Escalation Part 1

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#18 of Background Stories

This is the first part of the eighth continuation of my fursona's background. It is about the intensification of Pent and Arthur's relationship.


Escalation: Part 1 by: Pent Ghelsburg

Disclaimer: This story series is the first part of the eighth continuation of my other series. While it is not directly related to the background story of my fursona, it is very early in his life. This story attempts to maintain the scientific realism of my other works while exploring new themes. Let me know if you have any comments, suggestions, or criticisms. I am open to everything so please feel free to leave me a message!

Chapter 1: Day's End

With the end of PE meant that school was about to come to an end. Like many other schools, the Secondary school had chosen to have the more physically demanding classes towards the end of the day when most of the kids were restless from sitting around all day. After Dodgeball Arthur and Pent went together back into the locker room after being dismissed by the coach. Both of them were a sweaty mess and somewhat fatigued from the physical activity.

The rest of the kids decided to do the same thing so the initial crush of getting into the door that fed through to the locker room was congested. It took a good 5 minutes before both Arthur and Pent were able to get passed the door and make their way towards their lockers. Many boys were about and most of them were busy changing or taking showers. The two boys broke way to their individual lockers which were direct across one another. Pent began to ponder if he should take a shower and lifted his arm to sniff to see if he had body odor.

Sure enough, it didn't smell that bad but the fox kit was always keen on feeling fresh and clean even if his body didn't exhibit any signs of foulness. Besides, the cub knew that his fur wasn't the best color for hiding dirt or grime. As Pent was rifling through his locker for his back, he was suddenly assaulted by his friend Arthur.

"Surprise!" The taller canine had taken off his socks and now snaked his hands around his friend's body holding them to Pent's nose.

"Hey...Stop!" Pent tried to feign not being interested, turning his head away a few times but being met by Arthur's expeditious paw each time.

"Come on you know you wanna..." Arthur figured the kit would like it since he seemed so into it the other night.

"Not...now..." Pent huffed as he tried to maintain his composure and not get mad, pushing the dog's hand to the side.

"But no one is even around..." The Eskimo looked around expecting someone to be staring at them.

"But..." The fox hesitated before taking a single sniff of the moist sock that clinging to his nose.

The moment that Pent gave in, the musk that had mustered within the damp gray sock invaded his nostrils. The foxes eyes clothes as his body became more limp and submissive to his friend's whims. Arthur smiled as he stood more directly in front, looking around again just to make sure no one was looking.

"Good boy..." Arthur smiled as he knew his friend was enjoying himself.

"Um..." The fox reached up and clasp the boy's paw so it couldn't move, bringing it even closer to his nose.

Taking another deep whiff of the smelly sock as the kit could feel himself getting worked up. He no longer cared if Arthur knew as he was much too lost in the moment.

"Enjoying yourself huh?" The puppy caught a slight glimpse of his friends growing bulge as he looked down.

The canine began to feel mischievous and brave. He looked around just one more time to make sure no one was around as he was always the one to be on the safe side. Then slowly but surely he lowered one of his hands, while still keeping the other one up hoisted with the dirty socks near Pent's nose. Gradually Arthur began to wrap one of his hands around the other boy and pulled him in closer, taking away the sock so the two looked eye to eye.

Arthur pulled Pent in and kissed him passionately. Pent's bulging member poked into his friend but the fox wasn't about to break the sweet moment as the two shared one of the longest and most passionate kisses they had shared to date. The canine even being brave enough to explore his boyfriend's mouth with his tongue and rub his back while the two shared the small space. The moment lasted for a good moment before the puppy finally broke off.

"I love you..." Arthur whispered to Pent.

"I love you too." The fox smiled as the two squeezed paws and clasped them together.

Once the moment was broken the two finally parted ways and went into the shower occasionally shooting glances at one another. Though they weren't quite ready to share a stall, so instead they stood in adjoining showers. After they were clean and dried up, each boy grabbed their things and got dressed. It had been a long day and both of them were ready to go home.

