A/N – Wow, quite a few people have requested Erik pair up with a boy. I deliberately left it vague since I had no idea how I was going to handle that, but a few mutant plot-bunnies have begun racing through the moonlit darkness of the Hale woods. Erik is going to have more going on than anyone expects, and he will meet his mate in this chapter…but that is going to be a very long battle for him. Hope you enjoy, and thank you for the awesome reviews. They are the best part of writing, and make me unspeakably happy. By the way, the new avatar pic on my profile is what I feel Erik looks like…maybe with a little less facial hair (otherwise an eerie combination of Stiles and Derek, no?). Those who want to see more of the Pack will get their wish soon; there's going to be a run like none that has ever happened before. Laurie will soon find out more about the mystery of Laura Hale's long-ago romance.
Batman & Robin
Erik tried to stop thinking about his 'other half' somewhere out there in the world…perhaps feeling as lonely as he was right now. Over the next few days at school, he continued to make a point of having an extended conversation with anyone who was willing, just to see if it might trigger a reaction. When he'd exhausted the likely population of girls, he even made the rounds of the boys…and while a small number from both groups seemed to give off the tell-tale scent of interest, Erik himself felt none of the 'enthusiasm' that Laurie felt within a minute of talking to Moose. An amusing and unforeseen side effect of his efforts turned out to be a modest increase in popularity. Freshman who hadn't been aware of his former 'nerd' status found him to be likeable, and the juniors and seniors were reevaluating him due to his success on the baseball field. The nerd clique recognized him as one of their own, even while the jocks high-fived him in the hallway. As the students forgot that he'd been a loner, Erik found himself getting invited to parties and even asked out on dates (which he always politely turned down when the wolf dismissed them). The rejected girls assumed he was gay (more to assuage their egos than any behavior on his part), and some introduced him to their male friends, but his interest remained minimal. Clarissa Barton flat out asked him what his problem was during a victory party at Moose's house.
"I'm waiting for the one. I'll know it when it happens." he shrugged.
"But…do you know what you're looking for?" she persisted.
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be single." he laughed.
Clarissa growled good-naturedly. When it first became obvious there was no chemistry, she resigned herself to being his friend, and found she genuinely liked him once she got to know him. Amy was cooler towards him, not having taken rejection as well as her twin, but she was still perfectly willing to socialize with him.
"Maybe you won't ever find the 'one' until you DO figure out what you want. Everyone knows what they want, deep down." Amy spoke with the infinite wisdom of her sixteen years on the planet, and Erik was thinking of a snappy comeback when he stopped and considered her words.
"You know something? You might be right. I take back half the mean things I said about you." Erik joked. Amy punched him in the arm, having seen Laurie do it; though Amy punched way harder. Erik rubbed his arm and went and got another glass of punch, thoughtfully grabbing extra cups for the girls when he was suddenly shoved by a dancing couple.
"Watch where I'm going!" he growled irritably.
"Oh, hey Lightning-Ball!" Laurie laughed. Moose had his arms around her and they were slowly swaying to the music with about six other couples in the large finished basement doing duty as a dance hall. Erik tried not to resent the glowing happiness in her face while he studied them, trying to figure out exactly how they meshed, and what kind of person he felt would mesh with him…to no avail. He sighed, giving up for the night. As he turned around, he noticed he was not the only one paying attention to his sister and her boy toy. More than half the girls in the room were giving her looks of sheer loathing. Were they jealous?
He delivered the drinks to Amy and Clarissa, then excused himself. He'd socialized with everyone at the party, and the wolf wasn't having any of them. Who could have guessed his inner wolf would be so picky? After telling Laurie he was going to walk home, he left and took a shortcut through the woods. The moon was more than half full, and he decided to shift and make a run out of it. He stripped out of his clothes and stuffed them in his knapsack, donning his 'running' shorts that went everywhere with him now.
