(Pepperjack  hordes bones and then tries to hit you in the face with them all at once. I have 'great' dogs.) 

"Buck? Slow down!" 

The tense silence that was the man's response had Magnus's dog half wanting to whine and the bear half wanting to pin him down and eat him. 

These conflicting animals will be the death of me. 

"No, I will be the death of you if you keep acting like a child." Buck grumbled as he sped up his already too-fast walk. 

Magnus bit back his frustration as he started to jog to keep up. 

"I wasn't acting childish! There was just no reason for you to help him. He can clearly take care of that lion himself." He said. 

Buck turned in front of him, then stopped suddenly, making Magnus have to stumble backwards in order to keep from running right into the man. Buck's breath was ghosting into the chilly evening air as he clearly tried to reign in his temper. 

"Whether or not there was a reason should have not mattered to you." Buck replied before turning and continuing to stalk down the street. 

If Magnus didn't already know that he was a deer, he would have thought that Buck was definitely a predator considering the way he carried himself... especially when angry. 

"Hey, where are we going, by the way?" He asked as he caught up again and started walking beside him. He did keep a few feet between them, though, since he knew that a pissed off deer could be deadly, even to a predator. 

Buck turned a corner as he replied. "To my house, and it's not we, it's just me."

Magnus stopped at his words, then watched as Buck walked halfway down the block before turning to look back at him. Both of his animals wanted to follow, but at the same time, he knew that he was pushing his luck. 

I have to go to work, anyways. 

If Buck had let him come home with him, he would have probably skipped it, but money didn't grow on trees and he couldn't exactly fake being sick all that well. So, reluctantly, he turned in the opposite direction and headed off to his job. 

Maybe I just need some time away from him. I have been practically stalking him like a damn lost dog. 

He might have been part dog shifter, but he didn't need, nor want, a master of any sort. It was frustrating enough taking orders from his boss at the bar and Del, when he gave him retrieval orders for hunts. 

Sure as hell don't need to be taking orders from something I should be eating. 

Temper flaring, Magnus fought with himself to remain in control until he stepped through the door at work. The slap of cigarette smoke always made both of his animals back down a bit since their noses were super sensitive to the horrible smell. It was like putting a band-aid on his aggression... for a short while, at least. 

He set up behind the bar, since that was what was needed when he looked at the schedule for the evening. It wasn't his favorite thing, but since they were quite busy, it did keep his mind off of a certain herbivore. In fact, nearly his whole shift flew by without much time to think about anything but mixing drinks and working tabs. 

"Hey there hot stuff, want to have some fun after your shift is over?" A woman asked as she leaned against the bar, a cigarette between her too-red lips. With the amount of smoke inside the bar, Magnus couldn't tell what kind of shifter she was, but judging from the golden eyes and narrowed stare, he'd guess some sort of big cat. Possibly even a lioness. 

There's only one person who can handle this beast, and it's—fuck me. 

Magnus filled a shot glass and downed the burning liquid before slamming the glass back down on the worn wooden bar and leaning forward. 

"I'm not someone you want to play with, sweetheart." 

The woman, seemingly not dissuaded, leaned closer. "I don't know, I've been told that I'm very good at handling aggressive males." 

Shaking his head to clear the nasty smell from her breath from the cigarette, Magnus went to fill two drink orders, then tossed back two more shots since he was off in fifteen minutes, before returning his attention to the woman that was practically undressing him with her eyes. 

Aggressive was one word for how his bear got when someone tried to get in his pants. Granted, he could get laid without too much of a problem, but not when someone was trying to handle him. Challenging a bear was generally not a great idea, and considering how much more aggressive his was than most others? 

Downing one more shot, he set the glass in the sink, then wiped his hands with a bar towel. "Sorry, hun, I do the handling." 

The woman seemed ready to argue when someone dropped down into the stool she was standing beside, effectively nudging her just enough to silence her retort and redirect her attention. 

"Well, hello there. My friend here doesn't seem to want to play, but you look like you would be delicious in bed." 

Before he knew what was happening, Magnus felt his bear-dog force its way free. He easily climbed up onto the bar, his massive size making the old wood creak with strain as he roared at the retreating woman. 

He could hear his name being called through the haze of instinct that was flaring up, but he couldn't seem to regain control. Magnus swiped several stools out of his way, then flipped a table by barely lifting a paw. The woman had enough sense to start running, but that was never something one wanted to do in front of an angry predator. 

He was just about to give chase when he felt something slip around his thick neck, then tighten. 

Calm down, Magnus. 

The voice in his head gave him pause, but only long enough for him to redirect onto the person who had dared to throw a rope around his neck. 

"Magnus, if you can't get control of yourself here, then I can't trust you in my home again." Buck said calmly as he relaxed his hold on the rope he had gripped in his hands, letting the tension around Magnus's neck lessen a good amount. 

You don't want me in your house. 

Buck sighed and shook his head before stepping forward and running his fingers through Magnus's dense fur. The action brought a growl to his lips, but it quieted after only a few moments as Buck dropped the rope he'd been holding and added his other hand. 

"I'm sorry that I made you feel unwanted. I'm not used to having another person interested in my attention besides Del." 

I don't want to hear about him. 

Buck chuckled as he poked Magnus's wet nose, then slipped the rope off of him. 

"I live with him, you're going to have to get used to it if you want to be around me more." 

