Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The amount of smells in one area should be illegal. David sighed when Angel shoved the twelfth-million candle to his nose.

“Angel. Just pick one. We have been here for over an hour. You could pick any of the ones you liked. The smell isn’t that important.”

Angel peered down at the lower shelves, “But we need an actual good one.”

David looked at the time on his phone. 8:23 pm.

“How about you stay here, and look at the candles, and I’m gonna finish up shopping. I’ll be back in ten minutes. Sound good?”

Angel looked over and smiled, “Yep. I’ll have a perfect one by then.”

David rolled through different aisles picking up the rest of their things. Some actual fruit and frozen vegetables. They ran out of cooking oil last week, when Angel had decided to cook something and claimed that they wanted to make sure the food wouldn’t burn.

Once he came back, Angel was waiting with a candle in hand and a pleased smile on their face.

“Smell this one, Davey.” They held it over to him.

“ ‘Super paradise’?” David opened the container. It smelled a little fruity, but pleasant and not too strong. “This is pretty good, Angel.”

“Yes! I told you I’d find the perfect one.” Angel said, rejoining David’s side. “I didn’t think we needed the whole house smelling like ‘clean linen’. Did you get everything?”

David nodded, “I got everything else while you were interrogating each candle. Now let’s go home, so we can go to bed.”

Chapter Text

It was no secret that Asher loved to kiss Babe. He would swear that it was only because he liked the taste of the chapstick they used. Babe would roll their eyes and he’d grin at his mate’s knowing face, that really, he just loved to kiss them.

A kiss in the morning, right after Babe had put it on, and then a few more kisses after that as well. His mouth tasted like oranges that morning.

“Ash, stop. I have to go or I’ll be late. I can’t be late two days in a row,” Babe smiled as Asher gave them one last peck to the cheek.

“Fiiinnee. Have a good day, Babe,” Asher smiled back.

Another time Asher loves to kiss Babe is when they are making dinner. One evening, Babe decided to make lasagna, which of course would contribute to a bunch of leftovers for the rest of the week. They spooned out the pasta sauce into the pan. Asher wrapped his arms around Babe’s middle.

“Baabe, turn around so I can kiss you.” Babe turned slowly and Asher’s lips were soon on theirs. “Mmm. You taste good.”

“So you like artificial strawberries?” Babe smiled into another kiss. They dragged their fingers through his hair.

“That. Annnd, I like kissing you. I like you,” Asher admitted, though it was never a secret.

“I would hope so,” Babe laughed. “But if we stay here kissing, dinner won’t ever get made.”

“I’m not that hungry,” Asher said.

Babe shook their head at his antics, “You may not be hungry. But I am. I’ll kiss you all you want after we put this in the oven.”

“Deal, my amazing, and freakingly superb mate, that graces me with kisses daily,” Asher kissed their shoulder, and sat on a stool so they could finish the lasagna.

Asher also loves to kiss Babe right before bed. Once they get settled under the covers, Asher gently kisses their lips, tasting whatever chapstick flavor Babe had worn for the day. Tonight it was cotton candy, other nights it had been grape or cherry.

“Goodnight, Babe,” Asher mumbled.

“Goodnight. I love you,” Babe replied before tucking themselves closer to Asher.

“I love you too.” Asher wrapped his arm around Babe’s waist as the two slowly drifted to sleep.

Chapter Text

Sweetheart’s stomach had been tightening itself all day. Really it had been happening all week, but they had been ignoring the knotting of muscles and carrying on with their work. What had built their anxiety up so much? Sweetheart could only guess that it was their job. They were put with an unusually disturbing case that constantly sat in the back of their mind and not once had they stopped thinking about it, even before bed, when they were exhausted.

The whole drive home, Sweetheart’s stomach started to churn even more and by the time they pulled into the driveway and reached the door, they could barely stand upright. They sat their bag down and moved slowly down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Sweetheart kneeled on the cold floor and curled into a ball. Just for a moment. Then I will go make dinner, and relax. I just need to calm down. . . The cold floor was the only sensation that was comforting at the moment.

A faint meow entered the room.

Sweetheart groaned and looked over at Aggro, “Sorry. You’ll have to wait for dinner . .”

Aggro meowed in response and left— occasionally meowing every once in a while again. They didn’t know how long they had been listening to Aggro meow before dry-heaving into the toilet. Nothing came up, but the nauseous feeling was still the same. At that moment, a click of the door opened and revealed Milo.

Aggro ran over to Milo, aggressively meowing.

“Where’s Sweetheart, Aggro?” Milo said, taking his wallet and keys out to place on the counter. He knew that Aggro seemed to get more riled up when either he or Sweetheart were in distress. Milo looked up when he heard retching from the bathroom. Milo walked to the open door and found his lover leaning over the toilet.

Milo quickly left to go fetch a washcloth and a glass of water. Once he came back, Sweetheart had at some point leaned against the tub. Their forehead was sweaty, and they were taking deep breaths.

“Hey, sweetheart. Are you sick? I mean– Did you go to work like this?”

Sweetheart rubbed their forehead with shaky hands. “Sort of. I think my anxiety got too much. I can go make dinner now. I just dry-heaved.”

“No,” Milo said. He sat down the water glass next to Sweetheart. “If you aren’t feeling well, you aren’t makin’ dinner.”

Sweetheart nodded, not really feeling like arguing. They grabbed the washcloth and wiped their face off. Milo rubbing their knee as they do so. They slightly shivered.

Milo frowned and walked to the door. “I’m gonna get you a blanket, Sweetheart.”

Sweetheart’s stomach slowly started to churn again and they leaned forward back towards the toilet. Why did this have to happen? Why were they like this? Their job was stressful. They should be used to this by now. Tears started to well up in their eyes.

Another wave of nausea flew to the surface, and Sweetheart dry heaved again.

Milo walked back into the bathroom, setting the blanket over Sweetheart's legs. They looked over to Milo who had knelt down next to them. “Thanks,” Sweetheart mumbled.

“Can I touch you?”

Sweetheart shrugged, “I’m not sure.”

“Ok. Do you wanna to see if tums will help?”

“Ok.”

Milo nodded and opened a drawer under the sink. “Here. We can try one first.”

Sweetheart quickly chewed it. “I’m sorry for getting sick– I just– I’m just sorry about this anxiety thing– I should be used to this–”

“Hey-hey, it’s okay, Sweetheart. Whatever it is– it’s been really worryin’ you and it’s just your body's way of saying that you need to take a break. It’s not your fault for getting this strung up. Your job is stressful, and sometimes it’s hard figurin’ out your limits. . . Can I rub your back? I feel like it’d help.”

Sweetheart hummed, slowly closing their eyes. Milo slowly rubbed circles between their shoulder blades. The muscles between their back loosened and their shoulders dropped.

Sweetheart took a shuddering breath, “We have this case at work. . . a little boy disappeared and. . . and I just– we gotta find him.”

“And you’ve done such a good job so far,” Milo said, his hand travelling to their lower back. “I’ve seen you working so hard.”

Sweetheart locked eyes with Milo, “It’s not good until we find him. We’re close– but not close enough for an answer. We think it might be a vampire. I just don’t want the kid to be hurt.”

Milo kissed the top of Sweetheart’s head, “Sweetheart. I know you don’t want to rest until you find him, but you can’t do anything about it tonight. You gotta rest. If you don’t take it easy, especially when you are sick, you won’t be able to do anything to help.”

“Fuck. I know,” Sweetheart buried their face into their hands. “I know. I just want to get him back home so badly.”

“And you will.” Milo continued to rub Sweetheart’s back in silence. He traced shapes on their back. The calming sensation helped Sweetheart breathe evenly and relax. Several minutes passed before he asked if they felt any better.

“I think so. . . I don’t feel as sick anymore.”

“Do you wanna sit out on the couch, while I make us some food? I can make you toast or somethin’. You can choose a show to watch, and we can sit on the couch so you can relax more.” Milo slowly stood up with Sweetheart.

“Ok.” Sweetheart wrapped the blanket around their shoulders. “I can do that.”

“Perfect.” Milo smiled. He might not be able to keep Sweetheart’s work stress away, but at least he can try to make home a safe place.

Aggro meowed at Sweetheart’s feet once they got out of the bathroom. They sighed, “Oh, you still need dinner.”

“I’ll handle it. You just go sit down.”

“I love you. Thank you for putting up with this.” Sweetheart said before making their way to the couch. Milo handed them a turned on controller.

“I love you too, Sweetheart. You do so much and I’m so proud of you.” Milo placed a kiss to the top of their head.

Chapter Text

The quiet atmosphere was something David hadn’t had in awhile. Not that nights weren’t quiet and peaceful. Many of them technically were. But this time he had the people he loved, safe in his home, relaxing with their loved ones and a random movie playing in the background. He looked outside at the sky. A faint tinge of blue still colored the lower half. It wasn’t quite midnight yet, but it was getting there. Earlier, Sam and Tank had gone outside for a walk, or alone time, truthfully. They hadn’t walked very far. He could hear them laughing on the porch.

David looked over to his right at the sleeping couple. Asher lightly snored, and his mate slept on his chest. The couple looked very comfy, though they would probably be stiff in the morning.

Sweetheart and Angel were quietly muttering at the kitchen table. They were at one point painting each other's nails, but that activity eventually turned into them talking. Angel looked over their shoulder as they felt eyes on them. David was staring at them.

“One sec,” Angel said to Sweetheart. They walked over and leaned on the back of the couch.

“Yeah, sweetie? Is something wrong?” Angel quietly asked and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“No. Just watching everyone. . . Asher and Babe fell asleep.”

Angel turned their attention to the duo and smiled. “I’ll go get them a blanket.” They went over to the hall closet and carried out one. They slowly draped it over the two. Babe shifted slightly, but seemed to go back to sleep.

“They are so cute,” Angel muttered once they returned to David. Angel knew Babe had been working overtime to get a project done, a project that could hopefully earn a promotion, and was exhausted. Babe had bags under their eyes for days, and Asher had mentioned how they had a hard time falling asleep. He’d be asleep for about thirty minutes, then he’d wake up and notice Babe working on stuff or just sitting out in the living room.

Angel also had known that Asher was struggling, well in general. Asher started picking up more work, according to the alpha, and Babe said that he had Inversion nightmares almost every night. David had mentioned how Asher began to take naps at the office, which was strange coming from Asher who was usually quite energetic. David had been getting concerned that his beta was burning himself out, and was planning on having a talk with Asher soon. But for tonight, the couple were finally getting some rest.

Milo seemed to have nodded off at some point during the third movie they were watching. Sweetheart walked over to the couches and took their phone out. The glow from the TV gave enough light so they could take a picture of their sleeping mate. Sweetheart chuckled to themselves, “New lockscreen.”

“Do you wanna go take him to the guest room?” David asked. He would have offered their other guest room to Asher and Babe, but they had already fallen asleep, and he didn’t want to wake either of them.

“Probably a good idea. He already says I knock off a few years of his life when I jump scare him. I can’t have him complaining about being an old man just yet,” Sweetheart replied. They gently shook Milo’s shoulder. Milo blinked, though it looked like he could fall asleep again at any moment.

“Mmh? Sweetheart?”

“C’mon. We’re going to bed,” Sweetheart grabbed his hands and carefully dragged him up. Milo managed to say goodnight, and they went down the hallway, disappearing into the guest room.

David sighed and stretched.

“You can go to bed if you want,” Angel rubbed David’s lower back.

He closed his eyes for a moment at the gentle caress. He was tired, but not that tired. “And know that you will probably stay up until 4 in the morning completing some random project? I don’t think that’s the best idea, Angel,” David replied and wrapped an arm around them.

“Well, I gotta do the dishes,” Angel murmured.

“Then I will do them with you,” David leaned over to kiss the top of Angel’s head. Angel hummed in agreement. The two decided that Angel would wash the dishes and David would dry them. They quietly talked between each other about each other’s days, what they wanted to plant in the garden this year, and why a hippopotamus would win against a bear.

“I’m glad we could all get together like this,” Angel said at one point.

David gave a subtle smile, “Me too. I’m glad that everyone seems to feel comfortable here.”

The sliding door opened to reveal Sam and Tank coming back in. They looked around and noticed the new positions everyone was in.

Tank wandered over to the kitchen with Sam trailing behind. “Hey. I noticed the two sleeping beauties on the couch. Where’d the other two go?”

“I sent them to the guest room. Milo fell asleep,” David briefed.

“How was it outside?” Angel asked either one of them, still focused on a pan from breakfast.

“It’s very nice. Not too chilly but not too warm. You got lots of crickets here, David,” Tank said. They leaned back against the counter.

“I know. I can hear them almost every night,” David agreed. He wiped around the edges of a bowl and sat it down. They hadn’t accumulated a lot of dishes because of Asher’s idea to order pizza for dinner, and for that, David was thankful.

Angel handed him the last dish and turned around to wipe their hands on a towel.

“Would you and Sam like to stay the night? We have another room available and I have an excess of pillows and blankets for guests,” Angel offered, tucking the towel back onto the stove’s handle. Originally Sam and Tank hadn’t planned on staying, but the offer was still there.

“What do you think, Darlin’?” Sam looked over. Tank looked at their partner and Angel could see the debate going on in their head.

“If you want to, then it would be fine,” Tank finally said.

Sam gave a small smile, “Then we accept and appreciate the hospitality.”

Angel smiled back and went to grab a couple blankets and a stack of pillows. Once the two were settled, and the TV turned off, Angel and David left to head upstairs to their room. Before Angel shut the door they heard Tank say, “You talk like such an old man sometimes.”

“It was called being polite, Darlin’,” Sam replied as the two walked down the hall. They definitely would be staying up for longer, but at least they were comfortable.

Angel grinned to themselves and closed the door. David had already changed into a pair of sweats and flopped himself on the bed. The window was opened a bit, so the room wasn’t too stuffy. Angel went into their en suite bathroom to get ready for bed. After they finished, Angel slipped under their sheets and settled down. Their body sank as they relaxed into the mattress. David shifted and laid one arm over Angel, and shifted closer. They breathed in the scent of David’s shampoo and the night air, and drifted to sleep.

Chapter Text

Babe winced as they stepped out of the car. Today was not a good day.

First it started with a meeting. That meeting was called to scold their team for not reaching the project deadline. It was not a pleasant feeling to come out of a meeting, first thing in the morning, where someone passively aggressively scolds you and then decides to give you more work as penance.

Then at some point in the day, Babe had spilt water all over their desk, almost ruining their keyboard and papers! And to make matters worse they fell down the stairs with the result of a twisted ankle. The main reason as to why they were slightly frustrated and in a lot of pain.

The only part they could be thankful about was that it was their left ankle and not the right one. At least they could still drive home. Babe also was thankful to the coworker who bought a brace for them during their lunch break to stabilize their ankle through the rest of the day.

Babe limped up the steps to get to their apartment, trying hard to not step on the left leg, or else a sharp pain followed with constant aching, would bless their foot.

I might as well crawl up them, Babe thought. In the end, they couldn’t bring themselves to potentially meet a neighbor on the way up and embarrass themselves by crawling up like a lunatic. So they suffered through it.

The door was a haven once Babe reached it. It was the perfect crutch for them to fish out the apartment key and walk a few spaces without having to step on their left foot. They shut the door and sunk to the floor. They could hear Asher talking in the bedroom. The occasional words of “job”, “pack” and his laughter led Babe to understand that he was talking with David.

Babe took off their right shoe and debated if they should take off their left. I need to put ice on it. The shoe needs to come off, Babe decided.

“Alright, I gotta go David. My mate came home,” Asher said, his voice getting louder as he came out of the bedroom. “Sorry. Nope! I can’t talk– Byeee!”

As soon as Asher locked eyes with Babe, he worriedly bolted over, sitting down next to them. “What happened? What’s wrong? Babe, tell me–”

“I twisted my ankle,” Babe hissed as they moved their foot closer to take off their left shoe.

“Stop! I’ll call for Marie and she can heal you–!” Asher grabbed Babe’s hands to stop them from pulling their shoe off.

Babe shook their head. “No, Ash. My whole office knows how bad it is. We can’t just magically heal it overnight.”

“But baabe, please,” Asher pleaded. “I don’t want you to be hurt like this.”

Babe sighed and leaned the back of their head against the door. “Ash. It could be a breach of covert if I am randomly healed from a twisted ankle and my foot is fine the next day. It also would seem like I was lying. We have to let it heal naturally.”

Asher whined and leaned his forehead on her shoulder, “Ok. Whatever you say.”

Babe carded their fingers through his hair, “It’ll be the good old-fashioned way. We need to get my shoe off. Maybe take off the brace. I can go sit on the couch to rest my foot up on a pillow. I need ice on it. Can you help with all that?”

Asher popped up and nodded. The shoe was easier to get off when Babe didn't need to curve their leg to reach. Asher slowly took it off. It still hurt, and Babe had to insist he kept going even if it was hurting them, but eventually the shoe came off. Babe breathed a sigh of relief.

“Give me one second for my ankle to stop hurting,” Babe puffed out.

“I’ll go get an ice pack, and get some pillows.”

“Sounds good.”

Asher hopped up from the floor and dipped into the kitchen. Babe took a deep breath. They probably still needed to take their sock off as well. Babe grabbed the top of it, and tried to wriggle it off their foot. They sucked air in. They would forgo the sock. It would act as a separation from the ice. Though they would have to check it out properly later.

Asher walked back over and set the ice pack on the coffee table, only to then return to Babe.

“I would like to request that you get your ankle looked at tomorrow. Now, do you feel like I could take you over to the couch now?”

Babe nodded again and braced their hands on the ground, “Yeah, let me just get up.”

“I gotcha, Babe!” Asher watched their face before placing a hand on their lower back. “Can I pick you up?”

“I guess– WOAH!!” Babe yelped and threw their arms around Asher’s neck.

“You good?” Asher asked with a concerned face, wondering if he accidentally hurt his mate.

Babe laughed, “Yeah I’m fine. I’m just not used to being picked up a whole bunch.”

Asher smiled at that. “Well lucky for you, you have the strongest, most awesome partner that can get you to the couch without you needing to worry about your hurt foot.”

Babe kissed his collar bone. “That I do.” Asher gently sat them down and handed them the ice pack. Babe held it on top of their foot, the cold slipping past the barrier of their sock.

“Is there anything else I can do?” Asher asked.

“Could I get a kiss?”

Asher lit up at that request, “Of course!”

Their lips connected and Asher hummed. Babe leaned back, breaking from the kiss and gazed at Asher with soft eyes. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too. How’d you even twist your ankle? Doesn’t your workplace have elevators? Why didn't you call me when it happened?”

