Harry held Louis all night, never letting up even after Louis fell asleep in his arms. They did nothing intimate after a long, warm shower except cuddle up under the covers - sans clothing - and tried to sleep. Louis shed no more tears but Harry was always prepared to comfort him through any sad fits.
While his princess slept soundly on his back, Harry got down between his legs and planted his face on Bean's baby bump. He was turning cold and curt to the world but his own baby will always have partnered ownership of the softest part of his heart.
"Bean?" He rubs the sides of Louis' tummy reverently, slowly. "Baby Bean?"
The bump doesn't answer since in fact it is too early for Bean to kick against his palm and get him excited. He sighs and presses varying kisses to as much of the skin exposed to him as he can.
"I'm sorry for not protecting you and Lou." Harry speaks softly, not wanting to wake Louis up when the boy needed as much sleep as he could get. "I've never felt more disgusted with myself. It's my duty to keep you safe and I failed you both. You're out here now and I vow to never let any harm come to you. I love you, Bean." He kisses Louis' slightly taut belly button. "I love your mommy too."
*LOUIS' POV*
I was wrong.
Not wrong about me ever being able to adjust to a routine in life after we got back from Briarville, or convincing the police about the mental institution that kidnapped us and held us there against our will. I was dreadfully wrong about Harry hiding away the ulterior ego that came out at Briarville.
"Haz?" I call with my back to the closet door while I dig around for a decent graphic shirt.
The shower has been on for the past fifteen minutes, suddenly being cut off after Harry was done. There's a harmless silence floating through our bedroom when I finally happen across the perfect shirt. I pull it off the hanger, forgetting about my question to Harry, and pull it over my head. It's a little more snug at the front but I find nothing to be ashamed of since it's baby Bean that's making me gain weight.
My heart skips a beat before stopping altogether for ten seconds when someone grabs my waist. It's not an intruder because the arms are soft despite the bulging muscles that's straining under slightly flabby skin.
"Yes?" Harry whispers in my ear so politely and gentle.
"Geez, you scared me." I gasp, clutching my chest over my heart.
Harry's apology is a tight squeeze for Bean and a wet kiss on my neck. "What did you need, baby?"
I turn around in his arms once my heart is back to its usual pace, and peer up into the dark pits staring down at me. The closet may be dimly lit but it's easily noticeable that his blinks aren't frequent and the extraordinary green that stands out against anything is just a slit around a pupil of black.
"Something wrong?" I ask. Why is he like this?
He inclines his head to the left, then covers the distance to his right.
"I wanted to know what time we're supposed to be at the station." I say quietly. "You didn't mention it earlier."
"Eleven. We have two hours."
His eyes never really went back to his proper shade of green eyes, and the mossy emerald colour always appeared as if he was just wearing a mask for the public. He hardly spoke to anyone who wasn't me, or Bean whenever he felt the need.
Harry was struggling to find himself again and I didn't know how to help him.
"Harry?" I sip from my Bonaqua water bottle and lean forward against his chest.
The officers of Chicago PD graciously kept us around all day while they took our statements, gathered a solid case and dispatched teams to Briarville. Harry hid his discomfort well, and would rarely - but still would - smile to ease my own nerves.
"Darling?" He kissed my forehead. I know he had his closed when he did so, because it seems like he always would.
"Did you call Niall for me?"
My question is answered in the form of a frantic blond arrival, who takes off with an officer who doesn't let him through the precinct immediately. The detective in charge of our case gives Niall access to his office where Harry and I waited.
Niall drew in a long, deep breath when he saw me. He briefly glanced at Harry but darted back to me immediately and flung himself forward when I stood up.
"Hey, Niall." I smile into his shoulder, embracing him just as tightly as he did to me.
"Idiot." He contradicted himself by squeezing me.
His tears dampened my shirt and I wiped my wet cheeks with the back of my hand. "I missed you too, Ni."
"Shut up." Niall laughed through a sob and hugged me again. "Just shut up. I'm never letting you out of my sight."
Another presence got closer, a far less jovial and fun presence. As I've always been able to sense Harry when he was around without using the gift of sight, I feel Harry pressing himself along my back as a guarding entity. His large paws settled on my waist and drew me back a little so there was distance between Niall and I.
"Psycho." Niall dove in for a hug from Harry.
It was stiffly accepted but not returned. Harry frowned deeply as if meeting Niall for the first time and debating with himself internally. He stepped away from my best friend and put me between them again. Niall said nothing further on Harry's behaviour.
"Where's um....Where's Zayn?" Niall wiped his nose with a torn tissue from his sweater pocket, and asked.
"I...I'm sorry, Ni. We don't know." I look at my shoes. The guilt for leaving Zayn there will never unhook its claws from my soul.
Niall nods and takes it in his stride. I smile gratefully when he doesn't press that subject either.
