FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

~12~

Bryce's ears fell back a bit, "What? So that's it?" Arden arched a delicate brow as he sipped his tea. "Every birthday I wake up and I'm me, but at a different time?" The bull slumped a bit, "Was hoping for something cool."

It was strange, seeing his life partner acting like a petulant child. Though it was nice to hear Bryce's voice, even if it wasn't _his_Bryce. Strange to see him at the beginning of it all. Especially when...

Arden pushed that thought away and set his tea down, "What were you hoping for?"

Bryce rolled his shoulders, "I dunno. Somethin' cool. Laser vision, super strength, invulnerability." He stabbed at his food. "Something."

"If you think about it, you are invulnerable. Kind of." The look that Bryce gave him was one of raw confusion. Oh love,_he said to himself, _you did a lot of growing up before we met. A smile slid over his lips,_Though you did kind of cheat there._He breathed a light sigh, masking the sound with a sip from his tea. "You're alive. Well, you live until at least ninety-eight." A pang in his chest made the buck grip his tea cup tighter. Fingers threatening to lose their hold, "You've never mentioned going past that, so we've both kind of assumed."

The bull's ears perked as his eyes went wide, "I'm gonna die?"

Oh dear lord, how did his sweet bull come from this?

Arden took another breath, "Everyone dies eventually. Oh we can try to combat old age with medicine, balanced diets, so on and so forth. Come tomorrow you're going to wake up back in your bed in your suburban house, just another twelve year old bull. Except one day each year, you become aware of another part of yourself. You," he leaned forward and tapped Bryce's nose, "will get to live a long and wonderful life. Learning things about yourself, maybe even fixing mistakes from your past. That is something a lot of people would kill for. After all," the buck leaned back and sang. His voice low, sweet, humming with each word, _"Who wants to live forever?"_That smile faded a bit at the blank look Bryce gave him. "Queen? Highlander?" he breathed out a disappointed sigh, "Never mind."

That made Bryce stop and think. His brow furrowed as thoughts began to race. New, strange thoughts about the life that stretched before him. "So... I'm like invulnerable? Cool!"

"Almost. That's the important part."

He stopped, "What do you mean almost invulnerable? Either you are or aren't, it's how powers work." Bryce stuffed a pancake into his mouth victoriously. Almost choking on it a second later.

Oh heavens, that would be a way to go wouldn't it? Arden sighed to himself. Well, Bryce did say that Savannah's pancakes would kill him one day_._The bull recovered though. Chugging down a hearty helping of his juice and belching. "Charming," Arden smiled and slid his chair a bit closer. "And yes, you can be partially invulnerable." He started to reach for the bull, "I'm not going creepy old man here." And let his smile ease the bull's tension.

He pushed Bryce's robe up and brushed the fur on his thigh aside. "See this scar? One of your selves decided to try base jumping. Landed wrong and fractured your leg pretty nastily." The deer moved his hands higher and opened the robe a bit more, "This one here? Knife." His fingers lingered on the slender cut on the bull's chest, remembering the night Bryce earned it. "You'd bled pretty badly, scared the shit out of me. You just kept smiling and telling me it'd be okay."

Bryce tried to pay attention to what Arden was saying. It was hard to focus as his heart began to pound. The deep thumpa-thud drowning out the deer's words. Every ounce of his focus was on the buck's hands. Just how warm they were as they ran over his thigh and then up to his chest. Bryce's nostrils flared as he took a breath, trying not to shudder. Why were Arden's hands so warm? Every old person he knew had icy hands. Arden's were so soft and warm. Each touch sent a shiver through him. And his smell.

He smelled wonderful. Little hints of hay and grain and something else. It was weird. Bryce had never smelled a cologne like that, but somehow he felt that his body knew it well. Without even thinking, a smile crept over his lips and the bull found himself relaxing.

This close, Arden could feel Bryce's response. His shiver and that sweet little smile. Oh he'd missed that so much. The buck found himself leaning in to kiss the Angus before he remembered and pulled back. He hid the motion by stealing a bite of Bryce's pea sausage, "So yes. You'll survive what you get through. Doesn't mean you'll make it unscathed." Too close, Arden. He's only twelve.

"Wha?" The bull blinked and shook his head. Ears flapping against his trimmed and capped horns. Oh that was another sound that Arden missed so. "So wait, I survive and all that. Can't I like look up lotto numbers and stuff from now and use it back then? Like that old movie with the flying car?"

