FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Hello, everyone, and welcome onboard the Hockey Hunk Christmas Special 2011! This is the final chapter of the year, and concludes the amazing run of 64 chapters that have been published so far - and more is to come next year! It's incredible to think that once this whole story was a simple one-shot...but you wanted more, and I felt like writing more, and here we are, excited to see what happens next! Hopefully this 7,000-word chapter will keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay for at least a little while. : )

What could be a better Christmas present for Gruffy than numerous comments on this commemorative chapter? This is a gladly shared piece of work, and your contributions are always greatly appreciated.

Also remember that all votes, faves and watches are most appreciated and will help others to find these stories to enjoy as well.

Thank you, everyone, for a very productive year! I hope that 2012 will bring interesting things.

Without further ado, have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and enjoy the chapter!

Cheers,

Gruffy

*

I got out of the bus on the end of the Marsh Avenue, near the spot where the street became pedestrian-only zone, and felt cool evening air ruffle my neatly combed mane. With my tail flicking in an easy-going manner, I joined into the throng of other recently unloaded furs and went along my way. It seemed to be a relatively busy evening in downtown tonight, though I doubted it would cause any problems with my plans for the night.

The Marsh Avenue had been transformed into a pedestrian-only zone maybe ten years ago, possibly to make the main street appear more cosmopolitan and inviting of shoppers and easygoing furs looking for a fun atmosphere. It was hoped to encourage visiting the numerous small shops lining the street, or maybe stopping on one of the outdoors terraces for a nice cup of expensive coffee or a quick bite to eat. That probably was the original intention behind what was now called the Promenade Quarter, but rather than a European chic city center, it now appeared to be more of a conglomeration of chain stores and cheap bars lined along the cobbled street divided into two halve by an embankment of trees, park benches, wrought iron lamp posts and concrete blocks for art installations. It all seemed like a very noble effort, though I knew that in a couple of hours this place would be crawling with cavorting students coming by the busload from the campus, after which it probably stopped filling all the requirements of a middle glass shopping heaven and a peaceful haven from the hardships of the day.

I, on the other paw, had different plans. Mason, the venerable wolf on a mission to become the perfect date, would probably not need any education on which bar might have the cheapest drinks, or where you should go if you wanted to pick up the hottest girls. No, my...whatever I should call it, a tour, perhaps, would concentrate on a slightly more...and I didn't want to be a bore here, I was too young to be a bore, but let's just say that I wanted to show him that there were other things to do besides boozing around.

I felt oddly nervous, and I wasn't even completely sure why. This was a guy's night out, of course, but not one of the kind I was used to, since in Mason's eyes, and perhaps I should think the same, too, this was simply two straight dudes going out to town together, with the purpose of me, the older dude, showing some helpful tips for the younger one, Mason. The wolf wanted to have a good time and perhaps pick a tip or two along the way, on how to recreate such good times with a partner of his own choice. I knew what I was doing...well, at least I knew to a degree, I had a rough plan in mind, something to fall back to, if the night ended up losing its spontaneous nature, and I hoped that I had dome everything I could to make sure that the wolf would not be left down by me being an idiot.

That feeling I was all too familiar with as of recent, considering the mess I had gotten myself into with Colin, not to mention the disapproval I had met in Victor for lying bluntly to Haakon's face. The tiger had still not called me or answered my text, though of course I had to confess that I had still not picked the phone and simply called him back.

Maybe it was easier to ignore a text than it was to ignore a phone call...because you knew that when the phone rang, that someone was there, at that very moment, expecting to hear your voice. I felt like a coward for not doing what Peter had told me to do, but somehow it seemed almost...impossibly difficult to face Colin again, even through the phone. I wanted to fix things with a passion, sure, but if he didn't want to talk to me...then I was fucked up.

This evening, however, would have to serve its purpose. I wasn't about to let myself fuck up yet another relationship, whatever you could call me and Mason to be in the terms of a relationship, but he was someone I saw and interacted with almost every day, and he had come to me with his troubles, hoping that I could help him. The form of the assistance given might be a bit strange, agreed, but I do suppose that if he thought that I was a good authority on dating rather than a goofy one, so then I should very well try to prove myself worthy of his trust. He deserved to be given everything I could give, and maybe that would make me feel a bit better with myself, too.

