[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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[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.

[spaceforged]

Shiro says nothing as he wraps his arms around Keith and watches him with a small smile on his face. The thought of that is over whelming but, he pushes past that feeling.

“I think every time I stopped before your apartment it was because I knew what would be to me. Every time I ran, I stopped right there.” Somewhere inside him he’d known. This won’t fix his problems or Keith’s but having each other to lean on will make it easier to bear.

He leans in to kiss him again then stops and blinks. “Um, we might want to finish making dinner before we really get into this.” His cheeks turn a bit pink. “Then I’m all yours.”

[lonered]

Keith smiles back. This is overwhelming all of this. His life has shifted, but shifted for the better. He understands what he is, who he is. Thinking back he remembers the feeling of those moments that someone was there in those moments before Kosmo started barking at the window.

He leans up to meet that kiss, looking confused when Shiro first pulls back and-- Right. Yes. Dinner.

A laugh, and he nods. "Yeah, that might be a good idea, huh?" He manages to find the strength to disengage from Shiro, stepping back. "But I'll hold you to that." He informs Shiro with a playful grin.

And he will. Because nothing sounds better than curling up close to Shiro by the fire.

[spaceforged]

Shiro swallows and checks the pot of water over the fire. It’s as hot as he wants it to be. He checks over the ingredients they’d prepared and starts adding them in. A campfire stew isn’t too bad.

He ate many of those on his journey to this city. He goes looking for the jerky he had stored and has to pause to breath in.

It’s so much easier to stay steady now he accepted he is a werewolf. He still thinks himself a monster but, it’s bearable. “Keith can you grab the jerky from my pack? It has all the seasoning this stew will need.”

He’s looking forward to curling up with Keith.

[lonered]

"On it," Keith nods and finds the jerky that Shiro has asked for, bringing it over towards the campfire and setting himself beside the other man once more -- not touching because he doesn't trust himself to be able to keep it to anything minor right now, and he doesn't want to interrupt Shiro cooking.

It's almost overwhelming how much he just wants to drape himself all over Shiro. He's never been one for physical proximity or affection, but now both he and his wolf are absolutely craving it.

Dinner first. Patience has never been his strong suit, but he's trying.

[spaceforged]

He isn’t the most touch oriented person but the desire to lean into Keith and forget about food is almost overpowering. He takes a breath but all he can smell is Keith. He and his wolf want to be as close as they can get.

Shiro focuses on takes the jerky and breaking it into pieces, adding it to the pot. “I did this a lot when I was hiding from the druids. It’s a bit like hot pot. If you have ever had that before. I needed so much meat but I couldn’t stand the idea of killing to get it. Not then.”

The ghosts of so many killed by his jaws lingered so thick around him that he almost choked on it. Shiro stirs the pot as the last of the jerky is added. “So I did like they trained us to do in emergency situations. Kept me alive as I wound my way this way.”

[lonered]

When he was hiding. There's still a prickle of rage at the thought of Shiro being hurt, but Keith sets it aside for now. That is the past, and he can't change it. All he can do is make sure that no one hurts Shiro again, or any of his pack.

"And then you found your way here." Keith nods, picking up a couple bowls and holding them ready for when the stew is done. "It smells good." And he's hungry, but that's his usual state of being. At least he understands why now.

Keith is trying to behave, but he can't quite help but shift closer to Shiro, lean into him, just the press of the sides of their bodies together.

[spaceforged]

He leans into Keith the moment their hips touch. He can’t help it. It feels right and good. It feels like they’ve known each other for years and like they barely know each other at all.

“And I found my way here.”
He echoes as he stirs the stew. The scent of the meat and the vegetables is enough to make him smile. He can still do it. Shiro waits a little longer then he ladles stew into both their bowls. The meat, chunks of carrot, potato, and various vegetables steam in the fire light.

He takes one of the bowls, their fingers brushing against each other. Shiro swallows and his smile turns soft. “And you found me.” He whispers, “One moonlit night.”

[lonered]

Something in Keith eases when Shiro leans into him in return, relief in a way, because it does feel right. It's warmer even than the fire roaring away in front of them.

He holds onto his bowl, releasing Shiro's bowl as their fingers touch. His gaze rises to roam over Shiro's face, taking in his features in the firelight. He's beautiful, the strong line of his jaw and the depthless gray of his eyes.

An answering smile surfaces on Keith's face as he shakes his nods, barely a movement at all, "We found each other."

[spaceforged]

“That we did.” Shiro says and takes his spoon in hand. It is a really simple stew but it fills the need to eat. The protein and nutrients work their way through his system just as well as they had in the past.

