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"And then the idiot decided to waltz back into the mall. He was safe! What the heck was he thinking?" Damien said. The two had just left the theater and we're driving home after seeing one of their all time favorite movies, 'Crustacean Invasion at the Shopping Nation!' It's a cult classic, alien crabs land at a populated shopping mall during holiday season and start eating and infecting the shoppers. Great film, really shallow attempt at satire on the capitalist, consumerist culture that develops around the last part of the year. The crabs even specifically hunt down and eat every icon of St. Nick himself, Anthro or otherwise while inherently ignoring all other holiday iconography.

Lots of gore, misdelivered lines, and horrible acting.

And the best way for Damien and his date, Meridian, to enjoy their anniversary. The two had been together three years now. 'Time flies' thought Damien. The hum and drum of truck tires on pavement was very soothing and light melodies sang from the speakers as the two sat for a moment in silence. Meridian was driving. Damien glanced over at the handsome hippo. The man was shaped like an egg, stout, short, broad. His belly extended inches over his belt line. Damien knew from experience that it was quite soft and malleable, a wonderful pillow. Thick fingers tapped the wheel in rhythm to the beat. Damien wondered if he'd get to feel them up his ass that night.

That was all it took for the hare to start to stiffen. His black denim jeans immediately feeling too constricting. The hare turned to look out the window, anything to get his mind off of his boyfriend, and his boner.

The streetlights that night were a wonderful amber as they streaked past his vision at speed. Vibrant traffic lights of green and red joined in accented while twinkling stars in the sky provided a lovely backdrop to the foreground. The hare imagined he was running at speed leaping over buildings, vaulting over vehicles, weaving between lanes along side the truck. A habit from the days of his youth that he never seemed to break it despite being almost twenty-four. And it worked at keeping his mind off of his erection. 'I'm so close, too close to quit now!' He reminded himself.

They passed the street that would have taken Damien home.

"You do know you missed the turn, right?" He turned to say to Meridian. The hippo only winked at the hare before returning his eyes to the road. "Ahh, so you're kidnapping me."

"Tuck and roll if you want." His classic deadpan humor. 'Charming.' Damien shook his head at the offer.

"Nah, I'd get my clothes dirty, and besides you probably have a plan in mind. I'm willing to see where this goes."

"Famous last words." Damien snickered at that.

Meridian didn't offer any more information and Damien didn't ask. The hippo likely wouldn't answer anyway. Both an intriguing and exhausting part of his personality. Damien went back to watching the pretty lights. Orbs shooting like stars. Three years. Graduating college, working on his master's degree, moving out of his parents' place. Lots of life happened to the hare in his early twenties. Unpredictable college courses, trying to find stable employment to pay for tuition, rent, ... love. Damien found that one and in the oddest place, his resident advisor.

Kinda odd falling in love with the hippo that helped Damien move in during his first two years of school, who had stayed up helping him cram for finals, had introduced him to lofi hip hop to study to, had to return a sex toy that Damien accidentally left hidden in a bathroom drawer before heading home for summer. That was a very awkward coffee meetup but it also was the catalyst that sparked their relationship.

Seeing Merry out of his normal element awoke something in the young hare and he pursued the hippo ever since. Of course, three years later and here they were. Not heading home after seeing their favorite film.

Meridian took a turn at the edge of the nature preserve, a well used trail that would take the two up the hill overlooking the city. Damien smiled to himself. This was another part of their history. Meridian was an amateur astronomer and took Damien stargazing during their first year together to watch the moon rise and check out some of the planets. Unrelatedly, it also had led to some lovely sex too.

'And now I'm getting hard again.' The hare thought as his trouser snake reared its head once more. The view as the truck climbed was wonderful. A city of fireflies as the hare likened it as his vantage ascended. The silence gave Damien time to collect his thoughts. 'He knows I'm only four days out. Did he bring me here to tease me?'

The two had a bit of a wager. Damien wanted to top the hippo for once, so Meridian offered a deal. If the hare could go one month without sex or masturbating, he would bottom. And he was only four days away from winning! Damien was initially cocky and self-assured, but after twenty-six days, well, it sucked. A miserable experience, an absolute hell. Especially when he found Meridian so inadvertently desirable. He would just walk in and simple hugs or brushes against his flank would excite him.