The sight of the brightly burning neon sign of The Ramrod blazing at me across the street reminded me of the generally strange circumstances I was leading myself to. A gay guy telling a straight dude how to date...that sounded like fodder for some sort of a horribly stupid comedy movie, a kind of a chick flick with some utterly gorgeous young guy in the leading role, who would be schooled to be the smoothest and hunkiest dude you'd ever see.

I snuffled to myself and hurried my steps, slightly, wanting to be on time to my rendezvous with the wolf, leaving the shining beacon of rainbow-colored pride behind me. The Ramrod was definitely not on my list of places we could possibly visit, considering that Mason had already been there with Haakon, and let's be honest, a gay bar visit might not be the best way to impress a girl, or at least so I thought. Sure, straight girls came there all the time to ogle at cute dudes and have a party, but as far as straight mating rituals went...perhaps that would be a bit of a stretch.

It did work for gay mating ritual, though, I had to admit to myself, with a hint of a smile over my muzzle, when the memory of Victor doing his move on me came to my mind.

Wanting a go with the hot lion daddy...

_ _

Peter's voice echoed in my mind and caused me to rumble quietly to myself, though I could not help smiling at the thought. His humor was as sharp as ever, and I knew that I would be bombarded with questions about the date later on, and I thought that probably I would deserve the added embarrassment the cougar could provide.

I just hoped that there would be no more associated with Victor, though, not to mention his brother. Maybe I could use this date to fine-tune my own social skills to a top-notch condition in preparation of tomorrow's dinner date spectacle with the Dobie duo of Holdens, both especially eager to see this lion daddy.

Marsh Avenue was intersected by Hudson Park Boulevard, as grandiosely named as the rest of the Promenade Quarter. It was slightly nicer than the previous street, since it was lined with more expensive shops, though you would not see a Versace retailer there. Going west, the street was dominated by the multistory front of the Truman department store that stood opposite to the Bellamy Finance Palace. The office building's dark windows reflected the cheerful glow of the shopping paradise lights on the other side of the street. My ears picked strands of music from the direction of the eastwards part of the street, but that was where I was going, my destination lie to the west. It was good enough for a couple of extra ear flicks, while my paws kept me on the move.

I checked my time quickly from my phone and stuffed it into my pocket, that tickle of nerves still evident in my stomach. I shouldn't been feeling nervous, anyway, this was just a night out, not a date, not like me and Victor going out, the way we had done before THE GREAT COBB INCIDENT, but still, perhaps it was good that I was getting into the mood of things, and experiencing all the feelings one should associate with the whole dating business. Maybe I could channel that feeling and use it to my advance...maybe.

Neatly dressed, perfumed furs surrounded me now as I turned onto the final stretch of my walk, my eyes already on the lookout for signs of the wolf who was waiting for me. It was five minutes to six and I suspected that he would already be here, in place, waiting for the appearance of his friendly lion to come and sweep him off his paws with awesome dating advice and fun.

I rumbled quietly to myself and kept walking.

"Rory! Hey! Rory!"

My ears perked and my ears turned towards the source of the call, the voce unmistakable even amidst the myriad of noises filling my personal sound space. The rest of me followed suite, and my eyes revealed the sight of the wolf, standing near the glass doors to the shopping hell beyond, his paws stuffed in his pockets.

I raised my paw in a quick wave and altered my trajectory to meet him there, while a friendly, genuine smile spread over my muzzle.

"Wassup, Rory?" Mason patted my arm companionably.

I chuckled and returned the gesture, all dudes we were, after all.

"You tell me," I smirked, my ears flicking.

Mason was dressed in a blue-collared shirt with the two top buttons left open to show a patch of grey-furred chest, adorned by some sort of a silvery necklace with a pendant in the shape of a symbol I couldn't recognize. His tan pants seemed to be made of soft cloth and they fit him nicely, not too tight, though whatever he had to show, that was highlighted in a friendly fashion. He was actually wearing a respectable pair of leather shoes and not his usual sneakers, which was a pleasant surprise. He had an expensive-looking wristwatch on his right paw, which he wore like another piece of jewelry, I was sure, and I could also see that he had done things to his head furs. They were neat and styled with a hint of some gel, perhaps, they weren't quite as ruffled as they usually were, and even his slowly wagging tail looked like it had been painstakingly combed and maybe even blow-dried, for that extra volume. There was also a pleasant absence of any kind of cables and earphones. I could smell a very soft touch of cologne on him, too, which I didn't mind at all.

