FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Despite the war being waged outside by the weather, the knock from the front door echoed effortlessly throughout the quiet home. The sound proved just enough to wake Ben from his sleep, sitting up quietly, he attempted to determine whether the noise had been part of his dreams or not. He'd almost decided it had been in his head when another knock (slightly faster this time) called out to him. With a mild sigh of resignation, the brown fox reached over to his bedside table, flicking the lamp on. He also picked up his glasses, placing them gently onto his face. The yellow lamplight spilled all over the room, and that combined with the knocking was enough to wake his boyfriend up.

"What? What's happening?" Marc murmured, still somewhat half-asleep. Then almost as if to answer his question, another knock (quicker still) rang out through the home.

"Someone's at the door." Replied Ben pointlessly, climbing out of bed. He was wearing a plain grey t-shirt and dark blue pyjama bottoms. The only sign Marc gave of acknowledgement was a deep groan. Ben generally woke up fairly easily, he'd never been a heavy sleeper, which meant that by the time he'd left their bedroom, walked downstairs and to the front door he was quite awake. He switched on lights as he went, assuming that whoever it may be at the door they were likely to want to come in from the rain. Putting on a bemused smile and hoping the visit wasn't caused by a death, he opened the door. For a moment he stood there, staring at his guest, simultaneously glad and concerned to see--

"Ethan, what...what are you doing here?" He asked tentatively, hundreds of possible scenarios as to why this particular fur was on his doorstep, few of them positive.

"Uh...Sorry, I uh...I wasn't sure where else to go really." Said Ethan, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously.

"Well...jeez you better come in from the rain." Ben put a hand on his young friend's shoulder, leading him inside. Ethan was a twenty-three year old grey wolf, and Ben had known him for almost ten years now. As a rule he very rarely formed relationships with his clients outside of his professional space, but not only had Ethan (and to a certain extent, his parents) been Ben's first real client, he'd always found a strong resonance with the young fur. This was not the first time Ethan had shown up to the fox couple's house, but it was the first in a while.

After Ben had closed the door, he turned to see Marc standing at the bottom of the stairs, rubbing his face. The orange fox had never found it quite as simple as his better half to wake up, and it usually took him a good half-hour, plus coffee. His face brightened however, when he saw his young wolf friend.

"Ethan! Oh my god, how are you?" He walked forwards, pulling the kid into a tight hug. The wolf wasn't much for hugging or touching of any kind really, however Marc had somehow always been a point of physical comfort for him.

"I'm okay..." Ethan mumbled into Marc's shoulder.

"Ah yes, I guess you were in the area eh? Decided to drop in?" Marc chuckled, releasing his friend. Since he was ten, most of the people in Ethan's life had treated him like he was made of glass, afraid they might 'set him off' by saying or doing the wrong thing. All Marc did was treat him like anyone else, and it made the young wolf respect him enormously. His parents had often asked the fox just how he managed to get their son to open up and relax so easily, and he claimed he didn't do anything. But that's just how Marc is.

"Um...yeah, I'm sorry about that, I mean you guys look like you were asleep...but I..." Ben walked up behind the nervous fur, smiling happily.

"Nah Ethan don't worry yourself, really it's fine. I'll make us some coffee." He said jovially.

"Oh dear, I love you so much." Laughed Marc, following his fox into the kitchen. "One for Ethan too, I think he needs it." Even under the dark grey fur on his face, it was obvious Ethan blushed a little (Although Marc wasn't entirely sure why, it was just coffee).

While Ben made the hot drinks, Marc sat the wolf down at the dining table and started interrogating him about food. Had he eaten? Would he like to? Please would he like to? Because Marc had made these incredible lemon slices during the day and Ben had only eaten five...Eventually Ethan relented, being served a neatly cut lemon slice on a napkin. Ben declined, but Marc couldn't resist indulging himself.

Once the coffee was served, the three made small talk. A few years ago this sort of thing had been fairly routine; Ethan dropped by unannounced (Not usually quite so late) and they began with easy chat. He wasn't a wolf that naturally opened up, it took some time to allow him to feel safe, relax and let his guard down. Marc was easily the more animated of the fox couple, so he did most of the talking while Ben sipped his coffee and thought back on their history together.

Ethan's parents were good furs; Ben had never once doubted that they wanted what was best for their pup. However like most in their situation, they eventually ran out of options. Ethan had been a particularly difficult pup and they didn't know what to do, by thirteen he was _barely_going to school anymore and everyone in the family was concerned. He spent all day in bed, hardly ate and when he did talk it was mostly in growls and mumbles. He experienced what the family called 'episodes', typically a short period of time, roughly the length of a week, where he acted completely out of it. He'd be paranoid, aggressive and barely make sense. During his 'episodes' Ethan would punch holes in walls, leave claw marks on doors and sometimes completely abscond. So Rebecca and Thomas brought him to see Ben. Ben had studied psychology, specifically related to young furs in university. The tricky part was however, that when psychology students leave with their degree, nobody really trusts them. How could a fourty-something fur tell their innermost fears and secrets to someone that was barely twenty-four? Sure, they might know the science and textbook answers but they lacked the real world experience.

So Ben had spent three years as an assistant. He organised files, managed the front desk and chipped in where he could. All the while he worked for free at community centres and the like to gain the experience he needed. When he was twenty-seven, three years after receiving his bachelor of applied science degree, he began taking clients professionally. His very first client was a thirteen year-old grey wolf with apparent psychotic depression. Being his first client, Ben had thrown himself into it as much as he could, wanting to do the best work possible. He got to know Thomas and Rebecca fairly well, gained both their and their pup's trust. It took him six weeks to actually get Ethan to even speak with him, but he felt incredibly proud when he did. When Ethan began to regularly go back to school at fifteen, the family invited him over for dinner to thank him. Ben had been somewhat reluctant, keeping professional and personal life separate and all that...but he couldn't resist. He and Marc had just moved in together too, so Marc was introduced to the clan as well. There had been a little awkwardness at first, especially with Thomas, since Ethan's family weren't aware Ben was gay, but they were already so pleased with Ethan's progress they were helpless to do anything _but_accept the cute fox couple.

