "Are you gonna win?"
"I'll do my best," Louis replied, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. Of course, when he was too tired to even hold a coherent conversation, Harry would be preoccupied with who won their card game. Of course Harry would. "Close your eyes, baby. I'll wake you up when I win."
"Okay, alpha," Harry mumbled, tucking his face into Louis's neck. His eyes drooped closed, and he finally succumbed to the heavy pull of sleep.
They played a few more games. For once, Niall stopped joking long enough to give Louis some serious suggestions about changing the structure of the council. Even if Zayn and Liam were his more qualified advisors in terms of military and government, Niall talked to everyone, which did have its own benefits.
These were the best moments: when they could talk, play cards, and exist together without the added seriousness of official business. The pressure on Louis's shoulders eased into something that he didn't mind carrying -- something that felt manageable.
When Harry drifted into a deep enough sleep that he kept nearly toppling out of the chair, Louis lifted the omega into his lap fully. Harry didn't even stir when Louis gathered his limp body into his arms, arranging his head on his shoulder so that he was comfortable. He cuddled into Louis's chest, his body settling into Louis's like they were made to never be apart.
With Harry breathing steadily into the crook of his neck and Liam and Niall arguing quietly over something stupid and Zayn cursing every time Louis laid down another good card, Louis realized that it wasn't about the power that came from being Head Alpha. It was about security, the safety that he could provide for the people who had spent so long looking out for him.
Becoming Head Alpha was never his destiny, at least not in the way that he had always believed. This was his real destiny: peace. Home.
Harry.
When Louis won the game, Niall slammed the table hard enough to derail his train of thought -- and to startle Harry awake. Louis glared at the beta, but his face softened into a fond smile when he glanced down at his sleepy omega.
He couldn't help teasing him. "Good nap, love?"
Harry yawned, stretching like a cat as he nodded. "What time is it?"
"About time to go to bed. Especially now that Niall's getting ready to fight."
"Did you win?"
"Of course. I've got my good luck charm right here. How could I possibly lose?"
Harry blushed, rolling his eyes. With Niall still making exaggerated gagging noises, Louis urged him up off of his lap, calling out some annoyed complaint about how he wouldn't deal with their anti-PDA policies anymore. Harry barely had a chance to throw a "goodnight!" over his shoulder as Louis half-guided him, half-carried him upstairs, both hands settled possessively on his waist.
Harry smiled. Louis was impulsive and impatient and short-tempered. He was competitive and stubborn and argumentative, and he had rearranged their entire trade systems just to ensure that Harry felt comfortable -- accepted. He was ridiculously elaborate in everything that he did, and almost everything he did was for Harry.
Because Louis was also selfless. He was loving and protective in a way that never failed to stir up butterflies in Harry's stomach, even when he was only twelve years old. Louis was the energy that flowed through Harry's veins and the sparkle that shone in his green eyes, and it seemed that everyone around them knew it.
They got ready for bed in a comfortable silence. The other boys were still chattering downstairs, surely arguing about something stupid. By the time Harry finished washing his face, Louis was already in bed, one arm held out and an open space waiting for him.
And as nervous as he was to speak it aloud, Harry couldn't think of a better time than now.
"Louis," he said before he could even think twice. "Can you come here for a minute?"
Louis climbed out of bed without question, padding back into the bathroom. His fingers curled around Harry's hip instinctively, his blue eyes searching. The dim bathroom light made him look older, shadows framing his lips and nose.
"What's wrong?" he asked seriously. "Do you need help?"
"No, no. I just . . . I want you to listen."
"What?"
"Shh. Listen."
Louis paused. Both of them stilled completely. He strained, growing more and more impatient with every passing second, but then he heard it.
A third heartbeat, faint and drumming just slightly off-beat from their two synchronized ones.
His eyes widened, disbelief and hope clashing on his face. "No. Wait. Y-You're . . ? No, you're not. You can't be."
"I am. I'm pregnant again."
"Are you -- no. Are you sure?"
Harry nodded. "I'm sure."
"Okay!" Louis clasped his hands together, pacing back and forth excitedly. "We can fix up the study into a nursery -- I've always wanted to change the wall color, you know, and this is our chance! Something neutral, though, because we are not promoting bullshit gender stereotypes and . . ." He whirled around, his eyes wide as he stared at his mate. "No magic!"
"My love, it's not a ban. As long as it's not too strenuous, it won't --"
"No, omega. Not even the tiniest bit of magic," he said firmly. His voice was serious, bordering on his alpha tone without Louis himself even realizing it. His fear flooded their bond, and Harry sighed, resting one hand over his flat stomach.
It wasn't so long ago that they had lost everything. The dust was still settling. Every morning was still another day to get through, but the days were getting easier. Harry was scared, too; he couldn't imagine losing another child. When he first realized that he was pregnant again, it was his first thought: that this was yet another opportunity for him to be heartbroken. It was another chance for pain, for hurt, for loss.
But it was also another chance for good. For love. For family. He refused to allow his fear of the past to make him fear the future. As long as he had Louis, he had to trust that everything would be okay. He just had to remind Louis of the same.
"Hey," he said, brushing his lips over the alpha's bare shoulder. "It's going to be okay." Louis's arms wrapped around him tightly, pulling him in as he asked, "What did you tell me when we first met?"
The alpha sighed. "Harry --"
"No, really. What did you tell me?"
"I told you I'd always protect you," Louis recited, squeezing his mate's waist.
"Exactly. And you will," Harry promised. He leaned further into Louis's chest, kissing the tip of the alpha's nose. "Me and our pup."
Louis's uncertainty overwhelmed their bond, almost suffocating. "How can you be so sure?" he asked. Especially after everything that they had gone through this year, he couldn't imagine how Harry still trusted him so fully.
"How were you so sure when we first met?"
"I don't know. I just knew." His grip on Harry's waist tightened instinctively, keeping the omega close. "Even if it wasn't always possible, I knew that I would always try. I had to keep you safe."
"Exactly," Harry spoke softly. He pecked Louis's lips once, then a second time just because. "So trust me. I know."
They both knew from far too much experience that a witch's bad feeling never bodes well. As it turned out, a witch's good feeling holds just as much weight. Looking into Louis's now-familiar eyes, blue melting into green the same way it had all those years before, Harry just knew.
And they -- and their ever-growing family -- lived happily ever after.
[THE END]