Chapter 2: Afterschool

Now that school was over the two boys could worry about things other than academics. Except that for Pent it was normally on his mind as he had always been the studious cub. Arthur was much more interested in playing around but he wasn't one to dismiss his lover's keen knowledge for logic. It was much better to have him around especially when the canine didn't understand a topic. He could always go to the fox for help, who often had some simpler and less asanine way of explaining things then the drab teacher.

After going outside, Arthur and Pent could see that most of the other kids who were out and about were waiting for their rides. Some of the students had already left since their small episode of folly in the locker room had wasted some time.

"So what have you got planned this evening?" Arthur asked as the two walked downstairs from the entrance of the school.

"I need to do my homework then go to hockey practice." Pent answered after thinking for a moment.

"Oh, so we can't really hang out?" The canine seemed a bit dejected at the thought of being alone.

"You can come to play hockey if you want. It's just a scrimmage." The fox figured his coach wouldn't mind since it was just a casual night.

"Uh, I don't really have equipment..."The puppy hadn't played much hockey before and was a bit anxious to even try.

"Just come. We have an extra set of gear and who knows maybe you're good." The kit just wanted Arthur around to show off to him.

"Sure...I guess. What time?" Arthur didn't mind trying new things if Pent was into it.

"My brother can pick you up at 600. Make sure you eat dinner before. Sound good?" The fox led over to the bike rack and unlocked his cycle from the storage area.

"Alright, that sounds fun. I guess I need to wear something warm."The Eskimo didn't much mind the cold either way.

"Yes, you do. Wear at least 2 layers from everything from your head down too your feet." The fox continued wrapping the chair around the lower bar of the bike.

"Including my socks?" Arthur grinned a bit as he said that.

Pent rolled his eyes as his friend said that, feeling it to be a low blow even if his friend was being playful. The kit nodded and made his way towards home, leaving Arthur to his own devices. The canine felt a bit bad about the comment and decided he would make it up to Pent later. But it would have to wait until Hockey practice, he thought to himself. Until then he would have to bide his time and do whatever until Samaliel picked him up.

Arthur made his way home on his own bike, not really minding anyone else that was around him as he was rather focused on seeing Pent later. Pedaling back was a simple task for the puppy since it was essentially muscle memory, it didn't require much thought. The Eskimo was able to make it back home in about 20 minutes. Looking out front it didn't seem like either of his parents were around, which he assumed by the lack of a presence of a vehicle in the front parking spot by where the garage is.

Looking at his watch it was only 3 o'clock which meant he had about 3 hours to burn before Samaliel would be at his house to pick him up. He entered his home and closed the door behind him. His room was far into the back of the house and Arthur wasted no time in getting to it as he wanted to mess around on the internet. The dog beamed into his room as the door was wide open and quickly shuttered the window since the glare would likely interfere with his screen.

There was still some light about and Arthur decided to let it be. The puppy kicked his shoes off to the side of his desk. He was wearing the same socks as earlier and it they were a bit cold in the open air of the room was a bit brisk. The dog contemplated kicking them off but remembered how much Pent had enjoyed them after he wore them. What if he put them back on for hockey practice? It would be more bearable then wearing them all night.

Arthur took off his socks and brought them to his nose.

"Ew...I don't know how Pent likes these but whatever..." Arthur lasted all of a second with the sock at his nose.

After putting them to the side and stuffing them in his shoes, he began to warm up and got comfortable in order to web surf with no particular goal in mind. Eventually, he got bored of just reading video game forums and picked up his Switch to play a few rounds of Splatoon 2 in order to pass the time. Before long his parents returned home and didn't bother checking on him.

It wasn't long after they came home that the family had dinner together. Arthur eventually got permission from his parents to go to hockey practice with Pent. His father was curious as to why all of the sudden the boy was into the sport but didn't decide to pursue the issue as he believed any social engagement was good for the otherwise anti-social cub. Arthur was almost the opposite of his father personality-wise as the older male had always been quite active in his youth.

