Teenage Troubles: Chapter 15
Chapter 1518 Mourn Street, City of Fait12th of September, 5:40 AMThe pressure against Tennyson's six pack lifted without warning; the polar bear roared a leonine rumble. "Tenny..." A voice carped as Tennyson reached out with his strong forepaws to take hold of his lover's forepaws. He entwined his fingers with theirs and held them still. "I need to go to work and your Dad will be wondering where you-" Keeping his eyes shut, Tennyson showed his razor edged teeth and purred:"It's Saturday my big bear. And my father is taking a weekend trip to an island in southern Veden.""But we should at least eat-""Put your head down, Kippy." Tennyson puckered his lips. "Give papa bear a smooch and then go back to bed. It's my job to handle breakfast." When Kip put his lips to Tennyson's, the polar bear yanked Kip down into a surprise cuddle. At the same time, Tennyson used his power to clamber on top of his lover. He pushed the other bear's broad shoulders against the mattress causing Kip to once again cry out in astonishment. Being careful not to put too much weight on Kip, Tennyson inched forwards until his legs were just under Kip's armpits. "Ohh Tenny!" Blushing, Kip chuckled."Come on." Tennyson winked. "I'm more than happy to-""Ruff! Ruff! Raow!" A small weight jumped up onto the mattress, causing it to tilt slightly. Bursting into laughter, Tennyson dismounted Kip and returned to his original position. He lay with his forepaws behind his back and watched something dive onto Kip. The space on Kip's round belly was taken by a bundle of black fluff with a pink tongue that slathered saliva over Kip's face. "Awww! Were you trying to protect Kippy?" Kip sat up against the back board, their puppy skittering onto Kip's chubby legs in order to begin biting the bed sheets in hunger."Tennyson I think that's he hungry." Kip nudged his fiance. "Ten?""I know..." The polar bear grumbled, but only because it was early in the morning. "Do you think that he needs the toilet?""He went to the toilet outside when I woke up an hour ago. I let him out then-""Kip I told you to wake me up when he needs the toilet! I don't want you going outside and catching a cold.""More like you don't want the neighbors catching a glimpse of my butt." Kip chuckled and kissed Tennyson's cheek as the polar bear climbed out of bed.Tennyson wandered into the bathroom to get ready for the morning and Kip stayed on the bed, running his beefy forepaws through their puppy's fur. "You hungry boy?" Kip yawned and let his finger wander in front of the puppy's mouth. "Inky?" Kip scratched under the puppy's chin, making him bark with happiness and rub his chin all over Kip's forepaw. "Okay Inky. Breakfast time!" After lifting Inky off of himself, Kip got out of bed and wrapped a blue, fluffy dressing gown around himself. "Ruff!" The Labrador puppy barked and leaned
over the edge of the bed. To Inky, the drop looked like a free fall jump from the atmosphere to the earth. He barked once more and sat down, waiting to be lifted out of his predicament. Kip chuckled and set Inky down on the mocha carpet. "Ruff!" Inky barked once more and skittered out onto the landing.Kip followed after the puppy who stumbled down the stairs and down into the kitchen where his food was about to be served. Inky howled up to Kip as he descended the steps groggily paw after paw. Kip caught sight of the clock, "Hmm... Twenty to six. Not bad for a puppy. I guess that it's kind of like raising a cub." Kip muttered to himself. He padded across the linen, kitchen floor and opened a crate of dog kibble. Inky pushed between Kip's legs and tried to climb up into the crate. Laughing, Kip ruffled Inky's head furs and took out a forepaw full of kibble. He lowered his forepaw to the ground. Inky dived for the food, but stopped before he ate. With his little brown eyes, he looked up for permission and wagged his tail. "Wait." Inky whimpered and Kip caved in. "Aww, go on!" Kip allowed Inky to chomp down on the food before the guilt of making a puppy wait crushed him. Leaving the Labrador to snack out on the food that had been dropped, Kip filled up Inky's food bowl halfway and placed it back where it had been. Inky barked gleefully and buried his muzzle into his breakfast. Chuckling, Kip quickly washed up two plates and left them to dry; all of the plates in the house had been used once or twice already. He was about to put some bread into the toaster when he remembered Tennyson's promise, Kip sighed, but if his hunk of muscle wanted to cook breakfast, he wasn't about to complain. Yawning once more, Kip sauntered back upstairs. He didn't hesitate and went straight into the bathroom.The house's bathroom was immaculate, cleaned tiles, tooth brushes that had been washed every day and walls painted perfectly to look like a morning sun rise. A muscular polar bear leaned over the bathroom sink with damp fur, a towel wrapped around his waist to keep him decent. Kip crept up behind his ice bear and clasped the bear's shoulders. "BOO!" Kip shouted down Tennyson's ear, the polar bear only rolled his eyes and stared at Kip with a mute expression, his maw full of tooth paste foam. Kip giggled at the sight and plucked his tooth brush from the rack. "No time for showers is there? Things to do and what not." Kip asked to Tennyson who slipped his arm around the brown's bear waist and pulled him close as they brushed their teeth. Tennyson was much more precise with his scrubbing where as Kip furiously rubbed the brush over and around his sharp teeth to get them clean. "No there isn't. But if you want me to I can walk Inky on my own." Tennyson advocated when he dribbled out his toothpaste, he applied yet another dab of it to his brush and started over; how else was he going to get pearly whites? "No, I'll come with