“The elevators weren’t working so everyone had to take the stairs,” Babe explained. “I just missed a step. At first it wasn't even that bad, and I had other problems to attend to. Actually, I was having an all around bad day. I spilled water all over my desk and my boss was angry at our team which resulted in more paperwork, so, falling down the stairs just added to it.”

They laid the ice pack awkwardly on their ankle and leaned back. Babe held out their hands, which Asher placed his on top. Babe slowly rubbed his knuckles, “But it’s better now that I’m home with you.”

“I’m sorry you had a bad day. We can get whatever you want for dinner,” Asher offered.

Babe thought about it for a moment, “If we get pizza will you answer the door?”

“Yes. For you, Babe. I’ll get us the usual,” Asher said and softly kissed their cheek. Asher pulled out his phone and quickly ordered their food. “And while we wait for the food we could cuddle?”

Babe slightly tugged at Asher’s hands. He stood up, slipped off his clothes, and shifted into his wolf form.

Babe let out a surprised laugh and once Asher was settled on the couch, Babe dragged their fingers through his spotted fur. “I love you so much,” Babe mumbled and scratched behind Asher’s ear. Asher let out a content sigh and settled his head on Babe’s lap. Today might not have been a good day, but it certainly turned out well enough.

Chapter Text

The first thing Milo saw as he walked into the house was Sweetheart at the sink, hissing in pain.

“What happened?” Milo worriedly walked over. He saw the scratches that littered their arms.

“Gave Aggro a bath,” Sweetheart grimaced. They turned the sink off and walked to the hall closet. Milo grabbed the cotton swabs as they grabbed the rubbing alcohol.

“I see that it– uh– didn’t go well,” Milo snickered. Sweetheart turned around and stared at one spot. Milo followed their gaze, and locked eyes with an angry cat. The way the wet fur hangover Aggro’s eyes gave him a death glare. He furiously licked his leg.

Milo busted out laughing at the very upset cat. Aggro looked at him and walked away, stalking on spindly legs. Milo looked back at Sweetheart, who was putting a band-aid on a few of the deeper cuts that were still slightly bleeding.

“Why’d he need a bath? Can’t cats clean themselves?”

Sweetheart shook their head and smiled, “The little guy had tried jumping onto the coffee table and instead of landing smoothly he ran into my mug filled with juice. It somehow poured allll over him.”

Milo hummed, “That does sound like a good reason he'd need a bath.” He held out his hand to Sweetheart. They laid their hand atop his. Milo brought their wrist to his lips and proceeded to kiss each scratch that laid on their arm.

"I didn't think we wanted sticky juice paws all over our house," Sweetheart added.

"Well, thank you," Milo kissed their jaw, "For braving the cat bath." He punctuated the sentence with a kiss to Sweetheart's lips.

"Of course," Sweetheart smiled as they broke away from the kiss.

Chapter Text

Angel’s heart furiously pounded out of their chest, so much that it hurt. Their body was too hot and mouth too dry. Angel sat up holding a hand to their chest as they tried to regulate their heart rate and catch their breath.

They tried not to think about their horrible dream, but it was hard. It had felt so real. . .

Tears threatened to spill and their throat tightened. But they weren’t going to cry. They didn’t need to cry. The dream wasn’t real.

David stirred and squinted to see his mate sitting up in the middle of the night. The blankets were ripped off of them, and they were hunched over, breathing hard. David pushed himself up.

“Angel?”

Angel turned around to see David rubbing his eyes. They had woken him up.

“Hi,” They breathlessly said. They didn’t mean it to come out that way. Angel shakily inhaled, and they felt David’s warm hand touch their shoulder, then slide to the middle of their shoulder blades.

“You’re ok. It wasn’t real,” David began to rub up and down their back.

“I-I know,” Angel’s voice hitched. “I’m fine.” Their breathing didn’t slow though, and tears started to stroll down their cheeks. They let out a choked sob.

David placed a hand on their arm, “Hold my hand. Can you breathe with me?”

Angel grasped it, their palm still sweaty, but David didn’t care. His mate was in distress and he needed to help calm them down.

“In. . .” David slowly breathed in, Angel copying him. “Out. . . in. . . out. . . You’re ok. I got you. You’re safe. In. . . out. . . in. . . out. . . “

Angel began to deflate as they caught their breath. Relief flooded them as they felt their heart beat slow down and became less distressed. They brought David’s grasped hand up to their forehead and leaned on it. They slowly inhaled and exhaled one last time, before breathing normally.

“Thank you,” Angel quietly said. David pushed their sweaty hair back with his free hand.

“Do you want to talk about it?” David hesitantly pried.

Angel shook their head, and uncurled. “Maybe in the morning.”

“Ok. Why don’t you lay back down with me?”

Angel nodded.

“Come lay on my chest. . . Yeah, just like that.” David guided their head onto his chest. Angel sniffed and adjusted their head so it was tucked into his shoulder. They tightly wound their arm around his middle. David combed his fingers through their hair. Angel sighed at the comforting motion, and placed a kiss on his neck.

“Thank you for taking care of me,” Angel mumbled into his neck.

“Always.” David wrapped himself around Angel. He listened to their breathing to make sure that they had fallen asleep before going back to bed himself. Once Angel’s breathing evened out, David closed his eyes, relaxing into the embrace and being pleased that he comforted his love.

Chapter Text

Sam rarely got sick. Honestly it was a surprise that vampires could even get sick at all. Yet here he was, his head muddy and heavy, his nose making it hard to breathe, and standing up made him dizzy. One of his occasional coughs would ring out in the silent home. He had felt this way for awhile, but he honestly couldn’t remember what day it was.

“Google doesn’t say anything about vampires getting sick,” Darlin’ walked in with a warmed up mug. “Maybe we should call Vincent?”

Sam leaned forehead into his hands, his head too heavy to keep looking up. Darlin’s warm hands settled onto the nape of his neck, and stroked all the way down to his shoulders. Darlin’ was starting to get worried, as this was the third day Sam didn’t seem to be getting any better. They couldn’t tell if he had a fever, his temperature was not accurately reading on the thermometer, and honestly, Darlin’ couldn’t tell if his temperature actually changed.

“Sure,” Sam slurred, the effort of talking felt too difficult to do.

Darlin’ grabbed his hands and carefully placed the mug in them. His hands were shaking. Luckily they had put a straw in there, seeing as lifting the mug was a great effort. Sam took a sip of the drink and closed his eyes.

“I’m gonna be back in a second,” Darlin’ kissed his temple. “Just keep drinking the tea.”

Darlin’ slowly got up and grabbed their phone from the kitchen. Clicking on Vincent’s contact they held the phone up to their ear.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Vincent. This is Tank. Uh, Sam is sick. He’s not doing too hot, and I– I don’t know what to do? I figured I would call you before I tried calling a healer in my pack. Do vampires get sick?”

“Woah. Okay. How sick is he?”

Darlin’ bit their lip before responding, “He’s gotten worse from the first day. He can barely stand up without possibly fainting. And he seems to have a headache and he keeps talking to a minimum. He doesn’t seem very hungry either, I mean, vampires don’t eat much in general, but his appetite is unusual.”

“How long has he been like this?”

“Three days,” Darlin’ replied.

“I remember William saying that vampires can get sick sometimes if they drink bad blood–”

“He could be poisoned?!” Darlin’ panicked.

“Nononono. Not– no. It’s more like picking up a bug from school when you were a kid. Bad blood is a terrible term for this– He’ll be fine. Considering that I haven’t ever seen Sam sick before, this could be his first time exposed to the bug. I got sick like that once. You just have to wait it out.”

Darlin’ exhaled.

“I would suggest the usual when someone is sick, to just let them rest. I’d also call your healer if you want to double check. Make sure he gets something to drink from in a few days, if he’s still sick.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll text you if William suggests anything else. Don’t worry. He’ll be fine,” Vincent replied.

“I appreciate it, Vincent,” Darlin’ said.

“No problem! I hope he feels better soon!” Vincent said his farewell.

Darlin’ decided to call Marie next. Even though they didn’t know if Marie knew how to cure vampires, it still wouldn’t hurt. “Hi, Marie,” Darlin’ said as soon as they heard the phone pick up.

“Hi kiddo, what’s wrong?”

“Sam is sick,” Darlin began, and then proceeded to list off his symptoms that they told Vincent. “Do you know anything to help him feel better?”

“It's quite interesting that a vampire can get sick. I can’t say that I know anything about it though. I never really dealt with vampires much. I could come over today and see if I can do anything about it,” Marie suggested.

“That would be good. Thank you,” Darlin’ agreed.

“Sounds good. I’ll come by this afternoon.”

With that, the calls were done, and Darlin’ took a deep breath.

Then Sam called their name. Darlin’ quickly walked back into the living room. Sam had sat the mug down on the coffee table and was resting on his hand.

“Hey, how are you feeling,” Darlin’ brushed the hair out of his face. They sat down next to him, still with a hand on his forehead.

“Stop. . checkin’. . . for a fev’r, Darlin’,” Sam said, leaning down to place his head on his mate’s shoulder.

“I don’t think you can tell me what to do. You’re the sick one, who can barely even sit up,” Darlin’ retorted. Sam grumbled but stayed flopped over onto his mate.

“M’head hurts,” Sam then said.

“I know, baby,” Darlin’ stroked his hair. “I know.”

Sam harshly inhaled. “M’sorry.”

Darlin’ frowned, “For what?”

“Bein’ sick. I’m supposed to be takin’ care of you.”

Darlin’ couldn’t help but smile. “You’re my mate. I take care of you when you need it. Just like you take care of me, whether I’m upset, or sick, or bleeding out, or even all at once. I'd do the same for you, because I love you.”

They wrapped their arms around Sam, gently rubbing circles on his back. They stayed like that, while Sam heavily breathed and sniffed a couple times. He mumbled a thank you at some point.

“I called Marie,” Darlin’ quietly said. “She’s gonna come over and check you out this afternoon.”

Sam tapped his fingers twice on Darlin’. Ok.

“You should sleep,” Darlin’ added. They patted his back and he moved to lay back down. Except he dragged Darlin’ down onto him as well. “Sam. You have to let me go.”

“No. . . lay with me,” Sam peeked an eye open. Darlin’ looked into his red eyes and noted the dark circles under them.

“Ok.” They laid their head back down and lifted their legs up to lay between Sam’s. “This alright?”

Sam hummed, “Yes.”

Really they should be working on lunch, or dinner. They didn’t really like cooking, but they knew that home made foods were good for fighting colds, and it also gave them incentive to eat, which pleased Sam. Yet they also hadn’t slept with him in awhile, preferring to take naps in the nearby arm chair and then getting up again to make sure he was okay before worrying about taking care of him again. It was nice to finally be in his arms.

"Y'take such good care of me," Sam mumbled. His grip barely tightened around Darlin'.

Between Sam’s sighs and breathing— no matter how harsh they sounded— and the lack of sleep they accumulated, Darlin’ closed their eyes, sleep eventually taking over them as they comfortably laid in their lover’s arms.

Chapter Text

Their phone rang and a familiar name popped up as the caller. Babe knew that Asher knew he wasn’t supposed to call them at work, other than during their lunch break. Was it an emergency? Wasn’t he supposed to be busy hanging out with the pack? They did have a pack meeting today. . . Did something happen with Christian?

They answered their phone.

“Babe.”

“Asher?” Babe responded, confused as to why Asher sounded so serious

“I need you to promise me, you will still love me when you get home.”

“I– What do you mean? What happened?”

Asher repeated, ignoring Babe’s questions, “I need you to promise me that you will still love me when you see me at home.”

“You didn’t burn our apartment down did you? Are you ok?”

“No, the apartment should be fine.” Asher finally answered. “But will you still love me?”

“I love you when I don’t even see you. Of course I will. What is this about?” Babe pried more. They looked around the office to see if anyone was listening. Most people had earbuds in and weren’t paying any attention to their call.

“Good. Love you!” Asher suddenly cheered up. And that ended the call.

Babe sighed and put their phone down. They had another two hours before they could head home, and see Asher and whatever he did.

—

Babe pushed open their apartment door. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. . .

“Ash?” They called out. They heard a door unlock and out walked Asher, wearing a towel on his head. But the rest of him was dressed.

“Did you take a shower? Nevermind–” They realized they were getting sidetracked. “What was about that call today? You can’t just be overly serious, calling when you aren’t supposed to call, and not have it be an emergency.”

Asher looked to the side and awkwardly smiled, “A funny story–” He then gazed at Babe. He could tell they were concerned and probably didn’t want a really long explanation. “But, uh, you should just see it.”

Asher yanked the towel off his head and Babe saw colors. So many colors. It was like his hair went on a trip to cotton candy land and then fell into rainbow candy. His hair was dyed lavender, with different streaks of pink, blue, yellow, and green.

Asher worryingly looked at Babe. They were just staring.

“Babe? You said that you would still love me,” Asher said to break the silence.

Babe met his eyes again and then walked over with a small smile on their face. They reached up to his hair and brushed their fingers through it, still entranced by the color.

“This is so– how the hell did this happen at a pack meeting?”

Asher laughed, “We had time after the actual meeting, since everything important happened in the morning, and Milo challenged me to a wrestling match. The loser would get their hair dyed. I figured that it would be fine, I normally can beat Milo, but the guy had some new moves and caught me off guard. . .”

“And you lost. Which resulted in your hair having a rainbow barf onto it,” Babe finished.

“Sorry, Babe. I know how much you liked my natural hair,” Asher apologetically smiled.

Babe chuckled and shook their head. They wrapped their arms around his neck, staring into his eyes. “You should know that I love you however you look. I was surprised about it, because I hadn’t expected my mate to look so colorful compared to when I saw him this morning– but you're still just as handsome.”

“You think so?” Asher hopefully scanned their eyes.

“Yes,” Babe smiled and kissed his nose. “Your hair is amazing. Whoever dyed it, did an amazing job.”

“I’m so glad,” Asher slumped his shoulders in relief. “I normally don’t worry about, y’know, how I look, but this hair color is a bit much. I like the purple, though.”

“I think it looks cool,” Babe leaned into his lips, Asher planting his on theirs. They broke away from the kiss after a moment. “Even if it was ugly, I would still love you, because I love your personality and I love sharing life’s moments with you. Hair changes neither of those two things.”

“You’re the best, Babe,” Asher grinned and wrapped his arms around them again, squeezing them tighter.

“Ok,” Babe coughed out and patted his shoulder. “You’re hugging me to death.”

“Sorry,” Asher released his grip and laughed. “I just wanted to show you how much I love you.”

“You can show me how much you love me later. I want to get out of my work clothes first,” Babe replied. Asher dropped his arms and let them walk to the bedroom.

Babe froze before they disappeared too far down the hall. They looked back at Asher. “Wait–”

“What?” Asher looked confused.

“Did you dye your– uh, wolf form as well?”

Asher grinned, “Our wolf fur doesn’t take well to hair dye. I tried it once before.”

“When?” Babe frowned at the new information.

Asher walked over, grabbing a hold of Babe’s shoulders with a cheeky grin, “I'll tell you after you get changed.”

Asher guided Babe to the bedroom door. Babe turned around and kissed his cheek before entering the bedroom, quite excited to hear about why he tried dyeing his fur.

Chapter Text

-Milo grew up in way too many haunted apartments for his liking, and added to his hate for anything scary.

-Milo can sew, because his mom made him learn how to when he kept ruining his clothes by shifting. Annnd since Milo also got interested in fashion at some point, his sewing knowledge helped him follow sewing patterns.

-Sam and Darlin’ dance to country songs when cleaning. I feel like they both would listen to 90’s to modern day country music if they use the radio, but I also bet that Sam has a few CDs that he's bought over time of 80's country albums.

-Speaking of music, I think Asher would be a Taylor Swift fan.

-Angel and Babe’s office buildings are really close to each other (maybe like a block away) and they have frequent lunch dates together.

-Asher dyed his hair when he was a teenager because he saw Darlin’/Tank dye their hair and thought it was cool. He dyed it purple so that he wasn’t exactly copying them. Darlin’/Tank dyed theirs blue.

-Angel had/has a motorcycle license, but they haven’t ridden a motorcycle since they left their own at their parent’s house and just haven’t found a good reason to bring it to their own house. It probably would also give David more grey hairs if Angel ever drove a motorcycle around him. But if they ever did ride a motorcycle again, Angel would somehow manage to convince David to ride with them at least once.

[2024 Additions]

-Sam, David, Darlin'/Tank, and Sweetheart all like divorced dad rock.

-I also think that Sam likes to listen to Britney Spears.

-Angel flips around and adjusts themselves a lot in bed before going to sleep. They don't readjust themselves as often when sleeping/cuddling with David because he's so comfy.

-I also like to think that Babe and Asher prefer sleeping with a fan on for background noise. Both of them like it for the reason that it quiets their thoughts so they can go to sleep sooner.

-Sam doesn't like carbonation, so if he was going to have soda, he'd always open it and put it in the fridge or mix water with it to get rid of the bubbles.

-As a teen, Babe would love to explore abandoned buildings. They wrote it on their Facebook that it was one of their hobbies.

-Darlin'/Tank was one of those kids that would eat the fun flavored chapstick (like cherry, coca-cola, watermelon, etc.)

Chapter Text

David and Tank had recently begun to hang out again, slowly reforming and creating a new friendship through the past few months. This led Angel to the idea of finding ways to get closer with Sam.

They noticed that he didn’t know many people in the pack, and since Angel was left at home, they figured Sam wouldn’t mind hanging out while their mates were also. This started a lovely tradition of Angel and Sam dates. (Or as Angel liked to call it "Mate Dates".)

Tonight, Angel had chosen to bring him to a museum that was hosting a special art exhibit in the evening. Something that wasn’t too exciting, since Sam didn’t always like to go to crowded or loud places, but would be interesting enough that both of them should enjoy the night.

Angel walked out in a charming outfit, one made for semi-formal events, and twirled in front of David. “How do I look, Davey?” Angel excitedly asked and walked closer to him.

“Amazing,” David smiled, pleased to see that his mate was happy. He leaned in for a kiss, Angel meeting his lips. They broke away once they heard a knock on the door. Angel looked through the peephole and enthusiastically opened the door.

“Hi!” Angel warmly greeted. They opened the door the rest of the way, letting in Tank and Sam. Sam was dressed up in a stunning suit, with his jacket hung from one hand. “Are you excited?”

Sam smiled, “I s’pose so. I haven’t gone to a museum in a few years.”

David sidled up next to Angel. He greeted the vampire and Tank before turning to his mate again. “Be good. Don’t cause too many problems, Angel.”

