"How now, my love? Why is your cheek so pale? How chance the roses there do fade so fast?"

"Belike for want of rain, which I could well beteem them from the tempest of my eyes."

"Ay me! For aught I could ever read, could ever hear by tale or history, the course of true love never did run smooth, bu--"

"Alright, stop, stop."

A silence fell over the theatre as the two actors on stage cleared their throats and parted. Down in the audience seats, an aging otter rose with a muzzle pursed into a thin line, his eyes searching and his expression sullen and stretched. Clutching a well-bent book in his hands, the otter moved through the seats out into the main aisle and paced back and forth. A number of eyes followed his form, clad in shirt, chequered sweater-vest and trousers.

"It's good," He began, whirling around to face the stage. "Good, but it needs more...energy. The two of your are secret lovers, desperate for one another, but you Hermes...you are angry at your father, angry at life for its cruel ways. I want to see that anger, but also that sadness. And you, Lysander-- I want to see that doting, the longing. Okay?"

"Yes, sir." One of the mumbled. Both of them knew their lines and the play very well, but they'd feel a lot better about it if they didn't have to be naked at the same time.

Graham Abercoat was an otter with ambition and an intense need to be seen and heard. Some would argue that it was narcissistic to think like that, but he called it 'necessary'. As the college's only expert in theatre screenplays and by extension the leader of the Drama Club, he had a heavy weight on his shoulders: to deliver outstanding, but also progressive plays year in year out. And every year, like clockwork, his bold ideas always stirred up something new. This time, it was a twist on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

In the original play, Hermia was a woman destined to marry a man she didn't love by her father, whilst being secretly in love with another man. They eloped to the forest and after a night of shenanigans that involved fairies for the most part, the two were blessed to marry by the Duke Theseus of Athens, overruling her father's command. Whilst Abercoat thought the play in itself was a testament to true love, it wasn't quite progressive enough-- the oppression of women was an old and tired tale to him, one that was rampant in Shakespeare's plays. So instead, he rewrote the main character. Hermia, now Hermes, is instead destined to marry a woman to uphold the reputation of his household, but he is in a secret gay relationship with his true love Lysander.

Whilst the change to the story is widely accepted by the theatre troupe, even amongst those new to the Drama Club, it wasn't enough for Abercoat who wanted this play to be his magnum opus in its grand debut in 4 months time. For that, he needed it to be more than a play-- it needed to be art, and be controversial. This was, again, widely accepted, but his tweak to the script sparked some debate that was quickly quelled by his authority.

"Remember, people," He began, calling out to the two actors on stage. "The two of your are beginning your throes of passion when this conversation starts."

The two actors on stage, a slender twinkish rat and a canine respectively, exchanged an awkward glance. Jasper, the black and grey furred rat, was playing the role of Hermes whilst Vasko, a Bulgarian Shepherd Dog, played the role of Lysander. Both of them wanted the role, but there was two major factors that made the entire situation uncomfortable: both of them were straight men, and their director was very intent on making the scene as controversial as possible.

Vasko awkwardly stepped across the stage again as the stagehands continued working on the props, occasionally glancing over. When Abercoat had first presented the idea of them being naked and 'in the throes of passion', it had been met with giggles and joking remarks. When everyone had realised their otter director was serious, it had created a stifling, awkward tension that had remained for the past month, ever since they started rehearsals.

Vasko glanced down at the script in his hands, briefly, before placing it on the prop that effectively worked as the bed for their rehearsal. His eyes darted down and a quiver of discomfort rolled across his body as he became keenly aware of his proximity to Jasper, who seemed cool as a cucumber on the surface. Their members, both flaccid and untouched, were barely inches apart as Vasko reached out his hands, putting one on the rat's hip and then another around the back of his neck. Jasper's eyes lidded over but there was a hard coldness to his gaze.

"How now, my love?" Vasko had to speak loudly, despite the scene being more appropriate to whisper-- as was the way of the theatre. "Why is your cheek so pale? How chance the roses there do fade so fast?"

