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Good morning sir, I'm Elliot Clark and I'm here to apply for the position of executive assistant.

Those were the words that the human have been repeating over and over in his head as he waited patiently in the lobby room, heart thumping wildly in his chest and whole body stiff as stone. Though it has basically become a chant at this point, Elliot still could trust himself to not mess up. After all, first impression is the most important thing when it comes to interviews.

Well... that's just one reason.

The other excuse is that he has absolutely nothing to do while waiting for the boss to process his resumé. That, in turn, caused him to simmer in the pot of anxiety and sweats even more.

No, I need to calm down... He thought to himself. Yeah! It would take a while so he might as well go on his phone for the time being. Maybe browsing online for a while might help relax his nerves.

In the end, however, he didn't do that. Instead, the human unconsciously opened the dating app and go to the profile of a person he's been chatting with recently.

Both of their profile is set to empty and neither has sent a picture of their face to each other before. It's not like you could blame either of them... Elliot still hasn't come out to his family and the other man said that he's new to this so he's not that comfortable with showing his face there yet. As bullshit as that reason was, but after talking to him for a while, Elliot started buying into the whole reasoning - Judging from how shy the man is.

His eyes landed on the man's last message of him wishing Elliot good luck in the interview. It warmed his heart a little bit to know that at least someone cares.

"Come in!" A booming voice suddenly came echoing out from the boss' room, startling the human and caused him to drop his phone on the carpeted floor. Taking that as his queue, Elliot hurriedly picked up the phone and shoved it in his pocket while dusting off himself, making sure he's the most presentable he's ever been.

Elliot paused for a second and took in a breath of fresh air.

Okay... Here goes nothing... Elliot opened the door and walked in.

...

Almost immediately, Elliot wanted to walk out.

His heart rate shot up to maximum as soon as he met his interviewer. A colossal grey wolf, barely fitting in the huge office armchair was sitting behind the wooden desk, and even when sitting down, the man is still half a head taller than Elliot. And those muscles too! God, is he a bodybuilder? Elliot can see every biceps of the wolf, bulging under the layer of fabric.

The wolf's eyes landed on him and Elliot almost jump up in shock. His face isn't any less imitating either. A pair of underbites poking out from his muzzle gave him an extra feral look that did nothing to calm his already terrified self.

This man could snap him in half without a sweat, and now he has to talk face to face with him.

"Have a seat." The wolf said and Elliot do so without a second thought

"G-good morning, sir... I-I'm executive assistant an-" He caught himself. Shit! No, no, no! "I-I mean Elliot Clark!"

"Yes, I know who you are." The wolf grumbled, causing Elliot to sink back in his seat. For what felt like an eternity, Elliot sat there quietly, hands on his lap as he watch the wolf flipped through his resumé. The human's eyes closely focused on every move the burly wolf does, as if he will strike him at any moment.

Finally, the wolf broke the silence. "So, Mr. Clark..."

"Y-yes, sir?"

"...I see that you've just graduated from uni. Isn't that right? What made you think that you have the experience to be my executive?"

Ah, this question. Luckily he prepared ahead.

"W-well, I have a degree in English, so that's means I could assist with answering customers. I-I also an event president during my university years, therefore I have plenty of experience with scheduling. And, uh... um..."

What Elliot was about to say next suddenly just... slipped out of his mind. He couldn't retrieve the thought either as he felt the wolf's peering gaze fixated on him.

"I... ah..."

The wolf nodded, signalling for him to shut up. "Enough for now. Tell me about your strengths then."

This is a simple one.

"I'm organized, intelligent and self-motivated." Luckily, this time his sentence came out clean and without stutters.

"Weaknesses?"

"I-I have been called anxious and workaholic." He answered truthfully.

There was a moment of complete and utter silence between them as the wolf consider whether to hire Elliot or not. He, however, was completely convinced that he won't get the job, considering how badly he bombed this. He stutters all the time! And his answers seemed like it was a poorly fabricated lie! It wouldn't be a surprise if the wolf said no right now and sent him pitifully packing back to his apartment. Maybe Elliot would rather have that than the typical "We will contact you later.".

"Welcome to the team, Mr. Clark. I'm Eric." The wolf extended his paw forward.

