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demetriandelibinaryboyfriends · 2 years

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@ckhalloween22 BEHOLD, chapter 2 of my “Monstrous Transformations” prompt submission!!! AKA the chapter where I somehow make things even more fucked up and crank the suffering up to 11 :D And also the werewolf chapter. The very graphic and probably very disturbing werewolf chapter. Oops.

Here is Chapter 1 btw!!! This bad boy will also get an epilogue sometime next week because

My condolences to Hawk and Dem, they probably deserve financial compensation for all the absolute agony I am laying on them. At least they’re in love???

Big boi CW for some uh...fairly graphic body horror/transformation horror in this. Like I said, there’s werewolves this chapter, and uh...well, you know how it is. Full moon comes out and the trauma begins! Also CW for just general blood and gore. Werewolf morphing is not pretty. Where’s the fun in that?!

There’s also some kind of gross-out/twisted/black humor in this, I guess? The boys are traumatized and then use sarcasm to process it, as per usual. They don’t have to only be endlessly miserable about every terrible thing I throw at them XD

Fic under the cut--be warned, it’s another longboi! Even longer than the last one :O And moodboard pic credits available upon request, as always!

Nocturnal Chapter 2 - After Dusk

“What the hell were you thinking?!”

Demetri’s fingers dig into Eli’s shoulders so hard it probably hurts. Right now he’s too livid to care.

“Asshole, let me explain—”

“What is there to explain?” Demetri snarls. “You knew this shit was permanent. Like…incurable, life-ruining permanent. And you did it on purpose?! Just…Jesus Christ, Eli.”

Tears well up in the corner of his vision. He doesn’t stop them.

A little guilt-tripping wouldn’t hurt right now.

“I’m already so fucking scared all the time, running away from all the assholes who want to kill me. And now they’re going to hunt you, too.”

“They already were, moron!” Eli’s eyes flare, and he shoves Demetri away. “You said it yourself: I can’t be with you without putting a target on my back. And I already made that decision a long time ago.”

“I just…” Demetri’s voice comes out in a choked sob. “I didn’t want you to get this deep in all this. I thought maybe you could still have a normal life. And you throw that away?”

“What if I don’t want that?” Eli snaps. “I told you I’m not abandoning you. I see you keep giving me outs, like you think I’m suddenly going to run away like a fucking pussy. You think—what? I’m going to stop loving you because of something out of your control? It’s fucking insulting.”

“I…” Demetri shakes his head slowly. “I wanted to protect you. Always. I never wanted you getting hurt on my behalf.”

“And what about you, huh?” Eli takes a step toward him, fists clenched. “Who’s supposed to protect you when you’re running from killer mobs for the rest of your life? All alone?!”

“We’re not talking about me—”

“Yeah, we are! Because you don’t think you matter and I’m fucking sick of it. You don’t care if you die as long as I make it out. Because you don’t know how much it would fuck me up if you died, Demetri. And I can’t keep you safe if I’m just some…some weak, useless bitch!”

Eli takes a shaky breath, and moonlight catches the moisture under his eyes. When he speaks again, his voice is softer, more fragile.

“Do you have any idea how fucking terrified I was when we got ambushed by those slayers, and—and they held you down and burned you?! I thought I was going to lose you. And then I couldn’t—” His voice breaks, lip curling in disgust. “I couldn’t do shit. I threw everything I had into getting them off you, and there were still too many.”

Something about Eli’s panicked, desperate expression makes Demetri’s anger melt away. He steps forward, cupping his boyfriend’s cheek in his hand.

“You did throw them off their game enough for me to break out,” he says gently. “If it weren’t for you, maybe we wouldn’t have gotten away at all.”

Eli scowls. “We got lucky. What, were we supposed to do that every time? Run away and hope they don’t catch up? I’m done living like that.”

Demetri looks away. He’s right—it isn’t that different from how they used to be, running from every bully and praying they were faster.

“It was stupid, anyways,” Eli mumbles. “Thinking I could fend off trained monster killers with fucking karate.”

“Well, I blame our senseis for giving us the impression that karate is the most valuable and indispensable weapon in the entire world.”

Eli snorts. “Yeah, turns out there are scarier things in the world than kids with blackbelts.”

“Who would’ve thought?”

They both laugh, and Demetri’s agitation continues to gradually trickle away.

“Dem.” Eli breaks into a slow smile, his hand sliding over Demetri’s. “I can protect you now.”

His eyes are shining, bright like they used to be when he puzzled out a tricky line of code or beat his high score in a game. Nothing but innocent delight and pure, unabashed hope.

Demetri sighs. “Stop looking at me like that. You know I can’t stay mad at you.”

“Yeah, that’s never been your strong suit, has it?”

He huffs in defeat and pulls Eli into his arms, burying his nose in a now-rather-weathered blue mohawk. It smells like dust and dirt and leaves tonight, the usual faint blueberry aroma of the dye nowhere to be found.

“It’s just…” He noses Eli’s hair. “They’ll kill you on sight now. They’d at least hesitate if you were still human.”

Eli scoffs into his chest. “I’m a lot harder to kill now.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

He runs a hand along Eli’s back, trying to let the last of his biting anxiety ebb away.

“I don’t want to lose you,” he murmurs. “I don’t know what this’ll do to you, but…I want you to still be you. I don’t want it to turn you into something I don’t recognize. I…” He holds Eli a little tighter. “I felt you slipping away a year ago, and it scared the shit out of me. I felt like I didn’t know you anymore. I don’t—I don’t want that ever again.”

“Demetri, I did this for you.” Eli works his fingers in Demetri’s flannel. “Why would I leave now?”

“That’s not what I mean. Just…” He exhales. “Promise me whatever happens, you’ll try to hold on to yourself. Because…well, it’s selfish as hell, but I am so fucking in love with you, and I don’t want this whole thing to…kill that person.”

Eli laughs softly against him. “I promise. Guess it’s only fair, since you managed.”

“I also just…I’ve heard it really hurts, what with all the realigning bones and what have you. I don’t want you to have to go through that.”

“I mean. Didn’t yours hurt too?”

Eli suddenly pulls away, fingers trailing up to the scars on Demetri’s neck. They don’t sting anymore, although they’re still pretty unsightly.

