FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_ Part 2 _

The bus screeched to a halt. I'd chosen the worst moment possible to check my phone.

I shot down the aisle. Grabbed for, but missed the support pole. My hip struck a backrest. The rest of me barged some poor old goat standing from their seat. "Sorry!"

He groaned. My fur frizzed. Someone else stomping my foot helped me forget all about him. All the thudding above suggested the Visoka upstairs were caught equally unaware.

Angry voices filled our downstairs section. Not that the driver upstairs would've heard.

The bus was rammed, like it had been most of the ride into the city. To make matters worse, the heating was set to overkill. Gods knew how many different scents I had stabbing at my nostrils.

The doors swooshed open, allowing the bitter cold to pour in. I could barely wait my turn to squeeze out onto the lower kerbside, rushing through the shadows cast by the Visoka exiting their section above. The stairs ahead would take me up to ground level. Maybe I could_finally_ breathe easier there.

I shuffled from static brick onto moving metal with the other passengers going my way, adding to the bustling crowds both here on the Maleni walkway, and above on the pavement proper. You'd be hard-pressed to think straight with the constant clapping of steps and the rolling drone of voices. Not that I could blame that on forgetting about September Harvest back when I invited Marek downtown.

Maleni and Visoka alike were out ahead of next weekend's festival, bags full of supplies. Those still carrying empties would need to move fast not to miss out on the best food, wine and beer... Three days of parties. Three days for me to try and be good and resist everything my parents would have stocked up on.

My leg buzzed. A delayed reaction to the crack on the leg I'd taken? A second buzz followed. I remembered how I'd lost my balance on the bus in the first place.

On steadier moving ground, I pulled out my phone to find two new messages. Both from Marek. The first to confirm that he was running on time. The second to say that he'll be downtown in about ten minutes.

I jabbed out an 'okay' in reply, not forgetting to add a big smiley face before hitting 'Send'. Ten minutes... not often that my bus in from the outskirts of Koprovice was early. I thought about that pretty 'panda at the other end of the phone, sat on his bus, speeding his way to me. My tail flicked and swung, brushing legs behind, sweeping against the handrails. Sweet air filled my lungs with life. I'd only had three days to wait since that evening at the gym, but each one had crawled by at best. My whole body trembled at the ongoing realisation that this was Saturday, and I _was_downtown. Only a matter of minutes more before I'd get to see and to smell him again--

Damn. The exit point I needed had come up fast. I nudged myself between a wolf and some other dude or lady I didn't get a chance to clock, leaping off the walkway to race up the steps. Never mind the growls and groans I'd left behind me. Just a short trip further on the overground walkway, and I'd have made it to Liska Square.

Black Bean sat in a long line of trendy food places, directly opposite the kinds of clothes stores I'd love to shop in, if my pay allowed it. In the heart of the square, surrounded by benches and tables catering for all sizes, stood the famous floor fountain. Visoka kids often played in it during the summer, chasing after the water jets. I remember wanting to join them back when I'd come with my parents. Summer had moved on fast this year, though. Barely mid-September, but the chill in the air suggested that autumn had arrived in force. All the more reason to hurry to the coffee shop and grab a table.

The streets outside were busy, and this place wasn't much quieter. I'd tried more than once to flag down a server from the waiting point up on the Maleni seating section. Guess they had too many plates on their plate to handle me, too. "Uhm, excuse me?"

A passing deer held up her paw, racing to the table of a spectacled, book reading rabbit. My jaw tightened. I hated dealing with pushy customers, and I hated the idea of being one worse.

She dropped off a tray carrying a Visoka-sized cup of coffee and an equally large sandwich, barely waiting for the approving nod they earned before rushing back my way. "Can I help?"

"Please..." They were on me so fast that I nearly stumbled into the table behind me. "Could I get to a table for two please? One Visoka, one... me."

"Sure." She barely made eye contact, reaching around the corner for something. I always felt awkward relying on a Visoka to get around, especially one I didn't know. As if I was being a pain. Better that than trying to go it alone in a busy place like this, mind. Especially with no walkways or barriers at ground level.

The server returned with a carry board. One of the more low-key, fit in a single palm kind that I was happy to see. I stepped aboard and grabbed a rail tight as she started a steady walk through the shop.

'At Black Bean. Table in the far right corner as you walk in :)'

I jabbed 'Send' and set my phone on the table, glancing across the polished wooden tabletop supporting both it and me. The cushioned back of a Visoka-sized seat sat ahead. One soon to be occupied. Urf. Wow. If an empty chair could send a tingle as deep and as hard through me as that one did, I couldn't wait for the one that'd strike when Marek arrived to fill it.

But, wait I had to. So why not make the best use of it and take a peek at what I could order?

