Chapter Text
June, 2 Months After
"Werewolves?"
To say Dirk sounded incredulous was an understatement. His eyes had narrowed, and he had leaned back slightly from his desk, arms crossed loosely over his chest. Todd sighed, he knew this was going to be difficult.
"Yes, werewolves," Todd stated, carefully watching as Dirk thought through the word.
"Like," Dirk paused, looking around the office at nothing in particular, "you mean, once a month, a person turns into a half human half wolf and goes out for a good howl. Werewolves?"
"Yes, werewolves," Todd said, he was quickly beginning to regret this. He had waited for Farah to leave, knowing that Dirk would be more accepting of a strange supernatural type topic and sure, he told Dirk everything, he was his best friend, but this had been something Todd had held tight to his chest. He hadn't even gotten it all out yet, and he was having second thoughts.
"Well, I guess, anything is possible. I mean, to assume that I – whatever I am – that I am the only special type of thing out in the universe would be terribly vain of me. So, yes, I guess werewolves could be a real thing. Why do you bring it up?" Dirk gasped loudly, a smile spreading across his face, leaning forward in his chair and resting his elbows on his desk. "Did you see one once? When you were little at camp or something like that?"
"Um, yeah. Yeah, kinda." Todd stumbled over his words. The more he thought about it, the more Todd wasn't sure he could do it. Talking to Dirk about this had been a bad idea; Todd wasn't ready to have this talk. He had to get out of this conversation.
"Yeah, when I was younger," Todd stated, clearing his throat. "Swear to god. I saw one with my own eyes."
Liar. A little knot formed in his stomach. Todd looked down at his desk trying to find something to do. Unfortunately, he had already finished all his paperwork for the day and was alone for a moment with his thoughts. He was lying to Dirk, the thing he was trying to be better at, and he was failing.
"That's amazing, Todd! We'll have to see if we can snag a case with werewolves. Wouldn't that be amazing? A real proper supernatural case!" Dirk looked like a kid in a candy store as he spun around once in his chair.
"Dirk, we've fought witches and mages and traveled in time. Don't those cases count?" Todd asked, laughing slightly.
"Well, yes of course, but werewolves! That's a whole other level! That would just be fantastic!" Dirk smiled across the office space at Todd, giving Todd an unusual warmth in the center of his chest. He pushed the feeling aside and quickly changed the subject before Dirk could ask him more questions. Todd would tell him another time. He would.
August, 4 Months After
Todd was balancing on the ledge of a building. How in the hell had he managed to get to this point? More importantly, where was Dirk? He looked from side to side and spotted a window a little way along the ledge. If Todd could make it to the window, perhaps he could make it inside and see if he could join back up with Dirk. He began to shuffle forward when his phone pinged.
What was that sound? He thought to himself as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. The screen illuminated with a prescheduled reminder.
'Dentist Appointment, Tomorrow.'
Todd groaned, resting his head back against the side of the building. He still wasn't quite used to his new schedule, and it always seemed to sneak up on him. Shoving his phone back into his pocket, he glanced around and then down. He was only about 30 feet off the ground, and there was a large pine tree about 25 feet out in front of him. Todd could feel the hair on his arms stand up, he could smell the grass that had been mowed recently, and he knew that he could make it to the tree. Pushing himself as close to the building as possible, he crouched slightly and readied to launch himself forward.
In the last couple months, he had found that his strength had increased along with his other senses and he had been testing his limits in regards to hand strength and jumping ability. He knew that he could make it to the tree, it was no farther than the two roofs from the week before.
As he pushed off, he heard the window he had been inching towards open and a familiar voice called his name. The slight distraction caused Todd's step to falter, sending him down as opposed to out like he had been planning.
Oh shit! He had time to think as he fell the distance to the ground, but to his total amazement, he landed in a crouch, only scuffing his knees slightly.
"Well, that's new." He mumbled to himself, quickly taking stock of himself, ensuring that he hadn't broken anything, the voice from the window forgotten.
