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"_Good day in my mind, safe to take a step out

Get some air now, let yo edge out

Too soon, I spoke, you be heavy in my mind

Can you get the heck out?_ "

SZA,

'Good Days'

She's as outrageous as ever, perhaps even more so. These last few years have seen a metamorphosis in Eve. She's come out of her shell in a major way, finding her own sense of style, embracing her sexuality, thriving in her relationships and recovering from trauma all while holding down a stable job. To call her accomplishments impressive would be an understatement, and I couldn't be happier for her. Sometimes though, I must admit, there's a pang of jealousy stowed inside that outbound enthusiasm of mine. I wish I had her strength and fortitude, her joie de vivre._Of course, Idon't_blame her for my own shortcomings; I suppose I just hopethat if I spend enough time around her, her best qualities will eventuallyrub off on me.

She spots me from a ways away, hurriedly dumps her things with Jay and Feather then jogs toward me beaming, arms open wide, long tail wagging behind her. She's wearing a black leather jacket and a white button-up blouse above a red plaid skirt and black tights, giving off real rock-star vibes. As she approaches, that familiar dark mask of fur around her eyes snaps into focus and I'm overcome with how long it's been since I last saw her in person. Her almost-black hair is far longer than it used to be, drooping long past her shoulders, or it would if it weren't currently flying behind her in the wake of her hurried approach. I open my arms and brace for impact.

It was a wise precaution. Even bracing, I half stagger back when she launches into me, wrapping me in her arms. I wrap her right back in mine, laughing and smiling and saying: "how is my favorite ferret?"

"Fucking great!" She exclaims, also laughing. She kisses my cheek, squeezes me tight, and pulls away. "And only getting better," she jabs my arm lightly, full of giddy energy. "But how are you Ash? God, it's been too long, you're looking good!"

I'm not. I'm looking fat.

"Come on Eve, I'm getting chunkier by the day."

She shakes her head.

"Who gives a fuck about that? You're drop dead gorgeous, husky boy, I'd fuck you any day."

"You'd fuck anything consenting."

"Just 'cause I get it plenty doesn't mean I'm not picky about who I get it from."

"Ah, I see, you're simply a goddess who always gets what she wants."

"You know it bitch!"

I laugh again and shake my head. "Well, in this instance you'll have to be disappointed. I'm sorry to inform you that I'm still gay."

She waves a dismissive paw. "Fuck Jay then, he's down. Oh, and how gay are you exactly?" She smirks. "I think you and Feather might get along realwell."

I make a sort of shocked, high-pitched yip. "Eve, you're terrible." I take her paws in mine and look into her eyes. "I've missed you."

She grins a wide, toothy grin. "I've missed you too, softie." She turns and waves a paw to beckon Jay and Feather, the two of whom are struggling to drag both their and Eve's baggage along with them.

Jay reaches us first and shoves Eve's suitcase back at her with a reproachful frown that quickly cracks into a smile. He's an athletically built gray wolf dressed in a black bomber jacket and a white band logo tee, above black skinny jeans and some fashionable-looking and no-doubt-expensive sneakers. He shoves a paw out toward me, offering a handshake. I accept, but he surprises me by pulling me into a brief, tight hug.

"Good to see you Ash," he says. I can't help but think that he's fucking me with his eyes as he slowly looks me up and down. "Whatever Eve told you about us while she was out of earshot was probably a lie, a total troublemaker that one."

Eve springs to her tiptoes and nips at his ear upon hearing the comment. He mimes surprise and pain, then laughs.

"Well," I say with a shrug, speaking all matter-of-fact. "She told me you were down to fuck."

His eyes widen and his muzzle half opens, then closes again. He regains his composure.

"Don't tease me," he says, winking. "Then again I bet she did say that within the first thirty seconds of seeing you, didn't she? Insatiable thing." I nod knowingly. "Anyway, she's only bringing it up because she desperately wants to watch. Don't let her pressure you into anything."

Eve catches my eyes, rolling hers pointedly. I grin at her, then look to the arriving Feather, finally taking them in as more than a profile picture or distant silhouette.

They're a red squirrel, a little shorter than me, with choppy, mid-length crimson hair, several piercings of varying styles and sizes in each of their ears and a gold ring through their septum. They're wearing a somewhat over-sized, long-sleeved top, horizontally striped in purple and black, above white denim jeans, their large, bushy tail curling up and around their left shoulder. They hold themselves in a precise and delicate manner, giving off an aura of total - if somewhat fragile - control about their person.

An undercurrent of nervousness arises within me as they catch my gaze with a tilt of their head and a bright smile. I can't help but mentally fuss over the fact that I've never actually met an enby in anything more than passing before, and I don't want to do or say something stupid. Their eyes are wide and a vivid green, tinged with just a hint of brown. I immediately find that I can't look away from them even if I try.

