“They should have their fangs removed. He’s scaring our cubs.”

The fennec glances back at the pair of gossiping wolves. They shuffle off to another aisle of the store with their entourage of cubs, but not before their fake smiles reveal their own fangs. 


“Hypocrites,” he mutters, then returns to searching for the cereal his mother asked for. He grabs the largest size, though it’ll be pushing it, and makes his way to checkout. 


A chill gust of wind turns his head to the open door. Another fox! A gray instead of a fennec, but still! He drops the box of cereal as he approaches him. 


“Hello! My name’s Brian. What’s yours?”


“Uh, Kennan.” The gray fox points to the dropped cereal, its interior bag broken out on the floor. “Are you going to pick that up?”


“In a second. I just…” Brian trails off; he forgot to think of something to talk about. While he racks his brain, a loud pop sounds behind him. 


“Not like you need it anyway, fox,” one of the wolves from earlier snarls, hurrying away from the exploded cereal bag. 


“Damn,” the fennec mumbles before picking up the bag. What little remains inside is crushed.


“You’ll still have to pay for that,” the bobcat cashier says from behind the counter.


“Come on, Tony,” Kennan responds. “It wasn’t his fault.”


“He’s lucky I’m not making him clean it up too.”


“It’s fine.” Brian pulls out his card and puts it into the reader. His mother will be disappointed without the cereal, but that’s more than worth the price of finding another fox. There were no unrelated foxes in his hometown. Nor any bats. Same story with the city he recently moved from.


“Declined.”


“Fuck.” Why did the fennec lie to his parents about having plenty of money? Pride is never worth it. 


“I’ll spot you.” Kennan puts his own card in and the machine chirps happily.


“Thanks.” Brian smiles up at the gray fox. “So how can I repay you?”


“Uh, be more careful next time?” 


“When’s next time?”


“Whenever we’re both here again? Though I don’t shop often.” Kennan turns to the door. “I’m getting out of here before the Morrisons come back.”


“Good idea.” Brian follows the other fox outside to the parking lot. While they cross it, he continues, “So I take it you grew up here? You like it here?”


“It’s not so bad. Just have to learn who to avoid, which mostly consists of the people who happened to be in the store today.”


“So I just got bad luck today, huh? I thought I just got too used to things in the city. All they do is dirty looks and, unbeknownst to me, fire foxes for bullshit reasons–probably bats too.”


“Uh, sorry to hear that.” Kennan stops at what is presumably his car, much shinier than everything else in the lot. “Did you pass your car?”

“I walked here.”


“You want a ride?”

“If it’s not too much trouble. Pine Street?”


“That’s on my way. Hop in.”


The car’s interior looks like it was just driven off the lot, though there’s no dealership in town, so that’s unlikely. As Kennan starts the car and begins driving, Brian asks, “So what’s fun around here?”

“I don’t know. I mostly just stay home and…have fun.”


“Right, of course.” Was that a cheeky answer or does he not want to talk about that? Reading Kennan’s body language is hard with his tail trapped between the door and his leg, his paws on the steering wheel, and his eyes on the road. His ears are in a neutral position, so maybe it’d be fine to question that further? But better to be safe than sorry. “Whaddya do for work?”


“Uh, I help my dad with…work.”


“Naturally.” The fennec’s about to ask something else, but clenches his jaw shut. This isn’t how he dreamed his first encounter with a fox, or bat, would go. He even got lucky by finding a dude! Is this his fault? Are his questions too basic? Or maybe Kennan isn’t comfortable talking about himself. “I was an accountant. Went to school, got a degree, and everything, but all I got to show for it is a year’s experience and debt kicking me in the balls.”


“That sucks.”


“But things are looking up now.”

“You got a job?”

“Well, no.”

“Sorry to hear that.”


“Thanks.” Brian looks out the window. Only a few more streets to go, and he hasn’t wowed this fox. Why’d he waste time prattling about his problems? He needs to say something cool, or smart. He knows math. But how’s he supposed to apply that? Rattle off a few formulas? Or offer to help him with his taxes? 


“Which house?” Kennan asks.


The words bring Brian back to reality, where his house is just ahead. “Blue one on the left.”

Kennan pulls in behind the fennec’s parents’ rust bucket. “Here you are, Brian.”

“Thanks, um, instead of waiting to bump into each other again, can I get your number?”


“Uh…” The gray fox scratches the back of his neck. “Sure.”


Brian blinks. He didn’t expect that to work! That was just a “you miss every shot you don’t take” thing. This must be why it’s popular advice. 


After they exchange numbers, he skips out of the car, up the steps, and through the front door.


“You’re home early!” Brian’s mother yells from upstairs.


“Yep!” The fennec navigates around some boxes, mostly his dad’s stuff he’s been too busy to get to, and to the landing of the stairs.


His mother emerges from a room on the second floor, then climbs down. “Yet you don’t have my cereal.”


“About that…turns out I don’t have any money.”


“Well, don’t worry about it too much. I’ll just skip lunch.”


“But in good news: I met a fox! And I got his number!”

“Must be the Ashblooms. I’ve heard they live not far out of town, but I’ve yet to run into any of them. I assume he was cute?”

“So, so, so, cute!” Brian’s ears raise and he bounces on his feet. “He’s got these tiny ears, and the fluffiest tail, and the most boopable nose, and these adorable orange spots on his snout, and he’s tall, and–”


“Settle down there.” His mother places her paws on his shoulders, ending his bouncing. “I may not have ever seen one in person, but I know what their species looks like. Do you need money to take him out?”


Brian’s tail coils around his leg. He feels like a cub, getting money from Mom to buy a date’s dinner–he forces his tail up–but it's worth it! “Please!”






