[unedited] [finished]
Harry was told what was expected from him. He was betrothed to the heir of the Tomlinson pack even before he was born. Surrounded and raised by biddable omegas, whose only purpose in life was to serve their alphas, he became on...
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"I'm sorry!" Harry burst out in tears, and the reaction was so unexpected and sudden, he wasn't even aware of when he had left his seat to gather Harry up in his arms. The omega's whole frame shook with sobs, incoherent words falling from his lips in the form of blabbers. Harry had his face tucked in the crook of his neck, the omega's tears saturating the material of his favorite shirt. But that was the least of his worries right now. Harry was crying against his chest, sobbing his lungs out. In the months they had spent living together, Louis had never seen him so miserable, so wretched.
"Don't be sorry, please." He was still just as awful at comforting people, but it worked somehow, with his pheromones mixed in with some tactile soothers, Harry's sobs had substantially grown quieter. By then, they had attracted the attention of many people, some of them shooting Harry sympathetic glances while some stared at him with disdain evident in their gaze. His arms stayed looped around Harry, glaring at anyone who so much as even dared to stare Harry's way. By the time Harry's sobs had diluted to sniffles, the omega was halfway into sitting on his lap, face pushed against his chest.
The pregnancy was a faraway thought in his mind, all that mattered at that moment was to not abandon a crestfallen Harry for his own selfishness again, and he tried, he tried with every fiber of his body, combated against the urge to leave all this behind and run away to let his thoughts loose. He did succeed to an extent, he stayed there, murmuring sweet reassurances that sounded alien to his own ears, pressing down decorous little kisses on top of Harry's head.
In the end, it was worth it, he concluded. Seeing Harry look up at him with wet and clumpy eyelashes, rubicund cheeks, he was glad he had been there to help him through a meltdown, rather than running away like a coward and having a stranger take care of the omega in such a vulnerable state. "I am sorry for embarrassing you," Harry mumbled, shuffling to the edge of his seat, wiping his cheeks with the back of his hands. "Y-You didn't, uh, I mean, you didn't embarrass me, and even if you would've, I wouldn't have minded." It brought out a sliver of a smile on Harry's features, and truthfully, it was as relieving as a shy glimpse of sun in the harsh winters.
"I know you don't like babies and—"
"Can we talk about this after a while? I don't think I am in the right headspace right now, and I don't want to ruin things or mess up again." All he received was a hesitant nod, and as much as he tried to ignore it, Harry's dejected frown was a constant shining star burning at the fore of his mind. He was doing the right thing, he told himself as they left the restaurant. It wasn't a matter of not being in the right headspace, though, more of avoiding his problems for as long as he could for the sake of stability. A few weeks ago, he wasn't even ready for commitment, and fuck, now the added responsibility of a child? They certainly skipped many phases of a normal relationship.
How was he supposed to give love and care to a newborn when he couldn't even bring himself to express his sentiments for Harry openly? Didn't kids cry all the time? He had barely gotten around to sticking with Harry while he cried. How was he supposed to be a paternal figure for someone when he hadn't encountered or witnessed one in his whole life? It was a lot to ponder over, and he had very limited time on his hands.
