Brothers - 13. Chapter 13

JASON

The neko pulled at Devyn’s arm, the wolf frowning at his brother. They were almost done getting dressed, just missing their shirts, but Jason knew he needed to do this. If he didn’t, the whole day could end up ruined by the wolf’s breath.

Margaret seemed insistent that Devyn didn’t want to go, but Jason wasn’t sure why. The fact there were a lot of enticing smells that would encourage the wolf to eat the competitors? That Devyn hadn’t shown much excitement in the pie fundraiser? It didn’t really matter; Jason and Devyn were going to walk, leaving early to arrive on time. It was a small concession, Margaret agreeing that it would be better for Jason to walk, and if Jason was walking, it would be best for Devyn to go with him.

But first, he had to get the wolf ready.

“Jason, what are you doing?” Devyn demanded as he was pulled into the bathroom.

His eyes widened as the neko reached for the toothpaste, Jason uncapping it with his thumb as he held tightly onto Devyn.

“I already brushed-”

The neko shook his head sharply, twitching his nose to remind Devyn he could smell too. He set the toothpaste on a brush, turning toward his brother.

“Don’t put that in my mouth,” the wolf growled, showing his yellow stained teeth.

Jason bared his own teeth, backing the wolf against a wall. A claw extended from his finger, a warning that Devyn ignored. The wolf tried to break free, and Jason let his claw scrape over the wolf’s arm as he grabbed him. Spinning the wolf around with a deceptive strength born of years of swimming, the neko pinned Devyn down, forcing the toothbrush over his brother’s teeth.

“Jafon fop mmf…!”

He wasn’t letting up, and Devyn smacked his hand against the wall, trying to find the leverage to push out from under his brother. He slid down the wall, Jason following him down, the brush scraping back and forth, forcing the taste of bubblegum into the wolf’s mouth.

Jason hadn’t even thought about the flavour of his toothpaste before, he’d always used the bubblegum flavour. It had been like a moment of clarity for the neko when he realised Devyn’s toothpaste was mint. As tasty as the sharp plant could be, he figured it probably was too sharp for the wolf. If Jason could be allergic to it, Devyn could be as well.

Though he didn’t seem to be taking to the bubblegum too well either. Jason wondered if there was a toothpaste specifically for werewolves. It seemed like wasted potential if there wasn’t. Or it could be that he was forcing this on the wolf. Not that it mattered. Devyn would have a clean mouth.

Slowly Devyn gave up the fight, nearly sitting in Jason’s lap as he finally let his brother brush his teeth. Jason found the angle slightly awkward, and he adjusted them both until the wolf was seated comfortably on him. An arm still held Devyn across the chest as he worked, the closeness almost erotic in a way the neko tried not to think about.

He nudged at his brother, standing them both up and walking the wolf to the sink. Devyn spat out the toothpaste, trying to pull away again, but Jason just pushed the brush back in, a second brushing in order for the werewolf. Rinsing the brush, the neko washed Devyn’s mouth out, before finally letting his brother go. Devyn stared at Jason strangely for a moment, the neko pushing past him to finish getting ready.

“Hey…”

Jason’s ears flicked as the wolf followed him into his room, a strange tension in his gut.

“Don’t do that again…” Devyn mumbled, much of the bite taken out of his words by his subtly drooping body.

Jason shrugged, miming brushing his own teeth. The threat was very clear, at least in the neko’s opinion. If Devyn insisted on being a wolf, Jason would not hesitate to brush his teeth like a wolf. And he had just shown he had the strength to do it.

Now if he could just do something about the thoughts in his head. Jason wasn’t sure, but he thought he might need to go back to his therapist. He hadn’t seen her in nearly three years, but with the dreams he’d been having, and now the erotic feelings toward his brother, the neko felt like he was slowly losing his mind.

