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Spencer slurped idly at his drink, having to suck extra hard to get the little bits of pounded strawberry through the thin straw. The ice in the cup shifted and clattered around inside, though thankfully none of that came up alongside everything else; there was nothing he hated more than the sudden bite and chill or, God forbid, the crunch of biting through one of the chunks.

The mutt looked out the window beside their booth as he slurped, tail stirring behind and to his side a bit across the empty seat there. It was just the two of them as usual, himself and his partner Bryce across from him. It wasn't unusual for them to go out like this, but usually Bryce chose that nice little diner down the main street, especially for morning things like this.

Early, yet not too early. The streets outside the window bustled with cars as usual, though less than when they had first come out: most folks that had work, were at work right now, and the rest would be everyone on the way or in between, like these two right here. The mutt swallowed again, swirled his tongue around the end of his straw, and looked forward to the dingo across from him, who straightened up a bit, looked around the table, and reached for his own drink.

He had gotten water. That, too, was unusual: Bryce usually went for coffee in the morning, sweet and creamy enough that it was basically indistinguishable from the hot chocolate he liked on winter days. It wasn't quite winter yet, though it certainly felt like it today what with the solid grey sky, the interminable shadows outside, the thick jacket that each dog had tugged tight around their shoulders when they left the apartment to walk over here. And then Bryce had worn gloves, too; that made holding paws difficult. Another thing was that usually Bryce made fun of Spencer for getting a cold drink on a cold day, but - what could he say? He just loved this place's strawberry lemonade too much. He had even prepared a rebuttal in advance, only for the dingo to never give him as much as a raised eyebrow on his order.

So something was up. The mutt leaned in to take another slow, steady slurp, this time more to fill the space than to actually taste it. He turned to look out the window again, watching as a big semi truck chugged on by towards the highway on-ramp. From this distance it was a bit difficult to make out the advertisement on the side, but he thought he could see a bowl overflowing with fruits, and then the company's logo down and to the side, and then-

"Hey Spence."

His ears perked, and in another moment he straightened up and looked across the table again. Bryce sat ramrod-straight yet with his eyes averted, paws draped around the base of his drink. Only one of his gloves had come off, now sitting in a limp pile among itself near the wall; with his now bared paw he picked at the cloth and fabric of the other around his cup, trickles of condensation rolling down the sides and gathering in a ring at the bottom. A cold drink, on a cold day. For both of them.

For a moment both of their eyes met. Spencer felt a chill echo down his back, from the base of his neck. He swallowed and leaned in to take another sip, but missed and instead felt the end of the straw bump against his cheek.

"What's up?" he said, just as he managed to angle himself right this time.

Bryce watched the whole struggle, mouth barely even quirking. "There's, um..." He wrapped his fingers around his own drink, then jumped as though just now realizing he had only taken one glove off. His fingers spread out and he looked down at him. "Something we need to talk about."

Spencer's heart thumped again. He reached forward to pick his drink up and sat up with it, settling back against the tough plastic of the booth seat. This place could have at least used real cushions.

He took another sip. A bit of strawberry got caught at the base of the straw. "Yeah? What's up?"

Truthfully he had felt this brewing for the past few days, though figured that Bryce would bring it up whenever he was ready. That was something they were trying to get better about, in terms of communication - and it was a great step that the dingo had set aside this time to bring it up at all. Just by nature of those words, though, that phrase, Spencer had to take a few moments to deliberately steady his breathing and calm himself down.

The strawberry chunk came free and slid up the straw. He gave it a few half-hearted chews and then swallowed it down alongside the mouthful of now mostly watered-down drink.

"I think..." Bryce paused, thought it over, then sighed and thumped his head back against the seat. "I'm... okay. You know I love you, right?"

Immediately a hundred different scenarios sparked to life in the mutt's head. He chewed on the end of the straw, needing something to do yet not wanting to continue drinking. "Yeah," he managed. "Of course."

"More than anything."

"And I love you too, I-"

"I think we..." Bryce folded his paws together again. Muzzle facing the table, he flicked his eyes up to look at his partner. "Might be... happier... if we were with... women."

That blindsided him. Spencer felt a fang punch through the plastic of the straw. "You-"

"No, no, no. Hear me out." Bryce raised his paws in defense. "It's just, like... I want kids, Spence. I always, always have, and it-"

Spencer frowned, heart already pounding in his throat. "That's not a problem," he said, raising his voice a bit. "It's super easy to adopt, or we could get - what's it called... a surrogate?"

Bryce's shoulders heaved in a slow sigh. He reached up and rubbed at his temple with a thumb. "It's not the same, Spencer," he rumbled, words low. "You know? I want it to be with someone I love. Someone that means something to me, or else it's just - not right. Right? And, like... I want you to be able to do it, too." The dingo wet his lips, tilted his head, and gave a tired smile. "It's not too late for each of us to find a girl."

For a moment the space between them filled with the clinking of glasses and dishes from the other seats in the diner, and the sounds of quiet conversation. They had some Elvis song playing over the speakers, quiet enough that Spencer couldn't quite pick out the words.

Frankly, the mutt didn't think his brow could furrow any further without coming down in front of his eyes. He realized his mouth had fallen open, and yet again he leaned over to his drink to give himself something to do.

"I don't even like women," he said around his straw. He turned his paw over on the table; it clattered against his silverware, still bundled up as the two had never placed a meal order.

"Hey. I don't either. I mean... not sexually, really. But I do think they're attractive." Bryce chuckled softly, though there was no humor in the sound. "I could see myself loving one. It's different, you know, sexual and romantic... ah. Besides - don't give me that, hon. I clearly_remember you saying you've found some gals... what was the word you used?" He tapped his chin. "It wasn't _hot, but it was something like that. Besides - whatever happened to, um..."

Spencer crossed his arms and sat back again, taking a moment longer to steady his breathing. At least Bryce was still trying to make him smile and laugh; that was a good sign. Or, he thought a second later, it means he's trying to soften the blow... he shook his head again in trying to banish that idea.

Across from him Bryce perked up and reached to scratch behind one of his ears. His paw shook as he did so, and even from here Spencer could see the quivering in his lip when he pulled in a breath to speak. "Mara. Was that her name? You two still keep in touch?"

One blindside after another. That certainly wasn't a name that Spencer had expected to hear come out of Bryce's mouth; he had brought her up a few times in the past, a close high school best friend with whom he had spent so much time over the years until his graduation. It actually did make him smile, hear and now, to think back over that dang maned wolfess - throughout their junior year it had been a classic situation of Spencer's parents thinking the two were a thing, with each of them playing it up for their sake.

Mara had been the first person to whom Spencer had officially come out. She took it in stride and, naturally, had seen it coming; the mutt had almost expected her to come out to him as well, though she didn't. The two remained friends, hanging out at lunch during school and then usually one going to the other's house or vice versa on weekends, all the way up until graduations. Then Mara moved out of town to attend a community college some forty minutes away, and Spencer ended up meeting Bryce, and things diverged.