We wait in Detective Timo's office until the dispatched cars return with new people in the back seats. Our statements were printed and now that new evidence was in, we could leave after identifying whoever they needed us to. Whatever they needed us to.
"I don't want to do this." I tell Harry softly, almost entirely well hidden under his trench coat. "I never want to see them again."
"I'll do it." Harry volunteers, lips against my temple. He hasn't stopped touching me since we left the Briarville gates. "I don't mind seeing those fuckers again so long as it means putting them on death row."
My short nails scratch minutely over the soft, stiff fabric of his coat. His palms rub my back over the spot where my muscles strained a lot recently. The pressure works so well to relieve the tension in my difficult muscles.
"Feel good?" Harry moves his fingers in circular motions, diminishing the unease and making me burrow into his chest.
I nod lazily. He presses a kiss to my temple and goes back to wordlessly brooding over whatever he deems worthy in his mind. I look up when the front door outside the office opens, and in walks two handcuffed persons.
It feels like seeing them walk into our lives for the first time. The air is suddenly contaminated with their presence alone, and everyone they pass pauses in their work to look at them.
I look at Reggie who isn't resisting the police, then at Eleanor who looks like she has a good few words for the arresting officer. She doesn't look my way but Reggie does and instead of a steady scowl, I get an indiscreet wink from him.
Harry sees that response too and a very threatening noise leaves his concerned lips. His arms tighten constrictingly against me and he holds me against him.
"Mine." He brands the word into my neck. "Mine."
When my gaze moves from Reggie's retreating back, I hide my face in Harry's chest and feel comforted by his arms steeling around me. "Yes, Daddy."
His lips touch my forehead, and then my own lips when I look up. The insecurities and uncertainties are beginning to resurface now that two faces connected to horrid memories have shown up again.
"We're alright now, princess." He murmurs to me. "We're alright."
Niall offers to accompany me to the vending machine and kitchen for a quick snack, while Harry does the identification and statement-making.
"No." Harry says firmly, shaking his head and making sure to drag me to his side. "No. Louis is staying with me."
"It's just to the vending machine, Harry." Niall defends his noble intentions.
"It's fine, Ni." I give my close friend a small smile and squeeze the wrist of Harry's that's curled around my hip. "I don't want to leave him either."
Niall is a saint for not pressing the subject. He shrugs and goes to the vending machine alone, vouching to come back with the snacks he planned.
"Mr. Styles. Louis." Detective Timo knocks on his open office door, and summons us over to join him in the interrogation room. "Could you join me please?"
The interrogation sessions are short and they're completely understanding of my wish to not see any photographs or evidence.
"I'm really sorry, Detective. I just can't see all of this again." I tell the man in charge who smiles sympathetically at me.
"It's understandable, Louis. Mr. Styles, would you still like to see the evidence?"
Harry kisses my cheek and nods. The manila folder is brought over to the steel table we're seated at and I make to stand up, but Harry frowns and secures my wrist in the circle of his fingers.
"Stay." He says simply and I obey by retaking my seat next to him in a hard plastic chair.
When the folder is opened, I do everything to look away from what's being displayed. Harry answers a regular flow of questions with singular grunts or syllables. He keeps my face nuzzled in his neck without being bothered by the act at all.
"Alright, love?" He asks when it's all over. The folders are gone and I'm half planted on his lap.
"Yeah." I give him a weak smile and brush my thumb over his chiselled jawline. "Yeah, I'm okay."
"Can we go now?" Harry asks the detective who kept us here for the past five or six hours.
"Yeah, okay." Detective Timo shakes Harry's hand and smiles once more at me. He gives us his card. "Make sure to call me first if anything comes up. Also, I think there's someone in the state general hospital who was asking for you two."
I have no idea who or what he's referring to directly, but if Harry's stiffening posture is anything to go by it can't be very welcome in his world. We exit the interrogation room and find Niall with another tissue dabbing his eyes, three chocolate bars and a bottle of water in his hands.
"Ni?" I call out with a concerned expression, rushing to his side.
He looks up at me and hauls me in for a hug that almost gets Harry's hand to detach from mine.
"Zayn. It's Zayn." My friend forces out. "They just brought him back."
My eyes connect with Harry's over Niall's shoulder but he's too impassive to give anything away. He waits for me to standing on my own before towing me out the door, no farewells or last words said. Niall hides the hurt he feels behind the wall of stunning blue in his eyes, but I promise to call him anyway later.
"I have to drop by anyway." He calls after us. "I have Bolg and Bundy and your um....luggage."
"Then we'll see you later." I pick my most effective smile and wave briefly to him.
I never thought the public would be so hungry for a story as vile as ours. Reporters and television personalities swarmed around the precinct's front doors with microphones and cameras. The terror of being stuffed into a small space with bodies shoving at me takes over and causes me to tighten my hand around Harry's.