There was a quiet tension as the rat didn't speak his line for a moment, casting his gaze to the side to expose his cheek. Vasko improvised and dragged his muzzle forwards, tracing it along the rat's cheek. In truth, this was entirely new to Vasko: he enjoyed the theatre and had joined the Drama Club on a whim a mere 4 months ago, and during the auditions for the role, the otter had insisted to try out. Vasko wasn't like Jasper, who was in his last year of college and had been acting for all those years of studying-- he was a little shy most of the time, and it took all his willpower to quell himself.

"Belike for want of rain, which I could well beteem them from the tempest of my eyes." Jasper spoke clear and evidently, and his leg shifted to the side, spreading himself ever so slightly as he leant back and propped himself up on his hands. As the canine's hands followed his body, Vasko felt the rat's tension. Neither of them particularly enjoyed this-- they had already discussed it at length before rehearsals. Though they couldn't talk their director out of it, they'd keep it as tame as possible.

"Ay me!" Vasko dragged his muzzle down to the rat's neck, peppering it with a few kisses before dragging his body back. "For aught I could ever read, could ever hear by tale or history, the course of true love never did run smooth. But either it was different in blood--"

"O cross!" Jasper cried out, throwing his head to the other side and reaching up to cover his face for a moment. "Too high to be enthralled to low."

"Or else misgraffèd in respect of years—" Vasko began again, taking the whole of a doting lover quite literally as he grasped Jasper's hand to pull it again from his face.

"O spite! Too old to be engaged to young." Jasper firmly clasped Vasko's hand in both his own and pulled it to his chest. The canine felt a tickle run up his spine and he resisted the urge to clear his throat of the awkwardness before he spoke his line.

"Or else it stood upon the choice of friends—" He continued, and knew that Jasper would cut him off yet again-- as were the lines.

"O hell," Jasper suddenly reached out and tugged Vasko to him in a tight, well-acted embrace that left Vasko momentarily surprised. "To choose love by another’s eyes!"

A silence fell for a moment as Vasko's mind drew a blank-- not due to the difficult of his lines, but the acute awareness of his own member pressed against the rat's own. They squished somewhat, each soft and malleable. Before Vasko could speak his line, there was a clap from the audience seats, and the canine glanced out the corner of his eye to see the director's arms up in the air, clapping his hands together.

"Perfect, perfect. Just the right amount of...deep, carnal sexual tension. It's what I expect from two gay lovers." The otter called out and Vasko felt his cheeks flush. The two actors parted briefly and Vasko reached for his script, looking through the next lines. It was a number of lines in which Lysander bitterly and sadly expressed how fleeting love can be-- in the blink of an eye, it might be gone.

"This is hellish, right?" Jasper muttered, barely above a whisper. "Pretty sure he's gonna ask us to fuck next."

Vasko suppressed a snort and the two exchanged a wide grin, before they heard a snapping of fingers from the side. The canine looked over at Abercoat for a moment before nodding, placing his script back to the side. He shifted in between Jasper's legs again and the rat shifted, scooting backwards on the prop that acted as their bed. Vasko moved to join him and the rat acted well, curling his hands around the canine's neck to pull him close.

"Or, if there were a sympathy in choice," Vasko began, speaking low yet clear as he hooked his hands around Jasper's rump, tugging him close. "War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it, making it momentary as a sound, swift as a shadow, short as any dream, brief as the lightning in the collied night; that, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and Earth and ere a man hath power to say, “Behold!”, the jaws of darkness do devour it up. So quick bright things come to confusion."

Such a long and arduous line brought about a silence so quiet that a pin might drop. Even those building the props in the back paused to watch and listen whilst the extras sat in the audience with the director. It was at that point in the play where Abercoat had changed Hermes' line to something a little more intimate.

