Dominus

Chapter 3

Louis sleeps peacefully with half a space-heater draped over his left half. He wakes up when the warmth disappears and Harry's body has left faint traces of sweat dampness on his own skin. It's as if he could only be settled with Harry's weight resting on him, and is now disturbed by a shift in that tranquillity.

The singing of the birds outside in the highest treetops surround their little haven. Torn and fallen leaves crack under the heavy footing of hooves or baby animal paws. Wind blew in a northerly direction and kept the breeze light, the sun still waking up the new day is broke through the horizon.

He felt Harry withdraw with a drag to his motion almost as if he was hesitant to do it at all. Before his eyelids lifted to look upon the fine hairs on him arms where they were tucked in under his pillow, Louis heard himself gasp ever so mutely when Harry placed a tender kiss on his shoulder.

The act of Harry actually gathering the covers around the boy to tuck him in physically, had Louis forcing himself away from the comfort to get up. Harry's hand was on his waist and he really didn't want that to change when he sat up and yawned, partially concealed by the dull conditions of such an early hour.

Harry was looking at him with a soft smile that reached his eyes and made them glisten. His hair was ruffled up with all his movements from the night and he looked utterly harmless with his sleepy contours. Louis cracked the knuckles in his fingers and met Harry's eye, slightly concerned.

"Are you okay?" He remembers his Dominus being so disturbed by his nightmare that he would be an unkind mate to not ask how he's feeling.

"What do you mean, haud mirum?" Harry frowned briefly and took Louis' hand in his, just one, to rub his thumb over the knuckles and wish he could each one.

Did Harry not remember? "You had a bad dream last night. You were moving around so much. Whatever it was must have been really awful."

Harry's eyes are clouded when they meet Louis', a continual string of emotions entering and leaving them. He drops his head and presses his lips to Louis' wrist, saying nothing as he turns around to pick up the wooden prosthetic piece from against his nightstand.

Louis' hope dies when he observes this reaction from the Dominus, and sighs just before pulling away as his hand falls to the sheets. He slides off the bed and leaves the room before he can mutter something harsh, feeling hurt by Harry not wanting to even talk to him about not wanting to speak of this nightmare.

Harry noticed the change in their atmosphere and his eyes followed Louis out the door, self-hatred bubbling beneath the surface of his skin as he pulled on his hair and groaned.

In the kitchen, Louis took stock mentally of everything he had. The basic essentials such as milk, eggs and rice were present. There seemed to be bulk groceries packed into the pantry, from bottled water to canned foods. Louis pouts at everything in boxes and that which are non-perishable. With hardly a fresh thing in sight, he pities the Dominus who hasn't had a decent meal in who knows how long.

For now, he pours himself a glass of water to wake up and puts the gas stove on to prepare a good enough breakfast. Scrambled eggs sizzle on the frying pan and Louis makes a note to buy butter the next time they're in town. He pops the last two slices of bread into a separate pan with cheese and stands on his tiptoes to get the sugar from a high shelf.

A hand circles his hip at that moment when he's just about close enough to grabbing the jar, and he immediately falls back onto his feet when Harry's fingers slip under his shirt. It wasn't intentional by the way Harry merely gets the jar for him and steps away without saying anything.

Louis kept his gaze low as he set water to boil on the stove and got out the tallest mug he could find. Harry's presence both soothed and suffocated him because the Dominus felt unpredictable, mercurial. There was no choice of tea or coffee, just a special type of tea leaf that he remembers his father having at home.