"I've got you, darling." He whispers me a promise before pushing the doors open.
He keeps me ahead of him with broad arms harshly forcing back anyone who gets too close. Their brutality in the hunt for scoop could get Bean hurt, and Harry manages to shove a reporter so hard that he takes the whole left side of the crowd with him. The murder in Harry's eye is not to be questioned.
"You alright, Haz?" I ask Harry once we're away from the reporters that crowded the police station's front entrance and gave me the shivers.
*NARRATOR'S POV*
It was mindless fucking torture.
Racing pulses and questions being thrown at them, at Harry. He hated the attention but he loved the way he knew their hearts were racing and skin was heating up. He hadn't had these thoughts in a while - five or so months - but here they were resurfacing like nothing had happened.
Stop pretending.
This is a part of you, if you wanted to stop you wouldn't feel blood lust anymore.
Louis was saying something but Harry was staring at them and their easily torn clothing. His blade would do well on them, so would his bare hands.
*LOUIS' POV*
The line of Harry's vision is always caught up in getting glimpses of the news reporters who are standing on the far edge of the parking garage. They aren't allowed in here because of the officers stationed everywhere.
"Hey." I pull his away from their focus, and his head jerks downwards when I support both sides of his face. His eyes are still burning into their sillhouettes. "Harry? Come on, love. Pay attention to me."
It's not that I imagined Harry as a raging bull, I just did not want anything to trigger a response as brutal as what happened in Briarville.
"Please, Daddy." I look up earnestly into his eyes, disguising my words by speaking extra soft.
That's enough to bring him back to me and the prickling energy I felt tumble off his broad arms and rigid movements has slowly disintegrated.
"Let's go home." I tell him.
We're safely inside the Dodge and Harry is not making it obvious that he's rubbing and pinching the knuckles on my left hand with his right.
"Is it Zayn in the hospital?" I ask.
"Yes." He answers simply, not slowing down when people gather around the Dodge.
They eventually move when they realise Harry has no problem with running them over. "Are we going there now?"
"If that's what you want." He pulls into the regular streets of Chicago and visibly relaxes into the driver's seat. "Princess?"
"Hmm?" I look up from my lap where I picked at my pants' threads.
"I want to sell the apartment." He declares, turning left into a narrower street towards the hospital. "I want to sell this Dodge too."
"Where will we live then?" My eyes widen in their sockets.
My simple question seems too bring a half smirk to his lips. "We will buy another home. Bean deserves a proper nursery and I think a fresh start would be healthy."
"We can never have a fresh start." I say with a sad sigh. "It's cowardly to want a fresh start, isn't it?"
"Given our circumstances, princess, I feel like a new perspective would do us good. Do you disagree?"
I honestly didn't. "Let's get a new home then."
Turns out that's not his final request. "Maybe a dog too."
I giggle, unable to help myself and nod along to that. We have a turtle and hedgehog so why not get a puppy above those? "Right now?"
"I don't see why not. I'll call a real estate agent as soon as we get home for the apartment, and we'll visit a car dealership tomorrow." He parks in the underground parking and gives me a once-over that lingers a little too much.
"What?" I fight the blush rising to my cheeks. How dare he still maintain the ability to get me shy after all this time and drama?
"You're beautiful." He states bluntly and leans over the centre rest to plant a kiss on my neck. "I'm opening your door. Stay put."
That's exactly what he does, and he takes my hand before I can hop down all on my own. We greet the friendly nurse at reception and hurry along the emergency medicine department to find Room 1201 one floor above us.
Taking a shaky breath is all I'm allowed before Harry walks through the closed, guarded door and into Zayn's company. He wants to get this over with, I can tell. The man is lying on a hospital bed looking to be in his worst possible physical shape. Bandages cover half his face and most of his body otherwise, keeping his olive skin covered well in white gauzes.
"Hey, Zaynie." I force my lips into a wry smile.
His brown eyes, bloodshot with strain and tears look up at me and his smile trembles. "L-Lo-ou."
"Shh." I don't try sitting on his bed, and the grip Harry has on my arm can only worsen until he's physically part of me. "I won't ask how you're feeling."
If he could, he would laugh. There's a dead twinkle in his eye, as that's all he can manage.
"I'm just glad you're okay, Zayn. We both are."
Our visit is brief and Zayn can do nothing besides smile with a quiver or mumble something that nobody understands. The doctors say he'll be just fine after intense therapy and rehabilitation for his body's recovery, but they refuse to tell us what is wrong with him to start.
We leave after Niall arrives to keep Zayn company. I only get to briefly smile and nod at him in passing through the hallway.
"So, a dog then?" Harry asks plainly.
He is excellent at washing off a situation's principles. He wanted a dog when he was walking into the hospital and leaving after seeing Zayn so crippled has not deterred that.