The family talked about their days and Arthur mentioned Pent a few times. It wasn't really until that night that the mother had suspected anything. Until then the puppy and foxes friendship had seemed close as best. But recently more and more of the youth's discussion focused around the kit. She decided she would talk to her husband about it later, but the issue didn't really bother her. In fact, she found it sort of cute, assuming she was right. Though she wasn't sure how the older male would react as the masculine figure he was.

The next few hours went like normal. Arthur helped cleaning up and eventually returned to his room to begin to get ready. Eventually, the mother brought up the assumption and her husband wanted to hear none of it. Frustrated, she decided to drop the issue until she knew for sure. Besides Arthur was young and probably was confused at best. Eventually, he would bring it up, she thought. The puppy wasn't involved and focused on preparing himself for practice.

Chapter 3: Gearing up

Arthur didn't have much in the realm of appropriate clothes for hockey. Sure he had plenty of winter fabrics but it wasn't really made for the sport. So instead he decided to take his friend's suggestion and to just dress in layers. He knew they would probably make him wear a jersey so he picked out a thin long sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans along with some thermals on top of his usual boxers which he had yet to change out of.

He went to the drawer to fetch a pair of socks momentarily forgetting about the ones he had stored away earlier. But looking into his wardrobe made him remember them, so he headed over to his desk to fetch them. Pulling them out of his shoes, Arthur could feel that they were still moist. Not quite adventurous as to smell them again, he began to put them back on. It still made his paws rather could but this problem was eliminated once he put his shoes back on.

Soon after he got ready, there was a knock at the door. Excitement set in as Arthur bounded out of his room. He could already see his mother at the door who had greeted Samaliel after he knocked.

"Make sure he's back by no later than 9." The woman made what she thought would be a reasonable curfew.

"Yes, ma'am. Come on, Arthur. So we're not late." Samaliel turned around and headed back towards his vehicle.

The eskimo followed shortly behind and went to the back seat where he saw Pent was already strapped in and ready to go. Allowing himself into the vehicle, the two now shared the small space and were ready to go.

"Excited?" Pent asked looking over at his friend.

The puppy nodded as the car kicked into gear and headed towards the hockey rink. It was a good 30-minute travel and the two cubs were able to chat and waste time during the trip. The two lovers even managing to hold hands in the car, though not brave enough to do anything else in front of Samaliel. As the car came to a stop the boys finally broke their grasp and exited out of the opposite passenger doors of the vehicle. Pent went to the back to fetch his bag with Arthur looking on with interest.

The ice rink was fairly large and almost always populated with people. It was two floors with the bottom portion being designated for players, the team staff, and their family. The upper floors were where people went to watch when their own relatives were not involved. Outside most of the parking lot was empty since it was only a training day. There were only a few sedans and SUV's sprinkled around the lot. Pent and Samaliel gathered the majority of the stuff and the three headed off to inside the rink.

Once inside the rink Arthur realized how cold it was. Even with two layers of clothing, it was still a bit chilly. It was nothing unbearable and the puppy found it to be favorable considering the conditions of hockey. The trio continued to pass the entrance as the woman at the shop waved to Samaliel and Pent as the two were regulars to the place. The foxes knew there way around at the rink just as well as anyone else and streamlined their journey to the locker rooms.

As with the school, the locker room was rather modest, except this one didn't have communal showers. In comparison, the rinks locker room was also sizably smaller and more cramped in terms of space. It was designed to fit about 100 people at most and on busy days the crush of people was not comfortable. Arthur looked around at all of the kids of various ages getting suited up. Samaliel set the boys stuff down and left them alone to get changed.

The chosen locker was near the end of the row and Pent was already busy rifling through the bag as if looking for something.

"Here. It might be a bit small but it should work." The fox handed his friend a spare jersey.

Arthur took hold of the sweater which was just solid blue with the number 22 on and fit it over his head. The sizing wasn't bad since normally Pent wore pads under it and Arthur didn't have any of the armor required a real game. The fox did the same and didn't bother to put on his own padding since it was just practice and it wasn't needed. The smaller cub opened the longer back and handed his friend a pair of skates.