What?

~~~

The door to his two-room apartment swung opened and the human fall flat on his bed, still in the formal suit and wide-eyed from what just happened. He was certain that he won't get the position, and yet... he did. Be it a miracle from whatever god or a contract from the devil, he still got the job!

Now sealed in ink and paper, his day officially starts tomorrow.

"YES!" He cheered excitedly, which received a thumb from the upper floor.

I gotta tell him about this! He opened the dating app and messaged the man.

I got the job!

Great

Hey, are you free tonight?

Yeah, why?

Just hanging out

Do you want to meet at Clairvoyance?

The new cinema? Sure

At 8?

Yep, that's good for me! See ya there <3

See you soon.

A grin grew on his face as what just happened finally settled in. He's just got the job he wanted and the person who he has been chatting with suddenly wants to go out on a date? Can this day gets any better? Riding out on the serotonin coursing through his brain right now, the human quickly got up from the bed and prepare to get himself ready for the date.

But before that...

Elliot turned on his phone once more and dialed his sister, telling her to call the cops if he didn't call her by midnight.

~~~

It was finally 8 in the afternoon as Elliot waited in front of the theater's entrance, watching people passing by as he cheerfully hummed a song.

As it was Sunday, it's didn't surprise him that there are more people out and about than usual. It, however, did make the possibility of spotting his date a lot harder among the sea of people so Elliot went ahead and told the man to message him when he arrived. Still, he hasn't received any text yet...

*Ping*

Speaking of the devil, here it is!

Now let's see... Though the man didn't reveal his face, he did give Elliot a brief description of him to look for. He suppose to keep an eye out for a tall wolf, around the age of 40 and wearing a white shirt with leather jacket - Sounds like your average biker dad but surprisingly, he doesn't own a bike.

Now that he think about it... It's certainly strange that he have two appointments with two wolves on the same day, considering that wolves take up like what? 15 percent of the entire city population?

Wouldn't it be funny if they were the same person? Elliot chuckled at the thought. Yeah, it would certainly be hilarious... and nerve-wracking. Luckily though, the chance of that happening is nearly impossible. Mr. Eric looks like a man that would be in a pretty stable place, probably with a loving wife and two kids that he takes to the park every weekend. You know, the straight kind.

His vivid assumption of his boss was soon shattered as his phone pinged again. Taking it out, Elliot found a simple four words text.

I'm next to you.

Crap! Elliot scold himself for spacing out like that, and without looking, he turned to where the tall figure is. "S-sorry about that, I wasn't paying attenti-"

His boss was standing there, watching Elliot as his pensive eyes gazed into the human's, causing him to almost bit his tongue. Now standing up, he estimated that his boss is about a whopping 7ft, more or less. Even now, in his casual clothes, the man's muscles are still straining under the leather jacket, along with the plain white shirt he wore, Elliot now has a complete view of his chiseled chest.

Wait... Oh no!

No. He refused to believe that the man he's been chatting with for the last months is now his employer. That's just too big of a coincidence to happen! Yep, a coincidence! After all, leather jackets with plain tees are a common combination, lots of people wear them. Maybe he's here with his family?

"G-Good evening sir!" He greeted, his body tilting slightly into a bow. "W-what are you doing out here?"

"Elliot, right?" The wolf asked and he quickly answered with a nod. "Are you saying that I can't be out on a Sunday night?"

"N-No, sir!" Elliot yelped, completely missing the man's teasing tone. "What I meant was... um... are you here with your family?"

"Hm? No. I don't think my 70 years old parents would enjoy horror movies that much."

Shit... Horror movie - that was what they agreed on before going out. As much as he wanted to keep on denying it, it wasn't possible anymore. His new boss is also his date for tonight, and now he better deal with it.

He better hope it goes well or he might get fired on his first day.

"Then, you want to inside yet?" Eric asked, which startled the human out of his thought. Elliot nodded and hurried into the cinema, accidentally ignoring the paw offered to him. From when they bought their ticket to the advertisements before the movie, Elliot unknowingly kept a distance between himself and the wolf. Even to the point that from an outsider's view, they seemed more like strangers than two people going on a date.

It, however, got harder for Elliot to maintain a distance with the interference of the couple's seat. The couch at the back of the theater was designed for a couple - those of relative size, to sit on. Not for one giant and an average-sized adult.

With the burly wolf taking up most of the seat, Elliot was forced to cram himself into what space was left. His thigh was directly pressed against Eric's and his body tilted into an uncomfortable angle. Not that he blamed the wolf anyway... considering how difficult it must be of his size and fitting into public stuffs.

But it's so uncomfortable... Elliot moaned and let out an audible whine. This caught the attention of the wolf as he quickly turned to him.

"It's kinda cramped, isn't it?" Eric asked, concern in his voice.

"N-no..." It was a straight-up lie and it seemed that the wolf didn't fall for it either, only letting out a sigh.

