WARNINGS: THIS IS A BDSM FIC. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. Louis unintentionally abuses Harry by not finishing his discipline even though Harry needs it. He gives some aftercare though. Harry and Louis have somewhat of an unhealthy relationship, but that'll be fixed soon enough in the story.

Author's Note: I'm not really sure about posting this here ... Like I said before, this is a BDSM Fic. You have been warned. Anyway, enjoy! I didn't know which category to put this in so I just gave it my best shot. If you have something you think suits it better, please tell me! :)

Chapter One

Oh, god. He had messed up again. Now, Louis was going to have to punish him again, and then they would both end up panicking before Louis would flee from the room, leaving Harry alone to wallow in self-pity and feel disgust at himself, because he knew that he was a horrible Sub. It was a wonder Louis didn't hate him.

"I'm sorry," Harry tried to say, but a sob blocked him from muttering the words coherently.

Louis didn't say anything, instead just sighing and pacing a few times before crooking a finger silently, going downstairs to the basement.

Oh, god. The basement. He had screwed up so badly this time. He was never going to forgive himself. Louis was never going to forgive him. The basement was the coldest part of the house, but thankfully his Dom never left him there for long.

After fleeing from the room, unable to continue punishing Harry, he would come back, half an hour if he recovered quickly, two hours at the latest. Harry would be shivering of cold and loneliness and Louis would be almost on the verge of tears, trembling and mumbling apologies as he warmed up a cup of hot cocoa for him, wrapping Harry in a warm blanket. Thankfully and luckily, Harry had never experienced a 'drop' before.

However, as this routine happened over and over again, the three words Louis always uttered to him as he apologized meant less and less to Harry.

'I love you'.

If Louis really loved him, then wouldn't it mean that he would be able to discipline him and comfort him after? If Louis actually loved him, wouldn't he be able to punish Harry accordingly and then give him all the comfort and love that all subs deserved after being disciplined?

Was it considered abuse? Would they both be in trouble from the ADS?

However, scared of Louis' reaction, he had never spoken his fears and thoughts out loud. Tomorrow, though, was the day Harry knew that both him and Louis were dreading. Tomorrow was the day when the Inspectors came around from the Association of Doms and Subs, also known as the ADS.

For a newly appointed pair of a Dom and a Sub, the Inspectors came around every two months for a year, six times in total, until they were satisfied of the Dom's treatment of the Submissive. If they were not satisfied, then the Dom and Sub would be separated, for both of their safety. If everything seemed to be good, then the Inspectors would allow the pair to stay together. Then they would visit once every two years, just in case.

Harry had been Louis' Sub for half a year now, and though it wasn't an unhappy relationship, it wasn't the most comforting or happiest relationship a Dom and Sub could have.

"Harry."

Harry flinched. It was the first time Louis had spoken. "Sorry," he whispered, ducking his head and crept toward the stairs that led down to the basement. He shivered; he could feel the cold temperature already.

Harry bent obediently over the small wooden desk, still quivering. He saw cuffs attached to the desk but he knew that Louis wouldn't chain him. They both knew how this would end up.

Harry shivered when he felt his trousers tugged down and Louis' hand pressed to his bottom. "Harry," he tried, but his voice cracked. "Sir, please. I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to—OW!" He couldn't help but let out a soft yelp when Louis' hand came down harshly on his backside.

"Hush," was all Louis said before smacking his bottom again.

Harry tensed as his discipline continued. Then he began to sob. Oh, dear god. This was the worst part. He could feel the tension in the air as Louis continued. Then he heard a sharp intake of breath behind him, a muffled sob from Louis, and suddenly the Dom fled from the room.

Shakily, Harry wiped away his tears from his face, trembling, and pulled up his trousers gently, hissing slightly. Sure, he had deserved it, but he hadn't meant to drench Louis in ice water and embarrass him in front of his colleagues by screwing everything up and not acting like a Sub was supposed to.

Sniffling, he curled up on the dusty old couch in the far corner, wiping away the last of the tears. He knew Louis would be back soon, with trembling apologies.

And Harry knew that he would doubt even more if the three words actually meant something.

I love you.

"Nervous?"

Harry shrugged at his Dom's question as the bacon on the frying pan. Louis went to fetch the scrambled eggs and bacon, and Harry sighed, fiddling with his fork, scraping it against his knife – a bad habit of his when he got nervous. He always played with his hands.

