Page 73 of Shifter Omegaverse AU

Before they could make their way much deeper into the cafe, Milo emerged from the crowd in a fire engine red skirt suit with shoulder pads straight out of the 80s. It actually wasn’t a bad look on them, even with the neon green shirt, black polka dot tights, and chunky red heels. Or maybe Rowan was just getting used to their style.

“I asked Camilla for your usual order, but I was a little nervous about being late and us not finding a seat, so that was thirty minutes ago. If they’re cold, I can order you new ones,” Milo said, wobbling a little on their high heels as they hurried back the way they’d come.

“Yup,” Troy said, popping the “p” obnoxiously. “Pretty sure it won’t be long now until you’re mates.”

Rowan’s hawk bobbed his head and shoulders, adding in a few tail shimmies for good measure. Rowan made his way into the crowd, deciding he’d rather brave the press of strange bodies than deal with his hawk or his smug brother-in-law.

Troy didn’t make him struggle for long. He caught up to Rowan and used his broad shoulders to clear a path. The second they emerged and Rowan caught sight of Milo again, his hawk added a few hops to his bobbing and shimmying. Perhaps the next steps of the dance?

“I wasn’t sure what Troy liked to eat,” Milo said, gesturing at the table covered in three coffees and five plates of treats. “I got you a chocolate chip muffin, myself an apple cinnamon, and Troy three others to choose from.”

“It had better not be long now,” Troy murmured to Rowan as he passed by and took the seat with the three muffins in front of it. “Thanks, Milo, you didn’t have to, but we’re going to miss lunch today, so I am very thankful you did.”

“Oh,” Milo said, their fingers grasping for the hem of their skirt. “I’m sorry, is this not a good time? We could take everything to go.”

“It’s fine, baby. I’m happy to make time for you,” Rowan said.

Milo batted their pretty lashes up at Rowan…and so did Troy, while stuffing half a muffin in his face. Rowan ignored him and took a seat, scooting the chair until he was sitting right up next to Milo.

Troy swallowed his huge bite of muffin and gazed across the table at them. “So, what are you most excited about when it comes to dating and mating with Rowan?”

Rowan nearly choked on his lukewarm coffee. “Wow, really jumping right in there,” he grumbled.

Milo straightened their spine and rolled their very padded shoulders back. “I’m excited to keep going on all the fun excursions and adventures we’ve already been going on, but now as actual dates. It might not seem like such a big difference, but to me it feels worlds apart.” They were perched on the very edge of their chair, their knee bouncing under the table.

“What’s been your favorite excursion thus far?” Troy asked.

“Oh, strawberry picking, for sure! It was pretty much the perfect day, even with a minor interlude from Ray and Ruben,” Milo said, casting Rowan a small, intimate smile.

Rowan pressed his leg open so his knee rested lightly against the outside of their thigh.

“And what’s your take on that? If my best friend was fated mates with Ruben, I would honestly be a little skeptical,” Troy said.

Rowan placed his coffee cup back on the table. There was no use trying to drink it with his stomach in knots and a lump lodged in his throat.

“I was a little skeptical at first, too,” Milo admitted. “But I’ve talked with Ray about it pretty much every day this week, and it seems like, at least for Ray, this time really is different. Whether that means things are different for Ruben remains to be seen, but I’m choosing to trust Ray. And Ruben.”

Troy’s eyes were fixed on Rowan throughout Milo’s answer. “I think trusting the process is a really important part of the fated mate bond. I never would have imagined finding and mating with my fated mate all in the same month, but that’s how it worked for Raina and me, and I’m thankful every day for it.”

Milo leaned across the table, keeping their leg pressed firmly against Rowan’s. “Okay, I’ve always wanted to know. Can you feel each other’s emotions across long distances? Or hear each other’s thoughts?”

Troy laughed, sitting back in his seat with his second muffin in hand. “We definitely can’t read each other’s thoughts, which I think is a blessing and a curse. I actually can sense her feelings, but only when we’re in close proximity, and it’s much easier if we’ve spent a prolonged amount of time together, recently shifted together, or, uh, been intimate with each other.”

Rowan’s hawk chirped in agreement, but Rowan shook his head. “I didn’t know that. Is that why you two go to the shifter park so often?”

A rare blush lit the apples of Troy’s cheeks as he took a long drink of coffee. “No, your sister really likes ‘being tall,’ as she puts it.”

Rowan barked out a laugh, and for the first time that morning, his shoulders relaxed. “Is ‘being tall’ when she sits on top of your antlers?”

Troy tipped his head in acknowledgment, and Milo gasped. “Are you a reindeer?”

“I’m a moose,” Troy said, very proudly.

Milo stared at him with huge, glittering gray eyes. “Oh my gods, that’s amazing. Rowan, you could totally sit on my pony’s head, but if you’re going for height, you’d be better off just sitting on my human head. I could always rent stilts and walk around the shifter park like that. Is that a thing for hawks? Do you like high-up perches? I feel like that’s probably a universal bird thing, isn’t it… If I lived on a higher floor, I’d offer to set up a nest on my balcony for you—oh no, and Ray is even shorter and lives one floor below me! Maybe we could sneak up onto the roof? It’s only three stories, but—”

“Baby, it’s alright,” Rowan tried to say as Troy burst into hearty laughter.

“We have a four-story townhouse, and Raina has a perch out on the rooftop terrace. You, Rowan, Ruben, and Ray are welcome to visit anytime.”