Work Text:
There were rumours of the White Wolf.
Ox hears them all the time. He listened to a client tell Robbie about how he saw the Wolf this one time, walking into the woods. Robbie laughed, and though the client might not have heard the strain, Ox did.
Ox knows why Robbie laughed. He knows the Wolf is real. Just like Ox does.
Stories about the White Wolf had started cropping up a few months ago, right around the time Ox had seen him the first time. He had watched him from an alleyway. Most did not believe the stories and talked off them in disbelief, some believed them and talked about the Wolf in reverence and fear. Even Robbie feared the Wolf.
Ox couldn’t explain it, but he knew the creature was not dangerous. To him, it seemed the Wolf wanted to take care of him.
He had seen him with blood all over his snout, only to come home to a dead rabbit on his porch. He had heard him growl, only to hear curses and running behind him. When he lost his keys, he found them on the steps in the back alley to Gordo’s shop. Sometimes, when he looked out the window, he saw him at the edge of his property, as if making sure he was safe in the night.
Gordo had warned him about the Wolf, telling Ox to stay away. He wanted to listen to him, he really did. But then someone shoved him into an alley and held a gun up to his stomach, telling him to drop his wallet and he’ll live. Before Ox could react, there was a loud growl reverberating through the alley, startling him and his robber. They both looked to the end of the alley, where the White Wolf was standing, snarling.
“Shit.” the robber cursed. The gun to his stomach was trembling. When the robber didn’t back off, the Wolf started running towards them. The robber ran, more curses falling from his lips.
Ox slid down to the floor, trembling. “Holy shit,” he breathed.
The Wolf came to him, keeping his body close to the floor. He gently nudged Ox with his snout, making Ox huff a little laugh. Instinctively, he buried his hand in the Wolfs fur. He couldn’t help but smile down at the creature. The Wolf bared his teeth and Ox realized it must be imitating his smile. His tongue lolled out of his snout. Ox huffed a laugh. Before he could say anything, though, the Wolf's ears perked up and it got up to run away.
--
Ox could almost convince himself that he had dreamt the encounter, if it weren’t for the fact that the memory of the gun pressing into his skin was so fresh in his mind. He also knew that there was no viable explanation for the white fur on his work clothes.
Gordo glared at him when he saw the fur. “I told you to stay away,” he growled.
“I know,” Ox replied. “But he saved me. He saved me, Gordo.”
--
The next day, on his break, he got out of the back door of the shop to see Gordo and a stranger arguing. “Make sure he stays away from my boy. I don’t care how. Just do it, Mark. You owe me that much.”
“I don’t owe you shit, Gordo. You broke my heart just as much as I did yours,” Mark growled back.
Ox saw Gordo’s fists clench and the ground around them started to glow. “Get out of here, asshole,” Gordo bit out. With a last glare, the stranger turned and ran. Gordo took a deep breath, the glow faded and his muscles seemed to relax. When he turned around and saw Ox, he sighed. “I knew this day would come.”
So Gordo told him to sit. He leaned against the wall opposite him and started explaining. “That was Mark Bennett.” Gordo started. “We used to date. His family, they used to live here. I’m a witch. They came back because they hoped I could help them out with their youngest son, Joe. My father was also a witch and he kidnapped the boy years ago. He cursed him to be a wolf. None of them know the terms, how to undo the curse, but Joe himself. They hoped I could help since the one who spoke the curse was my father.”
“The White Wolf?” Ox asked.
Gordo nodded. “All I could figure out yet was that it has something to do with his goddamn soulmate. He hasn’t even met them yet.”
--
Of course Ox knew what soulmates were. You touched them, and you were happier. Everything made more sense when you were holding them. Ox hadn’t found his soulmate yet, but his ex-girlfriend Jessie had found hers. She had met them at a teachers conference. Jessie had been distracted and worried all weekend since Chris had been in the hospital for a motorcycle accident. She ran into Alex, who dropped their bag. The content spilled out and Jessie hurried to help them collect all of it. When their hands brushed, Jessie had been overwhelmed by the sudden happiness that overcame her. It was a total meet-cute, and Ox had dreamed of finding his soulmate that way.
He didn’t have luck yet.
--
Ox was sad. It was his mother’s birthday today, but she had died last year. This would be her first birthday since her death. He bought flowers and a candle, and he went to her grave. He’d made sure to go back every few weeks to make sure the flowers he planted hadn’t wilted, replacing the dead ones with new ones. He sat the flowers down and looked at the headstone. “Hey mom,” he whispered. “Happy Birthday.”
He lit the candle and put it down next to her headstone, then went to work silently on the flowers. He removed the weeds, watered the remaining plants and planted the new one he brought. They were tulips, her favourite flower. When he was done, he sat down and quietly told her about his life. It wasn’t long until he started talking about the Wolf. How he learned he was a cursed boy. How his name was Joe. He left soon, after telling her how much he missed her.
When he reached the parking lot and his car, he cleaned the dirt off his hands and stayed sideways in his seat, staring at nothing. Suddenly, he felt something wet touch his hand and felt overwhelming happiness. Suddenly, he knew everything would be just right. He looked up to see the Wolf. “Oh,” he breathed. “Oh.”
--
He’d ushered the Wolf - no, Joe - into the back of his car. Joe stuck his snout through the space between the two front seats. His nose was touching the back of Ox’s arm. Ox couldn’t stop smiling.
He stopped the car at Gordo’s shop and let Joe out of the back, he immediately came to his side again, nudging at Ox’s hand until he buried it in Joe’s fur. He went around the back and told Joe to wait. Joe immediately sat. Ox smiled at him.
“Gordo,” he said, bursting into Gordo’s office. There were two people sitting in front of him though, and Ox stopped in the doorway.
