Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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"Don't let go of the trolley, yeah?"

The boy nods, giving his dad a toothy smile.
Harry only stares at him, remembering his history of screaming through the lanes of the supermarket to find his son.

"I'm very serious, Andrew. If you leave my side, I will go home without you."

The boy- Andrew Styles- huffs. He got his stubborn streak from his father, that little alpha.
"But daddy, I saw a pretty girl!" And his love for omegas might be inherited too. What can he say, Harry has always been a romantic, willing to try any chance at love to find 'the one'.

"Running after pretty girls is not going to get you home, darling. So you better hold on tight."

Pouting, Andrew does what he is told.

After thirty minutes of putting random stuff into the trolley- and giggling when his father finds out- the duo finally moves to the checkout counter.

Peering around, Andrew finds a man standing beside him, waiting in the checkout line too. He looks up, staring at the man's face. Tugging at his trousers, Andrew calls for him.

The man looks down with a furrow between his eyebrows, his blue eyes softening at the sight of the little alpha.
"Hello?"

"Hi! I'm Andy." The enthusiasm is infectious and it lightens the weight on the man's lips too.

"Hello Andy, I'm Louis." Louis gives him a little wave in greeting.

The boy giggles, cheeks flushing, but he peers up at Louis again. "You very pretty."

The man chuckles at that, crouching down a little to talk to the little alpha. "Thank you, love. You've just made my day by saying that. You are very handsome too."

Grinning without inhibition, Andrew preens under Louis's attention. "Daddy say, you always tell people they pretty."

Humming, Louis nods. "Your daddy is very right. But you've also got to be careful of strangers."

Pouting, Andrew points to his other hand that is tightly holding onto the trolley's basket. "I did not run to talk to pretty Louis." That makes Louis let out a full blown laugh.

It attracts Harry's attention from his ongoing call and his eyes widen at the scene. Seems like his little alpha will always find ways to talk to strangers. Harry is tired of giving him the 'stranger danger' talk at least five times a week.

"What do we have here?" He peers down to see his boy blushing, giggling while talking to an omega.

"Daddy! This is pretty Louis!" Harry raises an eyebrow at that, looking at the omega's face for the first time.

Pretty describes him alright. He's gorgeous. His electric blue eyes are as deep as words, as beautiful as storms.

The omega- Louis- offers him a small smile before Andrew speaks up again, apparently trying to whisper. "I'm asking him on date, daddy!"

That pulls Harry out of his zone pretty quick. But Louis's laugh tells him it's all his son's doing and thankfully Louis is not a pedophile or something.

Moon no, he's too painfully pretty to be a bad human. The omega glows when he laughs. His inner alpha is in agreement.

Shaking his head, Harry holds his laugh back in. "I mean... While I agree with you that pretty Louis is very pretty, I'd rather you go on dates with people your age."

Pouting, he makes doe eyes at his father and then at Louis. "But Louis is prettiest."

"Your daddy is right, you know." Louis melts at the cute boy. Moon, this little alpha is giving him a baby fever. "I'm sure there's someone out there prettier than me, who will love to go out with such a handsome boy like you."

His green eyes brighten up. "Really?"

Louis moves forward with the trolley.
"Oh yeah. I mean- those curls and you've got such beautiful eyes, little lad. And you called me pretty. You're the whole package." The boy preens under the omega's attention, blushing. "Do you go to school?"

He nods enthusiastically, "I'm in KG!"

His dad urges him to move forward too- the boy is too busy making conversation. Harry is endlessly amused, watching Andy crush over this omega so hard.

He's not wrong though, the omega is beyond pretty. Dang it! His boy made his shot before Harry could!

Smiling, Louis tells his boy, "I'm sure you must have plenty of pretty classmates last year."

"Yeah, Sarah is very pretty." If that is possible, Andrew blushes harder. "She has black hair an- an' she kissed me here." He pokes his dimple, jumping up and down.

"Well look at that, why don't you ask her out on a date?"

Andrew hums in thinking, nodding at his thoughts, but then he frowns, looking up at Louis. "But her daddy is- big and scary."

The adults laugh at that. "So you've met her daddy too?" Harry asks him, smirking while Louis moves further, starting to take out the items from his basket and putting them aside for billing.

Huffing, Andrew glares at nothing in front of him. "I don't like her daddy."

"I mean, it's not his fault-"

Ignoring his father, Andrew turns to Louis. "Pretty Louis," he sings. "Is your daddy big an' scary too?"

"No, lad. I have a mama and she's very lovely."

"Is she pretty like you?" Louis laughs too loud at that. Oh, this will be a good story to tell his mama.

At that, Harry picks his son up, making him look into his eyes. "Alright, alright, maybe tone down on your flirting."

"But daddy, he's so pretty!"

Harry whispers in his ear, "leave someone for your father, will you?"

"You wanna take him for date, too?" Sighing, the alpha knocks their foreheads together gently. There's no way Louis didn't hear that. Might as well shout it from the rooftops.

"I- hey look, it's our turn." They move forward and Andrew 'helps' his father.

"Pretty Louis," he sings again.

"Yes, little darling?" Louis coos at him, handing over his card for payment.

He becomes shy all of a sudden, "can I hug you?"

Looking at his father for confirmation- to which Harry nods- Louis smiles and nods too. "We cannot block the line. How about I give you a little cuddle once you guys are done too?"

Quickly nodding, Andrew pesters his dad to go through the billing faster.
"Andrew, you need to be patient or no hugs from Louis."

Pouting, he frowns but doesn't say anything else. He knows his father never really says 'no' to him. He never even really scolds him for little things- not even when he dropped his daddy's phone in a puddle of water last week!

He patiently waits, making sure Louis is waiting for them with his bags.
"Come on." He almost runs towards the omega, hugging his legs tight.

"Oof!" Louis chuckles, putting his bags down before bending down and pulling the boy into a proper hug.

"You're the loveliest boy I've ever met, Andrew. I was having a bad day and you made it all better. Thank you, little lad."

In return, the little alpha only nuzzles into his neck before finally pulling back.
"Thank you, pretty Louis."

Smiling, Louis looks up to find the father looking at them. "You've got a great boy."

Harry smiles back, gulping down his emotions. "Thank you, it means a lot."

"Well, I should get going, but I loved meeting you." Louis gets up, smiling once again at the little alpha and starts to make his way to his car.

Andrew frowns for a second but then tries to smile. "B-bye, pretty Louis! I love you!"

That makes Louis look back and say, "I love you too, little lad!"

Shaking out of it, Harry picks his boy up, loads the groceries in his car and straps the boy to the car seat.

Moon, you make kids so innocent.

Chapter Text

"It's your first day, be nice to everyone, make friends and don't cause too much of a ruckus, alright?" Harry tucks a stray piece of his curls behind his little ear, kissing on his boy's chubby cheek.

"Yes daddy." Andrew rolls his eyes but giggles and kisses his daddy's cheek before running towards his class.

"Stay in the nursery after your class, I'll pick you up then, okay?" He shouts as a reminder.

He gets a thumbs up in return. It was only yesterday that he was born, Harry reminisces. Nevertheless, he walks back to his car and goes off to his work.

Andrew gasps, "PRETTY LOUIS!" and he runs to hug Louis's legs, throwing him a little off balance.

"Oh- hey, little lad!" Louis runs a hand over his wild curls before the little alpha lets loose.

"What are you doing here?!" He jumps up and down in excitement.

Louis chuckles, "I will teach this class."

Andrew gasps again, smiling a little too wide. "Really?"

"Yes, darling. Are you in this section?"

He nods in reply, elated just to be in the omega's presence. Louis peeks at his ID card to make sure.

"That's lovely. Why don't you go take a seat and when everybody is here, we can start the class."

Begrudgingly- but he does- he pulls away from his favourite omega and sits down beside Sarah.

"That's my pretty Louis!" He tells her as much.

"Did you have fun?" Louis asks everybody and a chorus of 'yes, mister Louis' brings a smile to his face. "That's great. It's almost time to go home, why don't you guys pack your bags. Make sure to pack your things, do not take each other's crayons or pencils." He walks through the rows, looking for anyone who might need help.

Another teacher comes in the class and hands him over a slip with two names. "Alright, Andrew and Maya, you can follow Miss Neva to the nursery."

Andrew shoulders his bag. His dad gets to school a little late from his work so he sometimes has to stay for half an hour or so in the school nursery with other kids in a similar situation.

But he pouts at Louis, tugging at his trousers again. The omega bends down to hear the boy. "Wanna stay wi' you."

"I've got my duty in the nursery today, don't worry darling. I'll drop all your classmates with their parents and I will come to play with you in the nursery, okay?"

"Promise?"

"Ofcourse." He hooks their pinkies together, loving how Andrew brightens up immediately. "Now, be a good boy and go with Miss Neva."

Nodding, Andrew does that much.

"-an'- an' we saw them go up an' boom!"

Louis gasps listening to the kids' stories. "That must look so pretty!"

"Yesh! But you prettier. Even daddy said!" The other kids wierdly agree with Andrew. That definitely makes the older omega blush.

"Well, so are you all. You all are very smart and kind and obviously the prettiest." He says, continuing with the next kid's story.

His job is lovely, the kids are bundles of innocence and cuteness and according to Louis, it's the best job you can get in the adult world. These little beings will keep reminding you of all the good things in the world while everything outside is falling apart- it's a dirty dirty world, you see.

"Louis? Mr. Styles is here for Andrew and Ms. Fields is here for Maya." He nods, calling for the kids. He is in charge of the kids from lower-KG while the other two teachers look after pre-KG and upper-KG.

Both the kids hold his hands while walking out of the room, both trying to run to their parent. "Careful, loves." He reminds them and lets them go.

He watches as Andrew hugs his father- Moon, he's always that handsome, innit? Oh-oh, when did he start lusting over dads?

He watches as Ms. Fields walk towards him and starts introducing herself. Polite parents are always welcomed to talk. So he gets indulged in that, not noticing the Styles duo approaching him.

After Maya waves him goodbye, a familiar voice says, "Hey!"

Louis tries not to swoon over that smile. And the dimples. Moon, the dimples! "Hi, nice to see you again, Mr. Styles."

The alpha blinks at him, scrunching up his nose quickly, before realising. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't introduce myself the other day."

Andrew nods from where he is perched up in his father's arm. "That rude, daddy."

The father gives his son a little stare and rolls his eyes before turning to Louis. "Right, I'm Harry Styles and this is Andrew Styles."

"I already in-tro-duced me, daddy!"

"Alright, alright." He turns back to Louis. "Thank you for taking care of Andy today."

The omega waves it off. "He's a very nice young man."

"See!" The boy huffs at his father.

The father is clearly amused by the sudden politeness radiating from his pup. "That's probably because he is obsessed with you."

"It's pretty Louis!" The boy exclaims as if that explains everything.

"Moon, no one else has ever hyped me up as much as you." Louis tells the boy as much and chuckles when Andrew just lets out a 'huh?' in confusion.
"Well, you're a lovely boy and I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early, yeah?"

Andrew nods, waving at him. "B-bye, Pretty Louis! I love you!"

Louis's heart melts again. "I love you too, little lad. Don't tell anyone, but you might be my favourite." The omega gives him a little wink.

Andrew squeals in joy, giggling, blushing even.

Harry notices the 'I love you's with a little skepticism, but hopes that there is not much depth to it. His boy wears his heart on his sleeve just like his father and it might not be convenient if Andy gets too attached to Louis. It's cute, yes, but there needs to be a limit to it.

For now, Harry lets it go.

"It was a nice surprise." Harry says to Louis, passing him a smile.

"Oh, it was a surprise alright when this little bugger ran and hugged me the first thing in the morning. But really, he's clearly had a very good upbringing so cheers to you for that." Louis winks at Harry and that surely takes the alpha by surprise.

"Uhm- thank you."

"Is that your car?" Louis points to the black Range Rover parked behind them. Harry takes a look and nods.

"Andy, why don't you go get in the car, I have to talk to your daddy for a minute." Andrew pouts but wiggles until Harry puts him down. "No running, alright?" Nodding, the boy starts walking towards the car. Both men watch and Harry unlocks the car with his key.

"I wanted to talk to you about Andrew." They both keep their eyes on Andrew as he opens the door and climbs in. Once that's done, Harry locks the car back again. "He's a very affectionate child. Which is great, you know what I mean, right, I grew up in a very affectionate household meself." Harry nods in his periphery. "But ofcourse, I'm a near stranger to him and he hugs me and tells me 'I love you'. I want to know if that is okay with you as his parent." Louis turns to look at the alpha- why does his side profile have to be so sexy???? And the man's biting his lip??? Like does he plan on killing Louis or what?

Clearing his throat, Harry turns to look at Louis too. "I'm- thank you for asking that, it, um, it's really important to me, actually. Our family is quite affectionate too, so it clearly shows in him. And sometimes I do worry about his safety regarding that, right? He's just a pup, he doesn't know what's good for him, who is good for him. And the worst thing is he doesn't have any idea about good or bad touches. And- I don't mean to offend you or anything- the world is just... not a safe place."

"I understand Mr. Styles. I wouldn't be completely okay if it was my child either."

Harry smiles at him sadly. "I'm okay with him hugging you once in a while, he likes you very much- the day we met you, he wouldn't stop taking about you, you know." He sighs, looking at his pup making wierd faces from the window.

Louis nods.

"But I will be honest, I'm not completely on board with the 'I love you's." Harry wants to explain further- that once, it was alright, but everyday?- but that is as an alpha, not as a parent. He has learnt to distinguish it now. "I'll talk to him about it."

Louis nods again. "Thank you so much for being honest, it's just what I needed. I will be more careful. Now, I have to get going, the kids are waiting. But really, thank you." Louis waves at him, smiling and goes back to his class.

Harry watches the omega walk back inside the school, sighing at the retreating figure.

"Good morning, class. How are you all today?"

Louis starts his class with singing the alphabet. He makes the kids sing the letters out loud and then trace 'C' in their notebooks. Making rounds, he corrects their work, helping them write.

He claps his hands twice to get all their attention. "Alright, let's do a fun activity. Who would like to learn how to spell their name?"

Everyone cheers, talking all at once and Louis grins. He can do something like that everyday.

"Alright, we can do one name everyday. Hm, I think I should pick a name from the bowl?"

Everyone cheers yes! 'The bowl' is basically a glass bowl filled with small chits with each student's name. It makes activities like these easier.

Louis picks one. "Okay, Betty, stand up and slowly say your name. We'll all together try to hear how it sounds, yes? And then slowly we can learn to spell it."

They spend a few minutes trying- it's harder than it seems but they get the hang of it. Each name will take a few days but Louis is sure, by the end of the year, they'll all learn how to spell all their names with no problem.

The bell rings and Louis puts the bowl away, getting started with the math activity.
"Who can count till ten?"

Several hands raise and he makes them count together, they repeat until he is confident everyone is fluent enough. Sure, most of them won't remember it all tomorrow but steady.

"Excellent! Now take out your math workbooks."
He moves around the room, making sure that it's math they are opening, he flips to the page where they start tracing '5'.

"Hi, little lad. How are you doing?" Louis crouches beside his favourite little alpha.

Andrew proudly shows him the number he just traced.

"Very good. Continue filling the whole sheet, yes?"

"Yeah." Apparently Andy is feeling a little shy today.

"Are you feeling alright? Do you want to say something?" Louis asks just to make sure everything is alright. Because the whole class knows, Andy is one ruckus-causing pup.

He nods, eyebrows furrowed. "'M sleepy." The boy also looks flustered.

It worries Louis seeing they all have just had their post-lunch nap. "Andy, I'm going to check your forehead, okay?" The omega tells him so before checking his temperature. He does feel warm.

Running his fingers through the curls, he stands up. "Come on darling, let's take you to the nurse."

The boy whines at that, attaching himself to the omega's leg. Louis bends down again and cuddles him close in hopes that it'll soothe the boy to some extent.

Picking him up, he runs his palm along Andrew's back.
"Is everyone feeling alright?" Everyone hums in affirmation. He still takes a good look at everyone's face to see if they look off. Positive that everyone else is fine, he calls in for a substitute teacher and takes Andrew to the infirmary as soon as she arrives.

"Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling good, hm?" Louis tries to soothe him as the boy lays on the big bed covered in a soft blanket. He whines, moving closer to the omega.

"Shh, I'm here, I'm here, love. And we've called your daddy, he'll be here soon too." The omega keeps softly running his fingers through the boy's hair, murmuring sweet nothings to him.

