Archive of Our Own

Rain fell steadily from the February sky while Louis’ plane taxied at the gate. Heathrow Airport looked like a blur behind the dewy raindrops on the oval-shaped window beside his seat. He hadn’t been back home in ages. Not since before the band’s last album came out. Since then, they’d gone on a long promo trip, announced the world tour, and rehearsed for it, all of which took place in various cities, but namely Los Angeles. And as much as Louis hated being away from home, The Rogue was always going to be his priority.

He had started the band when he was only 19. Bored during summer break, he found his step-father’s old guitar in the attic and began teaching himself how to play. In a few short weeks, he was able to do covers of all of his favourite songs from Fleetwood Mac to Sex Pistols. It was great having jam sessions with his best friend, Liam, but creatively, Louis felt like he could be doing more. He thought about the bands he listened to then and the ones he’d grown up hearing. What drew him to them were the lyrics, relatable and comforting words woven into poetry, and the gritty, rock production that felt raw and emotional.

Louis had never set out to become a musician, but suddenly, it felt like something he could do and something that he’d be good at. He played the first song he wrote and felt good about (it was called “Heaven is You” and he wrote it about his omega at the time) for Liam, who told him he genuinely believed Louis had a knack for this stuff. Encouraged, Louis began writing more. From songs about the dreary anguish one felt as a teenager to love songs, which soon turned to heartbreak songs after his then-boyfriend broke up with him. He was on a high, unable to stop the creativity flowing out of him.

Liam was the one who pushed him to start a band. Christian, an alpha and one of their friends from sixth form, played drums. He knew a beta named Niall, who used to be a bass player for a local band that broke up. The three of them played together a couple of times and it instantly felt electric. Songs that Louis put down on paper were coming alive, but they all felt like something was missing. It wasn’t until Ziggy, also an alpha, joined them with his keys and Liam became their manager that things really took off. The Rogue was born and thus began the greatest journey of Louis’ life.

Five years deep, they’d just released their sophomore album and were embarking on the U.K. leg of their second headlining world tour. It was their most successful year yet. The album, Modern Idiots, went number one on the charts across multiple countries and this was their fastest-selling tour yet. They’d kicked it off in America and Canada before heading to London, their first show on the U.K. leg.

It had been non-stop since things picked up and Louis wasn’t ready for any of it to slow down.

Niall let out a crackling snore and Louis flicked his gaze over to his bandmate. The beta was curled up on his large business-class seat, wrapped in his blanket like a burrito. Louis reached over to shake Niall awake. Once the gate opened, their security team was going to hustle all of them off this plane before the rest of the passengers could start moving, so Niall needed to be up and ready to go. Louis certainly didn’t want to stick around for any longer than he had to. Plane rides were efficient, but he hated the mixing scents in such a contained space. He could only take it for a certain amount of time before he was done. Unfortunately, Niall didn’t budge. He only snored louder, which made Liam, who was sitting behind them, snicker in amusement. He motioned to Louis that he would handle it and gently roused Niall from his slumber.

Two rows ahead, Ziggy and Christian were chuckling about something with their stylist, Hannah, while unbuckling their seatbelts and stretching out their limbs. The plan was for everyone to head to their respective houses before reconvening tomorrow for soundcheck at the venue. Louis was very much looking forward to the alone time. As much as he loved his bandmates, sharing an Airbnb with them for months was enough to drive anyone crazy. He missed being in his own space and his own messy bedroom with the fairy lights hung up around the walls. He missed having a wank without worrying if three other people would hear him and smell his arousal.

Oh, tonight’s sleep was going to be the best.

Once the gate opened, they all grabbed their carry-ons and headed out, following their security team through the terminal and to customs. By the time they made it out of the airport and piled into their cars, Louis already had a mental list going for everything he was going to get done when he got home. Laundry was a must. And since he hadn’t been at his house in months, a good sweep around and dusting would have to do as well. Funny how the idea of all this made him giddy with anticipation. As much as he loved his life and the career he made, normalcy from time to time was nice as well.

Soon, the familiar streets of Mayfair zoomed past as Louis’ car drove through and stopped in front of his opulent, white Georgian townhouse. When he walked inside, he was surprised to find it still smelled like him — a dark, earthy scent mixed with hints of sandalwood, rosewood, and cardamom. It was intense and something that his alpha bandmates often complained about. Niall’s sense of smell wasn’t as heightened, so he didn’t mind, but Christian and Ziggy ragged on him about it. When Louis was stressed or angry, his scent tended to spike, and that happened often with the tight schedules the band worked within.

Louis walked around and flicked on all the lights, taking in the high ceilings, large windows, and open space, little details he’d fallen in love with when he first saw the place. This was his first big purchase after they got the advance from their first album. Moving out of his small hometown of Doncaster, he wanted to go somewhere that was perfect and this was it. He’d even hired an interior designer to help him decorate in a way that felt contemporary, but also homely.

Louis left his luggage in the hall before getting to work. A little over two hours later, he finally settled down on his king size bed after having finished all of his tasks, showered, and changed into comfy pyjama bottoms. He grabbed the remote and turned the telly on, flicking through the channels until he found one playing reruns of Friends. Exhaling softly, Louis reached for his phone and replied to the texts he’d gotten from his mum and Liam, as well as the one Ziggy sent to the band group chat about reuniting with his cat, Calliope. Once he sorted through his notifications, Louis contemplated ordering dinner. Except, he didn’t know what he should get.

Humming to himself, he opened Instagram to see if something might inspire him, scrolling first through posts before turning his attention to stories. He dragged his thumb through all of the stories currently posted but abruptly stopped. His fingers paused on his screen and his lips quirked up.

Harry Styles had posted to his story, the circle around his black and white icon lit up in hot pink and orange. Thank God, Liam wasn’t there. The jokes Louis would have had to endure because of the way his face naturally reacted just from seeing Harry’s icon on his screen. He would rag on him for hours and Louis wasn’t in the mood to hear it. Settling further into his pillow comfortably, Louis pressed on Harry’s icon and the story opened up.

There were multiple new updates. The first was a picture of a cup of coffee with the deep green Ralph Lauren logo emblazoned on the side. The coffee looked absurdly milky and Louis was definitely going to make fun of Harry for this. He, personally, liked his coffee darker, and once when he tried making it for Harry, the omega practically spit it out, always so fucking dramatic. The second picture was a mirror selfie Harry took while holding a shopping bag at Harrods. You couldn’t see his face because he’d covered it with his phone, but his long, brown curls were pulled back with white Prada sunglasses. Louis’ brows rose in surprise – Harry was in London.

Interesting.

The third was a picture of some flowers in Hyde Park, location stamped on the bottom left-hand corner. And lastly, there was a video posted only minutes ago of a rotating disco ball and a Whitney Houston song playing in the background. Harry had included the location here as well — Green Bar.

So not only was Harry in London, but he was very close to where Louis lived. Suddenly, this night had the potential to be even better than Louis expected.

Smirking, Louis messaged the omega directly on Instagram, replying to his story.

@louistomlinson: bit fucked of you to be so close by and not tell me

He hit send and lifted his hand up to his lips, biting the nail on his thumb when he saw Harry open his message and begin typing right away.

@harrystyles: I didn’t know you were in town. Last we spoke, you were in America.

@louistomlinson: the last time we spoke was months ago, darling. i just got in tonight. have a show tomorrow at the o2

@louistomlinson: what brings you here to london?

@harrystyles: I had a couple of meetings, a shoot, and I wanted to see some of my friends.

@louistomlinson: does that include me?

@harrystyles: Hmmmm, I don’t know. Are we friends?

Louis exhaled a quiet laugh. Harry never made it easy and he wasn’t going to start now.

@louistomlinson: don’t play coy, love

@harrystyles: Not playing coy… I’m just not going to ditch my friends because you want to get your knot wet.

@louistomlinson: come on baby styles… we both know this won’t be one sided

@louistomlinson: last time we saw each other, we got noise complaints at the hotel because of how loud you were 🙂

@harrystyles: Fuck off. I wasn’t the only one.

@louistomlinson: no, you weren’t. you know you do it for me too. if you didn’t, i wouldn’t be begging right now to see you

@harrystyles: Desperation is not a good look lol

@louistomlinson: you get off on it. I want you, harry. come over. sit on my face. i’ll eat your sweet pussy out for as long as you want

@harrystyles: Stop! Do not sext me while I’m out at this very crowded bar.

@louistomlinson: am i making you wet? 😋

@harrystyles: I’m serious, Louis.

@louistomlinson: i knew you weren’t as unbothered as you act.

@louistomlinson: you know the solution then don’t you?

@harrystyles: What?

@louistomlinson: come over. i’m literally a ten minute drive

@harrystyles: Even if I wanted to, I can’t. I’m with one of the head designers at YSL. I came from a business dinner and we decided to get drinks too.

Louis huffed out a breath. He didn’t want to push Harry since he was technically working. Being the face of every high-end fashion brand was no easy job and Harry did it so gracefully. It was in his blood after all. Son of Anne Styles, one of the biggest French supermodels of the ‘70s and ‘80s, he’d earned his reputation and place in the industry with his work ethic. His sister, Gemma, was also a model but she was a bit more low-key and only worked with her mum on their brand, Douceur.

Harry had set out on his own path, winning the hearts of millions with his striking beauty and knack for style, no pun intended. In Louis’ opinion, Harry was probably more known now than his mum or his sister. Lovingly dubbed as Baby Styles by the media, he captured Louis’ attention right away even though the alpha had always sworn he wouldn’t get with another model after a string of failed relationships with many of them.

@louistomlinson: fine…

@louistomlinson: what are you doing tomorrow night?? come to the show

@harrystyles: I mayyyy be free. I don’t know yet. 🤔

@louistomlinson: i can put you down on the list. with a plus one if you wanna bring malik with you

@harrystyles: If I come, I definitely need to bring Zayn in case you get boring up on stage and I need someone to distract me.

@louistomlinson: i’m going to kick your arse

@harrystyles: Truth hurts. Anyway, I need to go. I’ll let you know about tomorrow… and if I don’t see you. Good luck on the show, you knothead ❤️

Grinning, Louis placed his phone down. He knew it was a done deal. Suddenly, this trip just got a lot sweeter.

・❥・

The heels of Harry’s black boots click-clacked over the cobblestone streets. He wrapped his hands tight around his arms, ensuring his light leather jacket was secured and not letting any cool air in. He was downright freezing and their Uber driver couldn’t drop them off directly in front of the venue where Louis and his band were performing. There were too many cars passing through and fans walking around, blocking the path, so Zayn volunteered to just get out two blocks away from the entrance. Funnily enough, Zayn was now struggling to keep up with Harry, lagging and grunting in annoyance.

“Can you slow down?” the beta called out. “What’s the rush? They’re not going on for another thirty minutes.”

“I’m cold,” Harry responded, looking back at his best friend.

“Of course you’re cold. You’re dressed all slutty because you’re about to see your situationship after a long fucking time, but that’s not my problem. Stop taking it out on me and my shorter legs.”

Harry gasped as he stopped walking to fix Zayn with a look. “I’m not dressed slutty!”

“You’re wearing your black leather pants, which you wear when you wanna get laid. And your nipples are fully visible because you’re wearing the thinnest see-through top I’ve ever seen.”

“It was a gift from Donatella,” the omega retorted, nose turned up as he began walking again.

Zayn caught up with him, keeping pace this time. “You’re really going to let Louis rip a Versace shirt off of you?”

“He wouldn’t dare,” Harry shook his head. “I will personally, delicately, take it off when the time comes.”

Zayn made a sad face, lips pouty. “This is going to suck for me, just so you know. You’re going to ditch me and go fuck Louis.”

“I am not going to ditch you.”

“You ditch me every time you see him. We could be going out to get drinks after the show. Have a proper night out. Instead, you’re going to be getting that knot you’ve been gagging for, while I go home before midnight like a pathetic sod. It’s unfair.”

Harry wrapped his arm around Zayn and pulled him toward the side entrance, reserved for VIP guests. “Come on, now. Stop pouting. Let’s have some fun! I’ll even buy you a drink.”

Zayn relented, giving Harry a smile in return, and they walked up to the door. They showed the venue staff their credentials and once they confirmed their names to be on the list, the two of them walked through the security line and toward guest services where they were given their tickets and passes to go backstage. It was a small space, crowded with family members and friends of the band as well as everyone from their team and record label. Harry didn’t know anyone so he and Zayn idled by the craft table, though neither of them ate anything. Now that they were indoors, Harry relaxed his body and allowed his jacket to fall open, exposing his top, the one Zayn was so scandalised by. It seemed others were, too. He could feel eyes on him, both in shock and interest, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of his outfit or if they recognized him.

For a moment, Harry wondered if someone would take a picture or video of him and post it online. That wouldn’t necessarily bother him because he never tried to hide when he was seen with or around Louis. The internet and the public knew that they hung out from time to time. Whether they suspected that more was going on was up for debate. Harry liked to pretend they didn’t. Then it could just be theirs.

Zayn smirked at him knowingly. “Are you excited for tonight?”

Harry pursed his lips and considered saying no just to be a shit, but it had been a few months since he last saw Louis. Since then, Harry had hooked up with a few people and none were anything relationship-worthy or near exclusive. It was all fun little romps that he usually forgot about the day after. However, whenever Louis came knocking on his door, metaphorically and sometimes literally, Harry couldn’t resist. There was something about the alpha that drew Harry in like a moth to a flame. Something about their sexual chemistry made Harry see stars every time they touched. It was strange and unexplainable, especially considering Louis had never even knotted Harry.

They’d come close a few times but didn’t go through with it. It was one of the rules that they put in place when they first started hooking up. Knotting made things intense. Their second genders craved the other afterward and made it really difficult to be apart. With their jobs, they were seldom in the same place at the same time, so it really could only be sex and nothing more.

“I suppose so,” Harry admitted eventually. “You know… He’s alright.”

“Just alright?”

“Yeah, whatever,” Harry rolled his eyes, making Zayn snicker in amusement.

A door off to the side opened and the band walked out, the conversations and laughter in the room going up in volume. Niall, Christian, Ziggy, and lastly, Louis. Embarrassingly enough, Harry felt his breath hitch at the first sight of the alpha he’d come all this way for. Every time they met, it seemed like the rockstar’s brown hair got shaggier and he had another silly tattoo added to the ever-growing collection on his body. Currently, he was dressed casually, with a pair of ripped black jeans and a tank top with wide armholes.

Harry drank him in greedily, trying to pick up the alpha’s scent in the crowded room. It was slightly muted since there were so many people in here, but when Harry caught the first whiff, his omega instantly preened. He’d come to associate Louis’ scent with comfort as the alpha always made him feel that way. Whenever Harry got in his head about things, Louis made sure to calm him. Whether that be through his pheromones or by fucking Harry six ways to Sunday.

Despite playing cool just now with Zayn, he was suddenly gagging for it, lips parted and mouth parched. This was how it always was. It was that unexplainable attraction and draw that Louis had on him, and Harry couldn’t get enough. Usually, the omega’s type was very clean-cut and polished. A pretty boy type. That was how he’d describe every alpha he’d ever hooked up with, save for Louis. And while Louis was very pretty, the alpha also had an edge to him. A grunginess… A complete bad boy. Harry’s stomach fluttered and he sucked in a breath.

Harry’s mum liked to say Harry was in his rebellious phase with Louis, but Harry’s dad, Des, argued that Harry was falling for a good old English boy, just like Harry’s mum did. Neither of them was right. Harry wasn’t in his rebellious phase because that would have been when Harry was 17 and dating a much older alpha. He also wasn’t falling for Louis because they weren’t dating. They were strictly having sex and that was it.

It was simple and it was completely transactional. It was also the best Harry had ever had, but he’d never admit that to Louis.

Their eyes met over the crowd and Louis grinned, immediately making his way over to Harry. When he reached him, the alpha wrapped an arm around his waist, hugging him close, nose pressed against the side of his neck, inhaling deeply. Harry sank into him, letting him take his fill.

“Knew you’d come,” Louis smirked as he pulled back, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously.

“I almost didn’t,” Harry informed him.

Zayn snorted beside him, knowing full well that wasn’t true. When Louis invited Harry last night, he’d immediately texted Zayn and told him they were going to go, no discussions.

Louis continued to smile, his arm still holding Harry as he trained his eyes on Zayn. “It’s nice to see you, Zayn. How are you?”

“I’m good,” Zayn replied. “Thanks for inviting us. How’s the tour going?”

“Amazing! The crowd just keeps getting better every night.”

“I really liked the new album,” the beta continued, eyeing Harry with a gleaming smile. “Harry’s favourite song is that super slow, bassy one. I forgot the name, but there are mentions of cherries.”

Color rushed to the apples of Harry’s cheeks and he glared at Zayn pointedly. He’d told him that in confidence. Now Louis was going to think Harry was getting ideas about them. At first, Harry kind of wanted to call Louis out about it. The song in question was one where Louis sang, “French black cherry with a touch of liqueur, bursts of sweet and sour on my tongue, drown me in your heat, baby, make me feel so strung,” and — and that was Harry’s scent. There were hints of rose and jasmine mixed in with the cherry and liqueur, but how many other omegas did Louis know who smelled like that and were also French? Well, technically Harry was half-French, but semantics.

In the end, Harry decided he wasn’t going to say anything because he didn’t want Louis to think Harry was assuming any songs were about him. Clearly, Zayn had other ideas, the fucking traitor.

“Ah, you mean ‘Blossom’,” Louis nodded, nonchalantly. “That song rushed out of me in a fever dream. Fastest song I ever wrote.”

“Inspired?” Zayn asked.

“I’d say so.”

Harry watched the alpha curiously, thinking he’d catch some clues from his scent, expression, tone, or words, but nothing. No signs that he might potentially be the subject of a song by The Rogue. And why would he be? They were just fuck buddies, after all. Harry needed to get it together. He slowly inched away from Louis and looked at him primly. “So, what’s the plan?”

Louis’ brows rose at the sudden change in topic. “Right. Do you want to meet me back here after the show? We can leave together and head to mine.”

Nodding, Harry glanced at Zayn, smiling apologetically. Zayn just looked bored. “I’ll take an Uber, don’t worry.”

“Thanks,” Harry sighed appreciatively. “I owe you.”

“You don’t, but thank you,” Zayn replied. “Shall we go to our seats?”

Harry nodded, looking at Louis again. “See you later then.”

Louis reached forward and grazed his hand over Harry’s hip again, giving it a squeeze. Harry fought the urge to bury his face in Louis’ neck for one last whiff of his scent. He couldn’t. Not in front of all these prying eyes. “See you.”

He let go and walked back to the rest of the group while Harry followed Zayn toward their seats. They had a decent view, the stage right across from them. While they waited for the show to start, Harry scrolled through his phone, but his mind was still reeling back through the conversation with Louis.

“Sorry for bringing up the song,” Zayn said, as though he was able to read Harry’s thoughts.

Harry mumbled, “It’s fine. He didn’t seem to catch on to you. I don’t think the song is about me, though.”

“Come on,” Zayn drawled. “Anyone who knows you would tell you that song’s about you. He’s literally describing you.”

“The song is about a lot of different things. He’s not singing about an omega, he’s singing about certain pleasures that he likes.”

“You being one of them.”

“I highly doubt it,” Harry argued back. “He would have given something away when you brought it up back there, but he didn’t. He was way too chill.”

“If you say so,” Zayn relented.

The lights dimmed and the crowd went berserk, cheering and jumping as the band walked out onto the stage. This was probably Harry’s third or fourth time seeing them perform and he always really enjoyed it. Normally, this wasn’t his kind of music, but The Rogue was really good. They catered to fans of many different genres, but their true roots were in grunge rock. The melodies were gritty and Louis’ voice shone through in every song he sang.

Every time he looked in Harry’s direction, the omega’s heart flip-flopped in his chest, and he hated it. It wasn’t like Louis was looking at him. He was just looking in this direction in general, but he had a way of making you feel like he was focused on you. He was born to be doing this. When the show ended, black and red confetti spilled from the air, a loud bang resonating through the venue. The crowd cheered wildly and Harry watched in amazement. Experiencing all of this from the other side must be so insane. He could only imagine the adrenaline rush and high the band members got when they were up there.

With the show over, Harry and Zayn returned to the backstage area again and each grabbed a drink to cool down from the show. Even if Harry’s mind was preoccupied, he had a good time with Zayn and wanted to make sure his best friend felt the same before he said goodbye to him. Moments later, the band burst backstage from the front and they were buzzing, energies practically bouncing off the walls. Louis barreled over to Harry, looking like he was going to pull him in for a kiss, but Harry quickly pushed against his chest with his palms.

“Wait, no,” he protested. “Not until you shower.”

Louis laughed, eyes crinkling. “You’re such a fucking diva, Baby Styles.”

“Yeah, and you smell. You’re all sweaty, Louis!”

“Fine, fine,” Louis pulled off. “I’ll go shower, but you owe me after this.”

“Sure,” Harry rolled his eyes at him.

Zayn watched them, a tiny smirk on his face. “Damn.”

Harry shrugged. “I’ve got to keep him in check.”

It took another hour before everyone was ready to leave the venue. All the while, Harry hung out with Zayn and took a couple of pictures with some people who recognized both him and Zayn for their modelling work. The two of them had known each other since sixth form and while Zayn had been modelling since his teen years, he didn’t get his big break until last year when he became the face of Loewe. He’d done that all on his own, always refusing offers of help from Harry or his mum for connections or conversations that could get him started in the industry. Zayn had a natural talent for it. He was extremely photogenic. In fact, Harry didn’t think there was a single angle that made the beta not look like the most beautiful person in the world, all dark hair, tan skin, and wide, brown eyes.

By the time everyone got into their cars, it was midnight. As planned, Harry was riding with Louis along with Christian, who was minging on about his current girlfriend not coming to the show tonight. Louis was doing his best to advise the lad, but it was apparent to Harry that it was Christian who was at fault. Because of that, he just looked the other way and judged the alpha from his seat. Once Christian got dropped off at his house in Marylebone, the driver sped toward Louis’ house.

Harry had been there a handful of times, so he was familiar with the route. He stared out the window as they drove and felt antsy the closer they got. The car was way too silent now that Christian was gone and Harry was a bundle of frenetic energy and nerves. Louis’ eyes were trained outside his window as well. How was he able to stay so calm? Then it occurred to Harry that Louis sometimes got like this after shows. He’d told him it helped to keep him feeling more grounded after an exhilarating two hours up on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans going nuts over you.

The driver finally stopped in front of Louis’ house and they both got out of the car, thanking the beta who’d driven them. Harry silently followed Louis to the door, watching as he unlocked it and flicked on the lights. The omega closed the door behind him, and without allowing either of them a moment to breathe or settle in, he was on the alpha like a magnet.

The first kiss was instantly deep. Louis’ hands cupped Harry’s hips instinctively, holding him steady, a quiet growl falling from his lips. Harry’s blood raced in response, slick already leaking between his legs, as his tongue licked into Louis’ mouth while his hands explored, running along the outline of the alpha’s body.

“You’ve been teasing me all night, looking like a fucking dream, and the minute you get me alone, all of that attitude and your games go right out the window, don’t they?” Louis asked, voice low. “Why do you do it?”

Harry grinned, cheeks warm as his palms rested over Louis’ shoulders. “It keeps things interesting, doesn’t it?”

The alpha watched him closely, gaze dark, while he stroked one hand down Harry’s side before settling over the dip of his waist. “I can never tell with you.”

“Tell what?”

“If you like me or not.”

Harry swallowed thickly. “I’m not supposed to like you. I’m supposed to just want to fuck you.”