"I believe you try that, but it doesn't quite work out."

A huff, "That's bull... hockey."

The buck smiled, "Dear, we're both old as fuck, you can curse if you want."

"Oh yeah! Pogger."

Only years of practice kept Arden from cringing, "Except that. Was banned some forty years ago." It hadn't been, but he'd thought it was always a rather silly word. He leaned back and steepled his fingers, "I don't know the exact mechanics of it. We talked about it a few times. You made some friends and talked at length on the theory of it. The easiest way you described it was this." He slid a few things around on the table, "There are fixed events in everyone's life. Things that are for sure going to happen." He slid a salt shaker forward, "You get your powers." The pepper, "First time we meet. You not winning the lottery. So on and so forth.

"These are immutable facts that can't be changed." He furrowed his brow and tried to remember what Bryce had told him about exactly. "I think. Been a few years since we talked about it. When my Bryce explained it, he saw my expression and just went." Arden waved his fingers, "Timey Whimey."

Bryce snorted, "Then why bother doing anything? I mean," he waved his hand around, "Seems like we did pretty good?"

Arden tapped the space between the salt and pepper, "That's this space. Sure, these two events are fixed." He dipped his finger into the tea and drew on the table. Oh Savannah was going to fuss. "Closest I can recall, you told me that maybe you did this. But then one of the Older-Yous tried to change it." He drew a line that arced, "it still came back to this."

The bull frowned, "So like even if I did win the lotto, I'd like win ten bucks? Or give it away to charity or something?"

He brightened up, there was a bit of his bull there! "Yes, exactly." Arden leaned back, "Doesn't mean the path was easy either. Just cause we're here now doesn't mean we got along splendidly. There were fights, some nasty ones." Some old paid shadowed Arden's features, "Things were said. Some by me, some by you. There were a few times we didn't talk for months, even a couple years at one point." Arden's lip quivered, but the shadow lifted and he smiled. "We made it through somehow."

Savannah poked her head around the corner, "Call incoming. It's Ty." The donkey blinked, "Saphir is joining and.. Oh there's Jansen too. They're wanting to wish Bryce a happy Ninety-Eighth Birthday. Is this a good time?"

Bryce looked confused but Arden leaned in to mutter, "Our kids." Then back to smile at the donkey android, "Of course, Dear. Put them up on the window."

The bull's ear twitched, "We have kids?"

"Mm," he sipped his tea. "Eventually, through less traditional methods. I was worried about my figure and you're a bull."

~36~

Bryce looked around as he slid his new bag into place. Ears perked as the bull did a quick scan of the crowd. Last few years had made him a bit paranoid. Not to mention that he hit it big at the race track. Turning twenty bucks into a couple grand over the course of a few hours might have grabbed someone's attention. He made sure to lose enough that the people there shouldn't have been suspicious. Even did his best to put on a show and make it seem like he lost big a few times.

Least he hoped he did. Really hard to judge these types of things. Arden had tried to teach him how to act, but it was always in jest and for fun for the buck. Something to give Bryce an excuse to be on set where he might not be welcome otherwise. He felt stupid, Arden said he was wonderful, and the directors tended to agree with Bryce.

He kept his ears on a swivel as he wandered the Downtown area. Unconsciously adapting to the same gait as those around him. The bull rolled his shoulders again and looked at his bag. Wasn't the same one he'd remembered having back then. Though that one had a lot of problems. Zippers always got stuck, it leaked, wasn't comfortable. Research had given him this one. Was more expensive, but should be worth it. Always a strange feeling when he knew what his past was, then willfully changed something about it. Kinda felt like having a flashback of vertigo or double vision.

Don't sweat the small stuff took on a new meaning when you could time travel.

Things became a bit easier overall when you treated it like a story outline too. Here were the major points he knew of. This is where he starts, that's where he ends. It's the parts in the middle that were the most interesting bits.

What else was on his list? Next thing should be get something to make a list. A quick stop at a store turned up a prepaid phone. Load a bit of money onto it, enough for a month or two at least, and he was good. Bryce ran his finger over the screen and smiled. He had some memories of this phone, or he would make some. Kept the damn thing until it was about to fall apart. Arden finally upgraded it for him when the screen started to go.