Good thing his mom usually has spare foundation when he needs to go out.

“Yeah, but I couldn’t exactly opt out. And it was just the once.”

Eli shrugged. “I’ll be fine. If I can survive the ‘pain does not exist’ dojo, this’ll be nothing.”

“Speaking of, though.”

Demetri pulls Eli’s arm close, inspecting it.

He only glimpsed the wound when Eli first walked into his living room, and didn’t have time to get a good look before he was already yelling. The complete lack of evidence of any crying—or rather any indication that Eli was upset about this at all—was proof enough that the bite was no accident.

It’s ironic, really. Demetri took them into the backyard to avoid waking up his mom, but their shouting probably woke up the entire neighborhood instead.

The bite’s a nasty thing—a semicircle of deep toothmarks, the skin around them puffy and inflamed. They’re starting to seep red again, as if Eli had initially managed to stave off the bleeding only for it to pick up again.

“I put pressure on it,” Eli says. Reading his mind as usual. “Kind of calmed it down for a while.”

“Come here.”

He guides Eli down to the grass, pulling over the Ralph’s bag he set down earlier. He was pissed when Eli came in, sure, but not too pissed to raid his mom’s first aid cabinet and grab a few essentials.

He digs out a tube of disinfectant and antibacterial, starting to carefully spread them over the wound.

“So let me get this straight. Your plan was to wander around Topanga Canyon on the full moon, find a werewolf, and…bait them into attacking you?”

“Pretty much.”

Demetri scowls. “I do not know where to even begin with that, but first of all, you know there are actual dangerous nocturnal pumas out there, right? Like lycanthropy aside, the wilderness at night is one of the least safe places you can possibly be.”

Eli snorts. “Yeah, well, my chances of finding werewolves in a fucking Costco aren’t great.”

Demetri purses his lips. “You’re impossible. If I still had a fully-functional digestive system, I’m certain you would’ve given me a stomach ulcer by now.”

“Love you, Dem.”

He pauses to see Eli giving him the most innocent possible look and groans. “Stop using that to get out of trouble, Moskowitz.”

“It’s so effective, though. Can’t kick it if it works.” Demetri only rolls his eyes.

He squints at the wound as a new fear bubbles up.

“And you’re sure this was a werewolf, right? Not just an actual wolf? Or a coyote? Should I take you in for another rabies shot?”

Eli wrinkles his nose. “Nah. This thing looked too weird. Definitely part human.”

“I have to confess, I don’t get it.” He shakes his head as he continues to rub cotton pad circles over Eli’s skin. “If you wanted to be strong enough to back me up, why didn’t you ask me to bite you? I’m sure you’d turn out to be a more badass vampire than me, anyways.”

“Because you never would have gone for it.”

Demetri stops, glancing up. Eli looks so confident in the statement that it’s almost insulting.

“What—how do you know? Did you ever think to ask, Eli?!”

“You would’ve given me a speech about how your existence is a curse and you’d never subject me to that because you love me, blah blah blah. Never would have convinced you.”

“You didn’t even try!”

“Didn’t need to.” Eli scoffs. “Seriously dude, you are so fucking predictable. Like you’d ever ask me to give up my mom’s hilbeh dip for you. I’d do it, by the way, but the fact you’d act like it’s the tragedy of the century and throw me the world’s biggest pity party makes me like…not want to. More than all the actual annoying vampire shit.”

“And this is better?” Demetri gestures aggressively at Eli’s upper arm—undoubtedly one of the most disagreeable injuries he’s ever seen. And he’s broken an entire limb.

“Jesus, Eli. You could have at least told me you were doing this. I could’ve…I don’t know, given you a sword or something in case things got gnarly.”

“What, that decorative one you got during your 4th grade Aragorn phase? I’d swing it once and it’d break in half. Besides, you’d never have let me even go.”

“That’s not—”

“Yeah, it is, asshole.” Demetri curses Eli’s ever-present ability to read his mind.

He hates that Eli’s right. He shouldn’t get the satisfaction, after doing one of the stupidest things known to mankind.

“You would’ve bitched at me until you got your way,” Eli goes on. “And if I tried to go anyways, you’d follow me into the fucking werewolf-infested forest and get yourself killed.”

“And—and you wouldn’t get yourself killed?!”

“Clearly not, or I wouldn’t be here talking to you.”

Eli glowers at him. The sight has always reminded him of a chihuahua—undeniably adorable, but fair warning that the boy would bite if you pressed him any further.

And mind him, Demetri’s experienced enough of the bite of Eli Moskowitz to last a lifetime.

Demetri sighs. He really hates when Eli’s right.

The downsides of having someone who can so precisely predict your every move is that it’s nearly impossible to be crafty. Whatever your brand of cleverness is, it’s already been accounted for, with every last possible decision and outcome analyzed. What with the rainbow hair and the hammy, loud persona he still puts on in public, it can be easy for Demetri to forget Eli’s brain runs on mathematical probabilities, too.

Logicians are many things, but “charismatic and vibrant” aren’t usually among them.

Nonetheless, the more mortifying aspect of Eli’s intuition doesn’t outweigh the perks. Few things compare to the odd euphoria of having someone remember that his favorite flavor of fruit snack was sour cherry, and that as a preteen he insisted on having his ice cubed rather than crushed for the sole reason of liking the aesthetics of it.

He settles for an extremely annoyed eye roll before returning to wiping Eli’s wound. “Well, next time you decide to do something that will drastically alter the course of your entire life, please talk it over with me first.”

Eli won’t, of course. But perhaps he’ll at least consider it, and that’s a start.

Demetri frowns suddenly, something unsettling occuring to him.

“Do you…do you know who it was?” he asks softly. “Anyone we would know?”

“Kyler Park.”

“Wh—Eli!” He smacks Eli’s uninjured arm. “Are you insane? He’s a steaming shitbag! You really trusted him not to actually maul you to death when he got the chance?!”

“Demetri, Kyler is dumb as fuck. All you have to do is play dead once and he’ll think he annihilated your entire existence with a half-assed arm bite.”

A snicker bursts out before Demetri can stop it. “That’s all you had to do?”

“Deadass. I lie still for like a minute and he prances off into the bushes, howling like he won the AVT.”

