Archive of Our Own ^beta

Harry had known for a long while he was the jealous kind. 

The type that made him do unimaginable things when he really fell for someone. 

This time though. It wasn’t a someone. It was a scent. 

And as he sat here next to his long time best-friend at the cheap pub downtown, he was reminded of his predicament: The fact that he’d fallen in love with the scent of an omega he’d never seen with his own eyes. The fact that they were being fucked by his very own roommate, probably right this very moment, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. 

He gripped the cold pint glass harder before bringing it to his lips to swallow another gulp of the dark liquid. 

“You think you want to hit a club?” Niall asked from beside him, biting on another chip on his plate as he scrolled through something on his phone. “Marcy just asked me if you were coming tonight.” 

Harry rolled his eyes. 

Marcy. The omega who he’d been trying to get off his back since they accidentally slept together at a frat party two years ago. Her wolf was convinced he was her mate. He was convinced he needed a restraining order. 

“I’d rather not.” Harry replied before shoving away his half eaten burger, unable to choke any more of it down when his wolf was so angered.

It was like Harry fucking knew. 

Harry could fucking taste it. The lingering tang and sweet seduction of the raspberry scent of the omega that lingered in his flat everytime his roommate fucked them for their heat. 

And that was the torture. It had been the fucking gruelling agony of the last five months living with Louis Tomlinson and his tip-toeing around to bend the rules just so he could screw his omega in their heat. 

If Harry was being honest though, he had driven himself to this mess. 

Back when he’d first inquired about a new roommate, Harry was just grateful to be getting out of his old situation. He’d requested a change from the previous year because his old roommate, Jeff,  refused to shower and take care of anything around the apartment. Harry couldn’t live in the filth, especially not when he consistently woke up to beer and vomit stains on the carpet after relentless weekend partying. 

So, the list of non-negotiables Louis had given him was almost a god-send when he’d read it. 

Harry still remembered them. How could he not when they were the only thing plastered on their refrigerator? 

1. Louis will take the farthest bedroom down the hall.
2. Louis’ room is off limits.
3. No going through Louis’ things
4. Will share food, just ask first.
5. Louis will take two showers. One in the morning and again at night. So, don’t hog the bathroom at either time.
6. Only one guest permitted at once.
7. No parties. Ever.
8. Keep listening/viewing entertainment at low volume.
9. If you're gonna pop your knot, I don’t need to hear the experience while it’s happening.
10. Be out of the apartment every third thursday-sunday of the month so I can help my omega with their heat. 

The thing that pissed Harry off the most, was that he was helping his roommate break the rules, helping him get privacy to fuck the omega Harry’s wolf had begun to think of as their own. 

And it really shouldn’t have been an issue. 

Harry should have been able to man up and leave the fucking apartment for three nights out of the month to give his roommate and his omega the space to fuck it out. Problem was…Harry’s wolf was getting confused. 

Harry had smelled that tangy, seductive, delicious raspberry syrup, and he was convinced he needed to taste it for himself. He could smell them on Louis when he’d come back from the library after a late night, could smell them in the shower and even remnants of them on the couch. The scent was addictive…Harry had honestly wondered if he would have been a better match for the omega than Louis, because Louis only ever consistently sent Harry the “all-clear” text after seventy-two hours. And everyone knew that alphas were supposed to cut down the hours an omega’s heat, not keep it at its usual gruelling three-day span.  

That wasn’t the only reason Harry was quickly despising his roommate as of late. In terms of living-compatibility, he and Louis were poorly matched. Despite Louis’ long list of rules,  Louis was a mess. In more ways than one. He would consistently empty out their hampers searching for god-knows-what and just leave all the clothes frantically scattered along their bathroom floor. It happened regularly too. Once a month at least. 

At one point, Harry had tried to address it with his roommate. Because truthfully it had made no sense why Louis had gone through Harry’s laundry and on such a frequent basis. 

“Oh, uh…I thought I might have accidentally thrown my jumper in there.” He’d said in retaliation, almost skittishly. Then, his tone had turned before he’d slammed his bedroom door in Harry’s face. “Not a big deal anyway…you never do your laundry. So stop coming at me now.” 

Whenever he’d come to find another round of clothes on the bathroom floor, it felt as if Harry was always missing one of his sweatshirts. First it was his green oversized football hoodie, and then the black Adidas one, and as of recently, he was struggling to find the dark blue Led-Zepplin one he’d thrifted a few months back. 

He had honestly started to think he’d gone fucking crazy or that the communal laundry was eating his shit or something. 

“Come on, man.” Niall’s words drew on as he gave him an almost disappointed look. “You never come out anymore.” 

It was true. 

He didn’t.  He didn’t really have any reason why. Figured it was that whole impulsivity slowing down, frontal lobe closing type of thing. 

But now, Harry much preferred to go home after class and take a warm shower, the place where he could smell that raspberry allure the best while having a wank. Then, he’d curl up on the couch and watch some tele and wait for Louis to come home. When he did, he’d immediately lock all the doors and make something to eat. He always made two portions. Even if he would inevitably end up eating alone.  

Harry had tried the first week of classes. He’d attempted to get to know his new roommate, interested in learning about Louis’ dental major or learning about the football recreational team he participated in. But, it was to no avail. He’d knock on Louis’ door to offer him some food, and Louis would just shout he was too busy. So, Harry had gotten into a routine of packing up the leftovers and ate while watching television every night. Always waking up the next morning to the emptied container in the sink with a single setting of silverware next to it. 

It was slightly irritating to always have to do Louis’ dishes. But it was better than beer stains and matintence calls when some drunken idiot put their fist through a wall. So, he did it with minimal complaints.  

“I don’t want to pretend that I want to fuck someone.” Harry reasoned with his friend, gulping down another strong dose of the Guinness in his glass. “If I go out, I want to have fun. I don’t want to work to keep an O’s hands off me all night.” 

Niall rolled his eyes, a scoff passing between his lips. “As if you don’t like an easy lay.” 

Harry peered at the beta with a glare. 

It’s not that he didn’t like sex. 

Of course he did. But the mood had to be right. The vibe had to exist, his wolf had to buy into it…and until Louis’ omega’s raspberry scent had shown up, he’d been golden. He’d been a free fucking bachelor at the whim of his own knot. 

Niall seemed to toss around another comeback in his brain before it was spoken aloud. “You know, considering you go to an all alpha school, I would think you’d be ready to hit the town looking for some slick. Instead, it seems like you’re ready to head back to all your alpha bros for a long-knotting sesh.” 

Harry wanted to gag. 

He knew Niall was just busting his chops. The lad was trying to get Harry’s party-side out so he’d agree to go out for a night of harmless shenanigans. Harry knew that. But it didn’t mean that it didn’t hit something sensitive Harry was trying to conceal. It was a truth Harry was trying very hard to ignore. 

Sometimes, Harry would become entranced by Louis Tomlinson himself. His eyes would wander down his body as if entranced as he walked from his bedroom to the front door. He’d memorised the curves and the dip of his waist he would reach into the cabinet for a box of cereal. The man had a nice arse for an alpha. And Harry was an arse man. 

He certainly wasn’t interested in the alpha. There was no fucking way. He had no desire to take the knot of another. He just admired the man’s attraction. That was it. There was nothing more to it. Well, that and the fact that Harry was almost certain the lingering raspberry scent of Louis’ omega wafting off him was only adding to the confusion. 

Louis had to have been seeing his omega regularly, because there were times where Harry could smell it all over the apartment. He wished his roommate would be decent enough to stop leaving his fuck buddy’s scent all over their shared spaces. 

It had gotten so bad that Harry had snapped one day. Had asked Louis to not fuck his omega in the shower because he couldn’t even take a damn wee without getting hard—not that he’d admitted that to the bloke, but he just needed to stop being physically conditioned to that sweet tart raspberry that wouldn’t leave him alone.  But Louis had come screaming. He’d told him to fuck off and to mind his own fucking business. 

Even though they barely spoke, Harry had learned some things about his roommate in their four months of living together. Louis liked to be bold and assertive. The type of alpha to tell others how it was without really asking for permission. Funny really, because Harry knew if things got dirty, he could take the little alpha in a fight. Louis Tomlinson had a smaller bone structure and shorter stature. For fucks sake Harry even figured he could lift him and throw him over his shoulder if he had to. 

Unfortunately for Harry though, there was just something about his roommate that had him catering to his every whim, too nervous to set off his hot-temper. He was funny too, in a quippy way. He’d make jokes while taking his trainers off at the door or lingering as they watched a play of the game. All of which made Harry eager to get to know the man more. 

Not in a romantic way. 

Definitely not in a romantic way. 

“Quit it with the fucking gay jokes.” Harry warned under his breath, flagging the bartender down with the quick wave of his hand. 

“Another?” The beta asked as Harry finished the beer. 

He’d fucking curl over and die before he consumed another fucking Guinness, that was for sure. “Tequila.” He corrected. “On the rocks please.” 

“Oh, so you can drink tequila but you can’t come out tonight?” Niall said bitterly. “Come on! We never do this anymore! I can’t come and party at your Uni! Come out to mine!” 

King’s College, which was an all alpha-campus. Not one of the ones where betas and omegas were welcome on weekends and off hours. No. It was the type of university where any denomination other than alpha was banned from the premises.

 King’s College was too hung up on consistently staying the best in their leagues. Whatever that was. Someone who attended there was meant to achieve high marks and awards for whatever major they took up. It was meant to be for the top one percent, for the creme de la creme. It had no place for anyone without a knot or with slick between their legs to distract those who could actually manage to do something in society.

Of course, Harry didn’t agree with these fucked up old school rules. After all, he’d seen plenty of betas and omegas alike move through the ranks and become successful billionaires before. A denomination meant nothing besides biology. 

However, Harry wanted to become a pharmacist. And he’d had this goal to attend King’s College since he was a little boy. So he accepted King’s College stupid rules and regulations even if it meant he was around stupid alpha pheromones for far too long. Even if it meant he couldn’t see his best-friend all that often, despite them only living a few kilos away from one another. 

“I just don’t like to party.” Harry reasoned, somehow tasting raspberry in his next sip of the drink that made him wince. 

“Dinner then?” Niall asked desperately. “Come on, Harry. Last month you were moping around too, all jittery like a lunatic! Kick back! You can be away from campus for a little while.” 

Niall didn’t understand. 

And it was good that Niall didn’t understand. It meant Harry had more time to get his head around all of it himself. 

“Come get away from the toxic alpha bullshit for a little while.” Niall pressed his hand into Harry’s shoulder, shaking him slightly. “You’re so tense all the time.” 

He had no idea how his goofy, fun-loving dope of a best-friend could sometimes be his voice of reason. He was grateful for it though. 

Maybe that was all he needed. 

A night to let loose a little. 

The alpha’s at King's College were always a little too rowdy. Unable to let off some steam and always trying to one up the others. It truly was a very toxic place to go to school. Very little fun to be had. Which meant that if you wanted a good fuck sesh, you were headed off campus to sleep with the omega in their own apartments or you hooked up in questionable places like cars and shit. 

Harry knew. Cause Harry had been fucking doing it for three years. 