He prepared adequately and set himself up for success. He got rid of his toys and his staches and even put porn blockers on his phone and laptop. But the touches, the little flicks through his fur by the one he loved.... Agony, damnable desire flared up every time after the first week. Damien heard once upon a time that you get more sensitive when you abstain from sex but experiencing it is another thing altogether.

But he was this close, just days away. A calendar in his room where he crossed off the sunrises told him so. The marks were getting more and more desperate the further in, but only four, less than fingers on his hand, remained. And, by God or Devil, he would see it through and earn his prize.

The truck smoothly came to a halt. The weather was turning cold for winter so there weren't any other cars there. Just Meridian's red truck.

"Are we moon gazing?" Damien asked as the hippo opened his door.

"Among other things." The hippo answered. 'Other things?' he wondered as he opened his door. The night was cool. Trees whispered in the wind, the biting chill sunk into the hare's skin. He wasn't near dressed for this.The graphic tee and the light pants he chose to wear for their date was not designed to keep him warm. Despite that all, it was beautiful. Hazy lights in the distance flickered, ethereal and wispy. The souls of the city, their city.

A smile came to his face. It was a beautiful site. Perfect if it wasn't so cold. The hare had to rub his arms to keep from shivering. Of course, his wonderful boyfriend came to his rescue. A comfy heat wrapped around his shoulders. The fuzzy blanket they always brought out here. Damien hummed as he felt large arms curl around him. Those did more to warm him than the blanket.

"Hmm, if you had told me, I would have dressed better." Damien whispered to his date as they looked over their lands.

"Sorry." he mumbled as he squeezed the hare.

"Or was this all planned out from the get go?"

"Perhaps." Damien laughed, terse responses. That was quite typical. Merry was a man of action, never failing to plan things out in his mind and execute.

"Well, you mentioned other things. Do I get to know what those are?"

"Come here" he whispered, tingles. A brush against his forearm, shivers. A kiss on his cheek, heat. It flushed Damien's system with lust. His eyes shut as desire racked his system. Erection popping another time. The hare's only saving grace is that the hippo pulled away back to the truck.

He couldn't see them in the dark but his knuckles must have been white as snow, tearing into the fibers of the blanket that he wore as a cape..The urge to turn around and jump Meridian's bones right here in the open was massive. Almost insurmountable walls pressed on him from all sides.

The hare could feel it. Feel how he'd grab Meridian's shoulders. Feel how he would push him against the door frame. Feel his tongue worm down Meridian's mouth. Feel large hands grab and fondle his ass. Feel his pants fall to the ground. Feel the press of Merry's hips against his butt. Feel his engorged mound hump him. Feel...

'Stop' was all he thought, immediately the train derailed. 'Just stop. Damien.' His heart was thumping like a jackhammer, his legs were taut and tense, 'Breathe, Damien. Just breathe.'

The crisp air filled with the smell of nature, pine trees, and the coming of autumn. The smells of fall, of chilled air, of a world coming down for winter's long nights. It soothed his soul in many ways. The world around him took his attention away from his desires. 'Four days, Damien, four days.'

The storm behind his zipper tempered down for at least the fifth time that day, the thirty-second time that week, and the one millionth time that month. 'This close.' He was hours from winning the bet, but at the same time equally close to just folding on it.

The hare had been humbled by the experience, the delayed gratification of waiting was only increasing his anticipation and anxiety, each day bringing a new and old struggle to overcome. Passing looks and glances at other attractive people on the streets, a rather provocative scene on television, or just being around his boyfriend. It all has been slowly eroding his willpower, and more than once he thought about just quitting. And in those moments he thought about Meridian's words. He asked the hippo the reasoning behind the bet and for once Meridian answered forthright.

"Firstly, I don't really want to bottom but I'm willing to compromise and reward you. Two, if it's important to you and not just a passing interest you'll work for it. Three, it'll feel so much better after a month of abstinence, no?"

It was hard to argue at the time, and Damien was certain he'd get through it no problem. But twenty-six days later, it was a big problem. 'But I'm so close!!!'

He opened his eyes back to the glowing spirits, stars, and streetlights for a brief moment before turning back towards the truck. The blanket doing wonders at keeping out the cold. Meridian was busy in the truck bed, tossing down a couple of bigger comforters and a pillow or two. The hippo reached out a hand to help lift the hare up the tall step to join him. He had fashioned a miniature mattress out of thick duvets with pillows, it was quaint and Damien realized that his boyfriend would have been prepared for this before picking him up on his date, noting he had donned a thick jacket he wasn't wearing earlier. Planned, indeed.

