When Damon woke up the next morning, he was aching in all the right places and considerably less irate. That is, until he rolled over in Jun's embrace to check the time on his phone and saw a text from his mother informing him that he should be at the pack courthouse by two o' clock that day.

So that kind of put a damper on things. But then Jun bonked his head into Damon's back, and Damon willfully forgot all about it, slumping back down into the bed so he could be snuggled as he deserved. He knew he was going to have to get up and get it over with eventually, but he could afford to pretend otherwise for a little while longer.

As he lay there, breathing in Jun's scent, he wondered if he should tell Jun about it. He already knew that their courtship was being dissolved, but Damon hadn't told him about the court meeting. It wasn't likely Jun would be allowed in anyway, but Damon could imagine Jun trying and possibly punching Damon's mother, which, among other things, was unlikely to do anything in their favor. Besides, Jun's heat-free period was just about up, and a stressful situation like that could result in him popping right back into heat in front of the judge, which, also, would not be helpful for their case.

On top of that, Damon still hadn't heard anything about what Malachi was up to. Damon hadn't forgotten that Malachi had intentionally gotten himself beat up, and he had been suspiciously quiet ever since, so Damon had a very bad feeling that something not fun was going to happen.

As a more minor concern, there was also the fact that Damon was still nesting, and while he was clear headed now, there was the possibility of him going a little wild if he was pushed too far in the courtroom. Even if he managed to make it through and get back to Jun, with Jun about to go back into heat anytime, plus Damon's nesting, the possibility of accidents like, oh, say, Jun fucking babies into Damon, was significantly higher.

If that kind of situation, where Jun was in heat while Damon was also nesting, occurred at any other time, Damon would have made the executive decision for them to spend a few more days apart while Damon got over it before they could go back to their regular routine. The problem was that Damon didn't exactly have anywhere else to go.

Sure, there was Mark's place. But Mark and Mark's parents were unequipped to handle a nesting omega. Not only did they not have a spare room, but everyone in their family was also either a beta or an alpha, so there wasn't really anyone that understood how to take care of a nesting omega. He supposed he could stay with Ava, but again, she didn't have the room to spare. Nesting omegas required privacy above all else, so sleeping on the couch wasn't really an option. Besides, it could be unduly stressful for an omega to stay in an unfamiliar location, which could lead to more erratic and violent behaviors than normal. Strangely, the omega in Damon didn't count Jun's apartment as an unusual location.

So Damon was kind of fucked. He would just have to stay with Jun and pray that his omega hindbrain would leave him enough rationality to slap a condom on his overzealous alpha.

Well. Those were all problems for future Damon. Present Damon could stand to sleep in a little longer.

The next time Damon woke up, he was alone. He blearily surveyed the room, finding no Juns in sight and sat up, confused. It was nearing noon, so maybe he had gotten up to shower or eat. When Damon shook off the last bit of sleep, he also took notice of the ruined nest he was laying in and blushed. He vaguely recalled his frenzied gathering of soft things and the subsequent actions that led to half of them ending up on the floor. Now that he was a little more clear-headed, while the urge to straighten everything up and rebuild the nest was still present, it wasn't nearly so strong. That would change by the time night rolled around.

Damon ventured out of the bedroom after finding a clean pair of sweats and a shirt to wear.

(That's a lie. They weren't clean. It was totally Jun's used sweats and t-shirt).

Can you blame a nesting omega for wanting some alpha pheromones on the go? It wasn't Damon's fault!

The clothes were a bit big on Damon, and he kept tripping over the ends of the pants until he rolled them up, but they were soft and comfortable and smelled like Jun so they were perfect. With the inner omega subdued for the moment, Damon wandered down the hall and followed the sound of the running shower to the bathroom. He reached for the doorknob and stopped in mid-reach, shocked.

What was he doing? He couldn't just go inside while Jun was showering. That was a terrible invasion of privacy.

Damon was suddenly struck with a weird sense of uncertainty. On the one hand, he and Jun were together – boyfriends, at the least. And yet, the label felt weird. Damon and Jun hadn't actually... discussed that. What they were called. They were heat partners. They were courting, until recently. Perhaps they could be called lovers. Maybe dating. Maybe boyfriends.

Damon didn't know. He didn't think Jun would find it weird if Damon called him his boyfriend in public. But there was this weird dysphoria wherein Damon didn't know what the boundaries were.

Was it...okay to go into the bathroom while Jun was showering? He'd already seen all of Jun's parts, so that wasn't the problem. But there was still this implied level of comfort and ease in barging into the bathroom without warning on your partner that usually only came with years of living together for most couples.

Were they at that point yet? Would Jun give him a funny look if he came in now?

On the flip side, how would Damon feel if Jun were to barge into the bathroom while he was showering?

Well... honestly, he probably wouldn't care.

The omega in Damon was urging him to just go inside and join him in the shower. That's where his alpha was, so why couldn't he be there too? And if his omega brain happened to get distracted at the sight of Jun's uncovered dick, well, that's just how it is.

But Damon still hesitated, hand hovering inches away from the doorknob, caught in limbo.

Should he, or shouldn't he? Screw Shakespeare. This was the real question.

He ended up standing there for an absurdly long time, thinking, until finally – he pursed his lips. Screw it. This was bullshit. Just grow a spine, Blackwell, he thought.

He drew his hand back, took a deep breath – and opened the door, slipping inside before he could change his mind.

With the shower running, Jun didn't seem the hear the door opening. His silhouette beyond the frosted glass shower door appeared to be busy scrubbing away at his hair. Damon stared at the silhouette in petrified terror, back against the door, before gritting his teeth and whipping off the shirt he'd put on only a while ago.

He could do this. Labels be damned.