you. I like these early morning walks, keeps me fit.""Well I don't. I might be made of muscle, but these bones are getting old.""You're not even 25 yet!" Kip laughed. The two of them continued their laughing and joking until a barking interrupted them. Inky dashed into the room, tripped and collided with Tennyson's broad legs in a sketch that could be considered farce. The puppy whimpered. "Aww! I'm sorry boy." Tennyson apologized, he rubbed his leg over Inky's back as he continued to brush his teeth. "Give us a minute and I'll be with you." He promised even though the young puppy didn't understand a word of what was being said. Kip and Tennyson swilled out their mouths with mint mouthwash, Tennyson used two swigs where as Kip took a sip. Finally, Kip sprayed on a coat of antiperspirant that caused him to break out into coughs; Tennyson had already applied some the night before.By the time Kip got back into the bedroom (having performed the rest of his morning ablutions), Tennyson was dressed in a tight, graphite grey t-shirt and grey slacks. A black fuzz ball was curled up on his belly, enjoying the warmth of his owner. Tutting in disappointment, Kip opened his wardrobe to find an outfit that would put Tennyson's to shame. "Not every day is a fashion competition." Tennyson remarked, he scratched Inky behind the ear who let out a playful growl. The polar bear flexed his biceps as he did, grinned to Kip and waited for the brown bear's reply. "As the gay bear on this street, I must uphold my status as being unmatched in fashion. Today..." Kip wriggled his fingers as he flicked through his numerous amounts of shirts. "Today I am thinking, skinny jeans-""Do those legs even fit into-""- and a black polo shirt-""-I swear to God if you were that floral-""-With a floral pattern on one half-""- please don't-""-completed by my chocolate arran sweater." Kip grinned at Tennyson. "What shoes should I wear?""How about I take Inky for a walk?" The polar bear suggested. With a stunned expression, Kip turned to his fiance and glared at him. "Don't be ridiculous, he's my dog." But Tennyson refused to buckle. "Which I have promised to care for.""You can care for it by going downstairs and making me breakfast.""How would-?""Shh! Kip is hungry and you promised me that you would make breakfast." Tennyson chuckled and tapped Inky to make the now grumpy puppy scarper. "How about... A full Vedish breakfast?""Sounds like heaven.""With orange juice, milk or water?""Orange juice for me please." Kip chirped as he started to button up the polo shirt he had pulled on other his head. "But could you make sure that it doesn't have pulp?""No problem." Tennyson landed a kiss on the side of Kip's face and held the bear by the hips."What is it now?""Just getting a kiss off my Kippy..." Tennyson purred. Leaning against Kip,
he closed his eyes and sunk his face into Kip's soft face fur."You can have more if I get a brek-ey off my Tenny." Kip quipped jocosely. "But one kiss won't hurt." Turning on his heel, Kip got on his tip toes to steal a short peck from Tennyson. "Rude, didn't your mother teach you how to kiss?" Tennyson teased."No. She did, however, teach me that somefur has breakfast to be making." Kip hinted. Tennyson released him from the tight hug, but only after he gave Kip a light kiss on his back. Tennyson half-jogged down the stairs to make a start on breakfast."Rafrw!" Inky barked and sunk his teeth into Kip's trousers, he whipped his head around, pulling Kip's leg, but not doing any harm."What's wrong boy?" Kip cooed and crouched down to scoop up Inky who began writhing around in Kip's arms. Kip cradled him for a moment, pressing their foreheads together. Inky licked Kip's muzzle before Kip let him down. "Where's Tenny?!" "Rafrw!" Inky repeated and scattered from the room. He went pounding down the stairs, his tail wagging about behind him. "Hi boy." Tennyson dropped a chunk of sausage onto the floor, Inky dived for it and devoured it whole. He let out a few more demanding barks, but was silenced when Tennyson shot him an angry look. Sulking, the puppy wandered out into the living room to find something to chew on."Tennyson?" Kip called out as he entered the kitchen. "Yes, Kip?""Can I go and take Inky for a walk? I bet that he's dying to chase some birds." Kip kissed Tennyson's neck. "You don't have to ask." Tennyson smiled to Kip. "See you in a few minutes then."
