FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Reid walked into work the following Monday morning with a spring in his step he'd not had since the morning after he lost his virginity in High School. He felt energized, rejuvenated even, and while it hadn't stopped him from having his customary morning beer, he felt like a new man, and it showed - something he would soon regret.

"Morning, guys!" He chirped on his way to the coffee pot. Behind him, Billy and Vance sat aghast in their seats. Reid's smile faded when he turned to meet their bewildered gazes.

"You all right, bro?" Billy asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I dunno; there's just something different about you this morning. You look...happy."

"Do I have a reason not to be?" He sipped at his coffee.

"Well, it sure seemed like you did for the past few years! What in the hell did you do to your hair?"

Reid's hand shot up and toyed awkwardly with his locks, coiffed straight back with a classic, wet-look hair dressing for a look right out of the 1950's. Vance snapped his fingers and pointed at the heeler.

"I know what happened. You got laid, didn't you?"

Billy's face lit up and he sprang from his chair. Reid rolled his eyes.

"Oh, shit, my boy scored some trim this weekend! Damn bro, now that's more like it! You got a picture of her, right? You got pics, little show-and-tell?"

"No, Billy."

"Aw, well, at least you got some. It's about damn time! I mean, how long's it been for you, a year? Two years?"

"Billy."

"Nah, it's all good bro. Maybe now you won't have a stick up your ass around here!"

The pit bulls cracked up laughing, and just like that, Reid was back to his old self. Grumpy, cold, and now with a greasy head to boot. He left the break room shaking his head, and pushed his way through the double doors leading into the bay. He wouldn't even look at his own reflection in the windowpane.

He froze the moment he entered the bay.

Kelvin was already hard at work, and the summer heat was already pouring in through the large bay doors. The Shiba Inu had unzipped the top half of his mechanic's jumper and tied the sleeves around his waist, leaving him in just a white undershirt that hugged his slender form. Rock music played through the PA, drowned out somewhat by the thrum of large cooling fans that caused Kelvin's chin-length black hair to wave in the breeze. There was something picturesque about the guy, sexy even.

Reid shook his greasy head. How inappropriate to think such things! He was in charge of the place, how could he feel physical attraction to one of his subordinates in good conscience? Plus, Aiden. Wonderful, sexy, gallant Aiden...

"Morning, Reid."

"Hm?" He snapped out of his trance.

"I'm almost done with the intake and throttle body, would you come take a look at it and make sure it's good to go?"

"Sure."

Kelvin hadn't been at DPE for very long, but after he'd demonstrated his mechanical prowess to Reid, Paul, and the others, he'd been approved to begin working on vehicles under the close supervision of his hero. The heeler leaned into the engine bay and began inspecting the Shiba Inu's work, surprised to see that it was flawless, as though he'd done it himself.

"Looks good. Go ahead and install the air intake. Once that's done we can get it on the lift and put in the exhaust."

"Okay. Do something new with your hair?"

"Yeah."

"It looks good. I like it."

"Thanks." Reid pulled the inlet tube out of the box and handed it to the other dog.

"How was your weekend?"

He had to come up with something. It wasn't as though he could freely state that he'd gone out on a date with a sexy hunk of a lab and performed oral sex on him.

"It was uh...interesting."

"Oh yeah?" Kelvin answered, his voice simmering with curiosity.

"How about yours?" He shot back, steering the conversation back toward the other canine.

"Pretty uneventful. Stayed at home, chilled with the family, about like usual."

"I pray for uneventful weekends these days. I don't always get them." Reid answered, and laughed a bit. The Shiba smiled.

"You know, I think that's the first time I've heard you laugh. You ought to do it more; it makes it so much more pleasant when I actually do get to be around you."

"Mm. So how are the other guys treating you, are they still giving you a hard time?"

"Eh, yeah, but you were right about them. They don't do it to be mean; I just have to learn how to play their games. I guess that's what I have to do to fit in around here. I mean, this is the first real job I've ever had." The young dog explained, inserting the inlet tube into the receptacle on the supercharger's throttle body.

"I see. So you have your own place around here, or do you live with your folks?"

"No, I live with my parents in Culver City. I'm hoping to get out on my own soon, but right now I'm staying with them so that I can save some money."

"That's a solid strategy." Reid commended, and passed him the air filter and heat shield, "I should have done that when I was your age, I just never really had the opportunity."

"Why's that?"