As he left the store, he started to put in a few numbers from memory. Nothing too crazy like Arden's number. That'd probably freak the buck out. Albert's number, Annette's for sure, and why not Tony while he was at it? Throw in a little note for himself to let Eighteen know who these people were and how to get in touch with them.

He was trying to figure out how let Past-himself know that, as scary as Annette was, she was gonna be the best trainer he, when it caught his eye. Small little shop, stationary place named _R.S.V.P._Looked quaint and nice, but his attention was on the window. Right there, front and center, was The Journal.

Oh it wasn't alone. There was a handful of journals, papers, and pens all laid out on a display. Wasn't like anyone else knew the connection he had with it. Not yet at least. Arden would think it was some sort of story outline for years. Yet there it was. Brand new, wrapped in plastic, and completely unaware of the weight it would carry for the next eighty years.

The chime croaked as he entered, sounding like it was on its last legs. A middle-age snake looked up from his book, "Can I help you?" While giving Bryce a hard look over.

"Yeah," he knew he really didn't look like the type to come here. Big athletic bull in a stationary shop? Might as well take a run through the china store while he was at it. "I want to get a couple pens." He moved to the counter and looked down. "That one there. And one of those too." The bull dropped to a crouch to look into the display. "Some of the velvet blue, kiri-same, and some super black." He stood and glanced around, "A notebook, and..." his heart fluttered as he craned his head, "Oh, yeah. That red book in the window. Please and thank you."

The garter snake blinked at him. Gave him another slow look, "Are you sure about that?"

Bryce nodded, "Yeah," he flashed his best grin, "Got some graduation money and wanted a real pen. Aunt got me a couple calligraphy sets when I was younger, loved to write with them. You know how they are though."

The stationer made a rude noise, "Oh I know. All plastic and creak. Feel nasty to write with too long." He happily opened the display and produced a pen. "This is a good one for beginners..."

"Those are pretty good, but a little thin for my taste. I like a little heft."

"Well, you are full of surprises, Mr..."

"Bryce. Bryce Robbins. Yeah, tested writing with some when I could back home." He tugged on the shoulder strap to his bag, "On my way to college. Got that writing itch so did a search and you came up. Nothing quite like putting pen to paper."

Now that got a smile from the snake, "No there isn't. Pleasure to meet you, Bryce, I'm Liam. So you want the Century 470? Very nice choice there." He produced the pen, an ink bottle, and a scrap bit of paper, "Why not give her a go?"

Bryce knew full well how this went. He waited for Liam to set the pen up before leaning in. It was too tempting to go for a smooth, elegant script. Had to stop himself from going overboard. The bull let his hand shake a bit too much, blot some ink. "Whoops!"

Liam laughed, "Oh it's fine, everyone makes mistakes. Looks good in your hand too." Bryce laughed and tried to brush it off. "No no, you're holding that like a natural."

"Rusty natural. Can't wait to get to work on improving." He scanned the store, "Um... you don't happen to have a book on penmanship or calligraphy?" Okay pin the ears back, and... how to do embarrassed? He coughed and rubbed his neck, "Been a bit since I wrote with anything that wasn't a ballpoint."

A wave of the hand, "No worry. Rare to find someone that wants a good pen though. Most just want a ballpoint. Use them up and throw them away." Liam slipped from behind the counter, "So, if I may ask, what happened to your other pen? Why'd you stop using it?"

"You're going to hate this." He started to draw looping spirals, reveling in how the pen felt. "Took it to school for a project. Was writing up something for... History I think. Couple people saw and asked to borrow it, I said sure. They saw the pen in it's case. All those cartridges of different inks."

"Please tell me they didn't..."

Bryce nodded, "They decided to try out a few colors before handing it back."

Liam's tongue flicked, "The heathens. Some people just don't..." his voice faded as he vanished into the shelves. Bryce watched and waited until the snake returned, "I mean really, opening those up like that. What were they thinking?" He shook his head with a hiss. A couple books, a blank notepad, the pen back in it's case, some nibs, and cartridges. While Bryce loved using a converter, he knew that Eighteen would find the cartridges easier to use. For now at least. "So all this together?"

"And the red journal." He thought a second before looking at a book on the counter. Sketchbook, unlined, good paper, thick cover. "And this too." He flashed a sheepish grin, "Sorry to keep adding things after. I'm not an artist. Got a friend that would love to take a stab at it, though."