I grabbed the tablet from its stand, needing a moment to find the menu between all the other options available. I'd only been to this place a couple of times before, just to grab some food before catching a bus home. Both times, I'd taken the easy option and ordered a sandwich and a smoothie from the main board. Not today. I'd asked Marek to meet me here for some trendy coffee, and a trendy coffee was what I was gonna have...

Ahh. This menu... was definitely a menu. A whole page dedicated to 'Hot Drinks' alone, filled with weird and wonderful words that made absolutely no sense when thrown together as a name... Like 'Super Spice Infusion'... Was that a drink, or an air freshener? Everything sounded so fancy, with flavours of this and hints of that. Dude, what the fuck did they call 'just a coffee' here?

I'd been here only minutes, and already I'd got in over my head. Marek would've loved to pass comment on that, I'm sure. Poor little Maleni 'panda, or the like. I was lost. The tablet went back into its holder. I'd wait for him to get here before figuring things out... or at worst, close my eyes and jab at something.

Never mind my difficulty with the menu. I was just glad for the space to sit in after almost an hour wedged into a packed bus, and for some cleaner air to breathe.

The smell of ground beans and fresh baked goods tickled my nose and tempted my stomach. Manic crowds flowed back and forth outside the window, but inside, even with the sheer volume of customers crowding almost every table, the atmosphere remained calm and steady. Gentle conversations rolled above soft rock drifting through the shop, bringing life to both the main seating area, and the Maleni mezzanine where I'd been carried from. This was by far not my usual scene, but regardless, it felt right. Definite the right spot for a first date. Well played, Sam. Good call.

All that said, no amount of self praise was gonna stop my paws from trembling. Held apart, clasped together, rubbing themselves: the same end result. My stomach twitched and gurgled, swarmed with butterflies unable to decide whether to guide me towards nervous or excited to greet Marek again. I'd never seen him outside of the gym, and never dressed in anything but his exercise clothes. Not that he looked bad in that, not in the slightest, but as much as I'd loved spending two months staring at and thirsting over his amazing butt and gut, I wanted to have some time with him. Time that wasn't spent giving advice and pushing him further on the treadmill. I just hoped I'd be able to make the most of it, and the first step to doing that, I thought, was to try and be calm--

"Hey, Sam." I jolted so hard and jumped so high that I almost emptied my chair. "How are you?"

A light brush down my arm rocked me again, diverting me towards the brown-furred finger lifting away from my wrist.

"Oh!" I gathered myself back up. "Marek. Hi."

"Everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, sure, yeah." So much for calm. My shaking paws were best moved beneath the table. "I didn't see you come in."

"I saw you staring into space," he said with a chuckle. "Like you'd seen something crawling up the wall over there or something."

"No, I was..." Whatever rickety train of thought I had running in my head would've been derailed by most anything. But seeing Marek arrive, readying to squeeze his big 'panda self into that chair I was begging for him to fill, I'm sure would've knocked me senseless regardless. "Wow."

My jaw less dropped, more detached from my head. I loved his shirt from the get go, a red plaid number a few shades darker than the orange of his face. The white tuft of chest fur poking above his buttoned collar was as well-groomed as his headfur high above, which in turn was pulled back into a far neater, sweeping wave rather than the spikier style I'd grown used to. His fragrance of choice, too, was different. More subtle, with a sweetness that complimented his natural scent way better than his usual deodorant. He might not have been wearing clothes tight enough to properly show off his weight and curves, but I tell you, Marek, right there and then, was attractive in a way I couldn't have even contemplated back at the gym.

"Pretty busy in here," he mused, leaning far over the table as he tried to navigate himself around to his seat against the wall.

"It is. Like everywhere in general today it seems."

"Got that right. My bus was crammed so full, it skipped the last couple of stops." His paws pressed at the tabletop, rocking it in time with his hips swaying like a massive metronome. As it turned out, that'd be the moment the limited space between our table and the back wall became clear to everyone.

Marek's thigh hit the table first, swinging stomach heightening the fierce shaking beneath me. The wall behind him came next, winning a hefty, dull slam from his backside as he tried to pull away. His growl-like grumbling had me feeling bad for enjoying the show. "Have you got enough room there?"

He grabbed his tail, yanking it around to his side. The second attempt at parking himself turned out to be quite something.

If I'd got myself a coffee already I'd have been wearing it, what with the explosive force Marek's hip thrust sent crashing through the table. The tablet I'd been poking flew out of its holder while the table itself, the Visoka part, and mine, shifted with the deafening squeal of wood against wood. My chair tipped and almost tossed me out of it, an almighty rumble roaring throughout. I probably should've been concerned, but instead, I was drawn to ponder over how all that power had come from just one belly bump... and so much damn noise along with it, even with my Normaliser up and running. Concern? The only thing I had to be concerned about right then was how tight my jeans were getting around my crotch.

