At the Bistro
Sydney and TJ have lunch with Sam and William.
William parked his truck next to the bistro. Their car, it seems, was already parked, and if he could squint extra hard he could seem them inside, the lnx waving.
"Guess you won't do your mafia 'I was waiting for you' shtick" Sam chuckled.
"For that I will shove thirteen poles up your ass and humiliate you in front of the entire Personacon."
"I'm getting hard just thinking about it" Sam raspberried.
"You're such a damn whore" William said, opening and closing the truck door, "One of our guests is a Christian, for God's sake."
"So am I, or did you forget that again?" Sam said, getting out as well.
"Yeah" William said, grasping Sam's hips, "My brain gets fuzzy after pounding you for hours."
He said that in the most romantic of tones, staring deeply into Sam's red eyes. From Sydney's and TJ's perspective - away and behind glass - it looked like the stuff of a tragic gay romance movie.
"Aw, they're so in love!" TJ said, grabbing Sydney's paw softly.
"If only one wasn't a porn star and the other a lawyer" Sydney mused.
"C''mon, hey're still people like us" TJ said, in a musical tone designed to annoy Sydney.
"Okay okay, you win" Sydney chuckled, pulling TJ into a deep kiss, trying to out William's with Sam.
The door opened, and the two were soon greeted by the other pair, waving at them.
"Howdy" Sam said, sitting opposite TJ.
"Ordered anything yet?" William said, sitting opposite Sydney.
"Just couvert" TJ said, showing them a table wheel thingie with slots for olives, breed and various things to put on them like butter or anchovies.
"I could live off these" Sam chuckled, putting fish paste on dark, textured bread.
"Well, I'm going to treat you" William said, motioning for the waiter, "Two doses of deer beef with mushrooms."
"God damn it William, you're going to murder me one of these days" Sam laughed.
"...With love!" William responded, dripping sarcasm opposite to his nuzzling of his beloved's cheeks.
"That's sweet and all, but you didn't consult us, the guys holding the fort" Sydney said, "I kinda wanted chicken masala..."
"Just this once Sydney" TJ touched his boyfriend's shoulder gently, "Plus, you like it when Flynn cooks boar meat."
"Fine" Sydney rolled his eyes, but couldn't control his smile, nor the paw meeting and touching TJ's gently.
"Flynn's one of your childhood friends, yes?" William said, trying to be stoic but still riding from his lovey-dovey emotional high.
"Yes, Mr. NSA, thank you for using our private data" Sydney congatulated sarcastically.
"Well, as lovely as you two are, it's still business" William said.
The atmosphere soured a little, with Sam giving a 'dude-really' side eye to William.
"Yes" TJ said sadly, "Did you locate them?"
"One is in Sindhstan, the other is indeed in Wasatchua as you posited" William said.
TJ began to hyperventilate, grasping Sydney's shoulder tighter.
"You alright?" Sam asked softly, all too familiar with similar episodes.
TJ nodded frantically, which didn't reassure anyone.
"Shh, baby, shh" Sydney cooed, "They're going to be out of our hair soon."
"I assure you, Mr. Hess, they won't bother you anymore" William said, a bit more firmly than the others but not entirely tactless.
Soon, TJ's breaths returned to normal, and just in time for the doses to be placed on the table.
"They do smell great" Sydney conceeded.
***
"OnlyFans, uh?" Sydney said, bemused.
"Yeah, all the benefits of the porn industry without its shittiness" Sam responded, "You okay TJ?"
"Y-yeah" TJ answered, flustered.
"You sure?" Sam asked, "I can always talk about something else."
"N-no, I might be a Christian but I s-s-support sex workers and all."
"OMG, same" Sam said, showing off a small crucifix otherwise hidden bi (geddit) his shirt.
TJ stared wordlessly for a while, making Sydney deeply uncomfortable. Willaim remained relatively stoic, but tilted his head a little to the side.
"Okay, I think we might take you on that offer" Sydney said, wiping his mouth.
"N-no its fine love" TJ reassured his boyfriend, touching his arm, "I'm just a bit surprised, is all."
"You know, I think it's deeply convenient that both of our partners are Christian cats" William threw it out there.
