Work Text:
Ydris looked up from his book when he heard scratching at his wagon door, putting a finger on his page to hold his place. The scratching came again, accompanied by a whimper this time. Ydris pursed his lips in contemplation. He remembered what Jack had told him earlier, when he’d been locking himself inside the wagon with Halli and Walter for the night.
“Don’t open the door, no matter what, until the sun rises,” Jack had said. “No matter how much I might scratch at the door, how human I might sound, I’ll probably hurt you. Please, Ydris. For me.” He’d looked at Ydris with so much pleading in his eyes that Ydris had nodded, promising him.
“Should you scratch or plead or beg, I will simply plug my ears up with cotton,” Ydris had promised. But he’d forgotten. In the last few hours of kissing and just being together, Jack’s condition had completely slipped Ydris’ mind.
And now, the cotton sat in its little pile, on the coffee table where Ydris had left it. Another scratch, another whine. Ydris closed his eyes, hoping that Jack would go away.
But he didn’t. The scratching and whining continued, even a little howl. Ydris grit his teeth.
“Ydris, lemme in,” Jack said now, his voice sounding strange. “I’m me, I promise, just… lemme in.” More scratching. A thud, and then a yelp. “I’m hurt.”
“What happened?” asked Ydris, the thought of his fiancé in pain bringing him to his feet immediately, casting the book aside. He opened the door, and gasped in dismay at what he saw. Jack was… not Jack. Where before there had been a human, now, Jack just looked wrong. His limbs were too long, he was permanently hunched over on all fours, he had a wolf’s snout for his face, and his teeth and eyes were very much non-human. His hair was still blue, at least, but it was sparser than Ydris would have expected werewolf fur to be. But Ydris only took in these details for a moment, focusing instead on the blood that covered Jack and still dripped from a wound in his upper arm where bone poked through.
“Farmer shot me,” said Jack. “Dunno who.” Ydris reached his hand out, wanting to try to soothe Jack’s wound somehow. Jack growled low in his throat, but Ydris ignored it.
“Come inside, I’ll clean it for you,” said Ydris. “I have some antiseptic somewhere, and I can do a rudimentary healing spell to stop the bleeding while I get you to the doctor’s or vet’s or whatever.” He gently grasped Jack by the arm, beneath the wound, and Jack snapped.
Gone was the sweet boy, the injured one, and here was the wolf that Jack had warned him about. Jack gave a snarl of fury and bit Ydris’ hand, his good arm raking claws down Ydris’ chest and stomach as he pushed him away. Jack fled, trying to lope away but managing only a limp down the road. Ydris could only stand there, confused and bleeding, blood dripping from his arm and torso until the pain hit, driving him back inside.
Dawn light was falling over the wagon when Jack returned to his human form. After burying his wolf parts with a look of disgust on his face, he walked up the road, onto the land where the circus tent was still set up, and stopped.
There was blood on the wagon’s doorstep and doorframe, and more blood in a trail along the grass. Jack paled, swallowing thickly. His arm did hurt, but the change back had healed it somewhat. At the very least, it didn’t look as messy as it had. Now, he just had a hole in his arm and a broken bone beneath, the change having pushed out the bone splinters and enough blood to paint his arm a ghastly shade of red down to his fingertips. He’d tied part of his shirt around the wound, and now wore the remainder like a kind of throwback to early 2000s fashion when it had been cool to show off one’s belly button.
Bracing himself, Jack entered the wagon. There was more blood, as he’d expected, and his heart pounded. What had he done last night? He remembered going to the wagon, and then pain and fear. Had he…?
“Ydris?” Jack called, running into the wagon. He didn’t care about the pain in his arm now, or leaving the door of the wagon open, all he cared about was his fiancé. If he’d hurt him somehow, he’d never forgive himself. Already, guilt was filling him, dragging him under. He’d hurt Ydris, probably killed him, and probably Walter and Halli too, all because of the beast that he became on a full moon. Tears filled his eyes so that he could barely see, and so it was that he managed to run smack-bang into Ydris, who stumbled back, wincing.
“Jack, it’s okay, I’m here,” said Ydris, holding his hands out in a placating gesture, but all Jack could see was the blood seeping through Ydris’ white shirt and dotting the white bandage wrapped around his right hand.
“I did hurt you!” said Jack, turning away. “Dammit, I knew that was going to happen! All because I turn into a damn wolf every full moon and lose control of myself!”
“Jack, you were cursed, you didn’t ask for this,” said Ydris.
“I know, but I’m sure as hell not dealing with it properly,” Jack snapped. “If I was dealing with it properly, I wouldn’t have even been in the area to hurt you in the first place! I can’t even function as a fucking human, how am I supposed to be able to function as a werewolf?”
“It’s my fault, I tried to let you in,” said Ydris. “And then I tried to help you when you were clearly wounded. I should have known better.” His gentle voice and reasoning just hurt all the more.
“No,” said Jack, shaking his head. “Maybe I should be locked up of a full moon night. Let me destroy the inside of a cage, make the bars silver so it hurts and I can’t move, I don’t care, I just don’t want to hurt you ever again.”
“Jack,” said Ydris gently. “If it makes you feel any better, I was able to quickly whip up a preventative ointment to stop the curse from taking hold in myself after you bit my hand. I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, after I killed some farmer’s sheep and got shot for the crime,” said Jack. “It’s only what I deserved. I killed his flock so he was only getting revenge.”
“Jack, you can’t help what you are,” said Ydris. “The only people to blame for your current predicament are your parents. Or, more accurately, your father, the bastard who angered a werewolf into changing his only son.”
“You shouldn’t love me,” said Jack. “I am, quite literally, a monster.”
“Some would say that I am a monster too,” said Ydris. “I am a wizard, after all.”
“Yeah, but wizards can be good,” said Jack. “I kill and eat animals, which is ironic considering I love them so much. It’s a curse.”
“Yes, it is a curse,” said Ydris. “But one that you can manage.” Jack looked down, and Ydris leaned in and kissed his cheek. “And I will be there with you, Jack. Even if you hurt me, even if you try to kill me.”
“I couldn’t live with myself if I killed you,” said Jack, looking up at him.
“I will be more careful next time,” said Ydris. “I promise.” Jack nodded and allowed Ydris to hug him, but then winced.
“We should probably go to the hospital,” said Jack. “Get checked out.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Ydris.
As they left, both men looked at the dried blood splattered on the front of the wagon, but neither of them said anything. Ydris would clean it off later.