This story contains scenes of MxM homosexual acts. If you’re not into MxM, gay, or furry, don’t read. If you are under 18 (21 in some states) or your locality prohibits looking at subjects of a pornographic nature, don’t read. Otherwise, please enjoy.

© J.T. Brown AKA Spike Foxx, 2007. Written by J.T. Brown, AKA Spike Foxx. All rights reserved. Storyline, characters, creative property, and intellectual rights © J.T. Brown AKA Spike Foxx. Do not alter or redistribute for profit or personal gain. I reserve the right to prosecute anyone who alters or plagiarizes this document.

scribblerianfoxx@gmail.com

For Daniel W., my love, my wild flower

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“To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.”

--William Blake, “Auguries of Innocence”

____________________________________

It was after midnight, and rain gently hit the pavement outside. Thunder rumbled lowly in the distance and lightning flashed on the horizon, briefly illuminating the night around the small suburban neighborhood. Most of the lights were out, a power transformer having blown on the street. Flashlights and candles were seen in windows up and down the street. 
 
An electric company van pulled up outside of one house, a lanky german shepherd jumping from the driver's side. He opened the double back doors and removed his tool belt, wrapping it around his waist, and grabbed his utility box. He walked up the front walk, pulling the brim of his hat down against the rain. He knocked on the front door, waiting. 
 
The door cracked ever so slightly, a doberman poking his snout out, playing a flashlight across the repairman's face. "What?" he asked, gruffly. 
 
"Electric company sent me out to fix your power for you," said the shepherd.
 
"We're fine," said the doberman, closing the door.
 
The shepherd stuck his booted foot in the door. "Could be a few hours til the transformer is fixed."
 
The doberman paused. 
 
"Five minutes, and I've got your power running again," said the shepherd.
 
"Well, okay," said the doberman, stepping aside. "I'll show you where the power box is."
 
The shepherd entered the house, looking around. "Nice place. Must've cost a fortune."
 
The doberman said nothing, walking down the hall. "This way."
 
The shepherd followed him down, going the back way into the kitchen. They crossed the kitchen and went to the basement door. The doberman opened the door and herded the shepherd downstairs. 
 
The shepherd produced a flashlight from his utility belt, clicking on the intense beam, playing it across the stairs.
 
"At the bottom, turn left," commanded the doberman. "Red box about five feet off the floor."
 
"Okay," said the shepherd, walking across the basement. Rain thrummed against the ground-level windows, and the dog could smell the faint scent of mildew, which he found odd for such a ritzy place. 
 
He opened the box, shining his light inside. "Well here's your problem."
 
"Where?" asked the doberman, stepping forward and looking inside.
 
The shepherd whirled and brought his palm upwards, striking into the other canine's windpipe, crushing it on contact. The dobey fell to the floor, wheezing a bit as he choked for life. 
 
"Right there," muttered the shepherd, bending down and plucking a pistol from the dobey's waistband. He ejected the magazine and the live round in the chamber, and tossed the weapon aside. 
 
The shepherd set his flashlight atop a stack of boxes and set his box on top an adjacent set of boxes, opening it. He moved aside the top bin, removing a Heckler&Koch USP .40-caliber pistol from the space underneath it. He also removed an extra magazine he stuffed in his pocket, and a suppressor he screwed onto the end of the barrel of the USP. He chambered a round and flipped off the safety. 
 
He climbed the stairs, silently opening the door back to the kitchen, leading with the barrel of the suppressor. According to his intelligence, he had to go back towards the front door to get to the stairs to the bedroom. The shepherd moved across the room, cross-stepping along the wall, watching around him; there were supposed to be three bodyguards in the house. One had been taken care of. Lightning flashed, and briefly lit up the room around him. He paused for a moment, blinking and letting his night vision readjust. 
 
Crossing in front of the hallway, he took a quick look, and then sidled up to the opposite side of the door frame. No one had been down there. He moved into the hallway, hugging the right side, watching the set of double-doors that opened onto the living room. There was a white curtain drawn over it, obscuring his vision into the room. He stealthily moved past, going towards the front door. On his right were the stairs, leading to the second floor. He moved up them, staying to the edge as to bend the wood as little as possible so they wouldn't creak. He moved so he could up to the second landing, past the railing that lined the edge above the stairwell. Again, no trace of anyone. He edged over the top step, hearing voices from down the hall. Quiet voices, then a laugh track. A TV. 
 
A door on the left opened, light spilling into the hallway. "...and a beer, yeah, yeah." A leopard walked into the hallway, talking over his shoulder. "I'll be right back." 
 
The leopard walked down the hallway, an Ingram .380 sub-machinegun slung over his shoulder on a strap. The cat only made it ten steps down the hallway before being grabbed from behind. He didn't have any time to react before his neck was snapped. 
 
The shepherd opened the door to the room the leopard had come from.
 
"Back so soo--?" started the remaining guard, a bulldog, and stopped dead when he saw the shepherd brandishing his handgun. His paw only got halfway to the gun next to his chair before the shepherd pulled the trigger twice in rapid succession, kicking up twin gouts of blood as the bulldog jumped with the impact of he bullets, then slumped over the table. 
 
The door at the end of the hall.
 
He wrapped his fingers around the knob, gripping his USP tightly. No matter how many times he did this, he always got a little jittery just before. 
 
He opened the door. Rain was still hitting the bay windows, which were open slightly, just enough to let a breeze in that was stirring the curtains. 
 
The shepherd walked to the edge of the bed, looking at his target; an elderly sleeping greyhound. Despite his age, this greyhound had been responsible for a shooting downtown the week before, that had caught a group of schoolgirls in cross-fire. One of the fathers had contracted his services. 
 
No words. No final pleas for mercy. He just put the barrel to the greyhound's forehead and pulled the trigger.
 
He drove the electric company truck to the waterfront. He stripped off the electrician outfit, putting his jeans, black T-shirt and leather jacket back on. He tossed the jumpsuit, gloves and hat in the truck, setting it to neutral and shoving it into what he had determined to be the deepest point of the channel. He shrugged a shoulder holster on under his jacket, securing his Walther PPK .380 back-up in his ankle holster, and walked back towards downtown. Every detail planned for.
 
But the life of an assassin had to be that way.
 
***
 
Neon lights reflected off the puddles in front of the bar, distorted by tiny ripples from raindrops that still fell from the clouded sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance, getting louder with each echoing roar. Only a few furs were left on the streets in the early-morning hours. 
 
The shepherd parked his car down the street from the bar, getting out and walking back towards the entrance. He made sure his USP pistol was well-hidden under his leather jacket; only a few furs knew what he did. 
 
He opened the door, stepping inside, shaking some of the rain off of his jacket and his head. The bar was very dimly lit, and basic. The bar itself was opposite the door, with a pool table to the left and a dart board to the right, and a small, poorly-lit stage beyond the pool table. The air was thickened by cigarette smoke, which the shepherd wrinkled his nose at a bit. 
 
"Hey, Niko!" came a voice.
 
The shepherd looked over to the bar, where the bartender, an older collie, Jack, was waving to him. The shepherd grinned and wandered over, sitting on a stool. 
 
"How's the business, Niko?" asked the bartender, pouring him his usual, a pint of Guinness.
 
"It's okay," said Niko, the shepherd. "Just need my usual two or three."  The bartender nodded, setting the drink in front of Niko. He was one of the few who knew about Niko's profession. 
 
"It was a long night," mumbled Niko, sipping on his drink.
 
"Did he...?"
 
"Deserve it? I suppose," mused Niko, off-handedly. "As much as any others have deserved it."
 
The bartender didn't say anything. Just went off to take care of another fur at the bar. 
 
Niko traced the edge of his glass with his fingertip, staring down into the amber liquid. 
 
"You don't look very happy," came a voice next to him.
 
Niko looked up, and into the golden eyes of a fennec fox. He was short, even for a fennec, around five-eight. He had a red faux-suede shirt on, with the first two buttons undone and his color flipped up. His black chinos were pressed into a solid crease in the front, and the gold Rolex watch on his wrist betrayed that he wasn't exactly poor. 
 
"What?" asked Niko.
 
"You there," said the fennec, sitting down next to him. "You looked depressed, even for an alcoholic."
 
"I'm not an alcoholic," replied Niko, taking a sip of beer.
 
"Well, what else is someone doing in a bar after one in the morning?" asked the fennec teasingly.
 
Niko said nothing.
 
"I'm Ethan, by the way," said Fennec, smiling.
 
"Niko," replied the shepherd.
 
"So what brings a guy like you here this late at night if not the fact you're wasting your life at the bottom of a bottle?" asked Ethan. 
 
"Just...a long day," said Niko cryptically, not elaborating beyond that.
 
Ethan cocked his head. "Rough night at the office?" he asked, kiddingly.
 
Niko smirked. "Not quite." He took another drink. "You don't look like the alcoholic type yourself; why are you here?"
 
The fennec grinned now, his face warm. "I'm the entertainment around here." He looked up. "In fact, I'm on right now." He got up, picking up a black case behind him and walking towards the stage. Niko watched him go with mild interest, catching the fox’s saunter with the slight flick of his bushy tail, slowly sipping on his beer. 
 
Ethan sat down on a stool, opening his case and taking out a saxophone. He took a book of music from his case as well. The fox set it up on a stand, tuning his sax ever so briefly. Niko looked on idly.
 
When the fennec started to play, Niko was entranced. The fennec was playing a soft, lilting blues melody. Most of the patrons of the bar were ignoring the player on the stage, but Niko couldn't. That haunting melody, the notes drifting through the air…it was sadly beautiful. He braced his paw under his chin, resting his elbow on the bar and listened. 
 
What was just as transfixing as the music was the fennec himself. Bathed in the amber light from over-head lights, and golden light from a single spotlight, the fox was stunning. Niko hadn't been with anyone in some time; time measuring in years. Since his last on-again-off-again 'boyfriend' had left him, there had been no one in his life. That had been right after he'd left his CTU squad, just as he'd picked up his first contract. 
 
"He's quite something, isn't he?" asked the bartender, leaning in to Niko's ear.
 
Niko nodded. "Why haven't I seen him in here before?"
 
"He just drifts in every now and then, when he needs the money," said the bartender.
 
"He doesn't look so bad off," observed Niko, not looking away from the stage.
 
The bartender shrugged. "Just what he told me."
 
Niko was only barely listening. All there was in his life right now was the fox and his music.
 
When he finished his first song, he played a slow jazz song next. Some of the bar-flies were stopping to drop random change and small bills his saxophone case on their way out of the bar, Ethan not even noticing as he closed his eyes and just played. 
 
Niko finished his beer, not bothering to order another, just watching the sax player. He swore he caught the fennec once or twice open his eyes and see Niko still sitting there, and he'd smile a bit. 
 
Before Niko even knew it, it was almost four in the morning, and he was the only one left in the bar; just as he had been for the last hour. The fennec had kept right on playing, though. The bartender had locked the doors at three, letting the two of the them stay in the bar. 
 
The fennec finished his set, putting his saxophone away, collecting the money out of his case. He set it on the floor and walked over to Niko. 
 
"Enjoy all that?" asked Ethan, smiling.
 
Niko smiled back, trying to remember the last time he'd smiled so much. "I did."
 
"I'm glad," replied the fennec. "That last song was just for you; it's called 'Blue.' It seemed to fit."
 
Niko said nothing.
 
The fennec trailed his paw across Niko's cheek, down his neck and over his chest. "You seem so sad."
 
Niko took his paw, lowering it gently. "Not sad."
 
The fennec said nothing. "I guess we should get going." Niko nodded. They went outside, the bartender locking the door behind them.
 
"Good-night," said Ethan, putting his sax case over his head to try and keep the rain from the still-going storm. "I hope I can see you again some time." 
 
He turned and started to walk off. Niko started to watch him to go, and was almost content to let him go, but something made him stop the fox. "Wait." 
 
Ethan turned, looking at him in the rain.
 
"Do you…need a ride somewhere?" asked Niko.
 
Ethan smiled a bit. "Sure."
 
Niko lead Ethan over to his car, the two of them getting in and driving off.
 
"I don't live in the most glamorous part of town," said Ethan, "and it's not the safest, either."
 
"That's okay," said Niko, taking a turn as Ethan directed him.
 
They pulled up in front of a brick tenement, clearly a very old building, paint faded and peeling, bricks chipped or missing, and graffiti covering every available surface at eye-level. 
 
"This is it," said Ethan, "home sweet home, such as it were." He gave Niko a crooked grin.
 
Niko smirked a bit. 
 
"Would you…like to come up?" asked Ethan, looking down when he asked.
 
Niko was a bit surprised; he'd met this male less than five hours ago, and he was already asking him up. Maybe he was lonely; maybe he liked him. Whatever the reason, Niko could only think of one response. 
 
"Yes," he said.
 
Ethan nodded. "Okay."
 
Niko parked the car around the corner, the two of them walking back around to the front, Ethan getting his key out to let them in the cracked-pane door. 
 
The main lobby was dirty and grungy, the once-white walls now a dull shade of yellow. The ceiling and floors were both water-stained, among other unsightly marks and colors, most of which Niko didn't want to stop to indentify. 
 
They walked over to the elevator, the two of them getting on and Ethan pushing the five button.
 
"I didn't think you'd actually want to come up," said Ethan, quietly.
 
Niko didn't say anything.
 
"Not very talkative, are you?" asked Ethan.
 
"No," replied Niko.
 
"That's okay, just gotta give you time to warm up."
 
The elevator dinged and they stepped off, walking down the hall, and stopping at 5C. Ethan opened the door, stepping inside. He flipped a lamp on that was on the desk next to the door, setting his case down, Niko closing the door behind them. 
 
"Welcome to my place," said Ethan, clicking on another lamp next to his couch. "Place didn't come with any lights, these are all I have." 
 
Niko looked around, taking in the apartment. The apartment seemed to be three rooms; the main living room/kitchen, a bathroom, and the bedroom he could see. All in all, a very small place. The furniture Ethan had was completely mismatched. He had a cream-colored chair facing a black and white striped couch, with a glass coffee table between them. Behind the chair on the far wall was a bookcase with various assortments of books, CDs, and old records. The bedroom lead off from the right side of the room, the bathroom leading off from the back. One corner of the main room was tiled for the stove, a refridgerator, and a few cabinets and a small counter. And there was a phone to the right side of the bedroom door on a small desk, with a cork board above it filled with pictures posted to it. 
 
"I've seen worse," muttered Niko.
 
Ethan grinned crookedly. "Please, sit." He went to a liquor cabinet in the kitchen, getting a bottle out.
 
"Thought you weren't an alcoholic?" asked Niko, teasingly.
 
"Hey, I haven't had much to drink, yet," replied Ethan, getting two tumblers out. He mixed up drinks and brought them in, setting one glass down in front of Niko as he sat on the couch. Ethan sat opposite him in the chair. 
 
"What is this?" asked Niko.
 
"Beagle Tail," replied Ethan, taking a sip. "Scotch and vermouth.
 
Niko hesitantly took a small sip, both to test flavor and if anything had been put into it. It went down smooth, so he took a larger sip and set it back on the table, 
 
"So what does a guy who sits in a bar at all hours of the morning do for a living?" asked Ethan, sitting back and putting his foot paws over the arm of the chair. 
 
Niko sighed. "Self-employed, I guess is the best description of my occupation."
 
"One of those armchair millionaires?" asked Ethan.
 
"Not quite," he said. Ethan said nothing in return, not pressing it any further.
 
"Why don't you take your jacket off?" asked Ethan.
 
"I'm okay," said Niko, quietly. 
 
"Planning to leave soon?"
 
"Not unless you want me to."
 
Ethan was quiet. "I don't," he said, lowly.
 
Niko stood up, starting to shrug his jacket off. What looked like having trouble getting it off to Ethan was actually Niko getting his shoulder holster off with it, taking them both off simultaneously to hide his weapon. 
 
The shepherd flung his jacket over the arm of the couch, making sure the holster rig was hidden under it. He turned to Ethan. "Better?" 
 
Ethan let his eyes drift over Niko; from his hard-looking face, over his taught chest, trim waist, muscled legs, and lingered for a moment on his crotch. "Much." 
 
Niko sat back down, taking another sip of his drink. "So turn-about is fair play; you make all your money off of gigs in small bars?" 
 
"Sort of," replied Ethan. "It's what I like to do. I have some stuff going on the side."
 
"Like what?" asked Niko.
 
Ethan grinned. "Stuff."
 
Niko nodded. "Okay, fair enough."
 
Ethan laughed a little. "I guess we both have some things we don't want to talk about, huh?"
 
"I guess," said Niko. He stretched out on the couch, putting his paws behind his head. "What time is it?"
 
"A little after four," answered Ethan, looking at the wall clock. "Why? Past your bedtime?" he asked with a smirk.
 
"No, just wondered," said Niko. "Never know when I may have an early morning." He crooked his head, looking at the pictures Ethan had posted on his board. Ethan was in some of them, smiling and laughing, hugging some others furs. Ethan was alone in some of them; sitting, waving, smiling. "Lots of pictures," remarked Niko. 
 
Ethan smiled mirthlessly, getting up and going over to them. "From a long time ago; feels like another lifetime ago." His finger traced one that looked several years old, tattered and faded, of Ethan hugging a rabbit from behind. 
 
"What happened to all the people in those pictures?"
 
Ethan shrugged. "They moved on. I had to move here, and just lost touch."
 
Niko said nothing.
 
"It's okay, though," said Ethan, quietly. "I'm usually here by myself."
 
"Me, too."
 
"When was the last time you were…with anyone?" asked Ethan.
 
Niko looked up at him. "A very long time ago."
 
Ethan bent down over Niko, rubbing his chest. The shepherd could feel the fennec's warm breath on his neck. He closed his eyes as the fox's paws roamed across his body. 
 
"You feel so tense," said Ethan quietly into the dog's ear.
 
"I am," replied Niko, lowly.
 
"Why?" asked Ethan.
 
Niko exhaled slowly. "Just….am." 
 
Ethan nuzzled his neck. "Maybe I can help relax you."
 
"Why?" asked Niko, opening his eyes. "You barely know me."
 
"I know you're cute," said Ethan, licking his cheek. "And very attractive. I don't ask just anyone to come up, you know."
 
Niko smiled embarrassedly. 
 
"And even though your body looks hard, you have very soft, kind eyes," said Ethan, looking into them. 
 
"Not really," said Niko, looking back into Ethan's eyes. "Very little of me is soft anymore."
 
"I doubt that very much," said Ethan, coming around the couch and leaning down, bracing himself over Niko. "I bet there are some very nice, soft places on you." He kissed Niko gently on the cheek. 
 
Niko put his arms around Ethan, trying to remember how to be intimate with another fur; it had been a very long time since the last time he'd felt another male near him. 
 
Ethan got himself fully on top of Niko, lying on top of him. Niko looked up at him, the corners of his mouth getting pulled by a faint smile. He could feel his sheath bulging inside of his jeans, pressing into Ethan's crotch. Ethan just grinned when he felt Niko's member push against him. 
 
"Little excited?" asked Ethan.  
 
Niko smiled shyly. "A little."
 
"You act all gruff, but you're just a sweetie," said Ethan, licking his nose. "All soft and cute.

Niko put his arms on Ethan's shoulder's, moving his muzzle up and kissing Ethan on the muzzle. Ethan looked surprised, but closed his eyes and put his paws around Niko's head, holding him there, enjoying the feeling. 
 
"Move fast," teased Ethan.
 
"Don't like to waste time," replied Niko. "Besides," he started, putting his paw between Ethan's legs, "I think you enjoyed that."
 
The fennec blushed, just visible through the fur under his eyes. His own bulge was getting obvious through his chinos. He sat up, straddling Niko's crotch, and leaned back, making it as obvious as he could. Niko just looked at the fennec's erection, transfixed. 
 
Ethan began to undo his belt, unhooking it and releasing it. Then unbuttoned his pants, slowly bringing the zipper down. Niko just watched, not saying a word. 
 
The fox parted the flaps of his pants, exposing his boxers, his pink cock just visible through the thin fabric. He lifted his hips and legs to get his pants off, kicking them off and onto the floor. Ethan smiled down at Niko as he slipped his cock through the opening in his boxers, his glistening head popping into view. Niko could just make out his sheath at the base of Ethan's penis, and the top of the curve of his testicles. 
 
"Do you like that?" asked Ethan, grabbing his cock in his paw, holding it out for Niko to see.
 
Niko nodded. "Very much."
 
He scooted forward onto Niko's chest, letting his erect fox-cock hang down right in front of Niko's muzzle. "Go ahead, if you want to." 
 
Niko delicately nuzzled Ethan cock, letting his muzzle rub all around it. Ethan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "Oooh….," he murmured. 
 
The shepherd enjoyed the fennec's noises, licking the underside of Ethan's cock. He let just the tip of his tongue run over Ethan's cockhead, trailing it along the fox's slit. 
 
