The ladder creaked as Patrick shifted his weight, one hand gripping the gutter, the other holding a bundle of shingles against his hip. “Who decided this was a good idea?” he asked, squinting against the late afternoon sun.
“Not me,” Boone said, hammering in a nail. “I said,hire someone. Felix saidit’ll be fun.”
“It is fun,” Felix insisted from where he knelt near the ridge line. He hammered a nail with master precision. “You’re just mad because you’re stuck on your butt.”
Boone nodded in acceptance. Since his leg was damaged, Felix had decided to put him in the easiest spot, on his butt, near the largest damaged area. He had to scootch from place to place, but he had to admit his leg wasn’t hurting. Felix and Patrick were doing the heavy lifting.
Patrick snorted and hauled himself the rest of the way up, rolling onto the warm shingles with a groan. “If this is fun, remind me never to go to your idea of a party, sweetheart.”
Felix rolled his eyes, sweat streaking his temple. “You made it, didn’t you? Now use those muscles and bring that bundle over here.”
Patrick grinned as he dragged the shingles across the roof.
Felix’s eyes narrowed. “That wasn’t a compliment.”
Boone’s friend smirked. “That wasn’tnota compliment.”
The sky stretched wide and blue above them, broken only by a slow drift of clouds. From up here, the world felt quieter. Maybe that was what felt off.
Felix lined up another shingle. “Alright, hold it steady.”
Patrick pressed it into place while Felix hammered. It was nice to see the two interact so easily. It had taken a couple of days, but Felix had warmed up to the other alpha. He still wasn’t comfortable alone around him, but with Boone or Puck there, he seemed okay.
“Don’t step on the loose shingles,” Felix ordered, pointing to a few.
“I won’t fall,” Patrick said. “Relax. We’ve got this.”
A loose shingle shifted under Patrick’s knee, and he froze. “Okay, maybe we don’t got this.”
“Don’t move,” Felix called instantly.
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
The omega reached over, steadying the board with one hand. “Alright. Shift your weight back, slow.”
Patrick did, inch by careful inch, until the shingle settled again. He let out a breath when he was safe.
“Still fun?” Boone asked.
Patrick lay back against the roof, staring up at the sky. “Why do the cutest omegas have the most dangerous taste in fun?”
Felix nudged him with his boot. “Come on. We’re almost there.”
Patrick sat up with a sigh, grabbing another shingle. “Fine. But next time, we’re fixing something that doesn’t involve gravity trying to kill us.”
Felix rolled his eyes again. “Where’s the adventure in that? You whine more than Milo when I interrupt elevensies.”
Patrick side-eyed the omega, then signaled Boone.
He studied Felix for a moment himself, finally noticing the tremors in the omega’s hands. That’s what was off. Felix wasn’t quite Felix today. “Felix, you okay?”
The omega nodded, focused on his work. “Yeah.”
“You’ve been quieter today, and you didn’t eat as much at breakfast,” Boone noted. “Plus, you seem determined to get this done as quickly as possible.”
Felix shrugged, not meeting their eyes. “I have an appointment at four.”
Patrick signaled Boone again, eyes begging him to ask follow-up questions.
