"I c-could escort him to his apartment!" Todd volunteered hastily.
Quite a few people at the poker table rose eyebrows, but Clifford seemed excited at the prospect, and that's all that mattered to Todd.
"Splendid!" the stoat said, "I was going to ask Sam or Murdoch, but I do believe it'd be most genial to catch up with Todd!"
"Y-yes, it would" Todd said, still gulping.
"How I wish I could come along" Murdoch said mischievously, "Though I'm not looking forward to getting yelled at by a geriatric and a controlling shrew. Do be sure to invite me next time, however."
"Have you filed all cases?" William said, glaring at Todd.
"Y-yes, I've done all of the paperwork" Todd said nervously, "You can verify that."
"Then I do s'ppose Mr. Clifford would be better off with someone who has the bare minimum of survival instincts."
"What is that supposed to mean!?" Cliff asked dramatically.
"It means you should probably be more discreet" Murdoch said, a paw passing through his hair, "like me."
"I do wonder why you're not dead yet" William huffed.
"My my officer, I didn't knew you were into corpses" Murdoch flirted.
The moments in which William gulped in air were the cue for Cliff and Todd to leave. The night air was frigid in comparison to the daylight scorching and even Cliff, well used to the cold as he was, couldn't help but shiver a little.
"Its funny, I've grown up seeing snow every winter yet I'm still bothered by the cold here" Cliff said, his teeth colliding a bit.
"It snows here once or twice, but it's mostly just frost at night" Todd said, mindlessly taking off his leather jacket and putting it on Cliff.
Realising what he'd done, his face became a small sun.
"Y-you can have my jacket if you want...?"
"Thank you!" Cliff chirped happily.
The jacket wasn't much in the way of insulation, but Todd could see Cliff was no longer shivering. This emboldened him for some reason.
"So, you have any family?" Todd asked.
Cliff sighed, and Todd lowered his ears. Noticing this, the stoat put on a gentle smile.
"My mother passed away when I was young. I have a sister waiting for me at home, and a father who couldn't care less."
"Mighty sorry to hear that. I get along with my folks, which is not common around these parts. I shouldn't have to be lucky in that regard, fathers should always love their sons."
"Maybe one day they will" Cliff said wistfully, "I think things are getting better on the grand scheme of things."
"Not 'round here I'm afraid" Todd shook his head, "I know this sounds silly but I'm kind of afraid of how well other people have it."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm used to Echo and how tough everything is in here. Just imaging there's a place where people won't shoot you in the face or spit your way... just isn't right, you know."
"I see. You grew up like this so a better alternative just seems like a dream, correct?"
"You put it in smart people words but yeah."
Cliff looked pensively.
"Believe it or not I can see what you mean, though personally I try to put it aside. I want things to get better, more than anything in the whole world, more than even my research, even if what it takes scares me a little."
"For what's worth the world is already a better place with you in it."
A pause followed, in which both mustelids felt blood surge into their heads.
"I see" Cliff said, flattered.
"I-it's n-not what I- forget it, I'm not good at hiding crap."
Todd rubbed his own arm. He already stepped on the roadapples, might as well keep stomping.
"I t-think you're real pretty" he confessed.
"Thank you" Cliff said, also rubbing his own arm, "Its been a while since another man has said that about me."
"D-doesn't it bother you?" Todd said, "I mean, you're still a man. Even if you like other men you're still not a girl, yet you're still soft and wonderful. I should probably stop talkin'."
"No, go on!" Cliff chirped, "I love being apreciated and I can use a break from all this macho etiquette. You're really quite the gentleman though."
"T-thanks" Todd said, looking at the ground.
"Do you want to come inside for tea?" Cliff asked, "I promise there won't be anything indecent, I just want to spend a few more minutes with you."
Now Todd's face really was turning the night to day, and his heart made a hummingbird's look sluggish in comparison.
"A-alright, but only for a short while. My folks are probably wondering where I am."
"Alright, just a ten minutes of tea and chat. Does that sound good?"