"Um...yeah." I fold one leg under the other on my seat and nod more gusto after processing what he actually asked.
"Lou?" He took my hand and kissed each cold fingertip. His lips even nibble on my middle finger so I can't help but let him have a smile.
"I'm fine, Haz." I assure him.
"Is it Zayn?" Harry tries not to sound completely annoyed at the mention of another man upsetting me. "Is it?"
I shake my head profusely and wipe my cold nose with a tissue. "I'm just....I guess I can't sleep this problem away like I used to."
He offers me a pitying smile that tells me he agrees. "Want to sit with me?"
I want shake my head at first, but begin to slow down the motion when I weigh the pro's against the cons. It always felt safest to be on Harry's lap where his arms would wrap around me if I felt so much as a chill.
"Yes please." I change my answer and scramble off my seat, heading to his zone.
He pushes his seat back enough for his feet to still reach the pedals, and for him to cuddle me to his chest comfortably. I had to kick off my shoes and wiggle my toes under the sheath of my socks between his knees. His kisses found my forehead and cheek, some on my palms or neck. He let me play with the lapels of his trench coat or give him kisses whenever we stopped at a red light.
"Better now?" He rubs my baby bump over my hand, gently reassuring Bean that he is there and dutifully being his father.
"Yeah." I press my cold nose against his neck. "Thank you."
"Anything for you, darling." He parks alongside the curb outside a high-end pet shop. "Anything at all."
I smile unashamedly and wait a few more minutes with Harry's hand on my expanded tummy before making a move. "Can we get a Saint Bernard puppy please?"
"Those are expensive, aren't they?" He nips at the tip of my nose and I giggle, but it is short-lived.
"Any puppy is fine." I assure him. Really, all puppies are adorable and useful.
"It's alright, baby." He chuckles and pats my hip. "I'll get anything and everything you need."
"But what do you want?" I ask softly.
"Let's go and see inside, yeah?"
The store has a weird French name and Harry pronounces it for me when I ask, smoothly like he speaks the language as his mother tongue. The signboard is orange and the spacious cubicles inside are orange. Pups roam about in open range spaces but the very little ones are put into gated cubicles for their safety.
"Good day, folks." A female attendant greets us, fake toothy smile and all. Her navy uniform did wonders for her curves and long neck. "How can I help you today?"
She spoke more to Harry but that's fine because I wasn't in the mood to be friendly. Her tone drastically sunk to low depths when she was met with Harry's forever demeaning and stormy eyes.
I wandered over to the cubicles and read the labels below each gate where an infant puppy dozed peacefully.
"Saint Bernard." Harry says clearly and I look back at him over my shoulder, a little confused.
"Ah!" She claps her hands together. "We only have two thoroughbreds left."
"Do you have....muts then?" I ask, picking on her carefully worded sentence.
"Oh no." She frowns, shaking her blonde head strictly. "We only have pure-breds here, Sir. One pup is five weeks old and the other is nineteen days."
"Are they siblings?"
"No. They've never been in each other's company because if they got attached to one another it would affect their behaviour after being bought by separate owners."
Isolation. There is nothing more foul. I look up at Harry with wide hopeful eyes but I say nothing on the matter because he said they were expensive, and it's his money to spend.
"Would you like to see them?" She asks giddily. Does she get a commission?
"Yes please."
Harry has his hand on my lower back when we're led off to the side of the store by a wide glass window overlooking the busy streets. She gestures to two separate and barricaded living spaces where the puppies were.
One was extremely fluffy with lots of white fur on his body that chewed happily on a carrot cushion. The other immediately tried to leap up and stands but he was still too young and could only make soft yapping noises and crawl.
The brown fur around their eyes hid their - literal - brown puppy dog eyes.
"Aw. They're adorable, Haz." I comment openly, slowly kneeling in front of the cages to give them my attention.
The extra fluffy one yaps dejectedly when I scratch the other's head. When he gets the attention he desires, he barks and his big brown eyes sparkle up at me.
"We want both." Harry cuts across the playful mood with a firm order to the attendant.
She sputters but quickly recovers. "Both, Sir?"
"Haz." I interrupt before he can answer further. The look on my face, of pure confusion and misconception, makes him understand.
"Leave us please." Harry dismisses the attendant impolitely, but she scurries off to greet another customer at the door. "Do you want them?"
"Yes Haz, but they're so expensive." I enlighten him on his own debate point.
"Are you saying that because I did earlier?" He raises a dark eyebrow at me.
I can't help but shrug. I could never lie to him on the small things.
"I was just stating facts, darling." He pulls me into his arms and tilts my chin up with his thumb for a kiss. "Regardless of price, we can get them both."
"Two dogs, Haz? Bean's going to be a baby when he comes and St Bernard's are very difficult to handle."