Meridian nestled down first, the truck wiggling back and forth as his weight jostled it around a bit. The two locked eyes before thick hands lifted the blanket next to him. A silent beckoning. Damien smiled. The hare rather awkwardly wormed his way next to the hippo. The first blanket hampering his progress in getting under the second, but eventually the two were snuggled up comfy and cozy.

Meridian was staring into the sky. It wasn't the best weather for stargazing, scattered clouds were rolling in from the west and their obscuring swathes blighted the sky. But the diamonds still in view were sparkling. Meridian explained that in cooler months, the atmosphere alters light slightly differently. Visions come in a bit clearer. Stars were in the hippo's eyes. Meridian was in Damien's.

He was so handsome, the two toned skin, grayish brown and a pale pink, the right amount of heft to muscle, the wide muzzle and stiff whiskers on his upper lift that tickled when they kissed. And that was just his looks. The hare breathed in the scent that was collecting under their shared bedding. His chocolate scented cologne mixed with the natural scent of his. Damien nuzzled into the crook of his larger partner's arm content to breathe in the scent for the rest of time. The large paws stroked up his back, one finger at a time. Prickling his spine. The waves of euphoria, the physical sensation, the musk, the pleasure, the moment. It charged him, riled him up, awoke his libido.

The hare clutched the rolls of fat that rounded Meridian's stomach. Buried his head into his peck, tall ears twitching. And groaned as once again his cock bulged out into his pants. The fabric confines closing in on him. It was a mistake, he knew it was a mistake, but he couldn't help it. He humped against the hippo's leg.

The heat, the smell, the touch, the place, the person he was with. It all just dogpiled on him. He humped again. It wasn't a lot of stimulation, thick jeans, poor angle, but it still exploded like fireworks in his pants. It was more intentional direct contact than his dick had for weeks, and it just flooded his brain. Impulse control was gone. He ground his dick against his partner's leg. Eyes closed and relished in the feeling he'd been denying himself. It was so wonderful, and there were no doubts in his mind that if he fished it out here and now then he'd fail, it'd take less than ten strokes. His death grip on Merry was the only thing that kept the hare from going that far.

Merry's voice in his ear pulled him back from the cusp. "Enjoying yourself?", there was the tiniest touch of humor in those words. Damien took it as a bit of satisfaction, an admission of victory, a gloat. And that replaced the horny frenzy with stubborn determination and denial of defeat. He hadn't lost, not yet. 'Four fucking days!!'

The hare's hips and knees stilled and he needed to collect himself for a moment before turning to look up at his date's face. His eyes were turned down toward him, twinkling still with starlight, but that wasn't what set off the hare. It was the damn smile. Half smirk, half sneer, all smug. The hippo clearly reveling in the desperation that Damien just displayed.

"What do you think?" The tone was short, the hare's temper was ground down following days of abstinence, especially when this topic came up. Damien's stipulation to the bet was that Meridian couldn't intentionally tease him, or encourage him into losing, this was entirely on the hare to pass or fail on his own. To his word, the hippo was actually very accommodating. Not that he was an overtly sexual being, but Damien found him just that incredibly sexy at all times, probably just part of being a hare. But the hippo gave an ear, reminding Damien of his goal, offering his support when Damien opened up about the struggle, and even trying to tone down certain behaviors that caused Damien to yearn for the hippo while in his presence.

Honestly, if it wasn't just the small things that he's been doing, Damien wouldn't have lasted a week. However, twenty six days is still a long time for the young adult. He wanted anyone, anything, any amount of release for the building tension. Unfortunately, that release was sometimes in the form of aggression.

"I think you're four days away." The hippo responded, still smiling.

"And I will win!!" The hare's brow furrowed and he could feel his nose twitch and his right ear jerked.

"I know." Was all he responded. Nothing more. The hare tsked and rolled on to his back separating himself from the large, warm mass of his boyfriend. It helped control the urges, but it also took him farther from Meridian. An unfortunate byproduct. He tried to focus on the stars, but he just couldn't sit there and be patient. His blood was still boiling, the urge to breed or be bred invaded his system. His foot tapped on the metal bed of the truck multiple times a second. He was still laying on Merry's arm. His whole body felt tense, too tense. And being here on top of the hill wasn't helping.