"If then true lovers have been ever crossed, it stands as an edict in destiny," Jasper assured, moving his hands back to cup Vasko's cheeks. "Then let these lips meet flush, let love and lust be wild, for if fate should fix its canon at such lovers, then only in the waters of time, and in the darkness of death will love be true."

As the line was delivered, their lips met. A whistle came from those sitting in the audience, if only to amuse and rile them, but in truth the two were perturbed. Though the kiss was well-placed and the pair of them put effort into it, neither could muster up any sort of passion for one-another: that 'true love' that Hermes and Lysander supposedly shared for one-another in Abercoat's edited play was difficult to prove from their performance, especially on Vasko's end-- the canine's hands were a little awkward in their placement and his eyes were squinting shut slightly.

"Stop, stop." The otter called from the chairs and stood once again, though he didn't pace this time. He merely sighed through his nose and stared as the two men parted again. Vasko took perhaps more of a step back then necessary.

"I'm not feeling it," The otter began with a disappointed grimace. "I can't feel the love between you. There's no tension, no longing."

"W...With all due respect, Mr. Abercoat sir," Vasko began, aware the man's eyes were on him. "It's a little awkward. Neither of us are...well, gay."

"So act!" The otter exclaimed, brimming with irritation. "Look, I'll show you."

He scooted around the chairs, throwing his book onto a chair as he strode down the aisle, heading towards one of the sets of stairs leading up onto the stage. He crossed the stage towards them and wildly gestured Vasko to stand aside, and the canine obeyed quietly, his floppy ears pivoting down slightly. He watched as Abercoat stepped in front of Jasper, who shot him a worried look in response. Abercoat reached out and, within hesitation, pulling Jasper's head to his, meeting his lips with a kiss.

"Holy shit." Vasko heard one of the prop makers mutter from the side as the otter's mouth roamed across Jasper's own, one hand curled around the back of the rat's neck whilst the other stroked his hip. Jasper's eyes were wide with surprise and his body visibly tensed as Abercoat's hand suddenly moved along, sliding towadrs his leg and then around to his inner thigh. A grunt escaped Jasper's smothered lips, and Vasko's eyes widened as the otter's hand cupped the rat's package and his fingers curled tenderly around his cock.

Abercoat didn't pull back for some time, his hand jerking the rat's member back and forth until the length was half-chub in the man's grip, before he eventually retreated, their lips parting as he removed his hand. He turned from the rat and glared over at Vasko, who stood there with a sheepish expression on his face.

"You see?" The otter sharply pointed out. "All it takes is a bit of acting. Now, let's run it again. You can start from the kiss. We're not moving past this until I see that passion."

"Y...Yes, sir." Vasko stuttered for a moment before moving back into position, watching as the otter moved off the stage and back into his seat. Vasko wasn't confident like Jasper or others-- just the act of being naked on stage was terrifying him a little. He looked down, staring at the rat's half-chub member and his own flaccid cock in kind, once again vividly aware of his nakedness. He wanted nothing more than to put on his clothes.

"Hey," Jasper whispered, low and gentle. "Relax, okay? S'just acting. Doesn't have to be gay."

"Easy for you to say," Vasko quietly retorted. "You probably get laid every night."

"Don't tell me you're a--"

"Fuck no," The canine wrinkled his snout. "This is just...really fucking wrong."

"I know," Jasper muttered. "But fuck it, let's just do it."

With a gulp and a nod, Vasko adjusted his stance and cleared his throat. He glanced to the otter, who clapped his hands as if to signal 'action!'-- their signal to start. The canine turned his head again to glance at the black-furred rat, who merely leant forwards a little, almost expectantly. He lidded his gaze and Vasko tentatively moved his head forwards. After a few moments, their lips met in a tender kiss that was, at least on one side, tense.

Vasko knew the director wanted more: he could hear the man's exasperated sigh from the stage. The canine trailed his hand down as Jasper placed his hand on the canine's average chest. Vasko followed in the otter's footsteps and dipped his hand down low, fingertips meeting with the warm mass of the rat's member. He felt Jasper's muscles tense immediately under his touch, but they slowly relaxed as Vasko's fingers curled and wrapped around the pulsing length. Despite the fact that the pair of them were straight, Jasper's cock was hardening rather rapidly under Vasko's touch.

