Duncan pulled to an abrupt stop in front of a rather large house. It wasn't the mansion Jasyn had made it out to be, but it was big, nonetheless, ``This should be it.''
The German shepherd hopped out of his car without bothering to lock it. With all of the other cars that were around here, who would bother to steal his? He padded up the walk to the house and rang the doorbell, waiting patiently and hoping he didn't have to over-explain himself to this...Matt guy.
Matt wasn't home, though, and it was Luke who stirred to answer the bell. He padded to the front door, stretching as he tried to crane his neck back and catch the last of the show he was watching from the living room.
The raccoon opened the door, still looking back into the house, ``Forget something Ma-'' mid-word, he turned his head to look out the door, only to jump back with a yelp, ``D-Duncan!? Duncan Porter!''
Duncan just smiled at the boy, ```Ey there, kid! You're uhm...'' He paused to remember the name, ``You're Luke right? Jasyn's friend?'' He stepped back and looked at the house, ``Guess that means I'm in the right place.''
Luke looked around, too, making sure that HE was at the right house, ``What? Uhm...Jasyn? How do you know Jasyn?''
The shepherd stepped back up to the door, still grinning, ``How do I know Jasyn? Well, first of all, I'm on the football team with `im. That's how you recognized me right? Football?
``Well...'' Luke rubbed his neck, realizing that was obvious, ``...yeah.''
``Plus, I've been a good friend of his & Alex's for a while.'' Duncan held up his paws in measurement, ``Known `em for years!''
The raccoon blushed, for some reason, as he looked up at the big dog and then nodded, ``R-right. But, uhm, how can I help you?'' He paused and cocked an eyebrow, ``And what are you doing here?''
Duncan reached out and patted Luke on the head, ``Sorry kid! Didn't mean to scare you. I forget that everybody recognizes me.'' He winked and smiled wide, ``Plus I'm just generally intimidatin', I guess.'' He chuckled, apparently having already forgotten whatever he came for, ``You n' that black lion boy: Jasyn's other friend...err...Riddick I think? You two're together, right? How're things goin' with that?''
Luke's eyes grew wide and he coughed and blushed, caught completely off guard, ``W-wha?? What do you mean? I have no idea what you're talking about!'' He sputtered out a few noises and half words before trailing off quietly. With a gulp, he looked down and shuffled his feet, ``...it's going okay.''
The German shepherd chuckled with his paw over his muzzle, ``Jasyn talks to me `bout everything, kid. Oh, damn! I'm getting' off the subject! Is Alex here? I was gonna' see if he wanted to go get somethin' to eat!''
Luke, still blushing, did his best to answer the huge, unapproachable canine, ``Uhm...no. He was here earlier, though, actually. It was about a half an hour ago; he was looking for Jasyn.''
``He's lookin' for Jasyn?'' Duncan held up his paws and looked shocked, ``Did he say where he was goin'?''
The raccoon just shook his head, ``Not really. Just something about going places that he and Jasyn used to hang out?''
``Damn-it...'' Duncan leaned against the doorframe, ``I'll never find him now.''
Luke cocked an eyebrow, ``Why not call him?''
``Boy never answers his damn phone.'' The shepherd scoffed.
``But, wait...'' Luke shook his head in confusion, ``Why were you looking HERE for him?''
``It's for Jasyn. He asked for my help.'' Duncan stood back up straight, ``He's tryin' to fix things between him n' Alex. My job was to find Alex, and ask `im if he wanted to go grab somethin' to eat for his birthday. But instead of bringin' `im out to eat, I was supposed to trick `im, and drag `im to the park to meet Jasyn. He has this big birthday thing all set up to try n' mend things. And he wanted me to help, cause it'd be more of a surprise. Alex doesn't even know that I know you guys are gay, yet!'' He snapped his fingers, ``Oh! And I'm here `cause he told me this'd be a good place to look, if Alex wasn't home.''
