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Sleepy Morning

A Café Plaisir: Road Trip tale

By Dark Violet

Quippie woke with the usual pattern. It started with a slow, bleary gaze at the world that the new day presented, and then began the slow process of trying to ascertain what was reality.

It took a while.

Alright, so... wings... he had wings, and he... he was flying, and he flew into space, and there was a space station there but it was really normal, and everyone was annoyed at him for taking so long and... dream. That had probably been a dream.

And there'd been some kind of ship... sailing ship, with big sails, sails that were pink, and his old friend from school was in the Crow's Nest, and they were certain they were taking them on some great adventure to Atlantis, only it looked like Victorian technology, and... huh. That had probably been a dream too.

Wait, what about the one where he was a Linoone prostitute, being driven around by a sex-obsessed Ninetales so that they could sell their services to people across all of America? And in the last week, he'd seen more penises than anyone outside a medical profession reasonably should, and probably swallowed more semen than any other drink? And he'd spent the last few nights being fucked by an Arcanine about five or six times his size...?

He wriggled. The great, hot leviathan pinned him down, deep snores rumbling past a solid wall of thick fur.

Ah. Right. That one was real.

* * *

Having extracted himself from Prometheus' grasp, he stumbled out into the corridor and shut the door behind him with a firm thunk. It was hardly like he needed to be quiet, he thought, staggering down the corridor of the RV on his hind legs. That lovely beast could sleep through anything.

He stopped. A smile pulled at his lips. Anything....

After a short moment, he shrugged, and continued down the corridor, slightly more awake in body than he had been before.

The sun's rays tumbled through the windows, emblazoning the glory of a new day with unshakable optimism across the counter tops and cupboards that made up the communal area of the RV. There was silence around him, the RV's typically roaring engine now resting before another day of intensive travel. Dust swirled lazily in the light, glinting and tumbling with microscopic currents. The air was stuffy, warm; comforting.

Quippie yawned, stretching out his body as much as he could - a good few feet in length at the apex, he'd measured - and then dropped down onto all fours and scampered towards one of the counters. It looked like he was the first one awake.

He passed a small couch where a dark mound and quiet snores betrayed the sleeping form of a Mightyena. Quippie paid her little heed; another decently heavy sleeper, although with less pleasant consequences of being woken. Either way, he returned to his task.

Quippie had quickly adapted to RV life. By now, he'd managed to learn the layout enough for it to become muscle memory. So, he clambered up the wall of cupboards, drawer handles making adequate footholds on his route to the countertop. Ducking so as to not hit his head on the similarly low overhead cabinets, and locating all the required ingredients for a coffee, his mind began to trail off....

So where were they now? Didn't Firenze tell them? Yeah, he must have. Quippie figured that he hadn't been listening then. He estimated... about middle of America. Tennessee, Illinois? Maybe Kentucky...

He flicked the coffee maker on, and then turned, slumping down onto the countertop, hind legs and tail waving lazily over the side. His body tingled with the early morning sun, and he smiled, feet twitching and waving beneath him as the coffee maker began its coughing, spluttering growl.

The horizon was covered with trees. They'd left behind the vast, uninterrupted plains of the south, and with the exception of the occasional sudden, dense city, the most they had to watch fly by was farms and forests. This was a mix of the two - sparse bands of trees stretching between swathes of flat, sun-baked grass, with low rises just visible beneath the canopy. He could just make out a distant ridge, thick with foliage, a few miles off and faded with distance....

Calm. Quiet. He knew that out there, the trees would be teeming with life, and the undergrowth would be a veritable metropolis of bug and grass types. However, so early in the morning, with jacob's ladders tumbling through the branches beneath a spotless, powder blue sky... he could be content in its peacefulness.

The coffee maker gurgled, and clicked to a stop. He retrieved the mug - the aroma of a thick, black decaffeinated morning coffee swirled around him like the embrace of an angel. A shiver flitted through his feet as the steam caressed his muzzle, his ears laying flat against his head in relaxation, and his eyelids drooped of their own accord. He tilted it, taking a small sip.

Gah... hot. So delightfully, rousingly hot. His mouth tingled as he savoured the feeling.

With eyes half-lidded, he took another sip, before a creak caused him to stop and immediately look up with splayed ears.

Nature stood motionless, staring from the doorway to his own room. The Lucario's eyes were wide, and a paw was on the room's door handle, as if he'd just been about to go back inside. They stared at each other for a few quiet seconds.

"Good morning!" Quippie said eventually, raising his mug. "Want one?"

"Oh..." Nature muttered, glancing away. "I don't drink coffee..."

"Tea?"

"Um..." The moment hung in the air, the only sound the gentle settling of the coffee's foam. "...Okay." Nature let go of the door handle, and held his elbows in his paws. "Please...!"

Quippie smiled, setting down his coffee and standing up to pull open the cabinets by his head. "What kind?"

"Green, if that's okay..."

He pulled a teabag from a box shunted up against one wall, and retrieved a mug from another cupboard. Within moments, the coffee maker was gurgling again with the sound of boiling hot water.

"Milk, or sugar, or...?"

"Uh, no..."

He paused as the gurgling got louder, watching the Lucario. He stood in the middle of the narrow corridor to the bedrooms, arms grasping each other and even slightly crouching, almost as if not to offend any of the walls by touching them.

Quippie smirked. "How do you usually have your tea, then?"

Nature hesitated. He glanced up at Quippie, and then his ears raised a little. "Sometimes, with a little honey...?"

