For a Good Cause
When Andrew enters a charity raffle, he doesn't expect to seriously win anything, just to give some money to a good cause. But when he wins the star prize, it turns not just into a rather awesome day out... but a day that might just change his life forever.
This vignette was written for Serling as part of my themed Patreon request day for the month of January 2019. This month's theme was "Take a Chance" and the story contains romantic sweetness of an M/M nature. ^^
For a Good Cause
The cause was a good one, so Andrew really didn't have any expectation of winning something as he paid for a ticket. He just wanted to be able to do his part, and since the silent auction was somewhat out of his budget the raffle was the best he could do to throw some extra cash at this fundraising event. After that, for a good hour or two the rat just wandered around between the various friends with whom he had come to the event, chatting, laughing, meeting new people and sipping on beer which while a little expensive in general terms was again contributing to the overall profits of the fundraiser, thus ensuring that almost everyone present was rarely without some sort of drink in hand. It was great evening, and Andrew was only just starting to think about maybe ducking out and heading back home when after midnight a whine of feedback rang through the announcing system set up within the large hall, followed by the voice of one of the organisers ringing out across the room full of attendees and patrons of the charity.
"Good evening folks! We hope you've had a wonderful time, and we're so grateful for all the generous donations you've made to our cause. Many lives are going to be helped by your efforts tonight, so please give yourselves a big round of applause!"
The room clapped and whooped loudly, and as the cheering died down again the voice over the speakers resumed.
"Before we wind things up, we'd like to announce the star prize winner of tonight's raffle, and the winning bidders on the silent auctions. The winner of our star prize, who will receive twenty four hours of time to spend with our super-eligible Bachelor, Doctor Reed Francis..."
A lot of the room cheered again, and many individuals whistled loudly as a picture of the wolf, shirtless with a stethoscope wrapped loosely around his neck, flashed up on two projectors either side of the main stage.
"...is ticket number five hundred and eighty two. That's five, eight, two. If you're the winner, please come to the front desk to... well, to arrange for when you'd like to claim your prize!"
The bottom fell out of Andrew's stomach as that number caused a twinge of recognition in the back of his mind. He reached into the pocket of his suit jacket, and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper which honestly he wouldn't have even thought to check a second time if he hadn't been prompted to do so. Now that he had though, his heart was racing, and his eyes bulged as he looked down at the piece of paper while smoothing it out against his fingers with the pad of his thumb. Over and over again his gaze flicked back and forth across the three numbers emblazoned upon the paper, like the were somehow suddenly transformed into an utterly incomprehensible language. At the same time though, there was no mistaking them. No denying them, or what they meant.
Five. Eight. Two.
He had won.
He, Andrew, had won a... a hunky dude for a day. And even though that was most definitely not something which the rat had ever found himself craving at any point in his life thus far, he couldn't bring himself to even consider going over to someone and telling them to go through the hassle of giving away the prize to someone else. After all, he'd taken part in the raffle fair and square, and it was all for a good cause.
*********
Just under two weeks later, Andrew found himself seated in not just the poshest brunch cafe he'd ever visited, but the only one. He had only been there two minutes, but already he had convinced himself that Reed was going to stand him up. He was already wondering how long was long enough before he could simply get up, make up some excuse to one of the waiters about having received a message saying that his friend couldn't make it there, and leave. But before the rat could bail himself out though, he heard a soft voice clear his throat from close by, and turned to see... his eyes widened, and he squeaked audibly. It wasn't a server. It wasn't any sort of member of staff come to ask him if he'd like to order, and to awkwardly press him on whether his brunch partner would be arriving soon. Instead a smartly dressed wolf stood beside him, one hand warmly outstretched as a fond, eager smile played across his muzzle and eyes alike.
"Hey. Andy, right? I'm Reed, good to finally meet you!"
After that, everything was sort of a blur.
Brunch was... actually kind of amazing. The food was fine. The mimosas were orange juice and champagne, so it was hard for them to be anything other than delicious. But, the conversation, and kinda just being in Reed's presence, that was what really made the occasion what it was. Andrew's instinct had been to be nervous and awkward; to be fearful of the expectations that were surrounding this occasion. The potential for flirtations that might have existed were he a woman, and the uncomfortable obviousness that he most definitely wasn't. From the very first moment though, Reed confronted those expectations and hurriedly cast them aside. Within minutes they were laughing about how much more pressure it would have been for both of them if this had been made to feel more like a date, and how rare an opportunity it was to spend a whole day treating themselves on someone else's dime without ever having to worry about it leading somewhere, or any expectations beyond a fun and friendly time being had by either of them. The two of them couldn't have been more different, Reed a born scientist and Andrew wholly immersed in the arts. Yet each of them found countless things about the other's life and work that they were eager to hear about, so much so that by the time brunch came to an end they were eager to continue their day together just so they could hang out and talk more.
