FSE

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The next morning, Jamie blearily opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of his old room for a few minutes. Though it took him a moment to fully wake up, he felt more rested than he had in a while. Yesterday had been good too, but today...there was something else.

Of course, he thought as he turned to smile at his still snoozing brother, it could have something to do with getting to know family better, and knowing that he and his brother shared a similar secret. He was amused to see that Jack was still suckling on his paci, even if he had drooled a little in his sleep. That only added to the adorableness of it all.

Getting out of bed, Jamie quietly dressed, trying not to wake the sleeping kitten, and carefully checked the kitten's diaper. He was dry this morning, confirming what Jack had said yesterday, though he was sure that was going to be corrected as soon as the cheetah woke up. Baby brother taken care of, he grabbed his phone and tablet and made his way downstairs.

The first the the wolf did upon entering the kitchen was start coffee. While he waited for the go-go juice to brew, he opened his tablet and started perusing, first checking on the status of his orders. The supplies he'd ordered for the shop were on their way, and were on schedule to be delivered on Monday. Same with the extra supplies he'd ordered for Jack.

Pouring himself a cup of coffee, as well as filling a bottle of milk and putting it in the fridge to wait for Jack, Jamie went and sat at the table, taking the time to enjoy the silence while it lasted. He had just finished his coffee and was about to get up and get some more when Jack stumbled into the room, looking just as awake as yesterday morning, and making a beeline to his brother.

"Morning, baby bro," the canine greeted softly, hugging the cheetah before pulling him into his lap. "It's still early yet. You hungry?"

Still suckling his paci, Jack shook his head and rested against his brother, not ready to join the rest of the world yet. Smiling softly, Jamie kissed his brow before wrapping an arm around him and getting up to refill his coffee. While up, he snagged Jack's bottle before returning to his seat. "Are you going to talk to me at all today?"

Jack grumpily shook his head and buried his face in Jamie's shoulder, his ears flat on his head. Snorting in amusement, Jamie took another sip of coffee and rubbed the cheetah's back, smiling as a soft purr filtered through the air. Shaking his head with a smile, Jamie shifted Jack so that the kitten's as cradled in the wolf's arm while his other came up to snatch his paci.

Jack only had time to give a protesting whine before it was replaced by the bottle's nipple. The kitten was instantly mollified, his purring growing louder as he was nursed. Jamie smiled. Yes, it was good to be close to family. Something was off, though, something that was tickling at the back of his mind. He only realized what it was when he looked down and noticed that Jack's diaper was stained yellow, and the adorable baby feral wetness indicators were missing. The wolf shook his head in amusement, thinking he must need more coffee to have not realized Jack had wet his diaper right away.

Soon enough, the bottle was empty. Jack gave a soft sigh of regret before he relinquished the nipple and gave a soft smile up at the wolf. "Morning, big bwother."

Jamie smiled at the cheetah's lisp. "Good morning," he greeted in return, setting the bottle aside and taking another sip of his coffee. "Are you ready to talk?"

"Can I sleep some more?" Jack asked hopefully in answer. As Jamie snorted in amusement, he continued. "You make a really comfy pillow, and it's not the same when you're not there."

"'Fraid not, baby brother," Jamie chuckled, sitting the feline up and ruffling his hair. "We actually need to get moving earlier today. I have errands to run and bills to pay before we get to the shop today. And you, my precious little cutie, have practice today."

Jack giggled and blushed, particularly because Jamie poked his nose as he was teased, but brightened when he remembered practice. "Oh, yeah! I can't wait to see the guys again! Next game is on Tuesday, and we need to be ready! These guys are undefeated so far this season."

"Then you better practice your socks off today," Jamie replied, getting up and setting Jack in his own chair. "Because I'm gonna be at your game on Tuesday, and I want to see you guys kick these guys' tails."

He felt a little bad after he said it, feeling that it would put a lot of pressure on the kitten, so he leaned down and touched noses with his brother. "And just for the record, I don't care if you win or lose. As long as you try your best and have fun, then that's all that matters."

