Milo is harmless.
“Come on in.” Perrin steps to one side.
Milo comes in, ducking his head slightly as he crosses the threshold, and Perrin closes the door behind him. He touches my arm briefly, just two fingers, warm and grounding.
"We'll be in the kitchen," Perrin says, his eyes on mine, "if you need anything."
I nod, and then turn to my old co-worker.
Milo glances toward the kitchen, then back at me. He knows they're listening.
“How have you been?” I ask as I move into the living room, putting a little more space between us and the kitchen. Milo follows, standing awkwardly as I settle onto the arm of the couch with my arms loosely crossed.
"Are you coming back?" he blurts out. "To the lab."
"No." I say simply. "I have a pack now."
Milo nods, eyes on the floor.
I don’t know if he can smell my omega scent. Betas have a much more muted sense of smell, but even if he couldn’t, pack betas have a lot of responsibilities, so expecting me to come back to work is a little ridiculous.
"Right,” he says. “That's good. Really good, Pérez."
He doesn't sound like he thinks it's good.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Adam slips into the living room. His expression is completely innocent, doing a very convincing impression of someone who just happened to wander over.
Milo's hand moves to his arm, fingers scratching absently at the inside of his elbow. "Yeah, actually." He clears his throat. "A soda would be great. Something with sugar. Nothing diet."
“Coming right up.” Adam gives a polite smile, then he disappears without another word.
I watch Milo scratch his arm again, noticing a slight tremor in his hands.
“This is a nice place.” Milo looks around the living room, and I realize he’s sweating despite the AC being cranked up. He's also twitchy in a way I don't remember him being.
Back at the lab Milo was relaxed to the point of being annoying about it. This version of him is the opposite of that, all barely contained restlessness with shaky eyes that seem unable to focus on anything.
Is he high?
Adam reappears with a can of soda, sets it on the coffee table in front of Milo. “Anything else?” he asks in his most polite tone.
“I’m good.” Milo cracks the can open and downs almost the entire thing in one go.
Adam turns and looks at me, while Milo gulps his drink. His brows lift slightly, silently asking me if I’m good.
I give him the smallest nod.
“Okay.” The omega holds my gaze for one more beat, then straightens up and heads back toward the hallway. "Perrin and I are right in the kitchen," he says, loudly enough that there's absolutely no ambiguity about who else he's talking to. "Hollering distance. Literally."
"Thank you, Adam," I say.
"Yep," he says, and disappears.
Milo looks around the room for a second before dropping onto the couch across from me. He sets the can on the coffee table in front of him, then he leans forward, elbows on his knees, eyes on the floor.
"You don't look so good, Milo," I say quietly.
He lets out a short breath that's almost a laugh. "Yeah." He rubs the back of his neck. "Rough few weeks."