While Niko was so busy with Ethan's cock, he hadn't even noticed that the fox was undoing his belt. Didn't notice until Ethan's paw found it's way into his underwear. The fox rubbed Niko's erect cock, which sent electrifying waves through Niko's entire body. He stopped for a moment, Ethan's cock forgotten as Ethan fondled Niko. He gripped the canine's shaft in his paw firmly, yet not enough to cause pain. He pumped up and down. 
 
"You…you can take them off," mumbled Niko, breathing deeply. 
 
Ethan got up, taking the last remaining articles of clothing he had on off, dropping them on the floor. He bent over Niko, unbuttoning his pants. Niko lifted his head enough to get a good view of Ethan's ass, noticing how the white fur of his belly extended down through his crotch and up the cleft of his butt right to the base of his tail. He could see the back of Ethan's balls peeking through his legs. Ethan looked over his shoulder, seeing where Niko's eyes were transfixed. "Get a good look there, pup." 
 
Niko grinned, letting Ethan remove his pants. As they come off, his eyes suddenly went wide when he remembered his ankle holster was still strapped to himself. He closed his eyes in tension, waiting for Ethan to remark on it. But he merely reached over and removed it, setting it with Niko's jacket. 
 
"It's okay," said Ethan, pulling Niko's shirt off and over his head. The shepherd was left lying there, nude, his fully erect cock sticking up, his knot still concealed in his sheath, his furry balls hanging loose between his legs. 
 
"Sexy," said Ethan, quietly, trailing his paw over Niko belly to his crotch, rubbing along the inside of his thigh, trailing back up to his cock, rubbing the base of Niko's shaft. "We can go into the bedroom if you like." 
 
"I would like that," said Niko. He got up, walking to the bedroom with Ethan.
 
Ethan clicked on a bed-side lamp, lighting up the room. He had a plain, queen-size bed against the wall. The walls were bare, painted the same color as the rest of the apartment. The only furniture in the room was a dresser and the bed-side table. 
 
Ethan sat on the edge of the bed, spreading his legs and fondling himself. "C'mere."
 
Niko sat on the bed next to him. Ethan straddled him, his legs around his hips.
 
"I always like to be the one getting penetrated," said Ethan quietly. He moved his hips up and repositioned himself so Niko's cockhead was pressing against his tailhole. "Always feels so good," he mumbled as he sat down on Niko's cock, riding him. Niko moaned as his cock was enveloped in the warm recesses of Ethan's rear. 
 
"Oooh, such a nice, big doggy," said Ethan happily. "We'll have to see if we can't get that knot out of you." 

He started to move his hips up and down, moving himself over   Niko's cock. He slipped over it, lowering himself back down, delighting at the look of pure pleasure on Niko's face. Niko bucked his hips up a bit, humping a little at Ethan's tailhole, and Ethan enjoyed this feeling, especially when Niko's cockhead would brush up against his prostate, sending a jolt up through his testes and cock. His tailhole would tighten a bit around Niko's cock every time he hit his prostate inside the fennec, and Niko enjoyed that. 
 
Ethan reached down and pawed himself off in time with his riding on Niko. He loved that feeling of being 'full,' of having another male deep inside of him. And Niko's cock did a wonderful job of creating that. His tailhole was spread wide, Niko shaft keeping him wide. He closed his eyes, and started to ride a bit faster. 
 
The shepherd was enjoying Ethan work on top of him. Feeling his cock work in and out of Ethan, slowly, then faster, then he'd slow down again. It was incredible to feel his cock stimulated like that. 
 
Niko couldn't take it anymore. He moved his hips, rolling Ethan over. Ethan went with him, still keeping Niko's cock inside of them. They rolled so Ethan ended up on his back, Niko getting the fox's knees up to his shoulders, mounting the fennec. He started to hump the fennec's ass, pulling himself back and forth. Ethan moaned and grunted as Niko slipped himself in and out. "Mmmmf…faster…harder…" 
 
Niko was more than happy to oblige this request, pushing himself in as deep as he could, then pulling back until just his head was held inside Ethan, then back inside. Ethan gasped out when Niko was back inside of him, joyous at the feeling inside of him. 
 
The shepherd lay across Ethan, licking his muzzle, still humping. Ethan reached up, seizing his head, and pulled him close, slipping his tongue inside of Niko's muzzle, finding every inch inside of his muzzle. Niko closed his eyes, kissing the fennec, feeling his knot pop free of his sheath. He gently brought his knot close to Ethan's tailhole, pressing it just against it. Ethan wriggled his rear end, signaling for Niko to take him. Niko slipped his knot in as his tongue was slipped inside of Ethan's muzzle, tying with his lover. Ethan broke their embrace, gasping and moaning as his tailhole was stretched as far as possible to accommodate Niko's knot. He sighed and breathed heavily, feeling all of Niko's cock inside himself. 
 
"Are you okay?" asked Niko.
 
Ethan nodded, smiling. "I'm just fine."
 
Niko rocked his hips, careful not to withdraw himself from Ethan and hurt him. His knot being stuck inside of Ethan made his head spin with pleasure. He got as deep as he could, still moving himself enough to keep rousing himself. Ethan clenched his tailhole, keeping himself as tight as he could around Niko. 
 
"Mmmf…nice, tight fox," grunted Niko, leaning down eye-to-eye with Ethan.
 
"Nice, big puppy," said Ethan, shyly. He kept clenching tight around Niko, flexing his tailhole intentionally. And he could see the expression on Niko's face meant he enjoyed that. 
 
The shepherd could feel his testicles draw up close against his body, meaning his orgasm was close at hand. His cock was almost numb, pre-ejaculatory fluid seeping from his cock. He rocked his hips faster now, feeling his climax was forth-comimg. 
 
"Come on, doggy, fill up the fox," grunted Ethan, feeling the twinge of pre-orgasm spasms move through Niko's cock.
 
Niko grunted, trying to resist the urge to thrust. He closed his eyes, feeling his semen pour through his cock, grunting a bit. He made one last movement with his hips, and then felt it coming. His cock spasmed inside the fennec, his semen coming towards his cockhead. He let it all out with a long howl, his cum spilling into the fennec, so much gushing out that some dripped past the plug his knot had made with the fox's hole. 
 
The fox grinned in pleasure as he felt the shepherd cum inside of him, the contraction of the dog's penis against the inside of himself another level of pleasure all-together. He murred happily as his new lover filled him with his seed. 
 
When he was spent, they just lay there, wet semen still dribbling down out of the fox's tailhole and onto the bed.
 
"That was…incredible," gasped the fennec.
 
"Yeah, it was," agreed Niko, licking the fox's nose.
 
"Guess we're stuck here for awhile," said Ethan rhetorically, laughing a bit.

“Looks like,” replied Niko, smiling.

“Well then, let me get comfortable,” said Ethan, shifting his legs over and rolling to the side, still tied with Niko, the shepherd going with him so to not tear himself out and hurt Ethan. They ended up lying back to back with one another. Niko put his arms around Ethan, Ethan taking Niko’s paw and interlacing his fingers with Niko’s.

“Will you stay the night?” asked Ethan quietly.

“Sure,” replied Niko. “At least what’s left of it.” They both laughed.

“Good morning,” murmured Ethan.

“Good morning,” said Niko back, but he could already hear the fox snoring softly. He smiled and put his head back on the pillow, drifting off to sleep himself.

***

There was a distant ringing noise drifting to him. He frowned, rolling over, but it insisted. His ears twitched at the intrusive noise.

Niko sat up in the bed, remembering he wasn’t home. The bed next to him was empty, and he could hear the shower running in the bathroom. Early morning light was streaming through the gaps in the blinds on the windows; it was just after seven.

He kicked off the covers, walking into the next room nude, his tight ass visible under his bouncing tail. He bent and retrieved his cell phone, which was the source of the ringing.

“Hello?”

“Is this customer service?” came the voice.

The caller suddenly had his full attention. “Yes. What can I do for you?”

“I have a package here I need delivered on the corner of Eight and Maple. I need it there by eight-thirty. Want the job?”

Niko looked at his watch; it was 7:07. Eight wasn’t that far away. “Yes, I can be there.”

The line clicked.

He launched into action, getting his clothes and weapons back on. He was just getting his shoes on when Ethan appeared in the doorway, a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Good morning,” said Ethan, leaning against the doorway. “Sleep well?”

“I have to go,” replied Niko, getting his shoes.

“What!?” asked Ethan, stricken.

“I have business,” said Niko, getting his jacket on. “I’ll…um…”

Ethan looked away. “It’s okay. Go on.”

“I’ll come back later, okay?” asked Niko.

“Sure,” said Ethan, not believing him.

Niko crossed the room, putting his arms around the fennec’s waist. “I’ll come back tonight. Promise.”

Ethan nodded. “Okay.” 
With that, Niko made his way to the door, leaving and closing the door behind him. To Ethan, it was like he was a ghost who’d never been there at all.

***

Niko sat across from a seven-foot, white wall, watching the front gate with a set of binoculars from his car. Two guys, who obviously weren’t just looking at the sidewalk, were standing just inside the gate. Their Ray-Bans and twitchy hands gave them away as thugs, no matter how well-tailored their suits were.

Niko set his binoculars down, picking up the folder that was on his passenger seat. His mark was a black lab, who apparently was a rival arms dealer for whomever was contracting him. He was also to kill his buyer, since he was turning tail on the contractor. 

The last place they’d both be together would be the buyer’s villa in town.

He had pictures of both, but not much else; no blueprints, no house photos, no nothing. He hated rush jobs, but he hated bad intel even worse. The seller had arrived twenty minutes prior. The contractor, who was painfully-obviously a low-tier hired hand, had said his boss apologized, they had only learned of his arrival the night before.

The shepherd sighed. It wasn’t getting any earlier. Time to go in.

He pulled his car away from the curb, driving down past the villa and turning into a small alleyway just past the wall. It was still cast in shadow in the early-morning; it was just closing in on nine o’clock. 

Niko got from his car and went to the trunk, opening it and flipping the bottom panel up. He took his USP and PPK from their holsters; he didn’t like to use the same guns for two jobs until they were cleaned. Didn’t want to chance a jam from the foul-up from usage.

Putting the USP and PPK into two holders, he removed a Glock model 20 10mm-caliber pistol, slapping a magazine in and chambering a round and slipping an extra magazine into his pocket. He also removed a fresh suppressor and screwed that onto the threaded barrel of the Glock, putting the pistol into his shoulder rig. He also picked up his back-up weapon, a Colt Anaconda .44 magnum revolver. He didn’t often opt for revolvers, but the power was a nice feature. With semi-jacketed hollow-points, they’d stop anyone in their tracks. He’d had the barrel shortened on this one from six to three and a half inches so it would fit on his ankle comfortably.

The last thing he did was secure his folding knife into a sheath he had. He opened the knife and slipped it into the sheath on his belt. He had learned long ago how handy a knife could be.

He slammed his trunk lid, leaving his jacket in the car. He looked up at the wall; being six feet, he could easily jump and catch his fingers on the lip of the wall and haul himself up, kneeling on one knee on the very top of the wall, surveying the yard.

It was about forty yards from the wall to the house. He could see a back door, which faced a well-manicured garden with high hedges. Nice cover.

Normally he would fake a way in. But he knew the meeting place, wherever it was, would be nowhere near any of the places in the house he could get access to. Probably on the second floor somewhere.

A short whirring noise caught his attention. He looked a tree just to his right. In the crook of a branch, he could see a camera panning back and forth slowly. Luckily he had stopped just short of it field of vision.

That was all he needed; surveillance cameras. The bane of his existence.

He hated doing daylight jobs. There was no real way to sneak in there. He’d have to avoid cameras the whole way in.

He sighed again and hopped off the wall.

Niko dropped gently to the ground, crunching a pile of leaves under his shoes. He winced at the noise and took cover behind the tree trunk. He actually couldn’t see any guards patrolling the area. The shepherd drew his pistol, looking around. He couldn’t see anymore cameras, but he knew they were there.

He ran in a crouch, kneeling behind one of the first hedges. He sidled up to the edge, looking around the corner. 

About eight feet off the ground, nestled in the top of the hedge, was another camera. This was fixed pointedly at the ground beneath it.

He looked around, trying to spot another one. He didn’t see any, so he made a wide semi-circle around the camera, getting down behind a fountain, looking towards the house. No one coming with an automatic weapon in hand, no alarms going off. 

On the second floor, he could see a window open, curtain fluttering in the breeze. Next to it was a metal trellis that looked fairly sturdy.

It was almost like it was put there just for him.

He moved out from the left side of the fountain, running to the house, covering the rest of the distance, jumping a patch of flowers and getting against the wall on one side of the doors. He leaned over, looking in. The doors opened from the living room, which was very well kept; hard-wood, and paintings rich jackasses always thought looked impressive.

He dashed across the doors, getting to the other side. Just as he got out of sight, he could hear voices inside. Two furs walked through the living room, towards the doors. Apparently he got in just ahead of the shift change.

Putting himself on the trellis, he climbed up quickly, hearing the door open. The two guards stepped out as he reached over to the window ledge, pulling himself in.

Pulling his Glock back out, he stopped and just listened for a second.

He could hear voices somewhere nearby. Wooden floorboards creaked just outside the door; someone was there.

The shepherd crouch-ran to the right side of the door, sidling up next to it. He reached up with his off hand and gently opened the door a bit. He was at the corner of an L-shaped hallway, corridors stretching away from in both direction. To the left, he could see a set of steps curving away, presumably down to the living room. The other direction went to another corner, and went out of view.

And about five feet away, at the top of the stairs, was another guard.

Niko closed the door, leaving just a hairline crack in the door so he could see him. The guard, a bulldog, was just standing there, looking over the living room from the top of the stairs. Niko was content to go on ahead and leave him, but couldn’t be assured he wouldn’t turn and see him as soon as he exited the room.

Almost as if on cue, the bulldog turned, walking towards the door.

Niko slid back from the door, watching him approach. He had two options; let him go, or take him out.

He made his decision.

When he came within striking distance, Niko flung the door open, lunging upward, kneeing the bulldog in the gut and spinning him around, pulling his knife and sticking it to the dog’s jugular. With little resistance, Niko dragged him back into the room, closing the door.

“Hi, there,” said Niko, quietly. “I’m going to ask you a few questions. If you lie to me, you’re going to leave here missing a few key body parts. Are we clear?”

The bulldog nodded furiously, looking down at the knife.

“How many guards are there?” asked Niko.

“Seven,” replied the dog.

Truth. “Armament?”

“Pistols, mostly. A few TMPs.”

Truth. “Where is the deal going down?”

“What deal?”

Lie. Niko torqued the dog’s arm a bit, watching him grimace in pain.

“Let’s try that one again; where is the deal going on?”

“Room at the end of this hallway, down on the left,” said the bulldog.

“Good,” muttered Niko, taking the knife from the dog’s throat and plunging it into his chest, hitting his heart. The dog’s eyes went wide, then glassed over in a few moments. Niko slowly let him slide to the floor.

He opened the door again, kneeling down and looking down the length of the hall. Silent. No one was around.

And that actually made him more nervous.

He dashed from the door to the corner, looking down over the living room. No one was there, either.

The shepherd made his way down the hall, having to move around expensive-looking bureaus and desks, decorated with high-priced vases; or at least really good-looking knock-offs. He tried to avoid looking at the paintings hung here and there. Not because he didn’t want to look at his mark, just that they were ugly.

Stopping at the far end, he looking around the corner again. The hallway terminated at a set of ornate double doors, carved with gold, or, again, expensive-looking faux patterning.

He moved down to the door, tightening his grip on his Glock, wishing he’d brought gloves because his sweating was making the grip slick.

Going into his pack, he produced a ‘gift’ from his former teacher; a small fiberoptic camera, also known as a ‘snake cam.’ He fed the lens under the door, looking onto the small black-and-white screen the image was telegraphed to.

Rotating the camera around, he could see the meeting table, with two guards just past it at another door, both with empty hands, but he was certain they had weapons on them somewhere. The buyer and seller were sitting across the table from each other, several items on the table, including what Niko concluded was probably a case of a large sum of money.

He retracted the snake cam, tucking it away, and getting out another set of tools; a smoke grenade and small re-breather. Similar to a gas mask, only it fit just over the nose and end of his muzzle.

Niko moved to one side, placing his paw on the door, taking a deep breath. This was always the hard part.

Then he just did it.

He opened the door, pulling the pin on the grenade and tossing it at the same time. Four second delay, and thick, grey smoke billowed into the room.

“What the fuck!?” asked one of the guards, the buyer and seller scrambling to their feet.

Niko turned through the doorway, raising his Glock and taking the two guards down, using the standard tactical method; two in the chest, one in the head. The guards went down quickly.

One of the furs at the table tried to get up and blind-side Niko, but Niko saw him coming at him in the smoke. Niko repositioned himself, squaring off, and reversed his grip on the Glock, so he was holding it by the barrel, and slammed the grip down on the nose of the fur, who was the black lab. When the dog reeled backward, Niko unsheathed his knife and plunged into the gut of the lab, then into his back. He watched the dog fall, dead.

He got his grip back on the Glock, sighting in on the last fur in the room, and pulled the trigger, one single bullet nailing squarely between his eyes. His head snapped back and he hit the floor with a dull thud.

Niko checked the lab’s pulse; dead for sure. He got out his digital camera, snapping photos of the buyer and seller, making sure to get multiple exposures. He took them as if studying a tableau, totally detached.

As he was putting his camera away, he could hear voices outside of the other door, opposite the one he came in.

“Boss? You okay in there!? We see smoke!”

“Shit,” muttered Niko. “Time to go.”

He opened the door as the other one opened simultaneously, men filing in. “Boss!” Niko ran into the hall, just barely catching them yell, “After him!”

Niko rounded the corner, ducking into the first room on the left he came to, which looked like a guest bedroom. He pushed an old credenza in front of the door, hoping the weight and heft would hold them back for a few moments

Moving to the window, he flung it open, looking down. This side of the house was a sheer drop to the yard below, no overhangs or trellises. But that was okay.

Reaching into his stock of ‘toys,’ he grabbed a small spool of high-tension cable. He tied the end around the leg of the bed, moving up onto the window sill, leaning backwards out of the window, holding tight to the cable.

He could hear pounding on the door, loud, gruff voices behind it.

Niko lowered himself off of the window sill, moving slowly to the ground, his Glock in hand for any surprises. 

His paws touched the ground with no incident, just as he heard the door and desk upstairs give way.

The shepherd turned and started to dash across the yard, shooting as he went at the cameras; he didn’t want anyone to yank the tapes later on and identify him.

His paws flew over the grass just as the first bit of machinegun fire raked the ground around him. He dove to his left behind a hedge, breathing deeply. More gunfire kicked up dirt all around him. He looked to the wall, still thirty feet away. He aimed upward at the camera in the tree, taking it out. Then he got to his feet, running again, just as the backyard doors flung open and two guards with Steyr TMP machine-pistols appeared and opened fire. Niko was fairly certain at this range they had no accuracy, especially aiming from the hip, but wasn’t going to tempt fate.

He covered the distance quickly, climbing up the tree trunk a bit first, then springing off of it onto the wall. He got back to the top of the wall, crouching, and getting ready to jump down, when one of the slugs struck him. He cried out and fell down, over the edge of the wall.

The guards who saw Niko fall over the edge of the wall ran across the yard, clambering up to the top and looking over the edge. They stopped when they saw what was on the other side.

Nothing.

***

The garage door opened and the car pulled in, the door closing once again behind it. Niko opened the driver’s side door, grunting as he got out of the car, putting his left hand over his right shoulder. He stumbled through the back door that connected onto his kitchen, getting into the house and slamming the door behind him.

He kept a modest house in the suburbs; nothing special or extraordinary about it. Normal size, two-floor, backyard; normal stuff. 

Not that EVERYTHING was ordinary.

He walked through the living room, which was hardwood, and largely undecorated. Just furniture; two chairs, a couch, and a coffee table. Not even a TV. No pictures on the wall, no shelves with decoration, nothing. A very Spartan-looking place.

Niko climbed the stairs, pressing his paw against his bulletwound. Blood was still seeping out quite a bit. He opened the door to his bedroom, walking into the bathroom. He stripped off all of his gear, and his blood-soaked shirt, down to just his pants. He leaned over the sink, breathing deeply. It didn’t hurt that much, he just hated treating himself.

Opening his medicine chest, he removed a medical kit, setting it on the lid of his toilet and opening it up. Everything was inside he would need for dressing; gauze, painkillers, needles, thread, tape. 

He splashed disinfectant on himself, hissing at the pain. He was just happy the bullet had gone through, missing bones and not lodging in his muscle. He’d had to dig slugs out before, and it was very painful. 

When that was done, he could see the wound wasn’t THAT bad; probably had been a nine-millimeter round. He was pretty sure he’d disinfected it enough. He dried the wound a bit and taped gauze over the entrance and exit wounds. He figured he could get by without stitches.

Niko looked at himself in the mirror, running his paws over his stomach and chest, up along his neck, where another scar ran from the corner of his jaw down the length of his neck to his shoulder. That was an old wound.

He walked back into the bedroom, shirtless, gathering his weapons and heading back downstairs. He went back towards the kitchen and opened the door next to the doorway, going downstairs.