Louis didn’t respond, his expression remaining unreadable, and then he slowly nodded. His mouth found Harry’s again in another ravenous, hot, wet kiss. Harry felt mad with need as their touches soon turned desperate. The seat of his pants was damp and uncomfortable, and he wanted to take them off. He also wanted to take Louis’ clothes off and for the two of them to preferably be horizontal. But the bed felt like it was too far and Harry didn’t think he could wait, his entire body tingling with anticipation. Louis’ lips trailed down to suck on the spot where Harry’s neck met his shoulder, a touch too close to his mating spot. The thought of Louis marking him there made the omega drop his head back with a moan.

Inching closer, Louis’ hands slid down to cup Harry’s bum and rubbed the front of their bodies together. Harry could feel the length of the alpha’s cock, thick and straining in his pants. Another moan escaped him and his hands grappled at whatever part of Louis that he could reach.

“Come on,” Louis said, voice rough and gravelly. “Come to bed.”

His skin where Louis marked him ached satisfyingly. Harry lifted his hand to touch the swollen, wet spot on his neck while trailing after Louis toward his bedroom. Inside, Louis shoved him hard against the door, once again pressing a string of hot, slow kisses to the skin of his throat down to the front of his neck. His warm, heady smell surrounded Harry like a vice and Harry’s fingers curled around the fabric of Louis’ shirt, holding him close. His eyes took in the messy, yet inviting state of the bed, wanting to direct Louis toward it so that they could get to the main show, but Louis seemed completely content as he was, lips making their way toward his chest now.

Before Harry could anticipate it, Louis’ mouth was wrapped around one of his pert nipples over the thin material of his top, drawing it deeply into his mouth. Harry whined, keening and writhing against the door beneath Louis. His nipples had always been very sensitive and Louis knew it too well. A quiet heat unfurled in the pit of Harry’s stomach and he panicked, thinking he was about to come, so he pushed Louis back.

“Please,” Harry breathed out. “Take me to bed.”

Louis’ expression softened in a way Harry had never seen before, an unexpected warmth to his smile and kind eyes. “Yeah, baby. I’ll do whatever you want.”

The alpha’s gaze dragged down the length of Harry’s body slowly before he reached for his own waistband, pulling it down in one go. His cock popped out, long and thick, the tip gleaming wet while his knot was forming at the base. Seeing that, Harry immediately sprung into action, peeling off his leather pants, kicking off his boots, and unbuttoning his top. Once they were both naked, Louis smiled, wrapping his arms around Harry’s waist, and rolling their hips together.

They fell on the bed with Harry underneath, both feverishly rutting against each other. Harry wound his arms around Louis’ neck and pulled his head down so their lips met. The slick sound of them kissing filled the air, more tongue and choked breaths than anything. Louis’ tongue swept into Harry’s mouth and Harry tangled their legs together, eagerly. His entire body felt warm and heated, like it was on fire just from this. He couldn’t decide where he wanted to touch Louis, fingers splayed as they explored the alpha’s back and up to his hair, sinking into the soft, brown tendrils.

Louis drew Harry’s plump, swollen bottom lip between his teeth, tugging on it.

“You smell divine. What am I gonna find when I put my hand between your thighs?”

Harry just moaned softly in response, hips lifting to push Louis along. With a half-lidded gaze, Louis pulled his torso back just enough so that he could slip his hand between them. A choked sound left Harry’s lips as the alpha pushed two fingers inside of him with barely any restraint.

“Your cunt is fucking soaking, love,” Louis rasped, using Harry’s slick to stroke along the lips of his clean-shaven pussy, pumping three fingers in this time. His thumb rubbed over the small nub between Harry’s cock and his opening, and the omega’s back arched with a shaky gasp, a drop of pearly, milky liquid forming at the tip of his small cock.

“Fuck me,” Harry begged. “Please, just like that, Alpha.”

“Fuck,” Louis swore lowly. He removed his fingers from Harry and gripped his own cock, heavy and red. Slowly, he pumped the tip against Harry’s clit and along his opening, coating it with his slick thoroughly. “When I get inside of you, I’m going to lose my mind. Been waiting for this since the last time.”

“Yeah,” Harry keened, practically presenting his lower half for Louis to take. Finally, the alpha pressed into him, the head of his cock sliding inside just an inch or two. He pulled back, making the omega whine in protest, before rubbing against his core once more and breaching only slightly inside. Harry felt like crying. He looked to Louis with wild, imploring eyes. “Just do it. I can take it.”

Louis shook his head, bemused, but relenting. He shifted back before thrusting back in one go, burying himself to the hilt. A gasp fell out of Harry’s plump, bitten lips, and he froze. With Louis sitting up on his haunches, Harry wrapped his legs around his waist, holding him there so he wouldn’t move.

“Fucking strangling my cock, darling,” Louis chuckled, rocking back and forth to ease the feeling for them, but it only made Harry wince as he squeezed around Louis. Maybe he wasn’t as ready as he thought he was. He really should trust Louis during moments like this and not get so caught up in everything.

The omega rested his hands over Louis’ shoulders, feeling drunk and dizzy already, as he slurred, “Kiss me.”

With one palm flat on the space beside Harry’s head, Louis used the other to pull Harry’s chin forward and kiss him deeply. It was enough to distract Harry, enough to loosen his body so that Louis was now fucking into him in quick, deep jabs, pounding the omega into the bed. Their lips fell apart and Harry sighed and whimpered. A wet, squelching sound soon reached his ears, and he blushed at how much slick he was leaking. The sheets beneath them were soaked, the smell of cherries overwhelmingly surrounding them. Each time Louis’ cock slipped through his wet cunt, Harry gushed out another wave of slick, making a complete mess.

“Always so wet for me, aren’t you, baby?” Louis asked.

Harry nodded, whispering, “Yes, yes, yes, like that,” as Louis sunk into his heat again, again, and again.

Their hips fell together in a steady rhythm, slap of flesh against flesh echoing in the room. Louis gripped Harry’s hips while Harry chanted Louis’ name over and over, like a prayer on his lips.

“That’s it,” Louis praised. “Good omega. Fucking perfect. Always so fucking perfect.”

“You feel so good,” Harry returned, hands stroking down the alpha’s smooth back, tracing over the dimples at the base of his spine.

“Perfect little pussy, always milks my cock so well,” Louis said, his moans growing throatier.

His coordination became jerkier, arms shaking as he struggled to hold himself up, and within seconds, Louis pulled out of him, coming in strong waves over the sheets. It took a minute for him to ease down, a satisfied smile stretching across his face. He focused back on Harry, lifting his hips off the bed until the alpha was face-level with his cock. Louis spread Harry’s legs apart and Harry gaped at him, staring at him from the awkward angle he was in.

Louis breathed deeply against his wet, sensitive tip before his lips moved along the shaft, half-kissing and half-licking over it. Harry whimpered, thrusting forward and against Louis’ face. Louis responded by opening his mouth and covering Harry’s cock, giving it a long, greedy suck. He pulled back and licked his way down until he reached Harry’s clit, licking and sucking the nub between his lips.

Harry’s orgasm washed over him like a jolt and he came with a shout that pierced the room, his body wracking completely. Slowly, Louis lowered his body down on the bed again and crawled forward until he was lying beside Harry. He pulled him close, their bodies tangled and still lightly shaking.

Wincing at the wet spot beneath him, Harry rolled them over until they reached a more dry spot on the bed. Once he was comfortable over the alpha, one leg resting over his legs, Harry shut his eyes.

“Don’t even think about falling asleep,” he said.

“I’m not,” Louis yawned. “I’m awake.”

“You better be. Round two, I expect two more orgasms.”

“Anything for you, Baby Styles.”

Harry couldn’t see Louis’ face, but he could hear the smile in his tone. Smiling to himself, he covered his face in the crook of Louis’ neck.

・❥・

Sunlight filtered in through the blinds, shining over Louis’ face. He slowly opened his eyes, vision bleary, and began to blink awake. There was a satisfying, bone-deep ache in his body that always came after a night of sex. He looked to his left and chuckled to himself when he realised Harry had shifted all the way to Louis’ side of the bed, limbs sprawled and still deeply sleeping. There was so much space for the both of them and Harry chose to be up against Louis, sharing his pillow and stealing all of his body heat. Greedy little omega.

Louis sat up, allowing his gaze to sweep over his bedmate and all of his smooth, creamy skin. At the moment, he was lying on his stomach, arms splayed over Louis’ pillow, and one of his legs was crooked to the side while the other lay straight, exposing the light pink flesh between his thighs. Louis couldn’t help but stare at the swollen pussy, one that he ravaged last night as he had promised Harry multiple orgasms. It had been a long time since they’d seen each other, so they were naturally making up for lost time, although Louis hadn’t abstained from hook-ups in the slightest.

He had a bit of a reputation. With a string of lovers across every continent, he always had an omega to keep his bed warm if he wanted. This one, in particular, was probably his favourite at the moment, but he wouldn’t tell him that. Harry would definitely get in his head about it and make it a whole thing, which wasn’t worth it.

Climbing out of bed, Louis stretched and walked to the bathroom where he brushed his teeth and freshened up. He grabbed a pair of boxers from his dresser and then made his way to his kitchen. He’d had some groceries delivered yesterday morning and ordered a couple of avocados as he remembered Harry’s preferred breakfast was an avocado toast with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and some lemon zest. While he set about making that, he also prepared himself a greasy and filling breakfast sandwich while answering all of the people he’d ignored last night. Liam had texted him to let him know what time they were leaving later that day to go to Manchester for their next show and the band group chat was making crude comments about Louis and Harry since they’d left together.

Considering this wasn’t the first time the two of them had left a show or event together, nor would it be their last, Louis found it silly that his friends were still making jokes. As if the other band members weren’t notorious for the numerous hook-ups they had lined up on any given day. None of them were in relationships and yeah, Louis probably slept around the most, but he was consistent. Harry was someone he was consistent with.

They’d met a little over two years ago at a fashion show. It was Louis’ first one that he attended and he'd sat in the front row for Yves Saint Laurent. He remembered geeking out about it, taking a variety of pictures to show off to his friends. When the show began, he focused on the models more than he did on the clothes. They were all beautiful and potential options for a hook-up, but it was Harry who caught his attention the most. His powder white complexion, rouge lips, and enticing green eyes.

When the models walked the runway, they never looked directly at the audience but rather they looked straight ahead with a neutral expression. However, to this day, Louis swore he saw Harry’s eyes flit in his direction for a split second. Whenever he brought it up, Harry denied it and Louis never believed him. He knew what he saw! He was so sure of it and all he’d wanted to do the rest of that night was find the model, which he did during the after-party.

With a drink in hand, Louis idled by himself in the corner, watching the crowd and wondering who he should speak to. He then noticed Harry at the bar, changed into a tight-fitted suit, glittering underneath the dim lights. It was a breathtaking sight and Louis just wanted to capture it. He raised his phone discreetly to snap a picture of Harry, thinking he’d send it to his boys, but also keep it for himself, when suddenly the flash went off.

Louis’ hand fumbled in surprise and he dropped his phone, cursing under his breath. His cheeks were crimson hot and he genuinely wanted to disappear. What could be worse than having your fucking flash on when you were trying to take a discreet picture of someone hot? Absolutely nothing. He hid his face while picking up his phone and hoped Harry didn’t notice the bright flash. There were lots of photographers around. Hopefully, the cute model would just think it was one of them.

When he rose with his phone in hand, he was stunned to see Harry standing in front of him, sipping from his tiny straw as he fixed Louis with a knowing smirk. Louis grimaced as he straightened up and pocketed his phone.

“With the way you’ve been eyeing me all night, I’d say take a picture, it’ll last longer, but…” Harry trailed off before giggling delightedly.

“Sorry,” Louis said. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“Was it a nice picture at least?”

“Honestly, I dropped my phone, so I probably didn’t even get anything.”

“Too bad,” Harry replied, puckering his pink lips. “I’m Harry.”

“Louis,” the alpha introduced himself, easing up a bit now that he saw Harry was joking with him. He appeared friendly and kind of cool about it all, given the circumstances.

Harry leaned in closer as he sucked on his straw again. Louis was immediately struck by the omega’s cherry-sweet scent, permeating the air around him. “So, Louis. Are you going to show me a good time tonight or does your reputation precede you?”

“You know who I am?” Louis asked him, lips quirked up in a smile.

Nodding, Harry leaned further in until his lips reached Louis’ ear, as though he was getting ready to stay the dirtiest, most inappropriate thing. Instead, he said, “You make alright music.”

Louis chuckled good-naturedly. “Shit, darling. Not even going to try to sugarcoat it?”

“I’m a little drunk, so, the filter’s gone, I’m afraid,” Harry smiled, cheeks dimpling.

Louis was a goner at that point, moving closer and letting his knuckles brush over Harry’s hand. “Alright, I’ll bite. What else do you think about me?”

Harry hummed as he pondered over his response. “Your tattoos are really dumb and I think your accent is weird.”

“Coming from you with your mixed accents, I think that’s funny of you to say.”

“I was born in France but grew up in London.”

“Where do you live now?”

“Mostly Paris, but I travel quite a bit, so not there as much as I’d like to be. What about you?”

“I grew up in a small town called Doncaster in South Yorkshire. That’s where my accent comes from. I live in London now, though. Also, what have you got against my tattoos?”

Harry laughed brightly. “They’re a bit silly. Like, what is this?” He touched Louis’ arm with his pointer finger, letting it slowly slide down his skin. “Tic tac toe? What are you? A toddler? I’d never get tattoos and if I did, they wouldn’t be random scribbles.”

Louis soon realised this was Harry’s way of flirting with him. Coy and teasing. He continued to do it all night, the two of them ditching the rest of the party to only hang out with each other. A couple of hours later, they headed to the after-after party at a nearby nightclub. Louis had a good buzz going, slightly nervous with how confident and sure Harry appeared, and he wanted to make a good impression. Instead, he made himself look like a complete knob dancing to every song while Harry watched him with a judgemental but endeared stare.

The night ended with them in Louis’ hotel room, tangled in the sheets until the sun came up. It was understood that it was just a sex thing because neither of them reached out to each other after that night. Louis got busy with his music, while Harry continued to take the modelling world by storm. They met again in Paris a few months later when Louis was in town and remembered that Harry said he lived there.

When they inevitably ended up in bed together again, they came to an agreement to have some no-strings-attached fun. Neither were ready for a serious relationship and that has continued to stay true. It was easy with Harry. They got each other on another level. Usually, Louis didn’t sleep with the same omega multiple times in a row because they got possessive and eventually wanted more. Harry, on the other hand, never did.

The omega soon shuffled into the kitchen wearing one of Louis’ oversized t-shirts and boxers. He looked groggy and a little grumpy in an endearing way, a slight wobble to his gait that had Louis feeling prouder than he should. The alpha watched on as Harry plopped down on the high-top seat in front of his kitchen island, blinking at him blearily while yawning.

“Morning, sunshine,” Louis greeted him. “Tired you out, did I?”

“Sufficiently,” Harry grinned, his cheeks and lips slightly puffy from sleep. “I need food.”

“I’ve got you right here.” Louis grabbed the plate of avocado toast off the counter and placed it in front of Harry along with a warm cup of tea.

Harry bashfully smiled down at the plate, a rosy hue on his cheeks. “You made this for me?”

“Definitely didn’t make it for me. You know I can’t stand avocados.”

“Yes,” Harry nodded, picking up the toast. “Because you have terrible taste.”

“Love it when you sweet talk me.”

Harry took a large, uncoordinated bite and smiled blissfully as he chewed. “My situationships don’t usually make me breakfast.”

A flare of annoyance spread through Louis and he tried tamping it down as he said, “Have a lot of those, do you?”

Shaking his head, Harry took another bite, not even bothering to finish chewing before he responded. “You’re my only one at the moment. But I’ve dabbled as I’m sure you have, too.”

Louis didn’t respond as he poured some ketchup on his breakfast sandwich.

“My friends think I need to be in a relationship,” Harry continued. “Something about me being too afraid to commit because I’ve gotten too comfortable with hook-ups.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“I’m not really sure. It’s valid, I guess. I agreed to go on a date with this guy just to appease them. He’s a friend of a friend of a friend.”

Louis snickered like a little shit. “Sounds super promising. You’ll have to let me know how it goes. Where’s the date?”

“He’s taking me to dinner when I go to Milan next week. He’s a musician as well.”

Louis nodded in acknowledgment, once again not saying anything. They had rules with their arrangement and one of them was that they didn’t do jealousy. Jealousy made things messy. It meant feelings were involved, which would complicate their agreement.

“Where will you be next week?” Harry asked, his tone casual.

Louis smirked. “Not in Milan to fuck you after your date inevitably disappoints you.”

“Wasn’t asking that.” The omega shot him the middle finger and an eye roll.

“I’ll be in Paris. We have a show there. I was going to ask if you could make it, but I guess not.”

“I have work. That’s why I’ll be in Milan. Not just for the date.”

“Wasn’t asking that,” Louis mimicked him teasingly. “What kind of work are you doing there? Anything you can tell me?”

“I’m meeting with Alessandro from Gucci. He designed something that he wanted me to do fittings for. When are you back in London?”

“Not for another couple of months. We’re touring all of Europe. The U.K. leg is done early next week. I also have to pop into L.A. soon. Mum’s really sad about it.”

“Because she won’t see you?” Harry asked.

“Yeah. She was proper crying last night after the show.”

“I would too if I had a son like you.”

Louis narrowed his eyes and threw a large breadcrumb at Harry. “Wanker.”

Harry laughed, swerving away so the crumb fell on the floor. “Speaking of mums, I have to meet mine soon.” He popped the last bite of his toast into his mouth and got up, and Louis’ eyes once again dragged down the omega’s body, appreciating the delicate way he fit into Louis’ clothes. Since Harry was taller than him by a few inches, the shorts were skimpy on him. “Thanks for breakfast and the shag.”

He snorted. “You’re welcome. Until next time.”

“Can’t wait,” Harry smirked as he headed toward Louis’ bedroom, a waddle still present in his walk.

Louis wasn’t sure when the next time would be, but he was looking forward to it anyway.

・❥・

Vanity Fair was throwing a lavish cocktail party for the launch of their Hollywood Issue and Harry received an invite. He initially wasn’t going to go since he wasn’t featured in the issue this year, but then he figured a quick trip to Los Angeles would be nice since he hadn’t seen his friends out there in a minute and he also missed the beach. There were only so many times he could go to Saint Tropez to scratch that itch. He landed in L.A. on a warm May afternoon and got papped as he was leaving LAX. Later, while his glam team helped him get dressed and sorted his hair and face, he scrolled through the pictures and judged his post-flight pasty skin. Maybe he should be one of those people who did skincare on long flights.

“Should I do my skincare on long flights?” he asked his makeup artist, Cindy.

She furrowed her brows, focused on blending the blush on his cheeks. He didn’t like wearing too much makeup for events and Cindy was one of the few makeup artists who got it right, always giving him a nice, natural look that didn’t make him look too crazy or over the top.

“Up to you,” she replied. “Can get messy, though.”

“That’s what I thought,” Harry hummed. “I have seen some people do it on TikTok and they kept it to the basics. I don’t know if I can do that, but also —”

His phone vibrated in his hand with a notification from Instagram, interrupting him mid-sentence. Harry clicked on it and the app opened to his DMs with Louis where the alpha replied to Harry’s latest story — a picture of him sitting in front of his hotel room mirror with his glam team.

@louistomlinson: what color are you wearing tonight? shall we coordinate?

Harry rolled his eyes despite the bemused smile stretching across his face. Louis was going to be at tonight’s event as well. It would be their first time seeing each other in two months and the plan was to spend the night together, which made Harry feel tingly all over with anticipation. He didn’t respond to the message just yet and let Cindy finish up his makeup before going up to the full-length mirror and taking a picture of his outfit. It was all Alexander McQueen, down to the shimmery boots. Pink wide-leg flared trousers with a sparkly light pink, silk button-up on top. The shirt was loose fitting and Harry had a few of the buttons undone.

@harrystyles: Own anything in this color? [image]

Louis replied instantly, but Harry couldn’t read it. His team ushered him out of the room and down to the lobby since his car had been waiting for him to take him to the event. Once he got in and the driver took off, Harry opened Louis’ message again.

@louistomlinson: afraid not. will you be matching with that new boyfriend of yours?

Harry scoffed out a laugh at the message and typed and deleted his reply multiple times. He didn’t really know how to follow up. Tyler James was the alpha his friends had set him up with right after he last saw Louis. He was the winner of the latest X-Factor season and was currently working on his debut album after a string of hit singles. He was a cool guy and the date in Milan actually went well. They’d gotten along and spent some more time together over the last few weeks. A lot of this was captured by people who spotted them outside and then posted online for everyone to see and speculate about. They weren’t official or exclusive, but Harry would say they were definitely dating and seeing where things went.

@harrystyles: He’s not coming. We’re also not that corny.

@louistomlinson: right! i wouldn’t imagine tyler james to ever be corny… 🤭

@harrystyles: Ummmmm excuse you. What’s that supposed to mean?

@louistomlinson: not sure what you mean sweetheart. i never said a thing

Harry knew Louis and he knew when he was being a little shit even if he wouldn’t admit it. Tyler was probably not edgy enough for him, but not everyone made the same kind of music or had the same interests. Tyler was more in the pop lane. His songs were written by other professional writers as he hadn’t felt comfortable writing his own lyrics yet, but they were good. Relatable, fun stuff that you could hear while driving with the windows down on a sunny day. Louis, on the other hand, wrote every single song the band performed. He liked making a statement and being taken seriously as a musician.

@harrystyles: He’s a fun guy. I like hanging out with him.

@louistomlinson: nice!

Harry stared at the one-word response and he inhaled deeply before letting out a breath.

@harrystyles: He says he likes my accent and all my jokes and he wants to marry me.

The omega watched as Louis typed, then stopped, started typing, and then stopped again multiple times. In the end, nothing came through. Turning his phone off, he started feeling a little silly for even saying anything. He didn’t need to prove anything to Louis about Tyler. Louis could be a shit, but now Harry’s said all those things even if they were true, and he wasn’t sure what Louis was thinking. Probably weirded out by it. When his phone buzzed in his palm again, he nearly dropped it trying to open the message.

@louistomlinson: he sounds like a charmer

@louistomlinson: anyway, when are you coming to the event? i’m here and it’s kind of boring

@harrystyles: I’m on my way. You know… I’m actually a little excited to see you.

@louistomlinson: really?

@harrystyles: Hahahaa, just kidding.

@louistomlinson: i get the feeling you’re not 🙂

When Harry arrived, there was a short red carpet to walk down and a couple of quick interviews to do. The inside of the venue was filled with actors, musicians, models, and influencers. Harry began to make his rounds, saying hello to everyone he knew, and was introduced to some new faces. At one point, he’d briefly seen Louis and they said hi in passing, but Harry at the time was being pulled toward a group of people by an actress that he’d once done a shoot with and he didn’t want to be rude and leave her.

Now that he was done with the formalities, he was embarrassingly eager to just shoot the shit with Louis. As much as he was joking with him and playing coy via text, Harry really was looking forward to seeing him. Louis and he always had fun together and not just in the bedroom. There were times when they talked for hours after having sex, getting to know each other on a deeper level, but also just cracking jokes about the dumbest things. They weren’t afraid to hurt each other’s feelings so there was always a level of friendly banter. Industry events like this could feel a bit fake at times. Having someone like Louis by his side during them felt like a fresh breath of air. Like he could actually be himself and not care about appearances for once.

However, now that Harry was free, it appeared Louis wasn’t. He was talking to this pretty omega with curly blonde hair and a nice rack. Harry figured he’d let them finish up before approaching Louis, but the conversation went on for so long that Harry began to feel… some type of way. The more that ugly feeling sat in the pit of his stomach, the more he realised it was jealousy. The absurdity of it wasn’t lost on him. It wasn’t like he had any right to feel this way and it also went against their agreement. They weren’t exclusive and they weren’t an item. It was just that Harry was so used to Louis always giving him attention when they were in the same room, him not doing it now was making Harry feel like he had to fight for it.