"Daddy-" the poor boy calls out and Louis tries to calm him.

"He'll be here, pup, he'll be here." Looking around for the nurse, he tells her, "I'll be back in a minute."

Leaving the poor boy like this breaks his heart but he remembers Andrew telling him yesterday that his daddy always scents his handkerchief. So he almost runs to his classroom, gesturing the substitute teacher to continue, and searches for the hanky in the boy's bag. Thankfully he finds it. He carries all the boy's stuff and the hanky back to the infirmary, handing him the cloth immediately.

It's almost miraculous to see how quick it soothes the boy. The little alpha is nuzzling into his hanky, scenting it subconsciously. It brings a smile to his face.

About ten minutes later, the receptionist brings a woman in who rushes to Andrew. Louis makes a quick eye contact with the receptionist and she nods. She must be the mother then. Andy does actually look a lot like her. She is an alpha though... be progressive!

"Um, hello, I'm his class teacher." He introduces himself and she passes him a hurried smile before picking the sleeping boy up and checking his forehead.

"What happened?" She asks him.

That gets him into the teacher mode. "He was fine when he came in the mornin'. He was a bit shy today, which is not usual so I checked in with him and he said he felt sleepy. Turned out to be a fever." She nods, swaying the boy in her arms instead.

"Did you give him anything for it?"

"We gave him ibuprofen half an hour ago so the fever should be breaking anytime now."

She nods. Taking his bag in the other hand she starts to leave. Louis catches up with her and hands her the hanky.

Taking a deep breath, she stops for a second and smiles at him. "Thank you for taking care of him."

"Ofcourse. He is my responsibility when he is in this building. Besides, he is my favourite." He whispers the last part conspiratorially, happy that it loosened a little of her tension.

"He tends to have that effect." The woman looks at the boy lovingly, kissing his head as it lays on her shoulder. "My poor baby."

"I hope he feels better soon."

"Thank you." With that, the woman signs in the register- proof that she is registered in contacts and is taking the child- and leaves.

Louis really hopes the boy feels better.

Chapter Text

Andrew doesn't come to school for the next four days and everyone asks Louis about him. Much to his- as well as the other students'- dismay he has no news of the little boy he has come to adore.

"Hi!" Louis rushes to greet Andy as his father brings him to the classroom door. "How are you, little lad? We've all missed you so much."

Andrew shies away a little but grins nonetheless, preening under Louis's attention.

"Hiii Pretty Louis." He greets him, stepping forward to hug him. Louis looks up at Harry for permission and Harry gives it away, smiling. And boy, does that hug feel good.

"I hope you're all better now, because I have a very fun game for today."

Nodding enthusiastically, Andrew answers, "I better. Daddy gave this many cuddles!" The adorable boy stretched his hands out to show how many.

"That's amazing!" Louis smiles at him and asks him to go get seated before he turns to Harry. "How is he?"

"He's much better now. It turned out to be a viral. Thank you for taking care of him."

Louis waves it off.
"It's my responsibility and he is my favourite, so really it's nothing."

"Still. Thank you for giving him the hanky."

The omega waves it off too. "It was a lovely coincidence that he was showing it off to me just the day before. He only settled after he got the hanky, so really it's a brilliant thing to do on your part. I'm going to advice it to every parent."

Harry actually blushes at that. Yes, maybe it was a great idea but no one's ever praised him for it. He clears his throat. "Um, I actually had to hand you his medication." He takes a little pouch out of his pocket and hands it to Louis. "Can you give it to him after he has lunch? I'd prefer he takes his nap after the med."

Nodding, Louis replies, "ofcourse."

"And I had a request." The omega nods for him to go ahead. "It also has my number in case he gets unwell. Will you please update me once or twice on how he's doing?"

Louis smiles at him gently. "Don't worry Mr. Styles, you will be updated. Kids get virals and flu all the time, he will be fine."

Biting his lip in contemplation, the alpha finally nods. "Thank you again." Louis settles him with a stare. That makes Harry chuckle. "Andy?" He calls out and the pup comes running. "I'm leaving, but the moment you start feeling warm or sleepy, you tell Mr. Louis. Okay?" Andrew nods. "If you want to talk to me, you can ask Mr. Louis for that too. Okay?"

Andrew rolls his eyes and nods again.
"Yes daddy. And it's 'Pretty Louis'."

Louis is a hundred percent sure that Andrew is a hundred percent back to normal.

Harry huffs, shaking his head at his boy's antics. "C'mere, give me a hug." Harry engulfs his son in a hug, pressing his lips to the boy's forehead. "I love you, baby. Take care of yourself, yes?"

"I love you too, daddy."

"Alright now, off you go."

"Pretty Louis." The little alpha blinks his eyes up at the omega, singing.

"Yes, little lad?" Louis coos back, still not tired of the sweet way of catching his attention. He doesn't think he will ever be over it.

The whole day was thankfully uneventful. At the intervals, Louis updated Harry. Andrew did great, causing ruckus like he was never sick at all. Now, they're the only ones left, once again waiting for Harry to pick him up.

"Aun'ie Gemmy say pretty Louis take care of me." That takes Louis's attention.

"Who?"

"Aun'ie Gemma. She has brown hair an' she very tall." The boy gestures while describing the woman. "Not tall as daddy, but very tall." He nods his little head decisively.

"Oh, she picked you up from school, yes?" Say yes, say yes, say yes.

"Yes! Aun'ie Gemmy. She- she the best aun'ie!"

Louis nods, invested in what Andy has to say. "From what I could see, she loves you a whole lot of bunch."

"Yes! She loves me an' I love her."

Smiling, Louis encourages him. "That's a very good thing. I love my family too."

He loves the way those green eyes sparkle and the boys toothy grin makes an appearance. His crates for dimples don't hurt Louis's eyes either. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. I have a lot of siblings."

"Sib-ing?" Moon, why does this little boy keep giving him baby fever? He doesn't even have an alpha who could fill him up with pups.

"Brothers and sisters are called sib-lings. I have four sisters." He whispers theatrically.

Andrew gasps. "So much!"

Louis laughs. "Yes, but I love them all very much. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Andrew shakes his head. "No. Daddy say we best du- du?"

As fluent as Louis is in baby talk, he can't really comprehend what Andy wants to say. Andrew frowns, not being able to express himself.

"It's okay, darling. You can ask your daddy what you want to say and you can always tell it to me tomorrow, yes?"

Begrudgingly, the little alpha agrees.
"Daddy say it's daddy and me. Forever! And he pinky promise me!" The boy tells him proudly.

Louis is visibly a little taken aback by that, not that the boy notices. He is too busy telling him all the adventures he and his dad got up to while he was sick.

Apparently Andrew doesn't have a mama or the mother is not involved. Either way, Louis feels for him because he understands. He grew up with one parent who undeniably compensated for more than enough love, but he feels it sometimes.

The good thing he has learnt though is, one happy, loving, caring parent is better than two who can't care for you properly.

"Pretty Louis!" The boy tugs at his sleeve, frowning.

Blinking out of his haze, Louis looks at the boy. "Sorry, love. Got distracted there for a second."

Humming, Andrew lets it go. "Daddy like you."

Now that is news.

"What?" The omega blinks at the yawning boy, dumbfounded.

"Daddy like you 'cause- 'cause you pretty an' you take care of me."

Oh. His tummy does somersaults at the confession and he is sure his cheeks are starting to turn pink. "Your daddy said that?"

Giggling, Andy nods. "He was- he was telling aun'ie you very pretty. An' aun'ie say yes!"

Oh Moon, he's proper blushing. He can feel his cheeks burn. Two (very sexy) alphas think he is pretty?!! The teenage him would die. Forget that, 'right now' him is dying.

They're much older than him though, he reminds himself. And he teaches this alpha's son! What is he thinking?!

"Louis?" The receptionist comes looking for him, startling him out of his, uhm, musings. She smiles at them sitting criss-crossed from each other. "His father is here." She beckons the father towards the room.

His curls look as wild as his son's- or the vice-versa he must say- but both of them look very cute.

"Daddy!" The boy gets up and runs into the alpha's arms.

"Hi love." Harry caresses his forehead, pressing his lips to the hairline. "How are you? You were feeling okay the whole time, yes?"

"Yes daddy! Pretty Lou get me a yucky med."

Harry chuckles at that, nodding. "Good. It's important for you to get better and come to school."

Thinking for sometime, Andy agrees.

Harry chuckles at his boy and then looks at Louis and says, "you've got these little buggers all wrapped 'round your finger. I talked to the other parents too, the kids love coming to your class."

Blushing, Louis waves it off. "It's just some activities."

All this time, the boy jumps up and down beside his father. "Daddy! We make a big painting!"

Harry raises his eyebrows, impressed. "Oh yeah, what did you make?"

"Pretty Lou put paint on our hand and we put it on paper!" He demonstrated the way he pressed his tiny hands on the wall, eager to show his dad the interesting activity. "An' an' Pretty Louis's put it on big board!"

"Really?!" Harry indulges him while the little alpha tells him about why he chose the color yellow.

Meanwhile, Louis smiles at the father-son duo, his heart fluttering with the image. The image of Harry with his pup, to be particular. If the omega doesn't look away with his intense stare, he is pretty sure he'd get pregnant just by looking at the alpha interacting with his pup.

And who could even blame him? Moon, this alpha is so beautiful! And him with his pup? Oh, it's his death for sure.

A giggle pulls him out of his haze.
"Pretty Lou!" Andrew walks to his sitting figure, slowly bringing his hand forward to touch Louis's cheek.

Stunned, the omega freezes that way, hyperaware of his red, burning cheeks.

"You so pretty!" The little boy sighs, moving forward to get a cuddle. Andy fits himself into the omega's arms, nuzzling into his chest.

Hesitating for a moment, Louis rubs the little back, letting the boy get his cuddle. "Thank you, love. You're beyond beautiful, Andy."

Louis looks up to see Harry's reaction. He seems to be holding back some words but his eyes soften as they meet the blue ones.
"You've raised a wonderful boy." Louis tells him as much.

Murmuring a thank you, Harry calls for Andy after a minute or two. When there is no response, Louis checks on the boy, letting out a fond breathy chuckle. "He fell asleep."

Green eyes glance up at him before looking back at his boy. "He must be tired, my poor pup." Harry reaches forward and takes the sleeping boy into his arms, ignoring the heat of the omega's hand that burned through him.

Harry doesn't question how his boy fell asleep in those arms, he simply has to accept that his boy feels safe with this beautiful omega. He does wonder how it must be like to be wrapped up in that comfort.

"Um... we should get going, it's getting late." Louis points out and Harry agrees.

They take their respective bags and leave the room.

"How are you going home- I mean, is someone picking you up?" Harry asks, spotting only his car in the driveway.

"Uh... no. I'll walk."

And no, Harry certainly doesn't like that idea. "I can drop you home?"

Louis turns to him in surprise, stuttering, "that's- very kind, but I don't wanna be a bother. Thank you for offering."

"Hey, it's not a bother at all. You stayed back because I was late, it's the least I can do. I insist."

Louis contemplates the offer. He is quite tired. Well, handling twenty energetic kids for the whole week would do that to you. "Alright, but fair warning, I literally live like, five minutes away."

Happy with the answer, Harry walks him to the car, settling Andrew in the carseat while Louis settles in the passenger one.

The black leather engulfs his tiny body and Harry has to physically restrain from licking his lips. Moon, the omega looks absolutely adorable! Plus he is completely surrounded by Harry's strong scent permeating the car.

Shaking his thoughts, Harry gets in, reversing the car.
"Do you walk to school often?"

"Yeah. The weather's nice right now so I don't mind. Plus it gets me out of driving."

"You don't like driving?" Harry quirks his eyebrow, a small smile dancing on his lips, accentuating his dimple.

Slightly blushing, Louis looks to the front, shaking his head. "I'm more of a passenger princess."

"Mhm, I can see you as a passenger princess."

Louis chuckles looking out the window, rolling his eyes at the alpha's words. Only if he had someone to make him his princess. He chances a glance towards Harry, softly sighing. Harry, who thinks Louis is pretty! He could be Harry's passenger princess forever. The view from here is amazing.

Moon, he looks so good. The sunrays illuminate his face perfectly, shining in his sunglasses. His skin shines and it looks like warmth in winter. Louis loves sitting in the sun in winters. Right now, he is going to just soak up this angelic creature in front of him.

"Which way do we go?"

Louis murmurs the directions absentmindedly, forcefully diverting his gaze away from the man.

"Something on your mind?"

"Hm?" The omega turns to look at Harry. "Oh, nothing really." Just you.

Huh. It must be the intoxicating scent that's burying him. Probably also due to his upcoming heat. Whatever it is, this alpha looks so damn good. Louis could eat him.

Harry hums, taking the right turn before glancing at the omega for a second. "Well, if it turns out to be something and you ever wanna talk, you've got my number." The car comes to a stop, stopping right in front of the door to Louis's building.

"Thank you, Harry," he says softly, opening the door and getting out, making sure to shut the door as quietly as he can. "Thank you for the ride too." He smiles before getting inside the building.

Chapter Text

"Pretty Louis!" Andy sings, walking to him during lunch on Monday.

Amused, Louis watches him carefully cross the class to reach his desk, balancing his lunch box in his tiny hands. "Yes, love?"

With his tongue peeking out of his mouth in concentration, he holds the box up.

"Do you want me to open it for you?"

Andrew nods bashfully, hands now held behind his back.

Huffing fondly at the pup's antics, Louis opens his lunchbox, giving it back to the little alpha. "Here you go."

"Thank you, pretty Louis." The wide toothy grin that the boy gives him melts every inch of him.

"You're very welcome, darlin'."

Still grinning, Andrew holds up one chocolate-chip cookie. "I helped daddy to- to make cookies!"

Louis gasps in awe. "Really? That is so amazing, Andy. I used to make cookies with my mama too!"

Giggling, the boy blushes, eye wide. "Really?"

Louis nods, smiling at him "um hm. Is choco chip your favourite?"

"Yeah!"

"They are my favourite too!"

The little alpha squeals in joy, almost jumping on his feet. He presents Louis with one cookie, "For you."

The omega cannot believe how much a pup can make you fall in love with everything around you. "Thank you so much, Andy. You're very kind, pup. But your daddy packed it for you-'

"Noo. Daddy say to give to pretty Louis!"

And Louis just blinks at the pup. He is definitely overthinking, indulging in his daydreams that include one- hot- dad sending his a cookie through his adorable pup.

"Pretty Louis?" He hears the boy worriedly call out for him and breaks out of his haze.

"Sorry, love." He accepts the cookie from the box and smiles at Andy. "Thank you so much, Andy. And thank your daddy for me, yes?"

Taking a bite of the cookie, he lets the chocolate goodness swirl in the mouth, only saving himself from moaning out loud at the last moment. Swallowing down the bite, he grins at the pup who is patiently waiting for Louis's praise.

"Oh wow. They are yummiest cookies I've ever had!" The omega exclaims, quiet enough that it doesn't distract others from their own lunches. "You're a brilliant baker, lad."

"Thank you, Pretty Lou!" He is jumping up and down and the omega reaches out to close his lunchbox so that his food doesn't fall out in all the excitement.

"Better than I could ever make." Louis playfully winks at him, taking another bite.

The little lad giggles, happy, rushing back to his seat to continue eating his food, leaving Louis wondering about his father.

The alpha sent a cookie for him.

HARRY sent a cookie for him.

If it wouldn't scare his students, Louis would probably be squealing.

Shut up! This is his upcoming heat talking.

No, it's not, he sighs, enjoying the last bite of the heavenly cookie.

By the second last hour of the kindergarten timing, Louis is cursing his biology. His heat isn't supposed to come till later this week but here he is, starting to feel his senses sharpening. He has at least a day to go, he is sure. No point in leaving right now.

Suppressing the urge to run to his apartment and curl up in his nest, he continues smiling at the pups in his care, urging them to complete their worksheet.

Gulping down lots of chilled water from his water bottle, he makes rounds around the room, overseeing all the work.

He sees Sarah struggling so he crouches down and clutches her hand over the pencil and helps her write.

"Do you want me to draw more dots, love? Then you can just join them."

When the girl nods, he quickly draws some dots in the figure of '5' and lets her join them.

"It is easier now?"

"Yeah. Thank you, mister Louis." The pup grins up at him and that makes him happy.

