Work Text:
“Well, if I have to spend my nights in this cage, I should make it feel like home.” Enid finished fluffing an extra-large, extra-soft blue pillow on what could be generously called her ‘cot’. Looking around the very small area, it’s clear that the lupin cages were never meant for long-term human use. The dog bowl in the corner was a particularly awkward reminder of just that fact.
She couldn’t help but sigh at the sorry state of it all.
“What's wrong, Enid?” Wednesday’s voice shook her out of her pity party. Enid turned towards Wednesday, a large smile on her face and a joke already forming on her lips about missing her nice duvet. But it was gone the second she made eye contact with her best friend.
She’d been dying to tell someone about the horrible news Ms. Capri told her earlier today…and honestly? Wednesday was the only one she wanted to share it with.
No time like the present.
“Fun fact I learned today.” Enid started, trying to keep her attitude positive even if the information she was giving felt like a hot iron in her stomach. “If a young alpha wolfs out on a full moon, there's a high chance that I could never change back. Like ever. And if that isn't enough, I'll be hunted by other werewolves.”
She couldn’t stop the panic in her voice from rising even if she tried. But she didn’t really try to stay calm at all, since right now all she wanted was for Wednesday to know just how scared she actually was. Maybe having Wednesday on the case would be enough to comfort her fears.
“The full moon is in two days.” Wednesday’s voice got ever so slightly louder at the news. “How are you supposed to prevent that?”
Enid’s eyes snapped up at the question. After this long of being Wednesday Addams’ Number 1 Best Friend (self-appointed), Enid thinks she’s pretty good at picking up on the subtleties of the emotion in her voice. So she was sure she heard it correctly: Wednesday was nervous for her.
No other fact could have warmed Enid’s heart more in that moment. She straightened her shoulders, and delivered an answer that she hoped would help both of them.
“By staying calm. Trying to distract myself with things that make me happy. So I have my meditation app, my fave playlist, and an extra supply of colloidal silver. What could go wrong, right?” Enid’s chuckle was over as soon as it started, and she had to take a breath before she lost her nerve. There was only one sure-fire way that she could stay calm against the precipice of losing herself to her wolf. Enid might as well tell her.
“But, um. Capri said I didn't have to face this Alpha business on my own. That my strength is in my pack. But the truth is…” Enid takes a really deep breath, and wow it’s hard to make eye contact with Wednesday right now.
Don’t chicken out. Tell her. Breathe.
“...you are my pack, Wednesday.”
There was a beat. Enid forced her eyes to meet Wednesday’s, searching for any indication if that was an okay thing to have said. Wednesday’s eyes widened ever so slightly, and…wait. Did her breath hitch? The Official Wednesday Addams Body Language Guide in Enid’s head can confirm what she had hoped: Wednesday felt the same. Or at least, she wasn’t immediately put off by the idea. Same thing. They were a pack now.
Enid could cry.
“If I wolfed out and couldn't, you know, change back, would you come and find me?” This was the last fear Enid was comfortable sharing tonight. The last thing on her anxiety check-list that needs addressing before she can try and find sleep. If there was a singular person in the whole world Enid trusted to find her if the worst happened, it’s Wednesday Addams.
“I have no problem hunting you down.” It was delivered with the same tone of voice that Wednesday always has, but it might as well have been sung from the heavens from the way it made Enid’s heart flutter. Her sugar-sweet smile of relief must have been too much emotion for her bestie, because Wednesday immediately broke eye contact and looked at her shoes.
“I'll be back first thing in the morning to let you out.”
“Promise?” Enid poked her pinky finger through the cage, knowing she was pushing her friend’s buttons just for fun. After Wednesday’s eye twitched before she left, Enid’s giggles followed her out the main gates.
“Goodnight, Wednesday!” Her roomie hesitated a half-step as she was leaving the lupin cages, before finally retreating into the night.
Enid let out a breath, and took in her new lodgings. It was…not ideal. But no worrying allowed! Enid sat cross-legged on a rug she’d brought in, put on her cute cat-ear headphones, and listened to her guided mediation app until it was time to sleep. (AKA: until her phone died, because there’s no power in these stupid cages!)
It wasn’t until she sat up from the meditation and opened her eyes, that Enid realized just how dark it was in here. With no source of light outside of the moon, which was currently covered up by clouds, Enid had to rely on her werewolf vision to see in the dark.
Which she hated to do.
Night vision was helpful, sure, but it was all monochromatic. Enid always missed the vibrant colors of her stuff. It’s relaxing to be surrounded by her favorite things without feeling like she’s in an old silent horror movie all the time. If that’s maybe why she slept with a nightlight on every night until she was 15, well then that’s nobody’s business.
But the vision wasn’t even the worst part.
It was quiet here. Enid has never slept well in spaces without noise. Growing up with 4 werewolf brothers, Enid had developed a super-powered ability to sleep through anything. By the time she was rooming with Wednesday, who would be clacking on her typewriter at all hours, noises at night were actually comforting to her. It made her feel less alone. And, on the rare occasion she is in an exact situation like the one she’s in now, she would play music on her phone to fill the space.
She glanced at the dead tech sitting on the rug in front of her.
Stupid brick.
Enid could practically feel the restless night of sleep ahead of her. So, instead of lying in bed staring at the dark ceiling of the literal cage she was in, waiting uselessly for sleep to come, she decided to try and physically tire herself out before going to bed. Yeah, that would probably help.
She was thankful for the yoga mat Ms. Capri gave her, as she started going through some forms she vaguely remembered from a goat yoga class she took last summer. (Curse those goats for being so cute and distracting her from the poses!) But there was enough in her memory to put her muscles at ease after a solid hour of stretching.
