Chapter Text
Wendell was staring in front of himself, lost in thought.
The mystery tiger man stopped his car on the road in front the gate to what Wendell presumed to be the man’s mansion. The man removed the shades he was wearing while he walked over to the gate, pushed some buttons and opened it. He was wearing a vest on top of his shirt with a tie and all, looking all fancy. He looked really big and strong. Wendell kept looking at him, not sure why.
Walnut tapped him on the side of his head and Wendell came out of his daze. The squirrel pointed annoyedly to the side, right to where Fennix and Polar were standing, waiting for Wendell and eyeing him suspiciously. ”What’s the hold up? Are you coming?” asked Fennix. Wendell shook his head to get out of his daze.
”Sorry, coming!” said Wendell and ran up to catch up with his friends. They were doing their weekly hiking trip. Or atleast him and Fennix were, Polar only tagged along this time because Fennix basically forced him too, much to the polar bears annoyance. The fox man was really the only one who could push the bear around, but it was always for a friendly reason. They wandered up the mountain together and kept exploring the island.
Fennix spoke suddenly. ”You seemed pretty distracted back there. Something on your mind?”
Wendell ears perked and looked a little shy. ”A-ah, well…I just happened to catch a glimpse of one of the new guys. The tiger man one. Uh, what was his name?”
Fennix smiled. ”That would be Oscar. I haven’t spoken to him yet. Did you manage to say hi?”
”No, just got a glimpse. Man, his house is massive! And he’s got a car! I was in awe of it all.” Wendell said.
Fennix chuckled. ”Yeah, I barely saw it but it was huge! Makes you wonder why he is on this island of all places.”
”I wouldn’t trust him.” Polar suddenly says, trailing slightly behind Wendell and Fennix but manages to hear what they just said. Both the wolf man and fox look back at him.
”Huh? Why?” Wendell asks.
”I heard the guy has been involved in some shady business. I mean, just look at his home. You can’t tell me you get something huge like that from just working jobs like we do. He is probably here for other reasons than battle royale…” Polar says suspiciously.
Fennix looks at him a bit annoyed. ”Polar, you shouldn’t spread rumors like that if they are just, you know, rumors.”
”Come on, if you just catch a glimpse of the guy you can tell he is bad news. Right, Wendell? You managed to spot him.” Polar looks at Wendell for affirmation.
Wendell thought for a moment. He thought back on the fine clothing, shades and muscular arms on the man. Did that mean bad news? Did bad people look so…cool? Before Wendell could answer, Fennix retorted back to Polar:
”That is just rude, Polar. We should give him a chance before deciding. He is part of the island now after all.” Fennix says scoldingly. Polar mumbles something in response but does not push on it. They continue their hike and talk about other things instead.
Wendell thinks that he might just need to introduce himself to Oscar soon.
——
The very next day, by sheer luck, Wendell found himself looking at Oscar again. He had just taken a walk in the grasslands together with Walnut this morning and Oscar was under a tree tinkering with his…shotgun!?
Ok, that was a little intimidating. But, maybe it was for battle royale so it’s normal? Wendell did not wanna take Oscar by surprise though in case he would do something with his gun. So Wendell pondered again what to do, which meant that he just ended up staring at Oscar again. It was a bit too far away, but Wendell thought he could see that Oscar had quite a big chest. That was probably very weird to think. But it totally was not, Wendell told himself.
Oscar finally looked at Wendell and the wolf man froze for a second. Why was he suddenly so nervous? He never had problems talking to people otherwise. Wendell takes a deep breath, coughs, smiles and waves his hand frantically towards Oscar. ”Hi! I’m Wendell!”
Oscar eyed Wendell suspiciously for a moment. He looked to his left and right as if to see if he was waving to anyone else. Realizing the wolf was in fact talking to him, he simply responded. “Hello,” back.
Wendell just smiled goofily and continued talking. “You are new on the island right? Enjoying the nice weather? Playing with your…gun?” Wendell eyed the shotgun worriedly when he said that. He wouldn’t do anything with it, surely? As if Oscar noticed Wendell's discomfort, he put the gun aside.
“Err, yes I suppose so. Did you need anything?” Oscar asked.