The omega’s mood began to sour to the point where he couldn’t think straight. He took three steady deep breaths before marching over to Louis. Both Louis and Blondie glanced up at him, their faces breaking out into smiles, except Louis’ faltered slightly as he inhaled discreetly.

“Harry,” the alpha said. “Done with all the pleasantries?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Are you?”

Louis’ eyes widened at his testy tone and he chuckled awkwardly. “This is Nell.”

“Hi!” Nell greeted him with a bright, friendly smile. “I’m such a big fan.”

“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you,” Harry replied, feeling slightly like a dick now that he could see she was actually very nice. “Do you work at Vanity Fair?”

“I don’t,” she shook her head. “I’m a content creator.”

Harry nearly rolled his eyes but refrained. Of course, Louis was chatting up some Internet starlet. Based on Louis’ history and track record, they seemed to be his type. Just great! The jealousy inside of him simmered and he must have been emitting some serious bad vibes because he felt Louis place a calming hand over the bottom of his spine.

“Nell here was just chatting to me about Christian. Says she has a crush,” Louis told him.

Harry’s lips parted in shock. “Oh. Um… Christian?”

“Isn’t he so dreamy?” Nell asked him, her blue eyes going all doe-like. “Although, you bagged yourself a hottie, too. Tyler James is the number one Internet boyfriend right now.”

“Is he?” Louis tilted his head to the side.

Nell nodded eagerly while Harry felt himself loosen up and calm down a bit. He had no idea what had come over him, but now that he realised Nell liked Christian, Harry felt like the danger was gone. The feelings coursing through him were confusing and alarming and he needed them to all stop.

“We’re just dating at the moment,” Harry told her. “Not official or anything.”

“Well, you gotta make it exclusive! He’s so hot and he’s got the best voice. Don’t want to take too long and lose him, you know?”

Harry nodded slowly but didn’t respond.

“Anyway,” Louis exhaled a quiet laugh. “I’ll be sure to tell Christian you said hello.”

“Yes,” Nell’s eyes brightened. “And I will see you at your next show.”

“Can’t wait,” Louis smiled amiably as Nell walked away.

Once the alpha and omega were alone, they both faced each other, not saying anything but also saying everything with the small, quiet smiles they were exchanging. Louis’ hand was still on the small of Harry’s back and he was leaning further into it, enjoying the warmth. He felt the ground steady beneath him now that he had all of Louis’ attention on him.

“Shall we get out of here?” Louis asked him.

Harry breathed out a laugh. “We just got here.”

“I know, but I’m bored. Do you need to be here?”

Now that Harry thought about it, he didn’t. He’d already said hi to everyone he needed to so if he left, he wouldn’t really miss anything. Except, the party was full of gossips. People with cameras and eagle eyed stares. If Nell thought Harry was in a committed relationship, chances were a lot of people in here did. They wouldn’t know the truth, so when he left with Louis, it would make him look bad. They’d definitely judge him and call him names. But looking at Louis’ pretty face now and thinking about all the ways this night could get better, Harry realised he didn’t care about what everyone else thought. Being with Louis would be worth it.

He shook his head and Louis grinned. “Okay, then let’s go.”

They ended up at an In ‘N Out on Sunrise Boulevard. Harry rarely let himself indulge in fast food because model life had its downsides and one of them was being on a health kick all the time. Still, Louis coaxed Harry into getting a double-double, a strawberry milkshake, and sharing animal-style fries with him.

“It’s only for one night,” Louis had said persuasively.

Except Harry didn’t really want the night to end. He was devouring his delicious, greasy food, uncaring of how he looked in front of Louis, and laughing over the silliest things. At times, Harry did question his feelings toward Louis. How could he not when there was so much that worked between them? Their sexual chemistry, for one, was unmatched. Harry constantly felt like he was in heat whenever he was around Louis without the alpha even touching him. One look and Harry was wet. But there were things outside of that too, like the way Louis always made Harry feel so at ease around him. He knew exactly what Harry needed and he always delivered.

Once they finished their food, they trashed their wrappers and began walking aimlessly down the block. They’d come there with Louis’ car and security team s0 both bodyguards were lurking nearby, keeping an eye on them. As they walked, Louis’ arm brushed against Harry’s while he pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it up beneath his palm. Harry watched him and felt the seat of his pants dampen. If Louis smelled it, he didn’t comment, continuing to walk as he exhaled the smoke.

“I wonder if Nell’s having an alright night,” Louis said.

“Awww, you miss her,” Harry commented, petty and mocking. “Shall we go back and find her? Maybe you could change up your plans tonight.”

“She’s into Christian, you idiot,” Louis reminded him, narrowing his eyes with a smirk on his lips. “What was that back at the party, by the way? Never witnessed the sour side of your scent like that.”

Harry shrugged, feeling his cheeks warm. “Nothing.”

“Nothing,” Louis repeated. “Because we don’t do jealous, right?”

“No, we don’t,” Harry confirmed, not meeting his eyes. It was true, but that didn’t mean Harry didn’t feel anything. “Anyway, should we head back to yours or mine? Unless…you’re still thinking about Nell.”

“Shut up,” Louis huffed out. “And we’ll leave eventually. Don’t care whose hotel we go to, but I need to walk and digest a bit.”

Harry let out a dramatic, long-suffering sigh but continued to walk alongside Louis. He could hear the alpha snickering next to him so he asked, “What?”

“Remember how you hated me the first time we met, almost exactly three years ago? And now you’re so excited for our night together that you can’t wait to leave.”

Harry definitely didn’t hate Louis the first time they met. In fact, how he felt was the furthest thing from hate. It was a pure need to be fucked by the pretty alpha, but he played it off differently. Louis was unlike his usual type and he didn’t know how to get his attention and keep it, so he just acted like he wasn’t interested in him.

“I still hate you, but it doesn’t seem like that bothers you,” he replied.

“Watch it,” Louis nudged him playfully with his shoulder. “Or you won’t be getting this cock that you’re currently wet for.”

Harry elbowed him back. “As if you’re not dying to be inside of me right now.”

“You know, if you keep running that bratty little mouth of yours, I’ll have to just call someone else.”

“Who?” Harry cackled. “Nell? She doesn’t even like you.”

“Yeah, well, neither do you, love, but at least Nell has better hair.”

Harry gasped, shrill and dramatic. “Take that back, you fucking prick!”

Louis let out a peal of laughter, dodging Harry’s hands as he reached out to shove at him. They playfully fought until Louis’ security team came over and told them to break it up because people were starting to notice. Both of them were panting slightly, gazes transfixed on one another. All the grunting and touching on Louis’ end got Harry worked up even more than he already was, and the smell of his arousal was thick. Louis tilted his head to the side, gesturing for Harry to get into the large black car that pulled up for them. Harry gave him a heated, sultry look before climbing inside.

・❥・

Louis followed Niall into The Clarence, a pub in Mayfair that had all the classics with a contemporary charm to it. He frequented this spot quite often, enjoying the soft lighting and intimate setting they had going on. Today, though, they were sitting outside in the beer garden, wanting to enjoy the warm July weather and escape the hustle and bustle of the city. As soon as they sat down, Niall ordered them pints to start and they perused the menu before placing their orders and settling in.

Now that the tour was over, everyone was back in their home base or on holiday. Louis had been in London for two weeks after a short trip to Mexico with a few of his friends. As nice as it was being in one place for more than a few days, he was starting to get a bit bored. A lot of that was due to him suddenly having all this free time and not knowing how to fill it. Thankfully, Niall also happened to be in London and he texted Louis to grab dinner tonight.

The beta had his shades on while he sipped his beer, letting out a satisfied sigh. “So, Tommo,” he said. “Tell me. What the fuck have you been up to?”

“A lot of sleeping and smoking weed,” Louis replied truthfully. “Which really amounts to nothing, but yeah.”

“Time off like this is vital, dude. We all need to rest and let ourselves recharge before we start up again.”

“How long, though? I’ve been kind of itching to start writing for the next album already.”

Niall’s brows rose, his expression intrigued. “Yeah? Why aren’t you?”

“Well, I want to write, but I haven’t felt very inspired lately,” Louis admitted, picking up his pint for a drink. “Everything I’ve jotted down has been shit.”

“You know what they call that, right?”

“Burn out,” Louis answered for him. “I know, I know. I still want to write, though. I feel like there’s something inside me that I want to write about, but it’s not coming out properly.”

“You just need to live life a little. Experience things. Normal life, relationships, feelings, and all that, and then the words will flow right out of you. That’s what I think at least.”

Louis supposed that was true, but what was normal for him, anyway? Was it working as a musician and travelling the world or was it this mundane day to day? Neither ever felt normal. It took time and adjustment and then he was back to the beginning each time. It was a silly thing to stress about when there were so many people who dreamt of this life, who didn’t have the privileges that he did, so Louis quickly shook those thoughts away and focused on his friend.

“What about you?” he asked. “What have you got going on?”

“I’m going to Ireland next weekend,” Niall replied. “I’ll be there about three weeks, I think… Could be more, but then I’m back. If you want, I can go to the studio with you and do some writing sessions.”

“Of course, mate,” Louis nodded. “I’ll see if Christian and Ziggy are around.”

“Christian’s currently in Barbados with his bird. They made up. Ziggy…has essentially disappeared from the face of the earth, but I assume he’ll resurface when it’s time.”

Louis chuckled, nodding in agreement. They continued to catch up until their dinners arrived. After that, they ate, talking here and there about the music they’d been listening to, shows they’d caught up on, etc. Mid-way through the meal, Louis’ phone vibrated on the table and he peered at it, eyeing the notification from Instagram that Harry had messaged him. It would be rude to look at it when he was at dinner with his friend, but he opened it and read it, anyway.

@harrystyles: Sorry, I just got off a long fucking flight. Back in Paris for the summer. I’m exhausted.

@harrystyles: But I agree with you. Beyonce’s self-titled album is one of her best.

“What are you smiling like that about?”

Looking up, the alpha found Niall watching him with a curious gleam in his eye. He hadn’t even realised he’d been smiling. “Sorry,” he said. “I just got a message from Harry.”

The nosy brat that he was, Niall peered over the table at Louis’ screen and Louis quickly snatched his phone off the table. “What?” Niall laughed. “Is he sexting you?”

“No, he’s not sexting me, idiot. We’re just talking about stuff.”

“Like what?”

“None of your business.”

“Why do you two always talk on Instagram DMs? Haven’t exchanged numbers yet?”

“We have,” Louis answered. “But most times when we talk, we’re just replying to some story or post. We’re not the texting type, I guess.”

“You’re texting each other all the time on Instagram DMs.”

“True,” Louis slowly trailed off. “But it’s different. Like we’re not hitting each other up out of the blue and asking about our days. We’re not friends like that. We’re more the kind of friends who don’t see each other for months and so our only form of communication or way of keeping up is through social media.”

“When was the last time you hung out?”

“L.A. back in May.”

The memories of their night together suddenly came back in flashes and Louis felt his cock twitch at the images in his mind — Harry’s long limbs tangled with his between the white, hotel sheets, the two of them naked in the moonlit swimming pool after hours, the breathy sounds spilling from Harry’s lips every time they touched. The alpha took a steady breath and ate a bite of his food, removing those thoughts from his brain for now.

The night was great in other ways, too, although at first, it started a little shaky. Harry got jealous of Nell, even if he didn’t admit it. Louis didn’t push him too much on it because he couldn’t call him out or fault him for it. He’d felt that way about Harry in the past, too. He supposed with their biology it was unavoidable. They couldn’t always keep their emotions in check. But past that, spending time with Harry and making him laugh was the highlight of that trip for Louis.

Louis just wished they could spend more than a night together at a time. Every time was so quick, a bit of touch and go. And they always had to wait so long in between to see each other, for some chance or fated meeting at an event or a show, to somehow be in the same city at the same time. If Louis were completely honest with himself, he missed the omega. Saying that out loud felt a little dangerous, but admitting it to himself was a little freeing.

Harry did say he was back in Paris for the summer and Louis was free for the foreseeable future. It dawned on him that they didn’t always have to wait for a chance to see each other. Maybe it would be okay to make a trip just for this. If anything, Louis could make it a work thing. He was lacking inspiration for his songwriting and what better place to find it than the city of love? Before he could get too lost in the weeds about how this would work, he texted Harry.

@louistomlinson: haven’t visited paris in the summer before

@louistomlinson: is it nice?

@harrystyles: Probably the best time of the year to visit, in my opinion.

@louistomlinson: i’m thinking of popping by. i have time off this summer and have been wanting to go somewhere

@harrystyles: Weren’t you just in Mexico with your “lad crew”?

@louistomlinson: that’s different! this would be a solo trip, very chill and all that

@harrystyles: Ahhh, and where are you planning to stay?

@louistomlinson: haven’t thought that far ahead but i guess in a box outside of your flat

@harrystyles: Makes sense! You were born for the streets so you’d be right at home.

@louistomlinson: 🙂

@harrystyles: But…I mean, I might have some space in my flat…

@louistomlinson: is that an invitation?

@harrystyles: You get the shoe closet and that’s it!

@louistomlinson: lol see you soon, baby styles

Louis hadn’t expected Harry to be so open to it. They’d never spent prolonged time in each other’s places outside of just quick one-night trysts. It made Louis excited and he was looking forward to it the more he thought about it. As soon as he was home, he was going to book his ticket.

“What are you smiling about now?” Niall asked him. “Did he send a dick pic?”

“No,” Louis shook his head as he laughed. “We were just talking about me visiting him.”

“You’re visiting him? Like you’re going to stay together?”

Louis nodded.

Niall whistled lowly. “Shit. Things are moving along, then.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you two are inevitably going to fall in love. You know that, right?”

“Fuck off,” Louis snorted. “We aren’t going to fall in love. I’m visiting him so I can have a good shag and also so I can visit the city and find some of that inspiration I’ve been lacking.”

“Yeah, and you’re going to find the inspiration when you’re boning Harry and realising you’re actually in love with him.”

“Niall,” Louis deadpanned. “Be serious. We’re fuck buddies. He’s literally so different from me. All high-maintenance and that. Trouble, too.”

“No, he’s not. He’s perfect for your stupid arse. You’re obsessed with him. The fact that you’re travelling to Paris just to see him and be with him should be enough proof for you that you’re falling for him.”

“You’re out of your mind,” Louis said.

Niall just shrugged, looking unconvinced even as Louis denied his accusations. The alpha would just have to prove him wrong.

・❥・

Paris was currently in a heatwave and somehow, Harry’s aircon decided now was a great time to stop working.

His flat was a sweltering hot pot and he was sure he was going to die. It was only noon and he’d taken two showers already because that was the only thing cooling him down, though temporarily. However, a quick trip down to his corner boulangerie for some baked goods and coffee had him sweating by the time he got back inside. The omega changed out of his clothes and decided he needed to stop moving in order to not burn up, so he laid on his marble floor by his wide open window, trying to cool off as much as he could.

It was at that time that Louis texted him that he was downstairs. Harry didn’t want to get up and go fetch him, so he sent him the code, but then realised the door to his flat was still locked and there was no code there. Rising to his feet, the omega padded over to the front door and swung it open just as Louis stepped out of the elevator. He was dressed in all black and had a giant weekender bag in hand.

“Hey,” Harry said, a soft smile on his lips. “Welcome.”

“Thanks, darling,” Louis replied, popping a kiss on his cheek as he walked in. “It’s fucking boiling. I feel like my sweat is sweating.”

Harry closed the door behind him and locked it. “I have bad news.”

When he faced the alpha, he noticed his darkened gaze as he took in Harry’s clothes or lack thereof. He was dressed in a tiny pair of white linen shorts, which were more appropriate for the beach as his bum was half hanging out, and a matching top with spaghetti straps. Harry wished he could say he was dressed this way for Louis, but this was not his choice.

“I feel a bit overdressed,” Louis commented cheekily as he gave Harry another once-over.

“My aircon is broken, knothead. That’s the bad news.”

“Shit,” Louis hissed out, running his hand down his clammy face. “Have you called anyone to come and fix it?”

“I have. They told me they’ll try, but many places are having this same issue. Something about all the generators overheating and malfunctioning.”

“Alright, guess we’ll have to make the most of it. Where shall I put my things?”

“Well, I have a guest room, if you want to use it, but…,” Harry trailed off, looking at the ground pointedly while his cheeks turned pink. “You can also just stay with me. It’s the same thing, right?”

Louis exhaled a laugh. “Yeah, it’s all the same. You want to give me a tour?”

Harry nodded, leaning away from the door and leading Louis past the foyer. He lived in one of the more modern, renovated buildings in Champs-Élysées. They’d installed all-new marble flooring and intricate gold crown moulding in every room of the flat, giving it a classy and cool look. The sitting room, where Harry had been before Louis got there, featured floor-to-ceiling windows that had a pretty view of the Paris skyline, a crystal chandelier, and plush, velvet champagne-coloured sofas.

They walked through the kitchen, the dining room, the balcony, and the small gym Harry had. Louis oohed and ahhed at everything with an appraising smile. He was also constantly finding ways to touch Harry. A light brush of his fingers along the small of Harry’s back. Three fingers trailed down his exposed arm, making shivers run up the omega’s spine. Louis had barely been here for more than ten minutes and he was already doing Harry in.

Finally, they made it to the master bedroom. Harry’s king-sized bed lay in the centre, covered in all white sheets and a goose-feather comforter. Similar to the sitting room, he had floor-to-ceiling windows in here, too, with a great view of the Eiffel Tower. Currently, the windows were all spread open, his silk curtains billowing from the smallest gusts of wind that passed through.

“So this is it,” Harry said, once he was done showing Louis everything. “My little sanctuary.”

Louis stood in the middle of the bedroom as his eyes took everything in. “It’s very nice. A good mix of comfort and sophistication, just like you. Funny how I’ve never come over.”

“We never had the opportunity. You’ve always had a hotel when you’ve been here,” Harry pointed out as he walked closer to Louis.

All the walking and talking had once again heated Harry up and he was damp and clammy all over, especially between his thighs considering how, even now, Louis was reaching forward to run his forefinger along the waist of Harry’s shorts where a sliver of his skin was exposed. Harry knew Louis was turned on, too. He could smell his heady scent. The heat was making both of their arousals so potent and obvious that it was starting to suffocate Harry a little bit.

Louis’ eyes met Harry’s, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “How’s that boyfriend of yours? Does he mind that I’ve got you occupied for a bit?”

Harry sighed as he shook his head. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Right. Just someone that you’re seeing,” Louis remarked.

“Yeah. It’s not exclusive. He’s busy and I’m busy, so I haven’t let him make it official.”

“But he wants to be?”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. Don’t really care if I’m honest with you.”

“He’s a good lad,” Louis added, his tongue darting out to lick his bottom lip. “I heard one of his songs. Good face, too. A little funny looking, but I like that cause he still looks cool. Anyway, you didn’t answer my question. Does he know I’m here?”

“No,” Harry replied haughtily. “And I don’t need to tell him either.”

“Have you slept with him?”

Harry was too stunned to speak for a moment, eyes widening. Louis had never asked him about who he slept with outside of him. He couldn’t figure out why he was asking him this now.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Humor me,” Louis smiled, eyes twinkling.

Harry frowned slightly. “Yes, I have. Not that it matters to you.”

The alpha hummed, inching closer, bringing his heat with him. “Does he take care of you when you fuck?”

Before Harry could respond, Louis’ lips settled on his and Harry immediately opened for him. A swooping feeling in his stomach rushed through him as their tongues curled around one another, and he curved his spine into Louis, trying to get closer.

As their lips drew apart, Louis asked, “Does he hold you like this?”, just as his warm palm cupped the exposed part of Harry’s bum, squeezing it, making the omega’s breath catch. He’d been steadily leaking since Louis walked into the flat, but he could now feel his slick trickling down his thighs, pussy clenching with need.

“Or do you think I could easily fill his shoes?” the alpha continued to question him.

Harry’s nails sunk into Louis’ shoulder blades as he hauled him close instead of answering. They both knew the answer, anyway. Louis’ lips kissed down his throat, running along the length of the omega’s neck, lips languid and open. His erection was hard against Harry’s stomach, probably aching from being trapped beneath his jeans. He reached for it, palm curving around the head, and Louis let out a low growl.

In one smooth motion, he lifted Harry by gripping the back of his thighs and wrapped them around his waist. Harry nearly moaned at his strength, allowing the alpha to deposit him on his bed, flat on his back. Harry’s skin prickled with anticipation, his breathing uneven as he watched Louis pull his jeans and boxers down. His hair was wet from how sweaty he was, locks stuck together all uneven and messy, and yet, he was the hottest thing Harry had ever seen.

Louis kneed his way onto the bed and Harry gripped the front of his t-shirt, pulling him down for a short, hot, wet kiss. The alpha grinned at him as he sat back on his haunches, cock curving up over his abdomen, hot and thick at the base where the knot was forming.

“Let me get this off first,” Louis said, pulling his t-shirt over his head. “Fucking hell, it’s so hot.”

“Not as hot as you,” Harry added, cheesy smile to go with his cheesy comment.

Louis snickered out another laugh while he placed his fingers on Harry’s waistband, easing his shorts down his legs. “Is the heat getting to your head, love? You usually never compliment me.”

“That’s not true,” Harry denied while Louis methodically undid the buttons of his top, spreading the fabric open.

He expected Louis to tug it off, but Louis just trailed his fingers over his torso until his fingers rested over both of his nipples, stroking over the sensitive pink nubs. Harry gasped, arching up as Louis pinched both of them hard. It was just on this side of too much and the omega was squirming, twisting to get closer and also push Louis away. Tracking his movements, Louis eased up, just thumbing lightly over the pebbled buds.

“Please,” Harry whimpered after a bit, hand covering Louis’ to try and stop him.

“Could you come like this?”

Harry let out a shaky breath. “I don’t — I don’t know. But I don’t want to come like this. Not today.”

The alpha appeased him by letting them go and peeled off his top. He gestured for Harry to shift further up the bed and then helped him place a pillow beneath his bum, spreading his legs wide.

“We can try that another day,” Louis said.

“Yeah, I think I’d like to. How long are you staying?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t really think that far ahead.”

Harry tried fighting off the smile threatening to break across his face. They’d never spent this long together, but now the possibilities seemed endless. They could go out and Harry could show Louis the city. They could also spend a lot of time in the bedroom, trying and doing all the things they didn’t usually have time for. Harry had been wanting to try bondage during sex, but he was waiting for someone who he really trusted. And he definitely trusted Louis a lot more than he did other people he’d slept with.

As he daydreamed, he didn’t notice Louis lying on his stomach with his head situated between Harry’s thighs until he suddenly felt the alpha’s hot breath against his wet pussy. The omega immediately clenched up before relaxing, feeling Louis sliding his fingers back and forth along his silky smooth folds, coating his fingers with his slick before sliding one of them into his hole. It went in with ease and it felt so good that Harry felt his vision go hazy for a second, like he was seeing stars.

Louis added a second finger and moved both of them slowly, stretching Harry wider. The omega tilted his head back with a quiet moan, arching into the touch and thrusting his hips upward at the same time. Every time he drew them back, Louis’ fingers sunk back in deeper.

“God, your scent,” Louis rasped out. “Makes me feel like I’m out of my fucking mind.”

Harry turned his head, hiding his blushing face in his pillow as he felt Louis’ mouth ghost over his inner thigh and then his cunt. His body almost melted into the mattress when he felt the first press of the alpha’s tongue flatten against him, licking and sucking up the slick coursing out of him. He slowly made his way to the nub beneath Harry’s cock, lapping at it with soft, gentle strokes. Zips of pleasure rushed through Harry and a whimper left him when he felt Louis’ tongue flick at his clit.