It had kept him going as he cane toward the city. Now as he looks at Keith, they’ll give him the energy for whatever he and Keith decide to do next. He is looking forward to it more than he probably should.

Shiro thinks it over and says, “The only thing I know about mates is what Coran told us. I have no idea what else it entails. ...but I feel a tie to you that isn’t a pack bond. It’s just us. It seems whole but not yet sealed.”

What it takes to seal it he has no idea. Coran naturally would know but he doesn’t want to ask. They’re werewolves. They’ll figure it out by instinct.

[lonered]

"Same here." Coran's explanation is the first he'd heard most of the things Coran talked about. But beyond that, he can feel that tie between them too, whole and strong, but Shiro is right. It isn't sealed yet.

His wolf seems to have ideas about it though, and provides a very clear picture of sinking his teeth into Shiro's neck, leaving a mark for the rest of the world to see, of the two of them moving together as one.

The thoughts have him blushing and he turns his gaze back towards the fire. "I can feel it too." He's smiling, glancing at Shiro out the corner of his eye as he starts in on his stew.

[spaceforged]

Through the bond between them Shiro picks up on fragmented images that are suggestive enough he stops his spoon mid-way to his mouth. He lowers it back to his bowl as his own wolf clarifies what that has been about, showing him what both wolves think will seal the bond.

He takes a deep breath and goes back to eating. “I think our wolves have a...few ideas.” He had mildly suspected it. It’s how mates are determined in the wild but.

It feels right and he wouldn’t mind letting himself be that vulnerable if it was Keith. He flushes and pauses eating yet again, looking for the words. But it seems the words are as easy as. “If it’s you, I’m okay with it.” Only Keith is allowed this much.

[lonered]

"Yeah. They... really seem to." Keith agrees sheepishly, but he doesn't think that their wolf halves are wrong about this either. The flush on Shiro's face is perhaps the most endearing thing that he's ever seen, and he's struck again with just how beautiful the other man is.

He's not expecting the words that Shiro says next, and the surprise shows on his face, but so does how happy he is to hear it. "Me too. If it's you." And only if it's Shiro. He scoots a little closer before he adds, "But only when you're ready," he promises.

A quiet moment and he adds, "You're worth waiting for." However long that may be, even if all of Keith's heart is made up and ready to be Shiro's, heart and body and soul.

[spaceforged]

There’s a moment where he doesn’t know what to do. He didn’t expect this. Keith is willing to wait until he is ready. He leans into him, breathing in his scent.

He burns for this man. Shiro says, “Keith. I’ve never wanted anyone in my life more than you. I’m ready whenever you are.”

[lonered]

Shiro leans close and Keith's wolf preens in approval at the proximity. He leans closer himself, up to press a kiss to his cheek. It's an impulsive little incidental display of affection, the sort of thing that Keith has never in his life done.

"I want you too. So much."

More than he has ever wanted anyone, ever even conceived of wanting someone else. He's more than ready too.

[spaceforged]

Shiro sets his empty bowl on the ground and takes Keith's from him, setting it beside his. The air in the cave feels changed and every breath he takes feels too hot. Anticipation hits his system like a spark to a match as their mutual desires flows through the bond between them. "Then why not now?"

He leans in and kisses him properly, sighing at the first taste of him on his lips. It feels like they were made for one another. The pack, all of his life fades away until all is left is the man in front of him.

He brushes dark hair away from Keith's face and marvels at how soft it is. He hadn't expected that. There's so much he hasn't expected of today. "I want you inside me." He breathes as they part for air.

[lonered]

Keith barely notices the bowl being taken away, but once his hands are free, he reaches for Shiro eagerly, like he's been using all his restraint to keep his hands off the other man. And maybe he has been. Why not now? Shiro says and Keith smiles in that fraction of a second before their lips meet and he's swept up in kissing Shiro like a starving man finally bein given sustenance.

He can't stop the low, pleased near growl of sound that catches in his throat. "Oh I want that too." God he wants it too, and he leans in closer, kissing Shiro's lips once more before his kisses his way down along his jaw, down to his throat, his neck, teeth and lips exploring every inch of that warm skin.

"Mine," he purrs to him, and then, thoughtful. "Do we have anything?" Because when Keith packed for their overnight, he was not quite prescient enough to pack for sex.

[spaceforged]

“Gl- ah, we’re on the same page.” He tips his head back trusting Keith to read it as he intended it, asking for more. A fire is building in his belly and spreading through him and he welcomes it. Keith’s lips and teeth leave tingles in their wake.

