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Chapter 86: Sanctuary

It was not long before the fox heard a knock on the door, as was usual. He got up from the couch he had previously been sitting on and opened it.

There stood the wolf, just as tired as usual. He was holding onto his school bag as well as his bag from practice.

He came in and mentioned that he needed to take a shower before all else. Roger sniffed the air and jokingly agreed, though really he did not mind. He sat in his room and waited.

It was reassuring, in a way, that Hunter was now in his house. Roger felt a bit calmer and relaxed, and indeed he laid back on his bed and nearly drifted off to sleep. He caught himself, however, and jerked himself awake.

He turned his head toward the door inspecting a sudden movement, but identified it as the wolf merely walking in. His fur was damp and he was in a towel. Now the fox did not feel awkward looking at him, as everything was in the open.

Roger stood up and properly greeted him with a hug, of which he refused to let go for a moment, but eventually did so the wolf could get dressed. He blushed when the wolf removed his towel and put on his undergarments, and then his pants and shirt.

They took to lying down on the bed next to each other, their legs dangling off the side of it. They spoke of all the things that happened to be on their minds: the wolf spoke of the games and the team and how things were becoming different. It seemed that ever since the wolf had left the team, though not voluntarily, the rest of the team had begun to harbor negative feelings toward the coach. It was not that they were in support of the wolf, but they did not like that they could be dropped at any time based on merely what the coach felt.

It was a little friendlier now, and it was in due part to the camaraderie the students felt in rebelling against the coach. Still, he was their coach, and they begrudgingly followed his orders when he gave them, and they played their games like they needed to.

When Roger spoke of the things on his mind, he spoke of the future. It was an unknown future, but he saw so many roads so clearly. The uncertainty that faced him was which road would be best suited for them to take. They all converged at different points and split at others, like a tangle of string. What was best?

Roger spoke of college and work, and even he did not know what exactly to do. If the wolf continued on his path to playing football, and perhaps even professionally in the future, they might separate. Roger might go down a different path, toward a career. Hunter, of course, assured him that that would not happen. He would not pursue sports if it meant losing the fox.

Roger smiled and then frowned. It was a sweet sentiment, but he did not want to keep the wolf from pursuing something that made him happy. Perhaps, he mentioned, he could instead just go to the school that the wolf went into and study from there. It was a possibility.

What then? Would they have a chance to live together? Would they still be together at that point? Roger hoped so, and he knew the wolf did, and even expressed as such, but there was no real telling of what the future held. It would have been great if they were together for the rest of their lives, Roger thought, but he could not rule out that one of them might hold feelings that were but merely fleeting and transient.

He felt that his were not, however, having gone through much pain and anguish finally identifying them, but he did not know if the wolf's feelings had matured enough to be a true attraction to the fox. He did seem to like him, and perhaps even love him, but did he truly understand what it was to love someone? He was his friend, and then best friend, and it may have only been because he was his only friend.

Hunter shrugged at this. He admitted that he was inexperienced in such things, but he thought that he was genuine about his feelings. He was equally as unsure of what the future held for them, but he knew that he wanted to be with Roger so long as fate allowed it.

Roger gave him many a lick across the face throughout the course of their studying which they began to conduct. It was always returned, and sometimes, with an embarrassed laugh they would pull a strand of fur from their mouth and flick it off somewhere.

The fox had nuzzled the wolf before, and he had definitely cuddled with him before, but now it was much more satisfying and intense. It was as if drinking for the first time after a desert drought, and he gulped as much down as he could, knowing full well just how bad it was to do it, yet not caring. He was happy.

He often thought to move his paw toward a more lustful place, but he thought against it. It was too early, he told himself. The wolf needed more time to figure things out.

Perhaps he would bring it up at some point, he concluded. In the meantime, though, he would enjoy what he had.

When the sun began to set, they headed to the kitchen to retrieve some food. The wolf looked as if he were starving upon setting foot there, and it made Roger feel a bit guilty for not having noticed the hunger before. He made note not to make that mistake again.

In a moment of silence after dinner, the wolf surprised the fox by pulling him over and sat him between his legs, just as they had done in the park. He had wrapped his arms around the fox and nipped at his ear lightly, causing the fox to wriggle about a little, being a bit ticklish.

Roger put his paws on the wolf's legs and rubbed them. He closed his eyes, and for that moment, he felt safe. This was his friend, the one he hoped to be his mate, his lover. This was the wolf he had not given a chance to before being forced to, only to realize too late that it was a mistake to prematurely burn bridges. This was the time and place he wanted. It was warm.

This was his sanctuary.