“Fuck, fuck,” the omega chanted. “Feels so good.”

He began grinding down, practically rubbing himself against Louis’ face while Louis licked all the way from his opening to his clit and back down. The low groans emitting from the alpha only encouraged Harry to continue, eyes fluttering open and close.

At once, Louis pulled his face away, replacing his tongue on Harry’s clit with his thumb, gently stroking and pressing over it while fucking him with three fingers. Harry’s eyes met Louis’ and he nearly came when he saw Louis’ tongue dart out to lick over the glistening slick on his lips.

“Tell me how much you want me,” Louis demanded, voice airy.

“So much, so bad,” Harry babbled.

“Who does it for you like I do?”

“Nobody,” Harry cried out his confession as his back nearly arched off the bed from Louis’ fingers. His touch was now rough and fast, and Harry could feel that he was close.

It was building inside, but he needed something more. His whole body was damp with sweat and slick, as was Louis’, and he felt like he was going to die if he didn’t come soon. The alpha continued to move at a fast pace, now pushing in four of his fingers while his thumb took care of Harry’s clit. He lowered his head and snaked his tongue out to lick at Harry’s neglected cock. Harry made a keening noise, tilting his hips and shamelessly asking for Louis to suck him off, too. The alpha smirked at him, swirling his tongue along the sensitive tip, fingers slowing.

The back and forth between slow and fast became too much. Harry’s breathing was frantic and he could feel the tension racing through him. He raised his arms above his head to grip the pillow resting beneath him, and he lifted his hips, Louis’ name falling from his lips, begging and practically crying.

Within seconds, he let out a scream, and the orgasm washed over him intensely, come squirting and spraying out of him in waves in a way it never had before. Harry’s entire body shook as he rode it out, spurts of hot liquid flooding the sheets beneath him as well as Louis’ face and hand. When it finally stopped and subsided, Harry felt his entire body let go, loose and languid as he melted into the mattress, completely undone.

Louis, meanwhile, was kissing his way up Harry’s body, moving along the inside of his thighs to his knees, wiping his face clean against Harry’s skin. Now that he was more alert, Harry could see Louis’ face was drenched from his come and slick.

The sight made Harry’s belly twist and heat bloom in his cheeks. He allowed Louis to slowly kiss up his hips, belly button, stomach, and chest. When he reached his lips, their mouths met hungrily, and Harry raked his hands down the alpha’s back, wanting to hold him close. Louis didn’t work out, but he still had a nice body, all firm curves and hard lines. He smelled and tasted like Harry’s arousal and it was all so dirty and sexy that Harry couldn’t help but feel pleasure unfurl in his chest.

“I love your mouth. And your fingers,” he admitted to the alpha, a ragged sigh leaving him. “And your tongue.”

Louis breathed out a laugh. “Do you have orgasm brain, babe?”

Harry nodded lamely. His hands splayed over Louis’ shoulders and reached his neck where he gave it a gentle, soft squeeze. Their warm lips connected again and their body heat seeped together. It should be uncomfortable, but Harry felt like he didn’t mind the heat anymore. If anything, the sex was distracting him from how hot it was.

While kissing, they both managed to lie on their sides, facing one another. Harry slung his thigh over Louis’ waist as their tongues met again and again. He let out a soft whimper when he felt Louis’ hand between his thighs, teasing his swollen clit and rubbing it in tight circles.

“Think you can go again?”

A flood of moisture escaped his pussy and Harry nodded with a soft, satisfied sigh. Louis’ cock settled between his thighs as Harry spread his legs a little wider. With their positions, there was no smooth way to press into him. Harry clutched onto Louis as he slammed into him so hard, he nearly lost his breath.

“You have no idea how you look when you’re being fucked by me,” the alpha whispered to him as he fucked into him steadily, pace lazy and slow, easing in and out.

“Like what?” Harry asked, already being worked into a panting, squirming mess.

“You just open up like a flower,” Louis murmured. “Like a cherry blossom in the spring. It’s like you give up all control and give in to the pleasure of it. Love being inside of you, your perfect, tight little cunt.”

A gasp and a groan sounded from Harry as Louis gripped his hips and began to pound into him, increasing his pace. The alpha claimed his lips, kissing him with unbound hunger, making the omega whimper. He was so wet again that he could hear every thrust, and it made him feel flush all over.

Louis wrenched their lips apart, panting against Harry’s neck now, while Harry’s hands trembled over his chest. He could feel the promise of another orgasm building inside of him, but he knew that just like before, he needed more to be tipped over the edge.

“Louis,” he breathed out. “Alpha.”

Their eyes met immediately as Louis’ blue ones searched Harry’s own. “What do you need, baby?” Louis asked him, all the while his hips pistoned against Harry’s, cock sliding in and out of his body.

“Can you knot me?” Harry asked, his voice getting shy. “I mean… if you want. I don’t — I don’t mind. I just – oh, God – please knot me.”

“Yes,” Louis immediately replied. “Yes, yes, yes.”

They’d never done it before, but suddenly Harry couldn’t remember why. He didn’t care why. He just wanted Louis’ knot and he was ready to beg for it if he had to. But like always, the alpha gave him exactly what he wanted. Just after a few more thrusts, he popped his knot inside Harry’s pussy and their bodies became one. Harry registered the incredibly full feeling right before he realised they were both coming. Harry’s entire body went still for a moment as the orgasm swept over them without warning.

Once the shock subsided, Harry’s body shook from the power of it, and he was gasping and crying while clutching the alpha close. Louis was trembling, too, low groans tumbling out past his lips as he spilled and spilled inside of Harry.

“Fuck,” Louis said, voice rough as he thrust up once more while Harry’s wet, heat gripped him, inner walls milking him and wrenching the orgasm out of him like their bodies were built to do.

Their breathing was ragged, chests rising and falling in sync as they lay there connected. Instantly, Harry felt the shift between them just after one knot. He felt the clinginess already washing over him as he touched his mouth to Louis’, allowing the alpha’s tongue to slide against his.

Everything was going to change and Harry found he was okay with it.

・❥・

The sun-soaked days passed by in a heady blur and Louis couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt so deeply sated and happy.

While at first Louis reduced this trip to having some good sex and writing songs, he somehow got more than that. He got to see the city of Paris through Harry’s eyes, exploring every corner and experiencing it the way he did. They spent hours walking through Montmartre, sharing croissants and hot chocolate in a corner cafe before perusing the different art and vendor stalls along the streets. They watched the sunset over the Eiffel Tower from Harry’s balcony, naked as the day they were born, and fed each other fresh strawberries from the farmer’s market. Harry also managed to get Louis to wake up early and go jogging with him along the Seine so they could watch the sunrise together.

Every day they did something fun, and Louis could now understand why Harry loved this city as much as he did.

The two of them also managed to fuck in every room in Harry’s flat, insatiable like they were on their cycles. It was knotting that had changed things. Now that they’d done it once, they couldn’t stop, sometimes going at least twice before leaving the bed in the morning and another couple more times before they fell asleep. Louis wasn’t sure he’d ever had this much sex even when he’d been in exclusive relationships. Something about Harry had him in a tight grip, anchored to the omega, eager to fulfil everything he wanted or asked for, including being tied up and edged for two hours. And don’t get Louis wrong — the sex had always been mind-blowing with Harry, but now that he was knotting his pretty cunt, Louis felt like they’d tapped into a whole other level of euphoria.

All in all, Louis thought, as he walked alongside Harry on his last night in Paris, it was a good trip. He’d gotten what he’d hoped for, including the inspiration he’d been looking for. Maybe Niall was onto something when he said Louis would find it in Harry. Just a few days together and suddenly the words flowed out of the alpha like poetry. He wrote about green eyes peering at him in the morning light, lust heavy, and magnetic. Rouge lips pulling him in like a drug, disarming and addictive. Feeling like he was home every time he was inside of him, familiar and so perfectly made for him.

“Who are you texting?” Harry asked him, snapping Louis out of his thoughts.

Louis glanced up from his phone, the screen open on the notes app where he was jotting lyrics down. “No one,” he replied, closing the phone and pocketing it.

“Are you sure? You keep typing and smiling. It’s rude,” the omega called him out pointedly.

Louis giggled, wrapping his arm around Harry’s waist. “I promise.”

Harry pursed his lips for a moment, contemplatively.

“What?” Louis asked him.

“Ziggy told me at your last show that you have some Parisien lover. From, like, years ago. If you want to see them, by all means, go ahead. I just want you to be upfront about it.”

Louis let out a quiet groan as he pulled Harry to a stop and pressed him against the wall in the alleyway they were in. “You’re annoying, did you know that?”

“So are you, darling,” Harry taunted him, tilting his head to the side.

The alpha shifted closer, pressing a kiss where Harry’s neck met his shoulder, and instantly Harry melted against him, a laugh coming out like a symphony. “You know what I think?” Louis asked, licking over Harry’s bond spot.

“What?”

“I think all that champagne has gone to your head and you’re just talking shit. I’m not texting any Parisien lover of mine.”

Harry blinked prettily at him and nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Louis smiled, chuckling at the way Harry’s eyes softened. His lips skimmed the base of Harry’s throat, gliding along his neck with open-mouthed kisses.

“Think we could get away with a quickie here?”

Louis’ nostrils flared as he smelled Harry’s arousal, the air growing thick around them, and he shook his head reluctantly. “Too risky,” he responded, nipping the area below Harry’s ear.

“No one would notice,” Harry said, tone breathy and persuading. “My shirt’s long enough to cover my shorts, so we could just slide it down a bit.”

The alpha glanced down at Harry’s attire appraisingly — tiny blue shorts with a long and loose cream-coloured button-up shirt. He was the picture of comfort and style for the summertime. “No, baby, but I promise to fuck you good when we get home.”

Harry whined softly, an impatient sound in the back of his throat, before surging forward to kiss Louis. His tongue swiped over Louis’ bottom lip, lips parting against his. Louis reciprocated, his hands trailing up the omega’s torso and clutching his shirt where he could feel his chest rumbling beneath his palm. Meanwhile, Harry’s arms circled the back of Louis’ neck, holding him close, soft moans leaving his lips.

The kisses soon slowed, becoming quick, featherlight brushes of lips. Harry sighed into him, his eyes dark as he said, “It sucks that it’s your last night here.”

“I know, but I have to go eventually, right?”

“Do you?” Harry pouted, vulnerable in a way he wouldn’t be if they were sober right now.

“Thanks for showing me around. And for the dinner tonight,” Louis said. “Also, you look really pretty.”

Harry scrunched his nose, trying to fight off a smile as he lightly pushed against Louis’ chest. “Fuck off.”

“Yeah? And call that Parisien lover of mine?”

This time the omega glared at him, pulling Louis back to his lips. “You’re not as funny as you think you are.”

“And you suck at taking compliments.”

Harry fisted his hair and pulled on it harshly. “You’re going to call no one.” He followed it up with a gentle scrape of his teeth over Louis’ jaw, trailing his lips back over to Louis’. The kisses took no time to become heated, with harsh breaths and moans spilling out into the quiet street. Thankfully, no one in this city batted an eye at such forms of PDA. Louis learned during his time here that Harry enjoyed a lot of it, sometimes pulling him into full-on make-out sessions in broad daylight in front of people.

When he felt Harry trying to discreetly unbutton his pants, Louis laughed into his mouth, reaching for Harry’s hand and pulling it back. “I’m not going to fuck you here.”

“Why not?” Harry groaned.

“Because I don’t want anyone to see you in that state,” Louis growled firmly. “Don’t want anyone to see the faces or sounds you make, the way you smell…”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Typical alpha. You’re so boring!”

“So I am,” Louis accepted, entwining his hand with Harry’s. He lifted it to kiss it in a placating manner all the while observing the rings on the omega’s fingers. There was one ring with a tiny pearl on it, a gold band wrapped around the omega’s middle finger. Slowly, Louis rolled it off, looking at it closely. “This is lovely.”

“My mum gave it to me,” Harry told him. “A gift for my 18th birthday.”

Louis hummed, studying the studded diamonds he hadn’t noticed earlier.

Harry presented his hand back to Louis. “Put it back on and let’s go home. You promised me a good fucking.”

Louis locked eyes with Harry as he slid the ring onto his ring finger. Harry’s lips parted, shocked at first, but then spread into the prettiest, most bashful smile Louis had ever seen on his face, dimples sunk, all cherubic. It was a smile that Louis realised with sudden clarity that changed everything for him. It was the kind of smile that made his heart feel like it was going to explode because he was so in love he felt like he could stop breathing.

The omega kissed him again on his lips before tugging on his hand and leading him back down the path toward his home. Louis followed, his nerve endings tingling where their hands remained entwined, and felt both fear and happiness at his newfound feelings. His first thought was to tell Harry, but he also didn’t want to scare him off. Things were going really well between them, but they were still just friends with benefits. Louis knew it would take time to get Harry there — if he even wanted to get there.

Harry wasn’t the most open-minded when it came to this topic. He’d always said how love and people were temporary, always going away when the time came. Harry’s friends weren’t wrong when they said he had a weird fear of commitment, so if Louis just burst right out and told him that he was in love, it might not end well.

・❥・

With his heartbeat thumping rhythmically in his chest, Harry increased the speed of his jog, slowly working his way up. The summer heat was sweltering, making beads of sweat trickle down the back of his neck and along his spine. His hair was clipped back with a headband to keep it out of his face and he could see the early morning light peeking out across the Seine River. The upbeat song playing through his AirPods slowly faded out and switched to one of The Rogue’s, a distorted, heavy guitar riff opening followed by Louis’ bold vocals.

Harry’s heart sped up and so did he, propelled by the song and the feelings associated with the one who was singing.

The last few days had been unsettling, to say the least. Ever since Louis had gone back to London, Harry had been in a weird slump with no idea how to fix it. At first, he thought he might have been approaching his heat, and that being in such close proximity with an alpha to him then suddenly leaving made his omega vulnerable, but that didn’t seem to be it. It had now been over a week and Harry still hadn’t had his heat nor had the feeling gone away. When Harry spoke to Zayn about it, his best friend told him that there were a lot of differences between this time with Louis and all of their previous meetings.

For one, they spent several days together as opposed to just one night. Never once did Harry feel tired or bored of the alpha, only yearning for more. Two, they’d now begun knotting, which made the sex infinitely more intense and better. And third, things just felt different between them. They’d always been flirty, but now it felt like there was intent behind it. Embarrassingly enough, Harry still wore his pearl ring on his ring finger after Louis placed it there, even though it was all probably banter. To have that level of intimacy and closeness every day and then go back to talking every once in a while was difficult.

There was a reason why they’d set rules before starting their friends-with-benefits arrangement. Those rules helped them keep things simple and uncomplicated, and now they’d fucked all that up and their biology was connecting them in a way that was making it hard to stay apart. At least for Harry, it was. Still, he found he didn’t regret anything. Despite how he was feeling now, Harry would do everything the same. He just didn’t expect to be in this slump for so long nor did he expect to miss the alpha as much as he did, which was why he was back to running every day.

Running meant releasing endorphins and forcing his mind to stay positive. He’d fallen off his jogging routine with Louis around, who proved himself to be a great distraction in the morning, all naked in Harry’s bed. Plus all of that sex counted as a workout, right? Now Harry was back at it and he wasn’t going to abandon his routines just because Louis wasn’t there. He was just about to hit his second mile when his music got interrupted by an incoming call. Harry slowed down enough to reach for his phone in the pocket of his hoodie, sliding the button to accept when he saw it was his manager, Daphne.

“Hello,” he greeted, slightly out of breath.

“Hi Harry, love, how are you?” the omega crooned in her thick, French accent.

“I’m good. Out for my jog at the moment. How about you? Aren’t you supposed to be on holiday?”

“I am. I’ve just touched down in Lake Como, but I had to call you. I’ve been getting harassed by this assistant at Vogue. Email after email about you.”

“Why?” Harry asked, leaning against the railing beside the river. “Everything okay?”

“They really want you at that gala in London this weekend. You know, the one you had said no to and I have told them that, but —”

“I’ll go,” Harry interrupted her, standing up straight. “Tell them I’ll go.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line and then, “But didn’t you say you wanted to stay in Paris for the summer? That’s why we had said no to them when they initially asked. I think the latest fashion editor is pushing for you. She really wants more people talking about the event. I was going to ask you if you wanted to get lunch with her just to appease them. You’re sure you want to go to the gala?”

“Yeah, I’m down. London’s a short ride away, anyway. I can make it work,” he replied, smiling to himself. “Can you book me a one-way ticket for tomorrow morning? I’ll get home and start packing.”

“Oh, uh, yes. I can do that,” she replied, sounding confused at his sudden change of heart. He could understand. He was vehemently against it at first, wanting to take the summer to himself, but now jumping to go just because he wanted to be in the same city as Louis.

But Daphne didn’t need to know all that.

“Thanks so much, Daphne. Just forward me the details and I’ll handle the rest.”

They said goodbye and hung up after going over a few more things. Harry stood there for a moment, the sudden rush of excitement coursing through him, and he let out a tiny laugh. He was crazy for this, but just the thought of seeing Louis again had him feeling infinitely better. There was a new pep in his step as he continued his jog and headed back home.

The only thing was he didn’t want to scare Louis by appearing on his doorstep after they just spent all this time together. Harry was going to get a hotel and just let Louis know he was there. Ideally, Louis would then ask him to stay over, but that was up to the alpha.

Once Harry got home, he grabbed his bags and began packing, going through his closet and picking outfits for the trip. Since he didn’t know how long he’d be staying, he wanted to bring a good mix of things. He was rummaging for a specific white t-shirt and couldn’t find it before remembering he’d thrown it in his hamper. Walking into his laundry room, Harry opened his hamper and was immediately hit with the smell of Louis and the lingering smell of cigarette smoke that often clung to his scent. Inhaling deeply, Harry picked through the clothes and wondered for a crazy second if it was possible to bottle this scent. His omega was preening and clawing at his chest, wanting to be close to Louis right this instant.

Sure enough, the white t-shirt he was looking for was in the pile. Harry picked it out and brought it to his room. He pathetically wished Louis accidentally forgot one of his jumpers or t-shirts before he left, but the bastard was an efficient packer. Took all of his shit with him and left Harry with nothing!

Well, it didn’t matter because Harry would see him soon enough.

He picked up his phone intending to message Louis about his visit but got distracted on Instagram. After he went through his recent feed posts and stories, he tapped into the explore page and the first few pictures looking back at him were all of Louis. Harry had been going through fan accounts of the band for pictures of the alpha because of how much he’d been missing him and now his algorithm had picked up on it.

The pictures on his explore page were all new. They were grainy and shot outside with the flash on. Harry clicked on the first one to zoom in and froze when he properly saw what was in it. It looked like Louis was out at some club and one of his exes was there. Harry wasn’t sure about their history, but he recognized the face. This omega was in Louis’ life way before Harry was. In fact, Louis and Harry had talked about him at one point. The alpha had described this ex as “the one that got away”.

Back then, Harry didn’t really care all that much, but now, it stung more than he expected it to. He masochistically scrolled through all the pictures before closing his phone. His excitement began to fade bit by bit and Harry wondered if he jumped the gun by agreeing to go out to London. He got too ahead of himself and needed to firmly remind himself that they were not a couple. They were just friends who fucked.

And yet, the pit in his stomach didn’t fade.

・❥・

@harrystyles: Five minutes away.

Louis stood in front of his full-length mirror, fixing his messy hair and rubbing over his scruff, trying to make himself look slightly more presentable. He was planning to have a lazy day to himself and go out later with some friends, but then he got a message from Harry less than an hour ago saying he was in London and asking if Louis was around. Louis immediately said yes and had been cleaning up his place so Harry didn’t think it was a complete pigsty.

When the bell rang, he leaped toward the door and opened it, heart racing from jitters and excitement. On the other side, Harry stood apprehensively, tucking his brown curls behind his ear, looking like all of Louis’ dreams come true.

“Hey,” the omega said, smiling as he walked inside.

“Hi, love,” Louis responded, wrapping an arm around Harry’s waist to hold him for a kiss. He tasted like chocolate, strawberries, and mint, and Louis couldn’t help but steal a few more kisses before letting Harry go long enough to close the door. “I can’t believe you’re here. Such a surprise.”

“I got in the day before yesterday,” Harry told him, tangling his fingers together nervously.

“And you just let me know this morning?” Louis asked, trying not to sound too hurt.

After coming to terms with how he felt about Harry, a lot changed in perspective for the alpha. Harry had always been dear to his heart, but now it felt like he’d completely consumed it. Louis was trying to figure out how to navigate this whole thing and a lot of that has just been him channelling his feelings into his songs. As therapeutic as that was, he was still stuck on how to tell Harry. There was no easy way to do it when you were in a strictly sex agreement with someone who wasn’t all about commitment. Until recently, Louis wasn’t either, but the thought of calling the omega his boyfriend and partner was something he desperately wanted now.

“Sorry,” Harry said, eyes earnest and tone genuine. “I had a gala with Vogue yesterday and was busy preparing for that.”

“Is that all you came for? Work?”

Harry slowly shook his head. “I thought I’d see you, too.”

The alpha grinned, lips meeting Harry’s again. “I’ve missed you,” he confessed.

“You have?” the omega’s eyes widened, a smile creeping up on his face.

“Yeah.”

“Missed you, too,” he said, smile deepening.

Louis reached for him once more, cupping the back of Harry’s neck, and kissed him once, twice, and a third time. Harry’s mouth was soft and gentle, slightly teasing. The alpha traced his thumb beneath Harry’s jaw as his pulse hammered against his palm, watching him and taking in his fill after their time apart. A slow blush spread to the tip of Harry’s ears.

“So what do you want to do today?” the omega asked, coy and shy at the same time.

“I actually thought we’d go out.”

“Go out?”

“Yeah,” Louis said. “You showed me a good time in Paris. I’ve got to return the favour, don’t I?”

“Oh,” Harry blinked. “Where’d you want to go?”

“Let’s go get something to eat first and then we’ll take it from there. I have absolutely shit at home,” he admitted, grabbing his keys from his hook and leading Harry out the door. “I’ve had a car arranged for us so we don’t have to deal with parking and all that.”

“Right,” Harry said while Louis locked his door. “But where are we going? You haven’t said.”

“I’ve been craving this burger that I had at Camden Market last month and I think you definitely need to try it.”

“Louis, I can’t have a burger. My trainer will kill me!”

“Baby, you’re on holiday,” Louis chuckled, opening the car door for Harry to get in. “I think you’re allowed a burger while you’re on holiday.”

Harry climbed in and Louis followed after, letting the driver know where to take them. Once they pulled out onto the street, Harry faced him.

“I’ll have one bite,” he said.

“You’ll have four,” Louis bargained. “Trust me. One bite won’t be enough.”

“You’re really trying to sell this burger. If it’s not the best one I’ve ever had in my life, I’m going to make fun of you.”

“I’m sure you’ll do that anyway,” Louis retorted. “Anyway, where have you been staying? At a hotel?”

“Yeah,” Harry replied. “My usual place. The Peninsula.”

Louis nodded slowly. “How long are you staying there?”

Harry lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “I don’t have a return ticket yet since I booked this trip in such a rush. I honestly just said yes to coming out here on a whim.”

“So stay with me,” Louis offered.

“With you?”

Louis chuckled self-consciously. “If you’re here for an indefinite amount of time, I don’t know why you’d stay at a hotel when you could just be at mine. Think of it as my thank you for letting me stay with you.”