``That's what Alex was looking for Jasyn for, too! To fix things!'' The raccoon threw his paws out to the side, that news superseding, for the moment, the surreal nature of having this conversation with Duncan, ``Like, exactly the same way too! He even said he wasn't calling Jasyn, first, so it would be more of a surprise!''
``Really?'' Duncan scratched his head, ``T'hear Jasyn talk, Alex doesn't want `im back.''
``Well...he had a bit of an...argument...?'' Luke paused to think how to put it without getting into all the details, since he wasn't even there to see it happen, ``He had a change of heart last Saturday.''
``A week ago?'' The German shepherd laughed, ``That's hilarious! That's the same day Jasyn n' me put this plan together!''
``Huh.'' Luke looked up at the dog for a moment, narrowing his eyes, ``Uhm...? Mind if I...uhm...''
Duncan just smiled, answering before the raccoon could ask, hoping to make the boy more comfortable, ``Sure, ask away!''
The raccoon smiled back; it was working, ``How long have you known? Y'know: about Alex and Jasyn...and about me and Riddick, too, for that matter?''
``That you guys were gay?'' Duncan clarified, ``Well, I knew about Riddick since the first time I saw HIM.'' He laughed, ``As for the rest of you: Jasyn just told me last Friday.'' He paused, ``Err...that's not yesterday, but Friday of LAST week.''
``Wow...'' Luke looked around, then back up at the dog, ``Well, look: Alex might come back soon if he can't find Jasyn. And, if not, they'll probably both come by here when they're done.'' He pointed over his shoulder with a thumb, ``So...you wanna' come in? Maybe have a drink? I'm sure Matt wouldn't mind.''
``Sounds nice! You here by yourself?'' The shepherd stepped in through the door, and then stopped as something clicked with him, ``Whoa. Wait a second...'' He looked down at the raccoon, ``Uhm...kid?''
``Yeah?''
Duncan smiled, ``Do you think I'm hot?''
The Angel of Yiff Chapter 6 --
Let Him Sniff
Alex parked his car and stepped out.
He had already checked the mall to see if Jasyn was there. First he checked the wolf's house, then Matt's, then the beach, and finally the mall, but he'd had no luck. Maybe the park would fair him better. He stepped off of the asphalt and onto the grass of the park, and before he could take another step, he saw Jasyn in the distance. The wolf was turned away and standing by the same table that they had been at when they first met Matt eight months ago.
Alex laughed at his own mistake, ``I should have checked here first...''
The fox rolled his shoulders and smiled, tugging at his shirt so it would look just right before he continued on his way. Not looking anywhere other than at Jasyn and the table, he walked timidly up to, and stopped behind the wolf.
``Jasyn?''
Jasyn jumped a little and turned, conspicuously keeping one paw out of sight, ``Alex! I was getting worried you wouldn't make it.''
Alex blinked and tilted his head, ``Make it? You were expecting me?''
``Well yeah, I...'' The wolf looked over Alex's shoulder, and was surprised to see the fox's car, and not Duncan's, ``...you...came here on your own?''
``Yeah?'' Alex looked back at his car, too, wondering what Jasyn was looking at, and then turned back to his friend, ``Is someone supposed to be with me?''
``Uhm...kind of?'' Jasyn chuckled, confused, ``What are you doing here?''
``I've been everywhere today...'' The fox looked down, tapping his toe on the grass, ``...looking for you.''
Jasyn smiled involuntarily at that, ``You were looking for me?''
``Yeah.'' Alex shook his head in frustration, ``And big surprise: this was the last place I looked.''
``Well...yeah.'' The wolf smiled and nudged his friend's shoulder, ``Wherever I was at WOULD be your last stop, wouldn't it? Why would you keep looking once you found me?''
``You know what I meant.'' Alex glared playfully at his friend, ``What about you? You said you were expecting me? How'd you know I'd be coming here?''