* 






At around midnight of the same day, the fennec lounges on his bed, phone in paw. He should wait at least a day to call the other fox, but he can’t fall asleep, and technically he already has. Plus, Kennan doesn’t seem to have a traditional job that would force him out of a nocturnal schedule. Come to think of it, his fur was a little disheveled earlier. Maybe he woke up not long before.


When he calls his number, he picks up on the third ring. “Hey. Kennan? It’s Brian.”


“Hi. Did–” A creaking door interrupts the gray fox. “Did you need something?”


“I was wondering if you’re free sometime this week. I looked up places to have dinner and–”


“Can’t do dinner.”


“Oh.” What was the point of giving him his number then? Maybe he was into him until he saw him climb the steps? He always thought he should hit the gym to perk up his ass.


“How about you come over to my house? I’ve got fun things like I said.”


“Really?!” Brian leaps out of his bed and paces around the room. “That’s fast, but–”


“It’s fast? It’s just that I already ate today and I’m not hungry.”


“You want to do it today?”


“Yeah, like, right now, while my dad’s away. Once he’s back, I’ll be busy helping him until…The schedule’s weird, but a while.”


“Alright, well, it's quite late for a meet-up,” Brian says. “But I saw a coffee shop next to the store that claimed to be open twenty-four seven.” 


“That…works.”


“Do you remember where I live?”


“Yeah, see you in twenty.” Kennan hangs up.


The fennec tosses his phone onto his bed. While it’s a little regrettable he accidentally declined the invitation to Kennan’s home, sex isn’t his main objective. That’s surprisingly easy to find, but he wants a partner that doesn’t view him as a scary fox. Who better than another fox?


“Okay, Brian, just focus on what you need to do.” He sniffs himself. “Fine on a bath, definitely don’t have time for my fur to dry anyway. Only really got time to brush.”


He strips, crosses the hallway to the bathroom, and grooms himself. Soon, he has his coat flowing uniformly, except his tail. He always struggles with his tail, and his parents are probably asleep since they work in the morning. He spends a few minutes on it before deciding a little frizzy will have to do, because he only has five minutes left. 


When he returns to his room, he finds a message on his phone.


“He’s early!” Brian squeaks before looking out the window to confirm. “What’re these big, dumb ears for if I can’t hear a car!?” He dresses himself in the first jeans and T-shirt he finds, then throws himself out the door.


Kennan waves through the windshield as the fennec approaches and enters the car. “You coulda taken your time getting ready,” the gray fox says. “I know this is a bit short notice.”


“I had plenty of time.”

“Is that so?” Kennan points to the fennec’s collar. “Your shirt’s on backwards.”


“Of course it is.” Brian consoles himself by viewing it as an opportunity to show off. He lifts his shirt over his eyes, and pretends to struggle to turn it around. Not being able to tell if Kennan’s looking increases the likelihood that he would. He considers how to prolong it further, until he feels the car roll backwards. He lets his shirt drop back into place, seeing Kennan looking over his shoulder for cars.


“I was about to go back to the store when you called me, so all I had to do was drive.”

“I don’t mind if you need to get something”

“Nah, it was nothing urgent.” The gray fox taps on the steering wheel as he turns onto the highway that runs through town. “More importantly, do you like coffee? ‘Cause I don’t, but I didn’t know what to counter-suggest.”


“It’s alright from time to time. There should be other things, though.”

“There is, but I don’t like those either.”


“Picky one, aren’t you? What do you like?”

“Uh…” Kennan’s grip tightens on the steering wheel. “Water.”


“Well, I’d be surprised if they didn’t have that.”


Brian tries to think of something else to say, but his sluggish thoughts only remind that now is usually when he goes to bed. Once he manages to push his fatigue aside, he can only focus on how Kennan has not relaxed his grip. Did he say something wrong? If he says something wrong again, the steering wheel may crack under the gray fox’s fingers. Well, it’s more likely that he hurts himself. Brian chalks it up to nerves after several minutes of not thinking of another possibility.


They arrive at the coffee shop. The place looks mostly empty, until they get inside. The school-age patrons are too bleary-eyed for even the moonlight shining through the window–the only light in the building–and nurse their coffee in a dim corner.  They’re all nocturnal species: raccoons, wolves, coyotes, and even a group of civets that are studying at one of the window tables. Clearly, they’ve opted for a somewhat natural schedule instead of after-school activities.


While in line, Kennan says, “Do you need me to pay for you?”


"No,” Brian responds, only to be tempted by the smell of freshly-baked muffins. He couldn’t ever justify spending that much for one. “Well, actually…” If he isn’t willing to spend that much, is it really right to expect somebody else to? “No, it’s fine.”


“If you’re sure.”


The line moves, and they order their respective drinks. When they sit down, Kennan says, “If you keep staring at the muffins, I’ll buy them for you whether you like it or not.”


Brian tears his eyes away from the display. “You see the price on those things? You could bake a dozen yourself for half the price.”

“Oh you want a dozen? I could do that too.”

“You’d have to be loaded to afford that many.”


“Yeah, I would. Do you want them or not?”


“Hold up, you’re serious? I didn’t know it was possible for a fox to be loaded.” Brian glances out the window at the gray fox’s car. He had suspicions that it’s expensive, but all he can tell about it is that it’s black, clean, and quietly goes vroom. “Does your family own a business or something?”

“Yeah. We rent out properties, lend money, and I think we have a convenience store too. It’s up in the city, but I doubt you know it.”


If there is a fox-run business in the city, they didn’t advertise it as such, otherwise Brian would’ve heard of it. It might’ve hampered business if they did. “That’s pretty far. Why not live closer?”