And then they’re both laughing, holding each other and giggling and wheezing, terror and anger forgotten.

Eli’s right again. Demetri doesn’t know how to stay mad at him.

He slips a used paper towel back into the bag and pulls out a roll of gauze, starting to wrap it around Eli’s arm.

“Did you turn tonight?” he asks quietly, voice serious again. “Before you came over.”

Eli shakes his head. “I think it takes a while for it to, uh…get into my system.”

“I want to be there, then. The first time you change. I want to be with you.”

Silence. He looks up to see Eli frowning at him.

“That’s dangerous, Demetri. I can’t control it yet, I might—”

“—hurt me, yeah, I know.” Demetri snorts. “You can’t just steal all my catchphrases and shoot them back at me.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m wrong!”

“Eli.” He leans forward, sneaking a quick kiss. “I’m a horrific undead fanged monster that parents tell their kids creepy bedtime stories about. I think I can handle myself.”

Eli looks away, but not quick enough to hide a small smile. “You almost say that like you’re okay with it.”

“If it means I get to stay with you when you need me, then…yeah. Could be worse.” He scoots forward, leaning into Eli’s side.

“You stayed with me when I was going through all my crap,” he murmurs. “Even, yes, when it probably freaked you out. Let me return the favor.”

He feels Eli tense next to him, heart speeding up. Pure, raw fear.

Demetri recoils, concern rippling through him.

“Do you think I’ll hurt you?” he whispers. “On instinct or something?”

Eli shakes his head rapidly. “No, of course not! Never.”

“Then why are you scared?”

A silence.

“It’ll be ugly.” When Eli finally speaks, his voice is barely audible. “The whole thing. You won’t look at me the same way. I don’t want you to stop—”

He doesn’t finish, but Demetri knows what he means.

I don’t want you to stop loving me.

Demetri wraps long arms around Eli’s waist and pulls his boyfriend into his lap. He leans down, planting a soft kiss on Eli’s scar.

“Nothing about you can be ugly to me,” he murmurs, lips ghosting over the little line of raised skin. “You know that. And for the record, you could melt into a puddle of…I don’t know, toxic, stinky slime mold and I’d still be in love with you.”

He feels the scar stretch as Eli grins.

“Thank you.” Demetri’s fingers brush through Eli’s buzzed hair, massaging his scalp. “For sticking with me through everything. For having my back. I promise I’ll always have yours, too.”

Eli presses their foreheads together, looping thin arms around his neck as naturally as though they’ve always been doing this.

“I know.”

***

“You don’t have to do this.”

They’re leaning against Demetri’s car as dusk falls over Topanga Canyon, fingers interlocked. Eli’s eyes dart around nervously, scanning over the inky outlines of the trees over and over again.

Demetri squeezes his hand. “I’m not going anywhere, Eli Moskowitz. Deal with it.”

Eli huffs. “You’re already a nervous wreck. You don’t need more shit to haunt your nightmares.”

“What, like you being out in the creepy woods all by yourself, sad and alone, wailing in agony, without your wonderful boyfriend around to comfort you? Yeah, that would be a bad one.”

For a moment, Eli’s anxiety melts, giving way to a small snigger. “Do you ever stop running your mouth?”

“Not really. You should know this by now.”

Eli takes a step toward the darkening trees, eyes flicking up at the emerging stars. “Okay, last chance, Demetri. Drive home.”

“Not in your wildest dreams, pal.”

Eli turns with narrowed eyes, as though debating arguing more. Finally he huffs, shaking his head.

“Fine. But if it looks like I’m going to attack you—at all—you need to fucking run. Okay? And if I come to and find out I’ve gored you because you didn’t listen, I’m going to be pissed.”

Demetri shrugs. “Sounds reasonable. I’d rather not be wolf dinner if I can help it.”

“Do you promise?” Eli turns and grabs his other hand, squeezing tight. “Swear on your life or some shit. I need your word you won’t get yourself mauled trying to talk me down.”

“All right, all right! I swear on the honor of House Arryn. That was always your favorite, right?”

Eli sighs. “I’ll take it. Let’s just get away from the road.”

He pulls Demetri into the forest, grip on his hand vicelike. Demetri can feel the nervousness pulsing off every fiber of his boyfriend’s body.

“You don’t have to wait for me, by the way,” Eli mumbles. “If the sun’s about to come up and you need to leave, I can find my way home. I’ve done it before.”

Demetri frowns. “How?”

“I can track your scent.”

Despite himself, Demetri chuckles a little. “Oh, yeah. I guess now we can bond over how weird that is. What do I smell like, anyways?”

“Flannel and silicon. Like 5 different types of your mom’s body lotions. Sometimes stale tortilla chips.”

He blushes a little at how fast Eli answered.

“I, uh…yeah, I guess that tracks.”

The trees part ahead, silvery light trickling through. Eli stops, and Demetri feels his heartbeat pound through both of them.

“Shit. I think it’s starting.”

“Okay.” He squeezes Eli’s hand. “I’m here. I’m right here.”

There’s a sudden cracking and Eli’s spine distorts, twisting in unnatural jerks. He lets out a scream, doubling over.

“It’s okay.” He keeps his grip on Eli’s hand, guiding them both down to the ground. “I’ve got you. Just breathe.”

Eli’s entire body is trembling as they settle on the dirt. He meets Demetri’s gaze, eyes wide and panicked.

“Demetri, I—” He’s interrupted by more spasms, ripping down his sides. More snapping of bone, and Eli gasps.

“Eli!”

Demetri shouts his name without thinking. Eli’s panic has become his own now, surging through him like a California wildfire.

“Shit, Eli, are you okay?”

Eli shakes his head, pained tears starting to trickle down his face.

“I, um…I brought peanut butter balls with ibuprofen in them. You want me to get them from the car?”

“N-no.” His voice is shaking as violently as his body. “D-don’t l-leave me. Please.”

“All right. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Hold on, lemme just…”

In what looks like a taxing movement, Eli shrugs off his jacket and pulls his t-shirt over his shoulders. The outline of his lotus tattoo is just barely visible, hidden under a newly-sprouted layer of gray-brown fur.

The fur is crawling up his arms, into his face. It’s an odd sight.

And then Eli’s face starts to reshape itself.

