Squeak, Squeak {Jamie}

[LIAM HENDERSON]

The following morning after his shift had been…strange, to say the least. Liam had been woken by his warm wolf-pillow getting up and making pained, strangled sounds. It startled Liam up enough, that when the wolf had actually taken a tumble to the ground, Liam had grabbed his camera. The next few moments were documented, recorded, just for his own belief—and just in case that Jamie didn’t believe him. He managed to document Jamie actually shifting back into human. A very. Uh. Naked human. With many awkward throat clears, and empty silences—the recording was shared once Jamie had his clothes back on. Of course, after watching Liam had deleted the evidence. But the point still remained. Jamie was some sort of werewolf thing.

Liam had hoped that was all, that it was done and over. But apparently it wasn’t; it was like nothing had changed. Jamie was still antsy, and Liam didn’t speak of the things that he had told Jamie when he was a wolf. He wasn’t sure if Jamie remembered clearly the things that he said, but in the lucky chance that he didn’t remember—Liam wasn’t about to remind him. However, one thing that Liam did have a concern about was a very…dog issue. Fleas. If Liam was gonna let Jamie out of the house, there was a good chance some fleas would try to hitch a ride home. Dirt, Liam could deal with. Pests, on the other hand—big no.

Jamie had been antsy still, which made Liam believe that there would be another shift coming. Getting his roommate out of the house sounded like a good idea, might as well take him out to the pet-store to get some flea-collars. Liam sat at the couch, starting to tug his shoes on. “Jamie, we’re going out! Get ready!” Liam called through the house, standing up to stomp his feet the rest of the way into his shoes. He hesitated over his favorite red hoodie, his own eyes sliding over to Jamie’s hoodie that he used the night before. His tongue pushed the ring in his mouth in though, before he grabbed the black hoodie and tugged it on. It still smelled like Jamie, which was comforting after the stress and confusion of the night before.

“C’mooooooonnnnnn, don’t be slooowww.” Liam called. There was no way he was going to tell Jamie where they were going until they were out of the apartment. Liam wasn’t up to trying to wrestle the werewolf out of the apartment, so. Tricking was in the best bet.

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[JAMES KENNEDY]

It was actually pretty impressive that Liam could call the morning after Jamie's shift 'strange', considering how the entire night had gone. In comparison, the morning after was actually getting closer to normal, especially since it involved Jamie reclaiming his human skin, and his thumbs, thankfuckinggod. He'd fallen asleep in his fur with Liam laying on him like he was a pillow, and that had been comfortable and wonderful; it would bother him after he was human again that at that moment, he was happy and would have gladly just stayed like that (actually, that was going to bother him quite a bit as time went on). Unfortunately (unless you were of the same opinion as human!Jamie and knew that it was better that he get out of that wolf contentment), it had to end, and violently at that. He tried to stay put when the trembling and feeling of excess energy woke him up because he didn't want to wake Liam, but that only lasted for a brief few moments before he whined and had to try to wiggle his way out from under the sleeping human's body.

Then came the interesting part. The shift from wolf to human was actually a little quieter, the animal's whines and cries not hitting quite the volume that Jamie was capable of with his human voice and he didn't have as far to fall when he dropped, so that wasn't nearly as dramatic, either. All things considered, Liam might not have even noticed if Jamie hadn't had to get out from under him to begin with. That may not even have been what actually woke Liam up, but it had to have contributed enough to make the whines and strangled cries of pain enough to get to the formerly sleeping human. Jamie didn't pay enough attention to know when his Liam actually got up, but when he lay in a very human, very naked and very sweaty, shaking and confused mess at the end of it all, he was more than just aware that Liam was present...and filming.

It was pretty convenient for his modesty that he'd kind of curled in on himself while he was shifting, because he definitely flashed his white ass at his best friend, but he hadn't given the guy a full show (he hoped, because he didn't exactly notice if he'd flailed around more than he'd noticed in the alley or during the shift back) without meaning to. Liam's throat-clearing and obvious awkwardness wasn't lost of Jamie, even without either of them saying anything immediately, but he'd really been far too concerned with just laying there and recovering for that first moment or so. He didn't remember ever doing this before, having never been so consciously aware of the shift on any of his other nights out, so he needed a moment to remember what it was like to be human. He had to remember his voice and his body without the much louder and more helpful instincts of a wolf to urge him in the right direction, and there had to be something wrong with this, didn't there? First off, he'd turned into a wolf, but he was a human first, so why should he have to get used to it all over again?

A few minutes later, after asking Liam to toss his clothes to him and shakily getting dressed while his best friend silently turned his back, Liam shared the video and effectively destroyed any chance Jamie had at any sort of denial. He'd have more happily believed that he'd been blacking out and streaking than turning into a fucking wolf, but even he remembered it. He could be vague about just how much he'd retained about his shift if it made Liam feel better (he really didn't remember everything in perfect detail), but he remembered and he couldn't talk himself into believing that it hadn't happened, especially with the video. At least Liam could fill in some of the blanks for him, though. He didn't remember getting from the apartment to the alley, and after talking a little and making it clear that he didn't remember doing it before but that it had obviously been happening as he got progressively more exhausted, he'd gone to his room for a nap. He'd slept alongside Liam as a wolf that night, but not quite long enough for all of this excitement.

Jamie had only been awake again a short while, really just long enough for a shower, an attempt at the homework he'd utterly failed at the night before and proof that he was going to fail at it again tonight before Liam decided that they were going out. Poking his head out of his room almost cautiously at the second shout for him not to be slow, Jamie's confusion was definitely clear in his expression. He had his shoes on and only had to grab his jacket before he'd be ready to go, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to ask any questions. "Where are we going?"

Of course, he almost didn't care, as long as that place didn't include the police or a science lab so that Liam could cash in on his friend being a freak or anything. Jamie didn't honestly think Liam would ever do something like that to him, but he also hadn't thought that Liam would ever hurt him, and that had happened just a few days ago. He still wore the marks from it, however quickly they were healing up. The caution didn't negate the fact that he hadn't gone running anywhere the night before and that he was antsy as hell today, however, so if they were going to get out of the house for a little while, he was all for it. He'd already considered getting another run in just to work off some of that energy, but he'd refrained in case Liam decided to talk more about the night before or he could get some of that homework done. Since neither happened, he should have just gone.