He clicked on the switch at the bottom of the stairs, illuminating the basement. It was all but clear, a few boxes piled in one corner. Other than that, it was totally unused.

Except for the door on the left.

The wooden door was featureless; no knob or anything to get in. Niko reached to the right, moving a bookcase a bit away from the wall, revealing a keypad set up the wall. He punched in the code and the door swung gently inward.

Niko stepped inside, clicking the light on. LED lights clicked on all around the room, illuminating three sides of the room.

The entire room was stocked with weapons; pistols, machineguns, shotguns, sniper rifles. All manner of armament. Also had his little gadgets he’d collected.

In the middle was a work bench, with tools and weapon cleaning supplies on it. He deposited the Glock and USP on the desk, sitting down, wincing a bit as he did so. He disassembled the USP first, stripping it down to it’s basic parts, cleaning each one individually. He let his mind drift into the menial task, trying not to let his mind slip to Ethan.

But that only lasted for so long.

It had been a very long time since he’d been with someone that had made him feel…good again. He still didn’t know why he’d gone home with the fennec last night; there’d been something about him. Niko hadn’t wanted to be close to anyone in a long time; his boyfriend had left him after he was dishonorably discharged from his CTU; said he couldn’t be with him anymore. Not that they were really anything more than friends with benefits, but Niko had been hoping for more.

The last time he’d been close to someone after that had been his ‘teacher.’ A lot of her words still echoed in his head.

***

He was sitting on a three-story building, long abandoned, over-looking a small field just beyond. In his hands was a Walther WA2000 .300-caliber sniper rifle, the bipod resting on the edge of the overhang of the building, the scope zeroed in on the silhouette targets 600 yards away. To his left was a leopardess with a pair of spotter’s binoculars, looking down at the targets.

“Better than your last grouping,” she said, quietly.

Niko took his eyes from the scope, looking over at her. “They all hit.”

“But only two of the eight were kill shots,” she said, evenly. “Hitting someone in the shoulder or side of the torso is all well and good, but they’ll live with treatment. You have to go for vital organs,” she explained, coldly and clinically. She set the spotter’s glasses down. “Reload, and we’ll try again.”

Niko sighed, gently letting the gun rest, and released the magazine, reloading the rifle rounds, smelling the gunpowder, the acrid scent drifting through the air.

“You’re still jerking the trigger,” remarked the leopardess. “You need to squeeze slowly.”

“Well the barrel is also heated, and the scope may be decalibrated by now, and—“ started Niko, but was cut off sharply.

“Blaming your tools is a poor way of passing the blame off of yourself,” said the leopardess, sternly. “You’re not with your CTU squad anymore. You need to unlearn everything they taught you. There’s no more team work, there’s no more cover, no more back-up. Just you and the gun. And the gun is a just a tool; it cannot screw up, make a bad decision, hesitate in a fight. It can only do what YOU tell it to. And if the scope is in fact uncalibrated, that is your fault, not it’s.”

Niko huffed, reloading the magazine.

“You need to rely on yourself, and only yourself,” she continued. “You are all you have to count on.”

“You’re here,” remarked Niko, looking up at her.

She smiled mirthlessly. “I may not always be here.”

Niko finished reloading, tapping the magazine to line them up and slapped it back into the gun. “When are you going to let me have a job?”

“When you’ve proven to me you’re ready,” replied the leopardess. 

“It’s been six months,” complained Niko. “We’ve done small arms, hand to hand, following procedures, and now sniping. How much longer?”

“When I say so,” she said. “There has to be no doubt at all in your head, or mine. You cannot be weaker than your opponent, or hesitate,  because it will all be over.” She turned her head to the slight wind that was coming in. “Wind is from the east, what does that tell you?”

“It’s coming from behind me, so I need to aim a little higher to take in account of wind and distance.”

“Right,” she said. “Squeeze slowly.”

Niko let his finger make marginal increases in pressure on the trigger, until he’d depressed it enough, and the gun barked loudly, the bullet flying to it’s target, striking in center mass.

“There may be hope for you yet,” she said, smiling a very little.

“Think so, Rose?” he asked, squeezing and shooting again, this one hitting right next to the last one.

“Oh, yes,” said Rose.

***

Niko re-assembled his pistols, setting them on the work bench. He sighed, putting his back against the chair and staring at the ceiling. Could he really go back to the fennec’s tonight? It was just some guy he’d met in a bar, big deal if he never went back. He was sure he wasn’t the first guy Ethan had picked up in awhile, and was certain he wouldn’t be the last.

But Ethan did genuinely seem to want him to come back. And he promised the fennec he’d come back.

What a dilemma.

Niko swiveled on the chair, taking his USP and the spare magazines with him. He went back upstairs to his bedroom, early afternoon sunlight raking in through his bay window that looked down over the street. He opened the window, letting the Autumn air in.

He stripped out of his pants and underwear, tossing them and his gun on the bed, going into the bathroom and starting the shower. He realized he should have shower BEFORE he dressed his wound, but wasn’t thinking about that then. Gently taking off his bandages, he tossed the bloody gauze into his waste basket.

The shepherd stepped under the warm water, wincing as it sluiced over his wound, the water in the bottom of the tub taking on a faint pink tint.

He scrubbed himself all over, loving the feel of a shower.

A part of him wished there was someone else there with him. Someone with auburn fur and golden eyes.

He snapped himself back, realizing he was lingering a little long on washing his sheath, some pink peaking through the top of it. Thinking of that brought on memories of last night.

At the time, he’d enjoyed it. It had been a long time since he’d had sex. Not that he usually thought about it; in fact, very little of his time was fixated on his sex drive. He only pawed off every few months. He’d had it instilled in him that sex was a distraction, and some furs used that to their advantage. He needed to be on his toes at all times, and he couldn’t do that if he was thinking about someone else’s dick.

But he had enjoyed being with Ethan. Quite a lot, in fact. He reminded Niko of Brian. Same smile, same intense but soft eyes, same expression that he needed something, but didn’t know quite what. But he felt bad for being with him; the pup couldn’t have been older than twenty-two, and Niko was almost twenty-eight. 

He turned off the water, stepping out and grabbing a towel, drying himself off. He re-dressed his bandages, grimacing as he did so. He popped a couple Vicodin afterward, swallowing them dry.

Wandering back into the bedroom, he pulled on a pair of tan khakis and a blue shirt, slipping his shoulder holster back on, and grabbing his leather jacket, also pulling that on. He decided he would go out for a bit, and decide if he wanted to go back to Ethan’s or not.

***

Ethan looked at the clock again, anxiously wondering if the shepherd would show up. It was already near sunset, and there was no sign of the canine He sighed, pouring himself a gin martini, sitting down with the drink and staring off into space. Maybe he’d been naïve and stupid to ACTUALLY think the shepherd would be coming back. Niko probably picked guys up in bars all the time. Ethan was just another fast fuck. Taking a sip from his martini, it was hard to believe last night even happened. It had been such a blur. Sure, he’d brought his fair share of guys home from the bars; some under the promise of a relationship, others money. But none had been such a MAN. Every moment, every touch, every thrust had been incredible. He had said he’d be back. And for some reason, Ethan believed this shepherd, who had only briefly shared a bed with him.

He looked at the framed photo on the desk next to him. It was one of the last keepsakes he had from before he had been forced to move. Times had been tough, and there were more opportunities here. But he still missed his old boyfriend; the rabbit that he was sitting next to, holding paws with. His mom had taken the picture just before she died.

He took another sip from his martini, determined not to cry.

He was moved from his reverie by the buzzer ringing.

The fennec’s heart jumped into his throat, hoping against hope it wasn’t just a wrong button push. He got up from the chair, navigating in the low light from outside, the brilliant orb turning a bright pink as it set, and burning the clouds around it ember.

He pressed the answer button, clearing his throat. “Yes?”

“It’s Niko,” came the familiar, low voice.

Ethan had to repress his squeal of happiness, pressing the button to let him in quickly. He stood in front of the door, the minutes until the sexy shepherd arrived at his door seeming to be hours. But at length there came a soft knock. Ethan opened the door and stepped aside, letting Niko in, who didn’t say much of anything. If it were possible, he was even more attractive than he was last night.

“Hi,” said Ethan, standing next to him like a shy schoolgirl, wondering what it was about this male that did this to him.

Niko half-smiled, the right side of his muzzle tugged by it. “Heya.”

“Want to take your coat off now?” asked Ethan.

Niko shrugged his leather jacket off, leaving his shoulder holster on this time, and handing it to Ethan, who didn’t stare at the gun or seem bothered by it. The shepherd sat down on the couch, Ethan standing still.

Niko looked up, feeling awkward suddenly. “What?”

“Nothing,” replied Ethan, shaking his head. “Want anything to drink?”

“Whatever you’ve got on hand,” said Niko, leaning back and digging into his pocket for a package of cigarettes. “You mind?”

Ethan shook his head as he opened the door, removing a small, green bottle. He poured two glasses, leaving the alcohol straight, and brought the glasses over, setting one down in front of Niko. He sat down next to Niko, putting the bottle down on the table.

“Imported Irish cream,” explained Ethan. “Can’t get it over here.”

Niko looked at him, his unlit smoke dangling from his muzzle. “And you got it out now?”

Ethan smiled, despite himself. “I was saving it for a special occasion.”

Niko looked away, taking a silver lighter from his pocket. Ethan could make out part of an insignia on the side as he lit the cigarette.

“What’s on there?” asked Ethan.

Niko held the lighter in the palm of his paw, taking a drag from his cigarette and blowing it out. On the front was etched a diamond with a skull and cross bones in the center, the words ‘Mortalis, Celer, Silenes’ running around the edge. “Special forces, Force Recon. I was with their counter-terror unit in the third batallion for three years.”

“What are the words around it?”

“Latin. Swift, silent, and deadly; Recon’s motto,” said Niko, slipping the lighter back into his pocket. He held his cigarette in his first two fingers, smoke trailing from the end in lazy patterns, vanishing into nothing.

Ethen put a paw on Niko’s thigh, leaning in closer. “How long were you in the army?”

Niko looked down at Ethan’s paw, saying nothing, taking another puff and blowing it out gently. “Six  years. And it was the Marines.”

“Oh,” said Ethan. Niko seemed so cold, so lonely. “What happened after that?”

Niko looked over at him, his cigarette in his muzzle. “What made you want me to come back today?”

Ethan was a bit surprised when he countered with a question. “I…I don’t know. I’d be lying if I said part of it wasn’t being lonely. I guess the other part was that I liked you.”

Niko looked genuinely surprised. “You don’t even know me.”

“I’d like to,” replied Ethan, looking into his eyes. “I don’t want to scare you off, but I like you. A lot.” He leaned in closer. “What made you come back?”

Ethan looked back into the fennec’s eyes, feeling lost and found there at the same time. Damn those eyes. “You remind me of someone I used to know.”

Ethan took his paw. “Who?”

“Someone…from a long time ago,” said Niko, abruptly withdrawing his paw from Ethan’s. He took a drink and a long drag on his cigarette. “It’s been a long time since I got close to someone. I’ve gotten so used to the idea that those feelings are weak.”

“They’re not,” whispered Ethan.

Niko sighed, blowing out more smoke. “You don’t know what I do.”

“You could tell me.”

Niko looked at him again. “I can’t.”

“Try me. Given the gun, I’d say you’re a cop, but that’s not quite it, is it?”

Niko sat back, letting his cigarette dangle from his fingers. “I’m a hitman. An assassin for hire. I’ve been doing this for four years, ever since I was discharged from the Marines.”

Ethan didn’t look stunned or phased in the least. “What made you get into that?”

Niko took a puff. “You’re not surprised, or shocked?”

Ethan shook his head. “No.”

Niko took another drink. “I didn’t know where I was going to go. I had been killing for six years. My ‘boyfriend’ left me once I was discharged. If you could have really called him that. He was more of a friend with benefits. We had sex more than we discussed what we felt or wanted from one another. He ran off with someone he met, and told me we weren’t going anywhere. He’d done that before; telling me shit like he needed to go ‘find himself,’ and ‘see what he was missing.’ “

Ethan just nodded, not saying anything.

“And then I met HER. The lady in black. Rose. She ‘recruited’ me a few days after I left the Marines. I was staying in a hotel, since my father wouldn’t let me in their house with a dishonorable discharge. Money was running out fast. And she approached me one day in a coffee house, asking if I wanted to put my skills to use. I thought she was kidding. Took me a little while to realize she wasn’t. I went with her, and she started to train me.”

Niko felt odd opening up to someone, particularly someone he’d known for barely a day. But was still oddly at ease.

“How long did you know her?” asked Ethan.

“Two years,” said Niko. “She trained me for a few months, showing me the ins and outs of stealth and my new trade. It wasn’t long before I had been ready for my first job. It had sounded like an easy time, but that swiftly changed. We were supposed to track down a mark named Rosco. Everything went south; I ended up killing him in a crowded apartment complex."

Ethan said nothing, just listening. 

"That went on for a couple more years," finished Niko, flicking the ash on the end of his cigarette into an ashtray on the table. It suddenly occurred to Niko the fennec didn't mind his smoking because the fox probably did it himself.

"What happened to Rose? Did you go off on your own?" asked Ethan, inquisitively.

Niko shook his head, putting the cigarette to his muzzle. "She was killed. In a building explosion."

"I'm sorry," said Ethan, quietly.

Niko let out another puff slowly. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I suppose we got close, but...there was nothing permenant there."

Ethan took a sip of cream. "Did you...have physical relations?"

Niko looked at him for a moment. "If you mean sex, yes, once. But what it was between the two of us went past sex. It was...it was like she was the half of myself I was missing. The part I lost somewhere along the way and never bothered to stop and pick up. We never talked about ourselves and never asked. We were concerned with the here, the now. Not what was or what would be, just what WAS. And in that time, we were lost, but we were found. It was more than a mentor and her student, but less than what a male and a female can become. We...existed."

Ethan wasn't quite sure what to say to that. It was an odd concept to be that involved with someone and not become one. To him, anyway; even if he had done it on numerous occasions himself. But in Niko's eyes, Ethan saw almost sadness when he spoke of the female he knew.

"Are you hungry?" asked Ethan, at length.

Niko half-smiled, without mirth. "Yeah, actually I am."

Ethan stood and grabbed a menu attached to his refridgerator by a magnet, grabbing a cellphone from his pocket and ordering chinese takeout for them. Niko rested his elbow on his knee, holding his cigarette in his paw, entranced by the swirls of smoke.

"Be about thirty minutes before they're here," remarked Ethan, sitting back down, a little closer to Niko this time. Niko noticed he was closing the gap between them steadily. "I'm afraid I don't even have a television."

"It's okay," said Niko. "I don't mind just sitting."

"We don't have to just sit," said Ethan, seductively, sliding his paw over Niko's arm. He smiled at Niko. "I really enjoyed last night. I haven't been with a male like you in a long time." Ethan paw went over Niko's chest, rubbing his through his shirt. "So strong."

Niko took Ethan's paw in his, holding it gently. "Ethan...I can't let anyone into my life. I don't have room."

Ethan looked a bit taken aback by that. "But, you came back...I thought it was for me."

"It was for you. But I don't know if we...if I can do that again. Surely I'm not the only male in your life," Niko said quietly.

"The only one like this, you are," replied Ethan, putting his other paw on Niko's thigh. "I wanted you to make love to me again...not just sex, like most males who come into this apartment."

"Is that what you were referring to last night when you said there were things you didn't want to talk about?" asked Niko.

Ethan looked away, embarrassed now. "I've had some males here for sex, yes. Some paid me. Some I let in here for sex because I wanted it." He looked back at Niko now, his eyes almost seeming to plead. "But you were the first that seemed to want it in return."

Niko stroked the back of Ethan's paw. He really wanted to be with the fennec again that way. "You wouldn't want me. Whatever was inside of me to give away to someone is dead."

"I want to bring it back," said Ethan. He rubbed Niko's thigh. "I could make you feel good again. Just like last night."

Niko stood up, walking towards the board with all the pictures, facing from Ethan. "What about my profession? I can't put you in danger that way, and you'd never get used to it." He turned back around. "And besides--"

He was cut off as Ethan seized his muzzle with his paws, kissing Niko deeply. Niko was caught off guard, but closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Ethan's waist, cursing himself silently.

Ethan broke the embrace, looking at Niko shyly. "Was that so bad?"

"Ethan...I..." For the first time in a long time, Niko felt vulnerable. Looking into those eyes again, he felt just like he did last night; like he was found.

The fennec set his head on Niko's shoulder, nuzzling the shepherd's neck, putting his arms around the strong male. He just exuded confidence and masculinity, and it was such a turn on. Ethan could smell the male's musk wafting from his body, especially down near his tail.

Ethan let his paws drop lower, roaming of the dog's firm ass, groping and squeezing. Niko jumped a little at the touch, his tail wagging despite himself. Ethan smiled when he saw the tail going, knowing he was doing something right.

"Hang on," said Niko, untangling himself from the two of them and slid his shoulder holster off, tossing it to the couch. "Better," he said, taking Ethan's paws in his again. "I still don't know about this."

"Then we'll just take it as it comes; we'll stay here in this moment," said Ethan, licking Niko's muzzle. Niko nuzzled him in return, feeling so free and more alive here than he ever had before, even with Rose.

Moving his paws downward, Ethan cupped his paw over Niko's crotch, groping him gently, feeling the shepherd's swollen sheath through the fabric of his pants. He grinned at Niko and Niko blushed a bit. Ethan pulled his paw up again, tugging at Niko's belt, slowly unlooping and yanking it off, flinging it across the room. "Never seen a trained assassin blush," whispered Ethan. Niko leaned back against the wall, putting his paws on top of the fennec's head and gently scritching him behind the ears, closing his eyes and breathing deeply as he was undressed.

Getting on his knees, Ethan unbuttoned Niko's pants, delicately gliding the zipper down and then pulling the shepherd's pants down past his hips and letting them drop to the canine's ankles. Niko murred as his boxers were also drawn there, nude from the waist down now. His swollen pouch was more then obvious, a bit of pink peeking through the slit of of his sheath that sat above his loose testicles.

"Even better than I remembered," whispered Ethan, nuzzling Niko's testicles. Niko murred again, balling up his paws. Two times in two days, and this time was already incredible. Ethan lifted Niko's testes up with the end of muzzle, licking delicately just behind them. Niko just felt a twinge move through his entire body, from his crotch to his head, and down to his toes. Just that one touch in that one place was making his cock go stiff, and slowly his glistening shaft protruded from his sheath.

"There's my doggy," said Ethan, sotto voce, licking the underside of Niko shaft, letting his tongue run the length of all eight inches of the shepherd. And Niko just took it all in with no complaints. Ethan put just his cocktip in his muzzle and suckled gently, his tongue probing and tantalizing Niko, and the shepherd just breathed deeply, everything about it just ecstasy to him. Then Ethan just took Niko's entire cock in his muzzle, engulfing it in one fluid motion right to the base, all eight inches of canine cock in his muzzle and touching the back of his muzzle. Niko let a deep breath he was holding go, the feeling just overwhelming, almost as good as mounting. He closed his eyes again, moaning and gasping as Ethan bobbed his head a bit, rubbing Niko in just the right places. The shepherd flexed his cock, involuntarily bucking his hips a bit, humping into Ethan's muzzle. Ethan took it all in, experience letting him know what to do to make his male feel total pleasure. And judging from Niko's breathing and little noises, he was doing it right.

"Yeah," whispered Niko as Ethan put his thumb and index finger around the base of the shepherd's penis, forming a ring with them, and pumping it up and down in time with the motion of his head. His free paw massaged Niko's testicles, gently rolling the orbs around in his paw, and Niko thought his knees were just going to buckle from the pleasure rolling through his body. The fennec just traced his tongue over Niko's cock over and over, sliding it over the sensitive spot just under Niko's cockhead. Niko grabbed some of Ethan's headfur and gasped out, pulling on it gently, but Ethan didn't mind. He could taste precum in his muzzle.

"Mmmf...Ethan...I'm gonna....," moaned Niko. His orgasm was edging closer and closer.

The door buzzer rang.

Ethan stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Chinese food."

"Damn," said Niko, simply. Ethan went to the door, buzzing the delivery boy in and handing him the money. He closed the door, setting a bag on the table, which eminated with all sorts of delicious smells.

Niko bent down to grab his pants to put them on, but Ethan grabbed his paw. "What're you doing?"

"Putting my clothes on," replied Niko, looking at him oddly.

"We're not done," said Ethan, stroking Niko's still-stiff cock.

Niko grinned. "What do you want to do?"

Ethan guided Niko's paw to his ass, letting him rub and massage it. "Whatever you want." He started undo his own pants. "Whatever."

Niko moved Ethan's paws apart and started to undo the fox's pants. Ethan looked at him shyly, yet Niko knew the fox was enjoying this, and was anything but shy about it. He pulled Ethan's pants down with the same gentleness Ethan had done with him, culling his boxers off, seeing his cock half-hard, hanging from his sheath. Niko teased it with his paw, stroking the underside and head gently, making Ethan susurrate. Niko smiled faintly and licked his cheek. "Where?"