He just shook his head and handed the other dog a screwdriver with which to tighten the clamp around the inlet tube. Reid's past was something he didn't talk about often, and yet they were segueing into the same conversation he and the lab had had the other night. That information was for him and him alone. And Aiden.

"So that guy, Aiden. Is he a friend of yours?"

"I guess you could say that."

"He's a pretty good driver. Not as good as you, but I saw you guys out there on the track the other day. He kept up with you pretty well."

"Easy to do in a car like that." Reid stated flatly, seizing an opportunity to get the conversation off him. "That car's built for drag, with those slicks on the back and all."

"Do you think you could teach me how to drag race?"

"I don't see why not."

"Really?" Kelvin's eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas morning.

"Sure, we'll come up here one Sunday and I'll show you the ropes. It's not that difficult, few races and you'll be a pro, just like me."

"Think I might beat you?" Kelvin asked with a smile. Reid stared.

"No."

***

"You'd think I was an exhibit in a crime lab, as many questions as that kid asks." Reid muttered, sitting in the office with Paul during lunch.

"Looks up to you." Paul answered through a mouthful of sardine sandwich.

The two ate together as they normally did, not because Reid couldn't stand being around the others half the time, but because Paul was to Reid what Reid was to Kelvin. Apprenticing under the bear had been the heeler's graduation from Mr. Wojtkiewicz's driveway. He'd embraced every minute of it.

"Yeah, he told me. I'm honored and all, but I don't get it. I try to get him to talk about himself so that I can tune him out and focus on work, but he just wants to know things about me."

"Like what?"

"Everything. Like my history, my hobbies, things like that. I swear, it's like we're on a speed date or something."

Paul finished chewing.

"Speaking of which..."

Reid's cheeks began to burn.

"...how'd your date go the other night with...what's his name, Aiden?"

"What do you mean?" The dog answered, laying his ears and cursing his poor acting. Paul just chuckled.

"Oh, come on. You didn't think you were going to be able to hide it from me forever, did you? I saw the way you two looked at each other when he came by, it's as plain as day. Sure, guys like Billy are too young and stupid to pick up on subtleties like that, but this wise old bear knows a thing or two about puppy love." He winked. "If it's any consolation, I always knew. Even Jeff knew."

Reid died a little bit inside. It was entirely possible that the bear was bluffing; he just had to decide whether or not he was going to call it, and time was running out. His silence gave him away.

"Don't worry son. No reason why the other guys need to know, I certainly won't tell."

"Thanks, Paul." Reid responded quietly.

"I'll defer judgment on this to you, but if you see potential in this, well, I'd look at it as a chance for you to heal. I know you're still struggling with the past, but your habits aren't helping you any. I've always tried to teach you to do the right thing."

"Yeah, Paul. I gotcha." He wadded his paper plate and napkin up into a ball and stared at it. For several seconds, the bear waited for him to speak.

"You said you believe in fate. That what's meant to happen will happen and that everything happens for a reason. That we all have a destiny."

Reid paused and thought about Aiden.

"How do you know when you've found it?"

Paul looked pensive.

"You don't. It finds you."

Inside, the heeler winced. Paul's answer sounded like something out of a chick flick, but he couldn't help but see the validity in it. Instead, he stood up, tossed the ball into the trash bin nearby and turned to leave.

"Reid?"

"Yeah?"

"Go easy on Kelvin, huh? I think something's troubling him. I know if there's anyone he can talk to who'll understand it's you."

Paul had always had a sixth sense about other people. Unlike the heeler, he was good at reading faces. Movements, words, and actions spoke volumes to him in ways others never picked up on, and Reid wondered sometimes if that fact was responsible for him getting the job in the first place, sixteen years ago.

Kelvin was fine.

***

"Never have I ever...been tied up during sex." Reid said slowly, holding a shot glass full of rye whiskey from a bottle that until a few minutes ago had been full. Aiden grinned and took a shot, clapping the tiny glass down on the coffee table in front of them. Together they sat on the floor of Reid's apartment with their backs to the couch. They assumed there was less distance to fall in case the game got a little out of hand.

"Never done bondage?" Aiden asked with just a glimmer of hope in his voice.

"Not since my days in the Navy!" Reid joked.

"Okay, my turn." Aiden poured another shot into his glass. "Never have I ever deliberately lost a race."

The cattle dog stared, his glass remaining untouched.