Tired, both physically and mentally, Enid could have straight-up collapsed onto the cot if her instincts hadn’t caught her. And yet, when she was still awake two hours later, tossing and turning on the uncomfortable excuse for a bed, Enid wasn’t even a little bit surprised. It was just too quiet. With nothing to distract her sensitive ears, every leaf blowing in the wind, every hoot of an owl, every creak of the lupin cage doors felt like an alarm going off right next to her head.
Ugh, and now she was hungry. Or thirsty? It’s hard to tell the difference, but she does know that either way there’s nothing she can do about it right now. Enid sat up with a huff.
Okay.
Maybe she needed to tire herself out even more. Ignoring how scary the cages were when her night vision could only see in shades of black, Enid stood up, started humming to herself, and she forced her limbs to move. The dancing came naturally, quickly finding a comfortable rhythm to distract herself with, like reuniting with an old friend.
It was about ten minutes into her impromptu routine that she remembered what happened the last time she was rehearsing a dance. In the dance room. The faint light of the moon giving her a small spotlight. Her hand turning into a claw without warning. Jumping out a window…uh oh.
CRACK.
Think of Taylor Swift. Blackpink. Sabrina Carpenter.
SNAP.
Bubble baths. Fuzzy socks. Hugs! Stuffed animals bigger than her!
…Shit.
* * *
“It was so bad, Thing!” Enid threw herself onto her bed in Ophelia Hall in a dramatic (but deserved) fashion. “I couldn’t sleep, so I couldn’t control my emotions, so I couldn’t stop myself from turning! All because those cages are so QUIET and CREEPY!”
Thing followed Enid onto the bed and started signing on her duvet. ‘What can I do to help? Wednesday has a hand-crank gramophone you could probably take. I could even be the hand that cranks it!’
“As nice as that is, I can’t have you working all night to play music just so I can sleep! Besides, non-Furs aren’t allowed in the lupin cages past 9pm.” Enid rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling. She takes a moment to compose herself and says quietly, “But thank you for offering. You’re the best, Thing.”
A heavy door opens behind the pair as Wednesday walks unceremoniously into the dorm room, carrying a dirty shovel and a cup of coffee.
“Don’t inflate his ego, Enid. It’s already dangerously close to consuming his entire personality.”
Thing practically scoffed, ‘Pot, meet kettle.’
“Wednesday!” Enid cried out at seeing her roommate after she practically disappeared earlier that day. “Where have you been? I wolfed out last night and the full moon is tomorrow and - wait why are you holding a shovel?”
“Pugsley needed to be reminded who the superior Addams was on this campus.” Wednesday set down the shovel in her closet before turning to Enid and walking to face her in the middle of the room, arms clasped behind her back. “What happened last night? You told Capri when I came to pick you up that everything went fine.”
“It’s so stupid.” Enid mumbled into a pillow. She could feel her energy fading quickly after the events of last night. Maybe she could call out of all her classes today. Ugh, but then Capri would know something was up for sure.
“I just,” she sighed heavily, “didn’t want Capri to know that I’d failed.” She looked up at Wednesday from her bed. “I was going to tell you when we got back to the dorm, but you pulled the disappearing act on me.” Wednesday tilted her head, motioning for Enid to continue. “I couldn’t fall asleep last night. I kept hearing things outside the cages, and it was so dark, and I just felt really…alone.” Enid could feel the embarrassment rising in her chest as she talked about this again. She should be, no, needed to be better than this. The alternative was almost too much to think about.
“I ended up wolfing out on accident. I was just too tired to stop it.” She pulled her knees up to her chest as she admitted her own defeat. Glancing at Wednesday, Enid could tell she was deep in thought for several moments.
“Enid.” She finally said. “You can see in the dark.”
“Duh! I know that!” She rolled her eyes at how thick Wednesday’s skull was sometimes. “So not the point. Have you and all your detective skills not picked up on the fact that I enjoy color? And might, just might, find it calming?”
Wednesday seriously considered her question for a second, and Enid found the slightest scrunch she had in her brow to be really adorable.
Huh. ‘Adorable’.
That’s a new adjective for Wednesday that Enid can file away for later use.
“I have, in fact, noticed your colorful tendencies." Wednesday finally said. “But I had not considered that you would find all the visual noise to actually be calming.” She paused, then asked, “Why would the quiet be bothersome? Surely when you’re trying to sleep less noise would be the optimal choice.”
Enid shook her head. “I didn’t realize how much living in a dorm with other people was drowning out the annoying sounds of the outside world. The unexpected noises of nature usually scare me awake. I need consistency, like someone breathing, or,” she gives Wednesday a big grin, “clacking away loudly on a typewriter for all hours of the night.”
With how teasing her tone was, Enid wasn’t expecting Wednesday to turn away. There was a brief moment when Enid was worried she’d offended her, even though she had been clearly going for a joke. But before she could follow up her own comment, she caught that Wednesday’s ears had the faintest bit of…red?
What?
“Good idea, Thing.” Enid turned her head and realized Thing had been signing something to Wednesday from behind her. “I’ll need the day to prepare.” Wednesday straightened her back and made eye contact with Enid. “Thing will help you move more of your belongings into the lupin cages, and will make sure you don’t fall asleep during the day and ruin your sleep cycle even more. I’ll be back before dusk.” With that, Wednesday turned on her heel and walked out the door as quickly as she came in.
“Um.” Enid looked at Thing, who put up his hand in feigned innocence, “Ohh-kay?”