Pulling his red tank top over his head, the neko shook out his hair, wondering if he could get it cut. Margaret had mentioned an allowance, not that he’d done a lot of work, being stuck in the hospital. Still, it would be nice to have even a little money for things he wanted. The orphanage had been tight with things like that, but then, having a score of children to look after probably cost a lot of money, even with help from the crown.

“Devyn! Make sure you brush your teeth!” Margaret called up the stairs, Jason letting out a silent chuckle.

He could feel his brother’s glare, and the neko motioned toward the door, Devyn limping out of the room with an angry huff. Jason set his phone in his pocket before following the wolf. The neko took a deep breath, braving the stairs again. It didn’t matter how long he lived in the house; Jason didn’t think he’d ever get over having to climb the stairs every day.

Devyn met him at the bottom of the stairs, the wolf wearing a loose shirt and his skirt. It still struck Jason as odd, seeing the masculine figure in a skirt, but he wasn’t questioning it. Why should it matter to him what made Devyn happy? He wondered briefly if the wolf wore anything under the skirt, but shook the thought out of his mind. That was a question that didn’t need asked, let alone answered.

“You two should get going if you want to make it to the school before Richard and I,” Margaret warned, the smell of warming pies wafting out from the kitchen.

She set a pair of silver coins on the counter, Jason taking one uncertainly.

“Your allowance,” Margaret said. “I don’t want you straining yourself, okay? The last thing you need is a relapse.”

‘I’ll be careful,’ Jason signed.

Devyn pushed past the neko, his body tense as he took his own coin, and Jason let out a silent sigh. Maybe he had gone too far with the cleaning, but at least he couldn’t smell the wolf’s breath any more.

DEVYN

It wasn’t that he felt violated. No, far from it. Devyn was surprised to find he enjoyed having clean teeth. His tongue kept running over the teeth, feeling their sleek hardness now they were free from food. And his mouth wasn’t even burning with every breath. It was nice, in a way he hadn’t ever equated with clean teeth before.

Devyn wasn’t even sure he was angry. Well, he was angry. But he wasn’t sure why. Jason had helped, and it had been nice being held in the neko’s arms, even if the brushing had been awkward. It all left just one question.

Why would Jason do that? And why did he want his brother to pin him down like that again?

He was a wolf; he didn’t need to brush his teeth. His mom always complained, warning him they would fall out, but Devyn figured that was just her way of scaring him into doing what she wanted. He wasn’t going to fall for it.

Yet if Jason wanted it… he might just let the neko do it again. And that worried the wolf. How far was he willing to go for his brother? Why would Jason make him struggle with his mind like this?

The wolf hobbled into the school, his cane echoing through silent halls. Beside him, Jason looked around, the neko trying to get a feel for the place. Devyn wished him luck; the school was vastly different when there were humans and elves crowding the halls.

“Jasper’s room is through here,” he grunted, pushing through a door.

The neko followed wordlessly, Devyn hearing a quiet sniffle as both of them were assaulted by the smell of spices. Taking a moment to preheat a couple ovens, he passed through the room to a large fridge where he knew Jasper was keeping the pies he and Dylan made. The wolf could smell the moment Dylan entered behind him, the calico still carrying the smell of disinfectant.

“Morning Jason. Devyn, we have to make this fast, I’m supposed to be going to the bathroom,” Dylan said, crossing the room to join them.

His mask was still on, tail tucked in his pants with a hooded sweatshirt covering his ears. If Devyn didn’t know any better, he wouldn’t believe Dylan was a neko at all.

“Twenty minutes for the pheasant, fifteen for the fruit.”

The wolf handed the cranberry and pomegranate pies to Dylan, the neko setting them in an oven. Devyn stuck the meat pie into his own oven, setting a timer.

“Do you think Jasper has any more squid?” he asked, missing the snacks he usually carried.

“Don’t bother. You can’t dehydrate them in half an hour,” Dylan frowned, leaning against a counter. “Jason, I let Brienne know you were coming.”

