Ocean depths part 29
#29 of Ocean Depths
Ocean Depths Chapter 29 By Roofles
Lucas jolted from his sleep in a dead sweat. Breathing heavily he looked around, blinking a few times before rubbing his eyes. It was only a dream. That was all. He was still in the same bed with that familiar lump of heavy otter goodness next to him. The same new apartment they had gotten together, in the new den Carlson had made for the two. The heavy sheets were twisted and curled around his legs, the rest pushed off of him during the night. He must've been at it for a while before he woke up. Tossing and turning. Most likely mumbling as well. Lucas was surprised the otter was still sleeping peaceful next to him. Snoring lightly making the side of his muzzle quiver. The whiskers bouncing as he did so. Carlson turned on his side pulling more of the covers with him, snuggling against them and kissing the top of it. "Love Lucas." The otter mumbled kissing the blanket again, nuzzling it further. A paw drifted down a bit to grope at the covers making the otter mumble some more. Lucas rolled his eyes as he kicked his feet off the bed and got up. The otter stayed behind lost in sweet dreams. Lucas looked back once more at his man sleeping so innocently groping the covers. Carlson always did sleep naked. And Lucas had no problem with that. Shivering in the cold air. Lucas did the same after all. There was something about sleeping with a heavy, musky naked otter on top of you that made his toes curl. Lucas grabbed the otter bath robe from the hook on the back of the door and put the bright neon pink fuzzy robe on. He always prefered stealing his bath robe. There was something about it that made it so much better than his. Making sure to give the otter a kiss before leaving, he shut the door silently creeping down the hall and sighing his shoulders as the weight of it all began to weigh heavily on them once more. It had been a while, ages even, since he last thought about his family. His past. And that old friend of his he had basically abandoned to save his own skin... It had been late that night. A cloudless warm summer night that Lucas had packed his bags on and left it all behind. No goodbye or word, he just left. Hauling the single bag of the stuff he owned down the road and into that brisk summer night air. It was so refreshing, he recalled. Just how free it felt as he walked down the paved sidewalk and headed for the end of town. He left messages for only a single person, someone that had been so dear to him at that time. Saved him from himself. A single message for someone that he hadn't seen or talked to since. Lucas wasn't sure when he had gotten his phone. Been fiddling with the buttons on the side and flipping it open and shut several times as he was lost in thought. It was his old phone, something he had long thought discarded. To think that he packed it when he left. That he kept it all these long long months. It was silly, this whole. And yet his thumb moved on its own flipping through his contacts before he came across that one. A Mr. Joey Lancer. The phone was disconnected and he had to grab the home phone in the kitchen. Dialing the number out, reading it over on the dimly lit screen in the otherwise pitch black apartment. He read those numbers. Knew they were correct ones and still his thumb wouldn't press enter. He set the phone on the counter leaning back against it and just closing his eyes. That rich chocolate brown furry mug was fuzzy in his mind. That light hazelnut brown nose, between two black striped on his muzzle leading back to those emerald eyes almost hidden within the tangled long hair that hung on his face like a wet octopus. Joe. Joey. Lance. Lancer. Bud. Friend and almost lover... Lucas shook his head wiping his forhead on the fuzzy sleeve of that robe. He looked at it. That neon pink robe the two had picked out at fur and beyond. Lucas had almost stopped him from getting it but in the end he found himself paying for it and using it more than the otter ever did. It was large and still had the remnants of the otters last use lingering within its folds. Lucas took a whiff of the colar and picked up the phone again. He needed to do this...just to make sure he was ok. It rang and the voice on the other end made his own catch in his throat. The dull silence around him was more apparent as his heart drummed in his chest. "Hello?" That smoothly rough voice said again. His voice still heavy with slumber of sleep. "Joey?" Lucas asked covering his mouth as tears ran down his face. There was silence on the other end before an unsteady voice asked meekly, "Babe?" "It's me." Lucas said holding back as much as he could before letting out a weak sob. "J-just give me one second." The cougar said and Lucas could he shuffling on the other side before he spoke again. "You doing alright?" It sounded as if he meant to go on, to ask more but he only spoke those three words his lip quivering as he did his best to keep the torrent of questions building up inside of him at bay. "Y-yeah, I got this g-great guy now." Lucas said wiping one eye with the side of the robe. "Real great." "That's great." The other voice said sounding sincere and more upbeat than before. "Is everything alright though? It's almost five here." The cougar mumbled looking around for the time. Lucas nodded even though the cougar couldn't see. "Yeah. It's great, peachy and clean." He laughed a bit at the old reference the two use to have for an old diner back at his hometown. "I just...my bro came by and it just all came back is all." The other line was silent so Lucas continued. "I wanted to make sure you were..." His voice trailed off. What did he want from this? To make sure he was ok? To just get a hold of him again? It was enough for him to hear that voice one more time. He had always underestimated that simple fact. He texted all the time but never called anyone. To hear his old friends voice brought that familiar longing warmth to his heart. "Yeah, I'm doing good." The cougar said softly. "Me and Bridgette are over." He added a few seconds later with a half laugh. "That wasn't really going to go anywhere anyways." Lucas joked leaning back against he counter. "She had the personality of a wet trout." Lucas frowned as he realized he was beginning to pick up the same slang the otter used around