Knowing You, Knowing Me
#38 of Hockey Hunk Season 2
Rory drama continues with the after effects of the man-date!
Hello, and welcome to the latest chapter!
We've got about four chapters left to season 2, and I think that we're all on the edges of ours seats, myself perhaps the most, too, because the story is ever living, and I say "about four" to highlight the chance that if the inspiration strikes me well, I might write something extra about something that I deem to be important to the plot. This organic approach has really benefitted this story, and I cannot even start to list all the scenes and situations - and characters, even! - that have been born out of the very fact that I've given this story the chance to grow beyond its original bounds.
I hope you have enjoyed the ride so far, and don't forget to stay tuned for more exciting installments in The Hockey Hunk!
Comments are welcome as always, don't forget that votes, faves and watches will help others to find these stories to enjoy, as well! Comments are the best measure of the quality of my work, and each and every one of them will be appreciated for what they're worth. Don't hesitate!
Have a good read y'all!
*
"WHUT?"
I forced my eyes open, flicked my ears and sought out the source of the noise blaring into my consciousness. I blinked, what lie beyond eyes was a strange horror landscape of contours and forms illuminated in red light that seemed to be coming out of nowhere. Through this vision, the noise continued, it rumbled, it chimed, it beeped and it blasted, and it glowed a white light that ate on the very structure of the red glow that seemed to drink me in.
There was something warm underneath me, warm and soft, under my footpaws too, not under my neck, though, that was something solid. I yawned.
Shit.
Couch.
It took me an unpleasant second to realize that I had fallen asleep on my couch, not on my comfortable bed, but on the small couch in my small apartment. It was so small that part of my legs were hanging off the armrest on the other side, accompanied by the thick length of my tail, that too only slowly coming into life after my makeshift torpor. At least the old leather was warm, but not warm enough to soothe out the kink in my neck that was evident from the first turn, with that twinge of pain coursing all the way down to the base of my tail. I winced.
"Shit," I spat, my ears flattening.
Still the noise went on, and my eyes found the white glow, drawn to it like bugs into those light traps, though this time it was a lion trap, and my tired brain finally gave a name to that strange combination of light and sound.
"Crap!" I snorted to myself and forced my lion ass off the couch and into action, moving towards my small kitchen table where the happily ringing phone had been left before, next to my computer.
The computer was also the source of my strange night vision glow, its power light a mere tiny LED, but still strong enough, when it was otherwise completely dark, and combined with my cat eyes, to make for a considerable illumination. I didn't have the time to contemplate that, though, and in any case, I was already blinded by the bright glow of my phone, still insistently ringing for who knows how long.
"Shit..."
I grabbed my phone and caught the number "05:17" on the corner of the screen even before the text on the bottom of the eye-squinting bright screen.
MASON IS CALLING
_ _
Good God.
My furs bristled at the sight, my heart jumped, and my tail, despite it's semi-comatose state, surged into action and looped itself in the air behind me, colliding with a chair and the side of the kitchen cabinets before it was nice again and tucked itself down between my legs.
I felt breathless, angry and relieved at the same time.
This was first contact with the frat wolf ever since he disappeared into the night, all those hours ago. They had been hours of agitated waiting, pacing, feeling cold in the evening air and listening to Haakon's snorts of discomfort and Jessica's growingly worried theories about the wolf's disappearance, until it was too cold and too late to do anything but go home and hope for the best.
We'd done everything short of calling the police, including phoning Mason from my phone, Haakon's phone and Jessica's phone, to no answer. I had even sat on my kitchen table with coffee and waited for a call from Haakon who'd gone to check Mason's dorm, only to hear from the lynx that the wolf was not there, nor had been there before all evening. Disheartened, we could only wait and hope for the best.
And here I was, holding the phone, shaking a little, recalling all this, before I hit the button.
"Mason?" my voice went up and down the scale during that single word that was uttered out of my quivering maw, my arm held tightly against my chest.
My blood thumped in my ears. What was the wolf going to say? Something awful? Would he be crying? Shouting? Speaking things you'd never want to hear anyone speak, let alone someone you cared about? Speak nonsense? Would he listen to me? Would he even speak to me at all? Had he simply reached the breaking point under all the calls and texts we sent?
"That you Rory?"
His voice was low but thin, not the usual gentle rumble I knew well.
"Yeah, I can hear you," I replied, my own voice hollow and without color.
He breathed out loudly, clogging the line for a moment with static.
My heart beat so hard that it almost hurt, thumping against my chest endlessly. It was a sensation I was too familiar with, not something I wanted to experience ever again, but here I was, prepared for the worst.
I swallowed.
"Where are you Mason?" I said, the first question that came into my mind.
"Uhh..."
I waited. The claws of my paw resting against my chest dug into my furs as little dots of pressure, straining the fabric of my shirt. Still the nice one from before, when I had scrubbed and rubbed and combed and scented myself nicely for a nice night out. I tried my best not to rush the wolf, however, because that would probably only make it more difficult to speak with him.
"I...uh...just came back home," the wolf's drawl was peculiar to that kind of a drawl you could smell in the breath of the one you were speaking with.