All in all, he looked very much like his age, and very neat, and like he had put some effort into appearing as respectable as possible, and that I should commend.

"Ready when you are, Rory," Mason smiled.

"You look like you are," I mused, rubbing my chin for the best emphasis, as I looked him up and down, "you look very good."

The frat wolf smiled, and even pulled his paws out of his pockets to gesticulate upon himself.

"You think?" he asked me, ears giving a curious flick. "I tried to find my best stuff, you told me not to be too formal and not too casual, but I thought that...well...I didn't know where we are going, so I thought that maybe this would fit most places, you know."

My thick tailtip batted my own hip while I studied him for a few extra moments.

"I think you made the right choices here," I continued, "you could walk into any club and most restaurants looking like that, except the really expensive ones where they expect you to come dressed up more formally."

"Hope that wasn't what you had in mind, heheh," the wolf rubbed the back of his neck, low enough so as not to disturb his hairdo.

"Not at all," I smiled, "we're out here to have fun, aren't we?"

"Yeah!" the wolf replied in a "Party-YEAH!" voice, making me smile more broadly.

"Heheh," I mused.

The wolf looked at me with eager eyes.

"You look pretty neat too, Rory," he said, big eyes taking me in as well.

I knew that my own collared shirt-pants-shoes combo was perhaps not quite as fashionably colored as Mason's, but I was neat enough, I had showered, combed, ruffled and gargled, and I was probably quite pleasant-smelling and not too bad to look at, if you were into lions like yours truly. That probably wasn't an issue with Mason, but I do hope that he wasn't just being polite.

"Thank you," I grinned. "Good to hear that the effort was not in vain."

"Nope," the wolf replied, tail wagging again.

"Hehe."

"What do we do now then, Rory?" the wolf's eager eyes never left mine. "I can't wait to see what you have in mind, you've really been keeping the lid on this, heh!"

"Yeah, well, I thought it'd be best if you'd get to experience a more...surprising kind of a...date," I continued, hoping that the explanation covered up for the fact that for most of the time I had not had a clue of what to do with the wolf and his date. "Because that's one good idea for a date...I think..."

"Oh?" the wolf verbally pounced me.

I chuckled.

"Yeah, well, when you go out with someone, that special someone's going to want to be impressed, right?" I suggested, hoping that it made some sense.

"Yeah, I do think I'm going to be really surprised," the wolf replied with a bright smile.

I gulped.

"Well, that's one of the key elements to a date...raising expectations and living up to them, too. It's no good letting your date down, eh?"

I almost expected Mason to flip out a notebook and start scribbling down on it, but he simply nodded energetically instead.

"Sure!" the wolf exclaimed.

I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"Speaking expectations, did you have to wait for me? Punctuality is another virtue when it comes to dating."

Motivational speaker Rory, who would have thought?

"Only a couple of minutes, I took the early bus, wanted to be on time," the wolf replied.

"Well that's good "I nodded.

Mason gave me an eager look.

"So what are we gonna do now Rory?" the wolf's tail wagged behind him rapidly. "Are we gonna hit the town or something?"

I chuckled, and winked.

"Well, that depends on the kind of a date you want to have, but I thought that maybe we could start by having a quick drink," I proposed.

"That's great!" the wolf beamed.

Heheh.

"Yeah, maybe we can head out to Marsh Avenue, do just that, and see what our next move would be?" I suggested with a smile.

"Yeah!"

"Well, let's go...date," I smiled a little toothily, hoping that he would be getting the joking nature of the word, and he did seem so, because the wolf grinned, and eagerly hopped along, as we turned about and I began my backtracking journey.

We only got a few steps away before Mason spoke again.

"Uhh...Rory?""

"Yeah?" I turned to look at him, the wolf walking at my side looking back to me as well.

Mason seemed very bashful before he spoke.

"Would this be a good time for holding paws?"