Whatever. Liam was a genius and could think of something non-horrible to keep him busy, and if not, he still had time to go running. Maybe both, and then he could just fail his class instead of writing this paper. He hated history, anyway.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

“It’s a surprise.” Liam called back. Nope, there was no way in hell that he was going to tell Jamie that they were going to go to Petco to look for a flea collar for him, and possibly dog toys to keep his wolfy form entertained. Liam zipped up the hoodie, and grabbed his beanie off the counter, and tugged it down around his head. He was warm, thank god. His hands pressed into the front of his hoodie pocket, waiting for his friend to pull his own jacket on, before Liam all but tugged him out of the apartment.

“So, how much do you remember from last night?” He asked curiously as they left the apartment. It was only then that he realized he couldn’t actually entirely spring the pet store visit on Jamie. Because if they were relying on Liam’s sense of direction to get anywhere, they were utterly, and completely screwed. In order to keep Jamie from turning around, Liam hooked his arm through Jamie’s, and put his hand back in his own pocket, effectively trapping Jamie. If the other man tried to pull his arm out of Liam’s, he risked putting Liam’s tattooed hands to the cold weather—and ouch, how harsh would that be?

“If you’re going to be running around at the park like you wanted to do last night, you are not bringing home fleas. We’re going to the Petco to get a flea collar.” That’s all he needed to say, and it made sense, it sounded reasonable. The entertainment portion of their visit could still be a surprise, because at least the flea collar made sense. If he brought up the idea of toys and chewies, Jamie might just have the cruelty in his heart to make Liam’s hand fall from his own pocket and suffer the harsh New York cold.

Unfortunately though, Liam discovered that he could have kept the trip to Petco a secret, because it was at the Grimm Avenue. Which was a straight shot from their apartment complex. Liam’s arm tightened on Jamie’s, and he pulled him into the store, and pulled his hand from his pocket. “C’mon, we’re gonna do this. And the best part is, you can choose it.” Okay Liam, teasing was not necessary. He grasped Jamie by his sleeve, pulling him down the aisles until he came to the flea collars, keeping his grip on Jamie just so the other man didn’t try to take off. Liam picked up the first two boxes he saw, and flipped them over, starting to read the back. “Feel free to help, puppy. This is gonna be what you’re wearing.”

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[JAMES KENNEDY]

Alright, so, surprises? Not Jamie's favorite. He'd found in the past that surprises didn't often turn out to be all that great for him, including the surprise of being a werewolf that had hit him the night before. He didn't really want to know what Liam had thought of as a surprise in the wake of that, even if he was pleased with the way Liam seemed to have accepted this strangeness so easily. He didn't think that he could have handled it so well if Liam hadn't known or had freaked out, but his best friend's apparent ability to take it in stride in the last few hours certainly made Jamie feel a little better. He'd been worried still when he'd crashed for a bit early that morning, but too tired to stay awake wondering how upset Liam was, and he'd been cautious and really skittish about leaving his room when he woke up. Liam had been chill and entirely normal since then, if not just a little watchful, so Jamie had started to relax. With the promise of a 'surprise', he was a little on edge again.

Being asked how much he remembered from the night before wasn't helping. He frowned, glancing at Liam and wondering exactly what he was getting at. To be totally honest, he thought he remembered everything, but some bits seemed kind of vague. Smells stood out in his memory and so did sounds, but sight wasn't quite so emphasized, which was odd. Being human meant a large focus on the visual, but as a wolf, he really just didn't care as much about the things he could see. In the wake of the shift, he found that he still kind of felt that way, and Liam wearing his hoodie was actually a really good example of that, since he hadn't paid it any mind when he saw the other man put it on. It wasn't until Liam hooked his arm around Jamie's and pulled him closer, the smell of his best friend hitting his nostrils, that he really noticed. Liam's own scent was there, of course, but over top of it was all Jamie, and then something that smelled like him, but almost...stronger. He couldn't entirely help the way he leaned down towards Liam's shoulder to take a whiff, trying to figure it out, and it took a second for him to realize that he was still smelling himself, just a furrier, less human version. Oh, god, weird. Yeah, and Liam had asked him a question that he hadn't answered.

"Um, I don't really know. I remember some stuff, but some of it's pretty fuzzy. Was there something I was supposed to remember?" he asked, cocking and eyebrow up curiously. Did he remember Liam talking to him? That was sound, so yes, but some of the words had escaped him. If he'd missed something important, he was going to be irritated, but really, that was the least of his worries. Liam effectively destroyed any concern he had about what he might have missed the night before by mentioning him running around the park and fleas, like he was going to do it again. Naturally, it would happen again, but he hadn't thought about that. It was actually that realization that caused him to stop in his tracks, eyes widening, but Liam tugged him along by his jacket, probably without realizing the actual cause of his hesitation. The collar really wasn't something he was okay with, but worse than that was consciously understanding and having to accept the fact that it was going to happen again and had probably happened many times already that he didn't even remember.

Why didn't he remember it? Or better, why did he remember last night and not any other night? Was it because of Liam? He didn't remember getting out to that alley, but he remembered Liam grabbing him and talking to him. Was it Liam's interference that made him aware of what was happening? Would he forget if Liam wasn't there? Oh, god, he didn't want to forget. What if he'd done something terrible? What if he did something tonight, or some other night, and didn't remember the next day? He did remember the steak Liam had given him, and how quickly he'd torn it apart (surprisingly, the knowledge that it had been raw and bloody didn't really bother him, even now), so it wasn't a stretch to imagine what he could do to a living creature. Being dragged into the Petco by his best friend with those thoughts running through his mind, he was entirely unprepared to deal with this trip.

