Warning: There is a subplot for a new case starting from this chapter. It will include child abuse and murders. It will not go into too much gory details, but I still want to warn you. If it is something that you can't read, please stop here.

-

Mitch led the briefing come Monday morning, retelling the events that went down at Site Delta after the capture at the other location. Apparently five people had been hired to cause ruckus at the Canadian site to mislead them; lowly street pushers who did it for some quick cash and had no inkling to who they were working for.

“They have been processed and will be doing community service for parole,” Mitch said.

Tomlinson snickered from where he sat at the end of the table, nudging Niall in his side, “I got off pretty easy compared to that.”

“You really did. I don’t think you would look good in orange.”

Harry cut the two of them a side a glance, shaking his head when it was pointedly ignored by the omega.

“Can you imagine? Me, picking garbage? Parole is so not my forte,” Tomlinson gave a dramatic shudder.

“I will send you there right now if you interrupt the meeting again,” Harry warned, waiting for Tomlinson to retaliate before turning back to Mitch. “Who’s going to be on the jury for Diablo’s trial?”

Mitch clicked through the slides, “Only six members have been confirmed as of yet. I’ll email you the list after this. But so far it looks like Diablo will be declared guilty, the public will be furious if it is ruled in his favour.”

“It’s great, actually, that the case is being publicised,” Adeleye said.

Harry nodded in agreement, “Tell me about the body found on Saturday.”

“Diane Alexandra Samuel, reported dead outside her house at seven in the morning by a postman. She had been missing for the last four years, assumed to have run away but the post-mortem revealed she had been under intense physical trauma and abuse,” Mitch said, turning the slides to the murder scene, “Time of death was found to be around midnight on Friday, when she was supposed to turn eighteen.”

Sarah spoke up, “This is the fifth body in the last two months where the victim was murdered right before they turn eighteen and then left outside their houses. All of them had been missing for some years. And it is only now that the case has been given to us.”

“We have to do something about the PD,” Adeleye added, tapping his pen nervously on the table. It was rare for him speak ill of the police as his own mate was a cop, but it spoke lengths of how out of bounds the PD had been acting if even Adeleye felt the need to agree. “They have to start cooperating.”

“I’ll talk to Rowen,” he assured, then addressed Mitch and Sarah, “Get me details on all the victims, talk to their families, find out what they were doing, where they were when they disappeared. Look for similar cases in the past, even if the case is a decade old, bring it to me. Start from the beginning.”

“You are thinking this is bigger than just a few disappearances,” Adeleye noted.

“I came across a few similar cases when I was in training, but my unit commander refused to see the connection. The cases went cold after a while,” he explained, “I have a theory, but I want to look at the families’ statements before I solidify it.”

“We will get right to it,” Sarah nodded, already tapping away on her phone to make the necessary arrangements while Mitch disconnected his laptop.

On the way out of the conference room, Tomlinson stopped by his side, offering a smile – soft and warm and entirely sweet, tapping his finger at the back of Harry’s hand before quickly following after Niall. A blush sat high on top of the omega’s cheeks when he looked over his shoulder, grinning when Harry felt his own face turning red in response.

The weekend had been a mirror of domestication, he couldn’t view it as anything else no matter how hard he tried to convince himself. They had enjoyed the short reprieve from the case, had been comfortable in each other’s presence for a change, no verbal sparring to put a damper on it. When Harry had worked in the study, Tomlinson sat opposite to him and lost himself to the books. The man would find him in whichever corner of the house and strike the oddest conversations, it amazed Harry how different the omega’s mind worked. It was a contrast to his own, but meddled so wonderfully with his thoughts.

They were treading on dangerous waters, of that too, he was aware. A storm was approaching, albeit slowly, but the water was too calm for it to not inevitably surrender itself to the Act of God. It was only a matter of time before the storm turned its ugly head and attempted to drown them.