With my whole world shaken, turned on its axis, I had a better view of the otter couple gawking from the table next to ours. Marek couldn't have cared less as he dropped, overwhelming his chair with an ominous series of creaks and crunches. The top of his belly looked set to overrun the table where its edge pressed into his middle. I could only imagine how much of a fight the lower part was putting up underside.

"_Now_I've got enough room," he finally answered, ears splaying as he noticed me tidying the aftermath. "Sorry about all that."

"No, no, it's fine. As long as you're comfortable there."

His head shook with a fast shrug. I grabbed my table again, not having to grip half as tight against a far smoother, way quieter second movement. His stomach returned to its wonderful barrel shape, and more importantly, He beamed wide enough to make the whole world seem brighter. "It's nice to see you again, little 'panda."

"And you as well, big dude... uhm, big 'panda. The gym hasn't been the same without you."

His ears flicked hard. "I've missed coming along there. A lot."

We left his chaotic arrival behind. The drumbeat of a dozen conversations backing a guitar-driven chorus returned. Outside, crowds carried on piling past, rushed and rattled. But inside, everything was right with the world.

"I like your shirt," Marek said, half-lidded, leaning in to rest his muzzle on a fist. "It's a nice colour... What would you call it? Teal?"

"I think..." I took a look for myself. "Maybe."

"It suits you."

"Thanks," I replied, pitch climbing. "It's, uh, kinda old, but one of my favourites."

"Good taste."

My jaw vibrated from something of a giggling moan. "The colour's kinda close to your highlights, actually."

"Huh." He reached up to brush at his headfur. "Heh, maybe that's the appeal of your shirt to me."

"You look nice as well." He did. More than nice, in fact. Come on, Sam. Tell him that! "Very smart... Handsome."

"Aww, thank you." Marek sparkled, cheeks lifting along with his entire self. His tail swished hard and high enough for me to spot its tip. I felt mine following its lead. "Oh, did you order anything yet?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you ordered a coffee or something already?" He grabbed the tablet from its stand beside him. Large enough to outsize the big screen TV Dad picked up last month. "I've been trying to decide what to get the whole way here."

"Ah, no. I thought I'd wait for you first."

"You didn't have to. Thank you, though."

"No problem." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Truthfully, I did take a look, but I couldn't work out what'd be good or not."

His head tilted. "Not much of a coffee drinker?"

"Uhm... I take it if it's on offer, I guess? At work and stuff."

"That's fair." Marek dipped his muzzle towards the tablet. A smirk wasn't far behind. "But you asked me along for a coffee?"

"F-Well, I mean..." My throat soon had me wishing I'd settled for a smoothie after all. "I've heard good things about this place... and to be honest, it was the best idea I could come up with at the time."

"Sam, it's fine. I'm playing." He reached out, tapping my paw with a palm-sized fingerpad. "I like this place. You made a great choice."

"O-Oh." I puffed out my cheeks, able to breathe again. "Good."

"Hey, Harvest cookies!" The bounce he said that with dragged a fierce crackle from the wood below. Question was, was it his chair or the floorboards threatening to give way? "Wow, they look really good."

Either way, it was a thought I was only too happy to dwell on.

"What do you think, Sam?"

"Hot."

"Huh?"

"Guh, I think..." I snatched up my tablet so fast that I almost threw it at those otters next to us. "About?"

"The cookies."

"Right, right." I poked my way to said cookies. "Crunchy treats packed with seasonal berries, oats and nuts."

"Sounds good, right? I'm definitely getting myself one. Maybe two."

"Two?"

"Gotta get 'em while you can!"

"Suppose."

"Tempted?"

I pictured him bouncing in his seat again, stomach shifting to the groaning of wood. The answer was a resounding 'yes' to that. "Uh, you mean the cookies?"

"Yes..." Marek scoffed. "What else?"

"Ah, nothing. No, I shouldn't."

"Why?"

"I try to avoid eating too much sugary stuff."

"Ack, come on," he called down playfully. "You can have _one_day off. We're not at the gym now."

"True."

"No talk of sensible eating or drinking today." His broad arms folded, underscoring a growing, mischievous grin. "Fair?"

"...Fair."

"Alright." Marek leaned in, filling even more of my world. "Cookie?"

"Oh... okay. Sure."

"Woo, good call! They're only small, after all. Your ones especially."

"Heh, maybe to 'pandas as big as you. Plus... It's a special occasion after all."

His teasing smile softened. Sweetened. "It is."

My ears went warm. Spread to the rest of me. He had this aura about him, intense yet inviting, that put me so completely at ease. We locked eyes for... I couldn't say how long. The shop, the square, the whole city outside faded from existence. There was Marek and Marek only.

"Now for the coffee," he reminded me. "How do you usually take yours? When you are having it, that is."

"Uh..." Our surroundings returned. The screen of my tablet glowed expectantly. "Black. Maybe a little sugar."