Up until recently, Harry had pretty much sworn off dating all together. 

He had stuck to one night stands that he found at the bottom of his beer pints, that he fucked in the stalls of bathrooms or in their cars on the way back to their flats. He barely ever remembered their name after the fact. 

He wasn’t and hadn’t been interested in getting to know an omega for a very long time. 

Not that he didn’t want to. 

He would settle down eventually. 

But maybe tonight could be a clean slate. He’d force his wolf to realise that the raspberry scented omega was Louis’, and that he could have any other omega for himself if he wanted to. 

The wolf was just fucking confused because it had only smelled that one omega for far too long. 

Niall was right. 

He needed a night out. 

“We’ll go to a bar.” Harry said. “But no Marcy.” He cleared his throat after downing the rest of his tequila. “I’ll find my own omega tonight.” 

***

Harry and Niall were now stepping into the third bar of the evening, which was impressive considering the time hadn’t even crawled to eight p.m. yet. 

As soon as Harry had said he was down for a night on the town, Niall had pretty much dragged him to the closest one he could find and ordered them another round. 

Their first year in Uni, this is about all they’d done. Spend the weekend together popping around sleazy nightclubs looking for hook-ups. Niall was kind of a player. Being a beta allowed him to have his pick of the litter at any designation he wanted. An alpha? Sure. A beta? No problem? An omega? He’d love to! 

Everywhere they went, Niall was the life of the party. Flirting with everyone and bringing others out of their shells. Harry was happy to sit back and watch his best friend do his thing. 

It always happened though, that a sweet smelling thing would creep up next to him and take his attention away from the centre of the chaos. 

This time, it just so happened to be a pretty little omega, small and perfectly bendable. He looked up at Harry with a smirk, his eyelashes batting as they hid a pair of dark blue eyes. 

“Hello, handsome.” The man said with teasing fingers dancing up Harry’s sternum. 

He made sure to puff out his chest. 

“You come here alone?” The omega asked seductively. 

And Harry wasn’t shy about this sort of thing. He knew what he wanted and he knew what this omega wanted, so there was no point in beating around the bush. 

“Even if I did, I think I’d still be leaving with you.” Harry uttered as his hands clutched his waist and pressed their foreheads together. 

He could smell the vodka on the man’s tongue, could catch the desirable notes of ripe coconut and pineapple, making him feel as if he was sailing away on a tropical island. 

He liked it. He loved it. 

His fingers dipped dipper into the man’s skin, accepting this to be his next fuck as pressed their groins together. His lips pressed into the omega’s as he spun them until his weight was pushing him against the wall. 

Except his wolf was no longer willing to play this game. Something inside of him shifted, the pineapple turning sour as he tried to get himself a taste. 

He pulled back, maybe needing a second to ground himself. 

“You alright there, handsome?” The omega joked as he played with the buttons of Harry’s jeans. 

Which, under different circumstances would have been hot as fuck. Harry, if he’d been thinking clearly, would have found some empty bathroom stall or a dimly lit corner to have this man as he wanted. 

But, his mind was all sorts of fucked up.

It felt as if he was being choked by a lingering smell of raspberry that was non-existent, a lighter blue shade of eyes flashing in his memory for a brief moment he would swear he’d imagined. 

“Alpha?” The taunting sweet voice of the omega he was pressed against called out to him. “You alright? You need water or something.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Harry nodded, keeping his possessive hands on the tropical scenting omega as they made their way to the bar. 

As always, the bartender came straight over to the pretty omega. Who wasted no time in ordering a water for Harry and a vodka cranberry for himself. 

Harry made the omega take his card, even though the pineapple scented man insisted he was okay with it. 

When the bartender returned Harry’s card to him, he glanced at it. “Harry, huh?” 

“Yeah.” Harry nodded, taking a sip of his water as he tried to admire the deep blue of his eyes, the curve of his arse in those skinny jeans he was itching to have his hands on. “Yours?” 

“Ryan.” He announced, and only then did Harry realise he had an accent. 

“Where you from?” 

“New York.” He responded as his lips fit perfectly over the straw of his drink, sipping from it as he looked longingly up at the alpha. 

Harry was a dumb man not to have that omega on his knees for him. By the sweetening of his coconut, it seemed as if Ryan was ready to, too. 

“You’re really pretty.” Harry said as his arm wrapped back around his waist. 

“You’re really handsome.” Ryan parroted the sentiment before taking another seductive sip. “Bet we’d be really hot together.” 

“Yeah.” Harry agreed as he leaned back in, the cranberry lingering on his lips as he tried to crash them together again. 

The omega seemed desperate to get Harry to comply this time, ditching his drink to the bar top before both of his hands were tied behind Harry’s neck. 

But there was that suffocating feeling again, his tongue grazing over the wrong red fruit, his mind flashing this time with another picture of a man’s curves—this time, an alpha’s. 

Louis Fucking Tomlinson. 

Harry was forced to stumble back as he tried to get away ,trying to get the feeling of the man from his lips. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Ryan scoffed, obviously offended before grabbing his drink. 

Harry tried to care as he watched another alpha follow Ryan towards the bathrooms, obviously trying to get in his pants in the name of checking up on him. But Harry couldn’t care. 

Because all that was running through his thoughts were the raspberry scent and Louis’ fucking waist…and the fact that Louis shouldn’t have a waist he was drawn to because he was a fucking alpha for gods sake. 

“Harry?” Niall’s voice called out through the cold winter frost just after Harry had pushed himself out into the frigid temperatures, desperate to get away from the scene. “Hey! Harry! What happened back there?” 

“I’m going home.” Harry announced, unable to keep his wolf at bay. 

There was only one solution to this issue he’d found himself in. And if he wanted to knot any other omega than this mystery omega, and to stop thinking inappropriate thoughts about his roommate, he needed to do this. 

“You can’t?” Niall explained, trying to keep up with him. “Louis’ there with his omega.” 

“I know.” Harry grunted unhappily as he turned towards the tube entrance. 

He needed to walk in on Louis and the omega together. That would solve both of his problems with one stone. He would stop seeing Louis as anything but another alpha, and then would equate the raspberry scent to getting fucked by another. 

His problem would be solved. 

He wouldn’t have to deal with losing another omega due to his own stupid wolf and idiotic brain again. 

“This is dumb!” Niall called out as Harry swiped his tube-card. “You’ve lost your mind!” 

“I’ll see you at yours.” Harry responded back without emotion as he continued to walk towards the open doors that would lead him to the closest stop of King’s College.
From there it would only be a ten minute walk. 

Then, he’d walk in and put to rest this obscene issue he was dealing with and he’d be back partying with Niall in no time. 

He took an empty seat in the corner. 

And refused to acknowledge the raspberry that haunted him in the back of his throat with every inhale of breath he took. 

*** 

The freezing temperatures of the January cold were whipping against Harry’s face as he tried to conceal his hands from the wind. 

The moon was beautifully full, illuminating his walk back towards his living quarters. 

He was slowly beginning to come to terms with what he could see, what he could hear, what he would smell. 

It was like his wolf was becoming rabid as he imagined the raspberry scented omega writhing underneath Louis. Something about it felt wrong, like it was unnatural.  

He forced his feet to scuffle up the steps and keyed himself into the apartment building. 

It was three floors, and there was no way he was waiting for the lift. 

He took the stairs by two and when he was staring at his closed flat-door, he took in a deep breath. 

Beyond the barricade, he could hear the sound of what seemed to be clattering pots and pans. Which was curious considering the omega should have been either deep into heat, or crossing over from pre-heat by now. There was no room for cooking to be had at the stage in the game it could have been. 

Slowly, he turned the key in the lock, wanting to creep in slowly without interrupting anything. He would see what he needed to and slip out into the night hoping to catch Niall before the beta embarked on his fifth bar of the evening. 

He pulled the handle, making sure not to make much of any noise as he tip-toed inside. 

He could hear the shuffle of someone in the kitchen, and he saw the dull overhead lights on up ahead. 

He could smell the raspberry though, its pungent truth sitting heavy in the air. 

What was curious though, was that he still couldn’t pick up any traces of alpha. And now that he thought about it, he couldn’t really remember what Louis smelled like at all. So, he wasn’t even sure what he was looking for. 

His brain was surely short-circuiting, because how had he lived with the man for five months without knowing what he smelled of? 

He made sure to close the door with extra care, focusing intently on the sounds coming from the kitchen that sat at the very corner of their apartment. 

He had to be extra cautious. Invading on an alpha with their omega during their mating cycle was an incredibly risky game. Especially if that alpha was already yielding a knife for cooking or something. 

Not that he’d ever seen Louis cook. 

Truthfully, he’d never seen it. The extent was him toasting some bread for a sandwich in the toaster or preheating the oven for frozen pizza.  

There was that one time though, when he woke up for this eight a.m morning class to a tray of freshly baked cookies with a note that said— “I bake when I’m stressed. Feel free to have as much as you’d like.” 

And they had been some of the best cookies he’d ever had. 

But Harry was pretty sure knives weren’t necessary in the world of baking.

  Were they? He had no clue, really. The safest bet was to have his guard up. In case he had to run for his life because he hadn’t listened to his roommates requests of 

As quietly as he could, he crept towards the consistent sound of the active movement in the kitchen. 

He had no idea what he’d do if it was actually Louis’ omega. 

He could already feel his wolf turning inside of him with a possession he knew he owned, but hadn’t known the strength of until this moment in time. 

The raspberry scent felt as if it was covering the walls now, like a blanket of sour that tickled his nose but slid down his throat with just the right amount of sweet aftertaste he’d be begging for more. 

It felt as if it would melt on his tongue, would be thick enough to savour and juicy enough to quench his most desperate thirst. And even though his mouth watered in anticipation at what the omega would look like, he was still hazy with anticipation. 

When he turned the corner though, looking into the small kitchen, what he saw shocked his soul.

He had to blink a few times to register the sight. Because he’d never seen it before. There was something so wrong and yet so undeniably right about it, he forgot how to operate all of his limbs. 

His mouth hung open as he tried to focus on the image before him. 

It was Louis, standing before the stove over a large pot of something simmering on the stove. 

But it wasn’t the Louis that Harry had grown to know. It wasn’t the stand-strong and tall alpha Louis who was assertive about laundry hampers and staying honest to the ten-roommate-commandments he’d insisted for themselves. 

No. 

This was Louis who was dressed in Harry’s missing dark blue Led-Zeppelin hoodie that covered the curse of his voluptuous arse. Who was wearing a pair of plaid boxers that highlighted the golden skin on his biteable thighs. Whose feet were covered by a pair of long white socks that were bunched up at his calves. He was emanating the sweetest most supple scent of raspberry Harry had ever smelled. 

Omega. 

It was better than the times he’d caught a whiff in the shower or on the sofa. 

This was the real thing. 

The luscious curves and that delectable arse weren’t owned by another alpha…and Louis taking care of another omega was complete and utter deception. Because standing right before him, was the real raspberry omega. The one who was no-doubt, in pre-heat, smelling ripe for the picking. 

“It's you .” Harry uttered under his breath, so faint that it could have been concealed by the crackling of the stove. 

