His eyes were as mischievous as Cooper remembered them when they’d met back at the Park pack’s estate after the death of Park’s grandfather, but under the careful air of amusement, they flickered with exhaustion and were adorned with dark circles and crow’s lines that hadn’t been there before. There was a slight tremble in Eli’s arms too, and as Cooper followed them down, he noticed his fists were clenched in his lap...

“Undress me with your eyes any further and you’re going to hit bone,” Eli said wryly. “Er. So to speak.”

Cooper looked away and hoped the flush he felt in his cheeks wasn’t too noticeable.

“You know each other?” Dean demanded.

The thought of introducing Eli as Park’s ex-lover and current, active and honored member of his family’s pack was laughably unappealing. “Yes, we’ve met,” Cooper answered shortly.

“A technically true statement, if characteristically lacking in flair,” Eli said archly. “Antony and Cleopatra met. Romeo and Juliet met. It’s what happened after that’s become the stuff of legends.”

“This day is certainly shaping up to be a tragedy,” Cooper said. “So maybe you’re onto something.”

Dean was looking between the two of the curiously. “Do you...work together?”

“Well, we’ve both dedicated long, long hours to the betterment of man. One man in particular. So yes, I think you could say we’ve collaborated on a project.”

“No, you could not say that,” Cooper protested quickly. “We’re definitely not saying that. Eli, my brother. Dean, this is Eli. He’s...a friend of Oliver’s.” Eli twitched an eyebrow, but for once kept his mouth shut. Not that it mattered. From the expression on Dean’s face, he could add one to one and get a couple just fine.

“So that was you back there, right?” Dean asked. “I mean, you were the”—he gestured in the direction of the fence—”you know.”

Eli leaned back on his hands provocatively. “What’s the matter, don’t you recognize me...cutie?”

“Ah ha ha.” Dean’s voice was a little higher pitched than usual and a blush spread up his neck. Eli’s smile widened.

“The more pressing question,” Cooper said meaningfully, “is what the hell are you doing here?”

“Just dropped into town to see an old friend.”

“Hotels all full?” Cooper asked sarcastically. “I was more wondering what you were doing here as in here in the zoo undercov-fur.”

Eli gave him a vaguely disappointed look, which Cooper figured he deserved. “Yes, I see how you might be confused,” he said briskly. “And I’m endlessly empathetic to it—ask anyone and they’ll say Eli is empathy personified—but this really isn’t a good time, so I don’t suppose you’d be a couple of dolls and tootle off back down the mountain to play with the pandas and forget this ever happened?”