With another sigh he tapped his claws against the side of his cup. "We do, actually," he admitted, ears coming forward again. "Not too often, but like... once or twice a month? Mostly about little life things or, like, if some new music came out, or..." He looked up to Bryce across from him. "Big life events."

The dingo nodded. It was strange watching him here, forcibly trying to keep his ears perked and his face straight. Spencer knew his boyfriend, and knew when he struggled with something - and right now, his internal turmoil showed itself in every movement he made. He reached for his drink, missed, brushed the single glove still sitting there on the table, then frowned and slid his water closer. He did not take a sip, though.

"That's good," he said after a moment, looking out the window as well. Spencer could see his reflection in the glass; yet again their eyes met, for just a quick fraction of a second. "She doing alright?"

"Yeah." Spencer swallowed. None of the lemonade flavor remained, and now each sip on the straw mostly just brought up loose seeds alongside melted ice. "Broke up with her boyfriend a few months back. Funny enough."

Bryce's ears perked at that. "That is funny," he said. "Maybe you could, I don't know..."

"Bryce-"

"Look. I'm just saying. Think about it, okay? Nothing's set in stone so far. I'm not saying, like..."

Spencer reached up to wipe at his eyes. Bryce's words faltered in his throat, and for a moment the two sat there in silence, again split only by the sounds of the diner.

When the dingo continued again, it was after another swallow, sigh, and then shaky inhalation. "Just talk to her some. Okay? For me. See where things go. Maybe try out... you know. And I'll do the same. We can give it - give it the weekend, or some time after, or..." They lived together, now. Bryce tilted his head the other way and wet his lips. "I can sleep out on the couch, to see how... you know. Unless you're gonna be out all weekend. I know how you can be with g- um... with folks you're into. I mean - that... second weekend, I think, when you wanted to show me all the places around your mom's house?"

That was another attempt to make him laugh. Spencer gave a courtesy smile, saw Bryce do the same, and then sighed again. The two sat in silence here for a moment longer, each looking out the window and specifically avoiding the other's gaze.

Then the dingo shifted and scooted towards the edge of the booth. "I'm gonna, um..." He stood up, swallowed, and reached for his water again, then decided to leave it where it sat. "Head back home. I asked you to walk with me today so it wouldn't be awkward after all of this, and then I drive us home, but... I feel bad about making you go back in the cold, so if you need me to drive back over and-"

Spencer waved him away. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Spencer..."

Finally he looked up at him again, standing there alongside the booth. Spencer couldn't quite meet his eyes; instead he looked at his muzzle near his cheek, right at that spot where smooth toffee-tan gave way to milky white. "Is this it for us, then?"

It seemed he had been both expecting and dreading that question. Bryce's throat pulsed, and his ears flicked back and then back up, and he swallowed, sniffed, shifted how he stood. "For... now," he answered. "I just want to see if - you know, if it'll work. We're happy as we are, um... as we_were_, but I just think... we could have more."

Spencer leaned in to take another sip of his drink, though when he got there he just sat with the straw between his teeth. His ears remained angled back towards the dingo, though he did not move.

"I'm... gonna go, now."

"Mhmm."

"Spencer."

A paw on his shoulder; the mutt straightened up and spun around - and then received another along his jaw, gentle yet firm, as the dingo leaned in for one kiss to his mouth, a second to his nose, and then a third to his forehead. Slowly he straightened back up and gave another sad smile.

"Love you," he said. "I'll see you at home, I guess."

And he left the diner. Spencer watched as he went down the aisle, as he tugged open the door, and as he stepped outside. He looked back over his shoulder again at the windows, treated with a film so as to make them hard to see into from outside, and then bunched himself up in his jacket. He had left his other glove here on the table, just a short distance from his untouched drink.

Spencer sank into the booth and looked back and forth between the two of them. When he too left some minutes later he reached for the glove, hesitated, stood up, then went back and swiped it up anyway. The warmth had gone out of it by now, but that was alright: he could replace it with his own.

The bell hanging above the diner door jingled again when he pushed through it, with the sounds of clinking dishware and rumbling conversation quickly overtaken by the rumble and hiss of the nearby highway. He couldn't just go home now; Bryce would be there, and things would be awkward, and - we just broke up, didn't we? That's what that was? God...

Just a whirlwind of emotion, swinging in and catching him off-guard, leaving him with barely an inch of ground on which to stand... and once there had to focus on keeping himself balanced and secure before he could discuss the issue with Bryce himself. And now the dingo was gone, back at home by now probably... Spencer almost couldn't believe it had happened, yet sure enough when he looked side to side there was no Bryce alongside him, to which he had grown accustomed after so many years together. When he slid his phone out of his pocket and tapped at the screen no text messages waited for him, as a few always did whenever the two went their separate ways for work, or groceries, or anything else that split them apart, however temporary.

The mutt heaved a slow sigh, breath just barely misting out in the cold morning air. On the road just beyond the diner's parking lot a car went by and wrapped him within a cold gust of that same air, digging its sharp fingers through his jacket and fur and straight into the skin underneath; he tightened his arms around himself, shuddered, and squeezed his arms against his body. There wasn't really anywhere he could go, though, and especially on foot. His car remained back at the apartment, just a short fifteen minute walk away, but he'd still have to go inside, avoid Bryce there, leave again... and then what? Come right back?

Maybe not for a while. Maybe all Bryce needed was a bit of time, to really think about what he had said and what he was asking. Spencer looked both ways at the curb and then stepped out into the road, phone still clutched lightly in one paw while he played and squeezed at his partner's glove in the other.

My partner. That wasn't right anymore. Not now. He blinked against the wind and then squeezed his eyes shut once he made it to the other side, ears constantly twisting this way and that against the sounds of the city. Another car went by, yet again sending tendrils of that morning air knifing straight through his jacket. He swallowed, gritted his teeth, tilted his head back to the sky... and opened his eyes to see the same uniform greyish-white all around, the sun hidden somewhere behind these thick roiling layers of clouds.

His phone vibrated in his paw, immediately setting his heart to skip a beat. The mutt remained where he was for a moment - I can't look too desperate, right? - then heaved another sigh, looked down, tapped the screen on... and saw that it was just a notification that he had come within range of a wi-fi hotspot, likely from the fast food joint on the other side of the highway here.

He still hadn't had anything for breakfast. Spencer looked again to the diner he had just left, the old sign still standing tall above the building itself, colors faded and plastic cracked. If Bryce went home he was likely cooking breakfast for himself, but whether he expected Spencer to come back as well... that would be anyone's guess.

Try it out. See where things go. On his way through the overpass to the other side Spencer glanced down at his phone again, this time swiping to the side and opening up the chat platform on which he and Mara still kept touch - she was all he used this one for, actually, other than the few times one of his cousins logged in. The last time he had spoken with the wolfess was, it looked like, about half a month ago, and...