"You're very welcome, love. Call for me if you have any more difficulties, yes?" He gently runs his hand over her head in affection, getting up only to be stopped by his favourite boy.

"Yes, love?" He coos at the boy who is pouting up at him.

"Help, pease?" Louis almost cries of fondness at how adorable this little alpha is. At the back of his mind, he wonders if he learnt pouting from his father. Harry definitely looks like the pouting kind. He has the lips for it. Stop.

"Ofcourse, Andy." He crouches down next to the boy's seat, only to find him writing with excellence all on his own. "What do you need help with, pup?"

"Everything!" The boy exclaims, definitely in exaggeration, with his arms flailing and disturbing two other kids on the either side of him.

"But you're writing so wonderfully." The omega turns the page back, looking at all the work complete and corrected. "And all your homework is completed as well."

The boy only pouts harder, looking up at him with his brilliant green eyes. Moon, Louis is not strong enough to withstand these eyes. And this utterly adorable jealousy.

"Alright, alright." He clutches Andrew's hand and helps him write two times before asking him to do it on his own. "Very good. Why don't you complete your worksheet and I'll give you two stickers." He whispers to the pup, giggling when the little alpha nods quickly, getting right back to his work. He gets up, caressing the pup's head before starting to move around.

"Moon, he's giving me baby fever." He mutters to no one, gulping down another mouthful of water.

After he has corrected everyone's work, given them 'stars' or 'good' or even sticker- stickers in Andy's case, the boy wouldn't stop beaming, Moon help Louis- and marked the pages for homework, he distributes their workbooks back to them and lets them play with blocks for sometime. He feels more tired than usual.

The kids are nice, and he is sure if he makes them sing the 'clean up song', they will dutifully put all the toys back in the box so he wouldn't have to clean up after they're gone either.

He does just that when there are ten minutes left for the bell to ring. The pups do not disappoint him, putting every last block in the box- even if there is a little fight over who will toss in the last piece. Adorable.

"How about I put the last piece in and you guys can go pack your bags, hm?" The kids nod, easily agreeing to let their favourite teacher put the last block in and run off pack their bags.

Soon enough the bell rings and in a matter of five minutes, the class is empty.

Sighing, Louis slumps down on one of the small plastic chairs, letting his eyes wander around the empty room aimlessly. He spots a bright yellow something under one of the tables and gets up- with a groan- to inspect it.

Ofcourse that ruckus of an alpha left his hanky here, again. He traces the little embroidery of his name on the corner. Shaking his head, Louis goes to put it in the drawer in his desk only stopping when its scent wanders upto his sensitive nose.

Against his better judgement, he brings the cloth to his nose with shaky hands and inhales deeply. A whimper escapes his mouth as the rich smell of dark chocolate fills up his senses. He can detect an underlying hint of ripe acai that almost makes him purr. Before he can come back to his senses fully, the hanky is securely sitting in his pocket. That is coming home with him and no, he will not give it a second thought.

It's not as if he gave it a first thought either but... whatever.

"Louis..."

The omega grimaces in return, knowing the next words that his colleague wants to say.

"You look... flustered. Perhaps you should head home, love." It's a good thing she is an elderly mother teacher that he is fond of or Louis would have died from embarrassment (and judgement).

Gulping some more cold water, Louis shuts his eyes, leaning his cheek on the cool metal of the waterbottle. His heat wasn't due till the end of the week. Oh no. He can practically feel his neutralisers wearing off. He is positive that the first wave will hit him tonight.

Maybe he should put in his medical leave and go home. Yes. Besides it's almost the end of the day. And Harry has already picked Andy up, on time for once. He doesn't have his duty in the nursery today anyways. And for once he can skip drawing up the teaching plans for tomorrow (which is what he usually does when he doesn't need to stay in the nursery post teaching hours).

Another wave of hot flashes runs across his body and his decision is made. Taking a few deep breaths, he drinks more water and heads off to give his application to the principal. Thankfully, it only takes five minutes or else he doesn't know what would he have done. But at least they will have some time to let Neva know so she can prepare.

He almost runs to his home, grateful for the cool, windy weather for once.

Andrew stands at the door of his classroom the very next morning, staring at Miss Neva who is standing at his Pretty Louis's desk. Frowning, he walks to her.

"Miss Neva?"

The lady looks down, bending to hear the boy out. "Yes, Andrew?"

"Where's Pretty Louis?" He looks around the room, hoping to find his favourite teacher somewhere around.

"Oh, Mr. Louis is on leave."

A second later, the little alpha's lip is wobbling, alarming the young teacher. "He leave?" The boy looks absolutely heartbroken with fat tears shimmering in his wide eyes, ready to fall in a moment.

"No, no. He will come back next week," she hurriedly tells him. "He is just... not well, right now."

The result is not as well as she had hoped for. The boy looks deep in thought but at least the tears are gone and one 'big cry' has been prevented.

"Andrew?"

The boy doesn't hear her out, instead walks to his seat, grumbling to Sarah instead.

"Daddy!" The boy runs to the alpha, hugging his legs at the end of the day.

"Hey," Harry bends down to pull him into a hug, rubbing his back. He can feel the distress rolling off his son and it worries him. "What's wrong, darling?"

Andrew doesn't reply and Harry lets him nuzzle in his neck as his little alpha seeks his comfort. Deliberately, Harry releases calming pheromones, softly swaying the boy. It is only when Andy calms a little, Harry looks up and sees the substitute teacher, Miss Neva, looking at them sympathetically.

Harry nods at her in greeting before looking around for Louis.

"Daddy!" The boy in his arms whines and Harry goes back to shushing him.

"What happened, baby?" He murmurs, lips pressed on top of the boy's head. "What has got you so worked up, hm?" He keeps swaying him, rubbing his back.

"Pretty Louis, he sick, daddy!"

"Louis is sick?!" Harry exclaims, looking at the substitute teacher for any more information.

Nodding, Andrew whines again, hiding his face in his father's neck again. The father keeps rubbing his back- he doesn't know if it is to comfort his pup or himself.

"I hope it is not serious," he says to the teacher while releasing more calming pheromones to shush his pup.

"Oh, no. He will be back next week." Miss Neva tries to pass a smile , it comes out as a grimace. She really wishes Mr. Tomlinson had addressed these pups before he took his leave. Nevertheless, she feels a little better when she sees understanding cross the father's face.

"You hear that, bub?" He murmurs into the boy's blonde hair. "He'll be back in no time at all, nothing to worry about."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Andrew." She looks guilty but it's her job to talk to parents. Sighing, she tries to give a smile- it's been a hard day, sue her- but fails. "He was too, er, upset, to complete his schoolwork today. I think there is more of a chance he will do it along with his homework rather than me forcing him to do it. It's all in the workbook, I've marked it."

Harry looks at how tired she seems. Nodding at her, he tries to make the best out of the situation. "I'll, um, I'll see to it. Thank you. If it keeps up, I'd prefer if you just mark it with the homework, I'll make sure he completes it."

The young teacher looks happy with the conversation, nodding.

Before the boy can whine some more, he thanks the teacher and takes his grouchy baby to the car. He opens the door to the backseat and sits the boy down before getting in himself. The pup climbs into his lap and Harry lets the little alpha nuzzle into his chest.

Worried about his pup being so distraught over the omega's leave, Harry quickly unbuttons three of the top buttons, resting Andy's hands and face on his chest, letting his boy have some skin to skin contact. His inner alpha rumbles lowly, trying to soothe his pup.

"Andy?" The boy lifts his face from his dad's chest, quietened remarkably now. "You remember how you went to auntie Gemma's place for a very long sleepover?"

Pouting, he rubs his eyes. "Yes."

"You remember how daddy was busy."

The little alpha nods. "Aun'ie say you busy."

"Yes, Louis is busy the same way." He runs his fingers through the boy's curls. "He will need a few days and he will be back completely alright."

Sadly, the boy whines, "but why?"

And... Harry did not let himself think about the 'why' till now. The man was on heat leave, that much the alpha understood but the implication is only now making itself known. He tries not to think about the 'why'.

"It-" The alpha clears his throat, resuming, "-happens sometimes. When you grow up you will be busy too." He returns his focus to carding his hand through his pup's curls.

"I am a big boy." His big boy grumbles, nuzzling further into his father's chest.

That brings a smile to Harry's face. "Oof, when you reach daddy's shoulder, maybe then."

Not happy with being defeated, he gnaws at Harry's chest, pressing his teeth over the skin. Harry grunts once but lets him be- his baby is not actually going to bite him, he knows. He himself is actually busy wondering how his boy is so damn attached to Louis.

"Why do you like Louis so much? Apart from the fact that he is very pretty."

At the mention of the omega, his pup perks up, sitting upright. "It's Pretty Louis!" He exclaims, exasperated that his father doesn't understand that simple thing.

Harry refrains from rolling his eyes at the dramatic flair of his child. "Explain it to me, darling."

"He is nice. Very nice. He take care of me. He give good hugs, soft. He smell nice. He play wi' me. He help me write. He never shout. He give me stickers! An' an' stars an' good!" The boy ends with that, seeming much happier after talking about his favourite omega. He slumps against Harry's chest again, only this time happily sighing, "love Pretty Louis."

By now- it's been two months since the start of school, Harry is well aware his boy loves the omega very much. He talked to his mum about it and apparently that's a normal thing? A lot of pups get attached to their mother teachers in kindergarten. He feels a little better with that knowledge though he knows Andy is more than normally attached to Louis.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Harry fears if he is somewhat attached to the omega too.

And so he forgoes everything else his pup ranted and goes, "huh. He smells nice?" He doesn't care being discreet, knowing the boy will think nothing of it. He has never once gotten any hint of the omega's scent. No, Louis is too particular about always wearing neutralisers. Maybe Andy caught a whiff of his scent- being a fan of his hugs and all.

"Yes! Like-" The boy thinks hard, remembering the sweet scent of his teacher. "Like- pie!" He proudly grins at the fact that he could make out the exact scent. Harry is not cruel enough to point out that there are a lot of flavours of pies.

"Apple pie?" He tries.

"No." Andrew frowns at his father, almost as if he was disappointed. "Pie," he says, unable to comprehend how his father doesn't understand. "Pie!"

Seems like Harry will be baking a lot of pies this week.

Chapter Text

"Andy, it's time to get up, pup." Harry picks the boy up, cuddling him for some time, tracing his cute little nose, booping it. He loves his boy so much, he loves their little routine. It lets them spend some time together in the morning, starting their days with so much love and happiness. He presses his lips to Andy's chubby cheek, blowing a raspberry there.

Giggling, the boy wakes up, trying to hide in his father's embrace.

Harry is already dreading the day his pup is too big to hold and too grown up to perfectly hide himself in his daddy's arms.

"Good morning, little darling," he coos, watching the boy slowly open his eyes, trying to hang onto soft sleep and lovely dreams.

"'Monin' daddy." Andy mutters, reaching out to touch his father's cheek and nuzzle into it.

Moon... The father's heart swells with fondness. "I love you so much, baby."

"Love you, daddy." He turns his head, blindly kissing the side of Harry's nose.

Chuckling, the older alpha pecks his nose too, slightly tickling his boy. Shrieking, the little boy tries to get out of Harry's hold, laughing till the father stops.

Giggling, he holds on to his father's face, hugging it. Harry, in turn, kisses his boy's face, hardly stopping to say, "c'mon, brekkie is waiting."

Andy, very used to his daddy's neediness, murmurs, "pancakes, please?"

Harry moves back and stares at his pup. Last night he said he wanted waffles. "You wanted waffles, I've made waffles. I can make pancakes tomorrow."

Pouting, he makes doe eyes at his father. "Waffies wi' choco?"

Harry wonders if his own doe eyes work this well too. Rolling his eyes, he gives in. "With lots of choco."

He puts the boy down, letting him run off to wash his face and hands. "In the kitchen in five minutes or no choco!" He shouts behind the running boy, shaking his head fondly.

"No daddy! Pretty Louis is sick!"

Harry tries to pull the boy from the couch- Moon knows how he ran from the hall to the living room- but Andy isn't ready to move. Also how in the world does his pup have such a good grip?!

The father counters, giving up and sitting beside the boy. "And he will be okay."

Whining, the pup says, "nooo! I want Pretty Louis." He huffs, crossing his tiny arms. Harry is having a hard time controlling himself. He just really wants to take a picture right now. Moon, his little alpha is so cute!

"Hm. So you don't want to go to school?"

"No," he huffs, turning his face away.

"I do not think pretty Louis would like that. He will be so upset that you missed so many fun activities." He can see the boy losing his determination. "Besides, you can always impress him with how many new things you will learn from Miss Neva!"

His tiny arms flail everywhere, with the cutest furrow between his eyes. "But I want my Louis!"

Harry sighs at his stubborn pup. "He will be back next week, you can show him everything Miss Neva will teach you."

"But- but 's no fun!" Andrew's lip wobbles once and Harry can feel the tears brewing.

"Besides, Sarah is still going to be there. She is your bestest friend, isn't she? And if you don't go, she will be so sad." This is his last weapon to lure his child into going to school. Moon knows what Harry will do if this doesn't work. He has house showings lined up for this week. His schedule is jam packed.

Harry thanks all the divine powers when his pup stops protesting and begins contemplating.
"Come on now, we're already late." As they say, strike the iron while it's hot.

Andy, to the father's utter thankfulness, only pouts, easily going into his dad's arms when he is picked up.

Moon, have mercy on him for the next four days.

"Hello, Miss Neva, I'm so sorry-" Harry apologises before she could say a single word. He can already see how tired his pup has made her and it's only the second day.

"It's fine, Mr. Styles." The teacher grimaces.

"Andrew," he sternly calls the boy out, who only whines, hugging his leg tightly.
Giving the woman one last apology, they start moving towards the car.

"Want Pretty Louis, daddy!" The boy stomps his foot.

Harry gets the obsession, he gets it but that doesn't excuse the behaviour. "That does not mean you will trouble your teacher."

Buckling the whiny boy in the carseat, he makes Andrew look into his eyes. "No whining. Louis is on a leave, he will come back. It is not okay to trouble your teacher, no matter who it is. She is putting so much effort into teaching you, it is not fair to her."

"But Louis-" Harry cuts him off with a firm shake of the head.

"You will not trouble Miss Neva. If you don't want to do your work, sit quietly. But I will not tolerate my son bothering and disturbing people who are trying to do their jobs."

His face is as stern as Andrew has ever seen it. His daddy doesn't usually scold him, not like this. Hence the wobbling lip.

"And if you do not want to go to school, you can stay at home forever. No Miss Neva, No Louis! You do not get to choose your teachers." The father raises an eyebrow at him. "Do you understand, Andrew Styles?"

Quietly sniffing, the pup nods his head. "Yes, daddy."

The expression on his boy's face compels the father to ask, "Is she bad to you?" Harry can't make a mistake of not hearing his pup out. He cannot imagine Miss Neva hurting his pup but as a parent, you can never be sure enough, you can never assume. And to his immense relief, Andy shakes his head no.

"Then you can decide if you want to go to school or not," he ends the conversation more gently than before, shutting the door and getting in the driver's seat.

Andrew quietly goes to school everyday with minimal whining. Miss Neva has yet to get him to complete his work in class.

"PRETTY LOUIS!" Andrew screams through the aisles, taking off in the direction where Louis had just turned, leaving his father behind who is on yet another call, picking out vegetables from the freezer.

His tiny body slams against the omega's bare calves, hugging them tight, startling the man, "oh!"

Looking down, Louis finds a little alpha attached to him. Chuckling, he smiles, his eyes crinkling at the ends. "Hi, love," the omega coos at him.
Offering one hand to hold onto, he convinces the boy to let go of his legs, crouching down to talk to him.

And that sets the chatter off. "How are you? Miss Neva say you are sick." Andy pouts, "missed you."

And Moon, Louis melts, he melts all the damn time courtesy of this pup. "Aw love, I'm all better now." The boy leans forward, hugging the omega. Louis hugs him right back. "I missed your lovely cuddles so much."

"Don' leave." The boy cries, hugging the teacher tighter.

Louis hums in contemplation, rubbing the small one's back. "Leave? Andy, I'm not leaving, pup. How could I leave you? You're my favourite boy."

At that, a happy noise leave the boy. He slowly releases the omega and his eyes look up to find another pretty man looming over them.

"Hi." The stranger gives the little alpha a small wave.

Andy's face splits into two with how wide his grin is (not to mention the red on his cheeks). "Hi! I'm Andy."