``Well,'' Jasyn looked around, ``I've been waiting here for you for a while now. I'd kind of set some things in motion to get you here...but it looks like they failed.''
``You were waiting on me?'' The fox grinned contently, ``Why go through so much work to get me here?''
``Other than it being your birthday?'' Jasyn smirked mockingly, ``That depends...why were YOU looking for ME?''
Alex just averted his eyes, and didn't answer. Instead, he just looked out across the park, noting how much less crowded it was in the fall months, and then looked down at his feet.
The wolf was equally silent for a moment, not letting his hopes get the best of him, and then stepped closer to his friend, ``Happy birthday, love.''
Alex looked up immediately, when he heard Jasyn's old pet name for him. And there, he found a single white rose inches from his muzzle, held in the now extended paw that Jasyn had been hiding behind his back.
``I didn't have enough for another entire bouquet.'' Jasyn smiled timidly, worried his gift wasn't enough.
``No.'' The fox gently but quickly plucked the rose away, ``It's perfect.'' He smiled as he smelled of it, ``And it's white, even.''
``Well,'' Jasyn shrugged, ``I know they're your favorites.''
``Thank you, Jasyn.'' Alex coughed, shuffling his feet nervously, ``I'd hug you, but...'' He looked out at the other furs in the park, ``I'm sure you wouldn't want to be so...y'know...out here in the open, and all.''
``Yeah...you'd think so, wouldn't you?'' The wolf stepped forward, wrapping his arms around the fox and drawing him in close to his chest. Without a second's thought or hesitation, he buried his nose in Alex's headfur and nuzzled between his ears. With a quiet kiss there on his head, he rocked from side to side with the fox, no concern over who might be able to see.
Alex just sank into the hug, swaying with Jasyn, and just buried himself in the wolf. He wanted to argue with his former boyfriend, and to tell him that this kind of public display was unnecessary, but he didn't want the hug to end, ``Thank you Jasyn. This is all...perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present than this.''
``Well that bodes well for me, then!'' Jasyn laughed softly at that, ``Because this isn't everything.''
The fox leaned back, away from the hug, but didn't let him go, ``There's more?''
``There is.'' Jasyn nodded, ``Wanna' sit down?''
Alex nodded back and reluctantly broke the hug, only to find Jasyn take hold of his paw. To both their inner delights, each kept their fingers intertwined as they stepped over the table's bench seat and sat down.
The wolf sat as close to the fox as he could, his free paw lighting on Alex's knee, ``So...I should be honest, right?''
``Honest about what...beautiful?'' Alex smiled shyly as he hinted his intentions, with the return of his own pet name for the wolf.
When he heard that name again, Jasyn felt a fluttering feeling inside -- something no one but Alex had ever elicited -- but he forced his hope aside. The last thing he needed was to get set himself up to be let down, ``I should be honest about...'' He paused and composed himself, then just said it, figuring it best to not hold back, ``I want you back, Alex. I've tried not to say it, tried not to beg. I've given you your space and your time. And in the meantime, I've taken care of Luke, like you asked, and I've done my best to be for you, exactly who I used to be...to be the wolf that you fell in love with LONG before that day, right here, back in March. And-''
``Jasyn.'' The fox cut him off, so he could tell him that all of this explanation was unneeded, because he was here for the same thing...
...but Jasyn didn't let him, ``Hey, now. Come on.'' He pouted playfully, ``I know it's your birthday, but don't rob me of the fun of getting to tell you what your gift is.''
Alex nodded and blushed through a grin, ``Of course. Sorry.''
``I want you back...and I want you to know how serious I am about it.'' The wolf moved his paw from Alex's knee to their intertwined paws, ``I want you to know that you are the most important thing in my life. And I want everyone else to know it too. That's why I didn't mind the hug...''
Alex looked from their fingers, to the rose in his other paw, and then up at Jasyn's face, ``What are you saying?''