A minute later, the coffee maker had finished boiling the water and the tea was brewing, the honey that had been drizzled inside it dancing around the mug in dark, floral patterns. Nature took it, wrapping his large, black paws around the white ceramic, partially obscuring the Plaisir logo that swirled elegantly down the side. "Thanks..."

"No problem." Quippie said, sitting down on the counter again and retrieving his own cup. The liquid was slightly more bearable now in temperature, and he sipped eagerly.

"So!" He said, tendrils of warmth sliding seductively through his body. "Sleep well?"

Nature nodded. "Yeah... I guess."

"Ah, well you've got your own room, haven't ya?" Quippie glanced at the nearby couch where the Mightyena was still sleeping. By process of elimination, Nature and Sinister had ended up sharing a room at the start of this trip. Sinister had cared nothing for this, and opted to instead spend most of her nights in the communal area. Quippie wondered if it was just so she had a reason to bitch at the rest of them in the morning when she was inevitably woken. She could have stayed in the room and done that, but that would mean she'd be chewing out Nature more than anyone else. He paused at that thought for a fraction of a second before moving on. "Must be easier, right?"

"Um... sometimes. Sometimes not..."

"Well, at least you don't have anyone rolling on top of you or trying to shove you out of bed." He took another sip. "Prometheus does that a lot. Good luck trying to move him. And don't even think about trying to wake him! You know how much of a heavy sleeper he is?"

Nature giggled at that. "Yeah..." A blush touched his ears, and Quippie leaned back with a smile.

"Spent many nights with him?"

"Um... two? Three. Yeah, three..."

"Well, at least you don't have to worry about him stealing the blankets." Quippie leaned forwards, gesturing with his coffee. "I've told Firenze, all they have to do is hook him up to the Café's boiler. Throw someone in there with him, and you'll have enough heat to warm the place for days, y'know?"

Nature giggled again, nose twitching as he sniffed at the tea. "Well, maybe that'll be one of the renovations they're doing..." He paused, sniffing again, and then took a small sip. Quippie watched as a visible shiver ran through the Lucario's small, lithe body. "Who would you put in there with him?"

"Shall we Rock-Paper-Scissors for it?" Quippie grinned.

Nature laughed, mug shaking in his paws. The sound was quiet, but trickled through the air like birdsong. Quippie joined in, flicking his tail happily, watching his early morning compatriot closely. He had such a lovely face when he laughed...

"Mrrrgrggr... g' 'way...."

The new voice was muffled, but while the words were indistinct the intentions were very clear. Sinister shuffled on the couch, trying to curl up and failing on the small cushions. "Some of us 'round here're tryin' to sleep..."

Quippie raised an eyebrow, watching Nature - the smile had disappeared from the Lucario's muzzle, and he was now looking at the floor. Damn....

He put down his coffee, and scrambled down to the floor, reaching up on his tiptoes to pull his mug back from the counter top. "C'mon." He said, jerking his head and walking off on his hind legs. Nature began to follow behind him.

The front of the RV was bathed in the morning sunlight. The dashboard was thrown into relief, with contours made dark only by the brilliance around them, the sun gleaming enthusiastically from anything even vaguely reflective. Quippie staggered up onto the driver's seat, and then used that to hop onto the dashboard, cradling his coffee as he did so. He looked up; Nature was standing awkwardly by the driver's seat - a strange-looking contraption modelled for feral use, with pedals further back for hind paws and a large steering wheel up front.

"You can sit on it, you know." Quippie kept his voice low, with the knowledge that a half-asleep Mightyena who had an issue with mornings was still close by. "The RV ain't gonna start just because you touch it. The key's not even in."

Nature glanced back down the corridor. "You sure Firenze won't mind?"

"He's in bed with Rain Flower right now. You think he's gonna know about it, let alone care?" He took a sip of his coffee. "There you go, at least you're not rooming with that catty ball of water. That's a rough night, let me tell you!"

"You spent a night with Rain Flower...?" Nature whispered, having given in and now leaning back against the driver's seat.

"A few, actually." Quippie found himself wandering through a few memories as he sat down. "She's awful to sleep with. She always wants all the covers, but then she just curls up on top of them and stares at you with those manic eyes of hers. And the mattress gets damp wherever she touches it. And she wakes you up to interrogate you about anything you say while you're asleep. Or to bitch, that too. Never get a night's sleep with her."

He stopped, and took a deep gulp of coffee, before letting out a sigh. A smile slid across his muzzle. "Worth it every time, though."

Nature sipped at his own mug. "I wouldn't know. I'm... I'm only really into guys..."

"Oh, I'm not blamin' ya." Quippie shrugged. "Dicks are fun."

Steam curled around the both of them. Quippie took another mouthful of the coffee, the still, silent moment hanging in the air. The atmosphere grew thicker with every passing second...

"Go on then." Quippie finally piped up, "Whaddaya like most? Knots? Flares? Barbs? Foreskin...?"

Nature sipped at his tea, avoiding eye contact. He managed to stammer an answer. "Um... knots... but, but I like barbs too... and flares, and foreskin, but knots... I like knots...." The blush in his ears a vivid red now but the hint of a smile at his lips. He was adorable.

Quippie snickered. "So basically, you like cocks."

Nature seemed to relax. He nodded, sighing quietly. "Yeah..." A little giggle trickled around his mug.

"I know, right!? All about the knot here though. I just super love the way it grows! Like, each one starts nice and small but it just gets bigger and bigger... y'know!? Like... you can feel it against you, but, but, the best part is where it's inside you, and you can feel it begin to grow, and your rear begins to hurt from the size but it's only getting bigger, much bigger than you thought you could take, and you just know that every pulse, every throb just means it's gonna be that much harder to pull it out, until you're trapped there, stuck around it and... gah, so fun...!"