All Kip did was rustle the leash, Inky came thundering down the corridor barking at the top of his lungs. The energetic puppy tried climbing Kip's leg as he desperately tried to get to his leash. "Calm down!" Kip laughed and kneeled to clip Inky's leash onto his collar. Inky howled and shuffled on his paws as he waited for the door to open. "Strange pup." Giggling, Kip opened the front door, gripping onto Inky's leash for dear life.The puppy shot off when he saw the crack appear, he knew where he was going even under the cover of the early morning darkness. "Kip wait!" Tennyson was in the door way. "You forgot the doggy bags and Inky's toy." Tennyson thrust two cylinder objects into Kip's jacket and kissed him on the lips. "Mhh... Not in public honey." Kip begged. "The neighbors, the Morrigans, will get mad.""Okay, okay. I hate those rabbits sometimes." The larger ursine grumbled as he went back to cooking. "Rrrrr..." Inky growled. Kip turned to see the dog impatiently sitting at the kerb. "Sorry, boy!" Kip chuckled. When the brown bear got level him, Inky began slowly trotting across the street with proud steps. Their walk continued as normal, Inky stopped every minute to sniff at something or to check for any dreaded birds to chase, he found none and ran off before Kip could
see his embarrassment. Of course, the leash stopped Inky from getting to far and when he got to the limit he simply bounced into the air and turned back to run at Kip like a charging bull with some frustration and confusion.They were twenty minutes into their walk and only one street away from home when Inky disappeared into the biggest bush he could find. "Inky are you really going to the toilet now?" Frowning, Kip tried to see through the thick blanket of leaves and twigs. "Inky! Inky!" Kip squeaked Inky's favorite defective toy that made a distinct howl, but still Inky didn't respond. "Inky?" Kip called out, he gave the leash a pull and languidly Inky shuffled out onto the pavement. He gave a pained howl and nuzzled Kip's trouser leg. That was when Kip saw Inky's mouth. His black lips were lined with vomit, there was too much of it for Inky to simply have stuck his nose in a puddle of it. "Inky!" Kip screeched and dove into the bush to see if his worst fears were true. Surely enough, there was an off yellow puddle resting on the leaves. The stench was wretched and the sight was worse, but Kip had other concerns. "Come on boy." Kip tried to run home, desperate to seek help from Tennyson in case something serious had happened. He got one step before Inky whined and sat down. The pup refused to move. "Inky." Kip pointed at the pavement next to him and stomped his paw. "Heel!" With some obedience, Inky dragged himself up to walk next to Kip. Again, the pup collapsed and let out another whimper. "Inky?" Kip stroked the pup's back. "What's wrong boy? Did you eat something funny?" Inky made a noise like a horse's neigh and hawked to cough up some bloody flem. "Inky..." Kip picked up his puppy. "Come on, I'm going to get you home. Alright?" He said to the Labrador who accepted Kip's hold with limited happiness. "Tennyson? Tennyson!" Kip shouted as he shoulder barged the front door open. "Inky threw up!""Well what do you expect? You gave him that worm tablet didn't you?" Tennyson shouted from the living the room. There was clang of a utensils clattering against a porcelain plate."There was blood!""We had bloody steak last night, I let him eat the scraps.""Are you sure that he didn't get anything else?" Kip set Inky down and closed the front door. "He's really tired now as well." Kip watched as Inky stumbled into the living room and slumped down on Tennyson's feet. "Wow... I see what you mean." Tennyson responded and ripped off a bit of sausage. "He didn't even want his toy.""Well let's see if he wants some sausage. Inky!" Tennyson dropped the meat onto the floor, there was no response from the dog. "That's odd..." Inky huffed greatly and managed to drag himself to a standing position, he disappeared upstairs a minute later.Kip's lower lip began to tremble and his eyes watered. Tennyson shot up and in one swift movement, the large polar bear had both arms around Kip's neck. "Please don't cry. We