``I'm saying that no matter whether you'll take me back or not...THIS will always be okay. You want to hug me, hold hands, or even kiss me...and you want it right in the middle of the school even? You've got it. Hell, I'll do it on stage!'' Jasyn squeezed Alex's paw, and continued before the newly 17-year-old fur could respond, ``And I'm also saying that last Saturday I came out to my parents. I'm saying that the night before that, I came out to Duncan! And I'm saying that I have no intention of stopping there. I love you. And I'm not ashamed to let the world know it.''
The fox's eyes were open so wide that they felt dry. And it took moments of breathless stammering before he could form his first words, but once he did, they were an unhindered yelp, ``You came out!?''
``I did.''
``What did you tell them?''
``Everything!'' Jasyn laughed, ``I told them that I was gay, and-''
``Wait.'' Alex interrupted again. ``Gay? Not bi?''
``No.'' The wolf shook his head, ``I mean, I'm not saying that I don't still find girls attractive...but, God willing, I'll never have a reason to be with one again.'' He smiled, rubbing the fox's paw, ``Trying to call myself bi at this point would feel like a crutch. If I plan to spend the rest of my life with a guy...why be afraid to call myself gay?''
Alex blinked at that, ``L-life?''
``Life.'' Jasyn nodded, ``And I told them that, too.'' He took a deep breath and looked Alex right in the eyes, ``I told them that I loved you. I told them that we were together, that we broke up, and that I wanted you back. I told them that you were the one person, the one THING, that I wanted more than anything else in the world. I told them that nothing was more important to me...'' He smiled softly, drawing the fox's paw up and planting a small kiss on the back of it, ``...and that I wanted to be with you, and only you, for the rest of my life.''
The fox watched as his paw was kissed, but looked away before Jasyn could turn his eyes back up on his face. He stared silently at the rose in his other paw, watching as it slowly turned in his fingers, and admiring the overlapping white petals. It was all perfect. He drew in a breath and shivered as he felt a tear trickle down the length of his muzzle.
``No!'' Jasyn released Alex's paw immediately and leaned away, ``Nonono! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to...I mean...'' He shook and stammered, frantically trying to fix what he'd done wrong, ``Look, it was too much, okay? I'm being too pushy. It's okay: you don't have to take me back. I shouldn't...shouldn't have...'' He ringed his paws together, feeling a tingling in his own eyes as well, ``Please don't cry. If you still need time, you can have it. I just wanted to let you know that...that I...but I never meant to make you cry. Please, Alex, I'm so-''
``Shut up, Jasyn.'' Alex cut him off, dropping the rose on the table and turning completely on the bench. Without another word or a bit of explanation, he grabbed the sides of the wolf's face and drew their muzzles together in a kiss.
Jasyn's eyes went wide, but he kissed back without question. They'd kissed each other on the cheek. They'd hugged and held hands. Jasyn had even lied in Alex's lap. But this was the first time, since May that they'd kissed. He'd missed it, and he knew he'd missed it, but only when he felt the Alex's lips on his again did he realize just how much.
The fox broke the kiss just shy of their tongues invading one another's muzzles. At first, it was to Jasyn's chagrin, but then he kissed the wolf again, first on the side of the muzzle, then the cheek, the neck, and the shoulder as he pulled him into a hug.
Jasyn held him tight, one paw at the fox's waist and hesitantly slipping under the back of his shirt. He blinked, leaning his neck back just enough to look at the fox's head on his shoulder, ``Alex?''
``Why do you think I was looking for you all day?'' Alex rocked with his breaths, still crying, but held on to Jasyn like a vice, ``I just want all this to be over. I'm so tired of the waiting and the bullshit and...'' He interrupted himself to kiss Jasyn's neck again, ``I want to be happy again. I want you back.''
``Oh God, Alex...'' The wolf squeezed the fox so hard he thought he would break him, ``I have been waiting six months to hear you say that.'' He relaxed and steadied himself as best he could manage, ``Are you sure that you...? I mean...are we really...?''
