#however i have been dipping my toes into the au pool a bit more recently and i suppose rival professor au was pretty self indulgent really | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

honeyedhoseok · 3 years

Text

Blue | 01

genre | jeon jungkook x reader; lifeguard!JK but this isn't really a lifeguard fic; soulmate!au if you squint; smut; angst

word count | 9.9K

summary | that summer with jungkook was blue--a shade that carries with it a tinge of melancholia that you should have accepted from the beginning.

or,

to say that you fell in love with a color was an overstatement, but to say that you fell in love with him was an understatement.

a/n | i've been writing this to avoid my responsibilities. hope you enjoy! <3

series masterlist

It rained the first day Jungkook worked at the pool.

You’d heard the news of a few new lifeguards starting that day, but you’d been too busy serving ice cream at the snack bar to really get anything other than a quick glance at the lifeguard stand before you were locking eyes with the next greedy customer in line.

It was the beginning of summer, with the air sitting hot, dry and heavy on the normal patrons of the pool: older moms who sunbathed and gossiped with their friends while their kids splashed in the shallow end and gave the lifeguards something to do. Teenagers too cool to actually get in the pool littered the sides, only dipping their feet in while using expensive Ray Ban frames like a headband to hold their hair out of their eyes while they talked with their friends.

The forecast had mentioned some scattered storms, but normally that just meant getting everyone to come inside for a few minutes until it passed. The storm that day, however, had plans of sticking around a little bit longer.

You were passing a cup of strawberry shortcake soft serve out the window when the first clap of thunder sounded, followed by a lightning storm that sent the lifeguards in a tizzy. Multiple whistles blew at the sudden appearance of a storm, and the atmosphere was a rush of splashing and commotion as people made their way out of the water and to their belongings scattered in chairs on the sides.

“Well, that came out of nowhere,” your coworker, Jihyo says, sidling up beside you to look at the clouds looming over what was supposed to be a normal day at the pool. “Wonder if we’ll get to go home early?”

“I hope not,” you reply. “I need these hours, damn it. The Blooming Festival is in a few weeks, and I plan on taking off at least three days to soak it all in.”

Jihyo rolls her eyes. “Yeah, you’ve only mentioned it, maybe, every day I’ve worked with you so far?”

Serving ice cream at the pool was just a summer job. You were working there to make some money so you could do things with your friends, put gas in your car, and occasionally splurge on a new outfit or pair of shoes. It was supposed to be as normal as every other summer you’d worked there in between college semesters—until he showed up.

In fifteen minutes, the pool was shut down completely; all of the patrons were packed up and back in their cars after an announcement from your manager that the storm was forecasted to not let up for at least another hour and a half.

“Oh, we’re definitely going home,” Jihyo says, shutting the serving window and twisting the lock. “When’s the last time Seokjin shut down the pool indefinitely?”

You purse your lips, leaning back against the counter behind you and looking out at the pouring rain behind Jihyo. The wind was starting to pick up now, leaves and debris filling the once-clean surface of the cerulean water of the pool.

You start to make a bitter remark but the sound of heavy, slapping footsteps cuts you off, followed by a loud pounding at the back door. Jihyo looks toward the source of the noise with furrowed eyebrows, tilting her chin up stubbornly.

“More twelve-year-olds coming to demand that we restock Moose Tracks?”

“Hey, Moose Tracks is a classic!” you call at her back as she goes to unlock the door. “It’s not their fault you keep picking unpopular flavors to order each week—like Mint Chocolate Chip!”

The back door opens, and the shop is suddenly flooded with voices following Jihyo back into the small space.

“MCC is the goddamn classic, Y/N,” Jihyo says, stomping back into the conversation like she never left off. “Don’t ever bash it again, or I’ll stop ordering Sea Salt Caramel for your uncultured ass!”

You want to laugh, but you’re too distracted by the hoard of boys—lifeguards—trailing behind her. Yoongi and the two new guys crowd your space suddenly, and you find yourself backing up into one of the corners and trying not to look as embarrassed as you felt for just arguing with Jihyo over ice cream flavors, of all things.

The boys are soaking wet, puddles collecting at their feet on the tiled inside of the kitchen, but they seem unphased by it as they huddle in. Thankfully, one of them comes to your rescue.

“I’m with her,” he says, giving you a nod. His smile fills up his whole face as he talks, making his eyes turn into little crescent half-moons. “Sea Salt Caramel is where it’s at.”

The other lifeguard doesn’t say anything, gaze focused over your heads outside where the wind is knocking sunbathing chairs over. You realize then how tall he is—possibly half a foot or more than you—and the thought that if you were close enough, your nose wouldn’t even brush the dip of his clavicle, has your cheeks burning.

He and the half-moon lifeguard have similar builds: long, lean body statures, almond-shaped eyes, the same dark hair that falls in wet strands in their eyes. You wonder if they’re related. Maybe the taller one is the older brother, you think.

“The great ice cream debate,” Yoongi murmurs suddenly, sounding bored. “How about we have some and solve this problem once and for all?”

As he reaches for one of the serving spoons, Jihyo’s arm flies out, smacking it out of his hands. It falls with a clatter onto the counter, and he looks at her with an animated expression of surprise and disgust.

“Uh-uh,” she says, wagging a finger at him. “It’s like Seokjin’s only rule for us.”

“Seokjin can kiss my—“

As if on cue, the back door swings open and Yoongi shuts his mouth as Seokjin comes in, looking incredibly dry due to the floor-length plastic covering hanging from his umbrella.

Leave it to Seokjin to own something as extra as that, you think.

“Get comfy,” he says as he steps out of the plastic, shaking water off the top that splashes onto your scuffed, white Keds.

You gaze down, realizing only then that none of the lifeguards are wearing shoes. Yoongi’s pinky toe is edging dangerously close to a melted puddle of chocolate ice cream you forgot to clean up, but you don’t have the guts to tell him in front of your manager, so you shoo the thought away and focus on the grim look on Seokjin’s face. He’s chewing gum and looks slightly annoyed at the thought of all five of you huddled inside instead of doing work.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” he says, “but I need you guys to stay here until the storm calms down. It should pass in an hour or two.”

Jihyo frowns. “And if it doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll send you home.”

She grins triumphantly.

“And I’ll need you to come in early tomorrow to clean up that mess out there,” Seokjin adds, giving her a sickly-sweet smile. He blows a bubble with his pink chewing gum for emphasis, the pop resonating in the small space.

Yoongi frowns and Jihyo’s mouth drops open. The new lifeguards seem as surprised as the other two, and they eye Seokjin curiously, probably trying to figure out what kind of manager he is. Even after all this time working for him, you don’t really know the answer to that question, either.

“Any more questions?” he asks, tone leaning somewhat on annoyance. But then again, that’s how Seokjin always sounded.

Jihyo shakes her head and Yoongi gives him a deepened frown in answer.

“Good. You,” he says, looking pointedly at Yoongi and mimicking his annoyed expression. “See to it that Hoseok and Jungkook get acquainted with the rules.” He steps inside his clear cocoon of an umbrella, reaching down to zip it up above his head. “And I’ll let you know when it’s safe to go outside and clean up.”

Jungkook, you think. You know immediately that it’s his name because it just fits him. You feel yourself rolling the unspoken syllables around the inside of your mouth, wondering when you’ll get the first chance to say them aloud.

Yoongi salutes half-assedly, and Jihyo elbows him in the side after Seokjin turns around and makes his exit. After the back door is shut, the five of you visibly deflate, and Yoongi sucks his teeth.

“That guy,” he mutters. “One of these days—”

“I wish you’d learn your lesson and stop messing with him,” Jihyo says, interrupting whatever nasty comment was about to spill from his mouth. “It’s probably because of you that Seokjin wants us to stay, instead of going home in this god-awful weather.”

“Why doesn’t he like Yoongi?” Hoseok asks, eyes flickering to the chestnut-haired, simmering boy to his left.

“His most recent offense?” Jihyo ponders, crossing her arms over her chest as she thinks. “Not showing up for his shift—threedays in a row.”

“I was sick,” Yoongi says dryly, narrowing his eyes at her. “What did you want me to do? Not stay in bed and get better?”

“Oh, your bed must suddenly have relocated to the pool hall at five in the afternoon, huh?” she says, tilting her head to the side in mocking. “Snapchat locations don’t lie, Yoongi. If you’re going to play hooky, do it better.”

Hoseok chuckles. “Damn, man.”

Yoongi, never one to back down from an argument, flicks his brown fringe out of his eyes. “Why don’t you teach me then, Little Miss Stomachache?”

“I had cramps!” Jihyo says indignantly.

“You’ll learn that being around these two is like being around an old married couple,” you murmur to Jungkook and Hoseok as Yoongi and Jihyo’s voices rise louder and louder in contest. “They get along like cats and dogs.”

Jungkook grins at your comment, and you think your heart stops a little in your chest before starting an accelerated rhythm that has you feeling light. His lips pull back prettily over his teeth, his cheeks balling a little from the force of it.

“I’m thinking cats and dogs might actually be more civil than this, to be honest,” Hoseok says, gesturing to an annoyed Yoongi threatening to rub his clammy, wet feet on Jihyo’s bare, shorts-clad legs.

In the time that you had worked there, there were very few civil moments between Jihyo and Yoongi. You think that maybe they were civil when Yoongi first started, and you remember faintly a comment made by Jihyo that Yoongi was “cute” and maybe that they exchanged numbers at some point—but then rumors went around that Yoongi said Jihyo was too loud and controlling, and Jihyo said he was a selfish bastard, and you think they’ve been sworn enemies ever since.

“You’re probably right,” you say finally, giggling at Hoseok’s comment. You stop abruptly when you see Jungkook’s eyes fall to your mouth at the sight of it splitting open with a grin. They linger there for a moment before he speaks for the first time since entering you and Jihyo’s space.

“What did you say your name was, again?” he asks.

His voice is soft and low, almost a lilted hum, and it catches you off guard in comparison to his very boyish, young features. You expected it to be higher, to sound almost preteen-like, but it’s nothing of the sort—it immediately has you questioning how old he is in comparison to Hoseok.

“Y/N,” you say. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I guess.”

Jungkook smiles again, and this time it feels like one especially conjured up for you.

“Y/N,” he repeats, the sound of his tongue rolling over the syllables sends a little zap to your insides. “You um, have a little something there, on your shirt.”

He takes one hand out of his blue swim trunks and points to your breastbone, where a dark splotch of chocolate ice cream sits over your sternum.

“Aw, fuck!” you murmur, facing burning as you spin around on your heel, grabbing the nearest hand towel and dabbing at your shirt. “These kids—”

“It wouldn’t stain like that if it was Mint Chocolate Chip,” Jihyo sneers suddenly, cutting whatever Yoongi was about to say to her off. She grins triumphantly at the stain, returning to your argument from earlier. “Would it?”

You flip her the bird, still dabbing at the fabric—but you can’t help but revel a little in the cute smile Jungkook gives you as he watches you fuss over yourself, digging around the kitchen space for anything to save you from the ice cream on your shirt.

