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Chapter 4: Meet the Parents

Kit was leaning against the wall outside the movie theatre next to Carlen. They had agreed to talk outside the theatre and had left the movie early. Carlen was making most of the conversation, talking about how he had realized how much he liked Kit about a month ago, but hadn't been able to work up the courage until now.

Kit looked over into his eyes and spoke softly, "I've liked you for a long time, I just never realized it until now. You know I never even thought of another guy this way, it's still weird for me," Carlen got a worried look in his eyes and his ears drooped, "But you, you're different, I really like you."

Relief filled Carlen's eyes, "I feel exactly the same," he said.

Kit stood in front of Carlen, who was still leaning against the wall and hugged him, "Are we going to keep this in the closet? Or do we just let it go?"

Carlen stared off into the distance, his ear twitched as he thought for a moment, "I don't care if people know. Some will understand, and if they don't, then that's their problem."

"I think so too," Kit responded, leaning against Carlen's chest, "But what am I going to say to my parents? My dad will never understand, and even if my mom does, she won't ever be comfortable with it."

Carlen rubbed Kit's back gently, "My parents will understand, but I'd like you to be with me when I tell them."

Kitsune looked up into his eyes and nodded, "Let's go tell them now. My parents think we'll be out all day, so we have time to get lunch after that and think about what to tell them."

Carlen and Kitsune walked into Carlen's living room, which was arranged with three couches surrounding a coffee table and a TV on the fourth side.

Carlen called out to his parents, "Mom! Dad! Can you come here? I need to talk to you."

Kit hugged Carlen reassuringly and they went to sit on the couch.

Mrs. Roberts walked in first and smiled at Kit, "Hello Kitsune. How are you today?"

Kit smiled at her nervously, "Pretty good."

She was a little shorter then Kit and had a thin, wiry build. As she walked she pushed her long brown hair out of her eyes. Mr. Roberts walked in and stood by his wife, he was much taller and heavier built then Mrs. Roberts and they contrasted each other almost perfectly, as he had short, graying blonde hair and had a small bald spot on the top of his head. They stood behind the couch that was opposite the one Kitsune and Carlen sat on, looking at them expectantly.

Carlen looked up at them and nodded towards the couch, "This might take a while."

Mr. and Mrs. Roberts walked around the couch to sit down.

"Well, how to explain. Um... Kit and me, we..." Carlen stopped and blushed; Kit nudged him with his elbow, "We're going out," Carlen blurted.

Mr. Roberts looked at them quizzically, "What do you mean? Going where? Or... um... did you mean that as in...dating? Like..." he stopped and coughed into his hand, "...more then friends?"

Mrs. Roberts jabbed him with an elbow, "Honey! Let them finish before you jump to conclusions!" She looked back expectantly at Carlen.

Carlen coughed nervously, "Well... actually... he's right." Kit wrapped his hand around Carlen's and nodded resolutely.

This time, it was Mrs. Roberts turn to blush. "Well... urm," she stopped and collected herself, "You both have a lot in common. I suppose it isn't that surprising you're attracted to one another."

Mr. Roberts looked back up at them still blushing, "She is right I suppose. It is your decision. And, I can honestly say I'm happy for you two."

Carlen gripped Kit's hand and smiled, "Thank you for understanding."

A short while later, Kit and Carlen sat on a bench in a secluded area of the local park. Talking more seriously then they ever had. They talked about the kind of people they found attractive, and even just about things they used to talk about. After a long while, Kit took Carlen's hand in his own and scooted up against him.

"I never thought I'd turn out gay," said Kit nervously.

Carlen scratched his nose nervously, "Yeah, same here..."

Carlen turned to look at Kitsune, and was surprised to find their faces so close together. They looked each other in the eyes for a long moment, and then Kit leaned in a bit and kissed Carlen very softly and quickly on the lips. Carlen jerked back a bit, and Kit blushed and turned away.

"S-sorry," Kit stuttered, ashamed.

Carlen looked at him for a moment, and then he turned Kit's head towards him and kissed him back. They sat like that for a moment; their lips pressed together, before Carlen pulled back and chuckled very quietly.

"What?" asked Kit; annoyed, and frowning.

"It's just..." Carlen smiled at him, "Your whiskers tickled me."

Kit's frown turned into a smile and he giggled. Carlen hugged him and Kit rested his head against Carlen's shoulder.