"Hey," they say in an effeminate lilt, giving me a little wave with a flick of their wrist.

"Feather," I say smiling, putting my acting chops to good use, cutting cleanly through my nerves. "It's wonderful to finally meet you! Eve has told me so much about you."

"Likewise," they nod. "And thank you for being so generous and offering your hospitality without even having met me. It's really very kind."

Their tone and choice of words is formal, perhaps overly polite, which wouldn't be so jarring if not for Eve and Jay being quite the opposite. It's too early to tell whether this is their way, or if they're just eager to make a good impression, allowing their true self some time to emerge around me. I'll just have to wait and see.

"It's quite alright. Anybody the inimitable Eve takes as a lover is welcome in my home," I say, making an exaggerated sweeping motion in Evelyn's direction. "She has exquisite taste."

"The most exquisite," she agrees.

Feather nods - that bright smile not fading one bit - but doesn't say anything. Faced with their reserved attitude I dig up a little more confidence and offer my paw, as if to shake. When they take it I copy Jay's trick and pull them in. They let out a squeak of surprise but, finding my arms around them, they quickly reciprocate, holding me close with their cheek pressed to mine. Their embrace is soft and warm and all too fleeting.

Reluctantly pulling away, I'm happy to see that bright smile of theirs not fading, but growing. "Wasn't sure I'd earned hugging privileges already," they explain.

"Eve brought you here, and you're cute," I say, my tongue getting ahead of my brain, but the bashful tilt of their head encourages me onward. "Privileges were granted on sight."

The tilt becomes a turn as they look away, the corner of their smile still visible as the compliment triggers some apparent shyness within them.

"So... it's all about looks with you?"

The questions comes as a surprise-them not even looking at me to deliver it. My eyes widen, I flush and stutter, instantly flustered and flubbing up. "Uh, that's not what I- I mean, no, I was just trying to, you know-"

"Now I get why Eve likes you," they say, giving me a sly sort of side eye, the beginnings of a smirk contorting their features as they slowly turn back to face me. "you're easy."

I pause, muzzle open, for about a second before they burst into laughter. I shake my head and grin, relief washing over me.

"Worried about hugging privileges, but no qualms about bullying?" I ask, segueing into my own laughter.

They shrug and lick their lips.

"I've been reliably informed that you enjoy a good teasing."

My muzzle parts once again in incredulity, but no words come forth. Not what I first thought at all, are you Feather? I'm looking forward to getting to know you.

I eye Eve, all accusatory. She also shrugs, feigning innocence. I huff in mock distress, twist on the spot and beckon the three of them with a flick of the wrist.

"Come on, if I'm gonna get bullied all day then I'd rather do it in the comfort of my own home."

"You're only saying that so you won't have to worry about popping a boner in public," Eve chides. I don't dignify such nonsense with a response, trying not to think about the slight heat in my groin.

*

The four of us unceremoniously pile out of my car as I pull up on the driveway. I finally learned how to drive a few months after moving back to Canada. It was a long time coming, but I always had an excuse up until then. I'm not as sociable as I like as is, but without a car? I did almost nothing. Subsisting exclusively off of Uber rides and what limited public transport exists is just not it.

Saph must have heard us coming, because there she is, opening the front door as we approach.

"Saph!" I exclaim, hurrying toward her. She smiles and waves - with some timidity - at the four of us. Reaching her, I shove the suitcase I was lugging about for Eve inside, then wrap an arm around her shoulder, standing side by side with her and beaming at the approaching party. "This is my precious gemstone, the woman who somehow keeps me both sane and out of trouble on the daily, my delightful housemate, Saph."

She nods courteously. "It's short for Sapphire, to explain that lame gemstone joke of his, though I do prefer 'Saph'. My parents weren't too inventive with names." She points to her vibrant, blue eyes.

The three lovers all express their warm greetings in an orderly procession as they make it to the door. Feather and Jay each shake Saph's paw as I briefly introduce them in turn, but Eve goes straight in for a great big hug, squeezing Saph in an exuberant and enthusiastic embrace. For a moment I'm afraid that Eve will make some inappropriately sexual joke, but she doesn't, and Saph matches her hug without hesitation, if in a more gentle and reserved manner then that of the ferret.

Still, by the time we're properly inside with all of the triad's luggage I can tell that Saph is already a little overwhelmed. Having to deal with all of these new people suddenly appearing in our home isn't exactly her idea of a good time-she'd be the last person to claim that she thrives in new social scenarios - but she knows that Eve and her partners are going to be here for a couple of weeks so she's trying her best to properly integrate herself, which I'm extremely thankful for. If she ultimately wants to keep to herself for most of the next fortnight then that's her decision, but I'd love for her to find friends in these three.