Todd nodded, and Cliff motioned, quikening up the pace. They walked up the stairs to Cliff's apartment, where Todd sat on the sofa eating candy for three minutes until Cliff showed up, handling the tea kettle carefully.
"Its a bit lukewarm but I figured we'd better spend if I didn't take too long" Cliff said, filling their cups.
"I'm also a bit thirsty so its good to not wait for long to drink" Todd said, bringing the cup to his lips and almost gulping the whole thing.
"Really? You just drank a cup of beer back there" Cliff said bemused.
"Yeah but it doesn't taste sweet" Todd said, a bit of shame bubbling under his fur, "I have a sweet tooth, and this tea fits well with your candy."
"Well, that's one thing we have in common then. It is very annoying when even other researchers chastise me for being unmanly for eating candy."
"Tell me 'bout it! I swear, some things are just to make life harder for everyone."
"And this, my friend, is why I desperately want things to get better. Did you know that they decriminalised homosexuality in Anatolia?"
Todd almost spit out his tea.
"Really!? Well, I guess if we want to trade smooches we have to grow wings and fly there."
"Maybe the fad will catch on on the states one of these days. Certainly would make poor Sam's life a lot less hard."
"And William's."
Now it was Cliff's turn to spill the tea.
"The sheriff is a homosexual!?"
"P-please don't tell him I said that" Todd said shyly, "He hides it well but the man run away from his family and is Sam's most regular client. I don't know if he'd be happy or if his head would explode."
"Well, that only makes me angry because he called me undignified insults the other day" Cliff huffed, "He knows better but he makes life harder for the rest of us. He has no shame nor honour and I hope someone finds out so he'll have to face the consequences of his hatred."
"C'mon Cliff, William's not all that bad. He tries his best to keep Sam safe, and he doesn't go out of his way to hurt queers. He can turn a blind eye for me, matter of fact he gets more upset when I flirt with women."
Cliff sighed.
"My father is like the sheriff. Most older men in my life are like him. They brought nothing but pain and shame to me. The sooner they stop opressing others, the better the world will be."
Todd sighed, reaching out and taking Cliff's paw in his. The gesture surprised the stoat, but the otter's gentle touch and eyes soothed him, even stilling away the tears building at the edges of his eyes.
"Cliff, I can't even imagine the pain you feel. I myself live in secret from my folks and from most of this town, but I can tell that I haven't been through the dirt like you have. But please, please don't hate William. He's hurtin' too, all he needs is time to lick his wounds and maybe Sam to steer him in the right direction. He'll come around, you'll see, we already have each other's backs after all."
Cliff wiped away his tears before they could spill out of his eyes, and sat right next to Todd. The otter's heart beat once again flared, but it was tempered with a strange warmth, like he knew he was within moments of embracing the stoat and protecting him from the world.
"You're a very good speaker" Cliff said, laying his head on Todd's shoulder.
"Hey, we country folk aren't dumb" he said, before cautiously enveloping Cliff with his arms.
"Your words, not mine" Cliff said playfully, "You're certainly smart to catch me when I'm vulnerable."
"I'm s-sorry, I d-din't mean to-" said Todd, preparing to dislodge the embrace when Cliff kissed him on the lips.
Hands caressed each others heads and napes, and the kiss deepened, the void inside the souls of two men being filled with flares of saliva and heat and blushing and flesh full of need. Todd's hands lowered, pushing Cliff into an embrace that collided their hearts like distant stars, and sparks flew in his closed eyes.
"Cliff, I-"
"Todd..."
Cliff's hands felt Todd's muscular pecs, and Todd's hands neared dangerously closer to Cliff's ass, but the moment was short lived. Their time together was up.
"W-will you still be in town t-tomorrow?" Todd asked shyly.
"Yes, we can meet whenever you like. But I will be leaving on my expedition tomorrow."
"Take me with you" Todd pleaded, "I can convince William to be your muscle or somethin'. I want to be with you so bad."
"I will Cliff" smiled, "If you can come with me I will glaadly have you with me."
Todd caressed Cliff's face gently, so full of love that his viscerae felt weird, and painfully removed himself from the researcher's apartment.