It was awkward, that much was clear. Vasko had never really had any other dick but his own in his hand before, and it felt strangely foreign to him. He could feel the way it twitched slightly against his fingers, the way it swelled when he moved his hand around a little here and there. The rat's humanoid cock felt as if it were at half-mast, but Vasko was pretty sure that it was stiffening under his touch. He wouldn't blame Jasper for that-- if someone was touching his cock, he'd probably react the same too. Still, it was uncomfortable for the canine to be kissing and groping another man, but he pushed the thoughts of it to the back of his mind and instead focused on the fact that it was an act, just a scene in a play.

He tilted his head, deepening his kiss with Jasper as he pushed his body forwards, angling the member in his grip upwards and giving it a few leisurely strokes. He felt and heard the vibration of Jasper's gentle moan and a shiver ran up the canine's spine. Taking the initiative, Vasko parted the kiss and roamed his muzzle down, licking across the rat's neck and pressing his tongue to flesh. He felt Jasper's heels press against the back of his upper legs, his arms curling around canine's back.

"Lysander..." Jasper let out a breathless moan and Vasko felt the cock vividly throb in his hand. Being called by his character name further cemented that this was just an act, but Vasko couldn't shake the feeling that Jasper was perhaps enjoying himself a little too much. 

From Vasko's right, he heard a quiet and restrained cough. In the moment, the canine became acutely aware of the fact that there were multiple people around them. His grip loosened and he stepped back from Jasper, pulling himself from the rodent's grip and putting some distance between them. His breathing was low and heavy and his cheeks were flushed, but he somehow managed to keep himself flaccid the entire time. Jasper's eyes widened briefly from the canine's suddenly parting before he relaxed, cocking one of his feet up to rest the heel on the edge of the prop and leaning back on his hands, deliberately exposing himself.

"Great! That was great," The director clapped his hands together as he admired the two of them. "That sexually charged energy is what we need to see the night of the performance."

Vasko looked from Abercoat to Jasper and back again. This was a little too much for him. It was bad enough he was naked in front of people-- some women, some men-- but if Abercoat expected him to get this raunchy on the night of the performance, then he didn't know if he could do it. He turned and walked, despite the calling protests, into the back of the theatre out of sight.

He wasn't sure if anyone was following him, but he frankly just needed some air. The theatre's backstage was a bit of a maze however, and in the end all he settled for the slightly open doorway. He pushed it open to find what looked to be the prop room and he set himself inside, just beside the door, and took a few deep, slow breaths.

This isn't what he wanted when he signed up for the Drama Club. He just wanted to be a stagehand-- the acting was just a side thought. Most extra-curricular activities around college campus were just ways for people to make friends, and he was a college freshman straight out of high school who didn't know anyone. He'd hoped that he could just make a friend or two within the club and then maybe leave in a year's time. He hadn't expected that he'd be set up as a main character in a frankly inappropriate interpretation of an old English play.

Could he get out of this? No. He was pretty sure that Abercoat would be insistent that he take the role, and he was pretty sure that there would be metaphorical hell to pay if he refused it. He would either be kicked out of the club or, if the director was that vindictive, Abercoat would make his life hell until he quit on his own. Vasko pressed his head into his knees and groaned to himself in frustration. He felt as if he were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Vasko got a few minutes of peace and quiet to himself before someone eventually found him. Thankfully, it wasn't Abercoat, but Jasper, and the rat lingered in the doorway for a moment, staring down at the canine with his head in his knees. Vasko knew he was there, but neither of them moved for a moment. Eventually, Jasper stepped closer and crouched down, putting a hand on the other's upper arm.