"Good!"

"Huh?"

"That's perfect."

"How so?"

"Because..." Marek scrolled down his tablet, tongue poking from his muzzle. Cute. "I'd like to introduce you to something from back home."

Even as the polar opposite to a coffee lover, my curiosity around that prospect had me perched in my seat.

"They call it a Zolnian Charger here... but I let them off on that, given they make _the best_Charkava I've ever had outside of Zolnia."

"So what is it?" The intrigue was killing me. Marek looked so hyped about whatever this drink was, that he'd got me looking for a 'Zolnian Charger' on my tablet, too.

"Straight black coffee, a spoon of sugar, served in a tall glass..."

I stopped scrolling. "Right."

"I know what you're thinking." Marek put his teeth on display for me. "The secret's in the grounds. Heaped up high and left to infuse in the bottom. It's strong. _Very_strong. But, it has a lot of flavour." He glanced up at me, hopeful. "You can add some milk to take the edge off."

The prospect of getting served something like that had my taste buds springing to full alert, urging me to turn it down, to have something safer. Middle-of-the-road. The rest of me? Hah. The rest of me had this huge, wide-eyed red panda sitting ahead. "Yeah. Yeah, one of those sounds good."

"Alright," Marek sang, tongue making even more of an escape. His tablet tapping grew louder. I moved to do the same on mine. "Hey, no, I've got these."

"You're sure?"

"My suggestions, my treat. Please, I insist."

"Well, if you insist." I set my tablet down. "I guess I don't have much choice."

"That, you don't." He sat up even taller, puffing out his chest to loom and laud higher and further over me. "Little 'panda."

I snickered louder and longer than I meant to, head hanging like a schoolkid who'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. "Yes, then. Please."

Choices made, orders in, our tablets returned to their holders. That left just me, Marek, and the tables between us. Everything around us went on at their own pace, free and easy. Not that things weren't looking good from where I was sitting, far from it. I was still hanging up on cloud nine, ten and eleven, just for being alone with the big 'panda I'd wanted so long trying to get to know, ever since that first gym session. Only... without the topic of what to order to help us along... both his eyes and mine started to wander.

'Don't do that', I demanded. 'Talk to him.'

A nice idea, sure. Just not so easy to put into practice. I looked up from my folded arms on the table, craning higher and higher, past Marek's rolling stomach, his large chest, right the way up to his neat, oh so shapely muzzle pointed towards the window.

In the same way I'd so desperately wanted to have him to myself, I so wanted to make the most of it. To do more than watch and admire him from afar, as I'd become so damn used to settling for. I had him. Right here. I'd done it. But still, all I could do was watch him gazing at the bustling square outside, fading sunlight dancing across the chocolate-striped white of his cheeks. So handsome... What I'd do to get closer. To nose and to nuzzle... to kiss...

He turned from the window. Caught me in the act. What act, I wasn't sure, but I had guilt over it all the same. My stomach dropped and my heart leapt to offer its greetings to my tonsils.

"So. Marek..." Not satisfied with just my tonsils, the rest of my throat got well-acquainted with the rapid thumping threatening to cut the air to my lungs. A sharp swallow only helped to ease the blockage. "It, uh. It sounds like you're settling in pretty well. New gym... and I guess a favourite coffee place."

"I suppose. I've only been here a few times so far," he replied. "But yes. I've been back in Koprovice for... getting on for three months now, and it feels like I was never gone."

"Where did you move back from?"

"Kosilny."

"Ah... that's not too far."

"No, not really. I worked there for a couple of years, but it only took a month or so for the two hour commute each way to get on my nerves."

"Two hours? Dude..."

"Rush hour's no joke." He scoffed. "And it's longer than an 'hour', too."

"Yeah... I reckon that'd have too much for most people to take."

"Only marginally worse than actually living in Kosilny, though. Nothing against the place, but... It's a small town. No comparison to Koprovice."

"I hear you. I'm a big city sorta dude, too."

"Right?" He threw out his arms. "Here, you've got decent nightlife. Coffee places almost as good as back in Zolnia. An actually competitive rushball league for the weekends. And... There's a nice little leisure centre gym a short drive out from the city centre." Here came that happy, cheek-lifting glow, shining just for me. "Staffed by some real nice trainers, too."

"Nice trainers, you say?" My tail brushed over the polished wood under my seat, wrapping around a table leg. "Any in particular?"

"For sure..." Marek lowered, muzzle creeping closer. "There's a leopard there. Krystof. Really knows his stuff."

I snorted so hard that I shook. "Yeah, he's a good dude."

He chuckled with a bright, contented pitch that fit the rest of him so well. I hadn't heard him laugh like that before, but I certainly wanted to hear it again. "How about you? Have you lived in Koprovice long?"

"I grew up here, actually. Well, up in Cherniky."