As he took on the Beta form, he inhaled deeply and relished the scent and feel of the night air on his bare skin and the feel of the earth under his feet. He slung his arms through the loops of his knapsack and took off, heading in the general direction of home, but taking a looping route that would prolong the journey. More and more lately he was growing to love racing through the forest and the sensation of freedom it gave him. As he approached within a mile of his home, he caught the scent of the wolf from the other night, as well as a new one. They had scented him, and were excitedly closing in. They howled, and Erik stopped and answered back suddenly excited as well. They bounded up to him, and he got on his knees and hugged them both (dimly hoping they didn't have fleas or ticks). They frolicked around him, and he decided to race them back to the house. They were almost at his backyard when they stopped and gave worried yelps before taking off in the opposite direction. Erik stared after them before heading up to the deck, suddenly realizing that the whole werewolf Pack were sitting there drinking beer and talking. The smell of barbecued meat made his stomach rumble. Conversation stopped as Erik approached.
"Hey Aunts and Uncles." He waved.
"Yo, Erik! How's it going?" called Scott. Allison and Lydia gave him bemused hugs, noticing his state of undress.
"Night runs are awesome, we should all go as a Pack one night!" Jackson put in.
"Were those actual wolves you were running with?" asked Derek.
"Yeah, I met one the other night when…you know. The second showed up tonight. Guess they weren't ready to meet you guys yet."
"I had no idea there was a Pack in this area…I really need to scout out the forest again. It's been too long." Derek's eyes flashed red as he scanned the trees.
"Here, there's some food left if you want any." Ted pulled some burgers and hot dogs from the grill over the built-in fire pit and handed him a heaping plate. Erik gratefully downed one of each in rapid succession.
"Damn, take a breath in between!" Danny tossed him a soda.
Erik chatted with them a while before heading inside, pausing to rinse his feet off with the hose when Stiles yelled at him about the dirt.
"So, how've they been doing, Derek?" asked Lydia once the boy was out of earshot.
"Laurie's a changed girl since she latched onto Aaron. Her training's been much better too. When he almost choked to death in the restaurant, it seemed to help unblock the barrier between her and her wolf. For that, I'm grateful. Erik…he's really hung up on finding his mate now, and he's worried that he won't be able to. I wish there were some way to help him."
"He doesn't understand yet that it just happens…fate throws us together when it's the right time." said Stiles, interlacing his fingers with Derek's.
"I wonder if it will be a boy or a girl." Danny wondered aloud. The rest of the Pack gave him a startled glance.
Derek only shrugged. "No way to tell. I dated girls exclusively before I met Stiles, so it was pretty jarring when I realized my mate was a male…the wolf knew what I wanted even though I didn't. But one of the things they tell you when you're born into a werewolf family is that you never know, so I just accepted it when it happened…and have never regretted that ever since."
"Same here…Lydia can tell you how hard I crushed on her…but once Derek worked his mystic voodoo werewolf sex mojo on me, it was a done deal. From what Erik tells me, he hasn't had leanings in either direction yet, and doesn't care." Stiles added. "Either way, we support whoever he winds up with."
The Pack all murmured their agreement.
"I'll be pretty surprised if Christine and Dylan don't wind up together. They're such a perfect match." Jackson told Scott, smirking.
"Don't remind me. I cringe at the thought of having a Whittemore in my family." Scott pretended to puke in his beer.
"My daughter is definitely keeping her maiden name." said Allison Argent-McCall.
The rest of the Pack rolled their eyes. "Whittemore-McCall sounds like a company that makes dishwashers." Lydia argued. "And the other way doesn't work. Besides, that possibility is a million years in the future…I hope."
They all chuckled, and as the night wore on, the crackling flames and the song of the crickets provided accompaniment to the bittersweet musings they shared of their long-ago youth.
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Erik lay awake in bed and stared at the ceiling, which was encrusted with glow-in-the-dark stars he and his Pop had put up there eight years ago. A thought had occurred to him while he raced through the forest with his new friends, inspired by Amy's advice at the party. Werewolves, like true wolves, operated on a deeply instinctual level; signaling their hosts when they found the right mate. Perhaps this whole 'finding' thing worked because the wolf knew who it wanted (even if Erik didn't) and knew where to look without him being conscious of it. If Erik could somehow ask the wolf for help, he could follow where it led him and find his mate that way. He didn't know exactly how to do this, or if it would even work…but he was going to try. He closed his eyes and slept, and in his dreams he could almost see the face of the one he was meant to be with…
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The next morning (which was a Saturday, thank all the gods) Erik showered and dressed early, leaving a note for the family and grabbing only an apple before making his way outside. He hopped in the Camaro, filled it at the nearest gas station and drove to the center of town, parking near the old stone fountain. He turned his awareness inward, and tried to commune with his inner wolf.