"Bean will have extra protection then." He says truthfully. "These dogs are loyal and they will never harm any of us."
I chew my bottom lip. We've discussed a great deal about our future yesterday and this morning. I plan to change my college course to correspondence so I can be at home when Bean comes waltzing into this world, and Harry wants to cancel his classes altogether.
There was no talking him out of it, because he shook his head and explained that he didn't need college. Caring for these pups won't be difficult even when I'm unable to bend over or leave the bed without help.
"Two pups it is?" He awaits my response patiently.
I glance down at the waggling tails and wide eyes watching us curiously. They were going to be big pups, but so soft and harmless. "Two pups it is."
*NARRATOR'S POV*
Both puppies were male and although Louis was reluctant to have two of the same gender under his roof, the attendant provided proof that because the age gap is so great, the older will act more as a parental figure. The older costs nine hundred dollars and the younger is six hundred. Harry uses his new bank and credit cards to complete the purchase.
They buy puppy food for the youngest and regular wet food for the elder. They're put into separate pierced white boxes for transport but the bigger pup shoves the lid off to peer out into the world. Louis giggles at his innocence and tries to help Harry load them into the Dodge.
"And what are you doing?" Harry questioned with a curious smirk that dented one cheek and gave him a look of exquisite boyish charm. It was never complete though, because Harry still had a haunted type of hidden connotation.
Louis offers up the bag of dog food as his answer and Harry quickly snatches it up. He pecks Louis' cheek and pinches his waist.
"No heavy lifting." He warns, and the humour in his eyes is easily doubted. "At all, love. Understood?"
The boy nods and whispers his sweet apology. He was just really excited about having puppies to care for, like practice before Bean is born in six or so months.
"We can stop for food before going home." Harry offers after helping Louis into his seat and getting in himself.
"Okay." Louis had his seatbelt on but kept peeking over his shoulder at the white boxes placed neatly in the back seat.
The bigger pup was looking back at him through the open handle in the box and Louis had to smile at the gentle creature. The baby one was pawing at the box and made Louis coo. He didn't like his puppies being upset.
Harry and Louis feel a little lighter in their chests, because they had a new something to worry about. A gentler, furrier something. In fact, two somethings.
Louis set his feet on Harry's lap because there was enough space for him to do so. He ensure that his knees were bent comfortably so Harry could handle all the controls. The man would rub Louis' small ankles whenever they stopped at a red light or he was driving more leisurely.
"Baby, what do you want to eat?" Harry is moving forward is a slow drive thru queue in a reputable food joint.
"Anything." Louis shrugs. He has the greatest urge to gather both pups and snuggle them.
"Do you want one of those massive bagel burgers?"
"Okay. I want chicken wings too, and jumbo chips."
Harry nods with an amused chuckle and places their orders at a small glass window. They wait for a few minutes before their food is brought to them with two bottles of water.
He stares at the digital clock beside his speedometer, waiting for the woman to bring their food. It was getting physically harder to sit here and not be slitting someone's throat. Maybe it's a relapse, or maybe Harry never fully recovered.
Louis gets to carry the food up to the apartment and Harry braces himself for two trips to and from the Dodge. He refuses to let Louis help so the boy makes a point of leaning against the elevator door and giggling at him.
"Princess." Harry slides his calloused hands down Louis' back and slips them under his sweater's fabric. The skin just barely scratches his baby soft skin and makes him hum.
"Daddy?" Louis leans forward, cupping one side of Harry's face.
"You're mocking me." He twists his smile into a scowl and it's dark enough to frighten a newbie. Louis just rolls his eyes and stretches up higher.
"I'd never mock you, Daddy."
Harry gives Louis' bum a firm squeeze through his jeans. He bumps Louis' forehead with his own to change the angle of his neck. His lips seek out those soft thin ones that fit so effortlessly with his own. These are the lips he worships and reveres, they make him forget about the demon in his head.
Louis grips Harry's jacket with one small fist, while his other hand acts more bravely. His left palm glides over glossy leather and tough jeans, until it lands in Harry's back pocket.
He blushes when Harry's lips curve into a sly smile. Louis gasps when a loud beeping begins that signals they've been holding the door open for too long.
No time is wasted for Harry steps forward and presses Louis' back against the mirrored elevator wall, letting the doors slide closed behind him. His broad shoulders hide his smaller better half from seeing past him, and he lines their bodies up.
"The b-button, Haz." Louis says breathlessly, extracting his hand from Harry's pocket to press their floor number.
The lesser pleased individual growls and takes Louis' hand back, pinning it above their heads with one hand. He ignores the four little eyes watching them in ignorance, and pulls Louis' body so much closer to the heat radiating off his with a hand cupping his curvaceous behind.
