Ezra's parents had gotten up and about just as he was finishing in the shower. Thank goodness they hadn't noticed anything, he shuddered to think of what they might say if they knew he'd managed to shoot a load halfway up the bathroom wall whilst SITTING in the bathtub. Even if they didn't mind, it'd still be an embarrassing situation.

Nevertheless, as they ate breakfast together he had told them that he'd invited Marco over for the weekend. They didn't mind, but seemed to also think he'd inevitably invite more friends to have some sort of party. Ezra just wasn't the type to party wild, and he thought his parents knew that. Oh well, let them believe he was going to party hard, it wouldn't matter. It wasn't going to happen.

Currently, his mother was inside packing the suitcases. Ezra and his dad had just opened the shed in the backyard where the tent was kept. It had been a long time since the tent had last been used, and it had been all but buried by the other tools and junk kept in there.

“So, where are you and mum going camping?” asked Ezra, “I don't remember if you told me or not.”

“Hmm?” his dad looked up at him, having barely heard him, “Oh, nowhere too special. Probably just out to that campsite by the beach up north. Who knows, we haven't really decided yet.”

“Oh, so it's a 'hop on the road, see where it takes you' kind of trip?” Ezra pulled the lawnmower out to give them a bit more room to maneuver.

“Something like that,” said his dad. There was a short silence, broken only by the various things getting moved about in search of the tent. Then, his dad spoke again. “Hey, Ezra?”

“Yeah dad?”

“I know you know where my lube is kept.”

Ezra could feel his cheeks turning red. He stopped rummaging and shifted uncomfortably. “I... uh...”

“Now, don't get me wrong, son,” his dad had also stopped searching and had moved to place his hand on Ezra's shoulder, “I don't really care. I haven't mentioned it before because I didn't want to embarrass you. I'm telling you now however, because if... IF you decide to throw some wild party or whatever, I don't want to get home to hear I might be going to become a grandfather.”

“I... don't think it happens that quickly,” said Ezra as he felt his blush deepening to a beetroot-red.

“Regardless, remember to use protection,” said his dad. There was a tense, awkward silence that seemed to stretch on forever before Ezra felt the courage to reply.

“I know, dad,” Ezra's voice was barely a whisper, “You've told me before, and it was just as awkward then.”

“You think it's easy for me, boy? It's just as hard for me to say this as it is for you to listen, believe it or not. So, you know where the lube is, right? Well, I guess you should know where the condoms are, just in case.”

Ezra was sure his blush was so deep it was making his face so deeply red it had gone purple and he could've been mistaken for an eggplant. He never liked these talks, they always made him want to shrivel up and disappear. He knew that his parents said all this to look out for him, but sex talks were not something he particularly enjoyed.

“If you pull out the draw where the lube is kept all the way, you'll be able to reach into the very back, behind where the draw ends. The condoms are back there.”

Ezra nodded his understanding. “Can we get back to finding the tent now and stop talking about condoms and lube?” he asked sheepishly.

His father nodded and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder before turning back to the task at hand. “I know you don't like talking about it, son, but it's for your own good, you know? Ya gotta think practically when it comes to this sort of thing.”

Ezra remained silent. The thought of raising a family at this point in his life was a mortifying one. He knew he wasn't ready, and he very much doubted he'd feel the need to ever borrow one of his dad's condoms, ESPECIALLY over this weekend. Surely he'd be buying his own before he needed to borrow them, right?

There was a series of thuds from around the other side of the shed, followed by footsteps. Ezra was too engrossed in the task of finding the tent, his mind too full of the awkward conversation that had just passed to give them a second thought. He nearly jumped out of his mane when his dad spoke.

“We have a gate and a driveway, Marco.”

Ezra turned. Ah, so the thuds had been Marco's feet and tail smacking into the grass after having jumped over the fence! Made sense. The young iguana had a cheeky grin on his face as he gave them a quick half-wave.

“Yeah, but that doesn't surprise people,” said Marco, his voice cheerfully playful.

“One of these days someone might think you're some kind of burglar if you keep jumping their fences.” Ezra's dad's words were rough, but said in a playful way with a wink. Marco feigned offense and chuckled.

“Fair enough, Mr. Worth. Good morning Ezra.”

Ezra moved forward and gave his friend a fistbump. “Morning Marco. I thought you said you'd be here at nine? It's barely eight.”

