Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Charlie hated the enchanted forest.

He always did and even more so since the last time he and Pim were sent here.

And now they were back to help some gnome who lost his dog or something like that.

He was just glad this time Pim was keen on avoiding quests, mostly because this was their last job for the day.

They passed by lots of witches, goblins, and knights. All asking for the same thing.

“God. How far was this guy again?”

Charlie asked as he adjusted his hoodie.

“Just up that hill right here. We’ll be there in a moment!” Pim replied happily after glancing at the map.

Soon they did arrive at the gnome’s house, his name was Dennis. And they started searching for the guys dog.

Eventually it was getting dark and the trio had long split up to look.

“Why does the last job always have to be the hardest?”

Charlie kicked a rock and it hit a branch that whined.

“What the?”

Investigating Charlie found that it was the gnomes dog, he was trapped under the branch and had a gash in his leg.

“Oh, hey..what was it..? Glory! Right, hi Glory I’m not going to hurt you.”

The dog relaxed but still looked up warily.

Charlie carefully lifted the large pice of wood allowing the dog to limp away.

The yellow critter gently picked the pup up holding him against his chest. 

“There there. Let’s get you back to Denis.”

The pup wagged his tail at the mention of his owners name 

As he walked Charlie couldn’t help but look down at the pups wound.

It was really big, like almost dinosaur big. 

“What did this?” 

The yellow critter was just thinking out loud. Really, he didn’t want to actually know what attacked the dog.

But of course the loud growl from behind him was an obvious sign he was going to find out.

Glory whimpered hiding his face in Charlie’s chest.

The yellow critter swallowed as he turned around.

In the shadows he could see red eyes and a large dark figure.

As it stepped into the moonlight it looked more like a mutated wolf with grey fur. Its
fangs were sharp and it almost seemed to smile as it locked eyes with him.

Glory somehow managed to get into Charlie’s hoodie pocket as he basically vibrated.

The beast started to move forward and Charlie did the stupidest thing he could do.

Turn his back, and run.

He could hear the giant paws slamming against the ground almost right behind him.

“Shit, shit..”

Making a bold decision the yellow critter decided to sharply turn left.

It seemed to work, the wolf or whatever that thing was, kept running straight and Charlie was now running down a hill away from it.

“Ha! Take that you-”

He was cut off by a branch smacking him in the face. It was dark.

When he opened his eyes, Glory was licking his face. The pup then slowly backed away as the beast was now over Charlie.

Without warning it sunk its claws into his chest, slowly moving them down leaving a painful scratch mark.

Charlie coughed blood tears forming from the pain, the wolf lifted its arm again to deliver a second blow. 

But then a ball of what looked like glitter hit its side making it roar with pain.

“Back you monster!” It was Denis with a slingshot, readying the next hit.

“Charlie!”

Pim was suddenly crouching next to him, his hands hovering over his wound.

But the wolf was still right there.

“Pim..get away..”

He barely managed to get the words out as they were drowned by his own blood.

“Shh..everything’s gonna be okay Charlie.”

The beast was hit again and it looked up watching the moon get covered with clouds. Letting out a final growl it ran off.

Glory was sitting on Denis’ head as the gnome examined the yellow critters wounds.

“Let’s get your friend back to my hut. I have just the thing to patch him up.”

Pim nodded pulling Charlie’s arm gently.

He forced himself to sit up wincing at the sting on his chest.

Eventually Charlie was leaning against Pim as they followed Denis back to his place.

Getting there was mostly a blur, but Charlie did see clearly for the cleaning his wound up part.

Pim squeezed his hand as Denis sprinkled some dust over his wound and bandaged it.

Soon the light headedness went away, almost like he was never wounded.

“Are you alright Charlie?”

Pim still had his hand as he looked up with worry.

“Yeah, I think.” 

Denis must’ve used some sort of magic or something, because he felt almost brand new.

“You seem fully conscious now..you two should probably hurry home.”

The gnome eyed Charlie suspiciously while Glory panted happily with a bandaged wound of his own.

“Thank you so much mister Dennis! Come on Charlie, I’ll drive you back to your place after we clock out.”

The yellow critter let the smaller one lead him to the door.

However Denis said one last thing that sent a chill down his spine for some reason.

“It didn’t bite you. Did it?”

Charlie paused glancing at Pim who shrugged. 

“Uh, no man. Just the scratch, thanks again.”

Denis said nothing else so they left.

They didn’t talk until they got back to the office, running into Allan who was just leaving. After reporting back to Mr. Boss and clocking out, Charlie climbed in the front seat of Pim’s car.

On the way he felt a headache start to form.

Great.

“Hey Charlie, you sure you’re alright?”

He could only nod rubbing his forehead.

“Maybe I should stay with you tonight..”

“No, no dude it’s cool. I’ll be fine, we’ve been through worse right?”

Pim was silent and Charlie could feel that concerned look of his.

“Alright. But text me in the morning so I know you’re okay,”

Again the yellow critter nodded.

Once Pim stopped at Charlie’s apartment, the yellow critter basically ran up the steps to get to his door.

“Night Pim!”

He called getting out his keys.

“Good night Charlie!”

Pim called back before driving away.

Charlie groaned as he crashed back into the couch, his head pounding.

The image of the beast flashed into his mind.

He couldn’t help but wonder if that thing had something to do with this.

“No..that’s insane. Shut up me.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and eventually fell asleep.

                       ———

Pim tapped his fingers against the wheel to the beat of the music playing in his car.

Soon he was parking in front of his own apartment and sighed digging into his pocket.

He took out the bit of fur that came off of the beast that attacked Charlie.

He twisted the grey hair between his fingers feeling the thin strands.

It was weird, he swore they were much thicker and fluffier when he picked them up.

It was almost like it went from animal to normal hair.

He shook his head dropping the fur back into his pocket.

Tonight was long so Pim just needed some sleep.

He hoped Charlie would be better in the morning.

Chapter Text

Charlie groaned as the sun light hit his face.

He did not feel any better this morning.

At least it was Saturday.

He heard his phone ringing and picked it up to find Pim of course calling.

“Hey man.” Charlie cringed at the raspiness in his voice.

“Hello Charlie. Um..are you alright? You sound..”

“Like shit? Yeah, feel like it too.”

He dragged a hand over his face feeling it drenched with sweat.

“I..don’t think we can hang out today. Sorry..”

This sucked, Charlie really was looking forward to spending Saturday with Pim.

“Oh that’s alright Charlie. I’ll just come over to take care of you.”

The yellow critter’s heart pumped rapidly.

“Oh..no. You don’t have to man, I don’t want you to get sick..”

“Oh nonsense Char. I’m good at not getting sick, besides I’d hate to know you’re there all by yourself with no one to watch over you.”

Charlie felt his face heat up, not knowing if it was from the sickness or something else.

Well he kinda did.

“Okay..if you want to.” 

“Good! I’ll be there with breakfast from our favorite diner. And don’t even think about getting the door for me, I still have that emergency key you gave me.”

Oh right, he’d forgot about that. 

After almost four years of friendship with the pink critter, Charlie decided he could have a key to his place for emergencies only.

Pim never seemed to need it before.

Well, until now.

“Okay fine. But I don’t want you to waste your day off with-”

“I’ll be there in twenty!”

And then Pim hung up.

The yellow critter found himself a little saddened that he couldn’t hear his voice anymore.

“Okay twenty minutes..enough time to take a shower.”

Charlie was still wearing the clothes he got attacked in, they were bloody, ripped, and probably made him smell horrible.

Pealing himself away from the couch, he walked to his bedroom and got some sweat pants and a baggy shirt.

Perfect for staying in the apartment all day. 

Bringing his clothes to the bathroom Charlie started to undress, he winced seeing the bandage over his chest. Taking it off, he expected the wound to still be bloody, not even have a scab yet. 

Instead, it look almost healed. As if the incident didn’t just happen last night, but months ago.

He couldn’t help but run his fingers over the large claw mark, no scabs whatsoever.

Denis must’ve been a very good healer.

A sudden flush of heat reminded him what he was doing in the bathroom in the first place.

Charile threw his sweat filled clothes into a pile in the corner before hoping in and taking a cold shower.

He never enjoyed cold showers, but the cool water was like heaven to his heated skin.

After a while he got out and got dressed, he didn’t even bother brushing his teeth for today.

When the yellow critter got back to his living room, he found Pim was already there setting the table with takeout boxes.

Had he’d been in the shower for twenty whole minutes?

“Oh, hello Charlie. Are you feeling any better?”

Charlie swallowed throwing his clothes in the nearby laundry basket.

“Uh. Kind of. I just took a cold shower so that helped the heat.”

Pim frowned walking up to him and grabbing his arm.

“Could I check to make sure you don’t have a fever?”

Charlie shrugged already crouching.

“Sure, go ahead.”

Pim’s touch was soft and gentle as he placed his hand between Charlie’s eyes.

His heart started to bump against his chest fast making him place a hand over it.

“Hmm..you’re hot. But not enough to have a fever I don’t think. Why don’t we eat some breakfast and I can take your temperature.”

“I don’t think I have a thermometer..”