“Me? Causing problems? Davey, where did you get such an idea?” They laughed and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll be good.”

David looked at Sam, “Make sure they don't get you into trouble. Be back before midnight.”

“What are you? Their dad?” Tank chuckled and turned to Sam. “He’s messing with you. Have fun, handsome.”

Sam kissed their forehead, “Have fun as well, Darlin’.” Angel and Sam walked to the truck. David watched as they left the driveway.

“What are we doing tonight?” Tank asked, also watching the truck leave.

“I figured we could play a game,” David replied.

Tank’s face brightened, “I’m choosing!”

—

The night was filled with Angel making very unserious jokes about all of the paintings and sculptures. Sam had to shush them a couple times while trying not to laugh too loud. They walked out of the museum laughing in the nipping cold. It wasn’t too chilly, as it was the end of August.

Angel held onto Sam’s arm as they walked through the quiet streets. They had to go to a parking garage, which was rather far away from the museum itself.

“Did you have a favorite piece of art?” Angel asked, as they turned a corner.

Sam thought for a moment, “I quite liked the dog interpretation painting.”

“You liked the one that looked like Donkey from Shrek?”

Sam grinned, “Yeah. That’s the one.”

His grin fell away quickly, though, when he felt a bad aura following them. He turned around, looking to find the owner of the aura. When he couldn’t, his stomach dropped a little. His shoulders tensed.

“Angel,” Sam leaned over. “Stay close with me, alright?”

Angel noticed the tenseness in his voice and agreed. Sam led them into a busier street, with more cars and people passing by, and hoped that being in such a crowded place would avert whatever was following them.

They walked a little more briskly as they made it to the parking garage. Sam looked behind them again to see if he could make out the presence but saw nothing.

“Sam, what’s going on?” Angel asked, also looking around them.

“Something just felt off. But we’re almost to the truck, so it’ll be fine.”

“Should I call, David?” Angel quietly asked. “We could just tell him what’s up until we get back to the truck.”

Sam nodded, and waited as Angel dialed his phone number. They started to walk up to the second floor. Both still on watch. David had picked up.

“Why are you calling me?” David asked. Angel could hear video game sounds in the background.

“Uhh. . . Well, Sam and I felt like we were being followed, and we were calling until we got to the truck.”

“Followed?” David’s voice sharpened.

Angel sighed, “Yeah. I mean, Sam’s with me. We’re not alone by ourselves, well actually we are. But we have the buddy–”

“By who?”

“Here. I’ll put you on speaker.” Angel held the phone closer to Sam. They walked up the steps to the third floor, where they were parked.

“Sam, who’s following you?” David asked. They walked past one section of cars. Their truck was in the second section.

“Not sure, Shaw. We’re almost to the truck.”

A blur zipped in front of the two. There stood a vampire. “Hello.” They calmly said. Angel turned around as they heard another person come up from behind.

“Close your eyes!” Sam shouted and led them to have their backs against a car. Angel squeezed them shut. Sam pushed himself in front of Angel. One of the vampires walked closer, with a crowbar in hand, raising it to slam across Sam’s face. Sam reached to grasp the crowbar from the vampire, and avoid getting hit. The vampire swung close enough that Sam grabbed it, and was unsteadily swung to the side, leaving Angel more out in the open. Sam swung at the vampire and punched his nose. A crack and a cry came out from them. They furiously looked back at Sam.

“Sam! Angel!” David yelled into the phone. “Talk to me–!”

“Two vampires, David!” Angel replied, eyes still closed shut.

He heard steps from behind him and swung his head around to see another vampire going for Angel.

Sam’s eyes widened and his grip on the crowbar loosened. Sliding out of his hands too quickly, the strange vampire yanked the crowbar away and raised it.

A loud clang and yell from Sam caused Angel to open their eyes. His body crumpled to the floor. Angel moved to go help him, but the second vampire stood in front of them, eyes looking into theirs. Before Angel could shut their eyes again, realizing the mistake they made, they were tranced.

“Bad choice, doll,” The vampire's mouth maliciously curled into a smile. “Now sleep.”

Angel’s eyelids grew heavier as they tried to fight the feeling. They didn’t want this. They needed to help Sam! The last thing they saw was Sam’s limp figure on the ground.

The taller vampire wiped his nose, and saw blood trickling from it. “Stupid bastard.”

“Do we take both of them?” The shorter one lifted a limp Angel.

“He’s seen us, and knows our aura. Might as well take him.”

“Angel!” David yelled again. The tall one grabbed Angel’s phone from the ground.

“Hello,” The vampire sneered. “Mr. Shaw. We have a proposition.”

—

Tank whipped their head over at David, abandoning the game they were just playing. “Where are they?” Tank growled.

“Fuck. Call the pack, we need to–”

David’s mind flashed to the worst scenarios. Both of them bloodied and scratched up. His Angel getting turned. He ended the call and switched over to Asher’s number.

“Ash–”

“What’s up big guy?”

“Sam and Angel are gone,” David said.

“Gone?”

“Someone kidnapped them for ransom.”

“Shit! I’ll get everyone right over!” Asher scrambled to get his coat and keys.

David could feel the rage swirl from the thought of someone daring to kidnap two members of his pack. He had to find them.

“When I get my hands on that fucking piece of shit–” Tank growled and threw a pillow down onto the couch. They stalked over to the entrance.

“Where are you going?” David snapped as he saw them walking to his front door.

“To find my mate,” Tank replied curtly.

“NO.” David glared. “Both of our mates are in trouble. You, running around like you did with the fucking Quinn situation, isn’t going to solve our problems. You’re staying until we have a plan.”

“Fine! Whatever! I’m going outside to wait for the others.”

David knew that they weren’t going to leave as he heard them grumble out the front door. He was going to make sure that the kidnappers were punished for what they did.

—

Sam groaned with a throbbing headache. His whole body ached. He tried to sit up, but the effort hurt too much. He opened an eye to see Angel thrashing around. They had their eyes shut, and he noticed a large scrape on their arm. Both of their hands were tied behind them.

“Oh look, your little friend is awake,” One of the vampires cooed. Sam frowned and looked up. A pale face hovering above.

“Leave him alone!”

The short vampire turned to look at Angel, “I wouldn’t get so cocky if I were you. You unempowered nuisance.”

“You chose to attack a member of the Shaw Pack and a member of the Solaire Clan?!” Angel furiously mentioned. “Stupid move, dipshit!”

“QUIET!” The other vamp’s booming voice filled the room. Footsteps getting closer as he talked, “We should’ve fucking left the vampire. We only needed them and now we’re wrapped up with a Solaire vamp. One of the last things we need to deal with.”

Sam saw boots stand in front of Angel. A ringing smack filled the room for the next few seconds. Angel gasped in pain.

“Hands off,” Sam strained out, trying his best to sound intimidating. His eyelids flickering open and closed at the bright light in the room.

“Arnold, shut him up,” The ringleader waved a hand. He then turned his attention back onto Angel with an idea. “Actually. . . Mr. Collins. Why don’t you open your phone up. We can contact Mr. Shaw.”

“We’re not ransom!” Angel whipped their legs around to kick at the vampire and failed. The vampire backed away from them, but not too far.

“Password.” Sam’s phone was shoved near his face.

“I can’t do that–”

The vampire quickly grabbed Angel by the throat. Angel let out a surprised cough and the realization that they could barely breathe. Sam’s eyes widened.

“5309! Now let them go!”

Angel gasped in air as soon as the hand was off their throat. The pain of cold air being sucked in caused them to cough again. The phone was unlocked and soon ringing on speaker. Realizing what the vampire was going to do, Sam sat up, only to get hit in the head again, making the room spin.

“Angel? Where are you?!” David’s frantic voice echoed.

“David! In a wareh– AAAH!” Angel screamed out in pain. Sam saw the vampire sink his teeth into their wrist. Angel cried out for the vampire to stop. Their tortuous screams continued as the vampire drank from them.

The second vampire walked over to the phone, “If you bring us the money, we’ll stop~”

Sam tugged and tugged at his restraints. He needed to help them. In his desperation, they broke. His hands jangled two metal bracelets. He willed himself to focus.

Sam swung at the vampire closest to him. Hitting the vampire’s jaw, they fell down, knocked out. His attention turned to the one torturing Angel. Angel who was already so much paler than usual.

His hands grabbed the vampire's head and ripped it off of Angel’s arm. Angel whimpered and collapsed to the ground. The vampire whipped his head around and furiously shook. The vampire stood back up and charged at Sam.

“I think I know where,” A faint voice said on the phone, now ignored by those in the room.

Sam wrestled the leader to the ground, grunting as he was punched in the ribs. Sam uncoiled himself and punched the vampire’s nose. He could barely even feel his head injury, his eyes tunneled onto the enemy. All he focused on was keeping the vampire away from Angel.

Angel squinted as they caught their breath. Sam growled as he landed another blow. Their wrist was definitely bleeding out, the blood coating their hand. They looked around and saw the forgotten phone on the floor.

They crawled over, and turned on the phone’s location, hoping that the pack could find them. Black spots danced at the edge of their vision. They closed their eyes again, partially because of their senses being wonky but the other half knowing that they could get tranced at any moment again if one of them came back over. They took a deep breath and crawled away from the noise. Once they found a corner they leaned against it, praying that someone would find them soon.

The two vampires tussled on the floor for who knows how long, Sam only stopping once he heard the pounding of feet come upstairs. Shouting caused Sam to turn his head for a second, hoping to see someone to help. Pack members ran in with Vincent and a few others. Sam turned back to look at the vampire he was fighting with, who had gone still at the sight of the crowd, and was realizing that he had no escape.

As soon as Vincent had grabbed a hold of the vampire and dragged him away, Sam slumped forward to the ground.

“Sam!” Tank slid next to him, catching him before he could fall on his face. They cupped his face and observed it. So many bruises. So many cuts. “You’re going to be okay. Stay with me.”

Sam’s eyes grew heavy, the rush of adrenaline ebbing away. The voice of the vampire and other people surrounding to help Vincent take him away became lower as they left the room. His whole body ached, the feeling of every injury coming back, and groaned into Tank’s shoulders. The buzz of voices became annoyingly loud and Sam winced.

“I’m sorry. I was s’posed to protect them,” Sam choked out.

Tank huffed a laugh. Even fucked up like this, he still wanted to help people. “You did protect them. You did such a good job. They are still alive– Marie!”

“Right here, kiddo,” She said. Tank helped lay Sam down as Marie worked her healing magic.

David held Angel’s hands as they laid on him. “Everything’s safe now. You can open your eyes Angel.”

Angel blinked their eyes open, the black spots not being there anymore, but they were still so exhausted. Their wrist didn’t feel on fire and their face didn’t feel bruised. Instead everything felt a bit like floating. Marie had done a good job.

“David,” They trembled and wrapped their arms around his neck, burying their face.

“You’re good, baby. We’ll get you home,” David combed through their hair. He had wrapped them up in his coat after Marie healed them, as their outfit seemed quite tattered.

Sam’s skin patched up effortlessly. Tank brushed the hair away from his face, and tried brushing some of the dirt off. Sam looked over to see David holding Angel.

“Are they healed?” Sam asked, with eyes half-lidded.

Marie looked over at who he was talking about. “Yes.”

“Good,” Sam relaxed into his lover’s hold, exhaustion finally taking over. Tank convinced him to fully rest, assuring him that they would get him home.

David rubbed Angel’s arm, a few tears staining his face. Angel patted his chest, noticing their mate’s upset expression. “I’m ok, Davey. I’m right here.”

He said shakily, “I’m so sorry, Angel. You got hurt because of my status. What if- What if I lost you?”

“Well, you didn’t,” Angel mumbled. “I’m here in your arms. . You get to take care of aallllllll of this, while I’m healing. Pretend I’m gesturing to my hot body. . .”

David laughed, shaking his head in disbelief that his injured mate tried making him feel better, even if they were feeling like crap. He placed a kiss on Angel’s forehead. “You were so brave. But, I got you now. You can rest, my Angel.” Angel eyes fluttered shut as they tucked themselves closer to David, feeling secure that he would keep them safe.

Asher walked over. “Vincent is taking the vampires back with some other members. You want to–”

“I’ll meet with them tomorrow,” David said with a cold voice.

Asher gravely nodded, “Then I’ll go set something up.”

“Thanks, Asher.”

—

“How are you feelin’?” Sam asked, the next day. Angel’s phone was placed on the coffee table as they sipped their "coffee". (Really it was juice, since David was insistent they had juice rather than coffee).

“Ok,” Angel said, and rubbed their wrist. The ghost of a bruise. There. . . but not really. “I’m not going to get turned into a vampire, right?”

Sam chuckled, “Nah. You should be alright. That vamp wasn’t trying to turn you. It was only for– y’know.”

Angel hummed. “What about you? Is your head alright?”

“Marie worked her magic on me,” Sam replied. “I have the slightest light sensitivity headache, other than that, I’m fit as a fiddle. Though my Darlin’ won’t let me work on anything.”

“Good to hear,” Angel smiled. “David also hasn’t let me do any work today. He’s shopping right now so he can make me ‘good healing food’ .” Angel ended with air quotation marks even though Sam couldn't see them.

The two sat in silence for a moment. Angel took a sip of juice.

"Hey," Angel broke the silence again, and used a more serious tone. "Thanks for saving me from that vampire. I mean, I didn't really do anything. You were doing all the fighting. So, thanks for saving us."

Sam coughed," I saved us? You were the one that turned on the phone's location so the pack could eventually find us. You saved both of us."

Angel reflected and realized that they did help save both of them. They smiled a bit knowing that they weren't a sitting duck. "I think tomorrow David is going to be dealing with the legal problems with the two vampires." Angel mentioned.

Sam hummed in acknowledgement, "Good. We don't need them terrorizing anymore people for money. "

“Maybe next time, we should have a night in. We can binge watch something,” Angel suggested.

“Sounds perfect to me,” Sam agreed.

Chapter Text

“I can’t believe I’m lettin' you drag me into an illegal date. I should’ve asked you where we were goin' before I agreed.”

“Chill, cowboy,” Darlin’ rolled their eyes as they rode up to the side of the road. The entrance to the park was closed, and the truck couldn’t get past the metal bar preventing anyone from going in, so they parked in the grass. “No one even cares. We’re just at the beach. Which is the whole purpose of the park.”

Darlin’ had frequently thought about taking Sam to the beach. The one big problem: Sam couldn’t hang out in the sun for very long and going to the beach was normally a day activity. Luckily, Darlin’ had searched up a few beaches they could go to. The closest one being a park with a lake, that did happen to close at 10pm, and right now, it was 12am.

“If we get caught, Darlin’,” Sam warned as Darlin’ parked the truck.

“We won’t. They’ll just think a car broke down on the side of the road. They won’t even know two people are hanging around.” Darlin’ hopped out of the truck, Sam following suit. Sam rolled his eyes, hoping that the place didn’t have cameras.

Darlin’ locked the truck and reached for Sam’s hand. Their warm hand entwined with his as the two walked towards the entrance.

The nice breeze that occasionally became stronger. The sound of crickets and birds rustling through the woods. Everything about it was very calming.

They wiggled past the barrier and walked quietly across the parking lot, just to take in the scenery and quiet. The moon was full and made everything bright enough to see. The pair made it to the beach that surrounded a relatively large lake.

“Shall we go for a swim?” Darlin’ suggested.

“We didn’t bring towels or swim suits,” Sam reminded them.

Darlin’ shrugged, “We’ll just swim naked then.”

Sam sputtered, “We’re in public, Darlin’!”

They rolled their eyes, still with a smile on their face, “Yet nobody is here to see us.”

Darlin' walked away and began to strip off their clothes. They stripped their shirt off, tossing it to the side. Sam looked at their torso, seeing all the scars that littered their skin from long ago. Each scar proving how brave Darlin' had been, or how dumb they had been.

They turned around, seeing Sam still standing there fully clothed. His eyes intensely focused on them. They walk back over to Sam. “You good?” They hold of one of his hands, rubbing their fingers over his knuckles. “We don’t have to swim. I mean. . . I wanted to, but we can just go on a walk if you feel more comfortable with that.”

Sam hummed. “I s’pose I can go swimming as well. I was just admirin' the view.”

Darlin’ grinned and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “The moon does make everything look nice.”

Sam chuckled, “I meant you were the view.”

Darlin’ made an ‘o’ with their mouth and smiled slightly. They looked away in embarrassment, face heating up. “You really know how to fluster me, cowboy,” Darlin’ muttered.

Sam took their hands and began to lead them closer to the water. He took his own shirt off. Both of them undressed together, laying their clothes in a pile. Darlin’ was the first to go into the lake. The shocking chill of the water gave them goosebumps all over their body. They knew once they fully submerged themselves, they would get used to the temperature.

Sam let out a sharp intake of breath as he stepped into the water, and moved further towards Darlin’.

“This water is ridiculously cold,” Sam breathed out. “How can you stand there without shiverin’?”

“You just gotta move around,” Darlin’ said, walking a little further. “It could also be me being a werewolf and having a higher body temp.”

At this point Darlin’ decided to dive under the water, it being a tall enough height for them to sink all the way down. The water blocked out all senses as they sunk under for a few seconds. Their head splashed up to the surface and they wiped their face. They found Sam staring at them once again, though this time they could see the love in his eyes. Darlin’ swam over to Sam and grabbed his hands.

“Come under water with me,” Darlin’ smiled.

“In a minu-” Sam began, but was pulled downwards before he could finish. Sam’s face splashed into the water. The cold enveloping him before he broke free on the surface. Darlin’ laughed as he sputtered water out of his mouth.

“You are a menace,” Sam chuckled out, and wiping his dripping wet hair back from his face. He got a good look at his mate who held a mischievous grin. “You’re more of a siren than a werewolf at the moment.”

“Only for you, handsome,” Darlin’ replied. They swam farther out and treaded in the water while looking at the sky. Sam swam over and joined them. The two stayed in the spot for awhile before even thinking about swimming somewhere else.

Darlin’ glanced over to Sam. He was staring at the scenery lit up at night, his silver and red eyes almost like stars. The pine trees looked almost blue and the fireflies danced around in the bright night.

“How about we go back?” Darlin’ quietly suggested.

Sam turned his attention back to them. “Whatever you want, Darlin’.”

“Wanna race?”

Sam smiled, “Why not.” He adjusted himself to face the beach, Darlin' doing the same.

“Three. . GO!” Darlin’ took off in the water. Sam laughed and swam after them. He sped up in the water to catch up with Darlin, both of them running out at about the same time.

“You cheated!” Darlin’ exclaimed with a smile on their face.

“Says the person that didn’t count down fairly,” Sam replied as he pulled his pants and underwear back on.