After that fated day, your mind lingered on Jungkook incessantly. At the pool, you glanced at him more often than not from the serving window of the ice cream stand, committing him to memory. You found yourself reminiscing over the upended triangular shape of his upper body, the lithe muscle covering his shoulder blades, the image of a whistle poised between his rosy lips, his teeth pressed tightly against the metal, his body wet and glistening as he rose out of the pool—

“You’re literally drooling, Y/N,” Jihyo says, breaking you out of your reverie by snapping her fingers in front of your face. “Why don’t you just, I don’t know, go talk to him?”

“I will,” you say indignantly. “I told you—I’m waiting.”

“It’s been three weeks.”

“Yeah, I know,” you say, nodding. “Still waiting.”

“Jesus,” Jihyo sighs. “I didn’t want to do this, but you know he’s only here for the summer, right?”

You freeze in the middle of cleaning the counter. “He’s what?”

“You heard me—you have less than three months, Y/N,” Jihyo says firmly. “I know rushing isn’t your style but, uh, you might not have a choice this time.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me!”

You hate how your voice sounds pitiful and whiny, but your heart is literally sinking at this news—three months? Less than three months? Where was he going? What would you do with your time when he wasn’t there to look out the window at? It dawns on you suddenly that you won’t be there in three months, either. School started back at the end of August—your sophomore year.

“Why didn’t you let me know you were interested in him?” Jihyo crosses her arms over her chest. “I’ve been watching you fawn over him for all this time, just waiting and hoping you’d confide in me, but no.”

“What was I supposed to say?” you retort glumly. “That I like the lifeguard that seems the least interested in my existence? Yeah, no, I’ll save myself from that sadness train going nowhere, thank you very much.”

“Maybe I can help you,” Jihyo says with confidence, turning to the window. “Hey, Jungkook!”

You freeze. “What? What are you doing?”

Jungkook looks your way, raising an eyebrow above his black Ray Bans. Jihyo leans out of the serving window, beckoning him over with a wave of her hand.

She turns to you. “Look how easy this is going to be.”

You swallow to combat the sudden tightness in your throat, watching with bated breath as Jungkook climbs down the lifeguard ladder and walks to you two, his feet slapping a little on the wet cement surrounding the pool.

“What’s up?” he says, pushing his sunglasses back on his head and unknowingly releasing the full intensity of his doe-like eyes.

You inhale a small gasp that Jihyo obviously hears, because she lightly presses her Ked-clad foot on top of yours below the counter.

“Me, you, Y/N, Hoseok,” Jihyo says with a confidence you could never muster. “Dinner and a movie on the boardwalk this weekend?”

Jungkook’s eyes pass from hers to yours for a split second, and your pulse picks up speed in your veins. If he seems surprised from the random invitation, however, he doesn’t let it show on the easy-going expression that he wears.

“Sure,” he says. “Can you remind me when it gets a little closer? I’ll have to make sure my parents don’t have anything planned.”

Jihyo flips her hair over her shoulder, casually producing her phone from what feels like thin air. You blink down at her hand, realizing this was her plan all along.

“Put your number in,” she says. “I’ll make us a group chat. We should probably have one anyways, since we work together. You know?”

Jungkook nods and puts his number in before handing it back to her. A commotion happens in the water behind him, and he glances over his shoulder with concern. “I should probably head back,” he says. He gives you both a small smile before he flips his sunglasses down over his eyes again, hitting a slight jog back to the lifeguard stand.

When he’s out of earshot, Jihyo texts rapidly on her phone. When she’s done yours vibrates three times in your pocket: the start of the group chat, you’re sure.

“And that, my friend,” she says, giving you a grin that could rival the Grinch when he decided to steal Christmas, “is how you get the ball rolling!”

Unfortunately, Jihyo’s plans—which she has annoyingly coined as Operation: Get Y/N Laid—don’t stop there.

On Thursday, just two days before the plans, she convinces Hoseok to come with her to something before the meet up that’s going to coincidentally make them late so that you and Jungkook have time to be alone.

When she tells you this, it’s as she’s making a double scoop chocolate cone, but you can’t help the overwhelming urge that comes over you to put your hands around her neck.

“Ack! Y/N! Let go!” she says between breaths with wide eyes. “I’m going to drop the ice—”

“You’re so dumb!” you yell, squeezing a little harder. “That’s such an obvious ploy to get us alone, he’s going to realize it!”

Jihyo finally squirms out of your grip by turning her head and licking your arm. The warmth of her tongue makes you recoil, and she gasps with relief as air floods back into her lungs, looking at the now-lopsided cone in her left hand.

“Now how am I supposed to give this to that little brat outside?” she says, frowning. “His mom will come and eat me alive if I hand this slop out of the window.”

“You probably deserve it,” you say sourly. You lean your hip into one of the counters, crossing your arms over your chest. “Take your plans back, Jihyo.”

“I can’t,” she says calmly. “Hoseok is already in on it.”

“He’s what?!”

“He’s in on Operation: Get Y/N Laid,” she says again, with that same ridiculous manner of calm, like you didn’t just make her life flash before her eyes thirty seconds ago. “Stop freaking out—he wants to give you some time alone just like I do. So, he’s not going to say anything to Jungkook. The plan will go on like normal, you will just have to do a little acting when we don’t show up on time. Got it?”

In all honesty, it’s not the worse plan she has ever come up with. But you don’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing so, so you keep your current frown plastered on your mouth for a little longer to let her know your displeasure with the sudden turn of events.

“Oh, don’t you go all pouty on me,” Jihyo says, wagging a finger at you as she trashes the cone you messed up and grabs another. She scoops more ice cream out of the container below her, giving you a look that reminds you of a mother watching her children open Christmas presents after telling them they weren’t getting anything for months. “You’ll thank me later—right after you tell me if Jungkook has anything worthy of talking about.”

“I’m sure he does,” you respond indignantly, falling right into her trap. “He’s intelligent.”

Jihyo hums a nod before brandishing the new cone, two scoops of chocolate perfectly centered and balanced on top of each other. “Before long this will be you two—are you a top or a bottom, though? I forgot.”

You groan in anguish as Jihyo lets out a cackle, opening the window to your stand and handing it out the impatient little boy that waits outside. You’re grateful for the breeze, although its simmering warmth does nothing for the same feeling that has settled high on your cheeks, dusting pigment there reminiscent of a similar shade of red Jungkook sometimes sports on his swim trunks.

The day of the boardwalk date, you find yourself sprawled out on the floor in front of your closet in your underwear and bra, contemplating why you ever purchased every single item of clothing in your closet.

These kinds of freak outs are normally reserved for the pressing dates in life—first day of college, nights out with the girls, birthdays—but today, you find yourself freaking out over the instance of having to wear the perfect outfit in order to feel comfortable around Jungkook.

Comfortable, and most importantly, pretty.

You shuffle through your two final picks, laying them across your bed in order to get the full effect of what they might look like on. They were both incredibly simple—your college wardrobe either consisted of exercise shorts and t-shirts and hoodies or going out clothes that were much too revealing for a fun night on the boardwalk. But you fret over them some more, so much that you almost have a nervous breakdown and text Jihyo to call the whole thing off.

But the slight hum of your phone vibrating your bed stops you before you can do so. It’s from Jungkook, and you heart beats a little off kilter at the sight of his name popping up on your phone screen.

Jungkook 5:15PM : We still meeting at 6?

It’s directed to your group chat with him, Jihyo and Hoseok. You take a deep breath. Jihyo had told you that she wasn’t going to respond to any messages until the last minute, to really sell her “emergency” that she had to bring Hoseok along on. You were driving separately, as was Jungkook, but the two of them had decided to conveniently carpool a day prior.

Y/N 5:18PM : I’ll be there! Park at Pier 14, it’s the closest one to the boardwalk

Jungkook 5:20PM : Yes ma’am 😊

You smile down at your phone, biting down on your bottom lip softly as you read the message over a few times before clicking the screen lock button. You prop your hands on your hips, deciding that it’s now or never. The nights got chilly in the summer when the sun wasn’t beating down as heavy, and you hated being cold. So, you choose the outfit on the right—a simple, oversized pullover and bike shorts, paired with some scuffed white sneakers, and rush into the bathroom to get ready so you’re not late.

You get to the pier at exactly 6:01 and search around for a parking space.

A part of you feels like this is a bad plan. Especially when you look down at your phone after cutting the engine and realize that Jihyo has texted you something that makes your stomach drop.

Jihyo 5:59PM : Haha…bad news

Jihyo 5:59PM : DON’T KILL ME

Y/N 6:02PM : Please, no!!! What is it!!

Jihyo 6:03PM : The check engine light on my car came on as I was leaving Hoseok’s. Don’t panic. We are waiting for AAA to come get us and take us back to his house so he can drive. I repeat: DON’T. PANIC.

“Okay, okay” you say to yourself, taking a few calming, deep breaths in. “At least she has a plan? This can still work out. I’m not panicking. Yet.”

Y/N 6:03PM : When are they estimated to be there?

Her messaging dots appear and disappear for a few minutes and your anxiety skyrockets.

Y/N 6:06PM : JIHYO

Jihyo 6:07PM : between 6:45-7PM…

Y/N 6:08PM : THE MOVIE STARTS AT 7:05 YOU ABSOLUTE

There’s a knock at your window that has you almost jumping out of your skin. When you look up, you’re met by the wide grin and big, childlike eyes of Jungkook. He peers at you through the tinted glass, looking a little sheepish at having scared you on accident.

All your anxiety about Jihyo having an actual emergency disappears as you unclick your seat belt and scramble out of the car to join him.

“I really didn’t mean to do that,” he says, stepping back and giving you space to swing your door open. “Is everything all right?”

“What?” you say. “Oh, yeah. Everything is fine. Well—sort of.”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow at you. “Did something happen?”

“Jihyo is having car trouble, so her and Hoseok are going to be late.”

You bite down on your bottom lip, shifting your weight from leg to leg. The outing was supposed to be all of you as a group—and originally, them being a little late wouldn’t have been such a problem. But you were thinking thirty minutes max, not an hour and a half!

You’re relieved when Jungkook shrugs. “Oh, okay,” he says. “Well, I’m still cool with walking around until the movie starts if you are ?”

You nod with enthusiasm. “Right—we’re already here, might as well go do some stuff?”

Jungkook smiles again, and you finally take a good look at him. He’s wearing a dark t-shirt under a black zip-up hoodie and a pair of chinos—a simpler outfit that looks way too good on his tall, lean frame. You hadn’t seen him in much other than his swim trunks because the only time you two really saw each other outside of this singular moment, was at work.

Of course, you weren’t complaining about that aspect. You could probably pencil out in detail the muscles of Jungkook’s upper chest and stomach, the way water rolled off them when he got out of the pool, the way they flexed when he pulled his whistle to his mouth. That is, if your drawing skills weren’t absolute shit—so bad at that a kindergartener could probably put you to shame with snapped Crayola’s and disproportionate stick figures.

The sun has already sunk below the horizon, taking with it all the heat and warmth of the day and leaving you with a slight breeze that could give you goosebumps if you let it, and a sky the deepened color of cornflowers.

