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"Bye guys! Thanks for coming!"

"Bye Nate, bye Cross!" "Thanks for inviting us, Nate, happy birthday!" "Yeah, happy birthday Nate!"

The two otters followed their mom to the car and waved to the golden lab and lion still on the porch as they drove off. As they turned to head back inside, the canine said "So you told your dad to pick you up at six?"

"Yeah... sorry about that, I got mixed up, didn't mean to overstay m-"

"Oh, you're fine," Nate cut off, thumping his friend of the shoulder while adding "I mean, my bad for not saying how long I thought it would be, but I'm surprised the prospect of a six-hour-long party didn't raise a red flag or two for ya."

Cross laughed a little, responding "Yeah... well, you know me, I don't think sometimes. And I certainly wouldn't say no to and extended time filled with cake, games, and friends."

"Ha, very true." As they passed into the kitchen, Nate made straight for the table, saying "I'm gonna snag another piece of cake!" as he sat down. He reached for the knife and started picking out his piece when he froze, hearing a disdainful "Nathan Alexander..." from the other side of the kitchen.

"Awww, please mom?" he pleaded to the adult Labrador standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room. "Just a small piece?"

It was a battle of looks as Nate's mother silently regarded his puppy-eyes. Finally, Cross piped in with a "It is his birthday, after all." He edged up to the table as well as he said this, a motion that was not lost on Nate's mom.

She smiled and relented, walking over to the boys as she said "Okay Nathan, a small piece. Would you like one as well, Christopher?"

"Yes Mrs. McIlroy!" Cross happily answered while Nate eagerly attacked the cake, his mom getting small paper plates ready for incoming pieces of cake.

"Do you want the '1' or the '3'?" Nate asked once the pieces were cut.

"Oh, I don't care." He received the piece with a '1' on it, which was slightly smaller but had an icing balloon on it. "Nice!"

Mrs. McIlory began cleaning up around the kitchen as the boys snarfed down their extra cake. Once the used paper plates had been tossed, Cross asked "Do you need help with anything, Mrs. McIlroy?"

"Oh, why thank you, Christopher! If you two want to start getting the bigger stuff, putting what's left of the cake back in the fridge and cleaning up the den, that'd be great."

"Okay!" "Sure thing, mom," Nate added, already edging the cake back into its box. As Cross came over to help, the lab said "Once we're done getting the wrapping paper cleaned up and stuff, we can try the multiplayer mode in Hot Pursuit 2!" "Yeah! You don't think we'll have to do the single player to unlock the seaside cliffs map, do you?" Cross just shrugged as they slid the cake box back into the fridge.

They helped Nate's mom pack up the pizza and soda as well before she shooed them into the den. "Thank you, boys! All that's really left is all that wrapping paper. I'll leave you two alone for the rest of the afternoon while I start making dinner."

"Dinner? This early?" Cross asked.

"Lasagna takes a few hours," Nate said brightly. "Nathan asked for lasagna for his birthday." "Ah, okay."

"Mom's lasagna is the best!" Nate explained enthusiastically as the two of them started balling up wrapping paper after she went back into the kitchen and closed the door behind her. "I think you'd like it too. Think you might be able to stay for dinner?"

"Nnnmm, sounds good, but probably not," Cross groaned. "Once my dad gets here to pick me up, we gotta get the car back so my mom can get to her "girls' night out" with her friends." He lobbed his crumpled-up ball of paper into the small trash can by the fireplace.

"Oh, dang, too bad..." He aimed and shot his paper-ball at the wastebasket. It missed by about a foot and bounced off the wall. "Gah..."

"Rebound!" Cross dove for the wayward wrapping paper, a moment later tossing it into the wastebasket from his new position splayed out on the floor where the 'ball' had fallen.

"Oh sure, one-up me in the athletic department for the second time this minute," Nate said in a mock accusatory tone. He then started collecting the various games, toys, books, and other miscellaneous stuff that had been hiding among the now-removed wrapping paper. "Anyway, I'm gonna put most of this stuff in my room." He then tossed a video game case of Cross, who caught it easily. "How about you start up Hot Pursuit 2?"

"No prob, Nate." Cross sliced off the plastic wrapping on the case with a claw as Nate disappeared down the hall. He removed FIFA 2002 from Nate's PS2 and set it aside, inserting the new Need for Speed game instead. From down the hall, he heard the lab yell "Put FIFA back in its case!" The lion chuckled and did as his friend asked before booting up the console.