"Jeeze, its almost like God works in mysterious ways or something..." Sam whistled innocently.
"Ugh, tell me about it" Sydney groaned, "My dad's favourite line before hitting me."
"I'm so sorry" Sam sympathised, "For what's worth my upbringing wasn't exactly the happiest, so I know the sort of thing you went through. I don't condone anyone using faith to justify being a monster, I just personally found some comfort in it."
"Was always a bit jealous of people who did, but I think I can't" Sydney said, prompting TJ to lower his ears in shame before the otter noticed and gave him a side hug, "Though I'm still agnostic for what's worth."
"Lucky you, TJ" Sam said, "My fiancé over here is full on atheist."
"Guilty as charged" William said, "But you love that about me, don't you? Me being the darkness to your light and shit."
Sam purred against his coyote.
"Not gonna lie, that sounds very Taoist" Sydney said, though ultimately that was sort of the dynamic he and TJ had, more so as the otter liked dark aesthetics and punk shit.
"Nothing in the scriptures against it baby, so forgive a trauma victim from indulging a bit" Sam said
TJ for the most part was glad the conversation took this direction. He really wanted to see if he could debate theology with Sam, to see how he could be so open to sex and stuff.
But the threat of the doxxers loomed in his mind.
***
Dessert was rather light. Some sort of pudding for Sydney, chocolate mousse for Sam and coffee for William. TJ occasionally shared a bite from the mousse and Pudding, but otherwise was pretty satisfied.
"Halfing the bill?" Sam said.
"Nah, I got this" William said, taking out his credit card.
"You sure?" TJ asked, "You can pay out share."
"It's fine, really" William reassured, "Plus, what's 56$ give or take?"
"Actually it'd be 70 given my calculations" Sydney said, internally proud, "But go ahead."
Indeed, the receipt said $70,22. It came with mint candy, which everyone ate gladly.
"Didn't know you were good at math" William aised his eyebrow.
"What, just because I'm a wrestler doesn't mean I have a brain?" Sydney said, sticking out his tongue.
"He is actually the problem-solver of our group" TJ interjected before William could wit, "He's very good at riddles and puzzles."
"Mm, a muscular intellectual" Sam muzed, "Indeed, the parallels keep coming."
"Into sports too" William said, "Though I'm more of a baseball person, not a wrestler."
"Its okay William, not everyone has good taste" Sydney retorted.
***
Leaving the restaurant, they spent some time outside, talking the shit for a bit longer.
"So, me and Sam pretty muh just met a couple of years ago" William said, "What's it like to have known each other since you were basically kids?"
"Well" TJ began, "We've seen each other change with the years, for one thing. At the same time we truly know each other, and at the other there's always something new to discover."
"Aw" Sydney kissed TJ on the cheek, "Pretty much my opinion as well. Mind you, it comes with a bit of a baggage, and some of our friends didn't really make this work. But we always listen to each other, always make sure the other is alright, and since we know the boundaries it's been easy to avoid arguments. But that can happen in any realtionship, especially if there's no bias or resentment left."
"So you're saying it's a mixed bag, basically" Sam said.
"Yeah, pretty much" Sydney shrugged.
"See, you have nothing to worry about" William said, pecking Sam softly in the lips, "We're not childhood sweethearts, and we have advantages of our own."
"Rude, we're still here" Sydney blew a raspberry.
"Yeah, but you know, it's still a good fantasy, you know" Sam said, hugging William, "A little self-indulgence for me to dream about".
"The nightmare becomes reality" Sydney said, with a "dun dun dun dun dun dun dun".
"What?" Sam asked while William raised his brow.
"Just a horror movie reference" TJ answerred, hair a bit raised.
"Okay, I think we oughta go now" Sam said, checking his phone, "It was a pleasure chatting with you guys."
"Likewise" Sydney said, lowering his hat.
"And TJ"? William said, turning to TJ.
"Y-yeah?"
"I promise those fuckers will get what it's coming to them. Don't worry, okay?"
In retrospect TJ felt like he might soured the mood with his anxiety. But everyone else had fun, and it was clear from the three pairs of eyes watching him that there was nothing but sincere comfort and unspoken promises to keep him safe. So, at last, he truly relaxed.
"Okay."