“Well, uh, we like to limit our interactions outside of our kind. I mean, like, people that aren’t foxes or bats.”


“That’s rare company to find. And when you do, you gotta make the most of it.” Brian slides his paw across the table. Before he reaches Kennan’s, the gray fox grabs his water and brings it to his mouth.


The fennec drinks his coffee to pass the awkward moment, but notices that Kennan’s water remains full when he sets it back on the table. Why would he pretend to drink the water? To avoid holding paws?


“Yeah, that’s true for the most part,” Kennan says. “But some–” The door chimes open behind the fennec. Kennan glances between him and whoever entered. “Call me Axel,” he whispers.


“What?”

“When she comes over, call me Axel.”


Brian looks behind himself, but can only stare as a bat drags a chair over to them. He only ever sees fruit bats online, but her muzzle is shorter, nose wider, and ears more rounded.


The bat plops in her chair, her eyes drifting up and down the gray fox’s form. “Wasn’t expecting to see you in a place like this.” 


Kennan looks to Brian, so he replies, “Me and, um, Axel were just bored. So we came here.”

“Reasonable, I suppose,” the bat responds. “I almost didn’t stop by. You look so much like your brother, Axel, ‘specially through a window. I fucking hate that guy.”


“Yeah, he can be a bit much.”

“That’s a mild way of putting it. Anywho.” The bat turns to the fennec. “Who are you? I’m Naomi.”


“Name’s Brian. Are you two friends or something?” The instant the question leaves the fennec’s mouth, he realizes how stupid it is. He won’t get a truthful answer since she thinks Kennan is someone else.


“Of a sort.” Naomi scoots her chair closer to Kennan. “One moment.” She leans into the gray fox’s ear. Even with Brian’s giant ears, he only makes out fragments of what she whispers. “...can’t tell…is he a…?”


“Yes,” Brian answers, guessing at what she’s talking about. Again, he chastises himself because he actually confirmed a relationship with this Axel guy.


“What!?” Kennan places his paws on the table and stands. “That's–nevermind.” He sits back down, glaring at the bat. “Why would you say that in public?”

She waves a paw. “It’s not like anyone else ‘round here has ears as big as his.”

“What would they do if they heard anyway?” Brian responds, hoping this town isn’t homophobic.

“You’re a cocky little thing.” Naomi smiles. “I like you. Too bad I’m here to ruin your night with work.”


“You are not putting your job on us,” Kennan says.

“Yes I am, Axel. I got here early and it saves me the day of waiting for your dad to come back. And the best part: I don’t have to see that douche. You owe me one for that one time, remember?”

“Oh yeah. Now I do. But there’s no reason to rope Brian into this.”

“I don’t mind,” Brian says. “I’m actually curious what we’re talking about.”


“Well, your part is really exciting: moving boxes.” Naomi stands. “Let’s get outta this dump.”


The fennec finishes his coffee before getting up, which earns a head tilt from Naomi. The coffee is not bad, so he shrugs and follows them outside.


The bat rounds a cargo van parked next to Kennan’s car, and opens the hatch. While not full of boxes, there’s far more than there would be for a personal transaction. Yet all are folded closed, not professionally packaged. 


“We’re fitting all of these into your car?” Brian asks.


“The trunk is bigger than you think.” Kennan answers, popping it open.


“Alright.” The fennec hefts one of the boxes into his arms and hurries the short distance to the car.


“One box at a time?” Naomi criticizes. 

“It weighs as much as I do!” Brian drops the box in the trunk, rough enough that the flaps pop open. Bottles and bottles of pills. He folds it back closed, pretending he didn’t see. What has he gotten into? Why did he agree to this? Why are they having him help? What could he say to excuse his immediate departure?


“Yeah, Brian’s not…I’m blanking on how to say it.” Kennan grabs a stack of three boxes, dumps them into the trunk, and evens them out. “He’s not very full.”


“Not full?” The fennec stands back since he’s more in the way than helping. “I guess it’s been a while since I’ve eaten.” 


“That’s what he meant? I thought something completely different.” Naomi carries a similar load from the van to the car. “But I feel you there. Worse comes to worst, we could always leech off Axel, as long as we give a little somethin’-somethin’.”


Kennan glares at her as they pass by each other. “That will not be happening this time around.”

“Maybe not for me, but what about your hungry friend?”


“Actually, I think I can take care of myself.” Brian backs away from the pair that have almost finished loading the boxes. “Like, right now.”


“Wait up.” Kennan jams the boxes in his arms into the backseat, then jogs over to the fennec. “I need to talk to you.” 


“Oooooh.” The bat closes the back hatch of her van. “Sounds like someone’s in trouble, or in ‘trouble.’” She ambles over to the entrance of the general store adjacent to the coffee shop. “I’ll do my shopping and totally not watch from the window.”


“Can we…” Kennan fidgets his paws together. “Can we forget about everything that just happened?”

“Sure, whatever. I just gotta get home.”


“You plan to walk? There’s still enough room for you in my car.”

“There is, but…” Come on, Brian. Think of an excuse. Anything! “I just want to walk.”


“Are you concerned about what's in the boxes?” The gray fox walks over to the door of his car he never closed. “Sorry about this whole thing. Today turned into a mess.” He takes one of the bottles out of the box and holds it out. “They’re iron supplements. My family’s business sells tons of ‘em.”

Brian reads the label to confirm. “You could’ve printed anything on there.”

“Yeah, you have a point.” Kennan unscrews the lid and pours a couple into his paw. “This is gonna suck.” After he tosses them into his mouth, he clenches his muzzle shut, coughing. He keels over.

“Are you alright?” 

His coughing eventually stops. “No.” He shows off his empty paws. “But I just really wanted you to believe me.”