"Oh, wow. That's pretty far. Right on the outskirts."

"It's not too bad, and there's walkways everywhere, so no hassle getting out and about. Twenty minutes on a bus to work, then that again to get into the city proper. Heh, I'm sure you'll appreciate more than most that's way better than the hour plus trip I used to have into uni."

"For sure." Marek rubbed a thumb under his chin, still carrying that magnetising smile that made it tough to focus on much else. "Where did you attend?"

"K-Tech. Koprovice Technical."

"Me too!" I flinched back from his surprise. "Nice. What did you study?"

"Sports science."

"Makes sense. Cool. Guess that put you over in the Novotny building, right?"

"Uh, yeah... That's right." Wow... this was getting to be a trip. "Where were you?"

"I was over the road in Ruzicka."

"The engineering school?"

"Right. Mechanical engineering to be precise, in my case."

"Oh. Wow." That pushed me back in my chair. I'd never have imagined him as an engineer. He didn't have the... build for it? "That's impressive."

"Nah." He waved and batted that way. "Not really."

"So... like, do you build robots and stuff?"

"No-- well, I never did. In Kosilny, I worked for a company that designed and built mixed-size heating and ventilation systems for buses, trains and such."

"And you helped design them?" He nodded. "Told you, that's impressive."

"No, no." His ears flicked and flattened, eyes closing from his grin while his paw waved harder. "Anyway, it didn't work out for me in the end. That's why I'm back."

His shine faded. Ears splayed further. His paws came to rest, folding on the table. The urge to stand up, pad across and stroke them came on strong. "What happened?"

"Nothing_bad_. More... the job didn't turn out as expected. Things were promised, but not delivered." His paws upped and opened to me. "So, I moved back, settled, and wound up finding a position as a technical author at Fiala."

I... didn't know what that meant. "For their cars?"

"Yeah, for one. Helping to write technical reports, manuals and the like."

"Ah..." That made things a little clearer. Less mud, more... muddy water. "I'm sorry it went down like that for you." Crap. I wasn't sounding all that clear, either! "Ah, no, what I mean--! I'm sorry it didn't work out in Kosilny, not that you're a technical, uh, thingy now."

Marek sat up, resting a cheek on his fist, watching.

"Sorry. Y'know, that still sounds nice. A nice job. Working for a big car company. Probably pays real good and all that, too..."

"Are you finished?"

"Huh?"

He smirked, sinking back to peer down at me through half-closed eyes. "I know what you meant, little 'panda."

"Oh."

"But hey, thank you for caring. And you're right. I'm still training, but it is a pretty nice job so far." His big tail tip flitted into view. "And I'm sorry, too."

"Sorry?"

"For enjoying how you squirmed just then."

"What?" My head cocked, jaw dropped, frozen that way for the time it took Marek to snort, grin, and wink at me. "Ahh, you big jerk."

"Guilty as charged," he sang, spoiling me with that sparkling, soothing pitch once more.

This was going great. As happy and as smiley as he was, I hoped Marek thought the same. I couldn't remember the last time I'd spoken to someone for this long. If ever. And I wasn't done yet. "Hey, lemme take a guess at something."

"Hmm?"

"When you were at K-Tech, were you living in Kolba Halls?"

"Yes." His mouth crept open. "All four years."

"Hah! Knew it. That five minute walk from class was a gods send compared to most dorms. Especially in winter."

"Cheap rooms, too." He raised a finger at me. "But didn't you say you lived at home for uni? The long bus ride in and all?"

"Yeah, but my friends were living there. I spent a lot of time hanging with them, studying. Even stayed over a few times. Slept in a makeshift shoebox bed they threw together for me. Anything to avoid making that damn bus trip too often."

"Aww." Marek sat in closer. "Sounds like you had a good thing going on."

"I did. It was." I joined him, leaning into the wide shadow he cast over both tables. "They were good guys. Keep meaning to catch up with them again soon."

"Kolba Halls," he mused. "Now there's a throwback... Did your friends have to deal with those stupid security windows that barely opened, too?"

At the time, I couldn't have predicted the long, winding chat that mentioning K-Tech set us off on. A deep dive into a past we'd shared, of sorts anyway. Topics came thick and fast, barely giving space for me to catch my breath. We spoke about times spent hanging out in the central lounge, organising gaming tournaments with friends and other residents on the communal consoles. I wanted to ask more on which types of games he played, but for some reason, Marek couldn't stop snickering at the daft idea of a Maleni 'panda having to use a Visoka-sized controller, sprawled out and palming at the buttons.

Then came talk of the dorm parties, which more often than not got shut down early by campus security responding to noise complaints. As much fun as those were, unlike gaming tournaments, I couldn't rely on any size-equalising equipment to get me on the same footing as twenty or thirty drunk Visoka.

"I'd have helped you," Marek said, patting his big chest. "You'd have fit well in a shirt pocket."