don't know if anything's wrong.""B-but he's never said no to sausage." Tennyson paused for a moment before patting Kip's back."Why don't we eat breakfast on the couch? I'll put on a movie and we can binge watch the series." Tennyson suggested. Kip broke away from the hug and sniffled, he wiped his nose. "Okay, okay..." He answered. "Perfect." Tennyson squeezed Kip's paw and kissed him on the lips again. "Let me go and make you that glass of orange juice you wanted."9.34PM"Kip? Kip! We fell asleep." Tennyson fretted. "Inky needs walking, feeding and bet he's made a mess...""What!" Knocking his head against Tennyson's as he sat up, Kip hissed in anger, frustration and pain. "Where is he? Inky! INKY!" There was some shuffling, but aside from that the dog did not come bounding down the stairs as he usually did. "Inky! Treat!" Kip tried, still Inky remained somewhere upstairs. "Oh, I told you that he was sick!" Kip sobbed and began marching upstairs towards his puppy."He could have just stepped on a thorn, I'll go pull it out for him.""No, he'd be yelping if he had something in his paw. What if he's ill? Are there any sicknesses that make dogs lethargic and self-abasing?""I'm a psychology student, not a doctor." Tennyson frowned. He squeezed Kip's forepaw and used it to help himself off of the sofa. "Come on, I'm worried as well now." As usual, Tennyson began leading Kip upstairs. They didn't know what they wanted to find and so they walked slowly as if there was a serial killer lodging upstairs."Inky?" Tennyson called with a chirp, the dog whined again in response; at least he was able to make sounds. The two came in to their bedroom , one after the other, to see Inky curled up on the double bed. There was a pillow nestled underneath him, not torn or bitten into, which was unusual considering that Inky must have been starving, thirsty and desperate for a walk. Inky managed a bark when he saw Kip, but his tall did not wag and his dejected expression did not lift. "Tennyson... Go and get a treat for him. Maybe his hearing is damaged." Kip ordered. He stepped towards his puppy, stroked the Labrador's hind legs and watched him tremble. "Inky? It's me." Kip smiled with melancholy, his body was starting to tremor and his voice beginning to waver, especially now that he was seeing the pup's condition. Sitting down on the bed, Kip was surprised when Inky didn't come running to clamber over his lap and maul his face with sloppy kisses."Inky?" Kip clicked his fingers, Inky looked up and managed to stand. He was shaking as he walked and collapsed upon reaching Kip's lap. "There's a good boy." Kip whimpered. On instinct he fussed Inky's back to make the dog somewhat happier, it didn't work and Inky remained solemn. "Tenny?""I'm here." The polar bear answered. "I was just... watching. It's amazing how you can get him to do what you want when you ask." Tennyson
handed Kip a dog's dental chew. "It's all we had.""It'll do.""Here you go, boy." Kip waved the delicious smelling treat in front of Inky, who opened his mouth to softly bite the chew. Kip let go of it to allow Inky to enjoy it, the treat simply dropped to the floor. Before Kip or Tennyson could react, Inky shot up and began gagging. "Inky!" Tennyson blurted out in surprise. A second later, the dog hurled up the rest of his breakfast, but judging by the crimson color dominating the regurgitated puddle of chunky liquid something was a foot."INKY!" Kip half-screamed, he grabbed his dog and cradled him. The dog let out a low growl."Inky?" Kip squeaked in surprise.. "Inky, no, I'm your owner..." Kip tried to stand up, avoiding the puddle of sick. "Tennyson we need to take him to the vets." Kip shot Tennyson the most commanding look he could muster. "I know, I know. But all the vets will be closed by now.""We can do an emergency cal. I'll pay.""We'll split it 50:50 like we always do." Tennyson frowned. "Now isn't the time to be arguing anyway. Get him in the car, we'll find somewhere who can treat him.""Right." Kip handed Inky to Tennyson, the dog seemed to shrivel in Tennyson's arms. "I'll drive."Kip was out of the bedroom and heading downstairs in a flash. His heart pounded, throwing up twice in one day was never a good sign for anyfur or anything: Inky was no exception. "Come on, come on!" Kip shouted up to Tennyson, his blood was pumping through his veins faster than usual and his head was swimming in fear for their puppy. "I'm