"Come on..." Effortlessly, he lifted Elliot up and into his lap. Cradling Elliot with rooms to spare as his muscular arms wrapped around the human. "It's not good to lie, you know. I, um, know it must be unpleasant being crushed like that."

Elliot wanted to argue but found himself too cozy to do so. Furthermore, for some ungodly reason, they decided to put the air conditioner on full blast today, and with the fact that dressing casually for Elliot doesn't involve a jacket, the human has been shivering from the cold for quite a while now.

He felt like he was directly placed next to a fireplace, with his boss' body heat acting as the fire that melts every nerve of him, making him relax into his embrace.

Comparing the blistering cold outside of the wolf's arms to the extremely delightful experience he's having. It made Elliot lose all motivation to protest, despite how unprofessional this might be.

Let's just hope no one from work sees me then... Face blushing red, Elliot decided to give up fighting and snuggled himself further into his boss' arms, feeling his soft chest pressing into his neck.

After a while, the movie finally begins.

And to be completely honest, Elliot didn't pay any attention to what's happening on the screen.

The entire time he was too busy on the drumming beats of his boss' heart to even care. But from how Eric's heart suddenly skipped a beat and how his furry arms instinctively tightened around Elliot whether a scream occurred, he could tell that the movie was quite scary.

Besides that, nothing was retained inside his head other than the very vivid details of his date and future boss.

~~~

Before he even knew it, the movie was finished and now they are on their way out of the cinema. Two hours of horror goodness and... other stuffs, are now behind them. Leaving them at just a little bit over 10 pm.

"That was quite..." Eric gave out a tired yawn. "...good, isn't it?"

"Y-yeah..." He answered, not even a clue on what the protagonist's name even was.

"So... are you going home, then?"

"Yep. It's kind of getting late. I have to go home and prepare for... work." The last word left with a sigh. A reminder of their unfortunate situation. Elliot was about to say goodbye to the wolf and hope for the best tomorrow, but before he was able to do that, Eric spoke.

"Do you, um, want me to give you a ride?" He said. "Back home, I mean."

"Um..." Elliot paused. The new cinema was built quite far away from where he lives, and because he was too shy to change the location last minute, Elliot rode the bus here. Nearly half an hour of unpleasant public transport experience was the last thing he wants right now. "Sure, then. If that doesn't bother you too much."

"Okay. Then wait here and let me get my car, alright? Be back in a bit." Eric said and hurried off to the back of the cinema - presumably where the parking is.

Now alone, Elliot let out a sigh. It wasn't a sigh of discontent or exhaustion in any way, rather, it was just to let off some steam from the whole date, and a way to prepare himself for tomorrow.

*Ping*

He took out his phone again. It was his sister, the only person that know he's gay, asking him:

Dead yet?

Unfortunately, no

Why? Is the guy a dick?

Worse

It's my boss

?????

What

Yeah. That older guy I was chatting with turned out to be him.

Damn...

Is he hot?

Elliot chuckled at his older sister's question, finding himself lacking the answer as well. He wasn't sure if "hot" is a proper word to describe Eric. Yes, he's scary, big, and gives off a terrifying atmosphere in a suit But... that's what makes his casual side even more attractive. He's awkward - like Elliot, caring, protective, one hell of a good snuggler, and if Elliot ever got past that barrier between them, then he's sure that he would like talking to him.

But explaining that to his sister might be a little bit too much, so he decided to settle with.

Yes.

~~~

Fortunately, the car ride back home was a little bit less tense, with Elliot managing to forget the glaring fact for a while as he chatted with Eric.

"Wait, seriously? You won a piano contest at just 10?!" A gasped, utterly fascinated with the musical prodigy driving the car.

"Honestly, I look twelve back then. And I'm not really sure if that was all skill since my mother forced me to practice it for the entire week before the competition." The wolf said, blushing under the fur.

"But still... When I was ten was still cheating on multiplication while Mr. Prodigy over here is already winning competitions."

"S-stop it! It wasn't anything..." Eric blushed even harder as he ruffled his neck fur shyly. "Um, by the way, how did you cheat?"

Noticing the wolf's attempt at changing the subject, Elliot playfully followed along. "Well, back then I bought this really cool ruler. Have all kinds of stuff on it. A maze and what not... Then, during the test, I noticed that it have a multiplication board printed on the back. So naturally, when the teacher wasn't looking I pull it out and check."

"That's cool! I wished they made those for literature. Man, I was failing it hard back in school." eric confessed.

