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Riley awoke to Monday morning slowly and reluctantly. There was sun streaming into the bedroom, warming his half-naked body. He didn't even remember physically going to bed the previous night. Looking over, he saw his tiger boyfriend dozing peacefully; the even rise and fall of his slumbering form telling the fox he was still truly slumbering. Riley still marvelled at Lars' amazing ability to sleep, if only there was some kind of way to monetise it they could be rich. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, the fox checked his phone, realising with a slight wince it was far into Monday afternoon, not morning. It was nearly four o'clock...that meant he'd slept for roughly twelve hours. What was even more surprising though was the fact that the Johansen house was actually quiet. He couldn't hear the typical family noise which had woken him up the previous two days, was it possible they were being hushed to let the trio slumber undisturbed? That was unlikely, in Riley's experience families were rarely that considerate about the other members.

Climbing slowly out of bed, he tried to be thankful his hangover wasn't too severe. He'd been fairly drunk at the party last night, but he'd made sure to drink plenty of extra water, and had managed to succeed in not having his body attempt suicide this morning. Despite that victory, he could feel a dull throb of pain behind his eyes forming, not as bad as it could_be, by any stretch, by still pain nonetheless. As he dressed himself lethargically, Riley let his mind wander over the previous nights events. The casual nature of Lars friends, the unconscious Labrador and the brief fight he'd initiated. He was glad they had gotten the girl home, Riley had met those kinds of furs before and they were rarely concerned by consent. He shuddered at what _might have happened, had he not seen the fifteen-year old.

After a quick and boiling hot shower, Riley padded downstairs to the kitchen. As he wandered in he noticed Clara seated at the dining room table, typing on her laptop casually. As the fox made his beeline for the kettle, she spoke up.

"Good morning Riley, how are you today? You guys have fun last night?" It was uncomfortable question; and since Riley wanted a chance to talk to Marcus first...he opted for a brief shrug.

"Good, I guess. A little awkward at first, got over that though." It wasn't a lie per se, at least Riley told himself that. The truth would come...eventually.

"That's good to hear. I thought you boys might never wake up." She chuckled to herself, as if no parent had ever made that joke before. Riley laughed good-naturedly, pouring the hot water into a waiting mug. After adding milk and stirring, he sipped it, leaning back onto the kitchen bench and sighing contently.

"So where are Esther and Henrik?" He asked, not enjoying the silence much.

"Oh, Esther is at a friends place down the road and Henrik is at work." She paused for a moment, and then continued. "I mean, technically so am I. But I can get the work done from here most days." Riley nodded.

"That's good, I suppose."

"Yeah." Was all she gave, obviously focusing on her computer. Riley rubbed his temples, closing his eyes. He knew he had to talk with Marcus, but that didn't change how anxious he was about it.

After a few minutes, he realised the last third of his coffee was cold, and poured it down the sink.

"Riley." He heard Clara say.

"Yes?" He asked innocently, wondering if coffee wasting was a sin in the tiger household.

"Is everything alright? You just...seem a little tense." The fox sighed. Fuck.

"I dunno. Maybe. Maybe I'm just hung-over." He said lamely, not meeting her gaze. "Anyway, I'm gonna go wake the others up. No fair that I'm the only one awake." He said, eager to escape the prodding mothers questioning (Which he knew would just get worse). The tiger mother just nodded, clearly not believing him. Riley knew it was important for the parents to know what happened, but he was unsure whether it'd be better coming from him, Marcus or Lars.

Leaving the kitchen, Riley trudged back upstairs ruefully, towards the teenager's room.

Marcus sat on the floor, leaning up against his bed. He hadn't bothered to get dressed, and was sitting there in nothing but his underwear. The fur on his face was soaked wet from crying, and he had what felt like the mother of all headaches. He'd been awake for a couple of hours, and had done nothing but cry quietly since then.

Does Riley hate me? Was the question he kept asking himself. The fox clearly had very strong feelings about consent, and the tiger had come very close to being a part of something non-consensual. He'd gone over the event in his head time and time again, not honestly able to decide how it would have ended had the fox not appeared. He liked to think he wouldn't have given in...the whole thing had_made him feel uneasy, but still...._Would I have raped that girl?

Could I have?

Sitting there, head hung between his knees, eyes sore from crying, Marcus heard a knock at his door. Looking up, he saw Riley step in. For a fur that had been drunk as well the previous night, he looked very alert and conscious. There was a difficult and confusing smile on his face, and Marcus had trouble discerning what it meant.

