Barfly - Last Call

Story by Inja on SoFurry

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#50 of Shorts

Through tragedy and an untimely death, a new love is formed.


This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this story are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All characters are of legal and consenting age, likewise if you are reading this story you should be of legal age in your respective country.

All characters are my own creation, any resemblance to existing characters is purely coincidental and not intentional, please do not use them without permission. If you would like to use them in a story, please feel free to send me a PM either as Inja on SoFurry or TheRealInja on FA. As always I am open to new story ideas or situations with existing characters as well.

And now a chapter no one asked for, but I'm writing anyway! :D Please don't hate me for it >.>

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As the casket began to descend down into the ground, a gentle wind brought the sweet smell of cherry blossoms and fresh cut grass. It was a sunny warm day, the kind that should be filled with fun and laughter. Claire held the tigress against her chest as tears streamed down her face, she couldn't ignore the harsh irony.

Their lips met in a tender and loving kiss, seeming to not want to part as if doing so would mean returning to the real world and the harsh reality that he was really gone. This was her safe space, wrapped up tight in Claire's arms.

"Thanks for being here" she said without looking up to meet Claire's eyes.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else," Claire replied with a soft sigh, gently resting her forehead against her lovers own.

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A week prior....

"Thanks Dad, love you! We'll see you in a couple of hours, drive safe....oh, and tell Alex to stop being such a pussy hound!" Abby said with a laugh before hanging up the call and turning to smile at Roy sitting beside her. "He's on his way, should be here in a couple of hours. Not too late to run for the hills; no telling what Daddy might do once he meets the old man that's been doin' the deed with his precious little girl," she purred while crawling over into his lap.

"Weirdest boner ever..." Roy groaned exaggeratedly, wrapping his arms about the cheeky feline and pulling her into a kiss. "Well if he's going to kill me anyway, may as well make sure it's for a good reason. Lift that tail for me, princess!" the handsome mixed mutt growled and reached down to give her behind a firm swat.

"Going to have to catch me first!" Abby yelped and slithered free, darting for the bedroom and giggling merrily. As was their usual routine, she put up only a token resistance before submitting to their shared desire for one another. Their antics shifting from their bed to the shower as their need for one another could not be satiated in one sitting, but by the time they had at least quelled the fires of desire enough to somewhat behave themselves, both Abby and Roy were a little stiff and tender in the best of ways.

Hours had passed during their passionate lovemaking, perhaps far too fast seeing as they would have to restrain themselves for a few days while her father came to visit and suss Roy out. Roy could see Abby was nervous; she had never really introduced anyone to her family either, at least not someone she was serious about. Sure, she had had "friends" stay over growing up, but no one like Roy. It wasn't just the age difference either, they'd actually sat down and discussed a future together, what they wanted and expected from their relationship. They both agreed it was for the long term, they didn't care where they lived just so long as they were together. Marriage wasn't out of the question, but it wasn't something either of them really required, they knew what they were together and didn't need to put a label on it.

As the arrival time of Abby's father came and went, Roy could see her getting more nervous. Tapping her foot against the floor as she tried to call but there was no answer, the phone just ringing continuously. "He always does this, probably got distracted by some roadside attraction," she growled in annoyance. As she hung up the most recent call a knock sounded at the door, an exasperated Abby sighing in relief as she got up and stomped over to open the door and chastise her father for keeping them waiting.

It seemed like all color suddenly drained from her world as she opened the door, but her father was not there. The door opened to reveal two sullen looking police officers, time seemed to slow down as Abby felt her blood turn to ice in her veins.

"Abigale Atkinson?" The officer standing in the doorway asked formally.

"Yes...that's me...what's going on?" She asked, already praying and hoping for him to say something, anything else than what she knew he was going to say.

"Your father is Hank Atkinson?" he asked with the faintest sliver of hope it wasn't, but when she nodded she could see the almost imperceptible defeated slump in his shoulders as he had to give her the bad news. "Ma'am, I regret to inform you that your father was involved in a vehicular accident, I'm...I'm afraid he didn't make it..." Abby stood staring, her mind racing a million miles an hour, all while feeling like she was being sucked down into a deep dark void. The officer was still talking, why the fuck was he still talking?

"...driver fell asleep at the wheel; crossed the center median..." he continued; why wouldn't he just shut up?

"...asleep on the backseat...."

Who was asleep?

"...not buckled in, probably what saved her..."

Saved who? Her father was dead and gone...

"...still unconscious with minor injuries; ambulance is en route to..."

"Thank you officer, I'll take it from here" Roy replied gently, thanking them for delivering the unfortunate news and closing the door behind them. He knew there was nothing he could say to make her feel better, so he did the only thing he could. He held her close and let her cry, scream and even scratch at him as she tried to escape and run away from it all.

