"Guilty."
Nikolas shot me a mischievous glance. "But I wasn't alone, was I? I seem to recall having a shadow behind me."
That was a perfect way to describe what we were. A constant pair. I was always the bigger, quieter one following Nikolas around. I was his shadow.
"I think I was fed up with the orientation, too," I said. "But more than that, I was intrigued by you leaving the group. Up until that point, I didn't know that was an option. So I followed you, wondering who this brave rule-breaker was and what he was up to."
Nikolas laughed earnestly, sinking back into the couch cushion with an air of relaxation. "It's so funny that you thought I was brave. I was just bored. You're the brave one, jumping in front of cars to save people and all."
Not people,I wanted to say.Just you, Nikolas.
But I held my tongue.
"What was I even doing behind the school?" Nikolas asked. "I can't remember. I just know you were there with me, and that made it fun."
"You were picking up pill bugs," I said. The memory was crisp and clear in my mind. "We caught as many as we could in our hands and watched them roll up into balls."
"Right! I remember now." Nikolas laughed. "Kids are so weird. Why did we do that? I guess playing with bugs was better than listening to the teacher drone on and on. Then after five minutes of playing in silence, we introduced ourselves, right?"
"Yes. You couldn't pronounce my name at first. You kept calling me John."
Nikolas groaned sheepishly. "Don't bring that up. I was dumb back then."
I smiled. "No, you weren't dumb. You learned. Besides, I couldn't say your name either. I thought it was too long. And I kept wondering why your parents named you after a drink."
Nikolas snorted. "That's right! So you called me Kola while every other kid tried to call me Niko. I always liked your nickname the best."
Something about the way he caught my eye as he said that made my skin tingle.
"And then our parents showed up," Nikolas went on. "And holy shit, were they pissed."
"I'm surprised either of us survived their wrath."
"Me too. I remember my omega dad shrieking and my alpha dad's face going red. And then your parents showed up at the exact same time, doing the exact same thing. All four of them were in the middle of scolding us when they realized we were just sitting there playing together and their anger fizzled out." He tilted his head at me. "I think getting in shit together solidified our bond. The rest was history."
I nodded. "Yes."
We were inseparable after that incident.
Well, except for—
"Ah! DJ Muffin, be careful!"
Nikolas's sudden cry made me look down. A large orange ball of fur sat in front of me on the carpet, blinking with big eyes.
So that was where the smell of cat was coming from. When I'd first arrived, I'd wondered with a tinge of jealousy if some kind of cat shifter had been in Kola's apartment without Nikolas knowing. After all, I doubted he believed in the existence of shifters. My first paranoid thought was that an alpha shifter in human form had spent the night here.
But now I felt silly for assuming such a thing. My jealousy simmered down. There was no need for me to get all protective over Nikolas. After all, he didn'tbelongto me. He was his own person, an omega capable of picking his own partner.
Even if that thought stirred my qilin soul's envy.
A long time had passed since I'd seen Nikolas. A lot could happen in ten years. How much had I missed? It was possible that he already had a partner and I just didn't know yet.
An orange paw landed on my knee. The fluffy cat stood up on his hind legs, using me as leverage, and stared at me, his tail waving curiously behind him.
"Hello there," I said.
"Sorry about that," Nikolas said, trying to move the cat away. "He's used to being a mooch from me. Though it's weird that he's doing it to you. C'mon, it's just tea, DJ, you won't like it."
