Page 7 of Miles's Pact
Duckie needed a friend who wouldn't back down from supporting him in any way necessary, and Mateo needed a friend who needed him the way I had for a very long time growing up. I'd always known Mateo liked being needed, that he was at his best when he was helping someone, and Fate somehow did too.
Duckie
After a night spent in the coziest blanket nest I'd ever slept in, I woke up to a breakfast of cereal—Froot Loops! I hadn't had those in ages—and coffee, after which Mateo declared he was taking me to meet some people.
"Only if you're up for it, of course," he remedied when my response wasn't quick enough.
I am, I said into the mental bond between us, wondering if I could talk to only one of them at a time or not. I wanted to ask Mateo about his brother, since I found Mateo easier to talk to. Miles was the quieter one of those two, and since I also wasn't a conversationalist, I didn't know how to talk to him.
"Would you like to drive there, or fly?" Mateo asked, and I perked up.
We can fly there?
"Of course. The good thing about being an owl and a duck shifter is that we don't have to worry about being spotted. The humans will assume we're common birds," Mateo said with a grin, and I nodded.
"Okay, then. I'll see you guys later? I have to drop by the B&B after I visit Devon, so I might not be back until evening."
"Make sure you text Devon before you leave. He might be at the auto shop today."
"Right, I forgot. I'll text him," Miles said, his eyes on his phone as he left with a distracted wave shot our way.
Mateo clapped his hands once, then stripped off his clothes and shifted into his owl form. He hopped closer to me, then pecked at my neck. He was a few inches shorter than me, and as if realizing that, he took a step back, tilted his head to the side, and then spread his wings.
Come on, spread yours too. I wanna see whose are bigger, Mateo said in my mind, and I rolled my eyes as well as I could before doing as he'd asked.Hell yes!
His wings were quite a few inches wider than mine, and he seemed satisfied, almost smug about it.
Why does that make you so happy?I asked, curious about his strangeness, and he glanced over at me. Even with an owl face, I could tell he'd be smirking if he was human.
Well, you know what they say about wingspans...He trailed off, a teasing note in his voice, and I tilted my head.
What do they say?
Oh damn, you don't know. Right. Well, I read in a book that wingspan is relative to the length of your dick. You know, wider wingspan equals a bigger dick. Of course, the book was about fae, and the real fae don't even have wings, so who knows if that's even true.
I blinked, then blinked some more as he stopped speaking. If I was in my human form, I was sure I'd be red as a tomato.
Shit, did I make you uncomfortable? I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I swear I have no sexual interest in you. Or anyone, for that matter.
You've said that before. Can you explain to me what that means?
Sure! Well, as far as labels go, I'm AroAce. I don't have any romantic or sexual interest in anyone. Sure, I find some people pleasing to look at, and I can form strong, emotional bonds with people I start to care about, and I also masturbate sometimes and watch porn, but I'm not interested in doing all of that with a person, if that makes sense. I have friends I would die for, but I don't want to kiss them or sleep with them. And I don't do hookups, or sleep with anyone. When I need some physical release, I watch porn and use my hands. Or toys.
While he was the first person I'd had a proper conversation with since I was eight, I didn't think most people were as open and upfront as he was. He had zero hesitation about sharing the most intimate details about his life, and it was refreshing. While I hadn't talked to people, I'd spent years observing them, and most people were rarely honest to each other.
Could I ask him about Miles as well? Would he be as open or would he tell me to ask Miles instead?
Thank you for telling me, I said, and he fluttered his wings in an approximation of a shrug.
If you'd like to know more about other sexualities, sex in general, or anything like that, I can show you some reading material on my phone. Or videos, if you'd prefer that.
Yes, please.
Cool. I'll show you once we get back home. Wanna head out?
Yes. Can Miles still hear us?
Nah. We can communicate like this when we're within a few hundred feet of each other. The radius grows as your bond gets stronger, but that was how it was for us in the beginning.
