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For all intents and purposes, it was supposed to a typical Tuesday shift for Jack. He didn’t necessarily enjoy the afternoon-into-evening shifts he tended to get at his local grocery store, but they paid the bills and supplied him with some pocket change that every students needed nowadays.
His co-worker, Durham, was busy assisting with their in-house bakery, leaving him to re-stock cheeses in the diary section. He didn’t mind doing it, having done it many a time before, but it tended to get chilly after a while.
After putting in his airpaws and selecting a playlist on Pawtify, he began stocking the frosty shelves with mozzarella and old cheddar cheese blocks. He was halfway done when his manager, a short rabbit named Haru, approached him.
“How’s it going, Jack?” she asked politely, her hands behind her back. Jack removed one of his airpaws and stared at her skeptically.
“Uh, pretty good?” he replied, feeling confused. Haru was usually hands-off when it came to managing. She was more likely to delegate someone to manage the floor while she handled things in her office. Jack enjoyed having a boss that wasn’t a micro-managing fire breathing dragon (a figure of speech, he had nothing against dragons), but it did make their occasional interactions a bit awkward.
“I have a favour to ask,” she said, looking a little uncomfortable. This was a bit concerning to Jack, but being the dedicated employee he was, he smiled and nodded politely.
“Sure, how can I help?”
All Haru had to do was point in the direction of the grocery store’s fresh produce section and Jack knew exactly what the problem was.
A tall, grey wolf was darting around in a frantic state. In one hand, he held a white sheet of paper covered in what looked to be handwriting and in the other, a rickety shopping cart that could barely keep up with him as he sped through the vegetable isles.
While the sight wasn’t necessarily something Jack hadn’t seen in the store before, he could understand why Haru was pointing it out.
Unbeknownst to the panicked wolf, several of the smaller grocery store patrons had deliberately moved away from where he was. Their fear wasn’t completely unfounded given the fact that a towering, agitated wolf could frighten the best of both predator and prey. Still, it was very clear to Jack that the wolf was just distressed over whatever he was trying to find and wasn’t deliberately trying to scare anyone in the store.
“Do you want me to ask him to leave?” Jack asked bluntly, turning back to his manager with a saddened expression atop his mug. He didn’t know if Haru was prejudiced towards predators, but it wouldn’t be surprising if she was. Society had come far in terms of predator and prey relations, but covert (and systemic) speciesism was still very much alive and well.
“Oh heavens , no!” the bunny said with a jump, turning back to give him a shocked (and slightly offended) look. “That would go against every company policy we have and I’d never let that happen on my watch.”
Jack winced and awkwardly rubbed his paw against the back of his neck, realizing his assumption had been wrong.
“S-sorry,” he stammered out. “I just…”
“…didn’t know how I’d respond, right?” Haru finished, giving him a sad smile.
“Yeah,” Jack admitted.
“That’s okay, I understand,” the rabbit replied with a nod. “He just looks like he needs some assistance and I’m sure your charm would help calm him down.”
“I don’t know if I’d consider myself charming…” Jack said, feeling his face heat up a bit. Haru giggled.
“Well, I wanted to call it your ‘nurturing nature’ but I didn’t know how you’d take that.”
Jack felt himself at a loss of words from what he considered to be very kind (and undeserving) praise. Thankfully, Haru continued before things got awkward.
“Besides, I couldn’t send Durham. His energy mixed with that guy’s would set the store on fire,” she said with a smile.
“You’re not wrong about that,” Jack admitted with a laugh, putting down the rectangles of cheese he’d been holding. “Thanks for the compliments, I’ll see if I can help this guy out.”
“Thanks, Jack. If you can’t resolve the matter, come find me. I’ll stay on the floor,” Haru reassured.
Jack thanked her and headed towards the wolf who was currently looking between his sheet of paper and the vegan meat display.
Not wanting to scare the wolf, the labrador cleared his throat as he approached.
While he hoped this would get his attention, the wolf seemed undeterred from whatever mission he was on and didn’t even turn around. Jack let out a slight huff before moving closer.
“Uh…excuse me?” he tried, hoping the wolf would hear him. It was at this proximity, however, that he could hear the wolf muttering to himself.
Holding back a sigh, Jack journeyed closer, stepping towards the wolf’s right side. He suddenly felt eyes on him and upon turning his gaze, noticed a bunch of the store’s customers watching him from a distance. Their faces held a mix of fear and excitement, like they were watching a toe-curling scene in a movie.
Now he really wanted to sigh.
Instead, he mustered whatever courage he had and reached forward to tap the wolf’s shoulder. Given their height difference, he had to reach up a bit to make contact. He only tapped once, but that seemed to be enough to interrupt whatever train of thought had been passing through the wolf’s mind.
Time seemed to slow down as the wolf registered his presence and slowly turned his head to face him.
Jack couldn’t help but notice he was quite handsome, with a narrow muzzle and beady eyes that were captivating if one was to stare long enough. He still looked frazzled though, so Jack tried to keep any stray thoughts at bay.