"Todd! Todd! Are you okay?" And there was Dirk, his voice coming from above Todd's head. Todd cursed to himself as he thought quickly, trying to come up with some explanation. What he went with was a loud scream and pitching himself on to his side, grabbing at his leg.
The no lying plan was going great.
"I'm coming!" Todd heard the window slam shut, and he figured he had about two minutes to figure out if he was going to come clean or continue with the charade.
Two minutes later when Dirk rounded the corner of the building, he found Todd leaning against the wall, gently rubbing his entirely unhurt ankle.
"Todd! Oh my god, are you alright? How are you not more broken? What happened? It looked like you fell!" Dirk raced forward, his voice cracking as he tried to determine how panicked he needed to be. Dirk reached out to Todd, but stopped himself short, diverting his hand to Todd's shoulder instead of his ankle where it had been headed. Todd frowned slightly but brushed it off.
"It's all good, sorry to have spooked you. I think I just tweaked my ankle a bit." He said, his voice coming out slightly higher than usual.
The lies continue, he thought to himself as he gingerly placed weight on his foot. Dirk narrowed his eyes, glancing down at Todd's ankle and then back up, but threw Todd's arm over his shoulder and helped him limp back the way he had come.
"Well, I'm just glad it wasn't more serious," Dirk said, a smile cracking his lips. Todd felt his insides turn again, a warmth rising in his chest. He pushed it back down, assuming that guilt was probably to blame.
"Are you secretly an acrobat and just didn't think to mention it?" Dirk was being playful, but Todd broke a little inside.
"Just lucky I guess," Todd mumbled, avoiding eye contact. "Your luck must be rubbing off on me." Dirk chuckled as they made their way back to the car.
"Well, while you were trapped on that ledge, I found everything we need to connect the country club to the missing dolphin and the unicycle." Dirk was grinning as he pulled the car keys from his pocket.
"That's fantastic, Dirk." The enthusiasm wasn't there, but Dirk hadn't seemed to notice. Dirk smiled again as he opened the passenger side door for Todd, waiting for him to get all the way in before closing the door and jogging around to the other side.
"All in a day's work. Wait till Farah hears about how you didn't die! She's going to be so amazed." Todd nodded in agreement, his mind electing to shut down slightly as Dirk climbed into the driver's seat and turned them homewards.
Todd wondered if there would be a point where he would feel comfortable just telling Dirk, but now wasn't the time.
September, 5 Months After
Todd did not have time for this.
He had three hours before he had to be back to the office, three more hours before he had to spend another night alone. Another night of lying about why he needed to go home early instead of going out to the bar with Dirk and Farah.
The man they had chased into the alley, the man Dirk had determined had killed a wealthy local businessman, was currently pinning Todd and Dirk behind a dumpster with a gun. Farah was supposed to be on her way, but it looked like she had been held up. The sound of gunfire stopped for a moment, and the man started shouting at them.
"Let me go, assholes! I'll shoot you if you don't leave me the hell alone!" Todd hadn't realized that the man had moved slightly closer. He crouched down next to Dirk and looked under the dumpster. Todd was just able to see the man's shoes, the shoes that were moving slowly towards their hiding spot.
"Shit." Todd hissed, sitting back up. Dirk was glancing towards the man and not looking at Todd when Todd felt a heat rise in his system, and a burning sensation began in his hands. He looked down and noticed a soft blue glow. He snapped his eyes shut, slamming his head into the side of the dumpster.
"Shit!" Todd hissed again.
"We can't do that!" Dirk shouted at the man. "You killed Mr. Clarington. You have to go to the police. We can't let you get away!"
Todd still had his eyes closed, trying to take calming breaths, so he didn't notice Farah poking her head around the corner of the building at the end of the alley.
"I killed him! I ain't got no problem killing you!"