She was online now. Not idle or away, but actively online - on mobile, too. Where he had expected a wave of relief to rush through him, instead Spencer felt the anxiousness and reluctance pulse and grow deep in his chest, this strange feeling of something being terribly wrong. Still, though, eyes squinting against the glare across his phone from the hidden sun, he slid his other paw out of his pocket, made sure that Bryce's glove didn't fall out, and started typing.

~ ~ ~

Spencer sipped idly on his lemonade, once more looking out the window alongside the booth. The sun now shone down from further across and deeper in the sky, with the line of the highway overpass crossing over from the other side of the window; he twisted himself and leaned to the side to try to position the tall tree outside between him and the sharp glare, though only partially succeeded.

The same diner and the same booth, separated from this morning by a span of several hours, yet everything else had changed. This time he had ordered raspberry lemonade instead of strawberry; this was a different highway, over a different road, outside a different building, in a different city; and the person sitting across from him...

Mara had changed in the time since they had last seen each other... which, Spencer realized, would have been shortly after their high school graduation. Rich red ochre fur had smoothed out and settled back a bit, giving way to a cooler, drier iron-mud tone, now strung through with flecks and streaks of sweet silver.

Not that she was old, of course. Quite the opposite. So many weekends spent at her house in school had shown Spencer that Mara's mother had gone through the same change in color as she had grown up as well, sharp saturation leeching out to a more reserved tone overall, grey and white coming out to pad the bright red and orange in between. He had always thought it was a lovely combination, warm and scintillating in comparison to his own chocolate-and-cream.

Her eyes had changed color a bit, too. He hadn't yet looked too closely, as that still felt a little bit awkward, but what he remembered as cool, mossy green had now taken on an almost violet hue, darker and deeper. Those eyes looked down at him from across the table over her slender muzzle, chin propped up in a long-fingered paw; painted claws glittered against black fur, as though she wore elbow-length gloves.

The same pattern made their way up her long legs as well. As soon as Spencer had come out to her back in high school she had thrown all embarrassment and modesty to the wind around him, and frequently changed clothing in his presence. Thinking about that put a wisp of a smile on his face, at least, especially since his mom walking in on Mara halfway through changing shirts was what spurred Spencer to finally come out to her...

"Whoa there, pal. Remember to come up for breath every now and then."

His ears perked. The mutt raised his eyebrows and turned away from the window again, this time looking immediately into those cool eyes. Mara held his gaze a moment, then quirked her mouth in half a smile, winked, and nodded down to his drink.

"That stuff really that good? For some reason I remember you being more of a strawberry kind of guy." She swung to the side, folded one long leg over the other, and swiped up her own drink, some kind of coffee so modified and mixed that it had become an opaque white. "But I guess you were always a bit fruity in general."

"Ha-ha. It's-" Spencer grimaced. A little seed slid and crunched uncomfortably between his teeth. "-alright. Not my favorite."

"Mhmm." Mara nodded around the lip of her cup, flicked her tongue out over her lips, swallowed, sighed. "So, again - tell me what the fuck is goin' on here? You and Bryce...?"

He had gone over it with her through text earlier in the day, starting at that fast food joint and then on the walk back to the apartment. Bryce was gone when he got there - so that was why he had egged Spencer to take his key with him - and whether he had come back since then, the mutt simply didn't know. Twenty minutes spent there on the couch telling her everything that had happened, then another ten discussing details over an abrupt call, and then forty more on the road coming out here... then multiple hours spent just enjoying each other's company, pretending and feeling like they were in high school all over again.

They visited the mall out here; got ice cream, wanted to go on a walk to eat it, felt how it was still cold outside, and stayed in; thought about seeing a movie and decided against it; stopped by a park near a river, the flow so diminished that it showed the artificial concrete bed normally hidden beneath murky current; and then ended up here, Mara being the one to suggest it. Her car smelled of pumpkin from the air freshener hanging down from the mirror, and then of sweet, spicy pepper, from the maned wolfess's natural scent.

So long as Spencer ignored the implications and actual reason for them getting together, it felt... alright. Still, though, that weight hung between them, that knowledge of what had happened and what, likely, was going to happen. He had mentioned that Bryce thought he should find a girl to "try out". He had not mentioned that Mara's name specifically had come up.

She was smart, though. She always had been. Violet-green eyes glittered from beneath half-lowered lids as Spencer started over, this time beginning with where he thought this might have all begun. Now that several hours had passed and this morning felt like a dream, like some distant event that hadn't really happened, he could at least think about it without his heart kicking into overdrive and the world spinning around him.

"Wait, wait, wait. Stop there."

Mara half-raised a paw, fingers spread. Looked like she had taken care of her pawpads since graduation, which surprised Spencer a bit; they had shared an intro to engineering class their senior year, and one of her hobbies was working on an old car her grandfather had left her. A glimmer of a faint scar creased the black flesh right there across the center of her left paw, though.

The wolfess plopped her chin into her palm again and looked out the window, brow furrowed down. "So let me get this straight. You're telling me - this fucker's always wanted kids?"

"That's what he said. Which, don't get me wrong - I get it. I do. I was thinking about it too, but like..."

"That's not the problem. My sister doesn't. Whatever. He's always wanted kids, but at the same time, he has no interest whatsoever in adopting, or doing any of that?"

Spencer clenched his jaw. "That's also what he said."

"So then why the fuck is he getting into serious relationships with guys in the first place, if that's his endgame family goal?"

There it was again. The mutt slid his lemonade to the side and slumped forward, once more dropping his forehead into his paw. "I don't know. I don't - really care about it, you know? I understand where he's coming from."

"Feel sorry for whatever poor bitch he gets to carry his kid, though." Mara sat back and crossed her arms over her slim chest. "Bryce is_exclusively_ gay?"

"Yeah."

"No interest in gals whatsoever?"

"I mean - he did say he could see himself loving one, but as far as sex goes?..."

Silence hung between the two for a moment, Mara looking down at him from over her charcoal muzzle. Violet-green eyes blinked once, and then again.

"So he's more interested in the kids than the relationship."

"I don't know." Spencer slid down until his chin bumped against the table. Unlike the diner Bryce had brought him to early this morning, this one's tables were of lacquered wood that caught and gathered the condensation dripping from his cup. It seeped and soaked into his fur, a sharp little shock of cold that zapped through his jaw. "I don't really care about that. I just want him to be happy. We were... talking about it, and..."

Mara slid in close to the table too, though she had to lean far to the side to make room for herself. She rested her muzzle in her paw near the window, angled towards where Spencer lay atop the table; their eyes met again, and she wet her lips. "And?"

