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[Jul. 11th, 2009|11:11 pm] |
Sigmund lived in town, but every once in awhile, he drove out to Wolf Haven for dinner, or just for socializing. This evening, he was there to work with Wendell who had asked him to come help research recent missing persons cases from around the US. Sigmund had special access to newspaper databases, and paired with Wendell's access to police records, they were a good pair. But Wendell was running an errand and when Sigmund went upstairs to the office, he found Hunter instead of Wendell. He hadn't bothered knocking and there he stood in the doorway with a surprised look on his face. "Oh, I was looking for Wen."
For a while now Hunter had been considering the idea of getting away for a while. Going on a vacation was something he'd never really spent much time thinking about but he was getting older and there were other, responsible wolves that owuld be more than willing to fill in as interim pack leader until he returned. Sigmund was among the people he considered capable. Shane was on the list, but he also was near the bottom on account of the fact that he often acted before thinking and he didn't want to come back to a pack of hungover werewolves and all kinds of women all over the haven. That seemed like the type of thing that would happen under Shane's care. When Sigmund came in he looked over his shoulder at him, over the top of his glasses which he took off and pushed up onto the top of his head. "Sigmund. Come in. Wendell is running an errand but he'll be home soon."
Sigmund and Hunter were approximately the same age and Sigmund remembered clearly the kind of dominance that Hunter had always possessed, never the forced kind but the kind that required respect. Sigmund, however, had had a shred of the same dominance in him as well and so it made things a little difficult sometimes and sometimes it put Sigmund on edge. Shutting the door behind him, he set his messenger bag down in a nearby chair and glanced at the computer monitor. "Relocating the pack to Taihiti?"
"Hmm? Oh." Hunter put his glasses back down and turned back towards the computer monitor. For as smart as he was and as wise as he was, computers sort of unsettled him. Most electronics did. Austin always teased him about living in the dark ages but Hunter had been born in a time when all of this wasn't around and most of the pack had never bothered to have them. It wasn't until Wendell moved in and Austin got to high school that the main house even had a computer in it. "No, I am thinking about taking a trip. Would you believe it if I said that with the exception of Canada I've never been outside the United States?"
Sigmund sat down and laughed a little. "You, a recluse who's never been out of the US? Gee, I think somehow I'd believe that." Hunter was worldly, sure, but not in the sense that he'd been all over the world, just that he'd read about it. "A trip? That's a really good idea, I think." Because with everything that had been happening lately, a vacation was probably much needed. "Wait, a trip for work or for fun?" Maybe there was a crazy tropical mutt on the loose.
"A for fun sort of trip." Hunter skimmed over to see how much flights to the Bahamas cost and what sort of activities there were that they could do there. He was going to plan for this, though he had an idea that he was probably going to end up laying on the beach and drinking little fruity umbrella drinks while he reveled in the fact that he didn't have to worry about the pack for a few days to a few weeks. "I was thinking I would take Wendell. I think that maybe you might like to keep an eye on the pack while I was gone. Stay here in the house maybe, make sure no one kills each other and there is no impending doom while i am gone."
He couldn't help but imagine taking Casey on some long getaway and that thought made his scent change ever so slightly. But when Hunter asked him about babysitting the pack while he was gone, he had to raise a brow. "Are you sure I'm not going to turn it into a democratic state while you're away? I might. You know I've been aching to do it." It was mostly a joke, but there was some truth to it as well. Hunter knew Sigmund's beliefs.
"I know that you would try it and that if you did Shane would hang you from your ankles in the backyard and use you as a target for his knife throwing practice." Hunter didn't miss a beat and didn't look up from the computer as he said it. "And for as much as people here like you and for as powerful as you are, we both know that Shane would get the better of you." Because Shane was wiley and he was strong and he had been around years longer than everyone else.
Sigmund smirked. If Shane had been gay, Sigmund would have pursued that--so the idea of even being used for knife practice by the man wasn't the worst thing he'd ever considered. "I'm far too busy trying to stage a coup at the newspaper anyway," he quipped. "So you and Wendell are okay? He sounded worried on the phone. I think if you hadn't decided to go on a trip, he would have decided to drag you on one."
"Wendell lives in a state of constant worry." Hunter said, which was mostly true. "He's been worried about me since the whole incident." Which was when he had gone and gotten himself kidnapped and hurt fairly badly. Hunter had been recovering for ages but he was back on the top of his game now. "He has Kinley to worry about now. Our eight months pregnant little human who is on bed rest and has been running poor Wendell ragged."
