They dropped Lara off first, along with half of all the cherries they'd picked and a promise that she'd return with cherry pies by Wednesday. In the car, Max and River both kept quiet, Max chewing on the occasional cherry and spitting the pit out of the window.
River snorted when he noticed. "Doesn't that count as littering?"
"No?" Max answered, slightly startled. "They're completely biodegradable and I don't think they're poisonous to anything. It's not like I'm chucking a plastic bag out there."
"Oh... okay then." River returned to driving.
River's tires kicked pebbles up, making Max cringe slightly. His own truck was alright to damage, River's was a different matter.
"Would you..." Max started, soft voice carrying in the quiet car. "Would you like to come in... for coffee?"
After a moment, River nodded at Max's invitation.
Inside, Max watched River make his way to the living room sofa, before heading into the kitchen to turn the kettle on. It felt... routine. Like this was a common between the two of them, even though, reasonably, Max knew it'd only happened a couple of times.
Strolling into the living room, Max changed his mind. "Do you mind if we sit on the porch?" He suggested. "It's still nice out."
River didn't voice his compliance, but stood to follow Max.
"You don't have a table. Or chairs." River noted.
"Sorry," Max shrugged. "I kept meaning to buy some but the blankets came out and after a week of using them, I completely forgot." He looked up and reached out to take River's mug. "Do you mind?"
River shook his head, lowering himself gently into the pile. "I might spill my drink."
"I don't mind. I have a washing machine."
"I still think it's kinda weird that you choose not to use the chairs." River muttered.
Max snorted. "Good for y-"
The smile in River's eyes halted him. "It is comfortable though."
"Y-yeah." Max managed. If he said anything else, he'd be a stuttering mess.
They looked different with a smile in them. No longer the bottomless pits that he found himself falling in, they'd become gentle, rippling pools that Max wanted to submerge himself into. Warmth and comfort and stability: everything Max looked for - wanted in - his life.
Still bottomless but no longer threatening.
Beautiful bottomless brown eyes.
"Are you okay?" River's voice caught him. "You're staring."
Max nodded. "It's because you're so weird-looking." The words felt awkward on his tongue, like he was trying to figure out how to form coherent sentences all over again.
"What are you, twelve?" River's chuckle was contagious, and after a moment, Max joined the laughter. It really was the retort of a twelve year-old wasn't it? Max only laughed harder.
And then River stopped. Alarm was written across his face with wide eyes and lips so tight they'd turned white. The breeze shifted; the scent of wolf was blown directly into Max's face.
River stood, gave one of those fake smiles that made Max grimace on the inside. "Stay here for a moment, I think you might have a wolf problem."
But... how did River know? He was human. Humans wouldn't be able to smell the wolf. Before Max could ask, River had loped off into the woods.
There was no way Max was going to let River just waltz into a wolf-infested area of the forest without him. As capable as River probably was, Max was a jaguar shifter. Even in human form he was stronger than any average human. So Max followed. He kept out of sight, stayed in the trees mostly, keeping track of River with ease.
River stopped in a clearing about half a mile away from Max's house. The same one Max and the wolf had played in. Where the wolf had left him.
Returning his thoughts to the present, Max became increasingly confused as he watched River remove his shirt first, and then his trousers. The weirdo took of his shoes last, before crouching down. And then there was a low groan. It sounded painful.
Realisation hit Max like a tonne of bricks. River was a... shifter. But he didn't smell like a shifter and even as Max watched, he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. River on all fours. River growing fur. River's bone shifting underneath the skin. The snapping and breaking of said bones was loud, cracking through the still air with each move, each time eliciting a moan or grunt from River.
Max own skin itched to join him, to change into his jaguar form, to show River he wasn't alone. But Max wouldn't do that. Shifting was a private thing - for Max at least. It left a person in a vulnerable position. No way to defend if someone happened upon them because the bones and muscles weren't properly melded together until the shift was complete.
It was impossible to move while shifting, so it just had to run its course.
River stood, shook out his thick fur, stretched. The wolf. River was the wolf. The one with the gold and yellow flecked brown eyes. With the grey black and white mottled fur - white dominating the chest. But it didn't smell like River.
No, it did smell like River. Under the dominating scent of wolf, the lightest tone of River's sandalwood and pine forest scent swirled.
Max didn't know what he was supposed to do now. Sure, it made sense for River to tell Max to stay back, but Max still had the feeling he was... needed. Not like River needed him, but more as if... he needed to be here. It didn't make sense.
His decision was taken from him. River's wolf eyes met his own and... electricity. Max had never felt electric before. Not like this. He'd had sparks, at the beginning, with Luke. But this sudden shockwave- nothing like this.
And then River was moving. Max could follow him. Shift into a jaguar and pick up the trail. Get back into the trees and see if he could find River again.
