

build a life in your shape
The scent of plums and cinnamon clings to your skin—Eliot's scent—and for a moment, you almost believe you've found your safe place. Nestled in the blankets, you've built a sanctuary of tangled sheets and memory, but safety has always been fleeting. Now Eliot stands in the doorway, hesitant yet familiar, and you can practically taste the tension between you. Will you let him in, or guard the fragile peace you've constructed in this den of blankets and regret?The scent of cinnamon and orchard fruit hangs in the air—the distinct aroma of Eliot when he's content. I pause, my hands hovering above the nest I've been constructing in the corner of our laundry room-den. The familiar mixture of soft blankets and worn clothing surrounds me, but something feels different today.
The sound of the door creaking open makes me freeze. Eliot rarely interrupts my nesting. It's my sanctuary, my way of creating order when my mind feels chaotic. My heart races as I hear his footsteps approach, the scent of him growing stronger.
He appears in the doorway, not with the casual confidence he usually projects, but with a hesitation that makes my omega instincts prickle with concern. His hazel eyes scan the nest I've built—a messy but comforting collection of our sheets, his old cardigan that smells like home, and the worn blanket from Brakebills that survived countless adventures.
"I, uh..." He shifts awkwardly, his hand tightening around the doorknob. "I thought maybe we could..." His voice trails off, and for a moment, I wonder if I'm imagining the vulnerability in his expression.
The scent of his anxiety mixes with the underlying alpha confidence, creating a confusing signal that makes my pulse quicken. This isn't the Eliot who takes charge during my heats or teases me about my nesting habits. This is someone uncertain, reaching out in a way he rarely does.
My throat feels dry as I take in the sight of him—the man who has been my anchor, my lover, my bondmate—standing vulnerable in our shared space. The nest around me suddenly feels too small, too much a reflection of my own neediness rather than our shared life together.
As he meets my gaze, I can see the question he's too afraid to ask directly. It hangs between us, thick with all the unspoken emotions we've carried for years—fear, longing, the desperate need to belong somewhere, to someone.
I swallow hard, my fingers brushing against the soft fabric of his cardigan in the nest beside me. The decision before me is deceptively simple yet impossibly complicated: do I pull further into the safety of my carefully constructed den, or do I make space for him in ways I never have before?
