"No! It goes over there!" Mason shrieked, dropping the things in his hands and rushing over to Terrance and snatching a surviving painting from his hand. "Just go help Henry, I'm fine up here!"
Instead of arguing, Terrance stepped away, knowing that Mason was still upset about the invasion of his space and wanted to take care of it on his own.
They'd been at the cafe for about an hour, and Terrance was sure they'd be there all day. Especially since Mason was obsessive with organizing everything and the room was still somewhat destroyed.
The Omega had woken up at nine and claimed they needed to get to the cafe so he could start fixing his room. He gave Terrance the option to stay behind, but the Alpha knew that Mason wanted him near, so he forced himself to get out of bed and clean up Mason's home.
Henry had cleaned a lot of the garbage and shredded clothes out of Mason's house area upstairs, but there were still things that weren't organized and Henry hadn't bothered to do anything else since he knew Mason would redo it all anyway. So, Mason was busy salvaging some of his not so destroyed art, cleaning up his room, folding clothes, and putting everything back together.
Not to mention that Mason had been ranting about going and buying new sheets and creating a new safe space in his closet. The experience of having his space invaded reduced him back to the mindset of a young Omega, and younger Omegas often built nests for their first heats.
Mason hadn't really needed one for a while since he had a whole room that he claimed as his space, but he felt the need for one now that his area had been threatened.
"He kicked you out?" Henry asked as he went through the supplies that had been destroyed so they could buy more. "Not surprised, that boy is obsessive when it comes to cleaning."
Terrance chuckled and grabbed a rag to clean the dust off of the tables, since they hadn't been touched in a few days. "Yeah... he's adorable and can be super sweet and cuddly when he's tired, but most of the time I'm scared he's going to bite me for getting too close," he said as he wiped down the bar that looked out onto the street.
"He really enjoyed when you took him out to run in his wolf form," Henry said, scribbling something down on his notepad. "He told me about it at three in the morning when I caught him trying to sneak out for the third time that hour."
Terrance winced. "Sorry I chased him to your place."
Henry waved him off, smiling at the other Alpha. "Don't apologize. Mason makes rash decisions and I understand why you were upset as well," he said as he put his pen away and began to lift bags of coffee beans and measure how full they were. "Don't blame yourself for Mason's faults."
"He still kept you up all night because of me."
"He keeps me up whenever we hang out," Henry said, rolling his eyes. "There's an extra room upstairs, which I used to rent from him when we first started this place, but once he got comfortable he'd keep me up late just talking. Don't get me wrong, I love talking with him, but I needed sleep and he completely understood."
"I've spent the night here and he's not like that with me!"
Henry raised an eyebrow. "He doesn't know you as well yet, but just you wait," he said, grabbing the company credit card and his list. "I'm going shopping."
"Is there anything I should do here?"
Pausing, Henry pursed his lips. "Actually, I have a better idea," he said, smiling. "Why don't you go to your place and bring some clothes you don't really use anymore? Especially sweatshirts, sweatpants... soft things."
Terrance nodded. "Sure, but why?"
"Well, Mason still feels threatened because his space was invaded. That's why he's been so clingy with you, because I can tell you that it's not in his nature to be that cuddly and needy. Most Omegas build nests when they're younger, but because Mason lives alone and has his own space, his room is his 'nest,'" he said, making air quotes with his fingers. "But since it's been invaded, he's going back to natural instincts, so I guarantee he'll be making a nest and will want things that make him feel safe."
Terrance let that process in his mind. "Clothes make him feel safe?"
"Familiar scents," Henry corrected. "Especially yours, since you're his mate and he's growing to lo- like being around you."
That made pride flow through Terrance and a grin grow on his face. "Will he be okay while I'm getting clothes?" he asked, glancing at the back where the staircase was.
Henry nodded. "Yeah, of course. Also, I'd recommend staying with him tonight. It's his first night back here and he'll probably just keep calling you if you don't stay," he said, snickering at the prospect of Mason pestering Terrance for cuddles.