"It's so good to meet you in person finally, Saph," Eve says as we all take a moment to sit and relax, settling down in my large living room. "Ash raves about you."

Saph looks at me and raises an eyebrow, "he's too kind. I blagged my way into this swanky home and somehow Ash is convinced he's the one who got the better end of that deal."

I stare at Eve and tell her in no uncertain terms: "I'd be a mess without her."

Saph shakes her head, a small, knowing smile on her muzzle. My mind pricks at me, tells me what she must be thinking. Surely - it tells me -surely she's thinking: you're a mess_with_ me, let alone without. She doesn't say anything.

"How_did_ you end up moving in here Saph?" Feather asks, leaning forward in their armchair and smiling, making every effort not tosink into the background as the newbie here. "If you _want_to share, that is."

It occurs to me that I've never told the full story, evento Eve; she never asked - perhaps allowing me privacy in matters of myhome life - but Feather's forthrightness doesn't offend, rather it makes me evenmore interested in getting to know them than I already was.

"Mostly it's pretty anticlimactic," Saph says, answering before I can. "But, well, it kind of relates to..." She turns to me, "are you alright with me talking about this?"

I blink. "Yeah, of course. I mean as long as you are. Eve already knows how we met at least, though I wouldn't assume she's passed that on to these two lovely individuals."

Eve shakes her head, confirming my suspicion, but pipes up to say: "though they do know about what happened three years ago."

I nod. Of course they do. Eve was there for most of it. It's her trauma too, and it wouldn't be in her nature to have hidden such a the truth from her lovers.

"Well," Saph continues finally. "Ash and I met in an abuse survivors' support group. To cut a long story short we got along well and became friends. We weren't all that close right away, you know, like, we saw each other outside of the group every now and then, but that was about it, it was a gradual thing. But, yeah, we kept growing closer and closer, and our contact outside of the group became more and more frequent as the weeks went by. About six months into all that I found myself in need of a place to live. I was lamenting to Ash about my situation and how it'd take the vast majority of my salary just to pay the upkeep on living if I were to rent an even halfway decent place. First world problem, I know, I'm lucky that I would've been able to survive alone in the first place, but, yeah, living full-on paycheck to paycheck wouldn't exactly have been ideal.

"So, I was saying all of that and Ash just burst out, like, come live with me! I was shocked and confused at first. I was like, what do you mean come live with you? He said, well I have this big house that I own outright. I was like, what the fuck? He was like, yeah, I got this huge settlement from my abuser's family, he was from a very rich background, and I bought this big place and I like you, and you can just come live with me rent free if you want, at least for a while, while you figure out what you wanna do next, it would be nice to have you around anyway. At first I didn't really believe him, but he assured me it wasn't a joke. He brought me here and told me, like, it's for real Saph..." She shakes her head, a distant stare glazingher eyes.All this time later she's still shell-shocked at her fortune. "I agreed. How could I not? ThoughI insisted on paying for food and supplies and helping with bills, naturally, right?But, yeah,that was kinda that."

"We've only grown closer since," I say. "A few weeks after she moved in I decided, yeah, I'll keep her." She laughs and I grin. "She's been my live-in assistant ever since."

She glares daggers into me, smirkingamusedly. "Not quite. I keep an eye on the old dog, keep him company, but that's about it." I scoff and she laughs again."No, but,really we'vebecomenear-enough inseparablesinceI moved in. I couldn't imagine my life without him at this point.And time has flown too. It's been, what? Ayear and a halfnow, right Ash?"

"Right."

"And I'm still waiting with baited breath for the day he'll tell me to get my butt in gear and move the hell out, but that day hasn't come quite yet. I've got contingency plans though, don't worry, I like to stay prepared."

She says it like it's a joke, and it is, but it's also true. I hate that it's true, but I don't blame her. She's anxious, about a lot of things. Life beat her into this shape, I won't hold that against her. Life has done some messed up things to - at the very least - the majority of people in this room.

"Saph, you're welcome here in absolute perpetuity, you know that. You're my guardian angel, I would never push you away." I turn back to the lovers, casting my gaze over each of them. "For the record I'm not confining her here," laughter. "If she decides to leave I won't stop her, but she truly is welcome here as long as she wants. If I ever find myself a man and he has a problem with that then, well, he's not the one. It's as simple as that."

Saph struggles as she listens. She always does when I say things that she finds objectionably complimentary. She seems to find it hard to accept my love for her, even when she loves me the very same way. She averts her gaze and her jaw shifts in discordance with my claims. Her ears flick involuntarily.

"Too kind, as ever, Ash," she says, quietly. "And ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous."

And that's it. The whole, simplified, story told.