“Just wanted to greet our new friend on the island! Oh, I passed your home yesterday! Man, it was HUGE! Just your garden was massive. I can’t even imagine how it is on the inside! Oh, and I caught a glimpse of your car as well! You know, not a lot of people are able to get their vehicles on the island easily so maybe you must have some sort of big contacts, or maybe you just-”
Wendell continued blabbering on as Oscar just eyed him suspiciously. Who was this dog? He noticed a squirrel running around him and eyeing Oscar suspiciously as Wendell kept on talking. The tiger man had completely lost track of what the wolf man was talking about. Whatever it was, it seemed very interesting to the guy. Oscar leaned back on the tree he was sitting under. It was gonna be a day for other things than tinkering, wasn’t it? Whatever, he guessed he could humor this guy until he became bored. Or maybe his head will implode before that from his talking alone. God damn, the wolf is still talking.
“-and that is how me, Fennix and Polar started our band. Man Fennix totally kicks ass playing the drums, you should totally see him sometime! Do you play any instrument?” Wendell finally asks and stops blabbering. As he had continued to talk he had moved closer to where Oscar was sitting.
Oscar blinks for a second before he realizes he was asked a question. “Can’t say I do. Do you?”
“Oh, I sing and shred the guitar but not like a professional or anything. Just a hobby with the guys. Anyhow! That’s not important.” Wendell says. Oscar raised his eyebrow. It wasn’t? Then why the hell did he talk so much about it? “Hey, you mind if I sit down? Walnut likes it when I sit by the tree, I usually do so alone but now I got some company! Great, isn’t it?” Wendell gives Oscar a beaming smile. Oscar doesn’t say anything but shrugs, huffs and nods. The wolf dude can do whatever he wants to. He supposed that Walnut was the name for the rodent running around him. Oscar had already forgotten the name of the man. Said man smiled and sat down beside Oscar, just enough space required for acceptable personal space.
It was quiet for a moment. But Oscar expected the wolf man to start blabbering any moment. He seemed like that type of person. But Oscar did have a question in mind. “I apologize, but I didn’t catch your name?” Oscar asks. The wolf man's ears perk and he looks at Oscar.
“Oh! It’s Wendell! And this is Walnut!” Wendell holds out his hands and Walnut immediately jumps up on the wolf man's hands and gives a thumbs up.
“Charmed.” Oscar says.”You mind if I tinker with my shotgun for a moment?”
Wendell's ears drop but he smiles but has a hint of fear in his eyes. “Not at all!” He says, despite himself.
Oscar notices the wolf's discomfort. “It will be quick, don’t you worry.” Oscar says as he goes back to fixing his gun. Wendell gulps but tries to distract himself by playing with Walnut. It is quiet again as they do their own things under the tree. Oscar is soon done and puts the gun away. “Well, nice meeting you Wendell.” He stands up and readies to leave, but Wendell stands up too.
“Wait! I forgot, I was gonna ask you if you wanted me to show you around the island? You know, I am a mountaineer! I have seen most of what this island has to offer. I go on hikes with the rest of the guys regularly. I could give you a headstart!” Wendell beamed.
Oscar actually looked a little surprised. “A mountaineer? Bet you got a lot of upper body strength then. You've been on top of this island's mountains?”
Wendell blushed slightly at the, what he perceived to be, compliment of his strength. He attempted to ignore it and did a thumbs up as he spoke. “You bet! They aren’t that hard to climb here but they give amazing views of the island and the sea. Maybe one day I’ll take you with me?”
Oscar chuckled. “Sure, never done mountaineering before though. Don’t know if I got the body for it.”
Said body Wendell now looked at automatically at the mention of it. He had to force himself to look away so he wouldn’t be distracted. Oscar, being relatively perceptive, noticed this. “Don’t worry about that! It’s mostly about the mindset, believe it or not. And safety! You gotta be determined, yet perceptive of threats and possibly dangers. It’s actually ten times safer to have a mountaineer partner with you. You need equipment and ropes and-” Wendell was going on a blabbering spree again, but Oscar wasn’t bothered. If anything he found it kind of endearing. The wolf was clearly passionate about this. Maybe if Oscar kept hanging out with him he would eventually implode from all the information. But right now? He let Wendell just talk. Oscar tried following Wendell's trail of thought the best as he could.
