Page 36 of Shifter Omegaverse AU

Hank squinted. “Rowan… Ruben…”

“Riley and Raina.”

Hank grimaced. “I see what you mean. At least Milo is unique.”

Rowan’s hawk began bobbing his head, and right on cue, the smell of apples overtook the gin and smoke.

“Is Hank making up stories about me?” Milo asked, sidling up next to Rowan, leaving about the space of a beer bottle between them.

“He was just saying that you’re a really good friend to Ray.”

Milo’s smirk smoothed out around the edges, and they nodded at Hank.

“One usual, coming right up,” Hank said, before pausing with a glass halfway in the air. “Do you want this on Ray’s tab or Rowan’s?”

“I got it,” Rowan said, gesturing at the cash register with his beer bottle. He was already covering all of Ruben’s drinks. How much could one cocktail cost?

“You got it, boss,” Hank said as he headed across the bar to fix Milo’s drink.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that,” Milo said, leaning back against the bar so they could simultaneously look at Rowan and the dance floor.

It took a little searching, but Rowan found Ray dancing with a large shifter.

“It’s no big deal. I already have the tab open.”

Milo dipped their chin. “Well, thank you anyway. Truly, your handsome, sweet company is more than enough, but I guess the drink is the glossy red cherry on top.”

Rowan’s hawk fluttered his wings, somehow still maintaining the head bob.

“Speaking of cherry, here’s your drink,” Hank said, sliding a pink drink across the bar to Milo with a wry grin.

“Thanks, Hankaroonie,” Milo said, snatching up the tall glass and taking a long sip. They made a satisfied sounding “ahhhh” noise and smiled. Unfortunately, the smile only lasted as long as it took their eyes to stray back to the dance floor.

“Is Ray doing okay?” Rowan asked gently.

“He’s as good as he ever is here, which means he gets his heart broken by every rejection of the night until some lucky guy—because, truly, anyone would be beyond lucky to have Ray—stumbles upon him when he’s at his most vulnerable, and he goes home with them. Then they go on a date or two, and the guy inevitably breaks what’s left of Ray’s heart. Lather, rinse, repeat, and we do it all again next month.”

Rowan was grateful for the beer in his hand because it gave him something to do that wasn’t grabbing these nameless shifters and shaking them. He and his hawk hated seeing Milo upset, and by extension, that seemed to mean they hated seeing Ray upset.

“I know the dating world is rough, but that sounds particularly brutal.”

Milo sighed dramatically, throwing an arm across the bar, taking care not to touch Rowan but sort of bracketing his body in. The feeling wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, his hawk shimmied his body and settled down in his nest.

“I know Ray just desperately wants to be loved, and I will support him in that until I’m as old as Ethel, but watching him get hurt along the way is awful.”

Rowan cautiously leaned back against the bar until he could just barely feel the heat of Milo’s bare arm through his Henley. Milo looked absolutely breathtaking tonight in a mesh crop top and very short jean shorts that could have been new but were probably from one of the thrift shops around town.

Between texting and actually attempting to do his job that week, Rowan had done some research and had been surprised to find there were over ten thrift shops within walking distance of their coffee shop. Rowan was going to suggest that, for their next date, they go thrift shopping.

Er, friend date. Just like picking strawberries and going back to Milo’s place was a friend date.

Even if, at this point, Rowan could admit he wanted it to be more than that. Given that he still didn’t know what he could promise in terms of touch and intimacy, he was anxious to bring it up, but maybe it was time. They had most of the following day together to talk. Maybe he could broach the subject and see how Milo reacted?

Or maybe he should look into getting a therapist first. He knew he wasn’t broken and that therapy wouldn’t “fix” him, but after his brief conversation with Ruben, he wondered if there might be tips and accommodations out there he hadn’t considered before.

As if summoning him with his thoughts, Rowan spotted Ruben making his way towards the bar.

Ruben seemed to do a double-take when he saw Milo and Rowan’s position and quickened his pace.