19. Begin

(When you edit at midnight... and I ran out of dog pictures on my laptop so, say hi to a bird.)

Work was stressful, even though being with Cerat didn't exactly help him relax, it wasn't as tough as Drake being around him right then. Stop thinking about Drake and focus. You have to do your job or shit hits the fan and the whole office is going to smell terrible. Of course, he knew that wasn't literally going to happen, but the idea brought a slight grin to his lips as he typed out and sent the rest of an email he'd been picking at for the last thirty minutes.

"Alright, fifth one down. Too many to go." He said as the door to his makeshift office opened.

Cerat slipped in, a cautious smile on his face as he approached. Good to see you are still a little hesitant. Warden couldn't explain it, but he could still see the vampire in Cerat's eyes, almost as if it were watching.

We'll figure you out eventually. Warden thought as he took a calming breath and nodded to Cerat, signalling that he could come forward if he wanted. Cerat did so, taking the seat next to Warden before bringing his legs up to hug them against his chest.

"What's wrong?" Warden asked. He knew what was generally wrong. The whole situation he was stuck in, but there was nothing he could do about that, and Cerat knew it. So then why is he upset and not trying to instigate me?

At first, he wasn't sure Cerat would answer, as the young man was quiet for a long time. When he did finally speak, though, it wasn't what Warden expected to hear, especially after just having to deal with aggressive mood swings for so many days.

"One of the mice died..."

Cerat's voice was so quiet that Warden had to repeat the words in his head to make sense of them. He wouldn't have felt bad about a mouse dying, as he knew that they didn't live very long, but just seeing Cerat so depressed about the animal's passing made Warden set his laptop carefully aside on the floor and pull the vampire into his lap. He half expected him to still try something, but when Cerat just wrapped his arms around his neck in a hug, Warden returned the gesture and pressed a kiss to his hair.

"I'm sorry that happened. You take very good care of everything here, and I'm sure that it was just the little guy's time to go."

Did he know that for sure? Absolutely not, but Warden did know that Cerat made sure that every single animal in the store, even ones not assigned to him for the day, were impeccably cared for.

When Cerat didn't respond, Warden gave him a gentle squeeze, then leaned back in his seat and looked up at one of the surprisingly clean ceiling tiles.

"Hey Cer?"

He felt the young man fidget a little in his arms, and figured that he wasn't going to get much more of a response. He understood, as Cerat was still sniffling quietly.

"Drake asked me out on a date tonight."

Warden wasn't sure why he decided to tell him. He could have brought Cerat with the guy being none the wiser. You want input, and with how he was acting before, springing it on him might not be the best idea. He told himself with a roll of his eyes before looking down. He hadn't noticed, but Cerat had shifted more and was looking right up at him then. His eyes gleamed, but Warden couldn't read his emotions any longer.

"I didn't know that you liked him that way." Cerat said after several long moments of silence.

Warden had nearly given up on getting a reply, so when it finally came, he had to take a few seconds to put together a response. "I... we grew up together."

That hadn't been the response he'd wanted to give, but Warden couldn't exactly take it back, so he hurried to continue as Cerat's expression became confused.

"What I mean is, we don't. Or didn't. I don't know. Drake has never shown interest in me. Not even when he was really horny, unless we were sharing a girl. Now, all of a sudden, it feels like he wants to put a ring on my finger."

Cerat slid from his lap, then cocked his head to one side. Pursing his lips, he leaned back against one of the lunch tables his boss had put in the room for her employees recently. "Well, do you like him that way?" He asked.

Warden could have sworn that he saw a grin starting on Cerat's face, but didn't dwell on it as he felt his cheeks warm the slightest amount. "I don't know."

"Well, I guess tonight's your chance to figure that part out." Cerat said with a raised eyebrow.

The look he's getting on his face is telling me that there's going to be trouble.

"Um, perhaps you should get back to work..." He said awkwardly, sitting back down but not daring to reach for his laptop yet.

When Cerat leaned forward, Warden unintentionally leaned back until the backrest of the chair stopped him from going any further.

"Let's hope you figure out quite a few things tonight." He said before stealing a quick kiss and turning on his heels, disappearing from the room before Warden could say anything.

I can't say that I wasn't expecting something like that.

Shaking his head, Warden decided to let the matter drop. If it came back up later, which was highly likely, he'd deal with it then. As he got back to work, he was mildly surprised that he was actually able to concentrate for the few remaining hours Cerat had to stay at the pet shop. He got through most of the basic duties he needed to do that were accessible from his laptop by the time Cerat returned, including most of the emails.

"How was work?" He asked as he packed up his computer and slung the carrying case over his shoulder.

Cerat seemed a lot happier as Warden walked over to him, and his slightly predatory glances from earlier were nowhere to be seen. He even held the door open for him, nodding as he fell into step next to him. "It was good. All of the small mammals got a check up, just in case, but they all did great."

Warden set a hand on Cerat's hair and mussed it up slightly. "That's a relief. I'm glad they're all doing well." He said as they exited the store and headed for the car. The restaurant was right down the street, but it looked like it was going to rain. Better safe than soaked. He thought with a small smile as he got them on their way.

He figured that Drake would be late, as he was hardly ever on time for anything, so he got him and Cerat seated at a table for three. Knowing Drake's normal order, he got them drinks, Cokes for him and Drake, and a water, per Cerat's request.

Leaning back in the booth, Warden heaved a tried sigh and just let himself relax for a few minutes. Cerat seemed to realize that he wanted to be left alone, and remained silent. When the waitress came back asking if they were ready to order, Warden checked his phone. He's really late. He probably forgot or got distracted.