Cracks and pops ring out as his skin ripples, stretching into something elongated and grotesque. “D-Demetri…”

He doesn’t have any follow-up. It’s as though he’s saying Demetri’s name to remind himself Demetri is a person. Somebody he knows.

Not just another piece of prey.

His mouth starts to extend, drifting open to reveal rows of gleaming, sharp teeth. The skin around it stretches, making an unsettling ripping noise.

“Oh, look at those chompers!” Demetri gives Eli a full-toothed grin, showing off the latest addition to his own dental assortment. “We match now!”

Despite everything, Eli laughs.

It’s a strange noise, a ragged mixture of a snort and a growl. Nonetheless, the quickly-morphing werewolf appears to be smiling.

Something sharp jabs into the back of Demetri’s hand, and moisture trickles across his skin. He glances down to see long, honed claws have torn out of his boyfriend’s fingers, blood pooling around every hole in the flesh.

This only makes Demetri hold onto him tighter.

“Demetri.”

Eli whispers his name over and over as he morphs, like it’s his last lifeline. Demetri feels a bulky, thickened finger brush against the back of his own, stroking almost frantically.

And that’s about when the real nightmare begins.

Eli starts convulsing, the cracks and pops and rips speeding up until he’s screaming in pain. Fur sprouts from every pore, bloody pieces of skin peeling off and fluttering to the ground. His muscles bulge, rippling just beneath fresh fur like they have a mind of their own. His face elongates more and more until a snout bursts from the center, stretched wide in a guttural wail.

It’s terrifying, but not for the reasons it would terrify most anyone else.

It’s Eli lying motionless on the mall floor. It’s Eli stalking through the computer lab in a frenzied rage, calling his name in a breaking voice. It’s Eli crumpled by the trophy case, glass pieces in his face. It’s Eli holding him down with shaking hands in the arcade, his peers goading him to crush any kindness left into dust. It’s Eli held down on the mat, about to be punched out by Robby Keene.

It’s the particular agony of knowing Eli’s in pain—deep, throbbing, terrible pain—and being absolutely fucking helpless to do anything about it.

That’s Demetri’s greatest weakness, he supposes—the one thing that always trumps over everything else. He can’t stand to see Eli Moskowitz hurting.

Now all he can do is try to be the anchor he never quite could before. Show Eli that he can’t make the pain go away, but he can help him through it.

He holds Eli’s hand until he can’t anymore. Eventually his fingers are pushed free as the bulky paw takes shape, the gaps between the toes narrowing too much for anything to fit.

When the worst of the shifting is over, Eli is a hunkering mass of mostly-wolf, whining softly. His ears, now stretched to unnatural points, are pressed flat against his head. He stares at the ground, working impossibly long claws in dirt and leaf litter.

“Eli.” Demetri takes a shaky breath. “Look at me.”

The creature doesn’t budge.

“Please look at me.”

Eli turns.

His face is pulled in strange ways. Slightly contorted, like someone tried to make a clay figurine and didn’t quite know what a wolf looked like. It’s a patchwork of fur and twisted skin, a squished nose that’s a blend of wolf and human. There are bits of skin and sinew and blood strewn around where fur forced its way out—and Demetri winces, because that looks like it really fucking hurt.

His eyes are still undeniably human, at least. Pale blue and spilling with emotion, just like they’ve always been. But the look in them is enough to shatter Demetri.

Regret. Fear. Shame.

He starts to turn away. Demetri reaches out and cups his cheek, stopping him.

“I love you,” Demetri whispers. “And I don’t—I don’t know how much of yourself you’ll hold onto tonight, but I need you to remember that. Promise me.”

He feels like an idiot as soon as he says it. Eli probably can’t even talk anymore.

But then he hears a tiny, rasping voice, its single word almost indecipherable.

“Promise.”

Eli collapses. One final convulsion, and any trace of humanity is gone.

For several moments the wolf just lies there, sides heaving. Demetri scoots back, rising unsteadily to his feet.

“Eli?” he calls tentatively.

The wolf’s ears prick up. That’s probably a good sign.

The enormous creature rolls over slowly, getting to his paws. He eyes Demetri skeptically, whining.

It’s very strange, looking at this great beast that has Eli’s eyes. Trying to figure out if Demetri’s imagining the recognition in them or not.

“Eli, do you know who I am?”

The wolf prowls toward him, growling softly. Demetri holds his breath and extends a hand, palm out and fingers shaking.

Please don’t be gone.

The wolf gives him a long look, ears twitching. Sizing him up. Demetri tenses his legs, ready to make a run for it.

Then he feels something soft against his skin.

Demetri looks down to see the wolf pressing a furry forehead into his palm, and he lets out a laugh of relief. “You do know me.”

The wolf grunts and looks up at him again, blue eyes almost annoyed. The sort of No shit, moron look he’d know anywhere.

He cups the wolf’s cheek and lets his fingers trail down, tracing the huge jawline. The beast lets out a puzzled growl.

“Hold on. I just…”

His fingers brush against a familiar line of raised skin, curving from under the wolf’s nose to the start of a long canine tooth. Buried under fur now, but unmistakably there.

Something soft flutters inside of him.

“Sorry, I just…I had to make sure it was really you.”

He leans forward, pressing a kiss to the scar. The wolf whines uncertainly.

He smiles, gently cupping the wolf’s huge face and bringing their foreheads together. “I’m glad you’re okay, love. I’ll stay as long as you want.”

They settle into a pile on the ground, Eli curled around Demetri’s skinny form. Demetri buries himself in the mass of gray-brown fur, stroking it over and over.

Eli’s okay. Eli’s going to be okay.

Right now, that’s all that matters.

***

It’s a while before Demetri gets another scare.

He honestly thought he had enough for one night, and would just as soon capped it at Eli contorting every which way and screaming in pain. Still, the universe seems unable to throw him any kind of bone without also making those bones look rather tasty to his boyfriend-turned-megafaunal-carnivore.

His first indication that something is amiss is the licking.

It’s endearing at first, if a little gross. He makes no secret of his gripes about having to shower when he gets home, and he’s pretty sure Eli licks him more after just to annoy him.

After a while, they get more insistent, and he feels less like an object of affection and more like a Trader Joe’s sample.