The stranger smiles at him, cooing, "nice to finally meet you, Andy. I'm Zayn, pretty Louis's friend."

Zayn is pretty well amused when the pup giggles, hiding half his cheek in the still ongoing hug. His green eyes blink up at the friend as he says, "you pretty."

Louis, while quietly watching the exchange, is endlessly amused. He muses rhetorically, "he is pretty, huh."

Snapping his face to his teacher, the pup nods quickly. "Yeah!"

"ANDREW!" Harry's booming voice echoes from the other end of the aisle and Andrew's eyes go wide, trying to hide somewhere. "How many times have I-" Green eyes fall on the two omegas surrounding his pup and everything falls into place. "Oh. Hey."

"Hello Harry," Louis greets him softly with a smile.

Taking the opportunity of his distracted father, the pup pipes in. "Daddy! Pretty Louis is okay now!"

Rolling his eyes, the alpha hums. "See, I told you he'll be fine."

Swiftly ignoring his dad, Andrew turns to the other omega standing near them, introducing him just as excitedly. "This is Pretty Zay!"

Louis tsks. "Huh, I see how it is, he gets a nickname."

"Pretty Lou!" The pup tries to compensate, pouting at his teacher.

Chuckling at his antics, Louis gets up from his position, turning to both the men. "Z, this is Harry Styles, this one's dad. Harry, this is my friend, Zayn."

"Nice to meet you, Harry." Zayn says, nodding at him once.

"Hi." Harry barely greets him before Andrew is tugging on Zayn's trousers and taking all his attention with a 'pretty Zay!!'.

Harry groans internally. Oh, Moon knows what awaits Harry when this boy enters his teenage.

"He ran off without telling you?" Louis asks, evidently worried about the boy.

Harry chuckles tiredly. "I am this close," he pinches his fingers together, "-to getting pup wrist straps and a leash."

Thankfully, the omega only looks amused, unlike some parents who get offended way too quickly over a joke. "I have a feeling he will get out of it one way or another."

Laughing, Harry sighs, "yeah..." He turns to look at his boy only to find Zayn crouched down to Andy's level. "Oh Moon, is he flirting again?"

Louis laughs at the little alpha blushing, flirting with Zayn, while the other omega looks endlessly amused.

"One trip to the supermarket is all I'm asking for." Harry is hiding his embarrassment in his hands. "One trip where he doesn't get lost or doesn't try to flirt with someone four times his age." His heart says otherwise when he hears the omega laugh.

"Your pup is quite something, innit?" Louis looks quite entertained and that sheds off the alpha's leftover shame for his shamelessly flirting pup.

He chuckles, looking at Andrew. "Don't I know it."

"Andy?" Louis calls out.

"Yes?" He grins up at Louis like a perfect little boy who thinks he can get away with anything he wants. Well, to be fair, he mostly does. But only because of his eyes. And his curls. Okay, and his charm.

A four year old should not have this much power.

Louis though, he turns his teacher mode on. "Did you run away from your father again?"

The little alpha pouts, defending himself. "I saw Pretty Lou!"

"You should have told your dad, love. He got worried looking for you."

The pup quietly turns to his father and says, "sorry, daddy."

Louis smiles at him, caressing his curly hair. "That's a good lad. Don't run away from him again." He leans in, mock whispering to the pup. "Though you can always drag him to wherever you want to go."

With a wink, he moves back to find the pup giggling with a beautiful flush on his face. "Okay!"
After a moment, he asks, "Will you be in school tomorrow?"

"Yes, pup, I will be at the school tomorrow morning, bright and early. I hope you have been good for Miss Neva. I'm eager to see what you have learnt from her."

Much to Louis's confusion, the little alpha goes suspiciously quiet.

"Andy."

Harry speaks up when the boy stays quiet, not even meeting his teacher's eyes. "He hasn't even been doing his schoolwork. Miss Neva-"

Running to his father, the pup tries to reach Harry's mouth, trying to shut him up. "Daddy no!" He whines when his father continues to rat him out.

"Oh, you should have thought about it when you were whining about school. He has done no work at all." Harry tells him such, turning back to Louis. "He only went to school for Sarah."

The pup settles down at the change of topic, leaving the father flabbergasted. "To that, he has no objection. Moon!"

The omega chuckles, "clearly he gets that from somebody."

"Hey!" The alpha feels called out but the playful grin on the omega's lips makes it all better.

"Pretty Lou!" The boy interrupts them, clearly suffering through the lack of Louis's attention. Moon, this boy...

Louis, ever accommodating Louis, coos at him, "yes, love?"

"Where is pretty Zay?" The pup asks, looking around, half-frowning at the absence.

"Oh, he must've gone to find Liam."

The pup makes the cutest confused face that Louis has ever seen. "Lim?"

Holding his laugh back in, Louis corrects him. "Li-am, his alpha, my best friend."

"Is Lim big an' scary?" Louis laughs almost too hard. Lim. Oh, poor Liam's never going to live that one down.

Giggling, he tells the pup, "he is big but he is not scary. Not at all. He is an angel really, more of a teddy bear even."

The boy nods to himself, definitely planning to snatch the omega. And... Louis could only incredulously look at Harry. What even is this boy.

Harry himself looks slightly embarrassed, a little mortified too. "I promise this is too much, even by the 'frat boy' me standards."

And Louis can only blink at him. That's... a piece of information to know. Huh.
"Well, that's one way to know I'm not his only one." He pouts dramatically, feeling sooo heartbroken.

At least it gets him a chuckle out of the gorgeous alpha. "He is really attached to you."

"A lot of kids get attached to their mother teachers. It's a great thing, you know, to be loved by so many pups."

The alpha hums, clearly still unconvinced. "'s just- he was very worried for you even though I told him you'd be in school on Monday." Harry sighs, clearly tired. "I get worried for him sometimes."

"It's normal, Harry. Kids grow up, they move to another class, they start loving the new teacher. And eventually they become old enough to not need us that much." Louis turns to look at the boy, still in deep thought.

He shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. "Don't worry, you've got a great pup. He's going to be just fine. Besides, I'd never miss out on seeing my favourite student grow up- er, you know, in case he still remembers his pretty Louis and all..."

With a slightly abashed face, he quickly turns to the pup, hoping Harry would somehow magically forget he ever insinuated anything. "Are you done planning how to steal Zayn from Liam?"

Andrew nods with resolution written all over his face.

"Who is planning to steal my omega from me?"

Louis barely stifles a laugh when the pup's eyes go wide at the deep voice behind him.

"Andrew, this is Liam. I believe you have some words for him?" And just for a second, the little alpha turns around to look at the 'big' alpha he has to supposedly steal from.

Much to everyone's surprise and amusement, the pup scrambles to hide behind Louis's legs, hiding his face.

Louis, on the other hand huffs out a dramatic 'oof', keeping one hand on the boy's head, trying his best to keep his balance.

"Oh, is this your Andy?"

"Yeah." A fond smile makes way to his face at the addressal. He loves this little boy. And he loves the fact that Andrew felt comfortable enough to clutch onto his legs and hide behind him when his father is literally a foot away from them.

"Huh, interesting." Liam has developed a dramatic flair- courtesy of Louis, ofcourse. It amuses Zayn to no end. "First you snatch my best friend, now you want my omega too."

The pup whines, stuffing his face in the back of Louis's knees.

Frowning, the omega gestures Liam to tone down his teasing. Perhaps his little boy isn't in a fiery mood now.

"'S okay, pup. Liam is just teasing you." The father consoles him.

"Harry, this is Liam. Li, this is Harry, this one's dad."

They exchange pleasantries and Liam looks a little guilty for teasing the pup when he wasn't in the mood.

Harry brushes his apology off.
"Andrew, c'mon lad, Liam isn't scary, he was just joking, having a little fun with you."

Liam, like the teddy bear of an alpha he is, crouched down to the boy's height and apologises. "Sorry, Andrew. I didn't mean to scare you. Lou's told me all about how witty and smart you are."

The said boy peeks from behind the omega's legs. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. You are his favourite student afterall."

The boy preens at the praise, still holding onto the omega but visibly more comfortable. "Pretty Lou is favourite."

"Well, you can't have my Zayn but you better snatch Lou before any other alpha does." Liam gives him a playful wink which turns into the fondest smile the moment he sees his mate turn around the aisle.

"Here." Zayn hands Louis a box of Yorkshire tea. He must have gotten a box for himself too, Louis thinks murmuring a thank you, putting the box in his cart. He takes a look at the other omega's cart- it is half full, which means Zayn and Liam are done shopping. They hadn't needed much stuff.

Which, Louis is not even halfway through his list. His apartment is nearly empty after his heat and Moon knows he needs to refill his pantry and fridge.

"Are you guys done?" Louis asks.

Liam looks through their list and nods as his eyes skim down his phone.

Frowning at his own trolley, Louis gnaws at his lip. "It'll take me another half an hour. You guys go ahead, I'll catch a bus or something," he suggests but his friends are having none of it.

"'S fine, babes. We can wait."

"No no." Louis insists, "you've got to leave for Wolverhampton too. No use wasting your time here."

Liam shakes his head decisively. "We're not leaving you here alone with all this stuff." It's obvious and Louis should be used to their 'parenting' by now.

"I can drop you." Harry chimes in the middle of the discussion. "The car's got enough space."

"Harry, it's very kind but you don't have to go out of your way for me. Again." He cannot be Harry's passenger princess again, no can do. Part of Louis thinks that his heat came early just because of that. "I can easily take the bus or simply walk."

"Louis. It's really not a hardship. And your place is literally on our way home." The alpha deapans. It's not news.

"Pretty Lou coming with us?" With big, hopeful, green eyes, his pup looks up at the omega.
Harry shrugs at Louis, secretly happy that his boy has sort of trapped the omega.

Louis gnaws at his lip for a few seconds before giving in. "Alright." What other option does he have and why the hell not?
Plus, Liam and Zayn both look satisfied with the solution.

"Thanks, lad," Zayn thanks Harry for the favour while the alpha just waves it off.

"Take care, Lou. Text us when you reach, yeah?" Liam gives him a side hug, kissing his temple.

"You too. Let me know when you reach, yeah?" Liam nods at the request.

Zayn comes to hug him, murmurs similar goodbyes and kisses his cheek before the couple is moving to pay.

"BYE PRETTY ZAY! BYE LIM!" Andy shouts after them, enthusiastically waving at the moving figures.
In the distance, Louis can hear Zayn's wheeze and Liam's squawk, 'LIM?!' Oh, this boy is so precious, the omega shakes his head fondly.

Shaking it off his mind, he turns to Harry, handsome, kind Harry. "One of these days you'll have to let me repay you somehow."

Handsome, kind Harry, waves it off. "Like I said, really not a hardship. We are going to cross your building on the way home anyhow, right Andy?"

Louis is sure that the boy doesn't understand the roads much, but he does understand that Louis will spend even more time with them. Hence, the jumping, "Yay!"

"Come, we've got to do a lot of shopping." The father beckons him but he warps an arm back around the omega's leg.

"Daddy no. I stay with Pretty Lou," Andrew whines, looking up at the said man, silently pleading him to take his side.

Harry sighs. Moon, it will be difficult getting his boy to understand that he cannot trouble his teacher more than he already has. "Darling, he has his own shopping to do."

"I will be good, peaseyyy."

The alpha can only stare at the whining boy, knowing a tantrum is brewing under all the 'please's. "Andrew," he says firmly.

The pup whimpers, holding on tighter to Louis. His little whimpers are muffled by him stuffing his face behind the omega's knee, rubbing his nose there.

Oh Moon...

Louis snaps his eyes to the alpha, who slowly peels his eyes away from his pup who is actively trying to scent the man.

Clearly, all this is distressing the boy too much. Louis didn't want to intrude upon their dynamic but the boy is holding onto him too trustingly for him to not say anything at all.
So he caresses the boy's golden curls with one hand, trying to soothe him. "Harry, I can take him around if it's okay with you."

The alpha looks truly torn between setting boundaries and letting his boy go. He gulps, looking at Louis. "Are you alright with him trying to scent you?"

"Does he know how to scent yet?"

"He has been learning."

The omega passes him a small smile, looking down at the boy who is still trying to nuzzle into his knees. "I don't mind. I'm surprised he can even smell me through the neutralisers. But if it's alright with you, I can carry him around," he adds softly, letting the boy be.

Suddenly, Louis is reminded of the first day of Andy's school. "Are you okay with all the hugging and scenting?"

It has been months since they last had this conversation, back when Harry had met the teacher only twice. Now that the alpha knows Louis much better- not to forget the little crush he has been harbouring, Gemma never lets him forget- he doesn't mind his little boy treating his teacher a little informally.

"I don't mind but-" the alpha runs his hand through his hair, looking into Louis's eyes, "-it's your day off and I can't unload a whole toddler on you just like that."

That relieves Louis a little. He chuckles, "oh no, he's very well behaved. A little attention seeker but I don't have any complaints." He pushes the boy's loose curls back, happy to see that Andy doesn't seem that distressed anymore.

Harry comes closer and crouches down to talk to his boy- who still has one arm wrapped around Louis's knee, mind you.

It is now that the alpha notices, these are some... interesting knees. Huh. He didn't know knees could be pretty. But it's Louis. So maybe. Anyways.

He clears his head, coming back to what he was saying. "If I let you go around with Louis, you will not run away and no putting random things in his cart."

The little alpha nods quickly. "Okay, daddy. I promise!"

"He can sit in the little buggy," Louis offers.

Andrew looks at the attached little space for toddlers with so much disdain, Louis almost laughs out loud. He is too energetic to sit in the buggy, clearly.

But to both their surprise, the boy agrees- albeit reluctantly. "Okay."

"Hey!" Harry voices his offence, "you never sit in the buggy with me!"

The boy only shrugs, lifting his hands up for Louis to pick him, easily going when the omega lifts him up and sits him down in the cart. He happily dangles his legs, chatting away already.

"I will meet you at the counter in about thirty minutes?" Louis checks with the father who is now standing in front of him.

"Sure. And if he gives you any trouble at all, just give me a call, I'll get him out of your hair."

"Don't worry, Harry. He's a nice boy, aren't you, little lad?" Louis coos at the boy.

Andrew nods with the most innocent face Harry has ever seen on him. Moon...

"Thank you for keeping up with all his... er, quirks?"

"Happily."
Did Harry mention that Louis has an absolutely beautiful smile?

Chapter Text

"Hm, so what is it I heard about you not completing the work that miss Neva gave you?" Louis asks the pup, looking for his cereal.

The pup whines at the topic but answers nonetheless. "Missed pretty Lou." He pouts and looks at his feet dangling from the little trolley.

He frowns, turning to face the boy. "Did she not tell you I was on a leave, love?"

"She say you are sick!" Andy exclaims, getting more upset by the second. "An' an' then daddy say you are busy!"

"I was a little, very tiny bit, sick and yes I was busy as well. But that doesn't mean you will not do your work." The omega moves closer to where Andy is sat and caresses his hair.
"Don't you want to learn so many new letters and numbers, hm?"

He only whines, clutching Louis's t-shirt in one hand. And Louis melts... Moon knows what kind of power this boy has over the omega. He moves closer to the boy, letting him be for the moment. The little pup was worried for him. Oh Moon.

"You were worried for me?" He asks gently, watching Andy prop his chin against Louis's belly.

The pup keeps pouting but nods in lieu of an answer.

The omega is sure his eyes are nothing but wide and open as he coos, "oh darling. I am fine. You don't need to worry about me. Ever." He leans down and boops the pup's tiny nose. He wonders if that is the one feature of his face that he got from his mother. Dismissing that thought, he tells the boy, "you are my favourite boy and I could never leave you."

"But miss Neva say you are sick!"

It takes the omega one second to look at the wobbly lip and he is lifting the pup out of the little buggy and holding him on his left hip. The boy immediately leans into his chest, curling his tiny fist around his collar tightly.

"Pup, I was, but it was only a little fever, just like you got sick, remember? I didn't want to come to school because I didn't want you or anyone else to catch it too." Realistically, the omega knows it's a lie, he couldn't go to the school in his heat but how does he explain that to a four year old? "Now I'm all better."

Andrew whines nuzzling his face in the omega's shoulder. His whines grow louder when there's no scent comforting him.

Worried, Louis shushes him gently. Ultimately, when the pup doesn't feel any better, the omega scratches his own neck lightly, happy when he gets a hold of the neutralizer patch and rips it off his skin.