"Did...you just want another shot or something?"

"I guess so! Kind of walked into that one didn't I?" He drank again and refilled the glass once more, the bottle's supply dwindling.

"Never have I ever posted nude pictures of myself online."

"Then you're not living life to the fullest, my friend!" Aiden picked up his glass, toasted his boyfriend, and threw it back.

"I wasn't aware that my life's fulfillment relied on the opinions of online strangers looking at my naked body."

"It doesn't. But I like looking at your naked body." The lab cooed, sidling up to his paramour and nuzzling him. Reid smiled and reciprocated the gesture. That scent...

"I'm sure you'll get to see it later."

"Later?" Aiden pouted.

"I'm starving. Even I don't like to drink on an empty stomach." Reid braced himself on the couch to stand up, but succeeded only in falling back into it, laughing drunkenly as he conceded to the comforting cushions. Aiden, far less inebriated, helped him up and using each other for support, they stumbled into the kitchen nearby.

"What do we have?"

"Bacon!" Aiden exclaimed like a kid in a candy store.

"Breakfast at midnight? You're a madman! I love it."

They began gathering various supplies for a spread of pancakes, fried eggs, bacon, and hash browns with such enthusiasm that one might have thought they'd been smoking pot. It was all fun and games until they realized that Reid's supplies for such a fricassee were few and far between. Only three eggs were left in the carton, and maple syrup was nowhere to be seen.

"Fuck. I'd say let's go to the store but I'm lit."

"Me too...there's a 24-hour grocery a few blocks from here if you want to walk."

"I'm down."

It had been a week since their first date. They'd forgone dressing to the nines, and to the heeler's satisfaction, running from the police as well. Adrenaline was nice, but spending time together at home was just as well.

"It's just a few blocks from here." Reid explained when they hit the sidewalk outside the apartment complex. Small talk peppered the journey; until the lab's golden-furred hand brushed against the tawny hue of the cattle dog's fingers. It was difficult to say just who initiated it, but soon, their hands were clasped together between them, a physical testament to the emotional ones they had for each other.

A ten-minute excursion through the store found them resupplied with the ingredients necessary to turn Reid's apartment into a 24-hour breakfast diner. Bags in hand, they were on their way out when something familiar caught the heeler's eye.

Kelvin was walking to his car, parked adjacent to the far curb of the property. Reid felt his adrenaline rise. What was Kelvin going to think if he saw the two of them together? Surely, word would spread like wildfire in the garage, and before long, Billy, Vance, and the others would poke fun without end. He turned quickly to avoid being seen, and started to walk faster.

"Hey, isn't that your friend from work?" Aiden asked, and Reid froze. Slowly, he turned around and grinned sheepishly at the Shiba Inu, who was staring at them with a deadpan expression.

"Hey, Kelvin."

"Hey."

The cattle dog cocked his head, studying the younger dog for a moment. He seemed upset, or at least discontented. His eyes were red, as though he hadn't slept well for a night or two, but he'd just seen him at work earlier that day, as chipper as ever.

"You all right?"

"Oh! Yeah, I'm good, man. Just picking up some snacks." He held up the bag, "Going to hang out at a friend's place tonight. How's it going, man?" He called past his boss' shoulder at Aiden, who smiled and waved.

"Right on. See you at work tomorrow?"

"I'll be there."

"Cool. Hey, be careful, okay?"

Kelvin got in his car and shut the door, starting it up with that characteristic import growl Reid hated. He turned back to the lab.

"He good?"

"Yeah, he's gonna go get high with some friends. I think he already is. He seemed a little different than usual."

"How do you figure?"

"Come on, he's red-eyed, he's picking up munchies at the corner grocery; believe me, I know, I did the same thing when I was his age." They shared a laugh, and headed back in the direction of the heeler's apartment.

Thirty minutes later, the kitchen looked like it had been hit by an airstrike of pancake mix and batter, eggshells, syrupy plates, and an empty milk jug amidst it all. Full bellies commanded sleep, but Reid had other ideas in mind.

"Ugh. So full..." Reid groaned, lying on his back in his underwear, rubbing his abdomen and staring half-lidded at the ceiling fan. Aiden pulled the sheet over them and snuggled up next to him, resting his head on his chest.

"Do you believe in fate?"

"Nothing like pancakes to get you in a philosophical mood, huh?" Aiden answered tiredly.