“Hey! Knock it off!” One lick too many, and Demetri squirms out from under Eli’s snout, pushing his massive paw aside. “I keep telling you you’re making a mess! You—”

He stops. Eli is giving him a strange look.

A chill ripples through him.

It reminds him of the looks Eli used to give him when they fought—cold, intense, ruthless. Although less angry this time, and more…hungry.

There’s something almost primal in his stare that Demetri’s never seen before. Swallowing, he takes a step back.

The wolf follows, uttering a low growl. His tail is raised, eyes bright and alert.

Ready for the hunt.

“Eli. It’s me.” He takes a shaky breath, dread starting to crawl through him. “It’s Dem. You don’t want to hurt me.”

Perhaps there was a time when that wasn’t true, but those days are long gone.

Aren’t they?

The wolf snarls, fur starting to bush up as he continues to advance. His haunches are wiggling, almost like he’s…

Getting ready to charge.

One last time.

Demetri tenses his own legs, preparing to sprint.

“Eli, it’s me.” He smiles weakly. “Codename zer0. Remember?”

The wolf stops.

He flattens his ears for a moment, looking confused. Then the realization seems to dawn.

He stumbles away, whimpering. Tail sweeping in low, anxious circles.

“Hey, it’s okay, it happens.” Demetri steps forward, extending a hand. “You didn’t mean t—”

The wolf turns and high-tails it into the forest. Demetri wants to follow, but he knows better.

He trudges over to the dirt patch where Eli first changed, clothes still scattered across the ground. Crouching, he picks up Eli’s black-and-red jacket and slips it on.

It’s the one he wore during the school fight, Demetri realizes. He looks over the striped sleeve with a small smile, shaking his head.

He wonders what the Eli from a year ago would think if he knew where his jacket was now, wrapped around the boy he claimed to hate while he prowled the woods as a monster he became to protect said boy. The irony is really too much.

Would “Hawk” find it funny, too? Would he be glad he and his best friend smoothed things out, figured out years’ worth of tension? Or would he just be disgusted with himself, knowing he’d end up letting someone like Demetri love him? Knowing he’d reciprocate?

Was he always in love with Demetri, even back then?

He never thought to ask Eli when it all started. He’s still wrapping his head around his boyfriend loving him in the present.

A long, mournful howl peels through the night, and a deep yearning churns in Demetri’s chest. He suddenly wishes he had the vocal cords to answer.

“I’ll see you soon.”

He says it to no one. He doesn’t know why. Perhaps to comfort himself when, right now, he’s all he has.

Demetri gathers up the rest of Eli’s discarded outfit. For a long while he sits with his back against a tree, holding it close.

***

It’s 10 am when Eli finally shows up at Demetri’s bedroom door, disheveled and dirty with his blue hair hanging down in a sad heap and reeking of raw meat. He doesn’t seem too bothered by his state, leaning in Demetri’s doorway with a casual suaveness that should infuriate him.

Right now, all Demetri can feel is relief.

“Holy shit, Eli.” He props himself up on his elbows, gesturing almost frantically to the spot beside him on the bed. “You’re okay.”

“Yeah, toughed it out like a champ.”

Demetri opens his arms. In a familiar ritual, Eli wastes no time darting across the room and crawling into them.

He might get dirt on the bed, but Demetri can deal with his mom’s lectures later.

“Sorry I had to leave,” Demetri murmurs, plucking a couple twigs out of Eli’s hair. “I wanted to wait for you, but…sun was coming up, and I didn’t want to roast alive. Or…roast undead, I guess?”

Eli laughs, nuzzling into his shirt. “Nah, man, you did the right thing. I also don’t want you roasting undead.”

“You feeling all right?” He brushes a hand through Eli’s hair, unearthing several leaves. “You were having a pretty bad time last night. I wanted to help more, but…I didn’t know what to do.”

“You being there helped.” Eli grabs one of his hands and starts playing with it absentmindedly. “Thank you. I know that was probably a lot.”

“I hate seeing you in pain like that.” Perhaps without meaning to, Demetri’s grip tightens. “It scares me. But I hate you being in pain by yourself more, so. I deal. Reminds me too much of when we were being kicked around growing up, and I never knew how much it was hurting you. I…never really forgave myself for leaving you to deal with that on your own.”

Eli sighs. “I didn’t tell you. You’re not a mind reader. I just…I don’t know. I thought I should be able to deal with my shit on my own.”

“Well, you never have to again.” He strokes Eli’s back. “And I’m sorry if I wasn’t there for you before. I will be from now on.”

“I know.”

Eli’s hand works in the fabric of his shirt, making its way up to his collar. He gives an abrupt grunt of disapproval.

“Demetri, is that my jacket?”

“I, uh…” Demetri blushes. “It smelled like you. Helped relax me while I was waiting.”

“So you’re the reason I froze my ass off the entire walk home.”

He laughs, pulling a wad of blankets over both of them. “Sorry, love. Didn’t know you’d lose all your fur before the sun came up.”

“S’fine. I guess if it stops you from flipping out all night.”

“Glad you got all the glass out,” Demetri teases, gently poking Eli’s side. “I’d feel kind of bad if I knew I ruined it.”

“Wait. Was that the one I—” Eli stiffens. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t remember, I just grabbed it—”

“Eli.” His hand finds Eli’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll keep telling you until you believe me. I’m not mad about any of that stuff anymore. It’s just a jacket. And besides…” He pecks the top of Eli’s head. “It’s cute, and it smells like you, so positive associations outweigh negative ones. I wouldn’t be getting cozy in it if it gave me terrible karate war PTSD.”

“I know. I still hate that I did all that, though.”

“And I hate that I told the entire school you piss the bed, but. You now turn into a colossal murderous beast once a month and I have to drink human blood to survive. I think we have slightly bigger concerns.” Eli mumbles disapprovingly, but doesn’t try to argue.

Demetri frowns suddenly, looking down at Eli’s small, bedraggled form. “How much do you remember from last night, anyways?”

Although he can’t see it, Demetri can imagine Eli scrunching his face up in concentration. “Just bits and pieces, I guess. I remember you holding my hand and telling me you loved me like a sappy bitch.”

Demetri snickers. “Yeah, yeah, guilty as charged.”

Although Eli’s tone is nonchalant, it sends a pulsing wave of relief through Demetri.