Darlin’ grabbed their own clothes and started to stiffly pull them back on. “No one said I had to count down to one.” Once they were fully clothed they turned around to see Sam finishing with putting his shirt on.

Sam raised an eyebrow.

“Can I kiss you?” Darlin’ asked, walking closer to Sam.

“Of course, Darlin’.”

Darlin’ wrapped their arms around Sam’s neck and planted their lips onto his. Sam’s hands wrapped around Darlin’s waist, pulling them closer to him. Darlin’s warm lips contrasting to his cooler ones sent shivers down his spine. These moments made Darlin' reflect on how much they loved him, for everything he did and does, for all the bad and good times they have together. He made their life better.

They broke away from this kiss out of breath and happily stared at him. “I love you.”

“I love you, as well,” Sam brushed a finger on their cheek. “How about we head out. We could go to the store, pick up some ice cream, go home and watch a TV show?”

“I love that idea,” Darlin’ leaned in to kiss him again, feeling that everything was right with the world as they got to spend time with their favorite vampire.

Chapter Text

It was a big party at David’s house. One that was a yearly occurrence for the whole pack, and it’s main purpose was for those that couldn’t make it to the solstice party. This was Babe’s first time actually going to a pack party. Little to say: They were nervous about the party. Sure they had gone to pack meetings a couple times, and were introduced to some members, but this time it was overly crowded with many people to pay attention to. Specifically people they wanted to please.

Asher had said to not worry about it. “It’s just a get-together. There is food and music. It’s kinda like a family reunion. It isn’t even that big of a deal. The party is just to see everyone if they won’t be making it to the solstice party. Besides, David’s mate is going to be there, and your awesome boyfriend won’t leave your side unless you say so.”

They arrived earlier than the rest of the pack to help David finish setting up any extra chairs or moving anything around. Babe set food out on trays, as David trusted them more than Angel or Asher, making sure everything was cooked and plated nicely. David gave Asher the chore of putting drinks in two different coolers: one filled with juice and water, the other filled with soda. As soon as Asher came back, the doorbell rang and Angel was rushing to open it.

A chorus of voices greeted each other in the entryway. David followed close behind, knowing that he had to greet people as the host. The batch of brownies that David had going was left with Babe to watch and make sure they didn’t burn. They were thankful for at least something to work on, while they got situated with new people.

“Can I get a first taste?” Asher asked, leaning up against the counter.

“I don’t think you need any extra sugar,” Babe replied, looking up at his bright eyes.

“Baabe,” Asher whined. “I’m not a kid.”

Babe laughed, “There are some cooled already. Go eat those.”

“But hot, fresh brownies are sooo much better,” Asher replied, draping himself across their shoulders. Soon the voices made their way into the living room and Asher grinned. It was a family that Babe hadn’t met before, but Asher seemed ecstatic to see them there. He glanced at Babe, checking to see if it was okay that he said hi. Babe nodded and Asher left the kitchen.

The timer beeped and Babe pulled out the brownies, they took a toothpick out from a cabinet and stabbed in it in the middle to check if it was cooked through. Once determining it was, they turned the stove off after figuring out the buttons. They took out a knife to cut the brownies into squares.

David came up behind them. “Everything finished?” He asked.

“Yep,” Babe replied. They took out each square and arranged them on the plate so none would fall off.

David grunted a thanks. “You can go hang with Asher now.”

They nodded and walked into the living room where Asher was sitting on the back of the couch talking with the parents. The kids had shyly hung around the parents and were looking around the house.

“Oh!” Asher interrupted whatever he was talking about. “This is my mate!”

Babe kindly greeted them, standing silently while Asher continued the conversation. It wasn’t that they were super shy with new people, but when it’s practically Asher’s family, they got a little bit nervous about talking with them.

Most of the party was Babe silently tagging along with Asher, with their boyfriend checking up every now and then of how they were doing. Angel also made sure to include Babe in conversations if they were hanging around.

—

Towards the end of the party, Asher had been shyly asked by a group of kids to roughhouse with them, not wanting to disturb the beta, but knowing how fun he was to wrestle with.

“Is it alright?” Asher quietly asked and turned to look at Babe.

“Yeah. I can come watch from the porch and make sure no one gets hurt, if you want,” Babe hesitantly said.

“Of course, Babe!” Asher stood up, with them following behind. “Alright guys, let’s go!”

The group excitedly giggled and slipped out the sliding door to the backyard. Babe decided to sit at the empty patio table. They closed their eyes until they heard a bunch of yapping from wolves, looking up to see Asher turned upside down and a bunch of pups tugging on his ears and running around excitedly.

Babe smiled at the scene. They hadn’t ever really seen Asher with kids before, but the sight wasn’t unwelcome. It warmed their heart. The sliding door opened again. Babe turned their head at the sound. Angel stepped out with a young girl holding a coloring book.

“Why don’t we go sit with my friend?” Angel softly smiled. The kid followed them over to the patio table. Angel adjusted them onto the seat, making sure that they were pushed close enough to not fall off. They looked at Babe then back at the little girl. “This is Jenny. I’ll go get your crayons and some more paper and then I’ll come back, ok?”

Jenny nodded and turned her attention to the group of wolves playing. Babe turned their head to also look at the group.

“Is one of them your sibling?” Babe cautiously asked, not wanting to make the girl upset. They weren’t exactly the best with handling kids, not that they didn’t like kids, but they were awkward and didn’t know how to relate to them.

She nodded, and pointed. “Da brown one.” Angel stepped back out onto the porch.

“Here’s the crayons and paper!” Angel sat down next to Jenny and Babe. Angel held the box while the little girl took out a color. Angel took a sheet of paper and a crayon out and started doodling cats.

Babe bit their lip, hesitant about asking if they could also draw as it would be a good activity as they watched the roughhousing. “Could I borrow a crayon?” They finally asked. The girl nodded. Babe took a piece of paper and crayon, while looking around trying to figure out what to draw. Their eyes drifted over the backyard until they found their target.

The trio drew in silence for a few minutes, with the occasional supportive comment from Angel to Jenny. Jenny at one point looked up and examined what both of them were drawing. Then she saw Babe’s.

“Wolves!”

Babe looked up and saw Jenny pointing at their drawing, a little awestruck.

“Yeah, I was drawing them playing,” They smiled.

“I’m gonna also draw wolves,” She said and grabbed a blank sheet of paper. Hers were more scribbly, the wolves were boxes and triangles, but she looked pleased with herself and loved them.

“This is amazing, Jenny!” Babe praised. “I like that wolf the best.”

“Dat’s my bruhder,” Jenny explained. “He's really cool and a tall wolf. I’m gonna be like him someday.”

“I definitely can see that,” Babe happily replied.

The yapping from the wolf group quieted and soon were tired out from the constant running. While the pups stayed in their wolf forms for a bit longer, Asher headed towards the porch once dressed.

“Hey, Baabe,” Asher kissed the top of their head as he reached them. He leaned against the back of their chair slightly out of breath.

“Did they tire you out?” Babe turned around and met his eyes.

“Tired? Nah, never.” He grinned, “I just needed a little water break.”

“And you standing there is getting water, how?” Angel teased.

“Can’t a man come see what his beautiful mate is doing?” Asher placed a hand on his chest. He looked down at the paper in front of Babe. “Woah, did you draw that, Babe?”

Babe nodded, “And Jenny also has been drawing. They drew you and her brother, as well as some of the others.” Asher wandered closer to the little girl and examined the many portraits she created.

His grin became even wider and kneeled down next to her. “This is sick, Jenny! When did you learn to draw so professionally?”

“Today!” She excitedly said. “Dis one is you!” She shoved a paper into Asher’s hands. He examined it dramatically.

“It looks just like me,” His eyes crinkled as he smiled.

“You can keep dat one,” Jenny added, and turned back to making another picture.

Suddenly the sliding door opened revealing a woman stepping onto the porch. She cupped her hands over her mouth. “Jenny! Seth! It’s time to go!”

One of the younger wolves shifted back into a human, “But moom!”

“No, we have to go now! You have a basketball game tonight! Get your clothes on!” The mom yelled back. Seth groaned but reluctantly grabbed his clothes and put them back on.

Angel grabbed the crayons and put them back in the box. “Do you want help gathering all your pictures?”

Jenny shook her head and clumsily grabbed them herself. She said bye to Angel and Asher, then looked at Babe. “Bye, other person!”

Babe’s eyes widened and they chuckled out a “Bye” before Jenny walked over to her mom.

Angel looked over confused, “Other person?”

Asher smiled.

“Must be because I forgot to tell her my name,” Babe admitted, leaning on their fist. “Asher, why don’t you go get some water.”

“Whatever you say, my artist,” Asher kisses the top of their head again before heading inside.

—

By dinner time, most people had left. Milo had shown up towards the end, not really planning on having been around for the party, but figured he could hang out at the end. Milo started on dishes, while David and Angel said farewell to the last few people. Asher and Babe took it upon themselves to put away the outdoor games and tables.

“Thanks for coming along,” Asher said, throwing two hacky sack bags to Babe.

“Of course,” They hummed, putting the bags into a container. “It was nice getting to see the rest of your pack.”

There was a silence that crept between the two of them, as Asher had an unusual blank face.

“What?”

“They’re your pack too, Babe,” Asher suddenly said. Babe raised their eyebrows.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely positive,” Asher said, walking over to them and grasping their hands. “I can go ask David if you need extra confirmation.”

“No,” They laughed. “I believe you. I just didn’t know where I stood because of me being unempowered and not really knowing anyone.”

He pecked a kiss to their cheek. “You belong every bit to this pack as I do.”

“I’ll try getting better at knowing everyone else,” Babe added, their eyes looking back into Asher’s.

“That’s all I could ask for.”

Chapter Text

They weren’t sure exactly why they had woken up in the middle of the night until they felt the cold side of the bed that David was supposed to be sleeping on. Angel rubbed the sleep from their eyes, and pulled over David’s hoodie. It was 3am and their mate wasn’t where he was supposed to be.

They noted the bathroom light wasn’t on, which means he wasn’t in there. Angel slowly walked out, and looked down to see the TV lighting up the whole living room, the volume on low and David sitting on one of the couches with a video game controller in hand.

They walked down the steps, David glancing at them for a moment before looking back at his game to pause it.

Once standing near the couch, Angel ungracefully plopped themselves next to David, putting one elbow on the back of the couch to hold their head up while looking at him.

“What are you doing up?” David asked, a small frown settling on his face.

“I could ask the same of you.”

He looked at the paused game, and then back to them. David rubbed his face and sighed, “I couldn’t get back to sleep.”

Angel broke into a wide grin and raised their eyebrows, “So you are playing a zombie game?”

David rolled his eyes, knowing where his mate was going with this. “Yes. I’m at least doing something while awake.”

Angel closed their eyes and hummed still with a slight smile. They knew that he had a hard time not doing stuff when he was awake. Getting him to take a nap even on the weekend was sometimes a big task. But the irony of the situation. . .

Angel opened their eyes again to find David silently staring at them, waiting to see if they were going to say anything else . “How long have you been up?”

“Not long. I started playing maybe half an hour ago,” David replied.

Angel felt a grin creep back up to their face, “You know what I’m gonna say right?” David glared at them.

“You shouldn’t be looking at screens when you need to be calming down to sleep.”

“Of course I know that, you snot,” David quipped. “I wonder who told you that?”

“A very wise man,” Angel chuckled. They scooched themself closer to their mate and leaned on his shoulder. “Although this wise man doesn’t seem to follow his own advice.”

David shook his head, a small smile forming on his lips, and wrapped his arm around them. They sat in silence for a minute, with the soft hum of the console in the background.

“I woke up with too many thoughts in my head,” David finally said. “I had a hard time falling asleep, and then once I woke up I felt there was so much to do still. I figured if I played a game I could forget everything I needed to do and go back to sleep.”

Angel looked at David whose eyes were unfocused as he stared into space. He looked tired, even if he didn’t feel tired. Knowing what jobs David eventually had to go to and the paperwork that was associated with them, Angel figured he was starting to cross into the burnout side of work. But if he was gaming, then he was at least doing something fun.
They placed a hand on one of David’s knees, rubbing circles into it. David contently sighed and leaned his head back.

“Do you want to stay up and keep playing? Or do you want to go back to bed? It’s only Sunday. We can still take a nap later,” Angel offered with a yawn.

David frowned again, “You should go back to bed, Angel.”

Angel shook their head. “Davey, answer the question. This isn’t about me right now.”

“Angel–”

“Whatever you choose, is where I’m sleeping. I can watch you play your game, or we can go lay in bed,” They assertively said.

David puffed out air, knowing that he couldn’t change their mind at this point. “I want to play for a little longer.”

Angel happily hummed and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “I’ll go get pillows and blankets and you can continue your game.”

They came back downstairs with two blankets and two pillows. They set it up so that they had a pillow next to David’s legs. Angel threw the second blanket to David before laying their head on the pillow and adjusting their blanket. The extra one was in case David wanted to use a pillow.

“Comfy?” David asked them quietly.

“Very much so,” They replied. David picked up his controller again and flicked the unpause button. His character moved around a dark building with a pole in hand.

“What are you trying to do?” Angel asked.

“Survive.”

“Yeah,” Angel laughed at the obvious. “But what are you trying to do right now?”

“Trying to find a cure, but I need more resources, so I’m looking through the building.”

Angel fell into a content silence after that, watching David’s character beat up a bunch of zombies, and talk to other characters.

Each minute that passed Angel grew more tired, closing their eyes as they listened to the clicking of the controller. Not that the game was boring, but being tired and laying next to David, with the comforting smell of their boyfriend surrounding them, made them feel warm and safe. Their eyelids stayed closed for longer each time they blinked, the light of the screen eventually becoming too bright and them too tired to try staying awake anymore.

—

David looked at the time. He had been playing for another 40 minutes and paused the game to assess if he was tired yet or not. His eyes scanned the lump next to him. Their breathing was steady. David slowly brought his hand to the top of their head, his fingers carding through their hair. Angel slightly stirred and stretched closer to him. He softly smiled and then looked back at the TV.

He was starting to feel a little bit tired, and his mind was calmer than before. David rubbed his face and stood up, careful to not disturb Angel too much. He walked over to turn the console off and pushed the couch’s footrest closer so he could stretch his legs out. He sat back down next to Angel and laid the blanket over his legs. He slouched down and leaned his head back against the couch, his arm lazily wrapping around Angel’s chest. The soft breathing of his mate relaxing him into sleep.

Chapter Text

The bitter cold of the wind seeped past Sweetheart’s gloves. The weather was strangely cold for the beginning of October, but that just meant that it was finally autumn. Which was one of the reasons they and Milo were at a pumpkin patch.

“This one’s pretty big.”

Sweetheart blew hot air into their gloves and turned to look at the pumpkin Milo chose.

“I’ve seen bigger,” Sweetheart replied.

Milo looked up and rolled his eyes. “As far as I know, you haven’t even found a bigger one than this, which means I’ve won our competition so far.”

“Just you wait. I’ll find one in no time.”

Sweetheart left Milo quickly to start their search. Really that had been too distracted with the scenery and their boyfriend to even realize he had found a really good pumpkin. The only way they could win this competition was if they found either a bigger pumpkin or a more round pumpkin. Milo’s was taller. But everyone knows that the rounder the pumpkin, the bigger it is.

Sweetheart turned to look behind them. Milo stood watching them, his hair shining with an orange glow because of the sunrise. They had both wanted to go early so they could watch movies that afternoon. The contest was: whoever picked the biggest pumpkin, got to pick the first movie.

“Find anything yet?” Milo yelled, his breath visible because of the low temperature.

Sweetheart smiled, “Still looking!”

They wandered farther to the end of the line. While there were many good pumpkins, Sweetheart wasn’t sure they would be big enough, until they spotted one.

Sweetheart sighed happily as they walked back to their mate, holding their pumpkin close.

Milo chuckled in confusion. “I thought we were supposed to pick the biggest pumpkin?”

“I know,” Sweetheart said. “But I just couldn't help but pick up this tiny one. It’s cute and short. Like someone else I know.”

“That better not be another height joke, Sweetheart,” Milo warned.

“Oh, of course not.” Sweetheart kissed him on the cheek. “Really it’s more of a compliment. I like short and cute things.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Milo smiled, beginning to walk to the pay booth. “Let’s get movin’. We have movies to watch.”

Chapter Text

“Water bottle.”

“Oh, thanks, Davey!” Angel took the canister and put it in their backpack. Angel looked in all the pockets, double-checking that they had their supplies. “I think we have everything. . .” They turned to look over at their mate who stared down at them, a loving smile graced his features.

“One more thing,” Angel hopped over and kissed David’s lips. “We’ll be back for your excellent dinner.”

Tank quietly closed the door to Sam’s and their bedroom, since Sam was asleep.

David and Angel rented out a cabin so the group could go camping. A quiet weekend for the 8 friends. A cabin let Sam peacefully sleep during the day, unlike if they had a tent, where you could hear everything. Most of the cooking was outside at the firepit, even though they had an oven in the cabin. They got to have a wind down of all the modern responsibilities.

Tank grabbed their walking stick from the side of the cabin (found earlier that trip while the four werewolves were running around) and walked over to Angel. “Ready?”

“Asher and Babe still need to come out.”

“I say we just leave them behind and get ahead,” Tank grinned.

Angel smiled back, “I didn’t know we were racing.”

“Hell yeah. Usually Asher makes us race, but this time I’m keeping it a secret.”

Asher and Babe came out of the cabin, Babe now carrying a small drawstring bag.

“Cool. Everyone is here!” Tank started walking towards the entrance of the camp site. Asher looked over at Angel confused at Tank’s sudden attitude, but they just shrugged.

The air was warm, but there was enough of a breeze to not be in sweltering heat. Babe held a small pamphlet, guiding the group to where the trails were. One of the trails went up the mountain and at the top had a viewing deck that overlooked the whole park. Angel enjoyed the trees and their rustling leaves as they hiked. Birds flew across the canopies and when there was an opening gorgeous fluffy clouds floated across.

They stopped for a break to eat their granola bars and drink some water. After the quick rest they continued up the side.

The view from the mountaintop was beautiful. The steep rolling hills of the mountain, the whispering of the wind, and the clouds were every shade of gray. Everything felt so small compared to the mountains of the earth. Angel had them take a group selfie before they walked back down the mountain.

Once reaching their original break spot, a strange sound came from behind. Babe frowned.

“Did you guys hear that?” Babe paused. The group listened quietly again, standing still.

Another rumble rolled across the world.

“I thought it was supposed to be clear today?” Tank asked.

“That’s what my weather app had said,” Babe replied.