The little one, on high alert, jumped at the sound of someone else intruding on his space, he turned with a whimper. 

Blue eyes wearily looked at the green that was standing just at the opposite end of the kitchen tiles. 

Harry was stuck in a daze, quickly calculating just how stupid he’d been all this time to not see what was right in front of his face. 

Of course he had been able to smell the raspberry in the shower and on the sofa. Those were the places their scents were the strongest, when they’d be relaxed and clean from the external world. He’d never been attracted to another alpha, he’d been pulled to the omega he’d been sharing a bedroom wall with for the last five months. 

His wolf was possessive over him because he’d been taking care of him, feeding him and protecting him for five whole months without a single graze of their skin to show for it. 

“No.” Louis’ soft voice rang out, almost in disbelief Harry was standing before him. “No. You–you can’t be here.” 

“I needed to.” Harry tried to reason with the omega, the raspberry scent turning to a dusty sour that was making Harry’s nose twitch in the worst of ways. “I—I had to.” 

“You can’t be here!” Louis’ voice broke, his face twisting into sadness as he began to slide down the cabinets. “No! No!” He pulled his knees up to his chest and began to sob. 

Harry was shocked to watch his once confident and poised roommate now curling up into a ball on their kitchen floor. 

The omega knew that Harry knew now, about his little secret. It was obvious in the way he could hear Louis’ mumbles every once in a while. “Please don’t tell, please don’t tell.” 

Harry had never been frozen in fear before, but he was now. It was as if the practical part of his brain still saw Louis as a mere stranger he knew little to nothing about. However, the instinctual part of him was desperate to make this better, to appease the distress of the omega in pre-heat. 

“Hey, hey.” Harry’s voice was a soothing tone he’d never quite used before, but refused to think too much about. He crept towards the ball of omega and knelt beside him. “Lou, it's okay, I’m not gonna tell, I’m not gonna tell.” 

The omega only cried harder, rocking himself in an attempt to comfort. 

A million questions stayed unanswered as he wondered why an omega would put himself through so much trouble. Especially when it made him this upset, the truth setting itself free. 

As an alpha, Harry couldn’t stand to watch Louis this upset, to listen to the whimpers of an omega in pre-heat as his heart broke for reasons Harry couldn’t understand. For some reason too, it felt as if it was his responsibility. Maybe it was the fact the omega was wearing his sweatshirt, maybe it was the fact that they’d been in close living quarters for the last five months, or maybe his wolf was just confused. 

Either way, he couldn’t watch it happen any longer. 

“Lou,” Harry said again in that soft alpha timbre. “Lou, it's okay.” There was no reasonable explanation for why he did what he did. Just a simple act in a moment of need, taking care of an omega he’d grown an incomprehensible attachment to. 

He sat beside the omega in sorrow, pulling the lightweight man into his lap and holding onto him. 

He didn’t allow himself to think about the way Louis seemed to melt into him, seemed to cry into the crook of his shoulder as if Harry was both the reason for his pain, but also the cure for it too. 

“Please don’t tell.” The omega begged with the shriek of his desperation lingering in his tone. “Please, don’t. I promised my mum…I promised her.” 

Harry knew he shouldn’t give in to his desire to ask more. He was taking advantage of the omega’s distress by doing so. But he needed to know. He had too many questions to understand why an omega would put himself in so much danger to live on an all alpha campus, to attend all-alpha classes, especially when their administration was so prejudiced against his designation. 

“Why did you lie, love?” Harry cooed as he held the clothed head of the omega, his lingering scent of spiced orchid mixing deliciously with that lush and tender raspberry that he was becoming addicted to. “Why are you pretending to be an alpha?” 

Louis sobbed before he could speak, his words coming out in heartbreaking sputters. “I promised my mum I’d take care of my sisters…she wanted me to be an alpha…I needed to be an alpha to take proper care of them.” 

Harry tightened his grip around the omega on his lap. 

Being an omega in this world they lived in most certainly did lead to the individual needing to be financially and physically provided for, then them being able to do the providing. 

They didn’t talk about their families. They barely talked at all. 

But it was impossible for him not to feel his heartstrings pull as he read between the lines. 

“When she died I promised I’d take care of them.” Louis muttered as he tried to curl even tighter in Harry’s lap. “I—I–I found the safest well-paid occupation for an O. I just need to get my degree. Please I just need to get through the next year.” 

This level of stress for an omega in pre-heat was too much. Their body was already going through a myriad of quick changes, an increase in temperature, the shifting of their wolf. Louis needed to relax. 

Harry, needed to protect. 

“Louis,” The alpha warned as he began to release a strong wave of spiced orchid, feeling the way the omega seemed to loosen as he sniffled. “Baby, I’m—” His brain short-circuited as he got stuck on the pet-name that had come out of him so easily, that had slipped from his soul as if he was only now registering how much he’d fallen for this man. “I’m not gonna tell…I promise…but I need you to calm down for me, alright?” 

“I can’t.” Louis clung onto him tighter. “I’m hungry and I don’t want to eat anything besides the chicken soup you make for me sometimes…but I don’t know how…I don’t…I can’t!” The omega’s small body shook as he wept.

Harry looked up at the boiling pot on the stove and the poorly chopped vegetables still sitting on the cutting board. 

There was a warmth that spread over his chest as he realised he’d been taking care of so well all this time. So much so that the omega was craving the comfort food before his most sensitive time of the month. 

Harry now had a duty. To make sure that the omega was well taken care of. The problem though, was the fact that his wolf was convinced this omega was his. Not his, in a roommate type of way. 

His , in terms of mate, in terms of knottable and impregnable boy. His hands on those beautiful curves. His scent all over his skin. His sperm satisfying the mewling omega while in heat. 

The pictures passed through his mind. On a mattress, on a sofa, in a nest.  

A possessive growl released from his throat as his grip tightened on Louis’ hips. 

He needed to control himself. Louis was in preheat. An omega needed to be safe during their mating cycles, and Harry was too honourable of an alpha to use their instincts to his own benefit. 

He wanted to. 

He really fucking wanted to. 

All of those nights that he’d watched Louis’ curves as he moved about the flat in silence, the swoosh of his track pants making something forbidden tighten his sweatpants. The times he’d been entranced by the scent of raspberry in the shower and imagined Louis before him, his hard cock sliding between those beautiful cheeks, the times he’d watch Louis mindlessly eat a banana as he scrolled social media in the morning, imagining his cock in replacement of the fruit on his lips. 

He could have him. 

Their instincts would pull them together. 

But he couldn’t. Not when he wasn’t sure Louis wanted him too. 

“I’ll finish the soup.” Harry said as he lifted the omega back onto his feet. 

The omega’s knees shook as he struggled to stay upright, leaning on to the alpha for stability. His blue eyes looked up at him, the insecurity showing in the brightness, the clarity showing the truth. 

Harry had never been in love. He’d never wondered if the small omega or beta in his arms was the one. But maybe his animal instincts were true. Because his wolf was convinced. 

Mine. 

Omega. 

Mine. 

Harry swiped away the tears that were still sliding down the omega’s sweet face, letting his hand pull away the hood of the sweatshirt. 

He looked so cosy, wrapped up in Harry’s scent, like Harry already owned the perfect little body and soul that resided underneath the oversized fabric. He’d never realised how badly he wanted it to be true until now. 

“I need you to take a shower though, love.” Harry informed him as he continued to rub his thumb against Louis’ tear stained cheek. “Need you to relax your muscles…but the water needs to be warm, not hot, okay?” He couldn’t make the omega’s temperature spike too quickly. Louis needed to gradually go into heat, not be forced into it. 

Harry needed to be able to leave without caving into his already tempted knot. 

“Okay, baby?” Harry said as he took another step closer. “Will you take a shower for me? You need to take off any scent blockers you’re still wearing.” 

Louis’ arms crossed over his stomach, his shoulders turning inward. “I—I need your scent.” He said with his eyes refusing to look towards Harry’s direction. 

The alpha gulped.

This changed everything. 

It was all making sense. 

If Louis was being honest, and he felt he needed Harry’s scent in preheat…that meant there was a connection. 

“Do you–” Harry felt his grin growing even in his attempt to hold it back. “Do you have a crush on me?” 

The omega’s forehead bumped into the alpha’s chest to hide. But Harry knew that he was hiding his blush. 

He wasn’t capable of holding his hands back. They slide down the small biceps of the omega before wrapping around him to hold him close. 

The raspberry scent was getting thicker and sweeter, like a jam or jelly that would satisfy this growing hunger. 

Harry didn’t have much time. 

His wolf would give in. He wouldn’t be able to control himself. “Shower now.” He insisted, forcing his limbs to release the omega. “I’ll finish dinner and give you some more of my clothes.” He gave himself the liberty of ruffling through the omega’s soft strands of brown hair. “No more going through my laundry.”  

Of course the omega nodded before shuffling away, a bright red blush painting over his cheeks. 

As soon as he heard the water turn on and cascade against the shower floor, he got to work cutting up the vegetables correctly and boiling them with the rotisserie chicken in the broth. He took a taste test and it needed salt. 

It would be good for the omega. 

Would keep him hydrated in his heat. 

He knew he should leave before the omega came out of the shower. Before Louis smelled authentically and only like his omega-self. 

Harry knew his wolf would kick in. Knew he’d cater to the whim of his own desires, to that tempting raspberry juice he knew he’d relish in for the rest of his life. 

He put the noodles in when he heard the water turn off. 

His heart raced as he panicked.  

He made sure to run towards his room and pick up the closest sweatshirt he could find, his red sweatshirt that was from his football days as a teenager. It had his jersey number and last name on the back. 

It consoled his wolf, the one that was scratching at his sternum as he wrote the note to leave the soup sizzling for the next ten minutes. Then, even more as he scented the red fabric thoroughly. He insisted the omega wait to eat before the soup cooled. 

He ran his hands through his hair as he approached the door, struggling to get his muscles to rip open the apartment door and let the omega ride out his heat in the righteous way. 

But the handle looked as if it would burn his skin if he touched it. He knew he couldn’t stay. He knew he’d submit to his instincts. But he just stared, frozen in place. 

That was until the sound of the door of the bathroom opening forced him to move. 

The air in the hallway were breezy and cool on his stressed skin. 

But there was a sound that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. A whine that was released from his home. 

He turned, looking back into his flat, where he knew he was leaving his omega alone. 

Louis stood in one of Harry’s t-shirts he’d realised he hadn’t seen in a long while, a fresh pair of white boxers making his thighs look even tanner and more delectable. The most heartbreaking thing of all was the way Louis’ eyes were drooping in sadness, his lip quivering. “You’re leaving?” 

“I can’t…I can’t control it.” Harry said as he gripped onto the side of their door like it was the only thing that would cement him to this space he stood upon. “I can’t stay, baby…you can’t…you can’t consent to this.” 

Louis took a few short breaths, whimpers escaping every time he breathed out. “I—I wanted you since the very first day.” The omega stated. “You were so strong and handsome, and smelled so good.”