“You don’t —” Harry paused as he exhaled slowly. “You don’t have to do things for me, like take me out or let me stay at yours, as a way of paying me back or whatever. I wanted to do all of that in Paris and I wasn’t expecting anything in return. Don’t feel obligated to do so.”

“No, that’s not it at all,” Louis explained. “Trust me. I’m not doing all of this just to thank you. I’ve — I’ve really missed you. More than I’ve let on or told you.” The omega’s expression softened at that and Louis continued. “I want to do these things with you because I’ve missed hanging out with you.”

What Louis wanted to add but couldn’t was how much he missed sleeping with Harry, beside each other in the same bed, and waking up with the omega rolled onto his side with no ounce of space between them. There were times since he’d returned when he genuinely considered moving to Paris just to be closer to Harry, but knew he didn’t have a good enough reason to explain doing something like that. As much as he wanted to rush into everything with Harry headfirst, that would scare the omega away, so he was trying to pace himself.

“Fine,” Harry relented, a small smile on his lips. “I’ll stay with you, but all of my stuff is still at the hotel.”

“We’ll get it later on. Don’t worry.”

“Food first, though.”

“Food first,” Louis agreed.

The burger was just as amazing as Louis said it would be, and Harry had more than half of it whilst telling Louis he was a bad influence who was hell-bent on ruining Harry’s summer bod. Louis didn’t think that was possible and when he told Harry that, the omega just rolled his eyes, his cheeks pink from all of the attention and compliments. They strolled through the market a bit, admiring the different stalls, and caught up on what they’d been up to, while eating chocolate covered strawberries. After some time, Louis instinctively grabbed onto Harry’s hand and decided he’d test to see how long he could get away with it. When minutes passed without Harry saying anything, Louis smiled to himself, pleased with how the day was going. Afterward, they found their car and got in.

“Where to next?” Harry asked.

“I was thinking we could go and meet some of my friends at this pub in Shoreditch,” Louis said. “I had plans with them from before and was going to cancel, but I thought it’d be fun to introduce you since I’ve spoken so much about you to them.”

Harry instantly looked apprehensive. “Are you sure? I could just go back to the hotel and you can come and get me later.”

“No, don’t be silly. I’m not going to leave you behind.”

“But you’re going out with your friends.”

“They’re chill lads. I think you’d like them. Besides, you’ve hung out with my bandmates before,” Louis pointed out.

“Yeah, backstage at your shows,” Harry said. “This would be different and I don’t want to be in the way.”

“You won’t be. Please trust me on this.”

Harry sighed frustratedly despite the smile on his face. “You’re being so weird.”

Louis supposed that he was being pushier than usual, but he wanted Harry to know he meant more to him than just a situationship. He wanted to go on date-like outings and introduce Harry to his closest friends. These were all guys he’d grown up with and taking this step would show Harry that Louis was serious about him. The good thing about all of this was Harry wasn’t completely turned off. He seemed a bit unsure, but overall down for whatever.

By the time they got to the pub, Louis’ friends were already there, watching a rugby game on the telly above the bar. When the two of them walked in, they all got up to greet them. Louis’ arm was around Harry’s waist as he introduced the omega to his friends.

“This is Harry, my friend,” he told the lads. “Harry, this is Luke, Oli, and Stan.”

He looked at the omega and felt puzzled by the tight, forced smile on his lips as he gave them all a wave.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, voice strained.

The lads exchanged pleasantries before they all sat down in the booth. Louis let Harry go in first but noted the way his eyes wouldn’t meet his and how he crossed his arms over his chest, closed off and distant. Louis couldn’t figure out what had happened in the span of a couple of minutes. Was it one of the guys? Did they look at Harry funny? He certainly didn’t notice it. It was odd and it continued to be that way while they all ordered some food and drinks.

Once their waiter was gone, Louis tentatively placed his arm over the backrest behind Harry, his fingers brushing over the nape of the omega’s neck. Harry immediately shrugged him off and Louis retreated his arm. As badly as he wanted to ask Harry what was wrong, he knew it wasn’t the time or place. Instead, he focused on his friends and Oli’s story about his grandpa dropping his fake teeth at dinner. While they all chatted, everyone made sure to include Harry so he wouldn’t feel completely left out, and soon Harry began to ease up and even let Louis try some of his chicken. If Louis’ friends noticed or felt some type of way about Harry, they didn’t let on, which meant dinner was not a complete disaster.

When they left, leaving Harry and Louis alone to wait for their car to pull around, Louis got into Harry’s space, trying to coax him into a kiss, but Harry kept turning away, all huffy and put off.

“What’s wrong? Why are you all stroppy?” Louis asked, practically cooing.

“I’m not,” Harry denied, despite his lips practically pouting as he looked away from the alpha.

“You are,” Louis insisted, pressing kiss after kiss on Harry’s cheeks, eyelids, jawline, the space below his ear. Eventually, Harry loosened in his arms and leaned into him. The sky had turned grey with a slight drizzle raining down on them, dampening the mood further. “Baby…”

Harry let out a frustrated sigh. “Nothing, Louis. Just stop asking me.”

Louis nodded placatingly as he rubbed his palms down over Harry’s back, resting it over the curve of his bum. “Fine, I won’t ask you anymore. But can you tell me what you need? What I can do for you?”

The omega finally met his eyes and Louis wished he could read his mind. Figure out what went on in that pretty head.

“You can take me back to yours and give me your knot,” the omega replied. “That will cheer me up.”

Louis laughed, eyes crinkling. “Done and done. So you’re staying with me, right?” He got worried for a second that whatever made Harry mad would mean he wouldn’t stay with Louis tonight.

“I guess so,” Harry shrugged. “Only because you have Netflix and I can’t get it to work in the hotel room.”

“Right. You just want me for my body and my Netflix.”

Harry nodded as the car parked in front of them. “You’re alright, too, I suppose.”

“Such a charmer.”

・❥・

Somehow, two weeks trickled by in a happy, dreamy daze in Louis’ cosy hideaway in Mayfair. Harry never booked that ticket back home and Louis never seemed to tire of him. Nor Harry of Louis. The omega couldn’t fathom how they weren’t sick of each other already, spending day in and day out in each other’s pockets. Every morning, they woke up and made breakfast together. Afternoons were spent strolling around different neighbourhoods and exploring. And at night, they went back home with takeaway where they binged shows and movies. And in between all of that, there was sex. Lots and lots of sex.

It was perfect. Harry didn’t regret his decision to come here, even if he had a bit of a crisis those first couple of days after seeing the pictures of Louis with his ex and then being introduced to his friend group as being Louis’ “friend”. Harry still hadn’t admitted to the alpha that he’d been upset about that. He knew that his feelings were silly and he couldn’t really get angry at Louis for it. It wasn’t like Louis was saying something that wasn’t true. And honestly, Harry couldn’t make sense of his feelings either, so there was no point.

Thankfully, Louis let it go and they’d been having a great time together since. If someone asked Harry to stay in Louis’ place, wrapped up in his arms like he currently was, while the sunlight filtered in through the window and the world continued outside of them, forever, then he’d agree without a second thought. Unfortunately, it was Louis who was leaving. The band had finished writing most of the songs for the new album and were heading to New York to record it at some famous recording studio. Harry couldn’t be arsed to remember the name or care when all he could think about was not being here after tonight. That was when he was flying back to Paris while Louis went off to the States the next morning.

“I still don’t get why you can’t come with me,” Louis said, voice raspy and dry from sleep.

Harry blew out a soft breath. “I’ve been in your hair for more than two weeks already. I feel like I should get out.”

“No,” Louis whined, tangling their bare legs and leaning closer to Harry. “Don’t get out. You can stay in it.”

Harry laughed, shaking his head. “I’ve got to go. Summer’s almost over and I need to go get my shit together. I can’t hide anymore.”

“Do you have to?”

“Well, yes. You’re going for work and I should do the same.”

“But New York would be so fun,” Louis added. “Think about it. Isn’t their fashion week next month?”

“It is and I’ll be working it.”

“So then just go a little early.”

Harry groaned, shifting closer to align their naked torsos. Louis could try and persuade him all he wanted, but Harry really did need to sort himself out. He’d run out of new clothes to wear and a lot of times just borrowed Louis’. He’d been ignoring his emails and Daphne hadn’t heard from him in days. He was so drunk on Louis’ knot, that he completely neglected every other aspect of his life. Harry peered at Louis when he noticed he hadn’t said anything in a moment and found the alpha smiling to himself.

“What are you smiling about?” Harry asked.

“I’m just thinking about all the cities we’ve met up in. It’s quite a list.”

“Yeah?” Harry giggled as he lay on his back, shoulder to shoulder with Louis. “List them off.”

“London, of course. And then Paris.”

Harry continued to giggle, tracing the shape of both cities in the air, finger pointed toward the bedroom ceiling.

“Florence. Amsterdam. Los Angeles… Remember that one random meet-up in New Orleans?”

“How could I forget?” Harry asked breathily, tone dreamy. “I couldn’t walk straight for a week.”

They both burst into laughter and soon Louis had Harry wrapped up in his arms again. “I’m going to miss you,” the alpha whined again.

“I’ll miss you, too, knothead,” Harry replied lovingly.

Louis gazed at him, eyes the kind of blue Harry had never seen before. His favourite. Louis’ hands traced down his back and he pressed his lips together for a moment, like he was hesitating on what he wanted to say. And then, “Can I scent you?”

Harry’s brows rose in surprise and he found himself nodding. They didn’t usually do this as the act always felt so intimate and romantic, even more than sex or knotting. But Harry wasn’t opposed to the idea of smelling like Louis. In fact, the thought made him feel hot and giddy. Louis wrapped one of his hands around Harry’s shoulders, fingers trailing up to his scalp where he gripped the hair gently and tipped his head to the side before burying his face against his throat, nosing up until he reached his bond spot. The first press of his lips made Harry’s skin erupt in goosebumps, his heart thrashing against his ribs.

“You smell so sweet,” Louis breathed out before flattening his tongue and licking wetly.

Harry purred, the sound coming from deep within his chest, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. His legs instinctively fell open as Louis tenderly touched and licked over his spot, drowning him in his scent. The slide of their skin against one another had Harry writhing, breathing erratically. With a soft, grunt-like noise, Louis flipped Harry on his back, pinning him to the bed, making the omega’s breath hitch. He hovered over him for a moment before sinking and bearing his weight over Harry’s, the feeling grounding him. He clutched the back of Louis’ head and brought him forward, the alpha lowering his mouth over Harry’s. Their lips moved languidly against each other until Harry opened for Louis’ tongue, allowing it to slide against his in a wet, dirty kiss.

Their lower bodies shifted closer, once more tangling, and Louis glided his tongue away from Harry’s mouth to his jaw and down to the sensitive bond spot where he sucked and licked over it again. Harry gasped and whined, feeling the sheets moisten beneath him. He knew Louis could smell it, could sense it from the way he let his mouth linger on his bond spot, velvety wet tongue painting over the skin. The alpha reached his hand between their bodies and stroked two of his fingers between Harry’s folds. A gush of liquid heat spilled out and the omega let out a ragged groan.

“Fuck, you are so wet,” Louis gritted out. “It’s like you’re in heat.”

Harry gripped his face, their tongues meeting with a teasing stroke before Harry drove the kiss deeper. “Fuck me. I want your knot.”

“Yeah, baby,” Louis rasped out. “Anything you want.”

Harry pushed back against Louis until he lay back on the bed. He clambered on top of the alpha, straddling his waist and aligning himself, before sinking down onto Louis’ thick, hard cock. Immediately, Harry’s mouth fell open in a loud, high-pitched moan, echoing off the walls of the bedroom.

“That’s it, darling,” Louis encouraged, gripping his hips.

Boldened, Harry rotated his hips before anchoring himself up and lowering it down onto Louis’ cock again and again. Louis lifted his hips as well to help Harry, seeking the warmth of his pussy, his cock glistening with Harry’s slick.

“Always so fucking wet and ready for me, aren’t you?” Louis said, fingers brushing delicately over Harry’s hip bones.

Harry let out another strangled moan and grabbed Louis’ hands, pushing them above his head and pinning them down on top of the pillows while his hips gyrated over the alpha’s cock. The mattress dipped from the weight of Harry’s knees as he gasped and whined helplessly in the crook of Louis’ neck.

“Feels so good,” Louis continued to whisper to him. “You take my knot so well. Such a good omega.”

If Harry wasn’t already feeling himself go mad from the way Louis felt inside of him, he would surely lose his mind just from the way Louis spoke to him and the filthy things constantly streaming out of his mouth. He shifted back and straightened up, thigh muscles straining already. Meanwhile, Louis’ gaze was transfixed to where their bodies were connected. It made Harry increase his speed, the bed squeaking rhythmically amidst the wet sound coming from their bodies meeting. Pleasure spiralled through Harry and he could feel that he was so close.

Louis lifted one of his hands from above his head to trail down Harry’s torso, resting over his cock as he stroked him a couple of times.

“Yes, yes, fuck,” Harry babbled while Louis toyed with him.

“Look at you,” Louis said, his thumb pressing roughly against his clit. Harry gasped. “Going to fill you up, baby. The only one doing that is me, isn’t it?”

Harry nodded, letting out a shaky breath as Louis began circling and rubbing over his swollen clit, exactly where Harry needed him to. His vision was turning hazy, head tossed back, and body wracked in shudders. “Just you,” he panted, words tumbling out of his mouth as chased the building feeling. “Always you, Louis. Tell me I’m yours. Tell me I’m the only one.”

Louis looked feral for a moment, eyes molten dark as he sped up his hand motions, strokes deep and slow. “Of course, you’re mine, baby. I’m the only one giving you what you need, the only one who understands you. You’re mine. You were never not mine.”

Harry cried out as he pulled all the way out before slamming back down. He was grinding both on Louis’ cock and his fingers, eagerly chasing his orgasm. The alpha’s name was falling from his lips as his body was tightening in anticipation. Louis’ cock throbbed inside of him, knot locking in place before it began pulsating ropes and ropes of come inside of Harry. The omega came with a shout right after, drenching Louis’ entire bottom half and the sheets. His body was a shaking mess as he collapsed on top of Louis, both whimpering quietly.

When they came to, Louis wiped the sweat and tears from Harry’s face, pressing comforting kisses over his skin. “Mine,” he whispered, and that was the last thing Harry heard before he fell asleep once more.

・❥・

The Rogue officially began recording their third album in September. This was the fastest they’d ever jumped back into the process, having taken their time with their debut and sophomore records, and Louis would say this was probably some of their best work yet. Coming off of their biggest tour to date, he felt like they needed to level up. While Modern Idiots charted extremely well and was acclaimed by critics, their debut album, The Rogue, topped the UK album and Billboard charts, was the fastest-selling debut album of the last ten years within the rock genre, and had gone platinum three times. There weren’t too many bands in the scene nor the genre doing it like they were so, really, the goal was to beat their own records.

Louis had written over thirty songs for the new album so far. He’d had a few sessions with the boys in the band while he was in London and they’d been working with Felix Donovan, a well-known producer, in New York. Felix booked Electric Lady Studios for them - where all the greats had once recorded. Louis couldn’t believe they’d made it all the way out here, and just the opportunity alone had him wanting to create something amazing. With every album, Louis reached a moment where he acknowledged how far they’d come and how much they’ve grown. He was enjoying every moment of it; from the late nights in the studio where the band got to know Felix, to tapping into different melodies and lyrics that elevated their musical discography.

The only thing Louis would say was amiss was not having Harry by his side.

They’d said goodbye to each other just a little over two weeks ago. Since then, the two of them had gone back to their respective work and life continued as it always had. Still, even with his busy schedule, the alpha’s mind found the time to think about Harry, naked and beautiful, lying on his bed on their last day together. By the end of it, Harry’s milky white skin was painted in love bites, hues of purples and pinks and reds. Something had come over Louis when the omega asked him to call him his. Suddenly, the idea of them becoming more than friends with benefits seemed possible. It became something Louis wasn’t so scared of pursuing anymore.

It seemed like Harry was missing him, too. They messaged more frequently than they used to, filling each other in on how their days were going, and they’ve spoken on the phone a couple of nights. Tonight, though, they wouldn’t have to do any of that or miss each other because Harry was finally flying into New York. Louis was shocked when the omega let him know he was coming because he wasn’t due for another week, which was when New York Fashion Week began. Harry told him he’d finished most of his prep for the shows, so he was able to come just to hang out, and this time he didn’t bother with booking a hotel. Louis had an Airbnb in Greenwich Village, a cosy little flat on the third floor of a brownstone. He wasn’t sharing with his bandmates this time, so he and Harry could play house once again. Louis fucking loved it.

“Do you want to run over that again?” Felix asked from the other side of the recording booth.

“Yeah, sure,” Louis said. “From the second verse?”

“Let’s try the chorus and then straight into the second verse?”

Louis nodded as he adjusted his headphones. Christian, Ziggy, and Niall had all left for the day as they were done recording their parts for the current song they were working on. Louis was still laying down vocals and he was getting antsy as more time passed. He didn’t want to miss when Harry landed so he’d persuaded Felix to let him bring his phone into the recording booth with him just in case. The only condition was that he had to silence his phone so it didn’t interrupt their recording. Louis agreed because it was dark enough in the booth that when his phone lit up with Harry’s text, he’d see it immediately.

Felix cued Louis in, letting him know that he was starting up the track again and then signalled for him to begin singing the chorus. They did two more takes before finally calling it a night. Just as Louis took off his headphones, his phone lit up in the dark and he lunged for it. The message he’d been waiting for was right there on the screen.

@harrystyles: Landed 🙂

The alpha grinned as he typed back a response.

@louistomlinson: where am i meeting you?? do you want to come back to mine?

@harrystyles: I’d actually be down to get a drink somewhere first. I’m not tired or jet lagged at all.

@louistomlinson: name the place and i’ll be there asap

Louis exited the recording booth and smiled at Felix, who was packing his things. “Same time tomorrow?” he asked.

“I’ll be here,” Felix replied. “Your omega here yet?”

It didn’t occur to Louis to correct him. That technically Harry wasn’t his omega because they hadn’t officially said those words to each other, but it felt like they were really heading there, so Louis just smiled. “I just got the text that he landed. I’m off to see him now.”

“Finished right on time then,” Felix chuckled while they walked out of their room. “Where you guys going?”

“Not sure yet,” Louis said. “He wants to get a quick drink and then go back to mine. What about you? Any plans tonight?”

“Nah. I’m heading straight to bed. I have an appointment tomorrow morning and then have to come here right after.”

Louis followed Felix up the stairs and out the doors of the studio, waving goodbye to the receptionist. Outside, the weather was perfect, warm with a subtle breeze. Louis hugged Felix goodbye and checked his phone. Harry had sent him an address for some late-night dive bar on the east side, so he hailed a cab and headed straight there. Upon arriving, he headed to the bathroom first, taking a quick wee before fixing himself up in front of the mirror. He’d dressed up a bit nice since he knew Harry was coming, opting for dark jeans, a jumper, and Nike’s instead of his usual joggers and t-shirt. He felt both silly, since Harry had seen him even at his worst and still wanted him, but also giddy because these feelings of wanting to look good for someone were so new and fun.

After grabbing a beer and a table in the back, Louis waited for Harry to arrive. He busied himself with his phone and didn’t notice the omega sneak in until he felt arms wrapping around his waist from behind.

“Boo,” Harry whispered, laughing.

Louis let out a breathy laugh of his own. “Let me see you, you scary oaf!” He craned his head around and pulled Harry in front of him, the two of them dissolving into giggling, happy messes. It was a good idea he got the table in the back corner, otherwise, they wouldn’t feel so emboldened to immediately grab onto each other, lips meeting in a feather-soft kiss. Again. And again. Louis pushed Harry against the table, facing him as he thrust his tongue inside of his mouth, deepening the kiss, before pulling back. “You’re here.”

“I’m here,” Harry confirmed, giving him a dimpled grin.

Louis’ hands trailed down Harry’s chest, curling into the lapels of his button-up. “I’m really happy you’re here.”

“Have you been miserable without me?” the omega asked teasingly.

“So miserable. The most miserable I’ve ever been.”

“Pathetic,” the omega murmured as he wrapped his hands around Louis’ waist and dipped them down to grip his bum.

Louis’ eyes darkened and he pulled Harry toward him into a scorching kiss, devouring him like a starved man. His hand trailed up to cradle Harry’s cheek, holding him close as the kiss turned filthy. Louis could feel his heart racing and he immediately picked up on the sweet scent of sour cherry in the air.

“Fuck,” he panted out.

“Louis,” Harry whined as the alpha’s lips fell on his throat, right on his bond spot. “Not here. I can’t — fuck.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Louis said, forcing himself to pull back. Harry had barely been here for a minute and they were already acting like this. They needed to get it together. “You wanted a drink, right?”

Harry stared at him with red splotches high on his cheeks and lips swollen and wet. “Right now I want your knot.”

Louis swore under his breath. “I ordered this beer.” He pushed the drink toward the omega. “Finish this and we can leave. This way you get that drink you wanted and we can walk out of here with our dignity still intact.”

The omega burst into laughter as he took the offered beer from Louis. He took a greedy gulp and met Louis’ eyes. “Maybe no one noticed us.”

“If they didn’t notice us, they definitely noticed the smell of your slick,” Louis muttered.

“Not my fault!”

“I know, I know,” Louis said to him, arms around his waist while Harry took another drink. As the omega was busy trying to compose himself, Louis took the opportunity to stare at him unabashedly, taking in all the little details he’d missed, like the gold eyelashes mixed in with the dark brown ones, the little beauty spot by his lip, and the feeling of him back in Louis’ arms again.

Louis really wanted to make this trip count. He wanted Harry to know how he felt about him, how much he loved him. Hopefully, by the end of it, Harry would feel the same way about him.

・❥・

Louis’ flat in New York was quickly becoming one of Harry’s favourite places in the world, right next to his place in Mayfair and Harry’s own in Paris. It was the perfect mix of luxury and comfort. The high ceilings and large, sash windows provided a ton of natural light, there was a beautifully carved fireplace in the sitting room, and the exposed brick walls gave the place unique character. The flat had been recently renovated, so everything was brand new and upgraded, but there was still a vintage charm to it.

Usually, when Harry was away from home for long, he grew tired of it and ached to be back in Paris, but this trip to New York was proving to be just like his recent, long stay in London. Harry hardly thought about going back home even though Fashion Week was long over and Daphne had been asking him when she should book his return flight. Harry had no answer for her. At the moment, his next engagement was London Fashion Week, but there was some time before that.

Right now, he was focusing on where he most wanted to be and that was here. Louis made every place feel like home. He made Harry never want to leave. The significance of that wasn’t lost on Harry and it was all he could think about this morning as sipped his coffee while sitting on the large, plush tufted sofas in the sitting room. An American sitcom was playing on the telly, the birds were chirping outside as they flew with the September breeze, and Harry felt content.

Louis’ footsteps echoed as he came downstairs, smiling at Harry when he spotted him. “Morning,” the alpha greeted, coming around to sit beside him. He gestured to Harry’s mug. “Any left for me?”

Harry offered Louis the mug and he gulped it down before placing it on the coffee table. “I feel hungover,” Harry informed him, eyeing Louis’ bare, tattooed chest. He was so sexy and he didn’t even have to try.

“From the weed last night?” Louis asked, quirking his brow with an amused look. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

“I’ve googled it and it’s possible.”

Louis chuckled, reaching over to cup Harry’s cheek affectionately. “What are you feeling exactly? You only smoked a little bit, but I know the effects are different for people who don’t smoke often.”