Harry tried to shake away the melancholic thoughts. They had not repaired what was broken, they never might, but at least they had learnt to adapt, to live, to accept. He would have attempted to fix the cracks had he known what had caused them to break apart in the first place. Kintsugi could only be performed when one knew what pieces went together, and theirs were scattered all around them.

The bickering from the Focus-Area had him leaving the conference room as well, for some reason he already knew that Tomlinson would be at the centre of all the noise, and was proven correct when he saw the omega clutching something to his chest. Niall stood there pouting, and crossed over his chest while Adeleye looked over with a bemused expression.

“What's the matter now?” He asked, approaching them against his better judgement.

Niall looked at him, directing his accusation away from the omega, “Someone keeps leaving chocolate bars in Louis' desk drawer and he never shares them. I mean, I sit right beside him, maybe on some days I would like to get a chocolate, too.”

“I deserve them!” Tomlinson declared.

“Why? All you do is sit still and look pretty,” Niall grumbled.

“Hey!” Tomlinson frowned, “I do my fair share of work around here.”

“Alright, break it off you two,” Harry sighed, shaking his head, “Niall, if you want, I can get you a chocolate.”

The agent stammered, face flushing as Adeleye snickered, “No, thanks, boss. I didn’t mean that.”

“I mean, Louis, you could share,” Adeleye said, clearly on a path opposite to Harry’s.

“No!” The omega glared at the man, “This is mine.” Then, softly, to Niall, “I can share my lunch instead.”

“Okay,” Niall grinned, his mood lifting within a blink of an eye.

Sometimes, Harry wondered if he worked with children and not fully capable adults.

-

A knock at his office door pulled Harry’s attention away from the previous week’s report; the crime rate had significantly dropped over the week. It might have been due to the public exposure of Diablo’s case. There was a certain lull amongst the unlawful, seeing as how at first Tomlinson had dropped from the radar, and now Diablo was in the clutches of the law. Mundane was how the atmosphere could be described, but mundane was good, mundane meant fewer lives were at stake.  The other reason could be the steadily growing chill in the air as the year neared its end; though the death toll usually showed a spike again as the holiday season crawled closer, more tensions, more depression. The fear of loneliness was a universal thing.

“Come in,” he smiled at the omega, inclining his head to the vacant chairs but the man chose to bypass them altogether, walking around the table to lean on it, leg brushing Harry’s thigh. “What can I do for you?”

“Nothing in particular,” Tomlinson shrugged, smirking, “I stopped by to let you know that you’re not sly.”

“What… does that mean?”

“Those chocolate bars that Niall keeps bugging me about, and has a suspicion that I have a stalker? Yeah, you could do a better job at hiding those aren’t from you.”

Harry laughed, “What gave you the impression that I’m behind those?”

“Well, if it’s not you then I might just have a stalker.”

“Or, maybe, you caught the eye of someone from the cleaning crew,” he suggested.

“Oh, that must be it,” the omega nodded in all seriousness, “They might have seen me the one time we had to stay late, then somehow came to know my name, my desk, and that I love Snickers.”

“There you go,” he grinned, “I think it was the blond guy. Adam, was it?”

“I think I’m gonna ask him out.”

“You’re one lucky guy, he seemed like a real catch.”

“You’re an idiot, Styles,” Tomlinson laughed, turning to look at his screen, “Oh, that’s nice. For you, at least.”

“Not good enough for you, Your Highness?”

“I am sailing on a sea with my feet in two boats.”

“Sympathising with your fellow criminals,” Harry noted, catching the omega’s eye, “That sort of raises suspicion.”

“Oh, let it up,” Tomlinson rolled his eyes, “I don’t give a shit about them. Just, if it gets out that I’m helping you guys, I’m royally screwed.”

It was a truth no one had acknowledged out loud. If word was to get out somehow that Tomlinson had been aiding them in the investigations, he could be targeted once he got his freedom. Harry had refused to give voice to the thought, because once freed, he would lose the omega again, would not be able to protect him, would have to spend his life thinking if he would ever hear from him again. And despite what the man insisted, he needed protection. He was strong-willed and cunning, true, but he lacked physical strength.