Once Abby had seemingly gotten through the worst of it, Roy helped her shower and get dressed, realizing that there was still someone else involved they had to go see. On the cab ride over to the hospital, Roy filled Abby in on what the officer had explained. Her father was driving along the highway when an oncoming truck's driver fell asleep at the wheel. He'd crossed over onto their side and plowed into the side of his car, sending it rolling. Abby's sister was asleep in the backseat, laying down and had been tossed from the vehicle to land in the thick grass of the embankment, which cushioned most of the impact. She was still unconscious when the ambulance arrived; but didn't look like she had any broken bones or internal injuries, just a bit banged up. He'd sent a message to Claire just before leaving for the hospital, all in capital letters "S.O.S, CODE RED, GET YOUR ASS HERE ASAP!!!" as he had a feeling he was going to need her help in the next few days.

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"Jeezus, she looks just like you," Roy muttered as he entered the room where Alex was currently under observation.

"I told you I had a sister" Abby replied in confusion.

"Yes, but you never mentioned she was an identical twin!" Roy hissed, looking back at Abby. "I don't think I can handle two of you at my age..." he whined pitifully.

"Oh relax old man. She prefers tacos to hotdogs anyway" Abby smirked and elbowed him gently in the side.

"What?" Roy asked in confusion.

"The only D's she's ever gotten have been on her school report card" Abby persisted.

"Wait, you mean she's gay?" Roy stated as he finally caught on to what Abby was insinuating.

"Yes, my dear. She only dines at the vee. Besides, if you can't handle two of us; what will you do when we have kids?" Abby asked with a laugh.

"Wait...you said when...when we have kids?" Roy balked and whirled around to face Abby.

"Well if you didn't want kids, you should've really started wearing protection and stop filling me up with your creamy goodness like a Twinkie every night," she teased with a loving smile.

"Eew, that's gross. I can hear you, you know..." Alex groaned, still laying with her eyes closed.

"So can we..." a soft voice from the other side of the curtain called out. Roy turning a deep shade of scarlet as he moved around the bed to pull the curtain back, revealing an elderly woman in the other cot with what appeared to be her daughter sitting beside her whom looked mortified by their conversation.

"I'm so sorry; I didn't realize anyone else was in here..." Roy began to apologize before the old woman laughed and shook her head.

"Oh don't mind me, I once pleasured an entire platoon of soldiers back in my day just to thank them for their service!" the old woman replied with glee.

"Oh God!" the daughter groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Oh yes, I said that plenty that night too!" her mother said with a giggle.

"She's awesome, can we keep her?" Alex laughed before wincing and gingerly touching at her bruised ribs before passing out again.

The next few hours were tense, multiple doctors coming in and doing various tests, but ultimately it was decided she was in no immediate danger. They would keep her overnight for observation and if nothing came up, Abby and Roy could take her home in the morning. After recent events, they opted to stay in the hospital with Alex just in case, letting Claire know where to meet them once she arrived.

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"You're fucking with me, that's Abby laying right there, isn't it?" Claire said while leaning over and examining Alex up close.

"No, Abs is downstairs getting us coffee..." A tired and grumpy Roy affirmed.

"How convenient, so they don't have to be in the same room at the same time. What kind of daytime soap opera shit are you pulling here?" Claire said in disbelief; as far as she could tell, she was for all intents and purposes looking at Abby.

"Shit, did I die? Are you an angel?" Alex mumbled as she opened her eyes to the visage of Claire staring down at her from above and framed by the bright hospital lights; reaching up to brush a hand against a startled Claire's cheek.

"Wow, what a first line. I like this one too" Claire smiled and took Alex's hand between her own with a gentle squeeze.

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Once Alex was discharged, they all squeezed into one cab and headed back to Abby's apartment, despite Roy and Claire's best efforts to lighten the mood, the conversation quickly died out. The remainder of the day was much the same, erratic conversations interspersed with long stretches of silence. Claire couldn't help but notice Alex seemed to be avoiding Abby, which in turn upset her even more. Neither of them would come outright and say it however, instead Roy and Abby decided to try have an early night. The light under their door suggested they were probably up talking as well, leaving Claire alone with the broken and beautiful tigress she'd only just met.

Her heart ached for Alex; she knew the pain of loss all too well. She could see something was weighing the tigress down, but polite conversation was just not getting that boulder to move an inch. Claire eventually sighed and decided to just bulldoze her way through, sitting down beside Alex on the sofa and turning to face her a little.

"What's up, kitten? I can see something's on your mind," Claire finally said after the silence had hung in the air for far too long.

"It's my fault..." Alex suddenly blurted out as the tears began to stain her cheeks.

"That's bullshit and you know it..." Claire replied with a soft growl.

"It was my turn to drive, but I'd been up late the night before, so he let me sleep in the back. If I'd been driving, maybe I could've..." Alex began to say, breaking down into a wracking sob.

