[For Sam] Urban Fantasy AU

[lonered]

Keith can't get the image out of his mind -- the tall, striking man with the strangely two-colored hair and the eyes the clear and endless gray of the sky after a storm, caught in the light of the full moon, like the entire world is about to glow with it. It's almost a memory, he thinks, and that's why he can't let it go. He's never had a memory of his lost time before.

It doesn't make any sense. Why this man? He's seen him before, of course, around town. He's rather hard to forget. But this is something more than that, something more than a strange and inconsequential dream cobbled together from pieces of his subconscious and an attractive stranger. It has to be more. Whenever he dreams, after all, he only dreams of running, of the night air and the scent of the woods and the moonlight spilling over the world.

It's the first lead that he's had, and it's in this strange town that he can't seem to make himself leave. Keith doesn't know exactly how he's going to find this man, and the only plan he has is to keep an eye out. But life and luck are kind today, and in the coffee shop, just as he turns from paying for his caffeine, he finds himself staring at the man walking through the front door.

Violet eyes snap wide, and for a long moment Keith can't do much else but stare. He's still staring when the barista is calling his name with his drink. He turns to gather up his coffee, holding the cup and going back to staring at this man, as if he's trying to decide how to best approach him that won't immediately chase him off. 'I had a dream about you and the moon.' would probably make him sound crazy.

But he has to say something. He needs to put answers to this. The fugues, the lost time with no memories, waking up in places he doesn't expect, or waking in his bed somehow more exhausted than when he went to sleep, it's been growing worse lately. He needs answers before it drives him crazy.

So for now he just stares.

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[spaceforged]

The day after a full moon always leaves the pack restless and he can feel their unease in the back of his mind as he makes his way down the street to the local coffee shop a block from his apartment. He hasn't shared with them what he saw last night.

He can't figure out how to tell them that the man they've seen wandering around is an alpha werewolf. He'd been on the fence about looking for one that didn't have a pack. He can soothe the pack but he can't do the things an alpha can.

They'll never fully settle under him.

The bells on the shop door jangle in a familiar way. The cute guy that is nice on the eyes behind the counter greets him with a smile. He smiles back and pays for the coffee already waiting for him. It pays to be the local vet. As he turns to glance around he meets the eyes of the very same man he met last night.

It's different from last night. There's that unmistakable air of an alpha but it isn't the stare of one demanding he obey. He matches him stare for stare then breaks it as easily as he might break eye contact with anyone else. He pointedly walks to the side door leading to the outside tables and holds it open, meeting his stare again and gesturing he come out to join him.

It's all he can do to make this private. Most people don't sit outside this early in the morning. He takes the table in the far back unsure if the other wolf will follow him.

[lonered]

Keith manages to mostly not startle when he Shiro turns and meets his eyes. He holds his gaze level, just as surprised when the man looks away. He's still watching as Shiro turns to go, half ready to follow him. And then Shiro goes and gestures for him to do exactly that, and Keith finds himself confused all over again.

But he doesn't hesitate. Good. This is what he'd been hoping for, isn't it?

He moves to follow along after, outside into the relative privacy. That's probably for the best too. Keith makes his way over to the table, dropping into a seat across from the man, not entirely sure how to begin this conversation. "I..."

Good. Great. Try again Keith. "I saw you yesterday."

[spaceforged]

The first sign something is off is the Alpha's body language. He moves quietly and with confident strides but his expression doesn't match it. Shiro sips his coffee to hide a growing concern forming in his mind. His wolf usually an observer sits up and watches.

"You did." He agrees as he sets his drink down and meets his eyes again. The wolf he had seen looking back at him from those eyes still isn't there. "You caught me just as I was going off shift." He takes another sip. He's the only wolf in their pack that can take on an unknown alpha. Better to be the target if it comes to that.

But his gut says it won't. "You look better than you did last night." It's not entirely true. He looks less like he's made of moonlight and shadow. A man instead of a wild creature. "...Call me Shiro."

[lonered]

There's a restless presence at the back of Keith's mind, one that stalks and prowls and paws at the doors that Keith doesn't even know he has, not in any conscious way. But he knows it makes him feel unsettled, like sitting is somehow the unnatural thing to do at the moment.