“Seems like an extreme way to prove it, though.”  Brian examines the ground, finding nothing. Still, the gray fox could’ve slipped the capsules under his tongue or in the sleeve of his jacket. 


“The idea was that you’ll know for sure they’re not drugs if I don’t start tweaking in the next couple hours. But I coughed so hard that my sides hurt, so I need to lay down. “


“I also really need to get to bed.” 


“Another day maybe?”


It’s a terrible idea to pursue a relationship with Kennan. Even if the capsules are iron supplements, there’s something shady going on, like concealing an illegitimate source. Brian should stay out of it. But “shady” doesn’t necessarily equal “dangerous.” It’s possible that regular suppliers wouldn’t sell to a fox-run business, so they had no choice. Besides, he has a fox staring at him with wide eyes, raised ears, and swaying tail. He can’t say “no” to that.  


“Sure,” the fennec says. “When were you thinking?”


“Well, that’s a good question. I’ll have to talk to my dad.” Kennan’s eyes dart behind the fennec. “For now, I just really want to get away from her.” Kennan runs around to the driver side of the car and enters. When Brian follows, he continues, “I swear she was on to us.”


“I don’t think so. What’s the deal between you and her anyway?”


“I don’t really want to get into it too much.” Kennan drives out of the parking lot and to the highway. Brian decides it best to not press, but the gray fox eventually says, “Basically, eight years ago, she was crushing on someone, and that someone made a move on me, so she hates me and that someone for it. Even now, it seems the only thing she’s let go of is her declaration to never get involved outside of her species.”


“Speaking of, what species of bat is she?”


“Uh, she is a,” Kennan’s death grip on the steering wheel returns, “common vampire bat.”


“Damn, that’s gotta suck. I can’t imagine how she convinces people that she’s evolved past the namesake. We already have enough trouble. Though, I thought they were extinct; I’ve only seen black-and-white photos of them in textbooks.”


“Her family is the last one left, which is why her declaration was stupid. But they still can…” Kennan shakes his head as much as he can without taking his eyes off the road. “Let’s not talk about that.”


Not wanting to know where that was going, Brian doesn’t argue. He rests his muzzle against the window and waits to arrive home.








*








A week later, Brian is having dinner with his parents. He picks at his chicken alfredo. The broccoli is new, but it’s still delicious. His appetite simply isn’t there.


“What’s bothering you?” his mother asks. “Boy trouble? That fox you told us all about?”


While the broccoli would be an easy out, he hopes she can help. “Well, he texted me asking if I wanted to come over tomorrow. I want to say yes, but I haven’t responded. I just feel…” He lets his fork clatter onto his plate. “That first date should be a dealbreaker. I’m afraid I’m making the same mistakes I made with my previous boyfriends.”


“Have you tried looking for his business online?”

“He didn’t tell me what it was called.”

His father pauses his assault on the alfredo to suggest, “Their surname, it’s unique.”

“Oh, that’s smart.” Brian takes out his phone, which for once isn’t met with disapproving glances. Two relevant things pop up: their website, which only lists ways to contact them, and the international species conservation website. “Apparently they’re the last family of gray foxes.”

“Really?” his mother responds. “I thought their numbers were still fine.”

“There are scattered individuals, and them.”


“At this rate, the reds will be all the vulpines left.” His mother stabs a piece of broccoli. She’s about to eat it when her ears perk and she points her fork at him. “But us fennecs will be fine, as soon as you get busy with–”


“Not the Cairo family again.” Suppressing his groan, Brian drops his head in his paw.

His mother glares at him for putting his elbow on the table, but only says, “We know you being gay complicates things a bit, but I talked to them the other day, and they said their vixens are willing to be surrogates. They’re even willing to cover all the expenses, and travel to us as long as they get a cub out of it.”


“How will I feed a family when I can’t even feed myself?” Brian gestures to his alfredo that he in no way paid for.

“This gray fox, marry him.” His father takes the last bite of his meal. “If he turns out to be good, that is.”


Nodding, his mother reaches a paw across the table and onto Brian’s shoulder. “I really think you should give him another chance. More than anything, I want you to be happy, and I haven’t seen you happier than when you came home from the store that day.”


“Alright, well, I’m seeing him tomorrow then. I’m actually looking forward to it. I think it was just this bat that rubbed me the wrong way.”


“There was a bat?” His father leans across the table to Brian. “You never told us this. I love bats; they’re adorable.”


“Not this one.” Brian picks his fork up. “My food’s getting cold.”


“Ah, dang.” His father steals a piece of broccoli off his plate. “Compensation for getting me excited.”


“Hey!” HIs mother smacks her husband’s arm. “The person who needs compensation is me. You’ve never called me adorable.”

“You’re beautiful; there’s a difference.” His father brushes his nose against hers, and is about to kiss her, but Brian looks away. They’re always like this, so tuning them out so he can eat is second nature. 


Once he finishes and is excused, he rushes upstairs and texts Kennan a, “Yes!”






*






The next day, or technically two days later in the early morning, Brian rides with Kennan to his house. They haven’t said much, but it’s a comfortable silence. The pressure to win over the gray fox has vanished. Eventually, though, Brian gets a little bored. “So what’s the plan for today?”


Kennan spares the fennec a glance before responding, “We don’t have a lot of time before my dad comes back. And there’s not much for guests–I’m not supposed to be having them–but there’s this gazebo that looks onto the woods and it's kinda pretty.”


“If only it was also sunrise.” Brian wants to slide his paw over Kennan’s, but he’s keeping both on the steering wheel. While it’s proper, the one exception should be when you have a date in the passenger seat. “That would make it real romantic.”


