hello muppets!! i hope you are having a lovely day/evening/morning/night/afternoon/whatever!! that should cover it.
welcome to the spooooooky chapter!! this was very strongly inspired by the "Fangs" comic series by Sarah Anderson, so full credit to her for the idea. i just tweaked it to be cadnis and added a few little things. big thank you to my tummies (tumblr folks) for helping me figure this out (y'all know who you are) :)
there's not much in the way of cohesive plot to this one since i sort of went with the style of the comic, so it's more just cute little scenes i've frankenstein'ed together.
i made the mood board above!! i am aware it's shit but it's my first one and i quite like it. thank you etchedstars for giving me some pointers!!
now into the trigger warnings, there's... several. here we go. *cracks knuckles*
-vampire things (blood, death, etc)
-werewolf things (broken bones, mild gore, etc)
-mentioned sexual assault
-physical assault
-attempted kidnapping
i think that's it?? but please let me know if i've missed something, it's entirely possible
please enjoy!
————-
Janis likes to walk.
Specifically, to go on walks. Through the park, to a place, on a beach. But always at night.
It may not be the safest hobby, but it's among the only ones she can have. Janis can't go out during the day or she risks being roasted like a chicken.
Because Janis is a vampire.
—-
Cady likes to walk. Specifically, to go on walks. Anywhere she can. And especially at night.
Cady finds the nights to be freeing. No responsibilities, no worries, no concerns. And fewer people around to look at her strangely.
Because Cady is a werewolf.
—-
They meet in the park one night. Cady has just moved to Chicago from Champaign after getting her PhD. She decides to go to the park for her nightly walk to check out the surroundings and any available walking paths.
Cady is distracted looking up towards the crescent moon. She has a complicated relationship with the moon, but she's always admired space.
She's violently brought back to reality when she crashes into someone and knocks them to the ground. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's quite alright," the woman she's knocked over responds with a laugh as she stands up and gently dusts herself off. She's frighteningly beautiful, with pale skin and dark hair and eyes. She's dressed rather oddly, almost Victorian in style, but Cady decides she's into it. "Distracted?"
"Uhm... yeah," Cady says sheepishly. "I just moved here, I'm checking out all the walking places around. But the moon is nice tonight."
"Well, I've been here a while, I could show you the best walking spots, if you like," the woman replies. "I'm Janis."
"Cady."
"Nice name," Janis says, starting off back down the path. "So where are you from, Cady?"
"Uh, well... I moved here from Champaign, I just got my PhD. But I grew up in Kenya," Cady replies.
"Kenya?"
"My parents are zoologists, we were studying lions and other wildlife there," Cady explains. "We ran out of funding when I was in high school and moved here. Well, to Evanston, technically. But hereabouts."
"Evanston? Did you go to North Shore?" Janis asks.
"Yeah," Cady replies.
"So did I," Janis says. "Still a shithole?"
"I thought it was exciting, but... yeah," Cady chuckles. "How long have you lived here?"
"A long time," Janis replies quietly. "I had to get out of Evanston, it just... wasn't for me anymore." She looks off to the distance for a moment before seeming to come back to herself. "So what do you do?"
"I teach math over at the high school," Cady replies. "Calculus, mostly."
"Eugh," Janis shudders. Cady laughs.
"Yeah, most people say that. But I enjoy it. Can only hope my students do. What about you?"
"I'm a writer," Janis says. "Doesn't pay super well, but I can get by well enough."
"That sounds nice," Cady says. "You certainly get a lot of time to yourself."
"That is definitely a plus," Janis agrees. "But I get a lot of time to myself by default. I don't get out much."
"You're out here," Cady replies quietly. "Sometimes that's enough. The stars are nice enough company."
Janis looks at her. "That's true. I'm not really one for the daytime."
"No? I would've never guessed," Cady chuckles sarcastically, looking at how pale her new acquaintance is. "I'm not really either. There's just something about the night."
"It has a sort of mystery to it," Janis says with a nod. "And a stillness I've come to appreciate."
"Man, you are a writer," Cady laughs. She turns to Janis once they pause their walk. "Well, Janis, thank you for showing me around a little, but I really have to get home. I need a few hours of sleep, at least. I do have work tomorrow."
"Anytime, Cady," Janis responds, reaching a hand for her to shake. It's absolutely freezing, when Cady makes contact. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Cady replies. She's put slightly off guard by how badly she wants Janis to kiss her. Janis turns with her hands in her pockets and walks the other way. "Will I see you again?"
Janis turns again briefly, walking backwards away from her. "You know where to find me."
"I'll be there."
—————
They get to know one another over the next few months. Cady learns that Janis is French, likes to garden, and is a lesbian. Janis learns that Cady speaks eight languages, is allergic to chocolate, and is bisexual. They both learn that they're rather compatible.
"Can I see you tomorrow?" Janis asks one day. She's made an observation about Cady that she wants to investigate further. Tomorrow is a full moon.
"Tomorrow? Oh, um... let me check," Cady replies, pulling out her phone to check her moon calendar. "Oh, I can't tomorrow, I'm... going out of town."
"You go out of town a lot," Janis replies casually. She's learned enough about Cady to know she's a terrible liar. "Once a month. On the full moon. And you're always back the next day. Something you'd like to tell me?"
"No," Cady says anxiously. "Nothing."
"You're definitely not a werewolf?"
"What? No, that's... that's crazy, of course I'm not..." Cady stutters. Janis raises an eyebrow. "Okay, fine, yes. I get it if you don't want to be around me anymore."
"Why wouldn't I want to be around you?" Janis asks confusedly.
"Because... I'm a monster?" Cady replies. "A freak of nature, that kind of thing?"
"So? I am too," Janis shrugs.
"Huh?"
"I'm a vampire, Caddy," Janis chuckles. Cady's eyes go wide.
"You are?"
Janis looks down at herself, wondering how she could possibly have made it more obvious. "Yeah?"
Cady suddenly lunges forward and presses their lips together. Janis' eyes fly open in surprise, but she quickly cups Cady's face to return the affections. Cady tries to pull back, seeming to realize what she's done, but Janis doesn't let her go until they both run out of breath.
"I'd quite like to do more of that," Janis murmurs against her lips when they break apart briefly. Cady's eyes are still closed, and her hand still rests on Janis' shoulder. "Would you?"
Cady nods eagerly and pulls her back into another kiss.
—-
They move in together after six months. Cady still hasn't let Janis see her transformed, and Janis hasn't let Cady see her hungry. Until one day.
"Caddy," Janis calls from their bathroom.
"Yeah?"
"This is gonna sound rude."
"Okay?"
"You need to leave," Janis says. Cady bolts upright and runs to her, but Janis has locked herself in.
"Why?" Cady asks. "Jay, why?"
"It's not safe," Janis murmurs frantically. "I'm not safe, I could hurt you."
"What's the matter?"
"I need to feed," Janis says. "I'm out of blood packs, I'll start losing control soon, you have to go."
"Oh. What... what would happen if you drank from me?" Cady asks quietly. "Would my blood hurt you? Because I'm a wolf?"
"I don't think so," Janis replies. "But I can't."
"Why?" Cady asks. "We've talked about it a little, why can't you feed from me? If you're this desperate-"
"Because I can't hurt you!" Janis says suddenly. "I might not be able to stop, it's not safe. I can't-I can't hurt you, I can't."
"Jay," Cady murmurs sadly. "Let me in."
"No," Janis says back. She sounds like she's crying.
"Jayjay, please," Cady begs. "I want you to drink from me. I'm immortal too, you can't do anything unless you have silver somewhere, I'll be okay. And we have plenty of cookies and juice, I'll be fine."
Janis unlocks the door, but doesn't open it. Cady does, and finds Janis staring hollowly at an empty mirror. She looks awful, her eyes sunken and dark and her skin somehow more pale than normal. She jumps when Cady tenderly brushes a chunk of hair behind her ear.
"I'll be okay," Cady whispers. "Do what you need to. I want you to. I want to help you."
Janis looks at her warily. "You-you have to tell me if... if I go too far, take too much. I don't want to hurt you."
"I will," Cady promises. "You won't hurt me."
She reaches for her girlfriend, and Janis hesitantly reaches out her own frigid hand to lace their fingers together.
Janis leads them over and carefully lays Cady on the bed beneath her. Cady reaches up and kisses her for a short while to calm her down.
"Are you ready?" Janis murmurs anxiously after a moment, kissing her again. Cady nods. "It might hurt at first, I'm sorry."
"Just do it, Janis," Cady whispers back. "I'll be fine."
Janis carefully kisses her jaw, working her way down until she's near Cady's pulse point. She won't bite here or risk mortally wounding her girlfriend, but she lingers for a moment before biting carefully a bit lower.
"Oh," Cady gasps. Janis' fangs sting as they first enter, but after a second it's almost pleasurable. "Shit."