It’s twilight, you realize, as you trail beside Jungkook from the parking lot cement onto the wooden planks of the boardwalk. A backlit, blue-hued time of day that you absolutely adored during the summertime because you still had just enough light accomplish the activities you wanted to.

Not that you needed to worry about light at a time like this—the bright boardwalk stadium lights are almost blinding, and because it’s the weekend, the two of you find yourself periodically weaving in and out of the crowd that seems to get busier and pushier the further you walk.

Jungkook takes the lead, his taller frame holding more of a reason for people to move out of the way than yours. You watch the back of his head the whole time, noticing the way his raven hair reflects the light—shiny and clean and looking incredibly soft.

“How about a snow cone?” he calls over his shoulder. “It looks like there might be somewhere for us to sit up there.”

He points ahead and you call out an agreement to him, hoping to be heard over the ruckus.

You realize that the crowd isn’t going to let up anytime soon—people have no qualms about walking in between you two, and you find yourself speeding up in order to not be further separated from him.

At some point Jungkook glances behind him again and realizes your struggle. He slows his pace, and you happen to look down and realize he is holding out the long sleeve of his hoodie for you to hold on to.

“Don’t get lost,” he says with a grin. “This snow cone will be worth it, I promise!”

You return his smile, holding onto his arm with a light touch as he continues to lead through the crowd. You curse Jihyo silently in your head—despite her fake emergency turning into a real emergency, she was right about one thing: time alone with Jungkook was something you couldn’t pass up.

When you finally make it to the snow cone cart, you let go of Jungkook’s arm quickly. He looks at you with suspicion as you snatch away, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a shit-eating grin, like he knew exactly what he was doing to your racing pulse by offering you his touch.

“What flavor do you want?” he asks, looking at the menu stand on the right. “My treat.”

You both immediately point to Tiger’s Blood, and Jungkook seems pleased with you.

“Good choice,” he says. “If you picked Pina Colada, I was going to lose it.”

You giggle. “You don’t like coconut?”

“No,” he says, frowning. “I snuck some of my mom’s Malibu one time without realizing and I almost barfed.”

You laugh again, shaking your head. You realize that you still don’t how old Jungkook is, and while he orders your snow cones, you look at him with scrutiny. There was something young about his eyes and face, the roundness of the tip of his nose and cheeks making you believe he was younger than you. But his body—good grief, his body—and the sharpness of his jawline and said otherwise.

When you’re both seated at a picnic table, you decide to ask him.

“Why?” he says. “How old do you think?”

You take a timid bite of your snow cone, relishing in the satisfying crunch of ice between your teeth. “Hmm, I know you’re college-age. Just wondering how old.”

“That story I told about sneaking alcohol was from a few years ago,” he says, laughing. “I’m twenty-one.”

“Oh.”

“You’re only nineteen, right?” he says, but it doesn’t seem like he cares much that you’re younger.

You nod. “But my birthday is in September.”

“So is mine,” he replies with a grin. “We’ll have to try to celebrate together, somehow.”

You try not to let on how happy his suggestion makes you—that months from now, you two will be friends that throw parties together, or possibly more—and you settle into your seat, munching happily on the cold treat that is slowly turning from ice to mush in the paper cone in your hands.

“So why the pool?” you say a few moments later. “Did you work at another one before ours?”

Jungkook blinks. “I have my CPR certification from another part time job I had at a gym,” he said. “I don’t know why they made us get it, honestly.”

You laugh. “Maybe in case one of the meatheads lifted too much at once?”

“Maybe,” he says, grinning. “But the gym couldn’t work around my school schedule anymore. So, when I came home I saw the pool was looking for a new part-time lifeguard and I applied.”

“You only come home during the summer?”

Jungkook nods, but a look of annoyance flashes across his face before he answers. “There’s not much for me here, honestly. I like school and being on my own, away from my parents.”

“I get that.”

It was something you could both agree on. You didn’t realize freedom could taste so sweet until you moved into your dorm on campus. You could stay up when you wanted, sleep when you wanted, go out when you wanted. As long as you kept your grades up and didn’t lose your scholarship for your parent’s sake, you were literally allowed to do whatever your heart desired.

“It’s too far away to fly back and forth, anyways,” Jungkook adds, suddenly. He tilts his paper cone back, dumping all of the remaining liquid into his mouth before crumpling it in his left fist.

“How far?”

“California.”

“Oh. Why there?”

Somehow, you were taken aback to hear that he’d chosen a school so far from his home. You wonder suddenly if the sullen look he’d given your earlier had more to it than you realized.

Jungkook ignores your question—like you expected—and stands up. You scramble to finish the remains of your cone and he holds his hand out for your trash. You give it to him, feeling the slight brush of your fingers against his palm that reminds you of earlier when he’d offered his arm. He doesn’t this time, but you find yourself wishing he would again. Or that you two were close enough for you to reach out and grab it without his permission.

“That’s a story for later,” he says, giving you a look meant to soften the blow of his hard statement. “I don’t want to talk about it right now—it’ll ruin the mood.”

You nod slightly, bringing your bottom lip back between your teeth to gnaw on. You hadn’t meant to upset him.

“Is there anything you want to do?” he asks, looking around. “We have about thirty minutes before we should head back to the car for the drive-in movie.”

The boardwalk was in full swing as the night progressed, the sky now a deep shade of indigo behind him. You stand with him, leaning onto your tip toes in an effort to recognize any signs further down the wooden path.

“The arcade, maybe?” you suggest.

Jungkook fake clutches at his chest, staggering with clumsy steps to one side. “A woman after my own heart,” he says theatrically. “I might faint.”

You laugh loudly and roll your eyes to cover up your own heartbeat thumping wildly in your ears. You use the rush to match his energy: “I’m only saying it because I want you to win me a plushie.”

Jungkook smiles, his eyes full of light and mischief at getting to show off his skills. “That, madam, is a deal. Let’s go.”

Jihyo still hasn’t texted you by the time you and Jungkook exit the arcade.

You want to send a scolding text to her, but in reality, you don’t really care if they show up anymore. Jungkook seems to have forgotten they were coming—he doesn’t look at his phone once while you two flit from game to game in the arcade.

You’d watched from the side as he entered a water pistol race with a few other patrons of the boardwalk. He sat down on a stool right in the middle of everyone, leaning over the gun and closing one eye for better accuracy. His tongue poked out between his lips, his form rigid and unyielding until the announcer blew a whistle to start the race. You held back a laugh at his seriousness, pressing a hand to your mouth in case he looked over at you.

He did, but only once the flashing lights above his booth went off, signaling him as the winner. He’d hopped off the stool and raced over to you, placing a hand above your elbow before pulling you over to claim your reward from the prize table.

You chose a blue and white dolphin that was just big enough to be slightly comical. Jungkook carried it over his shoulder as you two walked back toward his car, giddy from the excitement of playing carnival games and teasing each other all the while.

“Okay, but you wouldn’t have even beaten me at basketball if yours didn’t come to my side and knock my shots off course constantly!” Jungkook insists. “You’re a sneaky little thing.”

“Why can’t you just admit my two-pointer is better than yours?”

“Y/N,” Jungkook says, shaking his head in disappointment. “I’m almost six foot and you’re what—five-one? You simply can’t be a better shot that I am because of your genetics. I’m sorry.”

Your mouth drops open. “I’m literally five-three!”

“Minus two.”

“Oh, whatever!”

Jungkook laughs loudly, throwing his head back from the force of it. You pout alongside him, but you can’t help the telling smile that creeps onto your face. You like this side of Jungkook—it was so different from the stoic and quiet lifeguard you knew him as before.

“The drive-in is just a block that way, right?” he asks once you two come up on the parking lot. He shifts the dolphin higher on his shoulder, stopping in his tracks to turn and look at you. “I can drive us in my car, if you want.”

Your eyes widen a little at his suggestion. You didn’t even think about the fact that if Jihyo and Hoseok weren’t here, it would just be you and him watching the movie together.

“Oh—um, I mean,” you stumble over your answer. “If that’s okay with you?”

“I offered, didn’t I?” he says with another laugh. He gestures to the stuffed animal perched on his shoulder. “Plus, we’ve got a nice seat cushion, here.”

You smile and nod before following him to his car. It’s a little navy SUV—something you didn’t expect him drive at all. He seemed like a “car guy” for some reason, one that would have driven something old and sturdy and loud.

“This is—cute,” you say, for lack of better wording.

Jungkook sucks his teeth. “Man, why does everyone say that?” He groans. “This thing is great on gas, okay? And look at all this trunk space! I mean, if you lived all the way in California—"

“Hey, hey,” you say, holding your hands up in defense. “I’m sorry, that was terrible wording. Did I say cute? I meant cutely efficient. You didn’t let me finish.”

Jungkook laughs again, nodding. “That’s what I thought you meant, yeah.”

He throws your dolphin in the backseat and then opens the passenger side door for you to get in. Your cheeks are hot as you move past him to settle into the seat, giving him a timid smile as he shuts the door behind you. You watch him walk around the front of the vehicle, lit up by a neighboring car’s headlights for just a fraction of a second.

He’s handsome to you while doing the most mundane of things, and your heart hurts at the thought. You couldn’t have a crush on him. He was your coworker for one, and for two, he didn’t live there. He went to school across the country, and he was only home for three incredibly short months. There would be nothing to your relationship, so you couldn’t let yourself fall into the trap of having a crush on someone so, well—unavailable. You pinch yourself hard on the thigh as a seal of reminder: this could not, would not, happen.

The slam of the car door brings you back to reality. Jungkook presses the start button on his dashboard before clicking his seatbelt across his upper body.

“You good?” he says, looking over at you with a furrowed brow. When you nod, he backs the car out of the space, his hand on the back of your headrest for good measure.

You take a few uneven breaths in and out at the action, forcing yourself to remain looking out of the front windshield and to not turn your head towards him even a fraction. You know doing so would put your faces at an incredible proximity, and you what the hell did you just pinch yourself over if you weren’t going to stick with it!

“Any word from Jihyo and Hoseok?” he asks. “It would be cool if we could still get dinner with them afterwards, at least.”

You pull your phone out of your crossbody. The screen lights up to no new unread messages, so you sent Jihyo a quick text in your private chat.

Y/N 6:58PM : Update?

It sends but doesn’t get read immediately in normal Jihyo fashion.

“Hm, maybe the tow truck is there, and she can’t talk,” you say. “I hope everything’s all right.”

“Me too,” Jungkook says. “But this is fun—with just us two.” He pauses, glancing over at you. “Don’t you think?”

“Yeah, of course,” you say quickly, giving him a smile. “I’m having a great time.”

He seems sated by this information, but you’re not sure why. “I’m glad.”

Jungkook drives you to toward the movie parking lot—a grassy field with neat rows of cars guided by a parking attendant in a bright, orange vest—and Jungkook reverses in the directed spot in the middle row of cars. You can see the screen perfectly, but only out of the back window from the way he parked. That does little to deter your excitement, though.

