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Torque sat up, blinking as the bright light from the window hit his eyes. He was in the same room Carly had taken him into when he was six. In ten years, though, the room had changed massively.

Torque's bed faced the door, and the window was next to the bed, the sun shining through the closed blinds as the German Shepherd stretched and hopped out of bed, glancing at the alarm clock next to his bed. He growled when he saw that it was 8:40 and immediately grabbed a T-shirt and jeans, hurriedly dressing.

Carly poked her head into the room, the Border Collie looking much the same as she had that night ten years ago, and said, "You dolt, it's Saturday. Did you forget?"

Torque stopped throwing things into his backpack and said, "Saturday? I thought it was Friday!"

The Border Collie grinned and said, "You might want to improve your memory, then. And do your mothers a favor-shower, please."

Torque shrugged. "Whatever."

Carly pointed. "Don't whatever me. You need to shower, cause you smell funny!" She smiled and wagged her tail once.

Torque nodded and pulled off the T-shirt and put it back in the closet as Carly shut the door and he looked around the room. Above the German Shepherd's bed, there was a large poster of Rammstein, and several posters of Germany covered the wall next to his window. A massive dresser and bookshelf/desk took up the opposite side of the room, and above both pieces of furniture, there were more posters tacked up, some showing large, detailed models of tracked vehicles and others showing video games.

Torque pulled off the rest of his clothing and wrapped a towel around himself, heading down the hall to his bathroom. Once inside the bathroom, he hung the towel on the wall and made sure the door was shut before starting up the shower. He idly admired himself in the mirror while he waited for the water to heat up.

Torque stood about 5'10", and he was very lean, with powerful muscles that he felt lucky to have. The German Shepherd's coat was identical to his father's, except for the fact that his tail was white-tipped, from his mother's white coat, and his back paws were white while his front paws were a dark brown.

He stepped into the shower and stretched, his muscles relaxing under the hot water as he reached for the bar of soap nearby and began to clean himself. While washing, he ended up dropping the soap and bent over to pick it up. As he did so, a strange image cropped up in his head-Torque standing behind a smaller male wolf, about to slip himself into the smaller canine.

The dog shook his head, dispelling the image and picked up the bar of soap, washing the rest of his body and then setting the bar back down, rinsing himself off in the hot water once more before stepping out of the shower and reaching for a towel. As he dried himself off, he tried to forget the image that had come upon him in the shower.

Torque wrapped the towel around himself as he stepped out of the bathroom and padded into his room. He pulled on a comfortable pair of jeans and a semi-loose T-shirt, then picked up the necklace he usually wore, a string with a round piece of glass on it. The glass had dozens of interlocking and overlapping triangles in it, and the pattern also changed color based on the angle at which it was viewed.

Once he was dressed, he walked out of his room, following his nose into the kitchen, where he found Carly and Jade cooking. Jade looked up when she saw him and smiled, asking, "Sleep well?"

Torque nodded, his tail swishing a little as he said, "I had a dream about the night my birth parents died."

Carly tapped Jade and let the tiger take over as she hugged Torque and said, "You feeling okay?"

The German Shepherd nodded, and asked, "So what are you two making?"

Jade looked up and said, "If you have eyes, I'm pretty sure you can see."

Torque grinned and Carly laughed, scooting over to her mate and helping out again. She said to Torque, "Seat yourself if you want food. How much do you want?"

The dog thought about it for a moment, and his stomach rumbled, loudly enough that Carly could hear, and she said, "I think you'll want a lot of this, won't you?"

Torque nodded, sitting at the table and looking over the divider between the kitchen and the living room at the TV. Carly set a heaping plate of eggs, bacon, and toast down for him and said, "Earth to zombie... Earth to zombie..."

Torque looked back at her and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Mom!"

She smiled and kissed his nose, and then went back to the stove and then reached into the cupboards nearby, grabbing a plate for Jade and piling it with food. She set the plate down only to find that Jade had already gotten a plate for Carly as well, and the Border Collie smiled at the tiger, sitting down before making to stand up again. "I forgot drinks!"

The tiger rolled her eyes and said, "Let me handle it. You cooked most of this morning, let me get the drinks. Eat."

Carly stayed put, digging into her plate as Torque did the same. Jade set a glass of milk down by each canine and then slid into her chair, beginning to eat as well.

After everyone had eaten, Carly and Jade looked at Torque and, grinning, proclaimed, "You can do the dishes. The rule in this house is what?"

Torque rolled his eyes, and answered, "If you cook, you don't clean. And since you both cook, I always end up cleaning."

Jade smiled at him. "Or you could just miss out on getting to do anything other than sit in the house all day."

