Page 44 of Shifter Omegaverse AU

“Consent is sexy!” Milo hissed under their breath as they struggled to drop one of Rowan’s legs onto the floor.

He let out a soft huff and shifted, pressing his other leg even harder down on Milo.

Maybe if Milo thought of every naked person they’d ever seen, they could shuffle them all together, and that way, the next time they were more purposefully with a naked Rowan, it would be like their first time?

If they were ever more purposefully with a naked Rowan again.

Ugh, godsdamnit, how was this their life?

They wanted to call Anabelle.

The familiar ache and fog threatened to overtake them, and for one brief moment, they wanted to give in. Maybe if they jumped into the fog, straight into the chasm, they could talk to her one last time.

She would probably tell them to wake Rowan up and have a mature, adult conversation about this. Rowan would understand Milo hadn’t meant to touch him or see him in this vulnerable state. His hawk had climbed onto Milo, and Milo had truly done everything they could to not touch the bird. This was all completely by accident and hopefully wouldn’t affect their future.

If they had a future.

Their pony whinnied, and Milo shoved Rowan’s other leg off their lap. His foot hit the ground with a thud, jarring him awake.

“Wh–what? What happened?” Rowan asked groggily.

He looked around the room, eyes skittering over Milo, and then down his still mostly naked body.

“Did… Why… Where are my clothes?”

“Uh, I think you’re lying on them,” Milo said, rather unhelpfully. “We came back from the club, and you were really out of it, so I walked you inside, we had some tea, and you shifted into your hawk form. We…sat together for a while, and I accidentally fell asleep. You must have fallen asleep, too, and shifted back, hence the—”

Milo waved their hand up and down Rowan’s body, doing their best to only look at the arm of the couch above his head.

Rowan blinked once and then again, his beautiful brown eyes barely focused. “Oh…okay.”

“Okay,” Milo repeated, the skin on their leg still buzzing.

They missed the solid weight of his legs. It had made them feel grounded, the same way Anabelle’s sleeve grabs and parka-filled hugs used to.

Without warning, tears formed in the corners of Milo’s eyes. They would give many, many years of their life to have just one more talk with Anabelle. She would hug them in her parka, and they would tell her the wild and crazy news, and she would say it was all going to be okay.

Because right now, everything felt so far from okay, Milo wasn’t sure how it would ever be okay again. What if Rowan was upset with them and denied their fated mate bond? That was a thing shifters could do, and though it apparently hurt like heartbreak times a thousand, it was doable.

Hell, Anabelle had done it. Milo didn’t think they were anywhere near as strong as her, but if Rowan really didn’t want them, with all their baggage, unresolved grief, and gender exploration, they would get through it.

Somehow.

They just didn’t think they could take that sort of rejection at two in the morning.

“You should get some sleep,” Milo said, holding themself as still as they could so they didn’t risk touching Rowan again.

While Milo didn’t have the wherewithal to drive home, they could probably sleep in their car. They were going to see Rowan in the morning anyway. Maybe if they discussed this over strawberries it wouldn’t seem quite so daunting.

“Yeah…yeah, you too.” Rowan glanced blearily at the clock. “Gods, it’s so late. Why don’t you just sleep here. The couch is actually quite comfortable.”

He reached down with fumbling fingers and grabbed the blanket, holding it tightly against himself as he swung his legs around and sat up.

“I should probably—”

“Please,” Rowan said. His voice was gruff with sleep, but underneath the rumble, there was something else, something with weight behind it. “You look as wrecked as I feel. Please stay here. You can even sleep in my room, and I can stay on the couch.”

Milo huffed through their nose. “Don’t be silly. I’m not—”