"And I would've appreciated it." The beat of his paw sent ripples through the red plaid. A night spent nestled up against all that brawn and bulk? Better than any party I'd ever been to. "They were still fun, though. Tricky to get around, relying on table lifts up and down to the ground and all... plus, some other difficulties..."

"Like what?"

"Oh, you know..." My shoulders tensed. Damn it, why did I say that? "Ah, just... general stuff. Things that made it harder to feel 'normal' in a group of Visoka."

"Yeah, I get you. The Visoka rooms at Kolba weren't the best when it came to size mixing." He rubbed at his chin, mouth twisting. "Do you miss it, though? University life?"

"A little. I like working and earning proper money now. It's still kinda crazy, though, trying to get used to the 'real' world, so to speak. It's been a year now, and I'm still not there yet."

"A year?" Marek reeled away. "I expected... Did you start late, or take some extra years for interning?"

"No," I answered, trying not to match his bemusement. "Started straight outta school at eighteen. Interned for six months at a handball academy close to home."

"Huh... so you're, what, twenty-three?"

I swallowed. It came hard. "In a couple of months."

"Oh... Wow."

My fur prickled all over. The table leg got an awful lot more acquainted with my tightening tail. "Surprised?"

"Yeah!" His jaw dropped. My heart, too. Until he added, "But in a good way! You carry yourself like you're older. Maturer. Not that someone your age can't be. It's just... I figured you were about my age. Late-twenties."

"Same, actually." I settled. The prickling faded. "You... look good. Younger. Not far outta your teens."

"Okay,now you're just trying to butter me up, little 'panda."

We were so caught up in ourselves, occupying our own happy world, that I'd totally forgotten anything else we might've been here for. So, imagine my literal, body-rocking shock when a chirpy badger appeared at our table, carrying a tray and a smile. "Two Zolnian Chargers and three Harvest cookies?"

"That's right," Marek replied, offering the edge of the table to the server. "Thank you."

He settled the tray down, leaving us to take our order for ourselves. I couldn't help notice they were a shade short for a badger, but still, it was a sight to see Marek sitting almost as tall as him, wedged into that tight space in the corner.

"For you." Marek slipped his fingers beneath the four-legged tray holding my order. "A tiny coffee, for a tiny 'panda."

Oof. The 'T' word. Twice. It's fine, I thought, defying the sharp shock travelling from ears to toes. He didn't know. The broad smile said as much.

Marek set the tray next to my table, pulling his pads from its underside with the utmost care. There it sat, my tall glass of pitch black coffee, served with a long spoon and a cookie on the side. All recommended by the big 'panda beaming above. "I hope you like it."

"Thank you." I went for my cookie first. Loaded with sliced red berries and nuts, looking almost as good as it did on the menu. A quick nibble offered a taster. Spice hit first, then came a sweetness. Not enough to make me feel too guilty about the extra treat. An extension to my next run would make up for it.

"Don't be shy." Marek grabbed the first of his pair, chomping down and almost devouring the whole thing in a single bite. The rest of it quickly followed, barely touching the sides as he casually tossed it into his waiting muzzle, mumbling out his contentment. Something even larger than a Maleni-sized dinner plate, gone in barely a flash. Beyond the shock... part of me was impressed. Big 'panda really could pack it away.

I set the rest of my cookie down, turning to my drink while Marek contemplated devouring his second. This coffee definitely looked fancy in its finely cut glass, a snazzy miniature jug of milk waiting on the side. Even for a highbrow downtown coffee shop, this seemed a hell of a lot of effort for what was, by my thinking, just a black coffee. I pushed through all the fanfare around it, grabbed hold, and had myself a sip.

"Sam, you might--"

"Woah." I took a punch to each and every one of my tastebuds. The impact had me wincing, reeling, forcing me to set my fancy glass back down. "Woof... Strong."

"Honestly, pour some of the milk in."

I wasn't sure what had me feeling worse: the singeing bitterness on my tongue, or the face it must've had me pulling. All while Marek forewent the milk completely, taking a healthy gulp from his glass.

"Sorry," I said as I threw the entirety of that flash little jug into my drink.

"Don't be," he replied past a chuckle. "I'm impressed that you went all in."

I gave it another taste. Happily, I avoided another sharp shot to the mouth.

"What do you think?"

"It's... different. Still strong, even with the milk. Sorta like... burnt chocolate."

"You like?"

I thought so. The burning away of my sense of taste still hadn't completely passed. "Definitely better than the instant stuff at work."

"I'd sure hope so!" Marek sat forward, lowering his head with a grin, jabbing a finger. "If my grandma heard you comparing Charkava to instant, she'd show you the door in a shot."

