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totallyrhettro · 6 years

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Territorial, chapter 6

Word Count: 2059 Rating: This chapter: G. Overall story rating: explicit Warnings: None Summary: After finally realizing their shared love for one another, all internetainers Rhett and Link had to do was live happily ever after. Unfortunately, as it turns out, that’s a lot harder to do in a world of werewolves. Notes: Takes place 1 year after Animalistic began. Still no wives; Rhett and Link are in an established relationship. This is a sequel to that fic. You don’t have to read that first, but it is highly recommended.

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“Wood floors are easier to clean.” Link argued. Rhett nodded, feeling his position in this conversation quickly weakening. It was the last day of their week long vacation and they were headed out to breakfast to a different restaurant. They were hoping to avoid bumping into the Lowells if possible. While they drove the long road towards town, they were discussing what to do with the flooring, now that they had finished tearing up the old carpet.

“True,” Rhett admitted. “I just don't like cold floors, and you know how I like to walk around the house without socks on.” He liked to wear as little as possible in fact, when he was at home, and this small farmhouse was like a home away from home. He was planning on wearing very little whenever they stayed there.

“We can buy rugs, then. Nice, big, area ones.” It was a reasonable compromise, but Rhett still wasn’t convinced. He, as Link knew well enough, could be very stubborn once he set his mind on an issue. Still, he didn’t really want to argue and ruin the last day of their vacation.

“Maybe,” he shrugged, looking out the window. Link sighed quietly, a soft smile on his face. They could discuss it later, and the fact that they would be talking about it later gave him a strange, light feeling in his heart. It was just so… domestic. So normal. He had hoped someday for the two of them to be having such discussions while working on their dream home together. While the old farmhouse was far from what he had dreamt of, it was still wonderful. At the very least, it could be practice for whatever future still lay ahead of them.

The house they currently lived in together the rest of the time had been Rhett’s solo estate for many years. After Link had been infected with whatever crazy virus that made him a werewolf, he moved in with his lifelong friend, mostly out of necessity. It was in the basement of Rhett’s house that they changed every month, Rhett having constructed a safe room for their wolf selves with the help of Theo. It was cheaper to own one house between them anyway and Link’s house didn't even come with a basement. Still, the decisions of decor and design had been chosen years ago when Rhett moved in, and short of doing a complete makeover, there wasn’t much that could be done to change that. There were many times when Link still felt like a visitor to the place, even though his boyfriend did his best to make him feel at home.

“You wanna help me pick out the bedroom wallpaper?” he joked. Rhett cocked an eyebrow at him before realizing the levity of the conversation. They were deciding on how to decorate the house they bought to stay at while they became werewolves three nights a month. A strangely common conversation about a definitely uncommon situation.

“As long as we can go shopping for throw pillows after,” Rhett asked, putting on a voice. “I can’t possibly sleep in a bed without at least a dozen heart shaped pillows.”

“We’ll see.” Link held his straight face only until he met Rhett’s smirking grin. Then they both burst out in giggles. It was nice to know that despite the shared canine affliction, and their freshly altered relationship, there were somethings that would probably never change.

The restaurant, not much larger than their usual breakfast spot, was called the Night and Day Cafe. It was a very small mom and pop’s place, with a seating capacity of no more than probably thirty people. Rhett liked it because they had the largest pancakes he’d ever seen, each one the size of a dinner plate. They called it the ‘mancake’, which amused Rhett to no end.

“Yeah, I’m a man, Link,” he quipped. “Manly men deserve manly sized pancakes.”

“Then manly men will get manly sized bellies,” Link retorted, sipping his second cup of coffee. Rhett leaned back and gazed down at his stomach, trying to picture his naked torso in his mind’s eye.

“I’ve actually lost a bunch of weight since the, uh… thing.” He patted his belly to emphasize his point. “Never gotten so fit without working out. I’ll never have to go to the gym again.”

“Like you went to the gym a lot before.” Rhett frowned and looked his friend up and down.

“I worked out.” He flexed his arm a few times to demonstrate.

“Occasionally,” Link added.

“Just because I didn’t do tae bo with you-”

“Hey, tae bo is a great way to work out. That Billy Blanks, man. He’ll get you working up a sweat.”

“I can make you work up a sweat,” Rhett said, speaking quite a bit softer. Link nearly spit out his coffee.

“Geez Rhett.” He glanced around, wiping his mouth. “Don’t talk like that in public. What’s wrong with you?”

“Oh come on, Link. There’s no one in here ‘cept us and the waitress, and she don’t care.”

“I care. We agreed not to tell anyone about… us.” In fact they’d had a very lengthy argument about the whole thing months ago. They decided it would make things too complicated, between being in a new relationship and Link freshly bitten.

“Maybe I don’t want to hide anymore. We have to hide so much from the real world. I don’t like hiding my feelings for you. I don’t want to lie to our friends or fans any longer. I just… I don’t think I can take it.” Link sighed. He understood the feeling completely, and really he couldn’t find any good reasons not to come out and at least tell the crew about them. Well, about the dating and living together part.