Janis purrs contently against her. Cady's blood is almost sweet. It tastes innocent, somehow. Loving. Janis wants more, but is careful not to go too far. Cady shakily reaches up and rests a hand on the back of Janis' head, keeping her pressed against her neck. Janis doesn't complain, drinking more from her girlfriend and flicking her tongue out to tease her briefly. Cady's quiet groan makes her want to stay there forever.
Cady's vision is spinning slightly, so she closes her eyes and wraps her legs around Janis' waist. The only thought running through her head, the only thing on her mind, is Janis. And Cady's most definitely not complaining. She's never felt a sensation like this before.
"I love you," Cady gasps when Janis finally pulls away and carefully kisses her neck. Janis freezes. Cady's probably just loopy from blood loss. "Jayjay?"
"I love you too," Janis whispers. "Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure, goofy," Cady chuckles. "Woo, I'm dizzy. This is fun!"
"Oh, um... hold on," Janis replies, running to grab some cookies and juice boxes from the kitchen to get Cady's blood sugar back up. "Here, darling."
"Thank youuuu," Cady says, reaching for her cuddles as well as her snacks. "I love you."
"And I love you," Janis replies. "Eat, my sweet, you're scaring me."
Cady carefully munches on her cinnamon (no chocolate allowed) cookies and downs a few boxes of fruit punch. Janis breathes a sigh of relief as she gradually gets some color back in her face and some clarity back in her eyes.
"Hold me?" Cady requests quietly. Janis scoops her into her lap and rocks them slightly as Cady nuzzles into her neck. "Are you better?"
"Much," Janis replies quietly. "Thank you. I won't have to feed for a long time. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Cady says. "It was kind of hot, honestly."
"Oh?"
"Yeah," Cady purrs, shifting to straddle Janis and kiss her hungrily. Janis holds her hips and tugs her closer.
"Maybe we should do something about that, then," Janis pants when Cady pulls away.
"God, please," Cady groans, kissing Janis again and falling backwards onto the bed. "Fuck, I love you."
"I love you too."
—————
Cady decides to let Janis see her wolf a few full moons later. Janis let Cady see her at her most vulnerable. She feels it's only fair to return the favor.
"Um... it's a full moon tomorrow," Cady says anxiously the night before. "I want you to see me, but... I'm nervous."
"Why?" Janis asks. "I'm not afraid, you're not dangerous."
"No, it's just... my wolf is kind of... stupid," Cady hums. "I'd rather not have you see me chase my tail for hours or run into the glass door full speed."
"Oh," Janis laughs. "Well, how will I know unless I see it? I've always liked dogs. I'm sure we'll still get along fine."
"I guess," Cady begrudgingly agrees. "But no judging."
"I would never, my darling," Janis purrs, pulling her close by the waist and kissing her neck.
"Watch it," Cady says warningly. "No bites."
"Just a little one?" Janis pleads, doing her most precious puppy eyes.
"Puppy eyes are my thing, and no," Cady insists. "We're out of cookies and juice, you have to wait until I can get to the store again."
"Fine," Janis huffs.
—-
"Caddy, darling?" Janis calls the next day when she wakes up from an afternoon nap. She tries to sleep through the early evening whenever she can, pressed against the wall or in her casket to avoid the sun streaming through the windows. "Cady?"
She's concerned when Cady doesn't answer her calls, and decides to investigate. Luckily, it's autumn and the sun is starting to set earlier, so it's past dusk now. Janis rolls out of bed and heads out to the living room to find her girlfriend.
Janis has to fight to contain a squeal when she sees her. Cady apparently transformed while Janis was asleep, and her wolf form is curled up on the couch. Wolf is a bit of a stretch, by the most liberal of estimates Cady is about the size of a small golden retriever. Her fur is the same delightful auburn color as her hair, but her belly is a sort of silvery white shade.
Janis' footsteps on the wood floor wake her up, and Cady gives a precious yawn and stretch before hopping down and running over to her. Cady barely reaches her knee, now. Her tail is wagging eagerly, as if to say, "What do you think?"
"You're absolutely precious," Janis coos, bending down and scratching behind one of Cady's ears. Cady barks happily and nuzzles her snout into Janis' hand. "I told you. You're perfectly fine."
Cady barks again and trots off to the kitchen, looking at Janis the whole way to coax her to follow. She sits down next to the fridge and reaches a paw towards it.
"Of course you're already hungry," Janis chuckles. "Chicken?"
Cady spins in a happy circle a few times and wags her tail. Janis laughs at her antics and grabs some of their leftover dinner from a few nights ago. Cady weaves around her legs as she heats it up in the microwave, nearly tripping Janis in the process.
"I really hope you're housebroken," Janis murmurs, looking down at her girlfriend. Cady nips her ankles. "Ow! Hey, I'm joking! Man, your teeth are sharper than mine!"
Cady whines apologetically and flops down over her feet. Her tail hasn't stopped moving the whole time.
"You're lucky you're cute," Janis huffs. She grabs one of her blood packs from the fridge and heads to the dining area. Cady looks confused when Janis rests her food in her usual place on the table. "What? I'm not having you eat off the floor, that's not sanitary."
Cady tries to hop into her chair and immediately falls off the other side. Janis helpfully lifts her and helps her get steady before taking her usual spot across from her. She giggles as Cady happily digs in and munches on her chicken and veggies. She's not particularly well mannered in this form, but she makes up for it with cuteness.
-
"I told you it would be fine," Janis murmurs when she wakes up to her human girlfriend the next morning. "You're just like you are now. But small. And fuzzy."
"Did I do anything dumb?" Cady asks, trying to piece together hazy memories.
"You fucking bit me," Janis grumbles. "But no, you were actually really sweet."
"I bit you?"
"I make one joke about hoping you're housebroken," Janis huffs. Cady whacks her with a pillow. "Ow! Man!"
—————-
"It's kind of nice in here," Cady murmurs, cuddled up to Janis inside her casket. "Cozy."
"Right?" Janis asks. "It's kind of an acquired taste, but it's comforting."
Cady nods and cuddles closer. Janis strokes through her hair gently and massages behind her ear. Even as a human, it's one of Cady's favorite spots. Janis thinks Cady's drifted off until she hears a quiet, "Jayjay?"
"Yes, my sweet?"
"Does... does it ever bother you?" Cady asks. "That we aren't... normal? Human?"
"I don't see why it should," Janis murmurs. "I mean, some parts of it aren't great, but it has its perks."
"Like what?"
"Like we're immortal," Janis replies. "I get to be with you as long as we both can stand each other. We're not constrained by time the way they are. And like you being a wolf means you sort of understand what I go through. We get each other. And I think you being a werewolf makes you even more of a sweetheart."
"Really?" Cady asks.
"I do," Janis replies, kissing Cady gently. "Of course, I could never know for sure. But you're so protective, and cuddly, and playful. I have to believe some part of your personality is linked to your wolf."
"Oh," Cady says quietly. "I guess you're right."
"Why?" Janis asks gently. "Does it bother you?"
"Sometimes," Cady mumbles. "I just... I don't know. I feel like there's a lot of things I'd like to do with you that we can't do because it isn't safe for one of us or the other."
"Like what?"
"Like... I want to go to the beach with you," Cady says. "Go swimming. Take you to the fair. Go camping, or on a vacation somewhere. Visit Italy."
That last one gets a laugh from Janis. "Maybe not Italy, but we can still do those other things, my sweet. Just because I can't be in the sun doesn't mean we can't enjoy our nights together."
"That's true," Cady says. "Would you want to?"
"Sure," Janis says. "We have all the time in the world. Let's do it."
Cady beams and rolls over to pin Janis down. "I love you so much."
"I love you too, dearest."
————-
Janis is rudely awakened by a loud barking. It sounds like Cady, and also sounds like it came from outside. Janis bolts upright and runs to the window to see what's happening, but she's quickly burned by the setting sun. She whips the curtains closed again and quickly tugs on her sun blocking clothes before dashing outside.
She makes it just in time to see Cady's wolf being shoved into a cage, and then the cage put in the back of a van. "Caddy!"
Janis tries to run after it, but even with her extra vampire speed, she's not quick enough. She barely manages to get a readable photo of the company name before she's running back to the car to follow her girlfriend.
—-
"Where is she?" Janis demands, rushing up to the front desk at the pound.
"Beg your pardon?"
"Your assholes brought in a dog, she looks like a wolf but tiny and orange, where is she? I need her back," Janis says, panting slightly.
"Uh... we're closed for the night," the man at the front desk replies. "And if she's your dog, you really should get her a collar."
"Oh, fuck this," Janis grumbles. The man has no time to react before she lunges forwards and drains him of his blood. "I'll find her myself."
Janis leaves the man weakened and unconscious behind his desk. He'll probably be fine. She looks around until she sees a door marked 'Employees Only' that seems to have a great cacophony of noises coming from behind it. Sounds promising.