Nature was smiling to himself, and he nodded, looking up - then he quickly stared back down into his drink, ears splayed. Quippie followed his gaze - it had been on... oh.

Quippie was already at half mast, a small length of pink mustelid shaft poking from his sheath and nestling against his pale tan belly fur.

Quippie snickered. "Well, if you needed proof. There's a knot there too! It's fun to use...."

Nature gave an awkward chuckle, glancing back for barely a moment, folding his legs as his tail slipped between them. That blush in the young boy's ears was just adorable.

"So... you, er... you get a lot of knots, huh...?" Nature muttered. You could almost hear him grasping at straws.

Quippie gave a sigh. "Well, I...!" he started, and then paused, leaning back against the sun-warmed windscreen. The steam from his mug curled through the air, dancing and swirling on the slight air currents as he let out a small sigh. "I... I don't actually... really... get many customers."

"Oh..." Nature fidgeted with his own mug.

Quippie found himself sighing, holding the coffee close to his nose, filling his mind with its heavy, intoxicating aroma. "I mean, I'm not on any of the shifts, so I don't actually appear on any of the normal menus or anything, so if a customer wants to do stuff with me then they need to ask specifically or something...."

"Oh... have you... asked Firenze about, y'know, getting on a shift...?"

"I was, actually." Quippie said, staring out of the window to the side of the RV. "I was on the Afternoon Shift. But I got moved after a few months, so..."

"Why...?"

Nature's question made him swallow, his heart rising in his chest. He coughed. "Well... it was one too many complaints, actually. Clarice was pissed, and Coco wasn't happy, but she actually stood up for me... didn't want me fired, said I could still do good stuff. So, I got errand boy, mail duty, runner for Captivate's stage, sometimes I help out with drinks if it's really busy...." He had another mouthful of coffee. He felt tension slip from his shoulders as it ran down his throat. "It's not a bad job! Like, I enjoy it a lot of the time, but... I still kinda feel like... y'know?"

"Y-yeah. Yeah. Sorry..." Nature muttered, looking into his tea.

"Ah, no reason to be. It's kinda my fault, and... hey, feels good to talk about it, y'know?"

There was another pause; this time, the tension was higher. Motes of dust swam lazily through the air. Somewhere outside the RV, a Chatot began its morning song.

Nature broke it this time. "Well... if you wanna talk about it-"

"You wanna know why, huh?"

Nature hesitated, and then nodded, though not dropping his gaze this time. Still, the boy almost looked guilty.

Quippie smiled. "Basically... I get too focused, y'know? Get too interested in one thing, and then everything else just stops being significant. Sooooo... I kinda balls that stuff up!" He gestured with his mug. "Like, say, one time, I was with this one Machoke. He was cute, athletic, toned, y'know? Wore this nice little ponytail thing. Wanted to do something but kinda shy, so I thought hey, let's get this guy a bit tipsy, right? Never let his wine glass go empty, and he'll feel better and more confident and we can have a good night, right?"

Nature was nodding along, so he continued his story. "Well, I do that! I get a few nice bottles of wine from this box I found in storage, and we're sitting in his room and he's talking and I'm nodding and I'm talking and he's warming up, and whenever he puts his wine glass down I pour another few glugs in it, right?"

Nature kept nodding at all the appropriate points, his tea wafting unforgotten on the seat beside him. Quippie smiled, continuing.

"Well, like, I was so focused on this, I didn't consider other things, like signs he wanted to move on to the bed, or if I was spilling any of the wine, or facts like the more wine you drink, the faster you start to finish your glass, and... well... next thing I know, he's blind drunk. I finally realise that maybe he wants to start some of the foreplay, and I think great! He gets up...!" He paused, coffee mug suspended in the air. "Aaaand immediately falls right through the table."

Nature gasped, eyes wide, face a picture of a Lucario aghast.

Quippie slumped back against the windscreen. "Glass table, too! Just... BANG, right through the whole thing! Glasseverywhere!"

Another gasp. Nature's tail twitched and curled around one leg. "Was he okay...?"

"Oh, eventually, yeah. I got him to the Sick Room, and Nurse Boora patched him up, which was easy once he passed out from the alcohol. Left the next day with the whole night free. Didn't even pay for the wine, which I know about, because Firenze made very sure I knew about wasting three bottles of his Château de Luxe Montagne..." Nature's sharp intake of breath made him snicker. "Yeah, a whole day's wages a bottle, that stuff! His own private stock, too. And I'll always remember the smell of it, from trying to clean it out of the carpet which, by the way, I did not manage to do. Had to get a whole new carpet for the room...." He went to take another gulp of coffee, before pausing mid-action. "Oh, and another reason I'll never forget the smell is because he rubbed my nose in the stain."

Nature let out a guffaw - and then jumped, ears splaying in surprise at the sound he himself had made. "He... he rubbed your nose in it?"

"Doesn't sound like him, does it?" Quippie said with a grin. "But he wasn't pleased with me. Noooot pleased..."

"That's what got you kicked off the Afternoon Shift...?" Nature was holding his arms again, hunching up small... but a smile was on that pointed muzzle of his, and his eyes were wider now, watching him with interest.

Quippie leaned forward. "One of the things! But, if you want another story, well... I tried out for being a masseur later on, shortly after I was kicked off. I was tried out on Arcad - you wouldn't know him, he was a Kirlia that used to work here until earlier this year - and Nikki too, and they both said the same thing; I wasn't bad, but needed to not focus on the happy ending. Same problem, basically, I get too focused - but, I say that I've been trying, and after a lot of convincing I finally manage to get them to give me a try on an actual paying customer!"