“That’s okay I brought one!”

“Oh.”

Of course he did. Pim was always over prepared.

The smaller critter held his hand as he was led to the table.

Charlie opened his box to find his favorite waffles with scrambled eggs on the side. Pim had chocolate pancakes with tons of whip cream.

It was here that Charlie realized how hungry he was, it was as if he’d been starving for days.

Well, he had not eaten dinner last night.

However, after scarfing all of his food he still felt a pang of hunger.

It was like his stomach was a bottomless pit.

As he stood to clean his mess he suddenly felt light headed.

The yellow critter quickly gripped the table as his legs gave out. 

“Charlie? Hey, what’s wrong?”

Pim was standing on his side hand on his shoulder.

“I..don’t..I need to sit down.”

Pim took a step back giving Charlie room to slide to the floor.

He sat there breathing heavy, it felt like something was clawing in his chest.

“You must be really sick.”

Pim was getting his thermometer out cleaning the tip.

“I don't know how. I’ve been fine..”

Pim patted his shoulder.

“It just happens. Luckily you have me to be your personal doctor. Now open up!”

Charlie did as he was told allowing the thermometer to be placed under his tongue.

After a few moments it beeped and Pim looked at it, he seemed confused.

“Is it bad?”

Charlie asked.

“No..it’s just..you don’t seem to actually have a high temperature.”

How? He felt like he was melting.

“Then..what’s wrong with me?”

Pim smiled rubbing Charlie’s arm softly.

“Nothing. You’re just under the weather. Come on let’s sit on the couch, maybe watch a movie.”

With a bit more strength he managed to move himself from floor to couch. Pim sat right next to him still frowning with concern.

“Aw, I’m so sorry you feel like this. You’ll be better soon I promise,”

“Thanks Pim. You can put whatever on.”

They ended watching some old horror movie that was more cheesy then scary.

Charlie kept going in and out of consciousness so he didn’t see much of it.

He did however know it was about some guy who thought his wife was an alien.

After that the day felt like it was slipping through Charlie’s fingers.

He did remember the Increasing hunger, the soup Pim got him for lunch, and the more hot and tired he felt.

At some point it was getting dark outside and Pim had just made him more soup for dinner.

However the yellow critter found himself craving something raw.

He never said anything though, he didn’t want to be more sick.

“If you don’t get better tomorrow maybe we should go to the doctor.”

He nodded not having the strength to really speak. 

“I’ll stay the night. I can sleep on the couch if you want.”

Charlie tensed, something deep inside made him want to push his friend away.

But why?

“That’s okay man. I don’t need a babysitter, you’ve done enough for me.”

However Pim just stared like what he said was in a whole other language.

“Charlie I can’t leave you like this. If it gets really bad who will get you to the hospital?”

His fist clutched the corner of the table.

“Pim, if that’s true why didn’t you just drive me there already?”

He felt angry, he didn’t know why. Maybe it was knowing Pim was acting like a worried mother all day, maybe it was the fact he could barley move. 

Maybe it was just Pim in general.

How he always clouded his thoughts, forced himself into Charlie’s problems to help fix them. Even when Charlie wanted to be able to help himself, maybe it was the fact Pim would rather search for the stupid dog with Denis than him. Causing his supposed ‘best friend’ not to be there when he needed him.

“It didn’t seem like it was anything but a cold. I really didn’t think it would get this bad-”

Before Charlie even knew what his brain was transmitting, he slammed his fist against the table standing up.

“Well you didn’t have to just watch over me all day! I told you I was fine, but no, you had to just take over like I was some child-”

He stopped himself when he looked at Pim’s face.

He was wide eyed with fear, and shaking slightly.

His back was pressed hard against the chair, like he was trying to get far from Charlie.

He looked down at his fist and saw he had cracked the table. His hand wasn’t bleeding, he didn’t feel any pain either.

Pulling his hand back Charlie shrank to his knees eyes widened.

“I..I’m sorry, I don’t-”

A loud ringing blasted through his ears, Charlie held his head wincing in pain.

What the hell was happening to him?

Charlie felt hands on his shoulders rubbing softly, slowly the ringing slowed and stopped the pain leaving with it.

He looked to Pim who was more than concerned at this point.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that, I just..”

“Charlie it’s okay. You’re stressed, we’ll go to the doctor first thing tomorrow. But for now let’s get you a nice shower and into bed.”

It wasn’t okay, Pim should be screaming at him for being so ungrateful right now.

But that wasn’t who Pim was, he never lashed out. Not even during the worst times.

He was better than Charlie ever was that way.

Pim stood outside the door while Charlie took a shower, just in case he needed help walking.

He was a little off balance but managed to dry himself and put his clothes on before asking Pim to help him to his bed.

He whimpered as the covers were draped around him, he was cold now, but still somehow sweaty.

Pim smoothed his hand over Charlie’s head.

“You poor thing. Just sleep, I’ll stay here until you’re well into dream land.”

“Thanks Pim..you’re really the best..”

Falling asleep wasn’t that hard, in fact as soon as Charlie closed his eyes he was drifting. He heard Pim say a few things but could barely make it out.

However just as he was about to seriously drift off he heard his friend say one last thing.

“Goodnight Charlie, we’ll get through this together, I promise.”

He then felt a kiss be planted on his forehead.

Now he and Pim did make up this thing where they would kiss each other in a mocking manner. Always just a quick peck on the cheek and nothing more.

However this one felt different, it felt real. 

It lingered before Pim finally pulled away. 

And then Charlie was thrown into sleep, not getting to ask what it was about.

.

.

.

.

Charlie woke up with pain all around his body.

He fell out of his bed laying on his side as his bones cracked. 

He yelled with pain as his clothes ripped, his body expanding. 

His hands became claws, his face stretched, his teeth sharpened.

Soon Charlie was no longer there, but a dirty yellow beast in his place. 

It howled standing on its hind legs, claws out.

It had one thing on its mind, satisfying its hunger.

However a small unwelcome voice interrupted.

“Charlie?”

                        ———

Pim was awoken by the sound of Charlie yelling.

Despite not being fully woken up yet Pim sprinted to Charlie’s bedroom ripping the door open.

Inside he found Charlie on the floor.

His build was bigger, there was fur and he seemed to have claws.

Pim stood there as Charlie’s form shifted. Soon he was a beast similar to the one that attacked him the night before.

It was when he howled, that Pim knocked himself out of the daze.

“Charlie?”

He said softly, the wolf’s head snapped to look at him.

His eyes, despite being no other than Charlie’s were wild. And almost unrecognizable.

He growled stalking up to Pim, saliva dripping to the ground.

Soon Pim was backed up against the front door, Charlie’s fangs inches away from his face.

However he noticed a glint right next to him on the floor. 

It was one of Charlie’s sliver knife’s, he had dropped it when the yellow critter had lashed out.

Maybe if he was quick, he could slide grab the knife and-

He looked back to the wolf’s eyes.

Charlie’s eyes.

His Charlie.

He couldn’t hurt him.

“Charlie..it’s Pim. I’m not gonna hurt you, but you need to control yourself, please.”

The wolf growled getting closer.

His fangs were about to pierce through Pim’s neck.

He closed his eyes wanting for the impact.

Said impact never came.

So Pim opened his eyes to see the wolf in a sitting position looking at him curiously. 

“Char..”

He was cut off with a lick on the face. His transformed friend wagged his tail with his tongue out.

Did he snap Charlie out of it?

Pim looked into the eyes of the wolf.

No..it was still..this other part of Charlie.

He just seemed to not want to kill him anymore.

Pim found himself reaching a hand out and the wolf gladly let him scratch behind the ears.

After a few more moments the wolf scratched at the door looking to Pim as if begging to be let out.

Pim didn’t really want to just let his best friend who transformed into some creature outside, but he also didn’t want it to get desperate and break the door down.

So he opened the door and the two walked down the steps.

Charlie stood there for a moment sniffing the air.

Pim took this time to look at his form closely. He had dirty yellow fur, his claws were really sharp and Pim could see the scar on his chest. And his form resembled that of a very large wolf.

This really did confirm it.

Charlie had transformed into a werewolf.

But he hadn’t been bitten only scratched..so why..?

Suddenly the wolf howled and ran off.

“Wha- Charlie? Charlie come back!”

Pim ran after him but his friend was much faster than him in this new form.

The pink critter was way out of breath by the time he finally caught up. 

And he froze at the sight.

Charlie was over a dead man’s body, he seemed to have been taking a night jog. Blood was splattered all over his snout as he ate into the man’s flesh.

The wolf noticed him and picked the body up dropping it right in front of Pim.

It pushed the dead man closer when Pim didn’t move.

Was..he trying to share?

“Uh- I’m good Char. You should finish it..you seemed to be starving.”

Pim tried his best not let the nausea get to him.

With a bark Charlie dug back into the remains. He ate until it was picked clean, only Leaving a skeleton with a few pieces of skin behind.

Charlie sniffed the air again and trotted away. 

Pim watched him for a moment before jogging to join him.

He kept reminding himself that Charlie wasn’t in control of himself. That he would never do anything like this if he was.