* * *
Her lupin cage was looking more and more like her dorm room, seeing as how most of her stuff was now here. Clothes, stuffed animals, perfume, hair brushes, and blankets all coated almost every inch of the space. A notable addition she had not brought in herself: a new mattress and duvet that was more comfortable than anything she’s ever slept on.
The duvet had little moon stages all over it, and its black-and-silver coloring left no question as to who it was from. Enid kept trying to find Wednesday all day to thank her, but she was frustratingly nowhere to be found.
‘Don’t ask me’, Thing signed when Enid interrogated him about it, ‘I haven’t seen her all day either. She told me to stay and help you.’
How could Wednesday Addams be so sweet and so annoying at the same time? It was like her default setting with Enid, she was coming to realize. That perfect blend of nice gestures and goodwill mixed with the most insufferable choices.
Honestly, Enid wouldn’t have her any other way.
“Well, if you do see her, will you thank her for the new bed for me? I love it.” Thing nodded in affirmative, before asking, ‘What time is it?’
“Almost nine.” Enid rolled back and forth on her feet, not wanting to say the next part. “You should get back to the dorm so you’re not here when the doors lock. Capri’s got the front door on camera ever since ‘I’ broke out of the cages during that whole Wednesday-in-my-body night.”
Thing hopped up on a bar of the cage to give Enid’s hand a squeeze goodnight before he scurried away, the door closing behind him with an echoing thud.
Enid grimaced, but was determined to make her phone’s battery last longer tonight. She had charged it all day, and was sure that if she could fall asleep before it died, she could get through the night just fine. Finding the low-fi playlist she had cultivated, Enid sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, trying hard to fall into an actual meditation.
The sound of the locks auto-latching at 9:00 on the dot pulled her out of it a little bit.
The sound of the front door manually unlocking 30 seconds later made Enid’s eyes snap open. Sure enough, her ears had not deceived her. Pushing the front gate open and walking inside, was none other than Wednesday Addams. She confidently strode in with a giant black bag across her shoulder, and holding a lit candelabra?
Despite being monochromatic herself, seeing Wednesday washed in the warm flame of the three candles made Enid think she was the most beautiful burst of color she’d ever seen.
No time to think about what that might mean.
“Wednesday?!” Enid shot up onto her feet as her roommate walked directly towards her cage door. “What are you doing here? You can’t be here, Capri will kick you out when she sees you on the camera.”
Wednesday stopped once she was only inches from Enid on the other side of the door. “If Capri didn’t want students to steal her keys to the lupin cages, tape over her camera feed of the front door, and then have to deal with an unfortunate chocolate outbreak among her trainee Fur students as a distraction…well. She shouldn’t have left her office door unlocked.” Wednesday’s satisfied smirk was almost enough to make Enid melt and completely forget about the last thing she just said.
“Wednesday. Did you actually poison some of the pack just to distract Capri from checking in on me tonight?” Enid couldn’t tell if that was sweet or horrifying.
“Not enough to do permanent damage. But just enough to make sure I could get away with helping you tonight.”
Sweet. Totally sweet. Wednesday Addams was the most sweet, intelligent, and just all-around unbelievable person Enid had ever met. She could feel her eyes watering as she took in that statement.
“You broke in here, to help me go to sleep?” She almost whispered her question as if she still couldn’t quite believe it.
Wednesday paused her movements from where she was beginning to unload her bag.
“Yes. Also ideally to help you do so without any unfortunate wolfing-out.” Her eyes met Enid’s through the bars of the cage. “If that’s what you’d like.”
Enid could only nod furiously before any words could catch up to her racing mind. “Yeah, yeah. That would be awesome, Wednesday. Thank you.”
Wednesday nodded back at her and then pulled a large black blanket out of the bag. She carefully laid it in front of Enid’s door, placing her candelabra on top before going in for more items.
“I can’t believe I didn’t think to bring candles tonight.” Enid giggled as she wrapped herself in her own bright purple blanket and sat down on her rug, directly across the bars from Wednesday. “I have some scented ones that would’ve been totally perfect to help me calm down.”
Wednesday stopped unloading, having already unpacked what looked to be two books and a…CD player? “Would you like me to have Thing go and grab some for you? He is making sure that Capri stays distracted, but even he is occasionally capable of multi-tasking.”
Enid laughed. “You need to be nicer to Thing. He could run circles around any other right-hand man ever created in all of history. But also, no. That’s sweet, but I actually really like your haunted-house looking candelabra. It’s very you.”
Enid also thought that the flickering lights of the three candles made the most beautiful shapes and shadows dance across Wednesday’s face in a way that could hypnotize her right to sleep if she let it. The way they illuminated her dark eyes, showing her freckles before highlighting the shape of her lips…okay maybe that one should stay an ‘inside thought’ until further notice.
“This candelabra comes from my family house, and it is very much haunted. I’m glad its presence has stayed through its move to Nevermore.” Wednesday turned to finish unloading her bag, and Enid prayed that her friend didn’t notice the blush that was threatening to push its way up her neck.
“So what did you bring?” Her voice definitely didn’t crack as she desperately tried to get her mind to focus on anything other than how gorgeous Wednesday was right now.
Get it together, Sinclair.
“You said you preferred it when there were regular noises happening as you fell asleep. I’ve brought some reading,” she pointed to the two books, “some writing,” she pointed to a cold case file (where did she get that?) with some pens on top, “as well as some battery-powered machines to use if you’d like.” She picks up the CD player. “This one has a ‘white noise’ functionality, which I think could suit your needs quite nicely. This lamp could be a good alternative to open flame if you’d like me to leave a light on after you’ve fallen asleep.”
After you’ve fallen asleep.