The German Shepherd was already collecting dishes and said, "I get it, mom."

Jade grinned at Carly and said, "Isn't it wonderful having someone do the chores for you?"

The Border Collie shrugged. "It helps." She turned, addressing Torque. "So what were you planning on doing today, now that you've figured out that it's Saturday?"

Jade grinned and said, "Maybe we should stop torturing the poor boy. But then again, it's a lot of fun."

Carly nodded. "You got that right."

Torque kept silent, and then said, "I was thinking of going and hanging out with Raleigh, or maybe just playing some Battlefield at Rykor's house."

Carly looked at Jade, and then said, "I think your mother and I agree on this-finish the dishes and you can do what ever you want. Your homework is done, right?"

Torque nodded, and busied himself with the dishes as Carly and Jade went into the living room and watched the TV.

Within an hour, the dishes were done, and Torque called out to his mothers, "I'm leaving!"

Carly answered him. "Don't stay out too late, okay? If you're going to crash at Raleigh's house, let us know this time!"

Torque nodded, and walked out, closing the door behind him. The air was still slightly chilly, even at ten o'clock in the morning, and the German Shepherd shivered, his fur fluffing itself up.

He walked down the sidewalk, heading towards the new council building-built in the same place the old one had been-and turned onto another street instead. After a few minutes, he knocked on the door of one of the houses.

A male deer a few inches shorter than Torque answered the door, and said, "Morning, Torque. Raleigh is getting dressed right now, but you can go on in if you want."

Torque nodded, and the deer walked back into the house, as Torque shut the door. The German Shepherd headed to his friend's room, and knocked on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Torque." The German Shepherd ignored the sudden thrill of excitement at hearing Raleigh's voice. I'm not gay, am I? What's with all these thoughts and feelings all of a sudden?

Raleigh answered, "Come on in!" Torque opened the door and once again did his best to ignore the trill of excitement that ran through his body. Raleigh was about an inch or so shorter than Torque, and he had a slim body. He wasn't as muscular as Torque, but the deer did keep himself fit-and he was the fastest runner in Torque's class. The deer had light tan fur over most of his body, and his chest and underbelly were white fur. The fur around his little black nose was a mixture of white and tan. He had beautiful deep green eyes, unlike his mother and father.

Torque wagged his tail, a little confused at how suddenly he felt nervous around his longtime friend-it was as if Raleigh had suddenly become a potential mate.

If Raleigh noticed, he didn't say a word. The deer pulled on his shirt and asked, "So why'd you come by?"

Torque shrugged. "I didn't have much to do, and I wanted to hang out with somebody. My mothers were using the TV, and they still won't let me have a TV in my own room, so I didn't have much of anything to do."

Raleigh nodded, and said, "Want to use mine? I've got two controllers-you know that-and I just got..." He grabbed a nearby game and held it up for Torque to see. "Halo 4!"

Torque grinned and shut the door, grabbing one of the controllers that were lying nearby. Raleigh's room was very large-he had gotten the master bedroom, because his parents were very generous. The bed was situated in one corner, and like Torque's, it had an end table right next to it, with an alarm clock like Torque's.

Raleigh's room had a window right above the bed, and Raleigh had a TV stand, complete with a widescreen TV, opposite his bed. The deer also had a desk opposite the door, and a large walk-in closet was directly to the left of the door. Other than the desk, dresser, bed, and TV stand, there wasn't much other furniture in the room. Like Torque, Raleigh had a poster of Rammstein tacked up, but he also had posters of Rush and LinkinPark on the walls. He didn't have any posters of tracked vehicles, but he had multiple posters of video games in his room, more than Torque.

The German Shepherd sat on the chair Raleigh rolled up next to the bed, and the deer sprawled himself on the bed, resting his back against the wall as the Xbox started up.

Torque signed in after Raleigh, and as they waited for the game to load up, yet another random thought wandered into Torque's head. He thought about sharing the bed with Raleigh, just sitting next to him and playing games and stuff... only another part of his brain hinted at something else, and Torque clamped down on the thought. It's just a thought, nothing more. I'm not gay, I know that.

Inside his head, though, came the thought, Maybe you are... and you just don't want to admit it.

Torque growled quietly under his breath and ignored that thought, turning his attention back to the game.

Several hours passed as the two teenagers shot virtual aliens and wandered through Halo 4's landscape. They took a break and Torque stood and stretched, his tail going through a little revolution in response to his entire body flexing. Raleigh looked down and tried not to watch, but he admired Torque's lean, muscular body out of the corner of his eye, and then caught himself and looked away.

