FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Rummaging inside each and every single dusty old box in the attic, I found an old photo album with my name on it. Judging by the scribble-like characters, it was most likely my handwriting from before I entered grade school. Nothing could be more nostalgic than this, I thought. But I didn't bother taking a look inside since I was in a bit of a hurry. Heading straight to the kitchen, I cleaned the album with a dust cloth then went straight to my room with it, packing it inside a bag along with some spare clothes. Grandma and Grandpa already knew about the sleepover when I talked to them about it in the morning, so they started dinner without me. As I left the house, they bade me good night and I returned the gesture.

When I arrived at the Ooshima Inn, nobody was at the counter so I yelled "Excuse me!" for anyone around. Then from the back, Torahiko came out and walked to my direction.

"Ah, Hiroyuki! Just in time," Tora said, taking my bag and putting it under the counter. "Dinner's almost ready. And I'm the one who cooked tonight. It's the thing I mentioned yesterday."

I took my shoes off and put them on the rack. "Alright! Can't wait!"

We headed straight to the dining room and there, Torahiko's parents were already seated with the table set up. A variety show was on TV, the same one that my grandparents watched every night. After our exchange of greetings, I thanked them for letting me stay the night and took my seat next to Tora's. While Tora was at the kitchen, They asked me questions like "How's your parents?" and "What's your plan after high school?", in which to the latter I admitted, "I still don't know yet myself" with a nervous smile.

Noticing the silverware, I thought that tonight's dinner might be Western-themed. When Tora served the food, my hunch was correct. The main dish was roast beef with rice, well-seasoned beef judging from the smell of the herbs, topped off with a generous helping of mushroom gravy. There was also a salad as the side dish, but that caught my attention was the bowl of near-transparent broth with roughly cut carrots and potatoes, a consomme as Ooshima-san called it.

"Everything looks so good," I said.

Tora grinned. "Hearing that makes all that work worth it."

"Come. Let's start eating," Tora's mom said.

"That's right!" Tora's dad said.

And with that, we said our thanks and started eating. If this was indeed a Western-style dinner, the salad should be first. Nothing too remarkable about it, except that the vegetables tasted real fresh, and the dressing just had that right amount of tang in my opinion. Living in the boonies, it was expected that everyone had access to just-harvested-today-fresh produce.

Done with the salad, I took my first spoonful of the main dish. As its flavor filled my mouth, I squirmed in delight. The meat was juicy as well as savory, and the mushroom gravy certainly complemented everything in the dish. By itself it was overpowering, but the rice's mild flavor helped balance out the taste. Even though it puzzled me as to why Tora didn't bother using mashed potatoes instead, I shrugged it off, seeing it as him mixing a bit of the local with the foreign.

"You really did all this by yourself?" I asked.

Tora nodded. "I even had to prep things real early because of training. That consomme was a real pain in the ass to make, I'll tell you that. Even the roast beef was easier."

Done with the roast beef, I reached for the consomme. "But I gotta hand it to you, I've never seen broth this clear before, even in ramen."

"Heh. Guess that's one thing I can be proud of," Tora said, puffing his chest.

"Be proud of everything you made tonight. The salad was as fresh as it could be, the beef was cooked perfectly, and this soup? No words would do it justice."

The tiger rubbed the back of his neck, blushing. "Well... "

When we were done, Tora's parents attended to each of their own businesses while he and I washed the dishes. Well, he did the washing and I the wiping dry and putting into the cupboard. Every time I would come over and eat with them, I always offered to help Tora do the dishes as a sign of gratitude. They also kept saying back then that I didn't need to, seeing as I was practically family to them, but I did it nonetheless. Plus, it was also a way me and Tora could sneak some after-meal treats without anyone noticing.

"Hey, Hiroyuki," Tora said, handing the last washed plate. "There's custard pudding in the fridge. Made it just for you and me. Wanna eat it before we head to the bath?"

"Sure!" I said, putting the plate on the stack and closing the cupboard door.

Tora got the dessert out of the fridge, and I took out two small spoons from the silverware drawer. On the plate, there were two small domes of custard topped with a dark golden-brown syrup. Since we just finished washing dishes, we didn't bother separating the two and ate them then and there. Sweet and creamy, it was a perfect ending to an equally perfect dinner. After cleaning up and taking my stuff from the inn's counter, we headed straight to the inn's bath.

As we stripped ourselves down to our underpants in the changing room, I took a glance at Tora's side. Even though it was already the third time I've seen him with barely any clothing on, I kept turning into a flustered mess every time I got to look at his muscled physique. When he saw me looking at him, he turned his whole body in my direction and grinned.

"Hey Hiroyuki. Wanna feel my arm?" Tora said. "If it's you, I don't mind."