"I don't care," gasped Ethan. He kissed Niko. "Bedroom is as good as any."

The two of them crashed into the bedroom in each other's arms, kissing and groping, their tongues in one another's muzzle. Niko pushed Ethan onto the bed, not unroughly, but Ethan liked it. He kneeled on the bed, slowly taking his shirt off and casted it aside. Then leaning back over his paws, stroking his cock as he looked at Niko. "Come on," he beckoned.

Niko growled wantonly, taking off his shirt. He had completely forgotten about the bullet wound he had until Ethan gasped when he saw it. Niko looked at his right shoudler. "Oh, yeah, that. Don't worry about it." He crawled onto the bed, tilting Ethan's chin up in his paw. "I'm just looking at you."

Ethan smiled and looked away, genuinely flustered now. He nuzzled Niko again. "Take me." The fox rolled over onto his stomach and raised his tail, revealing his pink tailhole. Niko felt his maleness hardening, escaping his sheath, his pink cock swelling. Ready to be made part of his new lover.

Bracing himself over Ethan, he sniffed his neck, faint traces of cologne present there. It drove his bestial side wild, making him growl in his throat. Ethan turned his head enough for Niko to kiss him again. The shepherd pressed his cockhead up against the smaller male's tailhole, just enough to let him know it was there. Ethan gasped out as Niko traced his head in small circles around Ethan ass, a small bit of pre-cum being smeared around as well. Niko grunted and growled, nuzzling and nosing Ethan, Ethan gasping and panting. "Please," breathed Ethan, "I want you back in me so badly. Fill me."

Niko didn't need much more encouragment, slowly slipping his raging erection into Ethan, slowly, the shepherd closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of Ethan's tight, warm recesses wrapped around his swollen member once more. Ethan murred and heaved, taking in all of the shepherd, tightening his ass around the penis being driven into his ass. He loved the feeling of being taken, filled, belonging to someone. Everything else went away when he was with this male.

The canine hilted himself, breathing out the air he was holding gently, just relaxing in that position for a moment, nuzzling Ethan again. Ethan smiled, surprised someone so cold and dangerous could be so loving. He took one of Niko's paws in his, squeezing, and Niko squeezed back. It truly was as if they were one. "You are cute," said Niko, quietly. 

Ethan simpered. "So are you."

Niko licked him on the cheek, slowly starting to withdraw his cock from Ethan, then slowly slid himself back in, gently breeding his lover. Ethan closed his eyes again, moaning. Each time Niko brought his canine cock back into him it was another eruption of pleasure for him, everything from his ass and cock right up to his head just feeling good; even better when the tip of Niko's cock rubbed against his prostate, which was almost everytime. The fox could feel the bedding under him slightly wet with his pre-cum. He felt almost as though he would orgasm just from this verile male's penis being buried within him.

Niko was also moaning and murring lowly. The fox was so tight, every trip back into him was pure beatitude and euphoria. He had not had anyone like this since Rose, and their night together had been rhapsody. But Ethan was unlike anyone he had met before; something about him that made him seem so pure and wonderful. Everything Niko had thought about Brian. He wanted this male as his own, even as the logical part of his brain was telling him that it was impossible. But with the two of them unified like this, with Niko sinking his maleness in as they made love, it seemed possible. Even to him. Even to an assassin.

Niko slowed his rhythm, laying down over Ethan, parallel to him, wrapping his arms around Ethan's chest, resting his chin over Ethan's shoulder. "You're incredible," sibilated Niko, intimatelty. Ethan blushed again and put his nose to Niko's.

"I love having you inside of me," said Ethan, unabashadly. He licked Niko's muzzle, squeezing the shepherd's paw, still feeling Niko's cock throbbing in his silky innards. Niko was still humping, but slowly, withdrawing his cock and gliding it back inside with no urgency. He could feel Ethan tremble beneath him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, breathily.

"I'm fine," replied Ethan. He squeezed Niko's paw again. "Better than I have been in a long time. I haven't had a male like you in my life in a long time."

Niko beamed, propelling himself in and out still, impaling Ethan with his every impelment. It was so incredible to be within this male, and felt so extraordinary. It was like an electrical charge throughout his body as they mated. And even more so as he felt his knot become liberated from his sheath, pressing against Ethan's tailhole with his every thrust.

"You can tie me," whispered Ethan, as he felt the bulbous base of Niko's cock push against under his tail. Ethan remembered being tied last night; it was the first time another male had tied with him, and it had been mind-blowing it the bliss it brought on.

Niko embraced his knot against Ethan's tailhole, slowly depressing his engorgement into the fox. Ethan took a sharp breath, his entire body tensing, then let it all out, relaxing with a contented murr. Ethan felt his cock buck and spasm, and he thought he was going to orgasm from having the knot in his ass. The two of them were tied tightly, Niko rocking his hips like before so he didn't tear himself out too harshly. The knot was actually still expanding, locking the two lovers together; they were truly one now.

"Unnf...roll over," gasped out Ethan. Niko didn't say anything, rolling onto his left side, Ethan going with him. Niko held Ethan's right leg up with his paw, spreading Ethan wide, and resumed fucking his tailhole. The shepherd was gasping and moaning, Ethan doing the same while he slowly stroked his own cock, his golden and white furred paw roaming over his own penis, a river of precum rolling off the back of his cockhead.

"Mmmf...you feel...so good," breathed Niko, feeling his cock go numb at the base, heralding the explosion of his fluids.

"Mmhmm," said Ethan, absently, masturbating a little faster, feeling Niko swell inside of him as the shepherd's ejaculation neared closer. Niko wrapped his free arm around Ethan's chest again, squeezing tightly as his entire body tingled with the force of his orgasm moving through his penis. More and more precum dribbled from his cockslit. He could feel it even inside of Ethan, the warmth mixing with warmth. 

"Unnnf!" gasped out Niko. "I'm...gonna...gonna..."

"Let it all out," whispered Ethan. "Let that swollen cock of your's fill me to the top."

"I'm...," was all Niko managed out before his cock spasmed, and all his semen rushed out. He bent his head forward and clamped his teeth onto Ethan, biting down as he came, Ethan gasping in pleasure. It was even better than last night, every twinge and contraction just a wave of exaltation. It was beyond anything he'd had with sex before, his head spinning while he finished unloading himself into Ethan, so much being forced out so hard some dribbled past the plug his knot had made with Ethan. At the same time, Ethan brought himself to orgasm, his ejaculation so powerful, the first spurt of his cum went over the side of the bed, then the rest hitting the bed and his paw. He closed his eyes as he finished up, licking his paw clean when he was done. His salty semen tasted good to him as he lapped up his fluids, panting and gasping as he leaned back against Niko, the shepherd doing much the same. Niko put his muscular arms around Ethan, and Ethan just felt good, secure, and safe there.

"Niko?" said Ethan.

"Yeah?" responded the shepherd.

"If you get a job tonight...will you have to go?" asked Ethan, hesitantly.

Niko took Ethan's paw between his. "No. Not tonight."

Ethan smiled and kissed the back of Niko's paw. "Good."

They lay there, the night long ago drifting in, their food in the living room long forgotten, the chilled drinks on the table getting warm. But none of it mattered; they were there, in that moment, and nothing could take that away from them.

***

Niko stood in the office, breeze fluttering gently past the windows. He could smell jasmine in the garden outside; rare in this area of the world. Someone had the money to burn.

In the moonlight, he could the bodies of the guard detail sprawled in steadily-spreading pools of their own blood. His fingers were clenching the Beretta M92 in his hand so tight it hurt. The fur on the floor, a snow leopard, looked like the ghostly visage of death himself. His muzzle was open in an eternal expression of horror and pain. The small hole in his head was letting loose a slow trickle of blood, that passed down between his eyes and over the top of his muzzle. It was Niko’s second kill, and it had been so much easier. 

“That was rather quick,” remarked Rose, stepping from the shadows, holding her own weapon at her side. “You are definitely all that I ever wanted in an assassin.”

Niko said nothing, holstering his pistol. “There’s nothing left to do here. Let’s go so we can collect our pay.”

Rose smiled mirthlessly as he passed her, looking down at the body on the floor. “Perfect.”

***

Niko sat up in the dark, the sheets bunched up in his paws. His fingers hurt from squeezing so hard. So many images. But lastly, he had been dreaming of he and Rose. And when they had been together, even though it was briefly.

He looked over, and this time he wasn't alone in the bed. Ethan slept next to him, breathing gently, still nude under the covers. He put his head in his paws; it had been such a vivid dream. Of the time he had sex with Rose. It had actually been the last time he had seen her alive; their job later that day was when she was killed in the explosion. The building where their target was had flooded with fluorocarbons from a leak in an old heating unit, and she hadn't gotten out in time, the entire place engulfed in the burn.

Niko stood, opening the blinds, looking outside. There was a light rain outside as the sun was starting to bring light to day, but with all the clouds it was all just shades of grey. He stood there and wondered what last night meant; for him, for Ethan, for both of them. He looked over his shoulder again, at the sleeping fox, and wondered if it would be best to just leave now. But he knew he couldn't. He wanted to be with this fox, in a way he had not wanted to be with someone in some time.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, nude, he sighed. 

"What's wrong?" asked Ethan, still facing away from in the bed.

"Nothing," assured Niko. "Just thinking."

"About if you made a mistake?" 

Niko said nothing.

Ethan rolled over. "It's okay, you could tell me."

Niko turned and leaned across the bed, kissing Ethan. "I think I found the best thing ever. And that is the problem."

Ethan smiled and murred. "So what does that mean?"

Niko grinned now. "It means you better not be bringing anymore guys home if you want me to stick around."

Ethan took the shepherd's paw, laughing. "Done. So, I guess we're...dating?"

"Yeah," agreed Niko. "Something I guess neither of us have done in some time, right?"

Ethan nodded. "Yeah. The last guy I dated was back home; the rabbit you saw in the pictures."

"What happened that made you leave?" asked Niko, getting back into the bed and lying muzzle-to-muzzle with Ethan.

"He...he died," said Ethan, slowly. "Just as we got engaged, he died."

"How did it happen?" asked Niko, quietly.

Ethan looked down. "He was killed at the same as my mother. In a drive-by shooting. Because I was stupid. I was a drug runner, and a rival syndicate came to get me, because they were after ANY member of our organization, and they found where I was easiest. I wasn't home though; just Mom and Will."  Niko didn't say anything. He knew what it was like to cross a gang, and the consequences that rode with it. "Are you still in that business?"

Ethan nodded. "It was the only way to make ends meet. After that, I went as far away from that place as I could, and got into it again here." He looked into Niko eyes, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "But I'd stop, for you."

Niko brushed his paw across Ethan's cheek. "If you're serious about this, about us, then if you want to. I have enough money, I can eaily support us."

Ethan nuzzled into Niko. "And...will you give up your profession?"

Niko didn't say anything. He hadn't been expecting that. "I...I don't know. This life, this way, is all I've known. I don't know if I can live any other way." He kissed Ethan. "Let me think about it, okay?"

Ethan nodded. "I can accept that." He kissed Niko on the muzzle. "Are you hungry? We sort of missed dinner last night."

Niko smiled. "Yeah."

"I'll make breakfast," said Ethan, getting out of the bed and retrieving his boxers. Niko enjoyed the last look he got of his bare ass before the underwear covered it back up. Niko sighed and found his own pants again, getting his boxers and pants on, walking into the main room. He could hear rain, a bit more forceful now, rattling against the windows. Ethan was busy gets pans and eggs out, setting about to make omelettes.

Niko sat down on the couch, almost not knowing what to do with himself. He wasn't used to waking up with someone else in the room with him.

"Feel a little awkward?" asked Ethan from the stove, pouring the eggs into the frying pan.

"Just a little," replied Niko.

Ethan came and sat next to him. "You don't have to."

Niko kissed him. "I'm just used to being alone."

"You don't have to be anymore," said the fennec, nosing him. "Not if you don't want to be."

"I don't," said Niko, holding Ethan's paw.

"Let me get breakfast ready, and we'll cuddle up, okay?" said Ethan, getting up and tending to their food. Niko looked on him again, not seeing his physical handsomness and sex, but the fur behind it all, and decided he'd gotten himself something good.

***

One Week Later
______________________

Candlelight. Gentle hums of a violin. And wine for two.

Ethan could not have imagined a more perfect place for a date. Niko had sublimely perfect taste, and knew all the best restaurants. A couple days before, he had taken them to a seafood place that Ethan had protested over because of the prices. But Niko had insisted. Now they were at a small Italian place. Niko had slipped the maitre'd a few hundreds and they were now seated on their back patio on the second floor by themselves. Ethan had heard a few patrons back in the restaurant protesting that there was room outside as they stood there waiting for a table. The maitre'd came over and closed the double-doors, nodding curtly to Niko, and Niko nodded back.

"You seem to have all the connections," said Ethan, looking at Niko over the candles on the table.

"Money talks," replied Niko. He took his cigarettes from his pocket, then after a moment's consideration returned them to the pocket inside his jacket.

The air was getting crisper, the sun just dipping down behind the skyline next to them, the bay between them and the city reflecting the low rays across the rippling waves in a brilliant rainbow tapestry. Stars dotted the dark azure sky above the traces of gold and crimson as a fingernail-moon loomed in position at the top of the celestial ballet. Ethan could not remember the last time he had been in such a spectacular place.

Especially with Niko. The shepherd looked handsome in his black leather jacket, a black turtleneck sweater, and pressed khakis; Ethan almost felt under-dressed in his black slacks and royal-blue dress shirt. They had been seeing each other almost every day over the last week, Niko treating him to all the best places. Even buying him a few presents; his new watch, an Omega Seamaster, was something he was treasuring. He had seen some of his boss' 'clients' wearing them, and knew they ran up near forty-five-hundred dollars. Niko had also got him a few pieces of furniture, like a new down-stuffed bedspread, which the two of them had enjoyed breaking in greatly.

Niko poured both of them a glass of the bottle of merlot he had delivered to the table. The violinist hung back off to the side, playing a gentle tune, which Niko recognized as 'Autumn Leaves.' Fitting in the late-October evening. He gazed at Ethan tenderly, the fennec realizing he was being stared at and genuinely blushed. "What?" asked Ethan.

Niko shook his head. "Just enjoying the view."

"It is breathtaking," agreed Ethan, looking over the bay.

"I meant you," said Niko, quietly. Ethan blushed again, even the candlelight not able to hide it.

Niko took a sip of his wine as the doors were opened and the waiter, a panther, came out, handing them menus, then disappearing again. Niko called the violinist over, giving him another fifty and asking for another song.

"Order whatever you like," encouraged Niko, opening his menu. Ethan resisted the urge to yelp when he saw the prices. Even just the lasagna was twenty dollars. "I mean it," said Niko.

"You must have a lot saved up," remarked Ethan, looking over the menu.

"Enough," said Niko. He put his paw over Ethan's on the table. "Enough for you."

Ethan didn't know what to say. This truly was the perfect male.

Niko ordered crostini to start with, and lobster risoto for his main meal. Ethan hesitantly ordered the seafood marsala. The waiter bowed at the waist, Niko tipping his muzzle in kind, and then the waiter was off to put in their orders.

"You have such taste," said Ethan.

Niko sipped his wine. "Well, I AM mostly Italian. Grew up in an Italain household, ate Italian food."

"Where did you grow up?" asked Ethan, eager to learn whatever he could about his new boyfriend.

"Far from here," was all Niko replied with. "I left after my mother died; cancer. After mother died, that was when I went to the military. Father had served twenty years with the navy, and had been encouraging me to join since I was sixteen. Mom was the only one telling him to back off." He took another sip of wine. "When I left with my dishonorable, it was like dad didn't even know me. 'I have no son' I believe were his exact words when I came home."

"That's horrible," breathed Ethan. "You never told me why you were discharged from the military. Did you do something bad?"

Niko looked out over the backdrop of water and city, stars now fully draped over the sky, lamps flicking on outside of the restaurant. The maitre'd was drawing blinds inside for them so they would have privacy. "I was with the Counter Terror Unit for a few years, and we went out on mission fairly regularly. Our unofficial motto was 'no one left behind.' Well, I was discharged for upholding that. We were making our way to an extraction helicopter, and one of my men went down. MY men. I was the captain of my squad. The major ordered me to leave him, and I refused, carrying him out. Rather than commending me, they gave me an insubordination charge and sent me packing."

"Just because you went to help someone?" asked Ethan, more than a little shocked.

Niko nodded. "Yeah." He sipped his wine. "Do you dance?"

Ethan was a little surprised by the question. "Dance?"

"Yes," said Niko, standing and offering his paw. "Dance."

"A little, yes," replied Ethan, taking Niko's paw. Niko took him to the edge of the balcony, tipping his free paw to the violinist. He changed the music to another slow tune, and Niko took Ethan's paws. 

"Know how to waltz?" inquired Niko.

Ethan followed Niko's lead, the two of the dancing over the patio, gazing into one another's eyes. Ethan felt a little silly at first, but was just swept away by Niko, and after that didn't care anymore. This really was the best night of his life.

"How long can we stay here?" asked Ethan as they twirled around, getting a bit more complicated now. 

"Well, considering how much money I put in that maitre'd's paw, I'd say we've got until they close," remarked Niko, with a slight, sly smile.

Ethan never tired of that smile, rare as it was when Niko did it. "Good." He rest his head on Niko's shoulder, Niko putting his arms around the fennec and the two of them swaying back and forth. Ethan nuzzled into Niko's neck, murring, and Niko murred back. 

"Our food will be out soon," whispered Niko. 

"I know," replied Ethan, quietly. "I don't want this to end, though."

Niko smiled. "It doesn't have to. We have hours yet."

Ethan looked up at him, at those frost-blue eyes, the chiseled features, the warmth behind the guardedness he kept about him. "Okay." The two of them sat back down, Niko refilling their glasses a bit. 

"I...," started Ethan. "I haven't had a time like this in a long...long time. When everything was so right. Not since Will."

"Your lover?" asked Niko.

Ethan nodded. "We had been seeing each other since we were fifteen. I loved him so much. My mother did, too; sometimes she would joke he was her 'other son.' " He stopped for a moment, playing with his watch sadly. "When I started being a runner for the local syndicate, I never told him nor my mother what I was doing. Just said that I had a well-paying job. I kept my mother afloat with her house, and gave Will everything he wanted. He just made me happy. We got engaged when we were twenty-one. Then, a month later, was when they were both killed. There was nothing left there, so I came here, with what little I had. The boss here isn't as well-paying as the ones back there, but I still got by."

"It is rough to get by in these sorts of jobs," said Niko.

"Have you thought about...what I requested?" inquired Ethan.

Niko sighed. "I haven't made a decision yet."

Ethan nodded. "It's okay." At that moment, the doors opened the waiter came out with their food, setting it down. Niko thanked him and gave him a twenty, the waiter bowed again and left, shutting the doors again behind him. The violinist played on, moonlight filtering down over them as it rose higher in the sky. The two of them ate delicately at their food, in no hurry, savoring every moment. Ethan tried a bit of Niko's crostini and liked it, the two of them sharing what was left.

"How is the marsala?" asked Niko.

"It's very good," replied Ethan. "There was a restaurant back home that made it; it was actually the first place...Will and I went on a date..." he said, trailing off.

Niko didn't reply, taking another bite of his risoto.

"I'm sorry to keep mentioning him," mumbled Ethan, almost inaudibly.

Niko wiped his muzzle with his napkin. "No, not at all. It's okay."

"I shouldn't keep mentioning him," muttered Ethan. "It's not fair to you."

"He was a major part of your life," said Niko. "It's like...well, not quite."

"Like what?" asked Ethan.

Niko sighed. "I was going to say it would be like Brian for me, but not quite the same."

"Why not?"

"Because there was no chance we'd ever go anywhere beyond what we were," replied Niko, flatly.

"What was that?" Ethan asked, hesitantly.

Niko didn't respond for a moment. "Ask me some other time, and I'll tell you."

Ethan nodded. "So...what else do you want to do tonight?"

Niko smiled. "I was going to ask you the same."

Ethan shrugged. "I'm not really familiar with this area; I never come down here much. It's all too expensive for me."

"There's a small park near here that runs down past the waterfront," suggested Niko. "And the shopping district is just beyond there."

"Sounds wonderful," said Ethan, almost dreamily.

"But I think we still need to finish dinner first," said Niko. Ethan grinned self-consciously. The two of them finishing eating, not saying anything, just enjoying each other's company. The maitre'd brought them the check personally, setting down, telling them there was no rush.

Niko stood, pushing his chair in, taking Ethan's paw in his. "Are you ready?"

Ethan also stood, smiling at his strong shepherd. "Yes, I am."

Niko opened the door for Ethan, the two of them stepping through, much to the chagrin of the patrons waiting to be seated on the patio, or the ones too stubborn to take a table inside, anyway. Niko ignored them, looking at Ethan, who was looping his arm around Niko's, grinning up at the shepherd. Some of the patrons moved back when they saw one male on another's arm; others when they the grip of Niko's pistol under his jacket. Niko smiled gently back at his date, thanking the maitre'd personally on their way out.

