Original: "Muddy paw prints and pie" slash
Summary: His boyfriend Penning didn’t know Jasper was a werewolf yet, and being surprised in the night by a giant wolf staring in through his windows was probably not the best way to bring the subject up.
Prompt generously donated by monlightwolf , and used to keep a promise to a Pooka that I'd write about chin kisses somewhere.
~
The full moon hung heavy in the sky, shrouded in dark rain clouds as Jasper slowly circled around the house, sniffing the air for the familiar scent of his boyfriend. Jasper wasn’t supposed to be there.
See the adorable, freckled Penning didn’t know Jasper was a werewolf yet, and being surprised in the night by a giant wolf staring in through his windows was probably not the best way to bring the subject up.
But Jasper missed him, and his wolf form didn’t have the same impulse control that his human form did, so here he was, peeking in through the windows and softly whining I miss you. It was past midnight and the lights were all off, which is why Jasper yelped in absolute terror when a large shadowy form popped up on the other side of the glass, stumbling over his own feet as he jerked away from the window.
There was a monster in Penning’s house.
He couldn’t leave Penning alone in there with whatever that thing was! Jasper raced back around the house to the front door, slamming into it recklessly though his tail was still tucked between his legs. Damn doors and their damn locks and scary dark things in windows, thought Jasper viciously, and lunged forward again.
It was solid wood, and Jasper made a high, hurt noise as he made impact with it, his paws scrabbling on the wooden porch as he ricocheted off the door and gathered himself to ram it a third time. If he could just wake Penning - Penning had hands, he could unlock the door -
Jasper’s ears twitched at the creak of wood. Someone - or thing - was on the other side. There was the clatter of the safety chain, and the solid click of a tumbler drawing back, and the scrape of... something, claws perhaps, on the metal of the doorknob. Above him, thunder rumbled, and first few drops of rain began to fall.
The door swung open.
~
Had he been human, he would have blurted, “What are you?”
As it was, he hung back and whined, uncertain. The strange creature before him was... canine, perhaps, if you looked only quickly. But anyone who knew a wolf or a dog knew that this creature was too long, gangly and stretched like runny ink, and just as dark. And certainly no dog could rear up on his hind legs with digited paws and open a door. His scent, however, was unmistakably Penning, despite the evasive musk spiked through it from this new form. Were-Penning took a step back, clearly inviting Jasper in with shake of his head and low, guttural sound.
And to think, Jasper had been worried because he thought his own moon-form was scary.
~
When Jasper woke, he was sprawled naked beneath a thin blanket in front of Penning’s couch. It was dark, and even though his senses had dulled, he could hear the unmistakable wet slap of rain against the windowpanes and the low grumble of thunder, and... a kitchen timer beeping? Where was Penning? Were-Penning? Sore and disoriented, Jasper lurched upright, clutching the blanket around his waist. Something smelled amazing, his nose told him, and Jasper followed it cautiously to the bright splash of light that was the kitchen.
The clock above the stove read 3:26 p.m. and Penning’s delicious looking, denim-clad ass was bent in front of the open oven door, where the almost equally delicious smell was coming from. Penning pulled something out and placed it on the burners, before turning to remove his shark-shaped oven mitts and noticed Jasper standing in the doorway. With a strategically draped blanket. Naked.
Jasper flushed.
“You’re awake!” said Penning, giving Jasper a nervous smile. “I, um, baked a pie. It’s raining out, and I thought you might be hungry. It’s beef.”
“It smells delicious,” said Jasper, clutching his blanket tighter, and Penning’s eyes dipped lower, following the movement. His eyes darkened, and for a moment, Jasper was reminded of the beast from last night. His memory was a little hazy, but he recalled entering the house and confirming by scent that this new creature was indeed Penning. And then there had been a friendly scuffle over a... dog toy, most likely, and racing up and down the stairs and leaping over the living room couch. Penning had turned the bathtub faucet when they got thirsty, and they’d probably left muddy footprints all across the house.
It had been great fun.
“I’ll get you some clothes,” said Penning, sounding strained, muttering “We can talk while we eat,” as he rushed past Jasper down the hall and into the bedroom.
~
Feeling significantly more human now that he had clothes and had brushed his teeth, Jasper took a seat at the kitchen counter and watched as Penning slid him a plate of steaming, savory beef pot pie.
“So,” began Jasper, and picked up his fork. He’d put off telling Penning about the whole full-moon thing for so long, afraid of the reaction he might get. But now the cat was out of the bag, and it turned out there were actually two cats, and... he was feeling pretty good about this. It felt good to have everything out in the open.