"R-Really?"

He went closer and flexed his arm. "Limited time offer. Take it now, or never get the chance again."

"A-Alright then." I reached my hands out, and moved my hands around Torahiko's arm. "It's real hard. Almost like stone."

He then relaxed his arm. "How about now?"

"Amazing," I said, still touching him. "Now it's like a soft pillow. Your muscles are amazing, Tora."

"Heh." The tiger rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It ain't easy getting them. Had to train a lot, and eat a lot of course."

I chuckled. "I don't think eating a lot would be a problem for you."

"Well you're no slouch either," he said. "Sure you still have some fat on, but I can definitely see some shape in there."

"You really think so?" I flexed and tried feeling my own arm. "Hey, you might be right. I guess my first week did more than just get me used to long walks."

"Alright! My turn to feel them!" He then grabbed my arm and started squeezing it.

Shenanigans aside, we changed into our towels and took our bath. We did the usual routine: lather up, scrub each other's backs, wash soap off, then relax in the hot spring pool. Nothing too remarkable, although Tora did start singing the tune of an old anime we used to watch, and off-key at that. But even so, I decided to join in and we had a little sing along session in the tub.

After that, we went straight to Tora's bedroom. At the entrance, I took a deep breath and prepared myself, expecting a titanic mess. But to my surprise, the entire place was clean. The bed was made properly, the floor didn't have a single scrap of trash, and books and magazines were all stacked properly.

I turned to the tiger. "Okay. Who are you and what have you done to Tora?"

He frowned. "I told you I'd clean my room. Well don't just stand there. Get in."

The tiger pushed me in. I left my bag near the study table. "So, where's my futon?"

"Futon? You're joking, right?" He tapped on the bed, grinning from ear to ear. "Like old times."

I stood there frozen. "What."

"C'mon. It's big enough for two people."

"Yeah. But still..."

He got down on his knees, and looked at me all misty-eyed. "Please..?"

Taking the album out of my bag, I went and lied down on the right side of the bed. "Fine, you win."

"Hey, what's that?" he asked, lying down on the bed next to me.

I opened the album. "Just an old photo album I found. It had my name on it so I thought something might be in here."

Tora pointed to a picture of us smiling in the school playground. "Oh hey! Isn't this from the time when we first played together?"

"You're right. Mom was so excited when she saw us, she just had to take one. Remember that?"

"You bet your ass I did! And isn't this the time you got sand in your pants?"

"Don't remind me, please."

Page by page, picture by picture, we relived our childhood memories, laughing and smiling along the way. Of course, we had to control how loud we could be else we disturb his parents and wake them up. There was a shot of me getting a perfect score on an exam - probably the only time I ever got one, me and the gang celebrating our kindergarten graduation, shots of our sad faces after a prank gone wrong, and more shots of me playing with everyone. Some of them seemed to be taken by Mom and Dad, some by my friends' parents. There was this one shot though that got both of us off-guard: me and Tora sleeping, all snuggled up in a futon when the tiger went for a sleepover once.

"Did they really have to?" I said, embarrassed.

"To be fair, we did look cute," Tora said.

"True, but still..."

When we got to the last page, there was nothing on it but a plain envelope stuck on its center. Puzzled, I opened the envelope and found only one thing inside: a photo of me and Tora at the candy store, eating vanilla ice cream and making a "V-sign" with our hands. This was perhaps the only photo in the album that we took by ourselves; I snuck out Dad's Coloroid camera that time and took that picture when we were hanging out after classes. By the time I got home back then, Dad scolded me for what felt like an eternity, but it was worth it for that one single picture. On its back, we saw the words "Friends Forever" twice, one in my handwriting and the other in Tora's.

"So you really saved it, huh?" Tora said, handing over the photo.

I returned it to the envelope and closed the album. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

Tora snickered. "Your handwriting was pretty crap though."

"You're one to talk! Yours looked like chicken scratchings!"

"What?! Come here you!"

The tiger put me in a headlock and gave me a more ticklish than painful noogie, me begging him to stop in-between laughter. After the tiger had gotten his fill, he let me go and I returned the album into my bag. As Tora turned on the lamp next to his bed, I flipped the switch for the lights above the ceiling. Giving each other a hug goodnight, we were about to sleep when Tora asked me something as he turned his back to my direction.

"Wanna rest your back against mine?" he said. "That way, we won't feel too cold."

"You really don't mind, Tora?"

Smiling, the tiger shook his head.

"Then, excuse me..." Lying down on the bed, I rest my back against his. "You're warm."

"You too," he said. "Feels nice, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good night, Hiroyuki."

"Good night to you too, Torahiko."

Tora turned off the lamp, and both of us drifted off to sleep.