“-and that is basically how you don’t screw up when climbing…oh, sorry! I was totally gonna ask you about a short island tour. Uhh, you're still up for it?”
Oscar simply shrugs. “Sure, I don’t see why not.”
Wendell’s face beams and his tail wags from side to side. “Great! Follow me!”
____
”-and he has his own greenhouse where he grows various plants. And he agreed to go hiking with me someday. And he has apparently worked at a club before, and was some sort of owner of the establishment and made lots of money from it. Ain’t that so cool!?” Wendell was blabbering all this to Fennix who listened patiently to his friend. Fennix had an amused look on his face. Polar, on the other hand, did not look so amused.
”Sounds too good to be true,” Polar says. ”Look, I don’t mean to sound so negative, but remember that you just met the guy Wendell. He could be anyone.”
Both Wendell’s and Fennix faces drop. Fennix looks a little annoyed at Polar, but does eventually say: ”He does have a point, Wendell. You should be a little cautious. I think he seems genuine so far, however.”
Wendell’s face drops even more and he whimpers and whines slightly. ”So…I should just stop meeting him…?”
Fennix immediately shakes his head. ”Oh no! I didn’t mean that. Just…neither me or Polar wants to see you hurt, okay? No offense, but you can get a little bit…excited over things Wendell. But that is why we love you also.” Fennix says. Polar nods his head in agreement.
Wendell’s face is a mixture of disappointment and determination. ”…I just really hope he is real, you know?”
Fennix and Polar look at each other for a moment, then they both start to chuckle and giggle. Wendell looks at them with a raised eyebrow. ”What?” he says.
Fennix is the one to speak again. ”You met this guy today and you already got a big fat crush on him.”
”What!? No! That’s not it!!” Wendell grits his teeth and his face flushes. He tries to look threatening but it doesn’t really have any effect.
”Sounds about right. Our puppy-eyed Wendell is such an excited hopeless romantic.” Polar says, joining Fennix in the giggles.
”S-stop it! Both of you!” Wendell does sound a bit upset now. His friends notice this and stop. Fennix goes ahead and pats Wendell on his head.
”We’re just joking, Wendell. Just don’t do anything rash, alright? We hate to see your big heart get hurt. Or your face to go all sad puppy eye mode on us.” Fennix said, while patting Wendell. Wendell crosses his arms as if he were a grumpy child, but his tail was wagging from the pats. ”We hate to see another Dire situation…” Fennix said. Polar took a quick breath from Fennix's mention of that and Wendell's tail stopped wagging.
Ouch, Dire. He and Wendell were kind of a thing for a while. They were never officially together, not according to Dire anyway. Wendell admits that for a while he was absolutely smitten by the guy. They had met during the night once when Wendell had been hiking together with Walnut out in the forest. They had scented each other, and found out they both had love for the outdoors. It grew from there, they would meet up almost every night and Wendell’s friends had no idea. Dire was so cool and tall, they would do so many things together. But after a while he started becoming distant, after Wendell asked him to come meet him during the day and greet his friends. Dire slowly stopped visiting Wendell and he had no idea why. Wendell had found out why the hard way. Dire was in reality a werewolf, and he went by the name JJ as a human. Wendell quickly found out that JJ was in a relationship with a woman. Wendell did not have the energy then to tell her anything. He had just ran home and basically cried for three days. He confessed everything to Fennix, who must have told the woman because he was told they broke up quickly afterwards.
Fennix snapped his fingers in front of Wendell’s face. ”Hey, you’re spacing out.” Wendell just blinked and then shook his head. He tried to not look sad but Fennix seemed to notice. “Aw, buddy, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. We just really love you, alright? Right, Polar?” Fennix looked at Polar who looked a bit embarrassed to say he loved Wendell, but he nodded. They did love him as a friend. His heart was just a bit too big for his own good sometimes.
——
Oscar sat on his comfortable armchair watching his fireplace, contemplating. Thinking about the wolf man that he spoke to today. Or, it was mostly the wolf speaking to him. He talked…a lot.
But Oscar couldn’t find himself to mind. He seemed so genuine, so excited over talking to him. Wasn’t Wendell intimidated by him? Oscar guessed it might be because the wolf was pretty tall himself. Only a little shorter than Oscar. He was fit as well, had that sort of flexible look to him. And his eyes…so beaming with joy and lust for life. People like that were rare to find. He just seemed like a happy, simple guy.
