FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Nick's head was swimming. He tried to stand, but he barely made it halfway before he stumbled and fell. The ground was awfully red and sticky. It took a few moments for that to sink in, that's when he noticed the bodies. So many bodies, too many of which were people. It was almost like his surroundings were some kind of monument to the concept of death. A grisly trophy hall of broken beings.

He held back bile and attempted to stand again. Upright now, he saw two figures fighting in the distance. One was easily twice the size of the other.

His vision went strange for a moment, and then he was holding a massive revolver. The beast charged and he fired. Gore flew from the creature's shoulder as he dove out of the way. The next few minutes were frantic, as he used the weapon to fend off the creature.

Nathan sometimes appeared, stabbing and slashing with a curved knife. The fox's clothes were torn, and his chest bled worryingly.

The last thing he saw was Nathan standing over him, and apologizing as he touched his face. Then everything went dark.

Nick woke up. He felt heavy, and muddled, like his limbs weighed twice as much as normal. As he lay there, he noticed the bed was a bit strange. Not terrible or uncomfortable; but not what he was used to waking up in either. He rolled over and tried to settle back into the pillows and get some more sleep, he wasn't ready to get up just yet. He smelled Nathan. That woke him up.

He opened his eyes to see a bed that was not his own, in a room he didn't recognize. In fact, aside from a few of the band posters on the walls, he only recognized one thing in the room, Nathan's guitar. He looked to either side quickly.

Ok. I'm alone. That's good. Why am I in Nathan's bed though? He raised the covers to check and finally relaxed when he saw that he was still clothed. Okay, I didn't copy Sebastien at least. Good.

He got up and noticed that his clothes were completely trashed. There were tears and rips all over. He checked himself over and couldn't find any injuries, though he did find a few scars that he didn't remember. They looked old. That's weird.

He hesitated in front of the door. Swallowing his nerves he turned the handle and stepped out into a small hallway. There were three other doors, one of which was open to reveal a bathroom. The other two were closed. He decided instead to go down the stairs. He thought it would be rude to go poking his nose into closed doors.

Nick recognized the room at the bottom as the entryway to the house. He had gotten a good look at the room behind the fox while he was staring the other day too. It wasn't anything special, just a wood-floored room that led out to a carpeted stairway. There were two other ways out, peeking down the hallway next to the stairs he saw a stove in what he deduced to be the kitchen. The last was a rather wide door that led into a fairly large sitting room.

The floor was carpeted, and the walls were wood paneled. There were a pair of reclining chairs sitting around a low table, all arranged to point towards a large television.

His attention however was fixed on the couch between them. It wasn't anything weird, just a three-seated couch with a fabric covering. Nick stared for a few seconds at the fox sleeping under a sheet on the couch.

One leg had managed to slip off the couch, foot paw hanging halfway to the floor. The blanket halfway covered his chest having been pushed aside at some point during the night. Nick could see three rather large scars across the fox's chest. In the same place as his dream in fact.

Those weren't there the other day, I think I would have noticed them. Probably?

He decided to wake him. Nick reached down to shake the fox's shoulder.

The next thing the cat knew he was on the ground. Then he felt the pain. "Oww...What the heck?" He felt something heavy weighing him down.

He looked up to see Nathan on top of him. The fox's eyes stared into his own and he was breathing hard. Nick blushed at seeing the fox was wearing a pair of sleep shorts, and nothing else. The fox was practically straddling him; Strong hands held his arms down. "Uh, good morning." He tried to play the situation off, but he was pretty sure he had just made it worse.

Nathan shook his head a bit before blinking rapidly."Oh! Nick! Sorry. Are you okay?" The fox was quick to get off of him. He offered a hand to help the cat up. He pulled back when he realized his state of undress. A moment later he grabbed the discarded blanket to cover himself with. He's cute when he's embarrassed.

"We need to stop meeting each other like this." Nick laughed, glad to be the less awkward of the two for once. "I'm fine. When did I get here though? The last thing I remember was leaving the cafe..."

Nathan opened his mouth to respond, then closed it a couple of times before he managed to speak. "Well, I found you outside, you looked like someone took a razor to your clothes, surprised they didn't cut you. A miracle I guess. Uhm, anyway, you were out cold so I brought you back here. I hope that's alright?"

