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He didn’t want his boyfriend to find out. That was one thing Michael was going to make sure never happened. It didn’t matter if he had to run out of the house without explanation or lock himself into another room for a few hours.
Gavin couldn't know about it.
Michael wasn’t sure what caused it. Usually when you hear about an odd and strange happenings in somebody’s life like this, it’s because it was passed down from generations. But it wasn’t from inheriting bad genes.
He was just a freak.
It always happened on a full moon without fail. He’s never been able to keep track of what happens first or last in the transformation. He usually spends the entire time yelling at himself in annoyance that its happening again. It’s even worse when it isn’t a full moon and the transformation has been triggered by his own anger and rage.
All he knows is that he’s a competent normal guy. Lives in a small but cozy house with his boyfriend, has a surplus of caring friends and family, and plays video games for a living. But if he gets too worked up over something or shouts just a little too loudly, he changes into something.
He’d hate to call himself a dog, just because that sounds weak and pathetic. And the term werewolf sounds so supernatural and like something from a teenage romance novel. While in his teens, he eventually settled for wolf.
When Michael Jones is angry or there is a full moon, he turns into a wolf.
How ridiculous is that?
You’d think after dealing with it for so long that he would gain some control over it, but no.
His parents didn’t know what was wrong with him while growing up, and feared him getting angry in front of others. They tried to keep it from everybody else, even other family members. They loved their son, and didn’t want him to become the freak show on the covers of magazines or newspapers.
They wanted to help, they really did, but there wasn’t much they could do. Once Michael was set off then there was nothing stopping it, and sometimes he’d be stuck in that form for a few hours. The only benefits was that he was stronger than the average wolf and was still sentient beneath it all. He didn’t just become some psychotic blood thirty animal that wanted to rip apart everything in his sights.
He hated it, he just wanted to be normal. So, instead of trying to deal with this problem “head on,” he just ignored it. When he was old enough he moved out of his parents house and got his own place. He began working at an internet company called “Rooster Teeth” where he made new friends that didn’t know about his odd condition.
He’d leave for a day or two every full moon and spend it out in the woods. That way nobody would every find out and everything could continue to be perfect in his life. He finally felt normal for once.
When he and Gavin started dating, Michael knew he could never tell him. No offense to his boyfriend, but he could be rather simple minded at times. It was impossible to imagine how he would take news like this, and Michael didn’t even want to risk it. He’d already lost so much in his life because of the wolf thing, he didn’t want to lose Gavin too.
Gavin was too important. He was so easily excitable and loved to make everybody around him smile. Michael was rather thankful for that trait because the more he smiled, the less chance he would get angry and transform in front of him.
They’d been dating for over a year and there hadn’t been any close calls. They even live together and his boyfriend was none the wiser about his ‘werewolf problem.’
They were having a fight when the truth finally came out.
A fight about how Michael’s always leaving every month or so with a poor excuse as to where he’s going and no communication during the time that he’s gone.
"Just tell me, okay?" Gavin says, his arms crossed against his chest and a sour look on his face. Michael has to look away to avoid glaring at him.
He doesn’t want to get angry at Gavin because he understands his frustration. He’d be suspicious and demanding to know the truth too, but it isn’t something he’s willing to admit. He’d only just gotten back from a day away during a full moon again, and he was still a little on edge. He just wanted to scream at Gavin and tell him to drop it.
Which is exactly what he did.
But he wishes he didn’t because he knows there’s a high chance that he’ll transform right there in front of his lover.
Which is exactly what he did.
He can’t exactly explain what it feels like to transform. Usually he’s so blinded by his anger that he misses the experience completely. If he isn’t angry, he closes his eyes anyway, not wanting to see. He isn’t fond of witnessing himself turn from a normal human being into a monster.