“It's been a boring morning,” Marco shrugged, “So, what ya doin' in the garden shed?”

“Looking for the tent so my parents have something to sleep in on their camping trip.”

“I see... it wouldn't happen to be in that black bag with the neon green ripcord amongst the rags, beneath the shelf with those various doodats and that box of nails on it, would it?”

Marco was pointing into the dark right corner of the shed. Sure enough, beneath the shelf and poking out from among the rags, was the tip of a neon green ripcord. As Ezra reached for it, he marvelled at his friend's eyesight. The tip of the ripcord was barely visible amongst the rags, and the black bag it attached to was all but invisible beneath the pile.

“How do you do that, Marco?” Ezra asked, handing the tent bag to his dad, “We could've been looking for that all morning and still not found it!”

Marco cheekily tapped the side of his snout and winked. “I have my ways,” he said as he held up his finger like a gun, blowing the non-existant smoke from the 'barrel'.

“Alright you two, this is all fun and dandy and whatnot, but now we have the tent, could you put all this stuff away in such a way that the lawnmower can fit back in and the door stays shut without bulging out? Cheers, lads.” And with that, Ezra's father left the two and hurried to put the tent in the car.

“Argh, you're the worst,” said Ezra melodramatically, picking up junk and shoving it back into place as Marco fetched the mower and got ready to push it back inside.

“I dunno, I thought it was a sensible plan,” said Marco as he pushed the mower back into the shed and came back outside.

“You're no better,” Ezra gave Marco a playful shoulder shove as he locked the shed door.

Marco and Ezra entered the front door and almost got bowled over by Ezra's mother rushing past them with a bulging suitcase, his father following with another.

“Geez, you going away for a month or something?” Ezra jokingly called out after them.

“Gotta be prepared!” replied his mother.

Ezra rolled his eyes to Marco as they made their way to the way to the living room, where all the consoles were. Beneath the large flatscreen was your average DVD player, and both a PlayStation and Xbox. Ezra just couldn't decide which he prefered, so he had both. Marco placed his bag next to the TV cabinet.

“I brought a couple of my newer movies and games, said Marco as he sat in the nearest recliner, leaning back and stretching, “I take it you've also got some new games in your collection too?”

“You know me too well,” said Ezra, sitting on the small two-seater couch beside him and stretching out his legs, rubbing a small cramp that had just flared up above his left hoof. “Game or movie first? You're the guest, I'll let you choose.”

Marco gave a thoughtful nod and then got up to get into his bag. He rummaged around until he found the movie he was looking for, and then slid it across the floor so it bounced against the couch Ezra was sitting on. 

“'Dragon's Fury'? Never heard of it. Sounds made up.” Ezra said, leaning down to look at the title.

“Well... it's about a dragon, and he gets a little furious,” Marco said.

“Well, that was the best description in the history of forever,” said Ezra, rolling his eyes. “Sounds vaguely interesting, I guess. Chuck it on, I'll get some popcorn ready,” Ezra slide the case back to Marco and went to find some popcorn in the kitchen cupboard.

Ezra had just popped the popcorn and had barely sat down again when his mum came into the room and glanced at what they were watching.

“Looks about as interesting as cold soup,” she said, poking the tip of her tongue cheekily through her front teeth, “Could you pause for a second? I want to let you know what's what.”

Ezra pressed the pause button and gestured for his mum to continue.

“So far, the plan is that we're coming back on Tuesday, but depending on weather and where we end up going, it could be Wednesday. Regarding you, Marco, you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like, even after we get back. I know your folks are out of town at the moment, so it should help mitigate the boredom of being home alone.” 

“Thank you, Mrs. Worth,” said Marco thankfully.

“Don't mention it,” she replied, “Also, Ezra, while I know you say it's unlikely you're going to throw a party, I've still taken precautions. Your father's and my bedroom is locked, as I don't want your friends going through our stuff while we aren't here. I trust you, Marco, but yours and Ezra's other friends I don't know as well. Basically, other than our room being off limits, you two're pretty much free to do whatever, including throwing a wild party, should you wish to do so. Just... try not to eat ALL the food, and clean up after yourselves, alright?”

Marco and Ezra nodded their understanding, so she clapped her hands together.
“Right then, we're off before traffic gets too bad. Love you, Ezra, good to see you, Marco. Behave, don't level the whole house, and have fun. See you both later!”