Ben felt his mind pulled back into the here-and-now when his boyfriend stood up from the table.

"I only just noticed Ethan is uh...pretty sopping wet, from the rain. Thought he might like to take a shower." Marc explained, after noticing Ben's quizzical look. The brown fox glanced at Ethan, who nodded quite readily and was indeed literally dripping.

"Um, yeah. Thanks. I'd appreciate that." Said Ethan, already feeling relaxed in the company of his older friends. Ben began packing up the cups as Marc led the wolf upstairs.

"Okay here's a towel, just throw it in the basket when you're done." He said cheerily, handing Ethan a neatly folded red towel. "I'll bring some spare clothes in a sec, they should fit you okay I think." He quickly eyed the wolf up, attempting to judge sizes.

"Thanks Marc...I feel like such a dick, showing up on your guys doorstep at two in the morning...waking you both up, and I haven't even told you why yet." The two were now standing outside the bathroom door, and Ethan was staring at his feet shamefully.

"Mate it's honestly fine. It's a Friday and we're in our late thirties, we've got nowhere to be early tomorrow. You can take as much time as you like, believe me. Ben and I love having you around, and it's been ages since we caught up anyway." He said, smiling happily. Ethan quickly hugged him again.

"Thanks Marc. You guys are the best." He said into his shoulder, again. Marc just laughed.

"I know, I really am out-fucking-standing. Ben's okay too I guess." Ethan laughed at that, a real laugh too, which was nice for Marc to hear. He felt oddly parental about the young fur, like an uncle or older brother. Even if he had woken them both up, Marc was glad he came. He meant what he said, he was happy to see the wolf.

When Marc re-joined his boyfriend in the kitchen, he was dismayed to see that Ethan had been correct; their microwave read a bleak 2:14 in bright red neon.

"So what do you think? He alright?" Asked Marc.

"Hmm..." Mused Ben. "I dunno for sure, I think it's safe to leave him alone, if that's what you're wondering. He's not far enough gone to hurt himself in the bathroom."

"That's a relief. It's been ages since he did this...I wonder what sparked it."

"Who would know? His triggers have always been somewhat...difficult to read."

"You think his parents would be involved yet?"

"It's possible. Maybe I should give them a ring...at least give them a heads up." Ben walked over and picked up the phone, scrolling through the extensive contacts list until he found the wolf parents number. The rain had died down, and in the quiet Marc was able to hear the phone ringing as Ben put it to his ear. They both stood in silence as it rang, obviously waiting for one of the wolves to wake up and answer their phone. Eventually Marc heard a click, and even though he couldn't make out any words he heard a voice answer sleepily.

"Hi Rebecca, yeah this is Ben...No, no, everything is okay." As usual Ben began pacing, he always did that when on the phone, Marc just rolled his eyes and smiled. "Yeah, well Ethan is here...that's right he showed up about twenty minutes ago. Yes, he's all right. It's all fine don't worry about it, he can stay here tonight and one of us will drive him home in the morning." While Ethan did live out of home, he didn't live terribly far from his parents place and in times of concern he'd sometimes move back in with them for a week or two. They were a tightly-knit family for obvious reasons, and Rebecca and Thomas were fairly active in Ethan's life. Having them nearby provided him with a good safety net too, just in case.

Ben was leaning against the bench, while Marc came up behind him and wrapped his arms around the fox's stomach, nestling his face into Ben's soft, brown neck fur. Marc tuned out the rest of the short conversation, since it was mostly Ben reassuring Rebecca that her son was fine. Eventually he heard the phone be put down, and drew himself back to reality.

"Everything okay?" He asked, face still pressed into his boyfriend.

"Yeah, she's just concerned. Said they hadn't heard from him in a while, and were getting worried anyway. She's glad he's here." Replied Ben.

"Me too actually, I'm glad he has somewhere safe to go, y'know?" Ben just nodded in response. After another moment the two separated, going about tidying the kitchen a little while they waited for Ethan. It didn't take very long for him to arrive. He was now wearing very dry tracksuit pants, with a white t-shirt and a black zip-up hoodie. He wasn't wearing anything on his feet and looked much more comfortable than before.

"Feeling better?" Asked Ben, Ethan nodded.

"Yeah, I hadn't actually realised how wet I was...I wasn't sure what to do with the clothes though..." He looked slightly embarrassed but Marc just waived it away.

"Don't stress man, I'll go throw them in the dryer and they'll be good by the time you leave tomorrow." The wolf's eyes widened a little at the sudden agreement that he was staying the night there; it wasn't anything new, he'd done it before, but he didn't even have to ask. It was a nice relief for him, and that showed in his face.

"Thanks Marc." All the orange fox gave in reply was a youthful smile as he ferreted himself upstairs. Smiling at his amusing partner, Ben gestured to the lounge room. Ethan knew where it was, and he also knew it was time he explained himself. At this point in their relationship, the rules were very straightforward, they'd never actually discussed them but everyone understood. Ben and Marc would treat Ethan like an equal, be understanding and tolerant...but he needed to reciprocate. If he was going to show up at their home in the middle of the night, the fox couple wouldn't judge him, they'd accept him quite happily, but he needed to at some point explain why.

That point, was now.

"Okay, so...my young friend." Began Ben. "What's going on with you?"