She enters the room and is immediately rushed to by several more night shift employees. "Ma'am, you can't be back here-"
"Do not start with me," Janis growls warningly. None of them listen, so she drains all of them as well. Why not? She's already got one down, what's a few more?
Unfortunately for her, all seven people so far have different blood types, and they're now fighting for control inside Janis' body. She shakes her head to get herself back and tries to hunt for Cady.
She can hear a familiar whining from a few rows over, and smell the sweet, metallic scent of Cady's blood. Janis follows her senses. Cady is in a cage towards the back, curled in a frighted ball in the far corner and whimpering nearly non-stop.
"Caddy," Janis says desperately, rushing towards her and snapping the lock off. Cady looks up when she hears her and is human by the time she's sobbing in Janis' arms. "Shh, my sweet, what happened?"
"I-I wanted to go get things to-to make you a special-special dinner," Cady sobs. "But I dropped my wallet under-under your garden box, so I shifted so-so I could get it, and then they-they came and grabbed me and took me away!"
"Oh, darling," Janis hushes. "I've got you, they can't get you now. You're safe, shh. We'll just have to be more careful when you shift in public."
"I wanna go home," Cady whimpers. "I don't like it here."
"I don't either, my sweet," Janis says quietly, helping Cady stand. "Let's go home."
"Jayjay?" Cady asks sheepishly.
"Hmm?"
"Could-could we..."
"You wanna let the rest of them go too?" Janis asks with a knowing chuckle. Cady nods. "Sure. I'll handle the staff, you get the locks."
-
Janis is borderline intoxicated by the time all the staff members have been incapacitated. Her head is swimming, but she can just barely hear Cady opening the doors to release swarms of dogs into the public with a triumphant cry of, "Go, be free!"
Cady finds her a few minutes later in the middle of a large room surrounded by unconscious employees, no fewer than twenty and all drained of their blood. "Jayjay, you didn't have to drain all of them."
"They-they took you 'way," Janis stutters, stumbling slightly. "And-and. Hey. I won't have to feed for, like... a year!"
"I don't think that's how it works," Cady chuckles, helping her girlfriend out of the building. "I take it I'm driving home?"
"Yeeeeah," Janis says. "I've'n't been drunk since-since before I turned! But I feeeeel like this is what i's like."
"When were you turned?" Cady asks quietly. She's realized she doesn't actually know how old Janis is.
"Uh..." Janis stutters. "Fiv-no, six... when was I born?"
"I don't know, that's why I'm asking," Cady chuckles, helping her girlfriend into the passenger seat and buckling her seatbelt for her.
"I have... uh... papers," Janis says. "At home. That'll have it."
"Okay," Cady says. "Um... thanks for saving me."
"Always," Janis mumbles. Cady leans in to kiss her before pulling away with a wince.
"You taste like metal."
"Sorry m'sweet."
"It's okay," Cady says affectionately, kissing her cheek this time. "You did it to protect me."
—-
Janis fell asleep on the way home, and seems to have recovered when she wakes up. Cady still helps her up to their apartment, just to be safe. Janis heads straight to their bedroom and flops onto the bed like nothing happened.
"Are you okay?" She asks gently, kissing Cady's forehead as she nuzzles into her side. Cady nods.
"I'm... I'm a little rattled," she says quietly. "But I'll be okay. I know I'm safe with you."
"Good," Janis murmurs. "There's a black box in the back of the closet, can you grab that for me?"
Cady nods and rolls out of bed, rooting through their shoes and pulling out a case about the size of a shoebox. "What is it?"
"Patience, my sweet," Janis says, removing the lock and lifting the lid. "Important vampire things."
She pulls out a few loose papers, a book, and a small stack of pictures. The book has 'Body Count' painted in white over the cover. Cady takes it and flips through pages upon pages of names.
"You keep a list of everyone you've had sex with?"
"No."
"Oh. Oh! Oh my god." Cady replies. "Dang."
"You sound impressed," Janis chuckles.
"I am," Cady murmurs. "What else?"
"My birth certificate," Janis says, flicking through the loose papers. "I was born in 1988, so it would've been... 2005 that I was turned."
"Whoa whoa whoa," Cady says. "You were born in 1988?"
"Yeah?"
"You're only thirteen years older than me!" Cady exclaims. "I thought you were, like, a hundred and fifty! You dress like you're some sort of Victorian witch."
"For the aesthetic," Janis chuckles. "How else am I supposed to let people know I'm a vampire?"
"Of course you go through all that effort just for the aesthetic," Cady laughs. "You're such a dork. So, you've only been a vampire for..."
"Twenty years," Janis agrees. "Here." She hands Cady a stack of pictures and paintings. "This was about a week before I got turned."
"You were cute," Cady murmurs, looking at her very... human girlfriend. Her skin is less pale, her eyes are less sunken, and her hair is half-blonde. "How old were you?"
"Seventeen," Janis says quietly. "Snuck into a gay bar, got picked up by a hot lady. She took me into an alley and kissed me and stuff. I thought she just gave me a hickey. Woke up the next morning with fangs and a bad sunburn, and now I'm here."
"That's awful," Cady says sadly. Janis shrugs. "No, Jay, she assaulted you! I thought you got turned because you wanted it, not because... not because you got coerced into it. I'm so sorry."
"I guess you're right," Janis says. "I have plenty of time to unpack that trauma."
Cady rolls her eyes lovingly, knowing that humor is how Janis copes with things. "You should do your hair like this again."
"Really?" Janis chuckles. "You're into that?"
"I'm always into you," Cady purrs. "But really, you'd look good like this."
"I'll think about it. What about you, do you have... puppy pictures, or whatever?"
"Actually, yeah," Cady says. "Hold on."
She grabs her own box from a drawer in the dresser. Janis reaches for it eagerly.
"This was my first full moon," Cady says, handing over one. Janis looks at it to see Cady's wolf form, but about the size of a Pomeranian. Her left ear is bent the same way it does now, and her eyes have the same adorable curiosity.
"Aww," Janis coos. "You're so tiny! And your ear still does that, by the way."
"Does it?"
"Yeah," Janis says. "It's cute. And you always get so happy when I scratch it."
"It feels good! Anyway, this was what I looked like as... not a wolf," Cady says. She shows Janis a picture of a little redhead, beaming at the camera with missing front teeth and a red mark over the left side of her face. It's faded now, but a scar is still there. Janis traces it gently with a finger.
"Sweet little thing," she says quietly, kissing Cady's neck. "How old were you?"
"Six," Cady sighs. "I got lost during a camping trip. I don't remember anything, but my parents found me bleeding and covered in scratches. We were still in Africa then, so they thought it was a lion. I got patched up in Nairobi, but I still turned with the full moon."
"You were so young," Janis says sadly. "Poor thing."
"I thought it was cool," Cady chuckles. "I got to be a wolf once a month. But it does hurt to think about sometimes. My scars always scared away the other kids. But I had my lions."
"And now you have me," Janis says. "I love you. I love your scars and your little canines and that you turn into the most adorable little thing every full moon."
"I'm cute?"
"Are you serious?" Janis asks, turning Cady around and pulling her into her lap. "You're the most precious thing I've ever seen. Human and wolf."
"How big is my wolf?" Cady asks. "I didn't think I was cute."
"You're, like... maybe labrador sized? I don't know." Janis says. "You're about as tall as my knee. And you have the little floppy ear and nice soft fur, and a cute little tail that never stops moving."
"I'm cute?!" Cady yells, scrambling off her lap. "Ugh!"
"Are you mad?" Janis asks with a slight laugh, watching her girlfriend pace furiously around the room.
"Yeah! I thought I turned into this big scary wolf thing! I'm like... I'm like a pet, I'm not a wolf!" Cady says. "I just wanna be tough. I'm not a tough person, I thought I could at least be a tough wolf."
"Come here," Janis says. Cady crawls back into her lap with a whine that sounds remarkably like her wolf's. "You are tough, my sweet. You might not be big and scary, but you're tough in the best ways."
"Take a picture?" Cady asks with a pout. "I want to see what I look like."
"Okay?" Janis says. Cady stands and turns into her wolf, barking happily at Janis and wagging her tail like always. Janis pulls out her phone and brings up the camera. "Smile."
Cady gives a happy boof, and Janis snaps a few pictures. Cady shifts back when she holds the phone out to show her. "Dammit."
Janis takes her phone back and sets one of the pictures as her phone wallpaper. "Look at you. Your tail is all blurry."
"I'm cute," Cady huffs. "Man."
"But look at yourself, I'm serious," Janis insists. "That tail is my favorite part of it. Because it shows that you're happy, my darling."
"She does seem pretty happy," Cady begrudgingly agrees. "But she is looking at you."
"You're such a sap, oh my god," Janis groans. "I love you."
"I love you too," Cady says. "We've had a long night, I'm tired."
"Me too, my sweet," Janis replies. "Goodnight."
"Night night," Cady yawns back, nuzzling into Janis' chest and drifting off to sleep.
