Chapter Text
This was dumb.
This was utterly, completely, monumentally dumb.
Shiro was ready to beat his head against the table out of frustration with himself. This had seemed like such a good idea earlier that morning. Visit the library, get to know Keith on his own turf. If things went well, maybe even ask him out.
It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. Here they both were, nearly an hour later, Keith still pulling books from the shelves to add to the growing piles obscuring the tabletop, while Shiro paged through them and tried to look like he was doing research. He’d failed to bring a notebook or any way of writing stuff down, so he’d resorted to pecking at his phone to appear busy. There was no way Keith could mistake this for anything resembling competence.
But by this point he’d gone too far to turn back. If he admitted that he’d lied, then Keith would probably get angry at having his time wasted like this. Shiro was getting annoyed at himself too; it was getting hard not to let his ears lie back and his lips curl in frustration. But the longer he stayed here, the harder it would be to get out of this situation.
“Here’s the last book on the 60’s,” Keith said. The heavy encyclopedia dropped to the table with a dull thump and a puff of dust. “You ready to move on to the next decade or you wanna take a break first?”
“Take a break?” Shiro said, hope blooming in his chest for the first time in almost an hour. This would be the perfect opportunity for them both to sit down and talk!
Keith hummed agreement and started clearing a small space on the table. Shiro picked up an almanac -- he neither knew nor cared what year it was from -- and watched over the top of it as Keith’s biceps tensed as he shifted the heavy books aside.
Of course, such a lucky coincidence was too good to be true. Just as Shiro pulled out a chair to take a seat, his cell phone rang in his back pocket. Somehow the volume had gotten turned up and he winced at how Keith’s fur bristled at the loud ringtone.
“Sorry, sorry!” he fumbled quickly for the button and declined the call, but as he glanced at the screen, his mood plummeted. Zarkon. The only living being that could strike terror into the hearts of men and wolves alike. His new boss.
Shiro swallowed, suddenly anxious, and shoved the cell back out of sight.
“I should probably be going soon, actually,” he said. Keith looked up where he was slouched in a chair on the other side of the table. “I can come back later; maybe tomorrow?” He would have suggested his lunch break, but Zarkon would fire him if he went missing again that quickly. Plus an extra day would give Shiro’s nerves a chance to settle and he could think of a better excuse to visit the library.
“That’s too bad.” It was hard to tell if Keith’s disappointment was sincere or not. “I was just getting into the hang of things with you.”
“Yeah. Same.” If by hang of things Keith meant he’d found a pattern where he could sneak glances without the other man noticing, then yeah, Shiro had definitely gotten the hang of it.
But as his phone buzzed twice more in quick succession -- incoming text messages -- he knew his days were numbered. He pushed the chair in and looked unhappily at the scattered mess on the table. “I’m really sorry to be leaving you with all this...”
“Don’t worry; I don’t mind. I chose this job because I enjoy stuff like this.”
“Still.” Shiro glanced around, at the cart of unshelved books, at the children’s area that was already in chaos, and back to the laden table.
Keith waved a hand dismissively. “Not to push you out or anything, but I don’t want you getting in trouble with your boss.”
“That obvious, huh?” Picking up his jacket from where he’d draped it over the chair’s arm Shiro shrugged into it and ran a hand through his hair.
But as he stepped away from the table, Keith stood up too. “Wait. You didn’t look over all these books yet. Do you want to take some of them with you? I’d hate for your research to be incomplete.”
“Good point. Thanks.” Shiro grabbed the offered stack of books and shifted them to one arm. “And thanks for all your help in general.”
Keith gave him a small smile. “It really wasn’t a problem.”
Somehow Shiro doubted that -- he couldn’t help feeling that he owed Keith an apology as well. But he could feel his phone vibrating with more text messages, and he knew he needed to hurry or he’d find himself out of a job.
“See you around!” Keith waved. Shiro smiled and waved back even as he inwardly cringed at the awkwardness. Did Keith somehow not recognize him? Or did he, and he was calling Shiro out on the charade?
Those questions would have to wait until later. There would be plenty of time to sit in his cubicle and stare off into space and ponder in detail every abysmal moment of this exchange, but nothing -- not even Keith’s smile or the chance to talk to him more -- was worth Zarkon’s wrath. So Shiro despondently turned his back on the research shelves and Keith, checked out the assorted and useless armload of books he’d been graced with, and drove all the way to the office thinking about how he’d blown every golden opportunity ever presented to him.