So some part of it all stuck. The monstrous wolf roaming the forest alone into the wee hours of the morning still knew he was loved. Still knew he would have someone to come home to. Someone who would hold him even when he was at his most…well…conventionally unattractive (i.e. in the process of transforming into a giant terrifying creature).

“I also remember you making me fucking ibuprofen peanut butter dog treats. Like who does that?”

Demetri snorts with laughter. “Offer still stands for those, by the way. I could also try Tylenol. That helps a lot with broken bone pain.”

“Ah, shit.” Eli tenses again. “This of all things I don’t deserve your advice for.”

“Oh, my god.” He jostles Eli’s shoulder playfully. “Are you still on about that? I think you breaking several of your own bones for my benefit, repeatedly, once a month, outweighs you breaking one of my bones one time.”

“Mmm.” Eli hums thoughtfully. “When you put it like that, it sounds like you need to sacrifice a few more limbs for me so we’ll be even.”

Demetri scoffs. “Well, unlike some people around here, my bones don’t fix themselves after they mold into giant wolf bones and back.”

“Weak.” Although it comes out like a taunt, Eli kisses Demetri’s chest as he says it.

Demetri laughs, giving his back another rub.

“Remember anything else? You still sore at all?”

“Nah. The aches stopped like an hour after I turned back.” Eli suddenly looks up at him with a tenderness that could euthanize him on the spot. “I remember you touching my scar, though.”

He’s hit with a surge of emotion, coursing through him like good coffee on an early morning and making him wonder how it’s cosmically possible to love a single human being with the sheer magnitude and intensity with which he loves Eli Moskowitz.

Demetri smiles, brushing a thumb over the rough skin. “It’s beautiful. I’m sorry anyone ever made you feel like it was something to be ashamed of.”

Although Eli rolls his eyes, his cheeks go unmistakably pink. “Ugh. You’re biased. Pretty sure you’re the only person who actually likes it.”

“Yes, and I’m the only person ever whose opinion actually matters, because I’m right.”

“You always think you’re right!”

“I have yet to be wrong. Well…in a broad sense. Why would I be wrong about your beauty mark?”

“Please. It’s a facial deformity.”

“Oh, what, you put stock in that?” Demetri’s lip curls in disgust. “Counselor Blatt’s entire visage is a facial deformity. And anyways, the woman completely believed you were a wholesome pillar of purity while you were wearing your hair in blood-red death spikes, so I don’t think she’s getting an invite into MENSA anytime soon. There are much more credible opinions to trust.”

Eli scoffs. “Like yours? You’re not subtle, Demetri.”

“Oh, I’d never try to be. But yes, like mine, because I’m correct. It’s a beauty mark.”

He leans down and pecks the scar. Eli groans, but thankfully doesn’t try to argue further.

“What else did I do last night, anyway? I remember you petting me, I think and then everything’s kinda vague, until—” Eli stiffens. “Oh shit.”

“What?”

“I tried to hunt you, didn’t I?”

His voice comes out in a strangled whisper, and Demetri’s heart breaks all over again.

“Hey. It wasn’t like that.” He kisses the top of Eli’s head. “You only looked like you wanted to eat me for like…a few seconds, tops. And I snapped you out of it pretty fast.”

“You…” Suddenly he’s being seized by his shoulders and slammed down into the bed.

“You moron!” Eli spits. “I told you to run if I started doing that kind of shit!”

“You weren’t really!” Demetri tries to shove Eli off, but his boyfriend holds fast.

“You just said I looked like I wanted to eat you! Is that not a good enough reason to haul ass out of there?!”

Demetri decides that perhaps he should omit the part about the repeat licking. Eli doesn’t need more ammo.

“That’s not you,” he says fiercely, clutching Eli’s wrist. “I know you. I know I can get through to you, and I know you’ll never lay a hand on me again. Or…a paw, I guess. Same difference.”

“You can’t count on that!”

Demetri sees wetness trickling in at the corner of Eli’s eyes and feels a twinge of guilt.

“I know you’re scared.” He reaches up, gently brushing the tears away. “And I’ve been there, too. I know what it’s like. But let me trust you the way you’ve been trusting me. Please.”

Eli shakes his head, sniffling. “I just don’t want to wake up and find you dead.”

“And you won’t.” He runs a thumb over his boyfriend’s skin. “These gangly legs are no joke. I know I used to complain about them killing my sex appeal, but they can take me very rapidly away from werewolves if needed.”

“For once in your life, be serious, Demetri!”

Eli glares down at him with an intensity he hasn’t seen in a while. He feels the other boy’s heart hammering through him, every muscle in Eli’s body squeezed as tight as it can go.

“I am,” Demetri says softly. “I promise I am. I need you to trust I can take care of myself. Okay?”

Eli exhales, some of the anger and panic seeming to drain out with it.

He pats Eli’s cheek. “I’m made of tougher stuff than I used to be. I think unless you start growing silver teeth or eating a bunch of garlic bread before you transform, we’ll be fine.”

“Still. You can’t be reckless like that—”

“Oh, look who’s talking! I don’t want to hear a peep from you, Mr. Rabies Shot Cobra Heist Cement Truck Vandalism Underage Drinking Breaking-and-Entering Getting-Intentionally-Bit-By-Werewolves Moskowitz.”

Eli releases a long sigh. “I hate that you have a list ready.”

“Yes, and for the love of god, do not make me make it longer.”

Eli huffs—a defeated noise that sends a ripple of satisfaction through Demetri. “How did you get through to me, anyways?”

Demetri snickers. “Oh, you’ll love this.”

“…oh no.”

“Demetri and Eli, binary—” Eli smacks him before he can finish.

“Come on, dude, that?!” His boyfriend looks at him in abject horror, and he bursts out laughing. “That’s so freaking—out of all the things I could remember about you, it had to be ‘Codename zer0.’”

“‘Codename zer0’ got you back into karate with that video and indirectly won you a trophy, as I recall.”

Eli lets out long groan, face pressed into Demetri’s shoulder. “Is that even our catchphrase anymore? It’s super weird now that we’re dating. We should be like…the Binary Badasses or something.”

“Like that sounds any less ridiculous.”