The grey neko’s ears flicked as his hands moved, the tart smell of adrenaline and nerves filling the space around them. Devyn sneezed, the action feeling harsher in this form than his natural shape. The scent was almost overwhelming, even with the smell of the pies warming beside them.

“I told you, it’s fine. Besides, who knows, maybe she wouldn’t mind hanging out with both of us. I mean, just look at my fathers,” Dylan mentioned.

Devyn could almost feel the excitement building. His friend was surprisingly happy at the thought of sharing Brienne with Jason, and the wolf had no idea why. He certainly didn’t want to share Jason. Not that Jason was his. And he needed to stop thinking like that. The two legs would not like it one bit. Though he kept getting mixed signals from the neko.

“Yeah, I mean, we should definitely ask her. Well… you should ask her,” Dylan shrugged as Jason signed again, the nekos both seeming rather agitated. “She likes you more than she likes me.”

“That’s not true,” Devyn frowned. “Brienne likes you. You just can’t smell it.”

“Well… Maybe she’ll ask one of us to the Autumnal Dance?” Dylan suggested, glancing at Jason. “I mean, it’s only a month away.”

Devyn yawned as he waited for the pies, the nekos busy with their one voiced conversation. He always hated having to follow half a conversation. It wasn’t fun in the movies and it wasn’t fun in real life either. Besides, the dance never interested him. It was always full of werewolves trying to sow their seed and humans who were begging to be turned. Devyn wanted nothing to do with that. Not to mention that dances were strictly in two legged form. And there was no way Devyn could dance on two legs.

Though maybe he should go just this once, to make sure Jason was safe. Worry nagged at the back of his mind, a strange tug in his chest as he thought of the neko dancing with Brienne. The human was nice, she would be great for Jason… but Devyn could help feeling like she wasn’t right for him. Jason wasn’t hers to be with.

The ovens beeped, startling the wolf, and he bit back a yelp at the noise, grabbing a pair of oven mitts. Pulling his pie out, Devyn set them on a counter as he turned off the oven.

“So how do you want to do this?”

“I figured I’d deliver the pies. I made sure to keep my fur well hidden,” Dylan shrugged, waiting for his pies to cool momentarily.

Jason signed again, Dylan frowning thoughtfully as he watched the mute’s hands.

“I mean, I hadn’t thought about writing. It should work. Though it would largely remove Devyn and I from the whole event. Not that I mind, but if the whole point was beating Margaret, then Devyn should be present. It’s a little hard to show off when you aren’t there.”

“Jason could always tell Mom I went for a run,” Devyn shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time I ditched. She probably expects it.”

The grey neko shook his head slowly, frowning at the wolf.

“I’m with Jason on this one. If the whole idea is to get your mom to see you as a capable person, ditching is not the way to go. I guess we just go and try to be fast about it?” Dylan suggested.

Devyn let out a quiet huff, setting a hand on the glass plate to test the warmth. Lifting it up carefully, the wolf nodded.

“Come on then, before my parents show up.”

JASON

“Hey Dogmeat! Where’ve you been?”

Jason frowned as the man from the tryouts approached him, jeans hugging his body and a tight sweatshirt showing off muscles from years of working out. The neko forced himself to look up at the human’s face as Devyn and Dylan moved on toward a table. All around was the sound of families enjoying a weekend morning outside, pastries being sold, small carvings handed out or books traded. It lent a festive mood to the school, one that was infectious, judging by the grin on the man accosting Jason.

The neko’s fingers typed quickly, his phone speaking for him as the man frowned.

“I’ve been sick. And my name is Jason, not Dogmeat.”

“But you’re a neko. And wolves love neko meat,” the man smirked.

“Connor, leave him alone.”

The two looked over at Brienne, the girl smiling at Jason as she stopped beside them.

“How are you feeling Jason? Don’t worry about Connor, he only wishes he was a wolf.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know a wolf offered herself to me if I win next weekend,” Connor pouted.