Jamie was probably the only human customer (did he count as human anymore, really?) to enter the store with wide, horrified eyes while being dragged around by another person. This was not funny in any way, shape or form, and Liam really needed to take it all very seriously. Sure, it had all gone well last night, but that didn't necessarily mean it would every time. He wanted to say that he'd never, ever hurt Liam, but he couldn't guarantee it and that didn't mean he wouldn't hurt someone else. If Liam hadn't kept a hold on him, Jamie probably would have headed right back out into the cold, but the smell of himself all over that hoodie and therefore all over Liam actually helped a little when Liam tugged him closer and started picking up boxes of collars. He couldn't explain it, but he liked the mixture of the smells, liked knowing that Liam smelled of him, and it made him just a little less inclined to try to walk away.

That was good, since he shot Liam a 'wtf-did-you-just-say' kind of look when Liam called him 'puppy' and informed him that he'd be wearing one of these. "Are you insane? I don't want to choose it, I'm not wearing a collar and I don't have fleas," he informed his best friend in a low tone, glancing around and hoping none of the employees came over to see if they needed anything. The whole store reeked of animals, and turning his attention away from Liam for even just a second to watch for employees had distracted the hell out of him as he caught some of the other smells. He couldn't remember these stores ever being this smelly before. Was it...oh. "Liam. Does the store smell of animals, more than usual?"

He could pretty much guess the answer, and if that was the case, Liam owed him a hell of a fucking apology for the tear gas thing.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Was Jamie supposed to remember anything? Yes. Liam’s confession of how he was glad that Jamie had always been there. He was supposed to remember the cuddles and affection that he had given to the wolf-Jamie. He was supposed to remember that. “Nope, not really.” Liam replied, almost distantly. Liam clicked his piercing in his mouth, biting on his lower lip while he thought that over, then looked back down at the box trying to read. When he felt eyes on him again, his eyelashes flicked upwards, and his eyes caught the look that Jamie gave him. Hey. Liam thought it was a cute nickname.

“You don’t have to wear it like a collar though. You can wear it around your wrist or paw or whatever. Like a bracelet. Not that it would fit around your neck, ya fattie.” Liam rolled his eyes, and glanced around just as Jamie did.

What was he looking at? There weren’t enough people to overhear their conversation, and most people were distracted by the cute critters around the area to really make any sort of point to overhear two young men. Liam did sniff the air when Jamie drew attention to it and his brows lifted up. “It smells like sawdust, paper, and ferret poop. Same as always.” Liam looked back up at his friend, before it clicked into place.

A slow smile crawled over Liam’s face, before it spread into a wide, smug grin. “You’ve got supper puppy powers. You can smell everything better.” He made that realization, glancing around the store. This was brilliant. After putting one of the boxes back, Liam again pulled on Jamie’s jacket, dragging him down the aisle of rawhides after his inner clepto encouraged him to grab an abandoned basket. He dropped the box into the basket, and started to shuffle through the rawhides, before grabbing a pig’s ear, and several differently coated rawhides. His shuffled them in his hand, chewing the inside of his cheek, before again looking at Jamie with that all too smug smile. He raised them up to his friend’s face, his eyes still shining with amusement. “Which one of these smell the best? Which one really makes your mouth water?”

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[JAMES KENNEDY]

Liam wasn't all that convincing when he said that no, there wasn't really anything Jamie should remember, and just because the werewolf hadn't tossed out any details about what he remembered didn't mean that he didn't remember any of it. He knew that Liam had been surprisingly okay with the wolf thing last night, which didn't make any sense when one knew how afraid of dogs his best friend was, and he remembered the way they'd fallen asleep on the floor. He knew that Liam had said things that he probably wouldn't have said if Jamie were human (now being a perfect example, since the dude wasn't bringing it up), but Jamie wasn't going to ruin it. If he had to go through this shapeshifting thing again, he wasn't going to inform Liam that he had to be on edge about what he said lest Jamie remember and file it away for later. He'd actually liked Liam's apparent comfort level, even if it was strange to see the way people opened up to an animal first hand. Liam had been comfortable, had talked to him and been affectionate, and Jamie had loved it, but Liam didn't do that when he was human.

If that was the only time he'd get that kind of affection and trust, Jamie almost thought it might be a fair trade.

That didn't mean he wouldn't put up a token resistance, however, especially about the flea collar. "That thing might stay on my wrist because of my hand, but it's just going to fall off when I don't have hands anymore," he hissed, drawn back to the conversation by Liam's response and rolling his eyes. He actually hoped that Liam couldn't find a flea collar (or any collar) that would fit his neck, if only for his dignity. Of course, his dignity would be in better shape if he stopped sniping it himself. He realized his mistake after Liam did, and effectively facepalmed at the 'super puppy powers' remark, however true it may be. Yes, he could smell all kinds of shit and it was driving him just a little crazy, but that didn't mean that Liam had to word it like that, or play with it, damn it.

Again, Jamie was being dragged around by his jacket (who needed a leash? Certainly not Liam), and this time it was towards...rawhides. He didn't miss the fact that Liam had grabbed a basket and dropped one of the flea collar boxes into it, nor had he decided that the flea collar business was over. He was actually trying to figure out how he could get rid of the flea collar without Liam realizing (and pointedly ignoring the rawhides at the same time) when his best friend shoved a handful of them right under his nose and startled the hell out of him. He jerked backwards some, eyes widening and then narrowing extremely quickly as he batted at the chewies. "Don't be ridiculous, they smell like dog food," he hissed, really not enjoying this whole thing, except...what was that?

The look on his face was still pure, irritated suspicion when he leaned just a little closer to try to figure out what the smell had been, nostrils flaring over one or two of them and then his face twitching back a little over another. Wait, there it was. What was it? "What's that one?" he asked, still sounding hesitant and unhappy, but curious at the same time. That one smelled like jerky, and good jerky, at that. Actually, some of the others smelled like jerky, too, but that one smelled the best.

Fucking fuck, what was wrong with him? The fact that he was humoring Liam like this was just proof that he was a retard. He was just handing over ammunition at this point. Jesus Christ, he was stupid, and he still hadn't figured out a way to get rid of the flea coll---oh wait. The second Liam turned around to look at the rawhide selection again, Jamie swiped the flea collar box from the basket (Liam wasn't the only one with an internal Klepto, and Jamie was actually pretty damn good at it) and stashed it on a nearby display behind something else. It was quick and quiet, so maybe Liam wouldn't notice? He could only hope.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam was absurdly amused by Jamie's protests against the collar, but Liam and his cute clever little self had it figured out. "Flea collars are adjustable, I can tighten is so it won't fall off you paw." His brows went up and his lips curled again; smug little bastard. Plus, it was a great subject change. No way in hell was he about to go back to the topic of what he may or may not have said. Thought he would be sad to realize he had been more affectionate in those few hours with wolf-Jamie than he had been with human-Jamie his entire life.