My tail made a somersault behind me, and I almost stopped in my tracks, practically floored by the sudden question. Was he asking just that out of me, at this very time? Did he want to...or did he think that he should...that we should...

"Well...." I started, trying to buy time for my mind to come up with a reasonable explanation, "It could be, depending on how well you know your date...what kind of impression you want to give...whatever you want to think about it."

The wolf gave me a quick nod.

"So it's not something to be taken lightly?"

What a question. I knew that for two dudes to walk around publically holding paws, it must've been a big things...look at us, we're brave, we'll do this even if some of you will tell us to go to hell for it...a message, a statement and a shout for everyone to see how brave the two involved were. I frankly wasn't so sure about how meaningful holding paws in public was supposed to be for straight furs, whether many secret significances could be associated with it. It was a puzzling thought, and I felt a slight frown pass my features, while I thought about it...before I finally could answer Mason.

"It really depends a lot on the situation", I decided, finally, "but if you feel like doing it, you should definitely do it. It's just between you and your date."

I saw his eyes lingering on my paw, swinging by my side as it was, and for a brief mad moment I thought...I almost expected...

But no, the wolf simply gave me a look and a nod.

"I think I understand that, Rory, thanks for telling me."

"Sure," I flicked my ears cheerfully.

We rounded the corner and entered Marsh Avenue again, now in search of a place where to begin the date evening properly, with the drink I had proposed for us. It really was a matter of choice, now, most of the bars were open, anyway, the clubs would follow suite soon enough, but really, it was all about choosing the one that'd fit our purposes best.

Mason seemed to be thinking the same as we slowly walked along, tails swaying, eyes moving along the number of establishments on the offer.

"I bet you've been to many of these," I suggested, hoping to light up the situation some more, for both of ours' sake.

The shaggy-furred wolf shrugged, eying the premises.

"A few, yeah," the wolf mused.

"Heheh," I replied, standing by him as we took a position by one of the pompous wrought iron lampposts. "Got any tips for me? Keep in mind that for a date, it's probably best to go to a more quiet place rather than the hottest spot in town, because you probably want to be able to talk and the like. Unless you simply want to drink and dance and party, of course."

Mason chuckled.

"That probs rules out most of these places," the wolf scratched his neck while he surveyed the selection of bars, probably going through his mental catalogue of each of them.

I chuckled rumblingly.

"Perhaps they are more catering for the latter kind of a party, yeah," I mused, not wanting to sound like I was dictatorial in my control of the night's events, but rather a co-conspirator.

"You know any nice places here, Rory?" the wolf asked me curiously.

"Weeeeeell..." I spied the lot, and to my relief, caught a few familiar names, from my own...wilder years. "There's The Hollow Tooth over there."

I pointed out the subdued front of the place, a few bars down along the street. Me and Peter used to go there every now and then for a sandwich and a drink, while considering what else mischief could be had during the evening out.

"And then there's Bull's eye over there..."

They used to serve nice tacos on that place, I think I remembered that.

"I've been there," Mason replied. "Heard they raided the place for tax evasion or something a while back."

"Oh," my tail jumped behind me as I quietly removed the place from my list, "then there's of course The Mighty, over there..."

I gestured towards the aforementioned bar, pushed between a burger joint and The Golden Cucumber, a vegetarian restaurant.

"I've never been there, is that a nice place?" Mason asked me, all perky.

I chuckled.

"It used to be a couple of years back when I last visited," I spoke, feeling almost sheepish at my outdate information about the drinking establishments here in the hottest social spot of the town. "They don't play dance music, and the prices weren't awful, even for student pockets."

Mason's tail wagged.

"Well if that's a place you would suggest for a date..."

"Well this is a date, isn't it?" I smiled.

The wolf smiled back.

"Yay!"

"In that case, I would, yeah," I nodded in agreement.

"Good," Mason replied, "I'm buying, by the way, hope you think that's okay."

I gave him a surprised look, and my ears must've done the same, in their rapid flicks.

"Well...uh..."

The wolf's look became more curious.

"Isn't that something you should do on a date? Buy your date a drink?" the wolf spoke to me, eagerly.