He blinked for a moment. 'Wait, a minute. What are we doing here?' Here where they've had sex before, under blankets, under stars, set up last minute by Meridian. The hare shot the other soul there a look. The smirk was gone, replaced with the simple indifference that was his standard. Damien squinted. Meridian raised an eyebrow. Wind still whispered in the trees, the only sound between the two of them.

Eventually, Damien had to ask, even if he didn't like the answer, but he still had to know.

"Merry, tell me honestly. Why did you bring me here?" A direct question, he'd surely respond.

"To stargaze." He answered, short, simple, straightforward. He poked a finger skyward. Clouds were rolling in, the sky would soon be covered.

"Just stargaze?" The hare pressed. Something wasn't adding up here.

"And snuggle." Meridian pated the blankets.

"Not to seduce me?" the hare asked. Merry blinked a moment, before flinching back, as if he had just put it together. He shot up to a sitting position.

"No, I'd never! You're four days away!"

"So.. you spontaneously brought me up here, a place we've had sex before, brought blankets to snuggle up with, on a night that isn't optimal to stargaze, on our anniversary, four days from the conclusion of our bet. The same bet that you agreed not to influence me, for something that you aren't interested in. And I'm supposed to take that all as a coincidence and not a blatant attempt to get me to lose!?" he accused. He was livid, angry, convinced that this was a scheme. 'It would be just like him to have a backup plan.' The arbitrary timeline of a month, the coincidence of their anniversary would come up, something that the hare had been looking forward to. Something that they had historically celebrated with a romp in the sheets. And all the while he could claim that Damien initiated it and as such would lose the bet.

Even in the dark, Damien could watch his head twist and look at the scenery, down at the blankets, out at the town, lost for words for once.

"Uhh..."

"I knew it." The hare threw the blanket at him and vaulted over the side of the truck bed. The gravel crunched under his feet as he hustled off away from the truck to look over the outlook, and put even more distance between himself and the hippo who he could hear struggling to follow him after shaking off the cocoon of blankets.

"Wait, Damien." The hare didn't turn around. The world was cold, the breeze pulling in the clouds was chilly, and after the warmth of the blankets it was quite shocking. Gravel crunch sounded behind him as heavier footsteps approached him.

"Don't touch me" Damien shouted at him. For what it's worth, the hippo stopped a couple feet away. Damien was shaking and not just from the chill. Betrayed described him unfortunately well. Someone he loved, manipulating like that, for a month, just hurt, and he didn't know how to process it right now, here looking over the town.

"Damien?" He heard him say, the words were soft, but not apologetic. And that only angered him more.

"I don't want to hear it right now, Meridian!"

"It wasn't like that!"

"Oh, really! It's all just some grand cosmic happenstance. Just a random fluke, right? Clearly! I mean, I'm just out here stressed out of my goddamn mind after living like a freaking nun for the past almost four weeks. Having to forgo all my enjoyment while you've been whacking it daily probably, but just as I'm about to brute force my way through to the end, you pull this shit, and all because you're afraid to take something up your ass. Obviously, I'm in the wrong here. It's not like you like planning these things out down to the tee and dotted i's. Not like I needed to even come up with the idea of this bet to even get you to consider sacrificing anything for me. Not like I'm the only one that's been suffering the last month. Not like-"

"Stop." That came from him, from Meridian. The wheels on the hare's train of thought ground to dust. Shame hit him. Guilt filled his chest. He didn't mean any of that, well, he didn't mean all of that. He was just angry, pent up, and hurt. And he just wanted to be held. The lights of the city warped and waved. Wet drops sunk in his cheek fur. Damien wiped the tears away. He didn't want to cry, he just wanted to be held. But he couldn't, he couldn't turn to face him. And it hurt to not. To just stand there feeling the distance between them.

"Damien..." He called again, just as soft as before. Just as understanding. Just as concerned as always. Damien sobbed. Despite his best efforts he couldn't stop, palms and fingers failed to stem the tide coming in. Gravel crunched. Arms wrapped around his torso. The smell of chocolate. "I swear on my love for you, I didn't plan this to make you fail."

Damien couldn't respond, he didn't have the composure to. But he spun in those arms and buried himself in the broad chest. Hands clinging to the cloth of his shirt, tears and snot probably making damp spots. The arms pulled him in, pulled him close and he just inhaled the aura the hippo gave off. He still sobbed, the intermittent hiccups jostled his shoulders. But he was back with Meridian. And still unfortunately hard.