“Romantic, yeah.” Kennan laughs forcedly. “But unfortunately we might not make the sunrise in time.”


Brian pulls out his phone to look up when sunrise is, but he has no service. “Shouldn’t we be almost at your house by now?” 


“The gazebo is quite a hike from the house. It’s next to the house of the previous owner of the property. My dad didn’t like how small and far from the road it is, so he built another house.” 


“Shouldn’t there be a road still?”


“This was all before I was born, so…you’ll see.” Kennan turns down a road barely visible with the trees crowding it.


“I guess I will.” After a couple minutes, the headlights reveal a section of the dirt road ahead that is overgrown. The trees part on one side not too much further down the road. Kennan turns, and his headlights shine on a vermillion house, identical to all the ones in the suburban town except with a third story. “It’s disappointingly normal.”


“Well, any bigger and we’d need staff to maintain it.”


“Not quite that loaded, huh?”

“More like all the people would be a hassle to have around.” Kennan parks the car in front of a garage and exits. “The gazebo is up there.” He points to a hill in the distance that is big enough to eclipse a rising sun.


Brian takes out his phone, and still has no service. It’s too early for sunrise anyway. He considers using the flashlight, but the half moon illuminates the path to the overgrown road. As they walk towards it, he asks, “So is it just you and your father living here?”


“I have siblings, but they help the business with more paws-on stuff.” Kennan steps up onto the road. The slight rise is the only thing that differentiates it from the surrounding forest. “I’m left to take care of the house during the day, as well as a couple other things.”

“Like paperwork and stuff?”


“No, but my dad’s been trying to get me to. Carol’s been pissing him off apparently.”


The fennec’s ears perk at the opportunity. “Maybe I could fill in for her.”

“That won’t be possible.”

Brian wants to insist. But getting a fox boyfriend already makes today the best day in recent memory. Why ruin that? Plus, he remembers their business’ shadiness.


They continue the journey with only comments like how the leaves are already falling, or how pretty the moon is. Whenever Brian walks closer to the gray fox so they can hold paws, he moves further away, even going off the road. Is he not romantically interested? Then why would he invite him out here? 


The fennec becomes more and more aware about how absurd agreeing to go out here is. His parents want him to give Kennan a chance, but not like this. He’s following someone, who might be a drug dealer, deep into the forest late at night. How did he get this desperate? Doesn’t matter; what is he supposed to do now? He can’t outrun someone with fifty percent more leg, he can’t fight, and his phone still has no service. 


No, no, no, I’m just getting paranoid. He’s saving all the fun parts for when we get there.


Some time later, they arrive at the end of the road, where a small house lies. Brian looks around for the hill, but can’t see past the forest canopy. 


“Gazebo’s thisaway,” the gray fox says, leading into the trees. 


After some walking, the ground inclines steeply. The fennec lags behind, regardless of how much he pushes himself. He reaches the summit well after the gray fox. Once his panting slows, he says, “Looks like we beat the sun.” He pulls out his phone, and finally, he has service! “With even a few minutes to spare.” He saunters over to a bench under the gazebo, and plops down on it. “I regret not eating before coming here. Tell me about the snacks you have. I need something to motivate me for the trip back.”
        
“Sorry.” Kennan sits next to Brian. “We don’t have any food for you.”


“No food at all? Damn. No wonder you’ve been needing to go to the store. This town kinda sucks.”


“It’s not so bad.”


“You’re right.” The fennec slides closer. “Because you’re here.” He places his paw over gray fox’s. Not just one train of tingles travels up his arm, but one for every strand of fur brushing together. With how fluffy Kennan is, Brain’s on fire.


Kennan pulls his paw away. “What are you doing?”


“Nothing.” The fennec’s ears droop.


“Are you okay?”


“I’m fine.” Brian shifts his attention to the sunrise. The perfect atmosphere created by the orange-streaked sky is wasted on his attempt at romance. The trees below sparkling with morning dew taunt him further, as if saying no amount of luck could compensate for his ineptitude. If he fails in perfect conditions, under no condition will he ever succeed. The only consolation is that Kennan’s reaction doesn’t seem to be that of someone dangerous. “When’s your father coming back? I should be going.”

“Not till noon. He’s often late, never early. Were you…” Kennan fidgets with his paws. “Don’t tell anybody or judge me for this, okay? I was just a cub.”


The gray fox confiding in him should perk him up, but the sting of rejection remains. “Sure.”


“My cousin did something similar to what you just did, then we…fooled around. After that, I felt very weird and told her as much. She never came back and–”


“‘She,’ huh?”


“Uh, I don’t think I would care if it was ‘he’ instead. So if you were trying something similar, you can try again.”


Brian’s ears raise. “You mean it?” 


“Yeah, I mean it.”


The fennec jumps into Kennan’s arms, leaving him no catch except to catch him.


“What are you doing now?” 

“No take backs.” Brian locks his arms around him, nuzzling into his chest. 


“You’re light at least.” Kennan lifts the fennec up so he’s properly in his lap. “I feel bad messing up your fur that you clearly put effort into.”


“I don’t mind. Actually, please do!”

The gray fox ruffles Brian’s ears. “Is this what you want?” 


“Yes!” The fennec pushes against the paw–maybe too excitedly as it slides down the side of his head and off. He’s about to chase it down, until he realizes he’s muzzle-to-muzzle with the other  fox. He gazes into his eyes before leaning in.


Kennan turns away. “Sorry, it’s just…Why are you so into me?”

“Because you’re another fox!” Brian smiles, showing his fangs. “When I do this, there’s no fear in your eye, or twitch in your tail. That’s how it’s been in every, single relationship I’ve had–friends, coworkers, boyfriends; doesn’t matter.” 