I felt slightly embarrassed and uneasy, considering that I was supposed to be the driving force behind the date, the one telling how things should go...but I suppose that the wolf was right. Maybe it was the most polite thing to do during a date, and I had...well...so maybe he was wanting to assess his dudehood by offering a drink to his date, and since I was the date, I guess I did have very little choices. Maybe he'd even be embarrassed if I mentioned my other worry, that he really didn't have to money to spare to buy drinks to random lions, but I did think that it would be best to do as Mason did...the more active he was about the date the better, after all, and the more he would get out of it.

It also reminded me that I hadn't even bought Victor a drink, not properly, not in the date sense...how could that have slipped past my mind? There'd be opportunities, I reminded myself, of course there would be, now that Cobb would be leaving and we...we would see what would happen.

Oh yes.

But now...

I smiled more broadly and patted his arm again.

"Well, thank you, date," I smiled.

"Yeah, sure," the wolf replied, adorably shy all sudden, though I did hope that it wasn't because of the public dude display of affection.

"The Mighty it is then?" I proposed.

"Lead the way."

We passed many bustling furs over the short walk to the bar, and ever the gentleman as I was, I held the door open for Mason to enter first.

His swishing tail had barely disappeared inside before I heard a rumbling voice.

"Some ID, please."

I tried not to chuckle as I looked over the side of the door, to see how Mason was digging his wallet out of his pocket, while a tall coyote wearing a sleeveless T-shirt stood nearby, not looking particularly patient with the wolf. I was pretty sure that Mason wasn't very happy with the situation, especially with me present and watching, but he didn't waste any time pulling out a driver's license from his wallet and showing that to the suspicious coyote who had some arguably killer arms.

"Okay, welcome to The Mighty."

"Thanks," Mason gave me a quick glance before he entered.

I let out the chuckle I had been holding back and then stepped closer myself.

"Evening," I spoke to the coyote.

"Welcome to The Mighty," the coyote spoke simply.

"Thanks, "I gave the hunky canine a quick smile as I entered into the dark, musky confines of the bar.

What I noticed first and foremost was the music, coming off a pair of big black speakers surrounding a TV monitor that was currently being stared at by a cougaress gripping onto a microphone, her tail swaying while she kept on singing.

"......BUT I COULDN'T STAY AWAY, I COULDN'T FIGHT IT I HAD HOPED YOU'D SEE MY FACE AND THAT YOU'D BE REMINDED THAT FOR ME IT ISN'T OVER..."

_ _

I almost balked. I had no idea that the place had had karaoke equipment installed since the last time I was here, and I wasn't sure whether the presence of belting out individuals was going to help anyone have a good relaxing time, especially with a date. I saw that Mason was looking towards the direction of the karaoke stand as well, ears flicking rapidly.

I stepped by him and leaned close to speak.

"You want to stay or go somewhere else maybe?" I asked, wanting to give him the choice.

The wolf's ear flicked at me and he smiled.

"I think it's cool!" he replied, tail swaying along to the tune.

"Okay," I replied, meekly.

"Come on," Mason gestured at me, "let's go and get what you want."

DON'T FORGET ME I BEGGED I REMEMBER YOU SAID

I followed my date to the bar counter, wondering just to what extent my conscious would allow me to charge the wolf for my drink of choice. Mason ordered some sort of a drink that came back in a tall glass, smelled of limejuice and had two straws in it, and I made my own quick order for a simple apple cider. Mason's ears flicked approvingly as he took his first sip, and he even made a little "ahh" noise and smacked his lips, while his tail just wouldn't stop wagging, even though he was also doing the paying at the same time.

"What's that called?" the singing had obscured my hearing enough that I couldn't make out the name of the drink while Mason made his order, and now I was pointing curiously at his murky green drink.

"Oh, this?" the wolf mused. "It's the Tail Twister, it's pretty popular and doesn't have too big of a kick for starters. It's got some mint liquor in it, too. Do you wanna have a taste?"

He offered the glass for me, and I didn't see how I could deny his request, and I took the one straw he hadn't used, and took a quick sip. A strange mixture of alcohol, lime and mint washed over my tongue and filled my nose, too, the drink had a surprising amount of a kickback once you had swallowed, and I really had to wonder whether Mason's quip about this being not a very strong drink was actually true.

"Do you like it?" the wolf was giving me curious eyes as I handed the drink back.

"It's...interesting," I smiled, licking my lips.

