Work Text:
Decorating your home shouldn’t be this difficult. Before leaving for work, Valko assured you that everything will find its place, that it looks great as it is. He said he’d develop software to help you envision before you move things around a dozen times.
Sure, you could wait but that one plant has always bothered you. Maybe it’ll look better in the other corner?
You’re carrying it when you hear an urgent knock at the balcony. You flinch at the sound. Valko’s waiting on the other side of the glass, amber eyes round as he waits to be let in.
“Jesus,” you mutter, heart rate returning to normal.
“Why’d you lock the door?”
“The news has been crazy lately. You don’t wanna know what they’re saying.”
“Huh?” He presses his palms against the glass. “What are they saying?”
“It’s better if you don’t know. Probably bullshit anyway,” you say, waving a hand off, teasing his curiosity. His lips form a small pout.
“You’re cruel sometimes, you know that?”
“Come through the front door,” you tell him. He huffs but obliges, walking around the house. You set the plant down, still not liking how it frames the room. You’ll ask for his opinion once he’s inside.
After a minute, he still hasn’t unlocked the door. You walk over, thinking he’s forgotten his key. You check the peephole and no one’s there.
You wait a little while longer before looking for him and finding a line of wrapped chocolates, one on each step of the porch. They’re prototypes from his factory. He’s been trying to make one specific to your taste for weeks, tinkering with the recipe, bringing samples home for you to try and give him notes on.
The chocolate has a nice snap when you bite. The flavor melts in your mouth. You’ll have to tell him this is the one.
Leaves in the distance rustle opposite to the breeze’s direction. You follow the sound to a flattened path littered with yellow and blue wildflowers. Moonlight pokes through the trees, a small clearing where you find him carefully placing down another flower. You lower, creeping on the grass carefully.
One of his wolf ears turns your way before you can scare him. You grab his shoulders anyway, smiling as his tail wags. He turns around, holding the remaining flowers by their stems.
“Eager to find me? I wasn’t done yet.”
“Where were you trying to lead me?”
“I’m glad you asked.” He takes you by the hand, telling you to close your eyes, not to peek. His footsteps slow. “You can look now.”
By the edge of the woods, where the pale crescent moon and silver stars are hung together in sight, a shelter built for him and you with warm blankets and pillows tucked safely inside.
“You like it?” he asks.
“It’s perfect. How long did it take you to make?”
“Not long,” he says. “It was easy.”
“Subtle brag.”
“You know it.”
Pretty quickly you find yourself inside, laying next to him. His tail thumps as you look at him. He closes the small gap of space in between to cradle you tightly in his arms. His heartbeat is steady, loud, his broad chest warm.
He lowers his head to nuzzle against you, stealing any semblance of personal space. He rubs his cheek against your head, holding you in place as he does.
“I’m gonna smell like you,” you mumble.
“You’ve never had a problem with that before.”
You squeal quietly, pushing him away at the sudden sensation of his tongue against your neck. His laughter rumbles as he play-fights you to get closer again and wins. You settle back where you were, gazing at him, the layers of gold in his irises, the sharp edges making up his face.
“You wanna go home? Have dinner?” he asks.
“Let’s stay here for a little while longer,” you say, holding his cheek before gently scratching behind his furred-ear. You can’t help smiling at the way he leans into it, eyes slowly blinking shut. He reaches for your hand, rubbing his thumb along your knuckles.
“When you need a quiet place, come here. Give me a call if you need me. I’ll come running no matter what. I promise.”