The deer saved the game and then removed the disc, storing it and the game in a disc rack. He pulled the blankets over himself, trying to hide the slight arousal the German Shepherd's body and musk had sparked. The deer waited until he had calmed and asked Torque, "So what do you want to do now?"

The German Shepherd thought for a moment, and then said, "You know what... why not just go and wander around in the park. Unless you want to stay here and stare at the TV until your eyes bleed?"

Raleigh shrugged, although inside he was excited to be wandering around alone with the German Shepherd. "Sure, I guess." He laughed.

Torque set the controller down on its charger, and Raleigh did the same as the German Shepherd opened the door and walked out, then waited in the hall as Raleigh shut the door and said, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Torque grinned and walked to the front door, opening it and letting Raleigh leave first. "Ladies first, after all..."

He grinned as Raleigh half-heartedly slugged him in the arm and then set off towards the large, forested park that occupied the heart of the West District.

After the events of Liberation Day-the day that the furs seized the West District-all-out war broke loose as CORE tried to defeat the furs holding the West District. Loran had set up a working communications network and was coordinating with Germany's resistance, and together the two furs first stopped the attacks, and then attacked back, taking territory from CORE. After a two-year long war, CORE gave Faren back to the furs, on one condition. Loran and the German fur, Riedel agreed to it, since it was easier than continuing the war. Faren was given to the furs, and humans were allowed to live on-planet if they wished. CORE asked that humans and furs share the same schools, and the same jobs, and so on. Loran and Riedel agreed to it. The only other item CORE wanted was that the Inquisition still have authority on-planet. Loran and Riedel refused, and after a month of deliberations, they came to an agreement about the Inquisition-one that was not shared with the general public.

When the Silver Concordat was signed, furs in the West District, with the help of several landscaping companies, put together a park in the center of the city. It was a massive, forested set of land spanning four miles, with a lake in the center. Most of the city's feral furs-furs who chose animal forms-went there every single day.

The walk took a few minutes, but the massive park soon came into view as Torque dashed ahead and Raleigh followed. They stopped at the gates and Torque looked at the dirt paths leading off into the forest. The fog was heavy in the park, and one could only see a few meters at most before the fog erased most of the features in the park.

Torque pointed down a path leading somewhat to the left and said, "Let's go that way!"

Raleigh just shrugged, following the German Shepherd as he padded down the dirt road. The deer was trying to suppress his hopes, because as far as he knew, the chance of anything happening between him and Torque was nil.

After a few minutes the fog surrounded them, and very soon Torque took a wrong turn. Suddenly they were both lost, the fog surrounding the two as vague tree-shapes swam in and out of the mist around them.

Raleigh gave the German Shepherd a shove. "You got us lost, you dolt!"

Torque rolled his eyes. "We're not too terribly lost. Besides, these woods are the safest you could ever be lost in!"

Raleigh shrugged, but he hugged the German Shepherd and then blushed, looking around for the nearest dirt road. He pretended not to notice the German Shepherd nervously wagging his tail, wondering what the hug was about, and set off in one direction as Torque followed, not wanting to lose his friend in the fog.

After they wandered around for about 20 minutes, they found the path and Raleigh heaved a relieved sigh, and Torque grinned, saying, "See, we weren't all that lost!"

Raleigh just shrugged, and he said, "Let's go down this path. It even says, 'To lake'!"

Torque rolled his eyes. "Lead on then."

Raleigh did exactly that, padding off down the path. After about 30 minutes, they covered the two miles of distance and sat down on a ledge just above the lake. Torque swished his tail around in the dirt and then grinned. He grabbed Raleigh and ignored the deer's yelp of surprise as he pulled them both into the near-freezing water.

Raleigh broke the surface and splashed Torque in the face, then tried to swim away. The German Shepherd gave him a few moments head start and then chased after him, the dog deftly grabbing the deer and yanking him back, spluttering, and whispered, "Take a deep breath. We'll see how deep we can go!"

Raleigh coughed and said, "You're insane!"

Torque grinned. "You knew I was insane when you met me. Your fault for sticking around."

He dove underwater, pulling the deer with him. He reached the bottom quickly and touched it, then swam back up, the deer keeping pace with him.

When he reached the surface, Raleigh grinned and swam away. This time Torque let the deer pull himself onto the bank as he lazily swam over and hopped out as well.

They lay back on the sand, the dog's tail wagging as he poked the deer. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Raleigh shrugged. "You're clinically insane, like I said."

Torque laughed, and he stood, shaking himself. He noticed Raleigh watching, and said, "It does work, you know."

Raleigh just shrugged. The deer stretched out on the sand, and then covered his eyes as the fog finally cleared and sunlight shone down on the lake.