For a moment, neither said anything, as the fox leaned against the now closed door, looking down, while the tiger just simply looked up.

"Put your clothes on, Marcus." Said Riley softly. Realising he was almost naked, and feeling more than a little embarrassed by it, the tiger scampered to collect some cargo pants and a shirt. After pulling them both on awkwardly, he climbed to his feet woozily. His back and muscles were stiff from sitting on the floor so long, and he heard one thing or another 'pop' in complaint. Now dressed and up, the tiger sat down on the bed.

"Riley..." He said quickly. The fox didn't cut him off, but the teenager realised he didn't have much else to say but that. He barely knew the fox, but he liked him already and didn't want to be on the other side of his wrath. Especially after witnessing it so vividly last night.

"Marcus, do you realise what happened last night?" Asked the older male gently.

"I...I think so." He replied.

"Okay, well it's important to me you understand that." Began the fox, talking somewhat slowly, thinking about what he said before he said it, selecting his words carefully. "If you, or any of those other guys, had slept with Christie...that would have been rape. There was no fucking way she could agree to it. Also, she was fifteen, below the age of consent."

"Yeah." Was all the tiger replied, looking away.

"Now...I had a friend when I was younger, she was online, and lived in Iceland...but she was my friend." Explained Riley. "She was a little older than me but...that happened to her, more or less. She passed out on a couch at a party, and more than a few guys just..." He trailed off, looking away.

"Oh." Said Marcus.

"Yeah. It...basically destroyed her life. She felt completely violated. This was my friend, and I was one of the only people she could confide in and I was in a totally different country."

"That's terrible."

"It gets worse. About six months later, she was afraid of everything. She felt like she couldn't trust anyone...I mean these weren't strangers either, she knew these guys. Her trust was completely shattered in everything in her life. Probably the only reason she did feel safe talking to me, was the fact that I was gay and online.

"Then....she wasn't able to cope anymore. She disappeared for a few months, I sent emails and everything to try and contact her again, but nothing came back." Marcus knew what Riley was about to say next, and didn't want him to say it, but knew he had to. "Took me ages to find out that...she had killed herself." Marcus gasped.

"That's horrible." He said, shocked. Riley nodded in reply.

"Yes it is. That's what rape can do to someone...it's a complete and total breach of their boundaries and trust, and has the capacity to totally obliterate their world." He looked down at his paws, the monologue complete. Marcus felt tears welling up in his eyes, and with all attempts to withhold them thwarted began to sob.

He hung his head in disgust, feeling the wetness soak into his fur. His shoulders shook with both shame and rage.

"Oh my god..." He whimpered. "Riley...I'm so sorry, I almost...I could have...." He was unable to finish, as he was consumed by a coughing fit.

"It's okay...you didn't."

"But if you hadn't been there..." Continued the distraught tiger. "Who knows...I might have..."

"Well, we don't know. I like to think you wouldn't have. I just needed you to know how destructive it is, for the future. That's why I did what I did." Explained Riley plainly, referring to the assault on the wolf.

"Thank you so much.... she was...was only f-fifteen." He wailed. Riley moved over to sit down next to him on the bed, putting an arm around the younger fur, hugging him.

"It's alright." They sat like that for ten minutes, the tiger teenager just crying. The full realisation of what almost happened hitting him with full force. After a while, Riley felt the shaking subside, and he moved away from the younger male. He saw Marcus wiping his eyes and looking over at him. The fur on his face was dark and heavy with the wetness from his eyes.

"Thank you Riley. If you hadn't been there...who knows. Thank you so much. I'm so glad we got her home okay." Said the tiger, his voice raw from crying.

"Me too."

"I hope you broke the fuckers wrist."

"Me too." Repeated the fox, now smiling. "It wasn't a fun end to the night, but nothing bad happened in the end. Some dickhead got hurt, who cares about him though."

The two furs talked a little while longer, but when they were finally done Riley left and entered the bedroom next door. He was only mildly shocked to find Lars was still asleep, and while a part of him wanted to wake the dreaming tiger by jumping on him, Riley decided on gently shaking him awake. When he finally woke up, Lars was slightly confused. He'd been the most drunk last night, but like his boyfriend he'd had plenty of water, so nature's punishment wasn't as severe. Like Riley had an hour or so earlier, the tiger climbed out of bed slowly, moaning and swearing as he tried to dress himself.

"What's the time?" He said groggily, lost inside a large jumper he was attempting to put on.

