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Berthold let himself grin as he watched the wolf dance in the middle of one of the bowls of the skate park. The grey wolf was narrowly avoided by skater after skater, but she paid them no mind as she twirled and jived to the loud pop music playing over someone's Bluetooth speakers. Berthold squinted in the dying sunlight, sketching the scene that he would eventually paint late into the night. His model was a grey wolf but as he sketched her tail, she quickly turned into a red fox, bushy tail flowing out behind her. He took only a moment to alter the sketch's proportions before doing light sketches of hair and clothes over it in red. "Is she a fox now?" Jasper asked, leaning close and almost pushing Berthold into the depression to be run over by skaters. Berthold nodded, looking to the shirtless polar bear beside him. He blushed at the sight of his boyfriend: the barely hidden chain tattoo that circled his waist, and well-muscled stomach and pectorals; all things he knew intimately. He'd been more than surprised by Jasper's revelation of his status as a skateboarder in addition to being an offensive lineman for the university, and was even more so when the bear had agreed to take him out to a park for one of their dates. "Yeah. I like to keep things changing, to take ideas from everything around me, not one specific person." The black wolf explained, nudging the large bear. Their status as boyfriends had only been confirmed a bit more than a week ago, and he was still unused to the reality of that. "It also gives me a bit more freedom." "You mean like the skaters?" Jasper inquired, pointing a large finger to another figure on Berthold's canvas. "There aren't any deer out here today." "Yeah, I was watching that tiger over there," He answered, pointing his red pencil off across the park. "And the gazelle that left an hour ago." Out of the corner of his eye, Berthold watched a badger steer her board toward the edge of the bowl. Just as it tipped into over the edge, the stocky girl cartwheeled onto her hands, riding her board down the slope while performing a handstand and letting out a whoop. "You should go back out there," Berthold nudged Jasper, who had returned to watching the wolf sway to the pace of the new, slower song that echoed around the park. "I wanna watch you some more." Jasper shrugged, his large shoulders bobbing as he pushed Berthold back, much gentler than last time. "Dunno. You sure you're fine just watching by yourself? You could give it a go?" "Nah," Berthold answered, turning his face to the polar bear's. "I'd much prefer watching my big, handsome bear show off." Jasper grumbled, eyebrows furrowing as he wrapped his thickly muscled arms around Berthold. The wolf laughed, leaning in to give him a long, soft kiss before pulling away. When he did, he couldn't help but admire how the setting sun bled orange into Jasper's fur; the polar bear's dark blue eyes creased as he grinned at the wolf. Despite himself, Berthold was reminded of a conversation of months past he'd mostly listened to when Damian had introduced him to a friend of his. The snow leopard had gone on for fifteen minutes quoting Shakespearian sonnets while he attempted to explain the difference between pyrrhic and iambic pentameter for Berthold's homework. At the time, he hadn't really been able to focus or care due to English being his third language, but now, he saw the art in the old words. "You be good," He said, drawing himself up to full height. Berthold pressed a light kiss against the bear's exposed stomach, causing Jasper to giggle before waving him away. "Make sure you get every detail!" Berthold winked to his boyfriend, giving his muscled stomach a pat. "Of course. I'll be right here." The black-furred wolf watched quietly as his boyfriend took up his board and dived into the bowl, narrowly avoiding smashing into a skinny goat who had been ogling the dancing female in the center. After watching to ensure that Jasper was not sent sprawling, Berthold let out a sigh of relief and set aside the canvas he'd been working on. Reaching into his bag of supplies, the wolf pulled out a blank canvas and quickly set to work sketching the scene that had slowly been unfolding in his mind over the last minutes.