“You could move faraway, where they wouldn’t be able to find you,” he spoke, hating the way he sounded utterly sombre.

Tomlinson broke the stare, shrugging, “These investigations will take months, I’ve got time to think about that.”

“Right.”

“So… you got some time? I want to practice shooting again.”

“I’m hoping teaching you will not come to bite me in the ass.”

“Only one way to find you,” Tomlinson grinned, putting his computer to sleep and tugging at his arm.

Harry should seriously consider the leeway he was giving to this man, and Tomlinson was aware of that, knew Harry would hardly deny him anything. Dangerous waters indeed.

-

Harry hated that the families of the victims had to retell the incident, had to relive that one day before their child was taken away from them, had to brave through the interviews, had to go through the same guilt over and over again. The what ifs always chewed the most at one’s consciousness, wondering if the situation could have been different, could have been entirely avoided if they had done a few things differently. If they had come home early, if they had not sent their child to those extra classes, if they had told them stay at home that day. The what ifs were vicious.

“They were all omegas,” he said. He had a suspicion that would be the case, but he had hoped he would turn out to be wrong.

“Yes,” Sarah sighed, “Disappeared in their early teens, some five years ago. They all went missing within the span of six months.”

“What of the old cases?”

“There were shockingly quite a lot of cases matching these. Omegas disappearing around the city, all children, all turning up dead a few years later, all cold cases.”

His suspicion grew stronger, his theory solidifying.

“What are you thinking?” Mitch asked. “You’ve made some connection.”

“We are all thinking the same thing,” he pushed his hand through his hair, “This is bad, really bad.”

“Sex trafficking, or sex slaves,” Sarah grit out, her knuckles whitening around the pointer.

“The victims disappear in their early teens, a few years later, they are found dead in front of their houses just before they turn eighteen,” Harry said, laying out the facts. He pinned up the pictures of the very first reported victims, “The year they are murdered, more children go missing in the same pattern.” He pinned the four pictures under the first ones. “The perpetrator discards the victim after their first heat, and replaces them with the next one.”

“Fuck, this is brutal,” Niall whispered under his breath, visibly shaken. The man had a tough skin, but this was something that could rattle anyone.

He worried for a moment about Tomlinson, maybe he should have told him to sit out on this case. This was not a name on the list, this was not in the conditions agreed upon.

“We are dealing with a paedophile and a murderer who has been doing this for past two decades,” Adeleye said, a dour expression on his face, “And who has resurfaced.”

“There will be more reports of children going missing,” Harry said, “We will have a short window to catch the perpetrator. The PD will be ordered to inform us as soon as a report is made, even if the child has been missing for less than twenty-four hours.”

“You think the PD will go along with it?” Mitch asked. “They would want to inspect first.”

“They will if they want to keep their jobs.”

“That should be enough incentive,” Adeleye agreed.

“So, we are supposed to wait until a child goes missing?” Niall asked, a bit disturbed.

“That is the only course of action we can opt,” Harry said, not liking it either, “We have absolutely nothing on the perpetrator.”

“Our justice system is a fucking joke,” Niall scoffed, “They give this case to the FBI after twenty years. Seventeen kids went through years of abuse and then died because there is such a massive egotism over who makes a connection and solves the case.”

“Niall, we will catch whoever is behind this,” he promised.

The man nodded, looking down at his hands.

He turned to Mitch and Sarah, “Find if there are any such reports in other cities or states. I don’t believe there will be, but we will cover all the grounds anyway.”

After the meeting, he stopped Tomlinson, his palm curling around the omega’s wrist, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Tomlinson turned to him, closing the distance.

“You will not be working on this case.”

“Why not?”

“It was not agreed in the contract,” he reminded, thumb caressing the back of the man’s hand.