Nick tried to remember how any of that could have happened, but all he could seem to recall was a faint impression of a huge monster and a wolf. A forest thick with foliage. Dead bodies. He decided that even if it was strange, Nathan's answer was preferable to his crazy delusions.

"No, it's fine. I was just surprised. I don't exactly make a habit of waking up in other people's beds."

"Oh. Well, I'm going to go get dressed. Be back in a minute." The fox didn't wait for a response. He fled out of the room and up the stairs before Nick could respond.

A few moments later Nathan half tumbled down the stairs, clothed now. "Sorry, I didn't mean for you to catch me like that. I just kinda crashed without thinking about it."

"Oh, and here I was beginning to think you did it on purpose. It has happened twice now." Wait. What did I just say?

"What? Uhm no. I mean. It definitely wasn't like that." Nathan's ears were standing almost perfectly upright, and he was fidgeting with one hand on his arm. Maybe I should embarrass him more often.

Nick decided to ease up on him. "So, you got anything to eat?"

Nathan was all too happy to change the subject. He tapped his muzzle for a moment in thought."I'm pretty sure I have stuff for pancakes. I can start on that now, you must be starving."

The fox hurried out towards the kitchen, the last Nick saw was his tail vanishing around the corner. He sighed. How is it this hard to be interested in someone? Sebastien makes it look so easy.

He jumped when Nathan's head poked back around the corner. "You can join me If you want. My dad would always say cooking is better with more hands, though not always easier."

"Sebastien used to say something similar." He laughed. "Sure, I'll make the batter?"

Nick adored the way he lit up. It was something truly special to the cat. "Great! I'll see if I can find some bacon too, and I think I have some biscuits somewhere..."

Nick grinned. "That sounds perfect." Maybe I don't have to tell him if we can have more moments like this. Yeah, that sounds nice.

The kitchen was simple but had plenty of space to cook in. Nick got the ingredients out of the fridge and set to work. The last time he had cooked with someone was before Sebastien had moved out. His adoptive parents had never really cared for him much and were far too busy to spend time with either of their kids anyway.

While Nick was making the batter, Nathan found a tin of biscuits and put them in the oven; That done, he started frying bacon and some sausage he had pulled out of the fridge.

The kitchen may have been spacious, but that didn't mean they didn't bump into each other and get in the other's way the whole time. There was only so much room around a stove after all. They made more than a little mess tripping over each other. The worst of it was the first batch of pancake batter, lost to the floor. A true tragedy.

Nick couldn't help but sneak glances at the fox as they cooked. It was nice, spending time with him alone, most of their time had been in public with other people around. This felt different, more personal, intimate even, he wanted more of it. I wonder if he feels the same way I do.

They quickly got into a routine, cooking food and setting it aside, joking and laughing the whole while. Nick could get used to having days like this. It was better than his lonely apartment, that's for sure.

Soon they had finished, both realizing far too late that they had cooked entirely too much food for just the two of them. The stack of pancakes had to be at least half a foot tall. And the less said about the oversized plate overflowing with bacon and sausage the better. At least the biscuits gave them the excuse that they couldn't make less than a whole tin, right?

"We can't eat all this," Nathan said. Nick raised an eyebrow when he turned away from the decadent pile of breakfast they had made. The fox was quick to add. " I mean, just the two of us. It's just too much, and I'd hate to throw it out."

Nick decided to be nice, this time. "Well, I guess we could invite Sebastien over. He's only a few minutes away."

Nathan lit up. "That's a great idea, I'll get some plates out and set the table while you do that." Nick couldn't help the spike of jealousy that sparked with the fox's excitement. He shouldn't have suggested it. He wanted to spend time with the fox, alone. To be the one that made him happy. I did suggest it though.

Nathan set off and began setting out plates and cutlery, leaving Nick to his own devices. It wasn't hard to send a quick text to his brother, free food, and a location would have him hurrying over without much more explanation.

They decided to wait to start eating, It wouldn't be more than a few minutes before Sebastien made it over. The food was set into the oven, still warm from cooking. It would keep just fine in there.

The two had moved into the sitting room. They had drinks, a cup of coffee for Nathan, and a glass of water for Nick. The tv was showing some daytime monster hunter show, a pair of siblings who dressed in what some executive probably thought was "cool American style", fighting furs with bad C.G.I. laid over their faces.

"Hey, Nathan. I wanted to ask-" He trailed off, nerves getting the better of him.