Harry remembered it. The day they’d met. The way Louis had refused to really look him in the eye, but had assertively brought him through the list of his agreements. Now that he thought of it, he could remember the way his nose had curiously searched the air for something he could understand of the other alpha. 

He’d gotten no read. 

He understood now why he hadn’t. 

“And you took care of me.” Louis said as he held his arms against his stomach. “I—I thought you might want me to.” 

Without thinking, the door slammed shut, and he was moving until his arms were holding the almost trembling omega against him. “Of course I want you, baby.” Harry whispered into his damp hair. “Of course I do.” 

“Please don’t leave.” Louis reasoned. “I can consent. I’m clear-headed, Harry. I am. I haven’t crossed over yet…I–I’m sorry I lied to you, okay? But please, please don’t punish me by making me go through this alone again.” 

Again? 

“Again?” Harry asked as he pulled back to look into those blue eyes. “What do you mean again?” 

“Last month.” Louis uttered under his breath, evading the alpha’s stare. “I called out for you all last month…I—I–” Louis couldn’t finish his statement before he was sobbing again. 

Harry needed to get the omega to stop crying before he fell farther into the heat-wave he would inevitably slip into. 

“Okay, baby, okay.” Harry held him closer. “I’ll stay, I’ll stay.” 

Louis’ hands wrapped around his waist to clutch on his shirt. 

There was no doubt in Harry’s mind that Louis was calming by just his scent alone. 

Mine. 

My omega. 

Harry’s wolf was already growing possessive, maybe had been for a long while. There was no way he was leaving now. 

“Let’s finish your soup.” Harry said before leading the omega back towards their kitchen. 

He pulled out the stool and allowed Louis to sit upon it. Then, he helped the omega into the red sweatshirt that highlighted the colour of his eyes. The name on the back of the fabric, though, increased Harry’s possession. 

He poured Louis and himself a bowl of chicken soup. 

It was the first time they ate together. 

Harry realised that Louis’ giggle was like a song, and that he was shy about slurping, and that the skin of his inner thigh was soft and warm. He knew he was in love before their bowls were empty, and he knew he’d been loyal to this omega even when he thought he was an alpha. 

It was a miracle. The way he’d found this omega’s request for a roommate. He couldn’t help but think of the chance it could have been anyone other than him. 

He couldn’t bear it. 

Without another thought, he stood and took both of their clean bowls to the sink, taking extra time to wash them with care. 

Louis watched earnestly, as if the omega was calculating Harry’s every move. 

Harry didn’t want to be away from him any longer. He didn’t want to be separated by walls or rules or lies. So, he did the only thing he could think would erase all of his confusion, even if he had no idea how it truly would. 

He reached out and held the side of Louis’ face, admiring the beautiful structure and innocence that seemed to linger upon it. “Would you show Alpha your room?” 

Hesitantly, Louis nodded , slipping off the stool and walking towards the hall. 

Harry had never been inside the last door to the left…and it wasn’t for lack of trying. It was just always locked. No matter the time of day. Always. Locked. 

Except for this time, because the door was wide open. 

The omega must have assumed it was safe. 

Louis paused in the middle of the hallway, scared. 

“It’s okay.” Harry reassured him, attempting to pull at his wrist gently. “Can I see it? Can I see your room?” 

“Please don’t tell.” Louis insisted, returning back to his previous fear. 

“I won’t.” Harry promised, clutching the omega’s face between his softened palms. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt this omega, ever. 

Louis searched Harry’s eyes for something, maybe lies. Which he didn’t find. Harry knew he wouldn’t. He meant it. 

The omega nodded. 

He led him towards the open door, and the wave of raspberry hit Harry like a truck before he could even see farther than the hardwood floor. He could feel his wolf preen at the closeness. 

Especially as he stepped inside. 

Contrary to Louis’ usual mess, the bedroom was fairly clean. There were bottles of scent neutralizers and pills that would minimise his instincts. 

“Lou,” He picked up the bottle, “these are intense.” 

“I know.” The omega agreed, sitting on his bed that was decorated in lots of pillows and blankets, but perfectly made up. “But it's the only way I can make sure I can graduate.” He admitted. “It's…it's all I've got to make sure I can take care of my sisters.” 

“You don’t have to do it alone.” Harry said, putting down the medication. “You don’t have to hold that.” 

“You’re just saying that because you’re an alpha and I’m in preheat.” He said, rubbing the back of his hand beneath his nose.  

“I’m not.” Harry denied, but maybe he was. Maybe he just needed to take care of his omega and he didn’t want him to feel that weight. “I–I–” 

“I know you are.” Louis let out a wet laugh. “I’ve been around alphas and pretended to be one myself for long enough.” 

Harry couldn’t exactly lie with that. “I’m sorry.” He swallowed, moving to sit next to the omega. “I—I wish–” He couldn’t believe he was about to say this, to the omega he felt was his own. “I wish you were an alpha.” 

Louis only shrugged. “You don’t mean that.” 

“I do.” Harry insisted, moving to take Louis’ hands in his own. “I—I wish this world wasn’t as cruel as it is to omegas. I wish that–” He swallowed. “I wish that things weren’t so harsh on you.” 

Louis smiled shyly, his lips still quivering as he did. His thumb came up to graze the side of Harry’s mouth, and the alpha had never wanted to kiss someone as bad as he did in that moment. “This is why I like you.” Louis said. “This is the alpha I knew was in there.” 

 “Yeah?” Harry pivoted even more, allowing his hands to ride up the omega’s thigh, gripping it slightly. 

“Yeah.” Louis nodded, leaning in closer. 

Harry didn’t waste another second. 

He was breathing in the taste of raspberry as their tongues danced, his hands roaming up and down Louis’ curves like he wanted to etch them into his memory. If he focused long and hard enough, he knew he could. 

He’d dreamed of this moment while staring at Louis’ silhouette in front of the television while he was watching football, he’d imagined it in wet dreams and quick releases in the shower when the raspberry scent was too strong. 

He’d hated himself for it, too suffocated by the thought of loving another alpha. Of Louis Tomlinson defying his own preferences and making him question everything. 

But maybe—- Harry wondered, that he and Louis were just truthfully meant to be all along, that his wolf had made the decision for him and had driven him to invade one of Louis’ boundaries. 

The omega slipped against his mattress as he lay limp in Harry’s hold, his preheat pheromones bursting into the air causing the alpha’s mind to go lax without worry. 

It was just him and this omega. 

His hands slipped underneath both his sweatshirt and his t-shirt to feel the dips and dives of Louis’ torso, to admire the warmth of his skin that was quickly heating up. He could smell the slick that grew between the omega’s legs, its sugary wafts going straight to Harry’s crotch like it wanted to lure out his cock by itself. 

Funnily enough, Harry knew it would. 

He knew if they stayed there, kissing like that, their tongues intertwined and their hearts synching as the alphas weight pressed against the preheat omega, they’d be knotted in no time. 

But he needed to keep his stamina. He needed to keep both of their energy’s up. Pre-heat was for the connection, the build-up to what was to come. It was for an alpha to begin to try and win the omega’s trust. 

He needed to make sure Louis was well taken care of. He needed to make sure they were both hydrated and as rested as possible. 

He couldn’t take this any farther than a kiss. 

Not yet. 

His breathing was ragged as he pulled back. The omega’s eyes fluttered open. 

Harry was already enrapt with him. Everything about this omega was so perfect, from the light blue tone of his eyes, to the curl of his eyelashes, his sweet scent and those heaven sent curves. 

Perfect omega. 

My omega. 

“You're a better kisser than I imagined.” Louis spoke as his arm stayed wrapped tightly around the alpha’s neck, keeping them close. 

“You painted me as a shit kisser?” Harry scoffed, their noses brushing as if both of them were too stubborn to be the first to give in to another kiss. 

“No.” Louis’ blue eyes twinkled something mischievous, a look Harry hadn’t yet seen in him. “I just took points off because you taste like another omega.” 

Shit. 

“I’m sorry.” Harry sat up, running his hands through his hair as a heavyweight lay upon him about his whereabouts that night “I—I was–I was trying to get you out of my head.” 

“Me?” Louis giggled as if he didn’t believe him. “You thought I was an alpha not an hour ago.” 

“I know.” Harry laughed, as he let his elbow press into the mattress, and laid out, taking the omega’s gaze with him. He allowed his other hand to travel up his leg, his fingers brushing against the soft hair on his calf and then up his knee and inner thigh. “And you had me feeling like I was going mad.” 

“Mad enough to kiss another omega?” Louis rolled his eyes. 

Harry was finding something quite endearing about the little one’s jealousy. 

“Yes, actually.” Harry informed, his grip getting tighter. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to steal your raspberry scented omega for myself or fuck you instead.” 

Louis’ cheeks went bright red, and he tried to hide his face in his legs as he curled them back up to him. 

Harry grabbed the omega’s ankles and pulled him back down, needing to see the innocent embarrassment on his face. “I mean it…thought I was getting interested in alpha’s because you had curves for days and there’s just this aura about you that makes me forget my own name.” 

“No.” Louis denied, trying to wrangle himself away from Harry’s grasp. 

Harry wasn’t having any of it. “You’re so fucking cute.” The alpha praised as he kissed Louis’ cheeks and chin and forehead over and over again, glueing him to the mattress with his weight upon him. 

“I know.” Louis joked, that mischievous glint reappearing in his eyes. “The alphas at my school used to tell me all the time.” 

A growl emanated from Harry’s chest, deep, long and strong. 

Even still, the omega looked satisfied with himself. 

“Don’t talk about other alpha’s right now.” Harry warned, knowing his possession was already strong, and getting stronger as the raspberry got thicker. 

“What? Too worried you’d see another alpha’s tongue down my throat?” Louis quipped. 

And Harry was quickly realising the previous assertiveness he’d seen from Louis wasn’t that much of a facade after all. The omega was just a brat, insisting on having things for himself when and where he wanted them.
It was all making lots of sense now. 

He was holding onto this dictator role because he was scared. He was nervous someone was going to see through the front that he’d been holding on to in order to get his dental degree. But the reality was so clear, so obvious. 

Just how perfect of an omega he really was. 

Those curves, and that pouty lip. Those taunting blue eyes and that undeniable knot-provoking scent. 

Just for him. 

Mine. 

In one fell swoop Harry was lifting the omega and pulling him up onto his lap, making those delicious thighs clutch onto his waist for stability. 

His fingers grazed the wisps of Louis’ hair that was falling into his face, pushing it away from his gorgeous eyes as he looked longingly into them. “You know I believe in fate.” He whispered as if there were people around that would hear them. 

He noticed the way Louis’ confidence seemed to falter, his Adam's apple bobbin in a tight swallow. 

Harry was known to be the charming type, but he also knew he’d never said a single thing he didn’t mean. “And I think I’ve found mine in your eyes.” 

“Now I know you really just want to get in my pants.” Louis chuckled, the sweet melody of its rhythm kick-starting Harry's heart.

Harry’s hands travelled the length down Louis’ waist and hips, clutching the fullness of his arse as the omega settled himself in his lap. “You can always tell me to go.” Harry was quickly becoming desperate for their lips to touch again, to get another taste of that citrusy tang he was falling in love with. 