Dirk's heart rate spiked. Todd had been listening to it to try and bring his racing pulse back down, but something caused a sharp spike, sending Todd's eyes wide open. The man had rounded the dumpster, and his gun was pointed straight at Dirk. Todd hadn't realized he had launched himself at the man until they slammed into the far wall. He also hadn't heard the gunshot.
Todd could see the blue glow illuminated in the man's eyes as Todd pinned him to the wall. A look of fear and confusion danced across the man's features. Todd was close enough that he could smell his terrible cologne, and hear his pounding heartbeat.
"What the hell!?" The man shouted. Todd pulled him back from the wall and slammed him forward. The man's head connected with the brick this time and his eyes rolled back in his head as he passed out. Todd let him fall and as he did the world slowed.
Todd felt a sharp pain in his side and looked down. Blood had started to seep through his shirt, a small hole now visible where there hadn't been one before. He had a brief moment of panic before he realized that the front of his jacket didn't feature the hole. He quickly grabbed the zipper and spun zipping his jacket up.
Maybe they wouldn't notice, Todd prayed to no god in particular. The man hit the ground as Dirk jumped from his spot behind the dumpster.
"Todd! Oh my god! Todd!" Dirk shouted as he raced forward. He grabbed at Todd's stomach, but Todd swatted him away, fear building in his chest.
"What?" Todd snapped, more annoyance than he had intended entered his tone and cast a shadow over Dirk's face.
"You've been shot!" Dirk said as tears formed. Panic moved across Dirk's features. "Let me see!" Dirk said, reaching again for Todd’s stomach. Todd looked down and frowned, he couldn't see the blood through his black hoodie, had Dirk seen the blood?
"No, I'm fine. It's all fine. I didn't–" Todd wasn't able to finish his sentence. Farah had run up at that moment, bypassing his swat and grabbed at his shirt.
"I saw what happened!" She shouted. "Whe–where–where's the wound?" Her voice dropped, and she looked up in confusion. Todd glanced down and almost laughed.
The wound that had definitely been there no longer was, his body had healed faster than he had thought. Farah hadn't noticed the blood on his undershirt because it was still tucked under the zipped hoodie. Todd glanced up and shrugged, pushing his shirt back down.
"I don't know what you guys thought happened, but I'm fine, he clearly missed." He gave them a soft smile and his best 'sorry' face. Dirk was frowning, looking between Todd, the place the man had appeared around the dumpster, and where Todd had been. Todd was concerned that Dirk was beginning to work it out, but Dirk suddenly looked up and pointed, moving towards the wall.
"Oh, there, there's a bullet in the brick. It looks like this one came from that direction. I guess, he did miss." Farah glanced from Todd to the wall and back for a moment before closing her eyes.
"Okay. Well then, good job not dying. I'm, I'm going to take this guy into the cops. Do you two want to come along?" She said looking at the two of them.
"Yes!"
"No."
Todd glanced over at Dirk who looked confused.
"No, you go on without me," Todd clarified, "I've got a thing this evening that I can't miss." He was already walking back out of the alley. He could hear Farah whispering to Dirk as he went, because how could she have known that Todd could listen in from that far away.
"That's the second time he's skipped out on us." She was saying. Dirk agreed.
"It's also not the first time he's almost died and then didn't. You don't suppose something's up that he's not telling us?" Dirk asked. Todd turned the corner and leaned against the wall, still listening in on the others.
"I think if it were important he'd tell us. But maybe start keeping track of how many times he doesn't die though, cause that number is already higher than you'd expect." Farah said. Todd cursed as he pushed off from the wall and headed towards the office.
They were starting to piece it together, and if he wasn't careful they were going to catch him before he was ready to talk.
November, 6 and a Half Months After
Todd had this down.
He knew the schedule, he knew how to hide it, and he even knew how not to make it look like he had suddenly developed superpowers. Because after taking a bullet to the stomach and then having no wound was somewhat hard to explain, especially to Farah, who had since taken a special interest in watching how often death "missed Todd" as Dirk put it.
He was sitting at his desk, making his way through his second hamburger when the door to the office banged open.