“So I’m a werewolf, and you’re a were... thing,” Jasper said. Across from him, Penning flinched. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“No one has,” said Penning. “No one I’ve talked to, anyways.”
So far, this was good, thought Jasper. Penning hadn’t asked to break up yet. “We can ask my mom,” he offered. “Maybe she’ll know.”
“No!” Penning almost yelled. “No. You can’t let her know, can’t tell her about you or me.”
O-kay... that was a strange reaction. Jasper stared at Penning, confused.
An awkward silence stretched. “Because she doesn’t know you’re a werewolf?” Penning half-asked, sounding unsure of himself.
“Of course she knows I’m a werewolf!” exclaimed Jasper. “She’s my mother. How could she not know?”
“And she’s.. okay with that?” Penning asked slowly, a strange expression on his face.
“Of course,” said Jasper automatically, and then suddenly it all made sense - Penning’s distant family, the mother he said abandoned him. Jasper thought he meant she just put him up for adoption. Clearly, there was more to that story.
“Hey,” he said, and reached across the table to take Penning’s hand. “I’m not going anywhere. If you’re okay with me getting furry on full moons, I’m fine with you doing the same. There’s nothing wrong with what we become.”
“Thanks,” whispered Penning roughly, and Jasper pretended not to notice when he quickly wiped his eyes. He almost asked, So we’re still dating, right? but... that was a silly question, he realized, and said “Now let’s eat this pie before it gets cold,” instead.
~
A month later, the bar was dull roar, and Jasper was feeling comfortable and full after their meal at his favorite restaurant with a handful of friends, when he was asked a question.
“Why do you guys do that?”
“Do what?” asked Jasper, straightening up guiltily from where had been leaning into Penning, his head on his chest. He didn’t want to become one of those disgustingly sappy couples, the kind who fondled each other’s hands in public and had to kiss every other minute. With how much he liked Penning, it was a very real fear.
“Kiss each other under the chin,” said their friend Dane. “It’s cute, but kind of weird.”
“Oh,” said Jasper, looking up at Penning, who shrugged down at him. “I don’t know.”
It was just a way of showing affection, and trust. And he liked the light rasp of stubble, the delicate stretch of skin across the jawbone. Maybe it was a werewolf thing. Or a werething thing.
As Penning looped a loose arm around him and pulled him back against his side, Jasper concluded that perhaps it was just their thing.
A Jasper and Penning thing.
Prompt generously donated by monlightwolf , and used to keep a promise to a Pooka that I'd write about chin kisses somewhere.
~
The full moon hung heavy in the sky, shrouded in dark rain clouds as Jasper slowly circled around the house, sniffing the air for the familiar scent of his boyfriend. Jasper wasn’t supposed to be there.
See the adorable, freckled Penning didn’t know Jasper was a werewolf yet, and being surprised in the night by a giant wolf staring in through his windows was probably not the best way to bring the subject up.
But Jasper missed him, and his wolf form didn’t have the same impulse control that his human form did, so here he was, peeking in through the windows and softly whining I miss you. It was past midnight and the lights were all off, which is why Jasper yelped in absolute terror when a large shadowy form popped up on the other side of the glass, stumbling over his own feet as he jerked away from the window.
There was a monster in Penning’s house.
He couldn’t leave Penning alone in there with whatever that thing was! Jasper raced back around the house to the front door, slamming into it recklessly though his tail was still tucked between his legs. Damn doors and their damn locks and scary dark things in windows, thought Jasper viciously, and lunged forward again.
It was solid wood, and Jasper made a high, hurt noise as he made impact with it, his paws scrabbling on the wooden porch as he ricocheted off the door and gathered himself to ram it a third time. If he could just wake Penning - Penning had hands, he could unlock the door -
Jasper’s ears twitched at the creak of wood. Someone - or thing - was on the other side. There was the clatter of the safety chain, and the solid click of a tumbler drawing back, and the scrape of... something, claws perhaps, on the metal of the doorknob. Above him, thunder rumbled, and first few drops of rain began to fall.
The door swung open.
~
Had he been human, he would have blurted, “What are you?”
As it was, he hung back and whined, uncertain. The strange creature before him was... canine, perhaps, if you looked only quickly. But anyone who knew a wolf or a dog knew that this creature was too long, gangly and stretched like runny ink, and just as dark. And certainly no dog could rear up on his hind legs with digited paws and open a door. His scent, however, was unmistakably Penning, despite the evasive musk spiked through it from this new form. Were-Penning took a step back, clearly inviting Jasper in with shake of his head and low, guttural sound.
