crucio (crucio) wrote in cwf,
@ 2010-06-18 02:26:00

open to varick
Losing Cameron was hard, and most days it was still very hard, but being with Varick definitely helped Shannon to cope. Being safe at the haven was also helping, and the wolves there were simply amazing. He'd gotten to meet Aubrey, another fox, and Cady as well. It was nice to be so accepted. Sure, there were some wolves that were grumpy - like Pirate and Felix - but they weren't ever outwardly rude to Shannon. And it'd been nice to make clothes for Aryk, Vance, and Basil.

Varick was planning on opening a law firm in the area, so he'd been especially busy. Though everyone was insisting they weren't staying for the long haul, Shannon was starting to wonder if maybe they were. It seemed like everyone was settling well enough. Varick said that once Kingston was ready, they'd venture out on their own but what did that mean for Varick's law firm if he was opening one up? Shannon supposed Varick could take it anywhere he wanted.

The Portland pack had taken up residence in an empty house on the property. It was just a few of them, so the house was more than enough room. Shannon was busy sitting indian style on the bed and hand sewing a seam that had torn in one of Varick's nicer suit jackets. He had the headphones of his iPhone on and was humming quietly to Incubus while he worked. Varick had been gone all day, and the suit jacket Shannon was working on had been the one he'd wanted to wear but couldn't because of the busted seam.

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impotentwaffle
2010-06-18 06:48 am UTC (link)

It had been Louisa who'd convinced Varick to get back to practicing law. She was an environmental lawyer and had taken a couple of cases while being waylaid at Wolf Haven. She too had plans to take her pack back to New Orleans, but things simply weren't clearing up. Their previous Alpha had really messed things up for them and it didn't seem right to settle anywhere but in the bayou at the old plantation. But that wasn't possible right now. Work was important, she'd advised. Staying sharp helped take people's minds off of other things they couldn't change, like death and loss.

The firm would be temporary, Varick assured himself. Wolf Haven was nice, but he wanted Kingston to shine as their Alpha and he certainly couldn't do that here. Today, he'd met with a client, an elderly woman looking to get her Will in order. Varick practiced family law, nothing flashy, and he dealt frequently with everyday needs, rarely going to court. It made having an office space necessary and he'd selected a little building in town. Talking about death had been kind of hard, his thoughts inevitably going to Cameron. When he got home and walked in to see Shannon diligently working on his suit, he almost broke down and cried. How silly and confusing to feel such a mix of overwhelming sorrow and fondness all at once.

"Hello," he said quietly and then noticed the headphones and smiled a little, bending down to wave and try to catch Shannon's attention.

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crucio
2010-06-18 06:55 am UTC (link)

Shannon was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of old tattered jeans. They'd been Cameron's, and it was really the only thing of his brother's that he had left. Wearing them sometimes made him feel closer to Cameron, better about things, even if it was sad at the same time.

When he caught the waving of Varick's hand, he glanced up and smiled before he took his headphones off and settled the suitjacket onto his lap.

"Hey," he greeted softly, "How was work? I'm almost done with this, so you can wear it tomorrow if you want."

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impotentwaffle
2010-06-18 07:00 am UTC (link)

Part of Varick had wanted to lock those clothes up in a glass case, preserve the smell somehow, the exact way the fabric had felt after being against Cameron's skin. But he was happy to see Shannon in them now. The two had always had a comingled scent, inextricable from each other. Varick was starting to wonder if he'd always really just been in love with both, in a way because one was only half without the other. Though he didn't like to think that Shannon was half of anything now that Cameron was gone for good.

"It was--I don't know. I wrote up a will for an elderly woman. She was so relaxed about dying. She said that she just wanted her family to not have to fuss with her estate; she wanted it all laid out for them."

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crucio
2010-06-18 07:05 am UTC (link)

Hearing that, Shannon frowned. It reminded him of the talk he'd had with Cameron about dying. He didn't like to think about it, even if that had been the conversation that held Cam's blessing when it came to Shannon and Varick being together.

"Sounds like it was a hard day," he said after a moment as he finished up the stitching. He put the needle away in his sewing box, along with the extra thread, and then he rose up onto his knees to take Varick's jacket off of him so that he could put the newly stitched one on. "See? Good as new."

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impotentwaffle
2010-06-18 07:14 am UTC (link)

There was something about being undressed and dressed by Shannon that he liked very much. His eyes fluttered shut at the feel of the fabric brushing over his shirt, the brief touch of Shannon's hands. Cameron had liked that suit and Varick had been unduly distraught over the tear. But Shannon had put it back together for him, like usual.