"Guess who's back bitches!"
Todd had dropped the burger and vaulted the desk before he had time to process what his other senses were telling him.
Stop, idiot, it's Amanda. Amanda was standing just inside the door, her hands raised above her head and a smile on her face. At Todd's sudden movement she lowered her hands and made a quizzical expression.
"And it looks like someone has been learning parkour. That was impressive!" She moved forward and wrapped Todd in a hug.
"Hey, sis! Um, yeah, been learning some new moves, never know when stuff is gonna go sideways, and you need to, climb a building, or whatever." Todd said, rushing through the sentence like he was trying to win a race. She laughed and moved away from him and further into the office.
"Come on boys! I'm gonna find Dirk and Farah, the back, right? No wrecking!" she shouted as she disappeared into the kitchen. The Rowdy3 and Beast all clamored into the office. They all were still rocking the gray on gray and Beast was decked out in a new beanie and sunglasses.
"Hey, guys," Todd said waving his hand.
All heads turned to him, and the group slowly moved forward. The oldest, Martin, took a deep inhale as they came within arm's reach of Todd.
"You smell, different," Martin said, moving closer than Todd would have liked. The strong smell of alcohol and cigarettes met his nose, making him sniff. Todd swallowed. He had not anticipated the Rowdy3. Looks like he didn't know everything.
"Do I? Must be my, cologne." Please accept that response.
"Nah, it ain't that." Cross said, poking him in the chest with a baseball bat.
"Yeah, you smell weird, like– like–" Gripps cut Vogel off.
"Wet dog. Definitely wet dog." Todd gave a forced laugh.
"That's, so– that's– ya know that's kinda rude but whatever, I guess." Todd tried to back away, but Martin wrapped him in a tight embrace, catching him by the back of his head and pulling him in close so that they were forehead to forehead.
"You ain't told nobody, have you?" Martin said, his voice wasn't accusatory, but it still put Todd off.
"Told anyone-"
"Don't play dumb with us, we know. You can't lie to our noses. That's not how this works." Martin continued as the sound of laughter and chatter could be heard moving back towards the main area.
"You tell Drummer, or we will." Martin released Todd and pushed him backward slightly. Heat rose in Todd's chest, but he pushed it back down and nodded.
"I will. Tonight. I promise." Martin snorted and looked past Todd towards the kitchen door.
"There's the Brit. Do you mind if we snag an afternoon snack?"
Todd watched as all the blood drained from Dirk's face.
"Um–" Dirk's voice cracked as he looked at the different Rowdy members.
"We're just playing Boss Man. Chill!" Vogel shouted, jumping onto the couch and watching as Beast raced over to Dirk.
"Beautsie Boy, idja mis may?" she crooned up at him. Dirk smiled at her.
"Of course I missed you, Beast. It's so good to see you." Dirk said as Todd quietly grabbed his jacket and snuck out before anyone could notice.
So he was going to tell Amanda. Tonight. That seemed so soon. He needed to catch his breath. The lies had to come to an end at some point. It made sense that he would start with Amanda. It would have made more sense if he had just told her when it had happened, but he had been so panicked at that point. What was he supposed to say? Hey Amanda, I was out on a case and got attacked, but guess what? Now I'm–
"Todd?"
Oh god, Amanda. She had followed him outside. He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this right now. Could he?
"Hey, everything okay? Martin said you wanted to talk to me in private. You've probably only got about five minutes though; Dirk looked like he was about ready to bolt." Todd was still facing away from her; his whole body was humming. He couldn't do this; he was going to throw up.
"Todd?" Her hand rested carefully on his shoulder, and the humming stopped. Todd's world righted itself, and he took his first full breath in almost five minutes.
"Yeah, um, we should go for a walk. There's a park, not too far." He said, pointing away from the office and up the street.
"Whoa, this must be serious. Dude, is everything okay?" Amanda asked, her brow furrowing in worry. Todd thought about telling her right there, but he wanted her to be able to walk away from him if she got upset.