"Okay," I whispered.
Seconds ticked past, and my heart beat at least twice for each of them, making me feel breathless still. My legs felt unsteady and I felt the urge to sit down, but at the same time, the restless energy growing in my tired limbs made that seem even more uncomfortable. At least I could pace now, try to discharge some of that nervous energy and keep myself as calm as possible, for his sake.
"...is...is..."
"Yeah?"
I cursed my swiftness in my mind. It would do no good to interrupt him, when it was his time to speak. I didn't want to dishearten him so quickly, not when he might have something extremely important to say.
"Is Haakon okay?" he spoke again, hollow, like speaking through a pipe.
I let out the breath I held before I spoke, felt my tail twitch, and scratched my chest to try to alleviate the itching sensation over there.
"Worried about you but otherwise he's fine" I spoke, quickly, repeating what I had written down in the half a dozen texts I sent to him during the night. "You didn't break any internal organs."
He made an incomprehensible sound that might have been a sigh of relief, but I wouldn't commit myself to that just yet.
"...okay," he rumbled.
"Yeah."
I swayed from side to side, putting my weight from one paw to another, and listened to the muffled breathing on the phone.
"...well...uh..."
"Did you call Haakon yet? Or Jessica?" I asked him, deciding that I might not get anything out of him if I didn't simply make the question.
He huffed.
"I...uh...nah."
My tailtip slapped against my ankles, back into action from its momentary calm.
"Alright. Are you going to?"
"Dunno."
"Well, I think you should, Mason," I spoke, keeping my voice level. "To make sure everything's alright."
"Hmmyeah."
My teeth were bared in a huff that escaped from my throat, accompanying a low grunt. It had been a while since I had to talk to furs while they were at this state of things, and I really didn't feel much like rehearsing my skills in the matter again. I raked my claws through my mane and my head furs, blinked, and breathed in deeply.
"Look, Mason, I know it was a crazy night and you probably are feeling pretty bad, with or without the booze, so I think you should go to sleep and have a really good rest," I spoke, my words firm, if gentle, so as not to aggravate the possibility of raving drunkenness that was always a chance in these situations.
"I'm pretty tired."
"You sound like it."
"Look man I'm sorry the date went shit man I didn't meant to, fuck, no...shit..."
I shook my head to myself and tried to keep my calm.
"It's best that we'll talk about it later, Mason," I continued.
"Fuck man it was...it was..."
"Well it was pretty fucking stupid thing you did, Mason, whatever your reasons, but it's done now and the best we can do now is to get some rest and see what happens tomorrow."
"Uhmyeah."
Uhmyeah.
I huffed and squeezed the phone harder in my paw.
"Look I'm really sorry, man, I'll make it up to you, Rory, don't 'you worry, I'll do it good! I'll take you out to a really nice place and I'll pay and..."
"Mason," my voice lowered, became more resonant, more instinctual, too, in a way that he ought to hear, even though we were not face to face. "Do you hear me?"
"Yeah, sure, Rory, I hear you!" his voice, in turn, only rose in pitch.
"Mason, it's really early in the morning, and we both have to sleep. Do you think you could go to sleep? I need to go to sleep, why don't you do the same?"
"But...but, man..."
"It's five am, Mason, I'm pretty damn tired after staying up until half past one, I have to sleep before work, "I continued, trying to keep the worst of the rumbling edges out of my voice. "And I don't think you should come to work today. Do you hear me?"
Mason groaned, deeply, audibly, making my ears flicker.
"Shit! Fuck,shit you're right...shit, Marge's gonna bite my balls off..."
I winced naturally at his expression.
"You should call in sick," I said, firmly again, "give you time to sort things out. Sort your head out, more like."
"I'm so tired, man..."
"I know you're tired, Mason, you should go to sleep."
I heard an odd muffled noise from the line, followed by muffled speaking by Mason, and another muffled voice, and more Mason I couldn't quite hear very clearly. I frowned and listened, the worry in me growing again before Mason spoke to me again, addressing me directly.
"Shit, I woke up the roomie... shit..."
"Go to sleep, Mason, you'll feel much better in the morning."
"I dunno..."
"Yes, you will. Trust me on this."
Mason laughed, a rasping clatter that didn't sound like his usual shy little chuckle.
"Yeah yeah I trust you, look, man, you're great, Rory, you know, you're really great, man, you're a great guy, Rory, I love you man, I LOVE YOU man!"
"Thanks, Mason, I'll think about that tomorrow," I said.
"Thanks, Rory."
"No problem, Mason," I forced myself to the calmness I had decided on, and managed, just about, to keep it. "Go to bed."
"Thanks, man!"
"No problem," I breathed.
"Well, night."
"Good night."
The line closed with a final beep, leaving me into the red-tinted silence again.
"Fuck."
My paw fell down limply and smacked the phone against my thigh. My tail uncoiled itself from my calf and flopped down to the floor, as if all the strength in my body that was there before was being drained out of me rapidly. I stood planted by my table, staring at the dark shape of my television. My shoulder blades itched and my breath made a noise that wasn't usually there, keeping me on the edge still.
