werewolf!charlie, modern (lab)
Thandi tugs the collar onto Milo, smiling to herself. The wolfdog wags his tail up at her before standing on his hind legs to lick her face.
“Milo!! Milo, you silly boy, get down, darling!” She rubs his cheeks affectionately, kissing his forehead as he happily presses into her. Milo is excitable, half wild, but incredibly loyal to her. She got him last year, when she moved out to the edge of town. He wandered into her yard, injured, limping, whining. And she had taken care of him.
Ever since then, he came back every day, slept in her bed, kept her company. It was time that she put a collar on him! He belonged to the forest, but without a collar, people might mistake him for a dangerous animal. Which he isn’t! He’s a gentle giant!
She gives him a big hug and laughs when he wiggles into her. A gentle, loving, happy wolfdog.
“So, guess what Dr. Vanderbee did today? He yelled at one of the interns and they started to cry. And then!! And then, he fell asleep during lunch when he promised he would eat with me. I swear, I think he’s losing weight.”
Milo whines at her. She pets him fondly and kisses into his fluffy cheeks, prompting him to growl in that funny way he does. She had been frightened by the growl at first, but there was a certain note to it that she started to hear when they got more acquainted. A squeaky whine, a pant, a wiggling of his furry self into her arms. A love growl, she called it.
Charlie scents her in the lab, and he’s excited. There’s a nearly unrestrainable urge to bound up to her and bury his face into her stomach and lick her face all over. He shoves it down. Deep, deep down. The familiar sound of her steps in the hallway has him absolutely beside himself, but he hides it, and he hides it well. Or. He hopes he does.
There she is, curly hair bobbing, jewelry glittering, wearing that personable but business-like expression. He remembers her going gooey over rubbing his stomach and oooh, it’s her, it’s her, she’s here, she’s here stop.
“Early again, Dr. Kahsu.”
“I’ll beat you someday, Charlie!” Aaah, he loves that. Say it again. No! His face remains stoic and he nods, acknowledging her.
“Unlikely. I rent a room here nowadays.”
“You can do that?!” Thandi covers her mouth in amazement. She’s so cute. Look at how she tilts her head. Look at that little smile. “Well, I suppose if anyone would manage it, it would be you! You live to work. Speaking of! Lunch, mister!”
He bows his head. “I know. We’ll eat together today. Did you get—”
“I did! You know, you don’t need to pay me to feed you. I’m doing it out of concern for you!”
“I feel indebted to you. It’s nothing to me.” Charlie shrugs and she laughs, that cute, tinkly laugh. It makes him feel warm. He wishes that he got to stay in bed with her longer last night. But now he has a collar that he could take with him. It makes him feel like he really belongs with her. He doesn’t take it off until the very last minute anymore. “Enough talking. Let’s get to work.”
“Let’s!”
Weeks pass. She gets into work early and finds her colleague tugging on his coat, messing with his tie. “Dr. Vanderbee?”
He turns, panic in his eyes. He’s not messing with his tie at all. He’s wearing a collar. Thandi’s eyes widen. Is that… some sort of fetish…? She didn’t need to know this about him! He unbuckles it quickly, face red, stowing it in his locker. The locker clatters shut and it’s silent for a moment. “Don’t. Say. A word.”