him. It got a laugh from the cougar though. "Yeah but she had a body of a goddess." "You always were a big fan of big tits." Lucas rolled his eyes. His voice was even again, the usual he always had. There wasn't any sadness in it, there never was. Just the joy of hearing an old friends voice that he thought he'd never hear again. "She had a sweet ass too," Joey reasoned trying to be civil about it. As if there was some deeper meaning behind it. "Tail chaser." "Pillow biter." "'Gob' stopper," Lucas said smartly always loving the reference. "Fanny bandit!" "Pussy Licker." "You leave cats out of this!" The two laughed as silence fell once more between them. "It's good to hear from you again. Been too long." Joey spoke softly. Lucas could picture his ears folding back on his head, that sheepish smile playing across his face as the cougar got embarassed. "I mean really. It's just...nice to have this again...we do have this right?" "Yeah, we do. Always did and always will." "Good. You better or I'm just going to go over there and...where the hell are you anyways?" The cougar laughed embarrassedly again. "I'm on the west coast." "That makes sense," the cougar picked his teeth. "You always did talk about it like it was some wonderland, heh. And from the sounds of it you found it. Or him. So? How is he?" "Otter." Lucas shook his head. "He's an otter." "Oh?" The voice on the other end didn't really sound that surprised though. "Yes, go ahead. I'm a fur gobbler, tail raiser, sheath filling, paw teasing, tail curling guy mated to a water weasel." Lucas could feel the blush on his face as he spoke. "Oh ho ho? Your mated are we? When the union?" Lucas could hear the smirk on his face. "Yes I am, apparently." He mumbled a bit toying with the words as he did so. He still wasn't really sure what being mated meant but if you brought it up to any fur they would always have the same reaction. Sheesh, it was as if he was pregnant or something. "And what do you mean by union?" "Well when you get mated you usually have a kind of...celebration for it." "Like a wedding?" Lucas laughed but he was still blushing. "Kind of." Which only fueled the flush in his cheeks. "It's usually with close friends rather than family and state. Just a way for everyone to know your truly taken." The cougar thought about it and Lucas could hear the coffee machine on the other line. "Were you given anything? Like armband or something?" "Does seashells count?" "Well you are with an otter, I guess. Heh, strange river dogs." Lucas winced at the words but didn't say anything. His home town could be very crude at times and slurs and slangs were more common there than churches, which was saying something. "Carlson," Lucas found him saying sternly. "Did give me like a dozen shells are so. Let alone for the ones he brought to the hospital and-," "You were in the hospital?" Joey cut in. "Are you ok? Is everything alright? Don't lie to me." "Joey, calm down." Lucas smiled softly at the concern his friend had. "There was a small accident. I was...sleeping for a few days and my ankle got busted up. But I'm fine, nothing to worry about." "Lucas." The voice spoke heavily. "Honestly, it wasn't...like last time, I promise." Lucas brushed his fingers across his wrist. "Things are going really good. For me. I got a whole new life, someone that cares for me as much or more than I care for him. I'm...really happy." His own voice echoed in the silent room around him as the voice disappated around him and silence settled once more. "Where you at exactly." Again there was rustling on the other end. "I can drop by this weekened-," "Joey, sorry." Lucas laughed softly shaking his head. "I'm fine. Really. I just wanted to talk to you again is all." "Alright. Well we really should get together some time, be nice to catch up. And stuff." The cougar mumbled a bit trailing off in the end. Lucas could tell he was embarassed, most likely with his ears down and tail twitching. Always a sign that a cat was agitated. Though it was only now-a-days that Lucas could put those simple pieces together. "That'd be nice...you could meet Owen, my otter. You guys would really get along. I'm sure you will like him. He's really... a great guy." Lucas trailed off thinking of the otter in the next room. To think of his past in the present wasn't exactly what he wanted, he didn't want that part of his life to touch what he had now. And yet thinking of the otter he wasn't worried about it. That whatever would happen would happen and Carlson would be there with him through it. "We'd love to have you over for dinner," Lucas concluded with a soft smile. The cougar gave a large smile laughing a bit. "That'd be awesome! I'd love to be treated by you for once," the words made Lucas blush. "Besides I love fish." "Go figure," Lucas rolled his eyes. "Name the time and place and I'll be there." "Well Owen doesn't know I know but he's planning on throwing us a party here soon. A kind of welcome home and house warming party. He's been wanting to do it forever but with everything going on we just never got around to doing it. So if you came then it'd be great." Lucas scratched his chin feeling the fuzz on it. He probably should trim that up for the party. It was easy to know what was going on through the otter's head. He kept bringing home party favors, disposable cups, plates and forks and was trying to be all hush hush about it around Justin even though he could be heard throughout the whole house. Lucas didn't have the heart to tell him he knew. He was so happy and earger to do this and Lucas figured he needed some kind of win after all thats transpired. Plus this way he got a party thrown for the two of them with all their friends over and he didn't have to do a damn thing. "Ok, just text me the info and I'll be there." "I'll see you then bud...it was good talking with you again." Lucas finsihed clenching his fist. He hated wearing his heart on his sleeves like this. Always so exposed emotionly. The cougar didn't seem to notice or care though, "Likewise bud. Now, are you sure everything's alright? No maritual abuse between you and the misses?" "Not exactly unless rough sex counts." "Whoa, tmi. Tell me about it later." The cat laughed before yawning. "I'll see you then, keep in touch. You got my number. Use it!" He laughed again. "Will do, Joey. Will do."