"I'll stay then," Terrance said as he and Henry left through the front door. "Uh... can I go with you to do your shopping and then we can get my clothes and head back here? Make it a hang out?"
Henry nodded, though he seemed a little confused.
"I just think that since I'm Mason's mate and you're his best friend we should connect, too. Plus, you're the only Alpha I've met besides myself who doesn't hold himself higher than everyone else."
Smiling, Henry nodded in agreement. "Let's go get some groceries," he said, guiding Terrance down the street to his favorite kitchen warehouse where they got discounts on their supplies.
They didn't notice Mason sitting by the window, smiling down at his mate and his best friend conversing before heading out in the same direction.
Once he was alone, Mason continued to clean his space and fold all of his laundry. As soon as his room was back to how he liked it, he threw away his sheets and brought the bag outside before returning to his empty mattress.
"I need new sheets," Mason muttered aloud to himself.
He grabbed his wallet and sent a text to both Henry and Terrance before stopping at his favorite store where he got blankets, linens, and sheets for his bed, and it also specialized in uniquely made sheets for heats and ruts.
Mason skipped right to the Omega section and began to shuffle through the sheets before finding a lavender scented set that were cream colored and matched his room. He also picked out a dark brown blanket that reminded him of Terrance's wolf.
Before he threw it in his basket, Mason paused, trying to debate whether it was weird to get a blanket that matched his mate's fur.
"You look deep in thought," a male Omega said from beside him, earning Mason's attention. "What's on your mind?"
"Nothing important," Mason said as he put the blanket back.
The Omega didn't seem offended by Mason's snippy response and smiled kindly, turning to lift up a little girl that looked to be about four. She had blonde pigtails and was sucking on her thumb, staring at Mason.
"How old is she?" Mason asked.
He didn't like kids, but the little girl was really cute and wasn't crying like other kids Mason had seen.
The little girl held up four fingers, her other hand still in her mouth.
"She'll be five in a few months," the Omega said, lifting his basket with his other hand. "You have any kids?"
Mason shook his head. "I barely met my mate," he said, glancing at the blanket that he'd put back. "Um... can I ask you a weird question?"
The Omega nodded, putting down his squirmy daughter and cleaned her hands with a wipe so she could go touch all of the blankets.
"You have a mate, right?"
"Yes," the Omega said, face contorted into a look of confusion as he glanced at his daughter.
Mason looked at the blanket that he desperately wanted. "Did you ever buy a blanket that looked like your mate's wolf's pelt?" he asked, his face warming with embarrassment.
The Omega laughed, making Mason shrink in on himself in shame. Of course it was stupid! Why would anyone buy a stupid blanket that looks like their mate when they could just wait for their mate to shift?!
"Honey, I'm not laughing at you!" the Omega said, reaching forward to touch Mason's arm reassuringly. "I'm laughing because that's what I'm here for!"
Mason's eyes shot up and he met the Omega's face. "Really?!"
The Omega nodded and showed him a rusty red blanket. "That's why they make so many blankets and put them in the Omega section. It's natural for us to want to have something that looks like our mate around when they can't be there," he said, grabbing the blanket Mason was eyeing and putting it in Mason's basket for him. "Accept your instincts, honey."
Mason thanked him and handed him three coupons. "I don't know if you like coffee, but these are free drink coupons for my cafe," he said, smiling at the Omega. "Thanks for your help."
The Omega grinned and grabbed his daughter's hand. "Anytime! I look forward to trying your cafe!"
They shook hands once more before Mason checked out and ran back to his home to change his sheets and clean up his already spotless space. He basked in the lavender scent while curling up in his new blanket that matched Terrance's pelt, humming to himself while he imagined a future with Terrance.
He then thought back to the Omega at the store and his daughter.
Maybe his and Terrance's future included kids.
Comments (1)
See all