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Ryland stirs at the feeling of a gentle touch.
The blanket slips off his face when he turns his head, chasing off the tempting dredges of sleep. He blinks, and he’s soon greeted with the sight of his younger mate’s soft expression, his fingers carefully brushing over the small swell of Ryland’s stomach.
He hums, shifting on the couch until he’s comfortable again. Ryland then slides the blanket off his body to better expose his abdomen. His shirt slides up with the movement, and those fingers immediately return to his belly, the skin-on-skin contact emitting warmth. It passes through him like a gentle wave, making him feel safe.
“Hi, Casey,” he whispers, catching the quirk of Casey’s mouth. “You’re home early.”
“Boss at the garage sent me home,” Casey says. “Told me that my time is better spent with my pregnant omega.”
“Is that so?” Ryland replies, amused. The warmth in Casey’s gaze fills his heart with so much affection, and he reaches out to curl his fingers into Casey’s hair, feeling the soft strands. Like always, Casey pushes his head up into the touch—a stray dog begging for love. “Chatty.”
“Missed you,” Casey says simply.
Ryland hums again, slowly pushing himself up to sit. The haze of sleep still lingers, and although a part of him wants to give in and lie back down in his makeshift nest, the rest of him wants to enjoy some time with his mate.
However, there’s another pressing need.
“Wait here?” Ryland requests, picking up one of Casey’s hands to sweep a thumb across his knuckles. “I just need to pee. And brush my teeth.”
“Can I watch?” Casey says, sounding hopeful.
“Wait,” Ryland says, a touch firmer than before. Casey goes pink in the face and nods, claiming Ryland’s spot after he stands. He smiles down at the younger man and adds, “Good.”
Casey perks up at the praise.
After Ryland does his business (and pees a second time because the sound of running water made him want to go again), he returns to the living room, where he sees his mate toying with the frayed edges of Ryland’s blanket.
When Ryland moves closer, Casey’s head snaps up immediately. His expression goes from neutral to excited within seconds, and then settles on the calmness he’s known for. Still, his eyes are bright, and they remain fixed on Ryland as he nears.
“You stayed,” Ryland acknowledges with a smile, squeezing himself into the space between his mate and his original spot. Casey moves only enough to allow him to wiggle in, but otherwise, he stays absolutely still. Ryland knows it’s because he’s waiting for whatever Ryland has to say. “Good job, honey. Thank you for listening.”
Casey smiles, soft and pleased, before he drops his head onto Ryland’s shoulder. His hand slips beneath Ryland’s shirt, returning to his stomach. Ryland feels a flutter of movement that’s immediately followed by a kick where Casey’s palm rests.
“Hi,” Casey whispers, a note of wonder in his voice.
Ryland curls a hand around the back of Casey’s neck to play with the ends of his hair. “The twins missed you,” he tells him, huffing a laugh when Casey makes a sound dangerously close to a purr. It’s sweet to hear.
“Did you?” Casey asks.
“I did,” Ryland answers, sliding his hand up further to massage Casey’s scalp. He makes the same noise. Hm. “I always miss you.”
Casey lifts his head, staring at him with hazy eyes. He always gets this way whenever they’re cuddling—the quickest to get scent-drunk on him these days. Sometimes, he’ll cause it on purpose by stuffing his face into Ryland’s neck and panting against his scent gland.
(There was even a time when he dropped so hard that one of them had to call him out of work, and while Ryland wanted to be mad about it, he thought Casey was just too cute when he was wordlessly whining against his skin, tongue laving over his scent gland while he pressed as close as humanly possible.)
“Come here,” Ryland whispers, guiding him closer. Casey doesn’t resist. He never does with Ryland, which is why it’s so easy to draw him into a slow, gentle kiss. Casey even parts his lips for him before Ryland does anything to coax him open.
Ryland responds with an encouraging purr, feeling the tremble of Casey’s fingers against his stomach. He carefully, gently, licks into Casey’s mouth, hearing the hitch of his breath, and nibbles on his bottom lip. Ryland even lightly tugs on Casey’s hair in an attempt to draw more out of him.
Again, there’s that sound.
“Casey,” Ryland whispers, dragging his lips to the man’s jaw. Casey huffs and turns his head to try and kiss him, but Ryland doesn’t let it happen. Not yet. “Will you purr for me?”
Casey startles, giving him a wide-eyed look that reminds him too much of a fawn. Ryland chirps and purrs in an attempt to soothe his younger mate’s nerves, and Casey’s throat bobs.
It takes some time, and more kisses, but eventually, Ryland hears a low, stuttery purr leave Casey. It sounds unused and comes out uncertainly, and yet, it’s still so beautiful.
“There you go,” Ryland says, sliding his palm over Casey’s shoulders. “That’s my good omega.”
Casey purrs louder, pupils blown.
Ryland guides him into another kiss, feeling the vibration of Casey’s purr sweep through him. He echoes it, breathing in the faintly metallic scent that makes him think of concrete after rain. Ryland loves it so much that he’s having pregnancy cravings over it.
When it hits, Ryland will sometimes go over to the other omega to mouth at his scent gland for a while to satiate his need. Their Alphas banned him from trying to lick the sidewalk after the first (and only) time he did it.
And he did try to convince them otherwise, but no matter how much Ryland begged and cried about it, neither one of them gave in. Not even his twin brother, who’s usually the first to fall for his whims after one look from Ryland, but it’s fine. Really. Getting his fix from Casey helps.
“So good,” Ryland tells him, now kneading the back of his neck. Casey’s purr stutters again, only this time, it’s due to his whine. Even then, there’s still the undercurrent of the former noise—steady, like an engine. “You’re getting better at it, Casey.”