“I struggle to believe anyone could find you scary.”


“I know! It’s ridiculous. I thought that my, um, last boyfriend was different, but he was just another pretender. He got mad at me when I was fired and told me, ‘you should hide your nature better.’ Just like he did with me, I guess. I yelled right back at him and he tried to kick me out. My parents were in the middle of moving, so I had to plead to stay, costing all of my savings. Now, though, I have you! I can smile all I want! Even do this,” he extends his claws, “to open a bag or something, instead of struggling for ten minutes.”


“They’re blind if they can’t see that you're a regular fennec. That is to say,” Kennan grabs Brian’s rump and stands up with him against his chest, “portable!”


Brian giggles. “Where are you taking me?”

“Back to the house. But on second thought, not like this.” The gray fox lowers the other fox, who reluctantly de-clings and stands on his own feet. “Kinda embarrassing doing that.”


“Not because you would get tired?” With something far stronger than the promise of food motivating him, Brian races down the hill.


“No!” Kennan exclaims from close behind. “I could carry you all day if I wanted.”


“That strong, huh?” Once he loses the momentum from the incline, Brian looks back. “You don’t look it.”

Kennan flexes his arm, but stops when not much shows. “It’s all lean muscle.”


“Do you even know what that means?”

“Muscle that’s small yet strong?” 


“That would be supernatural strength.” Brian edges close to Kennan and interlaces their fingers. No pulling away, no questioning, the gray fox only squeezes his paw. “So there’s a house right there. How about we move things in there instead of walking all the way back?”


Shaking his head, Kennan tugs the other fox toward the road. “It’s dangerous; not well-maintained.”


“Looks normal on the outside.”

“Looks can be deceiving.” 


“Fine.” The fennec steps in front of the other fox. “You still owe that kiss, though.”

“Believe when I say I really want to.” Kennan leans down to brush their noses together. “But not here. Let’s go fast.” He hurries down the road with him.


Brian struggles to keep up, and his arm complains about being dragged. “Slow down.” When Kennan complies, the fennec catches up, saying, “You know, you can’t want to wait, and not want to wait at the same time.”


“Yes I can.”


“Are you unsure about, um, being gay?”


“No, well, maybe a little.” Kennan stops walking and stares at the ground. “Since I liked that one experience with…my cousin, I never really thought about it.” He takes one of the fennec’s paws and brings it to his chest, where his heart races. “I couldn’t place why this was happening around you, until you touched me and it got worse. That made me realize that it’s the same thing that happened with…my cousin. Let’s please stop talking about this.” Still holding his paw, he jogs at a pace the fennec can almost manage.


“I’m afraid my exercise routine has been non-existent.”


“I could bridal-carry you and sprint there.” The gray fox sizes up the fennec. “Easily.”


Between pants, Brian manages to say, “You must be really confident in your ‘supernatural’ strength.”


“I am, but I feel like it’s a bad idea to do that.”


“You’d definitely trip on some stupid twig.”


The conversation dies there, which allows Brian to pant freely. Even so, he has to slow to a normal walking pace not much farther down the road. 


The fennec pulls out his phone to check the time: seven-thirty. He would be content to spend all of the time till noon holding paws. Such simple affection was lacking in his previous relationships. In hindsight, they weren’t relationships at all; he was just a fun, “dangerous” fuck, then a convenient way to cover half of rent. When he did initiate affection, they would pull away. But Kennan hasn’t done that, despite having ample opportunity to do so. He even squeezes occasionally, or caresses the fennec’s thumb. 


A while later, they stand before Kennan’s actual house. The gray fox runs ahead and opens the front door for the other fox. When the gray fox gets inside himself, he hangs up his jacket on the coat rack–the only furniture in the entryway. The kitchen to one side is in a similar, unfurnished state. It gives the house an unlived-in feel, but the strong scent of innumerable foxes overwrites that with a homey feel. 


“Are you gonna show me around?”


“Sorry. I can’t have you touching things. ‘Cause if my dad sees your fur on things, he will…”


“I shouldn’t shed, and you’ve got some orange on you too.” Brian brings his paw adjacent to an orange spot on the gray fox’s snout. “I guess yours is a little darker.” He cups his muzzle and edges closer. 


Kennan backs up into the door. “Can we save that for when we’re in my bedroom?”


“Sure. Is that just because you’re scared I’ll shed? Or?”

“I just want to kiss.” Kennan leads straight ahead, up the stairs, and down a corridor. “I’ve never brought anyone to my room. Don’t judge it.” He stops at a door like any of the others they’ve passed, and opens it. “So, uh, here it is.” He flicks the light on, the black-out curtains preventing any from coming through the windows.


“I don’t know what you were worried about. Not one potentially embarrassing thing stands out.” In fact, there’s no personal effects at all, like a hotel room. Kennan’s scent permeates the room, but it’s weaker than most people’s bedrooms, yet the scent of cleaner is absent. 


“Yeah, I don’t need much.” Kennan pads further into the room, then turns to face the fennec, paws behind his back. “Just a place for my clothes and a bed to sleep on.”


“And kiss on, right?” Brian advances on the gray fox, who backs up until his legs hit the bed.


Kennan forces Brian to step back. “I have amaurophilia!” 

“You have what now?”

“Amaurophilia. It’s a darkness fetish, but, like, it applies to kissing too. Don’t get me wrong; you’re pretty. I just like to appreciate you in other ways, and seeing makes that harder.” The gray fox shuffles his feet, eyes downcast. “I’m weird. Sorry. I’d understand if you didn’t want to do this anymore.”


“If that was the case, why’d you turn the light on, silly?” Brian returns to the doorway and flips the light off. “You might need to take the lead. I’m already disorientated.”


