Page 21 of Shifter Omegaverse AU

“I do not,” Milo said, giving up and reaching for his backpack. He made a point to pull out his clothes first before glancing at his phone to see he had a one-line text from Rowan that read

Rowan: Looking forward to seeing you. I’ll be in yellow.

As Ethel and Ray continued to poke fun at him for whatever his face was supposedly doing at the callback to their second hangout, Milo consulted the color wheel in his head. Anabelle had made them both memorize it to help with their thrift shopping. While it seemed to work for Anabelle, who was always loud and outrageous, but in a whimsical way, it only ever seemed to make Milo’s outfits more out of control.

Regardless, he was almost positive the complementary color for yellow was purple, and he had just the outfit in mind. He picked out outfits for hanging out with Ray and Ethel, too. It didn’t mean anything that he spent over an hour ironing his purple blouse that night, and upwards of two hours applying purple and pink makeup. It was all worth it to see the wide-eyed look of surprise on Rowan’s face when he stepped into the mini-golf lobby the following evening.

“Wow…you look so…bright,” Rowan said, and Milo grinned up at him.

Rowan was wearing a hoodie that was closer to tan than yellow, but he was wearing matching yellow and black sneakers which Milo thought was pretty cool.

“Thank you. I wanted to compliment your yellow.”

Rowan’s smile was a little lopsided as they stepped up to the counter to pay. Sometimes, it almost seemed as if Rowan was relearning how to smile, testing the waters with tiny grins and half-smiles.

Before Milo could pull out his zebra print wallet with the purple tassel he’d remembered right as he’d been rushing out the door, Rowan pulled out his own.

“It’s my treat,” Rowan said, handing over his credit card to the young guy who was staring open-mouthed at Milo.

“Are you sure? It was my idea, though.”

“Very sure,” Rowan said, turning his warm hazel eyes on the cashier. “You gonna ring us up or keep staring at my friend?”

The person whose nametag read “Magnus (he/him)” snapped his mouth shut. “Sorry, it’s just that his makeup is fucking fire.” Magnus’ cheeks turned a mottled pink as he ducked his head and handed Rowan his card back.

Milo’s pony pawed at the ground. He still didn’t have any bad feelings hearing “his” used to describe himself, but it did drag him right up to the edge of that cliff again, as if some part of him really did want to peer out across the vast chasm. He still couldn’t see across it or into it, but for the span of his next exhale, that was okay. Maybe he didn’t need to have all the answers. Maybe it was okay to try again, even without Anabelle by his side.

“I think I’m trying out they/them, actually,” Milo said, running a finger over the purple tassel. “If that’s okay.”

Magnus nodded his head aggressively. “Totally, totally, I hear you. Your makeup is fire, fam!”

“Thank you,” Milo said and their pony threw their mane in pleasure.

“I can never get my lips to look like that,” Magnus groaned, ducking down to grab a purple and a yellow golf ball. He placed them on a tray and pushed them across the counter. “Mine always come out looking flat or pale.”

While Rowan took the tray, Milo fished out their phone and pulled up one of their favorite makeup tutorials. “I follow this woman who does the most amazing lips. She recommends a darker lip liner for the outside and concentrates the lighter color in the center.”

Magnus flipped over the receipt, which he was probably supposed to be handing to Rowan, and jotted down the name of the influencer. “I’m going to look her up as soon as my shift ends. Thank you so much.” He put the pen down and hurried over to a rack of golf clubs. “I’d recommend this one for you, since you’re so tall, and this one matches your pants.”

Milo took both golf clubs, one a bright neon yellow and the other much shorter one the exact purple of Milo’s hammer pants.

“You’re the absolute best, and I wish you all the luck with your makeup adventures!” Milo said, clutching the clubs to their chest as Magnus scurried back behind the counter for the next guests.

Rowan gave Milo a look they couldn’t decipher, his brows pulled together, and his lips pursed.

“What?” Milo asked, genuinely not knowing how Rowan had taken that interaction.

“Nothing. I’m just really enjoying getting to know you. I think I alluded to this over text, but my social network is mainly made up of my parents and siblings. You’re very different from them.”

Rowan’s eyes were soft as he inclined his head towards the hallway that led deeper into the building.

“In what way?” Milo asked, doing their best not to knock the golf clubs into any of the walls as they walked.

“Well, let’s say I was here with them tonight, and the front desk guy complimented one of them on their makeup. Raina is the most artistic of us all, and she would probably have thanked him or launched into a very in-depth analysis of makeup trends over the past five years. Riley doesn’t really have time nor interest in makeup—or small talk, to be honest. She would probably just nod and go retrieve her club on her own. And Ruben… Well, he would never be caught dead in a mini-golf course on a Saturday night to begin with.”

Milo laughed and followed closely behind Rowan as they walked through a large doorway into the start of the course. The theme was glow-in-the-dark, which was why Milo had gone with purple and pink sparkles on their face.

“What would he be doing on a Saturday night?” Milo asked, handing over the yellow golf club and taking the scuffed purple ball from Rowan.