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Any afternoon would work for him except for Tuesdays, he'd said - and, luckily, the afternoon we had that conversation was on a Tuesday. It seemed so strange: I'd met him Monday morning, in the same history class that we'd both had, together, for the whole semester leading up to then. We had one conversation, and then that night, my mind went crazy... and the following morning, after some impromptu teasing from my boyfriend, oh weak-of-will me couldn't take those crazy thoughts any longer, and I had to run off into the bathroom to take care of them.

And then what happens? Then I find out that I have not one, but two classes with him, and thanks to the way my schedule works, that meant I'd be seeing that coyote every day of the week, provided he wakes up early enough to make it to class. He tells me about a past relationship of his, one that didn't go so well, and his explanation for doing so lay in "I wanted to get everything out on the table before you get too involved", whatever that means; so in exchange, I tell him about a past relationship of mine. Then that conversation somehow led to me inviting him over...

So now, two days later on Thursday afternoon, the two of us stood side-by-side at the same place where my friend usually picks me up. I'd rested my stack of books for today, nothing big, on the brick wall behind me; Harley actually sat down by my side, claws combing through his fluffy sand-tan tail curled over in his lap. Today he had brought a bag with him, one of those messenger-style ones that you sling over one shoulder and keep at your other side.

Right now we were experiencing that fantastic weather between winter and summer, where you can go outside in whatever you're already wearing and not have to worry about freezing your tail off or sweating up a storm. Today Harley had elected for a more casual style, of blue jeans that actually didn't cling to the form of his legs, and a t-shirt bearing the logo of a company out of a video game. All in all, he looked nice. I thought I'd seen another pair of clothes stuffed away in his bag, but then figured it was probably just gym clothes or something.

I chose this spot in which to wait because of the tall, shady tree rising to the sky from behind the brick wall, offering shelter from the sun during the warmer months as well as from rain whenever it rolled in. Also because - my freshman year at this college, on one of my first days, I'd seen a white tiger and a slim otter, both male, share a sweet kiss beneath this tree before heading their separate ways. I never saw them again, but that little moment still warmed my heart. Much different from high school: I was certainly not the only one to see that little kiss, but nobody turned their heads, nobody growled anything. Nobody let on that they'd noticed. _That_warmed my heart, too.

While standing there, my eyes drifted down beside me, towards Harley. He looked kinda funny, sitting there hunched over with his legs crossed, picking at the little burrs and blades of dried grass that had decided to cling to his tail... this time last week, I hadn't even _known_that I had a class with this guy. Sure, I'd doubtless seen him before, but he never really stuck around in my mind until I shared a few words with him - and until I saw his eyes.

As if reading my thoughts, the coyote's ears suddenly perked, and he leaned to the side to look up at me. Sharp but smooth emeralds, verdant green like the leaves that hung off the tree above our heads, catching the light of the sun and glittering up at me... his lips parted, and he gave me one of his sharp-toothed grins.

"I see you lookin' at me." He turned back to his tail but, finding nothing more, gave up and leaned back against the brick wall.

You know that feeling when you're talking to someone, and they say something, and for some reason you have no real idea how to respond? Just, like, you get all flustered for no reason? "Yeah? So?"

"What's that they say? - 'take a picture, it'll last longer'?" When his tail flopped out of his lap, it brushed against my leg for a brief moment. "Hey, by the way, who's this friend of yours picking us up?"

"Oh. He's Alex, friend of mine from early high school. I think you'll like him - everyone does. And, speaking of which..." I reached behind myself to grab my things. "This is him pulling up right now."

Same car that had gotten me on Monday, this time pulling up on the other side of the road. Harley took a moment to pick up his bag, but was soon on his way beside me; meanwhile, Alex rolled down the window and leaned out, sizing up the coyote beside me.

"So!" he said. I climbed into the back seat of the car, motioning for Harley to take shotgun. "You must be - ah - oh, jeez, I'm always bad with names-"

"Harley." The coyote extended a paw first, and then shifted his bag off his arm to more easily slip into the seat. "I dunno if Danny's mentioned me at all?"

Click of the seatbelt, and I shifted to find a more comfortable position. Alex had picked me up after school the previous day as well, and that was when I'd asked him if he'd be able to give Harley a ride to my place, too. 'Sure,' he'd said, 'new friend of yours?'