The effect is immediate! The little alpha takes a deep, deliberate breath, relieved to finally have the homey scent again. Louis watches as Andy nuzzles into his neck, greedily taking lungful of his extra heady scent- being post-heat and all.

Finally, the pup having settled down, Louis changes the subject. "Now, how about we cuddle and you help me shop while you tell me all about what you got up to with your family, hm?"

He feels the boy nod before Andy remembers something and gets all excited, almost screaming into his teacher's ear.
"Daddy an' I make pie!"

"Pie?"

"Yeah! 'Cause pretty Lou smell like pie!"

Huh, interesting.

He chuckles, "pup, I do not smell like pie."

Looking down, he finds wide green eyes staring up at him, his tiny head shaking from side or side, "nuh uh. Like pie!"

Moon, this precious pup. Louis doesn't have the heart to tell the boy that he is confusing between pie and... well, maybe he hasn't yet had a chance to eat it.

"He fell asleep." Louis smiles looking down at the boy sleeping peacefully in his arms. Harry picks up the omega's shopping bags while Louis carries the boy as they walk to the car.

"You could've called me, I would have taken him. You go through so much trouble for him, Lou." The father pouts, and much like his pup, Louis finds it absolutely adorable.

"Don't be silly. Your little pup is no trouble at all." The omega caresses the boy's chubby cheeks with a knuckle. "But I scented him a little. We were talking about school and he got very distressed. Poor boy wouldn't stop whining till he scented me."

He keeps glancing at the alpha to gauge his reaction. Thankfully, Harry didn't seem angry. In his periphery, Louis sees him nod slightly as he puts the bags inside the car trunk.

"Thank you. Let me take him, you must be tired."

Louis waves it off, going to hand the boy over to his father. But the moment he pulls the sleeping pup away from his neck, he whimpers, gripping the omega's t-shirt tighter from where his grip had loosened in his sleep.

"Shh, baby boy." Louis bounces the sleeping figure lightly. "It's just daddy."

Not that he expected any response, he was quite surprised when the pup nuzzles into his neck, deeply inhaling his scent. He settles down immediately.

Gritting his teeth nervously, Louis looks up at the father, trying to gauge his take on the situation.

Harry's face remains impassive, much to the omega's discomfort.

"Harry... I..."

"It's okay," Harry whispers despite seeming unsettled.

Louis tucks the whining boy into the carseat. His heart breaks when he sees the little alpha trying to search for his scent even in his sleep.

How did the boy get this attached to his scent so quickly?

He stands up straight, busy in trying to soothe the pup by caressing his cheek.

"Is there any plush toy on the seat?" Harry asks from behind him.

The omega looks around and leans over to pick the penguin plushy.
Turning back around, he finds Harry with his hand out, so the omega hands the toy to him and lets him handle his pup.

He watches as the alpha scents the toy thoroughly and tucks it in the pup's arms. Andy settles down considerably with his nose buried in the soft wool of the toy.

Both the adults settle themselves in the front seats and there's an awkward silence lingering around ever since Harry tried to take Andrew from Louis.

And Moon, Louis can't take it anymore.

"Harry... I, um, what you said about being worried about him getting too attached to me- er, he is, he clearly is." He fiddles with his hand before rambling again, because he cannot take the awkwardness. "And I don't know how it got to this point because there's a reason I wear neutralisers, right, I just- really don't know how..."

"Louis. You don't-" he cuts himself off with a sigh, starting again. "He is," the father agrees. "But I cannot blame you for taking care of him. He is a pup and pups get attached..."

Harry looks out his window, away from the omega and Louis just doesn't know what words could comfort him.
Moon, he doesn't even know if he should be the one comforting the father.

But then Harry speaks up again, his voice heavy in a way which makes his inner omega whine. "It might be because he doesn't have any omega around. My mum is an omega but she lives a few hours away, not enough contact for, um, for a pup, for him." Gulping his emotions down, the alpha turns to face him. "He loves you, he does. And I don't mind." The alpha tries to smile but fails miserably. "You're great at what you do, you are caring and kind, certainly very kind to my boy. I don't mind that he got attached to you."

"But?" Louis prompts, already feeling overwhelmed. He cannot imagine how Harry must be feeling.

The alpha turns to face him properly. "What about next year, when he doesn't have you around five days a week?"

And Louis can only blink. Because he has no answer to that. He hadn't thought that far. He doesn't think he ever would have if the father hadn't brought it up.

"I can't let my pup go somewhere I can't bring him back from. He is four. He never had a mum. And while I do coddle him, I cannot fill up that space." It physically pains the omega to see Harry struggling with this.

Whatever it must have been, Louis is sure it wasn't this alpha's fault. He loves his pup too much to remove him from his mother at birth.

"What about when he won't find you in his class? Just this week, he hasn't done any work in the class because you weren't around, I'm not blaming you Louis, I just-" Shutting his eyes, Harry rubs his face in an attempt to calm down- and maybe clear his throat so it doesn't hurt to speak.

"What about then?" The alpha whispers.
"It is cruel to let him bond with you only to separate you both. He is a baby. My baby. I cannot do that to him. And your omega is going to hurt too. I cannot do it to you either, Louis."

"Harry..." Reaching forward, Louis's hand stops halfway, unsure of whether or not he should comfort the alpha. His omega is screaming at him to do it but his brain is hesitating.

He drops it back into his lap, hoping that the alpha didn't notice.

Shaking his head minutely, he starts, "I don't- you're right. You are his father, whatever you decide for your pup will be done. Do you want me to put boundaries between him and me? There's another class for lower kg-"

"All he talks about is you. About how your hugs are so soft or how you give him extra stickers. It makes his day. You make his day."

And Louis almost cries. Almost. He whispers, "he makes my days better too, you know." Gnawing at his lip, he contemplates whether to tell the alpha or not but decides that he has nothing to lose. "The first time we met, an idiot commented about how I won't ever be able to keep a man because I was too difficult, too loud. Your sweet pup mended my day and my heart." Looking up, he meets the green eyes that are furrowed now. "Because who cares if some knothead doesn't like me, a pup does and that must mean I'm doing something right."

This time, he watches as the alpha reaches out and enclose one of his hands between his huge ones. Maybe he did notice.

"You're not difficult, Lou." Harry says it with such conviction, Louis almost believes him. But then he remembers how many times he has heard it.

The omega just chuckles with no humor. "Wait until we have a conversation about equality."

The alpha shakes his head at the self-deprecation. "I'm sure my opinion won't budge. It's not your fault that you have to fight for basic human rights."

Louis looks down at his lap not knowing how to answer and gulps, sparing a look at the pup sleeping in his car seat.

The father catches it, softening immeasurably at the sight of the omega checking up on his pup. "How can I take that away from any of you?"

Louis squeezes his hand once, trying to show how much it means to him. "What do you want then? How can I help?"

"I..." Licking his lips, the alpha tries to buy some time to articulate his words. "I cannot demand you for anything but you're always welcome to call, or come over for dinner any day after the school year is over, keep in touch. If you have the time, ofcourse. But you don't have to, if that is a- if that's not what you plan yourself getting into, that's completely fine. But in that case, I would... like you to not hug or scent him."

"Harry," The omega shakes Harry's hands, trying to get the man to look at him. "I want to be in Andy's life in whatever way possible. And if it takes a few dinners and facetimes to see the pup, I'm more than willing." He tries really hard to convey how much Andy means to him and how unhealthily attached he has gotten to the little boy.
"I love your pup. He is... he loves love. And I would be honoured to be a part of his life. I've seen him grow so much in a couple of months and there is nothing I want more than to see him grow more."

"Thank you," whispers the father.

Shaking his head, the omega gives him a little smile. "Thank you for letting me in his life."

Just as the alpha is about to start driving, Louis says, "you're a good father, please don't doubt yourself." Louis stops the alpha from interrupting him with a shake of his head.
"I know it. I know how it is to only have one parent. But I also know she did everything she could and more for me. And I know you're doing that too. So don't doubt yourself. I know a good parent when I see one because I know how they are like."

And Harry just- he can't not hug him.
"Thank you," he murmurs into the omega's shoulder, too full of emotions he hadn't let anyone see in a very long time.

Louis- sweet, sweet smelling Louis- thankfully, hugs him back just as tightly. "You don't have to thank me for stating the obvious, love."

He feels Harry subtly nuzzle into his shoulder and Moon, he almost laughs at how similar both the alphas are. Weirdly, he doesn't mind. He doesn't mind at all.

"You don't smell like-"

Louis laughs out loud giving the alpha one last squeeze before pulling away. He takes in the green eyes widened in embarrassment, lips supressing a squeal.

Chapter Text

"Um, Louis?" Darlene, the other teacher who looks over the second section of lower kg, alternating with Louis to look after kids who remain in the nursery till their parents pick up, calls out.

He turns around, worried at her hesitant tone. "Yeah? Is everything alright?"

She hesitated again, looking for words. "Do you know Mr. Styles?"

The omega blinks at her, not knowing where this is going, but nods nonetheless.

Thankfully, she looks relieved at that. "Well, he isn't here to pick Andrew up yet. It's almost closing time."

That makes Louis stop. It is late. Later than the alpha has ever picked Andy. And if he doesn't pick the pup, his sister does.

"And Andrew is getting restless. I know it's my day but I think you are a bit familiar, I think you can soothe him better, maybe?"

Nodding, he has already halfway packed his bag before bolting to the nursery, murmuring an 'ofcourse' behind him.

And lo and behold, another teacher from upper kg is sitting with him, the poor pup looks on the verge of crying.

"Oh love, come here," Louis coos at the little alpha, frowning at the tears gathering rapidly in his green eyes. He opens his arms and Andrew runs to him, sniffling back tears.

Once the boy is in his arms, Louis rubs his back, hoping to provide comfort. He softly murmurs, "why are you crying, pup, daddy must be stuck in traffic, hm? No need to be scared, I'm here, yeah?"

The older teacher looks at him with a small smile.

"Thank you, Lizzie. You can sign out if you want, I will stay with him till his dad comes." Louis offers. He knows how eager everyone is to go home after a long week of handling insanely energetic kids.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." He very well damn knows he is not going anywhere till he hands this pup over to Harry. "We did not get to complete his story in class, so we are going to talk all about it before his dad comes, innit little lad?"

Lizzie leaves, thanking him but he waves it off.

Looking down at the pup who is snuggling into him, he whispers sweet nothings to the little alpha. He scratches his neck lightly, getting hold of his neutraliser patch before ripping it off and lightly scenting the boy. The soft whines quieten, letting Andy settle more comfortably in the omega's arms.

His ringtone blares through the mostly empty room, startling the pup. The omega shushes him before looking at the caller ID. He turns the phone towards the pup so he can see. "Hey, look! It's daddy. I'm sure he is coming, yeah?"

Rubbing his teary eyes, the little alpha nods and watches with hopeful eyes as Louis picks the call.

"Louis," the alpha's frustration seeps through his voice, making Louis's inner omega whine.

"Hey, don't worry, I'm with Andy."

"Oh, thank Moon! Is it your turn at the nursery? I-" his voice becomes distant and then comes clearly through the phone again, "it's Friday! I thought you only-"

"It's not my turn but it's fine. We're alright here, waiting for you."

"That's- what I called about. I am all the way across the town and the goddamn mayor is visiting or something, the streets are all packed because they've blocked half the streets-"

Louis tries not to openly frown at how stressed the alpha sounds. "Take a deep breath, Harry."

"I- Louis..." The alpha sighs, "Gemma isn't in town, no one else can pick him up, I don't know what to do and this traffic won't budge!" He can hear the helplessness in Harry's voice, the useless thumps on the horn. He can't even imagine what Harry must be going through with no one to ask help from.

"I can take him to my house if that's okay with you?" Harry starts to say something but Louis cuts him off. He doesn't want to come off as some creepy guy taking a pup like this. "Only if that's okay with you. It's closing time and the school won't stay open. It's either we wait in the parking lot or we can wait for you at my place." The omega watches the pup nuzzle quietly into him. "It will be a lot warmer and he will be distracted too. It's not very far away from here, you've seen it. But the choice is completely yours. I will be fine with whatever makes you the most comfortable."

The other side of the line is quiet for some time. "Is he okay?"

"A little upset but we will be okay, right pup?" Louis smiles encouragingly at the tired pup who nods, even giving a small smile to mimic the omega. Happy with how hard the pup is trying, Louis boops his nose in attempts to make the boy actually happy. "Do you want to talk, Andy?" He asks, offering the phone to him and putting it on speaker.

Shaking his head yes quickly, he takes the offered phone. "Daddy?" Moon, his soft, scared voice makes Louis want to wrap this baby in bubble wrap and keep him safe forever. Oh well, he can do the first part well enough. If it were up to him, Louis would always keep this little boy snuggled close to him.

"Hi, baby. I am so sorry I will be late. I am trying to reach you as fast as I can. But, you know, there are a lot of cars on the road." The pup giggles at his father's fake whine. "It will take time to cross all of them and reach you. In the meantime, would you like to stay with pretty Louis?"

"Yeah." The pup agrees like he wouldn't want anything else. He probably doesn't.

"Yeah?" The father sounds so relieved, it calms Louis's inner omega so much, leaving him half-confused. He decides to pack it up and store it in the very back of his mind. He doesn't need to unpack the mess of his feelings for the alpha right now. Louis misses the conversation- that's what he gets for getting tangled in the mess of his- oh nevermind.

"Pretty Louis's home?" Andrew asks, fascinated by the concept, much to Louis's delight. He is happy that the pup is bravely looking at the better aspect of the situation. Moon knows, Louis's younger self would exhaust himself from crying too much.

"Yeah, the school is about to close so you can stay at Louis's house till I reach you, is that okay?"

"Okay. You come to me fast?" The hope in the pup's voice again makes Louis need to keep this amazing little alpha safe.

"As fast as I can, baby. I promise."

In what world is a sincere, hot, caring, loving father fair on Louis?
Later, Louis!

"Okay daddy."

"Be good for him, yes?" Harry's tone is teasing. Louis is quite sure that the father does this often enough that it has become an internal joke.

"Daddy!" Andy gasps, seemingly scandalised at the thought of not behaving in front of his pretty Louis. "I am always good!"

The alpha's laugh makes the atmosphere much lighter. "I love you so much, Andy. Promise I will be there as soon as possible."

"Love you!" The pup echoes the father's sentiment just as lovingly, looking a hundred times better than before the call.

"Can you please give the phone to Louis?"

Dutifully, the little pup hands the phone over to his teacher who takes it with a smile. "Hey-"

"I cannot thank you enough, Lou."

"Harry. You talk like I could ever leave him alone like this. Besides, we are going to have so much fun on our impromptu play date." Andy grins, nodding.

"It's not even your duty at the nursery and you are looking after him after school hours. If it isn't a bother, will you please take him to your place?"

"It could never be a bother, Harry. Please send the school an email so I can sign him out before the school actually closes."

"Ofcourse-"

Louis subconsciously slips into his teacher mode, wanting to reassure Harry completely. "And I will send you my address so you can calm down and come straight there, alright?"
The alpha murmurs his assent, sounding much better. But out of habit, the teacher speaks the words that he thinks Harry needs to hear. "He is okay, he is safe, don't worry. We are going to have lots of fun." He smiles at Andy who is looking up at him.

"Yesh!" The pup's grin is adorable.

"See, nothing to worry about. We will see you soon." He tells Harry as much. "Bye-bye. Andy, say bye to your dad." He brings the phone closer to the little alpha so he can talk to his father.

"B-bye daddy!

"Bye baby. Love you." Harry blows a few kisses over the phone before cutting the call.

"Let's go home, shall we, little lad?"

After signing Andrew out from the school, the pair giddily walks the short trip to Louis's home. They talk the whole way through, even if Andy's muffler falls down from his shoulder every two minutes, courtesy of the talkative boy excitedly gestures with his entire arms. Louis gladly fixes it every time.

"An' an' daddy say we can go to big park tomorrow!"

"The big park?" Louis makes an exaggerated gasp, "the one with lots of fun slides?"

"Yeah!" Andrew grins at the recognition, his excitement increasing with the omega being so invested in his rambles. "And then we go to gramma!"

"Oh, that sounds lovely."

Skipping down the pavement, he says "she is the best gramma!"

Louis reaches out to grab the boy's hand, looking left and right before they start crossing the street. "I'm sure she is," he says absent-mindedly, focusing on keeping an eye on the vehicles.

