"Choose love! Choose love! Enter the rose garden. Let your soul make peace with the horns."
- Rumi -
There are benefits to having an alpha friend.
For one, Louis has a human furnace to warm him up whenever he's cold. He also has a personal bodyguard to scare away insistent alphas and make sure Louis gets home safely whenever they go out together. And someone to calm him down when he gets too anxious because his omega emotions are all out of whack. Not only that, but Harry offers a certain dynamic to their friend group they just wouldn't have without him, kind of like the big dumb alpha who isn't really dumb at all but sometimes he pretends just to make Louis laugh.
Of course Louis would like Harry just the same if he wasn't alpha, but. Maybe even more so than he does now, because then there wouldn't be awkward moments between them brought on by their secondary genders. Like the one time Harry accidentally scent-marked Louis because his rut was coming up and he was feeling protective, or when Louis got really possessive a few days ago and snapped at the omega server for flirting a little too obnoxiously with Harry. Harry had only laughed, the bastard.
Still, there are definitely perks to being friends with an alpha. Specifically, during heats.
Not real heats, but soft heats. Heats suppressed by medication that aren't really heats at all, but just a period of time lasting seven days long when Louis is particularly cranky and sensitive and really needing to cuddle with someone. Most of the time, a regular beta just won't do.
It's not that an omega will die without a bit of physical contact during a soft heat, but it's quite an annoyance. Being single is difficult for omegas and Louis despises that. He doesn't want to be cornered into a relationship just to relieve some of the nuisances of being a single omega, but sometimes it just seems so tempting to bond with the first alpha that shows interest in him just to get all the inconveniences out of the way.
It wouldn't be hard for Louis to find a willing alpha, either, and that's something he tries not to take for granted. He's always had a lot of alphas interested in him, because they think his scent is special or something, somehow particularly sweet and desirable. Louis doesn't like that very much at all, couple with the fact that as a male omega he's quite rare, especially with his body which is curvier than most. Having a sweet scent and a good bum seems to be the key to getting attention but it upsets Louis when he thinks about how superficial those two traits are, and he has to be faced with the fact that alphas only pay so much attention to him because they want to know what it's like to knot him.
Regardless, Louis' soft heat is approaching. Right now he's trying to suppress the urge to build a nest because he isn't pregnant, god damn it, and what's the point of a nest if he isn't pregnant and doesn't have any pups?
The entire bus ride home from work, he ignores the alpha strangers rudely sniffing the air and staring at him with dark, heavy-lidded eyes. He knows the scent of his heat—the heat he won't truly experience, thanks to his suppressants—is clinging to him, but that doesn't mean anyone has the right to sniff him so rudely like that.
All the while he keeps his mind busy by telling himself he isn't going to start building a nest when he gets home. Instead of building a nest, he's going to eat dinner, take a shower, and go to sleep for the foreseeable future.
There are benefits to having an alpha friend, but most of those benefits aren't realized when Louis is too shy to ask Harry to come over and ease some of the annoyances of his soft heat. His face burns with embarrassment just thinking about asking Harry to come over tonight, cuddle him on the couch, and maybe even bring an extra sweater over so Louis can smother himself in alpha-scent, which seems to be the only thing that will appease his inner omega at the given moment.
He sighs when it takes longer than usual to unlock the door, his hands shaking just a little too much. It opens eventually, and he might forget to lock it behind him but that thought slips out of his head almost as soon as it comes, his mind hazy from the effects of his suppressed heat, his body confused by the medication.
The last of the lasagna in the freezer is gone, which really sucks, because it means he has to make dinner, and he is definitely not in the right mindset to make dinner at the current moment. Maybe he should just make a sandwich, or order takeout? Even that seems like too much work. To give himself more time to decide, he heads to the bathroom to take a shower instead.