———-
"Don't look at me like that, you have to be on a leash to go in here," Janis coaxes. "We just need to get you some toys and stuff so you stop shredding the couch."
Cady perks up at the mention of toys and finally allows Janis to clip the leash on so they can go into the pet store. Janis laughs as she tugs at it to get to the toy aisle faster. Once they make it, Cady grabs a rope toy that she can reach and shakes her head with a happy little growl, making her ears flop around.
"Let me go get a basket," Janis says, figuring she can trust Cady alone for a second. The toy is still there when she returns, but Cady isn't. "Damn it, Caddy."
Cady comes trotting back with a massive rawhide bone, longer than she is and clearly too heavy for her to carry, since she keeps drifting from side to side on her way to show Janis. Cady drops the bone proudly at Janis' feet and wags her tail.
"I think you might be overcompensating a bit here, Cads," Janis chuckles. Cady growls warningly. "Don't you want one you can actually carry? I'll get you a smaller one if you like these."
Cady whines, but does let Janis pick it up to put it back. Cady leads her back to where she found it and watches happily as Janis takes one a few sizes smaller to put in the basket. Janis lets Cady pick the rest of her own toys, figuring that's the best way to get her to stop tearing up their furniture.
Cady looks very excited when she finds a lion squeaky toy, chomping on it several times to test the sounds.
"No," Janis says. "No squeaky toys."
Cady turns around and whines at her pleadingly, trying to sneakily drop the toy into the basket. Janis removes it and hands it back to her.
"Put it back."
Cady whines again and rolls onto the ground, showing off her belly and wagging her tail pleadingly.
"I'm not giving you belly rubs either," Janis tuts. Cady is awfully cute, though. Janis can feel her resolve chipping away. "Okay, fine. But no squeaking when I'm trying to sleep."
Cady runs happily in a circle, winding her leash around Janis' legs. Janis carefully unties herself and follows Cady to more toys. Janis grabs a few that'll clean Cady's teeth as she plays with them.
"You have puppy breath," she says in response to Cady's indignant bark. "Don't even try to deny it, you so do. Would you quit biting me?"
Cady nips her one more time as a warning and huffs off towards the ones Janis can put peanut butter inside.
-
By the time Cady decides they're ready to leave, they've chosen just about every toy available. Things to play fetch with, ropes for tug-of-war, things just for her to chew on, and Cady's favorite lion squeaker.
Cady licks Janis' hand a few times as a thank-you when she's finally allowed to run free again.
"You're welcome, darling. Can you find the car? I forget where I parked," Janis chuckles, stroking her soft head a few times. Cady carefully trots off into the parking lot to lead them home.
——————-
"You're always so cold," Cady says worriedly.
"I don't have blood, my sweet, that's rather important," Janis chuckles back, resting her book down. "You get used to it."
Cady frowns. Janis deserves to be warm. Maybe she can help.
"Where are you going?" Janis calls as she runs to the bedroom. Cady's wolf comes back after a second and gently grabs one of her feet, trying to drag her off the couch and down the hall. She splutters slightly when she just comes away with a sock. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Calm down, dearest."
Cady shifts back and takes her hand, tugging her eagerly towards the bedroom. The curtains have been drawn to block out the sun, and a massive mound of blankets covers their bed.
"Lie down," Cady insists, pointing to the bed. Janis listens and crawls into bed to see what her girlfriend has in store for her. Cady carefully wraps her up in several of the blankets before crawling in after her and pulling her close to snuggle. "Are you warm now?"
Janis doesn't have the heart to tell her that she still doesn't have blood and can never truly be warm. "I think a little bit, yes. Thank you, darling."
"My wolf is warmer," Cady murmurs, stroking Janis' cheek. "But I want to be with you."
Janis grins slightly and pulls Cady in for a kiss. "I love you both ways. But it is nice to be able to talk to you. And kiss you."
"I love you too," Cady whispers. She rests her chin on top of Janis' head and holds her girlfriend to her chest. "Are you sniffing me?"
"Can smell your blood," Janis murmurs drowsily. "'S nice."
"That's a little creepy," Cady chuckles. "Do you need to feed soon?"
"I can go a couple more days," Janis says. "And I have blood packs in the fridge, I can have a few of those."
"What's the difference?" Cady asks. "Like, do you feel different if you drink from something alive instead of a pack?"
"A little bit, I guess," Janis shrugs. "I get more strength and can go longer without feeding if it's directly from someone. But it's. Y'know. It's frowned upon."
Cady laughs and strokes through Janis' hair. "I kind of like it."
"Really?" Janis asks. "Why?"
"I dunno," Cady says with a shrug. "It makes me feel closer to you. I like knowing I can help you sustain yourself. And I always feel a little loopy, so that's fun."
"You're cute," Janis replies, kissing her again. "I like it too, but I'm always afraid I'll hurt you."
"I'm scared of hurting you too," Cady murmurs. "Every time I shift. And especially during the full moon. I have even less control then."
"But you're still in there," Janis says. "I know you would never hurt me."
"And I know you would never hurt me," Cady replies. She nuzzles her nose against Janis' gently. "I love you, vampy."
"I love you too, wolfy."
—————
Wolf Cady has her tongue hanging out contently as she sticks her head out the car window, her ears flipping around wildly and her fur in her eyes. Janis lovingly strokes her chest as she pulls into the empty parking lot at the park. Cady whines questioningly when she grabs her parasol as well as Cady's bag of toys from the backseat.
"The moon reflects sunlight, I'm still at risk when it's full." Janis explains, following Cady into the park. Cady immediately turns around to go back to the car. "No, darling, come back! I'll be fine, it's weaker. If it touches me I'll basically just get a sunburn. Don't you want to play?"
Cady returns to her with a huff and trots along beside her towards a big field area. Janis pulls her ball out of the small bag, and Cady goes into a sort of downward dog pose, wagging her tail excitedly.
"Ready?" Janis asks, preparing to throw it. Cady bounces eagerly a few times. Janis throws the ball as far as she can, and Cady is off like a shot after it. Janis is concerned when she loses sight of her. She forgot about her extra vampire strength.
Cady comes barreling back with her toy in her mouth before Janis can get too worried, overshooting Janis and doing a sort of somersault in her hasty attempt to stop. She heads back to Janis more carefully and wags her tail to show how pleased she is with herself.
"Good girl," Janis says, trying to take the ball to throw it again. Cady turns her head away so she can't get it. "I can't throw it again if you don't give it to me, my sweet."
Cady looks conflicted, looking down the field and back at Janis several times. She does eventually make her decision and drops the ball at Janis' feet. Janis picks it up and tries not to wince at the slobber coating it before she throws it again. Cady darts off again to get it.
She seems to have learned her lesson from last time, because she runs back much slower and drops the ball again. Janis grabs it, and decides to mess with Cady this time.
She winds up and acts like she's about to throw it, but actually has it behind her back. Cady still takes off after it, not aware there's nothing to find. Janis heads after her when she hasn't returned after a few minutes and finds her sniffing the ground to hunt for it.
"Caddy," she calls, holding up the ball. Cady looks her way and heads over, baring her teeth and growling at her crankily. "Hey now, play nice. I won't do it again."
Cady huffs and waits for her to throw it for real this time. Janis does, and sits down to wait for her to come back.
—-
Janis wakes up the next morning to the strong smell of garlic. Her skin is red and itchy, and she tries to hold her breath as she stumbles to the kitchen.
"Caddy?"
"I made you breakfast," Cady huffs. Janis looks to find toasted garlic bread and eggs with an absurd amount of minced garlic piled on top.
"And what are we having for dinner tonight? Maybe I'll wait to eat," Janis asks with a chuckle as Cady stabs one of her own eggs crankily with her fork.
"Italian," Cady grumbles.
"Is this because-"
"Is this because," Cady says mockingly. "Yes, it's because you pretended to throw the ball and kept it behind your back! You're so mean!"
Janis can't help but laugh as Cady crosses her arms and turns away from her like a cranky child. Janis goes to hug her from behind and peppers kisses up the column of her neck.
"I'm sorry, dearest, I didn't mean it to be mean," she murmurs. "You're just so cute as your wolf, you're fun to tease."
"It's not funny," Cady grumbles, but Janis can tell she's holding back a smile.
"Would some belly rubs and a long walk make it better?"
"...Maybe."
"Can I have some real food first?"
"Fine."
Cady remakes the eggs, sans garlic this time, and toasts some plain bread. Janis opens the windows to get the fumes out and eats her safe breakfast. Janis also does the dishes since Cady made the food, then heads to her girlfriend on the couch.
Cady shifts and clambers into her lap. Janis holds her carefully with one hand and strokes over her soft chest and tummy with the other. The tip of Cady's tail flicks weakly, like she's still trying to hold back her smile.
"You're so soft," Janis says quietly. "I love you."
Cady licks her face a few times, letting her know she loves her too. Janis chuckles and scratches behind her ear. Cady's tail starts wagging full force.