Stepping back into the night air, Ethan giggled a little. "We kept all those people waiting."

Niko leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'd have sent them home, for you."

Ethan murred and blushed again. "Guess we can just walk from here?"

Niko nodded. "Yeah, we'll just leave the car here. We can go to the stores first, then through the park."

Ethan squeezed his paw. "The perfect end to a perfect night."

Niko smiled. "Yeah, it is."

They crossed the street, heading down the main strip. Ethan hadn't been in such a place in a long time. Neon lights everywhere, lots of furs bustling all over, shops and little stores lining both sides of the street. The place was so alive.

The two walked past the windows, pointing at items and objects they thought were neat, ugly, or just plain bizarre. For Niko, it was a slice of normal life he hadn't been accustomed to in some time; and it was nice to get some of it back. To be with someone he enjoyed spending time with, and having that feeling reciprocated. The weight of the pistol under his left armpit seemed like a long-forgotten reminder that he still was a professional. But it seemed more and more to him he was prepared to give that life up. For Ethan, for someone like him. It was such an odd idea, after having done it for so long.

Slowly, the lights and sounds faded behind them as they walked towards the park, heading along the paved path. Lights every ten feet illuminated the walk and foliage around them. Trees stood silently in the blueish darkness, the only lights from the lamps and the moon.

Ethan took Niko's paw and leaned against him, Niko squeezing his paw. They walked through the park, the sound of water lapping against the shore audible a bit of a distance away. Crickets chirped gently, and a bit of a wind blew easily across the lawns and their cheeks.

"It's so nice here," remarked Ethan. 

"Mmhmm," murmured Niko, in agreement. Aside from the gentle chirping of insects, they had the park to themselves. He was just enjoying the stroll along with the fox.

The walkway ended at the water's edge, the moon now high in the sky over the still waters. Ethan leaned against the railing, looking up the sky. "It's so beautiful."

Niko wrapped his arms around the fox from behind. "Yes, it is." He rested his muzzle on Ethan's shoudler, breathing in the cologne he was wearing. "Especially with you."

Ethan murred and pressed his tail to Niko, rubbing it against him gently. "We're here all by ourselves."

Niko's paws drifted a bit lower, over Ethan's hips and outer thighs. "Yeah, we are."

The fox swished his tail. "No one around to see us."

Niko closed his eyes, wanting to take the fox again so badly. "Yeah." He rubbed Ethan's crotch through his pants, trying to resist the urge to unzip Ethan's pants and rub his cock until it was hard and stiff and suck on it.

"Go ahead, if you want to," murmured Ethan, putting his paw on top of Niko's. 

Niko murred and kissed his neck. "Later." He turned Ethan around. "For now, this will do." He took Ethan's muzzle in his paws and kissed him, gently slipping his tongue in, Ethan receiving it and murring as he did. The fennec wrapped his arms around Niko, breathing deeply, feeling himself getting aroused just from the kiss.

Niko broke the embrace, kissing him on the nose. "It'll be better when we get back."

Ethan put his arms around the shepherd's waist. "Want to stay over at my place again?"

"Actually," started Niko, "I was thinking you should come to my place."

Ethan perked his ears up. "Really?"

Niko nodded. "Mmhmm." He leaned in and whispered in Ethan's ear, "I have a nice, big bed."

Ethan giggled and smiled. "Okay, your place it is."

Niko ran a paw down his lover's cheek. "Whenever you're ready."

Ethan kissed him. "Just a little longer." He turned and settled back against Niko, the shepherd putting his arms around Ethan's chest.

"Then we'll stay here a little longer," agreed Niko.

***

It was after one in the morning when Niko opened the door to his house, letting Ethan in first. He clicked on the lights, and heard Ethan in a low voice say, "Wow..."

"What?" asked Niko.

"This place...it's incredible."

Niko hung his jacket up, along with Ethan's, Ethan also setting down a black case he had asked Niko if they could stop by his apartment and get. Then the two of them settled down on the couch. The living room area was actually recessed into the floor, a set of two steps leading down to it. The hardwood floors, cherry-wood furniture, and maroon-colored couches and chairs all meshed nicely.

"I'm afraid I don't have a TV either," commented Niko.

Ethan got up for a second, then sat back down, straddling Niko's lap. "Then we'll have to make our own entertainment." He licked Niko's cheek, smiling playfully.

Niko grinned back. "We don't have to have sex tonight. We're sure not lacking in that."

Ethan huffed good-naturedly. They had been going at it almost every night of the week. And Ethan knew there was no great rush to keep it going; they'd have plenty of time to explore one another's bodies.

"Then what should we do?" asked Ethan, nuzzling against the shepherd.

"To be honest, I'm just ready for bed," replied Niko, scritching the fennec's belly. "I'm probably going to go upstairs."

Ethan nosed him. "Then I guess I'll go with you."

The fennec took Niko's paw as they climbed the stairs to bed. Ethan lay on Niko's bed, stripping off his clothes, completely nude now. "Sorry, didn't bring any extras." He lay prone on his back, stretching out, Niko completely transfixed on his sheath and testicles. Ethan spread his legs wide, making as though he was stretching, but knowing full well Niko was watching him.

Niko crawled across the bed and up between his spread legs, ending up nose to nose with the fox. "You're an evil fox," muttered Niko.

Ethan giggled. "I don't know why you would say that." He nuzzled into Niko's neck. The shepherd always smelled good to him; he didn't know if it was cologne, or just one more way he was perfect.

Niko ran his paw over Ethan's testicles and sheath, squeezing and rolling them gently. "You sure look like you're after something."

Ethan smiled and gazed at his new lover, not quite being able to believe he could find two males possessing such honor and grace in his life. He closed his eyes and murred, running his paws over Niko's chest. "Wait," he murmured.

The shepherd watched with curiosity as the fennec bounced off the bed and quickly went downstairs. Niko stripped out of his shirt and pants, opening the window and letting the light breeze outside in. He stood there nude, looking down over the moonlit landscape outside, stars shining brightly over him. 

He turned when he heard Ethan come back into the room, carrying his case with him.

"What's in there, anyway?" inquired Niko.

Ethan smiled, not saying anything, just placing the case on the bed. He opened it, removing his saxaphone from the case. "I wanted to play for you again."

Niko smiled now, not sure what to say. "I would like if you did."

Ethan nodded, sitting naked on the edge of the bed, tuning it briefly, and beginning to play. He started with a soft jazz tune, closing his eyes as he always did and losing himself in the music. He wanted to play his absolute best he ever had for this male.

Niko just let the music wash over him, sitting next to Ethan and watching him play. He kept catching the fennec opening an eye to look at him, just like the first night they'd met. And just like that night, Ethan was slghtly smiling while he played. The shepherd leaned in, putting his head on Ethan's shoulder. When he did, Ethan changed his song, and Niko recognized it immediately. It was 'Blue,' the song Ethan had played that night in the bar. Niko nuzzled Ethan's neck, whispering in his ear, "I love this song."

Ethan didn't say anything, playing on. To Niko, this really was the greatest song ever; it made him think of that night in the bar, when he first saw this male sitting next to him. The way the light had hit his fur, and those eyes...always those eyes.

Ethan finished the song and turned to Niko. "I'm glad you like it. I actually wrote it myself."

Niko took one of his paws off the sax and held it in his. "You're very talented." He looked up and down Ethan, from his footpaws to his golden eyes. "And so handsome."

Ethan blushed and looked at the floor. "I am not..."

"Trust me," started Niko, licking the fennec's muzzle, "you are."

"Do you want me tonight?" asked Ethan, running his paws over Niko's hips.

Niko smiled a bit. "Not tonight. We can just snuggle tonight."

Ethan laughed a bit. "A trained assassin wanting to cuddle."

Niko chuckled. "Well, guess I have had a bit of a change lately."

The fennec leaned in closely. "What happened with Brian?"

Niko didn't answer right away. "Guess I did say to ask me later." He sighed. "Brian and I met just before I went to the Marines. I was in a local coffee shop, and caught him staring at me once or twice. He was a very cute little dalmatian. So I went over to talk with him, and we ended up closing down the shop, then going back to his place. A few drinks later, and we were waking up in bed together. We would see each other on occasion, usually for a movie or dinner, but it always ended up back in bed. And whenever I would bring up the subject of being a couple, he always skirted it; I was well aware he was sleeping with other males besides me, I just was hoping someday he'd come and choose me. He would always have me excuses like 'I need to work on me,' or 'I have to find myself before I can be with someone.' "

Ethan didn't say anything, just squeezing Niko's paw, and the shepherd squeezed back.

"And, once I went to the Marines, we more or less just became fuck buddies. I would see him on leaves, and we'd have sex, and that was that. Then, when I came home, he stopped wanting to see me all-together, saying he was going to be seeing someone on a regular basis. And I hadn't been with anyone since."

"That's awful," said Ethan.

"Yeah...," murmured Niko. "It's all in the past now. I hadn't...really thought about it since then."

Ethan snuggled against him, licking his cheek. "I'm here now."

Niko smiled at him. "I know."

"Is he who made you decide you were gay?" asked Ethan.

Niko thought for a moment. "I've never thought about myself as straight, or gay, or bi. I've been with him, with Rose, and with you. I never really chose based on sex; it was more on who I felt more comfortable with, and felt closest with."

Ethan nodded, licking his nose. "Glad you feel comfortable next to me."

Niko smiled, stroking Ethan's neck and arms. " 'And see heaven in a wild flower.' " He kissed Ethan on the muzzle.

Ethan lay back on the bed, holding his arms open. Niko lay down next to him, putting his arms around Ethan while the fox put his arms around Niko. They lay there, entwined with one another, just enjoying the warmth and company of one another. Niko could smell everything about the fennec; his cologne, his fur, even his slight musk. He could feel himself drifting off to sleep, his eyes getting heavier; and Ethan stroking the back of his head and headfur was just helping. Darkness closed in, Niko just relaxing and feeling, for a change, at peace.

***

Birds chirped outside, breeze blowing over his nude body. He frowned at the brisk air hitting his butt, and pulled the covers closer over himself. He opened his eyes slightly, realizing his arms were still around Ethan, the fennec facing away from him and snoring softly. He smiled, and snuggled up against him. It was only a little after nine, and Niko didn't feel the urge to get up yet.

The fox under his arms stirred slightly, opening his eyes a bit and stretching. "Hey," he said quietly.

"Morning," replied Niko.

"What time is it?" asked Ethan.

"A little after nine."

"Oh." He rest his head on Niko's arm, closing his eyes again. "Do we have to get up?"

"Not until you want to."

He sighed. "Good."

Niko gently rubbed his belly, kissing him on the neck. He was getting used to the idea of waking up like this more often. Being alone for so long, he had to wonder if that whole time he had just been telling himself that had been what he wanted. With Ethan here, everything felt complete.

"I can't get back to sleep," muttered Ethan, his eyes still closed.

Niko laughed. "Me neither." He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, getting up. Ethan got up on his knees, kneeling behind Niko, resting his muzzle on Niko's shoulder. He reached his paws around Niko's waist, fondling his sheath.

"Can we at least make it for the shower?" asked Niko, smiling.

Ethan giggled, nuzzling into the shepherd's neck. "I suppose."

Niko stood up, Ethan right behind him, taking the shepherd's paw as they made their way into the bathroom. Niko started the shower, turning quickly to give his lover a kiss on the cheek. Ethan simpered, just happy to be here with him.

The two of them stepped under the water, the liquid sluicing over their fur. Niko always loved the feeling of a shower; he always felt renewed when he got out of one. And being here with Ethan, it made him think back to the last week when he had been showering and fantasizing about having the fox here with him.

Ethan pressed up against his back, his arms snaking around Niko's waist. "Sexy puppy."

Niko smiled, putting his paws over Ethan's. The fox moved his paws over Niko's belly and chest, frowning now. He could feel harder spots on his skin under the fur; some circular, some long and jagged.

"Gunshots and stab wounds," explained Niko, without Ethan even needing to ask. "Occupational hazard."

"I'm sorry," said Ethan, quietly.

Niko shrugged. "It was my choice."

The fox just hugged him closer. "Have you decided yet?"

Niko just shook his head.

Ethan let his paws roam lower, over Niko's pouch and sac. "That's okay." Niko breathed heavily, always loving the feeling and touch of Ethan's paws down there. The fox cupped his paws around Niko's balls, massaging and fondling them gently. Niko gasped, leaning back against Ethan.

"Guess when I asked if we could make it to the shower, I should've realized you'd take me seriously," jested Niko.

Ethan giggled, putting two of his fingers down in Niko's sheath before his cock hardened, docking with him. The sensation was brand new to Niko, making him take in a sharp breath, then blow it out. "That was...different." He could feel his cock rapidly hardening, wanting to push out of his sheath, but Ethan was holding it in, gently stimulating it with his fingers. The fennec had positioned his fingers so he could rub the underside of Niko's shaft and head. It felt almost as good to Niko as when he was topping the fox. He hadn't realized he'd be starting his day with a paw job; not that he was complaining.

While working his fingers in Niko's sheath with one paw, Ethan got down on his knees behind Niko, positioning his muzzle right at Niko's tail. He lifted the shepherd's tail out of the way, putting his muzzle to Niko's tailhole and giving it a good, quick lick. He felt as much as saw the shepherd jump at the feeling, gasping a little. Ethan had to stifle a laugh, licking it again. This time Niko didn't jump, murring a but instead. Ethan hadn't given anyone a rimjob in awhile; once, ever, when he thought about it. He sort of liked doing it, though. He wasn't a top, never had been, and probably never would be. So this was about as close to his lover's tailhole as he would get. 

He brought his paw up to Niko's tailhole, pressing one of his fingers to it, testing how tight the shepherd was. Tight, but not too bad. He circled his tailhole with his finger, at the same time finally letting Niko's cock free of his sheath, his glistening, pink, long cock springing forward. Ethan loved the slight curve his cock had, and the spade-shaped head; it looked like Ethan's own, only bigger. Ethan wrapped his one paw around Niko's cock, pumping his paw up and down on it, while pressing his finger up into Niko. The shepherd was bucking his hips involuntarily, almost humping into Ethan's paw. 

Ethan withdrew his finger, then once again pressing his muzzle to Niko's tailhole, sliding his tongue across the pinkness there as he jerked off his lover. Niko murred and groaned, swishing his tail, which kept sweeping over the bridge of Ethan's muzzle. He didn't care, pressing his tongue to Niko's tailhole and into his recesses beyond. Niko moaned at the sensation, bracing his right paw against the wall as the pleasure in his body just took him over. He was breathing deeply with every inhalation. He'd never had another male do anything with his tailhole; he'd always been the one on top with he and Brian, as well. And it just multiplied the pleasure of the stimulation on his penis. Every time Ethan would move his paw over Niko's cock, it almost made him lightheaded. His shaft flexed and twinged with every touch, tantalization, and taction. He wanted to cry out, howl, anything to release himself, but knew his ultimate liberation would be levels beyond anything else he was feeling.

The fennec, busy with both his muzzle buried in at Niko's tailhole, and one paw around the shepherd's cock, used his free paw to begin masturbating himself. He stroked himself in time with Niko, bringing his paw down to his very base, then to his head. He let his paw slip completely over his head, just as he was doing with Niko; but it took longer to get his paw up and down Niko's cock with the couple extra inches the canid had on him. The fox could feel his boyfriend's, his lover's, cock twinge and spasm in his paw; not quite to the point of orgasm, but getting closer. As his own maleness was already leaking precum, which he could tell even through the water. 

Releasing his grip on Niko's cock and his own, Ethan stood up, nuzzling Niko's neck. Niko looked over his shoulder at the fennec, almost panting. "What? Just stopping?"

Ethan licked his cheek. "No, sweetheart." He turned the shepherd around, pressing his crotch to the shepherd, the bottoms of their shafts touching one another. Ethan held them together in his paw, humping his cock against Niko's, smiling at the canine. Niko grinned back, enjoying this feeling as well. It was nice, and incredibly sexy, to have their maleness touching one another. Niko put his arms around Ethan while the fox kept frotting, kissing him while he embraced him. They closed their eyes, kissing long and slowly. Ethan kept humping faster, catching all the sensitive spots on their cocks, especially the senstive spots just under their glans. Niko was just enjoying the mutual stimulation, having to break their endearment as he gasped out loud. Ethan stroked the dog's testicles with his still-free paw, breathing more labored now himself. He nuzzled Niko while he kept caressing their cocks together. Clear water washed their precum away gently, though both of them were well-aware they had copious amounts of it coming out. Ethan laid his head on Niko's chest, the shepherd leaning back against the wall while they continued their frotting. He inhaled, then let it out slowly.

"Mmmmf...you're so....good!" exclaimed Niko, returning the fondling to Ethan with his paws.

Ethan gasped out loud, a swift spasm shooting up through his cock. "You, too," murmured the fox.

It was obvious both of them were approaching orgasm; their cocks were swollen, the bases becoming numb, their testicles drawing closer to their bodies. All heralding their coming expulsions. Niko's knot slid free of his sheath as he drew closer. Ethan seized the opportunity and moved his paaw from Niko's balls to the base of his knot, squeezing gently. 

Niko threw his back, letting a brief bark of pleasure go. "Oh, God!"

"Mmhmm, hun," breathed Ethan. His cock was starting to spasm, and he could feel Niko cumming simultaneous to him. "Let it all out."

Their penises erupted into almost fountains of semen, shooting over both of them, but inevitably washed down the drain. To Niko, it felt like his cock would never stop gushing forth like that; and the pleasure seemed to go on forever. Ethan gasped and moaned as his cock emptied it's contents over his and Niko's bellies, his semen shooting everywhere. They held on tight to each other as their climaxes passed, kissing each other again as the waves of euphoria passed.

Niko gazed at the fennec, his muzzle pulled into that smile again. "Nice quickie to start the day."

Ethan swished his tail, planting a quick kiss on the shepherd's cheek. "I think we're clean by now."

The shepherd laughed. "Yeah, I guess so." He turned off the water, and to Ethan he looked even cuter dripping wet for some reason. Niko parted the curtain, stepping out, and taking Ethan's paw as he exited the shower. Niko wrapped a towel around the two of them, coming nose to nose with the fox, which eventually lead to another kiss. They dried themselves off, not being able to keep themselves from still looking at each other's naked bodies.

By the time Niko was redressed, which he opted for a white sports shirt and black chinos, Ethan had put his clothes back on from the night before. He was sitting on the bed, looking up at the shepherd. He reached out for Niko's paw, who offered it willingly, letting Ethan pull him over to his side. The fox put his paws around the shepherd's waist, just staying there.

"Will you promise me something?" asked Ethan.

The shepherd looked down. "Anything."

"Will...will you promise you'll never--"

His request was cut short by a series of short beeping noises. Niko looked across the room at his pants, where his cell phone, the source of the noise, was. He looked at Ethan apologetically, and crossed the room, bending down to grab his pants and retrieve his phone. Flipping it open, he said, "Yes?"

He was quiet for a few moments. Then, "Alright, I understand." And hung up.

Ethan looked at the floor. "A job?"

Niko didn't say anything for a moment. "Yes. I have to go there to get the assignment." He went to Ethan, sitting on the bed next to him, taking his paw. "This will be my last job."

The fox looked over at him. "R-Really?"

Niko nodded slowly. "After this, I'll give up my profession. I will have enough money to support us for some time, if not indefinitely." He put his other paw over their clasped paws. "I've always wanted someone like you. You're worth giving it up, and so much more."

Ethan murred, nuzzling in close. "Thank you."

Niko stroked his headfur, murring as well. "What did you want to ask me?"

Ethan looking into his eyes. "I'll ask you when you come back, okay?"

The shepherd nodded. "Okay." He stood and stripped off his clothes, opting now instead for a black button-up shirt and dark blue chinos. He picked up his shoulder holster, taking a case out from under the bed that had a small collection of tools and weapons inside. He took a Glock model 21 .45 ACP pistol out, and two spare magazine, putting these into the shoulder holster. He also grabbbed a small folding knife and clipped it to his belt at the small of his back. He locked the box again, and put it back under the bed. He leaned in and kissed Ethan. "I'll be back tonight."

Ethan nodded. "Okay. I'll be here."

Niko nodded. "I know you will be." With that, he turned and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. 

Sighing, Ethan flopped back across the bed, staring at the ceiling. He already wished Niko was back, and his car was just barely clearing the driveway. It was going to be a long night.

***

Niko parked his BMW M5 on the street, stepping from the car. His Armani sunglasses glinted with filtered sunlight as it came down through ever-darkening clouds on the horizon. Supposedly there was a rain storm moving in that would turn to snow with decreasing temperature overnight. Flipping the collar of his leather jacket up, he walked across the street towards a nightclub called "Pulse."

The two-story club was almost the epitome of cliche. White, smoked-glass windows faced out, with a purple neon sign proclaiming the name. He opened the double-doors, stepping inside. The club was still completely deserted at this hour. Being a Friday, by this evening it would be packed. A large dance floor in the center was surrounded by speakers and various devices Niko surmised were smoke machines and laser beam emitters. Nothing out of the ordinary. The edge of the floor was surrounded by glass partitions, separating it from the tables on the outside. The DJ booth, which was also surrounded by glass and set slightly off the ground, was opposite the door. There was a long, high mirror behind the booth. The bar was on the left side, with all sorts of various liquors. On the right side were several private rooms, with curtains that could drop down over them.