He paused to drink some more coffee, but Nature leaned in. "So how'd it go...?"

Quippie paused, drank a little of the remainder of coffee, and then lay back. "It was human guy. Kinda short, kinda stocky, braided hair, didn't really speak much. Anyway, he wanted a massage and they gave me to him, figured that it would be a fairly easy task - not much to it, right? They tell me what to do, but I'm not listenin' that closely - I'm all hey, big break, I can do this! So he's laying on his front, stark naked, right by the hot tub, and I go right ahead! Pitpatter all up his back, turn around, pitpatter all the way down, up, down... and then I think hey, this guy's not making much noise, but he's pretty relaxed and I want a real good review, right? So I reach down, try to slide a paw between his legs... and he tenses, tries to shuffle away from my paw. Odd, maybe he thought I wanted to massage a different bit of his body. So I try again, standing on his back, his butt in my face, trying to stuff my paw between his thighs, he starts to move again-"

"But he wasn't in the Special Massage area, right? He was in the normal one, so, doesn't that mean he didn't want to have sex...?"

"See, you know that, because you're not just trying to get a good review, and I'm desperately trying here." He put his coffee mug down, trying to act out the motions. "Back paws, left, right, stand firmly, rub my paws, and then try and priiiiiiiiiise open his legs! Almost there, I can feel him giving, and then, juuust as the legs part... I see somethin'." He sat back again, picking up his mug and waving it casually. "He's a eunuch."

Quippie winced as Nature made a high-pitched whining noise, his ears twitching. "Yeeeeah, I dunno why, whether it was some old religion thing, or he was from some lost tribe, or it was some medical thing or something... I didn't exactly ask him. I just have a vivid memory of putting my paw right on where absolutely nothin' is.... Anyway, Arcad finally notices and almost throws me off the guy, and next thing I know I'm in Coco's office, and man, that Vulpix's eyes can open wiiiiide."

He sighed, leaning back against the windscreen. Next to him, Nature was rocking back and forth gently, paws grasping the seat tightly.

"So I try and get on the massage team, and lucky me gets the one guy who comes to a brothel and doesn't actually want any sex, and instead of being understanding I go and do about the worst thing I could have done in the circumstances...?" He paused. "Yeah, I think Coco said that. Arcad started to list off worse things I could have done for fairness' sake, he was kinda like that, but I ain't gonna repeat 'em here."

"Why not?" Nature asked, leaning in.

"Because I'm fairly sure both of us will want breakfast at some point." He smirked as Nature whined again, and gulped down the last of his coffee in one go. "So yeah, that's about why I'm not very high up in the Café, despite bein' here for over a year now. Well, somma the reasons, but I'm not gonna say all the stories now, right?"

Nature leaned back, staring up at the ceiling for a few moments. "But... I've seen you in the massage area... a few times, actually...."

"Oh, I keep tryin'. Every few months, I earn enough kudos to get myself another go, but... yeah, not worked yet. None as disastrous as that first one, but none good enough to pass." He cradled his cup in his paws. "Most of the time if I'm in there, I've probably just got Prometheus to let me give 'im a go. Though, 'cause he works Evenin' Shift when I'm mostly off, and the big lump is pretty damn popular even off-shift - y'know how lucky the Evenin' waiters are. So, I have to pay normal rates to get his time, but!" He stopped, and then turned, giving Nature a big, cheesy grin. "It's fuckin' worth every damn penny, right?"

Nature gave a small laugh, fixated on him. Quippie paused, looking back down at his coffee cup. His heart was beating faster, and he had to slowly breathe out. "So yeah. Basically, end of this story is that I can run fast and I'm great at fetching that purse you left in your room or gettin' a letter to your door, but that's about it!" He tilted his head. "A contrast to you, 'course. Customer practically every night. Popular guy, you are, right shining star of the outfit!"

Nature swallowed, nodding and looking away. Again with that blush. "Yeah, sorry..."

"Sorry? Hey, don't you feel guilty for that. You're a popular guy, and from what I hear, you deserve it. You know how to make people feel good, you give people wonderful nights instead of a face full o' cuts!"

Nature started to laugh - and then stopped. A blush tinged his ears again, and he glanced away. "Well...."

"Oh?" Quippie tapped his fingers on his bug. "Sounds like there's a story in that 'well'."

"Well...." Nature started again, and then chuckled to himself. "Well-"

"Well?" Quippie enquired.

Nature fought back a giggled. "Well, th-"

"Well?" Quippie jiggled his hips back and forth.

"Shush...!" Nature managed to get from between giggles. "W- ... you see... there was this one guy."

"Alright, that's a better start."

"Shhh... alright, so..." Nature folded his arms, leaning back and averting his gaze, but his lips were still tinged with the edges of that smile. "We'd been flirting in the Main Bar for a while. It was about three in the afternoon, so it was kinda lazy, but we were still getting people coming in for food. And we sat there, and he was lovely, a nice person. Human, male, blond hair about shoulder-length.... He complimented me so much, he was so sweet."

Quippie played with his mug, watching Nature with rapt attention. The Lucario fidgeted, a small smile seeming to light up his entire face.

"So, it gets later, and the room starts to fill up, and it's getting hard to be private. He wanted to do something, I knew, but we couldn't here, so... I manage to get him to follow me to the inner garden. There's this tree that I like to climb, you know the-"

"The one in the middle?"