—————-
"Caddy? What's the matter, my sweet?" Janis asks, concerned when she comes home to find Cady sobbing on the couch. Cady lets Janis pull her into her lap and cradle her like a baby.
"I just-I just realized that you can't see yourself!" Cady sobs. "You-you-you can't see yourself in the mirror! And-and you don't show up in pictures! But you're so-so beautiful, and you can't see it! You have no idea how beautiful you are!"
"Aww, darling," Janis coos. "I don't need to. You make me feel more beautiful than any mirror ever could."
Cady sniffles and cuddles into Janis' neck. "But you should be able to see it. It's not fair."
"Maybe not, you're right," Janis agrees. "Why are you so upset about this, dearest? Is it that time of the month?"
"Shut up," Cady grumbles into her pale neck. "But yeah."
"Come on then," Janis huffs, standing up and carrying her down the hall towards the bedroom. "Cuddle time."
"I love you," Cady says quietly.
"I love you too."
Janis carefully peeks in to make sure the blinds are closed so she can enter safely, before resting Cady on the bed and crawling in after her. Cady immediately flips Janis onto her back and straddles her at her waist.
"What are you doing?" Janis asks, holding Cady's hips so she's more steady.
"I'm gonna be your mirror, now shushes," Cady says. She bends down and kisses Janis' hairline. "You have the prettiest hair, it's long and dark and wavy, and it's so soft. Excellent for playing with." She kisses Janis' closed eyes. "And your eyes are so beautiful. They're so dark, like... coffee. Or dark chocolate. They're so expressive, and loving. And then sometimes they glow. I could look at them for hours."
Janis chuckles slightly, but lets her continue.
Cady kisses her nose a few times. "And your nose is cute. Little button. The bridge of it is long and thin, and then the tip is just the cutest thing. I love to boop it." She kisses Janis' cheeks over and over. "Your cheeks are soft. Good squish. Excellent for kisses." Her jawline. "You have a very strong jaw. Good bone structure. And your chin is good too. Makes doing this very easy."
Cady gently grabs her chin and tips her face up slightly to smooch her lips. Janis knows she would be blushing hard by now if she had the ability.
Cady kisses her neck, working up from where it meets Janis' shoulders to where her pulse would beat if she had one. "I feel safe here. I think this is my favorite place, tucked into you. And you smell so good, it's the strongest here." Cady ends her journey of kisses with a few more pressed against Janis' lips. "And I love your lips. They're so soft and pillowy. You give very nice kisses. And I love your little fangs, and the sound of your voice. I love every little bit of you so much. Because they all add up to make you."
Janis sniffles quietly, holding her girlfriend against her. She can feel tears welling up behind her eyes. She's never felt so loved. Seen.
"Why are you crying, my love?" Cady pouts. "Don't cry."
"Sorry," Janis sobs quietly. Cady just stares at her.
"Really, please don't cry! That's... really scary," she says anxiously. "I love you, no offense, but..."
Janis suddenly remembers what happens when she cries, that her tears are black and make her eyes look like a strange void in her face. She sniffles and tries to wipe them away, clearing her throat to get herself back under control.
"Sorry."
"Don't apologize," Cady murmurs. "If your reaction to me loving you is this strong, that just means I need to do it a lot more."
"You do it just fine," Janis says back. "I love you."
"I love you too."
—————
Janis sighs as she rounds the corner of their block. She'd gotten bored and decided to go for a walk. Cady, shockingly, had decided not to accompany her, instead staying home to clean a few things and get some other chores done.
Janis is so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't hear the heavy footsteps behind her, until she can feel breath on her neck. She turns to find three large men standing behind her threateningly. Even at her height, she barely comes up to the chest of the smallest one.
"What do you want with me?" She asks. Janis barely has time to scream before the one in the middle claps a hand over her mouth and starts trying to drag her away. She tries to bite and kick and thrash, but she can't get away.
Janis hears the door slam open, and sees Cady come running towards her, illuminated by the streetlights. "Jayjay! Let her go!"
"What's this? A two for one deal?" One of the men says with a sneer. Cady is gaining on them. The men don't seem concerned until she shifts into her wolf mid-stride.
Janis is also slightly terrified, because this is not Cady's normal wolf. This wolf is much larger, reaching at least to Janis' waist, and made of solid muscle. Its teeth are bared as it growls and gnashes on its way towards them.
"Yo, what the fuck?!" One of the men yells. Cady skillfully dodges around Janis and bites at their legs, not really caring whether she actually makes contact or not. There's a scary, predatory glint in her eyes that Janis hasn't seen before. She just hopes her girlfriend still has some control of this beast.
One of the men kicks blindly, and makes contact with the wolf's snout. She whimpers for a second, but persists. The largest man cries out as she sinks her teeth into his leg, letting Janis go to try and pry her jaws off. Janis sinks to the ground and scrambles away. She knows she should run, but she's not leaving without Cady.
Once Cady releases, the men apparently decide they've had enough. They turn on their heels and run, leaving Janis' things scattered on the ground. Cady stumbles a little bit before she grabs Janis' bag and drags it over to her. Janis doesn't think she's ever been so afraid and turned on at the same time in her life.
Cady shifts back into her human form then. Her nose is clearly broken and bleeding profusely, and bruises are already starting to form around her eyes. She's also clutching her ribs, which worries Janis. Maybe one of the attackers got in a hit that she didn't catch.
"Come on, sweet," Janis says shakily, trying not to cry. "Let's go get you patched up."
Cady leans into her and limps alongside her back towards their apartment. Janis carefully lifts her once they reach the stairs to carry her the rest of the way.
Janis doesn't speak while she grabs their very large first aid kit. Getting real medical attention isn't particularly feasible for either of them, so unless things are especially dangerous, they just patch up any injuries themselves.
Janis tenderly wipes away the blood from Cady's face, not even registering how strong the smell of it is or how much she'd like to be cleaning it a different way. All that matters is Cady's well being, right now.
"Your nose is broken," she sniffles quietly. Cady just reaches to hold one of Janis' hands and gives a nod. Janis moves the bone back where it needs to be with a sickening crack, wincing at the cry Cady lets out at the sensation. "I'm sorry, my sweet."
Cady still doesn't say anything, just squeezes her hand and watches her place a splint over her nose and some bandages over her other scrapes. Janis fiddles with the buttons on Cady's flannel.
"Can I take this off?" She asks quietly. "To see what happened?" Cady nods. Janis carefully unbuttons the shirt and has to hold back a gasp at what she sees. Cady's right side is already sporting a massive bruise, and Janis can see a few ribs out of place. "God, darling."
"It's okay," Cady whispers, voice a bit raspier than normal. She coughs a couple times and gives a solid wince at the pain in her chest. "Do what you need to."
Janis sets her bones back as best she can, and wraps Cady's torso in bandages to hold them in place. There's really nothing else she can do, here. She stares hollowly at her girlfriend for a second, before leaning down to kiss her passionately. She's more gentle than she wants to be, but she can't risk hurting Cady any further.
Cady returns the kisses, but pauses when she hears Janis let out a sob. She reaches to carefully cradle Janis' face to see what the matter is.
"You can't do that again," Janis whispers. "I can't have you hurt. I just-I can't. That could've gone so much worse, and look what happened to you this time. This was the best case scenario. I can't-I can't..."
"Hey," Cady murmurs as Janis dissolves into sobs. "I'm fine, my love. It's worth it. I can't have you hurt either."
"But I would've been fine," Janis weeps. "They took me by surprise, I probably could've gotten away later. I have- I have extra strength and speed, I could've..."
"But you shouldn't have had to," Cady comforts. "That's why I stepped in, my love. You could've been hurt much worse than I am, and yeah, I got lucky. But it's worth it. I heal fast, I'll be right as rain in a week or so."
"But-"
"Jay, sweetheart," Cady tuts, pushing herself upright with a good deal of effort. "I'm okay. Stop thinking about what could've happened if either of us did something else. We'll never know. We just have to deal with what did happen. I got a few injuries, but I'll be okay. I'm here, I'm alive. Ish. And so are you. We're together. It's all gonna be okay."
Janis sinks into her shoulder and sobs, clinging to her as if she can't believe Cady is still there. Cady rests a hand on her waist and the other on the back of Janis' head, just holding her close and letting her cry.
"Shh, Jayjay," she murmurs into Janis' hair. "I'm fine, my love, shh. It's okay. Why are you so upset by this, sweetheart?"
"I had... my friend," Janis whispers around a sob. "My best friend. He-he was... the only one who-who stayed. After-after I... became this. We went to-to the lake, when we graduated. We were on the dock, at night, and some guys started bothering us. He told me to run. They-they pushed him in, and-"
Janis starts crying much harder. Cady hushes her gently and asks, "What happened, love?"
"He died! I-I watched him sink," Janis sobs. "He couldn't swim, there's no-no way he could've survived. We couldn't even find his bo-his body."