“The screen is huge!” you say in awe, twisting in your seat.

You look on as it plays movie trailer previews for remaining months of the summer, and the thought flits across your mind just how many you might get to see with Jungkook before your time was up.

“You’ve never been to a drive-in?” Jungkook asks. “We gotta make this one extra special, then.”

You look over at him with an eyebrow quirked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Jungkook begins, unlocking the car doors, “I’m pulling out the big guns.”

He hops out and heads to the trunk of the car. You scramble after him, shutting the passenger door behind you and joining him where he stands with the trunk popped open. You watch as he lowers the second row of seats flat after moving the dolphin plushie and a conveniently-packed duvet. You look at him with raised eyebrows as he unfolds the blanket across the flattened seats, making you two a perfect spot to lay in the back of the car while watching the movie.

Jungkook sees the suspicion on your face and chuckles, scratching the back of his head. “I just thought we might want to be comfortable if we’re going to be watching a movie for two hours, you know?”

You ignore him and climb in through the open trunk, settling down with the dolphin as a cushion for your back. “Where’s the popcorn?” you ask, laughing. “This is perfect.”

Jungkook holds up a finger. “One moment, m’lady.”

He takes off from the car and you sit up on your elbows, watching him jog up to a stand at the front of the drive-in parking lot that was selling snacks and drinks for the occasion. You pinch yourself again for good measure when he comes back a few moments later, reminding yourself of your pact. Just because you two were alone, in the back of Jungkook’s car, laying down, about to watch a movie together, alone, didn’t mean anything!

The scent of butter and salt fills your nostrils as Jungkook returns, handing you the popcorn and drinks as he climbs into the trunk and settles beside you. He sits cross-legged and digs into the pockets of his chinos to reveal candy in both hands.

“Sour straws or gummi bears?” he asks.

“Gummi bears, but I want a sour straw, too.”

Jungkook laughs. “Agreed.”

As you two dig in, the beginning of the movie flickers onto the big display screen. People pass by Jungkook’s car on their way to the food stands at the front, and you and Jungkook settle against the giant dolphin propped on the back of the front seats.

“I’ll have to figure out a way to repay you for all of this,” you say quietly in between sips of fizzy Coke. “You keep paying for everything before I can offer.”

“Would you rather us go Dutch?” he asks in the dark.

He’s incredibly close to you—his forearm brushes against yours when he moves because the dolphin only spans so far when you lay it down. It wasn’t the biggest prize, because you didn’t want to carry around a massive plushie, but it certainly wasn’t the smallest they had, either.

On screen, the heroine is introduced going about her daily life. She gets ready, brushes her teeth and hair, puts on her makeup for a normal day at school. When she pulls up to school, a sleek, black motorcycle is parked in her usual spot. A little ways from it, she notices the culprit—an extremely handsome guy holding a bike helmet within the crook of his arm as a swarm of cheerleaders surround him like he’s the coolest thing since sliced bread.

“Yeah,” you say honestly. “I mean, I hate the thought of depending on other people.”

Jungkook turns to look at you as you say this, and when you glance at him, there’s an emotion plastered on his usually friendly face that you can’t pinpoint.

“Consider it our first date,” he says finally, with a shrug. “Then you don’t owe me anything and you’re not depending on me, either.”

Your heart lurches in your chest. “Oh—um—well—”

Jungkook tilts his head down as he bites into a sour straw, pulling the candy away from his clenched teeth so it makes a small pop as it separates. He nudges you with his shoulder that is already leaning against your own.

“Did you see that?” he asks with a chuckle. “The stunt doubles are so noticeable in this movie—they have totally different builds than the main characters.”

You swallow the lump in your throat and manage a breathy laugh. A date. The word echoes within the chambers of your mind, repeating over and over like he just yelled it into a cave at the top of his lungs. It reverberates around your skull until you feel your skin buzzing from the meaning.

So much for your pact when he was saying things like that so casually. God, you couldn’t wait to get Jihyo alone to tell her everything.

The movie continues, and a glance down at your phone lets you know that it’s only thirty minutes in when Jihyo finally texts you back.

Jihyo 7:36PM : Hoseok and I aren’t going to make the movie. We’ll just explore the boardwalk until you two lovebirds are done and then we can get food!

You relay the information to Jungkook—leaving out the lovebirds bit. He nods in understanding.

“I figured they wouldn’t—but I’m glad we’ll get to see them,” he answers. “Hoseok texted me a while ago and said Jihyo’s engine light was on because she slams on her brakes too much. He thinks he has whiplash.”

You giggle. “Somehow, I’m not surprised.”

“My little mom-car doesn’t seem so bad now, does it?”

“I told you I liked it! I would totally pick my kids up from soccer at 6PM on Thursday in this!”

Jungkook throws a half-popped kernel at your forehead. “Rude.”

“You said the mom thing first!”

“Because I’m allowed to pick on Cheryl—she’s mine.”

“Cheryl?!” You dissolve into a fit of giggles. “Please—don’t tell me—”

Jungkook takes the weight of his shoulder pressed against yours and pushes you over with it before you can finish your sentence. You lean away from him but bring the force back with your own shoulder, fighting him for more room on the dolphin-plushie-turned-back-rest.

You two battle for a second, pushing against each other like children until Jungkook lifts his arm up and around you, cocooning you in his warmth and bringing you to rest fully on the right side of his body. He’s leaning a little against the corner of the back of the SUV and you are nestled within his side body, feeling the heat of his chest pressed against your cheek. You breathe in and out before you realize that maybe, you should move.

You go to sit up, but Jungkook says, “Wait, stay. You’re warm.”

It’s not you that’s warm—your face, sure—but Jungkook’s body feels like your own personal heater. You try to relax, leaning against him once again in a better cuddling position with your head resting on Jungkook’s chest, right below his collarbones. You can hear his heartbeat this way—thudding what you think is a little faster than normal underneath the layers of his thin hoodie and T-shirt.

“Are you comfortable? Can you see?”

You’re not sure, but you think he sounds a little breathless—from the sudden change in your positions, or the tussle before, you can’t tell which is the culprit.

“Yeah,” you say, shifting a little so that you’re more on your side rather than just leaning over onto him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m great,” he says, and again, it sounds like there’s a hint of smile in his voice.

You can’t focus on the movie after that. Jungkook is too close, his intoxicating scent swirling into your nostrils with every inhale, your head rising up and down with each breath he takes. This was what friends did, right? This was totally friendly. He just wanted you to be comfortable. You repeat this to yourself as Jungkook’s hand—that was once just dangling over your shoulder—begins to trace soft patterns into your side.

You close your eyes, focusing on slowing the thumping of your heart, timing your inhales to let him know that this is okay. This is totally fine. You aren’t freaking out. You’re just here, enjoying everything that Jungkook had to offer you.

It’s fine. He’s fine. You’re fine. Maybe he was just touchy—some boys were like that, after all. Some friendly relationships included tons of skinship. You just weren’t used to it, and you needed to quickly acquaint yourself with the fact that this was how it would be with him if you continued to hang out.

Before you know it, you’re so lost in your thoughts you don’t catch most of the end of the movie. In fact, you don’t even realize it’s over until the credits are rolling and people are moving around you again, the sounds of car doors and trunks slamming as people get ready to move onto their next activity.

It’s only 9PM, but it’s dark outside—the blues of the sky that had enticed you so much once before had faded to an indescribable navy, a blue so deep that it looked black. If you focused, you could see the minute twinkling of stars past the stadium lights on the outskirts that blink on after the movie is over so everyone could exit in a timely and visible fashion.

Jungkook yawns, patting your side. “I think I fell asleep for a moment—I was so comfortable here.”

He laughs in spite of himself, and you give him a breathless chuckle in return. “Sorry if I made your side sore.” You get off of him, scooting over to give him a little room to sit up straight.

“Sore?” he asks incredulously. “Y/N, you’re like a feather. I’m not that breakable.”

Boy, did you know. Thoughts of his muscular stomach flash in your mind, and you will them away. He watch him reach up to close the trunk as people begin to move outside of the car, cocooning you two back into a comfortable darkness from the tints on the back windows.

“Still.”

“Still, what?” he says. There’s a small silence that ensues. “You’re so nervous around me. Is it me?”

“What?” you say, furrowing your brow. Your skin pricks with the same nervousness that you are about refute. “I mean—”

“I know I’m pretty standoffish at the pool, but I don’t mean to be that way,” he admits. “I just felt like I was in this new place with all of these established relationships and rules. You have Jihyo, and well, Hoseok and I are close, but we’re not best friends.” He pauses. “I was really surprised when Jihyo invited me out with you all.”

“Surprised,” you repeat quietly.

His words absolutely contradict the Jungkook you thought you knew. But maybe that’s how it would always be—you realizing he had his own motives and reasons for being the way he was, and you not understanding a bit of it until he decided to divulge you in them.

“Yeah, surprised,” he nods. “I feel out of place, here. If I’m being honest.”

“But you live here.”

“I don’t have any friends though, because I’m gone for nine months out of the year,” he says, shrugging. “I didn’t have any in high school, either. It was just—I don’t know. I didn’t like it here, so I didn’t see a reason to have any ties.”

You can’t really wrap your head around it, but you realize Jungkook is being vulnerable to you in this moment. You don’t want to make him regret it, so you reach out to him—the closest thing to you is his hand, resting on the duvet between you two—and you run your fingers over the soft skin in a timid, unsure fashion.

“Jihyo and I will never say no to new additions to our friend circle,” you say with a smile. “It gives us reasons not to kill each other if someone else is watching.”

Jungkook chuckles a little, holding your gaze. The trunk of the car is still closed, and most of the crowd has dispersed to other parts of the beach where the boardwalk is still alive and filled with weekend nightlife.

“That’s good to know,” Jungkook says softly, looking down at your hands on the blanket. He slides his underneath yours and links his fingers through the spaces in between.

“Y/N—” he says, leaning closer to you, “—thanks. Really.”

You lean closer as well, feeling the magnetism of your two bodies being pulled together in the dark. Your breath comes out in unmeasured puffs, threatening to give away how nervous you are. You’re glad Jungkook can’t really see you anymore, and you’re certainly glad he can’t hear the unsteady beat of your heart as your faces inch closer and closer. As the quiet of the night cocoons you two like a soft blanket, there is no noise other than your heartbeat in your ears as Jungkook’s mouth hovers over your own.

You feel his unsteady sigh outwards as he says, “Are you sure you’re not—”

You use your remaining courage to stop him before he can finish his sentence, closing the distance between your mouths into a soft, sweet kiss. It stays that way for a moment—closed-mouth and innocent—before Jungkook brings his hand to the back of your head and deepens it, pressing his mouth hard against your own in a way that is a command all in its own.

Your lips part involuntarily and Jungkook’s tongue presses softly against the ridge of your mouth, tracing the outline until he is exploring the inside with ease and expertise. As your tongues lace together, you find yourself placing heavy hands on his chest, slightly wrinkling the collar of his shirt with your nails before you slide your hands up and over his shoulders and hook them together behind his neck.