“Is that the only reason?” Tomlinson asked, “Or is it because I’m an omega?”

“It’s because this case will be too much for anyone who hasn’t worked in law enforcement,” he corrected, “And because even we don’t know what kind of monster we are dealing with.”

“I will help—”

“Don’t be stubborn.”

“If you know I’m stubborn then why do you even try to tell me otherwise?” The omega asked, nudging his hand when he stopped the slow caresses. “This—this is scary, and so much worse than anything I’ve ever seen, but I will help however I can.”

Harry tried to come up with a solid argument, but the omega spoke up again. “I will not go anywhere you tell me not to, and I will get better at shooting, just in case. I will be careful, promise.”

“I will think about it.”

Tomlinson smiled, “You are going to agree, aren’t you?”

Harry sighed, hating that it was true, “One of these days I’ve got to say no.”

-

Harry paced in the dining room, phone clutched to his ear, the sound from the TV carrying over from the adjacent room – weather channel running on a low volume.

“Okay,” he spoke into the phone, “I’ll let the others know.”

“Stay safe,” Rowen said.

He returned to the living room, finding Tomlinson curled under a blanket, eyes fixed on the news reporter. He shot a text to his unit before joining Tomlinson on the sofa.

“The weather is predicted to take a turn for the worse,” the omega said, curling further inside his cocoon of the blanket.

“Yeah, it was Rowen. We are supposed to stay indoors for the next few days, any emergencies will be directed to the Fire Stations.”

Snow was a rare occurrence in the month of November, let alone a blizzard. There was a thick layer of snow already blocking the driveway, and it was only supposed to increase in height as the weather worsened. All on-going investigations were put on hold, not that they could continue anyway when the roads were blocked and communication systems were on a risk of going down.

“Want me to increase the heat?” He asked, noticing how the omega kept shivering despite all the layers he was wearing.

The man shrugged, “I’m fine. It’s just the storms… you know.”

“Anything I can do?”

Of course, there was something Harry could do, the question was if it would be appropriate, if they could risk breaching that boundary. When Tomlinson looked at him it was with a timid expression, there was a question of his own sparkling in his eyes, begging to be let out, but eventually he simply shook his head.

“I’m gonna go to bed,” the man said, pulling the blanket close to his body as he stood, unwilling to part with the sense of security it provided.

Harry turned the TV off and sat alone in the room, gazing out the window into the dark night, the winds making the trees bend in half. It was a nightmare outside; living in Washington came with a year-round cloudy season, and the winters were harsh, but they hadn’t had a blizzard in years. Harry couldn’t imagine what the omega was going through, the storms had always been difficult for him to deal with, he wondered how he had managed it in Maryland, or wherever he had lived before that.

He too retired to bed early that evening. Without Tomlinson to keep him company, he found no joy in the thought of spending it alone in the study. A sense of co-dependency had been slowly fostering between them, it was ill-advised to let it grow, but so was denying his instincts. Doing the latter had once put him through much turmoil, he didn’t know if he could survive that again.

-

Harry had always been a light sleeper, but more than that, he had always been attuned to the omega, knowing his needs even before the man himself did at most times. It was that particular trait that shook him out of slumber upon the sound of the first whimper that managed to pass through the walls. The next whimper pulled him out of the bed and sent him stumbling across the room. He crossed the hall and knocked at the door, waiting for a reply.

When none came, he knocked again, calling to the omega, “Hey, you alright?” He was greeted with silence and then another small whimper, his worry increasing with each moment that his question went unanswered. “Can you open the door?” He asked loud enough to be heard over the winds outside.

Again, no reply came forward. He tried the handle to find it unlocked, opening the door by an inch, he said, “I’m coming in, okay?”

He found the silhouette of the man curled under the blankets in a ball, the room shrouded in darkness and the lump of blankets shivering with each loud sound from outside. Resting a knee on the mattress, Harry reached with a hand out, running his fingers through the omega’s hair, “Hey, it’s gonna be alright.”