Tank looked around to see where it was coming from. They faced the way they went up and noticed the sky darkening ahead of them. “I think, if we run, we could make it back to camp. The wind’s picking up, and we need to be lower to the ground.”

The group started back, Tank sidling up to lead the group back. They walked down the mountain, keeping track of the clouds now behind them. The wind picked up, pushing against their backs. Each crack of lightning sounded closer as they hurried down the path. Angel jumped at each roll of thunder. Their pace sped up.

“You okay?” Asher quickened to Angel’s pace.

“Yeah,” Angel gave a tight smile. “Just don’t like storms. Usually if I’m inside I’m okay with them, but outside is a little different.”

The sky darkened. They turned at another corner, when Angel froze at the cold wet feeling that touched their nose. Then another. Angel looked around noticing leaves shaking as rain dropped on them.

A swift downpour started.

“New plan. Did anyone remember seeing anything we could take shelter under?” Tank asked. Asher held out his hand, Angel taking it, and both started to run. Babe and Tank ran ahead trying to figure out where to go to escape the rain and storm.

“Picnic pavilion,” Babe remembered. “Turn right at the crossroad!”

A roll of thunder shook the ground.

Luckily, the four reached the pavilion as soon as another flash of lightning brightened the sky. Asher shook his hair out. Babe tried to avoid getting themselves any more wet.

Angel curled in on themself as they sat down. They were under a roof now. It was fine. Angel took a deep breath and counted. . . then let it out. . .

Tank sat next to them. “What a nice rain,” They stretched their limbs out.

“I guess?” They looked over to Tank.

“It cooled the air right down. Besides, we kinda got to actually race back.”

Asher perked up. “We were racing this whole time?”

Tank chuckled, “That’s why I wanted to be in the front. To beat you to the mountain.”

Angel had to admit to themselves that it was pretty fun running around in the rain even though it scared the shit out of them for having to run from a thunderstorm.

“I’m glad you aren’t a wolf now,” Babe ruffled Asher’s damp hair. “Wet dog would not be a pleasant smell.”

“Wha- Excuse me?!” Asher laughed. “I’ll have you know that I do not smell like wet dog, ever.” Asher looped an arm under Babe’s legs, a hand under their shoulders and scooped them up.

“Asher!” They squealed, gripping his neck. He twirled them around.

Babe shouted, laughing, “I’m sor- I’m sorry! I won’t say you smell like wet dog anymore!”

Halting his previous spinning administrations, he stared into their crinkled eyes. Asher kissed their cheek before putting them down. Babe chuckled and took a seat on the bench.

Soon, the wind backed off and the rain started to be less of a downpour and more of a drizzle. Angel’s phone buzzed.

David: Are you ok? Where are you?

Angel: Picnic pavilion. Very wet. We ran back once we heard thunder.

Angel took in another deep breath and sighed it out. Asher was telling Tank a joke. Angel looked back at their phone again.

David: Good to know you’re all safe. Are you alright?

Angel: Breathing exercises. Asher is a good distraction.

David: Good.

Angel smiled and turned their phone off again. Tank patted Angel’s shoulder. Angel let out a big breath before turning their attention back to the world. For a while they’d have to sit out the storm.

—

Tank held out their hand. No water drops. “It looks done. I haven’t heard any close thunder.”

Angel stood up. Babe put their hands on their hips, the drawstring bag now hanging from their back, “It must have been a quick pop-up storm.”

Asher playfully smiled, “Tank, you know what time it is?”

“I should have never told you my plan,” Tank groaned. “You two okay getting back by yourselves?”

“I know the way,” Babe half-raised their hand.

“On three. 1- 2- GO!”

Two blurs rushed off. One holding a stick in its mouth.

Angel leaned over to Babe, “If anyone asks about the wolves, we say we haven’t seen them. Got it?”

“Definitely.”

The walk back was calm. The world smelled fresh and new. Water dripped off branches, and the birds chirped freely again. Angel and Babe took a few pictures on the side at any interesting plant they saw. Once they arrived back at the camp, David was already at the firepit with ingredients on a nearby bench. Tank was opening up packets and in a new set of clothes.

“Davey!” Angel rushed over. David stood up and engulfed Angel in a hug. “Did you do anything fun while I was gone?”

“I played cards with Milo,” David answered. “You should change.”

“I think I look cuter when I’m soaked,” Angel giggled.

“You may be cuter, but I don’t want you catching a cold,” David replied warmly. He kneeled back down to throw a few more pieces of tinder in the small flame.

Angel sighed. “We both know that’s not how getting sick works.” Angel, nonetheless, walked into the cabin to get changed.

“Asher is at the showers.”

Babe raised an eyebrow at the alpha, “For what?”

“He fell in the mud!” Tank called out. Babe covered their face and smiled. They put their bag on a seat and went to help with the fire. They might change later.

The day started to grow colder and darker as it winded down. The forest was engulfed with a golden glow as everyone ate their dinner. The fire kept them warm and laughter could be heard from their campsite.

Chapter Text

Sweetheart walked out into the crisp, night air. It felt way better than being in the stuffy and crowded bar they were just in. Babe had suggested they go to a smaller, emptier bar that was just as nice. It was one of their favorites to go to when they weren’t feeling super social.

“I have the same problem too!” Sweetheart exclaimed. “Why does there always seem to be one coworker who doesn’t ever do their job?”

Babe grinned, “Yeah, my coworker talks to their crush like 24/7, and it’s never enough– they even email each other all day!”

They were walking side by side, not yet drunk, since they were bar hopping tonight and taking it slow. Milo had agreed to pick them up later in the night after Asher had dropped them off. The pack had a short security job and Asher was taking charge of it, which meant he had to get there early, but still insisted he had time to drop the duo off.

They started walking down the next street, when Sweetheart glared in the distance at what they just saw.

“Uh, Babe, one second, stay here,” Sweetheart waved their hand, walking quicker before breaking into a jog.

“Where are you going?” Babe quickly grabbed Sweetheart’s arm. They both stopped.

“See that alley over there?” Sweetheart pointed quickly. “A guy did something to a girl.”

Sweetheart made off to run but Babe yanked them back.

“What if you are in danger?”

Sweetheart groaned, “There’s no time for this.”

“I’m going with you,” Babe’s grip tightened on their arm. “Someone needs to make sure you’re okay too.”

“Okay, don’t get in the middle of anything,” Sweetheart puffed. Babe let go of Sweetheart’s arm and ran after them.

It was behind an alley. They saw the energetic do something to the girl, and it wasn’t good. She gasped, but was then limply dragged away.

Sweetheart slowed down. They stopped just before turning into the alleyway and gave their phone to Babe. “You can speed dial D.U.M.P. Tell them where we are.”

Babe swiped up and held the phone to their ear. Sweetheart went invisible.

The energetic undressed the girl. Her light weight coat shrugged off and dropped on the pavement. Then her pants started to be unzipped. Sweetheart sneered to themself. Creeping closer, they slowly took out their handcuffs.

The energetic whipped his head around hearing the jingle of metal. He whipped his head around, dropping the girl, and sent out a spray of electric sparks. They dropped the handcuffs. Sweetheart hissed as a spark landed on their arm and became visible again.

The energetic’s eyes widened and he made a run for it. Sweetheart chased after him down the alley. He slipped right, knocking over a pile of crates. Sweetheart jumped over top. The energetic moved into the city streets, dodging past groups of people. Sweetheart sprinted faster. They were not letting him get away.

They noticed a thick crowd up ahead. He will never get through it, unless he runs into traffic. The energetic stumbled as he slowed down and searched for a way through. He tried to shove people out of the way, getting confused backlash from them. Sweetheart was a mere moment away from grabbing him.

Desperately, The energetic grabbed their arm and sent shockwaves through. Sweetheart gasped, their head splitting in pain. Their body felt sharp stabs all the way through. They crumpled to the ground. The crowd had turned at the sight.

Sweetheart coughed out a breath. Their hearing was off. Sweetheart shook their head to regain some balance and looked over to where the energetic had run off, except he was being stopped by two people who were questioning why he’d done that. They placed a hand over their chest as they calmed their breathing.

Sweetheart felt a hand fall onto their shoulder. Babe was frowning and moved their hand to rub Sweetheart's back.

A stranger came over wondering if they needed medical assistance. Babe assured them that they could take care of it.

Sweetheart lifted themselves up. “Where’s– the girl?”

Babe cautiously watched them, ready to help if they fell down. “D.U.M.P has her. They are asking some questions. I made sure she was alright before coming to find you.”

“Damn time they actually arrive quickly,” Sweetheart muttered. They steadied themselves before walking over to the energetic. Everything ached, but they needed to see this through.

“You are under arrest for sexual assault.”

“What! How the hell are you up right now?” The energetic cried out. “You have no proof of anything!”

Sweetheart walked closer to him, close enough that they could whisper. “Then you are under arrest for breaking covert. You are goddamn lucky that unempowered people think you used a taser.” They held a firm grip on his shoulder

“Investigator!” A D.U.M.P employee called from a distance. He came running over with hard plastic handcuffs. They breathed shakily in through their nose once realizing who it was, thanking the heavens that it was one of the more calm people from the department.

In moments, the energetic was cuffed and being led back to the police cars. Flashing lights lit up the buildings every few seconds. Sweetheart looked away and shut their eyes. A throbbing pain developing behind their eyes.

“Are D.U.M.P punishments bad?” Babe walked closer to Sweetheart. Sweetheart opened their eyes to Babe.

“Honestly, not for what he's done. A few days locked up, unless he gets bailed out, for the sexual assault. But since he technically broke covert, he’ll be in jail for about a week. Better he’s in there than wandering around.” Sweetheart rubbed their head, the pain coming back.

Babe hummed. They noted Sweetheart’s condition. “Oookay. We’re gonna go to the healer, while we wait for Milo.” They gently took Sweetheart’s arm and lifted it over their side. Sweetheart let them.

“You called Milo? And a healer?”

Babe explained while they were walking that they asked for a healer, in case the unempowered person needed medical help. The girl also thought that she was tased and just blacked out. Sweetheart kept their eyes closed as they neared the flashing lights, their headache pounding furiously.

One of the other investigators walked over as the healer looked Sweetheart over. “Tomorrow you can help with the report. I’ve gotten shocked once before by those guys, and it was not pretty. John and I can take care of it tonight.”

Sweetheart nodded, still with their eyes closed. The shut of another car door and of someone worriedly asking for their name led to the conclusion that Milo had arrived.

The healer cleared their throat, ”Nothing's broken or not working properly. I’m guessing you have a headache, since your eyes are closed?”

“Ugh, my whole body aches,” Sweetheart corrected.

“Do you want me to help with that?”

Sweetheart nodded, “Please.”

“Sweetheart!”

They couldn’t see where Milo was standing, still having their eyes closed. They quietly greeted him.

“Are you alright?” Milo pestered. He took a seat next to them. “What did–”

“Milo, baby, can you let the healer do their job quickly so we can all get back to our evenings?” Sweetheart grasped his hand.

“I-yeah?” Milo agreed. He ran his fingers over their knuckles.

The healer informed Milo swiftly of the whole situation before continuing their job. The healer placed their hands on the sides of Sweetheart’s head, sending a wave of magic through their body. Sweetheart tipped forwards.

Milo caught them before they could fall onto the pavement.

“Sorry,” The healer apologized. “You know how magic and head injuries can be– actually wait, you might not-”

Milo chuckled, “Trust me, I do. . . How about we get you home, huh, Sweetheart?”

Sweetheart plopped their head onto Milo’s shoulder in response. Milo grabbed the back of their knees and lifted them up. Babe thanked the healer before following over to Milo’s car.

“I’m droppin’ you off at your apartment first,” Milo updated Babe as they opened the passenger side door for Milo. Babe hopped in the back behind the drivers side. Milo and Babe worked to adjust the seat so it was tipped all the way down and Milo could lay Sweetheart on it.

“Had to. . . keep a girl from getting raped,” Sweetheart slowly stated as Milo awkwardly stretched the seatbelt over them.

“I know, Sweetheart. You're good.” Milo rubbed their knee to make sure they knew he understood, before closing their passenger door.

Milo got into the driver's seat and started the car up. The healer’s car had left and the D.U.M.P’s unofficial police cars had driven away, leaving the city only with a faint yellow glow from the street lights. Babe leaned closer to the driver's seat.

“Thanks for coming early,” Babe muttered, careful not to make too much noise if Sweetheart had fallen asleep.

“Don’t mention it. . . Thanks for makin’ sure they were okay. This job of theirs– It makes me worried about them. A lot. . .” Milo quietly replied, glancing in the rearview mirror. “I mean they were technically off tonight, but they still wanted to save the day. They just have so much passion for their job, it’s hard for them to know when to stop.”

Babe hummed in acknowledgement, “On a positive note, a girl was saved tonight by scaring off that energetic.”

“I’m not sayin’ that it was wrong of you guys to do that. I just wish they’d give themselves a break sometimes, y’know?”

They pulled up to Asher’s and Babe’s apartment. Babe turned to Milo before hopping out, “I’ll text them later to see how they are doing. Thanks for driving me back. Take care, Milo.”

Milo waved goodbye and started the drive back to their house. It was quiet, except for the faintest hint of the radio playing something from the top 40’s. Milo sighed.

He would never ask them to trade their job for anything. They loved it. But they were always forgetful about their limits. It worried him over the past three years more than anything, and he knew they weren’t stopping anytime soon. Hell, they would probably continue until they could barely walk and were 90 years old. He hoped that wasn’t the case, since he wanted to have his retirement years spent with no work to worry about for either of them. Just enjoying life until they couldn’t.

He looked over at his mate. He was surprised to find them staring at him.

“Hey, baby,” Milo said. He turned his head back to the road. “How you feelin’?”

“Tired.”

Milo smiles softly, “Yeah. Sounds about right.”

“You aren’t mad that I got hurt?” Sweetheart asked.

“No, of course not. It wasn’t your fault,” Milo assured, as he looked back over to them.

Sweetheart mumbled, “I thought you’d be mad. . .”

“How about we talk about this when you are healed up and can hold more of a conversation?” He offered. The streetlights of the city faded behind.

“Alright,” They closed their eyes again.

The next time they were woken up, they were in front of their home. Milo was nudging their leg. They slowly sat up, already unbuckled by Milo.

“D’you need me to carry you?”

Sweetheart thought for a moment, “I can. . . probably walk.”

They turned themselves out of the car and placed two feet on the ground. Milo shut the car door for them and held their hand. Both slowly made it to the front door. It was left unlocked. He helped them out of their shoes and jacket and led them upstairs to the bed. Sweetheart immediately buried themselves under the covers. Milo questioned whether to make them get changed into other clothes or leave them to sleep some more.

“I love you,” Sweetheart murmured from under their comforter.

“Yeah, I love you too, Sweetheart,” Milo came over and kissed their forehead, deciding that them getting changed didn’t matter too much right now. Holding them was more important tonight.

Chapter Text

Angel shut the door of the car and raced to the front door, wishing to escape into the heat of their home. They fumbled with opening the front door, their hands basically frozen cold from the winter weather, and the door handle was frosted over.

Their office hadn’t been much warmer than outside. Most people in the office had kept their coats on for the day. And while the car had a heater, it didn’t heat up quickly enough before they got home, which meant for half of the drive they still had frozen hands.

The door budged open, immediately heating their face. Angel sighed and smiled at the sight that greeted them. David was at the kitchen table, typing on his laptop, and stacks of papers littered around the table. One of the candles Angel had bought was lit, and filled the air with a comforting scent. David's eyebrows furrowed as he was thinking.

They made their way next to David, who had yet to greet them, still focused on his laptop screen. Angel slipped their hands down his shirt’s neck hole. David jumped. He turned to glare at them.

“Get your frozen hands out from underneath my shirt.”

“But Davey, I need to waaarm them- they’re cold,” Angel whined, taking them out.

David grumbled and cupped their hands into his, “Shocking words coming from a furnace like yourself.”

He brought their hands up to his mouth and blew hot air onto them. Angel grinned, their heart skipping a beat at the gesture.

“How was work?” David asked, pausing between breaths. “Come sit down.” They plopped themself next to him.

“It was good. Finished up a project. My group had to do a presentation for it and my boss said that we did well.”

“Good,” David gently rubbed their fingers. “I’m glad you had a good day at work.”

“How was your day?”

David looked back at his laptop before answering them, “Tiring. I had a couple calls to make that took longer than needed. Paperwork. Christian called to talk about the next job, which eventually led into him complaining about his role in the pack. I had to discuss that with him for a bit.”

“Well. . . now I’m home, so you can take a break for a while.” Angel took their hands back, and tapped a finger to their lips. Their eyes sparked with an idea.

“What?” David suspiciously frowned.

Angel grinned, “I think my lips are really cold too. They need to be warmed up.”

David scoffed, and stood up from his chair. “Is this you asking for a kiss?”

“Oh my, what a good idea, Davey!” Angel giggled.

David rolled his eyes before bending his head and placing his hands on their hips.

Their lips softly connected. Angel leaned deeper into the kiss, and curled their fist into his shirt. When they both seemed to be running out of breath, David unlocked their lips.

He held a soft gaze as he stared into their bright eyes, “Welcome home, Angel.”

Chapter Text

Angel heard the growl from David’s office. Being curious they stopped putting the dishes away to go see what was wrong with their mate. They briskly walked as another series of annoyed muttering filled the house.

“Davey?” Angel knocked on the doorframe. “Are you okay?”

David swiveled his office chair around, rubbing his forehead. Angel came closer, wondering if he somehow hurt his head.

“I’m fine, Angel,” David grumbled.

“Why are you grumbling then?”

“My head hurts.”

Angel confusedly frowned, “Again?”

David got up from his chair, rubbing in between his eyebrows. He walked toward the kitchen.

Angel picked at their nails and followed. What could be causing these headaches? They come and go. . . and it seems it only really happens when he’s. . .

“I have an idea of what might be causing your headaches.”

“What?” David sighed as he opened a cabinet, still fixated on finding ibuprofen for his headache. He grabbed out a bottle and squinted to read it.

“You need glasses.”

There was a long silence as David paused. He moved again to open the bottle but still didn’t reply. He looked to see how many he needed to take, but the pain worsened and he scrunched up his eyes.

“Angel, can you tell me how many I can take?” Angel took the bottle out of his hands, and poured out the correct amount. David quickly swallowed them and put the bottle back.

“This is just proving the point,” Angel continued.

David scoffed. “I don’t need glasses.”

“Yet you can’t read what the pill bottle says, and you can’t look at your computer screen or notes without forming a headache.” Angel leaned back onto the counter.

