Derrick panicked, shooting out of the bathroom. He scanned the room, and grabbed the nearest weapon: a candlestick. Then, he turned his attention on a half-naked Jake, who was cowering behind the bed, his face a sickly white color.
"Derrick! D-Derrick help me! Save me, "Jake whimpered like a dog, backing further away from Derrick, "Save me from that monster!"
"W-What?" Derrick said, glancing around the room, not seeing anything, "What monster?!"
Jake's back hit the wall behind him and the werewolf jumped in surprise. The werewolf pointed a shaky finger to the wall behind Derrick. The prince slowly turned around, afraid of what he would see on the wall.
Derrick raised the candlestick in arms, like a batter about to hit a home run. He pinpointed the location Jake was pointing at and then dropped his arms.
He looked at Jake, then back at the 'monster'.
It was a spider.
A freaking spider.
Derrick almost smiled, or even laughed. The big bad wolf was scared of a spider that could fit almost in the palm of Derrick's hand. Derrick was not scared of insects at all. He used to awe at them and learn about them from his mother when he was little. He knew for a fact what this spider was, and was surprised to see it in the castle. These spiders were rare in the kingdom; they usually stayed in places like South America. In warm climates. But it seems someone must have had this one as a pet and it sought out warm shelter in the castle.
Derrick knew this spider was a gentle giant, but Jake didn't.
Derrick reached up and picked the Goliath birdeater spider up by the joint in between his abdomen and head. The spider's legs squirmed and it's front fangs twitched.
"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Jake screamed, "D-Don't pick it up! ARE YOU INSANE?!"
Derrick examined it, then smirked almost evilly.
"So," Derrick said, turning around to face Jake, "You're afraid of spiders?"
Jake nodded and tried backing further into the wall he was pressed against. Derrick loomed nearer, coming closer to the werewolf with the spider.
"Why?" Derrick asked smugly. Jake tried melting into the wall, but he just couldn't.
"I-I don't know- DON'T COME ANY CLOSER WITH THAT DEMON," Jake screamed, panicking when his soulmate got closer to him with the wiggling arachnid.
"Let's make a deal," Derrick said, tilting the spider back and forth in his hand tauntingly, and Jake's eyes widened, "Pet the spider and...I'll hug you again."
Derrick just wanted to torture and tease the poor thing.
Jake gulped.
DO IT, Pickle urged.
But-But it's scary... Jake whined.
DO IT LIKE A MAN, Pickle demanded.
Jake whimpered, looking at Derrick. Derrick wouldn't let him get hurt, would he?
Jake eyed the spider, still pressed against the wall, and took in a breath to calm himself.
"O-Okay," he said, his voice trembling. Spiders were one of the only things that made him soft.
Derrick smiled that same small smile that Jake wanted to grow, but still loved. It gave the werewolf a small smigit of confidence. Derrick held out the spider for Jake to touch. Jake flinched and slowly forced his hand to get closer. Jake closed his eyes, not wanting to see himself touch his worst fear.
He felt small little barbs underneath his fingers and screeched. The werewolf's eyes shot open and he ducked sideways to get away from the monster. Derrick laughed a little, which distracted Jake a little bit from his tingling fingers. The werewolf shivered.
Derrick had enough of his teasing, so he went to the window and allowed the spider to crawl safely down the outside of the castle. When he turned back around, Jake was sitting in a corner, pouting.
"That was mean," he whined. Derrick rolled his eyes, the smile gone. Jake got up shakily and walked over to Derrick before hugging him.
"What are you doing?" Derrick asked, his voice muffled from Jake's shoulder. Jake snuggled his face into Derrick's neck.
"You said you would hug me," Jake reminded. Derrick sighed. The prince slowly wrapped his arms around Jake back reluctantly, but knew that the tingly feeling in his heart was making him like it. Derrick could feel Jake's smile pressed onto his neck. The prince had also just remembered that Jake was half-naked. His torso was bare and the prince could feel the werewolf's soft, warm skin on his fingertips, making him blush.
Suddenly, the door flew open.
