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The afternoon sun shone down through the trees, highlighting the brilliant reds and golds of foliage that swayed and rustled in the crisp autumn air. A slight breeze brought just a slight nip of the coming winter, making Leo shudder and move a little closer to his companion. The soft crunch of leaves beneath their feet was the only sound between the lizard and Mike as they walked side-by-side down the forest path. They were dressed warmly, sweaters and the matching mufflers they had gifted each other keeping away the chill of the wind. The lizard sniffled slightly, and gratefully accepted the tissue that the jock deer offered to him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Mike pushed his hands deeper into the pockets of his jeans. It was a peaceful afternoon, the sounds of the city a distant hum in the background, easily overpowered by the chattering of the leaves whenever wind picked up. The woods were just a short drive away from the town proper, but they had not visited it earlier--until today, on a whim, they had hopped in Leo's shitty car and decided to check out the place. It was a public park area, but they had not come across anyone else during their trip. They stopped by a small lake, closer to a pond really, and stood in silence. Mike's breath billowed in little wisps of steam.

"You know", he started, then trailed off, the words not taking proper shape in his mind. Instead he reached out and took Leo's fingers in his hand. They were ice cold.

Leo gasped and looked around out of habit. Of course there was no one else nearby, just the two of them, alone in this place. However, the lizard still had to resist the urge to pull his fingers away from Mike's grasp, as pleasant as the feeling of his warm hand was on his cool scales.

"Y-yes, Mike?"

He looked away and cleared his throat. Then he flushed with shame, and tried to spit the phlegm he had coughed up into the tissue he still held as surreptitiously as possible. Damn his allergies.

"M's'rry..." He muttered into his muffler. "...You were saying?"

Mike turned to face him, and cupped his hands around Leo's. The poor thing must have been freezing, but either he hadn't realized it or didn't want to complain about it. Mike did not know whether he should be angry or worried about that.

"Leo...", he started again, keeping his voice low but steady, "are you ashamed of me?"

"W-what?" Leo looked down at the deer's hands surrounding his own, and then back up into his eyes. He sniffled softly. "Of course not, Mike. I..." Another quick glance around, and then his voice grew softer. "I love you..."

He still felt like he had to force the words out, but the soft warmth that accompanied them made it easier each time he said it.

"And I love you, but you always pull away from me when I try to show it to you." Mike brought Leo's fingers to his face, sniffed them, his breath the warmth washing over them.

Leo shivered, though not from the cold. Mike breathing over his freezing fingertips felt so good.

"...I'm sorry", was all he offered as he looked down to the leaf-carpeted ground. He wanted so badly to let Mike take him into his arms, to feel the deer's soft, warm lips against his own. But he was still held back.

"Don't be sorry, I don't want to be someone you need to apologize for!" Mike's temper flared, yet a despairing tone seeped into his voice. "You want to be with me, right?" His grip was harder now, scrunching Leo's fingers into a tangled ball in his meaty hands.

"I do!" Leo winced, the warmth surrounding his delicate fingers now accompanied with a slight, sharp pain. He bit his lip. "I'm not apologizing for you, I... I'm apologizing to you!" He finally looked up into Mike's eyes, letting the deer see the fear that swirled in his own. "I'm sorry that I'm a... a c-coward..." He sniffled again.

"Sheesh, babe..." Mike hugged Leo tightly, pulling him in against his broad chest. "I'm sorry for yelling at you", he whispered into Leo's ear, rubbing his cheek against Leo's. The smooth lizard skin felt cold.

"S'okay..." Slowly, tentatively, Leo wrapped his arms around Mike. Then he clutched at the deer's shoulders and buried his face in Mike's chest. "...How do you do it? How do you go through life just... not caring what anyone thinks of you? You said you were afraid of what your... f-friends would think of you... of us, in the beginning, but now..." He bit his lip and shivered, despite Mike's warmth surrounding him.

Mike stroked Leo's back, his warm hearty arms rolling over the smaller male.

"I don't."

Mike stared into the distance. Across the pond the brilliantly colored trees were mirrored perfectly on the clear water, without even a ripple breaking the stillness. He spoke with a low voice, more a whispered confession than real discussion. The words came to him now, ready to tumble out of his mouth in an ever growing torrent.

"I care a lot what they think of me and you, all the time. I'm afraid what they might say or think or do..." He gulped. "It's just that I care even more about you. I'm constantly terrified, but I'm more terrified of losing you, Leo. And I don't know if that makes me strong, or brave, or just stupid....but whatever I am, I want to be that for you."

Mike's words began to chase away the chill that shuddered through Leo's body, slowly, but surely. "I want to be like you, but I've never... I've never done anything like this before." He let the confession hang in the air for a moment, and then pressed on. "I'm not used to doing things like this, and..."

