Connor and the Wolves - 19. Working Out

“Come on Fluffbutt, you got this!”
Dylan’s cheeks puffed out as he pushed the bar above his chest. Connor kept his hands clear of the weights, cheering the neko on. The bench was angled more to work on the deltoids, something Connor was almost certain Dylan had neglected. The neko complained about his shoulders after running — well, his whole body actually, but Connor noticed he winced more when his arms moved.
Throughout the gym, grunts and clangs echoed as the rest of the class worked on their own goals. Many of them had earbuds in, listening to music, but Connor always liked to keep his ears free. Music was great for running, but here, he needed to listen in case anyone needed help.
“That’s four. One more.”
He almost laughed at the glare Dylan gave him. If his hands were free, Connor had no doubt the neko would bite his thumb. Instead, Dylan shoved up one more time.
“There you go.”
Connor set his hands on either side of the bar, guiding it back to the rack. Dylan rolled off the bench, puffing like he’d just run a marathon.
“I’m starting to think this is your first time working out,” Connor smirked.
“Fuck off,” Dylan grunted.
“Whoa, that’s a lot of hostility there.” Connor tossed up his hands in a peaceful gesture. “I’m just saying if you need help figuring things out so you can impress your girlfriend, I’m happy to help.”
Wiping off the bench, he slid several weights onto the bar.
“Showoff,” Dylan muttered, stepping behind the bench.
“I show off on the track, not in the gym,” Connor denied. “I’m very serious about my workouts. This is eighty percent of my max, just like you said yours was.” He leaned back on the bench, grabbing the bar. “We want explosive lifting here, to give us power without building mass. If you use too much weight, it will slow you down, and that’s bad, at least for what we want.”
Six reps later, Connor racked the bar. Flexing his shoulder muscles, he took a moment to make sure everything was working properly. Dylan scowled at him.
“You made that look easy.”
“It’s supposed to be… well, not easy, but not that hard either. Just enough to get your muscles burning.”
Leaning back again, Connor took a deep breath. He set his hands wide on the bar, lining his thumbs up with his shoulders. As he exhaled, he pushed, lifting the bar off the rack.
His shoulders were definitely feeling the burn by the time he finished.
“Okay, maybe I put on a little more than I should have,” he admitted, pulling a plate off the bar.
Dylan snorted beside him.
“Hey, my max went up. I thought I could do more here. I was wrong. It happens.” Connor scowled at Dylan. “There’s no need for negativity.”
He dropped back onto the bench, pushing out one last set. Racking the bar, Connor removed all the weights; he always felt bad removing weights from the last lifter, like he should be lifting heavier.
“What’s next?” Dylan gulped down some water.
“Dumbbells. Hang cleans and rows.”
“What, what, and what?”
“Don’t worry. Just stick with me,” Connor said, patting the neko’s back. “I’ll get you set up with a good workout in no time.”

Connor pulled his shirt over his head, nudging the locker shut with his foot. Water soaked through his clothes — he really needed to dry off better before getting dressed, but he was in a hurry today.
Grabbing his bag, Connor hurried to Alastair's office. He knocked on the door and poked his head inside.
The office was minimalistic — all of the track and cross-country coaches shared the space, though most of them were busy with other classes during the day. Connor had seen other offices in different pack and non-wolf schools, filled with trophies and awards. Those were all missing from here — he’d heard there was a trophy case in the main office, but Connor had never bothered to check.
Alastair looked up from his desk.
“Connor. What do you need?”
“I’m going to miss practice today.”
A stony silence filled the office. Several tense seconds passed before Alastair sighed.
“I trust you have a good reason?”
“My mom signed me up for community service this Varyal. I’m supposed to miss the meet, if I understand her motives correctly. I’m going to try getting the community service done this afternoon so I don’t have to miss the race.”
Alastair grunted, glancing at his computer.
“At least one of my athletes is actually thinking about this season. Fine. It’s Duyal, the practice would be light, anyway. Run four laps at lunch and we’ll call it even.”