Sex has not been on their minds for as long as they can remember now, which really shouldn't be a short month and a few days. Harry had other worries, grave troubles that needed his attention. Louis had pregnancy clogging up his libido's fully functioning regime, and his constant discomfort was not positively contributing to its recovering.
"P-Please." Louis turns his head away with hot tears threatening to spill down his cheeks.
Being so close to another person reminded him of clustered smelly spaces with people who plotted to harm him. He doesn't want to have to experience the tightness, the horror again. He loves Harry and that makes him cling to all parts of the man he can reach, but it isn't getting the message across fluently.
"Please what, baby?" Harry on the other hand, is ready to throw out his internal terrors by burying himself in his petite perfect boyfriend.
"Stop." Louis whispers the one word and Harry does so immediately.
He pulls away from Louis and frowns when the boy tries to tighten his grasp on his jacket and jeans. Louis' confusing him. He will never hurt the boy but why is he holding him so close if he doesn't want intimacy?
"What then, Lou?" Harry tries to keep the bitterness out of his voice.
The elevator doors ding and he slams the close button so harshly the vibration on hollow metal makes Louis shiver. Any reaction to something scary meant Harry to him, and he would hold onto the man until he felt safe again. Now he does that but Harry is a lot stiffer than usual.
"Lou?" He rubs Louis' back and expels the shudders running through his boy's body. "Talk to me. I don't understand."
"I'm sorry." Louis wipes his cheeks with his sleeves, but doesn't let up from around Harry. "I'm sorry, Haz, but I can't do this."
"That's fine, baby." Harry tells him. "You're never pressured, lovely."
"I love you, Haz."
"I love you too, my darling boy."
* * * * *
They bathe the new pups in a plastic tub. Harry got Louis to smile brightly and freely again by putting a lot of effort into not strangling the creatures whenever they tried to chew on his arm. They used dog-friendly shampoo and Louis tried them with two fluffy towels that is now set aside just for them.
"What should we call you, huh?" Louis was taking his time drying the little puppy with a towel rather than exposing him to the harshness of a hair-dryer like Harry did to the older pup.
"Thomas." Harry remarks, finishing up with the dryer and frowning only briefly when the pup leaps into his arms.
"Thomas." Louis sounds it out, setting the dryer on its lowest setting and aiming it at the dog. "We have Bolg and Bundy. Maybe Lego for this little guy, as in Legolas."
"Lego for him." Harry scratches the pup he's holding behind its ears. "And for this one?"
Louis shrugs and removes the crawling baby dog from the counter. His claws stick to the towel and he yawns adorably with slightly pink paws and pink flaps for lips. His eyes are hardly opened but Louis caught glimpses of him looking through bleary eyelids.
"Hello, Lego." Louis lifts the very dependant puppy up and holds him close to his chest.
The puppy makes a helpless yapping sound and clings to Louis' shirt. He rubs the puppy's curved back and smiles down at the dog. Harry watches admirably while he tries to get the puppy in his hands to stop nuzzling his cotton shirt.
"He looks like a Thomas." Harry reiterates his first option.
Louis decides that since he officially named one puppy, it will be only fair that Harry gets to name the other one. "I like Thomas. It suits him."
Harry gives Louis a crooked smile that is hidden partially by Thomas' constant climbing attempts. The man may not have his expensive coat on, but the jeans and shirt he wore stood with value too. Louis wasn't upset anymore and Harry decides that's worth a thousand expensive closets of clothing.
"I think it's about time for our own bath." Harry concludes in suggestion after the pups settle down in one cushioned basket in the studio.
Giggling, Louis grabs the food and sets it on the dining room table. They will eat after another fulfilling shower. Harry joins him on the trek to the bathroom and the quick trip into the closet for fresh clothing. He gets a pair of Harry's sweats and a long-sleeved cotton shirt.
"Let me." Harry takes Louis' hands away from his own chest and the soiled cotton nipple pads.
Louis locks his hands together in front of him and let's Harry go on to remove the tape and cotton pads. Strong and agile thumbs brush over the swollen nubs and makes Louis shiver and hiss. A drop of clear liquid escapes a layer of his pink skin and Harry thumbs it off, before licking it.
"Darling." Harry warns, and the curt edge to his voice is not hard to detect. He's been in need of this interaction with Louis whenever he's started to feel tense.
Swallowing his reservations, Louis chews his bottom lip and let's Harry attach his mouth to the left nipple. He groans and shudders at the pulsating sensation that courses up his stiff back. Harry extracts all he can of the protein substance, swallowing greedily and making pursed suckling noises. His own plump lips turned red and framed Louis' perky, dusky nipple while his roamed Louis' body. From swollen, Louis' nipples turn red and painful.
He locks his fingers into Harry's hair and pushes him away with a stifled mumble about sensitivity. Harry retaliates in response to his depriving act by widening his jaws and biting down on Louis' left nipple with his teeth. Louis cries out at the pain and does all he can to resist Harry.