The fox waited a moment for him to continue. "Yeah?"

"Nevermind. It was a stupid question."

"I highly doubt it. You can ask me anything. That's what friends are for, right?" Nathan was frowning now, looking directly into Nick's eyes.

He didn't want to worry the fox. But he didn't have the nerve to confess either; Instead, he blurted out, "I was just wondering if you had any plans later?" What? What did I just say?

"No, not today. I'm not supposed to be at the shop this week unless something major happens. Why did you want to go somewhere?"

Nick couldn't back out now. Not when his crush sounded so interested. Interested in spending time with him, of all people, somehow. "I was just wondering... I mean, we never did go out to that club I was telling you about. It might be fun to go. With you, I mean. If you want to, It's not like you have to or anything. I just wondered." Nick couldn't help but fidget with his fingers. The conversation was just too much.

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'd love to see the place. It sounds cool."

Ding! A couple of seconds went by before the ringing repeated.

Nathan spoke, "Oh, that must be him. I'll get it."

Nick had never been more grateful for a doorbell than at that exact moment. He didn't know if he could be alone with the fox any longer without embarrassing himself.

Wait. He said yes.... He said yes! That means I'm going out somewhere, with Nathan, just me and him. Like a date!

He sat there with a dumb grin on his face while Nathan was inviting Sebastien into the house. He was snapped out of that state when Sebastien flopped onto the couch next to him, one arm quickly thrown over his shoulder. "Hey, Nicky! So you and Red were making breakfast, eh? Spent the night?" The tiger wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I would say that's moving a bit fast, but I am me after all."

"What!?" Nick pulled away and stood before looking for Nathan. He practically deflated when he didn't see the fox. "I- We didn't do anything. I mean, I woke up in his bed but-" Shit!

Sebastien looked the very image of the tiger that caught the canary, well if that tiger was built like a wrestler ate a smaller wrestler, and wearing wrinkled clothes that barely seemed to be of adequate size.

"My baby brother is growing up so quickly. I knew you had it in you. Is he any good? Wait, no, we should wait for when he's not around. You do not want to have him walk in on that conversation. Trust me. It's not as fun as it sounds." He looked off to one side for a bit in memory.

Nick sighed, one hand rubbing over his eye. "Sebastien, I didn't sleep with him."

The tiger wilted, before suddenly rebounding. "Does that mean he's still available?"

"What? No! He's mine, you overgrown fungus." He unsheathed his claws as he spoke, only to blush and retract them.

Sebastien just looked at him for a moment, before he spoke next. "You do like him huh? Got it bad. Alright. He's yours. I'm still flirting with him though."

"I-what?"

"You like him, I can flirt with anybody, and there's more than one cute fox in the world. So yeah, he's yours."

"Thanks? I think." Nick didn't know what to do with this. It was completely new territory for him. Though, it shouldn't have been. Sebastien had always looked out for him. Even when his adoptive parents were tired of using him for their publicity stunts; When they started treating him like a burden. Why would it be a surprise that he's helping him in this too?

His adoptive parents had never loved him. But he was useful to them once. Now they didn't care what happened to him or what he did. So long as it didn't damage their precious reputations.

He was snapped out of that train of thought when the tiger's stomach let out a loud gurgling noise. "So if you're done spacing out now, maybe we should go get some of that food you and your boyfriend cooked."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Yet."

Eric Yoshino

Eric was bored. That wasn't really anything special or new to him in this place. The prison wasn't exactly a great place to be; Strict structures of how to spend your time, and mandatory work shifts that might last anywhere from eight to twelve hours. Like the current one, washing laundry and folding it into perfectly orderly stacks.

Today was a good day though. Eric had managed to save up just enough from his work to buy a radio. For the first time in two weeks, he would get to hear music. Finally, he would have something to look forward to, well aside from the visits Nathan always made time for. Just thinking about it put a grin on the older fox's face.

"Yoshino, stop your daydreaming. Those sheets won't fold themselves. Or do I have to convince you to get back to work?" The guard, a fairly bulky bear, lightly tapped a club against one of the pipes. Eric was used to the taunts by this point. And he knew better than to respond with anything but complete compliance. This particular guard seemed to have it out for him, though he wasn't sure why.

"Right, I'll get it done."

He set back to work, though he didn't stop glancing at the clock on the wall. He really couldn't wait to go and get that radio.

