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Waterways and it's characters are copyrighted and belong to Kyell Gold and I sincerely hope that he dosen't mind my writing", "writing": "It was a cool spring morning at Forrester University. The sun had just risen, and a new day was about to begin. It being a Saturday meant most of the students were sleeping in, some of the athletic types were already out for a morning jog around the campus. Kory and Samaki were cuddled close together in their bed and just beginning to wake to greet the new day. \n\nSamaki was the first to wake as he looked at the clock which proclaimed it to be 7am, then over at the otter laying by his side. His boyfriend Kory, who was still asleep and looked so peaceful and contented, the fox smiled wide as he not only remembered the events of last night, but how nice Kory looked while he slept peacefully. \n\nAlmost as if on cue, the otter's eyes opened slowly, meeting the bright violet gaze of the fox in the dim morning light. \n\n``Good morning'', Samaki said with a smile.\n\nKory smiled back and greeted the black fox with a yawnful ``good morning'', as his paw reached over to caress the fox's chest fur lovingly. Samaki retorted with a kiss on the otter's nose and a paw caressing along the otter's tail. \n\nThe Two lovers laid beside one another, caressing and nuzzling one another for a long while before the call of nature overwhelmed the Otter's desire to remain at his fox's side. Samaki watched the otter climb out of bed reluctantly and couldn't help but give Kory a wolf whistle as the otter walked naked towards the bathroom, making the otter giggle softly, his ears flickering in embarrassment. \n\nKory emptied his bladder and splashed some water on his face and chest before brushing his teeth and brushing his fur a bit to get the remains of last night's fun out of his fur. Kory walked out of the bathroom and smiled as Samaki was still laying in bed with the covers up over his face, leaving his black foot paws exposed at the edge of the bed, giving Kory the perfect target to pounce. Samaki yelped and squirmed as the otter tickled and poked the fox's feet for a few moments, ``OK OK I'm awake!'' Samaki said laughing, the otter giggling and climbing onto the bed to give his boyfriend a proper kiss. Samaki returned the kiss and embraced Kory tightly before proclaiming it was his turn in the bathroom and slipped out from under the covers, giving Kory a bit of a show as Samaki strutted naked towards the bathroom, his tail arched a bit on purpose to give Kory an unobstructed view of his rear. The otter watched intently and smiled as the black fox disappeared into the bathroom. \n\nKory decided to turn on the TV and see what was on. ``maybe there were some morning cartoons on'' he mused, flipping through the channels slowly. The sound of the shower starting meant Samaki decided to give up on brushing out his fur and give himself a good rinse, making Kory giggle a bit and ponder joining the fox. The TV stopped on the local news, so Kory decided to watch as a story piqued his interest. \n\nThe reporter, a male raccoon, was at the scene of a crash. The camera was focused on what remained of a black car, crumpled and almost unrecognizable, wedged underneath the front of a Semi truck in an intersection that Kory recognized as near his mother's house, his old home. The reporter went on speaking over the view of the scene, explaining how the police were investigating the accident because the driver of the car did not survive the crash. The view then cut over to an interview of a police officer, a male husky, ``the preliminary findings and witness statements said the car did not stop for a red light and was hit broadside by the semi in the intersection. So far, they believe the sole occupant of the car was killed instantly on impact'' The reporter questioned the officer for any additional information such as the name and species of the deceased but the officer stated ``we are awaiting notification of the next of kin before releasing the victim's name and species'' Samaki returned to the room just then, a thick towel around his waist, soaking up the water in his fur and just caught the end of the report. ``Wow that was some crash'' he said. ``Yeah'' said Kory, ``at least the driver didn't suffer'' Samaki shook his head, ``I hope I never see anything like that firsthand, but I suppose it depends on the type of journalism I wind up covering''. Kory nodded and slipped over to brush Samaki's tail. ``I wonder if there was any alcohol involved'' since it was Friday night and many of the bars around town were usually packed. Samaki shrugged ``could be'' he said.\n\nJust then Kory's cell phone rang, giving his attention to Samaki was tempting the otter to let it go to voicemail, but something told him he needed to answer it. It took only a moment to recognize the number from the Rainbow Center. Kory answered the call and put it on speaker while continuing to brush Samaki's fur. ``Hello?'' he said. ``Kory?'' was the reply on the phone. It was Margo, the squirrel who ran The Rainbow Center. ``Hi Margo'' said Kory, ``you're up early. What's up?'' \n\n``Kory, I got a phone call from Mrs. D'Angelo this morning, she was looking for you here since she had the number I gave her when they dropped you off here last year.'' \n\n``Mrs. D'Angelo?'' Kory said sounding surprised, ``did she say what she wanted?''\n\nMargo replied ``she didn't say but she sounded terribly upset. Maybe you should call her. Do you have her number?''\n\n``I think so'' Kory said, ``let me check my phone'' as he scrolled through the numbers saved in his directory. ``Here it is, I'll call her right away. Thank you Margo''.\n\n``You're welcome Kory'' Margo said, ``I hope everything is OK''. Kory wished her a good day and hung up the phone. \n\nKory looked at the number in his phone for a few seconds. Samaki noticed his hesitation. ``Are you going to call?'' he said. ``Yeah'' said Kory, I just can't imagine what she could want from me. I haven't spoken to her since graduation.''\n\n``Only one way to find out'' Samaki said. Kory nodded and hit the call button.