He also reminded himself that werewolves were bloodthirsty creatures and needed the fill.

Luckily his friend’s next target was a deer. Still hard to watch it be killed, but Pim decided it was better than another person.

Watching as Charlie drunk from a small river Pim couldn’t help but wonder what the yellow critter’s reaction to this would be.

He just hoped he knew that Pim would always see him just Charlie.

His best friend of seven years, the man he loved..ish.

Not just some blood hungry(but also kind of playful) beast.

And he was going to be here for him no matter how hard he was pushed away.

Chapter Text

Charlie sniffed the air getting a hint of what would soon be his prey. 

He ran following the trail like he could see it. He knew exactly where he was going to go and when he would get there.

And then, just a few feet away was a man on a late night jog. He seemed to be listening to music unaware of the beast in front of him.

Good.

Charlie waited until the man was closer to pounce. The unsuspecting prey didn’t even have time to scream before the fangs around his neck silenced him forever.

He howled happy about his successful kill, and then begun to eat.

This was just the thing he was craving, freshly killed, raw flesh.

The wolf heard a gasp and turned to see the small purple man. 

He liked him, he probably couldn’t hunt himself lack of claws and such.

So Charlie brought the kill to him, however the smaller critter didn’t seem to realize he was sharing. 

So he scooted it closer. 

“Uh- I’m good Char. You should finish it..you seemed to be starving.”

Odd. 

But he was not complaining, he was in need of the fill.

So he picked his hunted meal to the bone.

However he still craved more.

He sniffed and found another target in the woods.

This time however the beast trotted to allow his smaller companion to catch up with him. 

And once again he hunted and ate.

And soon found a nice lake to get a drink from.

The wolf then yawned, it was already tired, now that he had his fill.

“Tried?”

The small critter asked, he nodded.

“Well, let’s get back to your apartment.”

Charlie followed, the purple man would never lead him wrong.

Soon they were back in the den he came out from. Immediately the wolf plopped himself down on the first soft surface he saw.

“You sure you don’t want to go to your bed?”

The wolf huffed, he would not be moving.

“Alright then, I’ll just take the floor.”

He used his teeth to gently pick the critter up by the back of his shirt and placed him right at his chest.

He curled around him comfortably letting out a soft sigh.

“Oh- um..okay then. Goodnight Charlie.”

The wolf huffed one last time before letting the world of sleep take him whole.

                        ———

Charlie noticed a few things when he woke up the next morning.

One, he wasn’t in his bed anymore, two he wasn’t starving and three..

He was completely naked, Pim sleeping soundly against his chest.

What the hell happened?

“Uh..Pim..? Hey dude wake up.”

The smaller critter groaned as he opened his eyes. He seemed to get the picture immediately because he quickly flew from the couch and covered his eyes.

“Oh my gosh! Charlie it’s not- I didn’t- I’m sorry! Sorry!”

Charlie wrapped a blanket around himself as he stood up, he tried to fight the heat of embarrassment but knew there had to be some blush on his cheeks.

“Uh..well. I don’t feel sick anymore so that’s a plus. Um..what happened last night..?”

Pim moved his hands away from his face slowly. He still didn’t look Charlie completely in the eyes blush on his own cheeks. 

“How much do you remember?” 

Charlie had to sit and think about that for a moment.

He knew something happened, but not what.

“I remember..waking up. And then everything else is a blur..”

Pim hummed looking down.

“Why don’t you get dressed. I’ll make some breakfast, and we’ll talk all about it.”

Charlie sighed holding the blanket as he  sped to his room. As he changed he continued to try and rock his memories trying to remember anything from the night before.

But his head was foggy.

He wounded up having to wear a black hoodie and some shorts thanks to the fact his go to clothes were destroyed.

As he went to make his bed Charlie noticed dents in the floor.

He crouched down as froze seeing these ‘dents’ were actually claw marks. 

Huge ones, side by side.

He traced his hand over them, his brow furrowed, how did they..

Like a punch to the face, memories begun to fill his vision.

His own hands sprouted with claws as they made the same marks into the floor.

Charlie gasped crawling away from he claw marks, he looked down at his hands which were still normal.

But the memories were there. 

They felt real, not just some nightmare.

The yellow critter managed to stand up and get to the living room.

Pim seemed to be in the middle of flipping the eggs and bacon.

Charlie sat at the table picking at his hands, waiting for his friend to finish up and join him.

When he did, he set a plate of eggs and bacon in front of the yellow critter and then set down his own.

Charlie picked at his food still not really hungry as he watched Pim eat slowly for a few minutes.

“So..I saw claw marks in my room.”

Pim perked up setting his fork down.

“Yeah?”

Charlie nodded.

“What..happened to me?..I remember my hands were..I mean, was it the fever or something?”

Maybe that was it. He was so sick that he started hallucinating.

But why did he just feel fine now?

“Okay..uh, I don’t know how to say this.”

Pim tapped his fingers still not looking the yellow critter in the eyes.

“..you..you’re a werewolf.”

Charlie held back a laugh, mostly because of how serious Pim looked.

Though he could tell an amused smile formed onto his face.

“Charlie. I’m serious!”

“No, no. I totally believe you man.”

Pim sighed getting up and going to the table next to the couch. He snatched his phone and stood next to Charlie.

“Good thing I took this video.”

He watched as Pim played a clip, it was some creature eating a dead dear. Gross.

He couldn’t see well but he could tell it must’ve been big, bulky and maybe a wolf?

God he’s seen a lot of wolves lately.

Just then he heard Pim speak in the clip.

“Charlie, you sure you can eat that whole deer?”

“What- why did you-”

When the animal lifted its head up to look at the camera, Charlie felt a jolt in his chest. 

And he just knew, those were his own eyes staring back at him.

Suddenly all the memories flooded back.

From the transformation to howling at the moon to..

The kills.

The man on the street.

“I..oh my god!”

He sprinted to the sink hand coving his mouth as he gagged.

He tried desperately to get himself to throw up any remains of the man he ate. 

But all that came out was saliva.

It was like something inside him refused to let go of what he had done.

He felt Pim’s hand on his back as he rubbed slow circles.

Charlie clutched the sides of the sink as he remembered his best friend was close to taking the joggers place.

“Pim..I..I fucking..I..”

“Shh..it wasn’t you, you weren’t in control of yourself.”

And that right there is what probably scared him most.

He didn’t have any control over his own body, his actions.

He had become a mindless bloodthirsty beast.

And an innocent life had to pay for it.

Later Charlie was wrapped in a blanket on the couch, Pim brought him some tea and he drunk slowly.

“What am I going to do? What can we do? Pim..what if I transform at work..I could hurt Alan, Glep..you.”

Charlie’s rambles ceased when Pim sat right next to him and squeezed his arm.

“You won’t. Because we’re going to fix this.”

“How?”

“We’ll figure it out together.”

As much as the yellow critter didn’t think there was anything to figure out. He did smile, glad that his friend hadn’t just left him in fear or something.

Just then Pim’s phone rang and he picked it up, eyes widening at the name.

“It’s Mr. Boss.”

Charlie leaned over as Pim put their boss on speaker.

“Hey Pim! How’s your morning?”

Pim leaned back with a smile.

“Good sir, I’m actually at Charlie’s right now.”

“Oh that’s wonderful! I won’t have to ask you both to come into work separately.”

Charlie raised a brow. “What do you mean? It’s Sunday.”

“I know, but there was some vicious animal attack last night, and it’s got people banging on the office door just begging for a smile.”

The two critters shared a look.

“So if you come in..I’ll give you the whole day off tomorrow! Oh, and I’ll pay extra.”

Pim glanced at Charlie as if asking for his approval. As much as the yellow critter really didn’t want to go out, he knew he couldn’t just avoid work. 

So he nodded.

“Alright then, we’ll be there soon Mr. Boss.”

“Great, see you boys soon!”

As Pim hung up Charlie went to go get his hat and shoes. 

He quickly slipped them on pocketing his half charged phone as well.

“You still have your car?”

Pim blankly raised a brow.

“No, Charlie, you rolled all over it.”

“Crap- I did..sorry-”

Pim chuckled waving his hand dismissively.

“No, no you didn’t. I’m just messing with you, come on!”

Charlie rolled his eyes his cheeks heating up with embarrassment.

“Not funny.”

Pim continued to laugh as they entered his car.

The drive was silent, only the music from the radio was playing. They didn’t have much to talk about anyway.

Then they drove down the street where Charlie had ended a life.

There were cops as they studied the area, it seemed like the body had already been taken away. 

The yellow critter swallowed tearing his eyes away from scene.

He felt Pim gave his shoulder a soft squeeze. It didn’t make his unease melt away but it was enough to make him feel just a little more relaxed.

Soon Pim found somewhere near the office to park the car. They had to get into the building through the back as the front was lined with people.

Inside, they found Alan and Gelp talking to a few people. They seemed to just be finishing up as the small group walked away.

“Finally! You guys are here.”

The two walked up to them point down the hall.

“More clients are in the waiting room. I’m pretty everyone’s freaked out because os the animal ataaack.”