"Aun'nie will go with us!"

"Yeah? Your whole family will be there?"

"Yeah!" The boy jumps a little as they reach the other side and start walking.

"That really sounds very nice. Hm, maybe I will go visit my mama too."

"Yesh!"

Louis abruptly stops, making the boy pout up at him. The omega only smiles, his eyes beautifully crinkling.
"Here we are. Are you ready to see my home?"

Andrew's eyes widen and he nods seriously. Moon, this boy is too cute, it can't be healthy for Louis to be around this much cuteness all the time.

"Come on, then."

"Pretty Louis!" He gasps, looking wide-eyed around the little foyer opening into the living area. Much to the little alpha's delight, the living room opens to a balcony that is framed by sliding glass doors. He looks around the room, pale blue walls covered with trinkets and framed photos, most featuring his pretty Louis.
"Your home is so pretty!"

"Thank you, love." Louis's inner omega preens at all the praise and awe, knowing well enough that the pup is being genuine.
"Are you hungry?"

Still busy looking all around, the teacher waits for him to finally meet his eyes. The pup giggles the moment it happens.

"Hungry?" He asks again. Shaking his head no, the boy moves further to look at more pictures.

"No?" The omega raises an eyebrow at that. Usually the pup has a healthy diet. "Oh well. Do you want to make biscuits with me?" Maybe that will spark his appetite.

Turning around with a twinkle in his eyes, Andy jumps, shouting, "YES!"

"Indoor voices, love," Louis reminds him gently, happy at the prospect of doing something more fun with the pup. "Do you like baking?"

"Yeah!" The little alpha grins wide, "I bake with daddy!"

Giving an exaggerated gasp, Louis herds the boy towards the kitchen. "That's right! You made the most delicious choco cookie!"

"Daddy teach me!" Andy puffs out his chest like a proud boy. And honestly, Louis cannot blame him, he should be proud of himself.

"Oh?" Harry must like baking, all three of them have that in common then. "That's lovely, pup." Pulling a little stool/ step ladder Louis has for his little siblings, he suggests, "why don't you wash your hands and then help me, hm?"

The pup eagerly agrees, doing as told. Louis's heart flutters at the delicate image of the sun softly hitting the little pup as he washed his hands singing his little song. Adorable, absolutely adorable.

Releasing a deep breath, he turns to the nook and picks his apron. "Oh. I don't have an apron your size." And Louis will not be the one to send this pup home in messy clothes. "Will you wear one of my t-shirts so your lovely jumper doesn't get dirty?"

"Yes! Daddy gives me his shirts sometimes at night."

And Louis doesn't even want to imagine a sleepy Andy roaming around with his daddy's t-shirt dragging behind his tiny figure, his omega can't take it. A little part of himself is very eager to see the pup in his own clothes. Why? He is choosing not to focus on that.

"Alright, come with me, you can choose." The boy follows him around, patiently waiting as the omega opens the door to his room.

Louis's shoulders relax immediately on stepping into his room. It's his safe haven, his comfort place, it's his. Behind him, the boy peeks from behind his legs and Louis just cannot help but melt. "This is my room, do you like it?"

Curious, wide green eyes take their time in looking at every nook and corner of the omega's room. "Pretty," he preens, still clinging to one of the omega's legs.

"Thank you, love." Louis smoothes his hand over his wild curls, taking the pup's hand. They move to his closet, and the little alpha patiently waits while Louis takes out two t-shirts. "Here, which one do you like?" He holds out the t-shirts for the boy to choose. To no one's surprise, Andy chooses his well-worn, well-loved, grey one.

"This one?"

Nodding, Andy takes the shirt with both his hands and rubbing it against his cheek. "Smell like you."

And it's not a surprise, like he said, but it still stirs something inside the omega. Something he really does not want to dive into.

Anyways, Louis makes a mental note to talk about this to the boy when Harry arrives. As much as he does not want to talk about this- talking about it only makes it real, innit?- Harry has the right to know about his pup.

Sucking in a deep breath, he continues fiddling with more clothes till he finds the jumper he loves to wear at home.

An unfamiliar sound makes the omega turn around in confusion. He is half sure it came from the pup standing beside him.

"Yes...?" He hesitantly asks the little alpha whose gaze is fixated towards his bed.
"That's... my nest, Andy." Louis tries to explain it to the boy who has now moved to the end of the bed, gently touching the soft fleece blanket that is covering the entire mattress. Crouching down in front of the little alpha, he softly asks, "Do you know what a nest is?"

Andy hums absent-mindedly, still feeling the blanket softly. "Gramma's nest. Warm."

Caressing the blonde curls softly, he grins when the pup finally looks at him.
"She let me sleep in her nest. Daddy say no but gramma send him to other room."

Louis smiles at him and his anecdotes. "I bet that she loves you a whole lot."

Preening, the pup nods, leaning into the omega's hand. "She is the best. Daddy become grumpy but gramma let me play even after bedtime."

"Grandmas will do that for you."

The pup doesn't say anything, still focused on the nest, so Louis's omega can't help but claw at him. In the end, he gives on, asking, "Do you like it?"

And there is that unfamiliar sound again and this time Louis is a hundred percent sure that it's Andy. "Nice. Cozy. Pretty."

How wrong would it be if Louis picked this pup and cuddled and kissed his chubby cheeks? Because he really, really, really wants to.

Swallowing down the sudden wave of emotions, the omega settles for another caress to the curls. "Thank you, baby," he says just as soft as he feels on the inside.

Getting up, he takes the little alpha's hand again. "Now come along, we've got biscuits to bake."

And they go to do just that.

"Hi mum." He greets as soon as he picks the phone. His mum religiously video calls him everyday- a deal for moving away from home.

She smiles at him, happy to see her baby. "Hi boo, how was your day?"

"My day was good-"

"Pretty Louis?" Andy calls out for him and Louis is behind him in an instant. He puts his phone against the wall on the kitchen counter, giving his mum a clear view of the pup sitting on the counter with Louis making sure he doesn't fall.

His mama gasps excitedly, "Oh, you must be Andy!"

"Hi," he greets shyly, blinking at the figure in the phone. "Pretty," the pup murmurs, touching the screen with a finger.

Unable to keep his smile in, Louis grins, telling him, "that's my mama."

"Hello Andy," she greets him back. Louis knows his mama has been wanting to know more about the little boy who is making him all mushy these days. "It's lovely to finally meet you. Louis tells me you're his favourite boy."

As expected, the little pup preens at the statement. "Pretty Louis is favourite too!" He tells her, grinning wide, showing all his tiny teeth.

"He's so precious," she coos at the pair.

"He is, isn't he," Louis murmurs, looking fondly at the boy.

"We're making bikkis!" Andy holds up the measuring cup and proceeds to put it in the flour container. Louis watches the boy do his thing. It really does seem that he knows his way around an oven.

"Really? You must know how to bake then."

Nodding, Andy pours the flour in a bowl- with a little bit of help from his Pretty Louis ofcourse. "My daddy teach me."

"Speaking of which, where is your daddy?" The question is directed at Louis and he knows it. He also knows that his mama is too eager to get him to start talking. Which, again, he does not wanna think about.

Luckily, the pup doesn't seem to notice, going easily where the omega directs him, pouring all the dry ingredients in the bowl one by one. "Daddy is between mean cars. Lots of cars," he huffs.

Managing to hold in a chuckle, Louis explains, "Harry is stuck in traffic and the school was closing, so we're waiting for him by making biscuits." Thankfully, his mama seems to catch on the pup's reluctance. He does not need to be missing his dad right now.

She changes the subject swiftly. "Which biscuits are your favourite, Andy?"

"Choco chip!" He tells her, not noticing when the omega takes the bowl from him to mix the ingredients. "Like daddy! Pretty Louis said they his favourite too!" One thing about this boy, he loves to talk.

"That's right!" And Louis will happily let his mama cheer on the pup. "He does love chocolate," she tells him.

For a moment Louis wonders if she is reminiscing the days when it used to be him sitting on the kitchen counter of their tiny home. He doesn't remember much but he knows he loved it.

Andy squeals in joy, flourishing under both omegas' complete attention. His tiny body sways slightly, almost losing balance. For a second, Louis loses his breath before he quickly abandons the bowl and makes sure the alpha is alright.

"Careful, pup." He wraps one arm around the boy, keeping him in a steady hold while taking out eggs from the carton.

"Can I?" Bambi eyes blinking up at him- with a pout!- and how in the world is Louis going to deny this pup anything ever?! Especially as insignificant as eggs?

So he folds, obviously, handing the boy an egg. "Do you know how to break it?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, go ahead." He watches as the boy carefully cracks it on the edge of the bowl and pour it in.

Surprised, the omega claps- slightly awkward with his one arm still looped around the boy- and praises the pup. "Very impressive. Good job, lad."

Andy grins, showing his tiny teeth, preening hard. The now familiar sound erupts out of the pup's chest, surprising Louis again.

This is going to be a hard talk with Harry if his suspicions are correct.

"Boobear, he is just so cute!"

"Boobear," Andy repeats under his breath, giggling to himself.

Sighing dreamily, Louis pulls the pup closer, hugging his tiny body that is still sitting on the kitchen counter and resting his cheek atop the boy's golden curls. "I know." He pouts to his mother, watching the pup break another egg. "Gives me baby fever," he sighs again.

In return, his mother gives him a look he is too familiar with. And he really cannot delve into his feelings- no, not even his omega's, especially not his omega's- right now. So he does what he does best.

"We will talk later. Now bye, you've got work to do as well."

His mother only shakes her head with a poorly concealed smile. "We will talk later." She moves her attention to the pup. "Bye Andy. You're a lovely boy, I am so happy I could finally talk to you."

He grins, waving at her, "b-bye pretty Louis's mama!" And the call cuts.

Extending his neck back, the little alpha peers up at his teacher. "Who is boobear?"

Failing at suppressing his smile, Louis engages in his antics, looking down at his face, their noses less than an inch apart. "That's what my mama calls me."

The pup giggles again, bringing his messy hands to touch the omega's cheeks. "Pretty boobear."

Blinking a dozen times, Louis keeps looking at the pup, contemplating if he should be mortified or feel like his heart is flying out of his chest.

He settles on the latter. Moon, he loves this pup. Too much for his own good, perhaps.

"What do you call me?"

Unsure of what he means by the question, Louis says, "I call you Andy?"

"But everyone call me Andy!" He huffs, still looking up at Louis.

"Oo, do you want a nickname?" The omega thinks for a moment. "Hmm, I might have to think upon it."

And there's that pout again! "Don't pout! I need time so I can think of a really special name for my favourite pup."

"Promise?" He blinks his eyes again. Oh Moon!

"Promise, baby." Louis holds out his little finger to loop it with the boy's, cementing the promise.

When the pup is all happy again, Louis takes a moment to look at the alpha, drowning in his t-shirt, small hands prints covered in flour stamped on it, and mutters to himself, "Moon, if my pup isn't as sweet as this boy..."

Because he is so, so gone for this little boy.

Chapter Text

He hurries, wiping his hands on his apron, walks out of the kitchen to find his best friend standing- drowning, more like- in his fluffy blanket.

Small footsteps pad around before Louis could ask anything.

"Pretty Zay!" Andrew exclaims happily, moving forward to hug the omega's blanket hidden legs.

Zayn acknowledges the pup with an affectionate ruffle to his blonde hair, doing his best to smile at him.

"Hey, you good?" Louis knows better than to ignore the state of his bestfriend.
Given, it's been years since the last time Zayn snuck into his bed like this- they only had each other in uni before Liam came along- but still.

The other omega softly hums, hugging the blanket tighter around himself.

"Andy, love, why don't you get back to colouring Mickey Mouse while the biscuits are in the oven, yes? I'll be in the kitchen making some tea."

Louis had expected Zayn to follow him but surprisingly, the omega follows the pup, plops on the sofa, helps Andy up and watches him colour.

Before he could think further, there's another knock on the door. He glances at the clock. Must be Harry.

He can deal with Zayn later.

Sighing, he opens the door, greets Harry and brings him in.

"I am so sorry and I cannot thank you enough Lou." The alpha rushes with it the first thing.

"Harry. It's fine. He was amazing," the teacher reassures him as they walk to the living room.

"Thank Moon he is unusually well behaved around you."

"Daddy!" Andy rushes to him as soon as he spots his dad.

"Hi pup." Harry hugs his boy who has jumped over a lumpy blanket on the sofa. It moves and the father eyes it wearily. He barely sees one hand peeking out from the blanket, holding a red crayon.

"Er..." Louis grimaces, blinking at the- honestly, a little suspicious- lump. "Don't worry, that's just... Zayn," he sighs. So much for making a good impression- wait what-

"Yeah daddy!" Andy happily jumps from his father's hold. "Pretty Zay help me colour!" He bounds back to the lump, simply sitting beside him and resuming his colouring.

"Um, hi?" Harry says to the lump, getting no answer. He turns to Louis, whispering, "I'm sorry for intruding, we will just be leaving."

Shaking his head, Louis pats his back. "Sit your-" he hears Andy start to hum to Zayn and mends his words, "sit down, you look knackered."

"I don't think I should-"

The omega huffs, beckoning to him. "Come along. They'll be fine."

Louis leads them to the kitchen and gestures Harry to sit at the dining table. He turns to the kettle, pouring water for three.

"We made biscuits," Louis points to the biscuits in the oven. "Without a mess. I was so surprised when he knew how to crack eggs and whisk." Thank Moon he was turned around or the alpha would see him all giggly with crinkly smile over his pup- which... is fine, he guesses. Apparently his brain isn't working properly. These two alphas have made his mind go all haywire. He shakes his head and turns around, moving to sit beside the man.

"I doubt it was without a mess," the alpha murmurs. As if it all is happening in slow motion, Harry brings his hand to the omega's cheek, his thumb- how big is his hand?!- swipes along his cheekbone, dusting the flour there.

"Oh," Louis breathes, beginning to feel warm under the gentle touch. He is sure his face is already turning red. "That-" he clears his throat, "that was all your pup." His lips stay slightly parted as the gentle touch lingers.

"I really hope he wasn't any trouble." The alpha says sincerely, dropping his hand- much to the omega's chagrin.

"He wasn't," Louis insists softly, suddenly feeling timid in front of the alpha. "I gave him one of my t-shirts so his clothes wouldn't get dirty."

He watches the alpha's eyes soften even more- as if it was possible. "Thank you, but Lou you really don't need to increase your workload-"

"Please, he looked so adorable, look!" Swiping across his phone, the omega pulls up a picture of the pup, sitting on the kitchen counter, breaking an egg.

Shifting closer, Harry bends down to look at the picture, his soft curls brushing gently against Louis's ear. He murmurs, "Moon, you need to send these to me. He never sits still for a picture for me."

Being this close, Louis has a front seat to how deliciously good this man smells. Sure, he still has that yellow hanky stuffed beside his pillow in this nest but it's been a month and it's scent is faded to nothing.

This, though... this is a hundred times better than that piece of cloth. Just dark chocolate and that hint of tangy blueberries and acai.

Aaaaand the scent moves away.

Where was he? Right. Selecting all the pictures, he sends them to the alpha.

He swallows, blinking into the present. "Um, I, well, I wanted to talk to you about something,"

"Yes, ofcourse," Harry says immediately, looking at him earnestly.

That amount of complete, focused attention would make anyone dizzy. Has no one told that to this man before?!

Thankfully, the kettle whistles behind him, giving him an excuse to busy himself while talking.

"So... I took him to my room to get him a t-shirt and he chose the one that had my scent." He takes out three tea bags, putting them in the cups. If he starts speaking, he will have to end the whole story, right?

He hears Harry chuckle, "Lou, by now we both know he loves your scent."

He turns around, still worried, asking, "are you okay with that, though?"

Harry gets up, moving around the table to stand in front of him. "I trust you enough to let you bring my child to your house. What do you think?"

"He saw my nest," he blurts out next. He rushes to explain, "it was an accident, but I brought him out of the room quickly after that."

The alpha remains quiet. His hand comes up to toy with his lower lip. Does this man realise how distracting it is?
"What was his reaction?"

Right. Andy.

"I think he might have wanted to get in..." Louis starts carefully, not wanting to upset the man.