The one and only time Harry had smoked weed was years ago. He absolutely hated it and couldn’t stand the smell but, for some reason, he’d agreed to smoke last night with Louis. He’d taken only a handful of hits, while the alpha smoked the rest of the joint. At the time, his head was fuzzy and he didn’t really know how to feel. Louis, on the other hand, was yapping away all night while munching on crisps and chocolate bars. He spoke of multiple topics, from politics to the best rock bands of the ‘80s and his old pet dog named Georgie. Harry mostly listened and continued to do so after Louis laid down beside him, head in Harry’s lap while Harry played with his hair. Eventually, Louis dozed off, but Harry was awake for a few more hours. He busied himself with tidying up the flat, made some brownies and ate them right off the pan, and watched two episodes of Jersey Shore.

In hindsight, he might not be hungover and may just be sleepy, but either way, he was feeling needier than usual. He shifted closer to Louis, pressing the sides of their bodies together, and pouted.

“A bit foggy and my stomach hurts,” he replied.

“Have you eaten anything?” Louis asked him.

Aside from the brownies late at night and this coffee, no, so Harry shook his head.

Louis’ thumb rubbed over Harry’s cheek and the omega made a tiny, keening noise. “I’ll make you some breakfast,” Louis offered. “After that, I’ve got to go to the studio for a few.”

“The studio?”

“I’ve got a session today, love.”

Harry refrained from whining and stomping his feet, but he was so close. He knew it was important for Louis to make use of the time he had in New York to finish up the album and usually Harry was fine when Louis went to work. The omega busied himself with walks around the city, finding the best local coffee spots, and shopping. They shared their locations with each other on the Find My app and after Louis was done he would find Harry wherever he was, so they spent plenty of time together.

Today, though, all Harry wanted was to curl up against the alpha in the privacy of their flat and have all of his attention on him. He didn’t want to share him with his bandmates, their producer, or anyone else out there.

“Don’t go,” Harry said, dropping his voice as he whispered against Louis’ ear.

Louis looked torn as he gave Harry an apologetic smile. “I have to, sweetheart. I don’t really have a choice.”

“You do,” Harry practically pleaded. “You’re the leader of the band, right?”

“Technically Liam is.”

“Yeah, but you have more say.”

“Not when the studio’s booked out. Felix will kick my arse,” Louis chuckled.

This time Harry did whine petulantly. He curled his body around, straddling Louis’ narrow waist, surprising the alpha. Harry framed Louis’ face with his palms, his thumb brushing gently across his skin.

“Don’t go,” he whispered again, lips meeting Louis’ in a soft kiss.

Louis exhaled a soft moan, kissing Harry back, sweet and slow. He placed his hands on Harry’s waist, holding him steady while Harry rolled his hips against Louis’. After a moment, he felt Louis smiling into the kiss. “You’re so sneaky. Trying to get me hot and bothered so I won’t go.”

“Is it working?” Harry asked, mouth travelling along Louis’ jaw and down his neck.

“Harry, love, I can’t stay. I want to so badly, but everyone’s going to be pissed.”

Harry aligned their mouths, tongue moving against Louis’ in a filthy kiss. “Just think of the fun things we could do,” he added, voice low and sultry. “I’ll make you a drink and we can just relax, baby.”

Louis groaned into Harry’s mouth as his erection pressed against Harry’s. If they didn’t have boxers on, Harry would already be sitting on Louis’ knot, but if he continued doing what he was doing, he might still get there sooner rather than later. They continued to kiss, unhurried and languid, while Louis’ hands trailed beneath Harry’s t-shirt and touched the expanse of his back.

“Your skin is so smooth. You know you’d be so pretty with some tattoos.”

“No way,” Harry shook his head. “I’d never get one.”

“Why?” Louis asked. “Never say never and all that, right?”

“I can’t. My modelling agency recommended against it because it takes hours to cover tattoos if the shoot requires a clean-cut model.”

Louis sighed. “But you’d be so sexy.”

“Aren’t I already?”

“The sexiest,” Louis agreed, laughing. “But you know what I mean.”

“What do you think I should get tattooed?” Harry asked. “Hypothetically, of course.”

“I don’t know,” Louis shrugged, his palms rubbing over Harry’s exposed thighs and rucking up his boxers even more. “I can picture you getting something subtle in a place where no one else can see.”

“I’ve been nude for shoots before. I think everyone’s already seen all of me.”

Louis’ hands were now underneath the boxers, pushing the fabric so far that it almost looked like Harry was wearing a tiny pair of briefs.

“Why don’t you draw something on me?” Harry suggested. “Design a tattoo for me.”

“Does it count if you’re not going to get it?” Louis asked.

“We’ll pretend,” Harry grinned. He crawled over to the side console table and fished out a Sharpie from the drawer, handing it over to Louis. Louis patted his lap, gesturing for Harry to get back to where he was, so he did. Once Harry was straddling him again, Louis observed his body, mapping out where to put the fake tattoo. His eyes kept lingering on Harry’s upper left thigh and he uncapped the Sharpie before bringing it down to his skin.

Harry watched as he slowly wrote out in swooping, sloping cursive letters: mine.

Butterflies erupted in Harry’s stomach as he stared down at the word on his skin. Louis capped the Sharpie and placed it on the seat beside them. Their eyes met and Harry took in Louis’ softened expression, and a sudden, startling realisation hit him: he was in love.

It hit him like a wave. All of these days, all of the cities they made their own. Harry had been falling in love through all of it without meaning to. He wondered if his affections were written clearly on his expression. If the alpha could see that inside his chest, his heart was thrashing against his ribcage. That it was falling in love with him more and more each second.

Louis’ hands slid to his back, pushing Harry forward and pulling him tight against him, his spine curving until they were flush against each other. Harry nudged their noses together, slotting them perfectly together, as he felt the alpha’s heart racing against his own. Louis’ tongue brushed over Harry’s bottom lip and he kissed him thoroughly, like in some weird way, he knew Harry was hurtling down and falling.

Did Louis kiss everyone like this? Did he touch all the other omegas as delicately as he touched Harry? Was he Harry’s as much as Harry was his?

・❥・

It had been another successful session at the studio and the band was now done with recording five songs for the new record. To celebrate, they’d decided to go to The Mulberry to drink and commemorate their hard work so far. Liam was in town for some meetings, so he came, and so did Felix. Louis invited Harry as well since he didn’t feel right leaving the omega out of the festivities.

They’d claimed a corner of the dimly lit bar. Niall, Christian, Liam, and Felix were sitting at the tan, velvet booth chatting while Ziggy stood off to the side with Louis and Harry, telling them about the time he’d gotten catfished on Raya. Harry stood behind Louis, his arms wrapped around the alpha’s waist while he tucked his head against the crook of his neck, listening raptly while Ziggy rattled on. Louis was half-listening, half-zoning out because of how tired he was. It was close to 2:00 AM and he was ready for bed as he’d been up early to jog with Harry.

The bar would be closing soon, anyway, so he tried to focus and be present with his friends. He placed his hand over Harry’s and tangled their fingers together. Ziggy didn’t bat an eye at their subtle PDA, but neither did the other boys. It seemed everyone was just accepting it for what it was, which Louis was grateful for.

“Anyway,” Ziggy said. “I still ended up taking her out to dinner because I didn’t want to be rude. We actually had a great conversation and are friends to this day.”

“You’re a better man than I am,” Harry chuckled. “I nearly got catfished a couple of times, but as soon as I got the vibe that they weren’t who they were saying they were, I just ghosted.”

“Don’t you have a crazy dating app story, Louis?” Ziggy asked him. “Remember? During our Paris press tour, you’d met up with someone and they ended up being batshit crazy?”

Harry squeezed him around the waist. “So you do have a Parisien lover!”

“I do not!” Louis denied. “I have no idea what Ziggy’s talking about.”

“Yes, you do,” his bandmate retorted unhelpfully. “The omega who tied you up as soon as you guys got back to their place.”

Harry gasped.

Louis tutted as he shook his head. “We hooked up. They weren’t a lover!”

“Whatever you say, dude,” Ziggy shrugged, walking toward the rest of the group.

Louis turned in Harry’s arms, rubbing his arms placatingly over the omega’s. “Can I get you a drink?”

Harry eyed him suspiciously but nodded his head. He pressed his lips on Louis’ for a quick smooch before letting him go. Louis walked over to the bar with a strut in his step, feeling great about the fact that he had the hottest omega by his side. The Mulberry was known to be an exclusive bar and it was often frequented by actors, musicians, etc. On any given night, the place was full of beautiful people, and yet, everyone was looking in Harry’s direction. Louis could barely look away from him either.

He approached the bar and signalled to the bartender, who walked over with a polite smile. “What can I get you?” he asked.

“Can I get one more round of whatever everyone last ordered on my tab?” Louis requested.

“You got it.”

The bartender, whose name tag read Jamie and Louis could sense was an omega, began to prepare their drinks. “Closing up soon?” he asked conversationally.

“Yeah, thankfully. It’s been a long shift. How did you guys enjoy your night?”

“It was nice. Good vibes in here. It’s my first time.”

“Glad you liked it! I’m a fan, by the way. You guys make some sick music,” Jamie smiled.

“Thank you. That’s sweet of you to say,” Louis said appreciatively.

“Modern Idiots was one of my most played albums this year.”

“That means a lot, mate. We’re actually working on the new album now.”

“Exciting stuff. Anything you can share about it?” the omega asked.

“Nothing yet, but hopefully soon.”

“Well, I’ll definitely be tuned in,” Jamie said goodnaturedly.

Louis smiled in response and his eyes drifted back toward his group. They were all talking about something really juicy, it seemed, because everyone was listening to Niall with rapt attention. Out of the corner of his eye, Louis noticed a new group of people walk in, and his eyes trailed over. At first, the tall alpha who was leading the group looked slightly familiar, but Louis couldn’t place him. It wasn’t until he clocked the way Harry’s spine straightened up and lips curved into a smile that it clicked.

It was Tyler James.

The very same alpha Harry had been set up with by his friends and was dating for a good while. Louis wasn’t sure what had happened between them or where it ended up, but he hoped it was over. Was it over? Louis had no idea. Harry always deflected whenever he asked about him. Uncertainty clouded Louis’ mind and he surreptitiously watched Harry, who continued to stare at Tyler. It almost looked like he wasn’t sure what to do. But then he said something to the group and began walking toward Tyler.

Fuck.

Louis took a deep breath and continued to watch, eyeing the way Harry’s narrow hips swayed as he made his way to the alpha. The moment Tyler spotted Harry, a massive smile broke out on his face and he closed the gap between them to hug the omega, tight and cosy like he was familiar with his body. A memory flashed through Louis’ mind — Harry telling him that he and Tyler had had sex before — and suddenly Louis wanted to burn this whole place down.

It never used to bother him that they both slept around while also sleeping with each other. They weren’t exclusive back then and even today, they hadn’t had the talk, but it was just understood. Louis certainly hadn’t slept with anyone else in months. He’d assumed the same for Harry. Was that presumptuous of him? He wasn’t sure. The idea of another alpha touching Harry like that — knowing what Harry looked like when he was naked and sweating and wet, the noises he made, how beautifully his body reacted to the pleasure — was driving Louis mad. Harry was his. He had “mine” written on his upper thigh by Louis, letters re-traced after it had faded from the first time Louis wrote it.

Fuck this guy and his smarmy grin. He didn’t know anything about Harry. Not like Louis did.

As the pair broke away from each other, Tyler’s encroaching hands continued to touch Harry. Draping down his arm, resting over the small of his back, wrapping around his waist for another hug. He’d completely abandoned the group he’d walked in with, looking delighted at whatever Harry was saying to him. Harry, for the most part, was completely eating out of the alpha’s hand. There was a blush sitting at the top of his cheeks, a dimpled smile on full display while he blinked at Tyler coquettishly. Louis knew what Harry looked like when he was putting out and this was it.

“Here are your drinks.”

Louis glanced at Jamie, who’d placed the group’s drinks on the counter for him on a tray. “Thanks,” the alpha murmured as he picked it up and took it over to their table. He placed the tray down with a hard thud, practically making the drinks spill out of their glasses. His friends eyed him warily.

“What’s your damage?” Christian asked, picking up his yellow cocktail.

“Nothing,” Louis replied tersely, grabbing the first drink in his line of sight and downing it in one go. The bitter aftertaste made him wince, but he was too busy glaring over at Harry giggling at whatever Tyler was saying to him.

Liam nudged him with a wary look. “You good, lad?”

“Fine,” Louis said.

Liam looked unconvinced but moved over to talk to Felix instead while Louis continued to stew. Eventually, after much too long, Harry made his way back to them. He grinned at Louis like a perfect little angel.

“That was Tyler.”

“Was it?” Louis asked, sarcastic and tetchy.

“Crazy, right? It’s been a minute since I’d seen him, so thought I’d say hi. Did you get us drinks, baby?”

“Yup.”

Harry picked one of them up and took a sip. “Thanks.”

Louis watched him for a moment and let out a disbelieving scoff. Why was Harry acting like what he did was okay? Didn’t he know that Louis wouldn’t be okay with him just prancing off to flirt with his ex right in front of him? He huffed once more and walked off toward Niall, who was doing something on his phone. The moment he sat down, he saw that Harry was looking at him with a crease between his brows, confused and shocked.

The omega immediately walked over. “What was that?” he asked.

“What was what?” Louis asked, feigning ignorance.

“Why did you walk away like that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Louis,” Harry sighed. “You know. You were all huffy and you walked away.”

“Fine, so I did,” Louis shrugged. “What about it?”

“Why did you do it?”

“Why do you think, Harry?” Louis asked him, tipping his head back to look up at the omega.

Meanwhile, Niall’s head lifted to stare at the two warily. He probably didn’t want to be a part of this, but unfortunately, he had to bear witness because there was nowhere else to go.

Harry stared at him for a long moment and exhaled. “Because of Tyler?”

Louis sniffed a laugh, jaw set. “I don’t give a fuck about that tosser.”

“It seems like you do,” the omega said, jutting his chin out stubbornly. “What’s your problem, Louis?”

“I don’t have one,” he answered, haughty and standoffish.

“Yes, you do. Just say it. Don’t be shy. Tell me what I did wrong.”

“Leave it, Harry.”

“Are you fucking jealous?” the omega hissed, narrowing his eyes.

“Of that prick?” Louis asked, practically sneering. “Fat chance. Why don’t you go and spend more time with him? Seemed like you two missed each other.”

“We don’t do jealous, Louis,” Harry reminded him.

White-hot fury bubbled up inside Louis, threatening to spill over at any moment. He couldn’t fucking believe this. The rules that they’d already broken more than half of, and yet, Harry wanted to continue to enforce the one that they’d both been guilty of. Something that could hardly be helped given their biology and the way their emotions worked. Why wouldn’t they do jealous when they did everything else? When their relationship hadn’t been just strictly sex anymore. It was so much more. They were essentially living together and had been for months. They weren’t seeing anyone else and it felt like it was more.

But they “didn’t do jealous”. That was the one rule Harry was still harping on. It didn’t make sense. Was this his way of making sure he was clear to do what he wanted with other alphas? Louis had thought they were both moving in the same direction, but maybe he was wrong. Either way, he was done with acting like those rules meant anything anymore. Fuck the rules and fuck acting like this between them had no strings attached.

“Is that what you want?” he asked.

“What?”

“We’re still doing this no jealousy thing?”

“I don’t know!” the omega said through gritted teeth, his words clipped and harsh. “Because you won’t even tell me what’s wrong.”

“It should be obvious.”

“It’s not!”

Louis didn’t bother responding, sitting back against his seat while Niall fidgeted beside him, looking everywhere but at the two of them. Harry placed his drink on the table in front of them and crossed his arms.

“You know what? If you’re going to act like a fucking dick, then I’m not talking to you either.”

The omega whirled around and marched away from him. Louis watched and willed him not to go toward Tyler. To go anywhere but to Tyler, but that was exactly where the omega made his way to. Icy rage burned in his eyes and he stood up, deciding to make the worst decision he possibly could.

Jamie was wiping down the bar when Louis approached him, looking at him expectantly. “I just did the last call,” the bartender said to him apologetically.

“I’m actually not looking for a drink,” Louis said, trying to smile despite the crushing feeling growing heavier in his chest.

“No?” Jamie asked.

Louis shook his head. “I was hoping you’d be free after this.”

“Oh,” Jamie responded slowly, his eyes drifting to something over Louis’ head. “You want to hang out?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a place in Greenwich Village. I could fix you a drink this time and we could maybe listen to some of the new music. You can let me know what you think.”

Jamie smiled, although, apprehensively. “I’d be down for that. Do you mind giving me a couple of minutes to grab my things from the back?”

“Go ahead. I’ll be waiting here.”

The omega walked into the back room and Louis made his way over to his group. They all looked at him with concerned expressions. He felt embarrassed and didn’t want to address any of what was going on. Not when Harry was only an earshot away with that fucking popstar.

“I’m headed out. I’ll see you lads tomorrow,” he said.

They all nodded, awkward and stilted, and it sucked that the mood of the night plummeted the way it did. Jamie came out of the back room moments later and Louis placed his hand on the small of his back, leading him toward the exit. Before exiting, Louis’ eyes flitted over to where Harry was sitting and felt a sick satisfaction when he saw the way the omega was seething, mouth drawn in a thin line and brows furrowed deeply.

Louis faced forward and walked out into the night.

・❥・

Harry stood outside The Mulberry like a pathetic sod while the staff closed up and Louis’ bandmates stood nearby, all whispering to each other. It was most likely about him and the way he got left behind like a loser. He had no idea what to do. Tyler had asked Harry if he’d like a lift anywhere or if he needed anything, but Harry told him he was fine and could get home on his own. Now that he was alone, he was faced with the fact that he had nowhere to go. Louis left with the omega bartender and Harry was so embarrassed; more than that, he was pissed off. His anger was palpable, a dark cloud of fury enveloping him and radiating outward.

“Harry?”

The omega glanced at the alpha approaching him. Christian looked wary and uncertain as he caught Harry’s eyes.

“You alright?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “I don’t know what the fuck happened tonight.”

Christian sighed softly. “Louis’ an idiot. He got jealous, obviously.”

“He could have just said that instead of acting like a complete knothead,” Harry retorted, crossing his arms tightly across his chest, his whole body vibrating with anger.

“You’re right. He could have. I don’t know why he didn’t. Can I be honest with you?”

Harry nodded.

“I don’t think he’ll do anything with that omega. He probably dropped him home and is now waiting for you back at his flat. This whole thing at the bar was just him protecting himself and his feelings. He’s scared of getting hurt.”

Harry wasn’t entirely convinced of this, but Christian seemed earnest and kind as he spoke to Harry, which made the omega soften up just a bit. He wanted to give Louis the benefit of the doubt. He didn’t want to fight with him. They never fought and this felt so weird.

“Why don’t I call you an Uber so you can go back to his place?” Christian suggested. “Talk things out and get everything out in the open. You guys have something really special and we’d hate to see you ruin it over something so silly. You belong together.”

“You think so?” Harry asked, a tiny smile on his face.

“Of course. We all think so and we’re all rooting for you.”

Harry’s smile deepened and he nodded. “Okay, I’ll go back to his.”

Fifteen minutes later, Harry’s Uber pulled up in front of Louis’ building. Harry got out gingerly and took a deep breath before walking up the steps, using his key to enter. As he made his way up to the third floor, he tried to be positive and believe what Christian had said. That Louis was here and alone. That he didn’t go back to the omega’s place or bring him back here. Louis had always been really sweet and good to Harry. It would be out of character for him to purposefully hurt the omega.

When he opened the door, he braced himself and looked into the sitting room. The omega bartender was sitting on the couch while Louis was handing him a drink.

Harry’s face turned a deep shade of red and his eyes narrowed into a fierce glare. Louis looked at him and his brows furrowed, lips pressed into a tight, thin line. Not being able to help it, Harry let out a loud, shrill growl that turned into a frustrated, infuriated cry. Both the bartender and Louis stared at him with startled expressions. Harry exhaled a soft whimper before he ran up the stairs and stormed into the bedroom.

For a moment, he stood there, fists balled at his side and shoulders rigid with tension, and he let out another growl before lunging toward the closet. He opened it and began pulling out his belongings. By the time he got all of his stuff out, Louis had come upstairs, walking into the room like a hunter approaching a wild animal, scared of setting it off. Unfortunately for him, he was too late.

“Don’t fucking come near me!” Harry shouted, his voice booming and echoing off the walls.

Louis froze, putting his hands up in surrender. “Harry, let’s talk. It’s not what it seemed like downstairs.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Harry asked him, nostrils flared, breathing rapid, and eyes flashing with anger. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to let you talk yourself out of this. You brought him home, Louis! How could you do that? And you expect me to believe it’s not what it seemed like? What were you doing before I got here? Bet you two were making fun of me and laughing about what a fool I am.”

“No! We didn’t do anything. I wasn’t going to do anything with him,” Louis explained. “I was never going to hook up with him.”

“Is he still downstairs?”

“No,” Louis shook his head. “I sent him home. I admit it was shitty of me to leave the bar with him. I did that because you pissed me off.”

“What did I do that was so awful?”

“You flirted with Tyler right in front of me! Then you tried throwing it back in my face that we don’t do jealous when we both know that those rules are shit now.”

“I wasn’t flirting with him. I was just talking with him. You wouldn’t even admit that you were jealous.”

“Aren’t you jealous right now? What are you feeling? Be real with me for once.”

“Yes, I’m jealous!” Harry screamed. “I’m fucking jealous and you were jealous at the bar. We’ve established that! But I wasn’t intentionally trying to get a rise out of you like you were doing to me. This was fucking cruel, Louis. You’re such a fucking wanker!”

Louis exhaled slowly. “I wasn’t going to hook up with him, Harry. I didn’t even touch him. We were just talking.”

“You brought him back to the flat that you’ve been sharing with me,” Harry said, voice shaking with intensity. “I can’t fucking believe you. You have absolutely no respect for me.”

“That’s not tr—”

“T’es tellement sans cœur et méchant,” Harry spat out with venom in his tone. “Je te déteste!”

Eyes widening, Louis stared at him. “Harry…”

“Va te faire foutre, connard!”

Ignoring Louis’ gobsmacked expression, Harry went into the other closet and took out his luggage, throwing his stuff inside as quickly as he could. His heart was thrashing against his chest, a crushing ache swallowing him whole. He should have known this would happen. From the very start, they were a shot in the dark. This wasn’t some movie where the classic, cliché friends with benefits turned into more.

This was real life and Harry wasn’t going to get his happy ending.

He felt frenzied with anger, heartbreak, and a deep sadness. He desperately wanted to rewind the night. Go back to when he had his arms around the alpha and everything was okay. But if he went back, did it change the fact that Harry was always in this alone? To him, there was no way Louis felt the same way about him if he was able to bring another omega into their home. He had been foolish and allowed Louis into the deepest parts of him. In the end, Louis turned out to be a typical alpha acting on his ego and his knot.

Harry finished packing and began zipping up his luggage, and that foolish, hopeful part of him suddenly ached for Louis to tell him to stop. To beg him not to go and make it up to him.

The alpha stayed silent, his expression tortured, and it was so deafening that Harry wanted to scream until his lungs gave out. He stood up on shaky legs and brushed past Louis, going down the stairs. At the door, he stopped for a second, holding his breath for a moment longer, giving the alpha the chance to come down and prove Harry wrong.

Seconds ticked by and Louis was still upstairs. Harry opened the door and walked out into the night. Outside on the sidewalk, he stood alone while waiting for his Uber. He put in the address for The Crosby Hotel, a place he’d stayed at in the past. He scolded himself and his naive heart for still waiting on Louis. Like he’d burst out of the doors and get down on his knees.

Harry’s Uber pulled up and there was no sign of the alpha. He sniffed as the driver came out to put his luggage in the trunk. Once he was sitting inside, Harry’s face crumpled and he burst into tears. It was so evident to him now that Louis had led him on. All of these months, he was slowly breaking through to Harry only to leave him in the end, making him feel like he was bleeding out. His writing on Harry’s upper thigh burned through him, like a shameful reminder that he was always Louis’, but Louis was never his.