Living in a shitty apartment with poor heating and bad water pressure really makes for a disappointing shower. He turns the water as hot as it will go and even then it just turns a lukewarm, leaving him with his arms wrapped around himself, shivering. It would be nice to have a hot shower to relieve some of the tension in his muscles, which are sore for god knows what reason, though it's something that always happens around his heat, suppressed or not. But the water never warms up and he never stops shivering, so he ends it after he washes himself and wraps up in a towel, thinking he should probably invest in one of those fuzzy bathrobes to keep himself warm. That's a good idea for his birthday gift idea list, now that he thinks about it.
As soon as he steps into the hallway he thinks his apartment smells better than usual, and he breathes in deeply. Yeah, he's definitely hallucinating. Maybe he should just go to sleep instead of worrying about dinner?
But no, there's definitely something there. Or, well, some one . He inhales deeply and realizes the scent is familiar and comforting. Like walking into a bakery, that's what it smells like, and oh, Louis knows that scent.
He must really be hallucinating, but just to be sure, he walks down the hallway and into the living room, greeted with the sight of Harry sitting on his couch.
Literally, what the fuck?
"How'd you get in?"
"Oh, hey Lou," Harry smiles, his gaze switching from the TV to where Louis is wrapped in a towel, dripping water onto the wood floor. The smile dissipates quickly, turning into a concerned frown, his brows pulling together. "You left the door unlocked. I really wish- You can't keep forgetting, it's dangerous. Anyone could just walk right in!"
Clearly this has happened before. It seems like everytime Harry visits he reprimands Louis for not locking the door. "Yeah, a strange alpha could just walk right in, steal my sugar snap peas and watch Law and Order on my TV," Louis says dryly, wrapping his arms tighter around himself to keep the towel up. Hyper-aware of his bare skin on display, and his utter nakedness beneath the towel, he shifts on his feet and wonders what the alpha a few feet away from him is thinking.
Harry looks down at the half-eaten sugar snap pea in his hand and then back to Louis. "I'm being serious, Lou."
"Yeah, me too." That's a lie, though, he's definitely joking. "How'd you get past Bueler, by the way?" Bueler is the nosey but fabulous man who works in the lobby of the apartment building. He never lets a stranger upstairs without grilling them first.
"He thinks I'm your boyfriend."
Louis gapes. This is the first he's heard of this. It explains how Harry's gotten up to his apartment before without Louis having to go down to the lobby to save him from Bueler's interrogation. "And you haven't corrected him?"
Harry shrugs.
"Whatever," Louis scoffs.
"Look, seriously though, please don't forget to lock your door. I'm mean it, Louis."
"Alright, alright, fine." He waves it off with a dismissive hand, which upsets Harry but not enough to say something else. "Anyways, why're you here?"
"Oh, um, I was gonna make you stir fry, but I know sometimes you don't have an appetite when you're... yeah... so I decided to ask you first before making it. I have all the ingredients if you do want it, but it's okay to say no, of course."
Biting his lip, Louis suppresses the urge to sit himself on Harry's lap and kiss his cheek or nuzzle into his neck in thanks. That would just be really, really weird, especially considering Louis is practically naked right now. Instead, he ignores the warm blush rising on his cheeks at the knowledge that Harry somehow knows today is the beginning of his soft heat, and he says a quiet, "Thanks, that sounds great. I'm really hungry."
"Awesome, I'll get it started right now."
"'Kay. Um, yeah. I'm gonna go get dressed." He doesn't know why he felt the need to say that out loud, but whatever. Awkwardly, Louis shuffles out of the room, clutching his towel a little tighter to cover his body. God, how embarrassing. At least he was right about Harry's scent and not hallucinating it, though.
Right now, nothing sounds less appealing than getting dressed in real clothes, so he digs around in his dresser for his softest pair of pajama pants, and finds a comfy sweater too. It's a bit big on him and he can't remember if it's one he stole from Harry months ago, or if it just got stretched out in the wash. No matter. Hopefully Harry won't recognize it, if it belongs to him.
When he heads to the kitchen he finds Harry stirring vegetables in a frying pan. Louis stands there staring at the broad back of an alpha cooking him dinner in the kitchen, and at least a minute passes before he shakes himself out of his stupor. God, what is wrong with him? He's around Harry's shoulder blades all the time, why are they only now seeming so attractive to him?