“As if you’d want to.” Louis was speaking so softly now…soft enough Harry had to really focus to catch what he was saying. Not that he wasn’t already hanging on to his every word, and the more that he thought about it, he realised he had been for quite some time. 

“If you tell me to go,” Their foreheads touched and Harry finally felt settled by the contact. “I’ll go.” 

“And if I tell you to stay?” Louis’ hands were dancing in the back of Harry’s curls. 

The raspberry and his own chocolate scent were mingling in a hypnotising enchantment that was making Harry simultaneously strong and weak. He was giving in to this omega…opening up to him as if he was ready to commit his life to him. For what reason he didn’t really know why. He’d barely known Louis for a few short months, all the while the man had been lying and deceiving him. 

Even still, there was a part of him that couldn't resist. Maybe it was the temptation or the lustful forbiddenness he’d aquated to the scent of this omega. But there was just something about him that made Harry’s wolf bow down. Like it was certain he’d been meant to take care of this omega all along. Like he was holding his destiny and only not finally coming to terms with what his soul had known to be true since he’d first caught a whiff of that sweet raspberry tang. 

“Then, I’ll stay for as long as you’ll have me.” Harry whispered back, gently only allowing the ghost of their lips to pass. 

Louis was struggling not to give in to his instincts. Harry could tell as Louis tried and began another connection of their lips, his whine giving way to his neediness.

Clumsily, they shared air, their open mouths giving way to the tangling of their tongues. 

The air seemed to shift just then, covered in a thick scent of that sweet blanket of slick, and their mingling scents. 

Louis was getting closer to the edge, his wolf taking over, insisting this alpha knot him. 

Harry cleared his throat, pulling back with a tight grip on Louis’ hips. “I’m serious, baby.” He swallowed, his eyes closing so he didn’t have to say his next words to the blue tone he’d drink like water if he could. “If you want me to go, I need you to tell me now.”

“Do you—” Louis looked down at the small space between them. “Do you want to go?” 

“No.” Harry said immediately. “I want to stay…I really…really want to stay.” 

“But?” Louis interrupted before Harry could finish his sentence. 

“But,” Harry continued with a sigh, “I just…don’t want it to impact our living arrangements. I mean…if we fuck–” 

“It’ll be fine.” The omega insisted with the shaking of his head as if he was too scared to hear the rest of what Harry was about to say. 

Harry too, was scared of himself. 

Especially with the way his hands were now gripping the omega’s thighs, with the possession in his chest growing with every inhale of that alluring raspberry aroma. The way he could feel his heart plummet as he watched Louis’ bright baby blues look downcast—like he was expecting to be disappointed. 

He pressed his thumb against the chin of the omega before him, forcing his gaze upwards. It felt as if Harry was looking up at a bright spring sky, the sun’s warmth radiating down his spine and making him relax into it. Maybe as if he’d meant to be admiring them all along. 

“You have no idea what you’re signing up for here, angel.” He said in the softest tone he could muster. 

The thighs of the omega tightened around him, the stars in his eyes shining brighter. “What? You think I can’t handle it, tiger?” 

Harry hummed through his giggle, approving of this little one’s antics. “Last chance.” He warned. 

“Not happening.” Louis responded, holding on to Harry tighter, his small arms wrapping around his neck. 

“Alright then.” Harry picked the omega up, forcing Louis to cling onto him. “You’ll sleep now.” 

Louis was still only in pre-heat, his body only now emanating more heat as the night progressed. Harry had already fed him, but if he was going to stay—if he was going to help this omega through his heat, he needed to start taking care of him now. 

“Where are you going?” Louis asked as Harry tucked him into bed before slipping towards the door. 

“To prepare.” He said, before shutting the omega back into his room and moving quickly towards the kitchen. 

He hurriedly cut fruits and vegetables. Then, he readied handheld snacks to be eaten in a pinch. He made sure to grab some of the electrolyte packets he kept after work-outs and put a few into water bottles and shook them until they were dissolved. 

He carried the bottles of water and some crisps back towards Louis’ room, until he turned the corner and noticed the omega and his own door were flung wide open, and there was light coming from his own bedroom.

“Louis?” Harry questioned as poked his head in. 

Louis was ripping the comforter off his mattress, carrying it away from the room, bypassing the alpha who stood in the threshold of the doorway. 

Harry only shook his head while a blush painted across his cheeks. 

It wasn’t uncommon for omegas before slipping into the haze of their heat to nest. Harry assumed it was what Louis had been doing all along when his laundry had been strewn all along the bathroom. 

In his past serious relationships, Harry had almost found an omega’s nesting tendencies annoying and time-consuming. Now though, even as he looked at his bed that had been stripped down to its sheets, it no longer had that same sour aftertaste. 

Walking back into the omega’s room, he set the waters and snacks on the nightstand before creeping towards the walk-in closet he hadn’t ever seen. He knew the apartment had one, because it had been labelled as such on the advertisement he’d responded to. However, when he’d gotten to the flat the first week of classes, Louis had already claimed the master-bedroom, forcing him to take the spare. 

He hadn’t minded. 

Not really. 

But his curiosity was winning him over now, especially as the door was flung wide open…and the omega in pre-heat was nowhere in sight. 

Harry knocked on the door of the closet before peaking inside. He could tell by the strong wafts of raspberry coming from the space that this was the place the omega felt the safest. 

As if responding to Harry’s previous request to be let in, Louis let out a grunt of approval, and Harry wasn’t interested in waiting any longer. 

What he found though, was something that took his breath away. 

Louis’ clothes were, in fact, hanging from the racks at Harry’s eye level. Nothing else about the space had anything to do with clothing storage. 

Towards the back, there were blankets, stuffed animals and various articles of clothing piled on top of a soft mattress cover. It was the most beautiful nest he’d ever seen, not that he’d seen very many. He didn’t have to. 

Even just by looking at it, he felt his muscles in his back relax, the circulating worrisome thoughts seemed to cease, his gaze zeroed in on the omega who was now trying to knead Harry’s comforter into the others. 

“Angel,” Harry whispered as he stepped onto the clean rug beneath his feet. “It’s beautiful.” 

The omega was slipping farther towards his instincts. That was obvious in the way that Louis stood, a gruff exiting his lips as he walked towards Harry and grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him towards the nest. 

There was no point in arguing with an omega in pre-heat, so Harry followed the little one until he shoved him down into the softness. 

Where Harry wanted to draw the line, was when the cold air hit his stomach as Louis attempted to remove his shirt from his body. “Whoa, whoa.” Harry said, slipping back and receiving a whine from the omega. “Let’s slow down there, yeah?” 

“No.” The word was tinged with the tiniest, non-threatening growl he’d ever heard. Still, he wasn’t interested in arguing. 

Harry gulped, removing his shirt as giving it the omega without another thought. 

Louis brought it up to his nose, sniffing it before nodding and shoving it under one of the pillows that decorated the corner. 

“Satisfied are you?” Harry laughed as he watched the omega fondly. 

Louis rolled his eyes before offering Harry a blanket and moving to take one of the other articles of clothing out of the nest. 

“What’s that?” He asked as he propped himself up on his elbows, already getting comfy. One thing was for sure, Louis could make a damn-good nest. 

“Me mums.” Louis answered, folding it and placing it onto a hanger. “Don’t want it to get…gross.” 

Harry cackled, covering his mouth as if his hand would muffle the sound that already left. “In other words,” He moved over to allow Louis room to lay next to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulders as the scent of berryful lust only grew, “you don’t want to deface your mother’s clothing with the juices of our fornication?” 

Louis shoved Harry away, a red-tint that matched his scent shading his cheeks in a way that had Harry’s stomach doing somersaults. “Could you not make it weird?” The accent was thick that rolled off the omega’s tongue. 

“I’m not making it weird, angel.” Harry played dumb, reaching across Louis’ lap to caress the meat of his hip. “Just telling the truth.” 

“You don’t have to talk about my mother and us having sex in the same sentence.” Louis uttered, resting his head against the wall behind him, as if he was trying to relax, but unable to. 

There was a protective instinct all alpha’s had, one to make sure an omega was safe, cared for, and looked after. 

Harry hadn’t gotten the opportunity to get to know him very well. But he’d observed plenty of people long enough to know when someone was stressed. Right now, with the way Louis muscles looked tense,  a worried look in his eye, Harry knew something was wrong. 

“What’s got you so wound up?” Harry whispered towards the omega, his thumb brushing against the skin of Louis’ hip as he accidentally shoved away the fabric of the sweatshirt. 

Louis looked over with a sheepish smile, shrugging. 

“Come on.” He pressed for an answer, using his grip on the omega’s hip to shake him only slightly. “You can tell me…what’s wrong?” 

“I just–” There was a rawness in Louis’ voice as he threaded his fingers through his hair, making the strands lay in a haphazard mess. “I don’t exactly look forward to my heat you know? It’s—It’s painful and I know that I do it to me-self.” He reached over and took one of his pokemon stuffed animals from the perimeter of the nest, hugging it to his chest and resting his chin upon the top of it. “Like I know those prescriptions are what make it so awful…but I just wish-” He shrugged again, his words cutting off and falling away. 

“What?” Harry asked softly. 

He wanted to know. He wanted to help. 

“I wish I didn’t have to sometimes.” The omega admitted in a mumble, like the second the words left his lips he wanted to suck them right back. 

Harry knew that there was no correct response to that statement. He could tell the omega he didn’t have to, that he didn’t have to pretend anymore. But that would only be reassuring him that all of society’s opinions about omega’s were correct. That they couldn’t be held to the same standards as alphas or betas. That they were only good for knotting and staying home to raise a family. 

Louis could do both. 

He’d proven so with how far he’d come, convincing other alphas he was one of their own. His marks were good, as much as Harry understood, and he was only months away from graduating. It would be stupid to pull the reins back and change the trajectory now. 

However, Louis also didn’t deserve to have to shove aside his identity to complete these tasks. Forgoing his instincts was probably harming Louis’ body more than anything. He understood why heat was so painful. 

The omega within the little one was desperate to be heard, and the only time it was allowed to speak was during Louis’ most vulnerable times. 

“Why did you pick King’s College?” Harry asked out of the blue. “You could have gone to dental school as an omega elsewhere.” 

Louis scoffed. “You’re such an alpha.” He said, as his fingers played with the scales on the stuffed animals' back. “Those other school’s are just as crazy, even more-so. At least King’s College is honest about their prejudices. Those other universities have professors who fail omegas for no reason, just personal opinion alone. Then the omega is in debt for their entire life because they chose a career path only alpha’s should be filling.” 

Harry gulped. He hadn’t meant to sound so naive and unthoughtful. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Louis reassured him without much emotion in his voice. “Omega’s are just cum-rags in our society, that’s all.” 

“That’s not true.” Harry insisted, sitting up to make sure the blue eyes were looking back at him. 

“Oh please.” Louis wasn’t giving him a second to speak. “As if you don’t like your omega’s submissive and dripping wet.” 