The shivering stopped for a short second, only to be replaced by a sobbing whimper. It had Harry forgoing all his reservations, he got on the bed, winding his arms around the blankets, his voice a gentle whisper, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m right here. Nothing’s gonna happen.” He kept whispering the sweet nothings, letting go of every moment of sadness and misery and anger he had harboured all these years. His only concern being in regard to soothing the omega.

He remembered the first time the omega had come to him during a particularly vicious storm. It had been when they were in college, only a couple months of knowing each other but they had clicked from the get go, joined at the hip despite the differences in their fields. Inseparable friends, for a long time they had just been that – best friends.

It had been a similar night, the winds and the chaos, but instead of snow it had been rain and thunder. The omega had called him in the middle of the night, on the verge of tears, begging Harry to come to his dorm. Harry had put on a coat, forewent all the warnings to stay indoors and had braved the storm. By the time he had reached the dorm buildings, he had been soaking from head to toe, his boots filled with water, but he had carried forward without a thought, had climbed the pipes to reach the omega’s window.

“Harry…,” Louis fell into his arms, tears streaming down his cheeks, and Harry’s heart clenched painfully.

“Oh, darling, you are freezing,” he kissed the top of the omega’s head, not caring that he himself was shivering.

Louis sniffled, snuggling close to him, nose pressed to his neck. Unwilling to let go of Harry, Louis clung to him for the better part of an hour, whimpers receding with each breath shared between them, with each caress of his fingers through Louis’ hair, with each kiss he pressed to the omega’s forehead.

The radiator managed to dry his clothes, but his feet were still submerged in water, and he should spare it some thought, but he couldn’t manage to divert his attention to anything that wasn’t Louis. They stood in the middle of the omega’s dorm room, holding tight onto each other until Louis seemed to come back to himself.

“You’re soaking, H!” Louis said, eyes wide and guilt-stricken.

“I’m fine, Lou,” he brushed his thumb against the omega’s cheek, only then noticing that his toes had gone numb, “Though, I could use a change of clothes.”

Louis was quick to reach his drawer, still shaking but more concerned about Harry, “There’s hot water, go get in the bath, I’ll leave the clothes outside.”

“Lou, we should talk about you first,” he reminded, getting out of his boots and coat.

“You will be hypothermic by then!” Louis tugged him to the bathroom, “I will be blamed for your death.”

Harry laughed, tugging the omega in his arms, “I will not die. I’m an alpha, remember?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah,” the omega rolled his eyes, relaxing a fraction, “Alphas and their unmatchable body heat.”

“Are you complaining?” He raised his eyebrows, amused. Louis was always cold, and used Harry as his personal space-heater.

“Don’t be smug,” Louis warned, “And get in the bath, I’ll make us some tea.”

“Thanks,” he kissed the omega’s forehead, smiling as Louis blushed, a similar heat rising to his face.

If Harry was any braver, he would have already asked him out, but he had watched as Louis had rejected any and all advances from anyone who tried to ask him out, and Harry couldn’t risk losing his best friend. He would content himself with friendship, if friendship was all he ever got.

After the bath and the tea, they laid in the twin-sized bed, too small for two grown bodies, but they had their arms wrapped around each other, comfortable in the proximity of the other. Louis’ clothes were small on him, stretching over his chest and ending at his shins, and Harry found satisfaction in wearing his scent, smiling fondly when the omega had laughed at how ridiculous he looked.

“What brought this on?” He asked, whispering quietly while Louis massaged his scalp.

“I hate storms,” Louis whispered back, hesitating only for a moment before continuing, “They scare me… a lot.”

“Why?”

Louis sighed, lowering his eyes to Harry’s chest, “It was raining really bad when—the night my parents died. And… at the orphanage…”

“We don’t have to talk about it, Lou,” he said, “Not if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t mind telling you.”

“Okay.”

