Page 14 of Shifter Omegaverse AU

Ah, Milo had been waiting for this. Ray wasn’t always the best at bringing things up. He would often sit and worry or sit and stew, depending on what the occasion called for.

After running into Rowan at the coffee shop the previous week, Ray had waited until the end of the workday to ask Milo if he was switching to using they/them pronouns.

“Don’t worry about it for now,” Milo had said. “I’ll keep you posted.”

Milo’s intent had been to do some thinking about his gender and his pronouns over the weekend, but instead, he had spent most of his time with Ethel, while his pony fantasized about a tall, ginger man.

Well, okay, that wasn’t entirely true. He’d tried to think about it, but the last time he’d had any sort of gender conversation had been with Anabelle, and even the brief mentions of it in the movie theater and café had caused the fog to descend.

Obviously, his gender identity and gender expression weren’t tied to Anabelle. It was just that…

Milo shook his head, dispelling the fog that was starting to descend.

“It’s not some big, vulnerable secret or anything,” Milo said, doing his best to shrug while still holding Ray, who was holding him. “It’s just not something I’ve talked about in a while.”

Ray pulled back, and Milo let him. “Is there anything that Ethel and I can do to help you talk about it more often?”

Not for the first time, Milo considered bringing up the fog and the chasm, but it wasn’t really something he felt like talking about in the office kitchen. Thankfully, this was one of the lesser-used kitchens, but still. Someone could in theory walk in at any moment.

“It’s not like either of you is doing anything wrong,” Milo said. “Neither of you has ever treated me one way or another gender-wise, and as far as Ethel’s concerned, I’ve always just been ‘Anabelle’s annoying kid.’ Now I’m her annoying kid, who complains about what she’s eating and how she keeps pranking the other residents. Gender was never part of the equation, and I like it that way.”

Ray ran his hands back through his hair, attempting to straighten out the always messy locks. “That’s fair, but I guess I’m trying to say if you want it to play more of a role, we could try using different pronouns for you?”

Milo tried, he really did, to walk up to the edge of the cliff and peer over. Maybe if he squinted through the fog, some big revelation would come to him.

As usual, all he saw was a whole lot of nothing.

His pony whinnied at him, pulling him back from the edge. “Maybe. Ethel will either latch onto the idea or forget it along with her glasses and left sock.”

That was probably a big reason why Milo had given up trying out new pronouns. Anabelle had found it fun and exploratory, and when he was with her, Milo did, too. But without her, it just felt…well, a bit like the murky fog. Disconnected and not what he wanted. The problem was, he wasn’t sure what he actually wanted.

“Does it make you happy to match your pronouns to how you’re feeling that day?” Ray asked.

Milo’s pony gave a soft whinny.

“Sort of,” he said, thinking of the way his pony had nearly exploded with joy when Rowan thought to ask for his pronouns. “I think maybe it’s more about just acknowledging that I don’t always feel masculine.”

He glanced down at his long, shimmering dress. “And that I like to wear dresses and pretty things regardless of if I’m feeling feminine or not, and can also wear baggy pants and sweatshirts, and it not be inherently androgynous. It’s nice to just stop for a moment and feel connected to myself, but it doesn’t have to be some big, loud thing.”

Ray gazed down at the orange explosion Milo was wearing. “The one and only thing about you that doesn’t have to be big and loud.”

Obviously, the only reasonable way Milo could respond to that was by sticking out his tongue and making a raspberry noise. Ray shook his head and his hair flopped out of place once again.

Milo tried to reach up and fix it, but Ray caught his wrist and guided his hand towards his pocket, saying, “So, you’re going to text Rowan back, right?”

Clearly, Ray was in cahoots with Milo’s pony, who was now trotting around in excited circles.

“Yes, okay, fine,” Milo said, shaking off Ray’s grip so he could hold his phone with both hands. For some silly reason, his fingers were shaking, and he struggled to pull up the text box.

“Maybe the coffee shop is a good, neutral place to meet?” Ray said, his tone gentle.

“A little boring, though, don’t you think?”

Ray hummed softly. “At least boring’s safe?”

Boring was safe, but was that what Milo was looking for in a new…friend? Date? Potential partner?

His pony whinnied eagerly, flashing his big teeth in a grin, which didn’t really answer Milo’s question. It was clear his pony wanted Rowan to be their something, he just wasn’t sure what.