Eli elbows him in the stomach. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Fine, fine!” He raises a hand in defeat. “Binary Badasses it is. For you.”

Eli slides off him and nestles into the crook of his arm, finally releasing Demetri from his death grip. As tousled blue hair brushes over his chest, he notices something strange.

Eli isn’t exactly spotless—wandering around Topanga Canyon at night as a giant carnivore did a number on him. Scrapes, cuts, bruises, plenty of dust and forest debris still mixed into Eli’s luscious cerulean locks. But other than that…

No evidence of any ripping skin. No gougemarks, no deep lacerations, no lines of marred, torn flesh, carved open and shredded to make room for fur and snouts and claws and everything else. Eli looks just as tan and polished as he did yesterday evening.

Apparently he regrew everything with little trouble. It’s difficult to conceptualize—such a rapid myriad of creation and destruction, all in one night.

“I saved your skin,” Demetri blurts out.

Eli lifts his head to give him a baffled look. “You what?”

“All the skin and sinew and whatnot that peeled off when you morphed. It was lying around in the dirt and I didn’t know if you’d want it back, so…I washed it and put it in that bag over there.”

He gestures at the grocery bag leaning up against his desk—probably the reason why the stench of Eli’s hunting trophies hasn’t bothered him all that much.

“Wh—DUDE! What the fuck?! That’s disgusting, what—” Eli looks like he’s just witnessed a war crime. “Why the hell would I want all my own peeled-off skin back?!”

“Well, I didn’t know it would all grow back!” Demetri puts his hands up. “And I didn’t want you to—I don’t know, wander around LA as some shambling skinless mess trying to hold all your organs in or whatever.”

“Demetri.” Eli presses his palm into his forehead. “How would any werewolf survive more than one full moon if they didn’t grow their fucking skin back?”

“I thought it might be like…a reverse selkie thing, all right?! Look, I read up a lot on werewolves, but none of the Wikihows mentioned what to do with all the skin and muscle bits lying around. I thought if I just left it there, it’d get eaten by a raccoon or something. And who knows what that would do to you?!”

“Probably the same thing as if your finger got cut off and a raccoon ate it? It’s no longer attached to your body, who cares?”

“Okay, but what if not all your skin grew back? What if you were stumbling through the forest covered in holes—which, by the way, all kinds of microorganisms and viruses can just climb on in through—and then you try to reattach your old skin but it’s covered in dirt and you get super infected—”

“Demetri.” Eli buries his face in Demetri’s chest, groaning for perhaps the 17th time that morning. “That’s not—how would I even do that? By fucking supergluing it back on?”

“I don’t know, you tell me!” Demetri waves his hands in exasperation. “I just didn’t want to be in a situation where you needed your skin and I left it to the mercy of the elements like a terrible boyfriend.”

Eli sighs, crawling back onto his chest and looking at him with an almost pitying expression. “‘Metri, did you think werewolves had to get skin grafts once a month? Is there any insurance on earth that covers that?”

“It was just a precaution, all right?!” Demetri huffs. “I’m still figuring out how all this works. I don’t want to screw it up.”

“Then use your brain, dumbass.” Eli thumps him on the temple, and Demetri rolls his eyes. “Something that shapeshifted once a month and wasn’t able to self-repair would be a biological nightmare. How would that shit even function?! Gather up all the ripped flesh and cram it back in? Werewolves wouldn’t be around long enough for people to tell horror stories about them if they were constantly dying of tetanus.”

“For all we know, they could be.” Demetri shrugs. “Or septicemia. Or osteomyelitis. Or—”

“Hey. Relax.” Eli presses a kiss to his neck. “I, uh…I guess I appreciate you saving a bag of my gross-ass severed skin in case you needed it for like…emergency repair, but I promise you don’t have to do that. I looked into this shit too, and I think if we were supposed to keep my skin, the internet would’ve said something about it across like 15 sites. Now you really need to get rid of that shit before your mom sees.”

“Uh, well…”

Demetri bites his lip, and Eli wilts.

“Oh no. Did you tell her I’m—”

“No, no!” He shakes his head vigorously. “She walked in on me washing it, and I was about to bullshit something, I swear, but then she said that next time I needed to hide a body, I should let her know and she’d help.”

“Jesus.” Eli snorts out a laugh. “What the hell was she up to back in Greece?”

He grimaces. “Whatever it was, she evidently did a very good job of hiding her tracks. So much so that she can offer advice.”

“All right, well. We’re covered if the blood bank scams stop working.” He smirks.

“Holy shit!” Demetri shoves him, laughing. “You’re awful.”

“Oh, you fucking love me, Demetri Alexopoulos. Dog stink and all.”

He swoops down, grabbing Demetri’s lips in his own. As he pulls away, Demetri wrinkles his nose.

Although Demetri’s come to appreciate Eli’s initiative, he’s not sure it’s ideal right now. The shorter boy’s breath is abysmal.

“You do stink, though,” he mutters. “What were you doing all night?”

Eli gives him the same meek grin that always seems to get him out of trouble. “I…may have eaten a couple deer.”

“Ah! That explains the stench of rotting venison.” Eli gives him another apologetic smile, this time with some bits of deer meat still visible in between his teeth. “And next full moon, I’m leaving you breath mints.”

“Mhm.” He traces delicate fingers over Demetri’s arm. “That’s rich, coming from the human mosquito.”

“Your favorite human mosquito, though.”

“Dem.” More gentle brushing before Eli’s fingers stop at the base of his neck. “We match now, yeah?”

He looks down to see Eli’s hand on his bite scars. Suddenly he wants to cry.

His own hand flutters off Eli’s back, drifting up his boyfriend’s arm until he feels the slight bump of raised skin. His fingers ghost across the wolf bite, once something so insurmountable and now nothing more than a bit of skin that doesn’t fit quite right.

Not that different from his own fading bitemarks. Something he’ll get past eventually. Something that stays, but not in a way that has to hurt.

He smiles. “Yeah. I suppose we do.”

“You’re not alone.” Eli presses soft lips to the same place vicious fangs had once been. “You never were.”

Demetri pulls Eli in, kissing his hair. “Neither are you. I wanted to chase after you last night, but…”

He trails off. No matter—he knows Eli knows what he’s trying to say.