"Can I help you?" came a deep, baritone voice.

Niko turned to his right, coming to stare at the chest of a jaguar. Being six foot himself, Niko was not short by any means, but this cat made him looked dwarfed, both in height and size. His tailored suit hung perfectly on him, leading Niko to believe it was either purchased for him, or he made quite an income. His right paw was placed on his right hip in what would appear to be casually to anyone else, but Niko could spy the obvious bulge of a weapon just under his suit.

"I was told to come meet with your boss," replied Niko, taking off his Armanis and placing them in his inner jacket pocket. "He said to tell you the crows fly northward at sunset."

The jaguar said nothing. He walked towards the bar. "This way, please."

Niko followed him across the club, the jaguar opening a door that lead to a flight of stairs. "To the right, go nowhere else."

Niko nodded, heading inside and up the stairs. The stairs lead down a hallway, which Niko realized was over-looking the club from behind the DJ's booth; it was a one-way mirror, which was why he had missed it on the way in. Heading up another small flight of stairs, he opened a cherry-wood door at the top. 

He was greeted by two more large furs with automatic weapons.

"You must be the hitter," said one, a hulking lion. The other was a tiger of approximately the same size.

"That's correct," confirmed Niko.

The lion stepped forward, patting down Niko. He had been expecting this. The lion removed his pistol and knife. "You'll get these when you leave. Please follow me."

Niko followed right behind him, passing several doors, all of which were closed. A standard ploy; syndicate offices above a 'legitimate' business, which was probably a gold mine to sell drugs and pimp out hookers.

The lion opened a set of double doors, letting Niko inside. He closed the door behind the shepherd, leaving him in the office with two more thugs, each holding an Ingram MAC11 automatic machinegun, and a skunk of ponderous bulk sitting behind a desk. The room was painted a dark blue with hardwood floor and maroon rug covering little more than the area under the desk. Behind the desk were numerous paintings and books. Aside from that, the room was fairly bare. Niko suspected it was little more than a meeting room for outsiders; that the paperwork and real workings were elsewhere.

"Please, come in and sit down," encouraged the skunk. He spoke in a deep yet slightly nasaly voice. He waved to two chairs positioned in front of the desk. Niko sat on the left, crossing his legs.

"I apologize for all the muscle and firepower," he began, looking slightly amused by his own bad humor. "But I'm sure someone in your line of work is used to this sort of thing by now."

"It's alright," replied Niko. 

"My name is Amadeo," said the skunk. "I run the east syndicate, and if you do a good enough job, I will have much more business for you in future. You came very highly recommended from one of my associates."

Niko didn't reply.

Amadeo cleared his throat. "Care for a drink? Scotch? Whiskey?"

Niko shook his head. "I prefer not to drink before or on a job."

"I like that," approved Amadeo, smiling. "It's good to have a fur that I could trust is doing a job right." 

"What is the job?" asked Niko, eyeing the goons, a labrador and bulldog.

"Nothing too difficult," replied Amadeo, taking out a manila folder and holding it in his paw. "Two weeks ago, one of my underlings killed a rival member. Deal went bad, nothing too strenuous. However, one of their runners saw the whole thing, and is able to identify my dealer. I don't want a trail back to me. I have never had one of my men arrested, and don't plan to start now." He set the folder on the table in front of Niko. "My plant in the federal Marshals has given me information on the runner; he is under their surveillance for the time being until they are ready to get their act together."

Niko took the folder off the desk, opening it to the pictures. He had to use every bit of restraint in his body to keep his look neutral.

"I want you to kill him."

It was Ethan.

The picture they had on file was dated the day before the two of them had met, and seemed to be the most recent picture in the file. It seemed they were unaware of his relationship to the target.

"He declined protective custody," continued Amadeo. "So he should be at the address listed. Make it easy."

Niko nodded. "This shouldn't be a problem; no formal training, low-level. Not a problem."

Amadeo smiled approvingly. "Good, good."

Niko stood, trying to keep himself moving slowly and naturally. "If there's nothing else."

Amadeo shook his head. "No, no. Whenever you're ready."

Niko turned and left, his mind reeling. He wanted to run for his car, but restrained himself. So lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice the cat walking towards the office that passed him.

"Excuse me, sir," said the cat, opening the door. He approached Amadeo's desk, setting a manila envelope down. "You need to see this. Our contacts in the Marshals only now just got us these latest photos."

Amadeo opened the folder. On top was a picture of the assassin he had just sent out, standing arm in arm with the fennec at the waterfront.

"Send a tail with the male who just left," he said, critically. "Kill them both if he doesn't go through with the assignment."

***

Niko sat on the bench overlooking the water. Dark storm clouds were gathering closer now; rain would start any minute. It was already slightly past four. He was trying to delay leaving as long as possible. He had no idea no what to do. For the first time since he had become an assassin, he had no clear course in his mind. If he went through with this, he'd be throwing away the only good thing to come into his life in a long time; and if he didn't, he would be the next one hunted down.

He put his head in his paws. It was like he was having a bad dream, and was waiting to wake up from it. Ethan's smiling face kept invading his mind; and he was thinking of putting a bullet through it.

The shepherd walked back to his car, getting in and sighing. It was time to go home. He had made his decision. He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice the black Sedan following him as he made his way through cross-town traffic. The heavy volume at this time of day slowed him down, and he was grateful for that. The Glock hanging under his arm had never felt so heavy to him in all his life.

But, inevitably, he reached his off-ramp, and his street, and his house. He circled the block once before he came and parked in front of his house, and now he was aware of two things; the federal agents parked across the street and down the block from his house, and the tail he had picked up at the club. Whatever he did, the Marshals had to die. There could be no witnesses, no one to watch him.

Fat raindrops hit his windshield as he stepped from the car, tossing his Armanis on the passenger seat. The sun was setting, and it was getting darker, the grey storm clouds overhead helping to hasten the approach of the evening. He made like he was going to his side door, but in reality ran around behind his house, hopping the fence into the neighbor's yard, and up through the side yard. His shoes already were squishing into the moist earth, thunder rumbling in the distance and the temperature dipping noticably.

The Marshal's van was instantly recognizable; he cursed himself for never noticing it before. He was sure they had surveillance images of him and Ethan together; and that meant the tail from the club was there to make sure he did his job. This job had turned to a cluster-fuck so fast, his head was almost spinning. What still didn't make sense was why Ethan would turn down protective custody; but when Niko thought on it further, it made sense.

Ethan did it to be with him.

Niko dashed across the street, staying as low as he could, the sound of rain and the thunder overhead helping to mask his approach. The CB antennaes and other external wires on the van may as well have just made the black van branded 'Marshals here.'  He sidled up on the side, then went around to the passenger's side, drawing his Glock. He popped up, seeing one with a pair of binoculars, the other a listening device. Neither of them even had a chance to go for their sidearms.

The tail was parked back down right in front of his house; obviously Amadeo's men didn't have much finesse for following someone. He could hear them talking as he approached, leaning down in the passenger's side window and putting the barrel of his gun to the passenger's head; he recognized him as the jaguar.

"Did you boys need something?" he asked.

The driver, a doberman, looked over at him. "We were sent along to make sure you finish this job."

Niko smiled mirthlessly. "Well I don't need help, if that's what you mean."

"Not quite," added the jaguar, seemingly unfazed. "We're supposed to kill you both if you don't do the job."

Niko glared at him, not quite sure if he wanted the pull the trigger or not. "I'm going inside. Don't come in, no matter how long I take." He took the Glock from the jaguar's head, and left quickly, crossing the street and walking up the front walk. He still had his Glock drawn.

Unlocking the front door, he slipped inside, his shoes squelching on the floor a bit. Ethan was sitting on the couch in the living room, reading Niko's collection of the works of William Blake. He looked up and smiled. "Hi," he said.

Niko didn't respond, breathing deeply. He was keeping the Glock held down behind his thigh.

Ethan frowned. "Everything okay, hun?"

Niko closed his eyes and raised his Glock. Everything felt like it was in slow-motion. He opened his eyes, the sights falling square on Ethan; the fennec's wide eyes and look of terror was all he could see.

He fired twice. Two loud barks of the gun, and it was over.

Niko dropped the pistol, the weapon hitting the floor with a thud. He walked over to Ethan, taking the fennec's limp paw in his. "I'm sorry," said Niko, quietly. "It was the only way."

Ethan was still closing his eyes, stricken with fear. Niko nuzzled him. "They wanted me to kill you." He was hoping the gunshots would make the hired hands outside think the job was done, and he was in here cleaning up.

The fennec relaxed a bit. "And you're not going to?"
 Niko closed his eyes and shook his head. "I can't." He looked into Ethan's eyes, taking both the fox's paws. "Because I love you."

Ethan didn't know quite what to say, but he knew Niko was saving him. And now he was saying he loved him. "You...do?"

Niko nodded again. "Yes. Absolutely, I love you."

Ethan beamed, feeling like he was going to cry. "I love you, too." He threw his arms around the shepherd. "But...what are we going to do? Won't they come after you for not doing this?"

"Yeah, they will." Niko stood up. "But you let me worry about that, okay?" He licked Ethan's muzzle. "For now, we have a little time; and I can't guarantee we'll have this time again." 

Ethan understood what he meant. "We...I would like it if you'd make love to me, even if it's one last time."

Niko smiled, kissing the fennec. Ethan lay on his back on the couch, Niko lying on top of him, kissing him deeply. Ethan wrapped his arms and legs around Niko, murring. No words were being exchanged; none had to be. They were one at that moment, and no one could change that or take it from them. Even if both of them died, they knew they would always have this one last time; this last moment.

Kneeling up, Niko took off his shirt, flinging it over his head, not caring where it landed. Ethan ran his paws over the muscular chest before him, grinning up and Niko, and the bulge in his pants. Ethan reached up and unzipped Niko’s pants, reaching in and releasing the shepherd’s cock, gazing at it lovingly, picturing in his mind having that great maleness inside of him once more. He then undid the canine’s belt and button, slipping Niko’s pants down over his muscular thighs, his knees, his perfect legs. He was left with a nude shepherd, and the pictured perfection of a male. If he hadn’t met this male, he wouldn’t have believed anyone could be such an embodiment of masculinity. But here he was; and he belonged to Ethan, and Ethan to him.

Niko lifted himself up enough that he could work on Ethan’s pants now, undoing and gliding them down his thin, handsome legs. He smiled at Ethan when the fennec’s cock, already fully erect from his sheath, came into view, and Ethan blushed, wagging his tail. The fox took his own shirt off, letting it drop over the side of the couch. Niko leaned down and took the fennec’s face in his paws, gazing once again into those eyes that held him in a place where he knew he was free.

“I really do love you,” whispered Niko.

Ethan blushed and flattened his ears self-consciously. The last time he’d heard anyone say those words was after the first time he and Will had made love. He could still almost hear his voice echoing in Niko’s. He nuzzled Niko. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”

Niko kissed his cheek. It was hard to think that after this he may lose this male that now took up so much of his heart; and that Ethan may lose him. He wanted to hang on to this moment forever. He didn’t care if there would never be another future, and if his past was gone; this was all he wanted, and all he would ever need. His muzzle met Ethan’s, and they embraced one another again, passionately kissing. Niko straddled Ethan as they did so, rubbing the fox’s cock a bit. Ethan murred as they kissed, letting his paws stray over Niko’s hips and thighs, finally landing on his testicles and massaging them gently. 

Breaking their kiss, Niko licked Ethan’s cheek once more, then reclined back far enough to lift Ethan’s legs up, pushing them towards the fennec’s shoulder, then reposed back in himself, bracing his biceps against the crook of Ethan’s knees to keep them held there. He was laying prone against Ethan, his thighs around Ethan’s buttocks, their hips touching one another as Ethan’s maleness was pressed between them, while Niko’s was pressed just above Ethan’s tailhole. He wanted to take the fox again so badly, to tie with him, and make them one.

“You’re so perfect,” said Ethan, quietly. “I’m so lucky to be here with you.”

“We’ll be together wherever we go,” assured Niko. “No one can take you from me. I won’t let them.”

Ethan murred, urgently pressing his ass against Niko. “I want to be your’s.”

Niko positioned his cock against Ethan’s tailhole, just letting it sit there, making no move to plunge himself inside yet. Ethan murred again, closing his eyes and waiting to be taken by his lover. Niko licked Ethan’s cheek again, then leaned up so he was kneeling before Ethan’s tailhole, the fennec’s legs wrapped around his waist. He gently began to sink himself into Ethan’s inside, his cock being engulfed into the fox’s tailhole. Ethan gasped and murred, arching his back slightly and groaning as he was penetrated. Niko also closed his eyes, breathing deeply as that now-familiar warmth enclosed around his member as he pressed into his lover; the male he loved. He wanted more than ever to cum inside of Ethan; but not for sex, but as a punctuation that they were alive, and together.

Hilting himself inside of Ethan, he opened his eyes again, looking down and seeing all of his pink penis enveloped within Ethan. Ethan looked down over his chest at Niko adoringly, happy to have his love back within him. It still was one of the most incredible feelings to have someone he loved and cared about become one with him, and sink their throbbing cock deep, deep to his innermost reaches. Ethan really could feel the heat within him; the long, thick impalement throbbing and aching to eventually release into his intimate center. When Niko slowly and lazily withdrew his cock, and then began to slide back inside, it made Ethan’s head rush. His insides were tantalized so, his prostate struck with every rhythmic thrust the shepherd made into him. Niko was going slowly, gently making love to the fennec. There was no rush to anything they were doing.

“Unf…take me, love,” whispered Ethan, closing his eyes and gasping out loud.

“Mmm, of course,” replied Niko, quietly. He continued to push and pull his hips, ingressing and withdrawing his cock over and over. While he did, he wrapped his paw around Ethan’s cock, pumping it up and down in time with his humping. Ethan groaned, Niko feeling the fox’s cock flex in his paw. He grinned, stepping up the speed of his sex. He wanted to see his fox cum all over his own chest at the same time Niko filled his insides. His maleness was so swollen and throbbing, and every time he was enveloped back inside of Ethan, he felt like he never wanted to leave there. Until he bucked his hips again, and every time it just felt better. He was getting so caught in his passion, he was leaning forward again, practically bending Ethan in half. The fennec’s knees were a couple inches from his shoulders now, but he was not complaining. Niko was still stroking him off, thin ropes of precum falling from Ethan’s cockslit down to his chest. Ethan grunted and groaned, slamming himself in repeatedly. He looked down into Ethan’s eyes, and Ethan looked back at him, smiling, and saying up at him, wordlessly, “Tie me.”

Niko knew it wouldn’t be long until his knot was free of his sheath. He was so stimulated, he was almost afraid he would cum before he was able to tie with his lover. His testicles tingled and tightened to his body; and everytime they knocked and bumped against Ethan, it just made it even better. Every time his cockhead was caught just right, it sent a tingle right from the base of his penis right up his back, and he loved it.

The fox was in pure rapture. With Niko’s paw on his cock, and the shepherd’s maleness within him, he couldn’t imagine a more perfect time. He wanted to cum so badly, but at the same time wanted it to last as long as possible. He wanted to spray his semen everywhere for his shepherd; what he really wanted was the shepherd to drink his seed, but couldn’t vocalize his wish. Every part of himself was only concentrated on his cock and his ass, and his shepherd making him feel so good. Ethan was able to look up through his legs, at the handsome shepherd thrusting his cock in and out of the fox, and running his paw over Ethan’s member; every stroke was fantastic, catching his head and all the little sensitive spots on his shaft. He enjoyed watching the shepherd’s paw go up and down over his cock; fast, then slow, backing him off so he would last longer. Then sped it up again, making Ethan groan and gasp again. 

Niko brought his maleness down to bear on Ethan again, pushing as deep inside as he could while he paw kept rubbing his mate. He sort of wanted Ethan to be able to cum in his muzzle, and taste his semen, but didn’t know quite how to get his muzzle in the right position from here. But the feelings within him were still incredible. His penis to tantalized, it was almost now like he was being teased, and he would never get to orgasm. He was so swollen inside of his fox, he was afraid he would burst. His knot was slowly slipping free of his sheath, his bulbous expansion hitting against Ethan’s tailhole with every thrust.

Ethan groaned and closed his eyes. “Please…bury that knot in me,” he begged, breathily.

The shepherd leaned down as far as he could, pawing off the fox, and kissed Ethan on the muzzle. Niko worked his knot into Ethan’s tailhole as he wedged his tongue into the fox’s muzzle. The two of them were locked in every way they could be, their tongues entwined with another, and Niko’s maleness linked to Ethan. They played their tongues over one another as Niko continued to paw and hump, both actions making Ethan feel incredible. He felt like he would climax any moment, but only wanted this time to exist; this time when he was truly one with his mate, and felt better than he ever had before.

It was getting so close now. Niko could feel himself right on the verge of his orgasm. His cock was practically numb from the waves of pleasure working through it. His testicles were drawn right up to his body, and the base of his cock was already starting with little twinges, heralding his climax. It was shooting right up his shaft, and he could also feel Ethan’s cock starting to twitch a bit in his paw. But his cock unloaded first, his warmth painting the inside of Ethan. The fox could feel his shepherd cumming inside of him, and that just pushed him over the edge. His climax was explosive, the first shot of semen hitting him on the muzzle, the subsequent ones on him chest. The two of them just enjoyed the euphoria, lying there still entwined.

At length, Niko licked Ethan’s muzzle clean, getting as much of a taste of his lover as he could. He smiled at Ethan as he did so, the fox smiling back shyly. “Thank you,” said Ethan, quietly.

“For what?” inquired Niko. 

“For doing everything I wanted, and being everything I could ever need,” replied Ethan.

Niko smiled and licked Ethan’s cheek. “It’ll be awhile before I…settle down.”

Ethan laughed. “Then I guess we’ll just stay here for a little while.”

The shepherd murred and nuzzled him. “Okay.”

***

The Doberman looked at his watch, sighing impatiently. “It’s been a fucking hour.”

“You wanna go in after him?” asked the jaguar.

The Doberman looked at the house. “Wait here.”

Stepping from the car, the dobie dashed across the street in the slashing rain. The sun was now going down; it would be dark soon. He reached the front door, looking through the small window set in the door; nothing. Drawing his pistol, he opened the door and stepped inside.

***

Niko was pulling a black button-up over his white undershirt, then a fresh pair of black slacks. The two of them had quickly showered to get the smell of sex off of themselves. Ethan was still lying on the bed naked, watching Niko.

The shepherd had pulled on twin shoulder rigs, putting a Beretta M92FS 9-millimeter pistol in each. His leather jacket was lying on the bed, and he was loading a few extra magazines.

“We’re going to slip out the back and see if we can grab a car on the next block over,” said Niko, planning out loud. He jacked the last bullet into the magazine, placing it in a pouch holder on his hip with the others. “After that, we can go to my safe house out in the mountains.”

Ethan nodded. “How many guys were outside?”

“Just two,” replied Niko. “This shouldn’t be a problem.”

As he finished his sentence, he cocked his head to the side.

“What?” asked Ethan, tentatively. 

“Shh,” ordered Niko. He could definitely hear footsteps downstairs, no question. Shoes squelching on hardwood, making their way cautiously to the bottom of the stairs. Just one fur.

Turning, he flung open the closet and reached into the back, grabbing a Remington M870 12-gauge shotgun, with a pistol grip and cut barrel. He also secured a box of shells, quickly loading five into the shotgun and pumping it. Apparently his plan to just slip out wasn’t going to happen. “Get dressed…quickly,” whispered Niko. He got his leather jacket on as Ethan was getting his clothes back on.

Niko moved to the door and opened it gently. Rain pattered against the hallway windows, and night was moving on them quickly. A jagged flash of lightning cast bizarre shadows on the walls. He moved into the hall, holding the shotgun down, but in both hands, ready to bring it up if necessary.

“Hey!” came a voice down in the stairwell, “you done yet?”

Niko paused for a second, quiet. “Yeah. Come on up.”

The stairs creaked as the fur came up; the Doberman, Niko could see, when he came to the top. He had his pistol at his side, but casually holding it there.

“What’s the hold up?” asked the dobie.

Niko didn’t reply.

“Is he in there?” asked the dobie, pointing to the bedroom.

“Yeah,” said Niko, gruffly.

“Well, I need to see before we leave,” said the dobie, brushing past him.

“Don’t go in there,” warned Niko.

The dobie paid him no mind, opening the door, and gasping a little in surprise when he saw Ethan standing there. He turned to Niko, and was greeted with a shotgun barrel to his chest.

“What the fuck!?” yelled the dobie.

Niko pulled the trigger, and the dobie staggered back against the wall, sliding down, dead.

“Told you not to go in there,” muttered Niko. He looked in the bedroom. “Come on, we have to go now.”