"Oh, my love. I'm so sorry," Cady whispers. "What was his name?"
"Damian," Janis replies quietly. "I miss him. Every day."
"Tell me about him," Cady murmurs, lying them down and tucking them in. Janis' body temperature is actually kind of handy in times like this. She doesn't even need an ice pack for her bruises, she can just cuddle her girlfriend for the same effect.
Janis launches into a story, both of them still holding tightly to each other. Cady just listens and lets her speak until they both drift off to sleep.
—————
"Jayjay?" Cady asks a month or so later, clad only in her undies. They're in the midst of a summer heatwave, and Cady's temperature already runs high due to her werewolf status. She's absolutely miserable.
"Hmm?"
"Will you snuggle me? I'm... I'm very upset, I need cuddles. Right now," Cady insists.
"No, you're not," Janis laughs, putting down her book. "You're just hot and want me to cool you off."
"Yes I am! I'm very upset because I'm very hot," Cady mumbles sheepishly.
"Come here," Janis says, getting more comfortable on the couch. Cady settles in on top of her and gives a relieved sigh at the cooling sensation of cuddling her little popsicle of a girlfriend. "Better?"
"Mmhmm," Cady hums contently, trying to get as much of her body in contact with Janis as she possibly can. "What are you reading?"
"Just some poetry," Janis says. "Nothing particularly important."
"Hmm," Cady hums again. "Can I ask you something?"
"Uh," Janis says anxiously. "Sure."
"Have you ever been back? To the lake?"
"No," Janis says quietly. "I didn't want to face it alone. I've never been back."
"Would you ever want to? With me? Just to... remember him, if you think it would help?" Cady asks kindly. Janis thinks for a long moment.
"I guess so," Janis agrees. "It would definitely be easier with you there. And I guess I still haven't really found closure. Are you sure you'd want to be there with me? I might... act weird."
"You're still grieving, of course I'd want to be there to help you," Cady says. "I love you."
"I love you too," Janis says. "Maybe we'll go next week, it's still supposed to be hot."
"Okay, my love."
—-
The next week finds them on the shores of Lake Michigan. Cady is delighted, spending the days splashing around in the shallower waters of the lake and her nights cuddled up with her girlfriend. Janis spends more time reading in their room, or carefully huddled under a beach umbrella watching Cady run around.
Cady decides to go as her wolf today, so Janis takes a book and her umbrella to accompany her.
Cady whines when Janis settles in the sand, looking longingly between her and the lake. Janis kisses her snout and rubs over her soft head. "I can't go with you right now, sweet, the sun is still out. Maybe we'll come back tonight. Go swim, I'll be here."
Cady seems to give a little nod and runs off, hurtling through crowds of people and leaping into the water with a splash. She does a little tap dance in the shallows and tries to eat the fish that swim by. Janis watches her for a second and laughs before stretching out on the warm sand for a nap.
-
Janis wakes up the first time to a burning sensation on her foot, and looks to realize she's stuck her toe beyond the cover of her umbrella and set it alight. She quickly buries it in the sand to extinguish it and looks up to check on Cady. She's still her wolf, and standing on the shore. A wave comes up and she runs away until it hits her paws, then runs back towards the water to chase it away. Janis laughs and drifts off again.
The second time, her wake up call is a bit more jarring. Cady has evidently decided to make her return and shakes herself dry, showering an unsuspecting Janis in cold water.
"Ack! Caddy," Janis yelps, startling awake and looking around for her. "Don't do that."
Cady whines apologetically and curls up next to her under her umbrella. Janis pets her gently and scratches her floppy ear.
"Did you have fun?" She chuckles as Cady pants and rolls over for her to scratch her belly. "I'll take that as a yes. We'll come back tonight, maybe we can swim together then."
Cady barks contently and nudges Janis' hand for more affection.
"You smell like wet dog," Janis chuckles. Cady nips her hand. "Oh, stop it, you know you do."
Cady looks around briefly, and then Janis has her human girlfriend beside her. "Better?"
"Much," Janis murmurs, leaning in for a kiss. "Tell your wolf to stop biting me every time I make a joke."
"That's not the wolf, that's me," Cady chuckles, leaning in again. "Are you sure you want to come back tonight?"
"Yeah," Janis sighs. "I think I need to. Come back when nobody's here and just kind of... feel it, you know?"
Cady nods and rests her head on her shoulder. "I'll be here."
—-
Janis lets wolf Cady run along ahead, following at a leisurely pace along the shore. Cady runs back to check on her every now and again, before heading off on her little explorations.
Janis turns to stare at the lake, inching closer until her toes are barely touching the cool water. She has to admit it's beautiful, illuminated by the light of the moon. But it still hurts to remember what happened here.
Janis looks up when she hears Cady start barking suddenly. Cady's not far, and barking at something in the water. Janis runs to see what the issue is.
It turns out that Cady isn't barking at something, but someone. Janis is stunned to hear a rather familiar voice say, "Nice doggy, easy."
"Damian?" Janis asks in shock, coming up behind Cady. There's no way.
"Janis?"
Janis sinks to her knees, not even caring as the rough sand and shells scrape them up. "It-no. No, you-you died, I watched-I watched you die. This can't-"
"Janjan, you're literally a vampire, is it so hard to believe I might have survived?" Damian asks.
"I went to your funeral," Janis whimpers before bursting into tears. "I mourned you for twenty fucking years, Damian Hubbard!"
"Okay, sensing some lingering emotions," Damian says anxiously.
"How?" Janis demands. "How did you survive? I need-I need something, how did you live? Prove it's really you."
"Okay, uh... My name is Damian May Hubbard because I was assigned female at birth and never bothered to change my middle name," Damian begins. "My birthday is July thirteenth. We met in dance class when we were three. You liked to paint, when I last knew you. I hope you still do. Your name is Janis Olivia Sarkisian, and your birthday is October seventeenth. And you're a vampire."
Nobody else knows Janis used to paint, or her middle name. Not even Cady. Janis breaks into heavy sobs, pitching herself into the lake and clinging to his neck. Cady tilts her head in confusion.
"You couldn't swim, I watched you die," Janis sobs. "How are you here?"
"Turns out mermaids are real!" Damian says happily. "Look."
Janis treads water as Damian flips upside down, showing off a purple fish tail before popping back up.
"Huh." Janis says. "You're an absolute ass, Damian Hubbard."
"I can't exactly leave, Janis Sarkisian," Damian retorts. "I wanted to find you, but I didn't know how. And you never came back here."
"I couldn't," Janis says, swimming back and sitting on the shore. Cady just looks between the two of them. "Losing you was bad enough, I couldn't... I didn't want to relive it."
"Well, uh... surprise, then, I guess," Damian chuckles. "When did you get a dog? She's cute."
"Oh, I didn't," Janis replies. "That's my girlfriend."
Damian raises an eyebrow. "The years been that rough?"
"Oh my god, no!" Janis scoffs, kicking some water at him. Cady warily shifts into her human form.
"Oh, shit!" Damian yells. "I mean, uh, hi! I'm Damian."
"Hi," Cady giggles. "I'm Cady."
"Aww!" Damian coos. "Jan, good job, you got a cute one!"
"Damn it!" Cady yells, standing up and pacing further along the shore. Damian looks at Janis in concern.
"She has a thing about being cute," Janis explains. "She wants to be tough."
"Aww," Damian coos again. "Get her back, I want to hear everything."
"Okay," Janis giggles. "Caddy, come back, darling, please?"
Cady returns to the two of them and sits down beside Janis with a huff.
"You're not cute all the time, my sweet," Janis says lovingly. "You were scary that day I almost got kidnapped."
Cady happily says, "I was?" at the same time Damian yelps, "You what?"
"Dame, I'm obviously fine," Janis replies. "But yes, darling, you were scary. You were much bigger, you looked like... a wolf, I guess."
"Can we try again?" Cady asks eagerly. "I wanna see if it happens again."
"Uh..." Janis says. "Sure. Shift and pretend I'm in trouble." Cady does, and her usual wolf stands in front of them. "No, pretend I'm in trouble. I need help. Save me."
Cady just looks at her for a second, but Janis can see the gears turning in her mind. She blinks, and suddenly the great hulking wolf is in front of her.
"Jesus Christ," Damian says anxiously, ducking down so just his nose and eyes peek out of the water.
Janis carefully reaches a hand out for Cady, who comes to gently sniff her fingers. Cady calms down after realizing Janis isn't actually in danger, and is human once more.
"Did I do it?" She asks earnestly.
"Yeah," Janis laughs. "I think your wolf is a little overprotective. We'll practice it. Come here."
Cady plops down in her lap, wincing slightly at the texture of her wet clothes. Janis holds her around the waist and rests her chin on Cady's shoulder.
"My girl all grown up," Damian says with a joking sob and hand over his heart. "I can't believe it."
"I know, right?" Janis replies.
