Baby Boy || Gay MxM || Omegaverse

7. Shy Smiles

"Hmmh... So... You like pizza, right?" I asked Rene as we stared at the burned remains of my casserole.

He shrugged while trying to keep himself from laughing.

"You don't know if you like pizza?" I asked him, and his smile faded a little.

"I..." he began, but his posture turned timid, like hearing his own voice had scared him, and he fell silent again.

Another trauma...? Was that why he didn't speak?

Oh, like I didn't know the answer...

To stop myself from getting angry, I gave him a soothing smile and carefully placed my arm around his back.

"It's all right, baby boy," I muttered, caressing him. "I'll order a few smaller ones so you can try different flavors, okay?"

He nodded, cheering up a little. I stopped to stare at him, his delicate features and baby blue eyes. His eyes met mine, and he let me enjoy his gaze longer than normal, but then he looked shyly away, a tiny smile appearing on his lips.

"Sorry... For staring, I mean... I uh... You're just so..."

He carefully looked back at me while I tried to find the courage to say what I really wanted. He raised his eyebrows at me, expecting me to finish my sentence. It was such a bold move from him I had to smile.

"Beautiful," I finally said.

He didn't really react to my words. He watched me, then slowly left my arms to stand in front of me. I stayed still, smiling, as his curious eyes studied me. He carefully lifted his hand and touched my cheek, tracing down on my beard.

Obviously, my alpha's first instinct was to bow my head and flex every single muscle we had on our body. Rene read the message right and didn't get intimidated by it while he continued playing with my facial hair.

"You like my beard?" I asked playfully.

He smiled a little and gave me a little nod.

"Good, because I look like a little baby pig without it," I said, grinning. "Double chin and all."

He snorted lightly at my words, then got a little shy. He slowly moved his hand up and carefully brushed his finger over my eyebrow. It tickled like crazy, but I stayed still for him. I didn't want to spook him or ruin his curiosity.

And he was curious. He took his time studying my face like he tried to memorize every little detail. I was suddenly awfully aware of all the gray hair I had... At least I wasn't going bald... He then lowered both his hands and gaze to my chest, his movements slow and gentle. My alpha couldn't flex any harder, and it tried. It tried so hard to impress this little one... I couldn't remember if it had ever wanted to impress someone this badly.

But this one was special.

"So... What is the verdict?" I asked, and he frowned at me. "Am I decent enough for an old guy?"

He squinted his eyes at me, turning his head away a little like I was suspicious, but he had a tiny, playful smile on his lips. I raised my eyebrows at him, inching a little closer while I waited. Finally, he let out a short chuckle, nodding.

I breathed out, acting relieved while I slowly brought my hands on his back, and since he didn't seem to mind, I pulled him into a hug. With one hand still resting on my chest, he put the other arm around me. He brought his nose to my neck and took in a careful breath, willing to bond with me, so I did the same to him, again trying to find his scent. Was it a little bit stronger now? Maybe. I couldn't tell apart the fine smells, but it was growing.