Ethan didn’t need to be told twice, running out into the hallway with Niko, the two of them moving as fast as they could to the backdoor. Niko went first, opening the door and looking outside. He pumped the shotgun, and pulled Ethan into the yard with him. Their paws squished on the moist earth as they ran across the back lawn, rain hitting them on the head. Niko crouched down a bit, pulling aside part of a hedge on the back of the lawn. Some branches down low had obviously been previously cut away as an escape route for an occasion like this.

“Through here,” urged Niko. Ethan crawled through the hedge, momentarily dry while he was under the leaves and branches of the hedge. Then he was right back into the rain, in someone else’s yard now. Niko was right behind him, grunting as he got up, and ran past Ethan. The fennec followed right behind him.

The neighbor’s yard they were cutting through was thankfully deserted; all their lights were off, and it seemed no one was home. The two of them hopped a fence, ending up in the driveway, where a car was sitting. Niko tried the door, not surprised it was unlocked. He bent down under the dashboard, pulling the wires out.

“How long will it take?” asked Ethan.

“Just a few minutes,” replied Niko, cutting some of the wires with his knife. “Keep a watch out.”

“Okay,” said Ethan, nervously. He couldn’t really see much of anything in this rain and darkness. Everything looked alien and dangerous to him now. He wondered if he would ever get a normal life back now. But he knew Niko would take care of him.

“Alright,” grunted Niko as the engine began to run. “Hop in.”

Ethan went around to the other side, getting in the passenger’s side. Niko put the car in gear and backed out, leaving the headlights off. He took off down the street, trying to make as fast and clean a break as possible. Eventually they would send hunters after them, but they had a little time before they realized no one but a dead dog was in that house.

“Where will we go?” asked Ethan. “W-what’re we going to do?”

“Don’t worry about it,” assured Niko. He turned the windshield wipers, and hated the loud, monotonous ‘thunk-thunk’ they produced. “We’ll soon be somewhere safe.” He braked at an intersection for a stop sign, the continued on. “We’ll be just f—“

The squeal of metal cut him off. The car swerved to the left as they were hit on the right. The right side door dented in, but didn’t hurt Ethan. The car did a complete one-hundred-eighty degree turn, ending up backwards. Niko was disoriented, his neck hurting. He could see another car out in the rain, visible now with its headlights on. The jaguar from the club was getting out, brandishing an Uzi in his paw. He opened Ethan’s door, setting the unconscious fennec on the ground in the rain. Then he came around to Niko’s door, opening it as well. Niko moaned and grunted, trying to fight back, but was halted when the jaguar dragged him from the car and punched him across the face. After that, everything was just black.

***

“Niko!”

The shepherd jolted awake. The scream was the last thing he heard. His head hurt, and his vision was slightly blurred. He knew he had a little blood in his eye, and it stung like hell. He tried to move his paws, but found them bound tightly behind him by handcuffs. His chest was bare, but he still had pants on. The hardwood chair he was cuffed to was uncomfortale, and there was hardwood under his paws. And somewhere was a hard techno bass beat.

“Looks like someone is awake,” jeered a voice. He barely make out a few figures in the room. He blinked a few times, and it became clearer. Two thugs, a cat and a tiger, and between them was Amadeo. He was wearing a purple suit, and was smiling at Niko.

“You should have just finished the job, Niko,” stated Amadeo. “Now you’re both going to have to die.”

Niko tested his cuffs again; they were secured tightly.

“You won’t be able to get out of those,” assured Amadeo. “And even if you do, you won’t last long.” The tiger and cat smiled devilishly at him.

Niko sighed. “Why couldn’t you just let us go?”

“Because I can’t abide loose ends,” replied Amadeo. “Nor a contractor who is insubordinate. You took the contract and planned to double-cross me. No one does that!”

The shepherd grinned. “Guess you’ve never been in love.”

Amadeo smiled mithlessly. “No, can’t say I have. But I assure you, you and your love will be reunited soon. I have to go downstairs and oversee the evening’s proceedings, but I will be sending my finest to take care of both of you.” With that, he turned on his heels and walked out the door, the two guards left behind with Niko.

Niko let his chin hit his chest, thinking. He knew how he was going to get out of here already; what he didn’t know was how he was going to get Ethan out as well.

“Niko!”

He closed his eyes tigher. He could hear Ethan screaming through the walls; his fennec was expecting him to come in and save him. And Niko didn’t know if he could.

“Listen to him scream,” taunted the cat. “It’ll be the last thing you hear from him.”

Niko breathed deeply, keeping himself calm. Letting his emotions was the first step down a very short road to defeat. If he kept his wits about him, he would live. And Ethan was counting on him. 

Reaching over, he felt across his left wrist. There was his wristwatch still; no one ever took notice of the wristwatch. He kept his chin down and his eyes closed, like he was thinking. He took off the glass plate and took the minute hand from the faceplate. It was actually a lockpick built into the watch. He manipulated the pick into the cuff lock, poking around. He was trying to shut out Ethan’s screams; it was so hard to hear his love scream.

With a slight click, the cuffs came free. He held them in place, though, so they didn’t know what he was up to.

“Think he’s asleep?” asked the tiger.

“Maybe,” chuckled the cat. He moved closer to Niko, studying him. Niko slid his wrist from one of the cuffs, free now. The cat was still trying to determine if the shepherd was sleeping.

“Don’t get too close,” warned the tiger.

“What’s he going to do?” asked the cat, leaning in. “I still can’t te—“

He was cut off as Niko lept to his feet, grabbing the chair and smashing it across the cat’s face, parts of the chair splintering off, much like the cat’s teeth. He crumpled to the ground instantly. But Niko wasn’t interested in him. He was across the room in two to the tiger before the big feline even had a chance to draw a weapon. Niko lead with a right jab, then brought his left knee up into his gut, and finished him off with a palm strike to the face. The two felines lay unconscious, but still breathing on the floor. Niko crouched over the tiger, removing his knife that they had claimed, and the tiger’s sidearm, a Glock 21.

Standing and wiping dried blood from his fur, he looked out the window. Lightning flashed, illuminating the world outside, and now he could see it was starting to gently snow. White flakes fell gently to the ground below. It was so peaceful, Niko just wanted to stay there.

But knew he couldn’t. Firstly, he locked the door, hoping to delay the discovery of the bodies. The two of them would be out for a while. He stripped the tiger of his blue shirt, throwing it on. And recovered his jacket from the floor. It would be cold outside. He opened the window, sticking his head outside. There was a little ledge outside, over a two-story drop to the street. He was fortunate he wasn’t on the front of the building; it was nice and dark on this side.

Stepping onto the ledge, he put the Glock in his waistband. Hr grabbed the façade of the building for stability, putting both paws on the ledge. He slowly shimmied across the ledge, his breath visible in the arctic air. He clutched the next window frame, leaning in. He could see Ethan tied to a chair like he had. There were two more thugs around him, a bulldog and the jaguar. The jaguar held Ethan’s muzzle in his paw, saying, “I’ll bet that pretty little tongue would feel good.” Ethan closed his eyes and whimpered.

They were going to rape him.

Niko drew his knife, holding it in his paw. He watched the jaguar start to undo his belt, the other holding Ethan’s head, and leering. Niko clenched his teeth, and dove through the window. The jaguar, who had his pants down to his thighs, gasped. His partner went for his pistol, and Niko acrobatically moved to the bulldog, plunging his knife up through the other dog’s jaw. He screamed; as best he could with his mouth pinned shut. Then Niko drove the knife through the dog’s gut, and dropped him to the floor. He spun to the jaguar, who, despite literally having his pants down, was going for his sidearm. Niko kneed him in the gut, and stabbed him through the back. For all his size, the big cat went down with a thud.

“Niko!” exclaimed Ethan.

Niko bent down, undoing Ethan’s cuffs. “I knew you would come,” said Ethan.

Niko smiled. “Of course I did.”

When the fox was free, he put his paws around Niko, hugging him tightly. “I knew you would save me.”

Niko nuzzled against his fox. “Always.” He broke his embrace with Ethan. “Get dressed. We’re not out of this yet.”

Ethan put his shirt and things back on while Niko checked the bodies. He recovered another pistol and two extra magazines. He put the magazines in his pocket and the other pistol in his waistband, holding the Glock in his hand.

“I think we’re in the club I came to a few hours ago,” remarked Niko, checking the magazine capacities. “From the sound of it, it’s pretty busy.”

“What’re we going to do?” asked Ethan.

Niko reloaded the weapon, pulling the slide and racking in a round. “What I do best.”

Outside, flashing lights caught his attention. He went to the window, looking outside; three SWAT vans were parked there, along with several squad cars, police commandos filing out into the falling snow. He almost thought it was a raid, until he saw the unmistakable purple suit out there talking to the commander.

“An entire SWAT team just for me; I’m flattered,” muttered Niko. Apparently the bodies in the other room had been found, and he was guessing that the police department was in Amadeo’s pocket. Also explained the rapid response time.

“Looks like we’re going to have company,” said Niko, turning from the window. He grabbed the other pistol from his waistband and handed it to Ethan, grip first. Ethan took it, staring at the weapon. “Point and pull the trigger. When it’s out of ammo, the slide here will lock back. Press the button at the rear of the trigger, slap in the new magazine, and pull the slide back.”

Ethan took it wide-eyed.

“Got it?”

“Umm…uh-huh,” replied Ethan, bewildered. He’d only held a gun once before, and never fired it.

“Okay,” said Niko, opening the door and stepping into the hallway, gun up. The place had been deserted, but he could still hear music downstairs. He walked down the hallway, Ethan close behind him. Niko opened the door at the end of the hallway, that he remembered lead to the connecting hall down to the club. Moving into the hallway, he stopped at the one-way mirror, looking over the club. Loud music persevered, glow sticks and lasers visible in the darkness. The dance floor was packed.

And at the doors, Niko could see the tactical unit coming in.

“Stand back,” ordered Niko. Ethan backed up against the other wall as Niko leveled his gun at the glass and fired. The pane shattered instantly, glass falling to the ground with a musical sound. Niko fired two more shots over the heads of the clubbers, audible over the music. Some screamed and hit the floor; but the rest did what Niko was expecting. 

Panicked.

Furs ran for the door at full tilt, ignoring the police unit coming in. They shouldered past the police squad, heading into the night screaming.

Niko jumped down from the broken glass frame, rolling when he hit the ground. He turned, putting his arms out for Ethan to jump into. Ethan looked over the edge, crouching as low as he could before going over the edge. He landed gracefully in Niko’s arm, the shepherd letting him down on the ground.

“Now stay low,” ordered Niko, taking cover behind the DJ’s table. In the darkness he could see flashlights on automatic weapons bouncing in the darkness. Furs clad in black body armor; and coming for them. Niko fired two purposely wide shots over their heads, the teams scattering and taking cover.

“Now what?” asked Ethan.

Niko looked all around him, wondering the same. Going up against a fully-armed SWAT team was suicide. He looked across the booth, at the panel, and then his eyes landed on what he needed; the fog machine. Flipping switch to high, he turned the machine on. Smoke billowed out from vents over the dance floor. Even after just a few seconds, he already couldn’t see anything. He took Ethan by the wrist and lead him out of the DJ’s booth onto the main floor. He could hear combat boots in the darkness, but couldn’t see them. But eventually cones of light materialized in the mist. Niko almost ran into one. The two of them stared at each other, and then Niko moved, bending the SWAT officer’s arm backward, his gun dropped. The shepherd went for his knife, and plunged it into the cop’s chest, dropping him. He scooped up the gun, a Heckler & Koch MP5A5 9mm sub-machinegun. He clicked off the light, then fired a random volley of shots into the fog. He heard a few grunts of surprise, but none of pain.

He tucked the pistol back into his waistband, and lead Ethan across the right side of the bar, hoping they were getting closer to the door. The entire place was filled with thick, purple smoke now. 

“Stay low!” yelled Niko, the two of them crouching down. Niko put the MP5 to his shoulder, shooting at two SWAT officers he could make out in the mist. The rest turned their attention on the gunshots, firing at them.

Niko hopped the bar, encouraging Ethan to come with him.

“What happened? Where are we going to go?” asked Ethan.

“Not the front; there’s cops everywhere,” responded Niko, firing back, then ducking down again. The smoke was started to clear, and in a few minutes it would be perfect clarity again. “There’s a fire door on the next wall; we need to get to it. You go ahead, I’ll hold them.”

“But, I—“ started Ethan.

Niko leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. “It’ll be okay, I promise.” He stood and let loose a long spray of bullets, Ethan dashing away from the bar area. He could see a little further in front of himself now, and could see the fire door on the wall. He got to it and pushed it open, an alarm shrilly going off as he did.

The shepherd dashed towards the door, firing the last couple bullets in the gun and throwing it away. He got his Glock back out, firing now just so they wouldn’t leave their cover positions and come after them. He joined Ethan at the door, and the two of them quickly went out into the cold night.

***

Amadeo stood in the falling snow, clenching his fists. Someone was going to be held responsible for letting the two of them go. And whoever it was didn’t have much longer to live.

“We’ve got an APB out with a descriptions, and helicopters are ready to dust off,” said the police lieutenant. “We’ll get ‘em.”

Amadeo nodded, and the lieutenant left him. 

“Can you finish this?” asked Amadeo, not turning around.

“I probably can,” replied the stranger in the shadows. “For a price, of course. I’m fairly certain I know where he’s headed.”

“Then do it; I don’t care the cost.” He looked over his shoulder. “I said g—“

But he was already alone.

***

Niko’s shoes crunched in the snow, leaving a trail in the darkness. A blurry moon could be seen through the clouds, more and more snow falling in the evening. It was just a little past three now, and the two of them were trekking across the streets, sticking mostly to back alleys to stay out of sight of patrol cars and helicopters.

“Where are we going?” asked Ethan in a hushed tone.

“The bar, where we met,” answered Niko. “Jack, the bartender, should hopefully have a car we can borrow. And maybe some extra firepower.”

He quickly pulled Ethan into the shadows as a squad car rolled past, shining a spot light down the alley. He could feel Ethan’s rapid heartbeat against his own chest. The fox nuzzled against him. Niko stroked his back. “It’ll be okay.” He drew his Glock, holding it at his side. “We have to keep moving.”

The shepherd looked down the street, then the other direction. He motioned to Ethan, the two of them darting over the street. The snow was now ankle-deep, and falling faster now. It was so beautiful, and seemed so out of place in their night.

“How much farther to the bar?” asked Ethan.

“A couple blocks,” replied Niko. In the distance, he could hear the soft thump of helicopter rotors. “And we have to get there, soon; they’ve got air support.”

As if one cue, another helicopter could hear, just over the buildings in front of them. With the cold air, Niko knew the acoustics of the air were off, so he didn’t know if it was farther away or closer. Until it broke over the edge of the roof, spotlight sweeping over the alleyway. The two of them were caught right in the middle, illuminated against the backdrop of the snow.

“This is the police!” came a loudspeaker from the helicopter. “Hold your positions!”

“Come on!” exclaimed Niko, taking Ethan’s paw. He could already see the helicopter turning to the side of the fuselage was facing towards them, where the sharpshooters were.

Niko kicked down a boarded over door, crashing in with Ethan. Outside, he could hear sirens, and see lights flashing on the walls of the alleyway. Gruff voices preceded the crunching off snow. The building they landed in was long-deserted, dust every on the floor, the shelving, and what little furniture had been left behind. The bar was just the other side of the building.

The two of them ran across the room, which looked like it had once, long ago, been an assembly room. There were still machine parts left on the floor, and powers cables hung everywhere like dead snakes. Behind them, boots were hitting the concrete floor from outside.

“In here,” whispered Niko, parting some boards leaning on the wall. He tucked Ethan inside, putting the boards back. “Don’t come out until I come back.”

“But, I—“ started Ethan.

Niko kissed his paw. “I promise I’ll come back.” And with that, he was gone into the inky darkness like a wraith.

Ethan tried to see Niko, but couldn’t make out his form after a few minutes. What he could see were flashlights bobbing in the darkness, and large furs with weapons. He held his breath as they walked past, checking every nook and potential hiding spot they could find. Ethan held his breath as one walked  past, his boots thudding on the ground, his light sweeping briefly over the pile of boards before he walked on. Ethan couldn’t let his breath go; he was afraid he would exhale too loudly. It wasn’t until they were all past that he finally slowly let it go, the sound like air being let out of a tire. He just sat back and huddled against the wall, wishing and praying Niko would come back alive.

Fifteen feet above the floor, Niko perched on top of a support strut like a gargoyle. Beneath him, the police weaved back and forth, searching in classic grid patterns. He clutched his knife in his paw tightly; he counted four cops all-together. A challenge, but not beyond him.

Grabbing a wrench he had secured before getting into position, he threw it across the room, the tool hitting with a ringing, clanging noise. As one, all four lights turned to the source of the noise. Three of the officers moved forward to check on it. The last remaining one wasn’t as lucky.

Niko dropped from the support, landing cat-like behind the cop. He quickly snaked his arm around the cops throat, pulling it back and slitting his neck. He managed a gurgling noise, dropping his firearm to clutch at his neck. The shepherd was gone before the other three had a chance to turn and look. All they saw was a dead cop and a spreading pool of blood.

The next attack came from the left of the cops; a pipe came cartwheeling from the darkness, striking one square in the head. He went down, unconscious. The last two stood back to back, spinning and looking into the darkess.

When the body came out of the darkness, the two of them turned their fire on it, unloading their magazines into the shapeless form. Until, once their guns were empty, they realized it was the body of one of their team mates.

But by then, it was too late. Like a phantom, Niko was just a blur amongst them. He grabbed one by the arm, snapping it at the elbow. Incapacitating one, he struck the other under the chin with his palm, sending him flying backward onto the ground; Niko finished him with a solid stomp to his chest. The other, the one with a broken arm, he kneed in the gut, then took the officer’s head in the cradle of his arm. In one fluid motion, he nearly twisted the cop’s head backward.

Ethan flinched a bit when a paw reached for him, whimpering.

“Hey, it’s okay,” soothed Niko. “You can come out. Just…don’t look.”

Ethan came out, clinging to Niko. He stayed right on his arm as they went to the exit from the building. His eyes strayed to the macabre tableau he could see illuminated in the beams of the flashlights. And he wished he hadn’t seen it. He squeezed Niko’s paw and arm tighter after he saw the dead, lifeless bodies. He didn’t see Niko as a monster or hate him for it; they wanted to kill them.

The shepherd opened the door, stepping outside. No cars, no helicopters. But the thump of rotors was still present. He was sure when the other cops didn’t come back, there’d be more. But right now, they just needed to get to the bar, which was right down the street.

It was like the city knew what was going on. No one was on the streets, no lights were on. Everyone seemed to be inside, avoiding the cold, and the manhunt going on in the town. The moon was now completely clouded over, more clouds  bringing more white flakes in.

Reaching the bar, he could hear more sirens, and they were closing in. The front door was locked, but Niko knew where the key to the back was. He lead Ethan around the side alley just as two squad cars slid around the corner, speeding down the road despite the slick conditions.

Niko and Ethan went down a short flight of concrete steps, ending up at the back door, which was crowded in between two apartment tenements, blocked off from the view of the main street. Niko reached up over the door frame, retrieving a key and unlocking the door. He was just hoping Jack was still here.

They walked into the kitchen area, which was where the backdoor lead right into. Niko could see the front end of the bar through a small line window, used for the little bit of food he served. “Hello?” called Niko, closing the door behind him. The lights were still on, and he could hear the faint hiss of the jukebox still left on with nothing playing. But that made him more concerned than anything.

“Is he here?” asked Ethan, moving out of the kitchen area. His paws slapped hollowly on the hardwood.

“I don’t know,” said Niko, clutching his Glock tightly. “Jack!?”

He walked behind Ethan, keeping him close. He could hear more sirens outside, and it made him nervous to be in one place for too long. Maybe Jack was out somewhere, or getting some things from the basement.
 Niko walked around behind the bar. “I’m going to check—“ But stopped. 

He had found Jack.

The bartender lay behind the bar, on his stomach, dead. Niko knelt next to his friend, rolling him over. There was a star-shaped entry wound between his eyes, which were closed. There were powder burns around the edge of the bullet entrance. Someone had shot him at very close-range, and with a very large weapon.

But what caught his eye the most was under the bar; it seemed like it had been deliberately placed there. He reached under, retrieving it. He inhaled sharply, putting his thumb to his muzzle. Whatever it was, it was sharp. He gingerly coaxed it out, stopping in horror when he saw it.

A rose. A blood-red rose.

He bolted to his feet, looking at Ethan. “We have to go.”

Ethan looked at him worriedly. “Niko…?”

“Now.” Niko bent down, reaching in Jack’s pocket, feeling awful for doing it, but he was desperate. He found the collie’s keys, snatching them up with a jingle. His eyes also landed on the .45-caliber handgun Jack kept under the bar. He grabbed that as well, standing back up.

When he did, they weren’t alone.