And then for the next three hours Pim and Charlie went from person to person, or pair to pair. To tell them everything was going to be alright, giving them safety advice, and telling them things to distract them from the matter at hand.

It was a pretty ironic situation. 

Charlie was the whole reason half the town was panicking, yet he was in charge of helping them basically forget about it all.

Around lunch, the whole gang(not including Mr. Boss) were sitting in the break room. Charlie had his face against the cool table, he started to feel a little hot from the nerves.

“Who knew a little animal attack would disturb that many people. It’s not like that’s the worse thing that’s ever happened around here.”

The yellow critter looked at Pim as he spoke.

“Wnsshdiebekdo?”

“Yeah Glep’s right, it’s a little disturbing to know a monster picked that guy to the bone.”

Charlie clenched his fist reminding himself that Alan and Gelp had no idea what he was.

“I wouldn’t say monster..”

He spoke up, trying to sound normal but knew his voice shook.

“Yeah! It could have just been a poor starving animal.” Pim put on a sad face, it was a mix of pity and concern.

Alan just shrugged moving to the fridge while Gelp babbled some sort of protest against Pim’s statement.

Charlie’s chest felt tight, he looked down and bit back a gasp when he saw claws on his finger tips. 

He lightly kicked Pim under the table showing his hands.

“Oh! Charlie, could you help me something before another client comes in?”

Charlie stood up fast, maybe too fast. Hands stuffed into his pockets.

“Of course man, let’s go.”

As they walked out he forced himself not to meet Alan and Glep’s eyes.

He could feel them staring at him though.

Soon they were outside and Charlie crouched behind Pim’s car. He managed to take his hoodie off before his growing form could destroy it.

He let out small grunts of pain before he settled into his werewolf form. 

Except this time, he had control.

Though he still felt the presence of this other self of his somewhere in him.

“Charlie? Is that you you?”

Charlie went to say yes, but soon found he could only bark.

So he nodded.

“Okay..what happened? Why are you..”

He let out a whine as, ‘I don’t know’ stayed on his tongue.

“We have to get you back to normal. Um..maybe..”

A bark, that was not Charlie’s, interrupted Pim’s train of thought. 

They turned to see Glory with a paper roll around his neck.

Pim scratched the dog’s chin before taking the paper out.

He read and gasped looking up at Charlie almost jaw dropped.

“It’s from Denis, he wants to meet us at his place. He says he knows about your.. predicament.”

Suddenly Charlie remembered their client from last night’s behavior.

He had asked if he was bitten.

“How are we supposed to get you to the enchanted forest without anyone seeing though?”

Once again the dog barked lifting his paws.

Something in Charlie told him the  pup wanted them to touch his paws.

So he leaned down and gently touched one with his nose.

Pim raised a brow but followed his lead placing his hand on Glory’s other paw.

In a blink and white flash, the duo were now just a few inches away from the gate of the enacted forest inside of the fence.

“Wow! Glory you’re a magic dog!?”

The pup barked wagging his tail as he started to trot forwards.

He still had a bandaged leg, Charlie noted.

As they walked the path to Denis’ house Charlie couldn’t help but feel eyes of almost all the creatures in the forest watching him. His ears dropped as he lowered his head, did werewolves have a reputation?

He felt a gentle pat on his side and looked down a Pim.

“Don’t worry Charlie. I’m sure Denis will know how to fix this, maybe that’s why he called us.”

God he hoped so.

Soon they were back at the gnomes hut. 

Glory jumped barking loudly.

“Isn’t his leg..”

Charlie shrugged at Pim not knowing if they should be worrying about that right now or anytime.

The door opened and Denis sighed walking up to the duo looking up at Charlie in a examining manner.

“I knew something was up the other night. And that body that was found? Seems like you really were turned.”

Charlie slumped at the reminder of his bloody adventure.

“Mister Denis, why did you take us out here? Is it because you can fix this.”

Pim smiled hopefully but the look in the gnomes eyes wiped it away.

“Unfortunately not like any other spell. I’m still trying to figure out how he was turned if he wasn’t even bitten.”

Charlie groaned, which sounded like a growl, as he lay down in the grass. Pim stroked his fur continuing the conversation.

“Well there had to be somebody in this place who can turn him back. It’s the enchanted forest for goodness sake!”

Denis sipped out of a mug Charlie only just noticed as he replied.

“Werewolves are complicated creatures my friend. No magic is ever enough to simple them out, believe me I’ve been studying them for years.”

So he could never go back? He was stuck being a monster for the rest of his life?

“So..he’s stuck like this?”

Denis put snapped his fingers making a book appear.

“Now, I didn’t say that. But the path to reversal is dangerous.”

He opened the book showing a photo of a man slowly turning into a wolf. Charlie perked his head up as he listened to Denis read.

“There are only three known ways to quit being a werewolf forever. One, simply kill them with a silver bullet.”

“Yeah not happening” Pim crossed his arms.

“Didn’t think so. Two, have someone who is truly in love with the person cry for them as a beast.”

Charlie winced at that, he hadn’t really been a loving guy for a while.

Not since he broke things off with Zoey after realizing he’d fallen out of love with her. 

“And three, we do a ritual that requires many ingredients made into a necklace on the last full moon of this month. But the down side is if we don’t perform it right, Charlie could get locked in his wolf form forever.”

Oh great, so either he dies, somehow finds love, or take's a risk at the broken ritual.

“Well..the ritual doesn’t seem too hard. Some of these ingredients are pretty easy..”

Pim was scanning the book while Denis took out a vial of green liquid.

“Now, I think we should get Charlie’s opinions before rush into anything.”

He offered the glass to him and he hesitated but opened his mouth allowing Denis to slip a sip inside.

Charlie squeezed his eyes shut as his head started to spin in many different ways.

‘Geez, why are magic potions so-’

“Charlie? Is that you!?”

Pim looked up in amazement as the yellow wolf’s own eyes widened.

He heard his voice make words.

“And now we all understand each other.”

Denis said proudly putting his potion away.

“Charlie. You think the ritual’s worth a shot right?”

He hesitated looking into Pim’s scribbled eyes, he really liked watching them jump in excitement with their owner.

‘Honestly man? I need to think about this, at least until tomorrow. I mean It’s a lot..’

Pim frowned but not with disappointment. Why would he? He was..well Pim.

“Oh of course big guy. Baby steps.”

Charlie then looked to Denis.

‘Hey by the way, is there a reason I transformed during the day?’

Denis nodded.

“Your emotions. You see the best feeds off of strong feelings, like anger, stress, fear, even in some rare cases love.”

He was now in a sitting position his tail flopping oddly.

“Though I will admit..you are the first case I’ve seen where you can still control yourself during these side transformations.”

That was good. That had to be a good sign. 

“Well is there any way we can turn him back. We have a whole day left at work.”

Denis nodded getting out a needle with blue liquid.

“This will reverse the transformation no problem. Just try not to have anymore outbursts.”

Pim took the needle and thanked Denis. 

They walked until they could see the gate again before hiding behind some trees. Pim patted Charlie’s side before stabbing the needle there and injecting the solution.

Charlie at first felt nothing but then he yelped as he was quickly forced back into his normal form.

He panted for a minute feeling Pim put his hoodie around him.

He needed to start bringing an extra pair of clothes with him everywhere.

Luckily the hoodie was long enough to make it seemed like he had short shorts so they could get back to the office without incident.

“I brought you a change of clothes just in case. I put it in my locker.”

Charlie paused as Pim opened the gate back to the outside world.

“When did you have time to..”

“A thank you is fine Charlie.”

He nodded muttering a thanks and they walked back.

“You know you deserve a lot more than just a thank you..why don’t we go out tonight? On me,”

Pim looked up at Charlie with a bewildered expression.

“You want to go out now?”

“There’s no full moon, besides we have a bunch of these now.”

Charlie gestured to the extra needles in Pim’s pocket.

“Mm..okay. But you’re not going to drink yourself drunk just in case.”

As annoying as that seemed Charlie understood.

Hell, what if he got into a drunk bar fight or something?

“Fine. But I’m still at least having one.”

As they walked home the conversation shifted to just what they would do later that night. It felt normal and good.

Charlie took it in, knowing he wouldn’t get much of these moments moving forward.

Chapter Text

Pim rummaged through his things in matter of urgency as Charlie sat in the corner of the back room with his hands against his head. 

Soon after they got back to the office Charlie’s senses started to heighten.

They both assumed this was a side effect of forcing him to transform back so quickly.

“Pim..you sure you- ow! Fuck, it’s getting worse..”

Pim paused frowning in sympathy at the yellow critter.

“Yes. Just hang in there for a few more..”

He paused his hands grasping his sound proof headphones.

Well not entirely sound proof, but should be enough to help block out most of the noise in Charlie’s ears.

“Okay, try these.”

Charlie basically snatched the headphones from his hands and threw them on. Almost immediately his friends whole demeanor changed as he relaxed.

“Thanks dude. My ears felt like they were bleeding.”

Pim patted his arm with a soft smile.

“Feeling better?”

“It’s quieter.”

There was a knock on the door, Pim motioned for Charlie to stay put while he looked.