----
Matt was waiting for him in the office’s lobby, leaning against the water cooler and ostensibly on break. He pushed himself upright as Shiro hurried through the front door, and flung an arm wide in welcome. “Morning, sleepyhead! What took you so--”
“Not now, Matt.”
“Gee, okay. I was just trying to be nice, but if you don’t want a warning, that’s fine by me.”
“Sorry. Good morning, Matt.” Shiro put a little life into his tail wag. “I appreciate you looking out for me.”
“Hey, we were all the new guy once. And thanks.” Matt gave a mocking bow. “By the way, Zarkon’s camped out in your cubicle. It wasn’t really the best decision to show up late on your second week of work, y’know?”
Shiro could feel every hair on his body drooping. “There were... extenuating circumstances?”
“Yeah, no. He’s not gonna buy that.”
“It’s getting near the full moon?”
“Better, but still not good enough. I’d advise offering to work overtime or something. Or just, I don’t know, tell him you got lost. People are more likely to believe a lie if it makes the liar look bad.”
Shiro cocked his head. It wouldn’t be that far from the truth -- he was lost last night. A small fib like that wouldn’t sit too heavily on his conscience. “Yeah, I guess I... overslept a lot. Then took the wrong turn and got lost.”
“Put some more conviction into it and you might just save yourself.” Matt finished his paper cup of water and tossed it in the trash. “I’d better be getting back to work too. Good luck!”
----
Shiro made sure to show up on time for work the next day, and the day after that. He even grudgingly accepted a Saturday shift because it seemed nothing less would appease Zarkon. That meant he didn’t have time to stop by the library, since it was usually closed by the time he got off work. And tomorrow was Sunday, his day off, and the library wouldn’t even be open! It was so frustrating he was close to tears.
He didn’t even know Keith’s last name to look him up. And the night of the storm, he’d been having too much fun -- and then wretchedness -- wandering through the woods to have the slightest memory of how he got to Keith’s house. It looked hopeless. Maybe next week he could call in sick.
There was always the opportunity to sneak away on his lunch break, but thirty minutes seemed far too little time to talk to Keith again, and Zarkon’s office was right by the door Shiro would have to go through. He was almost willing to risk it, but his strategizing was interrupted by something flicking against the back of his head.
“Huh?” Shiro’s ears swivelled.
Something struck him again, then clattered to his desk. A paperclip.
Narrowing his eyes, he stuck his head over the cubicle dividers and saw a grinning Matt staring right back at him. A quick glance to the far side of the office showed Zarkon’s head bowed over his paperwork, so Shiro took the opportunity to slink to Matt’s desk.
“What is it?”
“You were mooning.”
“I was not! ...Wait. Was that a werewolf joke?”
Matt only grinned wider. “So who’s the lucky guy?”
“It’s not anyone really. I only met him twice. I barely even know his name.”
“But whoever he is, he must be pretty special to stick in your mind after only two meetings.”
“Just drop it; I’m probably not even going to get to see him again for a long time.” Shiro sighed and let the tip of his tail drag the floor.
“You know what you need? A change of scenery,” Matt said, poking a finger into Shiro’s chest. “Almost three weeks you’ve been here, and all you’ve done is work, work, work. You haven’t even gotten to enjoy our wonderful little town!”
“It’s my own fault,” Shiro grumbled.
“Well, yeah, but still. How about I show you a really good Italian restaurant on the other side of town? A good steak and wine will get you set up to have a great day off!”
Shiro snorted and shook his head. “Are you trying to ask me out?”
“As if!” Matt laughed outright. “You know I’m not--”
“WHO’S NOT DOING THEIR WORK?!” Zarkon’s booming voice filled the air and made the walls tremble.
Shiro yelped and ducked down to all fours while Matt spun around in his chair and scrambled to get his hands on his keyboard and look busy.
“Wait for me in the parking lot this evening!” Matt hissed, eyes glued to his computer screen.
Shiro didn’t bother answering as he scampered around the corner, staying low behind the cubicle walls, and slipped back into his desk chair just as Zarkon came stomping up with heavy hooves.