"Yeah, well, no, well, it's fine, but I just need to talk to you about some stuff. The park seems like a good place." Amanda held her hands up in surrender and smiled.
"Alright, lead on."
It took them five minutes to walk to the park, and another five to find a bench that wasn't anywhere near people. Todd had a feeling that yelling would feature heavily in this conversation and he didn't want people to call the cops, or at least, he wanted to be able to see the police coming and book it out of there.
"So, you dragged me all the way out here to tell me something important. Oh my god, are you dying? Wait, have you been lying about something and you didn't want me to cause a scene in front of the office? Oh, I know! It's about Dirk. Something happened with Dirk!" Amanda was excitedly bouncing in place, watching as Todd sat down next to her.
"Amanda, trust me, you're not gonna be able to guess." He said. She turned so that she was facing him.
"Alright, loser, out with it." She said, waving her hand out in front of her. Todd took a deep breath.
"So, let me start with, I have been lying. Not to you, it's never come up, but I've been lying to Farah, and Dirk. And I know that's wrong, but I just, I'm freaking out a bit. I thought I was doing okay, but I don't think I am." He had started shaking, when had he started shaking?
"Todd, whoa, hey, what's wrong? Wait, what have you been lying about?" She asked. He could see the anger, from before, when he had lied about the pararibulitis, return to her eyes before fading away. He took a steadying breath.
And it all came spilling out. The robbery Dirk and he had been investigating seven months prior, the alley he had mistakenly turned down, the creature that jumped him, waking up in the middle of the woods, lying to Dirk, lying to Farah. He told her about jumping off the building, and getting shot, and how he had been trying to be so careful to make it seem like he wasn't what he knew he was because the others didn't know. Farah was getting suspicious and the more weird crap that happened, the more Dirk was starting to think that maybe Todd was like him.
"And, I just don't know what to do. How do I tell them that for the last seven months I've been lying, and sneaking around, and trying to deal with this myself? Dirk is never going to trust me again. I know it." Amanda snorted.
Todd looked up at her and found that she had a goofy grin plastered on her face.
"Is something funny?" He asked.
"Well, it's just– you spent your whole adult life lying about a disease you didn't have, then you got the disease. Now you have a completely different, we'll call it a condition, and instead of seeking out a support system you have decided to wallow in self-pity and deal with it yourself. Which is bonkers, do you know how excited Dirk would be if you just told him? He loves this kind of shit." She said, giving him a wry smile and nudging against his shoulder. Todd was genuinely confused. Amanda didn't seem mad, not like the last time. She appeared almost, sorry?
"But, it could put them in danger." He tried.
"Todd, from what you've told me, the only one in danger is you. You think you're invincible now–"
"Well no, bullets really hurt."
"– and you're taking unnecessary risks and precautions. In reality, you just need to let them know that you need like one day off a month. Like, it's not a big deal. I mean, it is, it's a huge deal, it's fucking crazy, but, the only person you're hurting, emotionally and physically, with your lying is yourself. Sure, Dirk and Farah will be hurt you didn't tell them right off the bat. And Farah will definitely be getting silver bullets for her birthday from me–"
"Why?! That's like, so mean!"
"– but they, like me, are here to love and support you. We all still think you're an asshole, but you're ours, so we have to love you. Tell them when you're ready. This is a big thing, and it's important that you're comfortable telling people."
Todd gave her a soft smile and leaned in for a hug.
"Thanks, sis."
"No problem, bro."
She pushed him back, another crazy grin on her face.
"So, tell me, are your senses like crazy enhanced now?" Todd laughed.
"You have no idea."
December, 8 Months After
Todd still hadn't told them. He was just too nervous. He had stopped lying and merely avoided the questions Dirk and Farah threw his way.
How did you get here so fast? Didn't that guy hit you with a baseball bat? You have to tell us how you made that jump.