Berthold was made sure of Jasper's unconsciousness by the polar bear's unattractive snoring. From the two months of their acquaintance, and three in each other's beds, the wolf had to admit that this was probably the only thing about Jasper that made him cringe. Of course, the bear couldn't help it, and it wasn't terrible, so Berthold didn't complain out loud. In fact, it tended to have its uses. The wolf quietly rolled out of the bed and onto his paws. Taking a moment to ensure that Jasper hadn't been roused by his movement, Berthold looked over the naked body of his partner in the dim light. While the bear's snoring had paused, it quickly resumed as he rolled over onto his stomach; Berthold chuckled and grabbed the blanket from the floor and did his best to cover Jasper as loosely as possible so that he wouldn't grow uncomfortable during the night. Satisfied, the wolf grabbed his phone off the side table and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him. The clock on Berthold's phone read twenty-three twenty-two, and he shrugged. Working till seven in the morning wasn't the worst thing he'd done. He made his way through the darkened apartment in the nude, his lack of modesty almost indistinguishable from the darkness. Arriving in the living room, Berthold squinted his eyes and went about turning on each of the lights strategically placed around it to eliminate all shadows. When the room and wolf were bathed in light, Berthold grabbed the bag of art supplies from beside the couch and withdrew the canvas he'd started earlier before setting it up on one of his free easels. Glancing over the sketch, he nodded to himself and went about collecting his acrylics and brushes, setting them down as he prepared to work. When he'd finished that task, the black wolf made his way into the kitchen. Berthold rummaged around quietly, taking out a tall glass before reaching to grab his vodka from atop the refrigerator and cherry Sprite from within. He chuckled faintly as he poured what could only be considered as far more than a standard drink into the glass, remembering the alcohol education seminar he had to sit through the first month after he transferred. He took a slow gulp of the mixed beverage and sighed contently as the cold burn began to spread. Putting that aside, the wolf turned to fill a tall cup with water for rinsing his brushes. Returning to the stool that sat in front of his easel with both drink and water in hand, Berthold quickly immersed himself in the painting. As Berthold slowly worked, he let his mind dive into the memories of his conversation with the snow leopard. He couldn't remember which sonnet it was in particular that the cat had raved on and on about as his favorite, but as he remembered today's warm evening, he thought he really understood it for the first time. He attempted to remember the words as he painstakingly stroked a grassy hill into existence. _ "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate:"_ The snow leopard had quoted. Berthold had sat quietly across from him while Damian smiled his signature toothy grin. He knew of course that Damian was hoping he'd like the feline enough that he could organize another "date", but the combination of the feline's incredibly enthusiastic knowledge of romantic poems and Berthold's own lovesick mindset cast a dark shadow on those chances. "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and summer's lease hath all too short a date." The dark wolf paused to take another gulp of his beverage, glancing around the room before setting back to work. Orange pressed intimately against dark clouds as he animated the setting sun onto the canvas. "Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, and often is his gold complexion dimmed;" For a while, Berthold had regretted acting so rashly towards Damian's friend. Despite that, even now he could barely even remember the short, nerdy thing's name. It wasn't that Josh wasn't attractive, if that was indeed his name, it was more that Berthold hadn't been interested. At the time, Damian had still been clueless about his infatuation with him, and thought setting him up with a friend would help him. He had of course only come up with the idea after Berthold had finally told him he was interested in men as well as women. And of course, Berthold had declined every date due to the shining Damian Standard. "And every fair from fair sometime declines, by chance or nature's changing course untrimmed." Berthold's phone buzzed quietly as he worked to cultivate an ancient oak tree from the crest of the hill. The wolf took a deep breath, relaxing his grip on the paintbrush before pulling it away and taking another gulp of dirty vodka. With a sigh, he glanced at his phone and put down his paintbrush. The glaring clock read oh-three fifteen, and he sighed as he unlocked the phone, already knowing who the text was from. _ I'm coming up._ _ K._ Berthold replied shortly before making his way to refill his glass of alcohol. As he sipped his topped off glass of liquid courage and vaguely fruity carbonation, the black wolf stood around in silence, waiting for his visitor to arrive before getting back to work. Seven minutes later a loud rapping at the door announced Damian's arrival. Opening the door, he was greeted by the taller wolf's smiling red-furred face and a tight hug. "Hey, Bly! Your bitch face is on point as ever for someone who's got the balls to answer the door naked." The taller wolf said, a smile on his muzzle and in his voice. "What're you doing up so late smelling