“Thanks Coach,” Connor grinned. “I’ll make sure I’m here bright and early on Varyal.”
Shouldering his bag, he hurried out of the locker rooms. His mission was accomplished. He had barely five minutes to get to Werewolf Anatomy and Physiology — and to everyone’s favourite stuffed werewolf.

Brienne plopped her tray down at the lunch table.
“Okay, spill.”
Connor frowned around a mouthful of food. He swallowed harshly, clearing his throat.
“Excuse me?”
“Alastair looked steamed when you left. What did you do? Are we looking at extra laps at practice because of it?”
Rolling his eyes, Connor scanned the cafeteria. He could see Dylan hurrying toward them, dodging feet that seemed determined to stomp on his tail. Jason and Devyn remained missing.
“No Jason?” he asked pointedly, glancing back at Brienne.
Brienne frowned, looking toward the lunch line.
“I don’t see him. Or Devyn. And don’t dodge my question.”
Grunting, Connor shovelled the last of his lunch into his mouth. It was going to be a pain and a half to run with a full stomach, but it was better than risking going without food. Dinner would be late tonight.
“I’m missing practice, so he wants me to run now to make up for it.”
“That sucks,” Dylan said, dropping beside Brienne with his tray.
“We’ll join you,” Brienne said.
“We will?” Dylan stared at her blankly, and Brienne rolled her eyes.
“Of course we will. Eat fast.”
“I guess I’ll go find Jason. No reason we can’t all suffer together.”
“Yay,” Dylan muttered as Connor stood up to return his tray.
Patting the neko on the back, Connor glanced around the cafeteria. No grey nekos here. There were two other options.
He strode from the room, making his way through the school. Option one, Jason was off campus. If that was the case, he was out of luck. Option two….
“Oh, there you are, Dogmeat,” Connor said, poking his head into the Home Economics room.
Jason met his gaze with a mixture of resignation and defiance. Connor shrugged the glare off. It wasn’t his problem if Jason was eating with the orphans. Maybe he was out of lunch money for some reason. Maybe he felt more comfortable with a smaller crowd — there were barely ten people in the room compared to the hundred or so in the cafeteria. “What are you doing here? Brienne and Dylan are waiting for you.”
The neko held up a charred pigeon. Connor grimaced at the sight — the teacher obviously needed to help some students with their cooking skills.
“Okay, well, when you’re done, we were going to hit the track,” he said.
Jason shrugged, glancing down at the blackened mess. He slid his plate to someone — Emry? Connor flashed a smile at the werewolf, but Emry looked away quickly, hunching over his new meal.
Shrugging, Connor left the room. He could feel Jason behind him, and the neko quickly caught up with him, walking silently by his side.
The silence gnawed at Connor. He didn’t know sign language. How was he supposed to talk to Jason? Yes or no questions?
“So… you’re really okay with Dylan kissing your girl?” he tried.
Jason shrugged.
“I mean, I always thought wolves didn’t like sharing,” Connor pointed out as they stepped outside. “My mom’s always dealing with territorial spats over mates.”
He spotted Brienne and Dylan standing against the locker rooms by the track. Dylan had his hands in Brienne’s back pockets, and he looked like he’d spent the entire time Connor was absent making out with the human.
Connor cleared his throat.
Dylan jumped, a startled merf escaping him. It was all Connor could do not to laugh. He hadn’t realised nekos could make that sound. It was honestly adorable.
“Oh… uh, hey Jason,” Dylan said. “Is everything okay?”
“Well, of course everything’s not okay. You’re kissing his girl, Fluffbutt,” Connor smirked.
“Hey, if he wants to join in, I’ve been waiting for him to make a move since Varyal,” Brienne said.
Jason’s ears flicked beside them, his face flush.
“Come on Brienne, have pity on him,” Connor grinned.
“Hey Meatsack, why don’t we get started on that walk?” Dylan said, pushing Connor toward the track.