hurrying." Tennyson muttered. Inky whimpered in the polar bear's arms and tried to hide under the bear's arm. "Shh, shh... It's alright, Inky. No need to cry." Kip cooed up to Inky who howled upon hearing his friend's voice. "Oh Tennyson he's not himself is he?""No he's not. Call Bone Hill Vets. They do emergency appointments." Tennyson advised. Kip pulled on the black hoodie he had worn earlier and rushed into the living room to find his phone.Tennyson walked outside having grabbed the car keys. The puppy whimpered when he heard the car doors click open, he knew where he was going even under the cover of the late night darkness. "It's alright boy. The vets are going to make you better." Tennyson promised as he opened the front passenger door and settled himself down in the seat with Inky on his lap. "Err, hello! Can we make an emergency appointment?" Kip begged, he opened the car door and got into the seat. There was chatter through the phone that silenced after a minute. "Money isn't too much of an issue. Okay... We'll be there in about thirty minutes." Kip hung up. "Okay." He sighed with some relief. "The vet said that it'll cost a fair amount, but anything for our Inky huh?" Kip fussed the Labrador's chin before starting the car. An ambulance whizzed past, blaring its sirens as it went. "I'd hate to be the poor guy that's for."
Tennyson shook his head, he looked down at Inky who whimpered at the noise."It won't be long until you're all better. I promise you baby."The two bears anxiously sat in the waiting room, both of them trying to comfort each other without letting them know how terrified they were. It had been fifteen minutes since the vets had taken Inky in, five minutes ago the receptionist had left and ten minutes ago all of the other furs had left with smiles on their faces; Kip hoped they'd be leaving with the same expression. But so far, that didn't seem to be the case. No fur had come out to see them, no fur had spoken a word to them and the nurses all wore a solemn expression. Inky hadn't barked or whined for their company, yet."Are Inky's owners in here?" A vet, a black bat, stepped out of a metal door to look at the two. She sighed, not a good sign."Err, yes, that's us!" Kip stood up, his forepaw shooting out to pull Tennyson up onto his paws. "Are we allowed in?""Yes." Was her simple answer. Kip darted across the room, making massive strides to see his puppy.They entered to find that the room was empty, save for a tray carrying a pair of scissors and a syringe. There were no chairs in the room, Kip assumed that they wouldn't be staying for long. "Tennyson?" Kip tugged on his polar bear's arm, he too had caught on to the impending event. "No..." Tennyson croaked. "This can't be happening." Tennyson hadn't cried for months, years possibly, he knew that his long time record was about to be broken.Inky was lead into the room, the dog struggled to walk, or didn't want to at all. Immediately, Inky barked upon seeing Kip, but payed him no further attention The Labrador was now more interested in the floor, that was where he kept his eyes. "Right..." The vet exhaled and brushed her long, blonde hair back. "This is... I'm so sorry to tell you this." Kip whimpered and Tennyson grabbed his boyfriend's arm for support, the polar bear was close to fainting already. "What does he have?""Liver cancer." The vet stayed quiet for a moment to let Kip and Tennyson catch up."Is... It's fatal isn't it?" Tennyson coughed into the crook of his arm and straightened his back, determined not to cry in front of Kip."Yes. It will be if we leave it and is already quite painful for him.""Can you do anything about it?""Yes. We can do surgery to remove it, but it will of course drastically reduce his life span. Not only that, but it's very risky and expensive.""I don't care how much it costs, I just want my puppy back.." Kip's voice broke."Kip, don't be like that." Tennyson rumbled. "Even if we do remove it, there's a chance it'll grow back.""What other options do we have?""You can leave it, which will only delay his death or we can euthanize him here and now.""Not my puppy...""Kip why don't you go outside?""No... I want to be with
