22. Dennis
Dennis
They rolled into the den’s main clearing shortly before noon to be greeted by two bear-form enforcers. The bears stood down as soon as they recognized the men who stepped out of the truck, however, and one shifted and stood. “Morning, folks.”
Dennis gave him a silent nod, while his mate grinned and gave a dorky little wave. “Morning, Pierre! How are things?”
Pierre, naked as a jaybird and uncaring – Dennis was still trying to get used to that shifter attitude toward nudity - shrugged. “Quiet, which is good news. Alpha wants to see you after you check in with your grandmother.”
Well, that could mean just about anything, but Dennis was going to choose to hope it was about Bjorn’s parents learning their lesson. “We can do that,” he commented, looking at Bjorn for confirmation. Bjorn nodded. “Any idea why?”
Pierre shrugged. “I’m just the muscle, man.”
Bjorn gasped offendedly. “That’s not true!” He turned to Dennis. “Did you know that Pierre is raising two cubs on his own, and doing it very well, if I might add? And he paints in his spare time?”
Dennis blinked. “I…did not know that.” Mostly because he’d never met Pierre before this moment.
It seemed like for all that Bjorn had separated himself from his den when he moved, he still knew everyone who lived here.
Most of them seemed to regard Bjorn with something between fond affection and mild frustration.
Which…well, they weren't entirely wrong, given what he had learned about Bjorn’s childlike enthusiasm for just about everything over their time together.
Realizing that he’d been silent for too long, Dennis forced himself back to the present. “Uh, painting. That’s pretty cool. What do you paint?” he asked politely.
Pierre flushed and ran a hand through his hair. Looking down, he muttered, “Oh, nothing special. Just oils. Some portraits, some abstract.”
An idea suddenly burst into Dennis’s mind, and he hid the sudden urge to grin triumphantly.
He’d try to get Pierre alone sometime today and ask him if Pierre could paint a portrait of Gran.
Knowing now how much Bjorn and his Gran adored each other, he thought Bjorn would love to have an artistic image of her to bring home with him.
Yes, he mused, that would make a very good gift to his mate.
Bjorn slapped Pierre on the shoulder. “Well, we should get going and go find Alpha. Do you know where he is right now?”
Pierre paused, looking like he was running through a mental copy of the den schedule. “He’s supposed to be running the perimeter. If he's finished with that, he’s probably in his office doing…whatever paperwork it is that he loves to complain about so much.” He shrugged. “Beats me what that is.”
Well, Dennis thought, in this case, perhaps he was doing paperwork that would sign up two snooty bears for volunteering shifts. “Thanks,” he told Pierre absently, and followed Bjorn down the path that led to Gran’s house.
***
When they stepped into Gran's house, they were greeted by the smell of something savory cooking.
Dennis felt himself start to drool - that pastry, big as it had been, hadn't lasted him long – and walked deeper into the house, following his nose to the kitchen.
There, he found Gran sitting at the kitchen table, reading a paperback while something bubbled on the stove.
Bjorn bounced into the kitchen a step behind him and stopped short at the scene. "I can't decide whether to scold you for being up and about or not," he said slowly. "Has Healer stopped in? What did she say?"
Gran looked up from her book, eyes twinkling.
"You will not scold me, young man, because I have your lunch waiting for you and I know you well enough to know you're almost certainly hungry.
And your poor mate!" She grinned over at Dennis, who grinned back, amused by her bringing the drama.
"I bet you haven't fed him in ages. Look at him, he's wasting away to nothing! "
Dennis sucked in his stomach to hollow it out. "I'm skin and bones," he confirmed, elbowing Bjorn. "Bjorn never feeds me. That's why I love you so much, Miz Ginevra. You provide food." And entertainment.
Bjorn puffed up offendedly. "I fed him coffee and a pastry less than two hours ago!"
"See?" Dennis gestured at himself. "Starving."
Gran chuckled and straightened her reading glasses on her nose. "Soup is on the stove; serve yourselves. So, how was your evening out?"
Dennis followed his nose to the pot, peering in to find what looked like a wine-based broth with chunks of beef and potato floating in it where the surface wasn't covered in plump little dumplings.
Oh, damn, that looked good. Without further ado, he grabbed two bowls out of the cabinet and dished up lunch for himself and Bjorn.
"It was good," Bjorn said as he fetched two spoons out of the silverware drawer and set them on the table. "The museum was really cool, and then we went back to the hotel and pigged out on room service and watched a Disney movie."
Gran cooed affectionately. "You two are adorable together. You're going to make me the cutest grandbabies."
"Uh…" Again with the ass baby thing? Dennis crossed his legs.
"Gran," Bjorn admonished, flapping a hand at her. "You know it doesn't work like that. Don't scare my mate."
"Well," she shot back, "you could get a surrogate, and at least one of you could pass on your cute genes." Slipping a bookmark into her paperback, she closed it and set it aside, directing her gaze at Dennis. "Did you have a good time, dear?"
Dennis, midway through a bite of soup with his spoon sticking out of his mouth, nodded and mumbled a "yes". After swallowing, he followed up: "Bjorn planned a good date. I was impressed." He glanced at his mate, who was watching him closely. "I'd totally go out with him again."
Bjorn's face broke into a wide grin and he bounced a little in his seat, then ate some soup, slurping up a dumpling loudly.
"Boys," Gran said tiredly, rolling her eyes. It was a surprisingly young expression for someone of Gran's advanced years, Dennis thought. He was rather impressed.
"We're supposed to go meet with Escalus after we visit with you," Dennis said to fill the silence as Bjorn chewed. "Not sure why."
Gran sighed. "Probably yet another thing to do with Bjorn's parents. Fi tells me that they're going around the den, gossiping about their son's 'unsuitable' mate."
God, would these people never quit? Dennis sighed, knowing they probably wouldn't. He had some hope that volunteering at the community center might knock some sense into their heads…but it was a very small sort of 'some'. "Rude of them," he commented coolly.
Bjorn snorted his frustration in a very bear-like manner. "I'm going to miss the hell out of you, Gran, but I have to say: we cannot get out of this den soon enough."
She patted his hand. "I understand, dear. Now, eat your soup. You'll need your strength to deal with Alpha."
She wasn't wrong. Dennis put his head down and focused on spooning up bites of the deliciousness.