His fingers are wrapped around his coffee cup tightly, and he watches the other man across the table. "Shiro," he echoes with a nod. "I'm Keith."

Well, that's certainly a better start. He frowns though, breaking eye contact now, brow furrowing as he considers. "I don't really remember it. Yesterday... last night I mean." His frown deepens and he looks back up. "I know this sounds weird, but I was hoping I could ask you..." he trails off, shaking his head again. "A few things, I guess."

[spaceforged]

His wolf is wide awake like he always is when someone needs the gift that makes him a decent leader of a pack with no alpha. He keeps his grip on his coffee cup loose and looks down into it. "I have a few questions to ask you too. ...I'll do what I can to help you."

Keith. He repeats the name inside his mind. He finally has a name to this strange alpha. "Don't worry about anything sounding weird. I'm used to the strange." He points at himself with one metal finger.

[lonered]

His eyes flicker to the metal hand, considering, before nodding. Used to strange is good, considering that Keith is genuinely not sure what he's asking. That's the real problem here. He doesn't know what he doesn't know, only the vaguest size and shape of the gaps in his memory.

"I'll answer if I can." It only seems fair, and Keith is willing to play fair if Shiro is willing to help. Even that is more than he's used to having.

"I remember seeing you last night and then... it starts to get blurry. I remember you. And the moon..." and even as he says it, he can see the image again, that clear, pure light, Shiro's face, and then the world suddenly dropping away. "And then nothing. That's what usually happens. I have these blackouts." He winces as he says it -- it's the sort of thing he doesn't talk about. "Just this time that I lose, and I can't remember any of it. The latest one was last night. And you were there so... what happened?"

[spaceforged]

His eyes widen slightly as the implications hit him like an open-handed blow. Some werewolves lose themselves to the wolf. It's always started by blurry memories being the wolf even in human shape.

It's usually the eldest of them. But one can never tell a werewolf's age from their looks. Shiro considers what to say then he speaks. "I was heading home. I started to pass the park and felt eyes on me. You were staring at me." He looks down at his metal arm and rubs his wrist.

"I didn't see the point in hiding myself so," Shiro looks up at him. "I stepped out into the open." He could tell him what happened next. But... "You have never remembered any of the lost time? Nothing at all?"

[lonered]

Keith frowns, nodding. That matches up with what he remembers, but Shiro stops at the part where he loses track, and Keith can't help but wonder why. Did something happen? Did he do something?

That's one of the fears, of course, of what things he may be doing in these moments where no memories form. He takes a sip of his coffee to try to give himself a moment to gather his thoughts -- which is a challenge given that they're racing around in his head at speeds too fast to keep up with.

A shake of his head. "Nothing at all." Though, that's not true is it? "Sometimes... it's more like flashes than an actual memory. The moon shining on the branches of a tree, running through the darkness. Something howling." Something... something so close that he thinks sometimes it has to be him, but that makes no sense, "Even those images are new. They started only recently."

[spaceforged]

...how old is this one? Did he lose himself or is he a wolf that doesn't know what he is. He wants to know. Shiro forces himself to take a sip of coffee. His wolf makes people feel safe around him. Wolves that are uneasy can talk in front of him.

He never tells them that his change had been forced on him and not that long ago. "Did the images start when you came here to this city?" It would make sense. If this alpha has been wandering a pack even if he didn't know them could be as grounding for him as it is for them.

[lonered]

It is easy to talk to this Shiro, which should be strange. But somehow it only feels like a relief to actually be getting some of these things out. Much of it is the sort of secrets that have been kept close and silent for his entire life, for fear what it might actually mean.

Keith blinks at the question. "Yeah. Right around when I first got here." And then, he adds, with a frown. "I hadn't planned on staying, but every time I think about leaving... just never seems like the right time."

[spaceforged]

He still can't tell this Keith's age. But he gets the impression he has lived without knowing what he is. How could the wolf and man run so separate and not be...like him? Peace bringers.