“You should probably start by coming over here.”

“Right, of course.” The fennec wanders in the direction of Kennan’s voice with his arms outstretched. “Where are you?”


“Here.” 


Brian adjusts his path accordingly, and his fingertips find fabric. “Found your shirt, I think.”


Kennan guides the fennec’s arms around him. “Now what?” 


“This was your idea. I’m used to being able to see, but I suppose we just fumble around until we figure it out.” Brian stands on his tip-toes and searches for Kennan’s muzzle with his own.


The gray fox laughs. “Your whiskers are tickling my neck.”


“That’s a genius idea!” The fennec strains his feet to lift him a little higher, and his whiskers brush into Kennan’s. He uses that sensation to guide their mouths together. But because of his height, it’s only a graze. He’s about to climb him when Kennan leans down, sealing their lips together. 


The fire from earlier reignites. But he has to put that on the back burner when Kennan melts into the fennec. Fennecs are supposed to be the melty ones! The biggest advantage of being small is that he can force others to carry him.


Still, Brian holds the both of them up for as long as he can. The tingles that would normally weaken his muscles strengthen them instead. All so the warmth pressing against his lips, his whole body, can continue to radiate through him.


If he could maintain that for the entire time he has left with the gray fox, he would. But his knees threaten to buckle. He gently pushes Kennan until he bears his own weight. Making sure their lips stay together proves more difficult than expected as Kennan wobbles. The fennec pulls back to figure out what’s going on, then remembers he can’t see. 


Erratic clacking of foot claws steadily grows farther away. He reaches out and closes his fingers around Kennan’s shirt, but his grip fails. The clacking ends with a yip and a soft thud.


“I’m sorry.” Brian follows where he last heard the gray fox until he bumps into the bed. “I didn’t mean to push you that hard.”


“All good. It was my fault.” 
 
Brian’s ears perk at the click of the gray fox’s belt buckle. “Oh? I thought we were just kissing.”


“We are. My clothes are just very uncomfortable. That’s why I fell.”


“Naturally.” It’d be awkward if only one of them was naked, so Brian undresses. He sets his phone on a nightstand he noted earlier, only struggling a little to find it. “Okay, now we need to find each other again.”


“I haven’t moved.”


Brian feels for the edge of the mattress, then the gray fox’s legs. He straddles them and crawls up his form, his whiskers sweeping up his torso. “Your fur’s all…”


“Gnarled, yeah. My brush broke. That’s why I keep trying to go to the store.”


“Not because you don’t have food?” Brian giggles. “You’re more concerned about looking good.”


“Turned out to be a valid concern.”

“Nope! You’re still cute. Last I saw anyway.” Brian detangles a knot of fur with a claw and smooths it down. He repeats on another tangle as he makes his way down. The freedom to extend his claws elevates the trust with Kennan beyond any previous relationship. 


“Now you feel cute too.” The fennec caresses through the now-silky fur. He strays too far down and bumps into warm firmness, causing Kennan to squirm beneath him. “Are you alright?” He withdraws his paw. “I’m sorry. That was an accident. I didn’t realize you’re so…ready.”

“Not your fault,” Kennan replies, every syllable laced with effort. “Come, kiss again.”


Brian crawls up the gray fox’s form until their whiskers brush against each other. “Is that all you’re asking for?”

“Yes.”

“You brought me to your room, fell on your bed, and got naked. Just to ask for a kiss?”

“Only comfortable way. No choice.”


“I don’t see how, but I’ll believe you.” Brian guides their lips together like before. Melting into the fox, the fennec presses his tongue in between Kennan’s lips. His tongue receives him awkwardly, tasting only of mint. He encourages the gray fox to enter his mouth, but it turns into a clumsy dance, ending with him retreating his tongue. When Kennan doesn’t follow, the fennec breaks the kiss. “I know you’re not asking for more, but do you want to do more?”

“Not opposed. Unsure.”


“Can I try? And we’ll stop if you want.”


“Yes. Good plan.”


“Alright. Just relax.” The fennec navigates around where he felt the shaft, and to the sheath. His gentle strokes travel up, while he monitors him for discomfort. Kennan stays relatively still, but he pants like he’s running a marathon, or like Brian was earlier. “Is it alright if I touch yours with mine?”

“Touch them together? Not…other thing?”


“I forgot to grab lube and condoms on my way out, so other things aren’t a good idea.”


“Makes sense. Continue.”


Brian boops their noses together before scooting down. “Just say something before you get all wiggly again.”

“Continue if I do. No more talk.”


Brian lowers his cock onto the other fox’s, and his thumb hooks them together. He thrusts slowly, but Kennan’s pre-soaked shaft makes the motion faster than he intends. The wetness and heat cause Brian to stop caring about going slow. He hastily draws back, only for his length to slide up and along the gray fox’s already-growing knot. After aligning his own uninflated one to it, he bears his weight down. The firmness of the knot on one side, and his fluff on the other makes him gasp. His grip remains firm, but between the squirming below him and all the lubrication, Kennan’s knot slips down the other fox’s sheath and to his balls.


Brian takes a moment for the shakiness in the arm holding him up to pass, and to catch his breath. Most would rush him along. Instead, the gray fox caresses the fennec’s flanks with all four limbs. While it's weird to bring his legs up for that, the simple affection brings a smile to his face. Knowing he doesn’t have to hide that, even if they could see, only makes it wider.


After feeling up both of their knots, Brian concludes he cannot catch up, since his is still dormant. He squeezes in that spot under Kennan’s knot to simulate a tie, while thrusting. Their cocks flail into each other more than anything without a paw aligning them. Kennan breaks into a series of yips, and clings to the fox above him. He bucks his hips, but is completely out of sync, so Brian stops his own thrusting. The gray fox’s irregular rhythm makes the rare times that wet heat slides across Brian’s shaft even more pleasurable.