"Really? Well, I never get my literature below an A before." Elliot bragged.

"Oh yeah? Well, my math always gets As with a little star next to it. Honestly, I never knew another letter besides A in math." He retorted, which made Elliot grimace.

"Even college?" He asked, a little astonished by the monster next to him.

"Especially college."

"Fine, fine. I get it... We all have strengths and weaknesses." At this point, Elliot decided to just give up. If he went any further then he might even learn other ungodly quirks from the wolf. Maybe Eric do astrophysics for fun back in middle school? Might as well be.

He reclined back into his seat, hands to his sides as he comforted himself with the seat warmer. All that talking has made his throat quite sore now.

...

Silence quickly enveloped the air as neither want to talk anymore. But this time, it wasn't the awkward atmosphere anymore. Instead, it was contentment that lingered in the air, a comforting type that isn't suffocating like at the start of their date.

Eric took a quick glance at the armrest before returning back to the road. The was only Elliot's hand, relaxed, lying there alone.

Without another word, the wolf let go of his right paw from the steering wheel, letting it fall to the side. Then, slowly, his furry paw slithered itself into the human's hand, intertwining their fingers together. The human's hand disappeared completely behind the giant paw.

Elliot jumped at the sudden sensation but soon relaxed again. Taking this as an invitation, the wolf gave their hand a light squeeze, his tailing flailing wildly behind his back.

Their entire date, unknown to Elliot, his tail has been like this the whole time. It was both scary and exciting for someone his age to experience all this. For the longest time, Eric has been living in secret until recently. Never has his forty years of living on this earth has he felt this excited over another person. Neither the girl he went on a date with back in high school nor the eloquent lady his parent tried to matchmake him with has been able to make the wolf feel this... alive.

Though he was clearly aware of Elliot's concern the entire time, Eric still struggle to tell him the truth.

"I think we're here." Elliot said and Eric instantly stopped the car.

But the human didn't want to get out... at least not yet.

"So... I guess this is where we say goodbye." He asked. The wolf still holding on to his hand tightly.

"Could you... wait a moment?" Eric's question was barely a murmur, but Elliot still heard it. "I... want to tell you something."

"What is it?" Elliot held his breath. It didn't feel like he was going to be fired but it still made the human tense up.

"Tomorrow we will meet at work. And it will undoubtedly make you feel uncomfortable so I want to make something clear." He paused, taking a deep breath. "The interview... It wasn't impartial. I knew from the start that it was you."

"From the message, right?" Elliot guessed, and the nod from Eric confirmed that.

"Seeing you bomb like that, I couldn't help it. I have to do something."

Elliot didn't say anything back this time, drowning in his own thought.

Eric added. "But your resumé. It was really impressive! I truly believe that you have the ability for the position. You just need some sharpening, that all."

"I see..."

"Then, will I see you again. Mr. Clark?" Eric asked, giving him a sincere smile.

"Well, Mr. Eric. Unfortunately..." The wolf's heart dropped to his stomach as he prepare for what about to come. "I really like you too, so that might make it hard to quit. Then I have no choice then, aren't I? I have to get really good at my new job to be worthy of my position."

"I guess you have to then." The wolf's muzzle quickly grew a toothy grin at Elliot's answer.

Their silence prolonged for a few seconds before Elliot suddenly broke the heavenly air between them, letting go of Eric's paw.

"Welp! Guess I'll see you tomorrow then, boss?" He said cheerfully and opened the car door.

"Wait!" Eric tugged on his arm before he was able to do so, his big paw completely enveloping Elliot's arm. "C-can I... Have a goodbye kiss?"

Elliot gave the wolf a kiss on the forehead.

"N-no! Not there..." Eric mumbled.

"Then where?" Elliot asked teasingly, having a clear idea what the wolf wanted but wanting to see the man fumble a bit more.

"O-on the lips..."

And that was exactly what Elliot need to hear. Tugging at the man's jacket, his huge body following Elliot's movement with ease as he pulled them into a kiss. It was just a light peck on the lips, but that alone was enough to make the two blush when they pulled out.

"O-okay, now seriously. I really have to go. Can't be late on my first day." Elliot said, his face as red as a tomato.

"See you soon." Eric waved the human goodbye as he made his way into the apartment building. He quickly replied with a wave of his own before disappearing completely behind the building's door.

On the drive back home, Eric still couldn't contain his happiness as the forty years old burly wolf smiled happily in his car, tail giving the backrest a proper cleaning.

Knowing full well that they will meet again 9 hours from now.