They laid there, catching their breath for a while. Everitt looked down at Danai, and his heart kicked when he found her looking up at him. She quickly looked away, finding a spot somewhere in the room to focus on instead. Ev found himself watching her, though, unable to look away and not wanting to. Her eyebrows were turned up towards the middle of her forehead, and she was playing with her bottom lip between her teeth. When she stopped doing that, her mouth fell into an open pout. She was thinking about something; Everitt had spent enough time looking at her to realise that by now.

He touched the space between her brows, to which her gaze shot up to meet his. Everitt smiled down at her, “What’s on your mind?”

Danai’s eyes went to his nose, then his mouth, before she shook her head. Ev traced a line down her nose to her mouth, using his finger to draw the shape of her lips on them. They were soft and pillowy, but not wet. He wondered how she kept them so, or if they were just like that naturally. He came to learn that she was intentional with how she appeared to the world, and that was obvious when he visited her at home. Still, her place was comfier and more laid-back than he’d expected. She cared, but not so much that it was everything to her.

‘When did I start to care so much?’ Everitt thought to himself.

“How do you feel?” He finally asked Danai, though he’d been wondering that since he first entered her. Everitt had gone harder than intended, but he hoped her body was okay. She seemed to be fine earlier. Well, more than just fine.

She nodded, then cleared her throat, “Good.”

He chuckled, brushing a few curls away from her face. “Care to elaborate?”

Danai shot Everitt a glare, which made him laugh even more. She rolled her eyes at that, and Everitt rubbed her back as he grinned. “I just want to make sure you’re okay. I do care, you know.”

Nai gave him a small smile before she rested her head on his chest. She tapped it with her hand, and he heard her sigh, felt her chest rise and fall with every breath. Everitt half-expected a snarky comeback, some kind of insult or poke at his ego like she usually gave him. Instead, she smoothed down the hairs on his body and kissed the spot closest to her. He felt her legs move where they were still connected, and he hardened a bit from it.

“Promise you won’t laugh?” She asked in a hushed voice. 

Everitt nodded, “I promise.”

He wondered what she could have to say that would make him even think of laughing. Maybe she needed to go to the bathroom and was embarrassed to ask because he’d have to go with her. Or, she expected some physical reaction that she’d heard about from other omegas, or betas, that didn’t happen and made her feel dumb. The former seemed more likely, and it was a little funny, so Everitt readied himself to stay stoic.

Danai sighed again, then whispered, “It was... everything I’d hoped my first would be.”

If the room hadn’t been as still and quiet as it was, aside from the humming of the A/C, Everitt might not have heard every word that Danai uttered. She was quiet, like she’d revealed a well-kept secret, and the information made Ev’s heart flutter. Compared to Danai, he could be seen as used-up and over-qualified when it came to the physical act of sex. Sure, he remembered each partner he’d had, but that just confirmed the amount to him. 

This was different, though. He felt like Danai was looking into parts of his mind through their bodies, like she knew more about him than many others did. She was seeing him, and he was seeing her. It felt raw when he entered her, but in a way that made him want more. Everitt didn’t know how long they’d do this for, but he did know it would be hard to see it end.

Everitt pushed his nose into Danai’s forehead, getting her to look up at him. He dipped his head down to give her a kiss, only stopping right before their lips touched. “I can’t imagine anyone else experiencing this with you.”

Nai searched his eyes, like she was confirming that his words rang true. After a short while she seemed satisfied because she moved to close the distance between them. It was a sweet kiss, and they parted sooner than Everitt wanted them to. He moved to kiss her again, but Danai put her hand up to touch his mouth. It was like her eyes were twinkling when she smiled, and he hadn’t noticed the amber among the beautiful brown before. 

“You’re not just saying that?” She pressed the subject.

Ev shook his head, “I mean it. I wouldn’t lie to you, Nai.”

She kissed him again, then gave the alpha a small smile. “Okay.”

The next few hours were spent in more of a haze than the first time they slept together. While Danai slept, Everitt made them food, brought in water and snacks to keep near the bed, and cleaned up what he could. Everitt insisted on bathing her when she woke up; not because Nai couldn’t do it herself, but his alpha just wanted to take care of her. Watching her relaxed and happy while he did things for her made something deep inside of him feel fulfilled.

 He scrubbed her body with a loofah as she leaned back against his chest. The way she jostled when he touched the side of her body, right below her armpit, didn’t go unnoticed. Everitt gave attention to her chest, tummy, and legs, he dropped the loofah then circled back to that sensitive area with his hand. He brushed his fingers against her skin there, and his suspicions were confirmed when Nai jerked her body away from his touch.