The leopardess was just as Niko remembered her. Critical eyes watching both of them. Black shirt, black thigh-length leather jacket, black choker around her neck, black pants, black shoes. Long, flowing ebony headfur reached her shoulders, pooling there and going down over her breasts. When she walked, her hips seemed to gyrate, not just swivel, and it was like watching silk in motion. She brandished a Desert Eagle .44-magnum pistol at them, the nickel plating on it glinting in the light.

“Niko,” she said, quietly. “You have gotten far too predictable.”

Niko didn’t make any movements, still with his hand that held the .45 under the edge of the bar. “I wasn’t expecting a visit from a ghost. But I should expect anything from The Black Rose.”

She smiled, cocking the hammer on the Desert Eagle.

“Isn’t that a big gun for a little girl?” asked Niko, half-smiling with no amusement.

She smiled back at him again. “Not really. It’s just right, actually. You don’t seem too surprised to see me.”

Niko shook his head. “Not really. I sort of suspected you’d come back someday. Just didn’t think it would be this way.”

“Tsk, tsk, silly boy, you should know that the best way to keep tabs on the competition is to get their trust first.”

“Or get them in bed, eh?”

Rose laughed mirthlessly. “If that’s what it takes.” She looked at Ethan’s. “I see you’ve gotten a little close to the marks these days; I warned you about that.”

“He wasn’t a mark when I met him.”

Rose shrugged. “The minute there’s a contract on him he ceased to be your lover.”

Niko squinted. “I don’t see it that way.”

“Then you’re a fool.” She raised the Desert Eagle to eye level, aiming. “And soon a dead fool.”

Niko let three rapid shots go, the bullets going through the front of the bar. None struck Rose, but they were enough to throw her off-balance. She let one wild shot go, her Desert Eagle discharging into the ceiling. 

The shepherd was over the bar in seconds, grabbing Ethan, who was almost frozen in place, and the two of them ran back the way they came in. Rose fired at them, taking aim through the wall, the .44-caliber slugs tearing right through after them. Niko ducked low, bringing Ethan down with him. He flung the backdoor open, the two of them spilling onto the snow-covered ground.

“She’ll be right behind us,” said Niko, raggedly. He slammed the door, getting on his feet, almost slipping in the snow. “Let’s go!”

“It looked like you two knew each other,” remarked Ethan, following the shepherd.

“In another lifetime,” muttered Niko. He climbed the steps, back to the road. Jack’s car was sitting at the curbside. Niko quickly unlocked the door, getting in and letting Ethan in the passenger’s side. He put the key in the ignition, and then ducked low when the back window shattered.

In the rearview mirror, he could see Rose closing in on them. She had gone through the front door and around to the side. Niko could see she was changing magazines, which bought them a few seconds. He turned in his seat, firing the .45. She moved to the side and crouched low, firing back, the baritone thump of the magnum unmistakable. He empted the .45’s magazine, tossing it aside when it was empty, and started the car. Fortunately, the engine sprang to life immediately. He put the car in gear, the wheels spinning briefly in the snow, and then shot off as Rose was getting within two yards of the car. She stopped in the snow, watching the tail lights disappear into the darkness.

Holstering her Desert Eagle, she turned to walk back to her own car. She knew exactly where he was going. And she knew because she had shown him where it was.

***

Headlights danced across the snowdrifts on either side of the highway. It seemed the snowplows had been through, since the road was fairly easy to navigate. Niko was thankful for this little bit of good luck; the only bit he seemed to be getting tonight.

“Where are we heading now?” asked Ethan, staring out into the night. “We can’t run forever.”

“We’re not going to,” replied Niko, quietly. “We’re going to my safe house in the mountains. No one should look for us up there. They’ll probably just think we jumped town.”

Ethan didn’t say anything, just staring out the window at the frozen landscape.

Niko put his paw over Ethan’s on the fox’s leg. “We’ll be okay; I promise.”

Ethan smiled. “I know; you’ll take care of me.”

Turning his attention back to the road, Niko just hoped that sentence was accurate. He reached to his waistband, untucking the Glock and setting it on the center console. Somehow, he knew this wasn’t over yet.

He turned to the off ramp, the exit sign proclaiming ‘Crystal Lake – 14 Miles.’ His cabin was up there, and he prayed they had enough of a head start for him to set things up. He had enough tools up there to make a stand; but how was he going to go against someone who taught him everything he knew?

“That was the leopardess that trained you, wasn’t it?” asked Ethan, suddenly. “The one that died?”

Niko sighed. “Yeah; a ghost.”

“And she’s hunting us,” concluded Ethan.

Niko sighed again. “Yeah, she is.”

“Will you kill her?”

The shepherd looked at Ethan in the dark. “If I have to. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you.”

He made a lazy left turn, moving onto a private lane. The road hadn’t been plowed, as Niko had been expecting. He turned the car off, leaving the keys in the ignition. “We’ll have to walk from here; it’s about half a mile.”

Ethan nodded, opening the door. He slammed it as quietly as he could, the metal echoing like a gunshot over the barren, snow-canvassed hills near them. He could see the clouds just starting to clear, but still blurred by snow clouds. The beclouded light struck off the lake, which hadn’t frozen over yet and was the namesake of the area. The fox kept expecting to see an onslaught of headlights coming down the highway after them, but no one was in sight; yet.

He walked fast to catch up with Niko, their paws crunching the foot of snow that had rapidly fallen. It was now just after four-thirty in the morning; the sun wouldn’t be up for a couple hours yet. For now, what little moonlight filtered down through the overcast heavens tainted the snow a slight blue, illuminating the terrain around them. It also made the two of them stand out as if it was broad daylight.

“Do you think Rose will know you’re here?” asked Ethan as they trudged through the snow.

“I don’t know,” answered Niko honestly. “It’s possible. She was the one who told me about this place.” He was holding the Glock in one hand as they made their way up the hill. He was almost afraid she and her goons would beat them up there.

The cabin was already in sight; completely dark at the top of the hill. Niko had bought it as a place to run if he got in trouble, and liked to come up to it a couple weeks a year over the summer. In the years since the purchase, he had also made certain alterations around the grounds and perimeter.

He felt something on his paw in the darkness, and realized it was Ethan trying to take it. He switched his gun to his left paw, wrapping his right paw with Ethan’s. The fox smiled at him, and Niko gave him a reassuring squeeze. He just had to assure himself everything would be okay. It wasn’t like it was on TV; people died, and the good guy didn’t always walk away into the sunset at the end.

When they got closer to the cabin, Niko took his paw from Ethan and took the gun in his right paw again. He ejected the magazine, checking it; half full. 

He put his finger to his muzzle, telling Ethan to be quiet, and pointed to the ground; stay low. He couldn’t be sure that there wasn’t anyone inside. He approached the east side of the building, where they had walked up from. Ducking low, he slowly looked over the edge of the window sill; darkness. He could make out his furniture, and  other things, and it didn’t look like anything had been disturbed.

Staying close to the wall, he walked around to the back. He turned the corner and sidled up on the rear sliding door. Niko looked over his shoulder, motioning for Ethan to come up and join him. Niko used the butt of his gun to smash the window, since he didn’t have his key with him. He reached in and unlatched the glass door, sliding it open. He slipped inside as fast as he could, staying low. The other downside was that the generator was turned off this time of year; he had no real light. But reaching into his pocket, he secured his lighter, flicking it on. The room was bathed in a soft orange glow, and he could see enough now.

“It looks clear,” he said, more to himself that Ethan. The rear lock hadn’t been tampered with, and the front door was also still intact. He tucked the Glock away again, moving into the cabin. The living room and kitchen were adjacent to one another, separated just by flooring and a counter. He went through the closet in the kitchen, retrieving a flashlight, clicking it on. Now he could see better. Before returning his lighter to his pocket, almost as an afterthought he took his cigarettes from his jacket pocket, slipping one in his muzzle and lighting up.

“This way,” he said, leading Ethan up the stairs next to the front door. The wooden steps creaked under their weight, stiffened by the cold air in the cabin.

At the top of the stairs were only two rooms; the bathroom and the bedroom. Niko guided him into the bedroom, which was decorated just as starkly as his home had been. Just a bed, nightstand, and dresser.

“Hold the light for me,” whispered Niko, feeling stifled by the silence. It was almost cloistering around them. The shepherd directed Ethan to point it at the wall, where he removed a piece of fake paneling. He removed an aluminum case, opening it on the floor. Inside were weapons of all imaginable size, caliber, and type. Niko began removing them, setting them on the floor. He loaded two More Glock .40-caliber pistols, slipping them into twin shoulder holsters like he had back at the house. He set an H&K MP5K 9mm sub-machinegun on the floor, and a sawed-off Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun, like the Remington he’d had in his bedroom. He slipped the MP5K over his shoulder on a strap, slipping two extra magazines into his waistband. He also loaded the shotgun, holding it in his paw, and put extra shells in one pocket with extra magazines for the Glocks in the other.

“You look like you’re ready for war,” remarked Ethan, timidly.

Niko pumped the shotgun. “I am.” He also picked up a small remote, flicking the button, a small LED beeping from red to green.

“What’s that?” asked Ethan.

“Just some surprises for any possible guests,” said Niko, cryptically. “Come on.”

He lead the fox back into the upstairs hallway, reaching up and pulling on a chord on the ceiling. A hideaway staircase came down from the ceiling. “You’re going to hide up here until I think we can move safely. I’m going to get some canned stuff from the basement for food; I’ll bring you some back up in a few minutes.”

Ethan didn’t move, looking up into the attic.

Niko put his free paw around Ethan. “I’ll be okay, alright?”

Ethan threw his arms around Niko. “I’m so sorry I got you into this.”

The shepherd nuzzled him. “You didn’t. I would’ve done this anyway.”

Ethan licked him, then went up into the crawlspace, Niko closing the trapdoor behind him. He took a deep breath, hoping he would get to make love to that male again.

He thumped back down the steps, tilting his head slightly. All he heard was the wind, and the falling flakes making a slight noise as they fell against the roof. Other than that, all was still.

Until he heard the explosion.

It came from the south side. The unmistakable sound of a claymore mine with a proximity sensor he had activated when he flipped the switch on the remote. Someone was already here. And it had been quicker than he had expected.

Running across the room, he ducked under the window, looking out. He didn’t see anything, just snow blowing off the drifts. The moon was now fully visible, the great celestial visage making everything bright now. 

Briefly, he saw movement. Twenty yards off, darting from one tree to another. There had definitely been something there. He looked intently over the landscape, but saw no other evidence of movement. For all he knew, there was a sniper with a night scope watching him right now.

Or Rose, with a night scope, could be watching him.

Another mine went off, this time on the west side. Apparently they had surrounded them. A standard trick; converge and dominate. And they would have an edge over him, in the form, probably, of night vision goggles.

Voices outside; low, but there. On the font porch. Niko crouched low against the wall, waiting. He could hear boots thudding on the porch. Right in front of the porch,

Right where he wanted them.

There was a delay as they approached the door, then they caught the tripwire. Niko knew they did, because the high-power klieg lights he installed outside on a separate battery clicked on all around the perimeter. The commandos on the porch screamed, as they instantly blinded, the goggles they were wearing amplifying the available light by ten-thousand. It also caught one commando as he was stepped up to the back sliding door. Niko caught sight of him, and unloading two shots into him, the male going down hard.

The window over his head exploded, and a cylindrical object bounced to the floor. Niko recognized it immediately, and dove after it, landing next to it and chucking it through the glass door. No more than a second later, it exploded outside in a bright flash. 

A fragmentation grenade.

And there would be more on the way.

He rolled to his right, getting on his feet and opening the front door. The commandos on the porch were still blinded, fumbling around to see where they were going. Niko put both of them down quickly and moved.

It was a dangerous position he was in; he had no cover in the open, and was surrounded by trees, where a sniper could set up. He was also had a disadvantage as he did not know number of force; so far he had killed three.

Taking a chance, he ran for the nearest tree he could, sliding up against the base of the trunk. He looked all around himself, and didn’t see anyone, but was pretty certain he’d probably been spotted as he ran.

The lights back at the cabin clicked off as the battery clicked off; he knew it wouldn’t last long. With their night vision gear usable again, they would make their move. He had to make his first. His goal was to reach a stand of pine trees sixty yards to the south; it would afford more protection than the trees that had already shed their leaves.

Staying low and making as little of a target of himself as he could, he ran to another tree, crouching low when he got there. Still nothing. He honestly couldn’t believe there had only been three commandos, but maybe that was all they could get together on short notice.

But he wasn’t taking any chances, and dropped the shotgun for better maneuverability, opting for his sub-machinegun instead. He weaved his way to another tree, and still seeing no evidence of more commandos.

And as he was running to his objective, he was having a dawning realization. He was being hunted.

He stopped dead in the arctic wasteland around him, backing up against a wide tree trunk. Rose was here, and he could feel it. She was watching him, probably through the scope of a rifle. Her expertise had always been with long guns. She could probably see him right now, or at least knew where he was.

That was why there were no more men. She wanted to kill him herself.

He was within twenty yards of the pine trees, and didn’t know if he would ever make it. He squeezed the machinegun tighter, so much it almost hurt. It would be no mach against a rifle.

But he decided to chance it, running flat out for the pine grove. He expected to feel his chest explode with a .30-caliber round, but it never came. He dove for cover under a low-hanging bough of a tree, breathing deeply. He hated breathing so hard in cold air; his warm exhalations in the chilled air have his location away like a beacon.

Crawling to the other side, feeling the fallen soft pine needles under his paw, he looked out from his new cover. Still no one was coming for him. He wriggled out from under the pine tree, standing in the darkness and cold.

And the attack came from above.

Instantly he was dropped to the ground, the strap of the machinegun snapping and the weapon falling into a deep drift. She had been hiding in the branches above, not making a sound, waiting so patiently for him. Then she had struck like a viper.

Before he even tried to get back up, he went for his one Glock, getting grabbed from behind and flung onto his back, fumbling his weapon again. He grunted as he fell into the harsh coldness, trying to get back on his feet because he knew being on the ground was certain death. He wrapped his paw around his knife in it’s sheath as he got up, and was greeted with the click of a hammer being cocked before he was halfway back up.

“Don’t,” she said, coldly.

He stopped mid-movement, frozen when he saw the mammoth barrel of her Desert Eagle bearing down on him. In there, he saw death, cold and pure. And for once, he saw his own death.

“You must’ve known I would come here,” said Rose from behind a pair of night vision goggles.

“In some way, I guess I did,” choraled Niko, not moving a muscle. “Maybe that was what I wanted. You just left all of a sudden; why?”

She reached up and removed her goggles, her pistol never wavering. “Because it was time. You were ready, and that was all that mattered. I didn’t want to train a partner; I wanted to train a legacy. To pass something on that I could. You were like a son to me.”

“Funny way of showing it.”

She smirked. “Every family has it’s quarrels.”

“So how does this one end?” he asked, crisply.

“Unlike you, I have no intent of defaulting on a contract,” she replied, coolly. “There’s quite a price on your head.”

“I can imagine,” retorted Niko, tightening his grip on his knife, wondering how many bullets she would pump into him before he could even flinch. The look in her eyes told him it would be the whole magazine.

“Drop the knife,” she ordered.

Niko hesitated for a moment, then unsheathe the knife, holding it in a combat position. She eyed him neutrally.

“You know,” he started, “I’ve never really gotten to use those knife moves you taught me.”

She didn’t say anything.

“Care to go a round?”

Rose held the gun on him a moment longer, then tossed it away into the snow. She reached around behind her and removed a military-issue K-Bar knife, a six-inch, acid-edged, matte-black finished knife. She held it down at her side, not yet taking an aggressive stance.

“I want you to know,” she said, “that what we did before I left didn’t mean nothing to me. When I said you’re like my son, it was the truth.”

Niko dropped one leg back, raising the knife and his free paw in front of his face. “That won’t work.”

She smiled, and adopted the same stance. The two of them just looked at one another, waiting for that slight glimmer of muscle movement, indicating an action.

He struck first.

Niko spun on his feet, leading with the knife. It was an easily blocked move, even an amateur could see it coming and prepare for it. Rose blocked and he spun past her, ducking as she swung at his passing body, and the shepherd swung back in kind. She lept back, slightly surprised by the move; it was one she never taught him. She re-evaluated her battle tactic, eyeing her opponent more critically now.

She lead in with a two-step lunge, Niko parrying with his small blade. The metal clanged against one another,  Niko taking a swing with his left paw, landing a left jab into her side. She gasped as she stumbled past him. He didn’t give her quarter, lunging at her with the knife. But it was sloppy through the resistance of the snow, and he left himself wide open, she taking the opportunity to stab him in the side of the gut. He cried up, moving away from her, clutching at his side.

The two of them ended opposite one another, wounded now. Niko could feel that the wound wasn’t too deep, and there were no vital organs nicked, luckily. He could keep going.

“You’ve learned a lot,” she remarked. “I am impressed.”

“I’m not here to impress you,” he retorted, flying forward, feigning a left jab, and then leading with his knife. He landed his blade into his right shoulder. She jerked her body, tearing the weapon from his grip that was now embedded in her shoulder. She dropped the K-Bar, the knife disappearing into the snow, trying to pull the blade from his shoulder. But Niko stayed in close, grappling with her. He landed two solid punches into her gut, before she countered with an elbow into his muzzle. He reeled backward a step, little dots entering his vision. But he was right back on her, pinning one of her paws back, taking a palm-strike with his other paw. She leaned backward out of the line of his palm, countering with a jab into the side of his chest. He gasped at the pain, fighting through it. Not knowing what else to do, he leaned into her, trying to overpower her. But she used his weight of gravity and flung him past her into the snow onto his belly.

Niko was getting back up when he felt the barrel on the back of his head. Rose had retrieved her Desert Eagle. He could feel warm blood drip onto his back as she removed the knife, dropping it into the snow next to them. She wasn’t saying a word, and he could hear the clicking of the trigger being depressed.

He was ready to close his eyes and wait for the inevitable. But just before he was ready to concede, he could see the black grip of the Glock he had dropped sticking out of the snow, just little more than an arm’s length away. He closed his eyes, envisioning it.

And then lunged.

As his body moved, the roar of the .44 filled his ears. Everything seemed to move in slow-motion. He dove as far as he could towards the gun in the snow, his only salvation, even as he knew Rose was retraining her shot. He felt his paw around the weapon, and opened his eyes. He rolled to his right and ended up on his back, raising the gun, and time resumed. Just as both barrels landed on the other.

The gunshot echoed across the forest. And all that remained was red blood on white snow.

***

Ethan climbed down from the attic. The living room looked like a disaster, and the bodies on the front porch just added to it. He stepped over them, seeing the sun just coming up over the hills and the lake he could see at the bottom of the hill.

“Niko!” he yelled, not caring who he heard. “Niko!!” The only response he received was his own voice echoing back on him. “Niko!” he yelled desperately. The last thing he had heard was a gunshot, and it sounded very far away. But there had been nothing after that. And Niko hadn’t yet come back.

“Niko!”

“I’m here,” came a gruff voice.

Ethan turned, and saw his shepherd bracing himself against the side of the cabin. He smiled weakly. Ethan ran to him, wrapping his arms around him and kissing the shepherd, Niko wincing in return.

“What’s wrong?” asked Ethan.

“Nothing,” replied Niko, shuffling weakly past him. He made it to the clearing in front of the cabin and collapsed in the snow. 

“Niko!” exclaimed Ethan, dropping to his side. He parted the shepherd’s jacket and tore his shirt open, seeing his fur matted in blood  from a wound in his chest. “Oh, God…no.”

Niko took Ethan’s paw. “It’s…it’s okay.”

“We have to get you to a doctor!” said Ethan, hysterically. “We…I…what can I do!?”

Niko shook his head. “It’s a lung shot. There’s nothing you can do, and we’re way too far from help to get here in time. I’m dying.”

“No…,” denied Ethan. “You….you can’t. You promised you’d come back!” He sniffled and wiped his eyes.

“Hey,” said Niko, getting weaker. “It’s okay. Can…can you get my cigarettes and lighter?”

Ethan nodded, wiping his eyes again. He dug out his smokes and put one in Niko’s muzzle, lighting it. Niko took a deep drag, closing his eyes. “Always thought these things would kill me.” He coughed hard, then looked up into Ethan’s eyes. “Listen to me carefully. In the corner, under the chair in the living room in the cabin is an emergency fund; two million dollars. Take it and go.”

“Niko…I…I…,” stuttered Ethan.

“Please,” said Niko. “I want you to build a new life for yourself. Okay? Go far from here, and never look back.”

Ethan bent down and kissed Niko on the forehead. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Niko squeezed his paw. “I’ll never forget the moment and time I had you; you were my eternity. I love you.”

“I love you…too…,” spoke Ethan, quietly, feeling his mate’s paw go limp in his as he spoke. He knew that the shepherd was gone. He cried, letting his tears flow freely, most of them falling across Niko chest.

The fox stood, wiping away more of his tears, sniffling. He watched the rising sun, standing next to the body of his former lover. The snow took on a golden hue now as the day began anew, as his life was about to begin anew. He looked down at Niko one last time, not wanting to leave his lover’s body here, but knowing he had no choice. There was nothing here for him any longer, and there never would be ever again. 

It was time for the next moment.

END