"Don't," Louis scolded gently as he placed the full plate in front of him.

"Sorry," Harry responded sheepishly, placing them down firmly on the table.

"Orange juice or milk?" Louis paused at the fridge, glancing at the Sub, and Harry just shrugged. "Juice it is, then."

They began to eat and Harry sighed before getting the courage to glance up timidly and ask, "Will they have to separate us?"

He could see Louis; shoulders tense a bit and the Dom responded, "I'm not sure."

Harry dropped his eyes back down to his plate. The answer hadn't made him feel any better.

At around 12 at noon, the doorbell rang and Harry gulped, stiffening. He heard Louis open the front door and say, "Mr. Payne! Lovely to see you. Come in."

"What's with all the politeness?" a deep voice chuckled as the door closed. "Where's the usual grumpy little Louis Tomlinson that I know?"

"Harry!"

Harry jumped a bit before scurrying over to his Dom, gulping again and keeping his head low. He risked a glance upwards and got a stern look from Louis and a kind, almost amused look from the man beside him.

"This is Liam Payne, Harry. He's the boss of the ADS Company, an Inspector, and also one of my closest friends." Louis turned to Liam and grinned, saying, "Where's Zayn? How's your little subbie, Niall?"

"They're both fine," Liam shrugged. "Zayn is currently busy Inspecting others."

Harry swallowed when Liam turned to face him. The man seemed kind enough, but still. It was never a bad idea to be cautious around new people, even if they were Louis' friends.

"And you, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Harry replied and grimaced at the look Louis gave him; the one that clearly told him to behave. "Sir," he hastily added.

"Hmm." Liam just frowned a bit. Harry watched curiously as Liam turned to Louis and said bluntly, "Out, or give me a private room where I can interview you and your Sub, separately."

Liam seemed to catch Harry's frown and hastened to explain to both the bristling Dom and uneasy Sub. "We interview Subs and Doms separately to make sure that there's nothing going on that we could miss, such as silent looks or communication through that silent little bond most Doms and Subs have. Am I right?" When there was no reply, Liam just hummed quietly to himself before repeating, "So, Tommo, room. And I'll take Harry first."

Harry gulped.

"Upstairs, first door on the left. Don't you dare step anywhere else," Louis grumbled. He gave Harry a fond pat on his bottom, making the Sub blush and scurry after Liam as the man strode off for the stairs.

"So, Harry," Liam spoke as he pulled up a chair for himself, then indicated for Harry to sit across from him. "How have you been?"

"Good, sir," Harry murmured softly.

"Are you comfortable here?"

"Yes," Harry said immediately. It wasn't a lie, he was comfortable. After all, this was basically his home, along with his parents' house.

"Has Louis shown any signs of abuse or aggression towards you?"

"Abuse?" Harry let the word roll on his tongue. Had Louis abused him?

"Abuse such as particularly harsh punishments, no aftercare, extremely aggressive beatings—"

"Er, well, not really," Harry stammered, overwhelmed by the information the man was spewing out.

"Not really, or no?" Liam leaned forward, making Harry fidget a bit. When there was no reply, the man sighed, leaned back into his chair and murmured, "Harry. I'm here to help you. I won't make you unhappy; in fact, it'll be quite the opposite. But I need the truth. So, what's the answer? No, or not really?"

Harry hesitated before whispering, "Not really."

Liam grimaced before jotting a few notes down. Harry blinked back the slight stinging in his eyes. He was such a wimp; tearing up about nothing. But would Liam separate him from Louis? He didn't want to be taken away; he didn't want another Dom! He and Louis were a perfect match; the Matchers at the ADS had said so themselves!

"What does he do?" Liam inquired seriously, staring hard at him with eyes full of sternness that clearly told him to tell the truth. Not that he had thought about lying. "Does he beat you?"

"It's not physical!" Harry said, horrified at the thought of Louis beating him. He shivered a bit before whispering, "He leaves me." At the flare in Liam's eyes, he hurriedly elaborated. "I mean, he doesn't finish my punishments. He can't. About halfway through, he always leaves sobbing."

"And then what?" Liam was writing down notes furiously.