It was disrespectful, but it was the truth. The dirty, hard, frustrating truth. And it felt nice to feel something press against him, his junk and his self.

"Damien..." he called again. The soft tones right into this ear canals.

"Mmh Sahhwyy" the hare said without pulling off that wonderful chest.

"It's okay, it's alright." He said. Those strokes to his back returned and soothed him even more. The cold air was beaten back, those shoulders working amazingly as a windbreak, but it was still cold. The hare shivered involuntarily. "Let's go get you a blanket. Come on." He said as he pulled Damien back towards the truck. A warm paw held his own and he slowly let Meridian guide him back to the bed. The hare cleaned the last specks of tears from his eyes as he sat next to Meridian on the opened tail gate of his truck. The hippo draped another thick blanket around him. Damien pulled it tight around him.

He broke the unsettling silence. "I'm sorry" he said again, this time able to enunciate.

"It's alright. You don't need to apologize to me." Merry responded.

"I'm just so frustrated."

"I know you have been."

"Like, honestly, if this bet has been affecting me like this, is it really worth finishing it?"

"But you're so close! Do you really want to give up?" The hippo said, an encouraging hand resting on his shoulder.

"No, I don't, but, but if this is how it's making me act. Getting angry, yelling at you, screaming. That isn't worth it. It isn't worth it." It wasn't the first time he expressed this frustration to Meridian but this was also the worst it's ever been.

"Hmm." The hippo hummed from his side.

"Penny for your thoughts?" the hare asked, turning to look at his boyfriend. Meridian seemed to be thinking it through, not one to answer before contemplating everything. It meant he was quite adept at offering advice, but he took his time before giving it. The sky was completely covered with clouds now. The only light coming from the bed light of his truck. It put the two of them into shadow. But the scent of chocolate was still in the air. 'How does that cologne last this long?' he wondered.

"I don't think you should quit." He said, it came sooner than normal. It mildly surprised the horny hare.

"No?"

"No." He said with a head shake.

"Why?"

"Cause it's important to you. Even when you first said you wanted to top me, you were, uh, enthusiastic about it." Damien snorted, pushy would have been another apt descriptor. "And, yes, I was scared, a bit. Still am. But, I'll stand by what I offered. If you can go through the rest of the month without cumming, I'd still let you."

"But you don't even want to bottom, and this way we both get what we want." Damien countered.

"You're right, I don't want to bottom." His mass lumbered a bit closer. The metal squeaked below them as he shifted to the left, closer to Damien. He grunted a little bit with the exertion, but eventually the wonderful mammal pulled his boyfriend close. Damien's head rested pleasantly on the offered shoulder. "But, more than that, I want to see you happy. If you really want to top me, well then I'll take it like an adult. With all the sniveling, crying, and pillow biting." The last bit made the hare laugh, it helped break the tension. Ease the burden on his shoulders. Calm him down, that was the hippo's true magic.

"So you're a pillow princess?"

"Oh, no doubt." They both laughed, the jostling of the large chest on his head felt really nice. It really was a great pillow. "And it would waste my preparations." The hippo added after a couple seconds.

"Hmm?" Damien looked up at his significant other, they shared a brief glance. He couldn't see it, but the hare was sure that he had his smug smirk face on. "What preparations?"

"It's a secret." Was all he got in response.

"Seriously."

"What?"

"You can't just drop something like that and not give me anything. What preparations?" Damien demanded. The hippo tilted his head to the side, clearly considering telling him. Which was better than outright denying or ignoring him.

"I could show you, but it's... lewd."

"Now I'm really curious."

"Look, I have to uphold our agreement which includes not encouraging you to masturbate."

"You can't just tease me like that and blue ball me... metaphorically."

"Perhaps literally. Are you certain? I meant for this to congratulate you on lasting a month." The hippo stood up and walked in front of Damien. Leaning in so their faces were inches apart, hands resting on either side of his hips. He still looked smug, but a bit like a jester too. His eyes were light and whimsical. It was actually pretty cute, just like when his little plans work out in his favor.

Damien paused, some part of him considered if this is just another ploy, another plot to get him to cave early. 'I swear on my love to you...' he had said earlier. Damien believed him, he wanted to believe him, he chose to believe him.

"You'll stop if I say?" Damien said, raising a finger seriously to convey his intent. 'Four fucking days!' he reminded himself.

Meridian looked at the finger before leaning down to kiss it. "I swear." He whispered. Damien nodded.

"Alright, what are these preparations?"