\n\nThe phone rang several times before it was answered by Mrs. D'Angelo. She sounded strange to Kory, her words were a bit... strained, something was very wrong. ``Hi Mrs. D'Angelo. It's Kory. Margo said you were looking for me.''\n\n``Oh Kory'' she said ``I'm so glad she was able to locate you. I have been trying to find your number, but Sal's phone did not have your number saved in it, and your mother said she didn't have your number either.'' Kory groaned to himself as he remembered why Sal erased his number and to find out his mother would not give his number out either. He knew she wouldn't call him, but he thought she would at least give it to someone if asked.\n\n``Kory, I am sorry to tell you this, but I have some very sad news'' Kory's eyes widened with shock and fear, his fur bristled up and his ears flattened. Thoughts raced through his mind. Did something happen to his mother? To Nick? Samaki noticed Kory's reaction immediately and stopped what he was doing, moving to Kory's side in case he needed him. \n\nMrs. D'Angelo continued, sounding as if she was trying not to cry. ``Kory.... Sal was killed... in an accident this morning'' Kory's muzzle dropped open, his tail drooped to the floor, and he felt like he was going to fall down. Samaki pulled him close to keep him steady and became even more worried as Kory looked like he was about to pass out. Kory stuttered into the phone ``W-What? H-H-How?'' Sal's mother was openly crying into the phone now. ``The police are still investigating but so far they've told us that it looks like Sal went to a bar last night. He may have drank too much and tried to drive home. Some witnesses said he drove through a red light and was hit broadside by a big truck'' Kory suddenly remembered the news story he just saw and gasped, tears flowing freely now down his cheeks. ``I'm so sorry Mrs. D'Angelo'' Kory said, ``is there anything I can do?'' Sal's mother was weeping openly into the phone now but tried to maintain her composure, telling Kory not to worry about them and that they will let him know about the arrangements as soon as they are able to make them. Kory nodded but realized she was not able to see him, ``ok, please let me know and call me if you need anything at all'' Sal's mother choked back tears and thanked Kory before hanging up. \n\nKory stood there dumbfounded, the phone still in his paw, open and nearly falling to the floor as his paw slowly dropped to his side. Samaki looked at Kory and showed legitimate concern on his face. ``What happened?'' Samaki said. Kory tried to get the words out but found he could not speak. He looked at Samaki with tears streaming down his face, trying to explain but only incoherent sounds were coming from his mouth. Samaki pulled Kory into a tight embrace and held him close, caressing his back, letting the otter know he was not alone. Kory sobbed openly into Samaki's shoulder now, wrapping his arms around the fox, trying to get the words out. ``S-Sal.... Sal was... killed... car accident... last night.''\n\n``Oh Kory'' Samaki said ``I'm so sorry'' and held the otter close, letting him get it out of his system, letting him know it was going to be alright.\n\nAfter a while Kory regained some of his composure, seeing the accident scene on TV and how he couldn't even recognize Sal's car, even though he had been a passenger in it many times, made him shudder. He remembered the time Sal drank too much that one night at the bar that he went with Sal, how Sal wanted to drive straight home that night, proclaiming how he had done it many times before. Kory pleaded with Sal to take a cab, but Sal was adamant about driving home, so Kory insisted on stopping for coffee to try and sober him up first. Kory shuddered at the memories of that night and tried to push them from his mind. He then remembered the day that Sal ended their friendship, the words clear in his memory again, the pain in his stomach from Sal punching him came back, making Kory lean into Samaki more. Tears came again and Samaki held the otter and cooed into his ear softly. Waiting for Kory to be able to speak once again, he asked if there were any arrangements yet. Kory shook his head ``not yet, she said she'd call me'' Samaki nodded ``Are you going to be OK?'' ``I think so'' Kory said, ``I know we weren't friends anymore, after that day in the high school parking lot, but we grew up together, we were as close as brothers growing up. Now he's gone.''\n\nSamaki listened and held Kory ``I hope you don't blame yourself'' he said. Kory shook his head ``Sal was thick headed and did what he wanted no matter what I or anyone else said to him. I guess it was almost inevitable something like this would happen. I suppose I should call Nick and tell him.'' Samaki nodded and picked up Kory's cell phone off the floor, handing it to the otter and squeezing his paw reassuringly. Kory managed to smile a bit and raised his ears some at the comforting touch of his fox. Kory looked at his phone, scrolled to Nick's number and pressed the call button.\n\nThe following Thursday afternoon, Kory's classes were finished for the week and he was in his dorm room fidgeting to get his tie on properly. This whole week his mind was filled with memories of him and Sal growing up, making it awfully hard to concentrate on his classes and homework, but he pushed through with Samaki's help and now was not looking forward to attending the service tonight at the funeral home. He worried that he wouldn't be able to convey himself to Sal's family respectfully, that he'd become a blubbering mass of fur once he laid his eyes on Sal in the coffin, but he needed to go and pay his respects. After all that Sal's parents had done for him over the years, even allowing him to stay there for nearly two months after leaving his mother's house, it was the very least he could do. \n\nKory finally got his tie on straight and he looked into the mirror before putting his jacket on and heading towards the door. Samaki was coming into the dorm room just as he reached the door.\n\n``My, you look incredibly handsome'' Samaki said. ``I'll be ready in just a few minutes.''