“Really? But I thought we were waiting for-”
“I’m sure they’ll catch up later,” Dylan pressed, the two walking away as his free hand signed to Jason.
Stepping onto the track, Connor started into a series of stretches. He needed to hurry if he wanted to finish his laps on time. Several students were playing a makeshift game of footballl. Another group chatted in the stands while watching. It was the perfect chance to see how Dylan and Jason performed while being watched.
“You know, if you wanted to get me to yourself, all you had to do was ask.” Connor said.
“Ew.”
Connor slapped a hand over his heart.
“Oh! How you wound me!”
“You’ll get over it.” Dylan scowled.
“So, do you think they’re actually kissing over there?”
Grunting, Dylan began jogging down the track. Connor hurried through the last of his stretches, then raced after the neko. He reached Dylan’s side in only a few strides. A little speed encouraged Dylan to match him, and they finished the first lap in a minute and a half.
“Okay, I’m not getting this,” Connor said as they started the second lap. “You and Jason are both dating Brienne, right? How exactly does that work?”
“What do you mean?”
Dylan gasped for breath as they jogged, and Connor wondered at the wisdom of trying to hold a conversation while running. If anything, it might help Dylan with breath control.
“I mean, you can’t both kiss her at the same time.”
“So?” Dylan shot a glare at Connor. “I have three dads. It works.”
“Three werewolf dads?” Connor clarified.
“Yeah.”
“Huh. And here I thought wolves wouldn’t want to share.” Connor slowed as Jason and Brienne approached.
“Shows what you know.” Dylan gasped, leaning over to catch his breath.
Scoffing, Connor turned his attention to Jason.
“Well? How was it?” he smirked.
“Gods bless it, Connor, leave him alone,” Dylan scowled, swatting the human on the back of the head.
“Could use a little work, but that just means we need to practice more,” Brienne grinned, wrapping an arm around Jason.
She kissed him before grabbing Dylan. Connor snorted at Dylan’s yelp as Brienne kissed him too.
“What, no kiss for me?” he asked innocently.
“And why would I kiss you?” Brienne shook her head. “I’m not about to have three boyfriends.”
“You snooze, you lose,” Dylan smirked, leaning into Brienne.
“Yeah, bet if I grew a tail, you’d change your tune. Is it the way they curl when they’re happy? Or do you like having something to hold onto when you peg them?” Connor grinned at Brienne.
“Hey, you leave my tail out of your lust.” Dylan frowned. “I don’t do dicks.”
“Not with that attitude you don’t.”
A huff shot from Jason, almost a silent snort. Connor turned to him, flashing another smirk.
“And what about you, Dogmeat? You ever wonder what it would be like to shove your tail up your butt?”
The neko’s ears flickered, folding in embarrassment at Connor’s words.
“Oh gods, you did!” Connor cackled.
“Oh come on, Connor, all nekos do that at some point. That’s how I know I’m not into dicks,” Dylan grumbled.
A chime sounded through the school. Connor glanced at the track — he had another 800 metres to run.
“I’ll meet you guys after school, I guess. I need to turn in my uniform,” Dylan said.
Jason signed beside him — not that Connor could understand the neko. Didn’t he have a phone he used for talking?
“You’re quitting? Why?” Brienne demanded.
“I need to help my fathers with the store,” Dylan shrugged. “And we got our uniforms last week, Jason. Alastair is keeping yours, though he keeps complaining about you missing practice.”
More signing from Jason. It was like listening to someone talk on the phone — Connor could only hear half of the conversation. At least Dylan could understand him.
“I know it’s not, and so does he,” Dylan sighed. “He doesn’t really care. Anyway, I’ll see you guys later.”
He stepped up to Brienne, kissing her lightly, before hurrying away.
“Hey, don’t worry about Alastair, Dogmeat. Everyone knows he’s jealous of his ex’s new fling,” Connor smirked. “We’re looking out for you.” He shifted his weight, watching the last person leave the field. “Anyway, I have to finish running. There’s a paint can with my name on it somewhere.”