Alan was there, looking a little too skeptical for his liking.

“Is everything okay with Charlie today?”

The pink critter’s heart quickened slightly. But he put on a calm casual smile.

“Of course. He’s just a little on edge about his own stuff. You know Charlie!”

Alan crossed his arms looking down.

“Yeah, he likes to bottle shit up until he’s crushed by a tree.”

Pim’s grip on the door tightened, as memories of that Christmas filled his head.

He knew what Alan meant.

It was obvious Charlie’s anger wasn’t just from the fight they had that day. 

It just all boiled over at that specific moment.

Charlie never really talked about what happened to make him come back to life. Or why he had so much anger in the first place. So, Pim left it as that.

But Alan had been more aware of the yellow critters habits and would often ask if he needed support. 

As if Pim doing just that all the time wasn’t enough. 

“It’s not that kind of on edge.”

Alan hummed, he tried to get another peak behind the door. 

Pim of course closed the door a little more.

“Well at least he’s talking to you this time. Just..let me know if you guys need help.”

Pim nodded with a grateful smile.

Alan walked away and Pim waited to make sure the taller critter was gone before going back into the room.

“What was that all about?”

Charlie stood up crossing his arms.

“Alan just wanted to make sure you’re okay. Guess it’s a little obvious you’re..different today.”

Charlie sighed adjusting his hoodie that definitely didn’t need it.

“You think he’s gonna ask about the headphones?”

Pim tapped his foot.

“Mm..maybe you could just have one out. So it looks like you’re just listening to music while you work.”

The yellow critter carefully moved on of the speaker pieces away from his ear. They paused waiting to see if it would be a bad idea.

Charlie sighed moving the whole set to his neck.

“Okay dude. I think the whole hearing stuff extra loud thing is over. A-at least for now..uh, can I keep these just in case?”

“Of course Charlie. Now let’s get back to work.”

The rest of the day went by smoothly.

Charlie did need to take the headphones on and off, but it wasn’t as noticeable as Pim assumed it was going to be.

And before they knew it, the day was over and Pim was driving Charlie back to his apartment so they could get ready to go out.

“You sure we can’t just spend time at your place?”

Pim hadn’t thought about it when Charlie first suggested a night out. 

Of course they weren’t going to a party, just a simple bar. But the pink critter couldn’t help but worry Charlie was still too new to the whole werewolf thing.

“Come on man. I haven’t been to a bar in a bit, besides Tyler’s gonna be there and I haven’t seen him in a while.”

Pim hummed, it’s been a while since he talked to Tyler too.

He wondered if Charlie would trust him with this secret. They were pretty close..

“Oh, alright. But remember what we said, we can’t afford you to get wasted and do something you’ll regret.”

Charlie nodded. “For sure dude, for sure. One drink only. We can just catch up with Tyler and what not.”

Pim gave Charlie a dry look.

“Dude I swear on my life.”

Pim sighed not having any choice but to accept Charlie would keep his word. 

Though that wasn’t going to stop him from worrying every single second they would spend in public. Heck, how would they know Charlie’s overload senses thing wouldn’t kick in? Would they be able to sneak away if he had an emotional outburst? Maybe he was overthinking, a habit he’d been trying to work on.

He just needed to put some faith in his best friend of seven years. Charlie would never do a reckless thing if he didn’t feel able.

Besides, how drunk could a person get from one drink?

                      ———

When Charlie got home he immediately looked to see if his orange hoodie was able to be worn. 

It was no longer bloody, but it still had a tear in it. Along with his tang top he usually wore with it. 

Looks like he was sticking to his back one until he got it fixed somehow.

Placing the damaged clothes on his bed for later, the yellow critter got some baggy jeans. He sprayed himself with cologne, and washed his face so he looked somewhat refreshed.

He glanced at his hands as he remembered the way the claws had formed on his finger tips. 

He suddenly got a flash of them ripping a man’s chest apart. 

Charlie squeezed his eyes shut.

It wasn’t you, it wasn’t you. It wasn’t..

It wasn’t him. 

He would never do that again.

He was going to have a great fucking time tonight just hanging out with Pim and Tyler.

And that’s it. 

Nothing else was going to happen.

Nope, not at all.

Charlie walked out to the living room seeing Pim putting on a vest(where did he get that?) hiding some of the needles in the extra pocket.

The smaller critter then handed him one.

“You should have one on you just in case.”

Charlie smiled setting it in his hoodie pocket.

Pim’s face wavered slightly as he twisted his car keys between his fingers.

“Just..let’s stay together okay?”

Pim’s hand brushed his arm, making his  body tense.

“Got it. I don’t know why we would ever  separate anyways.”

He could never imagine himself not sticking by Pim’s side if he was given the option. Yes, they didn’t need to be around each other twenty four seven. They didn’t even need to hang out outside of work.

But of course they always seemed to just gravitate towards each other anyway. 

No way was Charlie going to ever stop that, especially now.

They wounded up going to get some burgers deciding bar food wasn’t gonna settle it for dinner.

It was here that Charlie felt his cravings of raw meat resurface. 

It probably should’ve made him a little more on edge, but he knew wolves were meat eaters so..it probably wasn’t much to worry about.

He ended up ordering his burger to be as raw as they were allowed to make it.

As the waiter took their menus Pim looked Charlie up and down.

“You’re craving raw meat?”

Charlie tapped his fingers in the table.

“I mean..werewolf stuff right? Besides it’s not like ‘oh I need it right now.’”

Pim didn’t say anything but Charlie could tell he was still worried. 

They started to talk about the day they had, talking about some of the people that came in. And soon the waiter came back with their food.

Charlie could see some blood pouring out of the meat staining the bread. 

His mouth watered as he took a bite into his meal. It was perfectly raw, bloody, and fulfilled his cravings.

He forced himself to eat slowly despite the want to devour his meal as quickly as possible.

He paused when he felt some of the blood stain his chin, as he took a napkin to wipe his face, he noticed Pim staring with a small smile. 

“Feel better big guy?”

He asked with a sly smile, Charlie felt his face heat up.

“We are not keeping that nickname..”

“Mm..I think we are.”

“Fuck you, I’m not that big as wolf.”

Pim’s eyes widened with fake shock.

“Should I show off the video again?”

Charlie threw a fry at his face as they laughed. He would assume if he had his tail right now, it would be wagging with playful excitement.

When the bill eventually came Charlie reached for it, only for Pim to snatch it up first.

“Dude come on.”

Pim rolled his eyes. 

“Fine, we’ll split it.”

Charlie frowned, he hated that Pim was caring for every single need of his these past few days. He took care of him when they thought he was sick, he didn’t leave his side when he became a beast. 

And now he was trying to pay for their dinner. When Charlie had specifically said tonight would be on him.

Pim really needed to stop being so..himself.

While they were on the way to the bar, Charlie called Tyler and let him know he was coming with Pim. Tyler was excited to get to catch up with him as him and Pim hadn’t talked since he was fired.

“So let’s go over what our little rules are.”

“We had rules?”

Pim ignored him and started to list these ‘rules.’

“You are getting one drink only, we are staying together. And the moment you feel uncomfortable we’re leaving, and keep the needle I gave you on you at all times.”

Charlie chucked rolling his eyes. “Whatever you say mom.”

Pim elbowed his arm causing them to get in a slight push and shove play fight.

“Seriously though..if anything happens just, give me a look, and we’ll be gone.”

Charlie just nodded, and they left it at that.

Soon they parked and made their way into the populated bar. They immediately saw Tyler on the karaoke stand singing one of his originals.

When he was done he made his way over to the duo giving them both fist bumps.

“Hey Pim how’s life been treating you, brother?”

Pim smiled bright.

“Great! How have you been Tyler?”

“Just you know, doing my thing man. I actually had a song just hit twenty thousand streams so..”

Charlie’s eyes widen.

“Shit man, that’s really cool.”

They sat at a booth,Tyler already having a drink brought to him. Probably starting early before they got here.

“Yeah, I’ve actually got a meeting with a big producer tomorrow. Don’t worry it’s in the evening.”

Charlie nodded along glancing at the drink table.

He tapped Pim’s shoulder before standing up.

“I’m gonna go get us some drinks. You guys should catch up.”

From the side of his vision Charlie could see Pim watching him closely. He just got up and walked to the drink bar letting his hands rest in his pockets.

As he got there he ordered a simple beer for Pim and asked for the strongest drink they had for himself. 

He slapped down his card for the bartender to take as he started getting the drinks ready. 

Charlie felt bit of guilt twist in his gut. He had promised Pim he wouldn’t get too drunk, but also what else was a guy supposed to do at a bar?

Besides it was one drink, yeah he asked for it strong but he could handle it. He knew his limits…most of the time.

He glanced over to the booth seeing Tyler and Pim deep in conversation. Pim then laughed and Charlie noticed Tyler lay a hand on his shoulder for a moment.

It was just a simple gesture.

But it made Charlie take and he felt anger bubble in his chest.

He never was able to get Pim to laugh with him that easily. 

Charlie was snapped out of his inner monologue when the bartender returned back with both his drinks and card. 