Harry nods in contemplation, opening his mouth to speak but closes it soon after, still searching for the right words.
"He doesn't know much about nests. When he was born, I tried but I could never build one." He gulps, "I know it's, um, not at all okay to intrude upon a nest uninvited so I apologise on his behalf. He didn't know-"

Louis gasps, rushing forward to stop him. "Harry, no! I know he's just a baby, and if anything, I took him in there. I am not complaining, I'm apologising if that was crossing a line." He tilts his head to one side, finding himself confused. "Honestly, it didn't cross my mind that my nest is right there."

Albeit not being close to his heat, he is generally cautious of who can see his nest. How his inner omega didn't scream at him for bringing the boy into his room- let's just... store it away for some other day. Like with all the other things.

"Still." The alpha insists.

Brushing it away, Louis brings up the next topic. Oh Moon. Why does he want to bring this up? But his mouth starts talking without his brain catching up. "He told me how his grandma lets him sleep in her nest."

Sucking in a deep breath, Harry takes another moment to collect himself. "Yeah..." He runs his huge hand over his face. "It's just sometimes I act stupid- my stupid alpha thinks that because he is my child, I can raise him all on my own-"

This time Louis cannot help himself. He takes another step forward and takes the alpha's hands into his, squeezing them once. "You can. But you don't have to."

Harry stares into his eyes for sometime, his own relaxing a tiny bit. The alpha simply lets himself  be held for a moment. "My mum knocks some sense into me from time to time. She says that it's okay for him to sleep in the nest his father slept in."

"Definitely," the omega agrees softly, still looking into the man's green eyes, softening with each passing second. He is more than happy to help the man relax, especially if it is regarding his parenting. "I'm glad your mother loves him so much."

"Oh, she loves him more than she loves me," he replies, chuckling.

Louis drops his hands. The moment is over, so he drops the alpha's hands in lieu of pouring hot water into the neglected teacups, letting the tea seep.
"I mean, your boy has double the charm you do, so..."

"Hey!" He can hear Harry's smile and he prays that the dimples disappear before he turns around because there's only so much he can take in one day.

"There was one more thing," Louis winces while saying but. But Harry has the right to know.

Harry nods for him to continue.

"Does he, um," turning around, Louis tries to casually lean against the kitchen counter. "You know... rumble yet?"

Surprised, the alpha asks, "did he? I mean he's been trying."

Nodding, the omega answers truthfully. "He has been making pleased, soft sounds. Not full-on rumbles but yeah..."

Harry mimics his posture, choosing to lean on the table behind him, nodding. "That he has been doing. But it usually happens when I'm putting him to bed." His cheeks turn the cutest shade of red and oh Moon, a shy alpha! "I- erm, well, have this habit of singing to him and rumbling with a little skin contact every night. So he's been doing that then, yeah."

The omega silently prays to Moon to stop this man from uttering anymore words.

How is it that his entire life, he has been looking for a gentle, kind alpha and now he has one in front of him with all he wants and more- so much more. And yet, he cannot act upon it. Why Moon, why?

Shoving it into the back of his mind- yes, he has a lot of space back there- he focuses on the conversation.
He sheepishly adds, "he did that when he saw my nest and then when I hugged him."

"He is really attached to you."

The worst thing is, he cannot decipher it from Harry's tone if that is a good or bad thing. Nonetheless, he tries to explain the alpha of how much it is reciprocated.

"I had to hold my omega back from purring to comfort him." As the omega speaks, he realises how rare that is. "I have never felt the need to do that before."

"He has never rumbled even in front of Gemma." There the alpha goes, adding fuel to the fire.

Louis's heart stutters. The amount of trust that young pup has in him is absurd. Louis is his teacher. And yet here is a boy, trusting him more than his own aunt.

Maybe he must have not seen his aunt in a long time. That must be it. He must have learnt rumbling not long ago. They wouldn't have had the chance to meet up or stay together long enough for the pup to rumble. Yes. That must have been it.

Yet, it doesn't erase the fact that Louis has become one of his people. And it is kinda making the omega teary.
"Well..." he clears his throat, lest Harry catches a trail to his thoughts.
"I guess you're stuck with me then," he gives the alpha a small shrug and a tentative smile.

Not waiting for Harry to respond, he changes the topic. Afterall, his- the pup demanded it.
"He also asked me for a nickname. What do you think he would like?"

Thankfully, Harry lets him off the hook without another word, or worse, another question. "If I was creative, I'd have given him something more than 'Andy'."

Giggling, Louis shakes his head, deeming the tea ready, handing it to the alpha. "I'm sure you're creative enough."

"Oh, you didn't have-"

The omega cuts him off, glaring at him half-heartedly. "I know I don't have to. I made it anyways."

Harry looks at his feet for a moment before looking back up. His voice is so sincere that it makes Louis melt a little more. "You're too kind to us, Lou."

The omega can only hope that his voice resembles his a little, that his words come out gentle. "You've had a long day and Andy is waiting for his biscuits. So you aren't going anywhere without them anyways."

He takes out the milk and sugar, offering it to Harry and then preparing his and Zayn's.

"So do you have any weekend plans?" Harry asks.

The oven dings behind him and Louis can't help but take out a few biscuits and letting the others rest.
"Andy told me you're going to the big park and then to your family."

"Um hm," the father nods while sipping his tea. "Monday is off too, so I thought he would like to see his gramma. Moon knows I'm itching to see her."

It brings a smile to the omega's face, simply thinking about home. "Convinced me to visit my mama too."

"Where does she live?"

"Doncaster. I'll take the train and hopefully find enough energy to come back," the omega jokes, plating the biscuits in two plates.

The alpha huffs a laugh. "I get you. But I really hope you do come back fast, for my sanity." He quickly adds, "and my pup's. And miss Neva's."

"Don't worry, I had a talk with all of them as soon as I came back. And I will make it a point to tell them beforehand the next time or Neva will kill me," he chuckles.
"Here, have this." He places one plate in front of the alpha. "I'll be back in a mo."

Louis hurries, carrying Zayn's tea, a glass of milk and a plate of biscuits to the living room. "The biscuits are very hot, don't burn yourself, okay?" He warns the pup then pulls Zayn upright so that he is at least sitting. He puts the teacup in his hands and checks his temperature. He doesn't seem unusually warm.

Now worrying, he gently cups the other omega's face and makes him look up. "Why don't you go and rest in my room? I'll be there as soon as they leave." He murmurs, wondering what has his best friend so down. He was fine just yesterday night.

"Pretty Lou!"

"Yes, love?" He asks the pup while trying to soothingly rub his thumb over Zayn's eyebrow.

"Bikkis are yum!" Oh goodness.

That brings out the crinkles by his eyes. "I'm sure they are, you are an expert at baking, aren't you, little lad?"

"Pretty Zay?"
The pup blows on the cookies and even if it is slightly gross, it is adorable when he offers it to Zayn.
As soon as the biscuit is in front of Zayn's mouth, his lip slightly wobbles before biting off a tiny piece.

"Okay," Louis whispers to himself before pulling the other omega to his feet. "Z, go to my room." When he makes no move, Louis glares at him half-heartedly. "Come on."

Sighing, Zayn takes his cup of tea and a biscuit before moving towards the hallway. He stops mid-step and waves bye to the little alpha who returns it eagerly.

Shaking out of his thoughts at the retreating figure, Louis turns to the pup. "Andy, come with me love."

The little alpha watches the omega with a frown before asking, "is pretty Zay sick?"

Louis, to his credit, does his best to sound reassuring. "No love, he is okay. He is just missing Liam." He really hoped that was it and it wasn't anything serious.

"Lim?"

That cracks a little real smile from him. "Yeah, Liam."

The pup nods to himself, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "Lim is good." Without another word, he bounds towards the kitchen, leaving the omega to bring his milk and biscuits back to the kitchen.
"Daddy! How are bikkis?"

"They are absolutely delicious," Harry says, eating one more, humming exaggeratedly and pulling his pup into his lap.

Louis, for some reason, beams with pride. He boasts, "ofcourse they are, he made them. Adorable little baker."

The pup nuzzles into his father's chest. Louis was starting to wonder how long that would take. Apparently Andy was quite distracted with Zayn. He shakes his head, focusing just in time to hear the boy exclaim, "daddy worked in bakery!"

To that, the omega quirks an eyebrow at the father, half teasing, "did he now..."

"Yeah!" The boy nods earnestly. "He tell me all the time!"

Louis chuckles. "Well, I see where you got your talent from."

Harry rolls his eyes despite the pink tinging his cheeks. "Anyways," he finishes the last bit of his tea before getting up. "We should get out of your hair now."

The omega brushes it off. "It was lovely having someone to bake all these biscuits with." He quickly rummages through one of the cupboards and takes out a Tupperware container, filling it up with the cooled down biscuits and handing them to the happy pup.

Harry goes to protest but is cut off by the omega before he could utter a single word.
"He has made them, Harry."

And seeing his baby so happy, the alpha doesn't really have it in himself to say anything. So he turns to his little boy, raising an eyebrow. "Andy, did you thank Pretty Louis for staying with you and bringing you to his house and giving you the biscuits?"

"Thank you, Pretty Louis! I have so much fun!" The pup spreads his arms to show him just how much and Louis cannot help but bend down and pull the little alpha into his arms, giving him a big cuddle.

"Oh sweet boy, the pleasure was all mine. My home is always open for you." Louis murmurs in his ear, scenting him lightly.

The pup hums, nuzzling into the omega's neck, inhaling the comforting scent deeply. "Smell like bikkis," he sighs happily.

Chuckling, Louis teases him, "you're getting closer." He releases the boy, letting him walk to his dad. Behind Andy, his father chuckles too, knowing well that his pup is still confused about the omega's scent.

"Maybe I should get him a candle or something with that scent," Harry suggests as they walk to the door.

"Andy and candles." The omega raises an eyebrow at that, pursuing his lips, teasing, "that's totally not a fire hazard."

Harry tries to hold in his smile and waves it off. "I won't light it, don't worry. This boy causes enough, erm- surprises, as it is without adding fires on the list."

"Or maybe you can take him camping one day," the teacher suggests.

"Hm, maybe... maybe not. I'm not really a camping person." The father cheekily scrunches his nose at the idea with a tiny shake of his head.

Chuckling, the omega nods, saying, "candle it is. Let me know when you reach."

"I can't thank you enough-"

Exasperated, the omega berates him, "Harry, stop. It was a win-win, yeah?"

"Okay." The alpha gives it up. Waving bye to the omega, he reaches down to grab his pup's hand when an idea strikes him.
"How- er-" he turns and scratches his neck, "how about you come to ours for, um, dinner someday? We would love to have you over."

"Yes, yes!" Andy starts jumping beside them, his smile as wide as it can go. "Please, I want to show pretty Boobear my room! Please?"

"Pretty what?" Harry asks, shaking his head to re-check reality, contemplating what part of the conversation did he miss.

"Boobear!" He huffs at his father with an adorable glare- his father who he probably deems stupid. Why his dad can't grasp onto pretty Louis's name, is out of his mind.

"Fine, fine, I will," Louis gives in, seemingly unable to stop smiling both at the pup's infective, innocent enthusiasm and the father's confusion over the name.

"Yayy!" The pup runs to hug Louis's legs and Louis almost can't contain his fondness for the boy. Amused with his antics, Louis turns to Harry, settling on, "text me?"

Nodding, the alpha decides to let the confusion go, accepting that perhaps his pup is too energetic and chivalrous even for him.

Or maybe not.

"We will look forward to hosting you, pretty... Boobear, was it?" There is a playful smirk on Harry's beautiful face and Louis whines internally because Harry isn't playing fair! And that bastard knows it!

It is still a surprise to hear the alpha say it so openly, the omega flushes red immediately, stuttering a mediocre 'okay' as the pair leaves. He waves bye to the pair heading out till they disappear down the stairs.

Shutting his door, he groans, leaning against the door. "Moon, why would you test my limits like this?! There's two of them!"

Soon after he shuts the door behind the father-son duo, Louis is carrying another plate to his own room.

He gets inside the fluffy blanket and nudges his best friend. His best friend who seems to be completely buried under two blankets.

"Biscuits?"

There is no reply save from a hand coming up and taking one.

"You alright, Z?"

There's a whine and then Zayn's head is plopping onto Louis's lap and cuddling him tight.

Sighing, Louis lets him be, relaxing into the hug. "Do you wanna watch something?"

There's an indifferent hum, solidified by his face hiding in the omega's tummy. So, Louis plays a random episode of Friends on low volume while playing with his hair, occasionally feeding both of them.

"At least tell me if you're hurt."

Whining, the omega shakes his head no. Well, that brings Louis some peace at least.

"Missing Liam?" He asks, fluffing the blankets around them.

"Always miss Liam," murmurs Zayn, relaxing against the other omega.

"Oh baby, he'll be back in a few hours."

Zayn nods in reply. "I like him," he whispers from under the covers.

Chuckling, Louis hums, "I'd hope so, seeing you married him."

Zayn scoffs and pops his face out of the covers rolling his eyes. "Andy," he corrects him softly.

"He... is something," Louis smiles, a little surprised, carding his fingers through dark hair.

"You love him."

"I do." Easily admitting it, Louis waits for his best friend to continue but he doesn't say anything more. It's odd that Zayn would say something like this. They both have known each other long enough to know that Louis has always been a mother hen. There's no question in the fact that he feels strongly for Andrew. "Why?"

"You've always been good with pups," he says. Louis would go as far as saying that there is a hint of wistfulness in Zayn's voice. Why, he doesn't understand.

Carefully, Louis says the same thing he always does, "it's the mum in me."

Humming distractedly, Zayn's fingers pick on the loose thread of the other omega's jumper. "Want this."

Taking a moment, he catches up with the abrupt change in the subject. "What?"

"Your jumper."

"It's quite old, I can get you another-" Zayn stops him from standing up to get another one for him.

"This one," the black haired omega insists.

One eyebrow raises in question, but Louis doesn't say anything out loud. He simply agrees, asking, "now?"

He gets a nonchalant grunt in reply. "Before I leave."

"Okay. Okay." Louis blinks at the figure borrowing himself deeper into the mess of blankets. It is then that it hits him. "For your nest?" Again, there's just a hum in reply. "Ofcourse, love. You can have it."

"And don't think I will forget hearing your giggles while talking to an alpha. A hot alpha who you're crushing on."

Groaning, he looks down at his best friend nuzzling into his tummy. "Why must you all do this to me?"

"Love you too," he mumbles, ending the conversation.

Chapter Text

"Good morning, little lad!" Louis wishes the boy, all cheery considering the early hour. He isn't quite sure why the father-son duo is here half an hour earlier than the school timing. "How are you- oh!" He is met with the boy colliding with his legs, hugging them tight.

"I missed Pretty Boobear," the boy murmurs, nuzzling into the omega's thigh.

"Aw, I missed you too, Andy." Louis can't help but run his fingers through the golden curls. "So much that I told my mama and my siblings all about you."

The little alpha chirps happily, adding his own boasts, "I told gramma that my Pretty Boobear is the bestest!"

Cooing, the omega's heart fills up for this little boy. "Thank you, love. You are the bestest boy too. Moon, I missed you so much." He bends down, hugging the pup tightly. Something in him settles after being away for the boy for days. It was the longest he's been away from the boy since they met, apart from his heat but it's not like remembers much from then. So he picks him up, letting the pup cuddle into him.

Finally, the father speaks up, watching them with a soft smile. "He woke up early so he could see you 'as soon as possible'. His words, not mine. Hi," he adds, waving at the teacher.

"Hi, Harry," Louis waves back, giggling. It was also the longest he's been away from the alpha. Shaking the thought out of his head, he turns to look at the boy in his arms. "Is that so, pup?" He tickles Andy, getting his fill of the sweetest giggles he's ever heard.

A small hand touches Louis's cheek and he looks into bright green eyes looking up at him, confessing, "wanted Pretty Boobear's cuddles."

"Oh, love. Anything." Cooing, Louis rests his cheek against the pup's head, slowly swaying him side to side. He pouts, looking at the alpha in front of him. "Careful, I might steal him if he keeps up."

He watches as dimples make their way into the father's cheeks followed by a beautiful laugh. "I'm sure there will be no need for that. He will go willingly. I'm sure by now even my mum knows everything he knows about you."

"Funny, because I'm sure my mama knows everything I know about him," he murmurs mindlessly, focusing more on the pup who is now caressing his cheek with his chubby little fingers.

"He asked for you as soon as we stepped back into the house last night."

Louis tilts his head and looks into the alpha's eyes, unsure how to proceed. It's not like he ever had any pup who was this obsessed with him!