Louis nodded, shifting so they were laying with the omega’s head on his chest. “In those starting weeks, it stormed a lot at the orphanage, I was always so cold. At—at the first foster home I was sent to, the ceiling of the attic used to leak whenever it rained. They didn’t have anywhere else to put me.”

“Baby,” Harry tightened his arms around the omega, hoping his body was warm enough for both of them, “You don’t have to be alone when you’re scared. I’ll be right here.”

“I don’t—”

“You don’t need any help, I know,” he smiled softly, “You’re strong, Lou, but it’s okay if sometimes that’s not the case. And it’s okay to accept help.”

“I hate these storms, H,” Louis mumbled, tilting his face up to bury it against Harry’s neck, “Thank you for coming.”

Harry tightened his arms around the blankets, bracing himself as he let his lips brush the top of the omega’s head, sighing deeply, “Lou… baby, please look at me.”

He didn’t get an immediate reaction, but eventually the blanket lowered, the omega’s face streaked with tears, eyes swollen.

“Oh, darling,” he whispered, brushing away the offending tears, the skin under his palm freezing cold, “Come here, baby.” He gathered the omega in his arms, covering them with blankets, letting the man snuggle as close as he needed. Cold nose pressing against his neck, fingers clutching the back of his shirt, legs tangling with his own.

They laid there for a long while, no words exchanged as the omega tried to centre himself. Harry kept running his fingers through the soft strands, occasionally hearing a whimper before the omega moved closer to him.

“Harry…”

He almost missed the whisper, so lowly was it spoken.

“…Louis.”

“I hate these storms.”

“I know.”

“I’m scared, H.”

“I’m right here, baby.”

“Tell me—tell me I won’t be left in the cold,” the omega’s voice wobbled, “Tell me…”

“You’re not gonna be left in the cold, Lou,” he assured, pressing his lips to the omega’s forehead, “There is central heat, and you have blankets, and I can get you more. There is hot water, and lots of tea, and—and you also have me.”

Louis sniffled, nodding once, “Okay…”

“You’re not alone, baby. I’m not gonna leave you alone.”

“Thank you, H.”

“What can I get you, baby?”

“I, um—do you—is there hot chocolate?” Louis asked, looking down, cheeks red.

Harry smiled, “Yes. You want me to bring it up here? Or you could come down to the kitchen.”

“I’ll—I’ll go with you.”

Harry wrapped the blanket around Louis before they went downstairs, a sense of warmth until Harry could replace it with his arms again. The omega stuck close to him as he made the drink, looking over his shoulder, leaning against him, holding his free hand whenever he could. Harry felt as if they had transported back to when they were nineteen, when they couldn’t be dared to take their eyes off of each other, disguising it as platonic feelings between friends. Back to twenty-two when they had moved into their apartment and used to despise each moment they weren’t physically touching, so deep in love. Back to twenty-four when their love had been just as deep, if not more, when before leaving for any case Harry would promise to come back unharmed, sealing it with a kiss.

Back to the life when their world had not yet been ripped apart.

“Marshmallows?” He asked.

“Yes, please.”

Back in Louis’ room, the omega ditched the blanket for Harry, curling against his side as he held the drink with both hands, stealing its warmth as well. Harry still had the good sense to lay the blanket over their legs.

“You’re still cold,” he explained, smiling, “Wouldn’t want you get hypothermic.”

Louis let out a small, wet laugh, “I’ll be fine.”

“Drink it before it gets cold,” he said.

The omega took a few sips, sighing in content, laying his head on Harry’s shoulder, “You want some?”

“No, thanks.”

“A little sugar wouldn’t kill you.”

It was good to see Louis back to his usual self. Still, something had significantly shifted between them. Harry was grateful for that shift.

“I prefer not to have sugar before bed.”

“That’s foolishly giving up the small pleasures of life for the pretence of being a sensible adult,” Louis looked at him, a shine in his eyes, “C’mon, just a sip.”