The yellow critter shook his head forgetting his earlier unneeded jealousy. He pocketed his card grabbed his drinks and headed back to the booth putting a lazy smile back onto his features.

He slid the beer to Pim and placed his own drink in front of him already sipping the straw. 

“So..you guys here about that animal attack last night.”

Charlie almost choked on his drink.

“Only about a hundred different times. We had to come into work today because so many people were freaking out.”

Pim took a very small sip of his drink as he rolled his eyes. 

“God. That sounds like shit, Hope you get tomorrow off.”

Charlie finished taking a longer sip his vision slightly blurred as he replied.

“Mr. Boss already said we’d have it.”

Thank god because he didn’t know if he would even be conscious for the whole night.

Tyler hummed sipping his glass, he started to once again talk about his music and how he was excited to get a real chance. 

Charlie only half paid attention, one because Tyler was mostly talking to Pim. And two because he must’ve underestimated how strong his drink was that he was already seeing stars.

At some point all three of them were playing a card game. Then singing some random 90s song. 

And through it all Charlie noticed Pim having more than his typical amount of alcohol.

He hadn’t seen him exactly let lose since that alien party. 

Was it because of him? Was Pim stressed out because he was Charlie’s forced protector?

Whatever it was, it was enough to make Pim push himself a bit. And also made more money come out of Charlie’s wallet, but he didn’t really care about that.

Soon they were back at the booth, Tyler going on a rant about how Mr. Boss would regret ever firing him. Pim was sitting right next to him smiling tipsily as he cheered their friend on. 

“He..uh- he’s gonna try and promote your music and brag but- people will know!”

Tyler patted Pim’s head with a laugh.

Somewhere inside Charlie’s foggy brain he wondered how they would get home. Pim literally drove them here but obviously couldn’t drive, and quite frankly neither could Charlie.

And if they got an Uber, that would risk the car getting attacked or stolen. And the yellow critter really didn’t want Pim to lose his new car.

They’d figure it out.

He was snapped back to reality when Tyler wrapped an around around Pim’s shoulders putting a glass up.

“Toast to our hard ass life’s.”

Charlie barely registered he was meant to raise his cup and clink it with the others.

All he was looking at was the close contact Pim and Tyler were having. 

It shouldn’t be this big of an issue, they we’re just being friends. Both Pim and Tyler were touchy people, of course they would have their hands on each other.

He raised his own glass colliding it with the others.

As he took a small sip he noticed Tyler eyeing him.

“Dude. I think I overdid it..you look like you have claws man.”

Charlie froze looking down at his hands. And yes, his claws were out.

He shoved them into his pocket with a nervous chuckle.

“I’m just gonna head into the bathroom real quick.”

He glanced at Pim who despite still kinda being out of it, gave him a worried look.

Charlie turned away and walked to the nearest door he found, which ended up taking him behind the bar. 

He took his hands out and saw the claws were very much real and still there.

But the rest of him wasn’t transforming.

He didn’t have time to worry about that right now, he needed to get his claws under control.

“Come on. It’s fine, I’m fine, nothings even wrong.”

He squeezed his eyes shut like a little kid as if it would make his claws just disappear.

Maybe make this whole nightmare disappear.

But he was interrupted by the sound of the door behind him opening.

The last thing he saw before blacked out was Pim leaning a little too close(for his liking) into Tyler. Tyler’s face in his claws, and his newly formed fangs biting into his neck.

                        ———

Pim didn’t know had come over him.

He usually never got more than two drinks when he went out.

But something deep inside his mind made him go beyond his normal limit.

The only reason why being he needed to be on the same space as Charlie.

The more Charlie sipped his one large drink, the more drunk Pim felt he needed to become. 

There was a sensible part of his mind that pointed out how insane he was behaving. Not only was he getting drunk when he was his friend’s ride home, but his reasonings made absolutely no sense!

He was also being a hypocrite.

He had told Charlie not to get drunk, and here he was on his, whatever number at this point, drink.

His weird cryptic reasonings also made no sense. Charlie had gotten one drink like he asked, and if Pim’s scattered mind was right. He was still only halfway done with it.

So why would he make himself ‘as drunk as Charlie’ when Charlie shouldn’t even be-

Oh.

Oh, he was stupid. 

Charlie must’ve made sure this one drink could get him drunk.

Though he hadn’t started a fight with anyone so that was good.

Right now Pim was saying something about the boss to Tyler as he put a hand on his back. They all decided to cheer their drinks, and Pim noticed Charlie’s eyes glaring into Tyler.

They locked eyes for a moment and Pim could feel a slight burst of rage bloom in his chest. However Charlie looked away and it was gone.

Maybe they should think about leaving soon.

“Dude. I think I overdid it..you look like you have claws man.”

Pim’s eyes widened as he looked back to Charlie, the yellow critter was already hiding his hands and walking away.

He walked out of the back door and Pim found himself inclined to follow his friend. 

So he went to leave, but almost immediately lost his footing. He looked to Tyler who was mumbling to himself, but he could handle drinks better than Pim.

“Hey..Tyler. Could you help me walk I wanna make sure Charlie’s okay.”

Tyler finished chugging his drink, he smacked the table with a nod.

“Course man, c’mon.”

He gave a grateful smile as they slid out of their seats. Tyler wrapped an arm around his shoulders and steadied his weight as they walked to door Pim saw Charlie go through.

It led to the back of the place, and crouching in the middle of the concrete was Charlie. 

Pim felt time had blurred, as from one moment Tyler was still pressed against his side. However next thing he knew, the man was pinned under Charlie’s larger form.

He hadn’t transformed, not really. He seemed to be in a sort of halfway state, his clothes slightly ripped, his claws, fangs, and fur out. 

And he had a bigger build.

Without the help from Tyler Pim fell onto his knees as blood splattered everywhere. Some finding its way to his face.

He looked up and saw Charlie drop Tyler’s neck from his mouth. The man’s limp body bleeding out and staining the floor.

Pim felt tears gather in his eyes, but at the same time he felt calm. Actually, he felt happy that Charlie was able to get another meal.

He continued to watch as the yellow critter ripped the prey’s chest open. Immediately digging in, grabbing chunks of meat and bone and ripping them apart.

At some point, Charlie paused. He turned to Pim locking eyes with him for a moment. 

And then, he held out his hand. In it was a chunk of meat, he was trying to share once again. 

Pim’s immediate instincts were to shake his head. Or maybe even get away from Charlie, but another part of him talked louder than his usual thoughts. 

And he felt a small smile make its way to his lips.

He took the offering from the other and and gently took a small bite. His eyes widened at the rich and bloody flavor.

Why did he ever think this was wrong?

Why did he think it was right now?

He didn’t know nor had the time to care as Charlie scooted over, making room for Pim right beside him. And the pink critter was then eating right by Charlie’s side.

He took smaller pieces of course, his wolf needed his meal.

Soon Pim found he couldn’t keep his eyes awake any longer, the combination of the alcohol with now a full stomach made him sleepy.

He felt himself get picked up and cradled. He snuggled close into Charlie chest as the yellow critter whispered softly in his ear.

“You’re mine to hug, mine to touch.”

And he nodded, he smiled, he fell asleep comfortably in Charlie’s arms.

His Charlie.

And he wouldn’t like to fall asleep any other way.

                        ———

Pim groaned a headache being the first thing he felt as he opened his eyes.

His memory was blurred, the last thing he remembered was cheering drinks with Tyler and Charlie. Then, nothing.

That’s when he noticed he didn’t wake up in a bed, or even on the side of the road. He was in the backseat of his own car, which was parked right in front of his apartment.

How and when did he get here?

As he sat up he realized he was wrapped in arms. He immediately recognized Charlie’s own groan as he woke up, one of his arms leaving Pim’s side to probably rub his own head.

“Fuck..what..happened?”

Pim sighed sitting up, back still to his friend as he continued to draw a blank.

“I was going to ask you the same thing.”

As he tuned to look at his friend, Pim let out a small gasp. His hands flew to his mouth as he stared at the scene before him.

Charlie was covered in dry blood, from his mouth all the way down his chest.

His hands were especially stained.

“Charlie..you..there’s blood all over you.”

Now Pim was really racking his brain, but he still couldn’t remember anything.

Damnit what happened last night!?

Charlie looked down at his hands, eyes widening. 

He looked up at Pim and froze himself.

“Dude..you too.”

The pink critter glanced down at his hands, Charlie was right, they were covered. He could also see a smaller stain on his shirt, his black vest around his waist.

“What..what did I do?”

Charlie’s hands were on Pim’s shoulders as he looked for a wound. But they didn’t find one, not on Charlie either.

Which meant..this was not their own blood.

“Tyler..oh god no!”

Pim silently watched as Charlie dialed their friends number. And of course it went straight to voice mail.

Charlie dropped his phone as he started to shake.

Pim took his hand giving it a soft squeeze.

“Hey. That doesn’t mean anything. We were all getting wasted last night, let’s just get into my place, wash off and go look for him at the bar.”

Charlie swallowed and nodded.

Pim led him up to his apartment looking around to make sure no one was watching them. 