"...Let's review. You don't remember your time under the full moon. Once you came here to this city you started to remember. Last night you remember seeing me." He says as he takes out a notepad and writes it down. "...have your moods seemed to stabilize here? If you look back at what 'dreams' you had from after those blackouts. What's the most common thing? It's the moon and running, isn't it."

He could have been more careful with his questions. But that wouldn't allow Keith to realize he has a fair idea of what's going on. He meets his eyes without looking away. "Come back to the park with me. Your trail should still be there."

[lonered]

Eventually it'll come out that he's exactly as old (as young) as he looks, just into his twenties.

Keith nods in agreement with each point as Shiro makes it. The other man has it straight to the point. And then the questions comes. Keith's eyes widen faintly, but he nods again. "Yeah. More level, I guess. It's hard to describe it."

He looks down at his coffee cup. "Running and moonlight. Everything should be dark, but I can see clear as anything..." Keith sips his coffee before looking up to Shiro. This man knows something. He has to. The things he's saying all strike too close to him to be any sort of coincidence or bluff.

Sitting up straighter, eyes widening again as he realizes how long and how levelly that Shiro is holding his gaze. People don't do that. They never have. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. The park."

[spaceforged]

He gets up from his chair and finishes off his coffee. After checking for messages on his phone, he shuts it off and pockets it. "We'll walk there. It isn't that far and my bike is at my apartment." He'd walked here. It feels safe to admit that to Keith. As much as part of him wants to protect this man he feels...grounded around him.

He puts it out of his mind as he stuffs his hands into his pockets and heads for the back fence to let them both out onto the back street. The back ways out of the cafe are rarely used. At this hour they're deserted. "You can ask more questions." He says when they're on the deserted back street.

"Anything at all."

[spotlion]

Here he was minding his own business as much as any other wolf would when a call rolls down a pack tie. Hunk falls quiet as he goes stiff as a board. “Lance?”

“Hush.” He says but there’s no heat to it. He searches for the familiar storm that is Shiro but it isn’t Shiro. This storm feels more like a hurricane with the primal force to make him bend down and instead he snarls at it.

Except his wolf, doesn’t. He tries to summon up the strength but it isn’t there. Instead he finds himself grabbing his coat and pulling it on. “Going out.” Hunk and Pidge say nothing. He walks out.

On the street he tries to resist the call. But his wolf ignores him. They walk down the streets and into the forest. He follows the path that has Shiro’s scent and the scent of that strange punk he keeps picking a fight with when he sees him. His wolf sees no more issues with the punk.

He even points out to Lance the punk is older than him and something that should be celebrated. He snarls but he can’t muster up the wolf in him to back it. The call must be answered. He feels Shiro tend like a hand placed against his shoulder then gone again.

Lance stumbles out of the foliage and into the open with a hissed curse as a branch slaps him in the face. The clearing is familiar. He knows Shiro comes here a lot. The fire inside the cave mouth and Shiro himself is there. The man looks at him with eyes gone blue as the sky and he almost stops his tracks but the call holds him.

Shiro has always seemed vast and powerful. But it had only ever been the man. The wolf rarely showed his face. Lance knew it as the pack needed a true Alpha and had chafed at Shiro’s inability to truly be that Alpha in the last few years. He had gotten rowdier but Shiro has still been able to put him down. Now, seeing him whole like this...this is what an Alpha should be. But his gaze swings and to his horror he feels the other man’s power. Dark hair, a build that says he could break bones if he decides on it, and eyes that seem otherworldly and try as he might he can’t meet his eyes.

“Are you serious?” He spits but his wolf bows to the other wolf he can feel as he tries to meet the man’s eyes. “You?” He joins them in the cave as Shiro gives the man a soft look that Lance doesn’t know what to make of. So he just snarls and to his surprise Shiro snarls at him.

He blinks. He can count on one hand how many times Shiro has snarled with the wolf in his tone. His wolf is unsurprised. “Shiro, what the fuck?” Shiro doesn’t let up, his eyes locked on him as he says, “He is mine.” Okkkayyy.