"Almost dinner." Said Riley.

"Fucking hell...what happened last night? I remember some shouting, and you threw a bottle at someone...there was a crow?" Said Lars, his voice rather hoarse. Riley gave him a quick catch up.

"Oh." Said Lars, swallowing. "You broke his wrist?"

"Well..." Shrugged Riley. "Can't be certain it actually broke, but it sounded horrible."

"You're so cool sometimes." Said his boyfriend, hugging the fox and rewarding him with a kiss. Riley then immediately pulled away, gasping for air.

"No...no way, can't do it Lars. Brush your teeth, oh my god." He said dramatically, not enjoying the taste of a different furs alcohol tainted morning breath. Lars just laughed at him.

While his boyfriend showered, dressed and tried to wake up, Riley revisited Marcus in his room.

"What now?" Said the tiger, clearly still concerned.

"Nothing, just relax dude." Assured Riley. "I just...I think your parents should know what happened last night."

"No, no-no-no. No way, are you serious? They'll never let me leave the house again." Marcus was horrified; did Riley really think he would tell his parents that?

"Marcus, it's important they know. They'll find out anyway, you think the furs at the party won't talk about it? Of course they will, then it will become a thing and someone will tell Henrik and Clara sooner or later...then they'll never let you go anywhere again, because you lied to them." Marcus tried to find an argument to that, but he couldn't fight the fox's logic.

"But..."

"No. They have to be told, trust me. But, do I tell them, or should you?" The tiger thought for a moment. He wanted Riley to do it, or even Lars. But he had been the one at the centre, not Riley or Lars. He'd been in the middle, and his brother or his brother's boyfriend telling them had a similar, if somewhat muted effect to what Riley had just described.

"I'll....I'll tell them, god damn it." He said solemnly. Riley smiled.

"Good, I'm glad. I'd tell them both together, later tonight after your dad gets home."

"Okay...thanks Riley."

"S'okay." Shrugged the fox, leaving for the second time.

Riley found the bathroom empty, and his boyfriend in the kitchen, making coffee. He walked up behind the tiger and wrapped his arms around the male's midsection. Interlacing his paws in front of Lars' stomach, Riley kissed his neck affectionately.

"Hey sweetness." Giggled Lars, raising the hot drink to his mouth.

"I don't think anyone has called me 'sweet' before." Said Riley into the tiger's shoulder.

"Well they should have." Whispered Lars.

"I love you."

"Love you too." Replied the fox, leaning in even closer to his partner. Hearing Clara cough very obviously and deliberately, they broke apart. Riley leaned on the bench again, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. He'd totally forgotten that she was there. Lars just held a paw up, blushing.

"Yes, you two are very cute." She stated, not looking up from her laptop. "But there is only so much a mother can endure. _Please_try not to have sex in the kitchen, we eat here." She said sarcastically. Lars almost spit up his coffee, coughing and spluttering as Riley snickered.

Marcus was just standing at the kitchen doorway, eyes wide open and not sure what to say.

"What is wrong with you two?" He eventually muttered, pouring himself some orange juice. Riley was glad they were all joking, he wanted today to be relaxed, despite the previous nights dramatic events.

The next few hours played out mostly the same, little jokes, television and painkillers for a certain hung-over tiger. It was clear Clara could tell her teenage son had been drinking at the party, but mercifully she didn't say anything, letting her little looks speak volumes about her disapproval. Lars and Riley received a few too, most likely because they were the ones that let the teen drink in the first place. Eventually Henrik got home, and the whole clan (Well, minus Esther, she ended up having a sleepover) had dinner. Conversation was pretty mild, and at the end Riley gave Marcus a couple of knowing looks. Eventually the adults ended up in the lounge room, while their eldest kit and his boyfriend stacked the dishwasher. Marcus, after a few minutes of hesitation, joined his parents. Lars and Riley caught minor snippets of the conversation, but everyone was talking fairly quietly and seriously.

When the kitchen was clean, the two just stood there. It sounded like the conversation in the next room was just about over, and they just looked at each other awkwardly.

"Well...do we go or what?" Whispered Lars. Riley just shrugged.

"I dunno, I guess we just wait here." He said. After a minute or two they heard everyone in the lounge room getting up. Riley felt panic rise up in his chest as a stern-looking Henrik stepped into the room. The older tiger walked forwards and surprised the fox immensely by pulling him into a tight hug. Riley didn't know what to say, so he just uncomfortably patted the father on his back.