"Your majesty, I-" the voice stopped when upon seeing the situation. The two boys looked at Mr. Loup, who had, yet again, barged into the room.
"I-" Mr. Loup stuttered, looking in between the two hugging men. He felt as if he had just interrupted something special.
"I-I must be leaving now,- uh breakfast is ready," Mr. Loup finished before hastily speed-walking out of the door, shutting it behind him. The two soulmates looked at each other. Derrick with wide eyes; Jake with a smile.
Derrick realized they were still hugging and pushed onto Jake's chest, freeing himself. He took in a deep, yet shaky, breath with nerves.
"One day, I'm going to fire that idiot," Derrick growled, "Do you think he knows?"
"Do you hug people often?" Jake asked, shrugging.
"Ha. No," Derrick huffed, getting more restless. He didn't want anybody to know yet- or possibly ever if he could help it.
"Then he suspects, but he can't prove anything," Jake shrugged, noticing Derrick's nervous actions, "You'll be fine. No worries."
For some reason, Jake's words assured Derrick. As if the prince trusted him already. Just 'You'll be fine' comforted him to a relatively calm degree.
Derrick didn't like it.
"Yeah okay- whatever," Derrick growled, "Put a shirt on and let's go."
Jake obliged, sliding a dress shirt over his shoulders and buttoning up each button. He was glad, even with the taunting and teasing, that Derrick had just saved his life from his worst nightmare and gave him a hug.
So brave~ His wolf sighed in content.
Derrick was already headed to the door when Jake was done buttoning, but before the prince could open it, Jake gave him a hug from behind.
The prince stopped in his tracks.
"Thank you," Jake whispered. And Derrick's resolve almost crumbled from not giving the time to prepare himself. Derrick shook his head, regaining himself, before turning around and pushing Jake away.
"Don't mention it," he grumbled, before opening the door and stepping out. Jake smiled, walking behind his hateful soulmate as they search for breakfast.
Jake smiled, walking behind his hateful soulmate as they search for breakfast
~{()}~
"Son, why don't you show your friend the gardens?" King Rastus smiled kindly, while Derrick groaned. The King wondered why; he had thought this kid- Jake- was accepted by his son as a friend. Either way, Jake seemed to be changing Derrick for the better...somehow. His son didn't seem as grumpy, more like frustrated. It was as if his son was trying hard to keep his angry facade on his face.
And what Lobo Loup, or Mr. Loup, had told him this morning surprised him.
See, there was a reason Mr. Loup barged in on Derrick so often. It was the King's orders. In a way, the King knew that Derrick would never come to him for help with problems, but the King wanted to catch his son doing something other than brooding. Like, if he was secretly in love with someone, sneaking off in the middle of the night to see them or had them come by the window.
So far, nothing has changed.
Until today.
The king was a bit shocked to hear that the two were hugging. Usually, men did not hug each other, especially grumpy, antisocial men like his son. Further questioning, he wondered why they were hugging in the first place. Did something go wrong?
He had asked Nathan to keep an eye on them to see what was up. Little did he know, Nathan knew more-or-less why they were hugging, and he wasn't going to tell the king anything...unless Derrick wanted him to.
King Rastus shooed his son and Jake along, wanting to see if Nathan had any news. With a few groans and grumbles, the door slammed shut with Jake and Derrick behind them. Just Rastus turned to Nathan, who was trying to do something with his hands, sticking his tongue out in concentration.
Nathan had one hand in a thumbs-up and the other hand pointing straight out with his index finger. Then, at the same time, he tried switching the positions. He failed and ended up with a finger gun.
"So," the King started, making Nathan look up from his hands, "Any luck?"
"Any luck with what?" Nathan asked, genuinely confused. The king sighed.
"With spying on my son and his new friend?" Just Rastus elaborated. Nathan's eyes widened and his mouth formed a silent 'oh'.
"Um, nah not really. Nothing has happened at all. Trust me. Tot-tal-ly normal Derrick. Nothing suspicious," Nathan confirmed, nodding his head along to his claims. The king was suspicious for a second, but then shrugged. Nathan was outgoing, but that didn't mean he was untrustworthy.