"It made me think that I was thankful for being a wolf. Wills are so unnecessary for us. Everything belongs to the pack." And more specifically to their mates. "Thank you," he added, walking over to glance in the mirror at the jacket.

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crucio
2010-06-18 07:17 am UTC (link)

Shannon smiled and he sat back down on the bed. He set the suit jacket he'd taken off aside and turned to put his sewing box on the bedside table before he let his attention settle on Varick's form.

"I like how you say us, like I'm a wolf, too," he smiled softly.

Being a fox, he knew he'd always been different, but he'd had Cameron so he hadn't been alone. It'd taken losing his twin, unfortunately, for him to see that he was a part of the pack even if he wasn't a wolf.

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impotentwaffle
2010-06-18 07:28 am UTC (link)

"Well, you're pack," he corrected himself. Not a wolf, and that was part of what had intrigued Varick about the twins. "I used to think you were different but--it's not like you're a giraffe, or something." He quirked the briefest of smiles and then removed the jacket carefully, going to hang it up in their little closet.

Then again, maybe pack life wasn't so great, if a monster could take over so easily. But Hunter was renewing his faith and Kingston was so promising. "Wendell bought us opening night tickets to Tristan and Isolde at the Seattle Opera," he mentioned, needing to change the topic to something lighter.

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	crucio 2010-06-18 07:35 am UTC (link)
	Shannon smiled, trying to imagine what shifting into a giraffe would feel like. Probably terrible, having to grow such a long neck and legs. He laughed a little bit at the idea, but when Varick mentioned opera tickets his eyes went a little wide. "What? He did? Really? Is he going, too?" he asked as he slid off of the bed to go over to where Varick was standing. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-18 07:47 am UTC (link)

"No, just for us. Would you like him to come?" It was easy to take to Wendell and Varick had enjoyed the man's company. Though he found it funny to think of going on a double date with him and Hunter.

When Shannon came closer, Varick stepped forward and slipped a hand around to the small of the smaller man's back. He felt like an anchor--the good kind--locking him safely to the ground.

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	crucio 2010-06-18 07:51 am UTC (link)
	"No, I just - he really bought tickets just for us? That's really nice of him," Shannon said as he stood up on his toes so that he could steal a soft kiss from Varick's mouth. He hadn't kissed him hello yet, and it was one of his very favorite things to do. Kissing Varick hello, goodbye, goodnight, goodmorning - they were all his favorite things to do. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-18 07:59 am UTC (link)

Varick always let the kiss linger. He couldn't stand the idea of a quick kiss because it always left him wanting another, and another, and another. Not that lingering kisses were something he could get enough of either, but at least he felt a little more satisfied after just one.

"I believe I mentioned liking the opera and he launched into numerous facts and figures about the opera house in Seattle. He's very--enthusiastic, even though I don't think he attends the opera very frequently."

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	crucio 2010-06-18 08:04 am UTC (link)
	Shannon loved that Varick let the kisses linger. When the kiss broke, he dipped his head down to rest his forehead against the front of the wolf's chest with a contented sigh. "I think Wendell is enthusiastic about everything he knows, and he knows a lot," he smiled. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-18 08:31 am UTC (link)

"I can still smell Cam in those clothes. I like that you wear them. I can barely tell the difference between what I remember as his scent and your scent." He angled his head down to let his nose go flush against Shannon's shoulder and the tshirt, breathing in. Then he moved his nose to Shannon's skin, breathing in there as if for comparison. Really, Varick just wanted to gather up all of the smells into his brain, he needed them right now.

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	crucio 2010-06-18 08:37 am UTC (link)
	Shannon closed his eyes and let his arms shift upwards to loop around Varick's shoulders, and he pressed himself closer to the older man. He loved being held by Varick. There was nothing else that felt quite like it. "I always liked smelling you on him," he said after a moment, his voice quiet. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-19 11:14 pm UTC (link)

Varick smiled a little and the words kind of turned him on. "Did you?" he angled his head back just a little so that he could look down at Shannon. He wanted to know why he liked hearing that so much, why it went down and settled in his stomach, making him warm. Maybe it just felt good to know that Shannon wanted more than just a reminder of Cameron.

"I remember when Cameron and I went on a vacation one Summer. You stayed home and about a week into it, I kept telling him that he smelled funny. He just smelled, wrong somehow. And finally, he told me it was because he didn't have the smell of you on him."

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crucio
2010-06-19 11:37 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, I did," Shannon said with a smile, and when he heard the story about the vacation he laughed a little bit and pressed his face against the front of Varick's shirt. "I guess we always were together, well, most of the time. Or with you," he said before he pulled back to brush a kiss to Varick's jaw.