``I am. We are.'' Alex pushed away, having to nearly wrench himself out of Jasyn's arms, ``I'm so sorry, beautiful. You...you're too good, you've done too much, and I've put you through all this hell.'' He looked down, shaking his head, ``You deserve so much better than me and all the shit-''
``You hush that up.'' Jasyn lifted Alex's muzzle up to look him in the eye again, both their faces wet, and the wolf's muzzle spread wide in a smile, ``I couldn't ask for anything better than you.'' He ran his thumb across Alex's cheek, wiping away his tears, ``It doesn't exist.''
The fox laughed aloud at that, ``You're so full of shit.''
``True...'' Jasyn laughed along with him, puffing his chest out proudly, ``I nearly forgot about me. I exist.''
``My point, exactly.'' Alex leaned in again, pulling himself tight against the wolf, and laying his head back on his shoulder.
``Thank you, Alex.'' The wolf ran his muzzle along the fox's neck and up to his ear, ``Thank you so much for taking me back, love. You don't have any idea what this means to me.''
``No. Thank YOU for...'' Alex sighed contentedly, ``...for being you? For being in my life? For everything.''
``No need.'' Jasyn closed his eyes, just letting Alex lean against him, and him against Alex in return, ``But...it might be about time we pry ourselves off this bench and get out of here. Don't you think?''
``Why?'' The fox squeezed Jasyn tighter, ``Where in God's name do we have to be, other than here?''
Jasyn opened his eyes again, as he was squeezed, but didn't break the hug, ``Simple! I sent Duncan to find you and bring you here...'' He chuckled, ``He's probably on all fours sniffing around for you, by now.''
``Let him sniff...''
~
``So are you sure they'll come here when they're done?'' Duncan leaned back in the chair, holding a sandwich and sitting across from Luke & Riddick.
Luke nodded, ``They'll want me, Riddick, and Matt to know right away. And you, too, now.''
Riddick put an arm over Luke's shoulders, still a bit in shock that he was having a conversation like this with someone like Duncan, ``Well, they'd better! Luke & I have been waiting to see how this was gonna' turn out for months!''
``I've only been waitin' for a week.'' Duncan shrugged, ``And I hate t'say it, but I don't know if I'll get to sleep tonight, if I don't find out what happened.''
Luke blushed at Riddick's arm being around him, ``Err...yeah...'' He scratched his cheek nervously, ``I've been waiting a little longer than that...'' He paused and looked down, speaking softly, ``I caused it, after all.''
Riddick kissed Luke on the cheek, knowing he was a bit uncomfortable and trying to loosen him up, ``You didn't cause a damn thing. This was their problem, hun: not yours.''
Duncan just smiled at the two of them. He hadn't ever really seen a gay couple before, and wondered if Alex & Jasyn were like this when they were together.
And after being kissed under Duncan's gaze, Luke blushed deeper and mumbled a random string of quiet, unintelligible sentences.
As they sat in the living room -- Luke embarrassed, and Riddick and Duncan as comfortable as could be -- the three furs heard a doorknob turn and the front door swing open.
Duncan sat up straight and his ears perked high in the air. He, Riddick, and Luke shared a wide eyed glance as the cat & raccoon sat up straighter themselves, and then all three quickly turned to look toward the entry way, Luke holding his breath.
Matt stepped through the entryway and into the living room, stopping in his tracks as the three young furs just stared at him, ``Uhm...hi?''
Riddick huffed and sat back down, ``Damn...It's just Matt.''
``Oh.'' Duncan looked disappointed and relaxed too, looking up at the ottercoon, ``Hey Mr. Cameron. Nice to meet you.''
Luke nodded at Matt and pointed over at the German shepherd, ``That's Duncan. He's one of Jasyn and Alex's friends.'' He paused, ``He ate your food.''
The ottercoon looked around the room and blinked, ``I assume someone is gonna' tell me what's going on? And preferably before Chris gets home and finds out that his food's been eaten.''