"Yes, that's the one. So, we go up there, and it's actually nice and quiet - there's not many people in the garden, and we can't even see anyone here. So we get down to, um, the fun... we kiss, I take off some of his clothes. I start, um, sucking him, and then he wants me to climb on top of him. So..." Nature started to move his paws to simulate the positions. "He's lying down on his back against a branch, like this... and I get on top, and I turn around like that, and sit down...."

"Reverse cowgirl, ya mean?"

Nature paused. "Is that what it's called?" He blinked, glancing at his paws. "I thought someone had to be a girl for that..."

Quippie snickered. "Go on..."

"Oh, right, yes... um... okay, so we do, er, reverse cowgirl, and I start going up and down, and I think he's enjoying it. I can't see though, I just hold onto his legs, up and down, and it's going really well! I like it, he likes it..." There was a pause as he stared into the past. "And then... um..."

Quippie leaned forwards, feet dangling off the top of the dashboard. "You fell out of the tree."

Nature opened his mouth... and then nodded. "Yeah..."

Quippie flopped back into his seat again as his body was wracked with the jolts of laughter.

"I-I mean, it was both of us!" Nature continued hastily. "I must have knocked him off his branch, so he slipped and pulled me with him. I just remember sliding myself down his cock, and then I fall backwards and there's leaves in my face, and then we're on the grass..."

Quippie was still stuck in laughter.

"He was okay though! He had a big bruise on his arm the next day..."

"Next day?" Quippie said, pushing himself up as he managed to fight past the guffaws. "You mean you saw him again?"

Nature nodded. "He rented me out for the night. Stayed in his room, this time... less places to fall from..." He giggled to himself, paws waving off the side of the driver's seat.

For a moment, Quippie just sat there, watching the Lucario. Poor kid - he'd been rather glum this whole trip so far. And now he was actually smiling, laughing, engaging....

Nature's glanced back at him, and then down at his own mug. Then he lifted it up. "Want another one?"

"How was that one?" Quippie said, leaning back hopefully.

"It was fine...!" Nature said - with just a little too much hesitation. Quippie raised his eyebrows.

"What'd I do wrong...?"

Nature opened his mouth... paused... opened his mouth again... then lowered his gaze. "Well, I guess it had... a little too much honey in it, it was a bit sweet for me..."

Quippie snickered, gesturing with a paw. "See? Doin' my problem again, aren't I? Was too focused on putting the honey in, I did it too much."

Nature smiled sadly, not meeting his gaze.

"Hey." Quippie said, and leaned forwards, coaxing Nature's gaze back into his. "Listen. I fuck up. I do it a lot. It's why I don't have any of the other jobs at the Café I applied for. Heck, I'm only on this little road trip of ours because Firenze needs someone fast, good at the big customers, and able to keep up with the RV while we're driving at top speed down the interstate, in case we need to change a tire mid-journey or somethin'." He paused, smiling as Nature gave a short snicker. "Either way... I'm okay with it. I know I'm not the best. But I'm better than I was, and one day I'll get on that massage team - soon as I learn to massage more than just the back of a knot, right?"

Nature laughed again. Quippie grinned, waving his hindpaws.

"Attaboy. Reason I like folks like you is 'cause I get to see how it's done, and get all the shiny benefits too. Now, why don't you go show me how to make green tea properly?"

Nature smiled, bouncing in place. "How about... I go and make you my favourite...?"

Quippie handed his mug to an outstretched paw. "Love to try it, babe."

He peered past the side of his chair as Nature wandered back to make the new tea. The coffee maker gurgled and hissed above Sinister's low, grumbling snores. Fresh mugs were fetched from the cupboard with a couple of teabags, a small bottle of milk from the fridge...

It was almost mesmerising how the Lucario's body swayed, each movement swimming into the next. It was like a dance - one mug warmed with tap water, out, put on the counter, other one under, warm, out, counter, teabag in, teabag in, sugar pot out, one teaspoon, one teaspoon, get out the milk... each task slipped into another with a fluid motion.

Through it all, Nature's eyes flitted from one task to the next, his body moving to that slow, unheard beat. There was focus in those eyes - but not the unyielding, unrelenting focus that Quippie knew. This was a planned focus, where each pour of the hot water and stir of a spoon had been thought about and considered in advance. It was done gracefully, it was done... carefully.

It was almost a shame when he finally came waltzing back, a mug in each paw, two trails of steam twirling in his wake.

"So what's this one then?" Quippie said, taking his mug.

"Oh, it's... it's from Sri Lanka, I've been told..." Nature said, sitting back down with his own and holding it in both paws protectively.

Quippie breathed in. The aroma was harsh and earthy, but with a sort of light bitterness - like fiery mornings over sun-baked mountains, with thick loamy soil curling with thriving vines and crops. A sweetness hung over it, probably from the sugar. Quippie smiled, taking a sip, the taste suffusing his mouth.

"How can you drink it so soon?" Nature still held his close to his chest. "Doesn't it burn you...?"

Quippie grinned, letting the intense heat slide through his body. "Hey, I've had far worse things for my health down my throat." He snickered, letting the warmth surround him. "If I can drink Prometheus' cum straight from the tap, I can drink a fresh cup of tea without letting it cool down first!"

Nature laughed, dipping his head. "But then why can't I...?" He asked, looking up with... was that a wink?

Quippie snickered, taking another sip. "Iunno. Maybe the cum's gotta hit your mouth and not your stomach direct a lot of the time, right?"

Nature paused, and then coughed, flushing a little. A paw went to his neck, one digit absently rubbing at the blue fur. "I suppose..."

"Big guy does a number on the best of us, it seems!" Quippie bounced in place and laughed with glee.

Nature nodded, going for a sip - but his ears flicked up, and he stopped. His eyes darted from side to side, suddenly alert.