Enid didn’t even try to stop the tears from flowing. She just wiped them away on her really fluffy blanket that was feeling a lot warmer all of a sudden. Wednesday was going to stay with her until she fell asleep safely.
“But what about you? What if you fall asleep too? You can’t just sleep on that blanket Wednesday!”
Wednesday tilted her head as she looked at Enid. “The hard, rocky surface of the floor is a perfect mimicry of my mattress at home, which is stuffed with rocks. I will be fine, Enid.” She either didn’t see Enid’s horrified look at that new info, or just didn’t care, as she continued, “Do you have a preference for where I should start? I apologize that I couldn’t bring the typewriter out with me, it was far too cumbersome to accommodate my stealthy exit from Ophelia Hall. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll have it already here.”
She was coming back tomorrow? Enid practically swooned on the spot. Yeah, she made the right call deciding who she wanted as her pack.
“Oh, don’t worry about that! I’m just happy to have you here with me.” The truth of what she wanted to say next felt so heavy on her tongue, Enid could only whisper it out as her tears threatened to fall again. “Honestly, this is like the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Outside of you saving me from my impending doom literally earlier this week, that is. I’ve never felt more cared for by anyone than I have this week by you.”
Enid looked at Wednesday to see if that was too much. But instead of her turning away or getting up to run for the hills, Wednesday was just staring at her. Really staring at her. Her eyes seemed to move ever so slightly with the waving of the flames, and it drove Enid crazy.
“Like even this mattress set!” Enid stood up suddenly to walk over to her new bed. “It was the most thoughtful thing ever. I kept trying to find you all day to thank you, but I always seemed to miss you.” Enid looked over and realized that the bed was much too far away from Wednesday for her liking.
With a quick burst of werewolf speed and strength, Enid placed her new mattress and duvet squarely in front of the cage’s door. She got settled into it quickly, adding as many stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets to the mattress as she could fit.
Wednesday had subtly quirked an eyebrow at her movements, but didn’t say anything until Enid was all settled in.
“I’m glad you like them,” was all Wednesday said before she opened her old police file (again, where did that come from??) and started scribbling away in a journal. The sound of the pages flipping, the pen scratching the pages, and Wednesday’s even-breathing was enough for Enid to get really sleepy. But she couldn’t find the willpower to close her eyes and commit to sleep just yet.
Wednesday’s face had immediately been twisted in concentration, finding a stride with her investigation the second she opened the file. Every movement was precise, down to the miniscule movements of her eyes as she read the words in front of her. All of that while she was lit by flickering, warm candlelight? Enid was watching a noir film made only for her, and she would be a fool to ever turn it off.
After almost 40 minutes of this, Wednesday finally spoke aloud, “It would be easier to accomplish my goal if you actually closed your eyes, Enid.” Her eyes finally left the journal and case file, and she made direct eye contact with Enid.
As if she was caught committing a crime, Enid flinched and immediately turned onto her back and closed her eyes. “I just - um.” How do you gracefully recover from being caught ogling your best friend?
I guess you don’t.
“Could you read me the book you brought? I think it would help.” Enid kept her eyes squeezed shut as she was sure she’d finally overstepped. Staring at her? Asking her to read her a bedtime story under the candlelight? This was it. She had crossed Wednesday’s boundaries, after they had made so much progress together. Now Wednesday was sure to leave and -
“It’s a poetry book. I apologize if you would prefer a fiction narrative. I wasn’t anticipating that you would want to hear its contents.”
Enid’s heart was racing like she had just sprinted a mile. She had the tiniest fear that she was about to wolf out over her own unbridled feelings for her roommate, which would be the most embarrassing thing to ever happen. But upon a quick check of her faculties, Enid wasn’t anywhere close to losing control. In fact, being with Wednesday seemed to ground her. She made her feel safe.
Well, that’s something.
“No, anything works. Since you’re such a good writer, I figure whatever you would pick to read would be really good too.” Enid’s eyes were still closed, but there was a palpable pause before she heard the shuffling of papers, and the slow opening of a book.
“And I matured in peace born of command, // in the nursery of the infant century, // and the voice of man was never dear to me, // but the breeze’s voice—that I could understand.”
Wednesday’s voice washed like a breeze over Enid. She shivered under their sound, snuggling into her new mattress even further.
“The burdock and the nettle I preferred, // but best of all the silver willow tree. // Its weeping limbs fanned my unrest with dreams; // it lived here all my life, obligingly.”
Enid could feel sleep beginning to overtake her, as her breaths finally slowed for the first time all night. She could feel her body crashing.
“I have outlived it now, and with surprise. // There stands the stump; with foreign voices other // willows converse, beneath our, beneath those skies, // and I am hushed, as if I’d lost a brother.”
Enid wasn’t sure if that was the end of the poem or there was more to it, but Wednesday dutifully turned the page and continued reading anyway. Enid had no choice in the matter.
She fell asleep.
* * *
Enid woke up when the massive front gate opened and let the morning light pour into the lupin cages. Stepping inside, keys in hand, was Ms. Capri. Followed closely by none other than Wednesday Addams.
Suddenly remembering what happened last night, Enid looked quickly around her. Wednesday’s blanket, bag, and candles had all been removed sometime in the night, leaving only the battery-powered lamp on as a night light, and CD player quietly playing the sounds of a ceiling fan.
Enid’s heart grew at the sight.
“Looks like you did some redecorating.” Ms. Capri moved to unlock Enid’s door, pausing only for a second to take in Enid’s mattress directly blocking the way inside.
“Oh! Yeah. It helped the panic of my inner wolf to feel closer to the exit, I think. Let me just -” Enid’s limbs were not totally online yet, so it took her longer than necessary to get her things out of the way in an orderly manner.