A few hours later the bell rang to mark the end of his shift. The guards corralled them all together and marched them into the chow hall to eat. Eric was careful to keep distance between himself and other prisoners as he went to collect the, well calling it food would be generous, but it hadn't killed him yet. It was always better to keep some distance between yourself and other prisoners.

Sitting at an empty table he shoveled down as much as he could stomach in record time. Once he was finished he hurried to put his tray away and get out. The chow hall was not a safe place to linger.

He breathed a sigh of relief once he made it into the hall outside. Eric grinned as he moved across the grounds. He smiled outright when he made it to the commissary. The store was pretty crappy if he was being honest. Most of the merchandise was foodstuffs or tobacco. All of it packed onto clearly ancient shelves, with flickering dull lighting.

Eric hurried into the back corner of the store. A small shelf covered in dust held a single item. It was cheap and covered in dust of its own. The radio had a single speaker that couldn't sound any kind of good, especially with the short antenna on the top. A beige and black piece of crap is what it was. But to Eric, at that moment it was the most beautiful thing he had seen in days. It was a way to hear music.

The clerk on duty was bored and pretty cranky. Eric figured it must have been near the end of their shift, but he didn't pay that much mind. He rattled off his prisoner's I.D. number, long since memorized at this point. Once his purchase was complete he wished the clerk a good day and left.

That done he was quick to hurry back to his cell. He got lucky in that respect at least. Lifers only have to deal with one roommate. The room had to be designed to prevent suicides, so no bunk beds or high anchor points. It was pretty morbid, but it did mean that they couldn't squeeze four inmates into a single cell.

His roommate was a pretty quiet mouse. Eric heard he had been convicted of dealing drugs, and that he continued the practice inside the prison. He tried not to let that bother him too much.

But this wasn't the time to think about stuff like that. He set the cheap piece of plastic down in a corner and flipped it on. Static filled the room and he fiddled with the dials. It took a few minutes, but the Fennec had an idea. Eric moved the radio over towards the cell door and pressed the antenna against the large metal gate. The signal sharpened and he tuned into a local rock station.

The sound of alternative rock wasn't all that clear; The cheap speaker and iffy reception made sure of that. But it was music. The Fennec leaned against the wall and soaked it in.

He didn't know how long he simply sat there enjoying himself, but it came to an end when the speakers all over the prison came on.

"All prisoners turn off any devices and return to your bunks for the count. Repeat all prisoners get ready for the count."

He switched the radio off and got in his bunk, sure to lie on top of the itchy wool blankets to be sure the guards wouldn't miss him. A few moments later his bunkmate did the same. It took about half an hour before the bear guard came into the cell.

"One mouse and one fox. Yep, all accounted for in this cell." As he turned to leave he stepped towards the wall. There was a loud Crunch! "Whoops. Sorry, guess today's not your day." The guard walked out with a menacing grin.

Nathan

Breakfast had been an interesting event. Nathan would swear up and down that Sebastien could eat enough or three people on his own. That was quite a while ago, however, and Nathan was on his own. The tiger had given Nick a ride back home once they had cleaned up the disaster in the kitchen.

More specifically he had just finished collecting a full set of weapons. He needed to investigate the site where he found that werewolf, and give its victims their proper burials. It was a grim task, and he did not look forward to seeing that gruesome place during the day.

He wore his mom's sword, The Luck Blade, in a leather sheathe at his side. In addition, he had six tantos hidden on his person. A moment of consideration passed before he improvised a holster for the hand cannon Nick had found. Nathan figured anything that could blow holes in a regenerating werewolf was worth keeping.

The drive out to the edge of the woods took a bit of a different turn during daylight hours. He didn't need the shortest path out, so much as a quiet spot to leave the truck at the edge of the woods. The trek through the forest was a slog, but it didn't take all that long before he made it to the den.

The corpses stunk, even more so than at night. The heat of the day roasted decaying flesh and a gentle breeze spread the foul smell far and wide. Nathan started by going through the items on the site.

He found the body of the original owner of the gun. A holster properly made for it and a pouch filled with a few dozen extra rounds for the revolver. Nathan made sure to thank the deceased hunter before collecting them. In this type of life, such items were not to be wasted out of sentiment.

The corpse of the wolf had something of interest as well; A collar inscribed heavily with runes and sigils. Nathan felt a powerful, and dark energy from it. The magic was strange and not familiar to him, but he did recognize enough of them to know that this item was more of a curse than a blessing.