Jason’s thumbs flew over his phone, the monotone of the device grating on his ears as it repeated his words.

“No, you need a guy to change you.”

“What? Aw fuck me…” Connor grumbled, Brienne letting out a laugh. “I don’t want to get humped by a wolf.”

“I heard someone say wolves are being changed through bites too,” Brienne grinned.

Jason frowned, shaking his head.

“I don’t think so. It makes no sense. Why would the disease transfer through sex and saliva?”

Brienne shrugged.

“I don’t know, I’m not a healer.”

Jason went to work, near instantly bringing up information on werewolves on his phone. The device repeated the words drily, Connor frowning at the neko.

“There is no proof for the theory that wolf saliva can start the change.”

“Well there goes that idea,” Connor sighed.

“Why do you even want to be a wolf? You’d have to leave the team, and everyone knows Alistair is the best coach ever,” Brienne smirked. “Or are you just tired of losing to me?”

“He’s probably jealous of Devyn,” Jason typed out when the man didn’t respond to the bait.

“Am not.”

“Has to be,” Brienne agreed.

“Oh look, my sister’s here with the brownies. Catch you later Dogmeat,” Connor said quickly, before hurrying away to help someone with an armful of pastries.

“Coward…” Brienne snorted. “So, how are you doing?”

“I’m feeling better.”

Jason wasn’t sure exactly what he was supposed to say. Here was someone who liked him enough to track him down when he was sick. And he knew nothing about her. Well, aside from the fact that she liked running, apparently. And was good at finding people.

“Great. Hey, there’s a football game next week. I was wondering if you would go with me,” Brienne said. “I know we have our first race the day after, but I figure it should be okay. The games don’t usually go that late.”

It wasn’t the dance Dylan had suggested, but that didn’t matter. Jason had never been able to go to one of the games, and though he really didn’t care about football, the company promised to be nice.

“Sure. Do you think Dylan would go with us?” he typed out.

“Dylan? Um, probably, if we asked,” Brienne replied uncertainly. “Why?”

“I thought you two were together. I don’t want to get in between you,” Jason added.

“Oh no. I mean, I like him, but he never seemed that interested in me.”

“He seems pretty interested to me.”

“You think? I mean, yeah, sure, we could all go together. But does this mean you want to… you know, be together?”

Jason sucked in a silent breath, a momentary panic running through his mind. Fuck, he should not have put it like that. Was this too soon? Mates got together faster than this, but then, neither of them were werewolves. He really had no idea what he was doing here.

“If you want to,” he typed slowly, heart pounding. “But we don’t really know each other yet.”

“Well, we know we both like to run. Why don’t we start there and see where it leads?” Brienne smiled.

“And Dylan?” Jason added.

“I’ll talk to him, see if he’s interested. But I’m still not sure he likes me like that.”

There was a momentary pause, Jason trying to collect his thoughts. His fingers moved again, a question playing out over the screen of his phone.

“Did you really go to the hospital just for me?”

“Um, yeah,” Brienne said, a light blush creeping over her cheeks. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. A lot of us were worried when you… you know, passed out at tryouts. Oh, and you still made the team, though Alistair’s going to make you catch up from the downtime. He’s a real prick.”

Jason shrugged helplessly. He’d have to deal with that in its own time. But at least he was on the team. Not that he understood how showing up and fainting allowed him to pass any sort of entrance test.

“We lose a lot of runners to the wolves,” Brienne added. “It’s not like he could afford to reject an interested runner.”

“That’s fair. Thanks. It really means a lot that you were there.”

“Of course,” Brienne smiled. “They wouldn’t let me back, but I figured any support I could show, you know. Do… do you want to walk around a bit?”

Jason nodded, holding his hand out slightly. Brienne looked down at the offered hand, taking it with another smile. They walked together, not exactly close yet, but testing out this new relationship.