"Adam picked the mattresses," I say.
Adam glances up from his coffee. "Memory foam," he says simply. Then he looks back down.
He's not being cold or rude. It's…careful, like he’s not sure how to act.
It makes me want to pull him into the other room and hold him until whatever is knotted in his chest comes loose.
But I don't. Because he's handling it on his own, and he deserves the dignity of that.
Feet move through the house, coming from the gym down the hall, and Raff appears a second later.
He's in a pair of athletic shorts and nothing else, a towel slung over one shoulder, his tattoos dark against flushed skin. He's breathing slightly harder than usual, and I swear there’s a swagger in his step.
Two seconds later, Perrin materializes behind him.
The beta is very pink in the face. His curls are damp at the temples, and he's pulling his shirt down over his stomach, fidgeting to make sure it’s pulled all the way down.
I want to make a comment about fucking in the gym, but I keep it to myself, taking a long sip of my coffee.
Raff crosses the kitchen without breaking stride, moving directly to Elowen. He drops a hand onto her shoulder as he passes, squeezing once, then leans down and presses his lips to the top of her head.
"Good morning," he says. "I'm glad you slept in."
Elowen tips her chin up to look at him, and the tentative set of her shoulders eases by a fraction.
Perrin goes straight for the coffee, pulling a mug from the cabinet. He's almost got his color back.Almost.
"Hey," the beta says as he pours his coffee. "I meant to ask.” He looks at Raff over his shoulder. “Where’s all mystuff?"
Raff leans against the counter and crosses his arms. "What stuff?"
"My comforter. My pillows." Perrin turns around. "My green throw."
"Elowen needed them."
Perrin's whole face changes. His eyes cut to Elowen, and something delighted and immediate moves across his expression, like a kid who's been told there's a puppy in the other room.
"You made a nest?" he says. “Withmyblankets?”
Elowen's cheeks go pink. "I didn't make a nest," she says. "I just—the pillows were helpful. But you can absolutely have everything back. I'll bring it all down after breakfast."
"No, you won't," Perrin says with a wide smile. The man looks so damn happy.
"Perrin, it's your stuff?—"
"Keep it." He waves his hand as if she's being ridiculous. "I don't need it."
"I'm not going to take your comforter.”
"You're not taking it, I'mgivingit." He settles onto the barstool beside her with the ease of someone who has already decided this conversation is over. "There's a difference."
Elowen opens her mouth.
"He could sleep on a block of wood," Adam says flatly. "He'd be fine."
Perrin points at his brother. "That's true. I genuinely could."
Elowen looks between them, and something in her face shifts, the careful uncertainty giving way to something that looks almost like amusement.