The pup huffs at his father's comment, snuggling further into his teacher.

"Wow," the omega mouths, raising an eyebrow. "I think a power nap is just what you need. You woke up early today, didn't you?"

The little alpha hums.

"Andy, baby, come on, I'll take you to your mat," the father offers, ready to cuddle his boy to sleep.

Andy turns his face to the other side, leaving the father gaping. What in the ever-loving name of Moon...

"It's fine, I can take him," Louis offers in return.

The pup whines, clutching the teacher tighter.

"Andy," Louis says firmly, clearly using his teacher voice. "We do not whine. If you want something, you will have to say it clearly."

Glassy eyes look up at him, clearly one wrong word away from a disaster. "Want Pretty Boobear. Don't want mat, please."

Sighing, Louis cradles the back of his head and lets the boy be. "Alright."

"No, that's not alright!" Harry's voice booms, sharp and firm. "Andrew, you cannot demand anyone to pick you up and keep holding you while you sleep."

Before any of them knows, a loud cry echoes through the otherwise quiet room followed by tears. Lots of tears.

"Andy..." The omega blinks in disbelief.

Harry watches incredulously. This has never happened before. Ofcourse, Andy is just a pup and he has had temper tantrums but they have always been after a long, exhausting day, when he hasn't had any rest at all, but never over something so small.

Louis looks towards him for help while he tries to shush the boy. When the father is clearly of no help, he huffs, scratching the neutralizer patch on his neck and removing it.

Immediately, the pup takes deep inhales, quietening down gradually with every breath, falling asleep within minutes.

"Oh Moon," the alpha whispers, still not quite there. "I'm so sorry, Louis-"

The omega shakes his head, stopping the alpha right there. He doesn't have the time or to be honest, the mind to be angry at Harry right now. He shifts his focus to the boy in his arms, scenting him lightly. It has been three days since he last held the boy, sue him for wanting to comfort the pup when he's crying to be in his arms.

Sighing, the father pats his pockets, producing a plain, white handkerchief. Louis averts his eyes while the alpha scents the cloth thoroughly. The cloth goes inside Andy's schoolbag- in the pocket Louis found his hanky when the boy got sick.

"Forgot to do it last night," Harry explains. "Are you really alright with this?"

The omega raises an eyebrow at him. "I am. Are you?"

The alpha stays quiet, leaving once the other pups start to join them.

"And- and gramma give me-"

"Gave me." Louis softly corrects the boy. Over the last months, Andy's speech has gotten considerably better. He had a long conversation with Harry at the parents-teachers meeting about it.

The alpha had taken the boy to a speech specialist, wondering why the boy was lagging behind in speech despite doing wonderfully in all the other areas. Apparently it is one of the consequences of not having an omega to care for the pup- that the pup will lag in some or the other field. Thankfully, it is nothing that cannot be fixed and Moon, Louis will fix it if that's the one thing he does for this boy.

Andy, like the excellent pup that he is, takes it in stride every time, seeing it as something to learn rather than a hindrance in his story. He has gotten so much better. "Gave me five toffees! And two ice lollies!"

Louis laughs. "I'm sure your daddy was not happy with that."

Shrugging Andrew pays the comment no attention. "I sleep with gramma in her nest!"

The omega's eyes soften at that. He knows how sensitive the topic is no matter if the pup doesn't realise it yet. He smiles at the boy, tracing his eyebrow lightly. "That's lovely, pup."

The little alpha preens under the affection, looking up at Louis like he was the sun. "What you do?"

Louis keeps up the comforting gesture.
"What did I do?" He hums in faux contemplation. "I went to see my mama and my girls!"

The boy nods in approval and it makes the omega too fond over him. How can it not? The pup is just so cute!
"You wanna see the pictures?" Louis asks.

"Yeah!" The little alpha shrieks in excitement, looking ready to jump.

Chuckling, the teacher pats the space beside him, watching the boy scurry to sit closer to him.

Opening his phone gallery, Louis shows him a picture. "There. They are my sisters."

"Pretty," the pup murmurs, moving closer to look at the faces.

Louis nods in agreement. "I will be sure to pass on the compliment to them." He swipes to the next picture. "That's my mama, you remember her."

Andy turns to face Louis, nodding quickly. "Pretty Boobear's mama."

"That's right. We made biscuits together and I told her that you're an expert at it." The boy preens.

As the omega swipes onto the next picture- Louis with his youngest sister in his lap, cuddling her- the previously blushing boy huffs, pouting.

"What's wrong, little lad?" Louis puts the phone away, bringing one hand to rub the boy's back in hopes of providing some comfort. This boy is having too many mood swings today. Isn't that the teenage phase?

Softly whining, Andy wraps his arms around Louis's chest, stuffing his face in the jumper.

"My Pretty Boobear!"

"Uh... huh," the omega nods, confused. What is this boy on about?

The pup whimpers into the jumper, "not her! Mine!"

Louis's mouth falls open in a silent 'oh'.

Oh no.

"Andy," he coaxes the pup to at least face him. He doesn't know what else to say- if he should reassure him or introduce him to a new emotion he can't name yet- jealousy. "I'm not their Pretty Boobear, I'm their brother, okay? Only your Pretty Boobear, no one else's." He knows, his mind knows that he probably shouldn't give in like this. Sure, he is a kindergarten teacher and jealousy is a common thing but it is usually over a toy or a crayon, not himself! He doesn't know what else to do!

Thankfully, Harry saves him and the pup looks around at the knock.
"Ready to go home yet?"

The pup frowns, hiding his face in the omega's jumper again, this time nuzzling into it. Louis simply strokes his curls, letting the boy have his fill.

"Not yet, message received." So the alpha simply comes in, sitting cross-legged in front of them.

Louis gives the father a small smile, unsure how to tell him about the little, er, conversation that transpired. "How are you?"

Harry purses his lips, thinking for a moment. "There's been worse days."

Chuckling, Louis nods. "That's one way to look at it."

"How was yours?" Harry asks and Louis feels his cheeks pinken a little. It's probably been years since an alpha last asked him that- as if they discuss their days daily, disgustingly domestically.

So naturally, Louis turns all his attention to the pup in his lap, still clinging to his jumper. "We had a lot of fun, didn't we, little lad?" Andy nuzzles his nose in the jumper in lieu of a reply. Louis sighs, "so much that he is tired now." He runs his fingers through the boy's curls again. They're just so soft and Andy loves it, so it's a double win.

"Thank you for that," Harry sighs a breath of relief.

At the response, Louis chuckles. "Um hm, I'm sure after all the toffees and the ice lollies, it must've been a rollercoaster."

"Ugh, don't remind me," the alpha says dramatically, keeping a big smile on his face the whole time, silently letting the omega know how much he loves it despite all the chaos.

The omega laughs, remembering all the ruckus his siblings caused over the weekend. "But they look so cute napping after the sugar crash."

"Oh!" Those green eyes sparkle. "I have pictures."

And no, Louis did not squeal in excitement, definitely not. "Show me!" So the father does just that and soon they're swiping through the most adorable pictures Louis has ever seen.
"Oh Moon, he looks so cute," Louis coos, internally pouting because he wanted to be there!

Looking down, he watches the boy rest against him, looking so serene, the omega can't help but keep caressing his chubby cheek. He feels the boy relax even more against him making his inner omega preen.

After five minutes, when the pup still doesn't move to leave, Harry sighs. "Andy, come on baby." His hand rests on the pup's back, right beside Louis's. And the omega looks away as soon as that happens because he can't, he just cannot see the image- the way both of them are consoling the pup or that the alpha's hand is huge. Huge. No! "We have to go home. And so does Louis."

All he gets in return is a sleepy glare from the boy. A true little alpha, Louis muses.

"Little lad, are you planning to miss your school tomorrow?"

The pup immediately frowns and shakes his head no. Why would he ever do that?

"Then we are going to meet tomorrow." Louis fixes the pup's curls, silently grounding him with his touch. "Until then, why don't you go home and tell your daddy about all the things you've learnt today, hm?"

Pouting, the pup moves back. "B-bye."

"Bye, love. I will see you tomorrow." Louis smiles at him, caressing his cheek with his knuckle.

Still holding his pout, he dramatically goes to his dad, just holding his hand out.

"Bye, Louis." The alpha says, leaving with one hand holding his pup's schoolbag, the other holding onto his pup.

The omega smiles, waving, "bye, Harry."

He sends it. He is well aware that as Andy's teacher, he has no business interfering with the dad and son duo but as Andrew's 'Pretty Boobear', he feels obliged to. Not to mention, he is worried, because obviously.

He patiently waits for a whole minute for a reply, bubbling with anxiety over a text. He can scold himself later for worrying too much. After staring at the screen for two more minutes, the typing bubbles start to appear.

Yes, everything is fine.

The response makes him frown.
His phone dings again and he scrambles to open it.

Actually not. He has been really cranky lately.
But only with me? He is perfectly fine with my sister and hopefully you.
He behaves well in class, right?

Louis waits for about a minute after his word vomit. He shuts his eyes and curses himself. Stupid, stupid, big mouthed Louis!

Another ding. He would be embarrassed if somebody saw him scramble for his phone the way he did.

No no, you aren't overstepping at all
I appreciate your concern and actually would love if you could help me?
I don't recall having any fight with Andy at all
Did he tell you anything what it was about?

Really Louis?

🤦🏻
I will talk to him
Thank you so much, Louis.
For caring for Andy
And for this too.

❤️

Red heart.

How is he going to face Harry tomorrow?

He groans into the pillow, letting himself rot in bed for the rest of the evening.

"Pretty boobear!" The boy exclaims, running to hug his legs the first thing in the morning. It has become a routine that he loves.

"Good morning, little man." Louis coos at the boy, running his hair over the soft curls. The pup preens under his attention, still hugging his teacher.

"Hello Harry," the omega belatedly adds, giving the alpha a shy wave. He would feel mortified at his burning cheeks if he could think about anything other than the father's beautiful smile and a mini version of him sticking to his own legs.

"Good morning, Louis." Close, close, too close! Harry ends up standing right in front of him and Louis has to look up and oh Moon... how is he so tall? That's... that's not okay. He's in a kindergarten class!

Thank Moon for this baby. He starts nosing above the omega's covered knees, effectively pulling him out of his daydreaming. "How are you, pup? I hope you've made up with your daddy," he teases the boy, watching him blush with embarrassment.

"Did Andrew tell you he is a meanie?" Harry starts to tease him but is met with the pup running to him and tugging at his daddy's shirt.

"Daddy! Don' tell Pretty Boobear!" He grumbles, still tugging at the pressed shirt.

Huffing exaggeratedly, Harry agrees. "Go, get settled in your chair." The boy, satisfied with the compensation, runs to his little desk and chair.
He then turns to the teacher, giving him a small smile. "Um, I want to thank you. For yesterday. We, er, we talked it out. I didn't know he could hold a grudge over something so minor."

Louis hums letting Harry know that he isn't wrong. "But maybe it's not 'minor' to him." Harry raises an eyebrow at that. The omega elaborates, "Pups, they love what they love, no matter how insignificant it objectively is. It's perfectly normal." Louis really prays to the Moon that he isn't overstepping but he cannot see Andy's feelings be dismissed this way. "I mean, as adults, we value things that we think are valuable. It's the same. Who labels what is important and what is not? If it's significant to you, it becomes valuable. And these babies," he glances at the boy who has become so important to him, "when they look up to you, they hold onto every single word."

The way Harry looks at him with awe in his eyes makes the omega shy. He averts his eyes, focusing on the chalkboard where he still has to change the date. "How long have you worked with pups?" The alpha asks.

"It's my first year, actually. Why?" Louis feels Andy's hand wrapping around his leg so he looks down, crossing his eyes, getting a beautiful giggle in return.

It brings a smile to his own face.

Andy holds his hands up and Louis does not want to resist whatever charm this pup has over him. So he simply picks him up, letting the boy softly nuzzle into his shoulder.

"You're really great with them," the alpha compliments and Louis's cheeks turn red. "I mean, I've had this boy for a few years now and somehow- I might be a little jealous there-" the alpha chuckles good-naturedly, "but somehow you're better at understanding him."

Trying his best to hide his cheek in Andy's curls, Louis shrugs. "I have four younger siblings, so I've got a bit of training there."

"They are lucky to have you."

It makes Louis all fuzzy and warm. He has known, he has always known he is good with kids, but hearing Harry- the alpha he's been pining over- say that, it's doing a lot for him and his inner omega.

The pup squirms, catching the teachers attention. It takes five seconds for Louis to spot that Sarah is here so he lets the pup down, watching him run to his best friend. Chuckling, he shakes his head turning his attention back to what the alpha said.

"Thank you. They're all so precious." Louis glances at the fast-filling class, turning his attention back to Harry. "Besides, most days, I find that pups are the only good thing in the world. As much as they tire me out, I wouldn't trade this for any other job." The omega grimaces, waiting for a counter argument. Only that it doesn't come.

Not only is there no lecture on how dare he call the entire world bad, there's a soft chuckle and understanding eyes.

"You make wrangling all these little gremlins sound so tempting." Harry scrunches his nose cutely- so that's where Andy gets it from. "I have half a mind to leave my job and become your assistant."

Despite knowing a lot about them, Louis doesn't know what Harry actually does. They did talk about his day when he was stuck in traffic, but Louis was too focused on talking to him about Andy to pay attention to that. Huh. This kind of thing is probably somewhere in the registers in the main office. But. Well. Wow.
"What exactly do you do?" He asks sheepishly.

The alpha, to his credit, doesn't look bothered in the least. "I'm a real estate agent."

Thinking back, the 'people not liking houses' thing fits. "That makes sense."

"Um, Louis," Harry starts, suddenly sounding unsure. "Er, about that dinner..."

"Um hm." Because that's the only sound he can make right now.

"Does tomorrow work for you? I mean it's- it's Friday so I completely understand if you have plans..." It's adorable how Harry is fiddling with his hands, his beautiful hands...

And for a dumb moment, Louis thinks, he's standing there with his mouth slightly open. Thankfully, he blinks back into reality before the alpha could catch on. "Yeah, no. Tomorrow works, yeah," he nods, too quick to be casual but oh.

"Great!" There's that blinding smile with those dimples, Moon... "Erm, I'll let Andy know tonight- in advance- so he can prepare because if I don't, I'll be in big trouble."

Louis chuckles. He is well aware Harry isn't joking in the least. "You do that."

"I'll just say bye to him," Harry gestures to the boy animatedly chatting to his best friend. Louis, obviously, nods fondly.

"Andy?" The boy looks at him. Harry crouches down, turning Andy's chair to face him. "I'm sorry, baby," he starts gently, feeling guilty. And he knows, ofcourse the father knows that Andrew is too young to understand what he is going to say, but he wants to get it off his chest nonetheless. So he starts, "I never want to keep you away from anyone you love, I hope you understand that." Harry takes his little hands in his, just holding them. "I don't want to keep you away from Louis or your grandma. But I'm your daddy and sometimes I'm scared that I'm not enough."

Frowning, the precious little alpha brings his palm to hold his father's cheek. "It's okay. Don't be scared, daddy."

Too precious.

Harry turns his face to kiss the palm before starting again. "You deserve to have lots of loving people in your life, who love to spoil you. I'm only scared you'll get hurt, but that doesn't give me the right to hold you back."

Still frowning, Andy shakes his head, trying to convince his father, "I am not hurt, daddy."

Releasing a huff of laugh, the alpha pulls the boy into his arms. "I know, baby. Have lots of fun, yeah? I'll come pick you up in the afternoon, okay?"
Nuzzling into his baby's curls, Harry presses a kiss to his head, lightly scenting him. "I love you, Andy."

"Love you too, daddy," the boy murmurs, feeling safe and relaxed, waving his father bye when the hug ends.

Harry walks back to Louis, rubbing his hands. "I should not keep the gremlins waiting. I know Andrew is going to lecture me for stealing so much of your time." His green eyes pierce through Louis's own, an intense sincerity gleaming through them as he says, "thank you, Lou, really."

Softening, Louis insists, "it's nothing."

Shaking his head fondly, the alpha takes his leave. "I'll see you, then."

Nodding, Louis returns the sentiment. "Bye Harry."

"B-bye." And he is gone.
Taking a deep breath, the omega turns to his class, clapping once to bring it to order. "Alright, good morning little people!"

"Good morning, Mister Louis!"