Your head tilts to the right and you push back against him, following the energy and putting it into the most passionate kissing session you’ve had—well, ever. Jungkook places his hands on your hips and pulls you over him so that you are straddling his waist, his experience showing as he places you right on top of his hardening member. You have no choice but to feel it between your thighs and the thin material of your bike shorts—a decision you certainly didn’t realize would come in handy when you’d picked them out a few hours ago in your bedroom closet.

You two kiss and kiss and kiss, getting lost within each other for what feels like hours. You can’t allow yourself to disassociate and think about anything other than what was happening in the moment—although there was a part of your brain that couldn’t believe it was happening, surely.

You were kissing Jungkook. Jungkook was kissing you—no, it was more than that. He was touching you: his hands making a lazy trail up your back, in between your shoulder blades and over the hump of your shoulders until they entangled in your hair and kept your mouth criminal to his. He was breathing you in: making a trail away from your mouth, down your jaw and neck, where he settled on sucking small, reddened splotches into the thin skin just around the collar of your pullover. You want more of him, but more would have to wait.

Jungkook pauses underneath you, much more intact with the real world than you are because he shushes you politely so that you can hear it: the tell-tale sound of your phone humming the vibrations of an incoming call.

“It’s Jihyo,” he says in the darkness, allowing the brightness of your screen to illuminate your faces, inches apart. He hands it to you, and you clear your throat in an attempt to sound less breathless than you actually are as you greet your friend.

“Where are you?” she asks—but it sounds more like a demand. “I know the movie is over by now. You haven’t answered my texts. Are you okay?”

“What?” you say but shake your head. “I’m fine, sorry. Jungkook and I were trying to find our way out of the theatre parking lot. It’s really crowded over here so we had to wait for our turn.”

In the light of your phone pressed against your cheek, you can just barely make out Jungkook’s knowing smirk in the dark.

“Hoseok and I are waiting at Pier 14. Did you two still want to get dinner?”

Jungkook nods in answer, leaning forward a little to press his lips softly against the center of your throat while you talk. You take a calming breath in and out as he mouths at the skin there, swiping his tongue over the space lightly before continuing to kiss away any of your troubles. You close your eyes again, feeling like you’re disappearing under his soft touch before you realize Jihyo is still waiting on your answer.

“Dinner sounds good,” you manage. “Text me an address—you and Hoseok can choose. I don’t care.”

You hang up before she can protest. Your mouth hovers over Jungkook’s, lips pressed together in a solid line.

“That wasn’t very nice,” you admonish him, placing your hands on his firm shoulders. “I was trying to talk.”

“I know,” he says in a soft tone, breathing out a laugh. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“You better.”

He gives you one last lingering kiss—one that steals the breath from your lungs and makes you feel lightheaded before he lets you go. You feel warm all over as you two crawl toward the front of his car, returning to your seats while stealing knowing glances at each other.

You don’t want to dwell on the thoughts too much, but a lot had changed in the last hour that you couldn’t even wrap your head around, much less understand and come to accept. Your lips tingle as your mind flies through the events again, attempting to see you and Jungkook from a third-person perspective in your mind, but really just focusing on the way it felt when he was kissing you, touching you, breathing you in.

You knew one thing for certain, though: your pact with yourself was up. You weren’t just diving into the shallow anymore. You were in the deep end.

#jungkook x reader #bts x reader #bts fic #bts scenario #jungkook smut #jungkook angst #jungkook fluff #bts fanfic #bts scenarios #jungkook scenarios #bts butter #bts jungkook #honeyedhoseok #blue

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artistic-writer · 6 years

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Alii Dimidium Lunam (The Other Half of the Moon) - CS Werewolf AU - Ch 11

Title: Alii Dimidium Lunam (The Other Half of the Moon) by @artistic-writer artwork by @cocohook38 & @artistic-writer

Rating: E (overall rating) for explicit sexual content, language and themes throughout. Trigger warnings will follow and be added as they are needed to avoid spoilers.

Art by @cocohook38 - Poster - Emma - David - Killian - James - Walsh - Graham

Chapter Art by @cocohook38 - Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4 (NSFW)

Art by @artistic-writer - 1 - 2 - 3 -

Also on: AO3 - FF

A/N: Here is ch 11! I know you all have waited for patiently for a resolution to how I left ch 10, so here is a whopper off a chapter to help explain things, and tie together a few loose ends. This is a RedHunter (Ruby/Graham) backstory chapter set in the past, but you can’t skip it because we meet another character! lol Also, HOW GOOD IS THE ART BY @cocohook38 ??!?! Seriously never been as attracted to Graham as I am right now lol Massive thanks to my wonderful betas, @hookedonapirate who is one of the best beta’s this fandom has to offer - I seriously love her guys, and she deserves all the good things <3 <3 and @kmomof4 to whom this fic is also gifted for her upcoming birthday, and creating the @cssns Thank you to my crew, @hollyethecurious @resident-of-storybrooke @courtorderedcake @doodlelolly0910 and special thanks to @killian-whump @killianmesmalls and @sherlockianwhovian for how they helped later on. And to @flipperbrainwho drew THIS piece of art for this fic in December, before it was even written!

Taglist: @cssns @resident-of-storybrooke @hollyethecurious @kmomof4 @hookedonapirate @winterbaby89 @courtorderedcake @initiala @cocohook38 @branlovesouat @teamhook @snidgetsafan@sherlockianwhovian @shireness-says @wingedlioness @lenfaz @therooksshiningknight @ilovemesomekillianjones @bmbbcs4evr @blowmiakisscolin @deathbycaptainswan @onceuponaprincessworld @chinawoodfan @seriouslyhooked @snowbellewells @wordsmith-storyweaver @jennjenn615 @delightfully-difficult-pirate @doodlelolly0910 @tiganasummertree @hookedmom @thejollyroger-writer @rachie1940 @unworried-corsair

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Three years ago

Many people in the world would enjoy their free time with some socialization, or some other kind of fun. Werewolves were different, creatures that wanted nothing but the feel of soft, freshly churned earth beneath their paws and the smell of the night in their nostrils. Graham was no different. He had been the Misthaven beta for as long as he could fight, standing shoulder to shoulder with David and making sure the entire pack was safe.

Tonight, however, was a rare occasion when David had suggested he go and right what ailed him, as he was no good to him as a beta when he was so clearly distracted. Graham had become irritated recently, in need of something to help him relax, and David all but forced him to take a leave of absence to right the worries in his head. Graham wasn’t sure he could relax and stay away from his pack for so long, but he was also loyal to his alpha. If David insisted, he would go.

Graham wasn’t sure what he was in need of. He had reached a certain age, thirty-four in human years, and if he were a human, he could have said he was heading into a mid-life crisis. He craved what he couldn’t have, plagued by a yearning he couldn’t place and it was made all the more poignant when he was around David and Snow. He was coming up to a milestone in werewolf culture and he should have been so many things by now.

He had no reason to begrudge the Nolans for anything. They had taken him in when he was lost, raised him as their own when they really didn’t have to and gave him a place to call home. Misthaven was his home. It was where he belonged, with the strongest pack of them all, and yet, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was something else that could fulfill his aching heart.

Graham Humbert was lonely. He was a wolf with everything and yet had nothing that made him feel whole.

There were plenty of potential mates, and as the beta, he could have the pick of any she-wolf he desired, but apart from a little bit of harmless fun, Graham had no connection to anyone in his pack. He had tried reaching outside of the community, dipping his toes into the pool of loner she-wolves, but again, nothing struck him. No one knew him, no one gave him the life that included a love connection he so wished for, and he had all but given up on finding it.

Like many wolves, Graham ran to wind down, to release some of the pent-up tension acquired in human form, and at this particular time in his life, Graham ran to feel. Running was a high. His skin buzzed beneath his pelt as his muscles shifted over his bones with every stride, his huge paws pounding the compact forest floor, the only sound for miles his low, grumbling pants as his breath left his lungs. If he couldn’t feel love, he could at least still feel the freedom of cantering through the forest.

The forest seemed to disappear, only the wind against his face, pinning his ears to the flat broadness of his skull as he galloped. His fur snagged nearby bushes but went unnoticed to him at the speed he was hitting. Graham was a light coated wolf, the silver guard hairs of his outer layer more visible in the darkness than some of his other pack members, and his light, fair tanned face soft and welcoming. He was deceivingly meek looking, having inherited the faded agouti shades from his mother, and if it were not for his imposing size, he could have been mistaken for her at quick glance.

Wolves were discouraged from running alone, but Graham loved it. It was freeing to run alone, if not more so than with others, and there were often times he and Emma would tell David they were running together but went their separate ways. They were so similar, like true siblings, and they both understood the need for space, despite what they had been taught. They had been raised with the understanding that there was strength in numbers, that they were at their most vulnerable whilst alone, and it was always the last thing on Graham’s mind when he was running solo.

And maybe that was why, as he broke through the edge of the trees, and the ground turned to asphalt under his paws, he was blinded by the brightness of headlights and overcome with searing pain in his foreleg before his world faded from view and he passed out with a weak growl.

When Graham tried to open his eyes, they seemed to be stuck shut. His eyelids were heavier than usual, his breathing shallow and calm, even though he should have been more alert. He was in wolf form, he could tell that much, but as he struggled to find his surroundings, nose twitching at the end of his muzzle, all he could do was sigh.

His whole body was weighed down by an invisible force and despite the fact his brain was telling his limbs to move, they denied his request. He was laying on what felt like grass, or straw and he could smell the faintest whiff of other animals. The scents were aged, maybe months old, and all he could hear as his funnel like ears swiveled on his head, was the creak of wood.

He inhaled a little more deeply, and his senses picked up the tiniest traces of fresh paint and the lingering tang of a diesel engine. Together with the straw bed, he was sure he had ended up in some kind of shed or outhouse, but the last thing he remembered was being hit by the car and luckily for him, he had kept the good fortune to stay in wolf form. He recalled the sound of his foreleg snapping but there was no pain right now, his entire body floating.

The sound of rattling tools and the scrape of the wooden door in the dirt set his fur standing on end and his toes dug into the straw bed in anticipation. Before he had time to send out a warning growl, a floral scent filled his nostrils and the soft shuffling of shoes on the barn floor had him intrigued more than scared. Jasmine calmed him instantly, his breathing leveling out from his panicked state as he inhaled the sweet flowery smell, and he finally managed to peel an eye open to see a blurry figure approaching.

It was a woman, he could tell, and the way the sunlight flooded into the barn from behind her made her seem like an angel, the orange glow of the morning sun surrounding her like a halo. Graham could tell it was the start of the day because there was only a slight amount of warmth and the morning sunlight was busy evaporating the nightly mist that still lingered in the barn doorway.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the woman reach for something above his head and he followed her movements with a weary but blurry gaze. Something must have been making him so slow, the haze around her arm never clearing, no matter how many times he tried to blink away the fog, and for a second, he focused enough to see the saline bag hanging on the wooden post beside the stall from a bent, rusty nail.