As he continued to scour the grounds the only thing he found was more of the dead, a few had basic guns or knives, but he left those alone, mundane steel wouldn't much help him. He couldn't find anything to hint at the source of the wolf. Just piles of bones and flesh that used to be people and animals.

That settled he found a sturdy and thin stick and began to draw out an array circle. The circle had to be drawn perfectly, and the array was rather complicated, but if he did it right it would dig a mass grave in just a few minutes, as opposed to the hours of effort for him to do it alone.

It took about half an hour to draw the array, another fifteen minutes for the magic to siphon the dirt up into the air. Once he triggered the next step it would burn the matter in the pit, to be sure that the dead stayed that way. One more trigger would deposit the dirt on top and compact it.

The pit being open, he began the grim task of collecting the bodies. He prayed, for their souls, or their peace, he didn't know. But before he began to move each corpse he prayed, even for the beast that had tried to kill him. The process was exhausting and disgusting. Nathan would never look at the color red the same way again.

The sun was beginning to fall when he finished. His clothes were covered in various debris and...other things. But he had collected all of the bodies.

He scratched out a symbol on the outer ring and blue-green fire flared over the pit. Flesh and tattered clothing, rot, and debris, it all burned. The heat was intense, and the flames reached high above the ground. By the time they faded all that was left in the pit was a uniform layer of ashes, not even the bones remained.

The last symbol was scratched out, and the dirt began to refill the grave. Nathan searched for a while as it filled the pit, and compacted the soil; A grave needs, no it deserved, a marker, even one such as this one. He had to use ki to manage to carry the large stone, and even then it was a herculean effort to move the stone in short bursts, a few feet at a time. It wouldn't be right f he didn't.

With his final task done, he left. This place of death and tragedy had nothing left for him. Nathan stopped at a creek to rinse off the worst of the mess from himself and his clothing. |

That done he hurried back to the truck, if he was quick about things he would just make it in time.

A couple of hours later Nathan had shed most of his weapons and was getting ready for his night out. He had showered and changed clothes, now wearing a pair of black jeans and one of his favorite metal t-shirts, under a white hoodie. He fussed with his fur for thirty minutes, not being happy with how it looked. Nathan wasn't sure why, but he was nervous the entire time that he waited for Nick to come and pick him up.

The fox tried to sit down, but without fail, he kept pacing through the halls or checking himself in the mirror. He changed clothes a few times, even though he kept settling back on the original outfit. The wrinkles from throwing the clothes onto the bed as he changed outfits got a particularly evil glare as he fussed with his fur in the mirror.

The doorbell rang and without a second's hesitation, Nathan ran down the stairs two at a time. Stopping just before the door he tried to smooth out the creases in his clothes and messed with his fur a bit before he opened the door.

Nick was wearing a pair of jeans and a tight shirt under an anime-themed hoodie. Nathan didn't understand how in the world the cat found so many things he looked that good in.

"Hey? Nathan! You there?"

Nathan shifted a bit and looked up at the cat's eyes. He must have drifted off a bit. "Uh, sorry. Were you saying something?"

"Yeah, you ready to go?" The cat waved one hand in the general direction of his car.

"We really should get going, they only let so many people in there at once."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go." Why am I so nervous?

They got in and Nick set the car into motion.

"So-" Nathan had meant to say something, but he found himself lost. He honestly couldn't even remember what he would have said.

"What was that? I think I missed it?" Nick was focused on the road, but the little quirk of his brow and the twitching in his ears made it clear he was listening.

Beams of light raced through the small space as they passed the streetlights. Nathan found himself captivated by the way the light moved across Nick's form. The narrow rays were like highlights, revealing each fascinating detail.

"I forgot what I was going to say, it was probably stupid anyway." Nathan found the dash, with its little scratches and dents very interesting all of the sudden. The lights were much less flattering to the cheap plastic and faux-wood paneling.

Nick was all too happy to throw his own words back at him, even mimicking his voice "I highly doubt that." In his own voice, Nick said. "So, you ready to dance?"

That got Nathan's attention. "What- dancing? Why?"

Nick chuckled. "What else are you supposed to do at a club? The music they play is great, and they have live bands all the time. It's perfect!"

"That's not...Okay but I don't dance."

"Tonight you do. We're going to a club. That means dancing. And you already said yes."