"Great," Mason grinned back. "Do we sit down now?"

"If you like," I replied.

YOU KNOW HOW THE TIME FLIES ONLY YESTERDAY WAS THE TIME OF OUR LIVES

_ _

I spied an empty table nearby, and soon we were settled at a comfortable distance away from the blazing loudspeakers, which made it a bit more probable that I could actually hear my own thoughts. Mason didn't seem to mind at all, for his ears kept flicking up to a comfortable beat. I tucked my tail into a secure position under the table, put my drink down and looked at the wolf.

"Not so strange yet, I hope," I smiled.

Mason's brow quirked.

"What do you mean, Rory?"

"Well..."I mused, sitting back a little, "I mean, this whole dating advice thing...we haven't been doing anything especially difficult yet have we?"

"Well, yeah," the wolf played with his straw a little while he kept looking at me, "It's not meant to be complicated is it? Just doing...stuff."

"Stuff, yeah," I rumbled, picking my own drink for a much-needed sip.

The apple tang spread over my tongue nicely, and I purred, softly, at the familiar flavor tickling my taste buds. Mason kept on smiling.

"And I'm really glad that you agreed to this, I really didn't know who else I could ask," the wolf continued.

"No problem," I replied with a broad smile on my muzzle, "It's fun to get out once in a while, and if you're going to learn something from it, too, even better!"

"Heheh," Mason chuckled.

NEVER MIND I'LL FIND SOMEONE LIKE YOU I WISH BUT THE BEST FOR YOU, TOO

_ _

"Heheh," I replied.

"It's really cool, Rory."

"Glad to help a wolf in need," I smiled.

Mason sipped from his drink and did the old routine of snuffling and smacking his lips before he put the glass down onto the table again.

"Are you hungry, Rory?"

I chuckled.

"Wanting to buy me something else, too?" I grinned. "You really are turning out to be quite the gentleman if you keep offering me all sorts of treats. That's definitely something to appreciate in a date."

Mason seemed almost sheepish again.

"Well, I thought maybe you'd like to have a bite to eat before we go on."

I smiled.

"Well, I really was thinking that maybe we could go and eat some dinner after we're finished with these drinks, "I decided to reveal some of my plan for the future course of the date now, hoping that it would meet Mason's approval.

"Oh?" his ears perked.

"Yes, there's a restaurant on the Boulevard which had some good reviews on the town restaurant guide, and I was thinking that perhaps we could have something light there before we look what happens next," I suggested.

"Wow...a real fine restaurant?" Mason asked me.

"Well I think it ought to be," I chuckled, "I haven't been there before, but the reviews were good, and I'm sure that the food is good enough."

"A dinner sounds really nice, I'm a bit hungry, to be honest," the wolf spoke, almost shyly.

"Then it's even better!" I declared, patting the surface of the table with my paw. "It'll be my treat, and we'll get you comfortably stuffed and then we'll see what happens."

I bit on my tongue a little after my small slip, and hoped that the wolf didn't think anything weird about my comments on stuffing. He seemed to be all eager for it, though, if his animated body talk was anything to go by.

"Well I really do like to sound of it, I mean, isn't it just the kind of a thing where you're meant to just talk a lot and...and...you know, get to know each other and stuff?"

"And stuff, I replied, "yes, I think you've got a pretty good idea about it, Mason."

"Heh, well that's nice," the wolf said. "Yeah, it sounds like a great idea, thanks, Rory, I knew I could count on you!"

"My pleasure," I replied with a courteous nod.

SOMETIMES IT LASTS IN LOVE BUT SOMETIMES IT HURTS INSTEAD

_ _

The song finally came to an end, and a few furs around the bar applauded, and the cougar girl on the karaoke stand gave a little bow, before a swift fox woman appeared on stage and planted herself behind the microphone.

"And here was Chrissie with her great take on Adele, thank you, Chrissie!" the loud fox enthused on the mic, "and now that we've go the night to a strong start, next up will be Lydia who will be tackling some Kelly Clarkson!"

One of the tables broke into a round of applause before a mare extracted herself from her friends and then took the stage.

"This is for everyone who's been fucked up the ass by their cheating boyfriends," the mare declared while staring gloomily at her makeshift audience.