\n\nKory looked at him somewhat bewildered. ``Ready?'' Samaki looked at Kory and blinked ``yeah, I'm going to go with you, we can drive there together. Remember? We discussed it a couple of days ago?'' Kory searched through his mind, trying to remember but shaking his head slowly. ``that's OK hon'' Samaki said, ``it's been a tough week. Just give me a few minutes to get presentable'' as the fox disappeared into the bathroom to get ready.\n\nKory took off his jacket and padded to the bathroom doorway, watching Samaki strip out of his casual clothes and brush his fur. ``You know you really don't need to go. You didn't even know Sal.'' Samaki looked at Kory, ``I know but I want to go. I want to be there for you, and I feel I should show some respects to Sal and his family for all the good things they did for you''. Kory stood there looking at Samaki with a somewhat bewildered look on his face. ``I don't think that they even know who you are. I doubt Sal mentioned you to them and I don't remember mentioning you to them either.'' Samaki looked at Kory and smiled and laid his paws on Kory's shoulders. ``Kory, hon, regardless of whether they knew me or not, they know you and I think that I should offer my condolences for their loss. They took good care of you when I couldn't and I'm very grateful to them for that. The least I can do is be there to support them in their time of need like they did for you, as well as be there to support you too.'' Kory looked up into Samaki's face, a loving smile on the fox's muzzle, the sparkling Violet eyes shone back at him and lifted his spirits. Kory smiled and perked his ears for the first time all week. ``OK, I'll help you get ready and we'll go together''. Samaki leaned down and kissed Kory on the lips tenderly, Kory pressed into the kiss and kissed his fox back, then padded out to the closet to get Samaki's dress clothes. \n\nSamaki drove his car with Kory navigating the way to the funeral home. The weather was clear and traffic was light so he wasn't worried about getting there late. Kory's thoughts kept drifting to memories of him and Sal growing up together, the mischief they got into and the fun times they had together. Kory then kept remembering the events that led to them having a falling out, looking over to Samaki he told himself that he had given up his life, his family, and his friends for the fox. He smiled at Samaki, knowing in his heart that he did the right thing, but it was still a shame that so many things were gone now, mostly because of outdated beliefs and ideals that people still held onto like old keepsakes. Even Father Joe believed that homosexuality wasn't as much a sin anymore as long as you loved the one you were with faithfully, and Kory loved Samaki with all his heart. He wished it all could have been easier, that people would have been more understanding if they even tried a little, but then he remembered his mother's attitude towards him when she'd found out that her son was gay. He also remembered what Malaya's father did to her for being a lesbian. He remembered visiting her in the hospital that night, the small fruit bat was so helpless and battered laying in that hospital bed. Kory gritted his teeth and tears flowed from his eyes. He closed his eyes tightly and shook his head, trying to get the memories to go away, so he could be presentable to Sal's family. Kory opened his eyes and saw that they were already parked in front of the funeral home, Samaki had turned off the car and was sitting in the driver's seat just looking at him, ears flattened against his head and a look of sincere worry on his face.\n\n``Are you OK?'' Samaki said. Kory nodded but Samaki didn't seem to be convinced, he continued to sit there. ``Kory, if you're not up to this, we can go back to the dorm. I'm sure Sal's family would understand.'' \n\nKory shook his head ``No. I have to do this. I need to at least have some form of closure, or I'll never forgive myself.''\n\nSamaki nodded in understanding ``OK hon, but if you feel like you need to go just let me know. I'm here for you.''\n\nKory smiled and leaned over, giving Samaki a loving kiss on his nose. ``I know hon, and I'm glad you're here with me. I don't know if I could do this without you.'' Samaki smiled and opened the door stepping out into the cool evening air. Kory walked around to Samaki's side and grasped the fox's paw lovingly as they walked up the steps and into the funeral home.\n\nThey were greeted at the doorway by a female ferret, who held the door open for them and welcomed them in. ``Are you here for the D'Angelo family?'' she said. Kory nodded and the ferret took their coats and guided them down the hallway to the viewing room. Showing them in, she quietly left them to attend. \n\nKory looked over at the guest book and walked over to it. He noticed there were names he did not recognize and just assumed they were friends of the family or distant relatives. Scanning down the page he found an empty space and signed his and Samaki's names there. Kory turned around and saw Sal's parents sitting in the front of the room, talking with the priest and a couple of other people he didn't know. there were some people sitting in some of the seats towards the side of the room talking quietly amongst themselves.\n\n Kory's eyes then locked onto the casket at the front of the room. The casket was a very shiny but dark woodgrain with brass handles and white adornments. and he could see several cards and bouquets of flowers surrounding it, obviously from people who weren't able to attend he thought. To the right of the casket was a large cork board, many pictures were here, chosen by Sal's family to represent his life. Kory thought to himself that pictures really do more than just retain memories, they allow others to share a precious moment in one's life. In Sal's life. \n\nKory and Samaki looked at the pictures briefly, with Kory recognizing some moments he was a part of and pointing them out to the fox who smiled and nodded. Tears started welling up behind his eyes again as Samaki handed Kory a paw full of tissues. Kory smiled at Samaki and wiped his eyes gently.