Warden didn't want to think that Drake had just lost interest. Not that he was sure about the situation himself, but he didn't want to think that Drake hadn't been serious about something that he knew Warden would take seriously.

Oh well. Not much I can do about it. He thought, honestly a bit upset, as he told the waitress to give them a few more minutes. When ten more had passed, Warden accepted that Drake wasn't going to show up.

"Hey?"

Warden looked up from the menu he still had lying in front of him on the table when he heard Cerat's voice.

"Yeah? What's up?" He asked, clearly trying to hide his disappointment. He didn't want Cerat to think that he was upset about being stood up.

Thankfully, Cerat didn't comment on his attitude and instead pointed across the table at his menu, tapping one of the options with his finger.

"I'd really like to try this, if you still want to stay for a bit?"

Glancing down at the menu, Warden couldn't help but smile as he read over the description for what he'd chosen. Of course. Spinach stuffed ravioli.

"Sure. I'm not that hungry, so do you want to just split it?" Warden asked.

Cerat nodded right away, a smile on his face. "Sure."

When the waitress returned, they handed her their menus and gave her their order. While they waited for it to be brought out, they talked about how things were going at the pet store and with Warden working in the back room. Cerat had figured that he'd get behind being cooped up in that little area most of the day without any of his normal workers around, but Warden had told him that he actually did get quite a bit done. It was likely because he was left alone, for the most part.

The store had been picking up a pretty good customer base, according to Cerat. They sold a few pets here and there but the real money was in the supplies for them. He had been kept quite busy helping people find different things and stocking shelves.

Warden was about to ask him if he had any new favorite animals at the store when their plate of food was set in front of them. Since Cerat had been the one who had wanted it, Warden waited until he had taken a huge bite, then tried a small piece himself.

He wasn't a huge fan of anything green, but the dish was absolutely delicious. The garlic and fresh Parmesan cheese went unbelievably well with the spinach. Warden had to hold himself back from eating more than his share, and it seemed like Cerat was easily keeping up with him, even though they'd been feeding him blood somewhat regularly.

Halfway through their meal the waitress returned, asking how it was and if they needed anything else. He knew that he shouldn't have, but Warden ended up ordering something to go for Drake, though he told himself that it was strictly out of habit.

It was pretty late by the time they decided to finally leave, having ended up splitting a desert and talking a bit more. Cerat had been very happy to know that Warden's maids, and surprisingly, his sister, had been taking very good care of the bearded dragon he'd bought. It turned out that Lay had much more interest in the chubby reptile than she did the rabbit and didn't mind Cerat keeping Thumper.

When they finally stepped back inside the apartment, Warden set his bag by the door and took one step forward before realizing what had happened. You've got to be shitting me.

"Drake!" He shouted as he handed Cerat the bag of food to put away and stomped over a shredded pillow. A lamp lay a few feet away in the living room, the glass bulb shattered. Next to it, the coffee table he'd just bought was chewed to pieces.

Warden was familiar with Drake's wolf's fits, but the man hadn't had a serious one in years, and he hadn't been expecting to walk into the destruction one caused. I seriously don't need this tonight. He thought sourly as he headed toward the bedroom. The carpet was scratched up a bit, but at least it wasn't something that would need fixed immediately.

He fully intended to scold him the second he found him, and probably throw him out, too. But what he found in the bedroom got him every single damn time Drake had done the same thing in the past.

His wolf sat facing the corner, its tail tucked tightly beneath it as it hunched with its ears pinned to the side of its head. When Warden took a step into the room, the wolf hunched further, even going as far as to shake a little. It was pathetic. It was totally not Drake. Yet, at the same time, it brought back the memories he had of the younger version of his best friend. Back when he used to get in trouble and do stupid shit all the time. But he only ever got like this when he had trouble controlling his wolf in very stressful situations.

It hit him, then. What had happened earlier and why Drake hadn't come. And also, why he had changed. He hadn't lost interest. He'd just stressed himself out too much about it. Shaking his head, Warden took a seat on the thankfully not shredded bed and waited. Drake had always come to him after one of his panic shifts, if he didn't change when at his place already. It had been a very long time since then, but he knew that he just needed to stay calm and wait for the wolf to decide what it wanted to do. He never pushed it. Not when it was so stressed. Any other time, yeah, he'd tell it exactly what he thought about it destroying his property, but he knew that Drake would pay for whatever he broke, and that it hadn't been intentional.

Thankfully, Cerat had occupied himself taking care of the rabbit and messing about in the kitchen, likely doing the dishes or cleaning up a bit from what he could hear.

It took nearly an hour for Drake's wolf to finally relax enough to do something. He didn't expect it to let Drake have control again so quickly, but when his best friend appeared after a painful transformation and fell against the wall to his left, Warden got up and hurried to his side.

"Fuck." Drake growled out, his voice rough and scratchy. Exhausted.

"Not right now. Thanks for asking, though." Warden replied, trying to keep his tone light as he lifted his naked friend into his arms. It took a good deal of effort, because Drake was definitely not built like an angel. No light bones or lean figure. He was all muscle.

When he managed to get him up on the bed, Warden flopped over onto the other half with a tired sigh. He knew that he shouldn't sleep in the same bed as Drake, especially after what had recently transpired between them, but he didn't give a damn right then. He was tired and knowing that he'd have a heck of a mess to clean up the next day was enough incentive not to move. He noticed the bed dipping near his feet a few minutes later and knew that Cerat had finished whatever it was that he'd been doing and was intent on going to sleep, too. Without a second thought, he tossed his shirt somewhere to the side and found his way beneath the blankets.

He felt heat press against his back some time later, but his mind was too tired to bother waking up for more than a brief moment to notice the temperature change, then another slightly cool one against his chest, before turning off again.