"Tell me that it's all okay."
Cerberus’ little gang of werewolves has been entertaining, at the very least. They walk the streets like a pack of dogs and Wade easily slips into the role of scavenger; distant and respectful while benefiting from their interactions. He knows there’s no contest — even without the literal hellhound factored in — and peace is easy enough to maintain. It helps that the lot of them aren’t destructive; their leather-jacket-clad daddy seems to keep them in line and out of the kind of trouble where a hunter may need to step in and Wade is happy for it — content to be a bother in other ways.
They are a solid thing. A pack. Wolves, united together. Monsters who understand each other. Wade doesn’t know what such comradery is like; he’s the coyote that lags behind that they bare teeth to or the crow that looks on with orange beady eyes — loud but shooed away when his songs become a bother.
He’s always been that kid that doesn’t fit in and 2019 isn’t really any different.
Today they’ve gathered at a shake and burger shack that plays old 50s music and names their sandwiches after dead famous people. There’s a seating area outside with round tables and benches — the sort with large, faded umbrellas that have been deployed for the sake of protection against the midday sun. It’s busy — noisy, between all the people and Reet Petite crackling through speakers, and there’s almost something charming about the whole summer vibe of the place.
Wade is laying on his back on one of the benches, expression blank as Miguel breaks away from his adopted family to try and connect with the shifter. They make an odd pair, he knows — and for a moment he’s sure he can feel Cerberus’ eyes on him, spine hot, and he reminds himself that there are rules that come with territory. It’s a little warning that comes and goes; Miguel is a favorite among the wolves — their little angel, as they so loved to call him. Wade knows they all adore Miguel, which only makes him want to ask why the werewolf has chosen to gravitate towards him on this bright, hot day.
There’s a good chance he never will.
There’s a number of things that Miguel might be referring to when he speaks and Wade somehow manages to avoid every single one. That usual calm is in his voice when he speaks, present enough to be having a conversation but also distracted by a June bug’s grand ascension up the umbrella’s pole.
“’Okay’ is such a trap word. We both have very different views on what constitutes as ‘okay.’” Hands lift to make the proper air quotes before they fall again. The black raspberry milkshake he ordered has begun to perspire. “That is to say … my views make sense. Your scale can easily be compared to a menstruating teenage girl stressed out by being class president on the week of Homecoming.”