\n\nKory looked over at the open casket. Sal was dressed in a nice grey suit with a white shirt and a tie with all different colors on it. Sal appeared very peaceful and looked like he could be attending Sunday services. His face was calm with what appeared to be a dull sheen on his fur. Kory couldn't control the tears now streaming down his cheeks as he looked down at his lifelong friend. Samaki placed a paw on his shoulder and squeezed gently, letting Kory know he was not alone. Kory did not look away from Sal but placed a paw on the fox's paw, giving a reassuring squeeze. Kory and Samaki kneeled beside Sal, said a silent prayer, then stood. Samaki looked to his otter and quietly asked, ``you ok hon?'', Kory looked up at him and nodded, his cheeks wet with tears, a look of relief on his face.\n\n Kory noticed that Sal's parents were done speaking now and they looked his way smiling. Kory and Samaki went over to them, and they stood. ``Kory I'm so glad you could come,'' said Mrs. Dangelo. ``it's been such a long time since we saw you. I am glad to see you are looking quite healthy. I hope school is treating you well.'' Kory smiled giving a small kiss on the cheek of Mrs. D'Angelo and then shook Mr. D'Angelo's paw ``Mr. and Mrs. D'Angelo, I'm so sorry.'' Kory said before turning to Samaki and introducing him to Sal's parents. Samaki shook their paws and stayed beside Kory. ``My sincerest condolences on your loss'' he said. Sal's father looked at Samaki smiling. ``Well, Kory's boyfriend. Kory reacted with surprise that they knew Samaki was his boyfriend... that they knew... he was gay. ``It's nice to finally meet you Samaki. I hope Kory is not too much to handle.'' Samaki smiled nervously but replied in typical Samaki form ``sometimes, but I know how to keep Kory on track.''\n\n Sal's parents smiled and said to them both ``we need to talk privately for a few moments.'' Sal's father looked over to the ferret girl, motioning her over. ``Grace? Could we use a room for some privacy for a few minutes?'' The ferret nodded and led them over to another room across the hall which was not being used. She closed the door and left the small group alone in the room. Kory looked nervous, not expecting this. ``What could they want to talk about?'' He thought. He looked up at Samaki, who had an equally bewildered look on his face. \n\nSal's parents sat down and motioned for Kory and Samaki to sit also. Mr. D'Angelo spoke first, ``Kory, I know about what happened with your mother and I'm sorry things had to come to that. When you joined us in our home, we were glad to have you and were genuinely sorry to see you leave. We never wanted to pry into your family business or even try to guess what had happened to cause you to leave home. I want you to know that it was, and still is, none of our business what you do with your life and who you do it with. But I will admit we were both a bit shocked when Sal explained that you were going out with another boy, and this was the reason your mother asked you to leave.'' Kory nodded and listened quietly as Sal's mother interjected. ``If we had known at the time, I would have called your mother right away and told her she was being unreasonable and try and help her understand, but Sal insisted that it would do no good because of your mother's extreme beliefs.'' \n\nSamaki looked at Kory and smiled. ``I'm happy that you're understanding of Kory's choices. After what happened with his mother, I was more than a bit concerned about him.'' Mr. D'Angelo smiled and nodded at Samaki ``I'm just glad that he chose to be with someone who obviously loves and cares for him as much as he deserves'' Kory smiled and nuzzled Samaki on the cheek, brushing his tail against the fox's. \n\nMrs. D'Angelo continued ``After you left, Sal was noticeably different, more distant and quieter than usual. We had just assumed that it was normal stress from school. A few weeks ago, I found Sal in his room, crying. I asked him what had made him so upset and he initially would not tell me. His father and I decided to sit down with him and talk. He finally told us everything that happened between you, how he tried to distance himself from you when the others in school were taunting you and even told us about punching you. He felt like he abandoned you when you needed his friendship the most and it was eating him up inside.'' \n\nKory flattened his ears and continued listening. ``He said that he was envious that you were able to find someone who loved you as much as you loved them, and how he wasn't able to find someone with that kind of heart for himself.'' Kory started to cry openly now as Samaki held his paw. \n\nMr. D'Angelo continued. ``Sal said he was ashamed of what he did and didn't deserve your friendship after what he did to you. We told him the best thing to do was talk with you and get it off his chest, to try to reconcile his friendship with you. Sal was actually planning on going up to Forrester and looking for you, but he never got the chance.'' Kory fought back tears as he tried to speak. This was not what he was expecting to hear, and it showed. Samaki was holding Kory close to him and caressing his arm gently as he spoke. ``I'm sorry that I didn't know your son very well, and I admit that everything that Kory told me about what Sal did had me feeling upset, but I... ``'' we...'' Kory interjected. ``We stuck together and tried to overcome everything as best as we could. I truly wish that Sal had found the chance to reconcile and get everything off his chest with ...'' Kory looked up at Samaki smiling. ``With us... I'm happy knowing that at least there was a chance it could have worked out in the end.'' Mr. D'Angelo wiped tears away from his eyes as Mrs. D'Angelo pulled Kory and Samaki into a tight hug, kissing them both on the cheek. ``You both are family to us. Don't ever forget that.'' \n\nJust then the Ferret knocked on the door and interrupted. ``The father is ready whenever you are.'' \n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "It was a cool spring morning at Forrester University. The sun had just risen, and a new day was about to begin. It being a Saturday meant most of the students were sleeping in, some of the athletic types were already out for a morning jog around the campus. Kory and Samaki were cuddled close together in their bed and just beginning to wake to greet the new day.