Harry caved in, not that he had tried very hard to resist, “Fine.” He took a small sip, screwing his eyes shut at the amount of sugar Louis had asked for. Clearing his throat, he smiled, aware that it had been more of a grimace, “It’s good.”

“Want some more?”

“God, no,” he shuddered.

Louis laughed, eyes crinkling, and Harry felt his heart stopping at the pure joy on the man’s face.

“More for me, then.”

Harry took the empty mug once Louis was done, placing it on the night-stand and turned off the lamp, “Try to sleep, okay?”

Louis tugged at his sleeve, pulling him close again, “Will you stay?”

“Of course, Lou.”

“Will you—will you stay after I fall asleep?”

He paused before nodding slowly, “If you want me to.”

“I do.”

They settled under thick blankets, facing each other, hands clasped between them. The winds still roared outside but Louis seemed to not pay any attention to it, finally warm.

“Hold me, please,” Louis whispered, turning to face the other side.

Harry couldn’t possibly deny such a simple request asked so softly. He wound his arm around the omega’s middle, pressing against his back, inhaling the scent which beckoned him home. The lighthouse guiding him to safety. The compass to his ship.

-

He balanced the phone between his shoulder and ear, flipping the pieces of bacon on the stove as he listened to the unstoppable stream of sentences over the line.

“... the news is saying your area might lose connection to the cell towers, and there is so much snow. How are they even covering it on the news? I should drive over there before it gets anymore worse. I told you to come here before the weather started turning, but you never listen to me.”

There was a pause for breath before the stream began again, not giving him a chance to speak in between.

“I’m just so worried about you, my little baby-"

“Mum,” he groaned, “Please don’t call me that. And please don’t even think of driving out here, you’ll get trapped in the snow and it will be one more person the Fire Brigades will have to rescue.”

“Harry Edward Styles, I have every right to worry about my child.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he smiled.

“You should have been here two days ago, learn something from Gemma.”

“I could not just leave work, mum.”

“Someday I will have to knock some sense into that boss of yours.”

“If he asks me to return to work before the roads clear, I’ll gladly text you his number,” he assured, “I’m fine, mum, really.”

“Call me every day, okay?”

“Okay.” He looked up as Louis walked in, directing his smile towards the omega. “How are you two doing?”

“It’s not that bad over here, we can leave the house safely,” Anne said. “Do you have enough groceries?”

“Enough to last two weeks. Please stop worrying, mum.”

“Alright, alright. Bye, love.”

“Bye, mum, love you.”

He removed the bacon strips on a napkin to let it soak the extra grease, and turned to Louis, “How did you sleep?”

“Fine,” the omega shrugged, “Better than before. How are they? Anne and Gemma.” A tactic to avoid the topic, Harry let it slide for now.

“It’s snowing heavily over there, too, but it’s not so bad,” he said, pouring a mug of coffee for the man. “Maple syrup or butter?” He asked, pointing to the stack of pancakes.

Louis smiled and shook his head, “You’re being indulgent.”

“Might as well stack up on carbs,” he reasoned.

“Not a single vegetable in sight,” Louis noted, “I think you’re a clone.”

Harry laughed, fixing a plate for Louis, “There’s chocolate syrup, too.”

“Can I have one with each?” The omega asked after a pause.

“That... sounds perfect, actually.”

They carried their plates and the syrups to the counter, sitting close, legs brushing every now and then.

“Do we have to go back to last names?” Louis asked after a few bites, not looking up from his plate.

“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“Me neither,” a smile curved at the omega’s lips, quickly covered by another bite.

“How are you?” He tried again, waiting when Louis refused to respond but offered another shrug. “It’s fine to not be fine.”

“I hate that I still get nightmares,” Louis confessed, voice small, “It—I was fine for a while, the nightmares had stopped. But a few years ago, they started again. Got worse after that whole debacle with Diablo.”

“I know a good psychiatrist, if you think that would help,” he offered.