The rawhides were also an excellent distraction and he even gave a low chuckle when his friend jerked back in surprise. It was too easy to tease him; Liam kept his smug little grin on while his friend proceeded to chew him out. He waited, and was rewarded with Jamie dipping his nose back towards the rawhides and sniffing again. Glancing down, Liam cradled the chewies in his arm and picked out the one thatJamie chose. Putting the others back where they belonged he picked his basket up off the ground and grabbed a handful of the jerky to put in his...very empty basket. 

"Jamie, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here," Liam eyed him seriously and walked back up the aisle to where the flea collars were and picked out another box, "But whoever got the idea to take out the flea collar from my basket might as well hide every box in the store." Liam wiggled the flea collar beneath the rawhides, just in case Jamie did indeed get the idea to try and take it out again. 

See, Liam was going to be nice and end it with the flea collar and some rawhides. But Jamie's disposal of the first flea collar meant war. The game was on, time to play wolf-boy. Liam letthat smile crawl onto his face, the one that said he was up to something. And hopefully Jamie would stay true to form and follow close behind, because Liam suddenly took off through the store, basket in hand, and started down the dog toy aisle. 

This is war. 

[JAMES KENNEDY]

Absurdly amused. Of course.

Naturally, Liam would be absurdly amused by Jamie's protests, because Liam wasn't the one expected to wear the flea collar in question. Liam could be all kinds of entertained by the ordeal because he'd be sitting back laughing and telling Jamie that it wasn't a big deal and that it didn't look silly, but in the end, Jamie would be sporting a highly fashionable and apparently neon colored flea collar as a bracelet. Yes, he absolutely had plans to refuse to wear it even if Liam bought it, but let's consider the situation here for a moment, shall we? Jamie, being who he was and caring for Liam as he did, was going to put up a fuss about it, Liam was going to buy it anyway, Jamie would put up more of a fuss, and then he'd end up wearing it because Liam wanted him to. As much as he hated it in situations like this, he was a pushover when it came to things that Liam wanted (explains the piggyback rides, right?) and he would cave. That was why, deep down, he knew that he couldn't let Liam actually buy the collar.

Okay, so maybe swiping the collar from the basket when it was the only thing in there was a bad idea. Whatever. Jamie was allowed to screw up occasionally (good thing for that, since he managed to screw up pretty often), though he should have thought this was through just a little better. He managed a perfect mixture of curiosity, confusion and innocence as his 'blank face' when Liam informed him that he'd get the benefit of the doubt in the Missing Collar Caper, but he also raised a great point; if Jamie wanted to stop him from buying the flea collar, he'd have to get rid of all of the collars in the store, and then he had to hope that Liam didn't stop somewhere else for one. Knowing Liam as he did, that was a problem because the shorter man was ridiculously stubborn and would only be more determined to get it if Jamie kept fighting the issue.

That being said, maybe he could have it 'accidentally' fall out of the bag as they walked home.

Whatever he did, he couldn't swipe it from the basket again. He saw how Liam tucked the new one under the rawhides (which were dry and would make lots of scraping noises if Jamie tried to get sneaky), and he wasn't stupid enough to think that his best friend wouldn't be watching for the collar when they checked out. Liam was going to buy the damn thing, so Jamie had to make sure it either didn't make it home, refuse to wear it and hope that he got his way, or take it off the first chance he got. In the meantime, he really needed to watch that midget and make sure he didn't get up to any other trouble, because the flea collar and rawhides were already pushing it.

Annnnnd, there Liam went. Jamie saw the smile, recognized it as being a bad sign, and then Liam was gone like a kid trying to keep away from his parents in a toy store. That Liam tore into the dog toy aisle only made that comparison more amusing and terrible, though mostly amusing from this writer's point of view and terrible from Jamie's. This couldn't go well for him.

"Liam, let's get out of here," he insisted, glancing through the aisle and making a very unhappy and partially insulted face at a few of the toys hanging up on the display, then glancing back to his friend. Weren't the rawhides demeaning enough? Why couldn't Liam just let him run and be done with it? The toys were completely unnecessary. "Dude, I'm not a dog, can we quit with this? If you wanna get me something to play with, there are some video games on my wishlist that would definitely work out better."

Cue awkward smile as he tried to lighten the situation and hopefully get Liam to drop the subject. He probably could have done the trick if he wanted to bring up the night before and how affectionate and honest Liam was, but considering his decision to keep quiet and hopefully bask in some more attention next time, that didn't seem like his best idea. It ranked up there with taking the flea collar out of the basket when Liam would absolutely notice it missing, with consequences that would probably be more lasting than the flea collar fiasco. He wasn't always a genius, but he wasn't stupid.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam really was a stubborn little bastard, and the fact he loved Jamie made it all the more worse. He hadn't exactly noticed that he got his way. Well. Okay, he did, but he thought it was becaus he was just that damn good at arguing. He didn't even consider the fact that Jamie let him get his way becaus of anything less. So when he secured the flea collar in the basket, his adorable little bain was hard at work formulating a plot. A plot on how to keep the flea collar from mysteriously disappearing. After purchase, would it be safe in his pocket? Was Jamie daring enough to try and pull the box out of Liam's tightly pressed pocket? 

Liam looked up with a content smile when his best triend joined him in he toy aisle. The short young man raised his brows expectantly and help up a soft toy. It was in the shape of a bone and has almost a sheepfur type fabric over it. Without breaking his expression, Liam squeezed the toy in his hand and caused it to squeak. "Of course you're not a dog. You are a wolf." Now Liam was just playing dumb. Unfortunately, dumb looked cute on him. Especially when he just for anmoment rested his head on Jamie's shoulder and tucked the squeaky into the basket, eyeing up the rope toys. When Jamie commented about the video games however, Liam picked his head up from his shoulder and batted dark lashes at him, fixing him with large green eyes. "But, my dearest Jamie. How could you play video gams?" 