Samaki was the first to wake as he looked at the clock which proclaimed it to be 7am, then over at the otter laying by his side. His boyfriend Kory, who was still asleep and looked so peaceful and contented, the fox smiled wide as he not only remembered the events of last night, but how nice Kory looked while he slept peacefully.

Almost as if on cue, the otter's eyes opened slowly, meeting the bright violet gaze of the fox in the dim morning light.

``Good morning'', Samaki said with a smile.

Kory smiled back and greeted the black fox with a yawnful ``good morning'', as his paw reached over to caress the fox's chest fur lovingly. Samaki retorted with a kiss on the otter's nose and a paw caressing along the otter's tail.

The Two lovers laid beside one another, caressing and nuzzling one another for a long while before the call of nature overwhelmed the Otter's desire to remain at his fox's side. Samaki watched the otter climb out of bed reluctantly and couldn't help but give Kory a wolf whistle as the otter walked naked towards the bathroom, making the otter giggle softly, his ears flickering in embarrassment.

Kory emptied his bladder and splashed some water on his face and chest before brushing his teeth and brushing his fur a bit to get the remains of last night's fun out of his fur. Kory walked out of the bathroom and smiled as Samaki was still laying in bed with the covers up over his face, leaving his black foot paws exposed at the edge of the bed, giving Kory the perfect target to pounce. Samaki yelped and squirmed as the otter tickled and poked the fox's feet for a few moments, ``OK OK I'm awake!'' Samaki said laughing, the otter giggling and climbing onto the bed to give his boyfriend a proper kiss. Samaki returned the kiss and embraced Kory tightly before proclaiming it was his turn in the bathroom and slipped out from under the covers, giving Kory a bit of a show as Samaki strutted naked towards the bathroom, his tail arched a bit on purpose to give Kory an unobstructed view of his rear. The otter watched intently and smiled as the black fox disappeared into the bathroom.

Kory decided to turn on the TV and see what was on. ``maybe there were some morning cartoons on'' he mused, flipping through the channels slowly. The sound of the shower starting meant Samaki decided to give up on brushing out his fur and give himself a good rinse, making Kory giggle a bit and ponder joining the fox. The TV stopped on the local news, so Kory decided to watch as a story piqued his interest.

The reporter, a male raccoon, was at the scene of a crash. The camera was focused on what remained of a black car, crumpled and almost unrecognizable, wedged underneath the front of a Semi truck in an intersection that Kory recognized as near his mother's house, his old home. The reporter went on speaking over the view of the scene, explaining how the police were investigating the accident because the driver of the car did not survive the crash. The view then cut over to an interview of a police officer, a male husky, ``the preliminary findings and witness statements said the car did not stop for a red light and was hit broadside by the semi in the intersection. So far, they believe the sole occupant of the car was killed instantly on impact'' The reporter questioned the officer for any additional information such as the name and species of the deceased but the officer stated ``we are awaiting notification of the next of kin before releasing the victim's name and species'' Samaki returned to the room just then, a thick towel around his waist, soaking up the water in his fur and just caught the end of the report. ``Wow that was some crash'' he said. ``Yeah'' said Kory, ``at least the driver didn't suffer'' Samaki shook his head, ``I hope I never see anything like that firsthand, but I suppose it depends on the type of journalism I wind up covering''. Kory nodded and slipped over to brush Samaki's tail. ``I wonder if there was any alcohol involved'' since it was Friday night and many of the bars around town were usually packed. Samaki shrugged ``could be'' he said.

Just then Kory's cell phone rang, giving his attention to Samaki was tempting the otter to let it go to voicemail, but something told him he needed to answer it. It took only a moment to recognize the number from the Rainbow Center. Kory answered the call and put it on speaker while continuing to brush Samaki's fur. ``Hello?'' he said. ``Kory?'' was the reply on the phone. It was Margo, the squirrel who ran The Rainbow Center.  ``Hi Margo'' said Kory, ``you're up early. What's up?''

``Kory, I got a phone call from Mrs. D'Angelo this morning, she was looking for you here since she had the number I gave her when they dropped you off here last year.''

``Mrs. D'Angelo?'' Kory said sounding surprised, ``did she say what she wanted?''

Margo replied ``she didn't say but she sounded terribly upset. Maybe you should call her. Do you have her number?''

``I think so'' Kory said, ``let me check my phone'' as he scrolled through the numbers saved in his directory. ``Here it is, I'll call her right away. Thank you Margo''.

``You're welcome Kory'' Margo said, ``I hope everything is OK''. Kory wished her a good day and hung up the phone.

Kory looked at the number in his phone for a few seconds. Samaki noticed his hesitation. ``Are you going to call?'' he said. ``Yeah'' said Kory, I just can't imagine what she could want from me. I haven't spoken to her since graduation.''

