two - date night

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Harry still had nightmares about that day. He would wake himself up screaming, his desperate cries echoing through the cave, and he would sob himself back to sleep, trembling and shaking against Louis's chest and begging his alpha not to let anyone hurt him. The other boys usually pretended not to hear, but they always did; it was impossible not to.

It was awful.

Louis often woke before Harry even made a sound. He would startle awake suddenly, his bond mark pulsing red hot like some sort of silent distress signal, and as soon as he reached for Harry, he would find the omega writhing and whimpering on their mattress.

It was heartbreaking. It never got any easier.

For Harry, the dreams were never visual. During the actual event, he had to close his eyes, lying limp on the ground, covering his head, and taking blow after blow. But he could still remember their voices. He could still feel their hands and feet and elbows and knees all over every inch of his body, pushing and shoving and hitting him with so much anger and malice. He still felt dirty sometimes, as if they had somehow managed to transfer their own hateful, evil beliefs onto him just through cruel, animalistic violence.

Tonight, Louis felt it in the pit of his stomach. Still mostly asleep, he groped about the bed to find Harry, relaxing slightly when he felt the omega's warm skin under his fingers. He squeezed Harry's arm reassuringly only to find the younger boy trembling violently beside him, crying silently in his sleep. Louis's chest tightened with concern, and he groaned, rolling over fully and sitting up in bed, his movements still groggy and lethargic.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You're okay," he murmured, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He pulled Harry into his lap and tucked his head under his chin, rocking them back and forth gently. Harry shuddered as he woke from his nightmare, crying loudly now, and the alpha whispered softly into his hair, "Shh, it's alright. I've got you."

"Lou --" Harry cut himself off with a choking sob, and he buried his face in the older boy's neck, his tears warm and wet against Louis's skin.

Louis shushed him again, his fingers brushing carefully through Harry's tangled curls. He was fully alert at this point, and he took a moment to hope that they would both actually be able to get back to sleep that night. "I've got you. I'm right here, darling. I'm not going to let anyone touch you again, not ever. You know that, don't you?"

Harry nodded, still sniffling. He clung to Louis tightly, keeping an iron grip on his mate's shoulders like someone might appear out of thin air and try to tear them apart at any moment. His chest still rose and fell raggedly against Louis's.

"Shh, sweetheart, please," Louis cooed, his heart shattering a bit more with every sob. "Breathe for me, H. I need you to breathe for me now, nice and easy."

"I-I'm sorry," the omega stammered, although his breathing started to even out as he spoke. "I didn't mean to wake you, and you need to sleep, but I-I'm so scared and I --"

"Hey, hey. Not this again, baby, not tonight," the older boy scolded gently. With a soft grip on Harry's chin, he guided the crying boy out of his favorite hiding place -- the crook of his alpha's neck -- to lock their eyes together. "Remind me. What did I tell you when we first met?"

Harry sniffled again, but his sobbing had finally stopped, his chest rising and falling in shallow yet steady breaths. "Said you'd always protect me," he mumbled, just like clockwork.

"And I will," Louis promised, as he did whenever Harry had a bad dream. He pressed his lips firmly against the omega's forehead, solidifying his words.

Truth be told, Louis drowned in guilt little by little every time he reaffirmed that promise -- because he wasn't there. He had left Harry alone to face his biggest fear, along with the unimaginable cruelty of their old pack, and he would regret that for the rest of his life.

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