the eclipse [sequel] ☾ l.s.

thirteen - surprise

Harry's dreams weren't good ones. His nightmares were only stronger when he was alone.

The sheets were cold against his overheated skin, curling around his arms and legs like shackles holding him in place. His thoughts escaped him, running too fast for him to keep up.

He was his own person. Of that fact, he was certain. He wanted to protect Louis and he wanted to make Louis happy, but he needed to make decisions for himself -- especially when he was doing the best thing for them both. Why couldn't Louis understand that?

The only reason Harry had come back to the Sons was Louis. He knew that his alpha needed to come back. He knew that Louis would never find closure until he came back and repaid the debt he felt he owed the pack, until he fulfilled the loyalty that coursed through his veins. It was a sense of loyalty that Harry didn't feel, but one that he understood.

The worst part was that he could see Louis's perspective. He could always see Louis's point of view, no matter how much they disagreed on something. What frustrated him to no end was that his mate couldn't seem to see his.

He woke up restless. The bed was cold. Time stood at a standstill without Louis, a frozen sense of emptiness. He whined softly as his sleepiness faded, burying his face in his folded arms.

"Baby."

He startled the rest of the way awake, forcing his heavy eyes open. It took a few difficult blinks to clear his vision, and his gaze found his alpha immediately. Louis sat on the opposite side of the room, perched on the windowsill, one leg swung casually out of the open window. It was a position Harry had seen over and over when they were younger. The similarities were striking, but they only reminded him of everything that was different.

"Lou," he murmured. He snaked one arm out of the covers, lazily holding it out toward his mate. "Lou, come here."

Louis hopped down from the windowsill, padding across the small bedroom. He crouched down beside the bed, kissing the back of Harry's hand as he tangled their fingers together. He stayed uncharacteristically silent, his blue eyes swimming with depths that Harry couldn't quite reach.

"You didn't come back," he complained, still a bit groggy with sleep. A tiny pout formed on his face at the hazy memory of tossing and turning between cold sheets all night. "Missed you."

"I missed you," Louis echoed, squeezing Harry's hand a few times to reaffirm his words. Their closeness could cure almost any ache. "Did you sleep okay?"

Harry's pout only deepened. "No."

Louis hummed disapprovingly, his frown mirroring Harry's own. He tangled his fingers in the omega's hair, scratching at his scalp. Harry practically purred at the affectionate gesture. With another few seconds, he could have fallen back to sleep -- a fact that Louis knew all too well.

Harry forced himself awake, sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. Sunlight washed over him, fresh air from the open window sending goosebumps over his bare arms, and he squinted up at Louis when the alpha stood up, towering over him.

He cleared his throat, reaching for Louis's hand again, squeezing a few times before he spoke: "I'm sorry for yesterday. I didn't mean to start a fight with you. That's the last thing I ever want to do --"

"I'm the one who should be apologizing. I wish you had talked to me about it before announcing it to the entire council, but I still reacted badly."

He studied Harry's face for a long, drawn-out moment -- the same face that he had spent so many years memorizing. He knew Harry like the back of his hand, but his mate never failed to surprise him. Maybe he let his expectations cloud reality; he was so certain that he knew Harry's response to everything that he was completely caught off guard on the rare occasion that he was wrong.