Shiro blinks himself as he says that eyes back to grey and looks at Keith. He wants to bolt after saying it but at the same time he wants to stay stay stay. He closes his eyes and lapses into silence. It had been automatic.

But it feels right. ‘Mate’ the wolf whispers and he quietly agrees.

[lonered]

Lance is here. Keith can feel it even before he hears his approach, even before the wind brings the not entirely unfamiliar scent of the other wolf with it. Good. This can end now before it festers, before it makes things difficult for anyone else.

He stands beside Shiro, watching as Lance comes into view. He keeps his eyes fixed on the other man, watching him and trying to decide what to make of him. The pack bonds, as far as he can tell, are strong. Between everyone. So for all that Lance has decided to be an ass in his direction, he knows he matters to the rest of the pack, knows there's more to him than the pride and the drama.

Keith is ready to step forward, to put himself in Lance's space, but then Shiro is speaking and Keith's eyes widen, startled and caught off guard. But his gaze finally leaves Lance to gaze over at Shiro, his entire expression warming, looking at the other man like Shiro has just finished hanging the moon and stars in the sky. The wolf in him agrees. 'Mine. Mate.'

That thought gets shelved for later as he turns back to Lance. "We're going to settle this. Now." The words are spoken low and level, only the faintest hint of a growl in his voice. "Whatever problems you have with me, this goes beyond you and me. The good of the pack is more important." If Lance wants to force a fight, force a confrontation, Keith is more than ready to meet the challenge.

[spotlion]

The look the other wolf throws Shiro has him rethinking a lot of things. Had he just been snarling because he didn’t like some stranger in pack territory. A stranger that could claim their pack and could fix it.

Instead of him. Shiro looks whole and he has never felt the pack bonds be this strong. But he hates it. Who the fuck is this guy to stroll in and make it all better?

‘Jealousy doesn’t serve the pack’ his own wolf snarls. Guilt claws at him. Yeah. He couldn’t lead and he knows it. He can’t fix it. But this man can. With that, Lance looks away, rubbing the back of his neck. “Fine.” He spits. “It stops here. But you better do right by the pack, alright? Or we’ll have a problem again.”

Shiro casts him a calm measured look, and Lance wants to wilt. “I just. I just want everyone to be okay. That’s all.” That’s not why he personally has problems with Keith but that’s something to deal with...over time.

[lonered]

Something in Keith eases, the smallest bit, barely visible, but that was exactly the right answer. No matter what Lance's tone might be struggling with saying, the words themselves matter. "Good," he answers, nodding. "If I don't do right by all of you, you should have a problem with me. Someone to hold me accountable." Though he knows Shiro will do that anyway, but that's complicated in its own way given how he can hear his heart and his wolf singing together for the other werewolf.

"That's what I want too. You don't know me. I get that. But you will." And if nothing else, Keith wants to do the right thing for this pack, for these people who have been so open and welcoming to him even in so short a time, who made the ground beneath his feet feel steady and solid and sure for the first time in his life.

So he glances at Shiro once before turning his attention back to Lance and stepping forward. He holds out a hand towards him to shake. Deal?

[spotlion]

He surprises himself by not hesitating. He takes Keith's hand in his and gives it a strong squeeze. His wolf rumbles with approval as he says with his eyes gone gold but kept dropped, "You're the Alpha. And yeah, I'll keep my eye on you." That alone could sound like a threat but he keeps going. "And I'll watch your back. ...but knowing you, well, how about you come to our pack gaming sessions? Shiro doesn't always show up,"

He flashes Shiro a smile that the other returns with a slight tick to his eyebrow. "But we have them three times a month. Sometimes gaming of the tap your controller way. Sometimes the roll the dice way. Easy way to see all of us and we know you. And your luck." He grins without showing teeth.

[lonered]

Keith looks pleased by Lance returning the handshake. He didn't want to have to physically knock the other werewolf down, but he was willing to do it. This is better. Much better. Lance is a lot of bluster and pride and prickly reactions, but he cares about the pack. That much is undeniably clear. That he can work with, if the other man isn't entirely made of ego. Good.