Harry gulped. Was he in trouble? Was Louis in trouble? "He comes back for me," Harry continued, a bit shakily. "He gives me a cup of hot cocoa and we watch a movie together, while he strokes my hair. Then he says that he loves me, but, but I don't know if it's true!" Harry grimaced; he hadn't meant for that last part to come out.

"It's true! I swear it is!" The door swung open harshly and Louis stumbled in, eyes wide and horrified. "Harry, I do love you! Please believe me, I'm not lying!"

"Louis Tomlinson! Out!" Liam thundered, glowering.

"Liam, don't tell me to get out of my own room!" Louis hissed, eyes flaring with anger. "I want to talk to you!"

"Oh, believe me, mister, we'll talk about this later," Liam seethed. "But, out, now! How dare you interrupt a private interview!"

Harry whimpered a bit at the dominance both Doms were showing. Stupid sub instincts, he thought.

Reluctantly and finally, Louis left the room slowly at the sight of a nervous and tense Harry. Harry turned immediately to Liam and begged, "Please don't separate us! I'm sorry!"

"Hush," Liam soothed. "It's okay."

Harry whimpered, curling up protectively, his knees touching his chest and arms wrapped around them. "I-I, no, y-you can't separate—p-please—don't—"

"Shhh," Liam said softly, reaching out. Harry fought the urge to flinch away and closed his eyes tightly. He trembled, feeling Liam gently comb and run his hand through his hair. "It's okay," Liam said quietly. "We won't separate you. It was me that Matched you and Louis as Dom and Sub officially. You were perfect for each other; I wouldn't dare separate you two."

Harry sniffled, listening to the quiet but stern voice as Liam continued to rake his fingers softly through his hair.

"It's just that you and Louis both lack experience." Liam tilted his chin up to meet his eyes and smiled kindly. "Isn't that it? You don't know how to serve Louis properly, and Louis doesn't know how to dominate and care for you."

"I-I think so, maybe," Harry whispered, voice cracking a little. He swallowed. His throat was parched.

Liam stroked his head one more time and said, "I have a water bottle in my bag. Hold on." He pulled away from Harry's touch, making the sub whimper softly. He dug around through his backpack until he found a water bottle.

Harry drank thirstily, and when the bottle was halfway finished he finally stopped. Then he processed Liam's words. "You … you're not going to separate Louis and me?"

"No," Liam said soothingly. "I promise." He leaned forward and said seriously, "Under normal circumstances you would be separated, but Louis has been my friend for a long time. And besides, something tells me I shouldn't separate you two. I'm sure we can work out something."

"Okay," Harry said softly. "Sir."

Liam smiled and said, "I'll see you later then, Harry."

"Yes, sir." Harry gave a small, weak smile before opening the door and stepping out of the room.

"I taught you better than this!"

"I know," Louis whispered, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry, Liam."

"Eyes open!" Liam snapped sharply, and Louis jerked, eyes snapping open quickly at Liam's sharp tone.

"I-I'm sorry," Louis stammered, swallowing the lump in his throat. Under normal circumstances, no Dom would cower under the authority of another Dom, but everyone, both Subs, Doms, and Switches cowered under Zayn Malik and Liam Payne. "Liam, I swear, I was gonna tell someone—"

"Yeah? Who? When?" Liam growled sharply, narrowing his eyes. "I bet you were dreading this day, Louis Tomlinson, because you knew that I'd be furious with you when I found out!"

Louis' miserable look said the answer.

"If you were under my personal authority …" Liam trailed off with another dark look, shaking his head.

"Put me under your authority, then!" Louis blurted out. "Do it!"

Liam stopped and stared at him, obviously bewildered. "What?"

"Please, Liam, teach me again!" Louis said with a pleading look. "I want to be under your authority again, so teach me how to be a good Dom! Besides, it's not against the rules to take a less experienced Dom under your authority to teach them! Even if it was a rule, you can do whatever you want because you're the boss of the ADS!"

"Louis …" Liam was obviously flabbergasted, staring at the younger, miserable Dom in front of him. Then he seemed to regain his composure, and he said, "Alright, then. My house, Thursday, at 11 AM."

"What about Harry? Can he come?" Louis asked timidly.

"Of course." Liam rolled his eyes and smirked. "You're not gonna have my Niall as your Sub at my house, are you?"

Louis huffed and rolled his eyes. "Of course not."

"Good," Liam said with a smirk. "He's mine and Zaynie's."