“Stop!” She pleaded immediately, laughing when he tickled that area again.

“Okay, okay,” Everitt grinned, smiling into her skin as he kissed her neck.

Patrick called Danai’s phone the next day, and it was only then that Everitt remembered they were both supposed to go in as far as everyone else was concerned. He managed to grab the phone, which had been tossed onto the floor near the bed at some point, while Nai was wrapped around his body. It was still early, just before 6am when he squinted at the phone screen before answering the call.

“Thank God!” Patrick practically yelled into the phone, and Everitt pulled it away from his face to keep from losing the hearing in that ear. “I didn’t hear anything from you yesterday. Are you okay?! I’ve been driving my boyfriend crazy cause I-”

“She’s fine, Patrick.” Everitt finally broke his silence.

He didn’t hear anything from the other side for so long that he had to check to make sure the line was still connected. Eventually, he heard what he assumed was Patrick coughing or clearing his throat.

“I didn’t realise you were... Uh... With Danai.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about her. Just...” He looked around the room, like it held the solution to the issue of finding an excuse for the two of them that didn’t reveal the new development in their relationship. “Tell your bosses that she’s down with the flu. The weekend’s right around the corner, and she’ll be back in on Monday.”

“Okay. Uh, I hope you don’t mind me asking-”

“Depends on the question,” Everitt shot back, then groaned inwardly at his tone. Patrick was just doing his job as an assistant and a friend, and anyone would be concerned considering how the last 24 hours of Danai’s life had unfolded. 

“Sorry, it’s early,” was all Everitt offered by way of an apology.

He heard Patrick let out a short laugh, like he was laughing at something that was never funny in the first place. “That’s okay. I could tell you cared about her. I didn’t even get the chance to do anything with how quickly you took her out of the studio.”

Everitt didn’t know he’d been watching them enough to notice, or that he’d been obvious enough to be noticed. And he wasn’t sure how he felt about it either.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking,” Patrick continued, “but, what are you gonna tell your bosses?”

That answer came easily to Everitt. “That I’m the one that got Nai sick.”

Danai’s heat wasn’t overwhelming enough for them to be in a steamy cloud for its whole duration. They managed to actually spend time together outside of the joining of their bodies, and Nai even made a small nest on the largest sofa in Everitt’s living room. She covered the suede material with blankets, most of which he had to buy because she complained about the lack of them in his place. They weren’t something he really felt the need for, and he considered letting Nai take them with her eventually. At the same time, he thought it might be nice to have them for the next time she came around; she had plenty at her own place already.

The bedroom wasn’t the only place he had her since they found themselves unable to hold back in that same nest once Danai’s hand drifted too low, or in the kitchen when her scent overwhelmed him while she was trying to make herself some tea.

Nai had just put an Earl Grey tea bag into one of Ev’s favourite mugs, which he usually didn’t let other people touch. It was white with green pine trees on it, a gift that came with chocolates and a TV for Christmas when he was in university. Seeing Nai use it made him feel good, though, and he realised how much he liked having her in his space. 

His hands came around her waist, and he wasn’t shy about pressing himself into her backside. There was no way Danai hadn’t picked up his scent--he was so close to her--but she let out a gasp anyway. Her hands gripped the mug and she tossed her head back onto Ev’s shoulder. He pulled down the red plaid pjs that he’d lent her, happy that there was nothing underneath that he’d have to remove.

“What about my tea?” Danai teased Everitt before she put the mug down towards the back of the counter and out of their reach.

The alpha wasted no time with his entrance, “don’t worry about your tea.”

He rocked forward, setting a pace that pulled the sounds he came to love from Danai’s lips. Everitt brought one hand to her breast and used the other to brace the counter in front of them. Nai’s hand reached behind her head to touch his hair, and Ev licked along the ridge of her ear as she did. They stayed like that until they were both satisfied, and Danai turned to meet Everitt’s lips when his knot formed. 

They hobbled back to the couch, laughing when they decided it would take too long for them to make it to the bed in their current position. They laid there until Everitt’s knot went down, Nai fast asleep once it had. He took the opportunity to slip out from behind her and make her some tea that would hopefully still be hot when she woke up. Everitt managed to wait all of five minutes for her to stir on her own before he gently shook her awake. 

Everitt also found himself stroking and touching her hair once he made sure that was okay. He tried to put his fingers through it once, then realised some of the tangles in her curly strands wouldn’t allow that. He got some of his hair product and did his best as she slept to take some care of it. The final look was acceptable, and he just prayed that Danai wouldn’t rip him apart for it or, worse, laugh.