The invitation catches him by surprise, however, and he doesn't catch it in time to keep it off his expression. He doesn't get invited places. He's the wandering loner. But that isn't true anymore. He's still getting used to that idea. "I'd like that." The most surprising thing is that he really means those words. It sounds nice. It sounds fun.

"Can't speak to my luck, but I'm pretty good at video games." Especially vehicle sims. His reflexes are second to none. A glance over at Shiro. "I would've pegged you as the competitive type, deep down." The teasing is deliberate but gentle, run through with that fondness he couldn't hide if he wanted to at this point.

[spotlion]

Lance when Shiro laughs, relaxed in a way he has never seen before. The older wolf’s eyes spark with blue again. “I am.” He rumbles and Lance gets the impression it is time for him to go. “Oookay! I need to get back. So I’ll text you the details and we’ll see what you can do.”

He steps back but Shiro looks amused as he beats a hasty retreat. Shiro waits until Lance is out of ear shot. “I am better than they are and don’t want to crush egos. That and,” he tilts his head slightly to the side, grinning at Keith. “I think I’ve always been waiting for you.”

[lonered]

Keith nods once at Lance. "Yeah, thanks." He means it, but it's hard not to be distracted by Shiro when the other wolf laughs like that. When Shiro answers, Keith's expression widens into a grin. "Oh? That a fact?" How polite of Shiro, really. Keith is about to inform the other man that he'll be happy to put that to the test too but Shiro keeps talking.

And Keith's heart thuds heavy and hard and he finds himself caught by that grin on the other's face -- he's beautiful, brighter than the fullest moon and near blinding for it -- and feels himself smiling in answer. Always been waiting for you. And okay, maybe it's in the context of games and competitive streaks, it still echoes in Keith's ears.

It brings to mind those other words, the ones Shiro had spoken earlier that had seemed almost accidentally voiced at the time. "Because I'm yours?" He asks, voice low, but smile still lingering on his features. And because you're mine.

[spaceforged]

His voice goes low, a rumble in his chest as wolf and man come to a decision at the same time. No more waiting. No more holding back. He moves slowly and deliberately as he closes the distance between them and cups Keith's face in his hands. "Because I'm yours if you'll have me."

He swallows and smiles quietly back. "I think I get what Coran was trying to hint at without making it obvious. But, it's up to you." His wolf be damned, he would refuse it if that is what Keith wanted but he doubts he has to worry about that.

[lonered]

Shiro's touch, even so gentle and soft as those hands at his face are, is enough to still his heart for the span of several beats. Violet eyes widen as he looks up at Shiro. The words kickstart his heart back into beating, and his wolf is all but howling in agreement.

He lifts his one hand, curling it around Shiro's wrist, thumb tracing its way along metal knuckles. "I'll have you. Of course I'll have you."

Coran knew it when he saw them, and so many of the things the older wolf had alluded to really do make more sense now. And there's no denying it. This man in front of him, this strong, beautiful, kind man, is the one his heart was meant for. "If you'll have me too," he adds, even as his free hand lifts to settle flat against Shiro's chest, above his heart. Mine.

[spaceforged]

“Of course I will.” Keith’s hand fits against his chest as if it was always meant to. He leans in as he says, “My Keith.” The first brush of their lips together feels like he found where he belongs.

He leans back in, gently drawing Keith closer as his hands drop to his shoulders. His wolf sighs happily, and he feels a sense of peace sweep over him the likes of which he has never known before.

He reaches through the pack bonds and finds the tie that exists between himself and Keith. It’s whole. Beautifully wonderfully whole. “Keith...” He breathes,

[lonered]

"My Shiro," Keith echoes back in that moment before the kiss, and then words seem entirely superfluous anyway, and he kisses Shiro back. His own wolf is a mix of triumphant and contented, as if it knows even more than he does that he's finally found himself to the place where he belongs.

He winds his arms around Shiro, stepping in closer, closing whatever space between them. Right here, in this man's arms, he's home.

"I think I've been looking for you, all this time. I never knew what it was, what was missing..." But this was it. Shiro. This warmth, belonging. And this pack. They'll take care of it together, side by side.