Title: Heart-Shaped Doughnuts
Prompt:
writerverse challenge #29 love is in the air (write about love)
Word Count: 504
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: original (
Zeke Jones ‘verse)
Summary: The heart-shaped ones are for Valentine’s Day, and the round ones are for the full moon.
Note(s): originally posted to the
writerverse wv_library Heart-Shaped Doughnuts
The last lock on Howell’s werewolf-cage (my words, not his) was just a little too high, so I had to bounce up on my toes to slide it into place. My backpack banged against the small of my back as I landed again, and I winced at the crunch of cardboard from inside.
“Hey, sir,” I said. “How do you feel?”
The wolf lying against the far wall made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort.
“Okay,” I allowed. “Bad question.”
Howell, in his wolf form, was still bigger than me, but I never found him intimidating, even when he growled at me for calling him a ‘good boy’. He’d also growled at me the first few times I’d shown up on the full moon, after that first terrifying night when we’d been called in on an emergency and he almost hadn’t gotten home in time. But there was also a pile of vampire-sized pillows stacked in one corner, so I wasn’t reading too much into it.
I plopped into the stack of pillows and pulled my backpack into my lap. The cardboard box was a little battered, but I was glad to see that the contents were undamaged.
“Heart-shaped doughnuts!” I announced, setting the box between us. “To celebrate Valentine’s Day. There are also some round ones, to celebrate the full moon.”
Howell gave me a lupine glare.
“Okay, I can guess that one, sir,” I said. “You’re wondering what I’m doing here with you when I could be out on a date with a nice young man.”
My partner tilted his head.
“And my answer is: are you kidding? When am I supposed to meet any kind of man, young, nice or otherwise? Who would then take me out for awkward conversation over weird food- at some ridiculously early time, too, like six pm, and completely mess up my sleep cycle. No, I would much rather stay here with you.”
Howell got to his feet, coming close enough to sniff at the doughnuts.
“Four for you, and two for me,” I said, then dug around in my backpack for two more things- a battered metal thermos, and an even more battered paperback book. “I brought a cereal bowl for yours, sir. I wasn’t sure if you could handle a mug with no thumbs.”
I poured out some coffee into the bowl, then into my mug, with cream and sugar for mine. I grabbed a heart-shaped doughnut from the box and leaned back in the pile of cushions, cracking the spine on my book.
“Ready, sir?”
Howell looked up at me, doughnut crumbs around his muzzle.
I grinned. “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” I read. “I love Sherlock Holmes, don’t you?”
My partner nosed the lid of the box over the remaining doughnuts, then rested his chin on my legs, just above my knees, giving me a look that clearly said, You think you’re funny, don’t you?.
My grin didn’t waver. “Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings…”
THE END
Current Mood:
good