Truebonds (Larry Stylinson)

Epilogue

Twelve months later...

Familiar voices filter through the house from the back garden as Harry sets down his suitcase and kicks off his boots. He's been away for the last week at a scenters workshop in Hawaii and exhausted from the long flight, so he's relieved that it will be his last trip for a while. He loves his work, even though it's a big change from what he did previously, no longer actively operating as a scenter, instead helping scenters-in-training as well researching and developing new methods with his pilot study.

He works mainly from home now, Louis' office and adjoining den easily converted into a shared office space for them both, but there are still times when he needs to be away, albeit reluctantly, so he's glad to be back home at Maple Grove.

Harry makes his way through the house, spotting Niall, Liam and Zayn through the back doors to the garden. They're sitting around the fire pit as is the norm most evenings, talking about their days and planning for the next, the fading light allowing the firelight to dance across their smiling faces.

He's so grateful that Louis has such a wonderful extended family around him and it's been especially important over the last few months, but Harry is home now, and he won't be going anywhere for a while.

His gaze lands on the back of Louis' head, a gray beanie wedged down tightly to ward off the chill even in the relative warmth of the summer's evening. He always feels the cold, burrowing into Harry—'his personal furnace'—as they sleep and tucking his ice-cube-like feet between Harry's calves.

Zayn and Liam are engrossed in conversation but Niall glances up, spotting Harry as he approaches. Harry brings a finger to his lips to quiet him and Niall grins knowingly.

He creeps up behind Louis and crouches down, laying his hands on Louis' shoulders.

Louis jumps in fright, snapping his head around and looking up. The frown on his face softens briefly before morphing into an adorable pout.

He swats Harry's hands away. "You should know better than to startle someone who is heavily pregnant, you dick. My bladder isn't exactly a safe bet at this point," he grumbles, but there's no heat behind it.

Harry smirks and stands up. "Awwwww... sorry, babe."

"You're not the least bit sorry," Louis counters petulantly and crosses his arms over his chest, which is somewhat of a challenge and they come to rest atop his rounded belly instead.

They'd been right that the medication Louis had been on his whole life to suppress his heats had, in fact, prevented Louis falling pregnant during their first heat and rut which had been triggered by their truebond match. But as they'd sorted out their new joined lives, it had become crystal clear that neither of them actually wanted to wait to start a family.

It had brought forward some conversations and decisions around their work and living arrangements of course, though they'd happily found they were on the same page with it all, wanting nothing more than to settle down and revel in their newfound life as truebonds and parents.

Three months later when their second heat and rut had started they were fully prepared. With the medication out of Louis' system completely, they went into it knowing that parenthood could be on the very near horizon. Much to their shared delight, Louis came out of heat knocked up with their first pup.

Louis is now due in less than a month and is in full nesting mode, preparing the spot under the window in their bedroom for the labor and delivery. Meredith, a lovely beta doula from town is on call for the birth and the excitement is building in the lead-up to the momentous day when they will welcome their pup into the world.

"Hey guys," Harry greets as he steps down into the pit and takes a seat next to Louis.

"Hey, Haz," Niall says and twists the top off a fresh beer, handing it over to Harry.

"How was your flight?" Zayn asks as Harry slides his arm along the back of the seat behind Louis.

"Long. Glad to be home."

"Hawaii, yeah?" Liam inquires and Harry nods as he takes a swig of his beer. "Last trip?"

"Yes," Louis answers for him. "He's going to wait on me hand and foot until this pup is born."

"And for the foreseeable future after that too," Harry adds for clarification.

"Too fucking right," Louis agrees and tilts his head to the side to look up at Harry. His features soften and a small smile creeps onto his face as soon as they make eye contact. He's incapable of staying grumpy with Harry for long under normal circumstances let alone when he has hormones rampaging around his body. Besides, his irritation was all an act if the calm and welcoming scent he's emitting is anything to go by.

Harry moves his hand onto Louis' shoulder, earning a narrow-eyed glare, but Louis just huffs and shuffles over to mold himself to Harry's side.

Harry kisses him on top of the head. "Missed you."

"Yeah, I know. Missed you too, you big, dumb alpha," Louis murmurs and burrows in further as Harry pulls him in tighter, smiling to himself.

The others are in the midst of a conversation about the upcoming arrival of a small herd of alpacas and Harry tunes them out for now in favor of focusing on the beautiful omega in his arms.

"How's the nest?"

"It's coming along. Need more of your stinky clothes."

Harry chuckles and feels Louis smile into his chest where he's got his face pressed into the soft material of his t-shirt, inhaling deeply. About a month ago, Louis had ordered him a whole stack of new clothes and told him the washing machine was strictly off limits, instructing him to leave all of his dirty clothes, the sweatier the better, in a separate basket in the corner of their bedroom so he can use them to build the nest.

"I'll be sure to stink some up for you over the next couple of days. Might even go for a run in the morning."

Louis lifts his head, looking up at Harry with a very pleased expression. "You do love me then."

"More than you could ever know."

Harry leans down and seals their lips together, relishing in the taste of his omega, his world, his everything, his truebond.

~~~

Mishayla Rae Styles-Tomlinson entered the world on a crisp fall morning in October, with ten grippy fingers and ten wiggly toes, bright blue eyes and chocolate hair, a cute button nose, and a set of lungs that could wake the dead.

Her parents are still awaiting her secondary gender test results, but no matter if she's an omega like her father, an alpha like her papa, or a beta like her doting uncles, she will grow up surrounded by joy, happiness, and unwavering, unconditional love.

And maybe one day, a metaphorical pigeon will appear outside her window and she'll embark on an adventure of her own making, but she'll always have a home here, with her family, at Maple Grove.