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Detective Francis McQueen had no idea why he had agreed to be a part of this. After years of dealing with the occult and paranormal and Darkside he had finally taken a much needed vacation. Chief Scully demanding he take one had nothing to do with that decision, noooo, definitely not. He would have taken it anyway. Definitely.
So yes, he had taken a long overdue vacation time. Two full weeks. Two loooong weeks where he could relax and enjoy the quiet. And how did he decide to spend them?
"Devon give me back my lighter!"
"You give back my lunch!"
"But how am I supposed to get the set-your-friend's-lunch-on-fire badge? Bloodalpha Dooleyyyyyyyy!"
Francis watched as the source of his troubles rushed over to the pair of squabbling Bloodwolves, managing to separate them - his experience as an officer of the law coming in handy. Of course it was no challenge seeing as both children barely came up to the man's chest.
The man in question? Why none other than Patrick Dooley. Francis' partner and lifelong friend and part-time Bloodwolves councilor and the sole reason why Francis wasn't eating ice cream straight from the tub on his own couch back home. But what was he supposed to do? As soon as Dooley had learned about his time off, he came into his office, begging for him to join the Bloodwolves for their summer camp - something Dooley had been excitedly talking about since the last Christmas. And well… Francis could never say no to those puppy eyes. Especially since he managed to drag Dooley back out of the Darkside… and when the thing he was asking for wasn't too dangerous…
Amused despite his better judgment, he watched as Dooley wobbled over to the main cabin, Devon and Emily hanging off of his biceps like monkey bars, chastising them for messing around when it was lunch time and lecturing them about the sanctity of meal times. This would be long two weeks. And he couldn't wait.
Francis huffed out a frustrated puff of air as he rearranged his body for what felt like the hundredth time. Everything hurt. Who knew that running around with a pack of kids would leave his body so sore. Was he really so out of shape? And it was so hot. Unbearably so. He was seriously considering taking his sleeping bag and just going to the cabin to sleep on the floor in the office. There was at least a fan there. But Dooley had been so excited for the two of them to be sharing a tent again and it felt cruel to sneak out of here without his knowledge.
"Pssst. Detective. You awake?"
Speak of the devil. He sighed again, turning to look at his friend in the darkness.
"Yes, Dooley. Just as I was five minutes ago when you last asked me."
He was tired. If this was what the sleeping conditions would be like for the whole time he was going to be here, it would be unbearable.
"You wanna go swim in the lake?"
That managed to take him off guard.
"What?"
"Come on, it'll be just like when we were kids. Remember? We snuck out and swam in the lake when we were here as scouts?"
Francis did remember. It had been Dooley's idea back then as well. Till this day he wasn't sure how they managed to not get caught. And while the promise of cool water surrounding his frankly too sweaty body sound heavenly, there was just one small catch…
"Are you sure we should do that? What if the children need us?"
"Pssssh. They're all cozy in their bunks in the cabin. What could possibly happen?"
And so they grabbed their towels and swimming trunks and made the short track towards the lake. The full moon lit their way - actually being helpful for once - and soon they arrived at the bank, the sound of night insects, frogs and light splashing of the waves surrounding them. Both of them stood, enchanted by the serenity of it all.
"What a gorgeous view, huh?" Dooley asked and when Francis turned to look at him, he could see the other watching the night sky above them, the moon illuminating his features in its pearly light.
"Yeah," he agreed, a bit wistfully before Dooley was grinning at him, claiming that the last one in the water had dish duty tomorrow. Despite his best efforts to get changed quickly, it was no race. Dooley was long in the water before he even managed to step out of his shorts.
"Were you sleeping in your swimsuit?" he asked, cursing himself mentally for getting stuck on one of the pants legs.
"Always be prepared," Dooley said cheerily, swimming further into the inky blackness of the lake. Finally, after the initial struggles, Francis managed to get changed and waded into the water, sighing in relief. It felt so nice. The water was warm but still cooler than the night air and it made goosebumps raise on his overheated skin as he made his way deeper and deeper until he lost the solid ground beneath his feet.
He got lost in the pleasant sensations as he treaded the water, letting himself enjoy not feeling so god damn sticky, when suddenly something brushed along his arm and he jumped, trying to get away before he realised that it was just Dooley.
"Hey, easy now. Wouldn't do if you drowned. Although it would be a good practice for the pack to try and save you."