"These are brand new. I have never worn them before." The boy knew his friend had bigger paws than he did.

"Thanks, Pent." Arthur sat down on one of the benches and began to take off his shoes.

Pent looked down at the boy in front of him noticing the socks looked strangely familiar from earlier.

"Are those...?" The fox blushed profusely trying not to stare.

The puppy nodded as he began to lace up the skates. It was a tedious process that took some effort and the footwear was rather stuff but it fits well. The fox sat next to him and repeated the same ordeal on his own skates. Pent decided sticks weren't necessary since it was the dogs first time skating.

Chapter 4: Skating

The two exited from the locker room and headed towards the rink. The fox looked around seeing if the coach was there. It seemed he was not present, which meant it was a free night. Pent was in the lead since he knew his way around and Arthur tried to keep up as he wobbled on the unfamiliar footing of the hockey blade. It took some getting used to but the puppy was able to make it to the ice with some difficulty.

Once they were on the ice, the fox began to skate around in circles not paying much attention to his friend who was hobbling around trying to keep his balance.

"Ouch!" Arthur cried out in pain as he landed square on his behind and pinched his butt and tail.

"Oh, let me help you." The vulpine skated over and extended his paw to the bigger cub.

The puppy accepted the help and continued to struggle as he got back up to his feet. The surface was slippery and difficult to get traction on.

"Come on hang on to me and you can use me as a guide." Pent suggested as the more experienced skater.

"Okay." Arthur got as close to Pent as he could and held onto him for dear life.'

The addition of the bigger cubs weight was initially difficult to manage but with some effort. Arthur stared directly into the vulpines sky blue eyes as Pent did the same.

The fox skated backward ever so slowly as the two made more progress on the ice.

"Thanks...I guess I'm not good at this." The puppy admitted a little ashamed.

"It's fine. We all start somewhere. Just keep it up." The smaller cub tried to encourage his friend to press on.

Eventually, Arthur pushed his head forward as the lips of his snout was pressed onto th,e smaller cubs. Pent's backward motion slowed down before the two came to a complete stop and shared in a hug. Samaliel looked on with a smile as the two boys shared the sweet moment. Not many of the people around them paid them any mind as the two broke their embrace and stared at each other's eyes again.

"Come on...try to just hold on to my hand and we'll continue skating." Pent released one of his arms from the other boy allowing him to continue grasping onto his left paw for support.

"Alright..." The canine was a little bit anxious as the other cub stepped up his game.

The couple continued to skate around the arena a few times, paws interlocked as if they were glued together. Arthur occasionally stumbled a few times but each and every time the fox was to help the boy up and get him back on two feet. After about an hour, the dog was getting the hang of things and wasn't slipping up nearly as much. Though not nearly good as Pent who could have easily blasted off and skated circles around him.

As 8 o'clock came and passed the Zamboni hit the ice and that meant the night was coming to an end.

"Alright boys, get ready to go home so we can get Arthur back by curfew." Samaliel shouted to the two cubs as he was keeping a close track of time.

Pent lead Arthur back into the locker room. There were a lot fewer people around and both of the cubs were a sweaty and matted mass, though Arthur more so than Pent.

"Thanks for inviting me. It was fun." The eskimo was spent but had enjoyed his night out with Pent.

"Sure, you can come next time too. Though next time coach might be here." Pent was surprised that his hockey coach hadn't shown up tonight to check up on the kids.

"That's alright as long as I get to spend time with you." Arthur smiled back at Pent as they made their way back to the rental locker they had gotten earlier.

"Let's get changed. We can shower when we get home." The fox didn't want his brother to get in trouble.

The two sat down together on the bench and began unlacing their skates before removing them.

The dog's socks by this point were again soaking wet and he contemplated removing them entirely so his feet could warm up.

"Hey...Pent. Do you have any spare socks?' The puppy felt a little foolish about his choice to wear the same socks from earlier.