Leo trailed off, the words he had wanted to say crumbling away like the dried, dead leaves around them. He wanted so much to tell Mike everything. The years of feeling different, the years of being terrified of what would happen if someone found out. But the words caught like phlegm in his throat, and he could only let out a soft cough into Mike's chest.

Damn his allergies.

Mike booped Leo's snout with his nose. "That makes two of us, then."

He smiled and guided Leo's hands under his sweater. Their coldness stung a little against his chest as they swam in his thicket--his winter fur had started to grow--but soon they were warmed up by his body heat. They stood there in silence, again, locked in an embrace. Leo rested his head against Mike's shoulder, his snot-clogged sinuses making snuffling sounds.

Leo flushed once more, letting himself be held. Settling into Mike's embrace. Trailing his hands through his... boyfriend's... soft, shaggy fur. Clutching the deer tightly as he was surrounded by warmth that chased the chill of the autumn air and his fears away.

"Thank you."

He looked up into Mike's eyes, and then pressed his lips to the deer's. This time, he didn't look around beforehand. Their kiss was light and innocent, a dry peck of two people in love, enjoying attention from each other, enjoying the two hearts beating in unison. Mike's hair tickled Leo and he sneezed again, leaving a long clear trail of snot trailing from his nose. Mike licked it away, like mother bird feeding her young. It tasted salty.

Leo chuckled softly. "Ew."

He smiled up at Mike, and drew the deer into a slightly deeper kiss. His tongue trailed along the deer's, picking up the slight taste left upon it. Then he pulled back to sniffle again. Mike kissed him again, eagerly this time, smothering his lizard with his mouth. He used tongue this time, slipping it in in a wet caress. Then, without warning he hoisted Leo up and fell backwards into a big pile of leaves, still hugging him tightly. They crashed into the rustling nest in a fluffy explosion of color. The deer laughed, rolling around in the soft, earthy smells.

The pollen and dust that were blown into the surrounding air by the deer's rolling and writhing made Leo sneeze. Once, twice, thrice, mucus being blown out of his delicate nostrils every time.

"M-Mikey, you idiot..."

He lay on Mike's firm chest, pushing himself up to glower down at his boyfriend. His snout was a mess of clear, runny snot, which trailed down from his nose and over his upper lip. However, he could not help letting out a sigh and a bit of soft laughter as Mike looked up at him, his fur disheveled and filled with bits of crushed leaves.

"May I have another tissue, please?"

Mike kissed him again, then scrounged up the kleenex. He patted Leo's nose with it.

"Blow, honey."

He liked feeling the lithe lizard's weight on his chest, the softness of the ground underneath him, the clear skies screeching with the sharpest blue he had seen in ages. The light tingled through the forest, casting a halo around those two. Must have been the pollen.

Leo blew, his sinuses honking in protest as they were cleared. When Mike finally pulled the soiled tissue away, Leo leaned down to give his deer another kiss.

"Thank you. ...H-honey." He gulped, and then looked away. His tail swayed behind him, brushing over Mike's calves through the deer's jeans. "...This is nice," he admitted. his expression softening as he took in the peaceful scene surrounding them.

"It indeed is."

Mike patted Leo absentmindedly as he rested on top of him, wondering how it had come to this. Had he always been like this, or had meeting Leo changed him? He could not tell. The leaves rustled softly as wind picked up and the dampness from the ground started to seep into his clothes, but Mike did not want to move, not yet. His chest rose and fell steadily, rocking Leo like a dreamy boat ride.

Leo looked back down at Mike with a soft smile, and then settled down on top of the deer, his head on Mike's chest. He could feel the soft, steady thumping of Mike's heart, so strong. So peaceful. He had drifted off to sleep with the sound in his ears so many times over the past half a year. Had it really been that long?

"I... I like doing things like this with you."

"Me too, I like it a lot. I like you a lot!" Mike gulped again. "Are we....a couple? Like, more than just boyfriends?"

Leo stiffened for only a moment, looking up at the deer. "I... I guess we are. If you want to be."

"I want to be. I want to be very much your couple." Mike brushed Leo's cheek. "And I hope you feel the same way about me."

"I do... very, very much." Leo reached up to place his hand on top of Mike's, holding the deer's hand against his face. He leaned into the deer's touch, feeling Mike's warmth adding to the heat of his blush. "I love you, Mike. Very, Very much. I want to keep... doing things like this with you. And..." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, clutching Mike's hand. "...And I don't care what anyone else thinks. I care what you think more."

They kissed in silence because they knew there was nothing more to say. It was a lovely autumn day, the trees were lit in every shade of red and yellow, the sky was bright and the air crisp--a perfect day for couples to enjoy themselves.