``Only one way to find out'' Samaki said. Kory nodded and hit the call button.

The phone rang several times before it was answered by Mrs. D'Angelo. She sounded strange to Kory, her words were a bit... strained, something was very wrong. ``Hi Mrs. D'Angelo. It's Kory. Margo said you were looking for me.''

``Oh Kory'' she said ``I'm so glad she was able to locate you. I have been trying to find your number, but Sal's phone did not have your number saved in it, and your mother said she didn't have your number either.'' Kory groaned to himself as he remembered why Sal erased his number and to find out his mother would not give his number out either. He knew she wouldn't call him, but he thought she would at least give it to someone if asked.

``Kory, I am sorry to tell you this, but I have some very sad news'' Kory's eyes widened with shock and fear, his fur bristled up and his ears flattened. Thoughts raced through his mind.  Did something happen to his mother? To Nick? Samaki noticed Kory's reaction immediately and stopped what he was doing, moving to Kory's side in case he needed him.

Mrs. D'Angelo continued, sounding as if she was trying not to cry. ``Kory.... Sal was killed... in an accident this morning'' Kory's muzzle dropped open, his tail drooped to the floor, and he felt like he was going to fall down. Samaki pulled him close to keep him steady and became even more worried as Kory looked like he was about to pass out.  Kory stuttered into the phone ``W-What? H-H-How?'' Sal's mother was openly crying into the phone now. ``The police are still investigating but so far they've told us that it looks like Sal went to a bar last night. He may have drank too much and tried to drive home. Some witnesses said he drove through a red light and was hit broadside by a big truck'' Kory suddenly remembered the news story he just saw and gasped, tears flowing freely now down his cheeks. ``I'm so sorry Mrs. D'Angelo'' Kory said, ``is there anything I can do?'' Sal's mother was weeping openly into the phone now but tried to maintain her composure, telling Kory not to worry about them and that they will let him know about the arrangements as soon as they are able to make them.  Kory nodded but realized she was not able to see him, ``ok, please let me know and call me if you need anything at all'' Sal's mother choked back tears and thanked Kory before hanging up.

Kory stood there dumbfounded, the phone still in his paw, open and nearly falling to the floor as his paw slowly dropped to his side. Samaki looked at Kory and showed legitimate concern on his face. ``What happened?'' Samaki said. Kory tried to get the words out but found he could not speak. He looked at Samaki with tears streaming down his face, trying to explain but only incoherent sounds were coming from his mouth. Samaki pulled Kory into a tight embrace and held him close, caressing his back, letting the otter know he was not alone. Kory sobbed openly into Samaki's shoulder now, wrapping his arms around the fox, trying to get the words out. ``S-Sal.... Sal was... killed... car accident... last night.''

``Oh Kory'' Samaki said ``I'm so sorry'' and held the otter close, letting him get it out of his system, letting him know it was going to be alright.

After a while Kory regained some of his composure, seeing the accident scene on TV and how he couldn't even recognize Sal's car, even though he had been a passenger in it many times, made him shudder. He remembered the time Sal drank too much that one night at the bar that he went with Sal, how Sal wanted to drive straight home that night, proclaiming how he had done it many times before. Kory pleaded with Sal to take a cab, but Sal was adamant about driving home, so Kory insisted on stopping for coffee to try and sober him up first. Kory shuddered at the memories of that night and tried to push them from his mind. He then remembered the day that Sal ended their friendship, the words clear in his memory again, the pain in his stomach from Sal punching him came back, making Kory lean into Samaki more. Tears came again and Samaki held the otter and cooed into his ear softly. Waiting for Kory to be able to speak once again, he asked if there were any arrangements yet. Kory shook his head ``not yet, she said she'd call me'' Samaki nodded ``Are you going to be OK?'' ``I think so'' Kory said, ``I know we weren't friends anymore, after that day in the high school parking lot, but we grew up together, we were as close as brothers growing up. Now he's gone.''

Samaki listened and held Kory ``I hope you don't blame yourself'' he said. Kory shook his head ``Sal was thick headed and did what he wanted no matter what I or anyone else said to him. I guess it was almost inevitable something like this would happen. I suppose I should call Nick and tell him.'' Samaki nodded and picked up Kory's cell phone off the floor, handing it to the otter and squeezing his paw reassuringly. Kory managed to smile a bit and raised his ears some at the comforting touch of his fox. Kory looked at his phone, scrolled to Nick's number and pressed the call button.

The following Thursday afternoon, Kory's classes were finished for the week and he was in his dorm room fidgeting to get his tie on properly. This whole week his mind was filled with memories of him and Sal growing up, making it awfully hard to concentrate on his classes and homework, but he pushed through with Samaki's help and now was not looking forward to attending the service tonight at the funeral home. He worried that he wouldn't be able to convey himself to Sal's family respectfully, that he'd become a blubbering mass of fur once he laid his eyes on Sal in the coffin, but he needed to go and pay his respects. After all that Sal's parents had done for him over the years, even allowing him to stay there for nearly two months after leaving his mother's house, it was the very least he could do.

Kory finally got his tie on straight and he looked into the mirror before putting his jacket on and heading towards the door. Samaki was coming into the dorm room just as he reached the door.