When Kennan stops, he also inhales sharply. A splatting sound fills the room, along with an even muskier scent than pre. Brian travels up from the knot to the throbbing shaft and strokes, earning plenty of wiggles and yips. He keeps his weight pressed down so the gray fox’s knot is squeezed between them. His cock stops throbbing, but the fennec keeps stroking until Kennan whines.


“What’s wrong? If you’re just worried about coming fast, don’t be. You can give me a helping paw once you’ve come down.”


Brian takes the silence as an affirmative. He’s been in Kennan’s position many times, and does not understand why people get so worked up about it. He considers ways to comfort him and the obvious answer wafts into his nose: a musky scent with a strange tinge of metallic. Feeling around the chest of the fox beneath, Brian finds a puddle and dips a finger into it. He sinks into the first knuckle before feeling fur, then halfway to the second before feeling the end. 


Once he licks it off his finger, he coughs. That feels rude, so he suppresses the urge to do it again. It tastes like he licked a metal pole. He didn’t know it was possible for someone to taste this metallic, or at all. His plan was to tell him he’s delicious and lick it all up, but the cough makes that lie obvious, and there’s no way he could stomach that much. Instead, he brings another drip to his mouth. Expecting it, it’s so bad, and underneath there’s the notes of musk and sweetness.


Kennan’s paws land on the fennec’s shoulders. Brian’s breath catches in his throat, but those paws don’t travel down; they firm their hold and push off of him. 


“Are you trying to…? Are you sure you’re not too sensitive?”


Kennan only continues the motion, so Brian reaches down and holds their erections together. With the gray fox’s knot still full, they can’t press flat against each other. The vigorous thrusting makes up for that, as well as Kennan rubbing the fennec’s flanks with his legs. Still ridiculous, but also still appreciated; it only serves as an expression of affection when most guys would be purely focused on getting off. Desiring to reciprocate, Brian lowers his head. He nuzzles a dry spot on Kennan's chest with only the tip of his nose, the paws on his shoulders preventing him from bending further. 


Brian’s knot catches on the other fox’s, but he doesn’t stop. Little by little, the fennec’s inflating knot separates the cocks until only their tips and knots rub against each other. 


“Stop for a second,” Brian says, and once Kennan does, continues, “This ain’t gonna work. Can you get a paw on my knot, while I get one on yours, and we finish like that?”

One of Kennan’s paws journeys to the fennec’s chest, while the other disappears. Before the fennec can question this, Kennan swipes the arm holding him up. He squeals, half because of the short fall onto the gray fox’s arm, and half because of their knots being jammed between their bodies. 


The sudden clamp convinces the fennec’s body that he has tied, and Kennan’s throbbing shaft against his tricks him into feeling a hole ready to receive. He succumbs to the resulting instinct to stay still as bliss overtakes him. His own more bitter musk wrinkles his nose. He focuses instead on the splatting sound echoing in his ears, louder than before. Pride swells in his chest at having brought his partner to his peak twice. He hopes to do this every future time with Kennan. He deserves that and everything else Brian can offer for giving him a future at his most directionless. To think, the fennec’s future job could be to simply make Kennan happy as his husband.


Brian’s fantasies subside as his chest aches where Kennan is holding him up. After he bears his own weight again, he tries to interlock fingers, but discovers that he has the gray fox’s footpaw. What? While it explains Kennan’s weird use of his limbs, how did they get flipped around? Doesn’t matter; now is the time for–


Kennan whines, sounding right in front of Brian. He didn’t magically get flipped around? He shifts his weight to his knees, and sandwiches the gray fox’s paw with his other one. These are definitely toes, not fingers. This must be a footpaw where his handpaw should be.


The fennec tears his paws away and scrambles for his phone on the nightstand. Turning the flashlight on, he illuminates a quadrupedal gray fox. His brain denies that it’s Kennan, instead a wild animal somehow got on the bed and Kennan disappeared. But he’s larger than a feral gray fox would be, and has the same orange spots on his muzzle. He can only think of one way it’s possible, despite the fact that they were wiped out centuries ago. “V-vulpire!”


While his forelegs shift back into arm-shape, Brian springs out of the bed and finds the door with his flashlight. His shoulder rams into the door before he fully turns the knob. He ignores the pain and throws it open. He races down the corridor, seeming to get down it no faster than before. He spares a glance behind him. No vulpire. Maybe they’re slow to shift forms? Textbooks never said.


He runs into a railing, but the wood holds. After rounding it, he skips down the stairs to the entryway. He approaches the coat rack and rifles through the vulpire’s pockets, only finding receipts. Where did he put his keys? No obvious place stands out. He tosses the coat over his otherwise naked form, and bursts out the door. 


He sprints up to the fork in the private road. The end of it and the highway is too far to see. Didn’t it only take a couple minutes by car? Regardless, the vulpire would catch up to him in his car if he went down the road. He glances down at his phone. No service. 


“Naturally.” Even if he made it down the private road and to the highway, would there be cars at this hour? Would anyone stop for a mostly naked fox? If they did, would they have good intentions? Would anyone bat an eye when said fox is dragged into a car by another fox? The answer to all those is probably not.


The hill. There was service on the hill, and it’s closer than town is. That far in the woods, the vulpire would catch him before emergency services could help him. But if the vulpire wanted a quick meal, he would have killed him long ago. He wants a recurring one, so Brian will pretend that he didn’t manage to call anyone, until he is rescued.


He stuffs his phone in the jacket pocket, and runs down the overgrown road.