Bonded

Chapter Twelve

Harry pulled at his clothes as he tried not to eavesdrop on the Elite's conversation. He supposed it wasn't private since he wasn't asked to leave but it seemed rude nonetheless.

He ran a hand over his extremely short hair, grateful for once, that Daniel made him get it cut. With it this sort he easily looked clean cut and put together, which would make the best impression. Plus bodyguards always seemed to have really short hair in the movies, so he at least already looked the part.

His hands shook as he wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. It was barely even an hour into his workday and already his nerves were shot. So much had happened in a short amount of time and yet he still had to meet someone else. He felt like he could sleep for hours if he were to lay down and yet despite his shaking hands, a large part of him didn't want to step back and hide. Rather, he was excited. Normally, meeting someone new would cause him to panic but right now Harry just really hoped that Louis would like and approve of him.

He had no idea why he felt this way either. Maybe he worried so much that morning that his body had no worry left. Maybe it was because he felt safe in this room, with the Elite's blanketing presence. Maybe because he eagerly anticipated his partners positive reactions to this temporary promotion. But the most likely reason was because Mr. Wilson mentioned a potential friendship. Harry never had any real friends growing up. He had people who he was friendly with, in school and work, but he was never invited to anything outside of forced gatherings. Harry never quite understood why and so he was never able to change anything, but he always had hope that one day it would be different. It was what made bonding to Isaac so special. Isaac was the only person to go out with him for fun. But dating was different from friendship, and Harry really wanted to experience friends.

He knew it probably wouldn't end up any different then his previous friendships but at least there was a glimmer of hope. And even if it they didn't end up as friends Harry was excited to get to pretend for a week and find out what it was like to hang out.

Suddenly, the office door flew opened with a loud bang, causing Harry to nearly jump out of his skin. Someone, presumably Louis, rushed in and ran, straight towards his partner. James Wilson calmly stood as Louis came, clearly having seen this behaviour before and wrapped him in a hug.

"You don't have to be nervous," James leaned over Louis as he lovingly spoke to him. "Just remember what we talked about and be yourself, that's all you need to do." Louis hid his face in James' chest as he nodded his reply.

Harry's eyes went big as he starred at the ground. It sounded like Louis was maybe afraid of meeting him. Harry was used to being the one nervous and afraid but it was a new, uncomfortable experience to be the one causing it. At the end of the day though, he was a B and Louis was an O, so it made sense, even if it didn't feel good.

"Come now, let's have you two meet." James said as he turned Louis around and guided him closer to Harry.

Harry and Louis looked at each other. Harry was surprised at how easy eye contact with Louis was, and Louis, likewise, didn't show an ounce of discomfort on his face. It was almost like they stood on equal ground with no intimidation been the two.

Louis was about the same height as Harry, with chin length dirty blonde hair that he had half up in a ponytail. He wore a three quarter sleeve bright green shirt with light coloured jean capris. To top it off he had on light pink shoes, and on one wrist he had about three inches of random braided bracelets. He looked so bright and cheerful, standing infront of James with an excited smile on his face.

"Hi, I'm Louis," he said, extending his hand. "I'm really excited and I think we'll have a lot of fun!"

His current cheerfulness was a stark contrast to his behaviour when he arrived. Maybe he only needed a little reassurance from his partner to feel safe. Harry raised his hand up to shake but didn't grab onto Louis, afraid of making him nervous again. "H-harry," he replied.