“Okay, yeah all good now.” There was just enough space to get the door open, and Enid had enough presence of mind to clock that Wednesday was outright smirking at her as she fumbled around the room.
Oh, how that smirk annoyed her.
How she loved it.
“Thank you, Ms. Capri. I’ll see you again tonight.”
“Yes, Ms. Sinclair. I’ll want you locked in even earlier tonight, since it’s the full moon.” Enid’s teacher paused and looked down at her. “Do you want me to be in the cages with you? It could help to make sure nothing…goes wrong.”
Enid’s eyes immediately darted to Wednesday’s, who had quickly made her face frustratingly neutral at the question.
“Um, no. I’ll be okay. Since I’ve been doing this successfully, um, on my own the past few nights, I think I should just stick to doing that. And you’re going to have your hands full running around with all the other Furs anyway. Thank you though!” Enid tried her best to make that last part sound sincere. She really did appreciate how much her teacher seemed to care about her emerging alpha abilities, even though each conversation they had seemed to reveal a new and terrible thing about her life.
Ms. Capri looked Enid up and down. “Of course, whatever it’ll take for you to stay calm. I understand having a teacher around isn’t always ideal for that. But Enid? If you do wolf out, just know the cages work both ways. You’ll be safe from the other wolves inside here as well. I’ll make sure of it, okay?”
That was so not reassuring. Enid could feel her blood pressure beginning to rise at the idea that the other wolves, her friends that she called her ‘pack’ just a few weeks ago, would be hunting her down as quick as tomorrow morning. No, this was way too much to handle 3 minutes after waking up. She needed to get out of here right -
“I’m going to take Enid back to our room.” Wednesday finally spoke up, stepping between Enid and Capri. “She should get an early start to her relaxation time before the fun tonight. Goodbye, Ms. Capri.” With that, Wednesday grabbed Enid’s hand, and pulled her out of the lupin cages and into the morning sun.
The gasp for air Enid made upon exiting the cages was like she had just been miles underwater. Her hand inadvertently tightened around Wednesday’s. By some miracle, Wednesday didn’t let go, and instead let Enid hold her all the way back to their dorm room.
As Wednesday opened the door, Thing immediately jumped off her desk and ran over to start signing, ‘Enid! Are you alright? You look sick. Wait. Wednesday, did she put you under some sort of spell? Why are you two -’
“We are fine, Thing.” Wednesday put enough ice in that line to make Thing drop the hand-holding train of thought for now.
Hold on.
Hand-holding.
Enid is holding Wednesday’s hand. She has been for a while. And even now, in the safety and privacy of their own room, Wednesday has not forced her hand away. Allowing Enid to use her as a support once again while she had another overly-emotional reaction. It took every single bit of willpower Enid has ever possessed to slowly move her hand away from Wednesday’s. It wasn’t fair to her that Enid kept pushing her boundaries like this, when she knows Wednesday is a no-contact kind of girl.
Wednesday tilted her head as their hands dropped. “Enid. Are you feeling alright?”
“No.” That was about as honest as Enid felt like getting right now. Any more elaboration could mean slipping up and talking about the two scariest things that might ever happen to her.
The first, of course, being the potential for Enid to get stuck as a wolf, losing everything and everyone she knew, and being hunted for the rest of her life by people she once considered friends.
The second being the giant, massive crush she seems to have developed on her roommate/best friend.
She wasn’t sure which one was scarier.
But only one of those problems was looking her in the eyes right now, waiting for her to say something else. Enid took a really, really deep breath.
“But I’ll be fine once tonight is over. Are you, um.” Enid could feel herself blushing as she looked away and ran her hand through her hair. “Are you still planning on hanging out with me tonight? Because I really think having you around helped a lot. And I know it’s not like you can be there with me every night, because eventually I’ll have control over it or maybe we’ll hit the end of the semester or something first, not that you have to spend every night with me until the semester is over, but at least for tonight I think it would really help if you were there.”
Her breath caught as she had forgotten to breathe during that entire cringe-worthy ramble. She didn’t dare look at Wednesday right now. So she flinched when suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder.
Wednesday quickly removed her hand when Enid jumped, but maintained intense eye contact. “Enid.” She spoke slowly, trying to ensure her words were heard. “I will be with you every night, as long as you need me. I will not see you get lost to a beast. I have too much respect for you to allow any harm to ever befall you when I can help.”
Forget candlelit bedtime poetry readings, this was the most romantic thing Enid had ever heard. Wednesday Addams was the single most amazing person Enid had ever met, and she had no idea how to tell her that.
Instead, she took a step to close the distance to Wednesday, holding out her arms in an attempt to tell her how she felt. Wednesday only hesitated for a moment, before she embraced Enid right back.
It felt just as magical this time as it had on the night of the Crackstone fight. Enid buried her head into Wednesday’s shoulder, her arms shaking slightly as she held them both up. After what felt like hours, Enid and Wednesday dropped their arms.
“Thank you, Wednesday.” Enid was sure she’d never tire of saying that particular phrase. “I’m going to go take a shower and get a head start on my relaxation techniques for tonight. If we end up missing each other today, will you meet me in the lupin cages by 7?”
Wednesday nodded.
“Okay, great.” Enid put on a smile, hoping beyond hope to hide any indication of just how much emotion was flowing through her at the moment. “I’ll see you soon then.”
Enid rushed out of their room towards the communal bathrooms, needing to get away from Wednesday and just catch her breath. But somehow, over the sound of her own heart beating too loud, Enid caught a faint tapping on the other side of her bedroom door, followed by Wednesday's voice through gritted teeth, “Not. A. Single. Word. Thing.”