"Thank you, Nathan, " the King said, "Really. I just want my son to be happy again- and I-I'm just curious as to what this stranger has that I don't."
Nathan snorted.
"Trust me, sir," Nathan assured, "You'll eventually find out. And if you don't- I'd be surprised."
"How are you so sure?" the king asked.
"Just trust me," Nathan said.
~{()}~
"Yeah so, these are the gardens," Derrick grumbled, "Not much to see since it's winter."
The gardens had littered ivory statues of brave, gruff knights; white benches from faraway places, carved into intricate designs; tall, rose-shaped topiaries; and vines draping from the wide stone wall surrounding the lawn. Everything, from the tip of a sculpture's nose to the dainty green leaf of an ivy, was laden with soft, bright snow.
"It's still beautiful," Jake breathed, looking at the untouched ground. There were no footprints in the snow except for theirs and, for some reason, that felt special to the werewolf. Jake walked over and sat on a snow-covered bench.
"Your butt is going to get wet, " Derrick pointed out, watching as Jake still looked at everything.
"Then come sit with me," Jake said, before looking at Derrick with a smirk, "Our butts can be wet together."
"Idiot," Derick huffed, shaking his head. He was also rubbing his arms; it was a bit cold.
"Idiot," Jake copied, looking out at the garden again. Derrick frowned.
"I'm not the idiot, you are," he clarified.
"I'm not the idiot, you are," Jake repeated, an amused glint in his eye.
"Wha-Why are you repeating what I say?" Derrick asked, getting frustrated.
"Why are you repeating what I say?" Jake replied, smiling smugly now.
"Stop that!" Derrick growled.
"Stop that!" Jake copied. Derrick was getting closer to Jake.
"I mean it, Jake. Stop that!" Derrick huffed.
"I mean it, Jake. Stop that!" Jake smiled, looking at Derrick now.
"SHUT UP!" Derrick yelled and, just so Jake couldn't repeat him, shoved the werewolf off the bench and into the snow. Jake laughed as he fell, not very bothered by the cold snow. After he finished laughing, he just laid there.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," the werewolf said, still smiling, "Could you at least help me up?"
Jake held out a hand for Derrick to grab. The prince sighed, figuring he could at least do that, and latched his hand onto Jake's. What he did not expect was Jake to pull down on his arm and get a face full of snow.
"Ack! What was that for?!" the prince huffed, now laying in the snow as well, but on his belly.
"That was like, the most classic trick in the book," Jake pointed out, lying on his back, "If you were more social, maybe you would know that. Then again, I've only really socialized with werewolves, you, Nathan, and- does your dad count? Yeah, I think he counts."
The soulmates were lying beside each other in the snow. Derrick was, of course, frowning because he could feel Jake looking at him. Derrick turned to look at the werewolf, about to ask him what his problem was, but he froze.
Their faces were a little too close.
Derrick was about to pull away, but he found that he couldn't. It was like when you lay down and you get so comfortable, you don't want to move. Jake seemed serious now, his eyelids heavy as if he was tired. Derrick could feel heat emanating from Jake on his face and kind of didn't want to move away, since it was so cold. He saw those icy blue eyes closer than he had ever seen them...and they seemed to get closer and closer...
Derrick snapped out of it when he realized Jake was leaning his face in closer to his. The prince scurried away, eyes wide, and taking deep breaths of panic.
That did not just happen-That did not just happen-That did not just happen- Derrick repeated in his head.
Did Jake just try to-
No.
That's not possible.
There was no way that Jake would want to kiss someone like him.
Jake, however, was little hurt, but he understood now. It's like a lever flipped in his head as soon as Derrick pulled away. He suddenly knew exactly why his soulmate was pushing him away- why he pushed everyone away.
I told you, Pickle said, also a little hurt from the silent rejection, You will get closer every day. Today you learned each other's fears.
Jake stared at the prince, who was staring at him in shock.
Jake's blue eyes were sympathetic when he thought over the reason Derrick pulled away.
Derrick knew Jake was afraid of spiders, sure.
But now Jake knew-
Derrick was afraid to love.
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