“Apparently, I like ‘em bratty.” Harry quipped just as quickly, receiving a slow spreading grin that accompanied the reddening of Louis’ cheeks. Harry took the liberty of reaching out and pinching one, happy he was no longer receiving the negative implications of their hierarchical society. “I do enjoy a wet and submissive omega every once in a while.” Harry admitted, allowing a pause in his sentiment as Louis’ shoulders stiffened, avoiding the alpha’s gaze. “But I also like them to be independent and unique, someone to have intellectual and philosophical conversations with.” 

Louis softly chuckled, staring at the blanket with a nod. “Maybe you’re not a knothead after all.” 

Harry’s hands reached out and grabbed at Louis’ waist, pulling him up onto his lap as he kissed his temple. Louis didn’t protest, he just let himself rest against the alpha’s bare skin. Harry focused on his breathing as he held protectively onto the omega, allowing his own pheromones to grow as his instincts began to kick in. 

Their wolves had agreed they were doing this together. 

Their scents were mingling in the air in a thick blanket, infusing within one another until it was impossible to know where one ended and the other began. Or maybe, if they’d been intertwining unknowingly all along. 

Without much thought, Harry’s nose dropped to the crook of Louis’ neck, gently brushing it against the skin.

 The omega shivered, leaning even more against Harry, almost going lax. 

The palm of the alpha slipped up the omega’s shirt, grazing over his spine as he began to draw circles along his upper back, continuing to scent him thoroughly. His mouth began to water as notes of chocolate and raspberry felt as if they were being coated on his tongue. The sweet scent of even more sugar came through the air, his fingers digging into Louis’ skin as he tried not to think of the slick that was undoubtedly dripping into Louis’ underwear. 

“You’ve always been so beautiful.” Harry admitted as he continued to mark his territory with notes of cocoa onto the omega. “Thought I couldn’t have you.” 

Louis was unable to respond verbally, little moans of ecstasy passing his lips as his breathing got increasingly more shallow. 

“Can’t believe you’ve been thinking of me.” Harry said, as he thought of Louis’ previous admittance in the kitchen. He thought of Louis fucking himself with a dildo as the omega cried out towards him, all the while Harry was stupidly drowning himself in his sorrows while accomanoying his best-friend to mediocre bars. 

There would never be a day in Harry’s life he’d choose alcohol and the atmosphere of poor decisions over this omega that smelled of the most divine raspberry he’d ever smelled in his life. 

“Kinda wanna make you mine.” He warned as his wolf spoke directly for the first time in a long while, at least since his last rut. Without thinking, his teeth grazed over the mating spot, his desires catching up with him. 

The omega shuddered, a whine leaving his lips, the sugary scent so powerful it could make the alpha’s blood-sugar spike all on its own. 

Harry’s heartbeat quickened as he finally caught up to his self-restraint. He’d let himself go a little too deep into his instincts. He kept his hand on Louis’ back under the sweatshirt but held him close. 

Heat was approaching. They probably still had a few hours. Even with the help of an alpha though, it could be a full day or more of them fucking it out until Louis came out of his haze. They needed to reserve their energy. Harry needed to be smart about this. 

“Let’s sleep now. Rest, yeah?” He uttered softly, trying not to disturb the peace the omega was feeling from being freshly scented. 

He could tell the little one was relaxed, that he was close to allowing himself to drift off. 

Harry tried to lay back slowly, bringing Louis with him. 

Louis, jolted up though, grunting something inaudible under his breath. 

“It’s alright, angel.” Harry tried to reach out to touch him, but Louis was up and moving before he could succeed. 

He watched as Louis’ hips swayed towards the end of the closet. He flicked the light off and then bent down to plug something into the powerstrip. Suddenly, the room was illuminated with little images of stars that rotated around the ceiling. The light was dull and almost meditative as Harry watched the display move around the small space. 

Apparently satisfied, Louis stepped back into the nest, nuzzling his face into Harry’s chest as they laid down. 

Harry didn’t oppose any of it. 

He just watched as the stars danced across the ceiling and felt the soft, tickling breaths ricochet off his chest. “This is why you never come out of your room, huh?” Harry asked after a long beat of silence. 

The omega’s eyes were closed. Still, he smiled, nodding. 

Harry gave him a squeeze, feeling a warm fuzzy feeling return in his chest. “Sleep, baby.” He ordered before kissing the soft strands of hair. “I’ll take care of you.” 

*** 

Harry was awoken by an urgency he couldn’t explain. 

His eyes opened to the swirling stars above his head, his mouth dry but his body alive as ever. There was a sweet, sugary scent that was wrapping around him, filling his cock with blood accompanying a desperate desire to knot. 

He groaned, running his hand down the back of the omega who was sleeping soundly on top of him. His hand continued to roam, down the curve of his arse. The first thing he feels is the luscious plump muscle that jiggles under his touch. But as he continued to roam farther, he met wet fabric. 

Slick coats the backside of the omega’s boxers, the sticky liquid underneath his fingertips sets all of his nerves on fire. 

“Baby,” The sheer deepness of his voice startles him, but he’s not surprised. 

The raspberry musk is ripe, sitting heavy on his tongue. Louis was in heat… in need of a knot…and Harry’s is ready to pop just by the smell of him alone. 

He’s been starved of this omega, suppressing his instincts because he was blindsided by a lie. This man, this small and sexy and lustful man had been right under his nose the entire time they’d live together. His wolf had grown bloody possessive of him. 

He figured it was about time to make the omega know it too. 

“Baby.” He repeated, as he could feel Louis’ erection growing between them, the omega trying to relieve the friction as his hips began to press against Harry’s. Yet, the omega was still fast asleep, moaning through his exhales of breath as if he was dreaming of being fucked, satiated by the phantom hands on his skin or dick that was slipping in and out of him. And that, made a fire roar in Harry’s chest. 

Just the simple thought of another smelling this hint of berry, getting to taste it, to touch and worship…it was a nightmare. 

He growled lowly to himself, sitting up, which jostled Louis from his dreams. 

The omega leaned into Harry, groaning about being awakened, his nose pressed deep into the alpha’s scent glands. “Alpha.” He uttered needily, lifting Harry’s cock like an invisible string with the undoubtable eagerness of his tone. 

Without allowing himself to think another linear thought, Harry stood to remove his trousers, freeing his aching member from them. 

Louis, deep in the throes of his heat, was already on his knees, taking him into his mouth between those beautiful lips that had been taunting him since day one. His knees grew weak as he felt his tip hit the back of the omega’s throat.  

He could take Louis in all his ways, stubborn and sassy, intelligent and lying…but boy did this take the cake. His blissed out eyes, clouded with lust as his head bobbed over and over again, lubricating the length with his spit. The vibration of his mouth as he moaned, like he was being quenched of his desires by having the taste of him on his tongue. It was sensational…and probably, the hottest thing Harry had ever seen. 

“God, baby you do it so well.” Harry praised as he slipped his fingers through the omega's soft strands of hair. As much as he wanted to, as much as his body threatened to, he couldn’t cum now. 

Louis’ body was emanating some intense heat pheromones that was making Harry think they were in for the long haul. 

Not that he minded. 

He was about to have this omega in any way he wanted for almost a full twenty four hours. 

With a gentle pull, he removed the omega from his cock, receiving a whine of disapproval from the one on his knees. 

“You’re alright, angel.” Harry laughed, continuing to stroke himself as he watched those baby blues look up at him with a sweet and somehow innocent stare. He dropped himself until he too was on his knees, eye level with the omega. His palm covered the surface area of his cheek as his tongue dipped back into Louis’ mouth to taste himself on his tongue.. 

He wanted this man as hazy as he could get him, he wanted him to feel safe and taken care of. And he knew, in order to do that, he had to show the omega how much he was wanted. 

Their lips were fumbling with each other’s, their tongues dancing with one another as spit built up between them. 

Unknowingly, Harry let out a growl of need as his senses caught another whiff of the ripe raspberry tang that he was drunk on. “You’re wet for me. Aren’t you, angel?” 

Louis nodded, urgency spiking in his whimper as he sat back onto his heels, his boxers peaked. 

“It’s alright, baby.” Harry reassured him, pulling him back to him as he began to strip him of his underwear. “I’ve got you...I promise.” 

The omega went pliant as he was stripped. As soon as he was free of the fabric, Louis dropped to his hands and knees, that beautiful, sinful arse stretching right into the air. 

Harry lost the ability to breathe. 

The most irresistible hole was on full display to him only. It glistened with slick, tempting every piece of him to put something of his inside of it. His tongue, his fingers, his cock. Didn’t matter. The omega just needed to be filled. 

“God you’re a dream.” Harry growled through his words, spreading the cheeks that harboured that perfect view. His breath caught against the stickiness, his lips magnetised to the seduction. The sweetest tang passed through his taste buds and he was salivating against the wetness of the omega before him. 

Louis mewled into the nest below him, the sound muffling as Harry continued to lap up the excess liquid he knew he could drink like water. 

One of his hands crossed underneath the omega, wrapping his hand around his shaft as he tugged downwards, matching the tempo his tongue continued to flick over the sensitive entrance. 

Louis pressed back into the feeling, going lax as Harry worked both his backside and his front. “Need you.” He panted, his voice sounding weak and small. “Please, alpha…need you.” 

And how could he say no to that? 

He wiped his mouth away from the sticky sin that glossed over his lips. “What do you want, angel?” He whispered towards the dimples of his back that lingered towards the bottom on his spine. He gripped his own length as he slapped his tip against the rim of the omega’s dripping entrance. 

He was going to have him right here, in this beautiful nest surrounded by pokemon stuffed animals and dizzying light-up stars. Harry was going to make him his with every thrust of his dick and utterance of his loyalty. Even if it took all night. 

He had no intention of ever prying himself away from him as soon as he allowed himself to delve inside. 

He was already addicted to that raspberry juice. He wasn’t interested in letting anyone else have a taste. 

“Please, please, please.” Louis begged, his muscles quivering as another drop of slick dripped from his tight hole. 

Harry knew the omega wasn’t going to be satisfied until he was full and knotted, dripping of Harry’s salty seed. Which happened to be exactly what would gratify him as well. Maybe that, and a million other knots, getting to come home to this sweet omega, wrapping him in his arms and spoon feeding him dinner before letting him ride his cock. 

“You want me?” Harry gruffed, stroking himself as he prepared for the long nights of fucking that lay ahead. “That what you want? My cock deep inside you? Pushing against your walls?” 

“Yes! Yes!” Louis cried out. 

Harry didn’t have the strength in his self-discipline to hold back any longer. 

As soon as his tip slipped inside of him, it was like he was being baptised in that sticky sweet nectar. A warmth passed over him as he continued to dive deeper, letting himself get swallowed up in the pressure, in lust, in the ways that he’d wanted him so badly all along but he’d never been able to have him. 

Not until now. 

“Alpha,” The needy voice of the omega only egged Harry on, the possessive feelings amplifying as he bottomed out. His hand reached up and pulled at the red fabric sill on the omega’s sweaty skin. 

Styles. His own last name was written on Louis’ back like Harry was staking his claim. Metaphorically and physically, his desire for this man running through his veins and pulsed through his cock. 