The main menu screen came up just as Nate re-entered the den. "Ah good, starting up smoothly."

"I would seriously hope so," the lion replied, tossing his friend a controller. "That'd be embarrassing if the game I got you didn't work."

"...This is gonna be awe-some!" Nate said as he browsed through all the options on screen. "Eh, don't worry about it! I've been looking forward to this so much, it would've been the best present even if it didn't work."

"You say that, but it'd be a pretty evil tease if it didn't." The sound of an engines revving up and tires screeching was followed by a three-beep countdown, and the two boys began their racing. The two tawny furs got very absorbed by the game, periodically bumping shoulders as they guided their cars through fast turns - and of course, the occasional "damn cops!"

"Gah, you win again!" Cross said, setting his controller down after several races. "Alright, at some point, we're going to have a real footrace."

"Oh come on, we both know you'd smoke me then."

"Exactly!" the lion laughed, standing up.

"Wait, you done playing already?"

"No, but I need a bathroom break. Why don't you do single player and start unlocking stuff?"

"Ah, okay!" And with that, he turned back to the game, already intently focused on his first task.

Cross closed the door to the bathroom behind him and looked at himself in the mirror. 'Okay; now what?'

He had lied earlier; he had intentionally told his dad a late time to pick him up. He wanted time to talk with Nate.

But what the hell to say? He crossed his arms and scowled at his reflection. Should he just come out and say "I like you"? Well, that was kinda bland. And you could 'like' a lot of people. It probably wouldn't get the point across. But "I love you"? Too sappy, and too serious for a seventh-grader to say. "I like you a lot"? _'Now that just sounds like you're looking for a middle ground.'

'Well... this is a conundrum. Heh, I feel stupid. You made the time, Cross, but didn't think it through...'_ He inwardly laughed at himself, scratching his head a bit as he tried to think.

Nate and Cross had become fast friends when Cross - still going by Christopher then - had moved into town halfway through fourth grade. He was quickly absorbed into Nate's group of friends, and the Lab had been the one to give him the nickname 'Cross'. The lion got the sense that Nate liked him, though he hadn't ever dropped any real hints. He was, though, the most likely of their group of friends to spontaneously start singing or dancing, liked having sleepovers, and wasn't a big sports fan, so maybe he went the other way? Also, this semester, Cross had joined their middle school's cross-country team, and Nate hadn't missed a meet yet...

"You doing okay in there?" Nate called from the den.

Cross jerked himself out of his reverie, quickly retorting "Just giving your toilet a BIG test!" He gave a loud fake grunt to emphasize the image.

"Aw, nasty, man!" drifted down the hallway to the bathroom door, and Cross again laughed inwardly, though he realized he had already been in the bathroom for a while now, probably longer than he realized.

He waited a little bit, to give himself 'time to finish', then flushed the empty toilet and washed his hands to cover his alibi. 'Well, I guess I can talk to him whenever. No rush.'

When he got down the short stretch of hallways leading to the den, he saw Nate right where he left him, sitting in the middle of the floor, slightly hunched over, focusing intently on the game he was playing. Seeing the canine's back, Cross got a spontaneous idea.

"Feel better?" Nate asked jokingly, never letting his eyes leave the TV screen. Cross just laughed in affirmation and walked up behind the canine, watching him dodge a cop car. It slowed him down a bit, and he cursed loudly a moment later when he crossed the finish line a split second short of the target time.

Cross just chuckled a little at his friend's frustration and sat down directly behind Nate, straddling him slightly. That made Nate notice that the lion was behind him for the first time, and he looked over his shoulder with a bit of surprise and confusion. "Cross?"

Cross didn't say anything, and just began rubbing Nate's shoulders. Nate stared for moment, then smiled slightly and turned back to his game. "That's nice..." he said softly, rolling his shoulders back a bit into the lion's hands.

Cross was grinning from ear to ear, continuing his back massage. "Now let's see you beat that time trial."

"Gotcha!"

Cross looked over Nate's left shoulder to watch the race; a few minutes later, Nate's arms shot in the air in triumph accompanied by a victory yelp. He straightened up doing so, almost bonking Cross' snout with the back of his head. "Hey, careful man!" the lion laughed, (unsuccessfully) blowing Nate's ear out of his face.

Nate just giggled a bit at the tickling sensation at his left ear (both from the blowing and from the whiskers) before leaning back resting against Cross; he was really liking the simple physical contact. He smiled back at the feline before getting another race underway.