"And he thinks I should... try it out, too. Being with a girl. So we... he thought that maybe... well, like, you and-"

"Okay." She raised a finger. "Stop. I know what you're gonna say."

At once, relief and disappointment both flooded through him. The smooth surface actually fogged up with the sigh that heaved out from Spencer's parted lips; his tail stirred behind him, and his ears perked up, and he-

"And if you actually say it," Mara went on, "that'll do nothing but make it super fuckin' awkward. But I know where you're going with that. And I just wanna say two things." Here she straightened up a bit, then likely deliberately tugged at the front of her shirt to scoot it back into place along her chest. "First? Your mom better not hear about this, or we'll never hear the end of her 'I told you so's. And second? I'll be flattered to be your first girl." She paused. "I will be your first, right?"

Then again, relief and disappointment. It was hard to tell which came stronger. Spencer straightened up and rolled his head on his shoulders;will. That put finality to it, made it concrete and... guaranteed. Not would, not might be - but will.

He couldn't figure out how he felt about that.

"Yeah," he answered, with another soft sigh. "I mean - I've kissed a girl before, but..."

"Stop. Stop, stop, stop. Dude." Mara grinned and shook her head. "You were my best friend in high school. The thought of kissing you was _always_weird."

"I mean, if you don't want to, we don't have t-"

"Hey." This time her paw came down on his, surprisingly firm, pleasantly warm. She waited for him to look up at her. "It'll be for your relationship. Right? Besides, I gotta say - I can't help but be curious. Y'know?"

She was right, though; it was starting to get weird. Spencer slid his paw away to take another sip of his lemonade. "Curious?"

"Yeah. After all, you're gay. I'll be the first," said with a sharp grin as she hooked her arm around the back of her seat, "and likely the last, and only, gal to take you for a ride. If it sucks, it sucks, and then you'll know."

"Mara, I think you're missing the point a little bit-"

"Yeah?" She sat back and crossed a leg over the other. "We went out shopping today. You bought me ice cream. I bought you lunch. We _almost_saw a movie. That's like three dates in one, baby." She spread her paws. "Not counting how, I dunno, we spent our entire high school career together. You've still seen more of me than a few of my actual boyfriends. Do you want me to invite some friends over so we can play truth or dare, and make it even _more_cliché? Besides - it's not like it'll be a one-night stand thing. I'm not gonna delete you from my friends list if you don't get me off."

This was a lot at once. Spencer couldn't help but wonder whether Bryce had any idea she would have been this receptive to the thought.

"Okay. Okay." This time he was the one to raise his paws. "I get it. What was that you said about not making it weird?"

"Hey. Just keeping things real. Have you - looked at the menu at all? We came here to eat, dude... shut up. I'm paying this time."

~ ~ ~

Spencer just had no real idea what to expect. Later in the evening on the way back to Mara's place, a nice little apartment close to the campus yet still far enough away so as to avoid the traffic, he sat in the passenger seat with his chin in his paw staring blindly out the window at all the passing buildings and scenery. Wasn't there this whole thing with - how the man has to buy things for the woman, and the man is the one doing the cuddling, and the man takes control and guides everything? Isn't that how it was supposed to go?

Mara seemed to have things mostly under control. At one point the mutt straightened up, shifted in his seat, and looked over to her, one black-gloved paw resting easily along the armrest of her seat. Was he supposed to reach over and entwine his paw with her, to slip his fingers in between hers and squeeze softly, or was that too much? What exactly were_they doing? Things felt weird if he tried to put himself back in the mindset of when they were friends in high school, and then even weirder if he shifted gears and thought about them as they were _now.

Best friends to "we used to be really close but kind of grew apart", someone always on his radar even though they didn't speak every day, or every week, or sometimes even every month. She smelled mostly the same, but slightly different; she looked mostly the same, but had changed her style as she grew up, and had hardened a bit; the way she spoke, her voice, were all the same, though she had picked up a couple of new habits and tendencies, and...

The way she looked at him when they stepped out of the car, when she checked to make sure he was following, when she guided him up the stairs and into the apartment. That was the same, too. The same look as when he had gone the three and a half miles on foot from his house to hers in their junior year, when his boyfriend at the time had just broken up with him. She pitied him, and felt sorry for him, and she really, truly wanted to help.

So Spencer decided he might as well let her try. The maned wolfess kept dim lights on throughout her apartment, little patterned night-lights that glowed and shifted in colored, providing enough to see and make their way around - and Spencer certainly noticed she made no move to make things brighter. In through the entryway, down the slender hallway with one wall covered in framed pictures and artwork and the other bearing a display shelf of books and knick-knacks and other things.

There in the darkness, Mara reached back, found his paw, took it without looking. Spencer felt as though his was sweaty and sticky, nervousness and reluctance mixing together into an odd, uncomfortable mix, while she was all confidence and strength. Down the hall and then to the left, passing by the living room on one side with the kitchen just beside it; a soft rug in the hallway, another framed picture, the bathroom on the left out of which wafted the same cool scent that he had picked up in her fur earlier... and then the bedroom at the end of the hall, door hanging partially open, a gentle light filtering out from the crack in the threshold.

For a moment her eyes flashed back at him over her shoulder, catching nothing but the presence of the light itself. Spencer looked at her, huffed softly, and gave his best attempt at a nervous smile. He thought she returned the smile - it was hard to tell here in the darkness - and then, finally, she drew him into the room and closed the door behind them.

"Go ahead and get comfortable," Mara rumbled. "I know that even though I said all those things, it's probably still gonna be a bit weird. For both of us, but - for you especially. You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm..." Spencer looked around in the dimly lit room. So similar to his setup with Bryce back at home, so different: still the same size of bed yet pushed up against the opposite wall, with the window in the wrong place. The wrong style of furniture, only one nightstand, the wrong lampshade... the wrong fragrance hovering around in the air, the wrong temperature of the thermostat. "Nervous."

"Of course. Remember, Spencer, we don't have to do this." Mara turned to face him as she tugged her shirt off, up over her head. The mutt blinked and looked away, then realized what he was doing and forced himself to turn back again. "You're going to be uncomfortable. It'll be weird. I don't wanna push any boundaries or fuck things up between us."

He plopped himself down on the bed. Memory foam, nice and dense. A little firmer than he'd prefer, but naturally he couldn't imagine himself spending too many nights here. "You're not doing a great job of selling this, y'know."

Mara tugged her shirt off and tossed it to the side, then reached around her back for her bra as well - but stopped there, sleek muzzle angled towards the mutt sitting atop her bed. "I did say," she went on, "that this is for you and him. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind one bit - I've always been curious, and I gotta say, I was a little disappointed when you came out to me-"

"Ha. I knew it."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. But mostly this is just so your fucking idiot of a boyfriend can see how wrong he is. Help me out with this?"