"Are you going before or after the baby is born?" Sigmund wasn't sure what they would do without Wendell during such an event. And he sure as hell didn't know thing one about babies. Not that the mother was completely incompetent, but Sigmund didn't know her and she had, afterall, slept with Jacob.
"After. There is no way that Wendell will want to go before the baby is born. Maybe a month or so after, once he's had time to hang out with the kid for a while. And of course he'd want to be able to help her learn all the things about being a new mother. "We'll just have to play it by ear. But I wanted an idea of the price of tickets and all the options of where we can go."
"So in about eighteen years?" That's how thorough Wendell could be. Sigmund leaned back in the chair and sighed. "Yeah, I can stay out here for awhile and keep an eye on things." It would be strange, but it would be something he could manage.
"Well I won't let him wait eighteen years. I'll be ancient by then." In eighteen years Hunter would be in his seventies and he wasn't going to wait until he was seventy to go out of the country on a vacation that he had been wanting to go on. Of course, Shane was in his seventies now and as far as how he was physically he still appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties. He was still more physically fit than most humans, so he really didn't see being seventy as something that would slow him down much.
Age was far more important to Sigmund, even if he still looked young. For some reason, the idea of being over 50 was torture. Eighteen years in the future? He shuddered to think. "Do you ever wonder what will happen to him after you die?" Dating someone younger presented those sorts of problems.
"I'm never going to die." He said as he continued to click through the travelocity website. "I'm going to out live you all just to spite you." With a sigh he clicked off the internet browser and just closed the laptop. "What work did you and Wendell have to do?"
He hated that he couldn't ever have a real conversation with Hunter, and he wondered if even Wendell had a hard time getting through to the man. "He wanted me to help go through news archives to look for missing persons. Something about Robin's attackers? Sullivan has asked for help and of course Wendell is giving it." Because Wendell never denied anyone.
A frown settled onto Hunter's face and he leaned back in the chair. The whole situation rubbed him the wrong way but he understood the intense need for closure and would not deny that to Robin or to Sullivan, or even Haben. The three had been through so much and he knew that they needed it. "They didn't find them. They were trying but the trail went cold somewhere and they couldn't pick it back up."
Sigmund was intent on letting people make their own decisions, but the idea of those wolves going after a pair of murderers who'd been able to subdue a werewolf--albeit a small one--made Sigmund extremely uncomfortable. "I guess that's where Wen and I come in. Are you going to let them go back out?"
Hunter sighed and he rubbed his hand across the side of his face before just closing his eyes. Yeah, he was going to let them. "I don't want to deny Robin the right to closure. I'm not entirely sure that they will all be able to handle it, but I also know that if I don't allow them to do it they will resent me for it, and they will always wonderwhat would have happened if they had gotten to do it."
Wendell heard them inside and walked into the office. "Sorry I'm late, Sigmund." He glanced at the two of them and smiled a little. Walking over to Hunter, he kissed him on the cheek. "Denying Sullivan this little obsession would probably only lead to trouble anyway," Wendell added and Sigmund nodded, understanding completely.
The kiss on the cheek was sweet and he lifted his hand up to Wendell's collar, tucking his fingers inside of it so he could keep him from standing upright. He turned his head and brushed his lips over Wendell's before letting him go. "I thinky ou are right. And it is good to see Sullivan so interested in something."
Despite Sigmund's presence, Wendell wanted to make the kiss much more than just a brush, but he refrained. Sigmund smirked to himself, crossing one leg over the other. Wendell looked at the computer screen and grinned. "You're serious about the trip?"
"Yes." Hunter nodded. "I was thinking probably some place tropical. I want to lay on a beach." The idea just seemed entirely appealing to him. "I was thinking we could go somewhere that has a lot of touristy things too." Because that seemed like Wendell's idea of a good time. To be able to vacation and to absorb as much knowledge about a place as was possible. "I figured we could go somewhere with tours."
It was clear how much this idea delighted Wendell and Sigmund had to laugh. "Just don't let Wen kill the tour guides with questions." Because he was sure that was a real danger. After a second, he looked at Wendell. "Are we still going to work on the project or shall I go downstairs and get something to eat?"
"Go get something to eat, Wen will be ready to work with you in a few minutes." Hunter wanted to spend a little time with him first since they hadn't really seen each other all day except for in passing. He tugged Wendell down into his lap and wrapped his arms around him. "You know we could go to Mexico. There are all kinds of things to do there and we could see all sorts of architecture and ancient cities."
Sigmund headed downstairs and Wendell fell easily into Hunter's lap. The idea of Hunter lying on a beach was incredibly appealing to him and following him through ancient ruins was even more so appealing. "That's a long ways from Wolf Haven," he smiled and kissed Hunter's chin.