Inky now." Kip crouched next to Inky. "Hey boy...""Do you want a moment alone to decide?""No...No we don't. I think we both want him to be euthanized if it's this painful for him. Kip, do you agree?" The brown nodded in response (on the inside he was too disturbed to even think straight.) "I'll go and get the needle... I'll let you have a few minutes to say your goodbyes." The vet left the room, sniffling and drying her eyes."Why... Why did I agree to that?" Kip didn't look up at his boyfriend."Because it's what's best for Inky. We promised we'd do what's best for him, didn't we?""I know... But... It's just that..." Kip sniffed and blubbered as he spoke. Inky whimpered at the sound of Kip's crying, but couldn't muster enough energy to stand and comfort his owner. Instead, the puppy scratched the floor with is claws and whined loudly. "Shh... Don't cry boy." Tennyson sat on the floor next to Kip and stroked Inky. "Shh...""Tennyson? Do I have to watch?" Kip leaned on Tennyson's shoulder and tugged on the polar bear's sleeve."Of course not. You can go outside...""No! I've told you... I want to be with Inky. I... I just don't want to see him die.""Neither do I, but be honest, do we have the money for the surgery? Or even enough money for more should the need arise? And what if we keep him alive without the surgery? Every animal protection and welfare agency will kill us for it. This is the morally right thing to do.""It doesn't feel like it..."The ursine couple sat in silence, stroking their puppy and comforting one another until there was a knock on the door. "Hello?" It was the vet. "Have you said your goodbyes?" Kip nodded, his face reddening with tears under his fur. "Do you want to go back on your decision?""No..." Tennyson sighed. "We don't want to change our minds, we want him euthanized." "Okay. Now then." The vet opened the door fully, bearing a sharp syringe."Will he bleed?" Kip questioned."No, we've put a tube into his leg which allows us to administer liquids without the need to find a vein. It's right here." The vet tapped a clear tube that protruded from Inky's leg. "Ready?" The bat fussed Inky's head furs making him whimper once again."Yes." Kip reached into his jacket, carefully picking up the dog toy he had in his pocket. He tucked it under Inky's forepaws and the dog managed one last cheerful 'Thank you.' He bit into the end of it as he waited to die.Kip didn't see the needle going into the tube, or even the liquid flowing through into Inky's blood stream, but he felt it. He felt Inky's heart stop and he felt the puppy's entire system shutting down. He knew the answer already, but still he asked: "Is he gone?" The bat answered with a soft:"Yes..." Tennyson was the fur to start crying now."I'm sorry." He mumbled to Kip as he started to feel his world crumbling. Kip cradled Inky to his chest."I'm sorry
as well.." He whispered to the deceased puppy that he held against his body."Now, what tends to happen is the cor- the dog - starts to urinate and defecate a few minutes after death." The vet informed."Okay, thank you for tell us that.""I imagine that you're in no mood to make a decision on how you want him? Cremated, buried?""No we're not..." Tennyson answered for them both. "You have our phone number don't you?""Yes, we'll give you a call in three working days to ask. Is that alright?""Yes. That's fine. Kip, we should go." Tennyson stood to his full height and patted Kip on the back. "Kip?""I know.. I know..." Carefully, Kip took the chew toy out of Inky's paws, but it felt as if Inky was struggling to keep a hold on the toy. It broke Kip's heart to take Inky's favorite toy away from him, but he didn't want to leave it with the vet. Lethargically, slowly, languidly, the couple walked out of the room holding forepaws as they started to sob again. They got into the car and Kip started driving. It seemed to take years as they drove from the Bone Hill to Mourn Street, especially since no fur spoke. At least, they didn't speak until they got onto Mourn Street."Tennyson?" "Yes, Kip?" "I want to adopt a cub."Thanks For Reading!As always please tell me if you spotted any mistakes! Also, if you're enjoying this series or this story why not subscribe to the folder to see more in this series? Or watch me to see what else I'm writing? In addition, please favorite or vote if you want to see more stories in this series since it'll tell me what I should be focusing on.Story, Characters and Locations © Kalebthecat