"H-H-Harry stop please it hurts-" He pants desperately, digging his nails into the man's shoulders and shoving the tough muscle. "Slow. P-Please go-o slow."
Harry takes heed to the urgent advice and shortens his long sucking motions to quicker and less painful suckles. Louis relaxes when his sensitivity starts to dive down in degree.
When he's finally released, Louis takes three steadying breaths and relaxes against the shower wall as warm water flows over him. It stings where Harry bit him and he covers his chest with his hands when Harry comes closer, gloriously naked.
"I'll take care of you, my love." Harry promises, taking the soap from their stand with a soft cleansing sponge.
He takes his sweet time in cleaning Louis' body and even goes as far as trying to make the boy giggle by paying extra attention to his bum. Harry rubs the soap all over his body, lathering the white foam across such supple and soft skin. After a decent amount of time spent returning the favour, Louis pecks Harry's cheek and asks to be dried.
Harry completes the request by drying the boy with a fresh towel and dressing him in warm clothing.
"Won't you be cold later on?" He asks while slipping a pair of baby blue cotton panties up his delectable thighs. Even his remarkable self control can't keep him from planting soft little kisses on the skin.
"No." Louis argues with him on the matter of wearing concealing clothes. "You'll keep me warm, won't you?"
"You can count on it, princess." Harry ignores the uncomfortable crustiness of his skin and leans over Louis to kiss his forehead.
Louis slips on a very large, very black sweater with ankle socks and goes to fetch the first aid kit from the bathroom. When Harry had his blisters examined at the precinct, he was told that regular changes on his bandages would do wonders for the healing process. Naturally, Louis volunteered to change those bandages every few hours.
"Princess....-" Harry sighs when he sees the little red bag.
"You have to, Haz." Louis chastises softly, gesturing to the bed. "I promise to be gentle."
That gets a chuckle out of the man, soon followed by a frown when the pitter-patter of smaller footsteps enter their carpeted bedroom. Their newly acquired pets, Lego and Thomas have spotted their softer owner and followed him into the bedroom.
"We have an audience." Harry drags his tongue over his teeth and creates a clicking sound.
Louis never minds them until he's done with Harry's back. He straddles the back of the man's thighs - the blisters there had healed over - while Harry lay on his front stiffly.
"Talk to me." Harry's voice is slightly muffled by his pillow.
"What should I say?" Louis sounded softer and less coherent, even if he had no obstruction.
"I don't want to focus on what you're doing."
"Um...okay."
Warm fingertips deftly wipe up the damp blisters with prescribed disinfectant and cotton wool. Harry hisses when the drops Louis has to use is too cold and touches an open blister. It didn't hurt, it just chilled a nearby nerve and became uncomfortable.
"What kind of home do you want to find for us?" Louis asks casually after apologising for the cold medicine.
Harry smiles against his pillow, and it's one of the rare honest smiles. "Big garage. Reasonable yard. Two floors. Easy to maintain."
"I think that a pool would be nice. I agree with the easy to maintain bit, I don't want to have to be constantly cleaning up messes."
"A housekeeper then."
"A stranger in our home? I don't like the idea, Haz."
"A professional from a reputable company. She can live in separate quarters if you want."
Louis hums to himself in thought. "Bean can have a lovely nursery too."
"Yeah." Harry agrees proudly. "In a suburb then?"
"There are suburbs near campus for when I need to drop my work off, and that means there are schools and take-away's too."
"We'll get a convenient suburban neighbourhood. Can I turn over?"
Fresh gauzes are taped down over the multiple marks and the skin around the bandages is wiped dry. Louis gasps as if Harry's question in itself is a crime. "Nope. Do you feel uncomfortable?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry."
With an amused sigh Harry continues tearing little pieces of tissue apart until Louis' actions cease.
"All done." The mounted boy announces, balling up the plastic wrappings after kissing Harry's cheek.
The youngest of their two puppies stumbles when his baby paw gets stuck on the carpet. He attempts to wake up again but the carpet has him caught and he whines helplessly when he can't move without being hurt. Louis scrambles off Harry.
"Louis!" Harry calls in concern.
"I'm fine!" Louis answers his worry. He knows fully well he's not supposed to be running or jumping after pups.
Carefully, Louis unhooks the little pup's paw and continues to cross his legs on the carpet as he sits down comfortably. He cuddles the seemingly emotionally wounded pup to his chest without pressing his chest painfully.
"Aw, Lego. I'm sorry. Does your paw hurt?" He whispers in a baby voice. The puppy looks up at him and rolls over in his arms, wanting to be praised. "So strong, aren't we?"
The bigger pup who is older in age and bulkier in build wants Louis' attention too. He comes strutting over until he's sprawled out across Louis' lap, waggling his tail and nuzzling the baby bump harmlessly.