Admittedly, it had been tough to explain my relationship with Harley without mentioning the wet dream, or the fantasies, or that odd tingling warmth that looking at him and being near him always brought up in me... it was almost exactly like what I'd felt my first few weeks with William, this sort of... bubbling excitement, this pleasant anticipation of things picking up somehow. We hadn't yet had any quality time together, but - tonight should give us some manner of that.

In my thoughts, I hadn't been paying attention to the two of them, still talking. It was Harley's barking laugh that brought me back to the present.

"What, really? You were there?"

"Mhmm." Alex did his usual thing of leaning over on the rolled-down window and driving with one paw. He looked thoroughly relaxed, not considering how his ears and whiskers remained flattened back by the wind. "Remember that, Daniel?"

"What?"

"Fireworks show last year, mid-May? We went there for Luke's birthday."

"Oh! Yeah, yeah, I do. It was like a concert for your eyes. My dark vision was still a little messed up the following night, and that's saying something. I am a wolf."

Harley half-spun around in his seat and grinned at me. "Wait, you've been to concerts too?"

"Yeah. My father brought me and my brother to some when we were younger, and I've gone to a few other ones with friends... most recent one was... November?"

"Really? Where at?"

"Langdon. Nice spacious venue, had these signs put up everywhere that said 'no moshing', though-"

"Shit, really?

A chuckle worked its way out of my lips. We had started to approach my general residential area: the wide, six- and five-lane streets gradually turned into simpler four- and two- lanes at intersections, stoplights came to be replaced with stop signs, flat storefronts started turning to the sides of houses. "Yeah. You shoulda seen 'em. Funniest little things."

"No, I mean-" Harley shifted again. He glanced over through the windshield for a moment before refocusing his green eyes on me. "Wait, Chrome Nipple?"

His grin only widened, then, at seeing my response to hearing those two words uttered together. "I... what?"

He deflated a little. "That's not who you saw, then, huh?"

"No..."

"Damn. How cool would it have been if we'd been at that same show, though? That's where me and - well, I guess she's my ex now... - where me and her met. Crazy show. Of course nobody paid attention to those 'no moshing signs'."

The conversation would have lulled, had not Alex interjected: "So, if it's alright I ask, what are you two dogs planning to do? Just - hang out?"

Harley had turned forward again, and didn't answer. I coughed and straightened up. "Video games. Probably. You know-"

"-The usual?" He turned a grin up towards me through the rearview while turning onto my street. "What is it, Thursday? I imagine you ain't gonna do your homework for Monday tonight, huh?"

"Hey! I'm not that lazy."

"Yes, you are. Anyway - here you are."

I leaned over to grab my stuff. Harley had already opened the door and had one foot out. "What, you aren't coming?"

"No, not this time - sorry, man." Alex leaned through the window to watch me go around his car. "I got stuff needs doin'. Maybe next time, though."

"Yeah. My mom says she has something to give to you, I dunno."

"Alright. I'll see about coming by, then. You two have fun, yeah?"

...And he drove off, leaving me and Harley going up the sidewalk to my house, after I'd grabbed the mail. It would be just the two of us for - I checked my phone in the same movement that it took to get my keys out of my pocket - about three hours before Mom gets home, provided she doesn't stop by the store or anything. The coyote stood next to the front door, ears perked and green eyes tracing down over the pattern of the bricks, taking in the slightly-neglected potted plants on the wrought-iron table, the now-empty dish pushed up against the wall where we sometimes put water for the neighbors' pets.

"Nice place." He stepped to the side to allow me at the door.

"What are you talkin' about? You can't judge a house based on the health of their outdoor plants..."

The door opened with a quiet creak, and the cool air inside reached out with gentle arms and made my whiskers tickle. It _had_been very nice earlier, but now it was getting a little on the warm side.

"Well..."

After stepping inside and holding the door open for him, I kicked my shoes off - a little too roughly, as each one bang_ed against the wall. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I untied my laces to take them off. Harley sat down on the bench pushed up against the other door to work at _his laces; when I looked over, I noticed his whiskers and nose twitching as he breathed, as he took in the scent of my house. You learn from an early age that everyone's house smells differently, sometimes like that person and sometimes otherwise. I could only hope that he liked what he smelled.

"I wasn't wrong."

And he turned a warm, gentle smile up to me, the kind that made my heart skip a beat and caused my ears and cheeks to heat up a little. Before I could say anything, though, he sat back and went on, his tail hanging over the edge of the bench and swaying, flicking around a little.