Enid walked away.
* * *
Arriving at the lupin cages when the sun was still out made Enid curl in on herself in embarrassment. All the other Furs gave her sympathetic glances as she walked past them. They would be getting to run free tonight, howling and playing with the pack, while Enid took the entire night trying to suppress every instinct she had.
At least Wednesday would be with her. She looked down at her bag full of supplies for tonight. Maybe the deck of playing cards was a little too hopeful with Wednesday as her companion for that night, but she knew with certainty that after seeing what her roommate looked like under the candlelight, bringing six handmade candles was more than appropriate.
Enid almost ran directly into a figure upon opening the lupin cage’s main gate, and immediately had to hide her disappointment when she realized it wasn’t Wednesday.
“Hey Ms. Capri! Sorry, didn’t see you there. Just here to make sure I’m locked up?”
Her music teacher looked down at her with sympathetic eyes. “Yes. I also wanted to make sure you knew that I’ll be here as soon as the full moon sets to check in on you. And,” Ms. Capri seems to be excited at the next idea, “if you can make it through tonight, I’ll let you move back out of the cages for the next few weeks. It’ll mean you have enough control over your transformation to be considered safe in the dorms for now.”
Enid threw her arms around Ms. Capri as she squealed. “Thank you! I can’t tell you how much I really need to be back in my own space.”
“Well, I believe in you Enid. Is there anything you want me to bring you before the full moon rises? Food, water, books?”
Enid shook her head. “Nope! I’m all set. Thank you, though.”
The two walked to Enid’s ‘room’, and Ms. Capri had a curious smile across her face.
“Those are some fun additions.” Enid looked at what she meant and saw a few new items around her space. A small desk with a very familiar typewriter on top, an equally familiar black cello in the corner, a hand-crank gramophone, and piles of books scattered around are all new additions to her things.
“Oh, yeah. Um, Wednesday let me borrow her cello since she realized I also enjoy playing when I need to think. She’s a good friend.”
Ms. Capri nodded. “You know, if you two ever wanted to perform a duet together I could arrange a lovely composition for you to play at the Rave’N later this year. Now that I’ve heard you both play, I could guarantee it would be a hit!”
“Um…yeah. Sure. Maybe. Uh,” What was she doing? Figure a way out of this! “Well, Wednesday is picky about playing in front of crowds, and I’m more of a dancer really. I probably wouldn’t count on it.”
Ms. Capri looked at Enid with a sparkle in her eye, “Oh, I’m sure if you asked her we’d be more likely to get somewhere.”
Enid tore her eyes away and practically slammed the cage door shut between her and her teacher in an effort to hide the redness spreading across her cheeks. Ms. Capri gave a small smirk, but dropped the topic as she took her key ring out and locked Enid inside.
“I’ll be back in a few hours. Whatever you’ve been doing the past few nights to stay calm, keep it up, and you’ll be just fine. Goodnight, Miss Sinclair.” With that, her teacher turned around and walked out the main doors, closing them and triggering the main locks as she went.
Enid steeled herself a little, and started taking her picnic supplies out of her bag. Water bottles, some fresh fruit, as well as some chicken quesadillas and oatmeal raisin cookies that she bribed the kitchen staff to let her make earlier that day.
Wednesday was supposed to meet her in 30 minutes, which is why it was no surprise to Enid when she showed up now, breaking in with little fanfare and carrying a small bag.
“You’re early,” Enid teased.
“Yet you’re not surprised.” Wednesday looked Enid over as she approached the cage door. “How are you feeling tonight?”
She gave a weak smile, “The other Furs are going to be really annoying to hear tonight, but I’m feeling okay.” Enid gestured to the picnic blanket and food she’d put out near the door. “I brought even more distractions for us tonight. I figured, if we were going to be stuck here this early, we might as well share some good food.”
“It looks like we’re on the same page,” Wednesday said as she pulled out a large iron key and quickly unlocked Enid’s cage door.
“Woah! Wait, Wednesday! What are you doing?” Enid moved to keep the door closed between them. Her eyes were frantic as they looked for any explanation as to what on earth Wednesday was thinking. But she couldn’t read her mind as Wednesday only raised an eyebrow in response.
“I thought it was obvious. Why do you think I put so many of my things inside your room?” Enid could have smacked herself in the face. How did she not put that together?
“But, the cages are here to protect people like you! If I wolf out with you in the room, there’s no telling what would happen as I go full-on alpha! Wednesday, you could get hurt.”
Wednesday turned her head slightly to make better eye contact with Enid. “You didn’t hurt me the last time you wolfed out. It would stand to reason that it would be the same tonight.” She paused for a second before averting her gaze slightly. “You said having me around helped you last night. I thought I could be even more useful if we were actually in the same room.”
Enid’s breath hitched. Wednesday Addams wanted to be close to her. She trusted her enough to be close to her when there’s a real chance of being in physical danger.
This was a terrible idea.
But suddenly this terrible idea was all Enid could think about. Wednesday’s cello. The gramophone. Enid’s picnic. It’s the closest they might ever get to a date without actually having to risk spooking Wednesday away by asking her out.
This was a great idea.
But then Wednesday is suddenly talking again because Enid has stupidly gone silent as she sorted through all this in her head. “If you would prefer that I maintain distance, I will of course stay out here. Whichever will be best for you -”
“No!” Enid threw the door open with a little too much of her werewolf strength as it clashed against its hinges, causing her to flinch a little at the sound. “Oops. I mean, no, I think you’re right. Please, come in.” Enid awkwardly gestured into the space, feeling really lame as she did.