“Yes?” the wolf asked slowly. Jack was happy that he didn’t sound angry or irritated. He tried to ignore the way his own tail began to wag and the sounds of customers letting out sighs of relief (and disappointment?) behind him.
“I was just wondering if you needed any assistance,” Jack explained, his customer service skills activating automatically now that the situation seemed manageable.
The wolf was silent for a second before he nodded and let out a breath he seemed to be holding.
“Well, a-actually,” he stuttered. “I-I was just trying to…”
“Take your time,” Jack reassured. “I’m here to help.”
That seemed to take whatever pressure the wolf was feeling off his shoulders and he began to relax.
“Thanks,” he said as he took Jack’s advice. “I’m in a bit of a predicament and could really use some assistance.”
Jack nodded in response and waited for him to continue.
“I intern for an event planning company and they’ve run out of ingredients for a dress rehearsal dinner tonight,” the wolf explained. “The family can be a bit…rowdy, so my boss is worried that we might have a situation on our hands if we don’t have things prepared.”
“They gave me this list but it’s pretty specific and I don’t have a lot of time…” he continued, gesturing towards the white paper in his hand. “I’m scared to go back if I can’t find everything.”
Jack nodded once he felt he had a grasp of the situation on his hands. Whatever he’d been expecting, it hadn’t been this .
“May I?” he asked, gesturing towards the piece of paper.
The wolf, realizing what he wanted, handed it to him quickly. Jack smiled and accepted it.
“Okay, let’s see…” he said, more to himself than to the wolf in front of him.
The list wasn’t extensive, but it did ask for a lot of specialty items that would be hard to find without knowing the store’s layout well. He could understand why this had been anxiety-provoking for the wolf, especially with him just being an intern.
“I can definitely see why you were worried,” Jack started. The wolf begin to look frantic again and he quickly continued with what he was saying.
“B-but we definitely carry everything on this list! I’ll show you around, since you’re in a rush.”
The wolf let out a sigh of relief and offered him a small smile.
“I would really appreciated that, uh…” he dropped his gaze to find Jack’s nameplate, which was pinned to the labrador’s store uniform. “Jack?”
“Yup, that’s me! No worries at all, sir!” Jack confirmed with a smile, finding himself enjoying how the wolf said his name.
“Oh, it’s Legoshi,” the wolf replied, clearing his throat.
“Well, nice to meet you Legoshi!” Jack said cheerfully, gesturing towards another section of the store. “Shall we?”
And with that, Jack led Legoshi around the store, pointing out the items on the list and crossing them off when the wolf added them to his cart. Even though they walked at a brisk pace, given Legoshi’s situation, Jack could tell that the other store patrons had calmed down. Some even offered advice when they saw Legoshi choosing between brands. For Jack, it was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. He was glad the customers were warming up to Legoshi, but it was clear that they’d initially feared the worst because he was a wolf. It didn’t help that Legoshi was actually gentle and kind, evident in the way he spoke to Jack and customers in the store now that he didn’t have to panic. It didn’t sit well with Jack, especially since Legoshi seemed to be completely unaware of what had happened before he’d been approached. Regardless, the labrador was happy to help the handsome wolf with his interesting grocery list. Hopefully, Legoshi’s employer wouldn’t send him on such a daunting mission again.
Once they’d grabbed everything on the list, Jack ushered Legoshi to the front of the store to cash out. He rang him up himself, knowing that the wolf was in a rush and that it would be faster that way.
“You saved my butt, Jack,” Legoshi admitted as he swiped his card. “Thank you so much.”
“No worries at all,” Jack replied, feeling his cheeks heat up again. “I’m glad I was able to help.”
“You’re a lifesaver, honestly.”
“I don’t know about that, but hopefully your employer won’t have to deal with an angry family now.”
“Hopefully!” Legoshi agreed. “From what I’ve seen, they can go from zero to hundred pretty quickly. Dinner will probably tide them over tonight.”
“Best of luck then,” Jack said with a laugh and a wave.
“I’ll need it,” Legoshi replied with a smile as he headed out, winking at Jack before exciting through the store’s front doors.
Blushing at the unexpected gesture, Jack found himself momentarily stunned as he watched Legoshi’s retreating figure from the grocery store’s glass doors.
He didn’t have long to wonder what that was about before feeling a small finger tap on his forearm.
Turning to see Haru looking up at him with a bright smile, he took a step back and returned the gesture.
“That looked like it went well, good job,” she praised. Still not used to interacting with her, Jack couldn’t help but rub his neck again as he took in her kind words.
“T-thanks! He was really friendly, just a bit worried with the list his employer gave him,” he explained.
“That makes sense, he seemed so gentle and kind,” Haru replied. Jack nodded in agreement.
“He really was, it seemed like everyone else warmed up to him as well.”
“They should have been warm to begin with,” Haru said, crossing her arms over her chest. “He was a patron like the rest of them.”
