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The Deputy was playing that song again. Jacob was almost certain that the Deputy was trying his own methods of classical conditioning. He had a playlist of ‘Songs to Boink to’ also known as songs to cover up the perpetual wailing that came from the forest. Animals by Maroon 5 seemed to be on the playlist at least a dozen times, it played more than any of the other songs and because of that Jacob had started to associate it with pleasant things. Of course, the playlist wasn’t used just for boinking, god Jacob hated that word, whenever he and the Dep spent time together the playlist would be in the background. The songs cocooning them in warmth as they spent their limited time together. It’d gotten to the point where he found himself humming the song on his rounds, when his mind would wander to thoughts of the Deputy and Jacob would miss him. Animals could arguably be considered their song, even Jacob associated it with their relationship, or whatever it was they had. All he knew was that when he was with the Deputy he felt weightless. Adam Levine’s voice lulled them to sleep and was the first thing Jacob heard when he woke up, the song felt secure, like being in the Deputy’s arms. Maybe he wasn’t the one doing the conditioning, his love seemed to have it down pat. He squeezed the Deputy tighter to him as the song faded out before starting again, the other man’s frame fitting against his like they were made for each other. Maybe you think that you can hide If they were made for each other it was a sick joke the universe was playing, putting them together under these circumstances. Jacob rubbed his face against his lover's shoulder to reaffirm it was real, beard scratching already tender skin. “Why always this song?” His voice was raspy from sleep, something Rookie loved. His partner let out a content hum, pushing back into the gingers embrace as Jacob nuzzled into the top of the Deputy’s head. His hair was still wet from his morning shower, but even as a stray droplet of water somehow lodged itself in Jacob’s nose he couldn’t bring himself to care. Rookie let out an amused noise as he rolled over to face the eldest Seed, rubbing his nose against the column of the other man’s throat. “The lyrics don’t sound familiar at all?” It’s like we can’t stop, we’re enemies Jacob let out a low huff that trailed off into a wheezing cough as the Deputy sympathetically patted his chest. “We’re not enemies.” They were fucking snuggling for god's sake. “Mhm, debatable.” “Elaborate.” There was a moment of silence as the Deputy seemed to chew his words over, “Depending on who you ask we’re enemies.” If he asked John, definitely enemies. Faith, he wasn’t quite sure. Joseph? Joseph would say they were friends in progress, of course, he’d put it together much more flowery, bible quotes thrown in and words dripping with syrup. Any of the resistance? Enemies . Aside from that Boshaw idiot, ‘ frenemies with a lil somethin sprinkled on top ’ he’d called them when he caught Jacob and Dep doing an impromptu sweater swap in the middle of the woods. Normally he’d never willingly allowed others to catch him so weak, so soft, but the Deputy had insisted, saying that his sweater no longer smelled like Jacob so they had to switch back. In truth Jacob’s sweater had stopped smelling like his Rookie too, only he wasn’t willing to admit it because admitting it would be admitting that he fell asleep with it so much that it had lost all Deputy related scent after only a week. If it had been up to him, and it could have been if he had spoken up, they’d have swapped a week ago. Shit , he was soft. You’re like a drug that’s killing me He grumbled out something that could almost be interpreted as a ‘ whatever ’ as he skimmed his hand up the Deputy’s back, resting between his shoulder blades. A soft groan escaped Dep’s lips as Jacob’s calloused hand began to work on the knots. “And the rest?” “Pretty self-explanatory.” He let out a gasp as Jacob worked on a particularly tight knot, the quick flare of pain just as quickly replaced by a boneless feeling as the knot softened. “Maybe,” Jacob chuckled at his reaction, slowing his movements to a gentle rub, “But I like hearin’ you talk. You do it so little.” Jacob had a tendency to monologue and rant like it was nobody’s business, his words weren’t filled with poetic prose like Joseph’s or hope like John’s, they weren’t pretty but they were strong. A mirror of Jacob himself. Contrary to popular belief, the Deputy liked to listen to him talk, he’d said that he could listen for hours, that somehow Jacob’s wheezing was comforting to him. Of course, that didn’t stop him from grumbling ‘ Geez, get a load of this guy ’ every time one of Jacob’s speeches played over the radio. Jacob was a talker, Dep was a listener. It worked, but hearing his lovers voice instead of his own was always a welcome change. “ Baby, I'm preying on you tonight, hunt you down eat you alive .” His Rookie was not a singer, but despite him being unable to carry a tune it still worked. Jacob might have even preferred it to Adam Levine. “Don’t see your point.” He did, not that he wanted to admit it. Jacob’s cheeks burned as he pointedly ignored the sly look that was being directed towards him. “ Maybe you think that you can hide, I can smell your scent for miles. Just like animals .” He grunted, trailing his nails over the others back, causing him to stop singing as he shuddered. Jacob had to bite back a victorious smile, his Deputy was so easy to distract. “Despite what those drawings of me imply, I’m not an animal.” Rookie snickered as pictures of what the Resistance had deemed Jacob’s fursona appeared in their mind, they’d put up posters all over the Whitetails. Knowing that Jacob had definitely seen them made it that much more satisfying. “But you still manage to always find me.” Jacob didn’t feel like correcting him, meetings at the cabin were scheduled to best avoid the Resistance and the Chosen. The other times he ‘ found ’ the Deputy he didn’t find them at all, his Chosen did. Not wanting to dwell on that he changed the subject. “John keeps callin’ me a furry because of that y’know,” He grumbled a few unintelligible words to himself, “Don’t even know what a damn furry is .” Just like animals “Don’t worry, pops, you don’t need to know.” Pops. A stupid nickname he’d started calling Jacob in retaliation for the crime Jacob had committed by calling him Rookie. It was Rook or Dep, not Rookie. Jacob scoffed at the nickname and prepared to retaliate until the Deputy’s slightly dry lips pressed against his neck. “ Rookie .” His voice was low, without any real bite, instead, he just sounded tired. Jacob could already feel the weight of the morning pressing down on him, sunlight was just starting to peek through the outdated curtains, bathing the stained shag rug and plaid bedding in soft light. The mornings always passed so fast, he wished he could stay for one more song. So if I run it's not enough, you're still in my head forever stuck He could feel his lover already pulling away, daylight meant it was time to go, both back to their respective bases. Back to their separate lives where snuggling on ugly sheets was merely a dream. “Sorry, Jake.” He wasn’t sure what he was apologizing for, the nickname or the leaving, but it felt like a weight on his chest, crushing all previous feelings of weightlessness. I love your lies I'll eat 'em up “Me too.” He let out a series of grunts as he hoisted himself off of the lumpy mattress, sitting on the edge with his head between his hands. Jacob wasn’t sure where the sudden headache came from. He should have just arrested Jacob, things would be simpler. They'd have never gotten into his mess. His Rookie came around to his side of the bed, coaxing his face from his hands so they made eye contact. He looked sad, Jacob’s heart clenched. The two shared a soft kiss, chapped lips meeting with quiet desperation as they took each other in. Each taking their fill, whatever would last them for the next week. But don't deny the animal