Oscar had no clue why a guy like that would wanna talk to someone like him. Wendell must be younger than him, he just has to be. Oscar just recently entered his 40s for god's sake. Didn’t the pup have better things to do?
…he hoped he didn’t, it would mean they could spend more time together.
Damn, his head is turning into mush. Oscar knew what this meant. He had to suppress it. He literally just spoke to the guy today.
But maybe a little fun wasn’t an issue if the wolf was up for it?
Hmmm.
Dammit, he never asked for the guy's number, did he?
——
The next day, Oscar was sitting in the same place as yesterday. Under the same tree in the grasslands. Right now he is doing nothing. He had changed his outfit into something more fitting for the weather, just a t-shirt and shorts. He breathed in the fresh air. He was only here really for one specific reason.
”Oscar!”
Ah, there is his reason.
Oscar looked to where Wendell was shouting. He was smiling and waving frantically. The wolf was wearing a big backpack behind him. The wolf man's squirrel friend was nowhere to be seen. Oscar did a small wave and nodded back. Was this guy really like this all the time? All smiley and happy. It was infectious, it almost melted Oscar's usual cold and stern demeanor. Wendell ran over to him and stopped beforehand. ”What’s up?” The wolf man said.
”Leaves and branches,” Oscar said. Wendell’s face dropped into a confused and questioning look. ”Look up, pup.” Oscar pointed upwards to the tree he was sitting under and Wendell looked. After about five seconds of contemplating his life, Wendell finally seemed to get it with a big ’oooooh!’ and he started barking from laughter as if it was the funniest joke he ever heard. Oscar just looked on as Wendell laughed at his lame joke, but all Oscar could do was smile. This wolf guy sure was something.
Wendell wiped a tear from his eye. ”I’m gonna collect on that one!” He sent on to sit down besides Oscar, slightly closer than yesterday. ”Are you doing anything special?” Wendell asked.
”Can’t say I do,” Oscar responded.
”Great! Because I wanted to ask if you wanted to hike with me? Nothing too long or hard, but it’s a great way to see nature.” Wendell asked, his eyes starting to go into puppy eyed mode in case Oscar would reject.
”I was hoping you would ask,” Oscar said. His choice of clothing today wasn’t a mere coincidence. Wendell’s tail wagged excitedly and he smiled.
”Awesome! Oh man, I know a great spot by the beach. We can walk over there! I brought water and food for both of us.” Wendell showed his backpack.
Aw, the guy brought water and food for him? He was just the sweetest. Oscar got the sudden urge to pat the wolf man on his head. Does he like being called a good boy? ”Aren’t you just the sweetest thing? I appreciate it, Wendell.”
Wendell’s tail is going crazy. Oscar swore he could see a faint blush on his face, ”Let’s get going then!” Wendell says.
”Alright, I might not walk as fast as you, just saying.” Oscar said, hoping for Wendell to ask the right question.
Wendell looks back at him. ”Oh? How come?”
”Just age, you seem a lot younger than me.” Oscar said.
Wendell blinked for a second, then chuckled. ”Nonsense! With those big muscles, I bet you workout regularly! This should be no problem for you, big guy.”
Now it was Oscar's turn to blush slightly. He pretended to scratch something on his nose to cover his faint blush. He wouldn’t mind Wendell calling him ’big guy’ from now on.
He did not ask the question he was hoping for, so Oscar decided to just go for it. ”I mean, I guess so. Thanks for noticing, pup. How old are you exactly?”
Wendell froze for a second, his tail starting to wag as he attempted to hold it still. He looked back at Oscar and smiled. ”I’m 28 years young! Why?” Wendell asked with a raised eyebrow.
Oscar shrugged. ”Just curious, you seem very…well, youthful. You got a lot of energy in you.”
Wendell's tail starts wagging again. ”Well, that’s just me! Got a lot of energy to spare, so many pretty things to see in the world. You know?” Wendell said, he then looked at Oscar again. ”Uhm, if you don’t mind me asking. How old are you?”
Oscar smiled. ”Just turned 40.”