"No, I mean you can borrow mine if you want. But they probably aren't much warmer." Pent didn't mind walking around barefoot.

"Hmm...Nah. That would be rude. I guess I'll just go barefoot...deal with these socks." Arthur said as if deep in thought.

"You could always wear your shoes without socks." The fox suggested as an alternative.

"I guess. These socks are just way to wet and grimy now." The puppy assumed they would be even too dirty for Pent at this point.

The two continued changing until they were back in their street clothes. Pent took whatever dirty laundry Arthur had given him and stuffed it inside of his duffel bag. They were ready to leave now and made their exit from the locker room. By the time they exited, Samaliel was waiting for them.

Chapter 5: Postgame

Pent and Arthur filed back into the car after they got back outside. It was only 815 at night which meant they had made rather good time in getting ready to go home. Assuming there was no traffic, Samaliel had no concerns about getting the other cub home by curfew. However just to be safe the teen took all the back roads and assumed the high ways. It was a little bit longer but not many people took it so there was less chance of traffic.

"Did you two have fun?" Samaliel asked the boys rhetorically.

"Uhuh, thanks Sama." Arthur responded first as the less formal of the two boys.

"Yes, I appreciate it. Do you think he could stay over for tonight?" Pent asked bravely as he wanted to have a sleepover with his boyfriend.

"Well it's a school night and that isn't really up to me. But if Arthur's mother is alright with that then I'm ok with it." Samaliel hesitated a bit before answering the question.

"Cool, thanks, bro. Want to ask your parents, Arthur?" The fox had his heart set on just hanging out with his friend in general.

"Sure. Let me text them." The puppy popped out his phone from his pocket and began sending his mother a text.

"Hey, Mom. Do you think Pent can stay over tonight?" Arthur sent the shortest text possible to convey his request.

"We'll have to wait and see I guess." Pent commented after the other cub put away his phone waiting for it to vibrate instead of staring at it.

"Thanks for inviting me Pent. I really enjoyed myself tonight." The dog smiled warmly looking over at the fox who looked back at him.

It wasn't long before the eskimo pulled in his friend again for a kiss. This time there was no clumsiness this time, just an eager explorative pup popping his tongue into the other boy's mouth. Samaliel smiled again warmly as he caught a glimpse of the boys in the rear view mirror but said nothing and decided they needed to be left alone. Eventually, the puppy's paws began exploring around the back of his sweaty friend's body as they hugged intensely for a moment.

Arthur's touch gradually made it's way forward before pawing into the smaller kits chest. But then he felt the familiar rumble of his phone in his pocket and he broke the lengthy embrace to check it. A string of saliva broke as the two maws were separated. Pent was eager for more and feeling rather needy of attention. The fox pushed his snout forward and began to nuzzle into Arthur's furry neck as the boy checked his phone. Pent reluctantly pulled his head away.

"Yes, if it's alright with his brother. I am alright with it." The mother's text was just as short and simple as her sons.

"She said it's fine if you sleep over but you don't have any clean clothing so you'll have to use mine." Arthur suggested a simple enough compromise to the issue.

"Is that okay, bro?" Pent asked wanting to make sure the small change of plans was agreeable with Samaliel.

"Sure, that doesn't bother me. Not like we weren't going there in the first place." Samaliel figured that he could use the time alone to catch up on cleaning the apartment.

"Thanks, bro!" Pent would have wagged his tail but as he was seated it wasn't quite possible.

The vehicle continued to trek along the journey to Arthur's house. Pent and his lover continued to converse about nothing of importance. Some topics included the canines first experience skating and how he was looking forward to next time. However, one thing on the back of the puppies mind was the fact that this would be the first time Pent and Arthur would share a room since becoming boyfriends. Would it be any different? He thought to himself.

The car arrived at the house after about 40 minutes of driving. Sure enough, it had been the right decision because according to the radio there was a wreck on the highway. Samaliel honked the horn after, parking and allowing them to vacate the vehicle.