He already feels light headed but he only needs a split second to consider if they do have what they need. “Yeah, I have lotion in my pack and a condom in my wallet. It was always a just in case thing.”

He had never expected anything of anyone, he just kept it in case he lost his head with someone and they were far from his bedroom. Shiro laughs a little and wraps his arm around Keith’s neck. “Never thought I’d use it.”

[lonered]

Keith couldn't resist that gesture of trust if he wanted to. And nothing in him wants to resist. He leans closer and he sinks his teeth into Shiro's neck, hard enough to break the skin, to leave a mark. His.

He laves his tongue along the mark he's left before kissing more softly up and along to his jaw. "Good. That's good." Just in case or whatever the reason, Keith is grateful for it. He wants Shiro too much to want to wait.

His fingers find their way to the hemline of Shiro's shirt and urge it up so he can splay a hand against bare skin, and even that simple contact has the fire already scorching his blood burning all the hotter.

[spaceforged]

The heat of Keith’s hand burns him. He makes a half human sound and drags the hand up to rest against his side. Shiro reaches for him to pull him close enough the only barrier between them is their clothes.

He bares his teeth that have bled closer to a wolf’s in the span of seconds. “Mine.” He rumbles, his voice deeper with the power of his wolf. Man and wolf claim this man as theirs. He runs his hand up Keith’s back as his voice goes low, “yours.”

He has never given himself so willingly to anyone but it feels right.

[lonered]

"Yours," Keith agrees, a soft, low promise. "Always, only yours." And Shiro is his, and Keith has never even dared to dream that he'd find someone like this. There's a wild glint in his own eyes as he hears the wolf in Shiro's voice.

He needs him so much it physically hurts.

The clothes between them are too much and Keith starts tugging Shiro's off, trying to coax his arms up. He needs it gone, needs to see Shiro, see all of him, touch all of him.

[spaceforged]

His jacket goes somewhere and he doesn’t care where. Shiro raises his arms up and his shirt follows. He shivers as the heat of the fire hits his bare skin. He scoots a little closer to it to chase away the evening chill.

That doesn’t matter half as much as getting Keith naked does. He reaches for him, tugging at his clothes and pulling upwards to get the shirt out of his way. Some part of him is distantly aware of how desperate he feels. It’s like a switch got flipped somewhere inside him. “Keith, I need you.” He almost whines.

He can be embarrassed about that later.

[lonered]

Keith is all too happy to shed his own shirt as well. The chill of the night sends a shiver racing over his skin, invigorating more than anything else, though it also has him moving that much closer to Shiro, into his space. He can't keep his hands to himself, can't pull away from learning Shiro's body, committing it to memory like a map that will lead him home.

"You have me," he breathes, voice low and half growled as his fingers find their way down to Shiro's belt and pants. He is a bit distracted though -- his own doing -- since at the same time he leans in and noses his way under Shiro's jaw, to kiss along his throat, to scrape his teeth at the juncture of his neck and shoulder before biting a bit harder at his shoulder.

His. His mate. His Shiro. He's never wanted anyone like this, this intensely, this desperately.

[spaceforged]

His belt hits the ground with a soft clink at the same time Keith is suddenly so close. His hot breath washes over his skin and Shiro digs his fingers into the loops on Keith’s pants. “Mm, I know.”

He abandons words, half growling himself as teeth scrape his skin and his hands tighten their hold on his Keith. His mate. Shiro snarls as teeth sink into his skin and surges forward, responding in kind. He tastes the copper tang of blood and lifts his head to swipe his tongue over the shallow punctures.

“Mine.” He breathes, eyes as blue as deep water. He reaches down to help shove his pants down, trying to be mindful enough not to tear his pants and not quite succeeding.

They had packed for overnight but he doesn’t like to ruin clothes.

[lonered]

The press of Shiro's teeth into his skin draws a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl from him. There's no going back now, is there? They've both laid their claim, and he has never been happier.

"My mate," he echoes softly, voice a low, rough sound, like the wolf is speaking with him in that moment. And maybe he is.

But then he's moving to help Shiro rid them of the rest of his clothes, shedding his own in a fitful hurry, less concerned with tearing or ruining what he's wearing. Then he's reaching to snag Shiro's things, pushing the bag towards Shiro. "Find what we need?"

And while Shiro does that, Keith will urge his legs apart and kiss slowly down along his inner thigh, down to the base of his length, slow and deliberate, like he's savoring the taste of his skin.