Work Text:
The café hadn’t been busy today at all, almost empty in fact, maybe ten people tops had come through the door since he had arrived, and Vincent had been holed up in the corner since 9am. Annoyingly, he’d had an early class that morning, but his next one wouldn’t be until 6pm, and he needed something to do until then. Walking around town in the freezing cold was out from the get-go, and there wasn’t anything interesting on in the cinema, and he didn’t particularly feel like going home, to sleep or otherwise.
Bothering Malaya, while she worked, seemed like as good a thing to do as any, and the coffee shop was a good place to get a head start on all of his assignments.
Not that he had managed to get as much done as he had expected to, since a certain smiley werewolf kept coming over to talk to him, and he found that his eyes kept traveling over to watch Eli as he worked. Every time it happened, Eli would turn towards him and give him a toothy grin, and Malaya would hide her laugh behind her hand. Eventually, she shoved Eli in his direction, whispering something to him as she did so.
“Need another refill?” Elias asked, holding a jug of brewed black coffee, which he poured into the other man’s mug. Vincent drank it gratefully, and Eli put the jug down, pressing both of his palms down on the table, with a look of obvious excitement on his face. It was clear that his metaphorical tail was wagging. “How long did you say it was until your next class?”
Vincent checked his watch. “Huh?” Looks like it’s in half an hour,” he said, in genuine surprise. It was much later than he had thought it had been, which meant he must have gotten really engrossed in his work and maybe in Elias’ stupid jokes. Maybe, just a little. Maybe. A quick glance outside confirmed what his watch was already telling him (because he thought that, what? His watch had somehow stopped at 6 in the morning despite working perfectly fine in his earlier class). It was already dark outside.
Without even realizing that he was doing it, Vincent made a small noise of discomfort. It couldn’t be called a whine or even a whimper. It was a grunt more than anything. Most people probably wouldn’t even have been able to tell that anything was wrong.
Elias picked up on it instantly, though, whether it was because of super werewolf senses or because he’d just improved at reading Vincent’s mood by that much since they’d started their weird dance, bobbing just at the edges of a romantic relationship, but neither ever quite getting the courage to take the final step. “Want me to walk you to class?” He asked.
Despite coming to know the people who had kidnapped him in the first place, Vincent still got incredibly nervous when he had to walk anywhere on his own, especially after dark. It didn’t help that Mal collected Werewolf enemies so easily, like Aubrey’s dad, for instance, who had come back to town recently.
Of course, he didn’t want to show that fact too much. He wanted to seem like he was unaffected by anything, just like he had his entire life. He didn’t want to worry Eli, and he didn’t want to worry his family. They already had so much to deal with.
“Four ube cakes to go?” He called to Malaya, holding up four fingers. “We can eat them together, after class, I mean.” There, he’d found a way to say yes to Eli’s request without actually having to admit to having a problem. He clapped himself on the back.
The taller man’s face was one of concern, though, and it took a moment for him to be able to get it under control. Shifting to being all smiles again, he responded: “I see you’re taking care of my werewolf appetite then.”
“No, they’re all for me.”
Eli laughed, bumping Vincent’s shoulder with his own as he collected his bag, and together they stepped out into the night. It was freezing, as it always was at this time of year, and Vincent found himself wrapping himself tighter in his puffer jacket, although it did very little to keep the cold at bay. He should have worn gloves since his hands were so dry that he could feel the skin split as they walked.
The other man’s nostrils flared. He must have picked up the scent of blood, and he started reaching towards his pocket.
“Seriously?” Vincent asked. “I thought you were a werewolf, not a vampire.” It was a stupid joke, wolves could smell things from a mile away, and they were drawn to the smell of blood in the same way that every predator animal was, it signaled that there was prey to be had, and moreover, it signaled that the prey might have already been weakened.
Elias took a step towards him, and unconsciously, he took a step back. He wasn’t even sure why. He just thought that maybe, somehow, this moment might be the one that everything came to a head. Maybe Elias was going to ask if he was allowed to kiss him.
He didn’t.
“Hold out your hands,” the taller man said, holding a tube of hand cream up so that Vincent could see it.
Slightly confused, Vincent held out his hands, and Eli (taking one of his gloves off with his teeth, which Vincent... well, which Vincent might be willing to admit was at least a little hot) squeezed out a large amount of the lotion onto them, rubbing it into Vincent’s skin himself. With his own hands.
Vincent could feel his cheeks heating up, just from the casual intimacy of it all, and the werewolf must have just realized how intimate it was, too, because when he spoke again, it was awkwardly; he was looking anywhere but at Vincent. “I- I just... noticed that your hands were a little dry a few days ago. I meant to just give it to you, but... well, you’re bleeding. It seemed pretty urgent.”
Vincent swallowed. “Well, it’s not like I really mind. At least your hands are warm. That part is kind of nice.”
Eli smiled at him again, gripping his hand in his own gloved one, and they started walking towards the university again, holding hands the entire way.