"Be good, Pent. I will see you tomorrow after school." Samaliel headed straight home and didn't wait to see them inside.

Arthur's mom was the one to answer the door and as usual, she was quite pleasant. Seeing as it was late, she was already in her nightgown.

"Have fun, boys?" She asked after whisking them inside to the warmth of the home.

The puppy proceeds to give a shortened version of the nights events but was interrupted during his story.

"Phew-wee you two stink, go take a shower this instant." The woman pinched her nose in order to avoid the boy's powerful stench.

Arthur wasn't one to disobey and neither was Pent so they happily went back towards Arthur's room together. Once inside the fox considered plopping straight on the boy's bed but didn't want to spoil it.

"I guess you can shower first and I'll just wait. Don't take forever though. I'll make sure to get you some fresh clothes." Arthur wanted to be a good host and gave his friend first dibs.

"Cool...no peeking!" The fox said as he blushed profusely before heading into the bathroom.

"I won't. Don't worry." Arthur wasn't sure he was ready to go quite that far yet.

The kit disappeared into the bathroom for a while and after a moment Arthur could hear the water was turned on. The puppy busied himself by getting some clothing out of his wardrobe for the smaller cub. Taking special care to find some stuff that wouldn't be too big for his friend. Most of the stuff Arthur wore could easily fit on Pent anyhow, except for his shoes. After finding a suitable set, he pushed it in through the opening of the door.

Meanwhile, Arthur began undressing, wanting to be rid of the sweaty clothing he had been wearing for the latter part of the day. He didn't go down to his birthday suit and stuck to just being in his boxers, putting the rest of the stuff in his hamper to be cleaned later. It wasn't long before Pent came back in Arthur's stuff. The puppy stared for a moment at his lover, finding him to be rather handsome in nothing but a nightshirt and undies.

"Alright...my turn." Arthur went into the bathroom shortly after to clean himself as well, not bothering to take clothing for himself.

Pent was pretty tired and didn't want to be sleepy at school. One thing he wasn't sure about was where he was sleeping since the cub didn't have a bunk bed. The kit assumed he would just sleep on the floor at Arthur's side. For now, he just decided to wait at the bedside until things were settled. The puppy took a bit longer than Pent and appeared after a few minutes in nothing but a towel. The fox smiled at him as Arthur fetched a pair of briefs from his wardrobe and put them on underneath the fabric.

"So where am I sleeping?" Pent asked the burning question in his mind.

"In my bed. Where did you think? The dog crossed his arms a bit defensively.

"The floor, I guess? What about you though?" The fox didn't want to be a bad guest after all.

"We're going to share a bed. Is that alright with you?" Arthur said sounding a bit hopeful.

"Oh...okay. I guess that doesn't sound bad. We're not too big to share the bed?" Logic always dominated the young foxes mind.

"Nope. I don't move much. Come on it won't be that bad!" The puppy seemed way too excited about sharing a bed.

"Sure...I guess we can try it." Pent was hesitant but didn't want to disappoint his friend.

"Cool. I'll get in bed first since I'm bigger..." Arthur thought the idea made sense as he took off the towel and threw it into the hamper.

Arthur turned off the lights before sitting down on the bed next to Pent. The two exchanged glances and a brief smile was shared. Arthur angled himself into a crawl as he began moving slowly into the bed behind his friend, before laying down flat and holding the covers up so the fox could join him. The fox got the picture and slowly joined him. Once he was in a close enough position, both boys couldn't help but marvel how warm it was between the two of them. It was an odd experience but one which neither of them minded sharing.

The Eskimo gradually moved his body forward so that it was directly behind Pent,s smaller form. Inching his arm over the fox, Arthur pulled him in closer in for a hug. There was no movement, except for that, as the two simply laid there enjoying each others moments. Arthur continued to nuzzle his body and his nose into the other cub's fur. Butterflies were mingling in both their stomachs as neither really knew what to do in the situation. But eventually, sleep overcame their young bodies as they laid there in a loving embrace.

TO BE CONTINUED...