David leveled his gaze with them, “It only has happened a few times.”

“This week,” Angel added. “And this happened last week, as well.”

David rolled his eyes. “I’m gonna go back to work.”

Angel dejectedly sighed at his response. While David was good at making sure he was healthy, he rarely accepted things that meant he wasn’t at his top performance. They followed him again.

“David.”

This caused him to freeze. They never called him that.

“Go see the eye-doctor. Please? For me?” Angel got close enough to put a hand on his arm. He scanned their face before nodding.

“Okay.”

—

The next week, David had set up an appointment with the optometrist. He didn’t want to believe that he needed glasses. He was as healthy as he could be. He made sure he exercised, ate the right food and vitamins, and he could still see things just fine. How could he need glasses? Would his mother have needed glasses? He didn’t remember his dad having any. He was a shifter, weren’t they supposed to have the best eyesight?

David made a note to try out shifting later to see if he still had good eyesight in that form.

His appointment came and went, and to his annoyance, he needed reading glasses. He picked out the frames at the end of the session, and was told they would send him his pair in the mail later that week.

Angel kept pestering about his appointment later that day. They immediately went out to find him in the kitchen, only taking a moment to take off their shoes at the entry, and asked what the doctor said. He had told them that they were right.

“I’m glad I could help,” They smiled. David counted the seconds, already knowing what his mate was going to ask next.

“What frames are you getting?”

David crossed his arms, “Not telling.”

“What?! But I suggested that you should go to the doctor in the first place,” Angel exclaimed, wrapping their arms around his middle. “Don’t I get to know what my stunning mate will look like?”

David’s face heated up at the sudden dramatic display. “It’ll be a surprise for you.”

“But I don’t like surprises.”

A lie. They liked surprises when they were the ones doing the surprising and not being a nosey, but endearing, snot. “You’ll have to like this one.”

Angel groaned into his chest. David chuckled and placed a kiss onto the top of their head. He held them for a moment longer before suggesting they start working on dinner.

The whole time, Angel kept getting distracted by imagining and guessing what frames he got. Were they rectangular? Circular? Both? Did he get a fun color? Probably not. Black? Golden? Silver?

“Can you at least tell me what vibe you give off when wearing them?” Angel wondered.

“Vibe?”

“Yeah! Like are you stoic, more than you already are? Does it make you look preppy? Do you look like a professor? Does it make you look like an old man?”

David laughed. “You’ll see. They’ll be here by the end of the week.”

—

Saturday came and Angel practically squealed when they grabbed the box out of the mailbox. They raced back inside.

“Oh Davey~” They sang. “Look what came in the mail!”

Angel went into his office, and brought it to his desk where David was sitting.

David pursed his lips as he opened the cardboard box. His eyes settled on the contents within. His glasses came in a boring, black case, with a free sample of cleaning solution. He opened up the case and took out the glasses.

He undid them carefully, as the unfamiliarity of the glasses made him wary of holding them. He looked over at Angel, who nodded encouragingly.

David placed them on his face. The rest of the world was blurry, but he could see his papers without feeling like his eyes were straining.

“Do they work well?” Angel quietly asked him.

“Of course, they work well. I went to the optometrist for them.”

Angel smiled, “No, I mean, do you like them?”

David turned to look at Angel, finding that their face was too blurry for his liking. “Yeah. What do you think of them?”

“I think you look handsome and intelligent,” Angel replied. David slid them down to the end of his nose, so he could see the rest of the world normally.

“Now you look like a hot college professor,” Angel laughed.

“You’re such a perv,” David commented. “Come here.”

David led their face down to his and gently kissed them.

Angel carded a hand through his hair before leaning to kiss his forehead. “I’m glad you won’t be having so many headaches anymore.”

David hummed in agreement, and turned to go back to his work. Angel began to walk away, but changed their mind.

Angel grabbed their phone out of their hoodie pocket.

“Hey, Davey? Look.”

David turned confused. Angel quickly took photos before giggling a “thank you” and running away.

David dragged a hand down his face thinking of all the trouble they could be causing. He gave a small smile before focusing on the spreadsheet again. Moments later, David’s phone started ringing. Asher. He swiped open the call.

“Nice glasses, big guy!”

He immediately hung up.

Chapter Text

The weather had finally warmed up, and the air smelled sweet again. The sky was the purest blue it had been in months.

Babe decided to take the initiative of spring cleaning their apartment today, especially when their werewolf boyfriend had spring fever and needed an outlet for his pent up energy. They could faintly hear the music playing from the kitchen.

“Baabe!” Asher called from inside. Babe turned their head, shaking out one of the floor mats from their balcony.

“Yeah?”

Asher grinned, “Come dance with me.”

“Ash,” They started.

“We have all day to clean– Dance with me!” Asher grabbed their hand. Babe dropped the floor mat onto the railing and followed him in.

He paused to hold a hand out to them and they took it.

Asher spun Babe around, leading their steps forward towards him and then backwards, turning in a circle as they did so. He lifted their arm again, and dramatically twirled them around.

“You’re such a goof,” Babe laughed.

Their twists and turns were quick as they danced in the living room.

You are my hometown, where I can slow down.
We got it good, we got it all figured out.

Asher’s eyes sparkled as the two danced. They loved when he was happy.

“Here let me do something,” Babe added as they slowed down.

Asher raised his eyebrows. “Like wha–!”

Babe tipped him upside down. Asher quickly balanced himself as he stared into their eyes, corners crinkling. They planted a kiss on his nose.

“Hey, no fair!” Asher pouted. “Give me a real kiss.”

They obliged, Asher pushing himself up to his feet throughout their small makeout session. They broke apart, his hand still cupping their cheek.

‘Cause baby life takes me places,
That I never dreamed I would find.

Babe brought their lips to his for another, softer, kiss.

But still there’s nowhere I’d rather be than to be by your side.

Asher lifted them up by their legs, Babe naturally grasping for his shoulders to steady themselves, as he spun them around. . .

They grinned down at Asher as the song ended, and ruffled his hair. He was so pretty in the sunrise. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Babe.”

Chapter Text

Sweetheart groaned and flopped onto the couch. Their stack of clothes that needed mending had gotten too high for their liking, and they knew it was time to fix the clothes, but they really didn’t want to deal with it.

For the most part it was just tears in shirts or pants, some which came from their missions, and others just falling apart after time. A couple patches needed to be sewn back on.

But fuck, did they hate sewing.

It made them antsy, having to be so precise with the needle so it didn’t look like a kid had sewn it. It also hurt their fingers to sew the patches back on, the tough material being hard to get through.

Their phone buzzed, showing Milo’s caller ID on the screen. They swiped up, grateful for the distraction.

“Hey, Sweetheart!”

They adjusted themself into a better sitting position. “Hi, handsome. Why are you calling?”

“Can’t I call my mate without being interrogated?”

Sweetheart laughed, “I mean. . . You are dating an investigator. That’s literally what I do.”

His chuckles crackled through the phone. “Fair enough. . Uh, anyways. Would you mind if I come over?”

Sweetheart frowned, gut pulling in worry. “Are you okay?” Milo normally didn’t come to their apartment unless it was an emergency.

“Everything’s fine. One of our jobs, uh, got canceled. And I know you had today off. So to save you the cost of driving, I figured I could come to your place and we could hang out.”

Sweetheart looked around their house. Yeah. They could get it looking relatively nice before he came over.

“Yeah. Of course you can come over,” Sweetheart smiled.

“Awesome. I’ll see you in about 15.”

“Alright. Love you,” Sweetheart said, Milo responding the same before ending the call.

They looked at their apartment, and went to organize the folders left on their kitchen table. They quickly swept through the bedroom, making sure that everything was neat, and no clothes were left on the floor. Coming back out, they took the different plastic soda and water bottles that were left around the house and put them by the sink to be washed out.

Milo’s knock pattern sounded at the door. Two quick ones, then another.

Sweetheart went to the door, unlocking it and revealing their partner. They opened the door wider to let him in.

He took off his boots, and they both walked into the living room area. Milo observed their apartment, rarely getting to see their home. He noted something he hadn’t seen last time he came to the apartment– although that might’ve been from the fact that both of them were practically in Sweetheart’s bathroom the whole time.

“What’s that pile? Laundry?” Milo pointed.

“Not exactly.” Sweetheart sat on the arm of their couch. “It’s my mending pile. Has everything that needs to be fixed for it to be wearable.”

“How long has it been pilin’ up?”

“About a month? Maybe more.” Sweetheart shrugged. “I actually thought about doing it before you called.” They smiled at him. “But then you called, and I figured I could spend my time in better ways.”

Milo walked closer, and tilted his head a few inches from them. Sweetheart closed the gap, and pushed against his warm lips. He pressed back with the same vigor.

He pulled back and smiled, “I would love to see what better ways we could spend time together. But. . . I think we should deal with your problem.”

“Milo,” Sweetheart began. “You don’t have to. I can take care of it later.”

“I want to,” Milo said, taking their hands and kissing their knuckles. “Believe it or not, your man knows how to sew.”

Sweetheart sighed, and gave a tight smile. “Alright. I suppose we can.”

Milo noted the tenseness. “Is there a specific reason you don’t want to mend your mountain of clothes?”

Sweetheart looked down and bit their cheek. “I don’t like sewing.” They looked back to Milo, a little embarrassed at the statement.

“Do you wanna elaborate? Or. . .”

There was a beat of silence, before they spoke up. “Just don’t like how perfect the sewing needs to be. It stresses me out.”

“That’s alright,” Milo hummed, wrapping his arms around them. They fell into him, resting their face on his stomach. “I got an idea that could make it less stressful.”

“How?” Sweetheart tilted their head back.

“You got any extra needles?”

They shook their head.

“Okay. Here’s my idea- I’m gonna go out to my car and get my emergency sewing kit, and you can choose some music to listen to. Whatever music you want. And while listening to music, we can talk, so you’re not only focusing on how perfect a stitch is. How does that sound?”

Sweetheart shrugged, the idea not sounding half bad. “Yeah, we can do that.”

Milo unwrapped his arms from them, and went quickly to his car. Sweetheart pulled out their phone and pulled up Spotify. They scrolled through their playlists, and clicked on one that had softer songs. They turned the volume up, and went to get their own small sewing kit while waiting for Milo to come back.

The door opened again with Milo carrying a small box. It had a few different colored threads, scissors, a thimble, and a small tomato and strawberry that held a few needles.

Milo sat it on the couch and went over to the basket. Sweetheart stood up.

“What do you want me to mend, Sweetheart?”

“Could you do the patches?” Sweetheart pulled out two of them. One with the D.U.M.P symbol, and a bar patch saying ‘Investigator’. It needed to go back onto their white shirt. “They always hurt my fingers.”

“Of course,” Milo took the materials, and sat on the couch, placing one of the throw pillows on his lap. Sweetheart grabbed a pair of pants, seeing the tears at the knees and the thread undoing itself at a seam.

They sat next to Milo. He pulled out a thimble and some black thread. He struggled with stabbing the needle through, but pushed with the thimble and it went through easier. Oh. They didn’t have one of those.

Sweetheart went to work on their pants that were definitely going to be used as on-site pants, as they were not suitable for the professional office anymore.

“How did you rip those?” Milo glanced over.

Sweetheart thought about it. They really weren’t the most graceful, and it was hard to remember exactly what happened.

“I think this was from getting caught on a fence,” Sweetheart ran their finger along the mostly sewn up scratch. “Maybe the patches you have were from the fence as well? Tearing up my clothes happens too fucking often for me to remember exactly why.”

They froze after their statement, and looked over to see Milo’s expression. They shouldn’t have said that last sentence. They didn’t want to worry him.

“Where the hell are they sendin’ you for you to ruin your clothes?” Milo chuckled and shook his head. “I mean, you’d figure that with me being in security, that my clothes would be just as torn up.”

Sweetheart slouched back, glad that he didn’t seem concerned. They pricked their finger and put it in their mouth, before shaking it off. “Some of them are just wear and tear. Like a few buttons falling off, or like my sweater, the fabric got stretched enough.”

They both fell into silence, calmly listening to music. Sweetheart got up, and grabbed another item to mend.

“How’s the pack doing?” Sweetheart asked, deciding to talk about something else. They carefully sat back down.

“Doing just fine. We discussed mostly about future jobs at our last pack meeting. One of them is goin’ to be at a park. For some reason, one of the departments decided to hold a meeting at one of the pavilions. I guess, they think it’ll be more fun to talk about whatever while being in the sun. Keep people from falling asleep.”

Milo continued talking. He was almost finished with the D.U.M.P symbol, and Sweetheart watched his fingers delicately push and pull the needle and thread, easily being neat. They could barely tell where it was sewn on.

Milo eventually finished the patches, and grabbed something else from the basket.

The mending pile quickly went down, Sweetheart only focused on finishing the clothes while talking to Milo. They hadn’t even thought about whether their clothes and stitches were perfect. They placed everything fixed back in the basket.

The two decided to cuddle after, Sweetheart leaning on the back of the couch and Milo sitting next to them, draping a leg over their thigh. Sweetheart held one of his hands, tracing the lines.
“Where did you learn to sew so nice?”

“Ah,” Milo hummed. “My Ma made me learn how to sew once I started shiftin’. Kept tearing through clothes, and she was tired of trying to put them back together. At first I went to my grandma for help until I could figure out how to make it look nice. After that, I got more into fashion and started to adapt my clothes to how I liked them. I got pretty good after a while.”

Sweetheart nodded.

“I don’t do it much anymore, but it was fun sewing with you today.” He leaned over to peck their cheek.

“It was much more enjoyable with you here,” They smiled. Milo seemed to make even the worst things better.

“If you ever need a sewing buddy again, I’m always available.”

“Thank you.” Sweetheart squeezed his hand three times. I love you. Milo squeezed three times back.

Chapter Text

His foot pushed against the floor, rocking the recliner chair back and forth. The house was quiet, his mate sleeping in the couple’s bedroom, and their little girl fast asleep on his chest. The burping blanket was hanging off the arm of the chair. The only sound was the occasional squeak of springs and his earbuds.

He tipped his head back as the song previously playing finished. The nightlight in the hall made the room glow a light blue.

Then the quiet plucks of guitar strings soon followed.

Your little hand’s wrapped around my finger, and it’s so quiet in the world tonight.

Asher stared down at the chubby face and small hand grasping his shirt. She was the smallest thing he had probably ever held. He thought it was incredible that at one point he was around this size.

I’d give all I have honey, if you could stay like that.

He smiled, a well of love coming up from the middle of his chest.

He couldn’t believe that he and Babe would get to raise, and love, and see what kind of person their girl would become. Get to be with her through all the best and worst of life.

His heart lurched in his throat as he tried to suppress the urge to cry, as the song continued.

Oh, darlin’, don’t you ever grow up, don’t you ever grow up.

Just stay this little

The baby in his arms readjusted her hand. Asher slowly stroked her back, and she puffed out a sigh, satisfied with the readjustment.

I won’t let nobody hurt you, won’t let nobody break your heart

And no one will desert you, just try to never grow up.

Never grow up

A few tears slipped passed and he slowly breathed in, trying to steady his breathing so as not to wake their baby up. He smiled once again. When the urge to cry immediately left, he softly laughed at his emotional self.

Maybe his crying was because of sleep deprivation. Maybe it was because he needed to let go of all the stress of being allowed to bring home a baby, and the worry about doing something wrong. Maybe it was because he was so happy.

Whatever it was, he was grateful for getting to have this small family. He would love them with all his heart, and make sure that his family was listened to and cared for. He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his little girl’s head.

Everything was right in the world.

Chapter Text

David was exhausted. He still had two long sections of his math homework to finish, since Asher had needed help with the previous day's homework, and spent the rest of class helping with that. His general magic course wanted him to write a page of why empathy and serenity daemons might use their powers. And he had just finished a very busy dinner rush at his temporary job.

All he wanted to do was not talk and eat dinner. David huffed out of the car, and grabbed his backpack from the back seat.

As soon as he opened the door the faint sound of 90s country music and the smell of some type of stew filled the house. There was monotone humming coming from the kitchen.

David hung his keys up, and dropped his backpack on the floor, with the plan to take it to his room later.

Gabe walked out from the kitchen, “How was your day?”

“Fine.” David inwardly groaned.

“Just fine? Anything exciting happen at school or at work?” Gabe continued. David could feel his breathing become shorter.

“No.”

What’s with all the questions? David felt heat beneath his shoulders.

“So, you’re not going to tell me anything? Is there something going on I should know about?” Gabe had added a tone that David didn’t like.

“NO!” David snapped.

Gabe’s eyes widened, shocked at the response. He crossed his arms, silently waiting for an answer to the outburst.

David’s jaw tightened and he glared back at his father.

“JUST- I’m leaving-!” David furiously opened the front door and slammed it shut. The house shook in the silence.

Gabe noted the car keys left on the key hook, which meant that he wasn’t driving anywhere. Maybe Gabe would find him sitting on the front porch or hanging around the yard.

He deeply sighed and walked to the front door. He swung it open and found a set of clothes left at the bottom step.

David had decided to shift.

—

David didn’t know where he was going. His head pounded and his lungs couldn’t burn enough to match the anger that was enveloping him.

He was angry at the fucking annoying day he had. He was angry at his dad prodding about today. And he was angry that he was angry!

He started to run faster, a familiar route unknowingly leading him.

The trees soon thinned and he found the clearing that he used to play in when he was younger with his dad.

Those days were some of his best memories. Always being excited during the summer to play with his dad’s wolf form and play hide-and-seek. It was also the clearing that David had first learned to shift in.

He was always grateful and ecstatic when his dad had made time for him. With being a pack leader and having his own career, sometimes it seemed that there might never be time for just the two of them. But he always made time. He loved spending time with David.

Fuck, I’m such a dick.

Something of a whine broke out, and David’s wolf curled up underneath one of the trees. The wave of guilt collapsed on him.

All he had wanted to do was ask how his son was doing, and I snapped at him. What kind of future-beta does that? What kind of kid does that? My dad loves me, and I couldn’t even respond to a few stupid questions!

—

Gabe had been searching everywhere. He had tried to find David’s core, yet amazingly, David was long gone by the time he had shifted. Of course, with his son wanting to become beta, David had been training for the past year to be faster and stronger. Gabe was proud of his discipline and drive.

But without being able to sense his son’s core, he had to track him. Gabe sniffed the air, trying to pick up David’s scent.

The sun was practically set by the time Gabe had thought about calling Frank and sending a search party. He ran further into the woods. Maybe if I keep going I’ll pick up on something. He caught a scent from a nearby pine tree and ran to the familiar clearing, spotting a black lump on the forest floor.