Jack giggled and nodded. "That's what coach says too." He smirked mischievously. "Still, if we win, we get snowcones, so I'm already determined to win. If you're there to see me win, that's even better!"

Chuckling, Jamie got up and went to gather bowls, spoons, cereal and milk. "Then you'd best eat up, slugger. You're gonna need lots of energy today. Not that you can't already run circles around me," he added, making Jack laugh with delight.

They broke their fast, and after Jamie rinsed the bowls and spoons and put them in the dishwasher, he picked his little brother up and carried him back upstairs. "I noticed that you wet your diaper," He said as they climbed. "You were dry when I got up."

"I wet when I woke up," Jack answered, giggling as Jamie didn't even stop to go into the wolf's room when they reached the top of the stairs. "Actually, that's why I woke up. And then when I finished I noticed you weren't there."

"And then you came to find me," Jamie finished, laying the kitten out on the bed and going for the supplies. He returned with a fresh diaper, the wipes, the powder and the oil. "Are you this cuddly with Dad and your mom?"

"Yup," Jack replied with a grin, spreading his legs to give his brother access to his diaper. "Don't go thinking you're special because I like snuggles. You're special because of that." He patted his diaper for emphasis.

Jamie snorted again as he stripped Jack's diaper and started cleaning him up. "Either way, I'm special. I love you too, baby brother." Removing the wet diaper, the wolf threaded Jack's tail through the new one and slipped it under him before refreshing the oil and powder and closing it up.

Jack opened his muzzle to ask a question, but all that escaped him was a cavalcade of giggles as Jamie blew a raspberry on his tummy. "Alright, baby boy," Jamie said as he wiped his paws with a wipe, cleaning the oil off him. "Let's get you ready for the day. I almost can't wait for your new clothes to come in. You're gonna be so cute."

"You mean I'm not already?" Jack asked, pouting as he was picked up and carried into his own room. He got tossed onto his bed for his trouble. Picking out a shirt with Captain America's shield and a pair of denim shorts while Jack bounced and giggled on his bed, Jamie proceeded to spend the next fifteen minutes wrestling the clothes onto the reluctant cheetah.

"For a cub who doesn't like to be naked, you sure don't seem to like wearing clothes," Jamie teased as he picked his little brother up and took him downstairs.

"That's different," Jack dismissed as he was put down, heading straight for his games. "If you can't see my sheath, I'm not naked."

Jamie laughed as he disappeared into the kitchen, pouring the rest of the coffee into a thermos and rising and filling both bottles with apple juice. He had found and set up Sandra's crock pot and was pulling veggies from the fridge when Jack came in with his Switch, games, and backpack. The kitten paused, watching. "What are you doing?"

"Getting started on dinner," Jamie replied, filling the crock pot with water and getting started on cutting the potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. "It'll be ready by the time we get home tonight, so we don't have to wait for food when you get out of practice."

Pausing mid slice into a potato, he glanced at the kitten. "This will only take a few minutes, but why don't you head up to my room and grab the oil, powder, wipes, and a few extra diapers for changes. And grab your uniform too. Get a second backpack if you think you'll need it."

Chuckling as Jack bolted to do as told, the wolf turned back to his work. By the time Jack returned, he was opening a roast and putting it into the pot before spreading the veggies around it. "Almost done," he said, washing his paws before going to turning the pot on. Seeing it was one of those smart cookers, he set it to cook on low for eight hours before just keeping warm until he turned it off. "And now we'll have dinner, and hopefully this will give us leftovers for a couple days."

Jack was grinning as he passed his brother a second bag. "I like pot roast," he said happily. "Oh, that's all the baby supplies. I've got my games and uniform in mine."

Smirking, Jamie slipped the bottles into his bag and grabbed the leftovers from last night before heading to the door. "Well, now that your diaper bag is ready, let's go." Giggling, Jack raced to the door.

The first place they went was the bank, where Jamie deposited the cash made over the last two days into his business account. From there, they went to a general store, where Jamie stocked up on paper towels, toilet paper, and glass cleaner. Then they went to city hall so Jamie could pay his water bill.