Luckily Pim had his key still, he unlocked the door and let Charlie go in before him. 

After locking the door behind them Pim thought about the fact he had no clothes for Charlie to change into. 

It seemed like Charlie read his face because the next thing he said was, “Don’t worry about it, I actually brought a change of clothes just in case. They’re still in my bag in the car so you go first and I can get them.”

Pim smiled putting his car and house keys into Charlie’s hands.

He then went and started to remove the blood stain clothes from himself. Trying to figure out how they were even blood stained.

Yes, it made sense for Charlie, he was a raging werewolf who had an appetite now. It wasn’t that big of a surprise that he wounded up eating..anyway, it made absolutely no sense that Pim himself was covered in blood. 

It was even on his face.

The pink critter decided not to think to hard about it. Who knew if it was even blood? Maybe it was a special red wine?

But in the back of his mind he knew that was wrong. He knew it was blood.

He watched it slowly trickle off his body and go down the drain. His hands were clean as if whatever happened, never happened. 

Soon he was out of the shower and putting on clothes he’d just wear around the house. 

Pim got a fresh towel and slung it over his shoulder walking back into the living room.

“Okay, I’m out. I got you a fresh towel, and you can use any soap you want I also have a spare..”

Pim trailed off as he stopped seeing Charlie standing behind the couch eyes glued to the tv. 

He raised a brow walking next to his friend as he realized it was the news channel.

And Pim nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the headline.

Man’s brutally torn remains found outside of local bar.

The photo in the corner was Tyler.

Pim looked at the blood still staining Charlie’s skin.

That burger must’ve not cut it.

“Charlie I’m so-”

Pim felt like he was hit by a truck when suddenly all of the memories from last night flowed in. 

He froze seeing himself not only smile at the way Charlie killed and ate Tyler, but him joining in.

He only now realized how full he felt. 

Pim fell to his knees, he wanted to throw up, wanted to get it out.

But that would make Tyler’s death wasteful, wouldn’t it?

“P-Pim..”

He let tears run down his cheeks as Charlie looked down at him, his own eyes wet.

“We did it together.”

Pim said simply, as if it made the whole situation better.

Maybe it could take some weight off of Charlie’s shoulders.

Charlie wiped his eyes, his fist clutched as he looked to the tv again.

“I- I can’t live like this. I won’t, Pim I wanna do the ritual.”

Pim finally stood up, he put a hand on Charlie’s arm giving him a comforting smile.

“Okay. We’re going to do that together too.”

They embraced Pim tucking his head right into Charlie’s neck.

And Charlie started to cry softly. 

Pim held him tighter knowing that Tyler was a close friend of his.

Which is why he won’t admit his remorse was very short lived.

He for some reason he loved sharing the ‘meal’ with Charlie last night. He wanted to do it again.

Pim was slightly disappointed Charlie didn’t want to be a werewolf anymore, even though they both knew this couldn’t last.

He wanted more bloodshed.

But he would never force Charlie to hurt anyone, at least not now that he could push those darker feelings away. 

And that’s exactly what he did, push the dark thoughts into the deepest part of his mind.

He wouldn’t let the ugly parts show themselves, especially when his best friend needed him most. 

“I’ll help you, I promise.”

And that was the one thing all sides of himself could agree on.

Charlie was his responsibility, and he was going to assist him with any need until the day he couldn’t anymore.

Chapter Text

Charlie and Pim decided to walk to the enchanted forest, just in case someone recognized Pim’s car.

Charlie still couldn’t remember how they even got to his house.

Just eating Tyler..sharing with Pim. Everything else was hiding in some dark part of his mind with the thing inside of him.

It was kinda funny, he would always hype himself up. Calling himself an ‘alpha male’ or saying he had a beast inside of him that he needed to keep hidden.

And how there really was a beast and he couldn’t even handle it for a full twenty four hours. 

Why did he even say all that stupid stuff? It wasn’t like it made people respect him. 

He glanced to Pim who hadn’t said much since they remembered. 

Charlie’s stomach twisted. He wondered if Pim had only eaten pieces of Tyler because Charlie made him.

He glanced to the smaller critter before breaking the long silence.

“So..you uh, feeling okay?”

Pim glanced at him with a raised brow before shrugging.

“Fine. Better than you are probably.”

Charlie frowned, he hated when Pim tried to downplay his emotions.

“Come on dude we literally ate Tyler. You can’t just be fine.”

Pim stopped his fist clutched.

Charlie stopped as well his eyes never leaving the pink critter’s form.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Charlie.”

Pim was using his ‘dark voice.’

But the yellow critter was known to be stubborn.

“Well I do. I’m the werewolf here not you, unless I did something to you..”

Pim started walking away not caring to glance over his shoulder as he called out.

“Then we need to get to Denis, now.”

Charlie stood there stumped for a moment. Then he caught up and firmly grabbed Pim’s shoulder making him stop thanks to their hight difference. 

“Charlie let go-”

“I just want to make sure you’re okay man. It’s obvious you’re upset.”

Pim slapped his hand away turning to look at him with annoyance.

“Of course I’m upset. I let you kill our friend and then we ate him to his bones!”

Charlie froze at the sudden yelling in Pim’s tone. He barely ever got like this, only when he was really upset.

Charlie made him really upset.

Pim sighed dragging a hand down his face.

“I don’t know why I did it okay? But I think I was just drunk, I probably thought you were eating some ham or something.”

Charlie could feel in his bones that Pim was lying, but he didn’t voice this out loud.

Pim grabbed his hand giving a soft squeeze.

“Please just come on. Let’s go so we can fix this, make you better.”

His cheeks heated up as he nodded allowing the smaller critter to lead him.

He soaked up the contact as much as he could knowing as soon as someone passed them on the street Pim would let go. 

So, he enjoyed this.

They managed to get to the enchanted forest before Pim let his hand go. He avoided eye contact so his friend couldn’t see the slight disappointment on his face.

He needed to focus.

Something was up with Pim now not just him.

And he needed to be there for his best friend as much as his best friend was there for him.

They were soon met with the familiar shape of Denis’ house.

Speaking of, the guy was sitting on his porch like he had been expecting them to show up.

He nervously rubbed his hand and he froze in place. Pim glanced at him before turning his attention back to the gnome.

“Hello Denis! Sorry to come unannounced but-”

“He killed another.”

Charlie flinched as Denis’ eyes seemed to pour into his soul.

Pim rubbed his arm.

“Yes..he didn’t mean- we need that ritual.”

Charlie didn’t miss the way Denis seemed to observe Pim before he nodded. 

“Come. I have the book ready.”

Pim started walking and Charlie took a moment to follow.

Once inside almost immediately he was knocked to the ground by Glory. The dog licked him aggressively and the yellow critter fought the urge to growl at him.

Finally he managed to get the dog off his face and held him as he panted tongue out. 

“Oh, he’s not bandaged?”

Denis came over and took Glory from Charlie’s hands.

“I used a special spell to heal his leg faster. Now,”

He put Glory down who ran and grabbed a book sitting on the coffee table. He dropped the book at Denis’ feet the gnome rewarded his dog with a treat before opening the book.

“If we remember, the spell requires us to perform it on the last full moon of this month. Which is in..about three weeks. So we have until then to collect all of the items on the list.”

Charlie had his hands in his pocket remembering why he was nervous about this in the first place.

“And if we don’t do it right I get stuck permanently?”

Denis nodded. 

“Well that won’t happen! So what exactly do we need to do?”

Charlie felt his claws come out slightly as Pim suddenly jumped up surprised him.

“Well we have a few things here that will need to to be turned into a necklace.”

The gnome flipped through the pages stopping at one and reading carefully.

“Alright, I have most of the things we need in my stash. But..there are a few we still have to collect, and will probably be hard to come across.”

Pim leaned over his shoulder.

“Like what?”

“Well for starters we need the blood and fur of the wolf that turned Charlie.”

Of course, of course something brought him back to the monster that did this. 

And of course the spell called for something hard like that, not flowers, grass even, nope, blood and fur from the other werewolf that disappeared!

“Charlie. Just because it disappeared doesn’t mean we can’t find it.”

Pim was smiling as comfortably as he could. But Charlie just stared a little frozen.

How did Pim know what he was thinking?

The pink critter had just gone back to making a list.

Maybe the annoyance just showed on his face. Yeah, and Pim knew him so well he knew what was bothering him.

“Oh! You know what? I think I have that wolf’s fur!”

Pim pulled out grey thin pieces of hair from his pocket. And Charlie could smell the other wolf all over them.

“When did you..?”

“It came off when it ran away.”

Charlie wanted to question why Pim would just take hair from an animal but decided against it. Just happy they had something from the wolf that turned him.

“The rest are just things I have here, or things I can find in the forest.”

Denis closed the book with a confident nod.

“Maybe me and Pim could get the blood?”

They’d done crazier, right?

“You’re okay with that plan Charlie?”

Pim had his arms crossed as he raised an eyebrow at him.

“Well there’s only one werewolf who possibly lives in the enchanted forest. I’m sure it can’t be that hard to find out where they live.”