The Uber driver was thankfully respectful and let Harry cry in peace in the backseat. The omega took out his phone and dialled Zayn, praying he would answer.

“Hello?”

“Zayn?” Harry said, his voice warbled by his tears.

“Harry? You okay?” the beta asked, instantly sounding concerned. “What happened?”

Harry word vomited, telling Zayn the events of the night, ending with where he was currently going. Zayn stayed silent through all of it until Harry sniffled.

“What do I do?” he asked.

Zayn let out a soft sigh. “Do you want to work things out?”

“I don’t know. Right now, I hate him.”

“Okay, then I think the best thing for you to do is leave as soon as you can. Book a flight back to Paris tomorrow. Go home and heal from this, love.”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “You’re right. I need to leave. I can’t stay here. I feel so embarrassed.”

“You don’t have anything to be embarrassed about. If anything, he should be embarrassed.”

“I hate him,” Harry repeated.

“I know, love. You’ll be alright. Can you let me know once you reach the hotel and get checked in?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Z. Love you.”

“You, too.”

Harry hung up and wiped at his wet cheeks. He rested his head against the window and stared out at the passing streets, hoping Louis was feeling just as shitty as he was.

・❥・

Louis never thought it was possible to be in a terrible mood for several weeks in a row, but he proved to himself that it was. Since Harry had walked out on him and ignored every single one of his phone calls and texts until he figured out that the omega had flown back to Paris, he’d been quietly brooding on his own. All of his free time was spent in his flat, hiding away from the world so he didn’t have to engage with anyone. The only thing that got him out of bed was the new album. He focused all of his energy on writing and recording, and now the band was down to the last song and stuck on which one it should be.

“I like ‘Echoes of Yesterday’,” Christian said. “I think it turned out alright, don’t you?”

“Alright isn’t going to cut it,” Louis said to him. “It needs to be amazing.”

“But we’ve been at it for weeks, Louis,” Ziggy chimed in. “It’s going to be December soon and I want to go back home for the holidays.”

“If your priorities are elsewhere, Zig, then I suggest you figure that out and let us know.”

Ziggy glared at him. “Don’t fucking come at me, mate. I’m just trying to be helpful. We can’t be sitting here on our arses and not go over the options we’ve got.”

“I agree with Ziggy,” Niall added sheepishly. “What about ‘Rise Again’ or ‘Crimson Skies’? Those were pretty good, too.”

“Again, pretty good and alright won’t cut it,” Louis said as he stood up from his seat and stretched. “I need time to think. I’m going out for a smoke break.”

“I’ll join you,” Felix said, following him out the door and up the stairs of the studio.

Outside, the crisp November air nipped at Louis’ skin as he cupped his hand around his cigarette, covering it from the wind, and lit it up. He sucked in a lungful of the smoke and exhaled, willing his body to let out all the emotional despair he’d been feeling for the last six weeks. The streets were relatively quiet, with only a few people walking by since it was pretty late into the night. Felix stood a few feet away from Louis, giving him space and probably wanting to avoid his wrath. Louis didn’t blame him. He’d been terrible company of late.

The worst part was that he couldn’t even go to Paris to fix things with Harry. The label was expecting the album and Felix had used his connections to get them this studio time. They were all obligated to be here and work despite whatever was going on in their private lives. Louis had tried explaining that to Harry but, considering his silence, it seemed Harry didn’t want to hear him out. The alpha suspected his number was blocked because his messages soon started to come back undelivered.

It pissed him off if he was being honest. His ego was taking a giant hit and he couldn’t understand how someone could be so unwilling to hear him out. While he was falling apart in this city, Harry was travelling to other ones, posting all about it on his social media, almost like he was mocking Louis and showing him how much better off and unbothered he was.

Bitterly, Louis took out his phone as he leaned against the wall behind him. He opened Instagram and went to the search bar where Harry’s profile was already at the top from how often he’d done it. He clicked on it like a masochist, eager for any new updates on what the omega was up to. There were no new stories, but there was a new post on his feed. Louis clicked on it so he could take a better look and the very sight of it had Louis wanting to throw his phone across the road and smash it to pieces.

Harry had posted a picture of himself and Tyler on a beach with the sun setting in the background while the two kissed passionately. The location was tagged as St. Tropez and the caption read “boyfriend” with a pink heart next to it.

Louis’ jaw set tightly, teeth grinding audibly as he tried to hold back an anguished growl. Bile rose in his throat and his stomach felt hollow and heavy at the same time, like someone was carving him out. A few days ago, when he couldn’t stop thinking about Harry and even his social media updates weren’t giving him the fix he needed, he opened his Find My app. He was sure Harry stopped sharing his location with Louis, but to his surprise, it was still on. Louis zoomed in on Harry’s location and found that he was in London at some bar called The Black Dog. At the time, Louis didn’t think much of it, but now he wondered if Harry was there with Tyler. If he’d been with Tyler all this time while Louis had been here alone, desperately trying to mend his pierced heart.

Felix looked over at him, nose twitching, as he eyed Louis warily. “You alright, man?” he asked. “Your scent just got overwhelmingly powerful, even outside.”

“It’s fucking Harry,” Louis spat out, unable to help himself. His bandmates and Felix were aware things didn’t turn out well that night Harry left. He didn’t offer them much explanation, but now that Louis saw this post, he couldn’t help it anymore. He felt like he was going to burst open a dam of frustrated tears.

“What did he do?” Felix asked, coming closer.

“He posted a picture with that fucking asshole. The one who showed up that night we were all at The Mulberry. It was why we fought.”

“Tyler James?”

“Yes, that fucking cunt.”

Felix offered him a sympathetic smile. “I’m guessing you still haven’t spoken to Harry.”

“I’m pretty sure he blocked my number. I just don’t get how it all went so wrong. We were obsessed with each other. All we wanted was to be together. I was so sure of it and then that night, I suddenly wasn’t.”

“Did you ever communicate that to him?” Felix asked.

“No,” Louis admitted. “I was building up to it. We weren’t exclusive or anything. It started off casual and over time, it became more for me.”

“More?”

“I’m in love with him,” Louis confessed. “I’ve been in love with him since summer and I was going to tell him.”

“And now he’s with Tyler,” Felix said, piecing it together. “Fuck, dude.”

“I just don’t understand,” Louis said. “He’s moved on and I’m stuck. I can’t even think about opening up to anyone else like I opened up to him. I don’t understand how he doesn’t miss me like I miss him. Is it his pride that isn’t letting him give me a chance to explain? To fix things? I bet he’s showing off Tyler right now just to hurt me. And it’s working.”

Even as he said it, Louis knew his pride or ego wasn’t any better. Wasn’t that the issue when they fought that night at the bar and he could barely open up to Harry? He’d gone home with another omega just to get a rise out of him. Louis fucked up. He knew that. And now Harry was making sure he realised what he lost.

Je te déteste!

Did Harry really hate him?

“How about this?” Felix said. “We go back in the studio and you put all of those emotions in a song. Trust me, you’ll feel much better.”

Louis nodded shakily. “Yeah, I think that’s exactly what I need.”

・❥・

Harry gazed at himself in the mirror while Cindy worked on powdering his face with a light brush. He had a small pout on his face, his lips painted a soft shade of pink, and his eyes had a dazed far-away look in them. It was early Winter and the year was finally winding down. He had the kind of bone-deep exhaustion that came when you desperately needed rest and a fresh start.

After today’s Vogue shoot, Harry was actually free to do just that. His dad had invited him to his vacation home in the English village for the holidays and Harry eagerly took him up on it. He needed an escape. His place in Paris had been reminding him of Louis and it was so unfair. His flat had always been his favourite place. His sanctuary. To be reminded of the alpha that broke his heart… Harry had no idea what to do. On one hand, he wanted to be strong and act like it didn’t bother him. So what if it didn’t work out between them? Harry would be fine. On the other hand, he felt like he was suffocating in his own home. Like he couldn’t live there anymore or breathe the air inside. Some of his clothes still smelled like Louis because he’d refused to wash them like an idiot who was possessed by this love.

“Alright,” Cindy said, smiling at him through the mirror and snapping him out of his depressing thoughts. “We are done here. You look perfect, H. We’ll get the cameras set up for you. In the meantime, get into the first set of clothes, will you?”

“Okay,” he said, slowly getting up from his chair.

Cindy gestured over to an assistant. “Can you turn up the music a bit? Need to liven it up in here for the shoot.”

The assistant went over to the speakers while Harry unbuttoned his shirt. As the volume increased, Harry’s ears caught on to the distorted, overdriven guitar riff, the thick bassline, and the pounding intensity of the drums. It was attention-grabbing and catchy in a way that made you stop in your tracks to listen. But all of that fell away when the familiar vocals took over, a mix of rough, raw emotional angst.

It was The Rogue, but Harry didn’t recognize the song. He figured it must be new and his eyes focused on the ground as he tried to pick up some of the lyrics.

“Sharing secrets in the dark, whispered lies, and stolen sparks,” Louis crooned, a strain in his delivery, like there was a sense of desperation and vulnerability. “How could you shut me out and leave me without a trace when I’m haunted by your green eyes?”

He frowned and quickly reached for his phone, typing out “the rogue lyrics” into his Google search bar. He flitted through the options until he found the new song titled “Cherry” and clicked on it to view the lyrics. His eyes scanned the lyrics and he barely held in his gasp.

Gave you so much of me

You cut through like a knife

Walked away from me

Was I a game? A fleeting thrill?

Another style for you to try on?

Laughing in photographs with someone new

My pretty, cruel baby

Did I ever matter to you?

Used me up, tossed me aside

All I have left is my pride

See your shadow in the dead of night

I’m screaming out, do you hear me?

Your silence is the cruellest kill

Your touch was a deadly poison

Cherry, baby, you blossomed in me

Fleur de cerisier

You sucked the life right out of me

Oh, Harry was going to kill him. He was actually going to kill Louis. Who the fuck did he think he was acting like Harry did something to him? This was such a typical fuckboy move. He claimed Harry used him and tossed him aside? If anything, Louis used Harry as inspiration for his song! He wouldn’t put it past the knothead to lead him on the way he did just for something to write about.

God, he was fuming.

The omega placed his phone down on the makeup counter and quickly changed into his clothes. He had to get through this shoot and interview before deciding how he was going to execute the murder of a certain alpha.

An hour and a half later, Harry was back in his own clothes and sitting in a cosy room with the interviewer, Alice, who was mostly asking him about his skincare routine and his current keto diet. He wasn’t entirely present and could feel his answers weren’t hitting the mark like Alice was hoping they would. The beta looked down at her list of questions.

“What do you think is the key to a healthy, happy life?” she asked. “Based on all of the things we covered so far.”

Harry stared down at his nails and their pale yellow polish. He had no idea how to answer that when he felt like such a mess these days. The omega was faking it till he made it, but he couldn’t exactly say that. His mind was still reeling from the song Louis wrote about him and he honestly couldn’t think of anything else other than the alpha’s betrayal. As petty as this was, Harry wanted to get back at him. He wanted to hurt him and show him that if he wanted to write a nasty song about Harry, then Harry would retaliate.

Suddenly, Harry knew exactly what to say.

“I think the key to a healthy happy life is letting go of toxic alphas,” Harry said, smiling serenely at the interviewer.

She quirked her brow. “Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, obviously, taking care of yourself and doing things that make you happy is important, but you don’t get there if you’re with someone who is toxic, selfish, and spiteful. Once I removed people like that from my life, I learned to love myself and do things to take care of me, like eating healthy, doing yoga, and meditating. I’m so unbothered by everything else. It’s all just background noise.”

Alice smiled. “That’s great advice. Are you happier now with your current partner?”

“Yeah,” Harry said, feigning a lovesick smile. “Tyler is amazing. So much better than my previous… mistakes. All they want is to say they’ve been with me. Use me for their own benefit, their songs. But Tyler isn’t like that. He helps me be a better version of me.”

“So sweet,” Alice said. “Now, you mentioned yoga and meditation…”

・❥・

Touching down in Paris, Louis was filled with a flurry of emotions. He’d never had a city so viscerally remind him of someone else but that was what Paris did. Harry was in every corner, his name and his face flashing through Louis’ mind as he passed the familiar streets. This was where it all solidified for Louis. This was where he fell in love with the omega. The nostalgia and the pain of it clung to him like a heavyweight.

It was Paris Fashion Week and Louis wouldn’t have come here if his publicist, Aaron, didn’t make him. There were some big names on the list and it was important for Louis to show up for appearances, especially with the new album rollout plan. They needed to be seen and talked about and fashion week was an easy way to do that. Louis’ only request was that they keep it short. He was flying back to London that night so he wouldn’t even be spending a full 24 hours there. His hotel room was booked mostly so he could change between shows.

The thing was, Louis knew he was going to have to see Harry. Based on Harry’s social media activity and posts in Paris, the omega was here and he was going to be working it. Two months ago, Louis would have done anything for an opportunity like this to finally be face-to-face with Harry, but now, he wasn’t so sure. Harry had made it very clear that he was hell-bent on moving on. Louis read his recent feature with Vogue and he’d clearly taken some jabs at the alpha.

If that was how Harry felt, then Louis was done chasing him. He wasn’t going to try and speak with someone who wanted nothing to do with him and also talked shit about him during interviews. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to interact and the extent of it would be watching Harry walk the runway.

The first show of the day was Yves Saint Laurent at the Carrousel du Louvre. Louis was dressed to the nines with his hair coiffed, giving him a smart and cool look. He posed for some photos as he arrived before sitting down in the front row as the event coordinators had instructed him to do. All around him, there was commotion. People were being escorted to their seats, A-list celebrities caught up with each other while journalists filmed them, and last-minute touches were being made to the stage.

After a while, an omega came over and sat beside him. Louis didn’t recognize her, so he kept to himself, but he looked over when he noticed her smiling at him.

“Hi,” she said. “I’m Tara. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Louis,” he smiled, shaking her hand.

“Your new song is amazing,” she said, smiling bashfully. “It’s been on repeat since it came out.”

“Thank you. It was a bit scary to put out, but the response has been good, I’d say.”

“I get what you mean. Whenever a new project of mine comes out, I’m also a bundle of nerves.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m an actress.”

“Anything I’ve seen?”

“I’ve had a couple of small roles in two BBC series. I also had a movie come out last year. Horror. It was called Lullaby.”

Louis’ eyes widened in recognition. “Oh, yes. I’ve seen the film. It was really good, mate. Scared the shit out of my friend, Liam.”

“Not going to lie, it scared me a bit when we filmed it, too,” she chuckled, making Louis laugh as well.

They continued to chat until the show began. When the lights dimmed and the spotlights turned on, the DJ started the music and a sexy tune began to play as one by one, the models came out onto the runway. Louis didn’t realise he was holding his breath until Harry made his way out, and he exhaled shakily. The omega was dressed in a sheer white top with matching trousers that had intricate floral embroidery on them.

Louis couldn’t look away from the beautiful sight, his eyes unblinking as he took in Harry in the flesh for the first time in nearly five months. For all of his anger and his hurt, Louis was now hit with the devastating feeling of helplessness. He was still so in love with this omega and he had no idea how to get through to him. This was the first time he was seeing him and yet Louis could do nothing while Harry walked back, eyes trained forward with a neutral expression on his face. He didn’t even know Louis was here and Louis had no way of getting his attention.

As if once wasn’t enough, Harry came back out another six times, debuting new looks. He was the biggest model on the roster and a complete show stealer. Not to mention, he’d been one of the faces of the luxury brand since he was a teenager. This was all about him. Each time Louis saw him, the more he realised how badly he’d fucked up. How badly he still wanted him and would do anything for the omega.

The show soon ended and Tara said goodbye to Louis before making her way out. He stood there alone, wondering how he could manage to get backstage to talk to Harry, but then Aaron came over to him.

“Ready to go?” he asked Louis.

“Right now? Do we have any time?” Louis asked.

“The Loewe show starts in an hour and traffic will be awful,” Aaron told him with an apologetic look. “Are you hungry? We can get you food at the hotel while you change.”

“No,” Louis shook his head, eyes glancing back toward the stage. “I just — I wanted to talk to someone.”

“We really don’t have time if you want to make your flight tonight, Louis.”

Louis sighed dejectedly. “Okay, yeah. Let’s go.”

He followed Aaron out the door and hurried past the paparazzi lined up outside. When he got inside his car, he pulled out his phone and opened his message thread with Harry. It was still just his messages as the last few hadn’t gone through. Even if Louis wanted to reach out to Harry, the omega wouldn’t get them. He’d blocked him. Plus, Louis wasn’t sure if Harry was single now or not. As much as he wanted to talk to him, it might not be the best time.

Sighing, he closed his phone and put it down, staring out the window forlornly, wondering when he would stop feeling like this.

・❥・

Harry woke up on the morning of his 23rd birthday to countless messages and missed calls. Despite the well-wishers and outpouring of love, he couldn’t bear the thought of getting out of bed. Every year on this day, the first thing he did was reflect on how much he’d grown and experienced this past year. When he did that this morning, the only thing going through his mind was falling in love with Louis and losing him.

He’d been spiralling ever since as he fell deeper into a depressive hole, wallowing and feeling sad for himself. After seeing the alpha at Paris Fashion Week, the anger Harry felt toward him had shifted and, now, all he felt was sadness. With Louis being front row, it wasn’t hard to spot him, but Harry couldn’t do anything since he was working. After the show, Harry put it out of his mind as he had to get ready for another professional obligation.

When he told Zayn about how he’d been feeling, his best friend just laughed and said it was so typical that Harry took one look at Louis and was back to square one with him. But Harry couldn’t help it. He loved him. He was so in love with him that he felt crazy. It was all he could think about and all he wanted to talk about. His friends all made fun of him for being terrible company now. They were probably right.

The omega was simply done with pretending he was above it. He was done being petty, done with parading Tyler around like an accessory. He’d only gotten together with him to hurt Louis as much as Louis hurt him. They were long over, anyway, never really real to begin with. Tyler had never held a candle to Louis. No one looked at the pop star the way they looked at Louis, like the omega sitting next to him at the YSL show. She looked starstruck and a little in love, and Harry didn’t blame her.

It had been a long, painful, two weeks since Paris Fashion Week during which Harry had his heat, and cried for Louis the entire time. Willing, wanting, begging for the alpha to be there and take care of him. He even considered calling another alpha just to help him through it, but the very thought had his omega recoiling in disgust.

No other alpha would do.

It was only Louis for Harry.

They’d been apart for six months and Harry missed him desperately. He missed the smell of his smoke and his laugh and his touch. He’d do anything to have Louis back. And if he couldn’t have him, then he’d at least like some semblance of his sanity back. Harry often considered selling his house and burning all of his clothes to get rid of his deeply-rooted memories of the alpha; they caused him so much pain. Sometimes he thought that even that wouldn’t work and that the only solution was to hire a priest to exorcise all of his demons.

Harry’s phone began to ring and he reached for it, eyeing the caller ID. It was Zayn. Even though he’d ignored everyone else, Harry couldn’t ignore Zayn because Zayn was flying to Paris from London to spend the day with him. He pressed accept and put it on speaker.

“Hello,” he said. “Are you almost here?”

“Just got in my cab,” Zayn said. “Birthday celebrations will commence in exactly twenty minutes according to my driver’s GPS.”

“I guess I’ll get out of bed then,” Harry said, slowly sitting up.

“You’re still in bed? H, come on. Got to get up and seize the day. You only have a birthday once a year. Weren’t you going to order in all of your favourite breakfast foods?”

“I’m sad,” Harry admitted.

Zayn sighed softly. “About Louis?”

“What else?”

“Well, we won’t have any of that today. You need to let him go. Just for today, at least.”

Harry didn’t want to and he stubbornly pouted to himself.

“I’m serious, Harry. If you don’t distract yourself with other things, you will not feel better or be able to move on.”

“And what if I don’t want to?” Harry asked.

“I’m not telling you that you have to. I’m just letting you know how I feel about it. Once I get there, we’re going out. I don’t care what we do, but we need to have fun.”

“Fine,” Harry relented. “What did you have in mind?”

“Literally anything. We could drink, commit a crime, get tattoos, whatever,” he laughed.

Harry froze at the mention of tattoos and he shifted his blanket down his legs until his upper thighs came into view. The skin on his right thigh was now scrubbed clean, free of any marks, but Harry still remembered what it looked like. How he felt with it on his skin.

“I think I know what I want to do,” he said.

“Yeah?” Zayn said. “Alright, I’m almost there. Get dressed and be ready.”

Harry was already climbing out of bed as he said goodbye. As scary and new as this was, he was so sure that it was what he wanted and maybe it would help ease the ache in his chest.

・❥・

As a festival lover and goer himself, Louis was hyped when the band got put on the roster for Coachella this year. He’d always wanted to perform there and experience it. In previous years, the Rogue had performed at Glastonbury, Leeds, Reading, and even Radio 1’s Big Weekend, but Coachella was a big one that would hopefully broaden their American demographic. Their new album, Poison, was set to come out this summer, and they were going to debut a brand new single at the festival titled “Miss You”.

“Cherry” was still topping alternative and rock charts with no signs of slowing down. The song had gone viral on multiple platforms and the label and management were all buzzing. At first, Louis had been eager to release the song. It wasn’t supposed to be a single, especially not so soon after they completed the album, but Louis had felt like he needed to put it out at the time they did. He’d wanted to get the sentiment off his chest and let the intended party know just how he was feeling. Not that it made much of a difference.

The week leading up to the festival, Louis arrived in Los Angeles with the rest of the band and their team, renting out a rehearsal space to play their full set from top to bottom. Then on Thursday they arrived in Palm Springs and relaxed at their Airbnb, chilling out in the pool and soaking up the sun. Before their gigs, they usually tried to keep things easy because their whole shtick was that they didn’t take themselves too seriously and had no problem fucking up on stage. But this would be their first time performing “Cherry” and Louis was on edge.

A part of him almost wanted to take it off the setlist because he wasn’t sure he felt the same way now as he had when he wrote it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t up to him. “Cherry” was their biggest song at the moment and everyone was going to expect them to play it.

He tried shaking off his doubts in the days leading up to their performance on Friday. When they arrived at the festival grounds an hour before their set, they walked into the backstage VIP area where their team ushered them over to their section to get ready. Louis idled around the crafts table, grabbing a bottle of beer and cracking it open while he watched the crowd mingling. It was all influencers, reality stars, and celebrities.

“How ya feeling, boss?” Niall asked, walking over to him and grabbing a beer for himself. He uncapped it and took a sip. “Nervous?”

“A little,” Louis admitted. “What about you?”

“Nah, we got this. It’ll be fine. It’s a 45 minute set and, after that, we’re free to relax.”

“Until next weekend,” Louis chuckled.

“Until then,” Niall nodded. “Did you hear about the after party tonight? DJ Fayze will be throwing it.”

“Who is DJ Fayze?”

“Only the biggest DJ in the scene right now.”

“Never heard of him.”

“You’ll see his set later. It’ll be dope. We should go.”

Louis shrugged. “Well, I’ve got nothing better to do.”

The beta leaned closer, whispering, “Did Ziggy tell you he got some pills?”

“Pills?” Louis’ brows creased with an amused smile. “No.”

“Well, he’s got enough for you too, if you’re down.”

Louis contemplated the offer, wondering how fucked up he wanted to get tonight, when his eyes caught on someone sitting a few feet away on a white lawn chair. Long, tan legs folded one over the other, a broad chest hidden beneath a crochet top that matched his blue jean shorts, and chocolate brown curls tucked under a pair of Celine sunglasses. There was never a time when Louis looked at Harry and didn’t think he was the prettiest thing in the room, but right now, his heart stuttered in awe, all of his attention zeroed in on the omega.