Jamie sighed as they arrived at his shop. Jack looked over at him as he opened the door and they went back into the lounge. "What's wrong?"

"Hm?" Jamie asked, looking over at his brother. "Oh, nothing really. I'm making enough to keep the bank happy and keep up my bills and apartment, but it doesn't leave a lot for me to save up. I'd like my own house someday, but right now, it doesn't look like that's gonna happen."

He shrugged as he pulled out paper plates and started dishing out the leftovers. "My lease on my apartment comes up in November, and I was thinking that instead of renewing it, I'll just convert this back area into a living space. Moving here is easy; all the furniture I have belongs to the apartment. Just need my TV, games, and clothes, and install a shower in the bathroom. That'll be the tricky part..."

"Oh..." Jack said, frowning in thought as Jamie popped the first plate into the microwave. Then he brightened. "Hey, why don't you move back in with us! Then we can really hang out! I mean, your room is still there and everything!"

Jamie smiled at the enthusiasm, but slowly shook his head. "I wouldn't get your hopes up," he said softly. "I mean, I'd love to be around more, but Dad...Dad and I haven't gotten along in a long time, Jackie. Long before you and your mom came into our lives. I'm hoping that things are getting better between us, but if they are, they only just started to, and these kind of things don't happen overnight."

Jack pouted, but nodded. Not long after he and Mom had moved in, he had asked why Jamie wasn't around all that often. He had been excited about having a big brother. Dad had looked uncomfortable, and Mom had explained later that both Dad and Jamie were strong willed furs whose opinions were different. She'd hoped they'd reconcile, because she would also love for Jack to have a big brother, but as the years went by with barely a word from Jamie, it seemed less and less likely.

Now, though, it didn't matter. Whether or not Jamie and Dad made up, Jack had his big brother now, and he was going to do everything in his power to keep him around, even if he had to yell at Dad himself.

The silence had started getting uncomfortable, so Jack decided to change the subject to something he had been wondering. "Why a vape shop?"

Opening the microwave right before it beeped, Jamie chuckled as he swapped plates. "Been wondering when you were going to ask that." Starting the microwave again, he set the plate before the cheetah. "I started smoking in college while taking business classes. I was working a crappy minimum wage job to keep up my apartment and take classes, and the stress got to me. Even when I smoked regularly, I hated it. They tasted horrible, smelled worse, but it was the only thing that could keep me from being overly stressed out."

He leaned back, smiling wistfully. "A friend of mine got me started vaping, and I was hooked. It tasted great, smelled better, and the scent wouldn't linger or stain. The problem was that it was hard to get supplies around here. There wasn't a dedicated market for it. I had already wanted to start a small business; it's why I was taking business classes. So I figured, why not a vape shop?"

Jack had started eating while Jamie explained, and he nodded just as the microwave beeped. "That's cool!" He said as Jamie took his food out. He looked up at the wolf slyly. "Can I try yours?"

"Absolutely not!" Jamie said, chuckling as he sat next to the cheetah. "There is no way in hell you're so much as touch any vape until you're eighteen. If you want to get started then, and I'm still in business, I'll help you out."

"Aw..." Jack pouted. "But I like how it smells! It smells like cheesecake! Eighteen is forever away!"

"It's only eight years," Jamie chuckled. And gods, did that make him feel old. He'd be over thirty then. "Don't be in such a hurry to grow up. Not a day goes by that I don't wish I was still your age."

"Yeah," Jack groused, going back to his food. The two ate in companionable silence, with Jamie having to fend off Jack trying to steal some of his food just to see if he could do it.

Once the food was gone, Jamie checked the time and got to his footpaws. "Gonna open soon. You staying here or did you want to come up front?"

Jack had settled into the couch and was shuckling his shorts off, leaving his diaper exposed. "I'll stay here. It was better and more comfy in here."

"Alright," Jamie chuckled, heading to the lounge door. "I'm gonna open up real quick. Be right back."