“That’s true, but you know how animals can be,” Jack replied, trying not to show how happy he was that she’d said that.
“Well, either way, I appreciate you taking care of it. Would you like to take your break now? I’ll give you an extra fifteen minutes and let you leave early too, if you’d like.”
“Oh, that’s very nice of you but I still have a few shelves to stock,” Jack replied sheepishly. “I wouldn’t mind taking that early leave, though.”
Haru nodded in understanding.
“Works for me. I’ll let Durham know so he can cover the rest of the night. I’ll be here as well, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Thanks a bunch,” Jack said as he stepped past her, offering a slight bow as he did before walking back to the dairy section. Haru giggled and waved to him as he left.
Although the time he’d taken to help Legoshi meant he was a bit behind on his other duties, Jack couldn’t help but feel ecstatic about their interaction. The wolf was not only sweet, but handsome to boot. Taking a deep breath before resuming his stocking efforts, Jack smiled to himself and tried to think about something else. His mind couldn’t help but drift back to the wolf winking at him, at least until he clocked out that night.
The following week found Jack collecting carts in the parking lot ahead of a snowstorm that was predicted to arrive overnight. Durham would have been helping him had he not caught a cold a few days prior. Jack felt it served him right for the amount of teasing and “shipping” the coyote had subjected him to after the Legoshi situation. Durham had even managed to get the rest of the staff on board with the idea that he would make a stellar boyfriend to the “frantic but gentle” wolf. Even Haru had made an off-hand remark about how cute a couple the two of them would be.
The whole thing was luckily dying down since Legoshi hadn’t been back to the store after their initial interaction, but Jack was starting to miss the wolf he’d helped that fateful day.
With a snowstorm on the way, however, he had more pressing matters to deal with.
Luckily, there weren’t too many carts outside to deal with. By the time he was almost done, the sun was beginning to set and his back was starting to hurt. There was one last cart at the far end of the parking lot and he took his time walking over to it in order to catch his breath.
He was walking it back while checking something on his phone when he noticed a shadow fall over him.
Doing his best not to jump and potentially drop his phone, Jack turned to the presence he hadn’t noticed while responding to text messages his mother had sent him.
“L-legoshi?!”
The wolf looked as terrified as he did.
“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you, I should have said something sooner…” Legoshi replied, looking like he was about to take off in a sprint.
“I-it’s okay,” Jack reassured, recovering as fast as he could. The last thing he wanted to do was put the wolf in another panicked state. “I just didn’t see you there. How are you doing?”
“I’m good,” Legoshi replied sheepishly. “H-how are you?”
“I’m doing well, though I’m tired from pushing these carts,” Jack said with a laugh. “How did things go with that dress rehearsal dinner?”
“Oh, they were happy with everything and my boss was surprised that I managed to find everything. I made sure to let him know I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Jack felt his cheeks heating up again.
“You didn’t have to say that, I was just doing my job,” he replied bashfully.
“I really appreciated it, though,” Legoshi admitted.
“You’re welcome then,” Jack acquiesced. “I was happy to help.”
“Actually, I was wondering if I could make it up to you,” Legoshi offered, looking incredibly nervous as he did. “There’s a coffee shop not too far from here that I’ve been meaning to check out. Would you want to go sometime? It would be my treat, of course.”
Jack was taken aback by the request, but tried not to show it as he stared at the grey wolf.
Durham would have been laughing his head off had he heard that .
“Well, I can’t accept any form of gratitude related to my services here,” he started, gesturing towards the grocery store.
“Oh! Right, sorry…” Legoshi replied, looking away in embarrassment, his tail falling lifelessly to his ankles. Jack smiled.
“But outside of work hours? I’m definitely available and would love to join you,” he finished, walking around the cart to get closer to Legoshi.
If he could have captured the look of joy on Legoshi’s face at that moment, he would have.
“Do you have your phone? I can give you my number,” he said with a small smile, trying to hide the happiness he was holding in.
“Oh, o-of course!” Legoshi replied, fishing a cellular device out of his pocket and handing it to Jack.
“You have to put in your password.”
“Right! Silly me…”
After Jack handed back the wolf’s phone, he noticed a sheet of paper sticking out of his back pocket.
“Did you just come here to speak with me or..?”
Legoshi blinked before shaking his head and pulling out the sheet of paper.
“No, actually,” he replied. “I was promoted after last week’s situation and I’m now helping the kitchen. They’ve sent me on another run for an order. I was hoping you could help me again? No worries, if you can’t! I completely understand and you’ve already done so much...”
Jack cut off his rambling by shaking his paw in front of him.
“It’s totally fine, let me see what they’ve requested this time,” the labrador said with a smile, taking the list from the wolf’s paws. The relief that fell over Legoshi was more than worth the adventure they’d go on to find what he needed.
Looking over the list as they walked and talked, Jack couldn’t help but feel happy with how things were going between them.
Though he knew Durham would never let him live it down once he found out.