"Hey." Jasper spoke low and quiet, and Vasko raised his head a little to peek at the 21 year old from the corner of his eye. Jasper bore an expression that the canine could only construe as 'uncomfortable', and the canine looked away. He didn't want to be a nuisance.

"I'm fine," The canine grunted, straightening himself up and running a hand over his head to settle his fur. "I just needed some air, that's all."

"I get it," Jasper hummed. "And I ain't judging. If you've got your shit and it's triggering..."

"No, it's not that. Just..." Vasko paused the find the best way to explain it. "I'm not used to...being on stage and acting. I only joined because I wanted to work on props and make friends."

"Yeah, well...despite our director's bossiness...he has a good eye for talent," Jasper smirked. "For someone who's straight, you were sure getting into it."

"N...No. I was just trying to act well." Vasko felt his cheeks warming. Was he being flirted with? No-- Jasper's straight too, so the thought was impossible.

"Sure looked like it to me." Jasper's eyes twinkled with mischief. Deep down, Vasko knew he was being played with, yet his pride wouldn't let him drop it.

"Yeah? Well, you were the one moaning when I was touching your junk." The canine retorted and the rat couldn't help but grin in response.

"Hey, don't blame me for that," The rat held his hands up, teetering a little on his heels. "If someone's going to jerk me off, of course I'm going to enjoy it."

"But...you shouldn't really be enjoying it if it's a dude." Vasko cast his gaze down and Jasper responded with a rather indifferent noise.

"I'm curious, at most." He admitted, but it wasn't exactly a big revelation: Vasko assumed most guys were, at least on some level-- though he knew he'd get punched if he said that to the wrong person. The canine cast his gaze up again and found himself trailing his eyes over Jasper's squatting down, eventually glancing down to his member, still at least half-chub and dangling between his legs along with his balls.

"...You are too, right?" Jasper whispered, turning his head to glance down the quiet backstage hallway. He had left in a hurry after Vasko and he knew that no-one would follow them just yet. If anything, the director was probably up in arms and ordering the prop makers around to vent. He turned his attention back to Vasko, who had shifted his position a little, stretching one of his legs out and leaning up against the brick wall behind him.

"Well...no...yes." Vasko squirmed uncomfortably on the spot. "Takes the right kind of person or something."

"Well..." Jasper shrugged his shoulders in a subtle jerk. "Look, Abercoat isn't going to let you just walk away from the role, not without a fight. We don't have to do anything you don't want, but..."

"You make it sound like you have an idea or something." Vasko muttered, sounding defeated. He didn't want to let anyone down but didn't know if he could do it either. His lack of willpower was frustrating, but he couldn't deny how it felt to stand on that stage, literally and emotionally naked.

"I don't know if it's an idea or not, but..." Jasper shifted forwards and settled on his knees, drawing himself closer. "Would you feel better if you had been intimate with me before the show? Then it'd just be...normal."

"I...what?" Vasko was momentarily perturbed. Jasper was a little too close and the canine couldn't be sure what he was after. He instinctively scooted to the side, but Jasper closed the distance regardless, reaching out to place a hand on Vasko's shoulder.

"Just relax." Jasper insisted, his grip gentle and guiding, his voice low and soothing. Though Vasko was still a little uncomfortable with the situation, he found himself calming down a little. Perhaps it was the rat's soothing voice, or maybe it was just the way he was friendly and strangely charismatic.

Before Vasko knew it, Jasper's lips were once again on his, but it was the rat who took the lead this time. His hand slipped from the canine's shoulder to prop himself up and his other hand reached out, touching with Vasko's chest and trailing down his body. The canine couldn't help but tense as the digits moved lower and lower, until the fingers trailed mere inches above his pelvis. He couldn't tell if Jasper was trying to tease him or maybe was deliberately taking his time to make the canine feel comfortable, but if anything he just wanted the rat to get it over with.