Gabe trodded over, and recognized it. Relief flooded through him.

Hey, bud.

David snuffed and turned his head away.

Gabe’s wolf moved closer. I’m gonna sit next to you, okay?

David didn’t respond. Gabe could feel the shame radiate from David’s core, and if he was in his human form he would have let out a large sigh.

I’m not mad, Gabe began.

David’s ears tipped back.

Nor am I disappointed. Gabe waited to see if that got any response. His son’s ears twitched, but nothing else.

Do you wanna tell me why you’re angry?

Another beat of silence before a whine came from the black wolf. David flipped himself around and laid his head behind his dad’s.

I’m sorry. David cried. Gabe twisted his body to curl around his son. I didn’t mean to yell.

Gabe nuzzled closer. It’s okay, bud. Everything’s okay.

I’m really tired- and I have a lot of homework and-and your questions were too much, David heartbrokenly sputtered.

He thought about continuing the conversation here, but if David was as tired as he seemed, it would be better to go back to the house. Let’s go have dinner, okay? We can talk about this more later.

David huffed before he stood up, still sticking close to his dad. Gabe rose and started the lead back to the house. The two stayed silent, listening to the last of the birds settling for the night and the crack of sticks between the two large wolves’ paws.

David’s core calmed down into a steady hum by the time they got back. The two quickly changed into their clothes before heading back inside. Gabe went to turn the radio off.

“Want to get bowls?” Gabe asked, breaking through the silence. His son nodded. The two worked quickly and sat down at the small round table.

“David,” Gabe said, blowing the food on his spoon. “Is there a reason you aren’t eating your stew?”

David’s face held one of his frowns. He watched his son avert his eyes to the left, then right. If Gabe tried hard enough, he bet he could see the gears turning in David’s head.

David sat silent.

“If you don’t want to talk, then at least eat your food before it goes cold,” Gabe gently added.

David harshly sighed, “I’m sorry for yelling. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s alright,” Gabe took a bite of potato. “You already apologized.”

“No. That’s not-” David picked up his own spoon, and covered his face. “I shouldn’t have snapped like that. I’m planning on being beta one day. I can’t be snapping at people when I’m overwhelmed. I shouldn’t be snapping at you who is my dad and alpha.”

Gabe lightly snickered before clearing his throat. “Bud. Even Frank can get pretty snappy when he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and hasn’t had his coffee”

David blankly stared at his dad.

“You’re not a failure, or disappointment for any of it. Hell, I can get pretty overwhelmed sometimes. . . And sometimes you slip up. What matters is that you apologize and focus on calming down before it can get to the yelling point again.”

“Yeah. . . Thanks.”

David took a bite of his stew.

Gabe sighed before standing up and coming around the table. He needed his son to know that he loved him, and that he didn’t think less of David.

David swallowed and frowned with confusion. His dad enveloped him in a hug, hand holding the base of his neck. David paused at the touch, but relaxed and wrapped his arms around Gabe.

“You’re still someone who is growing up. You’ve still got so much to learn and experience. Don’t think that you have to be perfect at 17. Okay?” Gabe rubbed a hand up and down David’s back.

“Yeah. Okay.” David nodded, taking what his dad said to heart.

Chapter Text

Milo needed his mate’s opinion on their roughly put together schedule. He heard their toothbrush swishing, and noted where he’d find them.

He walked into the bathroom, scanning through the list he made on his phone. Tomorrow they had a few errands to do, such as: going shopping to get more cat food as well as their usual grocery list, and something for his Ma’s birthday. They also were planning on getting paint and staining for their front porch. Of course, Milo had planned that they would end up looking at the clothes section at some point; they always did.

“Where do you want to go for lunch tomorrow, since we are going to be out all day?” He leaned on the door frame.

Sweetheart sing-songedly mumbled their response.

“Sweetheart, I can’t understand you with your mouth full.”

They spit out their toothpaste, and smiled. “So, understanding me with my mouth full is only a skill you have in the bedroom?”

Milo growled, a smirk creeping up his lips, “Our bedroom communication and daily life communication are two different skill sets. I'd say I'm better at body language, more than anythin'.” He sidled up to their side, watching them in the mirror as they rinsed their mouth.

“I know. Let me think,” They smiled around their toothbrush. They spit out the water and splashed water on their lips.

Sweetheart dried their hands and face before cupping his cheek. “What if we go to that one Mexican restaurant? Near the pet supply store.”

“You liked that one?”

“Mhmm,” Sweetheart nodded. “They had good fajitas.”

Milo hummed and tapped the location into his outline. “Well. I believe that takes care of everythin’. You ready for bed?”

The two walked out of the bathroom, switching off the light.

“Yep. Unless. . . “ Sweetheart paused.

“Unless what?”

“Well,” They slowly wrapped their arms around the back of Milo’s head, twirling their fingers around his curls. “Mentioning my mouth being full, maybe, put an idea in my head. . .”

Milo rested his hands on their hips and laughed, leaning closer to their lips. “Oh, Sweetheart.”

He pressed his mouth to theirs, warmth and the after-taste of their fruity toothpaste covering his lips. “What did you, uh, exactly, have in mind?”

Chapter Text

“What movie should we watch?” Asher asked, kneeling under the TV and looking through the DVD cabinet. He took out a few that were blocking the back row.

“How are we supposed to know?” Milo leaned forward over the arm of the couch.

“Well if you get down here with me, then you could see,” Asher looked back. Milo shuffled out from under the blanket and leaned down next to Asher.

“What if we watch Ice Age?” Milo’s eyes locked on the blue and white DVD.

Asher hummed in thought, and then he had a great idea. He turned to David with his eyes lit up. “What if we watch an adult movie?”

“Aren't you not allowed to watch adult movies?” David countered.

Asher turned to look at Milo who only shrugged. Milo had watched a lot of rated R movies, more than he probably should have, either late night on the cable network or because it was some of the only movies his parents owned.

“Okay and?”

David adjusted his sitting position. “Won’t you get in trouble?”

David knew that if his dad had found out he watched something he wasn’t supposed to, he might have a very stern conversation about waiting to watch it with his dad so they could talk about if something disturbed him.

“Well my parents aren’t here. Besides Madelyn is in charge. And she won’t care!” Asher continued. He leaned down to the bottom shelf and slid one of the movies out: American Psycho.

“I won’t care about what?” A feminine voice asked. Asher turned to see his sister leaning against the door frame between the entryway and living room. Asher’s eyes looked down at the DVD in hand. His mouth opened to come up with some other excuse, but man, was he a bad liar.

“Ash. Give that to me,” Madelyn walked over before he could respond, Milo scooting out of the way. She snatched it out of Asher’s hands.

“What?! That’s so not cool!” Asher whined. “You watched it with your friends last week!”

He jumped up off of his knees so he could be at his full height.

“Maybe because I’m 15, and you’re barely 11,” Madelyn rolled her eyes. “Besides, I don’t want to get blamed by Mom and Dad if you have nightmares.”

Asher crossed his arms and bore his hatred and annoyance into his stare. Maybe that would get her to give the movie back. . .

Madelyn wasn’t budging.

She rolled her eyes again. “Fine. Chillax. You can watch any PG-13 movie in there, how about that?”

Asher held out his pinky, after a second Madelyn linked hers with his and they both relented.

Asher grinned and dropped himself back down to the floor. “Booyah!”

He would take what he could get.

Madelyn set the movie on one of the shelves before going to walk out of the room. She glanced at David, re-evaluating her decision. “Make sure it’s not too bad of a movie.”

He quietly nodded. With that, Asher's sister left. After a few more minutes of analyzing every possible movie, and checking the back for its rating, Asher had found the new selection.

“Okay! New plan! We’re watching Mean Girls!” He excitedly announced. The cover was pink and it looked like a rom-com to David.

“Looks fine,” David agreed. Milo nodded.

“Sick! Okay. I’ll put this in, and then go start the popcorn,” Asher opened the case and gently took the movie out. The DVD player whirred, loading the movie onto the TV screen, and soon the previews began.

Chapter Text

David was awake at almost five in the morning and was bouncing with energy to start the day. Today was Father’s Day, and he really wanted to give his dad his gifts. He had made a card during school, which had a picture of two wolves and a heart, and bubble letters that spell out Happy Father’s Day. And then there was the actual present.

His hand clasped around the small red keychain accessory that read “My Favorite Dad” with a heart at the end. He had bought it from the school store, with tables lined up with random goodies or trinkets, it had been a hard time choosing what to buy in such a short amount of time.

He was hoping that those two things were enough to show his love. But maybe he needed to give his dad something more?

He set his presents back down, and lightly padded down to the kitchen with a new plan. He grabbed out his dad’s favorite cereal and then hopped up onto the counter.

BANG. David froze, the loud noise echoing in the quiet house, and listened to see if his dad had heard him accidentally kicking one of the lower drawers. His dad would have definitely come bolting downstairs if he had.

David breathed out a sigh of relief, and continued his task.

With the bowl now acquired, he shook the cereal into it and then wobbly poured the milk too.

He carried the bowl and climbed the stairs, grabbing both of his gifts from his bedroom before making his way to his dad’s room.

David gently pushed the door open, hands steadying the bowl to make sure no contents spilled. He crept over to the bedside, placing the bowl on the nightstand, and examined his dad’s face. Yep. Definitely still asleep. He tapped Gabe’s shoulder a few times, his dad taking a sharp inhale of breath before opening his eyes.

“David? What are you doing up?” Gabe stuffily asked, and rubbed his face. “It’s 5 a.m. You should be asleep.”

“It’s Father’s Day,” David happily said, ignoring the fact that it was still super early. His father wasn’t too surprised, considering that David had been going through another bout of not wanting to sleep. Whether that meant David staying up late, or his son waking up way before sunrise.

Gabe muttered, “I’d argue that is exactly why we should both still be asleep, but that’s alright,” before flicking on the bedside lamp, the sun not having come up enough to brighten the room fully.

His eyes landed on the cereal bowl, and then the fact that David held a card and something else in his hand. “What do you got there?”

“A present and a card. Here,” He held out the card to him, and the keychain accessory.

Gabe gently took both of them and read the card, smiling at the picture on the front and seeing all the hearts that covered the inside of the card. Though the message written inside was generic, and most likely what his teachers had told them to write, he could tell that David put a lot of love into it.

He then examined the red keychain accessory that could wrap around your wrist. His eyes flicked back to David’s.

“I’m your favorite dad?” Gabe raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on his face.

David nodded.

Gabe chuckled, wrapping an arm around his son. “I would hope so– I’m your only dad, bud!” David giggled along and fully wrapped himself around his dad. He tucked his head further into his dad’s neck. Safe. Home.

Gabe broke away from the hug after a moment, and petted David’s hair backwards. “I see you brought cereal as well.”

“Your breakfast in bed!” David peeled himself away and grabbed the bowl to hand over.

Gabe’s heart warmed. “Did you come up with that idea by yourself?”

Once Gabe grabbed the bowl, David moved around to the other side of the bed, hopping next to his dad. “Sort of. One of my classmates said that their parents do it for each other.”

Gabe took a bite of the now slightly soggy cereal, and hummed. “Thank you very much. I must be doing something right for you to be such a thoughtful kiddo.” David shrugged and relaxed against the headboard, taking the praise to heart. . .

—

He froze after opening the box. It was a small box full of cards, all of the ones that David had made over the years. . . And that Father’s Day card was on top.

His heart lurched in his throat as he stared and picked up the flimsy, folded paper. The feeling settled back down to an ache in his stomach, tears gathering, just waiting for him to blink so it could kick off another crying session.

He closed his eyes tightly and felt his lip trembling again, and pursed his lips. I can’t cry. I have to focus on cleaning out stuff. I–

David could have wailed if he wanted, but covered his mouth to prevent any sound to escape his body, even though nobody was in the home. His nose could barely get any air in or out, and he had broken out into a sweat. He kneeled to the floor, his whole weight sat on his legs, as his face became sticky and wet with snot and tears.

I miss you so fucking, goddamn much, Dad. I hope you know how much I love you, wherever you are now. . . I love you so so so fucking much. . .

His vision blurred with the seemingly continuous tears, and his body shook as he curled in on himself and repeated in his mind: It isn’t fair. It isn’t fair. Why couldn’t he have stayed?! It isn’t fair. It isn’t fair!

Chapter Text

Babe jumped at the loud sneeze that echoed through the apartment. Shutting the dresser drawers with a new shirt in hand, they walked back into the living room where Asher was laying on the couch.

“Baaabbbeeee,” He whined stuffily. “I hate this.”

Babe hummed knowingly, as he had said that for about the twelfth time that afternoon, and pulled the blanket that was boxing in his body heat down. “Arms up for me?”

Asher lifted his arms up and they grabbed the hem of the shirt, pulling it off. Their mate shivered at the room’s temperature.

He had caught a head cold of some sort. Last night he was really tired and stuffy, voting to go to bed early and only talk for thirty minutes on their nightly call, but this morning Babe had woken up to him texting them that he had a fever and sore throat to add to his symptoms.

Asher wiggled wimply into the new shirt, one that wasn’t coated with his sweat, and flopped back down a little too hard onto the arm of the couch. “OW!” His brows furrowed and he sat a little bit further up.

Babe frowned, and cupped the back of his head. “Are you okay?”

It was a silly question. He was sick, and cold, and hot, and had just banged his head. Of course he wasn’t actually okay.

He groaned, “That was really dumb.”

They let out a breathy laugh, massaging the spot through his damp hair. “A little bit.” They helped ease Asher back down. “I’m gonna get you a cool washcloth.”

“Okay–” His nose scrunched up and turned his face away from Babe, before another one of his earth shaking sneezes sounded through the apartment. They walked away to quickly get the washcloth.

By the time they got back, Asher had stilled and his eyes were closed, slowly puffing out what air he could get through his nose. They assumed that he had gone back to sleep, which would be fine since they needed to get back to their remote work due to not going in for work today, but then Asher blinked his eyes half-open.

“Babe, I–” His mumbles trailed off into more of a whisper.

“What was that?” They gently prodded, wondering if he was awake enough to repeat what he said.

“I want you,” Asher got out. He cleared his throat.

Fuck, those three words always got them.

“Yes– I– Yeah. Yes. Of course,” Babe nodded, throwing their previous plan about going back to work out the window. “In what way?”

“Cuddles.”

Yes. Of course. Anything for him.

The two readjusted themselves on the couch, with Babe leaning against the back of the couch and Ash resting between their legs and head on their chest. The wet washcloth was set down on the coffee table. They pulled the blanket around Asher as much as they could. Babe brought a hand up and started to card through his sweaty hair. Asher let out a heavy sigh, and closed his eyes, relaxing into them.

And they loved the feeling. The fact that he trusted them enough and had actually wanted them to help him– that felt like an honor of some sort. Especially since in previous relationships they had never felt as if they were wanted around very often.

“You’re like an angel,” Asher mumbled, breaking them out of their thoughts.

Babe huffed out a smile. “No, I’m pretty sure that’s our friend, Ash. I’m Babe, remember?”

“Ha-ha,” Asher sniffed. “I’m being serious though. You’ve been so good at taking care of me, and actually have, like, stayed with me. You took work off to stay here. That’s so nice of you to do.”

Babe almost paused their administrations, confused as to where he was going with this.

“And you made me soup, too.”

“Sick people get soup,” Babe quickly responded. “That’s just the natural way of things.”

Asher sighed. “But. . . no one has ever done that for me before. . . well, other than David and my parents. I like it more with you though. David’s more grouchy and doesn’t cuddle.”

Babe bit their lip to hold back a smile, and circled their hand down between his shoulder blades. “I’m glad I can help you feel better, baby. You deserve every good thing. . .” They petted his hair back and kissed his forehead. Definitely still hot.

They maneuvered themselves to grab the previously discarded washcloth. Asher moaned at the movement. “Relax. I’m not going anywhere. I’m just reaching for the washcloth to help you cool down.”

They grabbed a corner with the tip of their fingers and readjusted into their previous position, bringing the washcloth to wipe along his forehead and then on his neck.

“Babe, it’s cold,” He whined, and buried his face further into their chest.

“I know,” They sympathized, continuing to wipe at whatever parts of his face and body they could get to. “Okay. I’m done. No more cold water.”

They decided to leave the washcloth on the floor so they didn’t have to move as much. Asher harshly swallowed. “Thanks.”

“Do you want a drink?” They asked. Asher shook his head.

“Okay, then you should get some more sleep,” Babe suggested, noting how Asher had become more limp in their arms and less talkative. They resumed rubbing circles on his back, “I’ll be with you the whole time.”

Asher hummed, resituating himself in their hold and within minutes he was passed out. Babe let out a content sigh and listened to his light snoring, caused by his stuffiness, before closing their eyes themselves. They would have to stay up to finish work later tonight, but for now, they didn’t mind getting to take a nap with their mate.

Chapter Text

Today had been a long one for Babe due to being in the middle of another work project with a nearing deadline. To add to the stress of finishing it, they were Asher-deprived, longing for all of his kisses, laughs and sighs. All of the wonderfulness that would wake them up or calm them from such a day. The pack had taken a security job hosted in Las Vegas for several days, and today was only day three, leaving them without their husband to cuddle and enjoy the evening with. It hadn't even been that long since they last kissed him goodbye, yet it felt like an eternity.

But that was the reason why they were now at the Shaw’s house. Angel was suffering the same loneliness and they both decided to make a night out of it.

Babe let out a sigh as they opened their car door and grabbed their duffel bag from the backseat, as well as the grocery bag that carried newly bought baking supplies. They had suggested baking cupcakes for the evening and Angel wasn’t one to pass up on eating or decorating sweets, so, of course they had agreed!

Babe knocked on the door and Angel greeted them with enthusiasm, looping them into a hug before scooting backwards to let them in. “Hi!”

They examined the living room as they slipped their shoes off. An inflatable mattress was blown up, with the couch acting as a headboard, and mounds of blankets and pillows surrounding the bed. The lamps were the only source of light other than from the kitchen and entryway.

Angel had always been good at creating a cozy atmosphere.

“How are you doing?” Angel asked, starting to move towards the living room.

Babe put the duffel bag on one of the couches and smiled, “Alright. Probably the same as you.”

“Oh yes, I miss my husband terribly,” Angel spoke in a posh accent, dramatically swooning onto one of the couches. “I write to him, expressing all my love and yearning for his return, and all I receive is a ‘Have a goodnight. Love you’ or ‘Good morning’. How tragic!” Their sentence punctuated with a hand thrown over their forehead.

Babe was positive that David would be returning all the same love that Angel was writing to him once he got back, preferring to show his love more physically than verbally, a common trait with shifters, but they just smiled.