“You full, baby?” He asked as he allowed one of his hands to grip strongly on his hip while the other found stability with a grip on the sweatshirt. “You like being so full of me?” 

“Yes, alpha.” Louis cooed, his body finally relaxed. “Only you, I only want to be good for you.” 

“So good for me.” Harry praised as he pulled back again, soaking them both in a mixture of their scents. “My little dream come true, aren’t you?” 

There was something about the way Harry wanted to make him rithe and submit, to make the fake-alpha beg for more until he was dripping with so much cum they’d have to pick out names in nine months. 

He’d wanted him so badly…and now it was time to take. 

Rocking his hips forward, the sound of his length cutting through the moist entrance of the omega in heat was like gasoline to his lust-induced fire. The force had made Louis fall to his stomach, leaving a beautiful little sight of his balls and cock pressed just below him as Harry pulled back again. 

He was only getting started. 

Which meant he had twenty four hours to take in the sights and sounds of this omega in heat. He could have him in every way he wanted, this submissive, bratty and beautiful soaking wet omega. It was all for him. 

He growled with pleasure as he dipped back in, the walls of the omega clenching around his tip. 

Louis cried out— close . 

Harry wondered how many times he could make the omega come before he was knotted. 

Omegas in heat had a stamina that was almost unmatched—only really by an alpha in rut. However, an omega could have almost an endless stream of orgasms during their cycle. And Harry was incredibly curious how far he could push himself, before they were stalled by the force of his knot. 

A hum passed his lips as he gripped the omegas hips, pulling him back onto his length. “Wanna watch you come, angel.” 

Louis’ cheeks were flushed, beads of sweat pooling on his forehead. He was already deep in the haze of his heat, only able to manage a few words in response. “Wanna come, alpha.” 

“You can come, baby.” Harry approved, picking up the pace of his thrusts. 

He had to think of the grocery list he still needed to pick up in order not to come with the omega. Especially when Louis tightened around him, his release spilling onto the comforter underneath them. 

“Such a good boy,” Harry purred, slowing his movement as he continued to fuck him through the high. 

Louis’ shrieks were an obvious hint he was being overstimulated. But Harry knew his need was growing. He had the endurance now. He needed to use it while he could. 

“I’ve got you.” He reassured him, moving to flip him on his back. 

The sight of his glistening cock pulling out of the hole of the omega, was burning itself into his memory as he turned him over onto his back. 

Louis was dripping in sweet scented sweat, his heat pheromones increasing Harry’s instincts and desires to mate, to bond, to look after. The omega was overheating. And as much as Harry loved the sight of him in his jumper, he needed to keep his fever from going too high. 

“Need you naked, love.” He panted as he ripped away the red fabric, exposing the damp skin underneath. “You’re too warm, baby.” He informed, reaching over to turn on the standing fan that sat in the corner of the space. An obvious sign the omega was used to getting himself through his own heat— alone. 

Louis’ head fell to the side, exposing his throat to the alphas gaze. 

It was like a kick-start to Harry’s body, sending him back into action. 

He didn’t waste a single second before diving back into his Louis’ warmth. Surprisingly, the omega tensed with another orgasm, spilling out in between them in sultry ropes. 

Maybe even in heat, Louis was still trying to control him. 

Harry’s head fell back, looking up at the ceiling. He was desperate to last a little longer. To get the omega a third orgasm before he gave into his own. But Louis was making it so incredibly hard. 

Especially when he started to beg. “Knot, alpha.” He whined. “Need your knot. Wanted it for so long.” 

It was the drawl of his words. Like a desperation he was concealing, only now coming to light. 

“Fuck.” The alpha uttered under his breath, beginning his thrusts again. “You’re so perfect.” He kissed the side of the omegas lips, listening to the sounds releasing secretly from between them. 

“Need,” he was struggling to speak. “Knot.” 

Harry wanted to push him as far as he could go. “You want your alphas knot, angel?” He played, knowing it was risky business, but too compelled to make this omega comply with his whim. To admit they’d both been loyal to one another. That the omega had kept them apart and continuously deprived them of this bliss due to a lie. 

“Yes, yes!” Louis’ back arched, stretching his chest out towards the alpha. 

He took a nipple between his teeth and sucked hard, smirking at the way it made the omegas thighs shake. “Tell me who your alpha is.” He demanded. “Who is it?” 

An omega in heat was only able to speak the truth, the first thing that came to his mind. 

He could see the man fighting it, wanting to keep it hidden. 

Harry only pressed into him, harder, deeper, faster. 

The fan blew on them, cooling the sweat built up between them, mixed with slick and cum and deep hints of their berry and chocolate. 

“Who is it, angel?” Harry asked, watching as Louis’ body struggled against the tempo. His cock bouncing between them at the same time his slick made a smooth glide for the alphas knot to fill him up. 

Louis’ let out whimpers, obviously close. Like he was holding out, hoping he get off this one Scot free. 

“Who?” Harry urged. 

“Harry!” Louis said, wrapping his arms around him and giving in to both the truth and his release. 

Just the sound of his name escaping from the heat-induced mouth of his love, had his knot popping. 

He grunted at the connection, and focused on the feeling of his warm seed filling the omega to the brim. 

“Such a good boy.” Harry praised, lifting him up onto his lap and kissing his cheeks. “You did so good, baby.” 

Coming down from that high, listening to the low purrs of this omega, it was the first hit to a dopamine high that would have him addicted for all of his life. 

He kept them in front of the fan, letting him rest as they were both content enough at the moment. And there were hours between now and the time the heat would subside. 

Which truly was the best part, because this was only the beginning. 

***

Harry had forgotten how exhausting it was to help an omega through heat. 

They’d spent the first few heavenly hours in Louis’ nest. In every way Harry had always thought about wanting him. He’d lived every fantasy. On his knees, his back, riding his cock front facing and then back facing so Harry could squeeze that voluptuous arse when he came with vigour. 

Then, when he could hear the omegas stomach rumbling, he’d picked the little one up with the intention of feeding him. At that point, Louis had been satiated by a single knot, only kitten licking Harry’s sweaty skin on his neck as he attempted to bring them towards the kitchen. 

It had been a failed attempt. Because Louis had whispered that the bed was too clean, and smelled too sterile, and Harry’s dumb alpha brain had agreed. He’d allowed himself to fuck Louis relentlessly on the mattress, listening to the creek of the bedpost slamming against the wall until he was spilling his juices deep into the omega. By then, his sleep-deprived body had desperately needed sleep. He’d wrapped their bodies in a throw blanket and drifted off. 

But he’d woken to the slurping sound of Louis lathering up his own spit against Harry’s cock. He was honestly surprised it was still standing, not laying loose and begging for rest. But nonetheless, his wolf had allowed the omega to have a breakfast of his release. 

Louis had swallowed every drop, moaning all the way through like he’d never be able to get enough. 

“You’re gonna be the death of me.” Harry had uttered before scooping up the naked, raspberry scented boy and bringing him towards the kitchen. “You need to eat.” He said, placing Louis' feet flat on the floor before moving his attention only for a moment towards the fridge to retrieve the leftovers from the night before. 

The wet sound of fingers had distracted him as he poured a large helping of soup into a bowl. 

His eyes slipped over to Louis, who was bent over the counter with one hand wrapped around his cock as the other fingered himself desperately. 

It was sinful, and beautiful and fucking awe-inspiring. So much so, that Harry had slammed the microwave door, turning the dial to begin the warming process before he was removing the omegas hands and swapping it with his own dick instead. 

Right against their countertops, he’d taken his omega with a possession he hadn’t even known he’d had. “You don’t do it like I do.” He informed him, his spine struggling to keep up with the relentless but obviously satisfying pace he was infiltrating Louis with. “You’ve got to stay ready for alpha, nothing else. Okay, angel?” He swept the omegas side fringe away from his sweaty face, continuously pinning him to the granite with his thrusts. 

“Knot.” Louis weakly begged, continuously coating with waves of his slick as he submitted to the pounding of the alphas balls against his skin. “Knot!” 

And of course, Harry’s body obeyed. 

He’d had to try to feed Louis while they were connected, the spoon making a mess of the soup as Louis tried to deny himself sustenance. Harry had to use the slightest tone of an alpha bark to get the omega to comply. 

Louis had only eaten about a fourth of the soup before managing to get himself free of the knot before trying to ride it again. 

But Harry wasn’t recuperating as fast as he had been before. His dick was struggling to stay hard and Louis was whining for it. There were high pitched needy sounds that Harry knew any passing alpha would pick up the desperation of an omega in heat. 

Which was exactly how Harry had ended up dropping Louis to the sofa, making him present his hole to him as he licked up the oozing slick and fingered him until he came all over the cushions. 

The sight alone of the glossy come of his omega had turned him back on and he wasted not even a single second before he sat right atop the cum stain and told the omega to sit upon his length.  

He watched as the fucked out omega moved his hips to ride him, the way his throat was displayed with all of the possessive love bites Harry had painted on his skin. His fingers had barely even grazed the omegas skin before he was knotting him again, the rush of another wave of slick lubricating their connection for another uncountable time. 

He could feel himself growing dry, soaking all of himself into this beautiful begging omega. As his knot locked itself in place, he let his lips fall to the racing heart of his love and kissed him. 

It was then he forced Louis to drink water. His lips were too parched to ignore any longer. Stubbornly, he’d tried to refuse, attempting to suck the bottle like a cock instead. That was when Harry noticed how high Louis’ heat ridden fever had gotten. 

He’d picked the knotted omega up with a protective arm around his back and padded them towards the bathroom. 

He forced both Louis and himself into the shower, under the rush of the cold soothing water. 

The omega cried out for a moment, trying to hide away from the contrast of the heat on his skin and the cooling water trickling down his back. 

With soft words of reassurance, Harry had washed Louis’ hair as he clung onto him. 

The knot had slipped out, Harry’s girth uninterested in the cold water he was forcing onto it. Louis had whined then, at the loss of their contact. 

The alpha had attempted to finish the shower, to wash them both of the sweat and grime of their sins. But Louis had other plans. He’d dropped to his knees, taking Harry’s hanging cock between his lips and warming it with his tongue. 

Harry had had to stabilise himself with palms against the shower wall to keep from falling over. It was obscene. The way Louis licked up and down his growing shaft, taking it fully into his warm wet mouth. The way he managed to give so much attention without ever really pulling at it with pressure. 

Louis was giving the alpha a break, while also satisfying his own needs of being in submission and sitting under the cold stream of water. 

Harry allowed it. 

He allowed the omega to lick and kiss and mop up the remnants of the raspberry juices that lingered from their deeds. But by the time he grew goosebumps from standing in the shower, he checked Louis’ much colder forehead and knew he needed to get back to work. 

Without so much as grazing their wet bodies with a towel, he’d hoisted his omega from the shower and brought him to his own, unmade bed. 

Louis rolled over in bliss, the sheets beneath him smelling only of Harry but now also decorated with the wet shadow of the omegas body. 

Harry had groaned the moment he’d reentered him from behind, gripping onto his waist as his tempo increased, wanting to make the omega his forever in the walls of his own bedroom. 