"Yeah, sure, I-"

Spencer started to stand up so he could come over and help her out of her bra, but the wolfess obviously had other plans. She smirked, settled her paws on his shoulders, and pushed him right back down, then promptly took her place atop his legs. Despite himself, he blushed: her scent wafted over him, warm and spiced, floral with the distinct edge of her species underneath. So much closer than he had ever expected, tingling at the back of his nose, filling his lungs... pleasant.

But nothing more. Mara tilted her head, legs squeezing around his, and reached down to guide his paws behind her back.

"Like this," she said, sliding his fingers into place. "No, not - like... God. I guess I shouldn't be surprised you're not one of the kinds of gay who's into crossdressing."

Spencer frowned, fingers fumbling with the clasp in back. He could feel the lines of her shoulder blades and then ribs underneath, strung with sleek, taut muscle, soft fur, softer skin. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't worry about it. Look, you just - have to - ah." There was a soft pop, followed by the wolfess letting a soft sigh out across his muzzle... and then as he brought his paws forward again, the straps of her bra slid down her shoulders and then arms, cups remaining held in place in front. "There we go," she murmured, and reached up to tug her bra the rest of the way off with Spencer deliberately watching. That soft fur and flesh came forward and down, smooth and plump, but just like her scent - just _pleasant._Nothing more, even when she straightened up, rolled her head on her shoulders, and tossed that bra to the side. "See?" she went on, sliding one of her paws up her bare belly and chest towards a breast. Fingers spread and squeezed into soft flesh, pouching and pressing, then slid over to the other... she had gotten one of her nipples pierced, the mutt noticed.

Only one. That was a little bit odd. Mara leaned back in his lap, resting a paw over his shoulder while the other came in towards his wrist. He looked up at her and let her guide him again, this time coming in and down over that soft bulge of flesh, warm and squishy with a slight firmness deep beneath.

"There you go," she rumbled, and tilted her head. Spencer gave a courtesy squeeze; a shudder rippled through the wolfess's body, and she pressed herself forward. What did he do? "Oh - here, why don't... you..."

It was a slow, gentle back-and-forth between the two of them, Mara guiding the clueless mutt's paw around, leading him to squeeze, pinch, tug, grope. It seemed that most of what he did ignited those same little sparks in her, until he thought he could feel the heat of her arousal washing down across his body from where she sat in his lap. Her scent had changed as well, picking up a sharper, spikier note to it, one that made his nose curl and pressed at his throat - but at least Mara seemed to be enjoying herself: she tilted her head back, bit her lip, and pulled a breath in through her nose, then let it out between clenched teeth.

"Why don't you - take a taste? Watch the... metal..."

What was he supposed to do? Spencer looked up at her and then down again, then licked his lips, leaned in... and started with a slow circle of his tongue around her nipple, over the spot where smooth skin started to rise up and forward. Immediately this touch ignited a response in the wolfess in his lap, the nipple itself tightening and firming up, with the barbell pierced through it tapping lightly against his teeth. Again and again he went, tilting his head to one direction to get a better angle, just before he closed his lips on her, squeezed like she had shown him to do with his finger and thumb, and tugged... then sucked softly.

The noise that dribbled out from her parted lips almost made him draw back and ask if she was alright. Mara arched against him and shivered again, one of her paws settling between his ears to tug him in; his nose pressed into soft flesh and fur, scent familiar yet still unknown to him, the whole situation seeming... distant, somehow. He sucked and licked and tugged, teasing that barbell over and around his tongue, squeezing his lips down around her nipple, and was constantly baffled that she responded in the way she did.

Was it supposed to taste special, or feel different for him? He nipped, and tugged, and even risked a gentle little bite, teeth clacking along the end of her piercing. Really, if he just investigated the way it hung in place there, poked through skin and flesh, he could probably make her think he was getting into it... tongue in and out, folding behind, drawing it forward, followed by another nip, a gentle suck to feel at the back side of it, then coming around again...

Mara shuddered yet again, forcing Spencer's mouth to come free with a soft, wet pop. "God," she murmured, "here, I'm... gonna..."

Her paws pressed in on his shoulders again and in another moment he felt himself pushed down to the mattress, the memory foam easily caressing his shoulders and back. Then deft paws at the fly of his pants, button popping free, zipper soon to follow; he averted his eyes and lifted his hips, already a little embarrassed that he had nothing to show so far for all of his efforts.

As soon as Mara's breath wafted out across his bared lap, though, he looked down again - and the two made eye contact for a split second, before the maned wolfess smirked, licked her lips, and tilted his still-soft shaft up towards her muzzle. She seemed to consider it for a moment, then swallowed, parted her lips, and gave him a tentative lick. Slow and steady, base to hooded tip, playing over the overhang of his foreskin... he had honestly expected her to comment on that, "oh that's unusual," or maybe the classic "why didn't you get this taken care of?" or maybe even "oh, I always thought you would have been..."

But - nothing. Spencer closed his eyes and sighed again, trying to will himself into showing, trying to get into the mindset and mood, but before long he discovered that Mara was indeed making it difficult. If she didn't comment on it at first, it was still quite clear she was at a loss as to what to do: a forefinger and thumb gripped and tugged the slick, supple skin back and then kept it there, so that she could assault him with her tongue. Not_bad_, but - certainly not good: Spencer squirmed and twitched with the sensation, too much contact on too sensitive a part of him, and Mara seemed to take that as a good sign, as she just continued in harder. Before long, though, she moved away from his revealed head and down, running her nose and lips along his shaft, his sack...

That felt better. The mutt relaxed and lay back on the bed, letting his eyes flutter shut and allowing his mind to wander a bit. He wanted to perform well for her, wanted to give this a good try, but everything about it pushed him in the other direction. Her scent, her presence, the awareness_that this was _her... part of it was her being Mara, his best friend from high school. Part of it was how he had never even considered something like this with her, and then of course, part of it was - well, this was a her.

Her nose dug in between his balls, and he felt her pull in a slow, steady taste of his scent. It was nice when Bryce did that, nuzzling deep, tongue flicking out and up to caress one and then the other, sucking softly... Spencer swallowed and let his fingers relax atop the blankets. Bryce's nose coming up between his balls and along the base of his shaft, lips parting to suck right at the spot between the two... tongue coming around, dragging up towards his head, then coursing down and along the rim of his foreskin, gentle yet deliberate. The thought of it put a little shiver at the base of his tail, and he spread his legs, lifted up into the nuzzling, sighed softly... and then twitched when the muzzle between his legs came back up again, tongue sliding up, dragging his foreskin up over his head again, then diving down, lips wrapped in place.

That part wasn't so bad, either. Mara still had no idea what do with him to make it feel great, but this part was good enough: lips smooth, tongue cupped, she bobbed back and forth, though he did have to grit his teeth and tense up each time she came up, as again she held his foreskin back for her lips to brush along the rim of his head, back and forth. The tongue along his underside felt nice, and when she came up again and flicked it along that spot, he couldn't help but gasp, and twitch - and throb in her paw.