It wasn’t safe. They can’t always be safe for each other, as much as they wish they could. It’s just part of their natures—their new natures.

“You never would have caught up, anyways,” Eli mumbles. “Soon as the wolf wanted to hunt you, I got so fucking scared. I ran as far as I could.”

Demetri feels an ache in his chest.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean t—”

“Not your fault,” Eli cuts him off. “I should have made you leave sooner. Chased you off or something. But I wanted you to stay. Kind of selfish, I know.”

Demetri smiles. “Good to know I’m not the only one. I should’ve done the whole ‘drive you away for your own safety’ thing with you ages ago. Was…the rest of your night okay, at least?”

“S’fine.” Eli shrugs against him. “Did some hunting. Enjoyed all the scents. Howled really loud. Ran around.” He sighs. “Got old, though. It was lonely. Kind of wished not everything that saw me cowered and ran.”

“Oh, you would’ve loved that last year, though.”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” He feels Eli’s face twitch into a scowl. “I guess that’s the thing about being at the top, isn’t it? You just feel alone.”

“I can imagine. I’m sorry.” He massages Eli’s scalp. “And…I’m sorry I flipped out at you last month. I know you were trying to help, and I know you can make your own choices. I guess I just…I worry about you. And I’m probably always going to worry about you. Hard to kick a habit I’ve had my entire life.”

Eli hums into his neck. “I’m sorry I worry you. I don’t mean to.”

“I know. If anything, I probably smother you too much. I used to try and shelter you away from every bad thing that could happen. I was never very good at it, though.”

Eli snorts. “Used to annoy the shit out of me. Not…when we were kids. I needed it back then. But when I dyed my hair and stopped taking shit, you acted like I’d been…I don’t know, corrupted, and you needed to heroically save me or whatever.”

“I kind of did, though.” Demetri snickers, flicking Eli’s shoulder. “You saw poor little Demetri in an arm bar, and that triggered your whole ‘Simba, remember who you are’ moment.”

“Well, you looked so pathetic I couldn’t help myself. Never seen a sadder sack of disproportionate limbs.”

“Oh, you take that back!” He grabs Eli’s shoulders and easily rolls on top of him, pinning him down. Eli cackles. “You are such a little—!”

“Demetriiiii.” Eli does his best pout. “I was out being a sad, lonely wolf monster all night. You wouldn’t get mad at me, would you?”

Demetri smacks his shoulder. “You’re such a brat.”

“Oh, but you want to be my knight in shining armor so fucking bad.”

It’s Demetri’s turn to pout. He looks away, feeling his cheeks heat up.

“It was…kind of flattering, you know.” He feels Eli’s fingers start to comb through his hair. “You being all fussy and suffocating. I didn’t realize I wanted it back until I was in Cobra Kai.”

“Classic Eli Moskowitz.” Demetri clicks his tongue. “Always wanting what he can’t have.”

“It felt nice, though. Knowing someone cared that much. Even after everything.”

Demetri refuses to look at him. Eli is undoubtedly hitting him with the doe eyes, and he refuses to give his boyfriend the satisfaction of watching all Demetri’s annoyance melt away in real time.

Besides, it won’t exactly help how much his face is still flushing.

“I’m not an anomaly.” He sighs, shaking his head. “Lots of people care about you, Eli. Yas, Moon, Miguel, Chris, Mr. LaRusso, Sam, Bert and Nate, your parents…”

“Yeah, and could any of them stomach that shit at Topanga?”

Finally, he looks down. Eli is gazing up at him with a thoroughly dubious expression.

“Could they?” Eli asks again, eyes flaring.

Demetri sighs.

“Probably not.”

“And that’s why I love you.”

He pulls Demetri’s neck down and kisses him like it’s the most vital thing he’s ever done.

Eli tastes wild—like fur and wood and leaves and berries and streamwater and fresh-killed deer. It’s a far cry from what Demetri used to fantasize about, all warmth and cinnamon and old books and cable-knit sweaters. It’s different from how he used to taste too—the kisses with reckless adrenaline and fresh sweat and sharp, chemically-scented Axe.

Eli Moskowitz never runs out of ways to surprise him. Demetri is finding he doesn’t mind at all.

He’s not even that bothered by deer breath. Not really. It’s Eli, and Demetri loves him with his entire being. Even when he stinks.

He cups Eli’s cheek in his hand, holding it like it could dissolve at any moment. It has to be the hundredth time they’ve done this, but regardless.

If Demetri had a heartbeat, it would still be racing.

“Demetri.” Eli is the first to pull away, hand loosening against Demetri’s neck as he leans back. For a moment they both hover there, lips only an inch apart.

“I’ll always come home to you,” Eli whispers against him. “No matter what.”

Demetri beams, bringing his forehead down to meet Eli’s.

“I know.”

***

Y’all remember when Trader Joe’s had samples??? Before the pandemic??? Because I do. Different times, goddamn. (Also CK canonically takes place in like 2018/2019ish so Trader Joe’s does indeed still have samples lmao)

I’m kind of obsessed with the idea of Demetri kissing Eli’s lip scar while he’s in wolf form. Idk man I Just Think It’s Neat.

Actually added a bit more to this than there originally was concerning Eli rewearing his S2 school fight jacket. I kinda like doing introspection with these boyos where they think back to the “enemies” phase and are just like “Well that was stupid” while also being morbidly fascinated and trying to psychologically untangle whatever tf was going through their heads XD

I really love writing Demetri in these kinds of AUs because you will subject the boy to horrors beyond human comprehension and he’ll just be like. Aggressively practical about them. “You shed your human skin in a bloody, disturbing mess when you transform into a werewolf??? Better hold onto that, you might need it later.” The best part is that his neurosis actually overrides his rationality half the time (not unlike myself lmao), so he’ll be over here catastrophizing while Eli is actually chillin and thinking things through logically (since he’s over the whole “get mad about everything” thing). They share a brain cell. Demetri thinks he’s the one who usually has it, but he’s wrong.

This goes with this btw!!! Basically took this bit and turned it into a whole scene. Demetri does indeed stay with Eli while he goes into wolf form so he doesn’t feel alone <3

Still giggling over the fact that for once I made Demetri the Red Gay and Eli the Blue Gay in the moodboard akajidpwbaiyvf

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