Eventually, Jasper took the plunge and lowered his hand, his fingertips meeting with the canine's flaccid cock. He wormed his fingers around as he deepened the kiss, pushing his body up against the canine's side and tucking his digits under the floppy length, cradling it slightly. Vasko's lack of experience with sex and getting laid in general made his body reacted in a way one might expect: the blood rushed to his organ just from the mere possibility of getting pleasure and against his own fervent decisiveness with his sexuality, his body began to grow aroused at the feeling of a man's touch.

Jasper wasn't a bad kisser. His tongue was explorative, but not pushy. His lips were firmly pressed and his tongue grazed Vasko's teeth, wanting to taste the canine's spit, but Vasko was simply too anxious to really get into it. The kiss made his body tingle in a way he didn't expect, and it didn't help that Jasper's hand was beginning to drag back and forth, stimulating his steadily growing cock until the canine was at half-mast. Vasko had dated before of course, but the most he'd ever got out of it was a handjob-- and that was a couple of years ago. To be touched in such a way now in a frankly 'open' place was a little exhilarating, yet wrong.

"Wait-- I, uh," Vasko parted their kiss and turned his head to the side. "I'm not sure about this."

"Really? Your body seems pretty sure." Jasper teased quietly, dipping his head to roam his mouth across Vasko's neck and shoulder as he squeezed the cock in his hands for good measure, emphasising his point. Vasko tensed instinctively under that squeezing and his cock throbbed of its own accord.

"Yeah, I know, but..." Vasko trailed off and a shiver ran up his spine as he felt the warmth of the tongue grazing against his flesh. It felt violating and penetrating, yet strangely good at the same time. The combined assault of both good and bad senses left him feeling a little all over the place, and Jasper took his lack of movement as a signal to continue. The rat began to move, still kissing along Vasko's neck as he shifted closer to him, eventually hiking his leg over the canine's own and forcing Vasko to stretch both limbs out, allowing the rat to settle down against his knees.

"We shouldn't--" Vasko was about to protest again, but Jasper once again pushed his lips onto the canine's own, pressing a kiss upon him that stifled all protest. Vasko couldn't help but squirm a little, but he abruptly stopped when he felt the warmth of Jasper's own humanoid cock resting against his own. The rat's hand manhandled both legs for a moment until he affirmed his grip, cocooning the two cocks within his grip and holding them firmly together. For a moment, all Vasko could think about was the way Jasper's cock twitched against his own, the heat of his length, the squeezing of his fingers. He slowly relaxed and a gentle whine escaped his lips. It felt nice. His last thread of resistance vanished and in its place came a tidal wave of deep, desperate lust.

He pushed his head forwards, pressing firmly into Jasper's kiss as the rat started to pump his hand, jerking the two of them off together as he surreptitiously rolled his hips, subtly grinding against the canine's twitching cock. Vasko couldn't help but push his hips in unison, reaching out to place a hand on the rat's wrist to emotionally steady himself as the other reached up higher, coiling around the back of Jasper's neck. He pushed the thoughts of who was doing this to him to the back of his mind-- all that mattered was how good it felt, and how much he wanted more.

Jasper's touch didn't relent, nor did it slow down. In fact, his hand stroked faster and faster as their kiss grew deeper and deeper, until Jasper forced it to part so he could breath in a shuddering gasp, their muzzles barely an inch away from one-another. 

"Fuck." The rat muttered the word under his breath, but its husky tone cut through the sexual tension like a knife. Vasko couldn't resist the tremble that ran up his spine as Jasper's rapid stroking grew slicker and slicker, the sounds of their lewd, homosexual frotting filling the air. The two sat there for a while, panting against one-another as they focused entirely on their own individual pleasurable feelings. Neither one could tell if the other was enjoying it due to the nature of the scenario or whether it was just the act of being jerked off, and neither of them inclined to relay their feelings on the matter. Instead, they quietly enveloped themselves in the warmth of each other's bodies and the deep, carnal pleasure of some sort of sex.