“I’m sure he is also feeling the same way. . . Asher told me that the event organizers are keeping the pack busy, and he has certainly been sending me way less texts than normal,” Babe added. “I’m sure our husbands will be back from war soon enough, oh dramatic and fair, Angel.”

Angel laughed and popped back up. “Okay. So, tonight's plan is: baking cupcakes, watching some movies, and maybe playing some Minecraft if you feel up to it. Or if you have other ideas, we can do those too.”

“Movies, baking, and possibly playing Minecraft sounds like a perfect night,” Babe smiled.

—

Angel spun around, and shimmied over to Babe, slightly turning down the music’s volume. "Yeesh, Hannah sounds like a real piece of work!”

“I’m glad that our management was smart and listened to the fact that collective punishment is not officially allowed in our office. It wasn't something that even involved multiple people. Someone just messed up a few numbers along the line, and we had to go fix it. It wasn't a big deal.” Babe sighed, “I just hope that she knows not to do shit like that now, since people are going to resent her for that move.”

They wiped as much of the frosting off the beaters, and twisted them off the mixer, “Want to lick them?”

“Really?” Angel’s raised their eyebrows. “You were the one that mixed the frosting. You should get to have it.”

Babe shrugged, “Go ahead. There’s two of them, so we each can have one.” Angel took one of the offered ones, and Babe took a quick picture of their chosen beater, sending it to Asher with a little text: ‘Cupcake frosting for you’.

“You normally give him the beaters, right?” Angel asked before licking one of the metal bars.

Babe raised their eyebrows, a little surprised that Angel even remembered something small like that after all of these years. “Yeah. At first it was because he’s impatient, but now it’s just kind of a tradition.”

“That’s so sweet, in more ways than one,” Angel cooed. Babe quickly finished theirs before washing their hands.

They slid the frosting bowl closer to the now cooled off strawberry and chocolate cupcakes, and found a spoon to plop the frosting into the piping bag. Swirling the vanilla icing over the two cupcake batches, the treats were quickly frosted, and each friend took one to taste-test. Babe hummed in satisfaction.

“What should we do now that our little baking project is done?”

“A movie?” Angel provided.

Babe nodded, already moving stuff over to the sink to begin washing and cleaning up. “You can pick the movie. I don’t have a preference.”

They were proficient enough in baking to not use an excess number of dishes, and by the time they had finished rinsing everything, Angel had decided on a movie while they were drying the utensils.

“We could watch Twilight?” Angel tapped their chin. “I haven’t binged it in awhile.”

Babe thought about the last time they watched it together, and realized it must’ve been during their second-ever hangout. Babe had mentioned they’d never seen it, and Angel had made it their new goal for them to see all four movies because, ‘they needed to see such an iconic piece of pop culture’.

“Yeah, we could do that,” Babe smiled. “I haven't watched it since you first introduced me to it.”

It wasn’t long before the two finished with the dishes and Angel loaded up the first movie. The two got comfortable on the inflatable mattress, throwing blankets over each other, and adjusting pillows. Angel made sure that they had a few cupcakes on the coffee table so they didn’t have to get up to the kitchen, and pressed play once they were situated.

Halfway through the movie, Babe’s phone rang. They glanced to see who it was and immediately picked up. “Hi, baby!” Babe brightened at the caller.

They glanced over at Angel and mouthed Asher’s name.

“Hey, are you doing anything?” Keys clinked down onto a table in the call’s background, and boots were discarded.

Babe bit down on their thumbnail and hummed, “Just watching a movie with Angel. We’re having a sleepover.”

“Oh, I can hang up if you want? Wouldn’t want to ruin a movie night.”

“What? No, don’t do that,” Babe interjected, trying not to whine. “It’s just Twilight. I’ve seen it before, and we haven’t talked for a whole day. I miss you.”

“Aw, I miss you too, Babe.” Asher laughed, and they could hear a microwave being opened and crinkling from the other end. “Oh, I saw the frosting picture that you sent me! I’m guessing that there won’t be any more cupcakes by the time I get back.”

“No, probably not,” Babe shrugged, glancing over at Angel’s three cupcake wrappers left on the coffee table. “But we could bake some together when you come home.”

“Ooh! We should definitely do that. Wait, is David’s mate with you?”

“Yes.”

“Could you put me on speaker?” Babe tapped the screen and soon Asher’s voice filled the room. “Hi, dude!”

Angel perked up and grinned. “Hey, Asher! Are you guys having fun at your gig?”

“Uh, well, as much fun as you can. It’s been tiring and busy. David had to stay late with Tank because a small group of the clients wanted to stay out longer, but David insisted that I head back. So, I’m having dinner alone. Oh, and the big guy says hello! He didn’t actually tell me that, but I can tell he’s missing you. He is constantly fiddling with his ring necklace.”

Angel’s grin grew wider as Asher continued. “And he’s also been grumpy that he hasn’t been able to call you the past few evenings, but these business guys keep staying out late. That’s their work schedule: Wake up late and stay out late. Which is great for me since that’s how I like to work, but for others it’s way more exhausting. Luckily, Tank is used to being up at this time–”

The microwave beeped and his talking quickly ceased as they assumed he took out his dinner.

Babe bit their thumbnail, “What did you microwave?”

“One of those chicken and smiley face potato frozen dinners.”

“Oh I love those!” Angel cheered, leaving the three to then delve into what was the best frozen dinner. Personally, Babe liked those frozen chicken pot pies, but Angel claimed that the crust was always too soggy. Asher ended up voting that frozen pizza was the winner, which they weren’t surprised by, and eventually Angel got on board with the idea.

With that settled, Asher groaned and mentioned how he needed a shower before David got back. Angel quickly said goodbye and Babe took the phone off of speaker-mode. Their friend took the opportunity to clean up their cupcake wrappers and switch to the second movie while Ash and Babe said goodbye.

Running a hand over their face, Babe sadly sighed, “I guess. . . I should let you go.”

“Hey, only three more nights,” Asher reminded, hearing the disappointment in their voice. “Then I can hold my gorgeous, talented, intelligent mate in my arms again, and we can make delicious cupcakes, with you doing most of the cooking, of course.” Chuckling, Babe rolled their eyes, heart-touched at the compliment.

“I can’t wait until then. I love you,” Babe kissed into the phone. “Have a goodnight.”

“Love you too! Goodnight, Babe.”

The call ended and Babe smiled to themselves, shutting off their phone and nestling into their safe cocoon of blankets to watch the next movie. Managing to make it through the second movie, the two friends decided to watch the third. At some point, Babe's eyes shut and they drifted to sleep, before finishing the movie.

—

Asher’s body laid limp on the floor. Someone was already talking about funeral options and what Babe would like to do. They stared at the stranger, concerned as to why they weren’t as upset when their mate had just passed. They couldn’t respond.

Babe wanted to cry.

The man asked again and they kneeled down next to Asher’s body. Inspecting him. He looked like he was asleep rather than not. Actually they could see him breathing shallowly. How could they just believe that he was dead without checking?

“Wait. He’s alive,” Babe turned to the stranger.

“No he’s not.”

Babe confusedly frowned. They looked back and observed their boyfriend, then noticed red staining the middle of his chest. They panicked. He was still breathing but the stain was getting worse.

“No. Ash. Wake up. Baby please!” They whipped their head back around to look for the stranger but couldn’t find him. An eerie presence was behind them. Babe never turned to see if they could find it, but knew that it was a threat. They hauled Asher off the ground and tried to run, although it felt like running through jello.

They turned a corner and found a door. It was a weird broom closet– a little too big to be normal– but they were sure that the shade wouldn’t find their mate here. They kissed the top of his head and then shut the door. They felt the presence again, and knew they had to run.

They stood at the end of the hallway, hoping their presence would distract the shade. It didn’t. They somehow knew that Asher was gone, but they didn’t have any more time to actually wallow, because its presence was choking the air around them. Slowly suffocating them for its next kill.

They were alone and nothing could help them–

—

Babe shot up. Their breath hitching in their throat as they took in the dark surroundings. They hastily grabbed their phone and checked the time, the bright screen hurting their eyes.

2:00 am.

They sucked in a shaky breath and leaned forward, removing the blankets on top of them, the cooler night air finally being able to reach them and cool off their body. They heard the person sleeping next to them shift.

“Y’kay?” Angel mumbled out.

Babe turned around. “Y-yeah. All good.”

“You sure?”

A pause of silence.

“Uhm. Y-No.” Their voice wobbled.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Angel sat up straighter, worry now filtering through their bones. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Had a nightmare. . . Ash– he– he just,” They pursed their lips to hold back tears. “He passed away from something. I can’t remember the reason, and everyone else was just– moving on– and then, I went to look at him more and then his old chest wound opened. . .”

Angel quietly sat and watched them tightly swallow again and breathe out slowly.

“And then there was a shade, except I couldn’t see it, but I knew it was there. So I tried to distract the shade, but it just ignored me– and then it also found Asher. I put him in a closet, I think? But he was– that was silly to do, and–” They swallowed, the tight feeling in their throat still there. “This is dumb. I talked to Ash before I went to bed and he was fine. And the– the inversion thing happened so long ago. I don’t even know why my brain thought of that.”

Angel nodded, a yawn escaping them, before saying, “Brains are weird sometimes. How long have you been up?”

Babe curled in on themselves, placing their chin on their knees. “Not long. Sorry, I’ve never. . . I’ve never had a nightmare at a sleepover before.” They breathlessly said. “I just- I don’t know. . .”

Their façade finally crumbled with a tremble from their lips. A few tears slipped down their cheek, before their shoulders heavily shook, and they began silently crying into their hand.

Angel’s eyes widened and they scooted closer.

“Hey. You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay. Want a hug?”

Babe nodded, immediately dropping their head into the crook of Angel’s neck as soon as their arms were wrapped around each other. They gripped Angel’s shirt, and let out a sob. Angel hesitantly ran their hand up and down Babe’s back, unsure if they liked the feeling, but Babe didn’t seem to tense up.

“It was so– I don’t want to be alone,” They whispered, the act of saying it any louder made it feel embarrassing. They pressed their lips together as more tears broke free.

“You won’t be. You have the whole pack with you, no matter what happens. And you have me. I’ve been with you the whole night, and I’ll be with you in the morning so we can make my signature breakfast.”

“Signature breakfast? You mean pop-tarts?” They sniffed, whispering the sentence.

“Nope. New one. I call them waffle sandwiches. They have whip cream, different types of sprinkles, fruit, and chocolate syrup. Anything you want on top.”

“That sounds like a sugar coma waiting to happen,” Babe huffed out a laugh, before another wave of tears rolled down.

“Mhm. David seems to think so too,” Angel gave a small smile, tightening their hold around Babe, glad that they could have made their friend laugh a little bit. “But it’s pretty fun to make.”

Angel then muttered something about finding a movie to put on so Babe wouldn’t have to go back to sleep remembering the dream, and explained that they always found it helpful to have background noise. Babe only hummed as they felt the twisting of their friend next to them.

The room lightened with blue light and a 2000’s tune filled the living room signaling that Angel had found the movie. The two readjusted their positions with Babe still leaning against Angel. They squeezed Angel’s hand a few times and Angel squeezed back.

They pressed their lips together, not fully done crying out their fear, but trying to avoid anymore tears. Their friend must’ve noticed. “You can cry. It’s okay. Here, I’ll get you tissues,” Angel leaned over to one of the end tables, and shifted back, handing the box to Babe. They took one and cleaned up their face.

The nightmare’s impact dulled as Babe watched the movie, their breathing slowing down and eyelids growing heavy in relaxation. The tears had stopped at some point, and while they wanted to be embarrassed, they knew they would have helped Angel in the same way, and shook the feeling away.

Once they noticed that they were beginning to nod off Babe cleared their throat, “Before I fall asleep, I wanted to say thanks for. . . comforting me.”

“Of course. It’s what friends are for,” Angel gently replied. “Just like we’ve done for each other numerous other times.”

For years, the two unempowered mates had discussed what it was like being with two powerful shifters. That neither of them were magical and would never be able to fully integrate into that world, both only hoping that their support and love would be enough for their mates. When their husbands were trapped inside the ward, they comforted each other through the fear of not knowing if they’d safely come out, and then through helping both men heal from that horrible day. Even leaning on each other through all the silly workplace drama and personal issues was a common occurrence. Always supporting each other through the bad and the good moments.

“Thanks for all of those times too.”

Chapter Text

“Do you think he’ll like it though?” Angel bit their cheek and glanced back up at Darlin’ with big eyes. “I know he doesn’t like being referred to as a cowboy very often, but I wanted to get him something.”

Darlin’ glanced down at the small keychain: a cat with a cowboy hat on it. They mulled over the reaction that their mate would give to Angel, most likely nothing less than polite.

Angel and Babe had gone thrift shopping and stopped at a craft show over the weekend, both collecting small presents for the pack, as well as for friends. Darlin’ was gifted an antique ring that they now wore on their hand. Angel must have remembered that they had mentioned wanting to wear more jewelry.

They looped an arm around their unempowered friend, “If he doesn’t, then I’ll lovingly kick his ass for you.”

Angel bursted out laughing, adding to the buzz of voices throughout the den. Darlin’ grinned at their response and led the way over to Sam.

The vampire sat on one of the couches, gazing out the window, while he waited for them to finish socializing with their pack members. He tilted his head when he picked up their footsteps.

Angel shyly stepped forward. “Hi, I brought something for you.” They showed off the keychain in their palm. Sam quietly picked it up to examine it. Angel’s eyes darted over to Darlin’s before watching the vampire flip the cowboy cat back and forth.

“Why, thank you for the gift,” He eventually replied, silver eyes crinkling with a smile. “It’s a very cute cat.”

Angel relaxed. “I found it at a craft show and I wanted to get something for you, but I wasn’t sure if you’d actually like it.” Sam nodded along with them and assured Angel that he truly appreciated it. “Well, I have to give Christian and Miguel their gifts before they head out, so, see you later!”

They practically bounded away, heading for the brown bag that held the gifts.

Darlin’ turned their attention to their mate, who was rubbing his thumb along the cat keychain, and took a seat.

“You like it that much, huh?” Darlin’ muttered and leaned closer to him.

He hummed. “It was very thoughtful of them, Darlin’. . . What’d they get you?”

Darlin’ flashed their hand, and Sam gently held their fingers to study the ring. “I’d say David’s mate picked well for the both of us,” He kissed their knuckles, and the two spent a moment in frozen time softly staring at each other.

Soon, Darlin’ sighed, squeezing his hand, “While I’d love to stare into your eyes all night, we should get going if we want to eat dinner together before the clan meeting.”

Sam agreed and stood up, stretching and fishing his truck keys out of his pocket. Darlin’ looked around the room, catching the eye of David, and gave him a quick goodbye nod. David nodded back and a warm arm wrapped itself around Darlin’s waist. They twisted their head to find Sam waiting for them to give the signal that it was actually time to leave.

His keys jingled in hand and they glanced down to see the cute cat now on his keyring.

“Should we get burritos, cowboy?” Darlin’ asked, looking back up.

“Whatever you want, Darlin’.”

They happily dragged him to the truck.

Chapter Text

“C’mon Babe, it’s fine!” Asher waved them over, hot puffs of breath leaving his lips.

They heedfully glanced at the pond and their boyfriend gliding over it with only his snow boots.

They hadn’t thought to bring their ice skates since it was a rare need in Michigan this early in the winter when they usually visited Madelyn for the holidays. And they hadn’t been expecting it to be this frozen. The past few years it had been too warm and green to even entertain the idea of coming out onto the pond.

That being said, while the temperature was in the upper 20’s, ensuring that the water would be totally frozen, Babe had heard enough horror stories about people falling into water and catching hypothermia, leaving them not too sure about this pond itself.

They bounced on their toes to keep them warm.

“Ash, I swear to whatever moon deity, that if we fall through this pond because it actually isn’t frozen all over–” They half-heartedly warned from the edge.

“I’d hear the ice cracking,” Asher promised, shuffling over and still grinning. “Shifter ears and shit.”

Babe pursed their lips and stepped ontp the ice, taking his gloved hand into theirs. “If you say so, baby.”

Asher kissed their cheek, “Here. I can stomp on the ice to show you that it’s fine.”

They watched as he did so, holding their breath the entire time, and only letting out a sigh once he proved that there was going to be no future falling-in problems.

Babe let him pull them further onto the pond and the two shuffled in twirls and circles on the slippery surface. The wind bit their noses as they laughed at their poorly choreographed boot-skating dance.

Asher was attempting his fourth try at a perfect quintuple spin when he got a snowball to the back. “GAH! WHAT?!” He twisted around to find where it came from.

“Guess who’s back from dropping Mom and Dad off at the airport!” Madelyn hollered, and bent down to grab another handful of snow. She tossed it and it landed just on Ash’s neckline. He squealed at the cold snow in his shirt, resulting in Madelyn mischievously cackling. Babe let out a laugh as they helped brush off the snow on their husband’s winter coat.

“Hey no headshots!” Asher indignantly scoffed.

“There’s no ice! Headshots are fine!” Madelyn teased.

“At least, let me get on land first before you do anymore, Maddy!”

Asher shuffled his way to the edge of the pond and promptly shifted, phasing out of his winter clothes. Babe followed along and watched as the two siblings bounded around in their wolf forms. They were around the same size and coat color, but Asher definitely looked closer to a spotted dog.

Snow flung up as the wolves rolled around each other with yelps and growls.

After getting off the pond, Babe made their way over to the back porch. Madelyn’s husband wandered over and silently stood next to them with hands in his coat pockets. “She’s going to want tea when they’re done.” He eventually said. “Maddy said that Ash does hot chocolate, right?”

“Mhm.” Babe nodded with another shiver going through them.

“I’ll get on that then,” He nodded before heading back inside to escape the cold.

It wasn’t too long after that until both wolves seemed to tire out. Madelyn and Asher laid on each other, huffing out breaths. Babe walked over and Madelyn lifted her paw off of Asher’s head. Asher let out a low growl, but Madelyn smacked him with her tail.

"Do either of you want to come inside now?" They petted Ash's head as he stood up. He whined a bit and put his paws forward, leaning his head down like he wanted to play more, but all of that want left as soon as the back door to Madelyn’s house opened. Her husband called out saying that the tea and hot chocolate were ready and Asher’s sister immediately perked up and bounded for the doorway. She shifted mid run before kissing her husband's cheek.

Ash excitedly followed suit at the prospect of hot chocolate, and nudged his furry face into Babe’s side to get them to hurry inside the house as well. “Okay, Okay. I'm going,” Babe held up their hands and let him guide them back into Madelyn's warm home.