Suddenly, the cute dumb routine dropped, and that mischevious smile took its place on Liam's pierced lips again. His voice also dropped that sickeningly candy sweet tone; and with that, Liam let the basket slide to his elbow and he started visibly popping his thumbs. "You don't hav opposible thumbs." Dat troll. Liam reached out to hrab two of the rope toys and looked at them in his hands. One was a bright vivid green twisted with white, and the other was blue and white twisted. "Which color do you like better?" Liam asked in that trademark soft voice of his. He twisted his lips, tugging at the piercing with his teeth, then pushing it with his tongue. Deep concentration. Curiously, Liam glanced over his shoulder, curious as to what was behind him. When he saw the wall of collars with varying sizes, patterns, and colors--he turned back to Jamie with another smile. This one however, was slightly more frightening than his mischevious one. This one just appeared to be entirely too calm. 

May the war begin. 

[JAMES KENNEDY]

No, Jamie wasn't about to go messing around with Liam's jean pockets, especially not when he knew very well how tight his friend wore his pants; if he managed to get the box out of that pocket without shaving the skin of of his fingers trying to squeeze in there, it would be a miracle, and that was without considering the fact that Liam's ass was under that fabric or the fact that there was no way in hell Liam wouldn't notice him doing it. Nope. Jamie wasn't touching that box if it went into Liam's pocket, but that didn't mean he was wearing it, so Liam would be best served not crushing that box or opening it. It would be a shame if he couldn't get his money back when the collar wasn't put to use.

Jamie wanted to deny that he was a wolf, even (he was a human fucking being, damn it!), but he clamped his jaw shut on that one and let it pass because it wasn't an issue that denial would help him on. True to form, he wasn't really helping himself when he did speak up, since it was to bitch about the toy that was being chosen. "You realize I'm going to tear something like that to shreds, right? Don't waste your money," he asserted irritably, trying to pretend that the squeak that had left the toy didn't bother him when he secretly started to develop a plan for murdering the fuck out of that fuzzy, squeaky little insult to his dignity the instant that he had the teeth for ripping such things apart. He would end that poor imitation of a sheep-bone's days in a violent protest that may or may not resemble a vengeance against his condition. Liam deliberately misunderstanding his mention of a video game and pointing out the lack of thumbs (which had been frustrating the night before, he remembered) wasn't helping, and the narrowing of his eyes had to make that clear.

Not that Liam cared all that much. Jamie's 'rage' didn't ever amount to much when he was upset with Liam, but it didn't negate the fact that Jamie was not amused. The rope tug of war toys being next made sense, but he wasn't choosing a color, fuck that. "I'm fucking colorblind like that, dude! There's no difference between green and blue, I vote neither," he responded with just a little snap, rolling his eyes and pointedly dismissing both colors from his line of sight, though that meant that he ended up glancing at what Liam had just noticed. A wall of collars.

Jesusfuckingchrist.

"No. Nope, nope, nope, look at all these nopes!" he told Liam, actually laughing like it was actually a joke (it wasn't), and yanking the sheep bone out of the basket and nudging Liam along like they might manage to leave this aisle without getting anything. Yeah, right, keep dreaming, Jamie. Still, he wasn't wearing a collar, no matter what retarded ideas Liam got in that midget brain of his, and that was the end of it. That meant that Liam might get away with a toy instead, but he wasn't wearing a collar. Period. He wasn't a dog and he definitely wasn't a pet, so it wasn't happening. Actually, he was putting his foot down here and now about all of it, because there was no way in hell this was all going to fly. It was bad enough that he was still trying to deal with the fact that he was somehow a fucking werewolf, but he wasn't adding this idiocy on top of that. It was all way too much crazy for him to handle, and if he had to accept changing into a wolf here and there, he wasn't playing 'dog'. He'd go off into the park, he'd shift, run around and raise hell for the dogs, bunnies and other wildlife in the area, and then he'd shift back, get dressed and crawl home.

Good plan, right? Yeah, Liam didn't need to be worried about flea collars, rawhides, squeaky toys or any other collars. Completely unnecessary.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam’s attention went back to Jamie when he started to protest the toys. True—Jamie would tear it up. That’d be a waste of five bucks. “But still, there’s gonna be times it’s raining, or dangerous outside, so you might have to stay in.” One brow lifted upwards, and the first note of seriousness crawled into his voice. “I’d rather have some things to entertain you, instead of letting you gnaw on my leg or my shoes, if you don’t mind.” Again, he considered the rope toys in his hand, and chose the blue one, tossing the green back into the pile. Speaking of green; his eyes flickered when Jamie plucked the squeaky toy out from his basket and then he smiled. Oh, Jamie. When will you learn. “You’re right, though. Won’t last long.” Instead, Liam leaned over to grab one of the harder rubber toys from the metal nets at the bottom of the shelf. Squeezing it, the toy again let out a wailing squeak. “Don’t touch the basket, or anything in it, or I’m not making beef for the rest of the month. I will make you live on fish and chicken.” He let the squeaky toy slide out of his fingers and onto the rawhides and rope toy in the basket.

He took a step towards the rows of collars, and heard Jamie’s protests. His laughter sparked Liam's own laughter. Mostly because he liked the sound of Jamie’s laugh, but mostly because poor Jamie didn’t realize how serious things had become when he started messing with the basket. Approaching the collars, Liam reached for one, “Yes, yes, look at all these yeses.” With a content smile, he plucked one down. Sparkles. Pink. Something that belonged on some poodle-demon or something. Of course, he was just messing with Jamie for now. He would pick out a collar seriously later on, for now—all he wanted to do was make Jamie sweat a little. “It makes sense though. What happens if a dog catcher, or a cop catches you? If they hear about the dogs in Central, they may get you instead. And you may be a tough puppy, but I don’t think you can stand up to a tranquilizer.” Liam shrugged, “Plus, if they see me walking with you, and you don’t have a tag or anything on—I can get my ass handed to me, and they might try to take you away from me.” There was some truth to his words, and seriousness as well, but Liam continued to taunt Jamie by plucking down another pink one that had sweet little cupcakes printed onto the band.