The bed’s legs shook as Harry pressed into him harder and faster, one of his hands sliding between them to grip at one of the omegas cheeks. “Wanna make you mine so bad.” He admitted through gritted teeth before flipping him over onto his back and re-entering him, focusing intently on the sweet groans of the omega as he did. 

“Wanna be yours.” Louis responded, his voice a higher pitch, trying to catch his breath. “Wanna be yours.” 

He didn’t have the ability to think straight then, the raspberry sugar too strong not to get his brain drunk on lust. Instead, he gripped Louis’ thighs and used them to pull the omega back onto his cock as he popped another knot and released another gush into him. 

That was the first time Louis had slipped off into sleep. 

Harry hadn’t wanted him to lay in the wet spot where they’d both dried their body’s from the shower.

 So, he’d taken him up into his arms again and carried him to the omegas dry bed. He allowed him to rest his head against his chest and then took the liberty of closing his own eyes, desperate for a kip to give him the energy he needed to finish out the rest of his duty. 

He’d known the moment he felt Louis stir, his nap was over. He was pretty sure they’d both gotten a good thirty minutes. Which was all one could really ask for in the thralls of heat anyway. 

But lazily, Louis had dropped back onto Harry’s cock, like his hole was magnetised to it. It was almost as if they were both still half asleep, listening to the sound of Louis’ needy wet walls taking every inch of he alpha.  

Louis released sounds of soft pleasure from his lips. His eyes closed as he focused on the sensation. 

This moment was less rushed, like the omega was okay to take his time. 

Harry also didn’t feel possession growl in his chest when Louis’ hand reached for his own cock. He just watched eagerly.

He loved the way he could focus on each and every sound coming from him. The way he could watch the pre-cum drip from the omegas length every time his hand ran the length again. His beautiful mouth slightly parted, his bright pink nipples deliciously peaked, his free hand roaming up and down his chest as if he knew he was a marvel to be gawked at. 

“You’re art, angel.” Harry uttered, finally allowing his touch against the omega’s warm skin. “You make me so hard.” 

“Want you.” The omega said, needily grinding against him. “Always wanted you.” 

“Oh yeah?” He played, pulling gently at the back of Louis’ hair. “What did you want, baby? Tell alpha.” 

“Wanted your cock inside of me.” Louis admits, his hips beginning to quicken, the slick growing between them, making a slippery mess. “Wanted to be good for you, wanted you to tell me to get on my knees or for you to force me against a wall.” 

Harry was hanging on his every word, guiding Louis’ movement with the firm grip of his hands on his hips. 

“Wanted you to strip me and slip inside of me.” He says without hesitation. “Wanted you to tell me I was yours, for you to tell me you would take care of me and that I was gonna be your little slut.” 

The derogatory language surprises Harry for a moment, wondering why Louis would have thought he’d degrade him like that. 

But Louis moans after he says it. Like it’s helping him get off. Like he likes to succumb to his status. 

“Yeah?” Harry attempts to test out his theory. “You like being a whore for me?” 

The omegas thighs vibrate against him, a mewl in response. “Yes, alpha yes!” 

“You want me to put pups inside of you?” Harry begins to take back control, the urgency to knot returning. “You want me to bite that pretty little neck of yours so you’ll be mine to fuck when I please?” 

“Yes!” Louis cries out with pleasure. “Yes, alpha yes!” 

The thought itself was so strong and sensual it had the alpha orgasming before he could really put all the pieces together in his brain. 

His knot swelled, the omega dropping to his shoulder, as the truth sat heavy between them. 

Louis had just admitted he wanted to be mated to him. While in heat. Which meant he had no use he’d done it, and wouldn’t remember saying so, come the heat-fever subsiding. 

“Holy shit.” He utters, more to himself than anything else as he holds the omegas head against him. 

Protectively. 

Possessively. 

And then he kisses his temple. 

He doesn’t sleep again while Louis does. 

He only thinks of the way he needs to ask this omega to be his boyfriend. And he dreams of the life they’ll build together when it’s safe enough for Louis to proudly display the bite Harry so badly wants to give him. 

*** 

Hours later, they were back in Louis’ nest. the dizzying stars turned off and the glow of the orange sunset slipped in through the crack of the closet door. 

Harry was sure he had no seed left to give, he was empty and dried up, all of it being soaked up by the omegas greedy uterus. Louis though, was determined to get more. 

“More, alpha more!” The omegas thighs tightened around Harry’s waist, pulling at the already blown knot. He’d been doing this for the better part of the last hour, stroking Harry’s cock out of its knot for it to come again before it had ever deflated in the first place. 

Harry was delusional and parched, desperate for rest. 

Thankfully, he knew they were in the final stretch. 

“Need more!” Louis begged, his own body protesting that statement as he shook from exhaustion and hunger. 

Harry knew this was the side effect of all those harsh medications he was taking. The omega was full enough to become pregnant with pups, but his body was unable to take any of the sperm and make it usable. 

His hormones were all messed up and going haywire. But as always, the omega returned to his instincts, to wanting to be full and submissive for an alpha, to bring life into the world. 

Harry would give him as much as he could. And hopefully, when the fog lifted from Louis’ brain, they could find a solution that wouldn’t mean Louis ignoring his natural desires to prove society wrong. 

There had to be a middle ground. 

“Alpha!” Louis cried, a tear streaming down his cheek. “More!” 

Harry moved into action, kissing the fleck of sadness away from his face as he took the omegas length between his hand and began to pump. “I’ve got you, baby” he whispered. “It’s alright. Come for me, yeah?” 

They both did at the same time, and Louis all but collapsed against Harry’s shoulders as Harry was milked of all he had.  

The alpha thanked the ceiling as he held onto the spent omega, knowing he didn't have an ounce left within him to try and satisfy him any longer. 

But it didn’t seem like he had to. 

Not when he realised that the vibration of Louis’ orgasm had turned into shivering. Which meant Louis’ body temperature was dropping. 

He scrambled to find a clean blanket, grabbing the soft blue one that was folded away in the corner. 

He wrapped them both in it and laid them down against a pillow. 

He was sore when his knot slipped out of the omega. So much so, he wasn’t sure when or if he’d be able to have sex again. 

But Louis turned in his hold, sleepily pressing his nose into Harry's chest. And he knew the omega would always find a way to make his blood pool in his groyne. 

“What do you like to eat after your heat?” Harry asked, fighting his drooping eyelids for a moment longer. Post-heat sleep was some of the best. It was deep and long and rejuvenating for both parties. Almost always leaving you waking up feeling like a whole new person. 

“Pancakes.” Louis’ voice, hoarse and soft, responded. “With chocolate chips and butter.” 

Harry hummed approvingly, his growling stomach wishing for it. “And potatoes?” Harry added on, thinking of roasted starch dressed in oil and herbs. 

Louis made a noise of acceptance, but it was cut short by the tiniest snore. 

And Harry didn’t have the energy to fight his exhaustion any longer either. 

*** 

As he flipped the pancakes on the stove, he pondered if he should just throw the list of non-negotiables in the trash. 

Of course, they weren’t actual non-negotiables, because he could be flexible if it had turned out Louis was just an omega in need before his heat. It would be totally fine if Louis hadn’t meant a single thing he’d admitted to him during the last twenty four hours. 

And yes, he said twenty-four hours. Which he was, in fact, patting himself on the back for. He estimated the heat had really only lasted for about fifteen hours, considering he’d calculated that he’d slept for about nine. 

It was his very best record. And considering he had been fucking one of the most neediest omegas he’d ever encountered during heat, he saw it as a win. He may have been even thinking about buying himself a damn trophy. 

The echo of feet against the hardwood made him turn. 

Louis stood at the entrance of the kitchen, squinting against the sunlight bouncing off the walls. He was dressed in Harry’s red sweatshirt again, his hair tangled on top of his head. 

The blue of his eyes looked drinkable as he stared at him for a long silent beat. 

“Hi.” Harry managed the only word that came to his mind. 

Louis let out a soft chuckle. “H-hi.” He stuttered, stepping towards him. “To be honest I um—I wasn’t sure if I had dreamed about you asking about pancakes or not.” 

“Figured you’d be hungry.” Harry laughed shyly, putting a few on the plate with a large glob of butter and handing it over. 

“Starved, actually.” Louis dramatised, pulling a few forks from the drawer and handing one to Harry. 

They ate potatoes and pancakes lathered in syrup in silence. Luckily, Louis allowed Harry’s hand to roam up and down the omegas thigh, their connection lasting even a little longer. 

Harry’s heartbeat was heavy in his chest, like he was terrified for Louis to retract all of what he’d said. To thank him for his service and to make him promise he wouldn’t tell a soul he was an omega. 

And of course, Harry would. 

Because he was pretty sure he’d been in love since the moment his nose had caught a whiff of his raspberry and his eyes had memorised the shade of aqua that was harboured in his irises. 

If Harry could only have the last twenty four hours with him, then he wouldn’t complain. 

How could he? 

He was lucky enough to have experienced just this. 

That was the moment Louis’ fingers itched towards the note with Harry’s chicken scratch that he’d scribbled out after awakening. 

Harry paused mid-bite. Yet there was still too much food to speak without potentially choking. So he was forced to watch as the omega read over Harry’s thoughts. 

• We’ll turn Louis’ bedroom into ours, and use mine as a spare. 

• Harry will cook all three meals a day if Louis bakes cookies once a week. 

• No more secrets. 

• Louis will eat with Harry and watch footie with him. 

• Harry is allowed in Louis’ nest? (Only if he’s okay with it, of course) 

• Still okay with no parties. Hate cleaning up strangers messes

• If Harry is gonna pop his knot, he wants it to be in Louis. 

• Harry stays in the apartment every third Thursday of the month to help Louis with his heat. 

• Harry promises not to tell anyone Louis is not an alpha. 

• Louis will be Harry’s omega. 

The moment he can tell Louis’ read the last line, it feels as if he’s forgotten how to breathe. 

“You can say no.” Harry manages through his breaking heart. But he’s hanging by a thread as he watches Louis take a pen to the paper, crossing something out and writing over it. 

He slides the paper back towards Harry. 

There’s only one word crossed out, the very last one, and it’s been replaced with the word ‘boyfriend’. 

“I can’t be anyone’s omega before I graduate.” He says softly. “I-I hope you can settle on having to wait.” 

“To wait?” Harry scoffed, happily. “Baby, I just want you. It doesn’t matter how. Boyfriends is—-amazing.” 

“Really?” Louis’ gaze is hopeful, but hesitant. 

“Yes.” Harry admits desperately, forgetting about the breakfast that lays before him. “It’s like you’ve walked out of my fucking dreams! I’d be stupid to let you go.” 

“I wanna be yours.” Louis admits, slipping off the chair. “God, I wanna be yours so bad.” 

Harry’s hands are on his waist as he’s standing and bringing the omega to the couch, leaving their breakfasts to get cold. He’s removing the sweatshirt and boxers that keep him from seeing his omega in his natural glory. 

“You’re all mine, angel.” Harry reassures between his thighs. “I promise, you’re all mine.” 

And his words get lost as his lips kiss the hole of his love, and he’s drinking up another helping of that mouth-watering, raspberry juice.