The obvious answer is that it's the first day of his soft heat, and yeah, of course he's going to be thirsting after every alpha he can find, especially one who's cooking him dinner without Louis even having to ask. Louis sighs, feeling ridiculous, and meets Harry at the stove.
"Hey. You alright?"
"Wha'd'you mean?" The words all slur together in a mumble.
"Just- You've been a little spacey, I guess."
Oh, it has nothing to do with the fact that your delicious alpha scent is infiltrating my entire apartment, so much that I can't think straight, Louis sasses in his mind. Outwardly, he just hums quietly, wandering around the kitchen for something to snack on while he waits, because his stomach has been grumbling for so long it feels painful now. He ends up by the sugar snap peas Harry was eating earlier, munching on one of them while he clambers up to sit on the countertop right next to the stove.
"For the love of God, please be careful," Harry warns, shielding Louis' thigh from the burner, which is admittedly a bit close to the stove.
"I'm fine."
"You burn yourself all the time," Harry grumbles, adding more teriyaki sauce to the pan. They both listen as it sizzles. "Always come running to me to make it better."
"That was one time."
"Still." With a gentle touch he pushes Louis' thigh away so it isn't as close to the stove anymore. The sensation leaves the ghost of fingertips on the omega's skin, making his nerves tingle.
Louis rolls his eyes and goes back to swinging his legs back and forth languidly. Louis is fine with cooking, but it's always a treat to watch someone else do it for him. Especially Harry, who makes the best meals. He wishes he could somehow always persuade Harry to cook for him, instead of just when he's in a vulnerable position, like right now, during heat.
"You can go sit on the couch if you want, and I'll bring it in when it's ready."
"But I wanna watch you," Louis whines, not thinking about what he's saying at all. It's a weird truth. Yikes.
"You're so cold, you're shaking," Harry points out. Louis realizes he's right. "Go get comfy under a blanket. It's almost finished."
And yeah, okay. Louis has lived his whole life in defiance of alphas because he strongly disagrees with society's idea that omegas should submit to them. In fact, he often goes out of his way to do the exact opposite of what an alpha tells him to do.
With Harry, it's different.
Louis slides off the countertop and lets his bare feet hit the cold floor, leaving to go sit on the couch and wait. The blanket smells faintly like Harry, which makes sense, because he's the one who gave it to Louis as a gift last year. Because Louis is always cold.
Harry brings his plate in and Louis takes it gratefully, not just because he's hungry and the food smells so good, but also because the plate is pleasantly warm in his hands. Harry sits down next to him, too much space between them, and Louis doesn't know how to fix that without being too obvious about how much he's needing, how much he's wanting .
"No Friday night plans?"
The alpha shrugs in a way that says he had plans but he ditched them to spend his night eating stir fry on Louis' couch. Louis frowns at him, affronted.
"Just because I have to stay in doesn't mean you have to, as well."
Another shrug. "You like having company."
He's not wrong. Spending heats alone, even soft heats, is just awful. Heats in general, hard or soft, make him incredibly needy of human contact. He used to force Liam to hang out with him, mooching off his alpha pheromones, but that was before Zayn came into the picture, and also before he met Harry last year. Not that Liam and Zayn are together, at least not officially, but Louis would have to have a death wish to cuddle with Liam when Zayn is around. Not a good idea.
While Harry watches TV, Louis responds to his text messages and scrolls through social media. What a night. When they're finished eating, Harry offers to do the dishes, but Louis shoves him away, yanking his plate from his hands before he can protest even more. He runs to think sink with Harry chasing behind him, and they end up cleaning up together, even though Harry made the entire meal, and did the shopping too.
"How was work?"
"Annoying. Awful." Usually Louis feels pretty neutral about his job as a server at the diner a few blocks away, and sometimes he even enjoys it, and Harry knows this, but today was just bad. Customers have a habit of treating servers like shit, especially when said server is an unmated omega approaching heat. He's still not over the mix of creepy gazes and sleazy comments.