As quickly as he said it, Liam prepared for a snide remark. Someone may try to take Jamie away, but the shorter of the two was betting that his best friend would put up a fight if someone tried to separate them. Equally, Liam was just as protective over Jamie. He wasn’t the best fighter in the world, but he’d throw all his fury at someone if they tried to take his Jamie away from him. They’d been separated once, and it had been for Liam’s safety, but it was still unpleasant to be away from his friend’s side. He wasn’t entirely sure how to go about their furry little problem and he would agree had Jamie voiced it—he was not a pet. But he was precious, special, and important. Someone to be protected. There was only so much Liam could do, but this made sense. If it didn’t work later on, they could try something else. But better be safe than sorry. Additionally, it helped to quell Liam’s absolute and utter terror over the whole thing. He felt safer, because it was Jamie, but he still had that fear that something would snap and his friend’s furry form would turn on him. So making jokes and teasing his best friend helped to mask that fear.

He knew what it felt like. After that…issue happened, the fear that he could feel coming off of Jamie was horrifying. He didn’t ever want Jamie to feel that; so making light of the situation was Liam’s way of coping. He was scared that if he were serious about it all, it would send his protector into a panic. Liam was a hopeless navigator and quite often, a prick. But he wasn’t stupid—he knew how Jamie felt. At least, protection wise. He knew that Jamie would keep him safe, or try his hardest to do so. And if Jamie saw that he was frightening Liam—the small man was afraid of what his friend might do to quell that fear. “Your coat looks grey, so…any of these colors will look quite nice with it.” Liam let another smile crawl onto his face, pretending to consider the collars. Actually—Liam really did spot one he liked. It was a deep, dark grey—nearly black. When it would settle into Jamie’s fur, it’d blend nicely and be almost invisible. When he finished trolling the hell out of his friend, he’d pick it out. But for now...

For now, he would see which collar would irritate Jamie the most.

[JAMES KENNEDY]

Sadly, Liam had a point on all counts, whether Jamie liked it or not. He wanted to go ahead and refuse the toys and the collars just on principle, but Liam wasn't wrong in saying that there would be days that it was raining and miserable outside (or freezing, which Jamie's coat might protect him from, but Liam wouldn't be likely to go for), though Jamie didn't understand the 'dangerous' bit. What would possibly be dangerous out there that they could predict well enough to keep him in that night? He didn't know, but the weather thing was a good point; he couldn't imagine Liam's reaction if he tracked mud and 'wet dog' smell all inside the house. Actually, that might be funny, at least for a little while.

The collar thing was a little more difficult for him to accept, though he'd clenched his jaw and shut his mouth, his eyes watching Liam's every move with an intensity that suggested he might actually freak out if the wrong move was made; he wouldn't because it was Liam, but if it was someone else, he'd be hitting a limit. He'd refrained from arguing about the basket and instead watched Liam pick out a rubber toy that also squeaked while still looking like it might be able to handle a more aggressive attack, not entirely sure he was willing to risk Liam following through on that threat. He'd been craving red meat for awhile, which suddenly made sense, and though he thought he could handle fish and chicken for awhile, he also realized that he'd probably have to deal with the toys and all whether he agreed here and now. If that was going to happen, he might as well not convince Liam to give up on the red meat in their dinners this month. Well, he'd shut up for the most part. "I won't touch it, but it's not like I won't eat fish and chicken," he responded irritably, crossing his arms over his chest to help quell the desire to snatch things away from his friend.

His friend, who had plenty of good points about the collars, but wasn't easing Jamie's mind any, regardless. If a dog catcher or a cop caught him, Jamie had the feeling the guy deserved to, since he didn't think he was a pushover in that form; he couldn't be positive from remembering just a single night that was mostly just him hanging with Liam and sleeping, but he still got that impression. He didn't think anyone would be catching him randomly and checking a collar, but whatever, it was true that a tranquilizer would take him down. Liam's point about getting in trouble if he were caught with Jamie and no collar or tags was a better tactic because Jamie didn't want Liam to get into legal trouble or for him to be stuck there if Jamie had to take off to get away from a cop or dog catcher (fines could be ridiculous), but he also didn't like the bit about 'tags'. He'd never owned a dog, so he didn't know if that was just a name and phone number, or what, but he was just a little paranoid.

The pink, sparkly and patterned collars that Liam was picking up was only making that feeling worse, and causing his eyes to narrow in a show of his mood. Really? Why be such a dick, Liam? He eyed the newest collar Liam picked up and raised an eyebrow at the midget holding it, very much appraising the man's ballsy taunts and just how committed he was to making Jamie uncomfortable. "I know you're not that stupid. Put that shit down."

Believe it or not, he didn't snatch the ridiculous pink collar away, but he didn't have to openly say that there was no way in fucking hell he was wearing that thing. People had this habit of assuming a dog's gender based on the color of its collar, and Jamie was not a female, nor would he be okay with being mistaken for one. Liam could get his head out of his ass and take this even a little more seriously if he hoped to get his way. Jamie didn't entirely mind that Liam wanted to make light of the situation, all things considered, and he didn't take himself so seriously that much of this actually bothered him, but some of it did. He wasn't a pet and he wasn't a dog, so this shopping trip felt pretty demeaning, even if Liam had a damn good reason for each and every thing they were picking up. Practical wasn't always fun, though Liam seemed to be trying to have some fun with it. It was true that Jamie would have been in much worse shape about this whole thing if Liam wasn't being so chill about it, and he remembered the shift the night before. He'd been terrified both times, and it was horribly painful, which made him dread it happening again, but it would have been a million times worse if Liam had remained terrified or had outright refused to deal with him or help him. Yes, he'd have gone running in the park and gotten away from Liam if that had happened, but he wouldn't have been here with his best friend the morning after, and he'd have probably been freaking out a hell of a lot more. Liam was, despite current appearances, helping out a lot.