"And you're a werewolf?" Damian asks interestedly, lying on his belly on the shoreline and flapping his tail gently. Cady nods.
"Yeah. I was born human, but I got turned when I was six," Cady explains.
"You poor thing," Damian tuts. "Anyway, how did you meet my sweet little Janjan?"
Cady flushes suddenly and looks down, so Janis answers for them. "She knocked me on my ass in the park."
"Nice!" Damian cheers, lifting his hand to give Cady a high five. Cady laughs and claps her small hand against his large one.
"She was staring at the moon, I was staring at the ground," Janis continues, ignoring how her best friend and girlfriend seem to be teaming up against her already. "Bumped into each other, and then I walked with her for a while, and then we met up again a few days later and kept going. Got to know each other, then we found out we're both supernatural. And then we started dating... how long ago was it?"
Cady pulls out her phone to check, and her eyebrows shoot up her forehead. "A year ago next month."
"Shit," Janis whispers. "That long?"
Cady nods. "I don't believe it either. But that's the gist of our story."
"Cute!" Damian says happily. "I like you, you seem like you've helped Janjan get her shit together."
"I like to think so," Cady laughs. "She's definitely helped me."
Janis kisses her neck a few times, and smiles as Cady takes one of the hands resting on her waist and threads their fingers together.
"What about you, Damdam? Any hot mer-boys down there?"
"No, unfortunately," Damian says sadly. "Turns out gay fishpeople are less common than you'd think. And god, they're so boring sometimes, I haven't had any good drama in ages. That's why I pop up here every night to see what the humans are up to."
"Sounds kind of dangerous," Janis says.
"Eh," Damian says with a shrug. "Costs and benefits. Nobody's seen me until you two, and I'd say this is a strong plus."
"You're telling me," Janis chuckles. "I missed you so much."
"Don't make me cry," Damian warns, already sniffling. "I missed you too, Jan. I'm glad you came back."
"I am too," Janis murmurs. She's getting a bit too emotional for her own tastes, so she changes the subject. "What's fish life like?"
"Kind of nice, honestly," Damian says. "It can be a bit dry sometimes, ironically, but it's relaxing. I miss a lot about land, though."
"What do you do down there?" Cady asks. "It must be so dark."
"Your eyes adapt," Damian chuckles. "I have a little trinket shop, I sell things I find up here at greatly exaggerated prices. Most of the merfolk down there were born that way and don't come up here, so they don't know that, like, a quarter isn't worth all that much."
"Of course you do," Janis laughs. "Do you still sing?"
"No," Damian murmurs. "I stopped when I lost you. Do you still paint?"
Janis shakes her head. "Same reason."
Damian hums sadly. "Well, we'll just have to get back into our things then. You'll have to come back more often so I can see you guys."
They both nod eagerly. Cady says, "Of course. I need all the juicy details about little Janis."
"No," Janis butts in immediately. "You don't. Damian, I swear to Satan, do not."
"Janis used to be a ballerina," Damian says immediately, swimming away from several well placed kicks. "And she loved pink when we were in elementary school, and her favorite princess is Mulan, and she cried when we first watched Finding Nemo, and-"
Cady laughs hysterically as Janis gently shoves her off her lap and dives into the water after him, swimming as fast as she can after her friend. "Jayjay, don't hurt him, be nice!"
"I'll fucking show you nice!" Janis yells. "Hubbard, get back here!"
"I will not get back there when there's a vampire lady chasing me!" Damian retaliates. "She's your girlfriend and you're both immortal, she has a right to know your dirty laundry! You're stuck with each other forever!"
"Okay, fine, I'll stop chasing you," Janis huffs. "I'm tired anyway. Caddy, remind me to start exercising."
"Ha," Cady laughs sarcastically when Janis flops down on the shore next to her. "Yeah, right. Fetch with me is the most exercise you get and I'm the one doing all the work."
"Aww," Damian coos. "Jan, do you remember Gretchen Wieners?"
"Unfortunately," Janis grumbles. "She's okay now, though."
"Who?" Cady asks confusedly.
"This girl we went to high school with," Janis explains. "I'll explain more later. But 'fetch' was sort of her catchphrase."
"Oh. Okay," Cady says. She checks the time on her phone again. "It's sunrise soon, my love."
Janis' face falls, and she sits upright. Damian swims closer to shore, and Janis throws herself at him. Damian hugs her back just as tightly.
"I love you," Janis mumbles into his neck. "Don't disappear again, please."
"I love you too," Damian whispers back, eyes full of tears. "I'll be back here tomorrow night, I promise."
Janis nods and squeezes him once more before swimming back to Cady on the shore. Cady takes her hand and stands so they can say goodbye to Damian.
Janis looks deep in thought as they walk back along the beach towards their condo. Cady squeezes her hand gently and decides to spark a light conversation.
"You used to paint?" She asks quietly.
"Yeah," Janis says. "My dad was an artist. A sculptor. He died when I was little, but I always wanted to be an artist too. So I grew up drawing and stuff. And then I went to art therapy in eighth grade and tried painting for the first time, and something just... clicked. But I stopped when I lost Damian. We were supposed to go to art school together, I didn't... I couldn't do it without him."
"Art therapy?"
Janis sighs before explaining. "You remember that girl Damian mentioned, Gretchen?" Cady nods. "She was part of this group of girls we went to school with, we called them the Plastics because they looked like Barbie dolls. Pink, blonde except Gretchen, bitchy, that sort of thing. I was one of them in middle school, but Regina, she was sort of the leader, outed me as a lesbian in eighth grade. And that was... a pretty big deal, in 2001."
"Oh god," Cady says quietly. "That's awful, I'm so sorry."
"She got hit by a bus later, I'm over it," Janis chuckles. "And she apologized years later. I have a lot of trauma from it, but it seems kind of... childish, now, I guess."
Cady just nods, trying to process. "Do you think you'll start painting again? Now that you have Damian back?"
Janis looks back towards the lake, spying just a hint of pink as the sun starts to make its way up for the day, and nods. "I think I will."
——————-
Cady wakes up feeling awful. Her throat is scratchy and her head is pounding. And she's entirely too hot for comfort. She tries to hold back a cough so she doesn't wake up her girlfriend, but doesn't quite manage it.
"Caddy?" Janis says groggily, rubbing her eyes and looking around for Cady. Cady tries to reassure her that she's okay, but just gives a few particularly violent sneezes instead. "You sick?"
"I dink so," Cady snuffles. She sneezes again. "You should-should go, you don't-" Another sneeze. "Don't hab an immune sysdem."
Janis tries to hold back a giggle at her congested voice and adorable sneezes. "Your wolf ears show up every time you sneeze."
"Stob laughing," Cady grumbles.
"Poor baby," Janis teases. "I may not have an immune system, but there's also nowhere for the germs to go. I don't really get sick."
"I don't really get sick," Cady mocks crankily. Janis pulls her close and kisses her forehead, and Cady melts into her with a whine.
"You definitely have a fever," Janis hums. "Come on."
Cady yelps and clings to her as Janis picks her up to carry her to the living room. "Whad are you doing?"
"Shush, darling, don't strain your voice," Janis hushes. "Just chill here, I'm gonna
make you some soup."
"You can't cook," Cady says, cuddling into her blanket. "And we don't hab anyding."
"I'll figure it out," Janis says. "And I can so cook, I made those steak thingies when you killed that mountain lion a few months ago."
"You sed all of dem on fire," Cady reminds her. "We couldn't eat dem."
"Oh, whatever," Janis huffs. "Soup's easy, I'll be fine."
"If you say so. Hurry back?" Cady snuffles, turning on a movie and huddling into the couch.
"Always, my sweet," Janis replies, kissing Cady's warm forehead and going to the kitchen. Chicken soup can't be that hard, right? Cady has a recipe somewhere.
After rooting through every single cookbook in their possession, Janis finally finds the recipe card tucked away in a small book. She reads through it and quickly realizes that Cady was correct, and they have absolutely none of the ingredients.
"Caddy, I'm going to the store for soup things, I'll be back soon," Janis says, grabbing her bag and jacket. It's overcast today, so she should be okay without her parasol for a quick trip. "Do you need anything?"
"Ice cream," Cady says, coughing a few times. "Maybe some cough syrup."
Janis pouts at her coughing and comes to kiss her warm forehead a few times. "Okay. Get some rest, my sweet. I'll be back soon, text me if you think of anything else."
Cady nods and wraps her blanket tighter around her. "I love you."
"I love you too, dearest."
—-
Janis unlocks the door carrying far more bags than she was supposed to. She may have gone a little overboard, but her girlfriend is sick. What was she supposed to do?
"Caddy, I'm home," she calls quietly, in case Cady is asleep. Janis carries her things into the kitchen and nearly trips over her girlfriend. Cady is transformed into her wolf and lying on the cool wood floor in what Janis believes the kids call a 'sploot'. "Aww."