They left the cafe slightly tipsy, three mimosas apiece and a fairly light meal having done little to guard their stomach as it only now crept towards noon. Thus it was perhaps a good call on their part to head straight to a coffee shop. Another two hours were spent there talking on and on about modern 'classical' music, about variable mammalian anatomy, and increasingly just about each other. In reality the coffee did little to counteract the alcohol they'd consumed, just adding a caffeine rush to proceedings alongside it, while the sugary cakes they wolfed down did little to calm things either. Perhaps therefore it was little surprise that Andrew got far too caught up in the moment, and before he could think about how it might have sounded to a less hyper, less uninhibited version of himself, he found himself putting an arm around Reed's shoulder and whispering not romantically, but with a conspiratorial playfulness in the wolf's ear.
"H-hey... I know we don't really have anything planned until dinner, but rather than going on a walk or something, do you just maybe wanna come back to my house, and chill?"
By two thirty, that was exactly what they were doing. Chilled out on Andrew's couch, laughing, joking, watching some Netflix though really not paying any attention to it, far too delighted by one another to focus on anything else. Dinner was scheduled for six, but at five thirty they were still lost deep in conversation, utterly unaware of the time. Only when Reed received a call from someone at the charity around six fifteen, the reservation at the restaurant having been made in the charity's name and thus them getting a call when no-one showed, did the two of them realise just how long they'd been chatting. Faces flushed as Reed apologised and tried to explain that they'd just lost track of time, and when the phone call was done and they found themselves alone together, suddenly aware of just how enraptured by the other man's presence they had been, there was suddenly a whole new dimension of weight and intensity to this previously calm, ever so casual hangout.
"Well... fuck, they gave away our table reservation."
Reed murmured nervously, suddenly unsure of what to say as he found Andrew staring awkwardly down, as though now unwilling to meet the same pair of eyes he'd barely looked away from over the last three and a bit hours.
"Oh. Right."
Andrew replied just as nervously, his voice suddenly rather dry and sober compared to the joyous laughter he had been bursting forth with all day so far.
"We could, uh... order pizza. N-not that you have to stay, I mean. Not that I want you to go, i-it's just... I... w-we... fuck..."
Silence fell over the room.
It lasted ten seconds.
Then thirty.
Then a minute, and another after that.
The wolf took a deep breath, and asked a question that hadn't needed to be asked until now, but suddenly felt like it had to be clarified.
"Hey, um... you're straight, right? I didn't ask because I d-didn't think it mattered, but..."
It wasn't an accusation, but it felt like one. Andrew felt it in his gut, a twisting knife telling him that he couldn't be feeling the way he was because of the answer to that question. Or at least, the answer he would have given any other day of his life but today.
Without answering, the rat looked up at Reed with a question of his own.
"You're not. Right? I didn't think it mattered either. But..."
Their eyes met.
They lingered.
And lingered.
And...
"Goddammit..."
Andrew cursed as he looked away, not because he didn't want to keep looking, but cursing because he felt like he shouldn't. Like it was wrong. Like it was... well, just like the wolf, not straight.
"I... I'm not ashamed. I'm not embarrassed, I just... I don't know how I'm supposed to react. I've never felt... n-not once, not for any guy. I never questioned it. Never had to. But... fuck. F-fuck... Reed, I..."
He looked up again, and his voice trailed off as he found the wolf's muzzle much closer to him now than it had been before. Or, maybe it wasn't. Maybe it just seemed closer. Like there was less of a distance, less of an impassable gap between them.
Either way, it felt so natural as his neck craned forward.
It felt so natural as his lips pursed at the tip of his muzzle.
The rat kissed the wolf ever so softly and briefly upon the lips, and they both let slip audible, shuddering breaths of relief and excitement in the wake of that momentary lip-lock.
"Holy shit..."
Andrew whispered. They both blushed, and Reed smiled, albeit still with a degree of anxiety plastered across his handsome features, ears pinned back and tail twitching just its tip from side to side behind him.
"Good, holy shit? Or... I can't believe I just did that, holy shit?"
The wolf coaxed gently, and the rat giggled, shrugging helplessly.
"I mean, a bit of both? Is... is that okay?"
Reed chuckled.
"I think it depends. Was it 'good, holy shit' enough that if I did the same to you, you'd like it?"
The rat's cheeks flushed deeper still, and he took a deep breath as he felt his head already beginning to bow down in the beginnings of a nod.
"I think so. I... I mean... honestly, I'm not sure. But... if you wanna try?"
Their eyes met yet again, and Andrew trembled as he felt himself reach out and place a hand upon one of Reed's own paws without even really thinking about it.
"I'd r-really, kinda enjoy finding out..."
By Jeeves
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