Chapter 5: Sailing Day

Things in Kit's life didn't change drastically when he and Carlen started going out. They spent just as much time together, though usually much closer together, and Kit kept up all his work. The one thing that did change was people's opinions of them. After people realized what was happening between Kitsune and Carlen; which happened the first day after their date since Kit and Carlen were seen holding hands behind the school in the morning (they hadn't thought anyone was around). Kit lost most of the few friends he had. A small handful of his friends seemed to understand, and all of them were uncomfortable, but they were very open-minded about it. Carlen and Kit spent every moment they could with one another, held in one another's arms they felt safe, secure from all the hate around them.

About a month later Kit was sitting in his room playing his favorite video game when he heard a knock at his door, "Come in!" Kitsune called as he hit pause.

It was his mother, "Kitsune, can you come downstairs for a minute?"

Kit got up nervously; his mother never used his full name unless it was serious. He walked down the stairs slowly, trying to figure out what might need talking about. Carlen was the first thing that came to mind, but his parents couldn't have found out about that, could they?

"Kit, sit down please," it was Kit's dad. He had the most serious expression on his face Kit had ever seen, "We need to talk."

"Okay, what do we need to talk about?" Kit asked nervously as he sat down, he thought about smiling for a second but he found that he couldn't.

"You've been seeing Carlen a lot lately, we're worried about you. We need to know, are... are you doing anything illegal?" asked Kit's mother seriously.

Kit twitched in amazement, he hadn't expected this.

Of course, the straight A druggie, that's me, was what Kit thought. But what he said was, "Of course not! Why would I do anything like that? I'm not an idiot."

Kit's mom looked at him, "We know that sweetie, it's just... we never talk to you anymore, we never see you with anyone but Carlen, and you never come out of your room. We just want to know your okay."

Kit sighed, this seemed like the best time to tell them, it would erase their suspicions about illegal activities at least, "Me and Carlen... we... well... we've been dating."

Kit's mother looked at him in shock; it was obviously the last thing she had been expecting. His father's face filled confusion, "You mean like... a gay relationship?"

"Yes, but-"

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Kit's father roared as he stood.

"What!? But dad I-"

Kit's father cut him off again, his voice was filled with rage, "I don't care what excuse you have! I won't have someone like you in my house! You have thirty minutes to pack! At the end of that time I want you OUT!"

Kit ran up the stairs, his eyes welling with tears. How could his parents not understand? His father hadn't even given him time to explain. Half blind in anger, Kit yanked his suitcase out from under his bed. He had gotten it years ago for trips, it was huge, and it could fit his entire wardrobe with space to spare.

Kit kept his clothes folded and in his drawers so it only took him a few minutes to pack his clothes. He spent the rest of the time emptying his room. He threw all his collectables into the suitcase wrapped in socks so as not to break, and he rolled up the posters that literally covered the walls of his room. Lastly, he unplugged his computer and managed to fit it at one end of his suitcase.

He had stopped being angry some time ago, now his emotions just swirled around. All the things he had just done felt like they were done by someone else, like he was just an observer. As he stopped and surveyed the bare room, all his anger and frustration came flooding back to hit him full force. He felt tears streaming down his face, wetting his fur, but he didn't care. He lugged the huge and heavy suitcase down the stairs and headed for the front door.

His mother yelled after him, "Kitsune, wait!"

Kit didn't even turn; he just yelled back, "Leave me alone!"

A half an hour later, Kit was sitting on his suitcase at the end of his street, he had been crying and the fur under his eyes was soaked. He pulled out his cell phone and fought to bring his tears under control. He dialed the only number he could think of at the moment. Carlen was at the other end when the phone was picked up and Kit's eyes welled with tears again as he heard him say hello.

"Kit? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Carlen asked when he heard the sobs.

Kit managed to talk in between sobs, "No! No, I'm not okay!" he stopped to try and control himself, "I told my parents about us! They... they kicked me out! I need a place to stay," Kit broke down and couldn't talk anymore.

Carlen's voice was filled with concern at the other end of the line, "You're by your house right? I'll come over and pick you up. Just stay there!"

Kitsune tried to wipe his tears away when he saw Carlen's car pull up. Carlen jumped out and ran to Kit. For a moment Kit just stood there face to face with Carlen, but after a second he burst into noisy tears and fell into Carlen's arms. Carlen held him for a moment, then broke away and lugged Kit's suitcase to the trunk of his car and wrestled it in.

"C'mon Kit, let's go," Carlen said to Kit in a voice filled with sympathy.