'Come on, boy. Show me where to go.' he thought.
Nothing happened.
'We've got to find the one we're supposed to be with. Any idea which direction they're in?'
Still nothing.
Feeling stupid for trying it, he fired up the engine and glanced in the rearview mirror only to notice that his eyes were glowing amber. He reached a hand up to his face and traced a finger along the lids. This was very strange…he hadn't called up the wolf in the usual way, and didn't feel shifted…but his eyes were definitely wolfish. He shrugged and pulled out of the spot before heading to the main road. He came to the intersection where he normally turned left for home, and surprised himself by turning right. What the hell was going on? He distinctly remembered directing his hands to turn the wheel left. Now he was heading out to the highway, which would leave Beacon Hills behind. If his wolf were trying to show him the way…how far could his mate possibly be?
Giving free rein over to his body (which seemed to know what it was doing) Erik passed the exit for White Rapids, taking the one for Red Falls. On the main drag, he slowed the car down, more to look around than comply with local speed laws. He pulled up to a small diner and parked. A neon sign proclaimed that the establishment was known as "Stucky's Eats", though a few of the letters were out. (It spelled Sty's Eats now in a bizarre coincidence.)
Erik walked in though he wasn't really hungry, donning a pair of dark sunglasses to hide the wolf eyes. The diner contained only two customers; an elderly couple sitting in a corner. An overweight guy in a dirty white apron stared at Erik while polishing glasses with a filthy rag. The place had an unwholesome aura, and it seemed strange that it had passed a Board of Health inspection.
"Help you?" asked the counterman, sounding like he was being ordered to be courteous at gunpoint.
Erik had no desire to eat here; the guy had a sour predatory odor.
"Yeah, I'd like something to drink. Um, got anything bottled?" he asked.
The guy smirked and pulled a Coke out from an ice chest under the counter. He slammed it down in front of Erik.
"That's $3.50."
'Geez, for a freaking soda?' Erik thought to himself. He slapped a five on the counter. "Keep the change."
The five disappeared in a wink. Stucky (if that's who he was) went through the swinging door into the kitchen just as Erik got up to leave. A thread of scent came through the door, and his head snapped towards it as a tremor rocked through his body.
He knew with every fiber of his being that his mate was somewhere in the kitchen of the diner.
Stucky came out and walked towards the front door.
"You're out front! I'll be back in thirty." he shouted through the swinging kitchen door.
A pale teenage boy in an even filthier apron than Stucky's came out and gave Erik a passing glance before gazing over at the elderly couple. Then he looked back at Erik as if suddenly noticing him.
"You being helped?" he asked. His eyes were deep green, and his hair a chestnut brown. He seemed too thin, and there were dark circles under his eyes. On each wrist, he wore a wide leather strap. His jeans were old and faded, and the sneakers were falling apart on his feet. Only the t-shirt seemed new; it was green and a portion of the logo for the Green Lantern was visible. A comic book fan. Inhaling his scent, Erik got that roller-coaster feeling Laurie was going on and on about…it was almost too much to bear. The wolf was wide awake and alert, and it was feeling…anxious?
"Yeah, I'll have another soda." Erik sat back down again. The boy gave him an amused glance, noting the unopened bottle he still clutched.
"You must be thirsty. That's $1.75."
Erik paid him, feeling a surge of anger at the older man for cheating him. When the boy took out the second bottle, Erik told him "Keep it, it's on me."
The boy smiled. "Thanks. I'm Robin. You're not from around here, are you?"
"Beacon Hills. I'm Erik…I never met a real Robin before."
"My dad was a big fan of the old Batman television show. He met the actor that played Robin, and the guy was so nice to him that he named me after the character. It gave me a few problems at school. I love the DC comics, but Green Lantern and the Flash are my favorites. Batman is 'meh'"
"I hope my Pop never hears you say that. He's obsessed with Batman. So am I, my Pop let me read all the comics he collected." Erik laughed, trying to appear casual while inwardly wondering how the hell he was going to work up the nerve to ask him out.