He hopes it won’t be hard anyway.

For all he knew that wolf didn’t even live here. It was only passing by, maybe it wasn’t even a werewolf and he was just sick, sick and-

Pim’s fingers found their way into his. His eyes were full with worry as he squeezed softly.

Charlie gulped realizing he was spiraling.

“I think that’s a solid plan Charlie.”

Solid. Yeah, that’s a word.

“I could ask around, see if anybody has an idea. And I’d say keep an eye on anybody in your city.” Denis was placing the fur in a small vial.

“and you’re sure you don’t need us to get anything else?” Pim had his hands held together behind his back.

Denis smiled and again shook his head, but thanked the pink critter for asking. 

Once again they were leaving, going back and forth was way too normal at this point. 

They should go to the park or something, somewhere other than one of their apartments. Just so it didn’t get too repetitive, honestly he wondered when Pim was going to head back to his place and leave Charlie to sleep alone again.

He didn’t know if he wanted that though.

“Let’s go grocery shopping and get you some..you know what..if it happens again.”

Raw meat. That’s what Pim’s thinking, he knows.

Or- he thinks it’s obvious anyway.

They stayed silent until getting to a Walmart.

Charlie had to restrain himself as they got to the meat section. The smell of raw fresh meat made him a bit antsy.

He barely remembered what he and Pim were talking about, in fact it felt like he took a backseat and just spectated. He knew he was taking to the pink critter, but it was almost like he was watching tv.

Soon they had left the meat isle, and were in the snacks. Charlie came back to himself and was almost disturbed by the change of setting.

“So..what snacks should we get for the movie?”

Pim’s voice was like a soothing balm to his overweening thoughts.

But the statement confused him.

Movie? When did they decide to watch a movie? Weren’t they going to investigate weird people in town? Possibly find out if the werewolf was just living amongst them all?

“Uh- what? Movie?”

Pim looked up, puzzled.

“Yeah..I just asked what we should do..you said you wanted to relax. Maybe watch a movie.”

He did? He didn’t remember..

“Oh yeah. For sure, sorry I just..let’s just get popcorn or something.”

Pim eyed for a moment before nodding. He grabbed a box of microwaveable popcorn and threw it in the cart. 

They got a few candies, as Pim said candy on the side would be more enjoyable.

And then they checked out, and had to carry bags all the way back to Charlie’s place.

He didn’t mind of course, he didn’t have a car, and bus tickets were getting expensive these days. So he walked to go the store most of the time.

“I know I’ve asked this a lot but..are you alright?”

Charlie looked down.

“No..no this..fuck things keep happening to me Pim.”

Pim gave him the ‘talk, I’ll listen’ look.

“I- I’m a whole werewolf Pim! And I just killed and ate one of my closets friends, and I’m in pretty sure I did something to my best friend!”

Pim glanced away, but didn’t interrupt.

“And now I just like..didn’t have control over myself. I don’t even know why i randomly brought up a movie!”

His life was becoming more fucked by the minute.

Heck, it already was. He knew once he died he’d go too hell.

“You didn’t do anything to me. I was drunk.”

Charlie huffed.

“Yeah, apparently you cannibalize when wasted.”

Pim sighed bumping him softly.

“We’re going to fix this. We’ll get that blood and we’ll do that ritual. I promise.

The yellow critter looked down and started waking again. He heard Pim sigh and follow him. 

The conversation was officially over. 

He felt a pang of guilt but stayed quiet. They didn’t talk till they got to his apartment, Charlie setting the bags down.

“Shit. You got that much? You need me to pay you back?”

Pim smiled already putting a few pieces of meat into ziplocks. 

“Don’t worry about it Charlie, it was a favor.”

He sighed going to help pack up the meat.

“Okay. But I’ll pay next time, it’s for me anyway.”

“Whatever you say, Charlie.”

They moved on from whatever moment they had and started to plan their next moves. 

They of course had to go to work tomorrow, but they decided that was good. They had the excuse of meeting people anyway, and could see if anyone seemed suspicious. Pim also suggested Charlie’s sense of smell could help out.

Then they tried to pick a movie.

Charlie wanted to watch some action, and Pim wanted to see romance. 

Eventually they settled on just watching a bad movie for fun.

It was some sci-fi about sharks on the moon. And it looked hilariously horrible.

Before that they decided to start getting ready for dinner, god it was already getting late in the day.

Pim cooked himself a steak while Charlie was making fries to go with his raw one.

They turned on the tv to the news channel, half for background noise and half to see any updates. 

They didn’t talk about the attacks until Charlie went to turn the tv off.

“And in response to recent back to back animal attacks. A group of experienced hunters have been called to exterminate the animal…”

The yellow critters eyes widened. 

Hunters? Like, werewolf hunters, or normal hunters?

He turned the tv off and made his way back to the kitchen.

“Anything about Tyler?”

He gulped.

“Not that we haven’t heard.”

Pim nodded setting both their plates down.

“Alan texted me about it. Apparently the boss wants to hold a ceremony for him since they are studying his body so we can’t have a funeral.”

Guilt. Plain guilt choked him.

“Okay, cool.”

They sat and ate in silence. Charlie wasn’t as ravenous as he was just last night. He wondered if the hunger of the beast inside of him was filled for now. 

“So, do you think this other werewolf could be someone you have problems with?”

He blinked.

“Huh?”

The pink critter shrugged.

“You know, enemies?”

Did Pim think he just had a mob of people who didn’t like him?

“Uh..I don’t have like, known enemies.”

Pim hummed.

“Well than maybe it attacked you for fun..”

A thought came to Charlie’s mind.

“Or food. I mean, it was going to kill me before you and Denis showed up.”

He thought about how he attacked only people who were pray to him. Even Tyler, he was nothing but fresh meat waiting to be consumed.

He squeezed his eyes.

“Anyway, I still think they could definitely live in the enchanted forest. Basically any magical creature chills there.”

Pim hummed in agreement.

“Sure, but let’s just keep an eye out at work tomorrow.”

Soon dinner was done, Charlie washed the dishes while Pim cleaned the table. 

Charlie decided to take a shower while Pim went back to his apartment to grab extra clothes. In the shower he let himself drift off and think about what’s happened in the last couple days.

He thought about how he almost died. How he became the beast that tried to kill him, how he killed his friend and ate his body with Pim. How he doesn’t even feel like he’s in control most of the time.

He leaned his head on the cool shower tile.

He sat there for a while until the water started to get cold.

He got out, dressed himself in his pj’s and went to see Pim patiently waiting for him with their snacks ready. 

The movie itself was really really bad. It didn’t even make sense half the time, and was obviously cheaply made.

At some point, he drifted off.

And woke up in a black space, the bottom being an endless ocean. But his feet didn’t feel wet at all.

Charlie looked around, he couldn’t see anything but endless darkness. But he felt a presence here with him, it was staring him down from somewhere. 

“Hello..?”

The yellow critter’s voice was shaky, but not out of fear. It was more disturbed, and suspense.

He suddenly felt a chill down his back. Quickly turning around he was now face to face with a giant yellow wolf.

And he knew, this is what he looked like whenever he transformed.

The red eyes glared into his own for a moment.

Then a dark grudged voice rung in his mind.

“Danger is near.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment still slightly disturbed by the beast in front of him. But he quickly shook his head taking a step back.

“W-what?”

A low growl came from its throat.

“Danger..is coming. Understand?”

Okay, why was the bloodthirsty beast inside of him trying to..warn him? Wouldn’t it be fighting for control?

“What..danger? Do you mean the other werewolf?”

The hard gaze of the beast seemed to soften. As if he was glad Charlie was continuing the conversation instead of just asking more questions.

“Yes. But there is more. Be watchful, keep our bonded one safe.”

Okay cryptic much. 

Wait. 

Bonded one?

Did he mean Pim?

Is that why he had indulged in the hunt last night?

“Why are you telling me this?”

That was something he needed to know more right now. Besides, Charlie had the feeling his time would be up soon.

“Because, you are my other half. I’m you, you’re me, and you can’t sense what’s coming.”

Charlie clutched his fist. 

“If you were really apart of me, you wouldn’t have killed my friend.”

The wolf simply tilted its head.

“You think that was all me? We did it together, I didn’t come out, and you didn’t go away.” 

No. That’s was wrong. He didn’t even remember what happened until the next day. The beast was trying to-

“Up.”

Suddenly the world started to fade.

“I- I didn’t want to hurt him! Let alone kill him!”

As the wolf faded away its eyes poured into his own, almost with a challenging look.

“Then why were you the one feeding into me?”

Before he could answer the world disappeared into a bright light.

                       ———

The man looked over the body with a cold stare.

This werewolf was still new, recently turned. 

That meant there were more. 

He could tell because the bones of the most recent victim still had blood and pieces of flesh. 

A very skilled wolf would’ve left them completely clean. 

But there was something else, something the police and others missed. 

Another person, not a wolf, ate him as well. Some part of his body had the flesh positioned like he was pulled with bare hands.

He’d seen a case like this many times.

The wolf wasn’t alone, it was bonded, imprinted on someone.

And now he needed to exterminate them both.