Page 98 of Shifter Omegaverse AU

“Nah, we’ll come back and grab it after we say hi to everyone and get some food,” Ruben said, taking Ray’s bag and much more gently setting it down next to his own.

“Hi, Rowan,” Ray said, giving him a small wave as Ruben dragged him towards the kitchen.

Their voices blurred with Riley and Milo’s into a steady din. The poor acoustics of the house meant that anytime more than two people were in a room, the sound would carry throughout the house. In a way, Rowan had loved it. His childhood had been full of noise and commotion, even when his parents were gone.

That all stopped when Ruben left for college. The house had been almost painfully quiet, echoing with Rowan’s soft footsteps as he dealt with his parents’ frequent absences. That silence settled over the house now, as the others presumably went out to the backyard. He took his time walking down the hall, wondering if Riley had stopped and allowed Milo to examine the many family photos lining the walls. Ethel had been sure to show Rowan the few photos she had of Anabelle on her flip phone and had instructed Milo to go retrieve the ones from her room.

Maybe they’d be able to take a few new family photos today. Rowan would make sure to get Milo and Ethel a copy.

Lost in thought, Rowan wandered into the kitchen and nearly jumped out of his skin when he found Milo standing at the island. A mostly drunk cup of lemonade sat in front of them, along with a napkin holding an untouched cookie. The second Milo saw him, they scooped up the cookie and glass.

“I thought I’d wait for you so we can make our own, not so grand entrance,” Milo said, tipping their head towards the sliding glass door.

Rowan’s moms, Raina, and even Riley were all surrounding Ray. Their mom had her arm around his back, holding him tightly to her side, while their Ma had a hand on Ruben’s shoulder.

“We could always make a break for it,” Milo said, circling the island to stand next to Rowan. “I bet if we left now, we could be across the state border by nightfall. We could change our names, not tell anyone where we’re going.”

Rowan snorted, and their hawk bobbed his head. The prospect of a life far away from here with Milo was appealing, but deep down, he knew that wasn’t actually what he wanted.

He wanted to be teased by Riley, interrogated by Raina, pestered by his moms, and even annoyed by Ruben. He wanted Milo to get to stand right next to Ray, basking in his family’s love and attention. Milo deserved that, and that alone spurred him to put one foot in front of the other, emerging into the backyard with Milo by his side.

As they had learned to do over the years, his family gave him a wide berth. No one approached him for hugs or back pats, but that meant that no one approached Milo, either. When they reached the circle, Riley took a step to the side, welcoming them in, and Rowan was able to catch the tail end of whatever Ma was saying.

“And no matter what, I trust that you won’t let this deter you from your goals,” she concluded.

“I don’t really have any goals other than to play good music and maybe do a little more traveling for fun,” Ruben said, taking a large bite out of one of the three cookies he was holding. “As long as that works for Ray’s schedule, I don’t see how my relationship could ‘deter’ anything.”

“I just don’t want you to lose focus,” Ma said, her fingers wrinkling Ruben’s t-shirt as she squeezed him before letting go and turning to Riley. “Speaking of focus, have you made any progress on your merger?”

Riley stood up a little straighter. “I just received a response to my letter of intent. I’m meeting with my auditor on Tuesday, and the plan is…”

Rowan had heard the front end of the merger details at their brunch a few weeks back, but he had also been wondering how it was progressing. He tried to listen in, but his hawk was shifting restlessly, forcing him to continually glance between Ray and Milo. Ray seemed to be doing fine, his cheeks pink and his nose scrunched up like he was trying desperately not to let his whiskers out.

While Milo appeared to be doing okay, the longer they stood there, the tighter they clutched their glass.

Finally, Ray turned to Milo and quietly asked, “How’s the lemonade? I forgot to grab myself something to drink, and that looks good.”

“Do you want some?” Milo asked, holding out the glass to Ray.

Before Ray could respond, Raina and their mom turned to look at Milo.

“I’m sorry, we should have done introductions. I’m Rowan’s mom, and this is Raina. And you are?”

“I’m Milo,” Milo said, juggling their cup and cookie so they could extend a hand to Rowan’s mom.

“And this is the Milo, right?” Raina asked, grinning widely as she accepted Milo’s hand.

“The one and only,” Milo said, but their voice came out sounding small.

Their mom scrunched up her brow. “That doesn’t really tell me much.”

Despite being the tallest person in the family, Rowan had spent most of his childhood feeling small. He had shrunk back from his family and tried to avoid being noticed at school. The distance had been at least partially of his own creation, but he didn’t want to do it anymore. He especially didn’t want to do it if it would mean forcing Milo to shrink themself or keep their distance, too.

He could do this. He would introduce Milo to his family as his fated mate and the love of his life. It didn’t matter that his ma still hadn’t even turned to look at them yet, or that his mom’s attention already seemed to be straying back to Ruben and Ray. If he made a big enough scene, like Ruben, they’d have no choice but to pay attention, right?

His hawk puffed up his chest and unfurled his wings, ready to finally—

“He’s Ray’s best friend,” Ruben said, filling in the awkward silence that Rowan had left.