"Get in the bed."

A couple of moments later, Damien was back on the makeshift mattress, head under the light, Meridian's large ass a foot from his face. The hippo was inverted to the hare, knees on either side of his torso. The fabric was tight and rounded, mirroring the fantastic flesh that laid hidden. Unsurprisingly, Damien's erection was back. His boyfriend's wonderful behind just taunting him. His hands were clasped together on his chest, the only place where he trusted to keep them, anywhere else and the temptation would probably get to him. His mouth was actually salivating at the sight.

"Is this really necessary?"

"Want me to stop?" His face looked down under his hefty stomach back at Damien.

"No..."

"Heh. Love staring at my ass?" The mountain moved a couple inches left and right.

"You know I do." He said with a groan and a tense flex against his all-too-tight jeans.

"I do." Damien heard the jangle of a belt being undone. The black leather sped through the loops. A button popped. Damien could hear his heart beat in his chest. The smell of chocolate and his own breath as he panted filled his nose. He gulped hard. "Ready?" The hippo asked one last time.

Damien's poor brain was too flooded to think properly, he had no idea what he was about to see, all he knew was that it turned him on. More than he had this entire twenty six day period. The first explicit sexual activity they've engaged in together. He wouldn't, couldn't, back out now, not without something to show for it. Knuckles flashing white as he gripped his fists together.

"Ready."

Pants went fwipp, underwear too, and bare hippo ass hovered tantalizingly close to his face. Brown hemispheres with freckles of whitish pink. Those mounds that could suffocate him if they sat on him. The thought caused him to hump the air, legs just unable to sit still. The second musky odors attacked his brain was agony. Knees, ankles, hips, shoulders, elbows, every joint on his body demanded action at once. The only thing that didn't were his fingers which dutifully remained like a vice. He whined. 'Four days. FOUR FUCKING DAYS!' he screamed at himself. It was just enough to keep him from reaching out and touching him. Through the static of arousal he was sure that Meridian would consider that a sexual act and disqualify him. But that wasn't even the worst of it.

The worst of it was when thick fingers pulled the glorious ass apart, offering the whimpering, writhing lagomorph an unabashed view of his entire crack. What was left of his mental faculties believed he'd see the hippo's untouched hole. But instead he was greeted with a shiny, two inch in diameter, red jewel.

"Fffffuck..." he recognized that jewel. It was attached to one of his own metallic buttplugs, one he had given up to Meridian almost four weeks ago for safekeeping, to avoid the temptation, control his urges. Can't play with things he didn't have at home. The jewel wiggled a bit, he imagined the hippo was intentionally flexing his hole, grinding his muscles down on the bulbous head, hopefully bashing his prostate against the inflexible metal.

"Fuck, fuck fuck fuck, fuck! Put it away! Put it away!" He pleaded his tormenter. Any more and he was going to lose control. With the semblance of consciousness he had remaining, he noted Meridian acting accordingly. Rolling off to the right and Damien shifted to the left. Praying that the separation would beat back the coming climax he couldn't hold back on his own. The hare bit his finger, focusing on the pain, blocking out every other sensation. Time passed, how much he wasn't sure. But the pressure in his body, the grip in his gut slowly ebb out. Thoughts and fantasies consumed him. 'Stop.' He thought once. 'Stop', twice. 'STOP, Damn you!', thrice.

It was like fighting a storm, nearly impossible, nearly. Through some cosmic power beyond his mortal understanding he regained control of himself. Slowly the world came back to him. Red metallic truck bed walls. The biting chill of autumn night. The feeling of pain in his knuckle that was his universe for a moment or two. It all came back. Somehow, he held out. He hadn't cum. He was still in the running. Eventually, he unclasped his teeth and hands. An odd sense of calm prevailing his body.

"How-" he coughed to clear his throat, "how long have you been using that?"

"Nearly daily since you gave them to me." Damien wanted to be shocked, but it made complete sense.

"Preparations..."

"Yes."

"For me?"

"Of course." Succinct answers, as if that was all the explanation necessary. Oddly, the hare found himself mad, but he wasn't sure at what. Merry for showing off his gift early or himself for foolishly asking for more. The image of that ruby red jewel was burned in his mind. There was no getting that out now. In the end though, he decided to be mad at time for his misfortune.

"Fuck, four days can't come soon enough."

"It's after midnight, three days now."

"Three fucking days." And he'd do it. By God or by Devil.