That didn't mean Jamie had to say that out loud, though. "I don't like the collar idea, what do 'tags' include?" he asked suspiciously, already prepared to refuse if there was something involved that he didn't like. He was also absolutely going to return whatever collar Liam bought if it was something he couldn't deal with, so it was a good thing that the midget had one in mind that was acceptable. Jamie would still argue it.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam sort of felt like Jamie was staring a hole into his back, and he was using every ounce of willpower not to turn and stare back. Weren’t there those indestructible dog toys for the rougher dogs? Maybe he should get one of those? And doggy puzzles—there had to be something other than toys, that kept the little pups entertained, right? He’d have to figure something out to keep his wolf busy. Liam actually smiled at that. His wolf. Jamie was his. Liam shook his head, snapping himself out of that thought, and he raised his brows at Jamie. “You’re a vacuum, you’d eat anything. Doesn’t mean you’ll be missing steak any less. I also got a call from Phoebe, she wants us to come over for dinner next week. So, we’re going.” Liam tossed in absently. Hopefully Jamie wouldn’t decide to shift there—because that’d be weird as hell to explain to his cousin.

Actually—the smaller man had been expecting his friend to snatch the collar away from him, but when Liam glanced—all he saw was the growing irritation on his best friend’s face. Mission successful. “Uh, tags? Duh?” Liam’s brows furrowed and he opened his eyes a little wider, then rolled them. “Your name, my number. Just in case someone does end up catching you, they’ll call that number asap before you turn into a very naked boy in a dog pound.” It was quite the reality—arguably, people’s first instinct wouldn’t be to think they had caught a werewolf. But instead, a very confused boy—and that there was an error on their part, or that they were the butt of a joke. So, even if Jamie was caught—it could be passed off as a joke, or a mistake. However, the idea of Jamie naked in front of strangers sparked an ugly feeling in him. So. Jamie naked wasn’t something he was use to at all, but the idea of anyone else seeing that…for just that moment, it made Liam’s blood run hot with jealousy, before he cleared his throat and repressed that feeling. He had no right to get jealous over Jamie. He was simply his best friend. And he was trying t protect his virtue. Yep. That’s all. Just a friend looking out for a friend.

“Speaking of which, you’re gonna need to pick out a name. Because I am not about to get weird looks for naming my little companion after my roommate. How about…Fluffy? FiFi? Mr. Fluffy-Butt? Oh, I know! Snuffum-Wuffums.” A burst of laughter came out of Liam’s mouth as he put back the sparkly pink collar, and pulled down a light purple collar with white, shiny stars on it. “How’s this one, Wuffums?” Liam grinned, unable to hide his amusement at Jamie’s expense. He let the basket continue to rest on his elbow, and he approached Jamie, holding the collar up in front of him, and squinted one eye shut, imagining the collar on him. “It’ll go quite nicely with that nice gold your eyes turn. Maybe I should call you Jacob instead.” Liam lowered the collar, and beamed up at his Jamie. Sometimes, he was quite glad that they weren’t the physical kind of best friends; for the simple fact that in any normal friendship, this trip would have caused a loud wrestling match in the store. In all honesty, Liam wouldn’t be surprised if Jamie put him in a headlock and noogied him until his brain fell out.

“Just messing though.” He tossed the collar back onto the hooks carelessly, and pulled down the grey one he had looked at before. He handled it more carefully than the others, and when he looked at him his expression seemed to soften, almost sad. “You won’t even have to wear it that often. Just if we walk around and there are cops patrolling.” He felt bad, and when he looked at Jamie his stomach felt sick. Jamie wasn’t a dog—there was a legitimate reason behind everything in the basket, but for some reason, the light weight of the grey collar in his hands just felt all wrong. Wolves weren’t meant to be tied up and claimed. But he would rather temporarily bind Jamie to himself, than risk something happening to him. Even if Jamie hated him for it—he’d be alive. And that’s what mattered. “It matches your coat, so it’ll hide better.” Liam looked back down at the smooth, soft leather. “Not as pretty as your coat, but it’ll do.” Liam tensed for a moment, realizing that he had in fact just called Jamie a pretty wolf.

It shouldn’t have bothered him, it shouldn’t have been anything out of the ordinary, but it caused the heat to crawl into his cheeks. Liam tossed the collar into the basket, and shoved his fingertips in his pocket, letting the basket fall to his wrist. “In all seriousness, is there anything you can think of that you might need? That might keep you from chewing on the stuff in the house, just incase you can’t go out?”

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[JAMES KENNEDY]

Despite Liam's beliefs, Jamie was not a vacuum and he wouldn't eat just anything, but it was close enough that he didn't argue it. He wasn't a picky eater, and he hadn't understood until now why he'd been even less picky over the past few months. Fish and chicken were just fine with him, but yes, he loved his steak, had been craving it almost all the time and would definitely miss it if Liam were to stop making it for a month. News of Phoebe's invitation (and Liam's certainty that they were going) prompted nothing more than a short nod of acknowledgement from him, though he was much more pleased with the news than he was letting on; Phoebe was a fantastic cook and a great girl. Jamie wasn't upset that Liam had made the plans without asking him, and he absolutely would be going to dinner, but he was just a little surprised by Liam's timing in mentioning it. If Liam was going to bring up that cat, he might actually snap.

No, Liam dropped the subject and went on about the tags, complete with an eyeroll, but he explained what Jamie had wanted to know. Name and number, that was acceptable. He'd just been worried because didn't legitimate dog tags have information about the dog's shots on them? That required a vet, and there was no way in hell Jamie was trying to make something like that work, which was why he was so suspicious. If it was just a name and number, that was acceptable, even if he still hated the collar idea. He hated the 'very naked boy in a dog pound' idea even worse, and though he still didn't think there was much of a chance that he'd get caught, that didn't change the fact that he couldn't stand up to a tranquilizer and he did NOT want to be trying to explain something like that. If that was the alternative, the collar was just fine.

It was actually too bad that Jamie didn't know what else Liam was thinking, about the jealousy and desire to protect him and his 'virtue' (if only Liam knew), but Liam didn't vocalize any of that. Instead, he started suggesting names to put on the tags, since Jamie's own name was apparently unacceptable, which Jamie disagreed on. The suggestions weren't helping, neither was the purple collar with the stars, or that grin on his friend's face. Jamie glared and didn't even bother arguing the names because Liam really wasn't that stupid, but the Jacob thing got to him. "Seriously, Liam, putting some random name on there probably isn't the best idea. I was 'me' last night, and I wasn't stupid, but I don't know if I'd have responded to some stupid name. Just put my name on it, since it's just in case, right?"