This time he was so annoyed by Gavin’s words and implied accusations that he didn’t even realize he was turning until halfway through when he sees the look of shock and horror on his boyfriends face. Gavin takes a few steps backwards before stumbling and falling onto his backside entirely. He doesn’t seem to notice though, too focused on Michael’s changing body only a few feet away from him.
Fuck.
Michael doesn’t even have to look himself over to know that he’s a full wolf right now. Its an obvious feeling mentally, but the physical signs are very apparent too.
Like, he’s on four legs instead of two. His senses are heightened and he can actually smell the fear and confusion his boyfriend is emitting. He can feel his tail and the fur covering his entire body. Can see his muzzle and his black nose at the end of it. Being a wolf isn’t exactly an unnatural occurrence for him now, but he still despises the signs of it every time.
But Michael tries not to pay any attention to that, and instead watches Gavin, who has every right to be terrified and bewildered. A long period of quiet passes, the surrounding air filled with nothing but Gavin’s foremost emotions.
"You’re… You’re a…" Gavin murmurs, unable to speak at a volume any higher. His body tilts forward closer, mainly because he wants to get a better look but is still hesitant to move any closer.
Michael puts his head down, his tail going between his legs. Fuck he wishes he could speak right now. It would look insanely ridiculous, his voice coming out of a wolf’s mouth as though he’s the star of an animated Pixar movie, but he just wants to communicate to Gavin somehow.
Just to tell him that he knows. He knows he’s a freak and he wouldn’t blame him if he wants to run away and never come back. It wouldn’t surprise him. In fact, running away seems like a rather fond idea for Michael himself right now. He’d rather be anywhere than here.
"You’re a dog?!” Gavin finally blurts out, his eyes still wide with confusion and shock.
Michael looks up to glare at him, resisting the urge to growl like the animal he is.
Gavin immediately understands and puts up his hands in surrender, “Okay, okay. Not a dog. A wolf then?” He takes the lack of glare as a yes.
They just stay there in silence for a few moments, and its clear that Gavin is just trying to process this information. Michael doesn’t interrupt and he doesn’t move from his place. He doesn’t want to scare him by coming to close when Gavin’s still unsure or uncomfortable.
"Bloody hell, Michael. You’re like that kid from those sparkly vampire books or something. Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this?"
He ignores the Twilight books comment and looks away again, feeling guilty for never sharing this with him. He’s taking it surprisingly well. No running away or screaming at the top of his lungs, just sitting there quietly, trying to understand this as best as he can.
"Okay, so one-sided conversations when you’re like this, I’m assuming," Gavin says, trying to fill the quiet with his words in an attempt to comfort himself. "So, you’ve… This has happened before? This isn’t the first time, right? Of course not. Because then I wouldn’t be the only one freaking out."
Michael takes a hesitant step closer to him, taking it as a good sign when Gavin doesn’t flinch away. He wishes he were in his normal human form, then he could actually comfort the man in some way. Or at least put an end to his rambling because that’s what Gavin does when he’s nervous or panicking.
"Okay, okay, no." He finally says, stopping his own line of chatter, "I’m okay. I’m fine. My boyfriend is a werewolf, and I am fine.”
Michael shoots him a disbelieving look and somehow Gavin understands it. “Oh, don’t stare at me like that. I’m alright, I swear. It’s just… Kind of a lot to take in.”
Unsure energy fills the air for a few moments before Gavin scoots a little closer, bringing up his hand in front of Michael’s face. He isn’t exactly sure what he’s doing himself, but Michael doesn’t question it and instead lets his instincts take over.
He can smell lots of different things from Gavin’s hands. The jersey mikes he had for lunch, booze, soap, and other fragrances from other people he’s come into contact with today. Like Barbara’s perfume and Blaine’s cologne.
Gavin’s nose has been proven to have a strong sense of smell on the podcast, but its nothing compared to Michael in his wolf form.
"So, you’re a werewolf."
‘More or less' Michael thinks, but figures it isn't anything to get annoyed at right now. He can attempt to correct him later. Besides, it isn't a very outlandish conclusion to make, the only reason Michael disagrees with it is because of how dumb it sounds.