With Nate leaned up against him, Cross couldn't continue rubbing his friend's back in full, so he focused on his shoulders and sides - and on the ear in front of his eyes. After a few more huffs and puffs, he finally nipped at it and pulled it out of the way with a light grip by his teeth.

Nate yipped in surprise and laughed, yanking his head to the right a bit as if to pull his ear out of Cross' teeth. His car crashed in-game during the little tug-o-war before his left ear slipped out of the light grip. "You're silly," he said before starting back into his race. Luckily this challenge had been easier than the previous one, and he had dropped only to third.

Cross found a Labrador ear in his view once again and found himself giggling at the situation - he had never giggled at anything before, to his memory. After letting another lap of the race go by, he nabbed the floppy appendage in his front teeth again and gave a little tug.

Nate extended his neck a bit in the opposite direction as a tug-back, but otherwise stayed focused on finishing his race, ignoring a couple of light tugs. The two just sat like that for the rest of the race, heads slightly apart with the edge of Nate's ear in Cross' teeth. Nate won the race again, and Cross gave a few quick rubs up and down is friend's sides as another race got started.

A little ways into the race, Cross let go of his friend's ear and leaned back slightly to get a better look at the Labrador. Nate didn't straighten his head up immediately, and Cross took opportunity and started licking the open neck and shoulder area. Nate gave a little shudder at the new sensation of the rough tongue, but did nothing to stop the feline grooming, instead giving a very faint whine of pleasure, his tail beginning to wag against the lion's leg.

Cross' own tail was flicking back and forth actively as he continued, his mind turning off - he wasn't watching the game anymore, and it was just like grooming himself... except not, in such a good way. Out of habit, he began nipping and nibbling a bit at troublesome fur, though he wasn't very particular if he got just the fur or part of its owner as well.

Nate stayed focused on his game, letting his attention stay there instead of think about the treatment he was getting, simply enjoying it instead of wondering how much it meant. As he felt the tongue and teeth start to drift to the right, he almost instinctively rolled his head forward and then to the left to give Cross the extra space to work. In the back of his mind, he noticed that what was one little bite every four or so licks was increasing in frequency, until come the last lap when Cross was basically gnawing on him with his hands resting on his sides. He gave off another little giggle and light whine, enjoying it especially when Cross bit with a little more pressure than normal.

...Until, suddenly, he felt Cross' jaws clamp down strongly at the base of his neck, the tingling sensation he was used to by now vanishing with a rush of pain. He yelped and yanked his shoulder downward, quickly freeing it from the lion's mouth before crawl-wiggling out from between his friend's legs and scrambling up to his feet. " OW , man! What the hell??"

Cross let go in surprise when the yelp and sudden movement brought him crashing back to reality. There was initially a look of confusion on his face until he realized what he had actually done, noticing Nate covering and rubbing his shoulder with his other hand, as a look of terror replaced the confusion. His mouth hung open, quivering a bit under the glare of the canine, silent for an eternally long moment - before he suddenly squeaked out "S-sorry! as he scrambled up to his feet and across the room.

"H-hey - where the hell are you going?" Nate asked, taken a bit by surprise at his friend's sudden movement as Cross retreated from the den to the dining room, where he clumsily gathered up his backpack. "Wait, you're not just up and leaving, are you?"

"I-I mean, y-yeah... I didn't mea- I sh-shouldn't have- I should go!" Cross stammered out hurriedly, slinging his backpack over one shoulder and heading to the entryway.

"But your dad was going to pick you up later, right? Don't you live kinda far away?"

"It's just- I think it's maybe... half-an-hour's walk..." By now he had opened the front door, but stopped to continue talking. "I can call dad once I get home..."

"But... you don't have to go. It's kinda cold out, anyway."

Cross' ears un-flattened a bit. "I- you- um, I dunno..."

"I... unlocked the Ferrari Spider, you know... that's your favorite, right?"

"I... yeah," Cross answered, smiling ever so slightly.

He had stopped thinking about his backpack, and was taken by surprise a bit when it slid off his shoulder and yanked his elbow down. Nate gave a soft 'heh' and grabbed the errant pack before Cross could readjust; he pulled a bit and Cross' arm relinquished the backpack. "You deserve a turn on the game," he said simply, and began walking back to the den with the pack.