Quippie tilted his head, feeling a sudden surge of apprehension through him. "What? What is it...?"

There was silence for a short while, Nature raising a paw, waiting...

And there it was, just on the edge of hearing, just quiet enough to not really be heard - not unless one had expert hearing (like, say, that of a Canine or a Mustelid), and were really trying to hear it.

Past the low, rumbling snores of Sinister, over the muffled, distant sounds of birds, there was a deep, repetitive drumbeat from the back of the RV.

Thump thump thump thump thump thump...

Quippie raised his eyebrows. He looked at Nature. Nature looked at him.

Simultaneously, they both broke into a fit of giggles.

"I thought we had soundproofing on this RV!" Quippie managed through a torrent of snickering.

"I think that's from October and Chai's room..." Nature muttered distantly.

"Oh, well that explains it..."

More giggling abounded after that, Quippie sitting back to sip more of the tea while the thumping continued. "They must be against the door. Sounds louder than normal. You know I hear 'em at night, when I'm with Prometheus?" He drew the tea closer, grinning conspiratorially out of the window. "He likes to go harder, the big fluffball. Make sure they hear..."

"You like him, don't you?"

Quippie paused at that. He glanced over at Nature, eyes a bit wide. The Lucario stared back, paws between his legs, still grasping the tea but fixated on the Linoone.

To his surprise, Quippie found himself beginning to blush, his face warm even where the early rays of the morning sun didn't hit it. "Prometheus?"

"Yeah, I mean... um..." Nature began to fiddle, his tail drooping. He glanced away, his eyes wandering aimlessly around the RV, as if in a desperate attempt to find anything else to focus on. Eventually, he just looked down at the ground and repositioned his legs. "Never mind..."

Quippie looked back at his tea. The pale brown liquid was shining in the sun, a gleaming surface that reflected his wide-eyed expression, his splayed-back ears, his risen hackles peering around the side of his neck.

He stared at it, a window into himself.

He swallowed.

"Yeah." He said, watching his reflection wobble in the unstable surface. "Yeah, I guess I do. I mean..." He paused, biting his lip, and then looked up.

Nature stared back with wide, inquisitive eyes. His ears were flat again, and the Lucario seemed to be trying to make himself look small, insignificant. It was adorable; Quippie couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"He's a sweet guy, when you know him personally." Quippie said. "Like, I know he can come across as uncaring, or loud-mouthed or self-obsessed, but he really does care about people. I mean, y'know, one time... well..." He paused, grasping the mug tighter. "Okay, I know this is kinda typical, but it was the morning after some fun. Early days - the first time I managed to take his knot in my rear. It was fun, I mean, it hurt like fuck but it was fun. Anyway, comes to the next morning and I can't even sit up. Everything hurt like a motherfucker. I'm talking 'sitting there wondering where we put the number for the nearest hospital' kind of hurt. Now... I've been with guys who'd take that as a compliment, and fuck it, who wouldn't, but this guy... well."

He took a sip of the tea, forcing himself to breathe slowly. "Once he realised how much it hurt, he didn't gloat or even look a little bit proud. He found some ice packs he had - he had especially for this - and some soft blankets and got the nurse to bring a nice drink and some cream, ordered out for some amazing food for us both which he paid for, and he sat with me and joked with me and took my mind off things. Oh, and what's more, we woke up at about six in the evening - and he stayed with me until I was able to move at about 2am the next mornin'! He missed his shift just to spend time with me and make sure I was okay."

"You were in bed that long...?" Nature said. The Lucario had shifted back onto the seat, crossing his legs and holding his mug just by his nose.

Quippie gave a half smile. "You're big, hun, and you're flexible in the rear from what I've heard. You know when to stop. I've told you that I don't. Plus, I'm smaller than you in the body, so something you can just take is something that hurts my ribs, y'know?" He snickered, gazing back into the tea. His reflection stared back with that same vague smile....

"Though, I gotta say, all that's the work of a good guy, but what really sold me was how he looked at me. Like... he had real concern. He was worried, and he wanted to make me feel better - it wasn't some covering his ass or anything, he really wanted to put this right, to make me better, no matter what it took."

He leaned back, staring down the RV. Dust span joyfully in the light of the sun just in front of his nose.

"Him for me, though? I... I dunno. Like, he cares. I know he cares, that showed it, but I don't think he sees me as anything more than a friend and a nice fuck. But from where I'm sitting - or not, as the case may be," He stopped for a brief snicker, "He's a lovely, kind brute. And yeah... I guess I do... like him.

The atmosphere was beginning to become heavy. Nature wasn't looking at him again, just staring at the floor, ears back... as Quippie watched, he glanced up to meet his gaze for only half a second.

Quippie breathed in and out slowly, letting the scent of fresh, hot tea drift across his snout. "So yeah. That night really showed me who he was. He's rough, he's fast, he likes a river of drink and a fantastic party, and he adores fuckin' a cute little thing until they can't walk straight - a real pleasure monster. But when it comes to the next morning, he's an alright guy through and through. He cares, even when he could have gloated or stuck me in the Sick Room until I got better, he cares."

Quippie took another quick drink of tea. He smiled, staring down the length of the RV. The thumping was still going on. "Don't tell anyone I said all this, by the way. He's got a reputation to uphold, y'know?"

Nature laughed, bringing his mug closer to take a deep sniff of it. "It's okay. I won't... though I'll remember it."

"Good. Ya should. Real sweetie, that big monster." He smirked, waving his mug, the contents almost spilling onto the dashboard. "Gotta ask though - how'd you figure it out, me n' him?"