I snickered hard, ears flicking over and over from the warmth of his soft breathing. I gave my drink another chance, then another. One more followed. Each time, the bitterness faded. The pungent taste of chocolate got that little bit sweeter while the milk added a silky smoothness. It was growing on me. I was enjoying it, and not only because of the mountain of 'panda hovering right there above. Hot, strong, but sweet: true of both this coffee, and who recommended it to me.

"Okay. It's good," I confirmed, lapping a stray drop from my muzzle. "Thank you very much for this."

"You're very welcome." Marek moved even closer, the weight of his belly drawing a creak from the table underneath the of us both. For a moment, the slightest split second, I was expecting a bump of his nose to mine... Maybe even more. Regrettably, it stopped just short at a heartwarming smile, and I had to settle for stroking his wonderfully smooth muzzle fur.

We shot the breeze some more while nursing our coffees, hopping between so many topics and stories that it was a job to keep up. I was settling deeper into the padding of my seat by the minute, completely at ease. The memory of my anxiety building, peaking while waiting for Marek at this table, grew distant enough to be forgotten. As it turned out, only one topic of conversation could get my heartrate going. For better and for worse.

"That first night I came along to the gym." Marek helped himself to a large sip from his half-empty, me-sized glass. "Ahh, I never imagined it'd go down the way it did."

"Oh?" I sampled more of my own coffee, taste buds now trained enough to take on whole mouthfuls. "Why's that?"

"Well." He rested his muzzle between thumb and finger, watching me intently. "One or two reasons."

I gazed back, sipping some more. Any excuse to take him in. "Like?"

"Like how you were checking me out from your desk the moment I walked in."

I spasmed mid-swallow, coughing and spluttering, gasping for the air to explain, "It was just the one time."

"_Just_one?"

"When you were adjusting..." I checked the otters at the table beside us, deep in their own conversation. Regardless, I kicked my voice down a notch. "When you were fixing the weights on the chest press machine."

"What about when I was running on the treadmill? Or when I was settling myself on the rowing machine?" Crap... he noticed all that!? "That's not to mention all the other times since--"

"I wasn't."

"You_definitely_ were." He smirked, folding his arms. "Plenty of mirrors around that place to give you away."

"Fine." I batted the air. "Maybe once or twice."

"Pfft."

"It's_your_ fault anyway."

"_My_fault?"

"How can I avoid staring when you're so big? Never mind when you're bending over right in front of my desk."

His delight at watching me down here grew. "Never heard you complaining."

I shifted in my seat, breathing harder, heart beating faster. The image of him showing off every curve and slope contained in those super tight shorts was here to stay. "I don't think _that's_something I'd wanna complain about. Certainly a bright part of my day is when you're in, flaunting yourself about the place."

"Oh, I don't doubt that for a second..." Marek moved on in, whispering almost directly into my ear. "That tent you were sporting for me when I was leaving said it all."

I froze. He'd locked my jaw and threw away the key. My ears warmed and my eyes focused directly at the satisfaction in his. "I'm sure you remember."

"I--K..." My cheeks flushed so hard I was positive I could see their glow. "I was kinda hoping you'd... forgotten."

"You really think I could forget that?"

I shrank down in my seat while Marek overtook more of our tables. "Guess not."

"Plus, I've seen you get, shall we say, _excited_during our sessions on the treadmill." His shoulders swayed back and forth, tail sweeping up visibly behind his wide, overwhelming frame. The glee in his tormenting reached a whole new level as he posed, "Good view from that bottle holder, am I right? Maybe a little like how you're seeing me right now... Barely able to find my face past the rest of me, even if you could tear yourself away from watching my stomach shake."

Gods damn. I felt like he'd climbed all the way up onto the table, filling my view like he was. His full cheeks were creased like never before, ears pointed, tail sweeping faster and faster. The otters next to us, still oblivious. Only I could hear the beat of his toying at me, almost as fast and as loud and the pounding of my heart.

"Poor little 'panda. Completely at the mercy of a far larger one crowding over you. At the gym, and here."

His scent wafted past me, combining with the sight of his plaid-clad bulk rippling with every subtle shift of shoulders and hips. I was back at the gym on that first night I met him, complete with the achingly firm pressing at wood with my very own.

"Sit back down," I sang with a snicker. "There's people around."

"I'm just leaning over." Marek winked. "What? Is a tiny 'panda getting hot under the collar?"

I winced. That word cut right through me. Cut away at all the fun and pleasure of that moment. Left a tightness all over.

"Oops? Did I get that right? Is my tiny panda sporting something for me down--"

"Please don't call me that."

That shoved him back into his seat in an instant. All that joy in his face drained, leaving behind shock. A flatness to match the ears I could feel splayed atop my own head. "Call you what?"

I grabbed my coffee. Studied it. Lukewarm at best. "Tiny."

"Ti..." The smallest, meekest mumble travelled between us. "I don't understand."