“I HEARD LAUGHING,” the minotaur proclaimed.
Shiro swallowed and looked up, trying to keep his expression from looking utterly guilty. “I didn’t hear anything, sir,” he squeaked.
Zarkon’s baleful gaze swept over the office and its labyrinth of cubicles before returning to rest on Shiro. “I’D BETTER NOT HEAR IT AGAIN. KEEP WORKING OR YOU’RE ALL FIRED.”
Shaking his horned head in threat, he returned to his desk amid utter silence.
Shiro kept his head down and pecked away at his keyboard. Finance reports were deathly boring when he thought about how, if he hadn’t overstayed his visit at the library, he could be free right now. He missed Keith already. How was it possible to miss someone you’d hardly met? It was easy to blame the just-passed full moon and his wolfish pack instincts, but even his human side was lonely in this new town.
He’d make friends eventually, he told himself. It’s not like the library was going anywhere.
----
By the time he clocked out for the day, Shiro really wanted to go home to his tiny apartment, tuck his tail between his legs, and howl mournfully until his neighbors yelled at him to shut up.
But he couldn’t bring himself to disappoint Matt, so he lingered by his car until the human came trotting out of the office building.
“Hey! You actually waited!” Matt slapped him on the back and hooked an arm around his shoulders, pulling him toward the car.
Shiro shrugged. “It’s more fun to sulk with a full stomach than an empty one.”
“Aww, what’s wrong?” Matt looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. “You know, you really do pull off those kicked puppy eyes really well, and I’m not just saying that because... well, maybe I am. Anyway, let’s get going. Pidge is going to be mad if we’re late.”
“Pidge is coming too?”
“Oops.” Matt scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I figured I’d invite her along since you’ve never met her. Make it more of just dinner in case you’re still thinking it’s a date or something.” His laugh sounded just a tiny bit forced.
Shiro’s eyes narrowed, but he still wasn’t going to turn down food. “Fine, I don’t really mind.”
“Great! Let’s get going!”
As fate would have it, the route to the restaurant took them past the library. Shiro stared out the window with wistful eyes, noticing the closed doors and darkened interior. No sign of Keith; of course there wasn’t. His ears drooped and even the thought of a nice rare steak couldn’t cheer him up.
“Here we are.” Matt parked the car and pulled out his cell. “You can go on in -- I reserved a table under my name, so just go ahead and have a seat. I need to text Pidge real quick.”
“Don’t take too long. I can’t promise I won’t eat everything without you.”
“All right, all right! Go slake that wolf hunger.” Matt gave him a playful shove as Shiro got out of the car. Even out here in the parking lot the scent of garlic and spices made his nose tingle; of course it didn’t affect him the way it would some nonhumans, but still, his powerful sense of smell would be totally overwhelmed in there. Well, Matt did warn him it was an Italian place. It was just going to take weeks to get the lingering smell of garlic out of his nose, was all.
“Hi there, what can I get for you?” the hostess asked when he walked in. She was an arctic fox shifter with white hair and tufted ears and a bushy white tail.
“Table for Matt Holt, please. He said it’s reserved?”
“Oh yes! Right this way.”
She led the way into the main dining area, where the air was filled with quiet conversation and the clink of silverware. Candles adorned every table and shed small pools of light on the diners. It really was a nice place, Shiro thought, although a little expensive for his current paycheck. He’d have to check it out again if Zarkon ever decided to grant him a raise.
“Here you are, sir. A waiter will be by shortly to get you some drinks.”
The hostess bowed out of the way and Shiro’s thanks died in his throat. There at the table, alone, staring back at him...
...was Keith.
Shiro’s human brain told him to say hi and ask if this was a mistake, if this was the wrong table. Or maybe just apologize; that seemed like a good thing to do too. But his wolf brain was yipping and running in gleeful circles that made his head dizzy and his knees weak.
He needed to walk away. Walk away right now, before something happened that he would be kicking himself for for the rest of his life.
“What a surprise! Nice to see you again, Lupus.” The smile in Keith’s eyes drove the last support out from under Shiro and he had to sit down before he collapsed.
“Y-yeah. You too.” He gulped. Keith said ‘Lupus’ -- that meant he’d connected the painfully obvious dots linking the miserable dumb wolf on his doorstep to the miserable dumb man at the library.