He groaned, half in protest and half in submission. He was hurt, there was no denying he’d heard his leg break, but he felt no fear from the woman’s presence. She didn’t seem to be scared of him either, crouching down beside him after she had fiddled with his painkiller-filled drip and resting her elbows on her knees. Graham focused a little, the scent of her perfume wafting into his nostrils tenfold and he let out a long, sorrowful sigh.

“Hey there, boy,” she said softly, her voice nothing but calm.

Graham felt himself relax even more into the straw bed he was laying on but his flight instinct was still bubbling just under the surface of his skin. With the least amount of energy he had left, he let out a menacing growl he was unable to fight through instinct and the woman shuffled back from him. The distance was welcoming, but as Graham’s eyes fluttered closed one more time, he heard her voice as clear as day.

“I’ll come check on you tomorrow.”

Almost no time had passed before Graham heard the scrape of the door again and peeled his eyes open. They were more responsive this time and he managed to lift his head, watching the particles of dust dancing in the new morning sunlight as it flooded in behind the angelic woman. Graham was more focused now, his vision giving him a clear view of the woman who approached him with a cautious smile.

“Hey boy,” she soothed, keeping her distance whilst checking on the hanging bag. The plastic had completely drained and as she fiddled with replacing it, Graham followed the clear, plastic tube that lead directly into his foreleg. The soft, downy cream fluff on his leg had been shaved short, the regrowth beginning to itch underneath the bright blue vet wrap bandage that held the cannula against his limb. “You feeling better today?” The woman asked, the voice like music to his ears and grabbing his attention.

Every wolf instinct inside of him told him to run. Humans were not to be trusted, especially in the wolf form he was trapped in whilst his body recovered, and it took everything Graham had to stay still. He was fighting his response to flee, the fur on the back on his neck standing on end for no other reason than the woman in front of him was simply, the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

Her hair was long, a very dark brown and contrasted against her pale skin and rouged lips. She smelled of jasmine again and already Graham felt like he might be addicted to the scent of her. She gave him a smile, her perfectly shaped lips spreading across her features and Graham wished he could cradle her face between his hands and kiss her. The warmth behind her green eyes made him relax just so he was shocked to feel the pinch on his toes. He yelped, pulled his leg and awkwardly scurried back in his straw bedding stall as far as the cast on his foreleg would allow.

“I’m sorry, boy,” the woman pouted sympathetically, crouching down at the entrance to the stall to seem less imposing. “But look at it this way, you can still feel your toes, which is good,” she beamed, standing to her feet and brushing the dust off of her dark blue, skin tight pants.

Graham watched her with a scowl, his ears twitching on his head as she moved around outside of the stall. He was curious about her, but more than just as a werewolf play thing, and he felt himself leaning forward to watch her move around the barn. She collected up a saddle in her arms, the deceivingly thin limbs more than capable of carrying the heavy leather piece, and then grabbed for a bridle hanging above his stall.

“I’m going for a ride,” she told him as if he would reply with more than a puzzled canine glance. “You rest now. I’ll check back on you tomorrow.”

Tomorrow came and went. In fact, Graham counted no less than thirteen sunrises that introduced the arrival of his guardian angel. In the accident, Graham had broken his leg, shattered it in a few places, the dark haired angel had told him on one of the days, but he was on the mend. He was becoming stronger, having initially dropped a few pounds after being so high on pain medication, but with his recovery came his strength and it wasn’t long before he was eagerly awaiting the arrival of his raven haired caretaker on his feet with a wagging tail.

“Hey, my sweet boy,” the woman said eagerly, the barn door not even open before she had called out to him. Graham’s tail brushed against his hocks as she approached, his cannula and drip now removed but his cast still covering his foreleg. It had been wrapped in a dark blue bandage but that had become dirty and worn, especially where Graham had nibbled at the top part to try and relieve some of the itching underneath. “Are you ready?”

Graham gave her a wolfish grin, his ears flattening on top of his broad skull, and a puppy like whine too high pitched for an animal of his size escaping his maw. He licked his lips excitedly as she approached. Today was the day she had promised him for over a week - the cast was coming off and he would finally be able to lick at the agonizingly irritating niggling itch underneath.

She approached him still with a hint of caution, he was a wolf after all, but she had become more confident. He had let her remove his cannula without incident and when she had asked if he would be a good boy on the removal of his cast, he had just given her a soppy puppy dog stare and a sideways tilt of his head. If Graham didn’t know better, he would say she had domesticated him.

And he loved it.

“Are you going to behave?” She asked him again with a raised eyebrow, all too aware that in a crouching position with a cast saw in hand she may very well be trampled by a panicking wolf. Graham grumbled low in his throat and gave her the same head tilt, his ears flopping sideways. “Okay then,” she said on an inhaled breath, inching closer to him and powering on the handheld saw.

Graham flinched a little, unsure of the noise more than anything as it invaded his ear canal with a terrifyingly high pitched squeal, but he sat and let the dark haired woman lift his leg onto her knee as she cut into the cast. Graham knew a cast saw would never cut skin so he kept still, watching the concentration of her delightful face as she went to work, her tongue poking out the side of her mouth and her brow furrowed with effort. Graham was pretty sure, at that moment, his life had just become a whole lot more complicated as his heart skipped a beat and he flexed his claws against her knee as if attempting to hold onto her.

“There,” she announced triumphantly when the two sides of the cast fell away. “All done!” Graham leaped back, a playful growl coming from his lips as he sniffed at his leg and paraded back and forth around the barn. He had been largely confined to the stall, the straw now reeking of his dirty, oily wolf pelt, and it felt good to stretch all of his legs. There was a little pain at the site of the break, no more than an ache now, and Graham’s tail began another rhythmic wag in an arch over his back.

Forgetting himself for a second, Graham bolted for the door, stopping when she called out to him. “Woah, boy!” she called and he stopped dead, looking at her with wide, expectant eyes and a playful pant. He wanted to stay, he wanted it more than anything he had ever wanted in his life, but if he didn’t head back to Misthaven soon, David would surely send a search party after his beta. That would spell bad news for his new companion, and he wished her no harm, especially the fate that would befall a human who had, in their eyes, held a werewolf captive.

“I mean,” she corrected herself quickly, twisting her body in the dusty barn floor and sinking forward onto her knees. “You can go if you want to. You are not a prisoner here, you never were,” she smiled softly, looking down at her hands that were flattened over her thighs as she let out a short chuckle. “Look at me talking to a wolf,” she chastised herself with a shake of her head. “God, Ruby, you're so lonely.”

And there it was - the moment Graham learned her name and wished more than anything he could transform back into human form and tell her everything. She wasn’t lonely, she never would be and he would do anything to repay her for her kindness. If that meant spending the rest of his life with her, it was a burden he was willing to bear. But he couldn’t tell her. Werewolves who had sustained a traumatic event or injury were trapped in their wolf form until they had healed sufficiently to survive the shift back to human form, and Graham knew his body would heal much faster in his current form.

All he could do to reassure her was take the tentative steps towards her and sniff at her hands, like a pet dog comforting their master. He nudged her long, nimble fingers with his cold wet nose. Ruby looked up at him, a mixture of shock and fear on her face, the sound of her blood throbbing in her veins and the smell of her sudden panicked flush making him retract his actions. He stepped back, lowering his head in a type of submissive apology and getting lost in her sea green eyes.

“It’s okay,” Ruby whispered half to herself and half to the huge wolf in front of her, holding out her hand to him once more, her voice laced with a shaky anticipation he had not noticed from her before. She was scared, and rightly so, but Graham would never hurt her, and he met her outstretched hand with a sniff and a lick. Ruby gasped, her fingers trembling at the end of her arm and she swallowed audibly. “Good boy,” she breathed, her lips twitching into a smile.

Graham let her move her hand a little more until it was threaded in the deep pile around his neck, her fingers feeling like a welcome fire to his skin. It was incredible. Graham had never been petted before, a practice so frowned upon because of its connotations with domestic canines. Werewolves were not, and never would be, pets by the Chronicle's ruling, but Graham would gladly let her pet him all day long if she wanted to just to see the happiness in her eyes. His expression softened, his breathing slowing as she toyed with his pelt, her own amazement etched across her face and her breath caught in her throat.

“I’m touching a wolf,” she whispered to herself, her breathing resuming once more. Graham stepped away suddenly, shaking and ridding his skin of the tingling sensation. He had to go back to Misthaven, regardless of how much his heart was crying out for more of her touch. He skipped to the open barn doors once more, the faded, curled red paint falling from the wood as he neared it, and he stopped to give her one last glance as the sunlight warmed his face.

“Will I see you again?” She asked gently, a weak smile pulling at her lips. Graham sighed, the breath leaving his lungs and evaporating in the morning sunlight as he lingered near the doorway a tad longer, looking back and locking eyes with the woman he owed everything to. He would see her again, without a doubt, and when he took off through the open doors and headed back to Misthaven, he was sure he heard a soft sob echoing in the barn.

Graham had done some truly stupid things in his life, what short years there were of it, but maybe the most idiotic was what he was doing right now. He was standing in the waiting room of a veterinary clinic with a tiny bundle under his arms awaiting the sound of his name. It wasn’t ideal, he admitted that and he had absolutely no intention of ever owning a pet, let alone a puppy, but here he was.

And for what? Why would a werewolf want to own a pet? And a dog of all things? The answer was simple and over the last few months, he had fought with himself over and over in case he was wrong. His heart yearned, and in wolf form, he pined for the feel of her fingers through his fur once more. To hear her voice just one more time as she walked towards him with nothing but compassion in her eyes and a smile on her face.

But it was wrong. It was strictly forbidden. Graham had killed wolves for less, and yet here he was, standing in some nowhere town with an Irish Wolfhound puppy desperately trying to wiggle out of his grasp, all so that he could maybe catch a glimpse of his savior.

He had done some research. Her name was Ruby Lucas and she was a veterinarian two states over from Misthaven. She had a small holding with a few horses that she rode daily, and big unused barn where she rehabilitated wildlife in from time to time and no boyfriend or husband. She had no family to speak of, and her only friends seemed to be the animals she worked with and a few old classmates who still lived in their hometown.

Graham had obsessed over her for months after he had returned, never quite feeling as complete as he had that day she touched his muzzle, unafraid and with a smile that set her green eyes aglow. He would shift and run to her farm, watching her from the edges of the woodland adjacent, careful not to spook her horses with his scent. She was a goddess, the more he looked at her he got pulled in by her beauty, and on more than one occasion he chastised himself for his akin to stalking behaviour.

But there was no use. Ruby had beguiled him and soon Graham found himself sneaking from Misthaven more regularly in search of even the slightest glimpse of her. Some days she would go to the local bar and dance, unwinding after a long stressful day. She always went alone but the way she moved like nobody was watching made him want her even more, and he wished he had the courage to approach her as a man.

Other days she would simply sit at home, feet up on the battered arm of her couch, a bowl of popcorn on her lap and tears streaming from her face as she watched yet another romantic comedy. Sometimes Graham felt like he was living one, the man in pursuit of the woman who didn't even see him, and yet, it was for the exact opposite reason Graham did devote so much of his time to Ruby. She had seen him, even as a wolf, she was not afraid and there was something connecting them that he knew she felt as strongly as he did.