Francis huffed, a bit miffed at getting startled so easily before his breath left him all at once as he properly looked at his companion. Dooley had managed to wet his hair and it was now curling around his face, pitch black, moonlight glistening off the strands in a way that was almost hypnotizing. His skin, usually so tan, looked much paler in the darkness, his eyes dark as he smiled, swimming closer to Francis.
"Hey," he repeated, tone muted as he drew close enough that Francis was sure he could count Dooley's eyelashes if he strained his eyes enough. He felt stuck, unable to move, unable to say anything as he watched the other move even closer and then there were soft lips pressed against his, wet and cool from the lake water. On instinct he felt his eyes fall shut, brain failing to form a proper response before he was pressing into the contact as well.
And then there were fingers gently brushing along his ribs, trying to grab him and pull him close and he snapped out of whatever spell had been put upon him, quickly moving back from Dooley. Dooley who was looking at him now with his dark eyes, confused.
"Frankie?"
Francis shook his head to clear it. This… whatever had just happened must have been a mistake. Some kind of joke. Or perhaps Dooley was just tired of being alone for so long - desperation drives men to do things they normally wouldn't. And there was no way in Darkside that Dooley would go for someone like him, of all people. He had enough self-awareness to know that.
"Sorry, Dooley I- We should head back to the kids," he said, voice carefully schooled into as much of a neutral tone as he could before he turned, swimming back to the shore, heart aching. This was not supposed to happen.
He was pulling his shorts on hastily before a gentle hand tried grasping his shoulder.
"Francis, wait-"
"Enough, Dooley. I won't play these games with you," he snapped, shrugging off the other's touch before it could brand him.
"What are you talking about I was just trying to-"
"Exactly! You were trying and I put a stop to it. Now let go of me before-"
A bloodcurdling scream cut through the night and they both froze in their tracks, hearts beating against their chests. It came from the cabin. Where the children were. Their argument momentarily forgotten, they grabbed their clothes and ran to see what happened.
Dooley burst into the pack's sleeping room, Francis right in tow, only to see a horrific sight. Armelia and Emily were huddled on Emily's bunk, both shaking as they hugged each other tightly. There was a dark, wet trail - leading from the place where Devon usually slept, towards the window. Even in the unlit room, Francis knew immediately what that was. Blood.
Dooley swiftly moved to kneel in front of the girls, shushing them both in hopes they would be able to tell them what happened but it was in vain. Neither girl had seen anything, Armelia simply needed to use the restroom, stepping on the trail in the process, scaring Emily awake as she screamed. Devon had been already gone once they were both up.
Francis frantically searched the room for any signs or clues but except for the open window and the trail leading out into the darkness and towards the lake, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Why are you both naked?" Armelia asked shakily, and Francis shot Dooley a dirty look.
"Told you we shouldn't have left them here," he hissed, angry at himself for allowing the other to convince him to go swim so easily but a part of him feeling a sick sort of satisfaction at being proven right. Dooley glanced at him before he turned a nervous smile towards the girls.
"We were trying to get the swim-across-the-lake-at-night badge."
Francis scoffed but it seemed to be a good enough excuse for the girls.
"You - you'll find Devon, right?" Emily asked and it broke Francis' heart a little bit to hear the normal firecracker of a girl sound so scared. Before Dooley could say anything, he turned to the two Bloodwolves with a newfound determination.
"We will. Officer Dooley, get moving," he barked the order, before rushing out of the cabin, hearing Dooley instructing the girls not to move a single inch away from the cabin and to close all the doors and windows after they left. Angrily, he pulled on his shoes that he had dropped at the entrance to the cabin as they initially rushed in. None of this was supposed to be happening. He tried to regain his composure but all of his attempts flew out the window as soon as Dooley came lumbering behind him. Dooley who pulled on his socks and boots and nothing else.
"Put a shirt on at least," he said testily, watching as Dooley's panicked expression hardened as the officer met his eyes.
"Wouldn't want to waste time, detective."
And ok, Dooley had called him that title thousands of times but never did it sound so… cold, impersonal. Just like two colleagues interacting with each other. Fine. If Dooley wanted to be like that when they had a child to save, so be it.
"We should start around the window, officer."
