This was going to be the best day of his life so far. Well. Second best day, since the other best day was Raj telling him that he loved Jacques. Jacques loved Raj with his entire being. And now he was going to take Raj to the carnival and blow his mind. He had attempted to dress nicely for the occasion, picking out some tight form-fitting jeans, and a long sleeved shirt that sort of went with his eyes. Jacques texted Raj, agreeing to meet him at the edge of the carnival and making his way there as fast as his legs could carry him. 

He tapped his foot impatiently, nervously, waiting until he caught sight of his...yes, his boyfriend coming toward him, and the smile that lit his face was like sunshine, he was practically glowing as he pushed forward the rest of the way to wrap his arms around Raj. “Hi. You look fantastic.” He always did, but that didn’t make the words any less true. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

@rajah-patel

Jacques had taken three days longer than he otherwise might have to make a decision. It was horrible, honestly. He had all kinds of emotions whirling around his brain. Joy, love, hurt...and a hell of a lot of guilt. How could he still be as mixed up as when it all started? A part of him wished that Gil had never opened his mouth to tell him how he felt. Why did it have to be now? Jacques had moved on a bit. He had told himself he would never get what he wanted with Gil. He had come to accept that...only to now be more twisted up than ever with what he had learned.

And he knew, he knew he would never be able to make everyone happy, as much as he wished that he could. He really really wished that he could. And he would have to apologize to Gil again. He really would. Because he knew what he was hoping for...had been hoping for since Raj had first shown up in his ‘office’ if you could really call his business an office. Jacques wanted the chance to be with Raj. He wanted an actual chance to be with someone who had liked being with him. Who didn’t need to struggle to do something with him.

It had taken Jacques this long to even acknowledge that he might deserve more than he was willing to let himself get with Gil. After all, he would have asked for nothing. He would have let everything stay the same. He would have done everything at Gil’s pace. And it was only now, now that the singing had stopped, that he was even able to think enough to register how little he thought of himself with that. And yes, he knew that Gil cared about him...genuinely cared about him. But he wasn’t sure if that would be enough...for either of them somehow.

Maybe that made Jacques horrible, but he found himself rushing out the door, on his way over to Raj before he realized he wasn’t one hundred percent sure where Raj would actually be. His first assumption was work, as he knew that Raj loved his job more than most things. It was great really, how passionate he was about helping others. Jacques understood that passion with every fiber of his own being. He did. It was something he knew Gil could never relate to, as amazing as he was. 

Jacques drifted toward the station, his hands fidgeting and itching to go find someone to heal instead of going to find out....that Raj was still in the same place as before. That their singing, their sharing feelings had done nothing, and Jacques’ hopes had gone up for nothing. Still, Jacques, if nothing else was a champion at trying, and he had to try now. He had to see whether Raj still wanted to be with him. If there was reason to keep trying.

He made his way into the station, glancing around and catching sight of Raj’s boss and partner, Copper Russell. An awkward smile spread across his face. “Hey Copp- I mean Sheriff...Sheriff Russell sir...” Wow Jacques, starting out strong here. “Would you happen to know where I might find Raj?” He asked, hopeful that the cop would be willing to share that information. Still, he added, just in case it would help his case, “Please...I have to tell him something really important.” That wasn’t even a lie. He did. He really needed to tell Raj everything.

Copper raised an eyebrow at him...which was fair. Maybe he sounded just a touch desperate. Still, he was nice enough. Informative even. Thank god. "Yeah, he's in his office...everything alright?" The other asked, and Jacques nodded quickly. “Yeah yeah, of course. Just, after you start singing feelings at someone you just want to you know...check in...apologize for singing ABBA...you know..” He said with a sheepish smile. Copper was still giving him a weird look. "Sure, sure. ehm, good luck?" Copper replied, and Jacques beamed at him. “Thank you Sheriff!” He waved and then rushed over to Raj’s office, pushing the door open without really thinking.

@rajah-patel

Maximus’ itch to run became worse the longer he had gone without shifting. He had done so once, and it had been a horrible mistake. A gigantic wolf had hunted him, actually hunted him, and he was lucky that he had gotten away. Luck was all that was. He hadn’t dared venture into the forest to shift again. Not if it was going to do something like that. So yes, his blood was flowing, and everything was more likely to make him react than it otherwise might.

That was largely the reason that he ended up doing what he did when he caught sight of someone who was just sleeping on the sidewalk. Passed out might be another option, but honestly, who would just lie around in the cold snow. The guy was going to catch an illness and die. A part of him wanted to let the guy because he was clearly too stupid to have sense and put on warmer clothes as a whole.

Now Maximus was typically happy to leave people to stupid life decisions if they weren’t breaking any laws. But this guy was loitering in front of Gaston’s business. A fact which likely wouldn’t be ignored by the business owner. And so Maximus moved forward and abruptly yanked the guy (Jacques) up with enough force that he accidentally knocked him into the wall. “Wah, what’s happening? Where am I?” Well, that was even less acceptable, if this guy was on actual drugs that had him pass out and delirious. “Are you insane? First of all, you’ were passed out in front of the Hunted Deer. And second, only a truly impressive drug could cause this type of delirium.”

Maximus didn’t even wait for the other to respond, he pushed Jacques up against the wall and grabbed his chin, forcing the other to look him in the eye. “What did you take?” He said sternly, rolling his eyes as the other tried to tell him some long winded story to explain himself. Honestly, as if he was just going to believe that there was someone else he was with. How stupid did he think Maximus was? “I’m going to have to take you in.”

@rajah-patel

It had taken a few days, largely because Blaine had been consumed in Adam...again. But he couldn’t really help himself. He had gotten to know the wolf for the first time, they were able to share a little more with each other...it was an incredible experience.

But now that he had some time away from him, he thought about the amazing work that people had done to handle the storm, and particularly the police that had been holed up in the Hunted Deer. Blaine had seen Rajah and Judy in action, and it had been...truly impressive. Raj in particular had done so much, and he hadn’t really seen anyone do anything big to thank the police yet.

It brought Blaine out to buy a few bags of maltesers, reeses, and then two dvds. One a signed copy of a movie he had been in called The Losers as he thought Raj might enjoy it, and a copy of Inception signed by a hero of Blaine’s as well, Leonardo Dicaprio. He figured his own signature would be far less exciting than a bigger actor out there, but he wanted to show his appreciation to Raj in every way he could.

The man deserved it for putting up with everything that he had. He slipped in two bags of microwave popcorn into the basket he put together, and then made his way over to the police station. He hesitated for just a moment and tapped on the deputy’s door. “Hi. I hope this isn’t a bad time, but I brought you a sort of...thank you...thing. I can just leave it here if that would be easier.”