like alcohol and self-pity?" Despite himself, Berthold smiled stupidly. Damian had always been good at making him feel better about himself even if he was teasing, and it was what made him so enjoyable to be around. "Oh you know, drinking and feeling sorry for myself," the black wolf quipped. "And painting naked?" Damian asked, making his way into the living room. Berthold answered dryly, his odd eyes locked onto Damian's as he took a seat on the couch. "I tend to do that when the subject is personal." The comment hung in the air as Berthold took his seat with his tail curling into his lap, picking up his paintbrush and resuming his painting. He knew that they were both thinking of the large number of paintings that sat against walls around them, and one in particular that still poked from behind his headboard. Ignoring the burning shame that rose in his cheeks, Berthold leaned forward and worked. _ "But thy eternal summer shall not fade, nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;"_ Berthold vaguely wondered if Damian's boyfriend was aware of where he was so late at night. Rationally, Berthold knew better that to concern himself with Damian's actions too much; the other wolf's mother had summed it up better than any amount of rumination on the subject could answer, so he assumed Aaron was as privy to this knowledge as he was: Damian simply had a thing for picking up lost dogs."Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, when in eternal lines to time thou grow'st." "Jasper here?" Damian asked, having at some point come to stand behind Berthold as he worked, watching as he painstakingly detailed the one body he was as familiar with as his own. "Yes. We went skating today, or he did. After we ate, he fell asleep quickly." Berthold didn't look up as he wove dark chains around the ursine's waist. He'd opted to leave Jasper nude but there was no need for detail as explicit as some of his more personal paintings, like the one behind his bed. "Does Aaron know you're here?" "I told him where I was goin, but it was two-forty when I left. Doubt he had any idea what was going on. Have you been drinking all night?" "Yes." Berthold answered. There was no point in even attempting to lie considering Damian's common teasing of his inebriated enunciation. He instead focused on painting the peaceful, satisfied expression Jasper had been wearing when he'd left the room hours ago. The only difference between it and reality was that there was no thunderous snoring to accompany it. When he finally looked up from the canvas, he took a gulp of drink before offering the glass to Damian. "It helps me to stay loose." As expected, Damian shook his head and politely declined Berthold's offer; in response he downed the rest of it and turned back to the painting. He was now in the final stretch, and he could feel the anticipation building in his stomach. At the same time, every time he blinked Damian's warm golden eyes bore into his mind. Perhaps it was the other wolf's proximity, perhaps it was the drink; more likely it was a combination of the two, but it wasn't as if Berthold didn't permit these things to plague him. Behind him he heard shuffling as Damian removed his jacket and tossed it onto the couch. Perhaps if he were alone and far more intoxicated, or even just lonely, Berthold would remove the painting from behind the bed and do the same thing he did when he'd painted it. Damian had joked once or twice that a picture would last longer whenever he'd caught him staring, but his friend had never expected him to take it seriously. "I'm gonna go get in bed, okay Bly?" "Go ahead, but Jasper's naked," The black wolf said as he turned to look at Damian. The reddish wolf smiled at him, and Berthold knew that despite his misgivings or how he plagued himself, he was glad to finally be moving on, no matter how long the road. "I'll be done in an hour or so." His friend laughed and gave him a tight hug, their fur mingling for a short moment that charged Berthold and brought him to full alertness again. "You better hurry up. The three of us are going shopping first thing in the morning." Berthold nodded and turned in his stool to watch as Damian made his way down the hall, lope quiet but full of the same confidence he had fallen in love with. With a sigh, he turned his odd eyes back to the painting and proceeded to close the final stretch. _ "So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,"_ Jasper lay stretched out on the side of the hill, protected from the glare of the setting sun by his oak tree. There was peace in the set of his smile, and the scene mirrored the relaxation Berthold felt whenever he was in the polar bear's arms. Jasper was not perfect, and he was not without his issues, but they would work through them together. If things didn't work out, that would be fine, because they'd always have the time they'd shared. Berthold chuckled at that thought; it was cheesy and felt like it came from a movie, but if there was anything Damian had taught him, it was that patience and understanding were key in any relationship. He sighed to himself, eager to get to bed now with his favorite people in the country. Homesickness panged in the wolf's chest for a moment, but it quickly passed. He vaguely wondered how Josh was doing and hoped he hadn't been too offended by his unbridled shows of disinterest in him. The snow leopard's excited voice rang clearly in his mind as he stood and made his way around the room to turn off the lights. "So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."