He had spoken with Amanda weekly since the talk they had. She wanted all the crazy updates; she wanted to know what it was like, where he went, what he did, all of it. And he was happy to share with her, or at least, he was relieved to tell someone finally. But he just wasn't sure if he could tell Farah, if he could tell Dirk.
His phone chimed with a reminder. 'Dentist Appointment, Tonight, Root Canal.' Todd sighed, moving his phone into his pocket as he continued looking at the paperwork on his desk.
"You must have amazing teeth."
Todd looked up to see Dirk smiling at him from across the office.
"Sorry?" Todd asked. His skin prickled. Tonight was going to be harder than the others.
"Your phone. The sound is your reminder correct? I never see you set the reminder for anything other than dentist appointments. Say, where do you go that they stay open so late? I'd love to get in there, during the day is so much harder than at night." Dirk was still grinning. Todd had a brief moment of whether or not he should tell him right there, but then the fear crept back in. What if Dirk was mad, what if he hated him after? What if Dirk never wanted to see him again and he had to live a Dirk-less existence?
When had Todd started caring so much about what Dirk thought?
"I personally hate the dentist. The last time I went I screamed so loud I howled." Dirk said, his smile widening if that were possible.
"No kidding," Todd said, ignoring Dirk's adorable grin. Stupid grin, when had it become adorable?
"Yes, they had to give me cotton, really packed it in." This was a lot of random dental information Todd wasn't sure he needed.
"Yeah, they do that." Todd agreed as he shuffled some papers into his pack and started tidying up his desk.
"Actually, I've been meaning to ask you." Dirk had appeared in front of Todd's desk, causing Todd to jump slightly. Even with the enhanced hearing, Todd was always surprised by Dirk sneaking up on him. Farah often commented that they needed to get a bell for Dirk.
"There's a super-moon tonight, and I was wondering if you wanted to go out into the middle of nowhere, far away from other people, to, you know, watch the moon." Dirk was almost vibrating, and Todd thought that he was trying to hold himself back from all-out jumping up and down. Todd narrowed his eyes.
"Well, I've got my dentist appointment,” Todd said, still not quite sure what was going on. “Really can't miss it, you know how those things are." Dirk nodded, still grinning ear to ear like he had won the lottery.
"Yes, appointments. Dentists. Teeth. All of it, that stuff, very familiar with the workings of dental professionals. But perhaps, maybe just this once, you could possibly move your appointment, and we could go watch the moon. Together. In the middle of nowhere. Far away from other people."
Was Dirk asking him out? Was that what was happening? Todd realized that he might not actually mind going out on a date with Dirk, he was quite attractive, and they were such good friends that it couldn’t possibly be bad, but that was something Todd had just started to realize, and he felt like that might be a lot all at once.
"Or, I could come with you," Dirk continued, "to the dentist thing and then we could go after. Of course after. But we could go together. A pair. You know what they say about packs and other such, group, gang, words."
Todd had narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"Is this a British thing that's getting lost in translation?" Todd asked. Dirk grabbed Todd's bag and swung it over his shoulder, shaking his head as he went. He walked back to his desk and flipped his computer off and picked up a few things.
"No of course not. I simply want to go with you to your dentist appointment, and then drag you out into the middle of nowhere to watch the moon. Simple as that. No ulterior motives of any kind whatsoever." Dirk reached behind his desk and pulled out a large, industrial-looking cooler. Todd was surprised that he wasn't able to smell what was inside and was quickly becoming suspicious.
"What's that?" Todd asked, pointing at the cooler. Dirk looked at the cooler and smiled.
"Oh, just some snacks. For after the dentist appointment of course. Come along. I'll drive." Before Todd could protest, Dirk headed for the door.
"Come on. Don't want to be late!" Dirk shouted over his shoulder as he pushed the door open.
Todd slowly followed Dirk out of the office and to his car. He watched as Dirk placed the, apparently heavy, cooler in the back along with both of their bags. Dirk slid into the driver's seat and had a moment where he seemed to have completely forgotten how to drive.
