Back again. It's been a while.
Barnes and Constantine exchanged a wary look as the latter started moving around the kitchen making lunch for his Master. Barnes took a step back before he spoke. He had gotten to know the werewolf well enough to know that he had a short fuse and could snap when provoked. Which was exactly what he intended to do, poke him with a stick and see what happens.
"The two humans have decided to stay behind?" He spoke quietly, his news meant only for Constantine to hear.
"What?" His head spun round so fast that Barnes took another step back and inched towards the door. He glanced out to make sure Shaun was out of earshot. The boy was sitting quietly watching TV, oblivious of the storm heading his way.
"I heard Shaun and the other one talking. They've decided to stick together and weather it out here." Barnes waited and watched as Constantine continued to stalk around the kitchen slamming cupboards and throwing plates and glasses onto a tray. If the banging and crashing wasn't a clear enough indication of his mood then his face was. Barnes watched him grind his teeth, heated colour progressively working its way up his neck to his cheeks until he was flushed and sweaty. Barnes could practically hear the grumbling going on in his head. By the time he walked out of the kitchen, his eyes were starting to flicker amber. It was the reaction Barnes expected.
The tray rattled with every step Constantine took, the plates threatening to fly off as he marched his way across the apartment. He watched Shaun from the corner of his eye but said nothing. The annoying human was still ignoring him. He kicked open the bedroom door and disappeared inside. Subtlety was never Constantine's strong suit.
All the while Barnes watched Shaun's eyes follow Constantine then quickly darted back to the TV. The boy squirmed trying to get comfortable, his legs were still painfully stiff and uncooperative. He'd sunk deeper into the cushions and was stuck. Barnes smirked, Shaun wasn't going anywhere. He didn't like humans any better than he did before they arrived in Perth but this particular human had proven himself loyal, and brave even if he couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. They were qualities he respected and Barnes felt that if a few words in someone's ear or a little push in the right direction, would help the boy along, he was happy to do it.
Loud voices came from the bedroom, Barnes made a point of ignoring the conversation by making himself a cup of coffee but his wolf hearing couldn't help but pick up Adam's angry voice just as the door opened. "..and who's fault is that?"
Barnes thought that this would be a good time to leave. He dropped the mug in the sink and made his way out of the kitchen. If he was right the shit would be hitting the fan in a few moments. He didn't look back as he left the apartment.
....
When Constantine came out of the bedroom the only sound was the low hum of voices from the TV.
"What the fuck is so interesting?" He growled to himself. Shaun's eyes were glued to the screen. His face was blank. "Was the little shit even blinking? Am I invisible or something? Θέλω να σκοτώσω κάτι." The mumbling and grumbling went on. He headed for the couch to confront Shaun but at the last minute swerved and went into the kitchen to clean up and calm down.
"Breathe," Constantine told himself. He wanted to talk and Shaun had no choice about it.
When the kitchen was spotless and he had no excuse to linger he went to the lounge. He sat on the other end of the couch. The scene was the definition of awkwardness. Shaun's eyes never left the TV screen, although he continuously squirmed in his seat, trying to get up without success. The silence dragged on.
"You've been avoiding me since I chased you out of the bathroom," Constantine said impatiently, although he promised himself that he'd be nonchalant.
"I finally got the message," Shaun said coldly, looking at him briefly. Then he went back to watching the News. The werewolf wished he had listened to him at the time. The situation might have burnt itself out by now if he had. It had turned into a childish tit-for-tat situation.
"Are you going to keep on ignoring me?" Constantine couldn't believe he was nervous talking to a human...A HUMAN!!!!
"Pretty much." Shaun nodded but didn't bother to look his way. He squirmed a little harder, his palms flat on the cushions flexed uselessly as he tried to push himself up. He sighed and sat back, resigned to the fact he couldn't walk away from the conversation.
"Why aren't you coming with us?" Constantine asked quietly. His eyes ran over Shaun's profile. For a human he was Ok, he didn't mind his face. Usually, all humans looked the same to him, they were nondescript, with two eyes, a nose, and mouth. He'd never wanted to get to know one, much less understand one.
Then there was Shaun, the exception, who had unexpectedly sparked something Constantine hadn't felt for a long time and certainly not for a male, a human male. It had only been his mate, his wife that had made him feel that way. He examined the long straight nose, the curve on the corner of his lips, the strong jaw, but there was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to explain how even at that very moment he wanted to touch him, taste him again. When he realized he was staring and where his thoughts had taken him he looked away abruptly and shook himself.
Shaun let out another louder sigh. "Wow...that got out quick, we haven't said anything to anyone." He turned angry eyes at Constantine. "Have you been using your werewolf hearing to eavesdrop? Rude much."
The werewolf snorted loudly and his lips pulled back in a snarl. He was insulted that Shaun would even suggest he'd do something like that. "You humans say, "A little bird told me."
"Ah! Barnes." As if to say who else would it be?
Constantine nodded and rolled his eyes.
Shaun looked back at the TV. "That guy is everywhere...like a bad smell."