He didn’t know Harry was coming, so this was a surprise. Louis obviously wanted to talk to him, but he wasn’t sure if he should right before they were about to perform for over 100,000 people. It could end badly, which would then put him in a terrible mood. But it could also go well and then Louis wouldn’t want to stop talking to him, their performance be damned. He was conflicted. However, Harry was right there in front of him and Louis really didn’t want to miss this opportunity if he could help it. He was already walking away from Niall before he could re-think his decision, uncaring how rude he was being. Harry’s eyes flitted over to him as he approached him, doing a double take when he saw it was Louis, and he nervously tucked some loose strands behind his ear.

“Hey,” Louis said as he sat down on the armrest of Harry’s chair.

“Hi,” Harry replied, peering up at him warily.

“You looked lonely so thought I’d come over.”

Harry lifted his shoulders casually. “That’s because I’m here alone.”

“No boyfriend?”

The omega shook his head slowly. “Tyler and I broke up after we went on holiday.”

“Ahh,” Louis hummed. “I hope you two had a shitty time.”

The omega’s nostrils flared and he glared at him, but didn’t say anything. Louis’ lips tipped up into a smirk.

“Don’t look so surprised. You know I can’t stand that fuckwit.”

“It’s over with him, Louis. For good.”

“Was it ever real?” the alpha asked.

“No,” Harry bit out, looking put off. “But you never gave me a chance to explain that to you before you ran after the first omega you could find.”

Louis ducked his head down shamefully. “You’re right. I’m sorry about that. I regret it all the time.”

Harry looked at him curiously, eyes tracking every inch of his face. Louis wanted to reach over and touch his cheek, pull him close, but he refrained from doing so.

“Are you going to watch my set?” he asked.

“Are you going to sing your stupid song about me?”

“You think it’s stupid?”

“I think you’re full of yourself,” Harry told him truthfully. “But I’ll be watching.”

“If I hear any booing, I’ll know it’s you.”

This time Harry let out a small laugh, eyes crinkling prettily as he turned his body toward Louis, hand reaching closer to touch him. Just as he was about to, Christian bellowed Louis’ name, startling everyone around them, including Harry, who quickly pulled his hand away. Louis glared at his bandmate. He should kick his arse.

“We’re about to be on,” Christian called out. “Let’s go!”

Louis looked at Harry apologetically. “I’ll catch you later?”

Harry nodded. “Good luck.”

“Thanks, love,” Louis said, giving him a soft smile before standing up and following his band toward the stage. They looked between him and Harry curiously.

“Everything good?” Niall asked.

Louis looked back toward Harry again, noting the way the omega was still watching him. “Yeah, I think so.”

・❥・

Harry got wind of some dumb house party in the desert and, since he wasn’t at Coachella with anyone in particular, he figured he might as well attend to pass the time. It was being hosted by DJ Fayze, someone Harry hadn’t met before but heard about plenty of times, and it didn’t seem like there was a guest list or bouncer. The large house — mansion, really — was full of everyone who was anyone. Music drifting out could be heard from at least half a mile away; people were mingling and dancing and there were too many rooms to count with at least one bar set up in each.

When Harry arrived, he wandered around by himself, exploring and hoping to find someone that he knew. The reason he even had tickets to the festival was because of Tyler. The pop star was performing the next day and had gotten weekend passes for himself and his team, one of which he’d given to Harry weeks ago. With nothing else to do this weekend, Harry figured he’d come. After all, he and the alpha didn’t end on a bad note. Things just got awkward once Tyler realised that Harry was entirely into someone else. Tyler was a good sport about it all and even looked apologetic when he told Harry he was done with their ruse, as fun as it was.

After passing by the third bar since he’d arrived, Harry decided to get a cocktail. While waiting for the drink, his eyes scanned the spacious room. Still, there was no one he recognized or knew well enough to approach, so he considered leaving after finishing his drink. He had a cute little Airbnb with a pool and a hot tub he could relax in instead of walking around here like a lost puppy.

“Here’s your drink,” the bartender said, sliding the cup over to Harry with a perky tone.

“Thanks,” Harry responded, tucking some bills in their tip jar.

He took a sip of his drink and continued to the next room where he leaned against the wall to observe everyone. An internet starlet was making out with a D-lister. An ex-friend’s sister was doing lines of coke on a glass table while onlookers raucously laughed. And Louis was sitting with some omega who was practically draping themselves over his lap.

While driving to Palm Springs last night, Harry had looked at the lineup for the weekend. When he spotted The Rogue, he felt nervous about seeing Louis again. But then when he saw the alpha backstage earlier, those nerves slowly went away, and he could sense that Louis was also past everything that had happened between them. At least enough to talk civilly. Harry just didn’t know where they stood now.

His eyes now zeroed in on Louis and the omega next to him. Harry felt like he recognized the omega but couldn’t entirely place her. She had a familiar face and it was bothering him that it wasn’t coming to him right away. His eyes drifted over to Louis and he was startled when he saw Louis looking back at him. Their eyes caught in a long, heavy gaze before Louis turned back to the omega, who was still talking away.

Lifting his cup to his lips, Harry took another sip and didn’t look away from the pair. To his surprise, Louis looked back at him again, his eyes dark and loaded, and Harry smiled into his drink. It was evident that Louis was attractive and everyone wanted him, but even with a perfectly beautiful omega currently all over him, Louis’ eyes still kept returning to Harry, eyeing him like he couldn’t help himself.

Harry could tell when somebody still wanted him and if he was being honest with himself, he’d never stopped wanting Louis either.

The alpha laughed at something the omega next to him said, bubbly and infectious, and Harry rolled his eyes. Whatever it was couldn’t be that funny. Louis was just acting like he was paying attention when Harry could tell that all Louis was thinking about was him. His suspicions were proven right when the omega turned to follow Louis’ gaze and her eyes landed on Harry. It was then that he remembered where he knew her from. She had been sitting next to Louis during Paris Fashion Week at the Yves Saint Laurent show.

Tara O’Neill.

Harry had stalked her when he’d gone home that night. At the time, he thought he was feeling threatened by her out of his own insecurity and the status of his and Louis’ relationship, but now he knew for sure that she had a thing for Louis. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t turn back around and put her hand on his shoulder to pull his attention back to her. Rage swept over Harry. As cute as this little game between he and Louis was, Harry was kind of done with acting like he didn’t care or want the alpha all to himself. And if Tara didn’t stop caressing his arm, Harry was going to kill her.

This time when Harry caught Louis’ eyes, the alpha subtly removed the omega’s hand from his body, almost like he sensed what Harry was thinking. Now all he needed to do was get rid of her so Harry could take his rightful place next to Louis. His omega was thrashing inside his chest, possessive and territorial, even more now due to Louis’ obvious interest. If Louis was still into him, then there was no stopping Harry. Even if Harry left here handcuffed, it would be with Louis.

The strong smell of sour cherry wafted in the air as Harry’s body naturally began emitting pheromones, almost like it was calling out to Louis. It was most likely getting lost in the heady mix of scents in the room from the number of people. He hoped and willed for Louis to catch it, anyway, even if it was just a tiny whiff, and his heart jolted in his chest when he saw Louis’ nose twitch before his eyes shot over to Harry. Relief flooded through the omega and he watched as Louis looked at Tara and smiled politely as he stood up.

Fucking finally.

Slowly, Louis made his way over to him and Harry took another sip of his drink before placing his cup on the floor. The alpha quirked his lips up into a smug smirk as he placed his palm on the wall beside Harry, practically caging him in. Harry wrinkled his nose teasingly as the familiar smell of rosewood and cardamom surrounded him.

“Took you long enough,” Harry sniffed haughtily.

“I didn’t want to be rude,” Louis breathed out a laugh.

“I mean, you still kind of were. I bet you can’t even tell me what she was talking about.”

Louis shook his head. “I honestly couldn’t.”

“Too distracted?”

His eyes grazed down Harry’s body and this time he nodded. “I looked for you after my performance, but couldn’t find you backstage.”

“I was watching from the crowd.”

“What did you think?”

“I liked it,” Harry smiled. “Even your stupid song about me.”

“It’s not the only one about you,” Louis reminded him. “I know you know there’s more.”

The verbal confirmation sent a flurry of butterflies through Harry’s stomach. “Still obsessed with me, then?”

Louis grinned, leaning in like he was going to kiss Harry. Harry pressed his palms against Louis’ chest to stop him.

“Be careful,” Harry whispered, a demure smile on his face as he brushed their lips together. “I’m poison, remember?”

Louis’ hand curled around Harry’s jaw and he sealed their lips together. Harry grasped Louis’ chest, palms rubbing down the ridges of his pecs, as he reciprocated the kiss eagerly. His entire body was suddenly crackling with heat and a strangled noise escaped his throat.

“Do you still hate me?” Louis asked as his hand travelled down from Harry’s jaw to his neck.

Harry’s mouth ran dry when he felt the alpha’s hand circle his throat and squeeze gently. There was a whimper in his throat, his jeans tightened embarrassingly quick, and he felt himself slicking up. Louis’ nostrils flared at the heightened scent and his fingers squeezed a little harder this time.

Harry’s nails scratched lightly against his chest. “Even if I did, you’d deserve it.”

“I know, baby. I’m sorry for what I did,” Louis said, voice thick and syrupy like honey.

“What exactly are you sorry for?”

“For how I treated you that night in New York and how I acted afterward. I was jealous,” Louis confessed. “You make me feel crazy. I hated the idea of losing you to someone else.”

“You wouldn’t,” Harry emphasised. “I’d never pick anyone over you.”

Louis’ eyes were ablaze, the blue in his eyes practically gone from how dilated his pupils were. He dragged Harry’s mouth to his again, unravelling him with each hungry kiss. Harry hooked his arms around Louis’ neck, holding him close as they continued to make out as if they weren’t in a crowded house party. It felt so good to have Louis like this. Now that he knew what it was like to be without him, Harry would do anything to never lose him again.

“Take me somewhere,” he whispered to the alpha.

“Anywhere you want,” Louis promised.

“Somewhere we can be alone.”

Louis reluctantly released Harry from his hold, but not before sliding their hands together. He let the alpha lead him through the house, relishing all the eyes watching them curiously, wondering what it was like to be them. Once they found an empty room, they closed and locked the door behind them.

Before Louis could start kissing him again, Harry dropped to his knees in front of him, looking up at him coquettishly. Louis’ lips parted and he ran his fingers through Harry’s hair, combing it back.

“This is what you want?” Louis asked.

Harry nodded. “I want to show you how much I missed you.”

“Baby,” Louis practically purred, his tone affectionate.

The omega deftly unbuttoned Louis’ jeans, dragging them down his thighs along with his boxers. His thick cock sprung free as Harry admired it, sitting back on his haunches to take it all in. He reached for his cock, mapping his size and girth with his fingers as he slowly glided his fist from the base to the tip, spreading some of the pearly precome that was glistening at the tip. Harry felt hands fist in his hair as Louis thrust forward in his grip.

“So perfect,” Louis hissed.

“I haven’t even done anything yet,” Harry smiled, thumb rubbing over Louis’ tip.

“I’m already close.”

That Harry could believe. From just a little stroking, Louis was hard and hot in his hand. His fingers glided higher to the base and he parted his lips, his hot, wet tongue giving a little lick to the crown of his cock. Louis hissed again with unabashed pleasure, which spurred Harry to wrap his lips around his cock and suck gently.

“Oh, fuck,” Louis groaned out, eyes squeezing shut as he tipped his head back. “Fuck, yeah, baby.”

Harry slowly pulled back and stuck his tongue out again, giving Louis a long, wet swipe along the length of him.

“Enough with the teasing, love. Take it like a good omega,” Louis ordered, his voice growly.

The omega opened his lips wider, tongue out, and Louis took the hint. He gripped the back of Harry’s head and manoeuvred his head forward, feeding him his cock, inch by inch before thrusting to the back of his throat. Harry closed his lips around it, sucking audibly as he stared up at Louis, refusing to break eye contact. This time, Louis thrust his hips forward faster, harder, and deeper, using Harry’s mouth to get himself off. Harry moaned around him and took every inch, loving the heat and weight of the alpha on his tongue.

One of his hands was still wrapped around the base of Louis’ erection while he continued to suck him off, moving his head back and forth, but his other hand disappeared between his thighs, pressing against his core. He was so wet he could feel it all over his thighs and his clit was pulsing from the lack of attention. Each time Louis pulled Harry’s head toward his own hips, fucking into the omega’s mouth, a shiver skittered through Harry and down to the ache in his pussy.

As well as he could, he managed to unbutton his shorts and shove his hand inside. The second he touched himself, a whine sounded low in his throat from relief. He began stroking himself furiously, alternating between rubbing relentlessly over his sensitive nub and then fisting his own hard cock, body falling somewhat off rhythm. His breathing was getting heavier and he was beginning to moan wantonly around Louis.

Louis may have said he was close to coming, but it was Harry who was beating him there. He pulled back from Louis’ cock, his cry piercing the air as he came completely undone, shuddering through his orgasm. His tear-stained eyes blinked up at the alpha, looking completely debauched as he licked his lips.

“It’s been a minute,” he admitted, standing up on shaky legs.

Louis’ lips met his in a sweet kiss. “I love seeing you come. So fucking sexy. Can’t believe I get to be with you like this.”

The omega was still trying to regulate his erratic heartbeat, but he was nowhere near done with what he wanted to do with Louis. He kissed him again, his mouth resting on Louis’. “Is it rude to fuck on someone else’s bed?” he asked.

“DJ whatever should have locked his rooms, then,” Louis shrugged. “Arms up.”

Harry did as he was told, lifting his arms and letting Louis pull off his top. He worked on his shorts next while Louis tugged off his own t-shirt. Once he was naked, Harry ran toward the bed, sliding onto it and moving to the middle. He parted his legs once Louis followed and got on the bed, too, crawling toward him. With the alpha sitting between his legs, Harry felt breathless with anticipation, reaching to tug him close for a kiss when Louis stopped him.

“What?” Harry pouted.

Louis’ eyes were transfixed on Harry’s upper thigh and when Harry remembered what was there, he blushed crimson red, face hot while the alpha studied it quietly. His rough, calloused, guitar-playing fingers traced over each letter as he spelled it out — mine.

“Is this…?”

“Yes,” Harry breathed out shallowly. “I got it on my birthday.”

“It looks exactly like my writing. How did you get it to be the same?”

“I took pictures when you first wrote it. I showed that to the tattoo artist.”

“But you swore you’d never get a tattoo,” Louis said in disbelief.

“I know but…” Harry inhaled sharply. “I missed you so much, Louis. I felt crazy. Like I made it all up in my head.”

“Made what up?”

“Us. You. How it felt to be touched by you. To be yours. Even if we were never okay again, the tattoo was there to remind me that it was real and it happened.”

Louis closed the gap between their torsos, his eyes stormy and full of unrestrained hunger. “Harry,” he whispered. “Darling, I love you. I’ve been in love with you since last summer. Maybe even longer than that. I just couldn’t find the courage to tell you. It was all real for me. Everything.”

“You love me?” Harry murmured, chills rippling down over his skin.

“Yes,” Louis said, touching his lips to Harry’s jaw. “I wanted to tell you sooner. I’m so sorry I fucked it all up. If I had just been honest it would have saved us months of misery.”

He dragged his lips along Harry’s neck, dipping his head to kiss him over his bond spot, once and then again. As he dragged his lips back up his throat, Harry gripped the back of his hair and pulled him back so he could look at him.

“I love you, too,” he confessed. “I’ve — I’ve felt this way since last summer, too.”

“Since Paris?” Louis asked, his smile deepening, eyes crinkling.

Harry shook his head before huffing. “I actually don’t know. It really became obvious to me in New York, but I think I loved you for longer.”

“In New York,” Louis repeated, his tone turning more somber. “Where I fucked it up. I was going to tell you how I felt over that trip, but I got in my head about you and Tyler.”

“When he showed up at the bar, I was just being friendly, maybe to a fault, but I only cared about you. I only wanted you the whole time.”

“We’re so stupid,” Louis exhaled a laugh.

“And so cliché, too,” Harry smiled cheesily. “This was only supposed to be a situationship. You just had to go and fall in love with me, didn’t you? Had to make me fall in love with you, too.”

Louis giggled into his mouth. “Now that I know how you feel, I’m never going to mess this up.”

“Promise,” Harry said to him.

A gasp escaped him when Louis licked at his lips, sliding his tongue into his mouth eagerly. The omega ran a hand across Louis’ taut stomach, feeling the muscles flex under his touch, before trailing them up to his chest again. Louis continued to kiss him while gripping his tattoo and then trailing his fingers toward Harry’s centre. He slid one finger into the omega’s folds and Harry moaned into his mouth.

Despite coming only moments ago, Louis’ teasing and coaxing were bringing Harry back toward the edge again. The alpha delved two fingers inside of him, twisting and pushing in deep, making the omega whimper. It didn’t take long for the pleasure to rise, evident by the wet sounds of Louis’ fingers pumping in and out of him.

Harry nipped at the alpha’s lips. “Fuck me,” he pleaded, voice keening high as his clit throbbed. “Show me you’re mine, too.”

“Always,” Louis instantly said, hiking Harry’s leg over his hip and spreading his legs wider. His cock nudged against Harry’s pussy, barely grazing over him, and a gush of wetness spilled out. “I’ve always been yours. Whose else would I be?”

“Mine,” Harry sighed just as Louis pushed into him.

The alpha drew back before Harry got any relief, but then slid back in with one single push, all the way to the hilt. Harry cried out, back arching and hands coming up to wind around Louis’ neck.

“Alpha, please,” he begged.

Louis relented, probably feeling just as desperate, as he rammed his cock inside of Harry in a ruthless rhythm. He leaned down, covering Harry’s body with his, sliding in and out of him like a dream while tugging their hips flush against one another. They both groaned in pleasure, perspiration starting to form over their heated skin.

“I’m so close,” Harry whined as Louis kissed him hungrily, tongue sliding into his mouth, messy and filthy. “Missed your knot. Thought about it every night.”

“Yeah?”

Harry nodded. “You’re going to give me your knot tonight, right?”

“Yeah, baby,” Louis rasped as he leaned back and continued to drive into the omega. His eyes glazed over as he looked down, focus shrinking to the point where their bodies met. He rubbed his thumb over Harry’s sensitive clit, making the omega buck and writhe helplessly. Another wave of slick squeezed out past Louis’ cock, and Louis went feral at the wetness pouring out of the omega, his voice a low growl. “So fucking perfect. Your cunt was made for me. It’s mine, isn’t it, love?”

His pace quickened, fast, hard, and animalistic, making Harry cry out again, his breath going shallow. Louis’ lips curved into an infuriating smirk.

“Tell me your pussy is mine,” he demanded.

“It’s yours,” Harry moaned. “All of me. I’m yours. Please, Louis.”

Louis’ thumb rubbed in tandem with his thrusts and the familiar feeling barreled down Harry’s spine as he chanted Louis’ name. The second he felt Louis’ knot lock in him, the air left his lungs, his thighs trembled, and his body began shuddering uncontrollably as he came for the second time. Louis pushed into him once more before he started coming as well, face flushed and eyes squeezed shut. His upper body gave out, laying over Harry’s, and his weight felt like comfort as the omega clung to him tightly, both of them riding out their highs together.

As it slowed and they stayed locked in place, Harry kissed Louis’ shoulder lightly while the alpha’s head fell into the crook of his neck.

“I’m so tired,” he mumbled.

“We can take a nap,” Harry said, running his hands down Louis’ chest and resting it over his heart, feeling his heartbeat beneath his palms. “We’ll wake up in a bit and then go home.”

“Which one?”

Harry nudged their noses together. “For me, anywhere’s home as long as you’re there.”

Louis’ eyes crinkled as his lips curved into another happy smile. “I love you, Baby Styles.”

“Je t’aime aussi, mon chéri.”

・❥・

For the second summer in a row, Louis found himself back in Paris. Back in Harry’s flat. Back to feeling like he was on top of the world because he was so deeply in love.

They were both free at the moment and decided to spend a month in Paris and then go to London the month after. Harry didn’t have anything booked until August and Louis had just finished promo for the new album and his tour wouldn’t be starting until the fall. It was intentional as Louis wanted some time to just be with Harry without having to be on the road at the same time. Harry felt similarly and worked with his team to ensure that all of his meetings and shoots were completed before he came home.

With two months just to themselves, Louis felt thrilled and content to have this. He couldn’t imagine anything better.

He woke up in the omega’s bed one morning, surrounded by the comforting mix of their scents as his eyes slowly blinked into focus. They’d been spooning and when Harry began to fidget in his arms, it woke Louis as well. Beside him, Harry was sitting up and trying to discreetly crawl out of bed. Once he was on his feet, Harry padded over to the plush setteé in his room and sifted through their piled clothing, picking up one of Louis’ t-shirts and pulling it on. It was one of his over-sized ones and it hit just below the curve of Harry’s bum.

“Where are you off to?” Louis rasped, rolling over and curling up beneath the blanket.

Harry looked at him in surprise. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

“It’s okay, baby. You alright?”

“Yeah. I’m going to make coffee.”

“I’ll come join you in a bit,” Louis said. “Might sleep just a few more minutes.”

“Okay, love you,” Harry smiled as he walked out of the room.

Louis watched him, eyeing the tattoo on his upper thigh as he walked past him, and his stomach fluttered pleasantly. He could hear Harry pottering about in the kitchen and, after a couple of minutes, decided he’d had enough of a lie in. He was missing his now official boyfriend and needed to be holding him again. The alpha climbed out of bed and grabbed a fresh pair of boxers from his bag. He’d meant to unpack once he got in a few days ago, Harry had even cleared some space for him in his closet, but Louis had been lazy.

He found Harry standing on the balcony next to his sitting room, mug in hand while he stared out at the city. Louis came up behind him, arms looping around the omega’s small waist.

“Lovely morning,” he noted, taking in the sun and the breeze.

Harry hummed in acknowledgment.

“You’re flashing all of your neighbours.”

Harry gasped out a laugh, trying to swat at Louis, who moved away with a teasing grin. “I’m not flashing them. You can’t see anything. It’s covered.”

“If you say so,” Louis said, eyeing Harry’s long, tanned legs. “What do you want to do today?”

“I was thinking we could have breakfast here at home and then later go out to Le Marais. They have some nice boutiques and galleries. There’s also a bar there that I really like and that I want to take you to.”

“Sounds good, love.”

Harry peered at him contemplatively. “Do you want to go anywhere? Like out of the city or something else that you want to do?”

“No, no. I’m okay with whatever you choose.”

“Funny, because I’m also okay with whatever you choose,” Harry crinkled his nose in a small smile.

Louis pecked his cheek and then his lips. “Honestly, Harry. We could sit at home and not do anything and I’d still be so happy. I meant it when I said that this is where I want to be — wherever you are. That’s all I care about. You’re all I care about.”

Harry preened, his cheeks dusting into a rosy hue. “You’re extra sappy today.”

Nudging their noses together, Louis whispered, “Tu es l'amour de ma vie.”

The omega’s lips parted slowly. “I’ve never heard you speaking in French except in your song.”

“After New York, I figured I’d try and learn the language for you.”

Harry burst out laughing, throwing his head back. “I cursed you out.”

“I know,” Louis chuckled amusedly. “And I had no idea what you were saying. I just knew it was bad.”

Harry continued to laugh. “Isn’t it crazy?”

“What is?”

“How good we are together. If I’d known, I would have done something about it a lot sooner.”

“All good things take time. We made it here in the end,” Louis said, cupping Harry’s cheeks and pulling him into a sweet kiss.