Animal

32

Harry raises his head and Louis releases a deeply disappointed sigh from his chest. It wasn't the forensic investigator or any other official who said Harry didn't solve the puzzle, but it was the man himself sitting beside Louis in a dodgy leather chair.

"No?" Granger raises a thin eyebrow, a smug look filling his lips.

Louis keeps his head down. His chest is too heavy with sadness for this, to look up at all these new faces. At Harry, who he had - and still has - full faith in but won't be seeing for who knows how long. He's torn up inside, and rubbing his lovely baby bump only soothes some of that pain.

"No, because you gave me the wrong code." Harry clarifies, voice like when someone remarkably important is in the centre of the room.

Greene has lost his literal green shade and, like many others, is giving Granger a very sour look.

The head of this police department clears his throat. "What proof do you have of that?"

"In every puzzle produced by NASA, there's a six-digit code imprinted into it. Simple really, the first two is the sum of the area code their headquarters are. Thirty-two. The next three is a multiple of the Pentagon's least favourite number, nine hundred and eleven. The last one always the same, D." Harry explains this approach as if it's the simplest thing that every conceived man and woman must know it. "You gave me H."

Granger forces a tight ad displeased smile of courtesy, but Harry doesn't shake his hand when offered. He extracts the water bottle label from his pocket and opens it up.

"Saydey Francis." He says clearly. "He killed Blancho with a mirror piece and strangled him. It wasn't premeditated, he just didn't get what he wanted from Blancho at the time."

"Which was?"

"Grape jelly."

Everyone clears out to make the arrest - the irony is not lost on a single soul - and Harry waits for them to be gone before going to Louis. The boy is biting his lip and looking at a pen that's the least fascinating of its kind, sucking in a sharp breath when Harry kneels before him carefully.

"Hi, darling." Harry wants to fish out what has gotten Louis so empty inside.

"H-Hey." Louis swallows and smiles wryly at their constant method of greeting before speaking. "I'm uh....I'm sorry. I just-"

Harry stops him with a shake of his head and sudden haul into his arms. He goes without protest and wraps his shivering arms around the man's neck. His breathing slows drastically, along with his heartbeat as Harry's embrace settles over him.

"Baby, oh darling love." Harry rubs Louis' back and holds him daringly close to his chest, allowing the boy to hide in his neck and let the feeling of security settle in. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Daddy." Louis holds onto Harry's neck with his smaller hand, pressing circles into the tough from muscle flesh.

Harry presses kisses to Louis' neck and shoulder, letting the scruff of his developing stubble scratch Louis' skin in those places. He inhales the friendly scent that lingered wherever Louis went, and even for him it was difficult to contain the emotion he felt.

"Let's go home, dear love." Harry cups the side of Louis' face, daring to kiss Louis' lips delicately.

Thirty minutes later, Harry is given his tracker and he doesn't even wince when the unreasonably large needle goes in his arm. Louis sits by his side, sweater drawn over his bump to keep it concealed and protected from the cold.

Niall and Zayn walk through the Bureau's front glass doors in a hustle, the former with a very worried look and the latter with indifference although his concern shines below his skin. Louis gets up from his seat and goes to them, hugging Niall fiercely around his middle.