And to think, Jasper had been worried because he thought his own moon-form was scary.
~
When Jasper woke, he was sprawled naked beneath a thin blanket in front of Penning’s couch. It was dark, and even though his senses had dulled, he could hear the unmistakable wet slap of rain against the windowpanes and the low grumble of thunder, and... a kitchen timer beeping? Where was Penning? Were-Penning? Sore and disoriented, Jasper lurched upright, clutching the blanket around his waist. Something smelled amazing, his nose told him, and Jasper followed it cautiously to the bright splash of light that was the kitchen.
The clock above the stove read 3:26 p.m. and Penning’s delicious looking, denim-clad ass was bent in front of the open oven door, where the almost equally delicious smell was coming from. Penning pulled something out and placed it on the burners, before turning to remove his shark-shaped oven mitts and noticed Jasper standing in the doorway. With a strategically draped blanket. Naked.
Jasper flushed.
“You’re awake!” said Penning, giving Jasper a nervous smile. “I, um, baked a pie. It’s raining out, and I thought you might be hungry. It’s beef.”
“It smells delicious,” said Jasper, clutching his blanket tighter, and Penning’s eyes dipped lower, following the movement. His eyes darkened, and for a moment, Jasper was reminded of the beast from last night. His memory was a little hazy, but he recalled entering the house and confirming by scent that this new creature was indeed Penning. And then there had been a friendly scuffle over a... dog toy, most likely, and racing up and down the stairs and leaping over the living room couch. Penning had turned the bathtub faucet when they got thirsty, and they’d probably left muddy footprints all across the house.
It had been great fun.
“I’ll get you some clothes,” said Penning, sounding strained, muttering “We can talk while we eat,” as he rushed past Jasper down the hall and into the bedroom.
~
Feeling significantly more human now that he had clothes and had brushed his teeth, Jasper took a seat at the kitchen counter and watched as Penning slid him a plate of steaming, savory beef pot pie.
“So,” began Jasper, and picked up his fork. He’d put off telling Penning about the whole full-moon thing for so long, afraid of the reaction he might get. But now the cat was out of the bag, and it turned out there were actually two cats, and... he was feeling pretty good about this. It felt good to have everything out in the open.
“So I’m a werewolf, and you’re a were... thing,” Jasper said. Across from him, Penning flinched. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“No one has,” said Penning. “No one I’ve talked to, anyways.”
So far, this was good, thought Jasper. Penning hadn’t asked to break up yet. “We can ask my mom,” he offered. “Maybe she’ll know.”
“No!” Penning almost yelled. “No. You can’t let her know, can’t tell her about you or me.”
O-kay... that was a strange reaction. Jasper stared at Penning, confused.
An awkward silence stretched. “Because she doesn’t know you’re a werewolf?” Penning half-asked, sounding unsure of himself.
“Of course she knows I’m a werewolf!” exclaimed Jasper. “She’s my mother. How could she not know?”
“And she’s.. okay with that?” Penning asked slowly, a strange expression on his face.
“Of course,” said Jasper automatically, and then suddenly it all made sense - Penning’s distant family, the mother he said abandoned him. Jasper thought he meant she just put him up for adoption. Clearly, there was more to that story.
“Hey,” he said, and reached across the table to take Penning’s hand. “I’m not going anywhere. If you’re okay with me getting furry on full moons, I’m fine with you doing the same. There’s nothing wrong with what we become.”
“Thanks,” whispered Penning roughly, and Jasper pretended not to notice when he quickly wiped his eyes. He almost asked, So we’re still dating, right? but... that was a silly question, he realized, and said “Now let’s eat this pie before it gets cold,” instead.
~
A month later, the bar was dull roar, and Jasper was feeling comfortable and full after their meal at his favorite restaurant with a handful of friends, when he was asked a question.
“Why do you guys do that?”
“Do what?” asked Jasper, straightening up guiltily from where had been leaning into Penning, his head on his chest. He didn’t want to become one of those disgustingly sappy couples, the kind who fondled each other’s hands in public and had to kiss every other minute. With how much he liked Penning, it was a very real fear.
“Kiss each other under the chin,” said their friend Dane. “It’s cute, but kind of weird.”
“Oh,” said Jasper, looking up at Penning, who shrugged down at him. “I don’t know.”
It was just a way of showing affection, and trust. And he liked the light rasp of stubble, the delicate stretch of skin across the jawbone. Maybe it was a werewolf thing. Or a werething thing.
As Penning looped a loose arm around him and pulled him back against his side, Jasper concluded that perhaps it was just their thing.
A Jasper and Penning thing.