It took a moment for the lion to start following; when he got pack in the den, the Labrador was standing in the middle of the room, proffering a controller. As he walked up to take it, he saw the quite noticeable bite mark he had left where Nate's right shoulder met his neck. The lion's ears went flat again as he accepted the controller. "...Sorry I bit you..." he said quietly.

"Hey, it's... alright, really," Nate said, rubbing the spot again. "I mean, it hurt - still kinda does a little - but... no harm done in the long run?" He then chuckled a bit, adding "I just want to know what in the world you were thinking."

"I... I really wasn't thinking, honestly..." the lion answered. "I... was on auto-pilot or something, I guess... My mind was completely blank, aside from... you..."

Nate smiled at the tail end of Cross' explanation and just took a step behind his friend, reaching out and applying a little bit of pressure to the lion's shoulders. Cross let himself be sat down, Nate sitting down behind him just as he had to Nate earlier. "Your turn," the canine said simply, beginning to massage Cross' back as the lion got his Ferrari and began racing.

He won his first race and got a congratulatory lick on the side of his face, causing him to giggle a bit, relaxing for the first time in a while. The next two races didn't go so well, though, and when he crashed for the third time in his fourth race, Nate teased "Gee, you really do suck at this, don't you?"

"Shut up!" Cross laughed back, reaching up to his shoulder and playfully shoving the offending mouth back. Nate got him back with a lick to his ear, then talked him through the next two races before scooting out from behind the lion to grab the second controller and join in multiplayer mode again.

They played for a long time before finally turning off the new game and switching to watching TV, retreating back to the couch for more comfort. Although they initially flopped down on opposite ends of the couch, by the time six-o'clock rolled around, Nate was leaning up against Cross.

"...Your dad's gonna be here soon, isn't he?" Nate asked as the commercial break between shows began.

"I guess so, yeah..." Cross answered, sighing a bit. "Gah, I should've thought to call him and/or mom earlier, ask about things... I can start to smell that lasagna now."

Nate laughed and gave a lick to the underside of the lion's chin. "Toldja. Sure you can't stay?" he asked as Cross gave a few return licks to the top of the Lab's head.

"I could ask..."

A minute or two later, the doorbell rang. Nate's mom got to the door first; Cross' dad finished "Ah, thank you, Delia," as the boys came to the door.

"Hi dad." "Hi Mr. Walker." "Ah, here they are! Happy birthday, Nate." "Thank you, sir." "Ready to go, Cross?"

Cross paused for a moment before answering "Well... Nate invited me to stay for dinner..." "You can stay too, sir," Nate added quickly. "So is there the chance-?" "Ah, you know we can't today, Cross," the older lion said with an apologetic tone. "Third Saturday of the month, mom's night out with her friends, and she's already going to be a little late as is. Although it does smell quite good in here," he added, addressing the last bit to Nate's mother. "Why thank you, Samuel."

"But we can't stay tonight," Mr. Walker restated, talking to his son again.

"Okay..."

"Maybe some other time?" the older lion suggested, looking to Nate and his mom.

The young Lab jumped on the opportunity. "Oh! Can he sleepover Tuesday night? Unless you guys have Thanksgiving travel plans early Wednesday..." "That might work," Mr. Walker said, thinking. "I'm kind of surprised you didn't have a sleepover with your friends tonight, I thought a birthday sleepover was a tradition of yours." "It is, but we're busy tomorrow morning." "Gotcha. Well, it's okay with me, but we'd have to ask my wife and your mom here." "Please, mom??"

Mrs. McIlory looked a little uncomfortable for a split second, but couldn't find a good reason that she felt comfortable saying at the moment to say no, so she answered "Well, if it's okay with Mrs. Walker."

"Yes!" Nate's tail started wagging happily, while the end-tuft of Cross' began flicking back and forth excitedly - his mom always liked seeing him hanging out with his friends.

"Well, see you back at school on Monday!" Cross called back as he walked to the car with his dad.

"Yeah, see ya!" Nate answered, waving as the lions drove off.

Mrs. McIlroy stood back from the door, arms crossed a bit as she thought. After hearing her son's pained yelp a while ago, she had peeked in to the den immediately after and on a few occasions since; she had already known the two boys were friends, but realized now that something may have started. She wasn't sure a "sleepover" would be the same as it had been. She wasn't sure if she was ready for her little boy to be that mature yet - or even for him to like other boys as it appeared.

"Nathan honey, can I talk to you for a little bit?"