“You wouldn’t happen to be here to meet the Holts, would you?”
“I work with Matt,” Shiro said quickly, all too eager to change the subject. “He was taking me here for dinner -- not taking me for dinner, it’s just as a friend. Work colleagues. He wanted to show me the nice restaurant. It’s totally not romantic or anything, that would be funny, haha --”
“Hey.” Keith tapped the table, his hand so close to where Shiro was unconsciously shredding the napkin roll. “It’s okay.” He laughed. “I think we were set up. Pidge brought me here for dinner, too; she said it would be fun. But thinking of her definition of fun...” His face scrunched up.
“They set us up,” Shiro groaned. He rested his elbows on the table, his head in his hands. “I should’ve seen this coming.”
“It’s not that bad, right? I mean, I’m sure there are worse blind dates out there.”
At the genuine worry in Keith’s voice, Shiro looked up. The other shifter was looking away, lips pursed, as he traced swirls in the condensation on his water glass.
“You’re not a bad date at all!” Shiro blurted out. Keith’s surprised gaze abruptly met his own. Well, there went that. “Anyone would be lucky to date you,” he continued, feeling somewhat like a bull in a china shop. “If you’re available, that is. Gosh, I sure hope you’re not, like, cheating on someone right now. Should I drive you home?”
He knew he was rambling again but he couldn’t stop, not until Keith shocked him still with a full body laugh.
“Shiro, stop! It’s totally okay, I promise. I’m fine with this if you are?”
He finally took a moment to breathe and realize his surroundings. The restaurant was bustling around them as people went about their own lives, unaware of the scene unfolding at this table. Keith watched him expectantly, head tilted and ears perked in interest. Though there was a faint blush on the other man’s cheeks, evidence of the unexpected nature of this encounter, there was no trace of discomfort. No drooped ears, shifting eyes, looking for an escape. Keith... was okay with this. Keith was okay with this.
Shiro’s breath came out of him in one long, deep sigh of heartfelt relief. He’d held it together at the library; he could hold it together now. Wasn’t this a step toward a better relationship with Keith? Wasn’t that what he’d been dreaming about endlessly these last several days?
“Yeah,” he said. A relaxed, honest smile slipped onto his face. “I’m fine with this. It’s nice to be able to spend time with you again.”
“Mm.” Keith sat back in his chair, tension loosening in his shoulders. “Speaking of, did you ever finish your research? I didn’t get to see you at the library again.”
He crossed his arms, a cocky gleam in his eye “I studied up pretty thoroughly. I’d say I know the geography of this place pretty well by now. No chance of me getting lost in the rain again, so you don’t have to worry about any more unexpected guests showing up on your doorstep.”
Instead of congratulating him, Keith’s face fell.
What could he possibly... oh. “I didn’t mean it like that,” Shiro quickly amended. “You won’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to a sopping wet wolf covered in leaves and mud. But I wouldn’t be adverse to driving to your place at some point and hanging out for an evening!”
Keith brightened instantly. “That sounds like a plan! I didn’t want you to just... never visit again.”
“I mean, I can still come by in the middle of the night if that’s more your style.” Shiro let a little bit of fang show in his grin.
“Run through the woods under the full moon?”
“And the crescent moon, and quarter moon, and anything else you prefer.”
Keith nodded like it was a done deal. “I kinda like the sound of that.” One ear twisted around and he frowned. “Not so much the sound of that.”
Shiro whipped around and there at a corner table sat Matt and Pidge, high-fiving each other over a plate of chili fries.
“You!” Shiro barked, loud enough to be heard over the ambient noise.
Matt cackled and shoved a fry into his mouth. “Told ya you were mooning! But go on, we’ll leave you two alone. Everyone needs a pack, no matter how small, right?”
“He’s not wrong,” Keith muttered. He kept his voice quiet so only Shiro could hear; no sense giving the siblings something more to congratulate themselves with. “I know I act like a loner, but I really do enjoy company now and then. I’d like to be able to show you around town -- maybe get a firsthand look at all the places you’ve researched so far?”
“That sounds amazing.” Shiro’s whole body relaxed and he let a dopey smile come over his face. “I’d like that very much.”
Keith’s wagging tail bumped his under the table. “So would I.”