"Are there… More of you? Do you have, like, a werewolf pack or something?"
He shakes his head no in response, but stops when he Gavin’s fingers leave the end of his nose and instead boldly reach up to the top of his head. He just simply pats him first, like a small child learning to pet a dog for the first time. Trying to be as gentle as possible in fear of agitating it.
But Michael doesn’t do anything, in fact, he rather likes it. He’s never had anybody pet him before, never would have let them. He’s willing to throw any amount of self respect out of the window though when Gavin’s fingers begin to softly scratch the fur on his head. He closes his eyes and leans up into the touch, missing the smile on his boyfriends face.
Sure, Gavin is freaking out right now. It isn’t very often that you’re having a fight with your boyfriend and suddenly he turns into an animal in front of your eyes. But he has to admit that Michael is just as cute of a werewolf as he is a human.
He has dark and thick russet brown fur and the same familiar eyes as he does when he’s a person. Focusing on the vanity aspect of it is calming Gavin down a little. Trying to swallow down each tiny detail at a time is really the only way he’s going to handle this without freaking out (even more so than he already has.)
"So, there’s no other werewolves? Just you? You’re the only one?"
Michael doesn’t know the answer to that, so he simply doesn’t respond in any way. Instead favoring leaning in to Gavin touch more, which has moved to scratch behind his ears.
His lack of answer concerns his boyfriend though. Being the only person of your kind? Not knowing what is wrong with you and why you’re so different from everybody else? Must have been an absolute nightmare.
It isn’t surprising that Michael hadn’t told him.
"That’s… kind of sad," he murmurs as he focuses on the soft fur beneath his fingers. "It must have been scary. With nobody to tell you what was happening or why it was happening."
Michael tries not to listen to his words and attempts to focus on the fingers scratching just the right spots behind his ears. Gavin’s words hold too much truth and he isn’t sure he’s able to face that.
"I don’t want you to hide this from me anymore, okay?" Gavin murmurs, moving even closer to the wolf so that the fur on Michael’s neck tickles his face. He doesn’t mind though, and instead enjoys the softness of it. "I don’t want you to go through this alone anymore. I’m here for you. With you.”
Michael would have never imagined those words coming out of Gavin’s mouth after he found out. Maybe something more along the lines of “You’re a goddamn freak!" Or "I can’t deal with this. I’m leaving.”
"I’m okay with it, honestly. I just wish you would have told me so that I didn’t have to find out like this. That was terrifying, mate. But, it’s alright. I forgive you." he gives a small cheeky smile when he pulls away to face Michael again. "I still love you, and all the weird unexplainable things that come along with you."
He isn’t able to express his disbelief or try to talk Gavin out of staying with somebody like him. Maybe he’ll try to do that later, but right now he feels a huge weight lift off of him. He can feel the stress wash away and get replaced with relief.
To show his appreciation he steps closer to his boyfriend in an attempt to hug him. Luckily Gavin seems to understand and wraps his arms around him and buries his face into Michael’s neck. The soft fur tickles his nose and cheeks even more, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like it. Something about it is comforting in a way, as if they could just stay here, close to one another forever.
"Besides, I’ve always wanted a dog." Gavin murmurs and lets out a laugh when Michael backs out of their embrace. It hasn’t even been ten minutes and he’s already being a little shit about this.
Michael reaches forward and licks his face. Starting from his jawline, going up to his cheek, and only stopping when he reaches hair. His little revenge proves successful because Gavin whines through his giggles, as he tries to wipe the saliva off.
"Aw! Gross, Michael! You’ve got me all full of your puppy slobber!"
Being called a puppy only succeeds in making Michael continue the abuse on his face. Gavin lets out loud squeals and squeaks as be tries to push him away, his laughter a continuing stream that reminds Michael just how lucky he is.