Kit sobbed and crawled into the passenger seat of his car. Kit was so distracted and sad that it was only thanks to Carlen's intervention that he didn't shut his tail in the door. Carlen went around to the driver's side, got in, and started the car. Kit looked out the window and his tears stopped. He was still crying, but the tears just wouldn't come. As they drove down the road towards Carlen's house they stopped at a red light, and Kit felt Carlen's hand on his shoulder and looked at him. Carlen was giving him a look that spoke volumes; he really did care and he hated seeing Kit get hurt like this. Kit went back to staring out the window and Carlen drove down the road and turned into his driveway.

Carlen jumped out and started wrestling Kit's suitcase from the trunk while Kit got out. Carlen led Kit up the steps and into the house. Carlen's parents looked up from the show they were watching on TV and jumped up when they saw Kit follow Carlen inside.

"What happened? You left in such a rush Carlen! Are you alright Kitsune?" asked Mrs. Roberts, she was obviously nervous and worried that something terrible had happened.

Carlen leaned the suitcase up against the end of the couch farthest from the door, "He told his parents about us, and they kicked him out of the house," Carlen explained plainly.

"Oh! You poor thing!" Mrs. Robert said as she stepped up and took Kit into an embrace that Kit barely returned.

Mr. Roberts walked over to Kit and wrapped an arm around him as Carlen's mom stepped back, "You can stay here until they come to their senses. We don't have a spare bed here though..."

"You can stay in my bed Kit, I'll sleep on the couch" said Carlen.

"No," everyone in the room jumped as Kit spoke, "My parents won't let me come back. You may know my mom, but my dad would never let me back in. Even if he did, it won't be for awhile. I can sleep on the couch, who knows how long I'll be here."

Carlen took Kit by the arm and walked him over to the couch across from the TV where they sat down. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts went into the kitchen and Kit rested his head against Carlen's chest.

"Everything will be alright. You can stay here until your parents cool off. If they don't, I'm sure my parents won't mind if you stay," Carlen said quietly to Kit as he licked the top of his head comfortingly, a very catlike gesture that startled Kitsune momentarily.

Kit looked up at him and his heart warmed. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all. Kit hugged Carlen close and Carlen wrapped his arms around him. Kit straightened up and calmed himself down, after just a minute he was acting normally. Trying to get his mind off things he started to talk to Carlen like they usually did, they talked about school, argued over which books or video games were better, and what they should watch on TV. Carlen's parents were talking at the kitchen table in the next room over and the TV was showing a commercial for the newest movie.

Kitsune leaned over and kissed Carlen. They hadn't kissed since that first time in the park. They had both been so nervous. But Kit needed comfort. Carlen was somewhat startled but relaxed after a moment and they held each other close, their lips pressed together. Carlen was startled again when he felt Kit part his lips slightly, and the tip of his tongue pressed against Carlen's lips. Carlen parted his own lips nervously and he was stunned when he felt Kit slip his tongue into his mouth.

Carlen froze for a moment, but then he pressed his own tongue against Kit's and they began to make out, there on the couch. Kit noticed that Carlen's parents had stopped talking and broke away.

"Your parents are probably watching us," whispered Kit.

"I don't care," replied Carlen as he kissed Kit passionately once more.

Chapter 6: Love

Kitsune stayed at Carlen's house for two weeks before he got any word from his parents. His mother had sent Mrs. Roberts a package of things Kit forgot.

When Kit arrived, Mr. and Mrs. Roberts were sitting on the couch he usually slept on, reading the letter his mother had sent.

"What is it?" Kit asked when he walked over.

Mr. Roberts looked up, "Where's Carlen? Didn't you come home together?"

"He's picking up some things in his car. What's in the package?" Kit responded, not being brought off topic.

Mrs. Roberts spoke up, seeing her husband's reluctance, "Your mother sent some things you forgot. Mostly just clothes, a few things she found sitting around the house. She sent us a letter and there's another one for you. Here it is."

She handed Kit an unopened envelope. Kit sat down on the next couch over and used a claw to open the envelope. Then, flipping the letter open, he read slowly. He read the letter twice to make no mistake, a habit he had developed when reading letters or instructions.

He leaned back in the couch and sighed, "That's it then."

Mr. Roberts nodded, "I guess you'll be staying a while longer then we thought."

Carlen walked in and stopped, looking at each of their faces, "What's wrong? Did something happen while we were at school?"

"Mrs. Freeman sent a package of some things I forgot," Kit said, his voice devoid of emotion. Carlen knew he was hurting and his ear twitched when he noticed Kit had said 'Mrs. Freeman' rather than 'mom'.