Emily and Armelia were wrecks. They kept to their promise to Bloodalpha Dooley not to leave their room but were forced to let the minutes drag around them slowly as sleep evaded them both. They were worried for Devon. What if he was hurt?
"We have to do something," Emily said, some of her fire coming back the longer she was forced to stay still. Armelia smiled sadly.
"I don't think there's much we can do, Em. It's not like we know where he went or what happened, right?"
Emily chewed angrily at her bottom lip. Finally, just so she had something to do, she jumped off her bunk, carefully avoiding the trail of blood, marching over to the light switch, flipping it on and-
"Wait a minute. This isn't blood," Armelia said suddenly and Emily turned to look at the trail - a trail that was very much not the dark deep red as they all previously thought, instead it was… indigo?
"Oh. Huh. What do you think it is?" she asked as Emily made her way closer to the older girl again so they could both inspect it.
"I dunno but maybe this is important? We should try and find the detective and Bloodalpha Dooley and tell them, right?" Emily asked, suddenly excited and vibrating at the prospect of being allowed in on the action. Armelia seemed doubtful, however.
"But we have no idea where they might have gone. And even if, it's dark out."
Emily groaned, flopping dramatically on Devon's bunk, frowning when something plastic crinkled beneath her. She sat up, reaching for-
"A candy wrapper? I knew he had more stashed away!" she exclaimed angrily, crinkling the wrapper in her fist.
"Devon never eats sweets after he brushes his teeth," Armelia said thoughtfully, her eyes scanning the lit room before they fell on yet another candy wrapper, right next to the door, "And he never litters. Emily, grab your lighter, we're going after him."
Emily whooped as she quickly got her shoes on and grabbed her trusty lighter, missing the book Armelia sneakily shoved into her pants' pocket.
Francis was miserable. Not only did the trail they had been following disappeared into the lake, actively halting any chance at progress. But if he had to stare at Dooley's shirtless body for one more minute, he was going to McFuckingLoseIt. Distantly he wondered if this was some kind of divine punishment, if he had done something in his previous life that was now coming back to bite him in the ass.
They stumbled their way through the dark, ending up next to a suspiciously familiar oak tree.
"You're leading us in circles," Dooley commented icily and it took all of Francis' quickly dwindling willpower not to snark right back. Instead he took a deep breath in through his nose, trying to center himself as he desperately tried to calm down, searching for any clues he might have missed.
"I'm trying my best over here. Don't see you helping, officer."
Dooley huffed angrily, stomping his way as far away as he could without them losing sight of each other. Francis, as he was inspecting a broken twig he had looked at four times already, couldn't help but wonder when did his vacation manage to go sideways.
Emily and Armelia were sneaking their way through the forest, following a trail of wrappers - Emily's lighter and the moon illuminating their way. It was quiet, unnaturally so, and both Bloodwolves were straining their ears and eyes to notice anything out of the ordinary.
They were quite far from the cabin when they finally heard it. A low, quiet voice, trying to soothe someone.
"Devon?" Armelia whisper yelled and the sound stopped momentarily before Devon answered.
"Armelia? Could you come here, please?"
Emily and Armelia glanced at each other, scared but as they pushed through their fear and walked on, their friend soon came into view along with-
"What is that?" Emily cried, pointing at the amorphous dark blob that sparkled in the moonlight as it moved and undulated, right next to Devon who was sitting on the ground, safe and unharmed.
"Oh, this is Steven!" Devon said with a smile, the blob - Steven - gurgling in what the girls assumed was a greeting.
"He says it's nice to meet you."
The girls shared a bemused glance.
"You can understand him?"
Devon's eyes lit up with the smile he gave them, nodding before unwrapping a piece of candy, holding it up in the air. Steven's body changed and elongated, a single tendril reaching for the sugary offering before he swallowed it hole, the candy quickly dissolving in his body.
"What happened?" Emily asked, touching Devon's shirt that had the same sticky goopy substance that had been in their room.
"Oh, I had to carry Steven. He can't get around on land well, he's more of a swimmer."
Steven bubbled, sounding embarrassed, his form spilling out for a bit before it reformed back into a semi-regular ball.
"He showed up at the cabin and asked if I could help him find his way home. I was going to ask detective McQueen and Bloodalpha Dooley to help but they weren't in their tent. So, I tried to help him on my own," Devon explained, unwrapping yet another piece of candy for the gelatinous creature.
