Page 47 of Shifter Omegaverse AU

“Please?” Rowan said, speaking for him and his hawk. “I won’t be able to sleep knowing you’re out here hurting. Can we try it, at least?”

Milo clenched the blanket tighter to their chest. “If…you’re sure?”

“Very sure,” Rowan said, stepping back from the couch to give Milo space to stand up.

It took them a moment, and their body creaked like they’d been lying there for a hundred years, not two hours. Hopefully, Rowan’s bed would help with that as well.

Rowan led the way into his bedroom, stopping by his dresser to pull out the smallest T-shirt he owned, something he’d gotten for free at a hockey game with Ruben.

“You can wear this if you’d like. And obviously, boxers, or, uh, whatever you’re wearing is fine.”

Rowan could have kicked himself for being too gendered, but Milo just huffed a laugh. “My clothes are fabulous, but my underwear is quite boring. Just some boxer briefs for me.”

Hopefully the shirt would go all the way down to Milo’s knees. Rowan wasn’t sure if he could handle seeing Milo in “just boxer briefs” right now.

“Alright then,” Rowan said. “I’m going to get the bed ready. Feel free to use the bathroom. There’s an extra toothbrush in the cabinet.

Without any more argument, Milo grabbed the shirt and scurried into the bathroom. Rowan set about building his promised wall, but he found himself only putting one body pillow down the middle of the bed and calling it done.

Would it be weird to get into bed and wait for Milo? His hawk provided him with the very unhelpful image of Milo emerging from the bathroom naked, and Rowan pulling back the covers for them like they were going to—

“To what?” Rowan growled under his breath.

His hawk flapped his wings once before settling back down into his nest.

Rowan decided to just stand by the bed, fluffing the pillows like he was at a fancy hotel doing turndown service. If he was feeling really absurd, he could always fetch some of the decadent chocolates he’d received from a client that week to put on Milo’s pillow.

Thank the gods Milo emerged from the bathroom before Rowan could do anything ridiculous.

Although, perhaps that remained to be seen. The shirt ended right above Milo’s fingertips, leaving their long legs fully exposed. As they walked over to the bed, a bit of navy blue peeked out under the white shirt, and Rowan had to force himself to look away.

“I’m not usually one to comment on the height of a person’s wall, but I fear yours might be a bit on the short side,” Milo said, managing a halfhearted smile as they picked up one of the two pillows Rowan had set out for them.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’ll work fine.”

He had no idea how to explain that even though he hadn’t been the one having nightmares, he also needed to know that Milo was here next to him. For possibly the one and only time.

The night’s earlier whirlwind of anxiety and fear had subsided, leaving a suffocating exhaustion in its wake. He just wanted to feel Milo’s slight weight dip the bed beside him and hear their soft breathing as they fell asleep. Maybe that would somehow help soothe the upcoming loss.

Milo was still clutching the smaller pillow as they stared down at Rowan’s insufficient wall. “You said…we could have breakfast together?”

“Yeah. I can make pancakes. Or waffles?” Rowan offered.

Maybe appealing to Milo’s sweet tooth would coax them into bed.

“And…we can talk?”

Rowan had to swallow forcefully to keep down the bile that was rising in his throat. “Sure. We can talk.”

Milo’s fingers tightened around the pillow. “I think just to be safe…”

They bent forward to place the pillow, around halfway down the body pillow, but it tipped off onto Rowan’s side. Rowan reached forward to grab it just as Milo scrambled onto the bed after it.

As if in slow motion, their hands landed one on top of the other in the middle of the pillow.

Rowan’s hawk stood up from his nest, tipping his head back to let out three piercing kee-aww’s in a row. The walls of Rowan’s room wavered, and the air thinned like they were approaching the top of a mountain.

In fact, it felt almost exactly like when Rowan’s hawk crested over the top of a mountain range. There was a momentary drop in his stomach right before a rush of elation as he dove back down the other side.