Cady yawns and stretches as Janis starts putting things away, and is human when Janis turns back from the fridge. "Hi."
"Hi," Janis responds. "How are you feeling?"
Cady shrugs. "You hab a lod of stuff."
"Oh, um... I kind of panicked, I didn't know if you can have human ice cream or not so I got every flavor of the doggy kind, and then strawberry and caramel human stuff," Janis replies. "And I got just about every kind of painkiller and other medicine they had just in case, I don't know how careful you have to be there either."
Cady chuckles weakly. "You're sweet."
"I try," Janis replies, coming to kiss her cheek gently. "Uh... you can take your pick, I'm gonna start cooking for you."
"Are you sure you don't wand me to help?" Cady asks concernedly, taking a few pints of ice cream and some cold medicine.
"No, you go rest, I got this," Janis says. "Hopefully."
Cady looks at her warily, but does take her things back over to her little nest on the couch. "If you need help I'm ober here."
"I'm fine!" Janis calls. "It'll be fine, don't worry."
-
Surprisingly, Janis is correct for the first fifteen minutes or so of the process. The seasoning and prepping of the chicken goes well, and it cooks evenly. The vegetables go about the same way. Janis moves on to the next step feeling very confident.
The confidence quickly fades. Janis adds all the broth seasonings she needs, and all the chicken and veggies, but something is wrong. So, she putters about the kitchen for a while in hopes she won't have to admit defeat and call for help. But Janis knows when she's been had, and the smell of burning means her time has come.
"Caddy," she calls. "I think I messed it up."
Cady strolls in casually, eating a bite of her ice cream. "Whad I can smell doesn't smell too bad. No fire?"
"No fire, but it doesn't... look right," Janis says. Cady puts her ice cream down and heads to look at the pot Janis removed from the burner. She barely peeks in before bursting into hysterical laughter. "What?"
"Jayjay," Cady chokes out around her sweet bubbly giggles. She's laughing so hard she's bent over slightly. "Whad-whad is, like, the main quality of soup?"
"Soupy? I don't know," Janis shrugs.
"And whad makes things soupy?" Cady asks, still giggling.
"Wet stuff-oh!" Janis realizes. "Fuck."
"Love, you forgod the water," Cady laughs. "You pretty much jusd roasted some chicken and vegetables."
"Stop laughing," Janis says, knowing she would be blushing like a tomato if she had the ability. "I did everything else right, I made... stuff. I just forgot the soup."
Cady comes up and threads her arms around Janis' neck. "You really can't ged sick?"
Janis shakes her head, so Cady presses up on her tippy toes to kiss her. Janis holds her around the waist and pulls her closer.
"Do you hab any idea how much I love you?" Cady murmurs when they break apart briefly. Janis lets out a quiet squeak of embarrassment. "Because it's a lod. I love you so much. More than anyding. And every little thing you do just makes me love you more. Even forgetting to add soup to soup."
"Oh," Janis says quietly. "I love you too. I love you so much." Cady presses up to kiss her again. "Is the-is what I made, uh..."
"It's salvageable, yes," Cady chuckles. "You did a good job, lovely. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Janis says, kissing her forehead. "Gimme a few minutes, I'll make this into soup or so help me Satan."
Cady kisses her one more time and sits on the counter, so she's nearby in case of another disaster. Janis does manage to salvage her soup, and it's actually delicious and almost correct.
Cady sits at the dining table and happily eats her bowl, and Janis sits at her usual place across from her. Janis is about to start a conversation about something meaningless when Cady suddenly says, "We should hab a baby."
Janis freezes with a spoonful of soup halfway to her mouth, and looks down at it. "We have soup."
"Nod for dinner, dummy," Cady chuckles, nudging her with a foot. "Just... y'know. A baby."
"How?" Janis asks. "And why?"
"I dunno," Cady shrugs. She coughs a few times before continuing. "And because... I wand a life with you. We hab literally forever. I think we should get married. And maybe have a baby."
"I'll think about it," Janis says, already overwhelmed. "I love you."
"I love you more," Cady teases happily. Janis shakes her head.
"I love you most."
—————
Janis wakes up from a nap to a quiet growling.
Cady doesn't usually growl unless she's feeling particularly protective or cranky with Janis. So Janis heads to investigate.
She finds her in the living room, all the furniture pushed out of the way and the TV playing some Steve Irwin clips. Cady has her back to Janis and is looking between the TV and her apparent prey on the floor. She copies Irwin's stance and motions, moving around slightly to track her prey from different angles.
Janis is confused by this, because Steve seems to be talking about a crocodile. Whatever Cady has must be smaller than she is. Needless to say, not a crocodile.
Janis sits down carefully and continues watching in mild amusement, until Steve pounces on the crocodile to wrestle it. Cady's tail starts wagging in excitement and she also pounces, leaping onto whatever she has with a growl. Janis watches as she shakes her head around to 'kill' what is clearly putting up a valiant fight.
"Having fun, my sweet?" Janis asks kindly. Cady whirls around in surprise and reveals...
A croc. As in one of her own shoes, hanging out of her mouth. Janis bursts into hysterical laughter, laughing so hard she tips over and is now sprawled out on the ground, clutching her stomach. Cady comes over to nose at her face, checking that she's okay.
"What are you doing?" Janis laughs, ruffling Cady's ears around. "Practicing your hunting?" Cady gives a proud little nod. "Good job. Clearly a fearsome enemy."
Cady trots back over and grabs the other shoe, then comes to drop it by Janis and wags her tail proudly. Janis strokes through her thick fur with a loving hand and a smile. "Thank you, darling. You're an excellent hunter."
Cady boofs happily, proud of herself, and curls up by Janis on the ground for a nap.
————-
Janis is curled up contently on the sofa with Cady on her lap, sharing a book. Cady had asked to read her favorites so she can understand Janis a little more, and Janis thought this was a good way to do it. Janis holds the book for them so they can both see, and Cady gives her a gentle tap when she finishes a page. This system works well enough for the both of them.
Cady looks up at her when there's a knock at the door, and moves off her lap so Janis can go answer it. They're not expecting anyone or anything, so Janis is slightly confused.
"Oh, hey Damian," she greets when she pulls the door open to find her best friend on the other side. "Damian! You-but-how-feet!"
"I know, right?" Damian laughs, pulling her into a hug. Janis hugs him back before hauling him into the apartment by a hand.
"How did you get legs again?" Janis asks as Cady hugs their friend tightly in greeting.
"Same way I got a tail," Damian shrugs. "Well, I asked for legs this time. I'm still a merperson, but as long as I'm dry I'll have legs. Just need to drink a lot of water or take baths a lot more than I used to."
"Huh," Janis says happily. "You can dance again! And we can hang out!"
"I know!" Damian says happily, reaching to hug her again. "I just have to figure out how to be human again. Or close to human, anyway."
"Do you think you're gonna try performing again?" Janis asks. Damian shrugs.
"Remains to be seen," he says. "What about you? You said you were going to try painting again."
"She has," Cady says happily. "And... um... I didn't tell you this, Jay, but I might have put together a portfolio for you and sent them off to all the art schools here and in New York."
Janis freezes. "You what now?"
"You got in to all of them, Jay," Cady says quietly. "I knew you would never do it for yourself, but you deserve a chance to live your passion. If you ever want to go, they all have a spot for you."
"Oh," Janis says quietly. "All of them?"
"Every one," Cady confirms. "Best of the best, if you want that."
"Oh."
"Do you want to go, Janjan?" Damian asks gently. Janis is hollowly trying to process this. She's dreamed of being a painter her whole life, and had resigned herself to living an eternity never painting again after the loss of her friend. But now, he's back. Janis has options. She can have the forever she always dreamed of.
"Yeah," she whispers. "I do. But what about-"
"We'll figure it out," Cady says. "One step at a time. We have forever."
Janis nods, and hauls Cady in for a kiss. Damian groans and covers his eyes, so they break apart quicker than they want to. But they have time.
—————-
five years later
"I'm so proud of you," Cady says quietly, smiling up at her girlfriend and adjusting her mortarboard cap. "My hot art graduate."
"I love you," Janis hums, bending down slightly to kiss her. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Being here. For me," Janis replies. "Pushing me to do this. I wouldn't be here without you."
"Neither would I," Cady chuckles meaningfully, linking their fingers and looking meaningfully at the matching (not silver, thank you very much) rings adorning their left hands. "I love you too. Let's go find Damian, I want pictures of both of you."
Janis raises an eyebrow.
"You know what I mean. Pictures of him and a floating cap and gown," Cady huffs. "Let's go."
"Why rush?" Janis purrs, pulling her wife in for another kiss.
We've got all the time in the world.
————-
ta da! hope you enjoyed!!
i hope you all have a fun and safe halloween however you celebrate it! let me know what you're dressing up as, too, i'd love to know! i'm going as beetlejuice :)))
thanks so much for reading and i'll see you next week!!
lots of love, ezzy