Page 25 of Shifter Omegaverse AU

Before Rowan could apologize, Courtney gave a good-natured snort. “It’s not a problem. If anything, I’m overjoyed to see—” She turned and gave Milo a more purposeful up and down. “Sorry, are you not using he/him pronouns anymore, hon?”

Rowan had once come face-to-face with a deer on the road leading up to his cabin. With a few honks of his horn, the beast had loped off into the woods, but what had stuck with Rowan was the stark contrast between the creature's magnificent antlers and terror-filled eyes.

“You… I…” Milo stuttered, their eyes wide as if they were trapped in a pair of headlights. “I thought that…wasn’t cool here.”

Courtney lowered her notebook. “You thought using pronouns wasn’t cool here?”

Milo pulled the napkin off their silverware and gripped it tightly with both hands. “Well, when I tried out she/her pronouns, it didn’t exactly go over well.”

Courtney cocked her hip and placed a fist against it. “That’s cause Donnie in the back is an asshole.”

Milo’s lip twitched up, but the napkin began to tear down the middle. “Our boss wasn’t much better.”

“Oh, she’s long gone now, though. Probably a month or two after you threw that banana cream pie at your cheating ex, she got caught skimming tips.”

Milo barked out a surprised laugh, and the napkin tore in half. “I forgot it was banana.”

“The first one was,” Courtney said with a shit-eating grin. “The second was cherry. I remember the globs of red dripping down that jackass’s nice suit.”

“It was a knockoff,” Milo murmured, stacking the two napkin halves on top of each other. “He always talked big, but he had horrible taste in clothes. I should know.”

The table fell silent, and Milo batted their pale lashes up at them.

Courtney broke first, laughing so hard she had to grip the edge of the booth.

“Oh, Milo. I’ve missed you,” she said, leaning down to wrap an arm around their shoulders.

“I thought everyone was happy to be rid of me and my drama,” Milo said, wrapping an arm around Courtney’s back.

“Again, some of the shitheads might have been, but Jenny and I still talk about that day, and how we wished we’d stayed in contact.”

Milo tucked their chin against their chest, and Courtney planted a loud kiss on their hair.

Rowan’s gaze drifted down to where Milo’s free hand was clutching tightly at the edge of the table. He had the inexplicable urge to take Milo’s hand. His hawk screeched in discomfort, but he also felt that pull to lean in and do…something.

“It’s never too late,” Rowan murmured, and the two shifters turned to look at him. “You could hang out moving forward?”

The back of his head prickled, but thankfully, Milo released the edge of the table as they whispered, “I’d love that.”

“Oh my gods, me, too!” Courtney cried, releasing Milo and standing back upright. “We should definitely hang out!”

She surreptitiously glanced around the diner before pulling out her phone and setting it down on the table in front of Milo. They typed in their phone number, but for some reason, before entering their name, they looked up at Rowan.

Rowan had the absurd urge to flash them a thumbs up but thank gods his hands were under the table. He wasn’t able to pull them out before Milo looked back down at the phone.

Using only one finger, they slowly typed in their name and added “they/them” at the end of it.

Warmth spread through Rowan’s chest, and it took him longer than perhaps it should have to recognize what it was.

Pride wasn’t an emotion he felt often.

Growing up, whether it be at the dinner table, a gallery opening, or one of Ruben’s concerts, it had always been clear to Rowan that he wasn’t actually needed by his family. His busy parents and talented siblings would go on to pursue their dreams with or without him, and, if anything, his presence was often more of a hindrance than anything else. The same could be said of Riley’s company. It had been running smoothly for years, and all Rowan had done was step into a leadership role at the right time to keep it on track.

In the same vein, he wasn’t under any sort of delusion that he was the reason Milo was exploring their gender again. He had just so happened to meet Milo at the right time to give them a little nudge.

And yet…

The wide-eyed look of joy on Milo’s face as they handed Courtney her phone filled Rowan with something akin to pride. He had been here by Milo’s side, and his presence had helped, not hurt.