Another low breath trickled out across him. He opened his eyes again, saw sleek maned wolfess there instead of familiar dingo, and felt a kick down in his chest. Mara didn't notice, though, and gave another appreciative lick, tongue swirling down along the rim of his head, which - was the best thing he had felt so far. Again he twitched and lifted up, fingers once more tightening along the bed.

From there Mara shifted to a slow, steady rhythm along him, paw focused solely along the base of his shaft. That didn't feel great, but it also wasn't the worst; the mutt had to squeeze his eyes closed and force himself back through a handful of different fantasies to keep himself in the game here, since on its own it didn't do much for him. He wished and longed for the times when Bryce would lean over him, paw running his length with the rim of his foreskin squeezed lightly between his forefinger and thumb, slipping it up and over his head, rolling it together, then sliding down again, using just that simple touch to coax him forward and bring him so, so close to his peak.

Some more shifting on the bed near his legs, Mara lifting up and pulling away... when her paw slid away from his shaft Spencer reached down and took over for a bit, giving himself a much easier time at getting where he wanted to be for this performance. The wolfess seemed to deliberately position herself so that he could watch as she slid her pants and underwear down her legs, pert rump and brushy tail lifting up and giving him a show... which, of course, he attended, but did not necessarily enjoy. It was just like everything else: it was there, and it was pleasant, but little more.

Finally done, Mara came forward again, brushed his paw away, and positioned herself over him, the warmth of her legs squeezing in around his waist. One long-fingered paw came down against his chest, pressing into the soft fur there, and the other reached down between his legs again.

"Here we go," she purred, her own excitement and interest evident on her muzzle. The wolfess lowered herself down a bit, angled her hips, rubbed up against him... and he gasped and shivered again, the natural sensation sending another sweet shock up through his body. That was a surprise. "You know how many other guys would kill to be in your position right now, dude?"

"I can - imagine..."

"Oh, what was that?" Mara tilted her head again, still rubbing and grinding. Slick, warm wetness, squeezing and sliding along his sensitive shaft, tickling at the rim of his head. "Someone starting to enjoy himself?"

The jury was still out on that. It helped if he kept his eyes averted, and if he still imagined this to be Bryce's weight pressing down onto him. Just... a lot softer, a lot wetter, like warm, slick silk rubbing up against him, pulling him in. It certainly felt good, and pushed another throb through his body, but the more he thought about it the less _he_enjoyed it.

"Wait-" Spencer reached up and pressed his paws against her thighs. Soft and strong; in high school she had been on the cross-country team. "Shouldn't we - I mean, like... a condom, or...?"

Mara lifted herself and, ever so gently, teased him up between her lips. That wet warmth caressed down across him, soft and inviting, sweet tension rolling his foreskin halfway back yet no further... another shiver racked his body, and he gripped at her thighs

"I wouldn't worry about that," she said with a toss of her head. "I get tested regularly, and - you and him were closed, right?"

Were. That sounded... strange. Spencer tried to speak, found he couldn't, and nodded instead.

"Yeah. So we're good on that end. As for what I'm sure is your main worry, though..."

The mutt's back arched, then, as she started to press herself down onto him, that intoxicating wet heat wrapping around and pulling him deep. He sank in, slowly and deliberately, sweet sensation echoing and rocketing out through his abdomen and making him squirm in place on the bed, body wanting so deeply to press up into her, to feel her body tight against his own... he splayed his paws over her legs and pulled her down, fingers pressing into soft fur and flesh, and throughout it hated that he enjoyed it so much.

"I'm - not actually a wolf." Mara let out a tense huff of breath at the end of her words, leaning back as she pressed herself slowly down onto him. She worked her hips as she went, gently forward and back, making the mutt underneath her squirm and wriggle even more. "Maned wolves - we're basically like hyenas. Kind of related, but not that much."

"Are you..." Spencer had to take a moment to gather his thoughts and let his body relax. He could feel every pulse of Mara's body against and around him, now hilted tight along the base of his shaft; still she churned her hips gently forward and back, riding him in place, squeezing and mashing against him in a way that made his hips tingle. "-_sure_that-"

Her paw came up to his muzzle and clamped it shut, thumb hooking around his chin. "Yes. I'm sure. My - ex was a dog, too, and... if it wasn't,_then - I'd have a lot more on my hands to deal with." She lifted her other paw to her mouth, swallowed, and gently nipped at the side of her finger, then started to slowly pull herself back up. "Such a shame, too. You and I'd have - such _cute pups, y'know."

Despite himself, that still made Spencer blush. He turned his head to the side again and slowly worked himself back up against her, lifting up every time the maned wolfess pressed back down into his lap, fully aware of the warm wetness that had started to soak through his fur. Everything felt so similar to when Bryce rode him, yet still in its own right so much different. Smoother and slicker, an easier fit, velvet-softness; still he felt her clenching around him, interior muscles pulsing and working and drawing along his shaft and head, teasing at his foreskin, a much more pleasant, much more _inviting_sensation than with her paw or mouth. Still he loved it, and he wanted more.

Mara herself was in a similar position, it seemed: she remained where she was for a moment, biting at the side of her paw to keep her voice down, but before long she leaned forward again, braced that paw on his shoulder, and used that leverage to more rhythmically work herself along his shaft, coming up towards his head before sinking back down again, hips grinding forward and back as well as she did so. She reached her other paw down to keep him angled up towards her as well, fingerpads brushing along supple skin slickened by arousal. She closed her eyes again and worked, the mattress of the bed shifting and lurching with her rhythm, Spencer's hips reflexively, instinctively driving up and against her, again and again.

It felt... good. It felt fantastic. He bit at his lip, wrenched his eyes shut, shivered and shuddered, gritted his teeth, moaned out into the hot air between them... and tried his best to quell the stirring discomfort and guilt roiling in his chest and the back of his mind. First came the knowledge that, simply, this wasn't Bryce grinding and shifting and panting atop him, clenching and squeezing and shivering, paws running up and down his chest to feel at his body and keep him pinned down to the bed; this wasn't his scent wafting down over him, wasn't his voice bouncing between the walls and echoing through the room, wasn't anything that he had come to recognize from the dingo and all of their time spent together.

But then along with this, beneath everything, something entirely different still dug away at the mutt's awareness. It was like... like when he was a pup at his mom's house, still in elementary school, stealing little pawfuls of the cake specially prepared for some funeral occasion. I shouldn't be doing this, he knew, I shouldn't want this, but I do. My body does, but I know it's wrong, and it disgusts me. I should stop myself, I could, but I - I don't-

Once more he gritted his teeth, back arching along the mattress. The mutt lifted himself partially up, briefly met Mara's startled gaze, and then gave in to his bodily wants, wrapped an arm around her back, and squeezed the maned wolfess against himself. One paw between her shoulders there and the other hooked around the base of her tail, he grinded and thrust and jerked, and tilted her back until she was the one lying on her back - but here the two remained for only a short time more, as Spencer felt that so-familiar heat and pressure lance through his abdomen.