Nature paused, tilting his head. "Well... I mean, apart from you sharing a room, I see you with him a lot. And you talk about him a lot. Say, this morning... you've talked about him, even when he wasn't part of the conversation. But also because, when you're with him, your aura..." Nature paused here, seeming to shrink back into himself, tensing slightly. Quippie frowned, almost about to say something, but Nature continued.

"I see you when you're watching the TV, and you look at him with... well... hope, I guess. And comfort. Like, even when Rain Flower is angry, or October and Sinister are fighting, you look at him and your aura just.... Burns brighter? Does that make sense?" He shifted, looking up just to acknowledge Quippie's nodding. "And when you look at him then, it just seems to you that things... things are okay."

Nature fell silent. Quippie leaned back, watching his compatriot for a while.

"Well... damn." He said finally. "That's another reason you're so much better than me at the Café. You can just tell what others are thinkin'. Must make you a real good waiter, right...?"

Nature shrunk back a little. He was smiling again, though. Holding his mug close, he lifted it up to take his first sip.

As he did, it was like a visible ripple through his body; he closed his eyes and lifted his head, his shoulders relaxed, his back straightened and his tail drifted from side to side. His smile broadened, and he opened his eyes to stare down into the mug.

Suddenly, the low, rhythmic thumping further down the RV came to a crescendo with a resounding BANG, and a flicker of movement seemed to indicate that the door itself bowed out for an instant. There was a brief noise of grunting voices, and a yelp that sounded very much like it came from a singed Umbreon.

Nature glanced down the RV, and then back to Quippie. They giggled awkwardly to themselves, and each took another sip of their tea.

"Fuckin' perverts..." came a dark, muttered grumble from the sofa, followed by the black lump of Sinister slowly shifting and rolling over onto the floor. "No respect for mornings, fuck...."

Quippie sat back against the window with a sigh as the Mightyena shuffled her groggy way to the counter. He glanced at Nature.

"Looks like the morning's about to start all proper now."

Nature nodded, returning to his tea, staring out of the RV's door.

Quippie smiled vaguely, glancing at him, and then down the corridor.

Then his smile grew.

"Unless... hey. You want breakfast?"

* * *

A gentle sizzling accompanied the warm, homely scent of cooked batter that filled the air with its comforting, stomach-grumbling embrace.

"You see," Quippie said, waving his paws over the display, "with this much thicker kind of batter, as long as you pour nice and slowly, the pancake stays together and doesn't drip off the sides. Yeah?"

Nature nodded slowly, a blush tinging both his ears. "O...kay..."

Quippie waved his paws towards his nose, sniffing at those delectable scents. "Ah. Just like father used to make."

That made Nature blush even more. Quippie laughed guiltily. "Sorry. Couldn't resist. Anyway, do you want this first one, or shall I?"

Nature's ears lowered even more, his eyes widening a little. His gaze quickly flicked down and back up again, with a vague Deerling-in-the-headlights look about him.

Quippie grinned to himself as he looked down again.

Prometheus' bulging, engorged cock lay across his lap, the flesh a sharp and vivid red, and criss-crossed by dark webs of veins accentuated by the impressive erection. Over the top of it, the thick, off-white batter that Quippie had poured across the shaft was hissing in the excessive fire-type heat it gave off.

"Look, if it makes ya feel better, it's not the first time I've done this," Quippie noted offhandedly as he leaned down, pressing his paws into the sides of the shaft and sliding them slowly up the shiny, bulging length. He was sitting on the bed, leaning back against the warm, thick-fluffed chest of the still-slumbering Prometheus. "Though, the first time I did it, I made a real mess of the bedsheets. He thought they were tasty enough, so I suppose I did 'em right regardless, though."

Nature nodded again, just as slowly and as uncertainly as before. He was kneeling on what little of the floor there was in the cramped bedroom, his front paws neatly crossed in front of him. Quippie couldn't help but notice that they rather nicely hid his crotch like that.

His attention fell back to Prometheus' cock as if it was drawn by a magnet. He moved his paws up and teased his way the very end of the shaft, rubbing his fingers over the blunt taper of the tip, squeezing it gently, before moving his paws back and around the batter as he worked his way down the length. He It gave a small jump, bulging just that little bit bigger - a small drop of batter dislodged itself and sizzled on the flesh.

After prodding the pancake with a claw, Quippie glancing beneath it. The underside had turned a healthy light brown. "Oooh, this one is going well. Wait for it..."

He teased that claw just under the batter, taking extra care around that bulging, engorged flesh, and after a few experimental tugs...

"Hup... hey!"

He whipped the half-formed pancake in a near-perfect flip. It landed upside-down back on the shaft, and only barely askew.

"And that's how ya do it!" He said, giving a quick bow with his head. He waved his paws in the air a little, trying to cool his aching pads, before slipped his paws underneath again and lifting the heavy member off his thighs. He smirked at Nature. "Now, do you want these pancakes plain, or shall we give them a cream topping?"

Nature's body jerked rhythmically, and he looked down and held a paw to his mouth as he continued to shake with quiet laughter. Quippie grinned widely, prodding the batter again, enjoying the smoothly cooked surface.

"You know..." Nature started, making Quippie glance up, "what you could do... you could pour some over the knot as well and have it join up with the shaft... you know, so it looks like his cock."

Quippie looked down, and then back up, giddiness filling his chest.

"Ooooh, why didn't I think of that!" he cackled to himself, kicking his feet. "Hey, we could market it at Plaisir. Genuine cock-baked, cock-shaped food, made fresh in front of you! Here, pass me that jug again..."