"So. Gonna show me around?"

I swallowed. "Oh. Yeah - here, c'mon..."

Honestly, it felt a little odd walking someone who wasn't my boyfriend down the hallway to my room. Tile floor of the entry room turned to soft carpet a bit of a ways into the house, and the floor remained at that down the length of the hall; if I perked my ears and really, _really_focused, I could just barely make out the noises of Harley's footsteps between mine.

"So, Daniel..." A gentle scratching noise began. Harley traced one of his claws along the wall as he walked. "Tell me about your family."

Out of habit, I had closed my bedroom door when I left for the bus this morning. It stuck a little when I tried to open it, and then creaked quite a bit louder than the front door had. "Well... there's my mom. You'll be meeting her later tonight. She's cool, I think you'll like her. Most of my friends do - God, she loves my boyfriend... apparently she and I look a lot alike, and act alike, too. Then there's my brother, but he moved out a few years ago. He's cool. He-"

"He like boys, too?"

I looked at Harley, my paw still on the knob of my bedroom door. After flicking around and looking at the posters on my walls for a bit, his eyes settled on me, and he grinned.

"Kidding, kidding. Well, unless..."

"No, he doesn't. At least, not to _my_knowledge. You never know, though. Other than him and Mom, there's my dad, who lives out of town... I see him every now and then. Can't exactly say I have an _interesting_family."

"I don't peg you as the type of guy to sneak out in the middle of night to - I dunno - drink and spray-paint your name under a bridge, huh?"

Again, I eyed him. My bed sagged and squeaked a little when I sat down on the edge of it, and then did so a little more when Harley plopped down beside me. His paw briefly pressed down against mine, and as a reflex, I tugged mine away into my lap - though the warmth of his touch lingered sweetly, if only for a few seconds. It's like he knew what his presence did to me, and knew how I felt about him; he certainly sat a bit closer to me than any other friend of mine would have, other than William, of course. I could feel the heat radiating off Harley's leg right next to mine.

"Excuse me? Are you making a suggestion?"

At this, he scoffed, and raised his paws in front of himself in a defensive gesture. When he lowered them, one of them brushed against my leg, though he was quick to fold it back into his own lap. "No! What, did you think I was a delinquent? That's what my brother did. Still does, probably. He's younger than me, and I don't really care what trouble he gets himself into... to a degree, of course..."

The coyote trailed off. His ears had lowered somewhat, but after a moment they came back up, and he continued to look around my room. I had a few posters up of bands and TV shows I liked, as well as some art prints from the last time me and Mom flew out to visit her side of the family; there was my mostly-empty bookshelf against one wall, a little dog-shaped night-light sitting on one of the shelves next to some of my textbooks from last semester; and then my desk with computer atop it, sitting quietly, turned off.

"Oh, I brought my laptop," Harley suddenly went on. His whiskers twitched again. "So. Whenever you wanna get to gaming, I'll be ready."

"Oh!" I stood up, not exactly knowing why, and started over towards my computer. But if we have some time to ourselves,_my mind interjected, _why don't we take full advantage of-

"But I was thinking - we're gonna be doing that all afternoon, right? So it'll just be the two of us 'til your mom gets home. So..."

Bang - I stubbed my toe on the foot of my desk, but ignored the short pain. God, my tail swung and flicked around behind me, doubtlessly belying how I actually felt. Not even five minutes together, and already my heart beat heavily in my chest, in a combination of nervousness both at what the evening would bring as well as for how I was already in a relationship with William, and he had very clearly outlined that I was to let him know and ask permission for anything I might do with someone else...

But, somehow, that didn't seem too important right now. No way to tell that that's what he had in mind, after all. Sure, those thoughts were the only sort that buzzed around in my head, but - well, what's that one saying about tango?

"How about we spend some time together? Just you and me."

Th-thump. Th-thump. I turned around; Harley leaned back on his elbows, one leg crossed over the other and tail hanging idly over the edge of the bed. Ears relaxed, whiskers relaxed, whole body relaxed - in contrast to _my_all-over tension. Hell, part of me thought that he drew pleasure from my mixed discomfort, because when I turned and made eye contact with him, his eyebrows lifted up just a little.

"What did you - have in mind?"

A sleek shrug, another flick of the tail. "Whatever you'd like. But, first - how does a walk sound?"