"You two makesuch a cute pair," Feather concludes, leaning to oneside and resting their chin on their paw. "You said earlier, Ash, that Eve has exquisite taste in partners - thank you by the way - but I'd liketo add that she has exquisite taste in friends too."

Jay concurs and Eve beams, adopting an angelic pose as she's lauded with praise, then collapsing out of it and laughing.

"I really do," she says. Some thought hits her and she twitches, suddenly jumping to her feet. "Oh! Talking of friends..." She grabs her carry-on luggage from where it was laying beside her and unzips a pocket, rummaging through it before removing something triumphantly and presenting it to me with a sly grin.

It's a white envelope, trimmed gold. The paper looks thick and of high quality. I take it gingerly from her outstretched paw and turn it over. There I findmy name written in a neat, clear script. I don't immediately recognize the paw-writing. I look at Eve, wide-eyed anda little perplexed, but she just nods without saying anything more. I open the envelope, my heart poundingharder than it really has any right to. Inside is an ornately decoratedcard that I carefully slide out between finger and thumb as if it were some sacredartifact. The card itself is allwhite and gold, same as the envelope, and by the time I pull it free I can tell it'sa wedding invitation. I don'tneed to read it to figure that out, but when I do a thousand thoughts flood my head all at once. My gaze flicks up to Eve again, my head throbbing, my eyes even wider than they were before.

"They're getting married?"

"They're getting married!"

"Wow!" I exclaim, too overwhelmed to say anything more substantive. I want to hyperventilate and freak out and I'm only half sure why. My heart is beating hard.

"Wow," she says, nodding.

Saph sticks her muzzle out, trying to see what I'm seeing. I flash her the card and her eyes go nearly as wide as mine. She nods too.

"Wow."

I turn the card over and over, trying to find some hidden information on it that clearly doesn't actually exist, then I exhale and shake my head.

"Well," I say. "It'll be the first wedding I've attended at which both of the grooms have fucked me."

Feather squeaks out a laugh and Jay grins, eyeing me lasciviously. Eve tilts her head.

"Oh? Adrian too? I don't know if I know that story."

I wave a paw in dismissal. "Yeah, way back when I first met him. I'll fill you in later." She nods eagerly, the eternal pervert.

Saph clicks her fingers suddenly, her face lighting up. "So _this_is the 'something extra' he sent with Eve."

I nod, feeling suddenly lightheaded.

"What do you mean?" Eve asks.

Saph explains in a matter-of-fact style, maintaining some vagueness - not knowing how much Eve knows of the potential context behind it all. It all passes right over me anyway. I can't concentrate. Things aren't quite right. I'm staring at the invite, vision unfocused, gripping it tight between thumb and forefinger.

Someone says something to me, I...

Someone says something to me. It's Feather, "Ash, you alright there?"

I jerk to attention. "Oh, gosh, yeah, sorry. Just a little tired, but I'll perk up after some coffee."

They smile and nod. Eve asks me something innocuous. I answer, hurried and imprecise, then excuse myself to the bathroom. She gives me a puzzled look, too used to my mannerisms not to notice that something is up.

She doesn't call me out on it though, no, much the opposite. She tells me it's fine, that the three of them should really get settled into their room about now anyway. Saph notices too and steps up as savior, leading the conversation in my place and electing herself to show the lovers to their room. I slink away as our visitors stand and just about make out Saph offering up refreshments as I pound down the hallway.

In the bathroom I lock the door behind me and make an active effort to slow my breathing. When it returns to a rate resembling normal and my head has stopped spinning quite so much, I find that I'm still clutching the wedding invitation firmly in my paw, so firmly that the cardboard has creased around my thumb.

I stare at it: the answer to whatever the hell Adrian was sending up from America. Somehow it has only left me more confused. I mean, one, they're getting married? That's a quagmire of uncertainty unto itself considering, well... And, two, Adrian sent this. He made sure I knew that. Adrian sent this, implying his fiance didn't. I can understand the latter half of that equation, but not the former, and all my guesses as to why the fox would specifically want me there make my stomach sink and that sense of confusion and fear spike within me all over again.

It strikes me that I'm being a terrible host. That I'm wasting time I could be using making a good impression on Feather. That I'm abandoning Saph to duties I know she doesn't enjoy because... Why exactly? I'm overwhelmed with shock? Confusion? Fear? Or, perhaps, jealousy? Regret? Guilt?

None of the above?

All of it?

More?

More.

Dread.

I read the invitation over again. Then again. And again. I go lightheaded. It's real. It's really, actually, real. I feel myself spiraling out and back and into the past. I read it one final time, slow and steady. There's no mistaking it. It begins exactly as it did when I first laid eyes on it:

Please join us

for the wedding of:

AdrianBailey

&

Kaleb __W_ ool_