"Thank you, Riley. For being there." Said Henrik.

"Oh." Squeaked the fox, a little shocked. He had kind of expected the Johansen parents to be angry with him. "That's...okay."

"I know my son, believe me. Marcus wouldn't have hurt anyone, in the end he wouldn't have given in. Maybe despite even what he thinks now, I know that much...but those other two furs, especially that wolf...clearly didn't have his moral compass."

"I...I think you're right." Said the fox lamely. Henrik finally released him and stepped back.

"You really did a good thing, and I can say...I'm incredibly proud to have you dating my son." Riley blushed, looking at his feet sheepishly.

"Aww...thanks, Henrik." He said, not sure how else to react to the compliment. He saw Clara hanging back, and she nodded in agreement with her husband.

"There's a place for you in our family. I mean that with all honesty." He continued.

"You ah...ever gonna let Marcus go out again?" Asked Riley hesitantly, unsure if it was an appropriate question. Henrik just shrugged.

"Probably not. Ever. Just keep him inside the house till he's fourty-five." His tone told Riley he was joking. "Hopefully he'll keep better company in the future."

The parents eventually moved to the backyard, where the surprisingly mild night was enjoyed with some wine and chatter. Lars, Riley and Marcus planted themselves in front of the television and put on a movie. They all bickered a little over what exactly to watch, Riley argued for a Danish film called The Hunt, while Lars and Marcus championed the latest Mad Max film: Fury Road. The siblings combined forces over-powered Riley's love for artistic films, when it was put to a vote, although in the end he loved Fury Road anyway. As they were sitting there, Marcus on one couch, Lars and Riley cuddled up on the other, the couple whispered to each other.

"My parents absolutely love you." Said Lars, as a large junk-vehicle was swept up into a fire-tornado on the screen.

"Not what I was expecting, to be honest. I thought they were gonna hate me. Think I was a violent influence or something..." Replied the fox.

"Nah. You saved an innocent child, of course they love you!" Said the tiger, kissing his boyfriend sweetly. Ignoring the scowl from his brother, he continued talking. "Not as much as I do though, they have to share."

"No way, I'm not for sharing." Giggled Riley. "Sorry Lars, I'm leaving you for your family. They're just way better."

"Oh is that how it is?"

"Yep. That's how it is." Said the fox, resting his head on the tigers shoulder, squeezing his paw firmly.

The couple spent another week at the Johansen's, hanging out, going places with the family and just bonding. Lars had a small fight with his father at one point, but it was over quickly the next day. They were a little sad to leave at the end, but Lars had gotten an email from Matt, the lead singer of his band Ishmael the Burned. Lars had in all honesty forgotten about the band while he was away, including the fact that Matt had suggested a live gig at their last practice. The email stated they would be playing in a local metal club in the coming weeks, it wasn't paid of course, but it could show them off to the world. Lars knew of the place, and was ecstatic to hear the news; it was a popular hangout and they'd hopefully get to be known by more than a few locals. Matt, quite reasonably, wanted to practice a lot before then and needed his star-drummer there.

Riley was also thrilled, he knew how hard Lars worked at his music, and it was incredibly exciting that he would get to see his boyfriend perform live. Predictably the Johansen family were overjoyed, Henrik kept acting like it was some massive milestone, but as Lars said it was just like three songs at a bar really. The bar was pretty well known for these nights, where multiple local bands would get on stage, play for a bit and show off to the crowd. So it wasn't some kind of exclusive deal they had, just a cool live gig. Henrik ignored Lars tempering for the most part, and made Riley swear to take some videos on his phone. Riley assured the eager father he would send him something, and eventually the tiger relaxed.

For the flight home, the whole family came down to the airport to see them go; hugs going to both Lars and Riley, even from professionally sullen teenager Marcus. Henrik_again_ had a spiel about how much he liked Riley and how proud he was of Lars, causing the two to at this point just roll their eyes. Clara said she was glad to know her son was happy, and that Riley was always welcome in her home. Esther had grown to love the sarcastic fox too, and gave him more than few hugs goodbye.

When the two got on the plane, their feelings were mixed. Riley was far more relaxed than his first flight, which had been a panic-stricken mess for more than one reason, but still a little tense. He couldn't quite believe what was happening in his life, it seemed unreal, like it was too good to be true. Like he didn't deserve any of it, and that at any moment his caring and gentle tiger could be snatched away cruelly.

He'd probably need to see his therapist, Llewellyn about it. These kinds of thoughts rarely led anywhere good.