Nathan pulled his arms close to his chest and sat for a minute before he spoke again. "I, don't know how to dance. I've tried before, but I'm terrible. It's for the best I don't."

"Wait, you? The prodigy musician. You play guitar like Jimi Hendrix, and you sing like nobody I've ever heard in my life. You know music that well, and you can't dance? No way."

"I'm not lying. I can't dance. I just make an idiot of myself."

"Hmmm. Well, I came here to dance. And you came with me. So if I have to teach you to dance, well, you did give me those guitar lessons. Call it a fair trade."

Nathan tried to say something, it would have certainly been a rather clear argument on why that was a terrible idea. This argument was unfortunately never said out loud. The car stopped.

"Let's go." The smile on Nick's face tore it. He couldn't argue with that. Guess I'm going to be dancing tonight.

Inside the club, a pounding bass set the tune of everything. The lights shifted from one color to another with the beat, and rays of light slowly trailed through lazy arcs on the dance floor and stage. Nathan couldn't help but grin when Nick pointed at the band on stage.

His heart did a flip when the cat pulled him out onto the floor with one arm. There was hardly any space and the music was so loud he couldn't hear a word Nick said at first. The crowd was pressed all around them. Nick leaned in closer, "This is great! I love it here."

Nathan smiled and nodded back, despite the nerves. He was glad to be here, though he would never have walked onto the dance floor without Nick here. He felt oddly okay, despite the people around him and the lack of any sort of personal space, he was okay.

"Okay, so I said I'd teach you to dance. Really the most important thing is to move with the beat. Here, we'll start with something simple. Count the beat, one, two, three, and, four."

They stood there in the middle of the crowd, just counting the rhythm of the music for a minute. Nathan would never have admitted that he lost count, distracted by Nick's eyes, the gleaming blue seemed like an endless sea. He refocused just in time for Nick to start talking again.

"Alright, so once you know the beat just start moving with it, here. One, step left, two bring the other foot in, three, step right, four, bring the foot back in again."

Nathan felt like a small kid but he did it. The smile from Nick made it more than worth it to do something so...embarrassing.

"Alright, now get into it, and try and watch me. If you can match the beat, you're already most of the way to dancing. Just add some more to it as you feel ready. And have fun, that's the most important part."

It was easy for him to say, dressed like that, with looks like that. Who would notice if he wasn't any good? Not that he was bad. Watching him move was intoxicating. Nathan hardly noticed as he began to loosen up. His stomach felt warm, and he felt like he couldn't possibly be in a better place right now.

One song quickly turned into five, then eight, as the pair danced. Nathan had finally fallen into the music and just enjoyed himself. The fun of moving and the feel of the brief contacts he shared with Nick.

Then the band stopped playing, there was a brief exit speech, and as they began to pack up the hostess of the club took the stage.

"Hello, all of you lovely people. It's great to see you out here." The young Jaguar said as she sauntered her way up to the front of the stage. "I'm sorry but the band has to go. Even rockers need to sleep, right? But that doesn't mean we can't still have music. Now I know you've been dancing to the fast stuff all night, but I think it's time to play something soft and slow. So you enjoy yourselves, 'cause I'll keep the beats coming all...night...long." She practically purred the last few words out, before walking off the stage, and giving anyone interested in the fairer sex an incredible view. Nathan hardly noticed.

As she wrapped up her speech a soft tune began to play.

Nathan looked over to Nick to ask if he wanted to go ahead and sit this one out. The question died on his lips when he saw the cat offering up a hand, a teasing grin on his face. "Well, I don't have anyone else to dance with, so I guess you'll do. May I have this dance?"

"I still don't know-"

The cat laughed and moved closer "That's easy. For a slow dance like this, just put your hands around my waist, and lean in close. After that, just follow my lead."

Nathan swallowed hard, as he put his hands around the cat. It was funny, he'd never noticed that he was so much taller than him. Never noticed how perfectly his head could rest on top of Nick's. And he certainly hadn't thought about how good it felt to hold the cat, and slowly follow his steps around the dance floor.

He felt warm and light from the moment he leaned into Nick, a buzzing feeling that had nothing to do with heat. It felt so right. The way Nick held onto him, like two halves of a whole finally being brought together for the first time. And that's about when his world shattered.

I'm in love. A useless guy like me. What the hell am I supposed to do about this?