Snorting, Magnus flopped over onto the dirty floor, facing away from Buck. 

"You're quite a pain sometimes, you know that? I came all the way here to pick you up once you were done with work, and you're just going to pout and ignore me because I mentioned Del?" Buck said from behind him. 

Magnus wanted to turn around and whine out an apology, but at the same time he was still upset that Buck kept mentioning Del. 

You can just live with me. You don't need him. 

Feeling a hand settle atop his head had Magnus's hackles rising, but when Buck sat beside him and started petting his fur, he forced himself to calm down. 

"I know that I don't need him. Things are just special between us. We both went through hell and came out of it together. He's relied on me for most of his life and I feel like I owe it to him to stick around. Del might seem like he knows what he wants and how to handle his life... but it's not quite that simple." He said, making Magnus flick an ear and glance sideways at him as the bar patrons who had run away from his little mini rampage began to flow back into the business.

What do you mean? 

Buck offered him a small smile before hiding a yawn behind one hand. 

"I can consider letting you into my life slowly, but Del will always be a big part of that life." 

Why? You two aren't together, and I doubt that there is any relation, either. 

Reaching over, Buck grasped Magnus's head and brought it over to rest in his lap before he continued stroking his fingers through his fur. 

"We're half brothers, Magnus. While it wasn't by choice, we do share blood." 

I don't know if I want that story. Magnus replied, finally calm enough to think as clearly as he could manage with the amount of alcohol he'd drunk. 

Buck pet his head for a few more moments before getting up. Magnus quickly stood, too, then followed the other man outside. They started down the sidewalk and made it over a block before Magnus spoke again. 

"His mother was forced to have him as more of an experiment than anything else." 

Magnus began to growl as he replied. Kill the damn father. 

"It's not that simple. The father didn't physically do anything. He was trapped at the time, too." 

So Del was an experiment? Then what happened? 

Buck licked his lips and turned a corner. Magnus could feel the man's stress through their growing bond but could also tell that Buck actually wanted to talk about the subject. Perhaps it was the first time someone had bothered to ask about it, or maybe care enough about it to ask? 

"They tried to kill him once the experiment was completed. Besides, what good is the trial when you have a perfectly good subject already mature?" 

A light snow started to fall as they continued walking. Magnus made himself stay quiet, not wanting to make Buck hesitate if he wanted to continue at some point. The other man didn't say anything, however, until they stopped in front of Buck's apartment. He fished out a key and unlocked the door, but as it swung open slowly, he turned and looked down at Magnus. 

"He needs me because he doesn't know how to live sometimes. I know that he's turned into something terrible, and while I'd like to blame that on how he came into existence, that's only a part of it. I let him do what he wanted because I was also hurting, too. His birth killed my father, who ended up being a cross-shifter. My father had been all I'd had left. I wanted others to suffer just as badly as we both were. That's why he built the business he runs today, but..." 

Magnus felt their bond quiver as Buck looked up toward the dark sky. A faint but chilly gust of wind rustled the man's hair. A need that he hadn't felt before had Magnus's bog retreating, leaving his human form in control as he stepped forward and wrapped the other man in his arms. To his surprise, Buck leaned down and pressed his forehead against Magnus's shoulder. 

"They named him Delete, Magnus." Buck whispered, nearly choking on his words as Magnus gently guided him inside and nudged the door shut with a foot. 

Buck looked back up at him after a moment, tears running down his cheeks. 

"You can't imagine how hard it was to grow up knowing that the people who were responsible for creating you only did so for a quick experiment, then intended to kill you. Not a single one of them hesitated when the kill order was given. I saved him, but at the time, it was only because I wanted someone to look at me after having lost everything. We were both too young to understand so many things, but we were also so filled with hate that we let it mold who we became."

Magnus tightened his arms around Buck and licked his cheek just the slightest amount, his dog half trying to console him. 

"You can't change what happened. You both did what you had to. I'm sorry I got upset over him being near you so much." He said quietly. 

Buck slowly stepped out of Magnus's arms and walked into the kitchen to grab a drink from the fridge. 

"Is it wrong that, after all this time, I actually want to change? I know he doesn't see it, but Mina is changing Del, too. It got me thinking that, maybe, it's getting close to the time when we aren't in each others lives as much. Before everything happened, I didn't want to be a murderer, or a bad person in general. I've never really killed anyone, but I definitely pushed Del to get revenge for the both of us. He rarely kills these days, but his hands are so stained with blood that I can smell it in my sleep when he crawls into my arms to try and chase away the nightmares we're both plagued with."

He looked down at the beer in his hand that he hadn't even opened yet. 

Magnus swallowed down the nerves building in his throat and stepped forward. Taking the bottle, he twisted the cap off, then returned it to Buck's hand, drawing the man's eyes up to him. 

"Maybe Mina will be good for him." Magnus replied with a small but reassuring smile. 

He waited several moments to see what Buck would do in response. When the man simply closed his eyes, then opened them a few seconds later before lifting the bottle of beer to his lips and taking a long drink, Magnus felt his lips stretch into a more relaxed smile. 

"...and maybe, we can be good for each other?" He said hopefully as Buck cracked a small partial grin and pressed the tip of the beer bottle to Magnus's lips. 

"Perhaps we could, Maggie... but you need to put on some clothing now."