"Yes. It is. Does it seem too close? We could go anywhere in the world. Where do you want to go?" There were so many places. "We could go to Greece. There are beachers there with white sand and blue waters. We could see the Acropolis in Athens It would also let us go all over Europe if we wanted."
Leaning his head on Hunter's shoulder, Wendell gave it some thought. To hear Hunter so ready to get away from his duties was a nice thing because he knew the man needed it and if he was willing--well, that made it much easier to drag him. "You'd never see me in Europe. I'd be sucked in by all the museums and I don't know if I could resist them." He wanted to spend time with Hunter, no matter how alluring old paintings and artifacts were.
That made him laugh a little bit and he tipped Wendell's head up just enough to brush his mouth across the other wolf's again. "I wouldn't mind going through all the museums with you. But we can't stay in Europe forever and I think that would be how long it would take for us to see everything you wanted tos ee."
Wendell smiled against Hunter's mouth. "I love you," he said it often, but it never got old and the words never lost their fervor. "Mexico, I think." Because there was something comforting about being away, but still being on the same continent.
"All right then. Mexico it is." he kissed him again and brushed his nose against Wendell's. "I love you, too. I'm going to go ahead and get our tickets and make hotel reservations. Two months from now, does that sound good? That way we can be here for the bth of Kinley's baby."
And an extra month would give him time to feel good about leaving the new mother. Not that he was so experienced, but he'd read everything there was to read about babies. He nodded. "Two months, and pray the odds of something huge happening are slim to keep us from going."
"Yes, if something happens I am going to lose my shit, so to speak." A phrase he had heard Austin say from time to time. "I really need a vacation and it will be nice to be somewhere alone with you." They never got to spend much time alone.
Wendell's heart was speeding up with excitement now that a date had been set. They were really going to go and he was elated. At the moment, he really didn't want to research case upon case of miserable missing persons, all probably dead and buried somewhere. "Is it bad that sometimes I want Austin to be really ready to take over so that I can have you all to myself?"
"I want it too." He laughed softly. "One day. Hopefully i won't be too old to be able to enjoy everything that the world has to offer by then." he wrapped his arms around him and a little tighter, pulling him all the way in so that they were pressed up against one another.
Wendell didn't think it was possible to be close enough to Hunter. But whenever the man tugged him in a little more, he felt that much closer to perfect contentment. Just for fun, he leaned his head in and dared to put his teeth against Hunter's neck. It was never an outright challenge, but it was a tease Wendell used to get the alpha riled.
And it worked. Everytime. One of hunter's hands came up and fisted in Wendell's hair to tug his head back away from his neck like that. It stirred his beast and made him feel almost crazy. Lowering his own head, he nipped back, harder than Wendell had dared to do it, and he pressed his face against the boy's throat.
It was intense to push Hunter's buttons, and Wendell had to whimper a little. Each time he did it, he was always surprised by the ferocity of Hunter's energy. It made him utterly weak inside and his body tightened everywhere. Wendell's skin could take a lot, his body could withstand a good deal of roughness from Hunter and it was usually part of how he liked it. That one movement made him exhale a low sound from his throat, happy to feel so exposed.
Hunter knew it was hardly fair to get Wendell wound up before he had to sit and work with Sigmund, but his mate had brought i on himself. Thrusting his beast forward, pushing it against Wendell's, he tightened his grip and dug his fingers into the small of his back. There were times when he left bruises, but Wendell never complained. He wwas almost certain Wendell secretly liked it.
Wendell had impeccable control over his wolf, but Hunter could force it to the surface anytime he wanted. A million thoughts that were once racing through his head were completely gone, replaced only be the sensation of Hunter's body beneath him and the rich energy of the wolf pressing in from all sides of him. His chest rose and fell in helpless breaths as he finally pressed a hungry kiss to Hunter's mouth, begging for something, anything.
All Hunter would give him were brief tastes. Nips and bites and his fingers tugged at him. Then just as soon as all of this had started he lifted Wendell out of his lap and stood up him. "You have plenty of work to do with Sigmund, I wouldn't want to keep you any longer than I already have."
Feeling devestated, but amused all at the same time, Wendell let out the most pathetic of sounds. Hunter always had the power to start and stop where Wendell could be swept away so easily. To calm himself, he started to pull statistics on record high temperatures for various large cities. The numbers helped, but Wendell's wolf was still whining about the loss of fun. "Sigmund would wait," he noted.
"Yes, but it's more fun if I make you wait." he swatted him on the ass and then turned his chair to face the computer again so he could go about booking their flight and their hotel reservations.
Wendell turned on his heel and left, a little grumpy now, but also rife with anticipation for later.
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