Ugh, Jack felt terrible.
It wasn’t that uncommon, the last night of the full moon was always the worst. It seemed like the universe had it out for him at the end, but now he had twenty-seven days to just meander about and do his usual thing.
Well, he usually did.
Despite wanting to lie on this very comfortable bed, it occurred to the man that it was not the bed he should be waking up on. With a groan, he cracked an eye open, and it took a second for the room to come into focus. The apartment was a decent size for whatever city they were in, with bookshelves lining the room, and despite those books were piled on various surfaces with abandon, and with his heightened smell, Jack already adored the smell of aging pages. He could also smell the oil and metal of weapons, and hoped they weren’t ready to be used as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. The clothes he wore, just some boxers overlaid with sweatpants, were quite welcome, and he had long stopped caring if people saw him naked.
“Hello? Are you alright in there?” A soft voice had Jack snapping over to look towards the small kitchen in the flat. There was a man he apparently hadn’t noticed, hunched in on himself slightly as he waved, half hiding behind a fish tank.
“I have been better.” The Mexican man shrugged, finally sitting upright with his feet over the side of the bed. “Where…?”
“Oh, you’re in my flat. My name’s Steven, and yours?” The man is still keeping his distance, but Jack can smell the coffee he’s holding and can’t help but eye it. “Cream?”
“Black is fine.” Jack flashes a smile, and Steven pads over, handing over the warm liquid. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it yea?”
“Jack, my name is Jack.” Oh this was some good coffee, Jack downing almost half the cup before letting out a happy sigh. “So eh, what happened last night?”
“You um, uh…” Steven seemed at a loss of what to say, and Jack just gives him a smile. “You’re a werewolf.”
“Si, I am. Usually only for a few days, then I’m me.” He takes another sip, subtly taking in the smells of the flat again. Now that he’s gotten some caffeine in his system, he can smell the fish from the tank, some tofu in the fridge Jack would definitely love to sample, and the scent of…sand? No, more than just sand, the scent of old stones and aged metal, which is very much not normal. He’s torn from his investigation when Steven starts to giggle to himself, and Jack looks lost.
“I’m sorry, but you’re a werewolf, in London. I’ve been laughing myself silly about that all night.” Jack just snorted into his coffee, having been ridiculed far too many times over the years over that.
“You’re not the first, and not the last. Though I was in Ireland, or I had been, so this is uh, not to plan.” He must have been able to get free, and knew Ted was going to admonish him once he got home.
Again
Sigh
“No wonder you were uh, not as angry as you coulda been? You had to be exhausted runnin’ all the time.” Steven carefully worded, clearly trying not to offend. Jack waved his worry away, draining the last of his cup.
“Say, mind if I have some of your tofu?”
“Of course!” The Brit seemed delighted by the fact, and Jack takes the time to shower while Steven cooks. He feels a bit bad when dirt and leaves clog the drain for a moment, knowing that the bed had to be changed. It was nice, however, to have a hot shower, he would probably be limping his way home naked had Steven not found him. The smell of sand is particularly strong when he emerges from behind the folding door, and he unconsciously bares his canines for a moment.
“You alright mate?” Steven called, looking at him with curiosity and a bit of shock.
“I…I think so.” Jack cleared his throat, and the intense smell of the desert fades when he takes a step forward. The tofu dish distracts Jack enough, the man eating slowly as Steven puttered around the flat. “You know, you’re taking having a werewolf in your apartamento very well.”
“I suppose? The ah, supernatural doesn’t shock us much mate.” He remarked with a small snort, and Jack does not miss the plural. “I’m just glad you didn’t wake up screaming and the like.”
“Oh no, the day after is always the pain and the soreness.” Jack groaned, looking into his drink miserably. “When your body has to adjust, bones get broken and healed. Still aches in the morning though, especially my back.”
“Oh, I can relate.” Steven winced sympathetically. “Remind me to tell you about the time we fell out of a window and landed on a car, right in the spot with the least armor. Couldn’t walk for a good day.”
“You fell out a window and survived?” Jack blinked, and the smell of the desert has now returned and settled behind Steven.
Jack was too old to be dealing with this.
“Mhm, we have…a good suit that helps.”
“Why do you say we?” Steven froze, and Jack felt a little guilty.
“I, um…” The man seemed to be grasping at straws, and Jack’s lips twitch when the smell intensifies. Jack has been around long enough to know something was there, and fragmented memory of last night filters through his mind.
Steven is cast in white, but speaks with a different accent. He feels like the moon, spilling with the power his wolf side craved, but is calmed by. The wolf likes this feeling, and plays with the man bathed in white.
“Did you play fetch with me?” Jack blurted out suddenly, feeling absolutely mortified and confused.
“Er…yes?” Jack just stares at Steven, and isn’t sure how this random man had accomplished such a feat.
You are both children of the moon, it makes sense your bestial half would not wish for violence
Steven was very much expecting Jack not to hear Khonshu, but the man clearly did. He tilted his head, and Steven can just imagine dog ears perked up as if they were there.
“You serve a god? I know some of them are on earth, but hijo de la luna is a new one to be called.” Jack shrugged, eyes trained fairly close to the place where Khonshu was currently hovering. (child of the moon)
“You can hear him?”
“And smell, he smells of the desert. Don’t care much for the desert, too much sand.” Jack pulled a face, and Steven can’t help but laugh.
“Oh mate you’ve no idea, we’ve had to venture into a few, and the sand is the worst.” Steven finally joined him at the table, and Jack smiled.
Steven Grant turned out to be an absolute gem, he and Jack talked until the werewolf figured he needed to head home. Steven gives him some clothes for the journey, and when he offers to pay, he just asks Jack to come back for a visit. Jack can do that, it’s been a long time since he’s had someone he already considers a friend, and has a pep to his step as he makes his way to catch a bus back home.
Ted is unimpressed when he finally makes it home, but pats the top of Jack’s head when he speaks of his new friend.