Wednesday stayed unresponsive to the display at first. But then she slowly stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Despite the fact that they literally share a living space together every day, Enid suddenly wasn’t sure how to talk with the girl standing in front of her. She was hyper-aware of the beads of sweat forming on her brow, and she couldn’t really remember how words worked right now as her mouth went dry. She kept looking at Wednesday’s lips. That wasn’t normal. Also, not talking wasn’t normal. She should say something, anything. Any words at all. ‘I think you’re really beautiful’ would not be the right thing to say right now…right?
By the grace of her lucky stars, Wednesday was the one to speak first.
“I brought my own blanket, I hope you don’t mind if your…picnic supplies rest on something less likely to give me hives.” Wednesday pulled the same black blanket as last night out of her bag as she lifted her eyes questioningly to Enid.
“Oh! Yeah of course! I know first-hand how rough those are,” she giggled a little at the memory, frantically picking up her food and moving her purple blanket out of the way so Wednesday could lay hers down.
Wednesday then pulled out what looks to be carefully-wrapped pieces of cooked steak and baked potatoes, some apple cider, as well as two glasses and that same beautiful candelabra from last night.
“Woah.” Enid said intelligently. “Wednesday, where did you get porterhouse steaks? The kitchen only stocks those shitty filets for grill nights.”
“Lurch is a man of few words, so it’s usually best not to ask.” Wednesday made herself comfortable on the blanket, looking up at Enid with a glint. “But he is an excellent chef. He cooked them rare, I hope that is acceptable.”
“Um, yeah. It’s what I usually order actually.” Enid sat down and looked at the now-meager looking food options that she provided. “You brought the perfect thing, as usual. Thank you, Wednesday.”
Wednesday caught her looking at the quesadillas and cookies. “Enid. Where did you get those? I’m certain the food court doesn’t make those meals for students.”
“Oh, well, I kind of…made them? The kitchen staff really don’t care if you use the cooking supplies as long as you can pay for the ingredients you took. I thought I’d make you something as a thank-you for staying with me tonight.”
Wednesday blinked.
“But, um. If you don’t like quesadillas, I really just took a guess and stuffed them with chicken and a lot of hot sauce, so it’s fine if it’s not your thing. I’ve also never seen you eat dessert ever, but oatmeal raisin cookies are like, annoyingly, really good when you can’t have chocolate without risking a werewolf stomach virus or something.”
As Enid took a breath to continue her ramble, she was saved by Wednesday chiming in.
“When I was a child, every normie student in my class thought I was a witch. To encourage the rumors, I brought in cookies on valentines day for the whole class. I told the other children they were magic chocolate chip cookies, and that if they were good boys and girls, they would get to eat the sweet treat and find love in their lifetime. But if it turned hard and rigid in their mouths, with no sweetness at all, that their souls were rotten and they would be doomed to spend their lives alone and without love. They were, of course, just simple oatmeal raisin cookies disguised as chocolate, but the tears of the entire class fueled me right up until I got kicked out later that year for arson. It’s quite a pleasant memory. Thank you for reminding me.”
Enid took in that story for a moment, finding it amazing and unbelievable that Wednesday had just unprompted shared a story about her childhood.
“Honestly I think it's those kids' fault for not knowing their cookies! How old were you anyway?”
“Six. Shall we start eating?”
Without much more preamble, Wednesday pushed the steaks closer to Enid, while reaching for the cookies first. Enid took a second to ground herself in the moment, before digging in.
The conversation was really easy from there. Lurch had impeccable grilling skills, and Wednesday had recommended something called the ‘California Reaper Pepper’ for Enid’s future endeavours with hot sauce.
The time passed so quickly that Enid hadn’t even noticed the sun going down. But when the howls of dozens of Furs started springing up in the distance, Enid’s entire body froze. Her heart was racing too fast - all her instincts were telling her to answer their calls, to join them on their hunt. It made Enid’s entire body ache as she forced herself to stay perfectly still and focus on breathing. In and out. In and out.
Her eyes opened as she heard a match strike. Wednesday was lighting the three candles on her candelabra, pausing for a second as she noticed Enid staring.
“Did I distract you? I can be very quiet if that’s what you need. I just thought that having some light -”
“Omg! Wednesday, you can’t see in the dark!”
There was a pause before Wednesday replied slowly, “No.” She clearly wasn’t sure why Enid was stating the obvious.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t even notice the sun was going down. Here.” Enid rummaged through her bag and pulled out even more candles. “I brought these too! Hopefully it can light up the space even more. Three candles is totes not enough.” Enid smiled and held out her hand for Wednesday to give her the match book. With a pep in her step at a new task to focus on, Enid set up the rest of the candles around the room, making the confining space feel more alive than ever.
Right on cue to bring her crashing down to reality, more howls echo through the small window. Enid looked up at the moonlight coming into the small space. She could feel the call of the full moon, of the other Furs in the distance. It was like this wild stampede in her chest, aching to crash out of her and leave this stupid cage.
And then, suddenly, music was playing. Enid turned towards it and found Wednesday by the gramophone, playing an old orchestral record that filled the space with - Enid was pretty sure it was Vivaldi? She was just about to ask Wednesday if she was right, when her words got stuck in her throat.
Wednesday had turned around to look straight at her. With the music playing, and Wednesday surrounded by candlelight, Enid almost fell to her knees with how romantic everything suddenly felt. There wasn’t a chance that her friend had planned it that way, but with Enid’s crush becoming more and more loud, she was actively going to need a second to remember how to breathe. Maybe even how to stand. But then the world felt like being cruel, because Wednesday was holding out her hand to invite her to a dance.
“Wednesday?” Enid’s question came out more as a breath.