Robin tried to twist the cap off the bottle, then hissed and rubbed his wrist, slamming the bottle back on the counter. Erik caught the alarming odor of blood. It took all his willpower to keep the wolf at bay…and it was a losing battle. The wolf was literally panicking.
"Here, let me." Erik easily twisted the cap off.
"My hero. Thanks, Batman."
The comment, though slightly sarcastic, nevertheless thrilled Erik's wolf and was giving it the edge it needed to emerge. He got up quickly (not missing the alarmed look Robin gave him) and excused himself before heading to the bathroom.
Once he was locked inside, he whipped off the shades to reveal the smoldering amber Glare of the wolf staring at him from the mirror.
"Listen boy, I am all for this but you have got to pull back a little bit or we are going to freak him out and lose our chance to-"
Without warning, the wolf subsided. Erik's eyes were their normal deep brown once again. Erik sighed with relief and put his shades in his jacket pocket. Robin was still sitting there, and Erik glanced nervously at the clock. He didn't want to have to deal with Stucky again if he could help it.
Trying to sound as casual and ordinary as he could, he looked off to the side and said in a too-offhand tone "Maybe you can come over sometime and see my comics…I can think of three or four issues that might make a Batman fan out of you yet."
"I think I'm beginning to see him in a new light already." Robin told him…and Erik felt all the blood in his body head south for an extended vacation. Holy crap these feelings were powerful!
"Well, cool. Let me give you my phone number." Erik recited it while Robin quickly programmed it into a rather cheap looking cell phone. Robin gave him his number too…both boys were feeling the pressure of time and circumstance, for different reasons.
"Um…I don't have a car. And I don't exactly have any days off…" Robin began uncertainly.
"No days off? But-" Erik's next words were cut off by the sound of the front door swinging open. Stucky's scent preceded him into the diner, and Robin's spiked sharply with fear. Erik's dormant wolf was suddenly back on high alert, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut until his shades were once more in place. When he opened them, Robin was wiping the counter as if he'd been doing it for a while. At a glance from Stucky, he fled back to the kitchen without saying 'goodbye'. Instinctually playing along, Erik grabbed both bottles of soda and dropped them into the garbage pail even though Robin's was still half-full. He somehow knew it would be bad for Stucky to find out Robin was socializing with a customer.
Erik got up and left, heading back out to his car. He started it, but sat there for a good ten minutes wrestling with himself. The wolf did not want to leave; every instinct was screaming for him to go back in there and just claim him; Stucky could interfere at his peril. There was definitely something going on with Robin, and whatever it was, it was going to prevent Erik from being with him. He ground suddenly sharpened teeth in frustration, clenching the wheel in his hands until it seemed to warp in his grip. A clear mental image of Stucky lying in about two dozen bloody pieces made him growl pleasurably in his throat before he banished it, slightly horrified.
Erik drove back onto the road and headed home as fast as the law allowed. At any moment he was going to lose control, and he wanted to be home when he did.
His uncles were all present when he got there; in an amusing reversal of the night before, they were having a training session in the back with his father all in their matching shorts. Stiles was not taking part, though it was an even guess whether it was at his request or theirs. Lydia and Allison were playing with their children at the swing-set. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.
Erik cursed under his breath. He wanted very badly to be left alone, preferably with something large and shreddable. Laurie appeared out of nowhere, jumped in the car and took off (without so much as a good-bye), probably to see Moose, leaving that line of escape closed.
"Hey Erik! How about you get changed and train with us! Your uncles want to see how much you've learned!" Derek called.
"Now's not a good time, Dad!" he said, trying desperately to control the urge to roar out a challenge at them.
"Chicken!" Jackson called, jokingly. Derek gave Jackson an annoyed glance, while Erik froze. Within him, the line between the human and the wolf disappeared. Erik slowly turned around. His jacket dropped on a nearby chair, along with his shades. He reached up one clawed hand and ripped through his t-shirt as he shifted more than he ever had in his life.
All of them stopped and looked at him, and inhaled the furious scent he gave off. The girls shaded their eyes to see what was going on, even Dylan and Christine were paying rapt attention.
