Claws (mxm)

Picking Your Path

(Pepperjack ran out of energy but refused to release the toy lol) 

"I've never seen him so stressed," Magnus noted when he finally hung up with Del. 

Buck, who was resting his head on his lap as they both relaxed on the couch, was silent in response, but Magnus had felt his body tense during several parts of the call. He had clearly overheard everything, but it was no surprise that he didn't care to converse about it. 

Magnus had learned a lot about the man in the few weeks that they'd spent together. They'd had a lot of disagreements in that time frame, and even more fights, but Buck was a silent fighter... and it drove Magnus to the brink of insanity. The man didn't yell. Didn't try to attack him. Didn't even look angry most of the time. 

Closing his eyes, Magnus let his phone drop to the armrest and sighed out a deep breath as his fingers drifted through Buck's soft hair. 

"I can't believe he let all of the hunt targets go, too. I mean, we only had three set up for the week, but last week he released two others after transporting them away from the facility. Only went along with one hunt for the whole week. Now he's considering canceling the remainder of the month." 

Buck gave a quiet snort, his deer sneaking into the response, though he didn't mind. The man never really cared if his animal side came through sometimes. While Magnus had to restrain his beast with all of his strength, Buck's was generally laid back and easily became a part of his everyday reactions. He rarely shifted, but Magnus still saw plenty of glimpses of the beast within the man simply from his actions and responses.  

"Can you still sense him in your mind? I know that your bond hasn't been the greatest for a while..." 

Slowly, Buck rolled over onto his back and finally met his gaze. "I sense him as a background noise. He's happy, but he's not. He's stressed, but excited. He doesn't know what to do about any of it, at all. He's basically reacting to each second as they come." 

The phone rang again, drawing Magnus's hand to it as he lifted it to his ear. 

"Yes sir?" He'd known that it was Del calling again because of the specific ringtone, so there was no need to open his eyes and check the I.D. before answering. 

Del barely waited for the two words to leave Magnus's mouth before he spoke; "I need you and Buck to go pick up Mina from the forested area by the clinic on 4th street." 

What? 

"Why? I'm not a babysitter, Del... and aren't his pups, or cubs, or whatever you want to call them, due any day now?" Magnus asked, slightly annoyed. He had no intention of bringing that guy back to his apartment. It was hard enough to control himself around Buck, adding a pregnant cross shifter, or a non-pregnant one and their babies, would not end well.

That would be one hell of a meal. 

Shaking off the joke, because his other half was already drooling in his mind, Magnus forced himself to focus on what Del was saying. 

"He won't come back to my facility, even though I told him that there weren't any hunts scheduled for the whole week." 

Magnus opened his eyes and glanced down at Buck at the same time the man rolled his own. They both knew that Mina would never take his babies there. If Del wanted the guy around him, then he would either have to go to Mina outside, or get a place far away from work. 

Shaking his head, Magnus began absentmindedly running his fingers along Buck's strong jaw as he spoke; "you should have told him that you had literally canceled the hunts for him, Del. I'm not saying that that would have gotten him to come with you, because it wouldn't have, but the guy wants to see some sort of positive change in you."