Her scent in his nose, natural spice of maned wolf strung through with perfume and shampoo, strange and disorienting; her chest against his own, warm and heavy, thick; her different build, the angles of her body, the sensation... Spencer shuddered against her, clamped his chin down on her shoulder, dug his fingers into her back - and then jerked once, a second time, a third time, as all of this forced him past his peak, sweet intense pleasure spurting out of him, each one leaving a deeper pit in his chest and stomach, yawning open and drawing him deep. It felt like as soon as the pleasure peaked and emptied out, guilt and... something else flooded in to take its place, turning the grip of his fingers on her body from strain to tension, exertion to exhaustion. Beneath him Mara twisted and squirmed, one arm up above her head and the other lightly clasped along his waist, her own body shaking in the shared energy and convulsing against him, the maned wolfess grinding up into him, keeping him buried deep, clenching so tight, so warm around him.

Normally this kind of thing tired him out, and put him right at the edge of sweet sleepiness - but this time, Spencer found, he just became restless. Still panting, shoulders tight, arms and legs shaking, he rested Mara back down against the bed and tugged himself gently out, slick sucking wetness pulling along his still-sensitive length and making him shudder all over again. Brief disgust washed over him at the sensation, and then when he reached down to wipe himself off, and then when the scent came up to hit him as well: deep intrinsic pleasure laid over that sickening weight, something his body seemed to want but he didn't.

That restless energy bounced back and forth through him, again and again. Spencer sat up and pulled himself to the edge of the bed, looking down over himself and trying not to think about what had just happened. A moment later, though, Mara shifted and came up from behind him, one arm resting on one shoulder with her muzzle on the other.

"So," she purred, "how was it? You certainly seemed like you enjoyed yourself..."

The mutt chuckled softly. "Yeah, I..." He paused and licked his lips. "Are you sure that this - won't-"

"Yes, I'm sure. I was gonna go take a shower, though, so I'll be extra certain to clean up. You wanna join?"

Another kick to his heart. He knew what he was _supposed_to say, and yet... "No," Spencer answered, "I'll go after you."

"That's fair. I take it you'll be spending the night tonight?"

Another pause. Mara tilted her head on his shoulder.

"You don't have to sleep with me, dude. I have a guest room."

"That would be good." He gave an embarrassed smile. "Sorry."

"Not at all. I understand." She patted his side before pulling herself up. "And I know it's important to you boys, so don't you worry - you performed fantastically."

Performed. Like he had put on a show. Spencer looked at her.

Mara grinned and shrugged. "Don't let it go to your head - not my best. Not my worst, of course. But not my best. I'm gonna guess this won't be a repeat venture?"

At least it seemed she knew what to expect. The mutt smiled again. "I... don't think so. But - Bryce would probably want me to sleep on it, and..."

"Fuck what he thinks. What's important is what you_think, and what _you want. I had fun, and it seemed to me like you did too - but, hey, maybe it's still not your thing. The body likes what the body does." Here the wolfess slid away from him, turned around, and lay back down on the bed, this time with her head hanging off the edge near his legs. He looked down at her; her tall ears hung down towards the floor. "God knows there's plenty of things I'm into that I don't like."

"Thanks. I was just, like..."

"Hey." Mara bumped his side. "Don't worry about it. Watch - I bet what's gonna happen is, in another day or two, your fucking idiot ex is gonna have the same experience, realize how wrong he was, and come right on back to you. And you two can talk about it then. Right? Hopefully this time," said as she pulled herself up and slid off the bed, "with actual communication_and _understanding so some stupid bullshit like this doesn't happen again in the future."

"Yeah... yeah. Okay, I-"

"And," this time leaning forward over him so that her breasts hung in his face, "you could also-"

"Okay!" Spencer pushed at her shoulder, a quick laugh on his breath. "Go shower, dumbass."

Mara smirked, turned, and headed towards the bathroom - though when she got there she leaned against the threshold, swayed her tail, and stuck her rump out. Even from here Spencer could see the trickle of his own mess dribbling down the painted fur of her inner thighs. "Are you _sure_you don't want to join me, stud?"

"Stick that ass out any further and I'm gonna kick it, Mara."

So she did so. Spencer moved to get up off the bed but, laughing, the maned wolf bustled forward and closed the door behind her, leaving him there in the master bedroom wrapped tightly in both of their scents, musk so closely entwined it seemed to be one and the same. The mutt slouched down on the side of the bed, sighed, rested his muzzle in his paws... and then flumped back, once more letting the mattress envelop him.

Not for long, though, since a noticeable wet spot started to soak into the fur of his hip. He grimaced and straightened up, rubbed at the spot, sniffed at his paw, grimaced again. At least it had indeed been Mara instead of some random hookup; even thinking about her, he couldn't help but smile at how she had treated the situation before and after, and how she had already tried to lift his spirits. That was why they had been such close friends in school: she knew him.

In another moment the mutt pushed himself up and off of the bed, then took the time to do his pants back up before he made his way out of the room to start getting the guest bed set up. The wolfess strolled in a little while later, he assumed still naked but this time wrapped in a towel, fur damp and smelling fresh of the same shampoo. The two looked at each other for a moment, shared a tired, tentative smile, and then Spencer was off to get cleaned up as well.

He spent a few extra minutes in the shower there, leaning back against the cold tile wall as the water poured down over him, cutting rivers in his fur, wiping off the smear and slime of their sex beneath soap a little too floral for his tastes, fur shampoo a little too gentle. Now he would_really_ smell like her, but... this scent, he didn't mind too much.

Again and again Spencer went over what had just happened, imagining the events in his head, what all had occurred between the two of them. Paws and fingers and mouths, tongues and lips and teeth... different tastes, different scents, different sensations. Memory of those sensations had their effect on his body, sure enough, but when he closed his eyes and tried to focus on those, tried to bring them out in himself with one paw wrapped around his base, he found that nothing more came to him.

So he sighed, looked down across himself again, let his shaft bounce half-hard from his paw, and then got back to cleaning up. Then, that done, he stepped out of the shower, toweled off, and went right over into the guest room. Surely Mara would understand if he turned in early tonight. But, once there, sleep naturally evaded him: this lingering, vibrating distaste inside of him continued on, the odd guilt remaining as though he had done something he shouldn't. It was like the cake situation all over again, or like that time in middle school when he and a friend had broken into the school building...

He sighed and rolled over yet again, the mattress too soft for his liking, the pillow too firm. The blanket was a little too thick as well: have it on and he was too hot, yet kick it off and he started shivering. He knew that Mara slept in just the other room right across the hall, in that nice huge bed with all the blankets, but... all Spencer wanted was for Bryce to be here alongside him. That would make this strange, unfamiliar room feel so much more comfortable, so much better. It would feel so... right.