"Kit can still stay here can't he?" Carlen asked his parents, concern obvious in his voice.

"Of course he can stay here! We'd be glad to have you here! I'll start cooking dinner!" said Mrs. Roberts. She got up and picked up Kit's letter from where he had dropped it on the floor and threw his and their letters in the trash bin in the kitchen. Mr. Roberts sighed and got up to go in the office that branched off from the kitchen to work at his computer. Kit noticed he usually did so every day.

Kit looked over at Carlen, "What does your dad do for a living? I never see him go to work."

"He's an accountant so he can work from here most of the time. Anyways, let's go work on that paper we got in English, it's probably going to take awhile," Carlen said as he walked towards the stairs.

Kit got up and followed him up the stairs and into his room where they had Kit's computer set up next to Carlen's. Carlen's room was right at the top of the stairs, the first door on the right, with his parents' right across the hall. The room had a bed right across from the door and an open space to the left where Carlen kept his computer. Carlen sat at his desk and Kit pulled a chair up to his own computer on a smaller desk they had gotten out of Carlen's basement. Carlen got to his desktop and Kit blushed when he saw the background. It was a picture of Kit sitting on a green lawn, smiling up at the camera. Kit looked back to his own computer and clicked on his instant messenger. Opening an account under the name 'Vratix99' he checked to see if anyone was online.

"Isn't your account name 'Foxxy'?" asked Carlen, leaning back to see Kit's screen.

"Yeah, I use this one to talk to people who don't like us. Very handy for finding out the latest rumors," Kit replied as he started talking to someone, "Apparently they just recently lost all the gay's support since we started going out. That's an unforeseen bonus. The entire school is split into two sides, 'They're okay' and 'They're freaks'. There are a few people that haven't picked a side, mostly the religious people at school."

Carlen frowned, "When did life get so complicated? It never seemed this bad before."

"Honestly? It started when you got here. Before that, people were all 'he's alright I guess', but now that there's two of us they're freaking. I should probably get started on that paper. What was it about? Ernest Hemingway, right?" Kit closed the window.

Carlen nodded, "Yeah, I'll get a good site up about him. Maybe on-"

He stopped as Kit leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I love you"

Carlen looked over at him with slightest hint of a smile; he had never heard Kit say that before. He responded softly, "I love you too."

Chapter 7: Happy Birthday

School ended one week later and Kitsune and Carlen spent every moment they could together. Every day they would go out in Carlen's car and spend the day walking the nearby city, exploring the shops and restaurants. For Carlen they were the happiest days of his life, but Kit slowly sank into depression. After a month, he started to spend the normally happy time they had in the evening curled up against Carlen on the couch, staring at the TV. Carlen did his best to cheer Kit up, he would hold Kit close and rub his back. He even picked up the very catlike habit of licking Kit's head. Carlen was deeply concerned for Kit, and when Kit began to cry nightly, Carlen was so upset he told his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts managed to convince Kit to see a counselor and, with Carlen's support, soon improved. The first half of Kit and Carlen's senior year in high school went by uneventfully.

Kitsune shook Carlen into wakefulness. Carlen blinked sleep from his eyes and, sitting up in bed, he smiled up at Kit, "G'morning Kit. What are you doing up here?"

"I just wanted to wish you a happy eighteenth birthday! Here I got you something," Kit said, sitting on the side of his bed, as he pulled a beautifully wrapped package from behind his back.

"Thanks Kit," Carlen responded, taking the package from him.

He unwrapped the package and pulled out a book and a T-shirt. While Carlen was looking at the gifts, Kit noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt and he found himself staring at the slim build of the black cat before him, then Carlen spoke and startled him.

"Nice shirt, how'd you get this? It's my favorite band! I've been looking everywhere for one of these!" Carlen said as he held the shirt up.

"I used to hang out with one of their stage hands freshman year, he was a junior back then, so it took some phone calls to find him after all this time." Kit said as he grinned at Carlen, "I'm glad you like it. That book used to be my favorite; I thought you'd like it."

Carlen grinned back at him, "Thanks a lot Kit. They're both great. Much better then what I got you for your eighteenth birthday."

Carlen leaned forward and kissed Kit, who immediately embraced him. For a long time they sat there, kissing passionately, their tongues intertwined, and the fox's tail wagging happily.

"Uh... Carlen, Kitsune, breakfast is ready..."

Kit jumped up from the bed and faced Mr. Roberts who was blushing furiously in the doorway; Kit responded nervously "O-Okay."