“Ox,” Gordo sighed. “Why are you here? You’ve got today off.”
“Uh,” he replied. “I can help you? With that thing you told me about?” He eyed the strangers warily.
Gordo furrowed his brow in confusion. “Which thing?”
“The, uh. Soulmate thing?”
At that, the two strangers looked at him sharply.
Gordo sighed again. “Ox, these are Thomas and Elizabeth Bennett,” he introduced the two strangers. “Their Joe’s parents. Now, how do you think you can help?”
Ox gripped the doorknob more tightly. “I’m the soulmate?”
The Bennetts perked up immediately. “You are? How do you know? Are you sure?” Elizabeth asked immediately.
So he explained the situation at the cemetery, and watched as Mrs. Bennetts eyes filled with tears. “Gordo,” she breathed. “We have a chance to bring him back now.”
--
Gordo was barely in the shop anymore, following that conversation. He spent all his time trying to read the magic his father had used on Joe. It took him a few weeks, but then he called Ox one evening.
“I got it. I know how to undo the curse. Come to the Bennetts house,” he said, in a hurry. He immediately hung up and Ox hurried to grab his keys and wallet to drive to the Bennetts.
When he arrived, Elizabeth was waiting for him outside. “Thank you,” she said, tears running down her face. “Thank you so much, Ox.”
Ox nodded. “Of course.”
They went inside, Elizabeth ushering him in the direction of the living room, where the rest of the family was waiting for him.
“Hey, Ox,” Gordo greeted him. Ox nodded back at him and went to Joe’s side. His tail was wagging before Ox reached him and he stretched his head towards him. He seemed as excited as the rest of his family.
“So, what do I do?” Ox asked, once he greeted Joe with a hand running over his head.
“You have to touch for a day,” Gordo said. “And then you have to speak his full name.”
Ox eyes widened. “A day as in 24 hours?” Gordo nodded. “But what about wor-”
“Don’t even try to bring up work,” Gordo interrupted him. “Of course you’ll get the day off.”
Ox nodded. “Of course.”
“Are you okay with doing it now?” Thomas asked him.
“Of course. I want to finally know what my soulmate looks like when he’s not a giant wolf,” Ox joked. That garnered a laugh from everyone in the room.
“Joe has a bed upstairs,” Elizabeth told him. “I think it’ll be easiest if you stay on it for the time. Of course, we’ll provide you with anything you might need. Just give one of us a shout.”
--
They settled in for the day, Carter borrowing Ox his phone charger so he could browse around on it if he wanted to. Everything went okay, except the first time Ox needed to use the bathroom and Joe followed him, pressed to his side even while he peed. After that, it was easier.
At the end of the 24 hours, signalled by an alarm on his phone, Ox rolled over. He grabbed Joe’s head, looked into his eyes and said, clearly “Joseph Bennett.”
Nothing seemed to happen at first, but then the bones between his hands started shifting. He almost took his hands of Joe’s head, but he didn’t want to risk it. What if he stopped shifting back once he broke contact now? So he kept his hands on Joe’s head, his body pressed to him. Ox closed his eyes and pressed his face to Joe’s forehead, leaving tiny kisses there. He felt the fur recede underneath his lips and hands to leave behind smooth skin. The Wolf’s legs slowly became thicker until hands were gripping at his shirt and legs were tangled with his. When Ox opened his eyes, he saw a young man. Blue eyes, he noticed first. Blond hair and beard, he noticed then. The wide grin directed at him, next.
“Ox,” the young man holding him said, voice hoarse. He pulled him closer. He pressed a short kiss to his lips, the grins on both their faces hindering him slightly. That didn’t stop him from pressing more and more tiny kisses to his lips though, breathing Ox, Ox, Ox between kisses, and Ox just kept holding his face between his hands and kissed helplessly back.
There was a knock on the door then and it must have been the hardest thing Ox has ever done to pull back from Joe’s kisses and call out for the person on the other side of the door to come in. When Elizabeth popped her head inside, it looked like she wanted to say something before she saw Joe, and she just quieted and stared.
“Mom,” Joe breathed, pulling away from Ox to run to his mother. He stumbled for the first few steps, clearly not used to walking on two feet, but then he caught himself and ran to Elizabeth and hugged her.
Elizabeth started sobbing as soon as her arms wrapped around Joe. “Joe, my baby, oh my god, you’re you again, oh my god, my little baby boy,” she rambled. Ox heard steps come from all over the house and before he knew it, the entire family was crowded around Joe, holding him, crying tears of joy. Ox averted his eyes, feeling awkward watching the family reunite.
“Ox,” Joe called out. He loosened his grip on his mother and extricated himself from his families embrace. He came back to the bed, where Ox was still sitting. He grinned, and only then did Ox realize that Joe was naked. He was about to bring it up when Joe tilted his head up and pressed a lingering kiss to his lips. “Thank you,” he breathed against his lips. “Thank you so much, Ox.”
“Come on, everyone,” he heard Thomas say softly. “Let’s give them some time to themselves. Ox, if you could make sure he’s wearing clothes when you come out?”
Ox nodded distractedly, still kissing Joe.
When he heard the door close, he lied back down on the bed and pulled Joe with him. “God, Joe. You can’t imagine how long I’ve been waiting for you.” he whispered against Joe’s lips.
Joe huffed a laugh. “Ox, believe me, I can.”
Ox chuckled. “Is it too soon to say I love you?” he asked, flipping them over so he could stare down at Joe.
Joe grinned brightly up at him. “Nope. Because I love you, too,” he answered before he pulled Ox down again.
They both grinned into the next kiss, happier than they’ve ever been before. Oh, Ox thought. This was only the start of the rest of their lives.