Fingers snapped, "Right, can't forget that, and it's quite alright." He leaned over and grabbed one of the brand new journals, adding it to the pile. "And how are we paying?"

Bryce sighed in relief, "Cash." Happy birthday, Bryce. Gonna be one of your best birthdays ever.

New purchases in his bag, the bull turned his focus elsewhere. Clothes shopping. Though he'd be torn between picking what he knew Eighteen would like, and what he knew Arden would enjoy. It was a hard choice. Could remember when one of his Older-Selves tried to 'clean up' his teen-self's room. Boy he had been furious with himself about that. Maybe he could find a happy middle ground though. A couple outfits that Arden would like, a couple that he'd like. Couldn't go crazy though. Just had his backpack after all. A baggy shirt or jacket would do well for tonight though.

The bull shook his head. Stay on target, he chided himself. Clothes and then a shower. The wind shifted and he sniffed. Ugh. Few hours of betting had him reeking of booze and smoke. That settled it, shower first. Should be a gym or something around here where he could get a shower. Even if they were communal. And he had to get those stupid shower shoes.

Ugh, he missed his shower at home.

~18~

Oh God this shower was absolute bliss! Bryce planted both hands on the wall and arched. His breath came in short, sharp gasps. The shower heads (there were like a dozen of them!) were pelting him with what could only be described as hammer blows. They beat against his back, driving off the aches that came with getting older. Not to mention the wonders they worked for his mental state. Would he ever run out of hot water?!

The doorbell rang, bringing him back to the present.

His breakfast! Oh crap, he'd never actually had a delivery come while he was in the shower before. What did he do? Could only imagine rushing the door in a towel, dripping water the whole way while he...

"Your breakfast has been delivered by Miguel. I took the liberty of unlocking the door for him. He has left it on the counter and wished you a good morning."

Ears perked, "Really? Um, tell him good morning and thank you."

Ace chimed through the speakers, "He's been thanked and tipped appropriately. Shall I continue the massage program?"

Bryce shook his head, "Naw, any longer in here and I'll turn into a prune."

The merry voice chimed, "Water turned off." The shower heads slowed to a trickle, gradually cooling as they did. "I have taken the liberty of warming a towel for you as well."

"Wow, is there anything you can't do?"

"Can't suck your cock. Though with some easy to order products I can achieve something similar by linking with..."

"Th-that's okay, Ace. I'll stick with the warm towel for now."

Bryce stepped out of the shower and found the towel. It was warm and fluffy and wonderful. He kinda just wanted to wrap himself in it and flop in bed for a while more. If it wasn't for the alluring smells from the apartment beyond, he might have done just that. This place wasn't just better than the last few weeks, it was better than anywhere he'd ever been in his life. Fuck, if this is what he was looking forward to, he couldn't wait.

His breakfast lay in wait at the kitchen counter. A note was taped to the bag, "Threw in some extra cakes for your birthday, Bud." Oh it smelled so good he could barely contain himself. Bryce stole a look around and found what looked like a couch and coffee table. The bull dropped into it, wearing nothing more than boxers, and kicked back. The scent of hoecakes and barley tea had his stomach grumbling and growling.

The bull happily dug into the breakfast. Ace turned on the TV before he'd gotten more than a couple bites, flipping on some really cool looking TV series, "As requested last night." Bryce uttered a muffled thanks and leaned back. Both ears perking as he kicked back. His hooves came down on the coffee table. Which, judging from the marks that scarred the edge, was a habit he'd yet to kick.

Maybe he should though.

Especially since he noticed that his hoof came dangerously close to landing on a rather plain package. Bryce tilted his head towards it curiously. It looked... well beyond ordinary. It was about the size of a large-ish novel. Wrapped in utterly plain brown paper. Bound with plain brown twine. In fact the only thing remarkable about it was the script on the front.

Arden's Indulgence.

Wow. Just wow. Thirty-six had gone full illuminated style with that too. Looked like it must have taken him hours to get that just right. He could only imagine how many practice runs had been made before that. Ears perked curiously as he nudged the package. Felt solid. A test lift revealed... it was pretty light. Didn't feel like a book.

He put it down before he resorted to shaking it like a kid. It wasn't for him, it was for Arden.

What was it though?

Bryce found himself absorbed into that question. What did he know about Arden? He'd encountered him a couple times before. Older-Bryce mostly tried to keep Younger-Bryce occupied. Setting up games, going to a hotel, something that'd keep himself out of trouble. Shockingly, a lot of his clues came from his first meeting with Arden. Then some research here and there after that.