"Could've what, been the one the sleepy asshole hit? No, life doesn't work that way..." Claire sighed, pulling Alex in against herself in a tight hug; hands brushing soothingly along her arm and side as the tigress bawled her eyes out against her chest. "My dad; he was a badass soldier, did seven tours in the worst parts of the world. But you know what got him? A fucking junky holding up the store he happened to be in while back from his last tour; shot my dad dead over a couple of bucks" Claire growled softly before continuing. "Mom was lost without him, got involved with another army guy that was no good. He beat her, but she hid it. When he started beating us, she made the mistake of getting in the way and that was that" Claire could feel her own hot tears starting to dampen her cheeks as she recalled their childhood.

Alex had stopped crying as she listened to Claire talk; her hug tightening as the beautiful mixed canine bared her soul. "Roy joined the army not long after as soon as he was old enough. Some of dads old friends helped him along. Even helped him get deployed to the same region as the bad man when they found out what he'd done. Roy will never talk about it, but I know he did what needed to be done. Bad man never came home and that was that, we moved on with our lives" Claire sighed and rested her chin atop Alex's head. "Look at him now, happier than a pig in shit, beautiful woman that adores him. Almost like life finally woke up and went 'hey, you've had a shit life so far, so here's something good for you!' and he damned well deserves it. They both do, and so do y..." Clair was cut short by Alex's lips pressing to hers with unbridled intensity.

Reluctantly Claire pulled back from the kiss, but oh dear sweet merciful God in heaven, she didn't want to with every fiber of her being. But now was not the time, emotions were running high for both of them, it'd be a mistake to continue. "Mmf, wait...we can't do this, not now..." she finally managed to say, panting to catch her breath.

"Why not?" Alex asked, looking hurt.

"Because this is fucked up, we're fucked up right now. That's no way to get into it..." Claire ruefully said, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against Alex's as she nuzzled her lightly. "Believe me, any other time and I'd be wearing your thighs like ear muffs, kitten."

"Heh, dumbass..." Alex laughed and gave Claire's snout a gentle bump with her own. "I'll hold you to that..."

As the darkness outside the windows continued unabated, Claire and Alex remained cuddled close together all through the night. Talking about everything and anything, both sharing stories from their past and slowly feeling better about their lives. At some point they would pass out finally, asleep in each other's arms. Roy wandered through quietly in the morning, stopping and smiling at his sister and Alex entwined on the sofa, fingers interlaced and smiles on both their peaceful faces.

Clattering and laughter woke Claire from a pleasant dream a short while later, perhaps it was just a dream as she found herself alone on Abby's sofa. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she turned to scowl at the source of the noise and spotted Roy standing between two stunningly beautiful tigresses and grinning like a Cheshire cat. She couldn't blame him though, just watching the twins move around the kitchen in perfect synchronicity was like watching poetry personified. The scent of fresh coffee beckoning her to join, she rose from her seat and began to move closer to the trio when Roy spotted movement from the corner of his eye and turned to grin at her.

"Well look who decided to join the world of the living...and sexy!" He said with a smack to Abby's behind.

"Wrong ass, Roy!" Alex yelped and turned to poke a finger against his chest while Abby burst out laughing.

"Says who?" He replied with a grin.

"Hey, she's not a sweater, hands off my pussy!" Claire chimed in, remembering what he'd told her the first time she'd met Abby. A sudden blush catching her cheeks as Alex turned and stared at her with a slight grin and raised brow before she started walking toward the suddenly flustered canine.

Claire watched hypnotized as Alex smiled at her, the tigress's hips swaying in a delightfully sinful manner that had her heart beating with heavy thuds within her chest. Alex stopping to lean up and gently pull the stunned canine down into a brief but passionate kiss before brushing past her and on towards Abby's shower.

"What the shit was that?" Claire asked a little breathlessly of Abby and Roy, both of whom were trying unsuccessfully to hide their grins behind their mugs of coffee.

"I'd warn you to run while you still can, but...once they get their hooks in you, it's all over" Roy smiled at his still stunned sister.

"It's true; we Atkinson women are relentless. Once we see something we want, nothing will stop us until we get it," Abby confirmed as she walked over to give Claire a hug.

"Wait...so you two are cool with this?" Claire asked with a frown.

"She's my twin, can't fault her for having similar tastes...sort of" Abby replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"But, she's younger than you..." Roy again chimed in with a smug grin, unashamedly enjoying the irony of the situation.

"Oh fuck off, Roy...." Claire laughed and stuck her tongue out at him.

"You want to go join her in the shower, don't you? Get a good look at all that stripy goodness..." Roy began teasing, but seeing the stunned look on Claire's face he turned around. Behind him stood Abby with her top lifted to expose her breasts as if she were collecting beads at Mardi Gras.

A blushing Claire turned wordlessly on her heel and headed back into Abby's bedroom, then on to the showers where a squeal and laughter soon erupted.