Quippie shifted, letting the cock jump slightly in his lap as he moved towards the knot. He took the jug from Nature, and leant over to pour it over the knot-

"Wait...!"

Quippie stopped in his tracks, the first blob of batter just teasing the small spout of the jug. He stared up at Nature. "...What?"

Nature swallowed, staring from the jug to the knot to the shaft and back again. He moved his mouth a few times. "Er... um... I..."

Quippie looked down. When he'd moved before, the shaft had tilted slightly - and now, the rest of the pancake still cooking on the shaft was hanging over the edge of the cock. Beyond it, there was nothing between it and the carpet.

Quippie grinned sheepishly, and leaned back, letting Prometheus' cock turn back towards him, saving the pancake from its almost-inevitable drop.

"Gotta stop being so focused, right?" He quirked an eyebrow.

Nature settled back, giving an almost apologetic smile.

Quippie sighed, returning to pour the batter over the knot - though this time it was slower, and he flitted his eyes across his gently throbbing worksurface as he did. Eventually, the batter was sizzling away, a thick cap to the bulging nubs matching up with the rest of the pancake along the shaft.

He sighed, setting the jug down and then staring at the shaft - and then, after a few long moments, moved his gaze back to Nature.

The Lucario gave him a half smile, before looking back to the shaft. His tail twitched.

"Go on then..." Quippie sighed. "What else can I do?"

Nature blushed, then went as if to stammer an apology - but then his shoulders drooped, and he gave another smile. "Well... okay... if you really want to get him all hot, but not let him get off too soon, you gotta hold him just right. Rub... rub just around here, in front of the knot, and..."

Quippie swallowed, and gave a warm, hopeful smile as Nature continued his teaching. His heart still felt heavy; a little knot of guilt, an emotional bruise that weighed him down, as any blow to his pride tended to do. But maybe this was what he needed. As the two of them caressed that twitching shaft together, Quippie glanced up at that kind face; Indeed, even if this boy was younger, even his Junior at the Café... he could certainly learn something.

Especially if it was for... him.

The knot tightened with apprehension - but at the same time, it was buoyed by a warmth that made his paws tingle. He took a deep breath...

A knock on the door made them both jump.

"Hello?" came a smooth, indistinct voice. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, come in!" Quippie said. Nature drew back from the shaft in an instant and whirled around, shocked, but Quippie had already recovered, a broad grin plastered across his face.

The door cracked open, and Firenze poked his head around the side, coming to a sudden and perplexed halt. For a moment, there was silence as the Ninetales' golden face ran through a gamut of reactions.

"Mornin', boss!" Quippie sang, undeterred.

Firenze narrowed his eyes, his mouth hanging open... then he sighed, his ears drooping as resignation set in to his entire expression. "Alright. Fair enough. Erm..." He paused, seemingly trying to get back on his train of thought. "Ah - Morning briefing, five minutes."

"Right you are, boss. Want some breakfast?"

Firenze raised both eyebrows, glancing between both Quippie and Nature. "Please wake up Prometheus before then," he said reproachfully, and then slipped back out through the doorway.

Quippie snickered to himself, grinning back at Nature as his paws idly played across the shaft. The poor Lucario was looking all guilty and bashful again, his ears flat against his skull.

"I think I'll go on ahead." Nature said, slowly standing up, paws still crossed across his front. "Make sure everything's okay."

"Try this before you do!" Quippie said, breaking a piece off the end of the pancake still cooking on Prometheus' cock. He held it out, and after a moment's hesitation, Nature leaned across and took it in one paw.

Quippie broke his own piece off, and took a big bite. It was barely cooked, but light and airy and flavoured with that strange mix of sugary sweetness and savoury canine musk.

He raised an eyebrow up at Nature, who chewed thoughtfully on his own piece before quirking a small smile.

"Good?" Quippie ventured.

Nature nodded, swallowing at length.

"Alright. Go on then, off ya go."

Nature glanced down, blinked, and then glanced around with vague worry. Then, with one paw still hiding his sheath, he opened the door and went to head out into the corridor.

"Hey," Quippie said suddenly. Nature stopped, half-way out of the door.

Quippie leaned back, putting one paw behind his head as the shaft bulged and throbbed dangerously beneath his other, still-stroking paw. "Listen - thanks for hanging out with me this morning. I really liked the talk. You're a damn cute guy."

Nature nodded, glancing away again bashfully as his folded-down ears twitched and reddened again - but the smile spreading quite involuntarily across his muzzle couldn't be hidden. "Thanks..." he said, looking back at him. "So are you."

Quippie winked as the shaft jerked again. "I know."

As Nature closed the door, Quippie couldn't contain laughter spreading through his body again. He broke off another piece of the pancake, and stuffed it into his mouth. "Mmm. Mmm! Cock-baked. Love it."

Prometheus stirred again. There was another sizzle as the knot moved and swelled beneath the batter. Quippie grinned idly, slipping a paw beneath the tip of the shaft.

No sense in wasting a good topping...

He leaned back into the chest fluff of the slowly-stirring Prometheus, and risked a final couple of seconds to glance back at his fluttering eyelids and drawn-back, slumbering smile in the warm, ambient sunlight.

"Hey, pretty...." He muttered softly.

The shaft suddenly jerked in his paws. Elsewhere on the bed, a hind-paw kicked at a pillow, and a tail whisked through the air. Quippie turned back with a mischievous chuckle on his lips, the shaft suddenly swelling that little bit further...

He took a deep breath, one paw holding the pancake in place, while the other kept the tip pointed up his chest and towards his face..

"Good morning..."

Fin