After a while, Vasko began to feel something. He'd spent enough quiet nights in front of a computer screen with his pants around his ankles to be familiar with the feeling, and the ensuing pleasure sparked yet another whine to escape from his throat, followed by a soft and gentle moan. Jasper tilted his head and ran his lips across the canine's cheek, moving it towards his ear.

"Are you close?" He asked quietly, and Vasko hummed his approval, not trusting his voice to remain steady amidst Jasper's vigorous stroking. He could feel a warmth spreading across his pelvis and a gnawing ache that grew harder and harder to control.

"Me too," Jasper added after a moment, his breathing low and heavy. "Almost..."

It was going to be next to impossible to orgasm at the same time, but Jasper seemed a little determined to say the least. The two of them panted with a greater intensity and Jasper leant forwards to press his chest up against the canine's own, and Vasko found himself pushing his head down against the rat's shoulder, huffing and groaning against his fur. He felt the pleasure grow and grow until it felt as if he were going to burst. Then, after a moment or two, a shuddering ecstasy washed through him and all his worries faded away.

He didn't exactly get a good look, but the combination of their sagging body made it clear their orgasms were as least quite close together. The warmth seeped down Jasper's fingers and between their twitching erections, off-white fluid trickling down until it reached the base of their cock whilst the odd vivid string shot out to splatter against Vasko's stomach. The canine couldn't tell whether it was his cum or Jasper's, and the thought of it being another man's made both his skin tingle and his stomach churn.

A quiet silence fell over them as the reality of their sordid affair became more and more apparent. Vasko began to feel considerably more guilty and uncomfortable with each passing second and Jasper seemed to feel the same, or at least sensed the canine's anxiety, for his withdraw and eased himself off of Vasko's frame. The results of their escapade became readily apparent, accentuated by gooey strings that hung from Jasper's fingers or clung between their slowly softening erections. They'd made a considerable mess and neither one of them really had anything on hand to clean it up with.

"I--" Vasko began to speak, but another voice interjected, one that didn't come from Jasper.

"Doing some rehearsing without the crew?"

Vasko's head snapped in the direction of the noise, but he'd recognised the voice long before he'd seen the source. Leaning up against the doorframe was their director, looking the pair of them up and down. Vasko felt his stomach twist when he saw the otter's expression: he wasn't angry, nor irritable as usual. There was a sleazy look in his eyes, a gently simmering hunger that made Vasko feel as if he were being undressed-- which is absurd, considering he's naked. But it was as if Abercoat was looking through his skin. It was...unsettling. The otter's eyes lingered a little too long before turning his attention to Jasper.

"There's towels in the changing room. Get yourselves cleaned up and back on stage," He snapped, before glancing back at Vasko. "Here's hoping your little...soirée will ease some of that stage fright. Can't have you fumbling the night of the performance."

With that, the otter turned and left, and Vasko felt the tension in the room fade. He glanced to Jasper, who rose to his feet and reached out a hand, offering to help Vasko up. The canine took it and instinctively tucked his cock down between his legs. He instantly regretted the act when he felt the gooey warmth of cum on his fingers, and his snout wrinkled at the sensation. He heard a chuckle from his right and Jasper clasped his shoulder with his thankfully clean hand.

"It's not far. We'll move fast so we don't get spotted." He assured him, and Vasko nodded, following after the rat as they left the room and took a right. As they briskly walked down the narrow hallway, Vasko couldn't help but glance behind him. He thought for sure someone was watching, but when he looked there was no-one there. He pushed the feeling to the back of his mind and picked up the pace, desperate to get cleaned up at fast as possible.

At the end of the hallway, Abercoat watched, a smile creeping across his face. He turned and made his way back towards the theatre and eventually found his seat once more, knowing the stars of the opening act would come here eventually. He shifted in his seat and sighed, crossing one leg over the other to hide the steadily growing mass that twitched between his middle-aged thighs.

This year's performance was going to be a night to remember. By the time Abercoat was done with them, Vasko would be more than just a budding new actor: he'd be a star, in more ways than one.