Carlen watched his father leave and said to Kit, "Umm... could I have a little privacy? Uh... I'm not decent."

Kit blushed and glanced at the blanket covering him, "Oh."

Kit walked out into the hall and closed the door behind him. Walking down the stairs he thought pleasantly of how close he had been to Carlen, only a blanket separating him from-

He turned the corner and almost ran into Mr. Roberts who was standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Sorry Mr. Roberts! I didn't see you there," said Kit hurriedly.

Mr. Roberts turned and sat down at the table, propping up the morning's newspaper he muttered under his breath, "Tell me about it..."

Kit blushed and sat down while Mrs. Roberts slid a pancake onto his plate. Carlen walked into the room in his new shirt and sat down.

"I made you pancakes for your birthday! Home-made!" said Mrs. Roberts cheerfully.

"Thanks mom," said Carlen as he slid into a chair.

Kit took a bite and chewed for a minute, then swallowing he looked at Mrs. Roberts, "They're delicious!"

Mrs. Roberts smiled at him, "So what are you two planning on doing on this beautiful Saturday."

"Not much," interjected Mr. Roberts, "They spent most of it in bed."

Kit looked up at him from his food, wondering what he meant by it. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts had been asleep by the time he and Carlen had gone to bed. They had watched TV on the couch for a few minutes before turning it off and then Carlen went straight to his room. Could Mr. Roberts be suspecting something more serious?

Mrs. Roberts, apparently not considering the possible implications, spoke brusquely, "It's only ten thirty! They didn't sleep that late! Never mind him, what were you planning?"

Kit swallowed before addressing the question, "I was thinking we could go to the theater and watch that new movie tonight. Until then, there's this new book store in town you'd like Carlen."

"Sounds good," said Carlen, around his own mouthful of pancake.

Kit watched the movie, his head resting on Carlen's shoulder. Carlen's arm was draped across the fox's shoulders and Kit breathed in his warm scent. He loved being so close to the cat, glancing at Carlen's lap he thought about that morning when he had given him the shirt and book. He had been so close to him then, if he had just moved his arm over he would have-

Carlen shifted and Kitsune sat up straight.

"I love you Kit," said Carlen as he leaned over to kiss him.

Carlen immediately parted his lips and thrust his tongue into Kit's mouth, rubbing against Kit's. Kit was in utter bliss, he ran his tongue against the cat's own rough one. He loved the texture, and the way it felt. One of Carlen's hands had strayed down to Kit's thigh. Kit moved his own hand to the cat's head, and ran his fingers through the slightly longer fur on the sides. He kissed Carlen more passionately then he ever had before, his muzzle was pressed firmly against Carlen's. Kit felt Carlen pull away and he broke the kiss reluctantly. He kept his face close to Carlen and looked at him quizzically.

"Kit... the movie is over," said Carlen gently.

Kit looked around, noticing for the first time the credits were rolling and only a few stragglers were making their way out of the theater. He blushed when he noticed an usher staring at them; a dumbfounded look on his face, his eyes wide and mouth open slightly. He looked back at Carlen and smiled nervously. They had been making out for at least twenty minutes.

"Oh," he said bluntly.

Chapter 8: Graduation

The senior year over, Kitsune and Carlen sat side by side at the back row of the graduation ceremony. They had been seated separately from the other graduates. Kit assumed that it was so the parents of the other graduates wouldn't complain, or something along those lines.

Kit wrapped his hand around Carlen's so no one else could see and whispered under his breath to him, "Happy graduation, love."

Carlen glanced at him, and Kit saw him repress a smile when he heard what he had called him, "You too."

Kit got up as his name was called and walked up to get his diploma. He beamed out at Mr. and Mrs. Roberts who were applauding from the bleachers on the outer edge of the gymnasium where the stage was set up. He walked down past Carlen, who was heading up to get his own diploma, and smiled at him. He sat down and a minute later Carlen walked over and sat down as well.

"Well we're finally out of high school, sure has taken long enough," said Kit quietly as he intertwined his fingers with Carlen's.

"Yeah... you know... prom is in two weeks..." said Carlen, trailing off and looking nervous.

Kit's ears perked and his hat almost fell off its precarious perch. Pushing his hat back up Kit looked expectantly at him, "Yeah?"

"Well, do you want to go?"

Kit gripped his hand firmly, "Only if it's with you, love," he paused for a moment and spoke more quietly, "You know I'd kiss you right now if everyone wasn't watching."