"No, seriously. I'm just trying to make sense of it all. I'm not having an existential crisis or anything, I feel like I just need to put some pieces of the puzzle together."

"What pieces?"

"My life's taken a bit of an unexpected turn lately. What, with you being a part of it now and all. I've got no regrets about that. Honestly, Aiden, you're the best thing that's happened to my life in a long time."

The lab smiled and scooted closer to him.

"Paul says everything happens for a reason. But I don't know about that."

It was quiet.

"Did I tell you about Jeff?"

"I think you've mentioned him once or twice, yeah."

"It wasn't even a month ago now; he was in my position at the shop, running the place. He was my best friend. I looked up to him much in the same way Kelvin looks up to me. I mean, he was that picture-perfect, well-adjusted kind of guy everyone wants to be. In good shape, good job, married, kids, all that."

"You can't compare yourself to others like that. You act like there's some linear scale of life achievement that begins with learning to walk and ending with winning the Nobel Prize. It doesn't work like that. You have to give yourself credit for what you have achieved. You just got promoted. You drive an awesome car, you gotta love that; and you've got a really good looking boyfriend."

Reid laughed through his nose and grinned, and put his arm around the lab. For a moment, it was quiet again.

"Jeff was killed in a car wreck a few weeks ago. Did _that_happen for a reason?"

"If it did, far be it from me to know."

"It just...I think about it all the time. I wonder, given if what Paul says is true, if there was some connection between Jeff's dying and us being brought together. If he was still around, would we still have met?"

"Hard to say."

"Kelvin and I wouldn't have met."

"No, I guess not."

Reid was wide awake by now.

"If he hadn't been hired on, the guys wouldn't have had anyone to take out to the Costa Club. I wouldn't have been badgered into wanting to go, and we wouldn't have run into each other."

"Sounds like you found your answer..."

"But even if I hadn't gone to the club, you still would have brought your car to Doghouse. So does that mean that there's some significance to Kelvin and I having met?"

"If Kelvin hadn't been hired on, you wouldn't have gone to the club, you wouldn't have run into me, we wouldn't have hung out that night, you wouldn't be five thousand dollars richer, you wouldn't have been involved in a police chase and we wouldn't be lying here right now ready to go to sleep because I would have been just another customer at the shop who you wouldn't have given a second look." Aiden rattled off on one breath.

"So..."

"Sweetie."

"Yes?"

"Go to sleep!"

"I can't!" Reid began to giggle uncontrollably. "I'm wide awake now, I need more pancakes!"

"No! No more pancakes, pancakes make you crazy!"

Aiden looked up to see Reid looking at him madly, eyes wide and teeth gnashed.

"Oh my God!"

The heeler rolled him onto his back, straddled him, and began tickling him, and they laughed until their stomachs hurt. Finally, Reid collapsed onto the mattress beside his beau, panting and wheezing. It had been years since he'd laughed that hard.

He had to admit, it felt pretty damn good.

***

Reid had been afraid that the next morning would be awkward, but come the dawn, he could barely remember half of the conversation that they'd had. Thankfully, he remembered all of the tickling, all the kisses, the closeness - things that really mattered.

By the time he'd woken up, Aiden had showered, gotten dressed, and helped himself to some cereal from the pantry; a paltry excuse for breakfast given the spread they'd prepared - and ate - last night.

"Morning, sunshine." The lab said with a smile, catching Reid's gaze from the bedroom door.

"Morning. Gotta go to work?"

"Yeah." The lab said, walking to the sink and placing his bowl in it with the casualness of someone who lived there. "You?"

"Yeah, not until a little later though."

"Mm."

Aiden crossed the room and pecked the cattle dog on the lips before embracing him and tucking his head beneath his lover's chin.

"Last night was a lot of fun. I don't think I could ever have a dull moment with you around."

"Likewise." Reid kissed the lab on the forehead. "I'll let you get to work. Have a good day, okay?"

"You too. My place tonight?"

"Sure." Reid smiled. It was the first time he'd smiled before noon in quite a while. Aiden kissed him once more, and bid him a final goodbye as he headed out the door and down the steps outside. For a second or two, the heeler just leaned against the door and wished he could hop back into his bed, which now carried that irresistible scent, but he'd wind up falling asleep and missing work. Instead, he walked to the refrigerator to get something to drink.

For a few moments, his hand hovered in front of the beer can at front and center.

He decided on orange juice instead.