He knew that Arden was a star, or would be at least. On a couple visits to the future, he'd looked up his lover. Arden was a star of song and stage. Singer, dancer, actor, and even dabbled in songwriting. The harder part was finding out who he was before he was Arden. It'd taken a bit of work, but he did scrounge up a few things. Namely a name. Ethan Weiss.

The real shocker came when he did some research off-time. And by research he meant searching the web. Turns out that his Arden was a child star. One of the ones that could sing and dance, had a few movies under the belt of the most Family Friendly of Mega Corporations. Bryce knew more than a few girls back at school who were hot for the buck. Boy, if only they knew.

After that it was just a bit of creative thinking. At some point Ethan Weiss got out from under the corporate umbrella. He'd re-brand himself as Arden then hit it big. Eventually, he'd return to using his last name, but that might not be until after he'd retired.

Didn't answer the question about what his Indulgence might be. Short of opening the package, Bryce wouldn't know.

Or would he?

"Hey, Ace?" he took a slow bite of breakfast, "Um... oh how do I ask this? Did I happen to buy anything odd recently?"

A moment of silence, "Well, not seeing any purchases that were out of the ordinary. There was that recent transaction where you moved some money to a debit card. However, upon checking I see you do that before your birthday every year." Quiet for a moment more, "There is another cash transaction. Though you had asked to be Incognito for that, so I have no records." Silence, "Why, are you worried someone stole your credit card information?"

Bryce's heart was hammering in his chest as he stared at the box. "N-no, Ace. Just... um, just forget I asked. Was just wondering if I missed a bill or something."

Oh God, was it drugs? Is that why he and Arden were on the outs with each other? Had he caught Arden doing something? Older-him must have, why else would they be split like this? It was already flashing through his mind so vividly. Just like that biopic he'd seen a couple years back. His too-vivid imagination flashed with thoughts of Arden snorting up lines of whatever future drug they had. Getting nosebleeds, suffering heart attacks and all that stuff.

It couldn't be. Why would Thirty-Six want him to deliver drugs to Arden? Just didn't make sense.

What else could it be though?

He had to have left himself a clue. No matter what, Bryce always left himself clues. Some sort of vague hint or direction. Never in the journal though. Wasn't fun if he just told himself what would or wouldn't happen. No, had to figure it out himself. Though there was nothing against leaving hints about his place.

Where though? He didn't see any sticky notes anywhere. Tossing the remains of his breakfast into a trash can, he wandered through the house with his tea. It wasn't huge. Two bedrooms, bathroom, an office.

His computer!

Bryce hurried over and paused. Staring down at the strange, split keyboard with it's straight keys. He gave the mouse a jiggle and sighed with relieve as the large screen came to life.

Then suffered disappointment as it showed a login. Two names; Bryce R and Bryce B. With only Bryce B, Bryce Birthday, showing unlocked. He tried a few passwords on Bryce R that he knew that he liked to use. Nothing was letting him in though. Each one just kicked him back to the main screen. The bull glowered at the screen.

"Don't forget your TFA, Sir."

He blinked towards the speaker, "What?"

A too chipper, "My dongle. Oh it seems you've misplaced it. Would you like me to assist you in locating it, Sir?"

"Yes, please."

His ear twitched as something began to trill. A shrill warble that began to modulate. Bryce followed that sound into his bedroom. The closet. Through some clothes, and into a jacket pocket. There he found his car keys, a second wallet, and a candy bar. The icing being the dongle itself. Something that looked like a large key fob, but with the branding of Ace Assistants across the surface. "Ha, beaten by your own technology, Old man." He flicked the keys around a finger and wandered back to the office. Setting each item neatly by the keyboard, he pulled out a notepad and scribbled something for himself later.

Might wanna hide Christmas Presents better than this.

He grinned and plopped into the chair. Sure enough, when he tried his password again, the little dongle chimed and it opened right up. The desktop was clean and simple. Everything organized into folders and tucked away. The background was some stunning vista overlooking a beach. Arden sat in silhouette against the setting sun, a wistful smile on his face, cupping a mug as he looked into the distance. "Bingo. Now... if I were notes, where would I be?"

Documents. Games. Photos. The folder labeled Porn looked sus. So did the one labeled Not Porn.