I almost spluttered at the sudden rough language, but Mason didn't seem to mind, chuckling instead.

"Way to go, girl," he mused to himself before he turned to me, the slightly drunken-sounding singing already going on behind us. "Rory, you ever tried that?"

I chuckled.

"What, karaoke?" I chuffed.

"Yeah," the wolf smirked.

"Ohh..." I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, "well...let's just say that I've had my moments of weakness after a sufficient amount of alcohol and friends devious enough to spurn me to try it."

The frat wolf snickered.

"That must've been so fun," he smirked.

"I bet it was for the onlookers, "I mused.

"Well I bet!" Mason chuckled, again giving a look for the moribund performance carrying on behind us.

"You want to give it a go?" I suggested, just hint of a teasing smirk over my lips, while my ears joined in with appropriate flicks.

Mason shrugged.

"Why not?"

To my utter surprise, the frat wolf got up from his seat and walked off to meet the vixen lingering near the karaoke stand, and as I watched, he leaned to speak something to one of her tall ears. I chuckled and treated myself to another nice gulp from my cider, shaking my head a little in disbelief once I was done.

BECAUSE OF YOU I NEVER STRAY TOO FAR FROM THE SIDEWALK BEEEECAAAAAAUUUUSE OOOOOF YOUUUUUUU

_ _

My ears slowly regretted my choice of the bar, but they perked enough when Mason returned, the wolf stomping coolly back across the room to rejoin me at the table.

"I'm up next," the wolf declared with a grin.

My eyes widened a little.

"You're really gonna do it?"

"Sure," the wolf sipped from his drink, "it's great fun."

"Is it something you do often?" I asked curiously.

Mason scratched the side of his neck.

"Well, it's always pretty much fun when you're at a party and they break out Singstar," the wolf replied. "It's really a lot of fun."

I chuckled bashfully.

"We didn't really have that around when I was a student," I replied, feeling my age again, even if I didn't really want to, "but of course these karaoke bars existed, so yeah."

"It was pretty much fun a few weeks back when we had Singstar at a party and we found the heavy metal disc," Mason grinned.

"Oh?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah, me and Haakon were doing Metallica and Slayer, the girls couldn't stop laughing," the wolf smiled, his tail definitely wagging behind him.

I definitely could find a lot of good about having the said lynx around at a party, though not necessarily limited to hearing him sing, either extremely well or hilariously badly. Though knowing that frat cat, he probably could do that at an American Idol level, too. Call it a hunch.

"Sounds like it," I replied, reminding myself to not to like my Haakon ideas too much.

"Yeah, it was really funny, especially after a couple of shots of vodka," the wolf said.

"Of course."

"Heh."

The mare groaned out the final lines of the song, and her table exploded in another flurry of applause, not joined by many furs beyond their own little party, and then the vixen was back on the stage, eying the horse girl with a suspicious look.

"And that was Lydia showing her current state of mind!" at least she found something funny to say, I had to admit, and smiled to myself. "And next up here will be..."

I saw a flash of white in her paw and decided that it had to be a request card, one she had filled out for the wolf a moment ago.

"...Mason, singing a very big classic hit!"

Mason put his drink down onto the table.

"Good luck," I smiled toothily.

"Thanks, Rory."

"Let's hear for Mason!" the fox began to clap her paws, and a few token claps were heard from around the bar, as I watched the wolf climb up to the stage and stand by the fox.

"And here's Mason singing to his special someone!" the vixen announced before she left the stage, and the first chords of a piano tune began to flow from the backing track.

I sat there, my tail coiling around my leg as I wondered just what the expect out of this musical performance. I knew that Mason was always listening to some music, but whether he could sing, that was another thing, and I had no idea what the vixen had meant with an old classic, either.

Mason stood there, his tail flicking a little, perhaps out of some nerves, while he took a hold of the mic stand and faced his audience.

"No, I can't forget this evening...or your face as you are leaving..."

_ _

Oh my God.

"...but I guess that's just the way the story goes..."

_ _

He wasn't...

"...You always smile but in your eyes your sorrow shows...yes it shows... "

He was.

Admittedly, Mason didn't have an awful voice, and he was singing softly, not trying to rise to huge heights of vocal performance, rather choosing a more subtle approach. There were rumbling edges to it, and he didn't fall off key too much, not even when he started the infamous chorus, I couldn't help but mouth along.