“You need to be distracted.” Wednesday said it as a statement - no room for argument. Not that Enid was arguing against it. If Enid had to make a list of things that dancing with Wednesday could distract her from, ‘Blackpink walking into the room’ and ‘the actual apocalypse’ were some of the things at the very top. Resisting her werewolf urges? A mere whisper against the raging storm of thoughts in Enid’s head right now.
All she could do is nod and let this moment take her away from any fears she might have had about that night.
As she took Wednesday’s hand in hers, it was like a shock of electricity pulsing through her veins. Her breath very unsubtly hitched, but she somehow managed to get her other arm around Wednesday’s shoulder.
“Wednesday, are you sure this is okay? I would’ve thought you hated slow dancing.”
“Learning to properly ballroom dance at a young age is an Addams family tradition. While I abhor my parents turning the action into an obscene form of foreplay,” Enid choked on her breath, “I find dancing to good music to be very relaxing. And,” Wednesday stared directly at Enid, “with the right partner, even fun.”
Wednesday’s other hand found Enid’s waist, and before she could comprehend what was happening, Wednesday was leading them through the steps of a fairly simple waltz. Enid found her way into the rhythm quickly, letting her body go on autopilot. Sinking into the moment, Enid realized suddenly that the gnawing of the wolf inside her has never been more quiet. There was no ache to get out, to be free.
At this moment, there was no place Enid would rather be than right here in Wednesday’s arms.
Oh.
“Enid, you’re shaking.” Wednesday’s voice cut through the music as the record moved on to the next song. “Are you in danger of wolfing out?”
Wednesday stopped moving, her eyes frantically searching Enid’s body for any sign of a transformation.
“Enid?” Wednesday continued, concern rising as Enid couldn’t find words to respond. She reached up a hand to lightly cup Enid’s cheek. “Stay with me.” Her voice came out a whisper, but Enid heard it as clearly as if she had shouted it from the rooftop.
“I’m sorry.” Enid finally said, voice trembling. She could feel tears coming to her eyes. “I just got overwhelmed for a second. I promise, I’m fine.”
Wednesday stared at her, unconvinced. Her hand had not moved from Enid’s cheek.
Enid instinctively grabbed at Wednesday’s wrist, desperately needing something to ground her right now.
“I - um.” A few tears pushed their way down her face. Wednesday stayed locked in on Enid’s every move. “I just realized suddenly that not only are you my pack, Wednesday, but you might be like…the most important person to me in my whole life. I just can’t imagine being here with anyone else. I,” She made herself take a deep breath and look into Wednesday’s eyes. “I wouldn't want to be with anyone else. I just want to be with you. In whatever way you want to be with me.”
Wednesday Addams twitched. It was ever-so-slight, but Enid could feel Wednesday’s hand against her face flinch at the confession. A second later, her hand moved down to Enid’s neck, cold and unmoving. She maintained eye contact the entire time.
“In whatever way I want to be with you? Enid. I want to be with you all the time.” Wednesday took a half step forward so that their bodies were only a hair away from each other. “Fighting my vision of your death has only solidified my desire to have you in my life. Learning that this alpha development has once again threatened to take you from me…it is completely unacceptable. I want you to be with me for as long as you will have me.”
Enid’s tears were still falling, but slower now. The very fact that she is still standing right now is a testament to her strength for sure.
“Wednesday, it’s really hard for me to not kiss you after you said something so incredibly romantic. Can you let me know if that’s oka-”
Almost as if the entire night, no, their entire friendship, was leading to this exact moment, Wednesday closed the gap and finally kissed Enid. Like it was inevitable. Like it was the only thing either of them had ever wanted.
Enid’s hands were immediately on Wednesday’s waist, pulling her closer, right as Wednesday’s hands on her neck did the same thing. It wasn’t long before Enid’s breathing became uneven, her heartbeat racing as she tried to be respectful and not move her hands from where they were planted. But then Enid heard Wednesday’s heartbeat also tick up, and it was all over.
She moved them back until she was pressing Wednesday against the far wall of the cage, cheating a little by using some of her werewolf speed to get there faster. If Wednesday’s moan was anything to go by, it was an appreciated move.
“Oh, wait.” Wednesday pulled back at Enid’s words, searching for something wrong. Her breaths were a little uneven, which Enid took massive pride in, since that was Wednesday code for ‘totally and completely flustered’. “I just, should we talk about this at all? Like, I want to make sure I’m not making you push any boundaries or -”
“Enid.” Wednesday’s singular word made Enid completely still. Her name sounded different coming from Wednesday’s mouth now. “We will have our whole lives to talk about this if you’d like. But for tonight, I feel as though I’d rather make sure you were…thoroughly distracted from anything happening outside this room. What do you think?”
‘Our whole lives’. Woah. That’s something she’ll have to dissect later, especially given how much it made her heart flutter.
But for now, Wednesday just explicitly made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. With a little squeal of joy, Enid leaned in and picked up right where they left off.
For the rest of the night, Enid never once had the compulsion to transform against her will. Her entire being only wanted one thing: and it was to be here, in this room, with Wednesday Addams.
* * *
The morning after the full moon, when Capri found Enid un-transformed and fast asleep under a moon-phase duvet, she was kind enough not to mention that she could smell Wednesday Addams all over her. A reminder of the lupin cage rules would come later, when Enid might need to use them again.
Wednesday, like clockwork, arrived to pick Enid up right after Capri did. The girl really did have a terrific poker face. If it wasn’t for the fainted smudge of lipstick on the girl’s neck that she hadn’t caught, Capri might’ve second-guessed her first instinct on what they were up to last night.
A small smile pulled at the older Fur’s lips.
Thank god they finally figured it out.