"I wouldn't dare dream of stealing your precious gem," Louis said with a soft laugh.

"Nervous?"

"I guess," Harry said quietly. "How long do we have to stay with them again?"

"Until Liam and Zayn approves," Louis said. He stroked Harry's hair and said softly, "I'm so sorry, Harry."

"For what?" Harry said, frowning and looking up from his cereal. "You don't have to be sorry for anything, Harry," he added. "Even though we're all different, we're still human. You're allowed to feel scared and guilty."

"But I'm your Dom," Louis said softly, emerald green eyes still soft and round with guilt.

"And I'm your Sub," Harry said with a small grin. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on Louis' bottom lip before pulling away. "It doesn't change anything."

"I have such a wise Sub," Louis said fondly, reaching out and ruffling his hair again.

Harry just grinned.

At 9, they set off for Liam and Zayn's house. As Louis drove, he talked softly over the sound of the crackling radio as Harry watched his surroundings out of the window.

"Niall is their Sub," Louis was saying. "He's a nice, cute little lad. Very mischievous, though, it gets his ass tanned bright red by Zayn or Liam at least once a week. I'm sure you'll grow fond of him. Maybe you could even be friends."

"Mmm," Harry hummed. "I'm sure that we'll be friends."

Louis just groaned and teased, "The amount of trouble you'll get into now … oh, god."

At exactly eleven, they arrived in front of … holy crap, a mansion! "W-What?" Harry spluttered as Louis drove into the driveway, passing the large swimming pool and gardens.

"I know," Louis said, rolling his eyes. "Well, what do you expect, Hazza? They are the owners of the ADS Company. The amount of money they get in a month …" Louis shook his head with a grin. The Dom parked the car in a large, almost like a parking lot area. "Come on, quickly now."

Harry rang the doorbell. He heard it echo in the house, and it was silent for a moment before there were the sounds of footsteps. A man opened the door, and wow. He was hot. Unfortunately and obviously taken, though.

"Hello, Zayn," Louis said with a smile. "Long time no see? Oof!" Louis grunted when Zayn pulled him in a hug, leaving Harry to stand there awkwardly, biting his lip nervously.

"This is my Sub, Harry," Louis said, patting Harry's head gently.

Zayn greeted him with a nod. Before he could say anything though, Louis spoke up, obviously happy to see new friends. "Where's Niall? Usually he'd be jumping up and down like the hyper little boy he is."

"He's in trouble," was all Zayn said with a sigh.

Harry winced. That didn't sound very good. They were invited inside, and Harry was standing there awkwardly once more while Zayn and Louis spoke quietly to each other. The creaking sound of footsteps on stairs made Harry look up. He smiled, seeing Liam and a young boy about his age behind the Dom.

The boy had his hands behind his back in a respectful way. His eyes were red and he was sniffling a little. He walked with a slightly stiff gait – the obvious signs of a recent tanning. Harry immediately assumed this was Niall.

"Ah, Louis, Harry, you've arrived!" Liam greeted. He reached back without even looking and tugged Niall's blond hair firmly but not harshly, saying, "Greet our guests, Niall."

"Hello, sirs," Niall said softly, voice quivering a little.

Louis acknowledged the Sub with a smile, and Harry hurried to say, "Um, just Harry is fine." They were both Subs, he didn't want to make it sound like he was in a higher position or rank than Niall.

"In trouble again, Niall?" Louis shook his head, a slightly amused and exasperated look on his face. "What did you do now?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Zayn muttered, sending Niall a dark look, making the Sub bite his lip and look down.

"Why don't you and Harry talk, Niall?" Liam suggested, patting Niall's bum and making him hiss a bit, and then blush an even deeper shade of red. "Go on, take him to the living room. You can speak comfortably now, but don't think this is over just because our guests are here."

Niall scowled a little before saying to Harry, "C'mon, let's go."

Harry followed the other Sub at the slight nod Louis gave him when he hesitated. He decided that he was, after all, going to live in this house for possibly a few months, so he might as well start exploring now.

He followed Niall without another word.

End of Chapter One

Author's Note: Thank you for reading! Please review, and no nasty comments, please. If you don't like it, please just press the back button, because you were warned at the beginning of the chapter that you were to read at your own risk, and it would be your responsibility. Thank you. :)