"You got lost?" Armelia asked, and the blob let out a sad gurgle.
"His portal got washed away at the shore. And I don't know how to fix it," Devon admitted, gloomily. However, Armelia pulled out the book out of her pocket, listing through it quickly, holding it close to Emily's lighter so she could see.
"I'm sure I can help with that," she said with a smile as soon as she found what she was looking for, before she grabbed a nearby stick, carefully copying the runes into the soft ground between them.
The search for Devon had been a bust. It was close to dawn, the first hints of light rising up over the horizon, stinging in Francis' tired eyes. They failed. They would have to continue this tomorrow.
"Let's go back to camp," he suggested, feeling like the whole world's weight was on his shoulders. If he could just get a little bit of sleep, he was sure that he would be able to notice something he had missed - tracks, broken shrubs, anything.
"I'm not giving up on him," Dooley said, stubborn glint to his eyes as he tried wrestling with an ivy that had been in his way. Francis frowned.
"We're useless in this state, we can't help him like this."
Dooley turned to him, angry tears springing to his eyes.
"I have to try! It's my fault that he's gone! I know you're an emotionless bag but some of us care about others!"
That… hurt. Francis didn't care? Oh, how he wished that was true. His life would be so much easier if he didn't care so god damn much. He bit his own tongue, swallowing the scathing reply that was threatening to jump out, surely to start another argument. Dooley was stressed, it made sense that he would lash out. And if lashing out at Francis would make him feel even slightly better, he was willing to take it. He was useful at least for that.
"Listen to me. We searched this forest from top to bottom and we're not making any progress. I'm tired, you're tired. We need some sleep and daylight if we hope to find any traces of him."
Dooley let out a broken sob, fight leaving him as quickly as it appeared. His shoulders drooped as he stared off blankly into the empty space. Francis sighed, leading them back towards the cabin. To be truthful, he hadn't imagined his vacation to go like this. He was hoping he'd get to spend time with the Bloodwolves, enjoying case-free two weeks. But the supernatural had always had a way of seeking him out. Maybe after they managed to save Devon, and they would find him, it would be better to just… disappear.
As they dragged themselves slowly towards the cabin, the wooden structure slowly came into view, a bundle of fabric sitting right in the main entrance. Francis frowned. That wasn't there when they left. As the shape started becoming clearer through the early dawn mist, he recognized it as one of the camp's blankets draped across the shoulders of Emily and Armelia and in between them-
"Devon!" Dooley called out, rushing towards the three children, kneeling in front of them. Frantic hands grabbed the boy's face, looking him over for injuries.
"Are you alright? Do we need to call a doctor? Don't you ever scare me like this ever again, do you hear me?"
Francis walked up to the reunited Bloodwolves, turning to Armelia.
"What happened?"
The children explained, albeit it was a bit confusing because they kept interrupting each other, giving out details that didn't seem to matter but after a while Francis had gotten a good enough picture of the night's events. Relief spread out through his body that suddenly felt like it was mere minutes before giving out on him.
"Well, the important part is that nobody got hurt," he said, reaching out his hand expectantly towards Armelia, who gave him the book reluctantly. He flipped through it quickly, raising a brow over its banned contents and then shut it, waving it in the girl's direction.
"We'll talk about this later."
Dooley was giving out stern instructions to the Bloodwolves as Francis made his way over to their tent. He was so tired and his ego had received a proper pummeling - first from Dooley and then from the three children who were forced to help themselves when his emotions got the best of him. He would grab some much needed shut eye and then drive back home. He had no reason to stay here.
Soon the flap to the tent opened and came in Dooley, quiet and looking worse than he had back when he got choked by a zombie Al Corpsone. He looked at Francis before quietly laying down on his own sleeping bag, muscular back turned to the detective, confirming his worst fear. He had ruined everything - just because he couldn't shut that voice up that had been nagging him for decades now. He sighed. If their friendship was over, there was no point in holding it all back. Maybe he could at least show Dooley that he did care. Or get it all of his chest.
"I was going to ask you out. Back on our trip for your birthday. I don't know what I was thinking back then, taking you to a seedy hotel for a getaway," he chuckled sadly at the memory, remembering how excited he was, "but it was supposed to be nice. Just the two of us. Away from everything, from the TLPD, from the paranormal and the occult and… well, you know how that ended."