Wendell’s mouth practically hit the ground. Oscar wasn’t sure what to make of that, but that face the wolf was making was pretty freaking hilarious. ”What!? No way! Holy crap! You look great, man! I honestly thought we were about the same age! But 40!? Man, you look…” Wendell stopped talking, seemingly realizing his outburst and hoped he didn't offend Oscar.
Oscar snickered at this. ”You calling me old, pup?”
”A-ah no no no!” Wendell said in a panic. ”I just-…40 isn’t old at all! It’s just…I kind of hope I could also look that good when I turn that age and it’s just really inspiring to see hard work paying off and I rarely meet guys who truly look-” Wendell is going on another talking spree again.
Oscar scratched the back of his head awkwardly as Wendell went on. He still could not quite grasp what the pup wanted from him. Did he not know who Oscar was or the type of stuff he has been involved in? He very much doubts Wendell would have invited him to hike with him if that was the case. Did he just enjoy his company? Wendell did have friends he could hang out with besides Oscar.
Oscar felt a sudden random urge again to pet Wendell. To call him a good boy. That mouth did talk a lot. Was Wendell just as talented in using it in other ways?
God damm, he started getting those thoughts about this man already? Wendell was just to damn cute,
”-and I don’t think I exercise that much. It reduces the risk of straining my body and all. I just hope that I can keep doing this for as long as possible and- ahh, crap. I started blabbering again, didn’t I?” Wendell finally caught himself. Did he always talk so much the moment he felt anxious? ”Uhh…what was I talking about? No…where was I going with this?” Wendell put his hand under his chin and pondered for a moment.
”You were talking about how hot I was for my age.” Oscar said bluntly.
”Oh yeah! That’s- wait, no! No no!” Wendell started going into a flustered panic again. Oscar could see his mouth open, he was gonna start blabbering again. Oscar knew he had to do something about it before it was too late. ”I mean, Yeah! You look good but you aren’t old, like what I meant was-” A finger put against Wendell's lips managed to shut him up. Wendell froze and looked at his own lips, then at Oscar. He was blushing heavily. Oscar grinned.
”Silence, pup.” Oscar said with a gentle tone. ”I don’t mind.” Oscar slowly removed his finger from Wendell’s lips.
Wendell stuttered. ”Y-you don’t?”
”No.” Oscar said. ”I don’t mind if you find me attractive…for an old man.”
Wendell started to be flustered again. ”T-that’s not-!”
”Shh, I am messing with you pup.” Oscar said with a grin. ”I know you mean well. I wasn’t offended.”
Wendell blinked and looked at Oscar for a moment. He then blushed, put his hand behind his back and looked down on the ground. He looked ashamed. ”S-sorry I…I know I get carried away at times and just say really stupid things without meaning to…” he sounded kind of sad. His tail was held low and between his legs in shame.
Oscar looked at Wendell, feeling his chest flutter. He knew one thing now, he did not like seeing Wendell sad. So Oscar did the first thing that came to mind when seeing Wendell like this.
He petted him. Right on the head and behind the wolf's ears.
Wendell's eyes went wide for a moment, but his tail started to wag quickly and he leaned into Oscar's touch. One of his feet started to move as if it was attempting to scratch his ear when Oscar did so. Good, there will be no sad pup here as long as Oscar was with Wendell.
Wendell then suddenly realized what was happening, stepped back and blushed. He looked at Oscar with big eyes.
”Shall we go, Wendell?” Oscar said in a low tone. It made Wendell blush even more and tail wag again.
”Y-yes…” Wendell felt himself turn all mushy. What was up with him? Why did he feel so…soft in the head? Oscar just smiled at him and walked up to the wolf and put one arm around Wendell so he could touch the shoulder that was furthest away from him. Wendell could feel him being slightly pulled in by Oscar and his bicep slightly flexing behind the wolf’s back. Oscar was so strong and he felt so, so warm. Wendell had to gulp over all the saliva his mouth had been producing. He started to understand now why he started feeling so mushy around Oscar. Oscar smiled warmly at him.
The tiger man then let go of Wendell and instead held his hand as they started their hike towards the beach.
Wendell kept blushing and started thinking of various scenarios in his head where Oscar's hand was around him and his warm body close to his own.