"That used to be my spot." Harry comes to join them on the floor, removing the dog that's moulded to Louis' tummy.
"You haven't been replaced." Louis assures him with a kiss to his jaw.
Taking that as a type of consensus, Harry helps Louis onto his lap. The boy gasps in surprise when Harry does this as his large hands are cupping his bum in a very forceful manner. There will definitely be bruises there tomorrow.
"Hi." Louis says skeptically when he's astride Harry's thighs, his legs folded behind the man's back.
"You are beautiful." Harry cups the side of Louis' face. "You're all mine."
Harry looks down at the pup in Louis' hands and goes so far as tickling its tummy when it rolled over. The dog is appreciative and continues to roll over. The elder squeezes in between their bodies until Louis giggles and scratches behind his ear fondly.
Louis takes his hand and kisses his pulse delicately. "Do you doubt that?"
"I doubt everything now."
Feeling guilty for earlier on when he denied Harry physical comfort, Louis looks at the floor sadly. He wants to fix the brokenness in his head first before helping Harry but that's so selfish. But, Harry's stronger than him. Why does he need Louis?
Maybe he does. Maybe he really does.
Louis internally squashes the red flags that warn him to be careful, to not go beyond a border that he can't come back from. Being too drastic with his sensitive psyche could damage him.
He forgets those warnings and sets the puppy down before grabbing both sides of Harry's face to kiss him hard. Harry's surprised and he's not responsive against Louis' lips, but he too recovers in time to pull Louis closer and deepen their kiss. Their bubble of mild passion gets heated right after the dogs leave the bedroom, and Harry seems overtaken by a raving lunacy.
He's finally getting his chance to rid himself of that place and he's not ruining it. Louis' giving his body and no way in Hell is he throwing that opportunity away.
Dropping Louis onto his back, Harry begins the process of shedding clothing. His frenzied behaviour gets him to tear a second pair of Louis' panties and throw the two halves aside with hate. He takes Louis' length in his hand and works him to a full erection.
Louis tries to fight the burn on his back from the carpet and the pressure of Bean on his lungs, with the horrid memories flooding back to him. Tight spaces will never be acceptable again, and he puts his small hands on Harry's shoulders to create some space.
"Harry, careful." He pants, thinking strictly of past sexual escapades with Harry to get his body ready.
The man nudges Louis' sweater further up on his tummy and looks into Louis' deep blue eyes with lustful green. The hunger in Harry's eyes runs so deep that Louis feels every fibre of his being respond to him. He stops his slight resisting and accepts Harry's invasive lips when they connect with his.
Their tongues mesh and Louis' back arches magnificently. He digs his nails into the clean carpet and controls his soft noises, while Harry pushes just the front of his boxer briefs down hurriedly.
Louis' eyes widen when he sees Harry doing that. The man's eyes are focused as he takes his length and guides it to where Louis will accept him.
"Prep, Harry." The boy panics, feeling the blunt head of Harry's member pressing his rim.
"Shh." Harry pinches his thigh and Louis desperately grabs both his hips.
He's hardly a match for the physical strength that Harry's packing. The man pushes into him without hesitation and Louis screams into the air. It doesn't hurt - his first time with Harry was real pain - but it's true discomfort. He scratches Harry's hips and wraps his legs around the man's waist so that he let's him adjust.
"Thank you, baby." Harry whispers wetly in his ear, kissing from there to his lips. "Thank you. Fuck, I missed your body."
Louis whines and bites his bottom lip as tears roll down his cheeks. Just a few wet the carpet and his skin until he's adjusted and his body is relaxed.
"Move." He drops his thighs and Harry shifts up onto his forearms.
His hips roll forward once, and his eyes meet Louis'. He is mindful of Bean's bump as he leans down to kiss his favourite person in the world, dominating the filthy kiss and stealing taste from the boy's mouth. His fingers curl and he blows out against Louis' lips when the boy's soft blue eyes become highly responsive.
Whilst trying to keep his fears at bay, Louis let's himself be taken. He manages to turn away once while Harry's pounding into his bruising hole, and stares at the space under their bed. Harry's boxers brush his thighs and his skin is turning a wonderful red from skin-on-skin contact elsewhere.
His mind cruelly reminds him of Briarville's over hot water supply, the sweat on Harry's neck is making him think of the sweaty patients after a meal. That inevitably renders thoughts of disgusting food and the horrid circumstances they were under. The people that put them there, and he doesn't breathe once fully before going soft completely.
Harry stops moving his hips altogether when he feels the change in Louis' body. He frowns but it's not an angry one, and Louis pushes out from under him.
"Princess?"
"I-I'm sorry." He stutters stupidly.
Pulling his sweater down over his bum, Louis rushes into the bathroom with tears streaming down his face.