"...can't give any more..." I rumbled.

I sat there, watching with rapt attention, while my co-worker surprised me with a beautiful ballad, sung, I hoped, from the bottom of his heart, to someone special, whom he was thinking while he channeled his inner Mariah Carey on stage. It as a small performance, but this was a small bar, and it was fitting here, and let's be honest, even I was a little bit in love with the wolf by the time he rumbled his final "ohhhh" into that mic.

I was applauding along the rest of the bar, not in a storm of applause, but a lot more enthusiastic than the two previous performances, and the vixen in charge of the karaoke was definitely putting her two paws together madly, tail swishing and hitting Mason's legs as she pushed her way to behind the mic.

"And let's hear it for Mason again, thank you, Mason!"

The wolf slinked away from the stage and soon rejoined me on the table, trying to appear nonchalant, perhaps, and didn't quite meet my eyes when he sat down again.

"Wow, Mason, I must say that was wonderful!" I smiled, feeling just a little warm inside, as I regarded him fondly. "I didn't know you could sing."

"I really don't," the wolf's ears flicked up and down and he picked up his drink for a gulp, and he forgot his fine behavior for the moments and wiped his muzzle dry on the back of his paw. "Just felt like it."

"Well I'm glad you did," I smiled, leaning over the table a little now, so that he could see my warm eyes better, "that was very nice."

"Yeah, I guess it's because mom always used to listen to Nilsson and she always kept saying that the Mariah version is total crap, furs should listen to the original," the wolf mused, stirring his drink again.

"Ohh so you weren't channeling your inner diva up there..." I chuckled, nodding towards the stage where a lioness had taken the mic and was now singing Katy Perry.

"Naah," the wolf rumbled.

I clapped my paws together a couple of times, for the hell of it.

"That was a lot of fun, thank you, Mason," I smiled.

"Sure," the wolf rumbled. "Do you want to give it a go?"

I waved a paw in the air in front of me, quickly.

"I'd be left so badly in your shadow that it'd be quite the disaster," I chuckled at the idea of me trying to rival Mason's beautiful performance. "I might drive the customers away."

"You're just saying that," the wolf replied with a smirk. "I bet you could do something with that voice of yours, Rory."

I chuckled.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, why not?" the wolf mused. "It just takes confidence, and the right kind of a song. Maybe you could do a crooner song, like...you know...Blue moon?"

"You know a lot about music," I noted.

"Guess it's my thing, listening to it, I mean," he replied. "Tried playing the guitar but didn't quite have the paws for it."

"Heheh, I bet many have been there, not having the time for practicing enough for an instrument, even if you'd like to play," I mused.

"Must be common, yeah," the wolf said.

"Probably, yeah."

I decided to treat myself to a celebratory sip of the cider, and lifted the weighty glass onto my lips for the necessary tipping action to take place. I rumbled a little at the cool bubbles rushing into my nose, and swallowed the comfortably pinching liquid, my ears joining in my expressions of pleasure. My eyes must have closed, even.

"Shit!"

I heard the exclamation and then opened my eyes, only to catch a glimpse of the wolf's ears before they disappeared past the edge of the table. Mason was suddenly out of sight, and my own eyes widened with surprise at the sudden behavior. What was going on? Did he drop something and went down to pick it up? I tried to lean over the table to see what was going on...

Something familiar caught my eye, at the very edge of my field of vision, that made me stop in my tracks, standing halfway up, with my paws resting against the tabletop. I quickly turned my head to the side, and what I saw was...

...the all too mottled, fluffy-ear-tipped, body-licking-shirt-wearing, flicky-tailed and all too confident-looking earring-wearing Norwegian lynx standing by the bar, his arm around a voluptuous wolf girl with a wagging tail and eyes only for the lustrous herring-munching hunk Haakon.

*

HOCKEY HUNK RETURNS IN JANUARY 2012

---

---

*

Here we go!

Thank you for reading! If you have any comments, don't hesitate! All feedback is more than appreciated.

Also remember that all votes, faves and watches will help others to find these stories as well.

Happy Holidays, see you soon, everyone!

Cheerio!