“I just don’t know if I’m ready-”

“How you boys doing?” Rhett and Link looked up to see the waitress, an older woman with curly hair and a kind face, standing next to their booth, a jug of coffee in her hand. He name tag read Darla. “More coffee for you, dear?”

“No, thank you, I’m good.”

“I’ll have some,” Rhett piped up with much more of a smile than his companion. He held up his half empty cup which the lady filled immediately.

“Here you go, sweetie. And uh, are you two together?” Link froze, but Rhett, without missing a beat, laid his fingers over his boyfriend’s nearby hand. He straightened up, sure and proud before answering.

“We are, actually.” The waitress blushed, slightly, and stifled a giggle.

“Well that’s nice, dear, but I was just wondering if I should put your breakfast on one tab or two.” Rhett’s face fell, embarrassed and a bit flustered. Link stepped in, but didn’t pull his hand away.

“One check will be fine,” he offered. As the waitress headed off to ring them up, Link gave Rhett a sly smirk. “You’re paying, by the way. I think you owe me one.” Still ashamed by his earlier behavior, Rhett didn’t have it in him to disagree.

Quietly he finished up his meal and was just setting down his now completely full mug as the waitress came back with the check. He was finding it hard to look her in the eye and kept his gaze down as he pulled out his wallet. Link tried not to look too smug as he watched Rhett’s discomfort.

“You boys look familiar. You live around here?” the waitress asked, trying to make conversation and release the tension. Unfortunately that just made the internetainers more nervous.

“Actually, uh-” Link began, but Darla interrupted and a look of recognition crossed her face.

“Oh, I know!” Rhett held his breath. “You’re those nice boys who bought the old Ackerman farm, up on route six.” The two men tried to not look too relieved and Rhett even managed a sincere smile.

“That would be us,” he confirmed. “Just bought the place a few weeks ago. Been fixing it up this weekend, actually.’

“That place used to be real nice. I remember playing in the fields as a little girl, though Farmer Ackerman didn’t know that.” Darla chuckled at the memory. “Oh it’s a fine place, lots of open space for little ones to run around.” She was still smiling as she went to run Rhett’s credit card, but neither Rhett nor Link could think of anything to say in response to that. Whether either of them had ever thought about children, they had never discussed it with each other.

It wasn’t until they were back in the car and driving to their quaint little home away from home for the last time this month, that Rhett brought up the subject himself.

“Do you…?” He tried to bring it up, that is. “I mean, you want, uh, kids… right? We never really… talked… about it so I just wondered…” Link felt his mouth had gone a bit dry, and he licked his lips subconsciously.

Well,” he began, “I guess I just always thought I’d have them someday. Didn’t you?” Rhett nodded. It was almost a staple of southern life. Grow up, get married, have kids. Of course he always wanted to do those things, either way, but then he hadn’t always been a werewolf.

“Sure, yeah. Little McLaughlin’s of my own? I thought it would be great, I just never…”

“Never what?”

“Well, being in love with you, and all… I wasn’t sure I’d ever have the opportunity.” Link moved his hand over to rest on Rhett’s leg, warm and comforting. He understood completely. “Do you think we ever will?”

“I… I don’t know, Rhett. If it was just us... the normal us... I’d be fully onboard. We could adopt two, maybe even three and be one big happy family… but…”

“But?” Link sighed.

“It’s different now. You know? We’re… well we’re… I don’t want to say we’re unfit parents but, as werewolves? Our lives don’t exactly make for a safe living environment for kids.” It was Rhett’s turn to sigh, but he nodded all the same. He was already worried about hurting someone, a friend, a family member… Link. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he ever hurt a child, let alone one of his own. It would destroy him.

“I guess you’re right.” Looking out the window, Rhett watched the roadside trees pass by, one after the other. He had been so certain this morning that things were slowly working themselves out. Link was getting better at maintaining his hybrid form, their work on the farmhouse was coming on nicely and their YouTube business was truly thriving. Now, as he slumped in the passenger side of their silver FJ cruiser, he realized that it just may be that something he always took for granted as being in his future, may never happen.

He never realized just how much having children of his own really meant to him.

Link was feeling much the same way. Even though he was trying to be practical, telling Rhett it would be dangerous for them to adopt children, he too had wanted them for a long time now. A few boys and girls to share his name and raise with his spouse, whomever that would be. A family, a real one like he had never had himself, growing up, but when every few weeks he and Rhett basically turned into ferocious beasts, he couldn’t risk it. Neither of them could. It wasn’t safe... for anyone. Being a werewolf, in his book, meant kids were probably never going to be an option.

As the two of them walked into the farmhouse that they had called home for the past few days, it didn’t seem to be as warm as before, nor as inviting. Neither spoke a word, heading off in different directions of the house - Rhett to the kitchen and Link upstairs - both feeling like there was much to say. Both feeling like there was nothing left to say. The building was quiet, and as Link sat down in one of the unfurnished bedrooms, he thought it sounded much too peaceful. Suddenly, the pleasant serenity of calm and quiet held no satisfaction for him. Suddenly all he wanted was to hear the patter of tiny feet, and the giggles of innocent youth.

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#rhett #link #rhink #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #werewolves #territorial

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