His voice was a little tight and definitely irritated, but he thought he had a point. If the whole reason for the collar and the tags was so that someone who got their hands on him knew who to call and how to address him, wasn't it a better idea to put his name on it? He'd respond better to his own name than something that he wasn't familiar with. There was also a really good chance that he was smart enough as a wolf to ignore stupid names, or exact appropriate vengence. Be warned, Liam.

Nevermind, Liam apparently wasn't all that smart, since he got a lot closer and held that purple collar up close to his neck, looking like he was trying to picture it, and Jamie swatted the thing down with a sharp look over the mention of his eyes being gold as a wolf. Not information that he wanted, thanks. This was all great to get out into the open and all, but it was crazy uncomfortable. The only saving grace to the situation really was that Liam seemed so okay with it all, though Jamie still wasn't. Not bringing it up really wasn't going to do anything for his comfort level, but this didn't feel great, either. The headlock idea didn't seem too far off, but Jamie wasn't feeling quite that playful. That was the kind of response Liam got when Jamie was laughing right along with him at his own expense. This was just a little too raw right about then.

Had Liam taken a hint? It looked like he might have when he admitted that he was just messing and tossed the collar back onto the display without really bothering to put it back where he got it, pulling down a dark gray one that Jamie eyed carefully. It didn't have any sparkles or design to it, it wasn't some weird color and it didn't seem at all offensive to his preferences -- besides the fact that it was a collar. All in all, there wasn't anything he could say bad about that one, but he was still holding onto that defensive, uncertain body language and expression for the time being. Being reassured that he wouldn't have to wear it often should have helped, but it didn't really, and he wasn't even sure why. It was just a collar, so why did it bother him? Why couldn't he just make a joke out of it and play along? If he had to be mistaken for a pet, wasn't it best that he be mistaken for Liam's? At least he could trust his best friend not to take it too far or to fuck him over somehow, even if Liam was playing games here and now. He nodded a reluctant agreement to this collar when Liam explained that it matched his fur as a wolf and would therefore be easier to hide (which somehow helped a little), but he looked confused and then most of the suspicion fell away from his body as the word 'pretty' registered in his brain. Well, then.

Believe it or not, his unpleasant mood was softened by a wistful kind of sad, almost defeated humor; Liam seemed so very fond of him as a wolf after only one night, calling his coat 'pretty', cuddling down with him to nap, talking so openly and otherwise touching him affectionately almost constantly, that it made these hours as a human seem almost useless. What if Liam liked him better like that? Was that possible? It sure seemed so.

Jamie sighed, glancing down at the basket with the collar, rawhides, toys and somewhere under the rest of it, the flea collar, and he shook his head. "I don't really know, I'm sure that's fine. I didn't really have any urges to chew on the furniture or anything last night, so I think it'll be okay. Just don't let me," he offered, shrugging. He'd understood and listened to Liam the night before, so that should work. He didn't think he'd chew on random shit in the house. "Are we ready to go, then?"

Hopefully, the answer was yes, and they wouldn't pass by any displays with balls or anything, though hoping for that was totally in vain. This was a pet store, so an 'impulse item' would probably be a tennis ball.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam watched that look on his face. He looked a little more cheerful, but in a weird way. Like something wasn’t right. It didn’t help matters that he was feeling a little awkward himself after calling Jamie pretty. Never before did he think he would be complimenting a canine, but it was his Jamie. That counted for something, right? It had to. Liam’s hand twitched, starting to lift up, then he thought better of it. Jamie was his best friend and roommate, very straight roommate. To hell with it, actually. Liam continued, until his arm looped through Jamie’s again as it had when they walked their way to the store.

Hopefully Jamie wouldn’t find it too weird. “Honestly, I don’t think I could stop you. You could pretty much get away with murder and I wouldn’t blink.” Liam released Jamie’s arms to unload the basket on the counter, and he felt bad immediately. Maybe he should have held onto Jamie afterwards, so he didn’t have to let go? Or maybe it was better, because Jamie didn’t want him to hang all over? While the woman at the counter rang everything up, Liam pulled out his debit card, and started cleaning with his sleeve. Then the same spot on the counter until he had to slide the card through the machine. In his own head, he felt like he was going crazy. Like there was someone else in his brain, threatening to tear him apart.

On one hand, he wanted to continue to joke, laugh and tease. Be the little asshole he was known to be. And on the other hand, he wanted to hang onto Jamie, and not let go. Ugh, it was driving him insane. Liam rubbed his face as he punched in the pin for the card, then tucked it into his back pocket, gathering up the single bag that the items had been tossed into. It was only then did he notice the assortment of tennis balls, and that’s when he realized something was dreadfully wrong. With each second, it showed more and more on his face. He felt sad, frustrated. Almost like he was realizing something, and that realization…it made him feel sick to his stomach. And all it really took was that one expression from Jamie and a touch.

Quickly, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and texted Amy. If he got on the phone and asked her to come over, Jamie would hear and cause a fit. Liam needed someone to talk to about that sickening feeling in his stomach, but if Jamie was going to shift again tonight, he didn’t want to leave him on his own. So, Amy would come over. And hopefully, if Liam distracted Jamie with a steak he’d leave Amy alone. Then again, if Jamie remembered Liam was a friend, he should remember Amy. She completed their little trio.

“What do you want for dinner? I’m gonna save the other steak for late night in case you get hungry again.” He smiled up at Jamie, then looked at his shoulder for a moment, and went back to staring ahead. He was walking close to Jamie, close enough that his own arm brushed his friend’s, but he didn’t reach out again. Too embarrassed, and still unsure if it’d embarrass Jamie far too much. There were more people on the street now, so who knew if one of them knew Jamie? Would he catch shit if he were being extra friendly with his roommate? Liam shifted his jacket, burrowing back into the safety and warmth of Jamie’s hoodie.

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