Torque tugged off his shirt and tossed it on the ground near the deer. He looked back and asked, "Do you want to swim some more?"

The deer shook his head. "Getting into that lake with you doesn't seem like the best idea. I'm trying to dry out, and swimming would defeat that." He grinned.

The German Shepherd shrugged, and then took a running leap into the lake, diving deep under water and then swimming back up to the surface. He swam around for a little bit, and then made his way over to the bank and then asked Raleigh, "Have you seen anyone?"

When the deer shook his head, Torque waded out of the water and then removed the rest of his clothing, laying it out to dry on a nearby rock.

Raleigh turned bright red and looked away, the deer suddenly nervous. He had never been around one of his friends when they were unclothed, and especially one of his friends that he liked.

Torque didn't appear to notice Raleigh's discomfort and quickly got back into the water, swimming out into the center of the lake once more.

The German Shepherd enjoyed himself in the lake for an hour or so, and then he swam back to the bank, where he found Raleigh dozing and watching the sky.

Torque climbed out of the water, his light brown fur dripping and sticking together in wet patches as his tail wagged, drying itself off in a matter of seconds.

The deer noticed Torque after a few moments and then went back to staring up at the sky. After a moment, the German Shepherd sat down in the sand next to Raleigh, and then laid back, his furred body a few inches away from the deer's almost dry one. He watched the sky as well, and after a few minutes, the deer quietly said, "I like watching the clouds. Just imagining shapes and stuff, like that cloud, for example." He pointed to a cloud that was shaped rather like a horse head.

Torque nodded and stretched his arms out, slipping one arm under Raleigh and pulling the deer close. Raleigh didn't say a word in protest, and just snuggled closer, his body heat helping the German Shepherd's fur dry. Raleigh smiled to himself and closed his eyes, luxuriating in the warmth of Torque's now mostly dry body.

The forest around the two was quiet as the sun slowly drifted downwards. After a little while, Torque spoke up, his voice a quiet, deep rumble, "Raleigh?"

The deer looked up at Torque, and said, "Yes, Torque?" He waited as the German Shepherd put his thoughts together and then said, "Raleigh... I think I might be..."

"Gay?" Raleigh finished the statement for him, smiling a little. The deer rolled over so that he was lying on top of the German Shepherd and then asked, "Why do you think that?" He was entranced by the dog's beautiful brown and gold eyes, which were looking into his own eyes as Raleigh squashed the sudden, almost irresistible urge to kiss the German Shepherd.

Torque said, after a moment, "I've been thinking a lot, lately." Raleigh didn't interrupt, even though the urge was strong to make a joke like 'Sounds dangerous'. He nodded, and Torque continued. "Well..." The German Shepherd blushed. "I've been having a lot of dreams. About a lot of things... and maybe you as well. That, and I keep having these thoughts..."

The deer's tail twitched at that, and he smiled. This time, he didn't stop to think and he kissed the German Shepherd, caught up on a massive wave of incredible joy.

Torque wrapped his arms around the deer and held him close as Raleigh pressed in, their lips touching and their tongues gently exploring each other as an electric flood of excitement flowed through them both.

The dog's tail swept the sand around in arcs as it wagged in excitement. Torque drew back from the kiss and said, "That was..."

Raleigh smiled. "Amazing." He rested his head on Torque's chest and then asked, "So... did that help you make any decisions you were thinking about?" He traced a little circle in the dog's fur and smiled.

Torque shrugged, and then he asked, "So you're gay?" When Raleigh nodded, he asked, "How long have you known?"

Raleigh thought about it for a moment. "About two years or so. And," he smiled, "I've had lots of thoughts involving and about you as well. Well," he corrected himself, "You and Calig."

Torque looked confused and asked, "Calig?"

Raleigh nodded. "Yes, Calig. The Doberman, with the dragon horns and tail? Stands about an inch or so taller than you?" When Torque shook his head again, Raleigh shook his head. "You have got to meet him. He's amazing. Well... not as amazing as you are." He smiled and snuggled the German Shepherd.

Torque smiled as well, and then he said, after a moment, "Well, gay or not... I really like you. Well, not like. Love. I love you, I think. I don't know why, but I do."

Raleigh was speechless for a moment, and then he said, "I think that's sweet. Do you really think so?"

Torque nodded, and Raleigh said, "I... I've been secretly hoping something like this would happen, you know?" He smiled. "I didn't ever really think it would happen, but... look, if you really mean what you say..." He thought for a moment. "I think in that case then a certain foolish dog should ask a certain shy deer out."

The dog was quiet for a moment, and then he said, "Well... Raleigh, I want to be your boyfriend, if you'd like." He smiled, and Raleigh kissed him again, and said, "Yes!"