``My, you look incredibly handsome'' Samaki said. ``I'll be ready in just a few minutes.''

Kory looked at him somewhat bewildered. ``Ready?'' Samaki looked at Kory and blinked ``yeah, I'm going to go with you, we can drive there together. Remember? We discussed it a couple of days ago?'' Kory searched through his mind, trying to remember but shaking his head slowly. ``that's OK hon'' Samaki said, ``it's been a tough week. Just give me a few minutes to get presentable'' as the fox disappeared into the bathroom to get ready.

Kory took off his jacket and padded to the bathroom doorway, watching Samaki strip out of his casual clothes and brush his fur. ``You know you really don't need to go. You didn't even know Sal.'' Samaki looked at Kory, ``I know but I want to go. I want to be there for you, and I feel I should show some respects to Sal and his family for all the good things they did for you''. Kory stood there looking at Samaki with a somewhat bewildered look on his face. ``I don't think that they even know who you are. I doubt Sal mentioned you to them and I don't remember mentioning you to them either.'' Samaki looked at Kory and smiled and laid his paws on Kory's shoulders. ``Kory, hon, regardless of whether they knew me or not, they know you and I think that I should offer my condolences for their loss. They took good care of you when I couldn't and I'm very grateful to them for that. The least I can do is be there to support them in their time of need like they did for you, as well as be there to support you too.'' Kory looked up into Samaki's face, a loving smile on the fox's muzzle, the sparkling Violet eyes shone back at him and lifted his spirits. Kory smiled and perked his ears for the first time all week. ``OK, I'll help you get ready and we'll go together''. Samaki leaned down and kissed Kory on the lips tenderly, Kory pressed into the kiss and kissed his fox back, then padded out to the closet to get Samaki's dress clothes.

Samaki drove his car with Kory navigating the way to the funeral home. The weather was clear and traffic was light so he wasn't worried about getting there late. Kory's thoughts kept drifting to memories of him and Sal growing up together, the mischief they got into and the fun times they had together. Kory then kept remembering the events that led to them having a falling out, looking over to Samaki he told himself that he had given up his life, his family, and his friends for the fox. He smiled at Samaki, knowing in his heart that he did the right thing, but it was still a shame that so many things were gone now, mostly because of outdated beliefs and ideals that people still held onto like old keepsakes. Even Father Joe believed that homosexuality wasn't as much a sin anymore as long as you loved the one you were with faithfully, and Kory loved Samaki with all his heart. He wished it all could have been easier, that people would have been more understanding if they even tried a little, but then he remembered his mother's attitude towards him when she'd found out that her son was gay. He also remembered what Malaya's father did to her for being a lesbian. He remembered visiting her in the hospital that night, the small fruit bat was so helpless and battered laying in that hospital bed. Kory gritted his teeth and tears flowed from his eyes. He closed his eyes tightly and shook his head, trying to get the memories to go away, so he could be presentable to Sal's family. Kory opened his eyes and saw that they were already parked in front of the funeral home, Samaki had turned off the car and was sitting in the driver's seat just looking at him, ears flattened against his head and a look of sincere worry on his face.

``Are you OK?'' Samaki said. Kory nodded but Samaki didn't seem to be convinced, he continued to sit there. ``Kory, if you're not up to this, we can go back to the dorm. I'm sure Sal's family would understand.''

Kory shook his head ``No. I have to do this. I need to at least have some form of closure, or I'll never forgive myself.''

Samaki nodded in understanding ``OK hon, but if you feel like you need to go just let me know. I'm here for you.''

Kory smiled and leaned over, giving Samaki a loving kiss on his nose. ``I know hon, and I'm glad you're here with me. I don't know if I could do this without you.'' Samaki smiled and opened the door stepping out into the cool evening air. Kory walked around to Samaki's side and grasped the fox's paw lovingly as they walked up the steps and into the funeral home.

They were greeted at the doorway by a female ferret, who held the door open for them and welcomed them in. ``Are you here for the D'Angelo family?'' she said. Kory nodded and the ferret took their coats and guided them down the hallway to the viewing room. Showing them in, she quietly left them to attend.

Kory looked over at the guest book and walked over to it. He noticed there were names he did not recognize and just assumed they were friends of the family or distant relatives. Scanning down the page he found an empty space and signed his and Samaki's names there. Kory turned around and saw Sal's parents sitting in the front of the room, talking with the priest and a couple of other people he didn't know. there were some people sitting in some of the seats towards the side of the room talking quietly amongst themselves.

 Kory's eyes then locked onto the casket at the front of the room. The casket was a very shiny but dark woodgrain with brass handles and white adornments. and he could see several cards and bouquets of flowers surrounding it, obviously from people who weren't able to attend he thought. To the right of the casket was a large cork board, many pictures were here, chosen by Sal's family to represent his life.  Kory thought to himself that pictures really do more than just retain memories, they allow others to share a precious moment in one's life. In Sal's life.

Kory and Samaki looked at the pictures briefly, with Kory recognizing some moments he was a part of and pointing them out to the fox who smiled and nodded. Tears started welling up behind his eyes again as Samaki handed Kory a paw full of tissues. Kory smiled at Samaki and wiped his eyes gently.