It was as if his body had made the decision for him, launching off the tree to get to the ground where shifting would be a lot less precarious than trying it in the branches. Five minutes passed and almost immediately, Max was back up, taking off after the wolf - after River. The scent was still fresh, but how fast was River moving? Even after a further five minutes of tracking at as fast a speed as Max's nose would allow, there was no sight of the grey-tipped tail.
Deciding ground tracking wasn't quite working, Max bounded back up a tree, the thick branches barely even giving a shiver, despite his size. Max's claws left deep gouges in the wood as he leapt from tree to tree in search of his - in search of River.
There. River's mottled fur was just barely visible below the leaves. Max didn't leave the trees, instead giving a low rumble that River was sure to hear. Those golden eyes pierced Max, made him miss a step. He seemed confused as he ran - didn't he know that Max was the jaguar? If he did, he wouldn't appear so surprised. Still, he kept running, and Max spotted the exact moment he decided to focus on whatever the task at hand was, howling a call for reinforcement.
It wasn't long before it was clear what the issue was. Approaching from downwind, River ploughed forward, four wolves joined the charge to flank him. Max dropped back. More wolves waited for them ahead, but they didn't exactly appear to be waiting for some happy reunion. Instead, every single wolf in the fray had their hackles risen and teeth bared, growls and snaps filling the air.
A single man approached from the side of the opposing force. Although he was completely nude, Max couldn't feel any nervous energy coming from him. Pale-skinned, with blue eyes and blond hair, the man wasn't so much handsome as pretty. But there was an intimidating aura about him. One that Max really didn't want River to be left alone with.
"Are you going to change back so we can talk, or are you just going to sit there like a good dog?" The man's voice was chilling, in spite of the teasing tone that lilted in it.
River complied. Apparently, wolves shifted between forms much faster than Max could, taking only a minute or so. Stood there in all his naked glory, River was taller than the other man, but that didn't seem to mean anything to either of them, both bristling with... was that anger or anxiety?
Max wanted to jump in there, to stand before River and shield him from the danger that this blond asshole posed.
Definitely infatuated, Max inwardly grimaced.
The wind changed direction and Max did his best to stay downwind. That meant circling around to the side of the clearing that the blond man stood on. If River noticed Max, he didn't react.
"What do you want, Gillespie?" River's voice was clear, forcing people to pay attention and anger trailing after every syllable. It was the voice of a commander.
Max hated to think what his father sounded like.
Gillespie smirked. "I want your pack."
"Tough shit." River snapped right back.
He needs to calm down, Max thought anxiously.
"Oh? Is that right?"
River snorted, rolled his eyes. "You're challenging the wrong person, you prick."
Max's claws furrowed deeper into the wood. River was going to get himself in trouble and Max really didn't want that to happen.
Gillespie waved a hand in true villain style, as if he were dismissing a silly child's words. "I can assure you, this is not a challenge for you. It's a challenge for your father. You're just going to deliver the message."
After that, neither man spoke. Gillespie strolled away, turning his back, and as he went, more of his wolves appeared, quickly outnumbering River's small group. This wasn't good. River was in human form and it didn't matter how strong he was, there were still more of them than there was of him.
When the fighting began, it actually surprised Max. Not because he didn't know it was coming - it was rather obvious what was going to happen with Gillespie's words of warning - but because of how it started. One wolf jumped another and the fighting began. That was it, nothing to prelude the attack but threatening growls and bared canines.
River.
River was still in human form in the process of being cornered by a pair of wolves. One actively attacked him, and he was holding his own well enough. The issue was the other waiting for the moment to attack from behind.
Max couldn't have that. He leapt from the closest branch directly to the ground, claws and teeth ready to tear into the threat to River. The wolf went down with a surprised yelp and didn't get back up. River spun, having dealt with the first wolf. His expression was unreadable, but it didn't matter. Max still approached and stood close enough to feel the warmth of River's body.
Again and again, the enemy pack of wolves kept coming and neither River nor Max backed down, fighting together as a team, working together better than Max knew they could. Just having River there was somehow comforting and emboldening. He could taking down a hundred wolves alone if River was simply there for him.
Of course, there were only two wolves left from the enemy attack, the rest fleeing, dying, or dead. The two lay down, and rolled onto their backs in submission. River strode over and stared down at the pair. It must've been a wolf thing, because Max didn't understand what was happening in the slightest, but when River stalked away, the pair followed, heads down and tails between their legs.
Max went, too, walking close enough to River to knock into the man's legs every now and again. River didn't seem to mind, running his finger through the short fur on Max's scruff, as if it was something he did every day.
A pleased rolling chuff came from Max.
While the wolves left to return from wherever they came from, River stayed with Max, Max doing the jaguar version of purr. Neither man realised where they were headed until Max's house came into view. He didn't question it, just climbed onto the porch and curled up in the duvets.
At this point, they were dirty and in need of a good wash, but in jaguar form, Max never really cared about dirt. River didn't seem to care either, pressing himself against Max in a way that had all of Max's body melting into his touch.
They fell asleep like that, warm and comforted.