"How come?"
"Gross alphas. Don't wanna talk about it. And my back has been hurting all day for absolutely no reason."
"Aw. Want a massage?"
Louis should probably say no to that, even though it's stupid to ever say no to a massage. But his day was incredibly long and particularly tortuous and the thought of Harry's big alpha hands rubbing his back is just too tempting. He gives in. "Eh, I guess."
"You guess," Harry laughs, "As if that isn't the most tempting offer you'd had all day."
"How d'you know that? Had quite a few offers, I'll have you know. Like I said, gross alphas."
Harry narrows his eyes at him. "Yeah, well, I'm the one you're with now, so."
Louis pauses. Is that a hint of jealousy he's sensing? Nah, most likely not, since Harry is the tamest alpha he's ever met. Even if it is jealousy, it's just a natural response, something he would feel with any omega, not just Louis. Louis laughs a little to break the sudden tension, turning his back to Harry and scooting closer. Big warm hands immediately splay out on his shoulder blades and begin working out the knots of his muscles.
"Feel good?"
"Mmm," he hums when fingers dig into a particularly sore spot, working out the tension. "Yeah, so good." Especially because sitting this close to Harry means being encompassed by the scent of a sweet-smelling alpha. Louis would make perfumes out of it if he could. Also, Harry's hands massaging his back takes his mind off the fact that he really wants to be tearing every article of clothing out of his closet and making a stupid, useless nest right now.
"Good." He sounds satisfied with himself, maybe a little smug. Whatever. Usually Louis would turn around to smack the smirk right off his face, but he doesn't want to disrupt the massage.
Louis grabs a throw pillow and pulls it to his chest to cuddle it as Harry continues massaging his back and also watching the TV show. He's good at multitasking. Louis is too, scrolling through his phone and laughing at the stupid text conversation he has with Liam. Well, he's good at multitasking at least until he gets too sleepy to keep his eyes open. So he closes them, clicking his phone off.
He must fall asleep, because the next time he opens his eyes, the world is tilted on its axis and he realizes he's lying his head on Harry's thighs. Also, it's dark outside, and the episode of Law and Order is over, replaced by a movie. You've Got Mail. There's a big hand petting his hair so he assumes Harry is still awake.
"Time 's it?"
"Time for you to get a watch."
"Shut up," Louis groans, turning over to bury his face in Harry's thighs. He's wearing joggers, so it's quite comfortable, actually. He might make Harry stay here all night. God knows he won't get a decent night's sleep without him.
"It's just after nine. You seem exhausted, though. Maybe I should leave? So you can go to bed?"
"What? No. I'm fine."
Harry laughs, carding his fingers through Louis' hair again, brushing the strands away from his forehead. He smells so good right now, stronger than usual, and Louis realizes it's because of how close he is to Harry. His face is almost pressed into his crotch, for god's sake. Realizing this quite suddenly, the omega stills, wondering how the hell he got into this position. Usually he never lets his mind wander there, but he's sleepy and exhausted and yeah, quite a bit horny too, because today's the first day of his heat, and suppressants may keep him from leaking slick and begging random strangers to fuck him but that doesn't mean the medication takes away the desire. He sighs, giving in, thinking about how close his face is to Harry's dick, Harry's knot . Fuck.
Yeah, okay, he should stop thinking about that, before his scent changes and Harry picks up on it. If it hasn't already.
"Want me to make tea?" His voice sounds slightly strained, but Louis might just be imagining it.
"Mm, maybe later. Just wanna cuddle now." A bold move but Louis doesn't care. He snuggles closer to Harry's thighs, breathing in small soft breaths through his nose, savoring each sensation that washes over him as his body processes the alpha scent it desires so badly.
Harry hums in agreement and goes back to watching the movie, now that the commercial break is over. The hand petting his hair mindlessly wanders, and he ends up rubbing his thumb gently against the knobs of Louis spine. The touch is so soft and comforting, it lulls the omega to sleep for the second time that evening.