"I've never liked it." A slurp of my coffee just added to the bitterness. "It's degrading."

"How so?"

My hackles flared. I banged the table with my glass, ready to go off... until I saw him. Big 'panda's ears were lower than I'd ever seen them. Muzzle dipped. The glow and charm I loved completely absent from his eyes. "It's... when it's used about us, it's usually meant as an insult."

"I-I didn't mean it to be, Sam. Honest."

"I know, I know." I sighed. The tension eased.

"Is 'little' okay? Like... if I call you little'panda?"

"Sure." I rubbed my brow. "It's only... _that_word. It's hard to explain but, it's usually used by Visoka with a sense of... superiority about it. At least, that's how it felt growing up. In school, if someone called you tiny, it usually followed 'watch where I'm walking', or 'how's the floor?'... Even now, if someone uses it at work, it has that air to it. Like the badger who's now taken to _always_calling me 'tiny' when I'm coaching him on his weightlifting technique. Since, y'know, how embarrassing must it be to be shown how to lift by someone the size of your water bottle, no matter how much damn experience they've got."

Marek nodded, watching his fingers rub over his other paw on the table. "I guess maybe that wasn't a thing back home in Zolnia... or I just never noticed. Either way, I'll remember that." He looked up, offering a gloomy smile. "I didn't mean to upset you, Sam. I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine... You didn't know."

His ears lifted. Green eyes recovered some of their spark. "You know, much as I was playing about you being... excited that first night at the gym."

I snorted, putting a paw to my eyes. "Oh, gods."

"No, hear me out." Another snort, but I obliged, peering back up at him. "See, as much as I wasn't quite sure what to do, or where to look... Weird as it might sound, I was kind of flattered. Surprised, but flattered all the same." His glow came back and then some, rounded face and boyish grin spreading all of its warmth to me. "I don't think I've ever... heh, made an impression like that before."

The bump in our road became a memory. Finally, I could say what I'd been holding onto for those last two months. "I'm just glad you came back. I think it'd have killed me not to see you again."

"How could I not?" Marek closed that distance between us, sliding a paw to rest beside my seat, petting my tail with a finger. "Not after seeing that cute little 'panda manning the desk there."

His touch, this moment, was heaven. The heat in my face, my chest, was like fire, growing into an inferno the instant my paw reached down to find his. A delicate rub matched his tempo, sinking into the short brown fur on the back of his hand. My brain crashed for all the right reasons. Signals fired off in all directions, lost beyond the option to keep on rubbing, keep on smiling at the big, handsome 'panda I had here with me. All to myself.

My coffee caught my eye. A mouthful left, if that. Wonderful, perfect as this all was, the heat between us had me gasping for something to dampen and loosen my throat.

I grabbed my glass. Threw it at my muzzle. One big gulp should've seen off the last of my drink. Too bad about what was left hiding at the bottom.

Something hit the back of my neck so hard that I gagged, soon spreading to cover every surface of my mouth like sludge, threatening to do the same to my throat.

I launched forward, almost face planting the table. Coughing, damn near choking, I hacked out spatter after black spatter into my paw.

"Oh!" Marek threw out his arm, tapping my back with two solid fingers. "I forgot to remind you about the grounds."

My coughing fit eased in tandem with his tapping. He slipped his other paw between the table and my muzzle, a torn scrap of Maleni-sized paper tissue resting on a fingerpad.

"Here."

I snatched it up, wiped off my paw, then my mouth. A gasp of air helped to settle things. I didn't dare peer over to those otters no doubt starting from the next table. "Thanks."

"It's nothing." Marek's taps had turned into pats. Soon after, while I cleaned what remained of the mess around my muzzle, those pats became rubs. "My bad."

I'd got my throat clear, face clean, and could finally breathe easy. All that remained was to sit back upright... whenever Marek felt like letting up with his rubbing.

"Poor little Vodak 'panda," he taunted softly. "I guess a big Zolnian coffee was a bit too much for you."

"Yeah, right..." I gave up on my comeback before it'd barely begun. Instead, I closed my eyes, pressing into the paw working its way up the back of my neck. The delicate roughness of his two fingerpads disarmed me, able only to bask in the comforting, reassuring weight of his touch as it climbed up to my head. I gave in, gave out, trembling with a groan of pleasure.

His easy touch found my headfur, a stray claw scritching the base of my right ear. Another groan, a full body shake. I lifted my muzzle to nose into his paw, but to my distress, I found Marek pulling away, ears low and smile faltering.

No. I couldn't let him go. Stretching, making myself as big as I could, I scrambled for his finger. Grabbed it. Held on tight. My whole palm ground over his pad, sinking into its leathery softness as it pressed back.

We held each other, watched each other. His ears lifted. Mine, too. How hard did my tail flick and my heart beat at the sight of my big 'panda returning to me, reaching to pet between my ears all over again.