Spencer rolled onto his back again, heaved another sigh, and rested his arm over his muzzle - but then shifted it away again, as the scent he wore was another he didn't recognize. An odd pressure lurked at the back of his eyes and in his throat; he pushed them away, gritted his teeth, and pressed his lips together, and tried to go to sleep.

Morning took its time in coming, and when it did Spencer was unsurprisingly the first between them to get up. He spent some time rummaging around in Mara's cupboards for a snack, gave up and returned to bed, then gave up there as well and got up again, idly scrolling through his phone for any new updates or messages. Mara joined him some time later once the sun had risen a little further, the wolfess clad in nothing save her own fur and simple green underwear; she slumped over the couch, yawned, and flicked through her phone as well.

"So," she said after a while, "wanna go out to eat?"

Spencer passed up on the offer. The wolfess nodded, stood up again, and went to get more fully dressed, and then in another half hour he was on his way back across the space between their two cities, once more leaving her life to reenter his own. He had never really been out this early on a weekend before, and as such the roads and surroundings all felt different, with this unfamiliarity growing the closer he came to their apartment. Heart thumping in his chest, anxiety and apprehension stirring together, Spencer turned the corner onto the street, slid into the parking lot, looked around to see if he could find Bryce's car and, failing that, sighed again.

On his way to the door he couldn't figure out whether he wanted him to be here or not. Both thoughts made him nervous in equal parts, and once he made it up, key in his paw, he paused there, rolled his head back, dug back through his thoughts... and realized he had no idea what he would say to him if he even was here.

No reason to put it off, though. The key went into the lock, the handle turned... the door opened. And once more Spencer breathed in the so familiar, so comforting scent of them, himself and his partner - his ex - wrapped up together in a sweet embrace, warm and reassuring. Everything in its proper place, everything where he remembered and expected it, from the jackets hung up by the door, to the key rack with the spare, to the framed pictures and everything else.

Carefully he closed the door behind himself, then flicked the lock. Ears perked, the mutt took a few steps in, swallowed, regulated his breathing so as not to make too much noise... and listened for anything else in the apartment. There was the hum of the air conditioning going, the usual creak of the floor underneath his footpaws, the soft rumble of traffic outside...

Gentle footsteps down the hall, coming closer. Spencer froze in place, suddenly caught between staying here and making it right back over towards the door. His ears flattened back against his head, he glanced around, his breath caught in his throat-

"Spence?"

Bryce's muzzle poked around the corner of the hallway. For a moment the two started at each other in disbelief, each waiting for the other to make a move, neither sure what would come next. Then, somehow, both of them came forward, and wrapped each other in their arms just like always, tails swaying behind them, nuzzling forward, drawing deep of the other's scent. Bryce's paws clutched him tight, fingers pressing into his back and his waist - and Spencer drew his up and down his partner's back, holding him close, feeling his familiar figure against his own.

"Hey," the mutt managed, pressing his muzzle into Bryce's neck. He had a strange scent on him, too, but beneath that was still him."Hey. I'm here. Are you-"

"I'm sorry," the dingo rumbled, once more tugging him close. "I'm so sorry. I tried, and - all I could think about was you, and it just... didn't feel right, and I was..."

Spencer pulled back, swallowed, and licked his lips. He blinked, then did so again, then did so again, trying to get rid of the burgeoning tears without letting on that they were there - but quickly saw that Bryce was going through the same problem. "I know. I think I know what you're talking about."

"Are you okay?"

He dropped his paws to the dingo's waist and tugged him in from there, familiar warmth pressing forward against him - and, despite the situation, already he felt a stir in response. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I kind of just - pushed you out, and I was worried the whole time, and I was..."

"Hey. Hey..." The mutt tilted his head and leaned in, lips brushing against Bryce's. "Look at me. See? I'm fine. I did learn something new, though..."

Immediately Bryce's ears flicked back again. "What's that?"

Spencer shrugged. "Feels great." He dove in for a quick kiss. "But I don't like it. Does that make sense?"

For a moment that worry remained, and then abruptly twisted into amusement. "Yeah. I get what you're saying. I was worried that you were gonna say that, like, you..."

"What? That all of a sudden I'm into gals?"

"I mean, considering the situation..."

"Come on, babe." Another kiss. This time Bryce's paws squeezed onto Spencer's hips and spun him around, briefly pressing him up against the wall. "Ooh. Yeah, see, like..."

"Like what?" He nuzzled in along his jaw towards his neck, breath hot and humid. Spencer tilted his head away, nostrils flared to draw in his boyfriend's scent. Already there was warmth and hunger there, and familiarity and relief... "Had to think of me to get hard?"

Spencer shifted his head again, already feeling the embarrassment start to warm his cheeks and ears. Hopefully this whole situation would become another thing in the past, something they had done but would never again speak of. His ears flicked. "I mean... maybe a little."

"A little. How's she doing, by the way? Mara?"

That made him chuckle. "Come on. Do you really think I wanna talk about her right now?"

Bryce laughed as well, nuzzled up under his chin again, then pulled back... and once more Spencer saw a hint of tears in his eyes. "God, hon," he breathed, "I missed you..."

The interest and desire hung there between them, ever present, but for now pushed to the side. Spencer sighed and drew his arms up the dingo's back again. "Are you okay, though?"

Bryce nodded in his shoulder.

"Are you sure?"

Another nod, this time followed by a sigh. "I was wrong. I fucked up. I should've just... gone with my instincts, and, like..." He pulled himself up and away, and wiped at his nose with his arm. "I just love you too much. All of the talks we have, the places we go, the things we do together... I love the way you laugh, and the music you listen to, and..."

Spencer couldn't help but smile, a familiar warmth starting to blossom in his chest. Still, though, he smirked and bumped his hips to Bryce's. "And the sex?"

As expected, that drew a chuckle out of the dingo. "And the sex. God, let me tell you - you spoil me, she-"

"Had no fuckin' idea what to do with your dick?"

"Sweet Jesus. Yours too?"

"I had to take over for her..."

Still laughing, the two came in for another kiss - followed by a second and a third, each one a little deeper than the one before. Bryce's arms came up around Spencer's shoulders, and then he spun around to press the dingo up against the wall; then one leg came up as well, and he started making his way down from his mouth to his jaw, and his neck, and his shoulder...

The mutt twitched his nose. "You smell weird."

"Look who's talking. You smell like girl. What is that - lavender vanilla?"

_ _

"Unfortunately. I'd much rather smell like you." Spencer lifted his muzzle again. "Got time in your busy schedule to arrange that?"

"Hm..." Bryce made a show of thinking it through. "I'll drop anything for you, hon. You know that."

Spencer leaned in for another kiss. "Yeah," he said. "I do."