The other man’s purr grows softer when Casey leans down to butt his head against Ryland’s chin, not unlike the cats that flock to him at the local cat cafe. “Other one,” Casey says, giving him a look.
“You’re getting better at it, honey,” Ryland amends, seeing how Casey lights up. It’s subtle, but as someone who knows Casey intimately, he can always tell when the other omega is happy.
“Yeah?”
“Yes, of course.”
Casey seems… bashful. “Sorry I wasn’t good at it,” he mutters, and Ryland hates the note of shame in his voice.
After meeting Casey, and subsequently accepting the man into his heart, Ryland quickly realized that the other omega did not know how to be one. It’s not a bad thing, but it affected Ryland so deeply that he started implementing more moments of affection until he got to a point where he could safely smother Casey in love and be welcomed, all while slowly teaching him how to get in touch with his instincts.
Bit by bit, Casey has bloomed beneath his care. He even goes out of his way to make Ryland a comfortable, if lopsided, nest whenever he wants to cuddle with Ryland on the couch. It’s so cute that it gives Ryland such intense cuteness aggression, now more than ever, and he sometimes has to hold onto Casey and never let him go.
“It’s okay,” Ryland quickly assures, cupping his face. He peers into Casey’s darkened eyes, offering a smile. “You don’t have to be a perfect omega, honey. I still love you either way.”
Casey purrs for a brief, beautiful three seconds before he abruptly shoves his face into Ryland’s throat. The movement pushes him back against the blankets and cushions, but Ryland doesn’t mind, not when Casey’s licking at his scent gland with a shaky sigh while one of his hands rubs over Ryland’s stomach.
A baby kicks again.
“Mine,” Casey mumbles. “My babies.”
Ryland smiles, feeling another wave of fondness for his cute mate. “Of course, they are,” he replies, thinking of all the arguments between Colt and Court about the subject. Ryland lightly scrapes his nails over the back of Casey’s neck, feeling him shudder. “They’re your babies, honey. All yours.”
Casey whines, hips twitching.
He feels the movement against him, smells how Casey’s scent thickens in the room. Even so, Casey doesn’t remove his face from Ryland’s throat, his small fangs nipping at Ryland’s scent gland and sending a pleasant tingle through his body.
“You can bite me,” Ryland says, wrapping an arm around him. “And if you want to do anything else, I’m open.”
Casey lifts his head this time, staring down at him with furrowed brows.
Ryland patiently waits him out, thumb grazing the edge of the healed mating mark Ryland left on him so long ago. He went deep enough to make Casey bleed at Casey’s breathless request, and in return, Casey practically mauled Ryland’s neck with his bite. Sometimes, Ryland will find Casey touching it with a rather proud look, completely unashamed even when Ryland teases him.
“No,” Casey declares after a while, softening his voice. “No, I want to spend time with you. That’s all.”
“Okay,” Ryland says, leaning up to kiss the corner of his mouth. “Will you take me out later?”
“Walk?”
“No.”
“Oh,” Casey breathes, and again, his scent grows deeper—richer. Ryland breathes it in greedily and gets a bit dizzy from it. “Yes. We can go out.”
“Yay,” Ryland says happily, brushing their noses together. When he purrs, Casey immediately echoes the sound—still stuttery, but lovely to hear. “One more question.”
“Hmm?”
“Would you still love me if I was the bacteria that entered your lungs and gave you pneumonia?”
“Yes,” Casey answers immediately.
Ryland beams. It’s a silly ritual of theirs, but with his tumultuous hormones acting up, it soothes a lot of the doubt and uncertainty that pops up out of nowhere.
He chirps, joy nearly overwhelming him when Casey tentatively chirps back at him. Ryland wraps himself around Casey, certain his scent projects his pleasure, and drags the man into a messy kiss. He repeats this over and over again until he feels that stuttery purr start up like a motor, until he feels it in his body—burrowing into the marrow of his bone, where his love for Casey has seeped into the grooves to stay with him forever.
“Good?” Casey says—a plea.
“Good,” Ryland promises, feeling Casey melt against him.
❦ ❦
Later, when they’re tangled up in the makeshift nest on the couch, Casey bumps their foreheads together, peers into his eyes, and tentatively says, “Ryland?”
Ryland smiles at the other omega. “Yes?”
Casey furrows his brows, but doesn’t say anything. Ryland starts picking bits of lint and blanket fluff off Casey’s shirt, the warmth of his body and the nature show playing on the TV almost lulling him into a doze. Eventually, Casey makes a questioning sound, drawing Ryland’s attention back to him.
“Would you love me,” Casey says slowly. “if I was your favorite cookie?”
After staring at him for a moment, Ryland chirps, purrs, and trills with delight, beaming at his mate. “Yes,” he says. “And I’d eat you to keep you with me forever!”
The other omega stares at him with wide eyes, face turning pink. Ryland watches with wonder as the corners of his eyes crease before Casey abruptly hops off him and starts… walking the perimeter of the room.
“Too much?” Ryland asks.
Casey nods jerkily.
“Good?” Ryland says next, just to be sure.
“Good,” Casey breathes. He returns to Ryland’s side after a second lap, and he even herds Ryland until he’s resting between the couch and Casey. His hand slides over Ryland’s stomach, possessive and sure, and he noses over the shell of Ryland’s ear. The soft puff of air he releases makes Ryland shiver, especially when he whispers, “Mine?”
“Yours,” Ryland assures, burrowing into the blankets and feeling at peace.