"You're not, gonna kill me and put me in the cooler are you?" Todd asked. Dirk looked over at Todd; shock etched across his face.
"What would give you that idea?" Dirk questioned.
"Well, the insistence on accompanying me, the want to go to the middle of nowhere, the industrial cooler. These are just a few of the things I'm picking up on." Todd counted on his fingers as he listed his concerns. Dirk laughed and swung the car out of the parking lot.
"Don't be silly Todd, you would be far too gamey to eat!” Dirk smiled as they drove.
"I never said anything about eating me! That's not comforting, like, at all." Todd had never considered that as a possibility and was startled by the suggestion.
"Well, you would!" Dirk stated looking at Todd for far longer than someone who is driving a car should. Todd pulled out his phone and sent a quick text off to Amanda.
Dude! Did you tell Dirk?
Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long for her response.
What? No! …why? - A
He's acting super weird.
Like normal weird, or weirder than usual? - A
I'm pretty sure he's gonna kill me and throw me in a cooler.
Oh...you might die tonight. Can I have your guitar? - A
Amanda! Not helpful. You're sure you didn't tell him?
Cross my heart! <3 I'll miss you when you're gone – A
Thx
Todd placed his phone back in his pocket and realized that Dirk was headed straight out of the city. Todd was going to correct him, but he decided he would just let whatever happened happen. Even if there was a dentist that stayed open past five in Seattle, Todd had no idea where it would be, and he didn’t have time to figure it out. Worst came to worst he knew he could tuck and roll out of the car and most likely not die.
They drove for about two hours before Todd started to get antsy. His skin had started to prickle, and his senses were getting overwhelmed. He had never tried to come out to the middle of nowhere before. Instead, he had always locked himself in the extra storage space they had in the back of the office. No one ever went back there, so they hadn't noticed when Todd had soundproofed the room, or how he fixed up the scratch marks every month.
Or at least, he hoped they hadn't noticed.
Dirk was quietly humming to himself as they pulled off the highway and on to a dark country road. They hadn't passed any houses for quite some time, and the more Todd thought about it, the more he wondered if Dirk really did just want to watch the moon.
"Almost there," Dirk said, breaking the silence as they continued down the dark forest road.
"Where?" Todd asked looking around. It was dark, but the moon still wouldn't be up for almost another forty minutes.
"Oh, I had Farah purchase a small cabin out here. If she asks, it's for a case involving a bear." Dirk stated matter of factly. That still didn't answer anything.
"Wait, why?" Todd asked.
"Well, because bears live in the woods and that seemed like a logical explanation for purchasing–"
"No, I mean, why did you have her purchase a cabin?" Todd cut him off. Dirk looked over and smiled at Todd.
"Because this cabin is located roughly 45 miles from the closest neighbor and more than 90 miles from a large town. Which for these parts isn't very big, the largest town is roughly 400 people, a hamlet really. So, we'll have the place all to ourselves." Dirk was beaming.
"You realize how serial killery that sounds right?" Todd asked, giving him a sideways glance.
"I do, yes, but that's not what the cabin is for. You’ll see when we get there. You’re going to love it.” Dirk remained quiet for the rest of the drive, letting Todd focus on the growing discomfort in his stomach. This had been a bad idea. He was going to kill Dirk, and then wreck the car and then be trapped in the middle of the woods, he just knew it. Why did he let Dirk talk him into this?
Just as he was about to voice his concerns, they drove around a bend in the road and came upon a small rustic looking cabin. The cabin opened onto a large field and had a small lake in the back. How had Dirk even found this place? Dirk clicked a button in his car and the garage door – which was located slightly to the side of the cabin – opened slowly, allowing them to slow and park perfectly inside.
As soon as the car was off Todd hopped out and headed back out into the open air. Something inside of him clicked, he felt relaxed despite the growing heat in his chest. How had he never thought to come out to the woods before? This was so much better than that tiny cramped room.