Carlen blushed and looked back up at the stage, obviously fighting to keep down an enormous smile. Kitsune looked back up and managed to control himself as well.

He smiled inwardly and thought to himself, I'm so glad I have Carlen to share all this with. We're both eighteen now too...

Kitsune sat in the passenger's seat of Carlen's car on the way to the nearest tailor, which was an hour's drive from Carlen's house.

Kit looked out the window and thought out loud, "Why can't we just rent tuxes like everyone else?"

Carlen chuckled, "Because the average tux rental doesn't include a hole for your tail. Not to mention we don't have the same build as most people. Just be glad our moms could sew tail holes in on our normal clothes."

Carlen turned into the driveway of the tailor and Kit looked up at the sign which proudly proclaimed 'The Best Clothes You'll Ever Wear!'

Yeah right, thought Kit to himself, I wonder how they'll react when they find out why we asked for their best tailor.

Carlen opened his door and walked around to open Kit's while the fox fumbled with his seatbelt. Getting out, Kit walked up to the door of the tailor and tried to open it. Finding it locked, he looked at Carlen who was just walking up, "It's locked."

Carlen pointed to a sign on the wall next to the door, "Hit the intercom."

Kit pressed the buzzer on the wall next to a speaker, and a man with a strange French accent spoke through the speaker, "We are expecting an appointment, if you need something done please call and set up one for yourself."

Carlen hit the "talk" button and spoke into the mike, "We're your appointment, this is Carlen Roberts"

"My apologies. Please, come in"

Kit heard the lock in the door click and he pushed it open. A man in black dress pants and shirt walked up and froze. He was bald and cleanly shaven and had horn-rim glasses on. Pulling himself together he approached them, "H-Hello, how are you? Forgive me I am somewhat flustered, please, no offense meant."

It was apparent from the way he talked that he was gay as well, "None taken. Trust me, we're used to it.," replied Carlen.

"Well then, my name is Aaron Elbridge. If you'll come this way, we'll get started," said the man gesturing toward a room off of the reception area. Carlen and Kitsune walked in, soon followed by Mr. Elbridge who swept past them turned up the lights, and addressed them, "Now then who's first?"

Kit looked at Carlen who spoke clearly, "You can go first."

Kitsune stood in front of the mirror, turning to look at the tux from all sides. It had taken four hours to complete the tux and Carlen was waiting for his, which was almost complete.

Kit spoke his opinion, "You do good work, and you even managed the hole for my tail perfectly."

It was a more casual tux; it lacked most of the frill around the neck but still managed to look very formal.

Mr. Elbridge smiled, "We pride ourselves on our custom work. Now I was wondering if you would allow us to take a picture. We like to take pictures of our better pieces, and yours turned out very well."

Kit nodded and waited for him to pull out a camera. Then, straightening, he smiled and Mr. Elbridge snapped a photo. Carlen stood as a man walked in and handed him his suit and he took it into a changing room. A few minutes later Carlen walked out in a more formal tuxedo, adjusting it slightly.

He turned in front of the mirror, and then he looked to Kit and held out his arms, "What do you think? They did do really well with the tail."

"It looks great on you, very attractive, love," Kit said smiling and raising one eyebrow.

Mr. Elbridge looked over at them, "Oh, are you two going out? I-I mean... no offense if you were just joking."

Carlen nodded, "Well... yeah."

"Oh, good for you!" Mr. Elbridge said, smiling, "Do you think we could get a picture of you together?"

Carlen looked over at Kit who shrugged in a 'why not' gesture, "Sure, I guess."

"Oh, that's great. Just sit over on that couch and we'll get a quick photo," said Mr. Elbridge cheerfully. Kit sat down next to Carlen as Mr. Elbridge set the camera up again, "Great, now just angle towards each other a bit...perfect."

Just as Mr. Elbridge took the picture, Kit leaned over and kissed Carlen on the cheek, the camera flashed and Carlen blushed.

Mr. Elbridge stood up smiling, "Perfect."

A few minutes later Kitsune and Carlen walked out carrying their tuxes.

Carlen nudged Kit with an elbow, "You sure have gotten open about our relationship, when we first started going out you wouldn't have done that for money."

Kit twitched an ear, "What?"

"Kissing me on camera like that! You never would have done that with someone watching!" exclaimed Carlen.

"Oh, it was just a sort of spur of the moment thing, I don't know why I did it," said Kit abashedly.

"Well, I think you turned Mr. Elbridge on," said Carlen smirking.

"Oh shut up."