“Maybe, I’ll think about it.”

Harry nodded, pressing his knee to the omega’s, “And I’m here in case you need anything.”

Louis smiled, pressing back, “Thanks, H.”

It was easy to fall into a routine, to adapt as the nature of their relationship changed. On the nights that Louis had trouble sleeping, Harry would make him a cup of hot chocolate and hold him close, protecting him from the memories that haunted his dreams. His heart would sing and ache simultaneously, but if this was all he ever got, he would learn to be grateful. He wouldn’t be able to survive separation a second time.

-

The Night Bomber, or Fission, as the man had self-titled, was caught at the end of November. He had been communicating through a proxy server under a false identity, but his interactions had been intercepted when he was contacting over a Russian server. How they had been intercepted was something they were still finding a way around to explain.

It was a software that Louis had designed, but it breached the privacy of every citizen on multitudes of levels. They could not possibly let the public know; the outcry would be uncontrollable.

“Good job, Lou,” he whispered coming up behind the omega in the shower rooms of the FBI, squeezing Louis’ shoulders, “That was amazing.”

“How are you gonna explain the invasion of privacy?” Louis asked, tugging at the safety vest and then dropping his arms to let Harry do it. Most of the agents had left by that time. Louis had chosen to wait for him while he had briefed Rowen on the arrest.

“We’ll find a way, we always do.”

“Oh, so, it’s not a crime when you do it?” Louis teased, pulling out his towel and spare clothes.

“No,” he smiled, “Thank you for staying safely at the back.”

The omega shrugged, “I didn’t want you to get mad again. As cute as you look while pouting, I’d rather not get you in trouble again.”

“I look cute, huh?” Harry smirked, “I distinctly remember you saying I look stupid.”

“That’s because you’re an idiot, Styles,” Louis laughed, carrying his things to the shower stall, shutting the door.

“Back to last names, are we?” He called, stepping into the next stall.

“We are when you say stupid things,” Louis said, turning the shower on, “And stop talking now.”

Louis was still in the shower when Harry stepped out to pull his clothes on. If the omega was given the option, he would stay in the shower until all the warm water ran out.

Niall walked in with sparkling eyes, looking as if he had won the lottery.

“How may I help you, Agent Horan?”

“I found a way that we can legalise the software Louis made, it will need only a few little tweaks, and I talked to Rowen already. He is willing to pay a huge some to buy the patent from Louis, we could really use it.”

“That’s good. You can talk to him when he gets out of the shower,” he said, zipping his duffle bag and folding Louis’ scattered clothes as well.

“Well, you see,” Niall hesitated, “Rowen thinks it would be better if you warm him up to the idea, convince him to sell.”

“My involvement will only annoy him. Don’t you think it would be better if Rowen gives him credit for his work and offers to buy the patent himself?” He raised his eyebrows. He would not let Rowen use his relationship to Louis for anymore purpose than he already was, and he certainly wouldn’t let his boss discredit Louis.

“Yeah, I said the same thing,” Niall sighed.

He patted the man’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, I’ll talk some sense into Rowen.”

“What are you two whispering about in the corner?” Louis asked, tugging on his jeans, using the towel around his shoulders to dry his hair.

Harry watched the scene unfold, everything moving in fractions of a second; watched as the omega realised his mistake a second too late, shoulders stiffening, his whole body freezing. Watched as Niall’s eyes widened, as the man moved close to the omega, watched as Louis tried to find his shirt.

“Lou, did you hook up with someone?” Niall asked with a wide grin, “Was it Jeremy from Cyber? He has been crazy about you.”

Not important, he reminded his alpha as a growl threatened to rise at the mention of another alpha’s name.

“I—no—fuck, where is—?”

“Oh,” Niall gasped, eyes zeroing in on the omega’s shoulder, the mark engraved deep into his skin, past the blood vessels and the muscles, etched into his scent gland, “You are mated.”