Kory looked over at the open casket. Sal was dressed in a nice grey suit with a white shirt and a tie with all different colors on it. Sal appeared very peaceful and looked like he could be attending Sunday services. His face was calm with what appeared to be a dull sheen on his fur. Kory couldn't control the tears now streaming down his cheeks as he looked down at his lifelong friend. Samaki placed a paw on his shoulder and squeezed gently, letting Kory know he was not alone. Kory did not look away from Sal but placed a paw on the fox's paw, giving a reassuring squeeze. Kory and Samaki kneeled beside Sal, said a silent prayer, then stood. Samaki looked to his otter and quietly asked, ``you ok hon?'', Kory looked up at him and nodded, his cheeks wet with tears, a look of relief on his face.

 Kory noticed that Sal's parents were done speaking now and they looked his way smiling. Kory and Samaki went over to them, and they stood.  ``Kory I'm so glad you could come,'' said Mrs. Dangelo. ``it's been such a long time since we saw you. I am glad to see you are looking quite healthy. I hope school is treating you well.'' Kory smiled giving a small kiss on the cheek of Mrs. D'Angelo and then shook Mr. D'Angelo's paw ``Mr. and Mrs. D'Angelo, I'm so sorry.'' Kory said before turning to Samaki and introducing him to Sal's parents. Samaki shook their paws and stayed beside Kory. ``My sincerest condolences on your loss'' he said. Sal's father looked at Samaki smiling. ``Well, Kory's boyfriend. Kory reacted with surprise that they knew Samaki was his boyfriend... that they knew... he was gay. ``It's nice to finally meet you Samaki. I hope Kory is not too much to handle.'' Samaki smiled nervously but replied in typical Samaki form ``sometimes, but I know how to keep Kory on track.''

 Sal's parents smiled and said to them both ``we need to talk privately for a few moments.'' Sal's father looked over to the ferret girl, motioning her over. ``Grace? Could we use a room for some privacy for a few minutes?'' The ferret nodded and led them over to another room across the hall which was not being used. She closed the door and left the small group alone in the room. Kory looked nervous, not expecting this. ``What could they want to talk about?'' He thought. He looked up at Samaki, who had an equally bewildered look on his face.

Sal's parents sat down and motioned for Kory and Samaki to sit also. Mr. D'Angelo spoke first, ``Kory, I know about what happened with your mother and I'm sorry things had to come to that. When you joined us in our home, we were glad to have you and were genuinely sorry to see you leave. We never wanted to pry into your family business or even try to guess what had happened to cause you to leave home. I want you to know that it was, and still is, none of our business what you do with your life and who you do it with. But I will admit we were both a bit shocked when Sal explained that you were going out with another boy, and this was the reason your mother asked you to leave.'' Kory nodded and listened quietly as Sal's mother interjected. ``If we had known at the time, I would have called your mother right away and told her she was being unreasonable and try and help her understand, but Sal insisted that it would do no good because of your mother's extreme beliefs.''

Samaki looked at Kory and smiled. ``I'm happy that you're understanding of Kory's choices. After what happened with his mother, I was more than a bit concerned about him.'' Mr. D'Angelo smiled and nodded at Samaki ``I'm just glad that he chose to be with someone who obviously loves and cares for him as much as he deserves'' Kory smiled and nuzzled Samaki on the cheek, brushing his tail against the fox's.

Mrs. D'Angelo continued ``After you left, Sal was noticeably different, more distant and quieter than usual. We had just assumed that it was normal stress from school. A few weeks ago, I found Sal in his room, crying. I asked him what had made him so upset and he initially would not tell me. His father and I decided to sit down with him and talk. He finally told us everything that happened between you, how he tried to distance himself from you when the others in school were taunting you and even told us about punching you. He felt like he abandoned you when you needed his friendship the most and it was eating him up inside.''

Kory flattened his ears and continued listening. ``He said that he was envious that you were able to find someone who loved you as much as you loved them, and how he wasn't able to find someone with that kind of heart for himself.'' Kory started to cry openly now as Samaki held his paw.  

Mr. D'Angelo continued. ``Sal said he was ashamed of what he did and didn't deserve your friendship after what he did to you. We told him the best thing to do was talk with you and get it off his chest, to try to reconcile his friendship with you. Sal was actually planning on going up to Forrester and looking for you, but he never got the chance.'' Kory fought back tears as he tried to speak. This was not what he was expecting to hear, and it showed. Samaki was holding Kory close to him and caressing his arm gently as he spoke. ``I'm sorry that I didn't know your son very well, and I admit that everything that Kory told me about what Sal did had me feeling upset, but I... ``'' we...'' Kory interjected. ``We stuck together and tried to overcome everything as best as we could. I truly wish that Sal had found the chance to reconcile and get everything off his chest with ...''  Kory looked up at Samaki smiling. ``With us... I'm happy knowing that at least there was a chance it could have worked out in the end.'' Mr. D'Angelo wiped tears away from his eyes as Mrs. D'Angelo pulled Kory and Samaki into a tight hug, kissing them both on the cheek. ``You both are family to us. Don't ever forget that.''

Just then the Ferret knocked on the door and interrupted. ``The father is ready whenever you are.''

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