"You haven't answered my question. Why aren't you coming with us?" There was a long silence and Shaun stared up at the ceiling for a while trying to find the right words. The answer was pretty simple.
"I want to get my old life back. As cool as you guys are, I think I've had enough drama for a lifetime in the last couple of weeks." They looked at each other, both a little sad. "I'm going to miss Adam. I imagined that our little group of friends would leave Uni, finally start acting like grown-ups, get good jobs, and eventually settle down, have kids. Still, be friends when we're old and grey. Very cliche." Shaun smiled and shrugged. "We'll keep in touch I suppose after things settle down but it won't be the same. Distance makes it hard to stay friends. I'm going to miss not having my best friend around all the time."
He tentatively rubbed his thighs. His voice was softer when he spoke again. "And if I'm really honest, I don't want to be constantly afraid anymore. Every step I take..." He ran his fingers over the ridges that he could feel through his pants. "...reminds me of that night, of Thanos and his men. What they did to me and the pain." Constantine saw him tremble and his chin quivered as he held back tears.
"Adam wants you to come with us because he wants to make sure you're OK. He came back for you. I didn't understand why at the time but I do now." Constantine didn't want to try to change his mind anymore. Shaun was right, he should go back to his old life. The were realized the reason he wanted Shaun to go with them was a selfish one.
"I'll even miss you..." Shaun sounded like his old gruff self. It was something people said to be polite so Constantine didn't take him seriously.
"For a couple of years, I've been curious about Adam's creepy flatmate. The weirdo who appeared every now and then like a mirage. Adam never gave away anything so I started making up different scenarios about you. A little game I played when I was bored." Constantine cocked an eyebrow.
"Such as?"
"Well things like drug dealer, that's my all-time favourite. Security guard for a sleazy underground club was another. As I went along it got weirder..." Was Shaun blushing? "I've got a very active imagination."
"Like?"
"Well, a tattooist for the Yakuza...and..."
Constantine sat up and leaned his elbows on his knees, staring down Shaun who was slowly disappearing into the couch from embarrassment. "I'm not Japanese SHAUN!"
"That's irrelevant." He waved a hand in the air. "Then there was the high-end escort to the rich, royal and famous. Disgraced Black Ops guy and of course the Porn Star...." Shaun was on a roll.
"Little did I know that reality was even stranger than fiction....and as it turns out you are a WEREWOLF! A frigg'in mythological beast. You've got your own movie genre. Jack Nicholson OMG the best werewolf...ever. When he pees on James Spader...classic ."
"Shut up! Stop! No more." Constantine yelled in frustration. The conversation had gone sideways. He'd lost control of what was meant to be him having a serious and sincere conversation with the annoying human about...what the hell was it about...shit, fuck. They'd gone off on some stupid tangent. The were growled so loud Shaun turned pale.
Constantine sighed, his body felt like it deflated, all he wanted to do was tell him he liked him.
Shaun panicked and started to seriously try to push himself off the couch. In the end, Constantine couldn't stand to watch him struggle any longer and decided to end this shit show. He jumped up and stood in front of Shaun hauling him up from his underarms as if he weighed nothing. The move was so abrupt that Shaun ended up bouncing off Constantine and the latter had to grab him tighter to keep him on his feet. They ended up nose to nose, chest to chest and crutch to crutch, Shaun on his toes clutching his shoulder's.
"How did we get here again?" Constantine could feel the heat rise up in him as he looked down at the human. He watched as Shaun's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his eyes widen into saucers and his lips, those damned lips parted in a soft gasp.
Constantine's hands slid down to his waist and even as he told himself to stop, he pulled him in closer and there was the slightest brush of body against body.
"Fuck." He didn't want to think about how good it felt, how between his legs had turned into a furnace.
Shaun's face went beetroot red and his fingers dug into the werewolf's shoulders. "You're eyes are doing that weird changing colour thing again. Why....why...are you making that noise?" He could feel the vibration of a low deep growl against his chest.
Constantine hadn't realized he was growling or that his wolf was demanding to be heard. It took every scrap of self-control he could muster to stop himself from laying him on the couch and taking him. The memory of the way he tasted, of his scent urged him to do it. His wolf snapped, clawed and howled in protest as he let Shaun go and backed away.
''On second thoughts it's probably a good thing that you stay here.'' Then he stormed out of the apartment.
''But...I...'' Shaun tried to follow him but only managed a few steps before the door slammed shut. ''What the fuck just happened? He never lets me get a frigg'in word in.''
He was shaking all over, it wasn't from fear. Shaun wasn't scared of Constantine, far from it. He never been so turned on in his life. This was the second time these feelings erupted from nowhere. He'd gotten horny before, he'd slept with a few girls but this was different. He wasn't the sort of guy for deep and meaningful emotions at the best of times but Constantine tapped into something that had been dormant, waiting for release. There was no denying he was attracted to Constantine, perhaps more than just attracted. Maybe, if Constantine stopped running away they could find out. He stopped himself from following the werewolf because there was no time to resolve anything. They'd be leaving in a day or two and that would be the end of it and he'd go back to his old life. Suddenly it didn't seem as appealing.