"Erik?" called out his father, uncertainly.
The teen charged them.
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That night, as Jackson, Ted, and Danny were trying to ignore the maddening itch as their broken bones mended themselves, Derek and Scott did their best to try to get Erik to calm down. Scott was just a few bandages short of being a mummy, and Derek's injuries (some of them even more severe than the others) had only healed already because he was the Alpha. He'd had to transform completely to subdue his son, and had still needed the help of his head Beta.
Erik was tied to a chair, still fully shifted and ignorant of the dozens of scratches that were still closing. His claws were sunk deep into the wood, and he seemed not so much to be trying to escape the chair as kill it. He stared ahead at nothing, and refused to speak.
Stiles came in, shaking his head and carrying a hot cup of tea that had been made according to Derek's special instructions. It was an old family recipe.
"The girls are looking after the walking wounded. Scott, you may as well go join them. This'll teach you all not to forget that a hormonal teenage werewolf can kick your asses when he's provoked." Stiles waved Scott out of the chair and he hobbled painfully away to join the others. With difficulty, they got Erik to drink the tea. After about ten minutes, the wolfish features faded away, and he collapsed exhausted into almost a trance-like state. His claws had to be pulled out of the wood so they could recede back into his fingers.
Derek shook his head. "I have never seen any wolf go crazy like that. He could have torn off Peter's head and used it as a basketball." Derek slashed through the ropes holding his son in the chair, and slung him over his shoulder before depositing him on his bed.
The Pack spent the night in the guest rooms and turned in early. Derek and Stiles went to bed only after Laurie returned home. They gave her the short version of the day's events, and she bit her lip, worried. When Stiles went to hang Erik's jacket in the coat closet, his cell phone fell out and only Stiles' new reflexes saved it from shattering on the tile floor. He glanced at the screen, which was displaying the recent text messages.
"Laurie? Who's Robin?" Stiles asked.
Laurie searched her memory. "Robin? No idea. I don't know anyone at school by that name. Is it a boy or a girl?"
"No idea, but whoever it is writes that 'It was really great meeting you today. I hope I can come over some time and see your comic books.'" Stiles closed the phone with a snap. "Okay, it's official. I've just turned into my father." He put the phone in the coat pocket, snapping the pocket closed. "You don't think…"
Derek pinched the bridge of his nose. "After his performance today, I don't think there's any doubt. The mystery mate has been found. The only question is, why is he so upset? I'd think he'd be doing cartwheels or something. I guess we'll find out in the morning."
About two hours after they all went to bed, a still semi-dazed Erik crept from his room and tracked the scent of his jacket to the closet. He retrieved his phone and collapsed weakly back onto his bed. The tea had dampened his ability to shift, and blocked out some of the wolf's anxiety…but he still had to confirm Robin was okay before there could be any chance of sleep.
There were three new text messages since the one Stiles read.
'It was really nice meeting you today.'
'I think I may be free tomorrow. Diner's closed on Sundays and Uncle Carl will be away.'
And finally,
'Um, you still there?' The time stamp was five minutes before.
Erik tapped the keys as fast as he could.
'Yeah, I'm here. Had some family stuff to deal with. You can totally come over. What time should I pick you up?'
He waited for a response. The seconds dragged slowly, and Erik imagined that he was too late; Robin had shut off his phone and gone to sleep, writing Erik off as an asshole and deleting his message unread. Then the phone beeped.
'As soon as you can.' Came the odd response.
Dawn saw Erik flooring the accelerator and racing away from the Hale house towards a filthy diner that contained the most valuable thing in the whole world. Erik sent off a text that he was on his way, knowing Robin might be asleep for hours yet. Erik planned to sit in the parking lot until he got a reply, and whisk Robin back, hopefully in time for breakfast. The phone beeped before he had even left Beacon Hills.
'Nice of you to keep me waiting. I'll meet you out front.'
Erik grinned, and the wolf howled its silent approval in his mind. He hoped Robin would get a kick out of the Batman t-shirt he'd picked out.
The grin managed to stay in place long enough for Erik to spot the other boy standing in the parking lot of the diner; he seemed to be leaning against a wall for support. When Erik pulled in, he limped over to the car and slid into the passenger seat with a relieved sigh.
