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Rye's first day back was filled with greetings of students and teachers who weren't at the surprise party. Many of the students greeted Rye back with gratitude while those who he wasn't on friendly terms with remained quiet and distant. The day went by quickly, with Cloud now in all of Rye's classes. Naturally they sat in adjacent seats in every class.

As usual, around two in the afternoon the final school bell rang and the parking lot was congested with students trying to go home. Rye and Cloud stayed behind with their usual crowd.

"I already told you all the stories at the pool Sean," Rye told one of the raccoons in the group. Rye had his right arm over Cloud's shoulders while Cloud had his left arm around Rye's waist. They were both engaged in separate conversations.

"I want to hear them again," Sean, the raccoon said. "I'm joining in two years; I could use your tips."

"I'll write them down for you then," Rye suggested with a laugh. "You're too young to be thinking about military anyway."

"I'm a sophomore, only a year and a half younger than you."

"Fine, have it your way. I'll give you the tips tomorrow." Rye turned his attention to the conversation Cloud was involved in with Ariel. Patrick was listening but not putting in his input. "Hey Patrick, do you still have my bag from the plane?"

"Oh yeah," he said turning towards Rye. "We've been trying to return it to you but we forgot it when we made you guys breakfast, and then you two went out on your date. I can bring it by today if you'd like."

"If it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all," Patrick said.

"Okay, just be careful with it, it has two of my guns in it," Rye cautioned the dog.

"Guns? Weren't you suppose to return your weapons back to the military?"

"Normally yes, but I bought the pistol so it comes with me. And the assault rifle is custom made for me for combat, so they didn't want the weapon to be used as training equipment."

"Wow, cool. Have anything else I should know about that's in there?"

"Nope, my officer's sword is being custom made while I'm on break. My uniform and military clothes are in there, that's all."

Rye's attention was diverted to Cloud's conversation when he heard Ariel ask "What did you two do last night at the cabin?"

"Well, with the privacy we were able to go skinny-dipping with each other," Cloud said honestly without any sign of being shy. "We went out to the island that's in the middle of the lake."

Ariel grinned.

"Cloud," Rye quietly cautioned.

"It was a romantic scene with us falling asleep under the stars," Cloud continued, skipping over the details of what they did before they fell asleep that night.

"What are you guys doing today?" Ariel asked.

"Rye wants to take it easy today so we're just chilling at home."

"What did you think of the new Diamond's Heart Rye?" she asked turning to Rye.

"It's impressive," Rye admitted. "I didn't think they could beat the one on the ocean front, but putting the restaurant near the forest was a nice touch."

Ariel laughed. "I agree. That restaurant attracts quite a bit of tourist year-round and now our cities are competing with those around Canidera City as being the richest."

"Not like there's much of a gap between the richest and poorest city," Rye stated. "Everyone can afford to live comfortably on Canidera. Anyway, Cloud and I should get going. Don't forget to bring my pack over Patrick."

"We'll do that first thing," he responded.

"Thanks, see you guys in a bit then."

"Bye," Cloud waved to them. The two otters departed and headed toward the car.

No more than five minutes later, Rye and Cloud were entering their apartment. Rye lied down on the couch and set his books on the coffee table while Cloud set his books down on the dining table. He then walked over to the couch and leaned over the back and looked down at Rye.

"Remember how you always enjoyed playing that fantasy video game?" Cloud asked with a mischievous smile.

"Yeah," Rye answered flipping through the channels on the television.

"I bought it while you were away," Cloud said.

Rye looked up at Cloud and grinned. "Okay, let's play it."

Cloud chuckled and went around the couch and messed with the video game platforms that they owned. Soon the game was starting, and Cloud was lying with Rye, both armed with a controller.

Rye laughed as he played the game. "This is so different in person," he said laughing. "And I forgot that they used the desert species as the enemy. Clever." For half an hour they played the video game until the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Pausing the game, Rye got up and opened the door. Patrick and Ariel were waiting there.

"Forget we were coming?" Ariel asked and allowed herself in, as always. Rye only rolled his eyes and stepped aside for Patrick to walk in.

"Here you go Rye," Patrick said holding out Rye's bag for him.

"Thanks," Rye said and took the bag.

"Patrick, they're playing a video game," Ariel said sitting in the sofa and taking a third controller for herself. "They may beat us at the pool but we can whoop their asses on the game. Grab a controller."

Patrick grinned. He grabbed the fourth controller and sat with Ariel on the chair.

Rye shook his head in mock-disapproval and put the bag on the dining table next to Cloud's books. After opening it, Rye pulled out his personal pistol and his dogtags, and then carried the two items with him back to the couch. He set the gun on the coffee table.

"Do you expect company?" Patrick asked looking at the gun on the table.

"No, but it's nice help to be prepared," Rye answered. He turned to Cloud, still holding the dogtags. "Can you hold onto this for me?"

Cloud looked at him and the dogtags. With a smile, he nodded. "Of course." Rye slipped the chain around Cloud's neck and they hung limply over his heart, similar to the way Rye's pendant necklace hung over his heart. Rye smiled, realizing the connection, and kissed Cloud's cheek lightly.

Cloud giggled and returned the kiss.

"Start a game," Ariel said impatiently, fiddling with the controller.

"Patience is a virtue," Rye said with a laugh, and leaned against Cloud, who was sitting up since Ariel and Patrick walked in.

Cloud went through the settings on the main screen and started a multiplayer match, with Rye and Cloud on a team and Ariel and Patrick on a separate team.

Both teams were good, as they mixed in their personal combat experiences that they all got from the pool with the game-play. Even with Ariel and Patrick having an advantage at the game, they found that the kill counts remained consistent on both sides. Other online players joined some of their games as watchers and the four friends quickly found themselves hosting large games over the internet with them as the leaders.

Hours ticked by and the sun quickly descended. It was in the late hour when they all stopped playing. Cloud and Ariel quit early, but they continued to watch their both of their boyfriends keep playing.

"Well, we should get going and leave you two alone," Patrick said pulling Ariel to her feet. "Thanks for having us over. We'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Okay, bye."

"Thanks for bringing my pack over."

The straight couple left and shut the door behind them.

"I'm going to go get ready for bed," said Cloud, standing up with a stretch. "Are you going to join me?"

"In a bit," Rye said also standing up. "I'll be right there."

"Okay." Cloud walked into the bedroom.

Rye walked back to his pack, and pulled out his custom gun. The rifle looked like half-way between a standard military-issued assault rifle to a high-velocity sniper rifle.

Holding the gun by the handle, and having it pointing down, Rye slug his pack of his shoulder and walked into the bedroom. Rye could hear Cloud brushing his teeth in the bathroom. Rye slid the gun under the bed where he could easily access it.

"What are you hiding?"

Rye looked up. Cloud was standing in the bathroom doorway with his shirt off and draped over his shoulder. "I'm not hiding anything," Rye chuckled. "It's my gun and pack."

"Okay, just as long as you're not hiding a FurBoy Magazine," Cloud said with a laugh.

"Why would I need a magazine like that when I have such a wonderful boyfriend?" Rye asked rhetorically and smiled. He got up and walked pass Cloud, heading to brush own teeth.

An hour later, Rye and Cloud were both breathing slowly, relaxed on their bed and deep in sleep. Like the previous two nights, they were perfectly at ease and resting in each other's arms.