Silence was his only reply and he wondered if Dooley had managed to fall asleep already but there was no stopping him now. The avalanche of his thoughts had started rolling down the hill.
"You should have seen me, I was a mess. If it wasn't for Raxa and PD keeping me afloat I'm not sure I wouldn't have-" he paused, his throat feeling tight at the memory of how close to the brink he had gotten. How easy it would have been to just… give up on everything. Spare everybody the trouble of having to deal with him.
"When I finally got you back I - I couldn't risk losing you again. And I know that you figured the two of us could have some fun, no strings attached but-" shuddery breath in. He could do this. He owed himself and Dooley that much, "I can't do that Patrick. It would destroy me to have you like that before another pretty face catches your fancy next."
The silence in the tent was crushing. There was enough light where he could start seeing the details of the fabric. He closed his eyes, sinking feeling in his stomach as he finally confessed what had been plaguing him for so long before his eyes shot open at the shaky breath he could hear the other man taking.
"Patrick?" he asked, quiet, scared to upset the other even now, even when Patrick was clearly angry at him - so preoccupied by his own worries that he had missed when Patrick turned around, tears running down his cheeks. He yelped as a fist curled in his shirt, strong fingers gripping his nape and then he was getting yanked close, lips once again finding his, feverish and trembling.
He tried pulling away but Patrick let out a broken whine, gripping him tighter and so instead one of his shaky hands came up to card through the other's curls, soothing him enough that his hold stopped being quite so crushing.
"I thought you didn't want me," Patrick whispered once they finally separated for some much needed air. There was a deep blush set high on his cheekbones and Francis faintly wondered if there ever had been anyone prettier than the man in front of him.
"You've been always so… imposing, so above everybody else that I figured that you would never want to be with someone like me."
Francis blanked out, not believing what he was hearing. This whole time, he was under the impression that Patrick was too good for him - and here he was, telling Francis that he felt the same way about him. His head spun.
"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked, throat tight. Patrick had always been the braver out of the two. The officer smiled sadly, cupping his cheek.
"I left you a note in your locker back in high school."
"That was you?" he asked, shock raising his voice up in height. He had never figured out who was the author of the note asking him to prom. And it turns out it had been Patrick all along.
"Who did you think it was, nobody else from school shares my initials."
Francis blushed. For being a detective he was sure dumb as hell sometimes. Instead of dignifying that with a response, he chose to kiss Patrick again, something which was met with a pleased hum.
"Can't believe we were both scared to confess," Francis murmured, playing with the silky strands between his fingers thoughtfully.
"Well, I was going to in the lake… the pack said I should try to get you in a romantic setting first before saying anything and-"
"They put you up to this?" Francis asked, unsure whether he should be horrified by the mental image or impressed by the pack's ability to scheme. Patrick smiled sheepishly.
"Don't tell Patty, she's been hounding me to tell you for years and I don't want to make her upset."
Francis chuckled at the mental image of Patricia scolding them both once they told her. He couldn't wait.
"Oh, and also, if anybody asks, we got together on the third day of the two weeks. There's a wager going around the TLPD and I don't want McKing to win it."
Francis blinked a few times. This was… also news to him.
"How many people knew about this?" he asked, fearing the answer before he even finished asking the question. Patrick shrugged, dark eyes apologetic even in the dim light of the tent.
"A few. Apparently I'm not the most subtle, so people noticed."
Francis could kick himself if that didn't mean getting out of the other's embrace. How blind was he that he hadn't noticed - he was supposed to be the smart one here!
"Patrick?" Francis mused out loud, postponing the mental self flagellation to a later date.
"Yes, detective?" he asked with a content smile and it sounded just like how he always said it and oh. Now Francis heard it. The respect, the fondness, the love with which Patrick said his title, each and every single time. He felt like an idiot.
"Kiss me," he ordered gently. Patrick's smile was so bright it could light up the tent if that was even remotely physically possible and then they were kissing and it felt right and he had to take the kids to a candy store or something cause this was-
"Finally," came Emily's muffled voice from somewhere outside the tent and Patrick was scrambling away quickly to push his head through their tent flap to scold his pack for still being up after the night they all had. Francis chuckled, rolling onto his back and letting his forearm rest against his eyes as he felt lighter than he had in years. Maybe this vacation would turn out great after all.