He moved to sit back down on the bed, then, and put his chin in his hands as we watched the other man in adoration. He missed Cameron so much, but having Varick made life easier. More beareable. And Varick made Shannon very, very happy.

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impotentwaffle
2010-06-20 12:19 am UTC (link)

Now they both had to deal with the absence of Cameron's scent. It had been long enough where most of the traces of the fox had faded.

Shrugging out of his shirt, he hung it up. Pants came next and he hung those up, keeping things nice and neat like he liked. "I didn't like being away from you all day, but I have to admit that I enjoyed being back at work. It felt almost normal for a little while."

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	crucio 2010-06-20 01:06 am UTC (link)
	Shannon liked watching Varick undress. Even before, when Varick was with Cameron, he'd liked it though he'd never dare to admit it. It'd made him feel so incredibly guilty, but he didn't feel that way anymore. "Everyone says it'll get easier, but I'm never really sure," he said after a moment. "Are you hungry? Louisa invited us over for dinner." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-20 01:18 am UTC (link)

When things had first started out, Varick had been sure that all of the people who said it would get easier had never lost anyone close to them. But as time passed, the aching really had dulled a little. Though he was certain that if it hadn't been for Shannon, things would have been a million times worse.

He tugged on some jeans and a plain white tshirt when Shannon mentioned dinner at someone else's house. "Sure, let's head over." He was getting much better about being social and he didn't interpret everyone's looks as looks of pity anymore.

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	crucio 2010-06-20 02:24 am UTC (link)
	Shannon got to his feet and moved to snag his flip flops so that he could slip them on. Usually he was much more stylish than that, but it was an evening for relaxing. "I wonder what they're having," he said as he took a hold of Varick's hand to lead the way out of the room and downstairs. "I haven't really eaten today. I always forget, it's terrible." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-20 03:02 am UTC (link)

He squeezed Shannon's hand a little more tightly when he heard that he'd forgotten to eat. Sure, foxes weren't as ravenous as wolves could be, but he knew that the man needed to eat--even humans needed to eat. "I'm going to get you a watch with an alarm on it so that it beeps at regular intervals. That way, it'll remind you to eat when I can't." He didn't like the idea of being at work all day and have poor little Shannon not eating.

When they got to the house where the New Orleans pack was staying, Louisa greeted them at the door. "Oh good, you did come!" She looked pleased with that. The Portland pack intrigued her, piqued her sense of solidarity with the fact that they had suffered a tyrannical sort of leader as well.

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crucio
2010-06-20 03:06 am UTC (link)

A soft laugh escaped Shannon's lips at the idea of an alarm reminding him when to eat, though he supposed it would be helpful. His eating habits had only gotten worse when Cameron had died, and if it wouldn't have been for Varick making sure he ate Shannon was sure he would have starved himself to death.

When Louisa opened the door and greeted them, Shannon smiled in return. He really liked Louisa a lot, and it showed by how relaxed he felt around her.

"Hi, thanks for inviting us," he told her, "I think Kingston is coming, too."

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impotentwaffle
2010-06-20 11:12 pm UTC (link)

Louisa brightened even more. "Good! Even better." She really wanted to take him under her wing and it showed by the way she'd instantly took to mothering him. None of her own wolves really allowed too much mothering. Vance had been sweet though and he seemed okay with her doting sometimes, though Pirate often grumbled at her about it.

"Pirate's at work tonight and Sterling went out--well I suppose he's sort of working as well." She laughed a little and led them into the kitchen where she was cooking some stir fry.

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crucio
2010-06-21 12:42 am UTC (link)

The house smelled amazing, and Shannon offered Varick a little smile as he followed Louisa inside and to the kitchen. Vance was there, helping, and making some fried rice and potstickers. It was cute to see the two cooking together.

"Hello," he greeted happily.

"Hi," Shannon said back, "I'd offer help but I'd probably burn something," he told the two with a smile.

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impotentwaffle
2010-06-21 08:45 am UTC (link)

Varick smiled at Vance. The whole scene was very domstic and he liked the feel of having a slice of that back. It felt like a pack and Varick had missed that. Slipping a hand around Shannon's waist, he stood close to him, quietly observing the meal preparations.

Louisa had grown used to Varick's silent nature. His presence was large, but he often went long periods with no talking. "You're the quietest lawyer I know," she teased him before beaming at Vance. "This child makes the best pot stickers the world over. I don't know what we did without him." She used the word 'child' lovingly.