Graham Humbert, werewolf and Misthaven beta, was in love with Ruby Lucas, a human.

“Mr. Humbert?” A voice shook him from his anxious daydream and his head snapped up to meet the green orbs of the raven haired vet. Ruby was every bit as beautiful as he had remembered from last time he had seen her, only at eye level she was much taller than he had first thought. She was almost the same height as him, her long legs disappearing into her very business-like skirt and her dainty, milky white ankles gently wrapped in the strap of some black, flat shoes.

“Would you like to come in?” She beamed, motioning through the door behind her and like an obedient hound, Graham trotted after her. “I’m Ruby,” she introduced herself casually, extending her hand out to him.

“Hi,” he smiled back, taking her hand awkwardly as the grey scruffy puppy in his arms struggled to be free once again. His tail beat a steady rhythm against Graham’s jacket, a dull thud echoing between them and his tongue flicked out in an attempt to lick at the new person in his proximity. Graham nearly touched her, but before he had a chance to take her hand in his, the puppy in his arms overstretched and almost slipped from his grasp. Graham grabbed him quickly, scooping him back into his arms and looking back to the giggling vet with a blush.

“And who is this?” Ruby cooed, reaching for the puppy and relieving Graham of his charge.

“Hunter,” Graham said quickly, his Irish lilt rolling the word on his tongue. He shuffled awkwardly on his feet, crossing and then uncrossing his arms nervously.

“And you are?” Ruby prompted with a smirk, placing Hunter down on top of the rubber matted table between them and ruffling her fingers through his wiry hair. Graham looked up at her, and the corner of his mouth twitched into a shy smirk.

“I’m Graham,” he said softly, finally settling on putting his hands into the pocket of his jeans and inhaling hard through his smile. Her scent invaded him, coating his tongue and hitting the back of his throat like a fresh flower. She still smelled of jasmine, the familiar scent making him feel the warmth in the pit of his stomach that he had craved.

“Well, Graham,” Ruby accented his name, testing it on her tongue with a small, twitchy smile that she tried to hide. “What can we do for Hunter today?”

She looked up once more, her hair tumbling over her shoulders with a flick of her head and her full, rouged lips spreading into a smile. Graham blushed instantly, a new human reaction for him, and he balled his fists in his jeans as he tensed. There was nothing wrong with the puppy, he knew that, and when she raised her eyebrow at his lack of an answer, somehow he knew she knew that too.

“Maybe he needs his shots?” Ruby suggested and Graham nodded shyly.

“Yeah, I think that’s it,” Graham nodded, pulling his hands from his jeans and stepping closer to the table again. As he did, Hunter spun on his little fluffy back legs and tumbled towards his owner, licking furiously at the air in front of his muzzle submissively.

“You think?” Ruby teased, stopping the puppy from launching himself from the table top at the same time Graham reached for the wolfhound youngling, their hands brushing and sending a wave of warmth through his body. After a heartbeat, Graham cleared his throat and swallowed a dry lump that had formed there. “How long have you been a dog owner?”

Graham blew out an exaggerated breath, trying to act as human as possible. “A few days,” he said honestly with a shrug.

Ruby quirked her eyebrow again, the perfectly shaped, almost black line of hair dancing up on her forehead. “I can tell,” she said with a smile.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Graham asked playfully, his eyes narrowing as he relaxed a little. It was clear she was more comfortable than he was right now, but as she looked up to meet his gaze again, she lost her smile and a blush stained her ashen cheeks with a pink tint.

“I’m sorry,” she apologised quickly. “I didn’t mean to offend,” she offered professionally and then promptly spun around until she was facing the small computer screen behind her. She idly clicked at the buttons on the mouse, but there was no reason for the number of clicks she was administering and Graham suspected she was just trying to avoid him.

“It’s okay,” Graham murmured, the only other sound between them being the dull scratching of Hunter’s razor sharp puppy claws on the rubber lined table. She turned, looking over her shoulder first before her entire body followed and she was facing him once more, albeit a little redder in the cheeks than before. Graham could smell her nervousness.

“It was unprofessional,” Ruby quipped curtly, her flattened palms on the table between them another distraction for the puppy who tried to claw his way towards her.

“It’s okay, really,” Graham assured her, struggling to comprehend how something so small could elude his grip so efficiently when Hunter slipped from his fingers and jumped up to lick Ruby’s face. “I didn’t mean…”

“Hey there, boy,” Ruby soothed the puppy, her smile returning the instant she sank her fingers into his rough coat and pulled him to her. She inhaled his scent, the musk of puppy breath and slightly coarse fur making her eyes flutter closed and her face to light up with what Graham could tell was the memory of his wolf form. Her words were the same, the dulcet tones identical to when she had greeted him, and Hunter relaxed into her embrace as if he had just lost all of his energy reserves.

Graham remembered the effect of her smooth voice on his canine form, so wasn’t surprised when Hunter surrendered to her siren’s call in the same way.

“I think he likes you,” Graham smiled at her, pointing to the yawning puppy.

Ruby ruffled the hair between Hunter’s ears and poked at his nose playfully. “That’s because I haven’t stuck him yet,” she cooed into the puppy’s face and Graham stifled a laugh. She was adorable.

“I’m sure he won’t even feel it,” Graham smirked, watching her stroke the puppy in her arms with a pang of jealousy. He hadn’t felt the sting of a needle when Ruby had looked after him, but what he wouldn’t give to feel her fingers on his body again. “And don’t worry about what you said, it wasn’t unprofessional at all.”

Ruby looked up at him and her smile faded a little, only matching his again when she really looked into his eyes. They were deeper than they looked, blue pools of ocean deep echoes that pulled her into a swarm of emotions she never wanted to escape. She felt like she had seen them before, but couldn’t quite place the easy feeling that accompanied his stare.

“If you want to hear something unprofessional, I could ask you out on a date,” Graham teased, sucking in a breath through his teeth and cocking his head to one side dramatically. It made Ruby laugh, her hair falling over her face when she dipped her head forward.

“You could,” Ruby nodded, unable to hide the wide grin on her face.

“Would you say yes?” Graham arched a brow, squinting through one open eye as if he

were scared of her rejection.

“Maybe,” Ruby taunted, biting the tip of her tongue.

Graham sighed an exaggerated grunt of frustration and shuffled his feet from side to side. He planted his hand on his hips and dramatically rubbed a hand over the stubble on his jaw. “Well, now I’m afraid to ask you.”

“Will Hunter be there?” Ruby asked quickly and Graham frowned.

“On a date?” he laughed.

“Why not?” Ruby asked incredulously. “I thought he was your wingman.”

“What gave you that idea?” Graham chuckled, licking his lips nervously.

“Well,” Ruby began, handing him back the now sleeping puppy and letting her fingers linger on his a little longer than necessary. “You are a new dog owner but have yet to ask a single question, so I can only assume he is not actually yours, in which case you stole a puppy…”

“I would never,” Graham laughed harder, pulling Hunter to his chest and tucking him inside of his jacket possessively.

“Or,” she continued, pointing a finger at him playfully. “You have owned dogs before, and have another reason for walking into my office today.” She folded her arms over her chest and took a long, triumphant breath, leaving the ball in his court with a raised eyebrow.

“You got me,” Graham admitted. “I did come here to ask you a very important question.”

“Go on,” Ruby prompted, hiding her excitement that Graham could smell all over her. He had smelled it before when she had first touched him, the exhilaration thrumming from her skin both then and now.

“Have you ever been to Tony’s?” Graham grinned.

Two and a half years Later

Since their first date, Graham had taken Ruby to dinner at Tony’s Italian restaurant every Friday without fail. Even when Misthaven demanded his attention, he was able to sneak away and travel over two states to where Ruby lived with little fuss, and if David ever suspected anything, he had never mentioned it. Graham almost gave his relationship away once, whilst talking to Mary Margaret, but luckily for him, she wasn’t in a very inquisitive mood that day and was satisfied with a simple, evasive answer.

It was easy for Graham to spend time away from Misthaven because David always had an errand for him to run. Luckily for him, the James’ Neverland pack was situated close to where Ruby lived, so he was always nearby for reconnaissance. As long as he relayed the information that David had asked for back to him, he was in the clear. After six months it had become clear that his feelings for Ruby were never going to wane, in fact, they had only grown stronger.

He ached when they were apart, as did she. Ruby had told him on many occasions she couldn’t stand it when he was gone, and Graham had died a little inside each time he told her he was away for work. To make it a little more bearable, Graham had suggested Hunter live with her so she could snuggle with the growing hound each time she was lonely, a suggestion she accepted gladly. He wasn’t exactly lying, but he felt dishonest all the same, his heart cracking a little each time he told her and she accepted his reason with a smile and without argument. She was kind and good and Graham often laid awake at night trying to find a solution to his heartache.

Being caught between his love for Ruby and his loyalty to Misthaven was tearing him apart.

The restaurant was as it usually was every Friday night - half packed with the same patrons he had come to recognise week after week and who he now realised posed no threat. He could sense both human and Were diners, their scents mingling together on his tongue, but the entire time Graham had been coming here, no one had ever mentioned anything about werewolves. Tony’s was known for its acceptance of all, including Were, and he was just another fan of pasta along with every other beast in the place.

As if on cue, Tony greeted them at the door and shooed away the teenage usher with a scowl, stating they were important guests. Ruby met his enthusiastic kiss with a peck to his stubbled, jowly cheek and Graham shook his hand with a broad smile.

“Mr. Jones has beat you here this week,” he declared happily, his Italian accent almost forced for comedy effect. He nodded over to their usual table, and Ruby and Graham followed his gaze and the point of his hairy knuckled finger.

The man he was pointing to was a regular patron of the restaurant and an old friend of Ruby’s that she had introduced to Graham early on in their relationship. As if he sensed he was being talked about, the man looked over at them and gave them a smile, the blue of his eyes glinting in the light above the table as he waved them over.

Graham had found out early on that the man was Were, and he assumed he had known he was too, but neither of them had spoken about it at great length. One time, when Ruby excused herself to the bathroom, Graham had asked Jones how a Werewolf had become such good friends with a human woman and he was told they were just old friends. Sensing his pang of jealousy, Jones had assured Graham there was nothing more to him and Ruby than that and he simply loved her like a sister.

Graham hadn’t missed the warning growl in his words that was more protective than possessive either.

“Liam!” Ruby squealed, rushing to her friend and embracing him in a tight hug just as he had got to his feet. Graham caught up just as they were moving apart and shook Liam’s hand eagerly.

“Hey, how was England?” Graham enquired, business like.

“Oh, you know,” Liam shrugged, letting out a breath. “Raining.”

Graham laughed, slapping a flat palm to Liam’s shoulder. “Could be worse,” he teased. “You could be Irish.”

“Graham says it always rains more in Ireland,” Ruby interjected their exchange sweetly, shrugging the coat off of her shoulders and thanking Tony as he whisked it away with a wink.