"You okay?" Erik asked.
"Yeah, just tripped." Lie. "Nice car." Truth.
Erik said nothing, just focusing on getting Robin back to the house…the drive to make him…safe… overpowering all other concerns. Robin seemed reluctant to talk as well, just leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. He smiled when Erik put on the radio, and picked a track on his favorite CD that he thought would relax his new friend even more.
Robin laughed when he heard the music. "I love Carl Orff. Carmina Burana is the bomb. Can't believe it's a hundred years old."
"It fits all my moods…I can listen to it no matter what I'm feeling and it seems to match."
Robin nodded in perfect understanding. "Hey Erik…what's happening here?" Robin said this while his eyes were still closed, as if he were afraid to see Erik's face while he spoke.
"What do you mean?" It was becoming harder to concentrate. The wolf was studying everything about him; his features, his scent, the sound of his voice and heart and breath. A powerful urge to lick the exposed skin of his neck and trail upward behind the perfect ear had to be savagely fought down.
"Well, don't take this the wrong way…but I'm feeling things that are…well, pretty strong. I know I don't know you, but I've been thinking about you all night." Silence for a beat or two. "Does that freak you out?"
"No…I'm feeling it too. I'm not usually up before the rooster on a weekend."
Robin opened his eyes, the deep green flashing in the bright sunlight. "God…who sent you to me? I feel like you're…" he shrugged, not knowing how to finish.
"The one you've been waiting for?" Erik finished, hoping it fit Robin's thought.
"Yeah. Only I didn't know I was waiting. Things like this don't happen to me."
"Well, it's happening now. And more can happen, if you want it to…shit, that came out wrong." They both laughed.
Erik put his hand on the gear shift, and a second later it was covered by Robin's own. The contact sent a bolt of pure electricity through both of them, and they rode out the wave in silence even as the touch fulfilled every promise of happiness. Robin suddenly pulled his hand away, and Erik had to struggle not to snatch it back. "You okay?"
Robin was giving off the scent of anxiety. "Look, maybe this is wrong. I have a lot of baggage, and you don't want to get involved with someone like me."
Erik almost drove off the road. "Um…look, Robin…I don't care about any of that; I mean, I do but there is nothing you can say that will scare me away. And…you're not the only one who's afraid. I have a pretty weird family. They're nice and all, but we're not exactly normal."
Robin didn't comment, but he took Erik's hand, placing their palms together and interlacing the fingers tightly. The feeling of being a conduit to a powerful source of electricity returned. With the music in the background, it was too beautiful an experience to profane it with words, and so they didn't. In too short a time, they pulled up to the house. They pulled their hands apart and got out of the car. Looking around at all of the Pack's cars, Erik wished he had never fought with his uncles; they would have gone home and he would have a better chance of being alone with Robin. Then they could…
Erik terminated that line of thought, at least for now. He opened the door, and by the grace of Fenris everyone was still asleep. He led Robin quickly to his room, and breathed a sigh of relief when the door was locked fast. Robin shed his coat, Erik fought an urge to laugh at the Robin t-shirt his namesake wore. Robin smirked at Erik's t-shirt in turn.
"What are the odds of this happening?" he flicked a finger at the Robin logo. Erik noticed that he still wore the leather wristbands.
"Million to one. Want to watch tv?" Erik asked lamely.
"Nah, I'm still a little tired. Mind if I sleep till a reasonable hour?"
"Yeah, go ahead. I will too…unless, well I could sleep on the beanbag."
"No, you're bed's pretty big. I sleep on a cot in…" Robin's eyes shone a little, and he kicked off his decrepit shoes and threadbare socks before lying down. He pushed against the wall as Erik curled up next to him after discarding his own footwear. They spooned together, and Erik wrapped his arm around the other boy's waist, holding him tight.
"Um…is this okay?" he asked, before giving in to the temptation to drown himself in Robin's scent.
"Okay? This right here makes everything worth it." A few minutes later, Robin was sleeping deeply as one exhausted beyond endurance.
Erik resisted for about thirty seconds before planting a kiss on the back of Robin's neck. It might have been his imagination, but at that moment he thought he heard the rumbling growl of the wolf's approval in his mind.