Page 28 of Shifter Omegaverse AU

Ruben paused with the can of seltzer halfway to his mouth. “Like met someone, met someone? Or made a new acquaintance?”

“Like made a new friend,” Rowan said, even if that descriptor was beginning to feel inadequate. “A really good friend.”

Ruben lowered the can back down to his thigh and squinted at Rowan. “Since when do you make really good friends?”

The room went so quiet that Rowan could hear the seltzer bubbling.

“Not that you wouldn’t make a great friend,” Ruben said, tipping his chin up and getting that stubborn look he sometimes got. “You just don’t seem to want friends outside of the family and the sort of fucked up people you tend to date.”

“They’re not fucked up.”

Ruben snorted, but the can crackled in his grip. “The last one made you cry. That seems pretty fucked up to me.”

The back of Rowan’s head prickled, and his hawk screeched. The last guy he had gone on a date with had called him “frigid” before slamming Rowan’s car door and storming off. Rowan had managed to make it back to his apartment’s parking lot before breaking down.

Because luck was truly never on his side, Ruben had just gotten home from practice and saw Rowan drive in. He’d come over, hoping to surprise Rowan—actually, “startle” might be a more accurate word—but when he’d seen him in tears, he’d climbed into the passenger seat and demanded Rowan tell him everything.

When Rowan finished, Ruben had offered to egg the guy’s car, but by then, Rowan’s tears had dried, and he didn’t see the point.

“He wasn’t very nice about breaking things off, but he had every right to do so. I can’t offer or be what most people want.”

The can made an ominous popping sound. “Why, because you have a thing about touch? That shouldn’t be a big fucking deal.”

Rowan sank a little farther into the back of his couch. “Really? You’re telling me if you met someone at the club who couldn’t dance with you, kiss you, or even hold your hand on the way to the car, that wouldn’t be a big deal?”

Ruben shrugged one shoulder, but the movement seemed tight. “We would have a few things to discuss, obviously. Like, are there any touches he’s okay with? Through clothes or when touching certain parts of his body…or parts of my body?”

Ruben waggled his eyebrows, and Rowan groaned. “This suddenly turned weird.”

“Why?” Ruben said with a laugh, some of the tension bleeding out of his shoulders. “I’m talking about some made-up dude at the club.”

Rowan rolled his eyes. “Okay, so let’s say this made-up dude at the club is comfortable with some forms of sex, but not a lot, and he probably wouldn’t be able to cuddle afterward.”

Ruben pursed his lips. Despite the too-cool-for-school persona he had always tried to project, Ruben was a very snuggly person. “Okay, hypothetical question. Would the dude be cool watching me fuck and cuddle with another guy? Because if so, I’ve already done that before. Multiple times.”

Rowan nearly dropped his bottle of water. “You…really?”

“Yeah. There are guys out there who don’t want to have sex but love the energy and vibes. I think it’s some flavor of asexual. Also, I’ve been with guys who don’t want to be touched but love touching me.”

“Wow,” Rowan said, genuinely shocked at how nonplussed Ruben was by all this.

Rowan had always assumed Ruben didn’t take his aversion to touch seriously, pushing his boundaries when they were little kids and barely knew any better, and downplaying and ignoring it as they entered adulthood. Was it possible that was because he genuinely didn’t think it was a big deal?

“I don’t think I’d be comfortable watching someone I was interested in have sex with someone else.”

Imagining Milo’s smile being directed at another person made Rowan’s hawk cry out as if in pain.

“Okay, well that’s good to know about yourself,” Ruben said, bringing the somewhat mangled can up to his mouth to drink. “Are you comfortable giving but not receiving?”

How had he gotten himself into this conversation? This was not something he talked about with anyone. Except…if any of his siblings would actually have useful advice, it would be Ruben.

“I can give…some things. Sometimes. It really depends on how well I know the person and if I’m feeling…” Rowan rolled his hand on his wrist. “I don’t know, comfortable? Safe? And even then, it’s not a sure thing.”

“I’ve had guys watch me jack off before,” Ruben said.

This time Rowan actually did drop his water bottle. Thankfully, it was almost empty, but the lid wasn’t secure, and water began leaking onto the rug.

“Shit,” Rowan grumbled as he jumped up to grab a towel.