“It does,” Liam agreed and motioned for them to sit in the booth opposite him. “And despite my name and heritage, I have no inclination to visit any time soon.” Liam gave Graham a cheeky glare and reached for a glass of sparkling water in front of him, the bubbles drifting to the surface when he moved the glass.

“Remind me never to visit either of your countries,” Ruby scoffed, her nose wrinkling a little as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes.

“Don’t be like that,” Graham teased, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her to him. “You’d love it.”

“Yeah, you’d fit right in, Red,” Liam smirked, stifling a laugh and hiding behind his menu.

“Shut up, Jones. Shut up right now,” Ruby warned and Graham looked between them confused.

“What am I missing?” Graham asked, his own smirk matching Liam’s as Ruby buried her face in her hands.

“Don’t you have to go away again soon?” Ruby asked quickly, trying to change the subject. “Another business trip we could talk about, maybe? Please?”

“Yes, I do but that is not what we want to talk about,” Liam winked at her, turning to face Graham. “The gorgeous brunette you see beside you was not always so raven haired,” Liam chuckled. Graham watched as Ruby’s cheeks turned a shade of pink he had never seen before. “Ruby here, got her name when she was born and her parents instantly loved her red hair.”

Ruby groaned at Liam’s tale of her childhood hair colour and she cringed as she lifted her head to find Graham looking at her in awe. “What?” She asked defensively but he was stunned to silence, simply shaking his head with a slack jaw as he tried to imagine the most gorgeous woman he had ever met as a redhead.

“I have photos,” Liam said through his laugh and Ruby glared at him with a clenched jaw.

“Burn them,” she commanded darkly, pointing at him with a threatening finger. “Tonight.”

“Woah, let’s not be too hasty,” Graham interrupted their stare down and excitedly turned his entire body until he was facing Ruby, his eyes darkening with the lust he could never control around her. She met his gaze and smiled, their eyes having a brief conversation without their lips even saying a word. “Could you have a little Irish in you?” He raised a brow, his voice gruff and his eyes flicking over her lips.

“Maybe if you play your cards right,” Ruby smiled coyly, biting her bottom lip. Unable to resist her any longer, Graham lunged forward and captured her lips in a fiery kiss that told her just how much he wanted what she was insinuating.

“I’m right here, guys,” Liam huffed drolly, not looking up from the menu. They pulled apart quickly and gave him sheepish looks. “Why do you guys even invite me if all you do is make out?” he sighed.

“You’re our friend?” Ruby offered.

“We pay?” Graham suggested immediately afterward.

“Excellent!” Liam declared and motioned Tony back to their table to order. The overweight owner arrived with his dog-eared notepad and half-chewed pencil poised. “The house special,” he beamed. It was the most expensive item on the menu and Tony scribbled it down quickly with a wide eyed smile.

Eventually, when Graham had asked enough questions about the colour of Ruby’s childhood hair, they had talked a little more about Liam’s work trip. He traveled a lot, mainly between his home country and America, and part of the reason why they met up at Tony’s was that Ruby felt like she never saw him anymore. They had been friends their whole life, their families living right next door to each other, and as an only child, Ruby had always been thankful for his friendship.

Graham had come to accept that his love was best friends with a man, even if he did get jealous. With both of them being Were, the feelings ran more rampant and sometimes Graham suspected that Liam knew and played up his harmless flirting to annoy him. But when Ruby assured him Liam was only trying to test him, to make sure he was good enough for her, he let it all slide. No one had ever managed to calm him like Ruby did, and all she had to do was smile at him for him to know she would always be his and all his jealousy would evaporate instantly.

“Move in with me,” Ruby said casually as they strolled down the dirt track up to her farm. She had asked before and Graham was running out of excuses. He clenched her hand tighter at his side and watched his feet as he walked.

“We’ve been through this,” he said softly, no anger in his words. Graham was so placated around her that it would be hard for anyone to believe he was the werewolf feared by so many.

“I know,” Ruby cut him off and squeezed his hand back. “But if you could. Would you?”

Graham stopped their walking, halfway to the house, the sound of crickets in the nearby grass pricking in his ears as he pulled her to him. He let her fall against his chest and brushed a few strands of hair from her forehead, wrapping his arms around her lovingly. “You know I would,” he said with an apologetic tone. “If things…”

“If things were different, I know,” Ruby finished for him, looking down at her hand that lay flat over his heart. A silence fell between them, like many times before, and Graham wished with everything he had that he could change who he was so that they could live as humanly as possible. “What if they already are?” Her voice was small, almost shaky, and she fisted the material of his shirt nervously.

“If they already are?” Graham cocked his head to the side and looked down at her quizzically. When she didn't look up at him, Graham hooked a crooked finger under her chin and tilted her head back until he could see the beauty in her eyes again. He smiled at her, but when she didn’t return it, he started to panic. “What do you mean, if they already are?”

“Things are different,” Ruby told him nervously, her bottom lip worried by her teeth. Graham searched her face, staring deep into her eyes for any indication of what she meant and it didn’t register what she was trying to tell him until she took his hand and placed it over her flat stomach.

Graham was hit with an emotion he had never experienced before. He was scared. Petrified. His first wave of joy was quickly overtaken by the harsh reality of what happens when a human becomes pregnant with a werewolf child. His relationship with Ruby was forbidden and so far he had managed to keep it a secret, but this was so much more than he could ever contain.

What would happen to Ruby when the child came up to its wolf day? Graham had heard of so many horror stories with mongrel cubs tearing their human parents apart in anger, murdering them in cold blood when they failed to understand the change. The Chronicle was clear and Graham knew it wouldn’t be long before he would be discovered and brought before the Werewolf Council. People talked, but werewolves were gossips, and Ruby was in danger of death if anyone found out about her. He couldn’t let that happen to the woman he loved, even if it meant he had to give up the thing he had wanted with her most of all.

“Ruby, I…” He stammered, fingers flexing over her even stomach as he fought to ignore the swell of pride in his chest.

“Of course, we’ll have to move away, so the council doesn’t find us,” she shrugged and his head snapped up to meet hers, wide eyed and shocked.

“The council?” he asked innocently, a blush spreading over the tips of his ears.

“The werewolf council,” Ruby told him matter of factly.

“How do you know about the council?” he spluttered, his brows knitting together in confusion.

“Come on,” Ruby smiled, rolling her eyes and reaching up to run her fingers through the lightly curled hair on top of his head. Graham’s confusion ebbed away at her touch, and his eyes rolled closed. “My good boy,” she soothed gently, as if he were in wolf form.

“I don’t understand,” Graham whispered, her fingers like magic on his scalp, fading away as she slid her hands to his cheeks. He peeled his eyes open once again, and she was looking up at him knowingly.

“Humbert, don’t be a fool,” she teased, lightly scratching the stubble on his cheeks. “I grew up with Liam, who I am sure you know by now is Were, so you can stop pretending you are any more human than he is.”

Graham didn’t know what to say and simply stared at her. She was sassy, it was one of the things he loved about her, but she was also passionate and playful and he loved her even more for those things than he could ever show. “How long have you known?” Graham asked softly, a weight lifting from his shoulders.

Ruby made a face, looking up to the sky in mock thought. “Remember that time I hit you with my truck?”

Graham laughed weakly and clutched her hands harder to his face, turning to place a kiss to her palm. “You did not know then,” he accused.

“Okay, not then,” Ruby conceded, enjoying the prickle of warmth that travelled from his lips and covered her entire body. “But I suspected I had hit a Werewolf because of how big you were. I might be just a small town vet, but even I know wolves don’t get that big.”

“So when then?” Graham prodded, his hands sliding to her forearms and his thumb brushing over the skin of her wrist.

“The day you brought Hunter in.” She laughed at the memory briefly, loving how awkwardly nervous he had been in her presence. “I just knew I had met you before. I could see it in your eyes.”

Graham smiled at her sadly. “And you’ve known all this time? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Without warning Ruby slapped him on the back of the head lightly, glaring at him. “Did you want the entire Werewolf council coming down on your ass?” She chastised, and when he didn’t answer, she continued. “No, neither did I. If it meant I only saw you a few times a week, I was willing to take that over never seeing you again.”

“Oh, Ruby,” Graham sighed sympathetically, pulling her into his strong arms and holding her tight. “I’m so sorry.”

“So you should be!” Ruby’s voice was muffled by his shirt and he loosened his grip on her so she could pull away from him. She flipped her hair back over her shoulder and he brushed a stray strand back behind her ear, giving her an amused look. “You knocked me up, Humbert. Now, what are we going to do?”

Graham could tell she was trying to make light of the situation, and it pained him to have to even consider the possibilities of their future. If they could even have one.

“I know what I have to do,” Graham said solemnly, running his hands down her arms and grabbing onto her fingers. “I just want to protect you.”

“I know that means you have to leave,” Ruby swallowed hard, the tears pricking at her eyelids. She could blame the pregnancy hormones if she really wanted to, but her tears were welling up at the thought of losing the man that she loved. “Just give me tonight,” she babbled, her breath hitching in her throat. “And be gone when-”

Graham dropping to one knee in front of her stopped her words and Ruby gasped audibly. He looked up at her with watery blue eyes of his own, his cheeks red and his hands shaking as they gripped hers for dear life.

“Graham, what are you-”

“Ruby Lucas, will you marry me?” Graham rasped in a shaky voice. “I don’t know how, but we have to make this work. We have to be together. For Hunter,” he joked and Ruby matched his laugh with her own.

“He would miss you terribly,” she agreed in a soft voice.

“Oh, and the baby,” Graham added, in case she was ever in any doubt of his intentions. Ruby rolled her eyes and gave him a playful tap on the cheek. “And I love you. With everything I have and everything I ever will have. I can’t promise it will be easy-”

“What, you mean a human and a werewolf? Pfft. It’s always been so easy for those sort of couples before,” Ruby teased, the truth in her words hitting them both hard. There would only be so long they could joke about this until they had to come up with a viable solution. “On second thought,” Ruby said suddenly, her smile fading.

Graham jumped to his feet and his panicked gaze flitted over her features. He saw her pain, he smelled her fear and there was nothing he could do to take it away. “Ruby, If you say no, I’ll still fight tooth and nail to protect you with everything I have,” Graham told her earnestly, cupping her face in his hands. He pressed his mouth to hers, his bottom lip shaking a little against hers. “I will give up everything I’ve ever known to protect you and our child.”

“Really?” Ruby breathed, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

“Really,” Graham nodded, resting his forehead against hers. “I’ll even move in,” he laughed weakly. A single tear rolled down his cheek when he pinched his eyes closed and the lump in his throat made it hard to breathe.

“Okay, ask me again,” Ruby whispered, her hands clutching the fabric of his shirt and holding him to her. Graham’s eyes opened to meet hers and she gave him a small smile.

“Ruby Lucas, Will you-”

“Yes,” she grinned as she cut him off, pulling his shirt hard until their lips met again.

Alii dimidium Lunam - flails/questions/comments this way!

#cssns #cs fic #cs au #cs werewolf au #cssns fanfic #Alii dimidium Lunam #the other half of the moon #killian jones #emma swan #wolves of misthaven #artistic-writer #ch 11

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