Todd heard Dirk close the garage and then head into the house. He was going to follow him, but all the smells were quickly becoming overpowering. It was getting hard to focus.
A high-pitched whistle sounded, and Todd whirled in a circle. What was that sound? He could hear faint laughter coming from inside the cabin and decided it was time to talk to Dirk properly.
With a few quick strides he was inside and looking around. The cabin was modest but modern. It featured an entryway that doubled as the living and dining area, a small kitchen towards the back and a hall that led to a bathroom and two small bedrooms. Dirk was standing in the main living area and looking out the large window that looked out onto the field. He was also holding something shiny.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t think that would work.” Dirk tried to shove the shiny object into his pocket, but Todd was faster, no longer holding back. He moved forward and snatched the small object from Dirk with ease.
“Is this a dog whistle?” he asked, rolling the small metal cylinder over in his hand. He glanced up at Dirk who was very red and looked fairly startled.
“Yes, yes it is. That was so fast. You just appeared.” Todd glanced back over to the spot where he had been standing a moment before.
“It’s only like ten feet. Why do you have a dog whistle?” Todd held up the whistle, and Dirk squirmed out from between Todd and the couch.
“Just a theory, well, testing a theory, and you know collecting data.”
“Uh-huh,” Todd said, slowly rolling his eyes and tossing the whistle back to Dirk.
“How long have you known?” Dirk made his ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that’ face, his eyes slightly wide and his mouth agape.
“Known what?” He asked. Todd could hear Dirk's heartbeat skip slightly as he spoke.
“Oh, you so know. Did Amanda tell you?” the beat remained steady.
“No, of course not. I’m sure whatever you think I know I don’t because I rarely know anything ever. You should give it a shot; it’s really quite relaxing.” Todd noticed the fear before Dirk could even process the emotion.
“You don’t have to be scared,” Todd said, trying to soften his tone, but it was so difficult to focus. The sounds, the smells, it was only about ten minutes out now.
“Scared? Ha, I’m not scared. What would I have to be scared of? It’s just you. And me. In a cabin. In the woods. In the middle of nowhere. With no cell reception. Oh god, why did I think this was a good idea?” Dirk sat down with a hard thump on the couch and Todd cocked his head a little to the side.
"Man, it's fine. You just stay in here, lock the doors, and it'll be good. I'll see you in the morning." Todd moved around Dirk and headed towards the door. He had almost made the distance when he heard Dirk jump up.
"Well, no, I'll come with you." Dirk said, a chipper skip returning to his voice, but covering the fear that Todd could smell. Todd spun on his heel and pointed at Dirk.
"No." He said, a small growl making its way into his words. "You're going to stay in here. Where I know you'll be safe. And I'm going to go out there, and then I'll come back in the morning. Maybe. Hopefully. I'm fairly sure I'll be able to find my way back to this cabin." Dirk's scent flooded Todd's nose as Dirk invaded his space.
"No, you've been alone far too long, I want to help. I want, well I'm not sure, but I want to help." Todd sighed. It was definitely hard to focus now. Dirk smelled so good, like warmth and sunshine. When had he started thinking about how good Dirk smelled? Was it time, did he miscalculate? He had to get out of there before something terrible happened.
"Dirk, I don't know what's going to happen. I've never done," he gestured around to the cabin, the woods, everything, "this before, and certainly never with you around. It's just, sorry, it's hard to focus." He found himself taking deep breaths, trying to focus on Dirk's face and failing.
"Well then let me help, how can I help?" Todd sighed, looking down at his feet.
"Please, just stay here. I'll be back in the morning, but I need to know you're safe. Please stay in the cabin. Please keep the door closed. Just, please." Dirk looked like he was going to disagree, and Todd knew that if he did he wouldn't be able to fight anymore, he would let Dirk do whatever he wanted, but Dirk nodded his head.
"Okay," Dirk said, the natural energy that usually filled Dirk's words had faded.
Todd gave Dirk a sad smile and slipped out the front door into the night.