I didn't feel any wiser than before, but at least he was alright, and sounded like he would be alright for now, though I did have the distinct feeling that he was going to regret this even more come tomorrow morning.
I shook my head, rumbled and rubbed my neck. A quick glimpse at the clock told me that it was 05:25 am, much too early for any proper cognitive processes to take place in my leonine brain. I felt confused, angry, and afraid, perhaps slightly less than before the phone call, but nonetheless, I was not being a very comfortable lion to begin with.
That reminded me of Haakon, the poor lynx who had gotten the worst of Mason's outburst, in the form of claws and fists. Still, it had been Haakon who had voiced his worry the most when we paced along Marsh Avenue and hoped that Mason would come back, or call one of us and telling that he was alright. It was Haakon who told Jessica that we shouldn't call the police to report an assault, since he was so damn sure that the wolf didn't mean to hurt him. I had to admire his resolution on the matter, but I wasn't sure whether it was such a clear cut things. There was obviously something going on with Mason, something not too nice, and to be involved in that...I wasn't sure how that new amount of drama would affect me. It was not a comfortable thought, but it was there, I felt it, and I had to take it.
I looked at the dark shape of my phone and felt a sudden urge to call Victor, to tell him what had happened and see what kind of emotional support he could give me. I dismissed the thought with a snuffle rapidly, it was ludicrous, anyway, the Dobie needed his sleep and there was no way that I was going to disturb his rest, especially with THE COBB STILL AROUND AND READY TO JUMP AT ANY OPPORTUNITY TO INVOLVE HIMSELF IN EVERYTHING THAT INVOLVED VICTOR AND RORY! Still, the idea of hearing Victor's voice was nice, for I was sure that the familiar rumble might've been more than comforting in this situation. It made me idly wonder how he would've handle it, what words he would've told to Mason in an effort to check that he was alright and well. Maybe he had a lot of experience with drunk frat boys, he must've been one at a time, a gay one, even, he probably knew other gay furs and knew how to deal with their drama...
I knew all about gay drama, and it seemed that my touch at straight drama had been intense as well, although I also knew that my part in it had not been played to the completion yet.
I flipped the phone over in my paw and quickly went through my recent calls to locate Haakon's number, the one I had added there only a few hours before, just in case, so that we could alert each other when one of us would get in contact with Mason. I hesitated for a moment, staring at the strange number, wondering how I should put my words, whether Haakon was asleep, and how he'd react...but then again, he deserved to know, as soon as possible.
I tapped the dial icon and lifted the phone up to my ear, holding my breath again, out of an old nervous habit.
It only beeped twice.
"Hello?" the feline voice sounded surprisingly sharp.
"It's Rory," I spoke quickly, "Mason just called me, he's fine."
I heard him gasp, then snort, then breathe out deeply.
"Where is he? Is he well? Did he tell you where he was or why he left?"
I waited for the flow of questions to subsided before I put my word in, trying to sum my opinion up as neatly as possible.
"He's back in his dorm and fine. Pretty drunk, too, so I guess he has been drinking somewhere. I didn't ask him about that."
"Damn..." Haakon grunted.
"I told him to have a good long sleep and see how things look when he wakes up, and then he hung up, so I hope that he's now in his bed and trying to have a proper rest," I continued.
"Well I hope so," the frat boy sounded as worried as ever. "Should I go there to check him up? I can leave right away, it's only ten minutes away, it'd be okay."
I smacked my lips together, wondering what to say. It might be relief for all of us involved to have someone actually assess Mason's situation in person, but then again, it was also horribly early in the morning, and the wolf was probably already sleeping away towards the inevitable hangover.
"I think it's the best if we just let him sleep for now, Haakon, it's very early, and everyone needs to rest."
He made a sound, as if beginning to say something, but then he was quiet for a beat and spoke again in his normal voice.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess."
"Are you alright? Is Jessica alright?"
"She went to her own place after we split up at Mason's dorm around midnight, but I'll call her soon and tell her that everything's alright."
"Okay, that's good."
"I'm really sorry, Rory, I'm sorry about this mess, and that your day's been spoiled because of it," the lynx sounded mournful, honestly so.
I smiled to myself, hoping to put some of that smile into my voice, too, when I replied to him.
"It's life," I said. "It's got ups and downs. I'll manage."
"We'll sort it out together, Rory, you don't have to worry about it so much."
"But I am involved" I continued, feeling the urge to defend my position in all this, no matter how uncomfortable it might be. "I was there."
"I know, Rory, but you don't have to...spend all night worrying about it from now on, I think we can handle it, we're grown up and all."
I knew all too well from having said those very same kind of words myself that they usually meant exactly the polar opposite of what they implied, but I decided that I didn't want to anger the cat, and let it pass.
"Well, in any way I can help, I will," I felt the need to add.
Haakon chuckled, quickly, dryly.
"No wonder he says you're a nice guy, Rory, that's what Mason always says, you know," the lynx spoke. "That you always ask him how he's doing and you treat him alright and not like a kid."
I felt an odd, fleeting sensation in my belly for the words I heard from him, and decided that I would have to think about that feeling a bit more at a better opportunity.
"I'm glad to have his trust," I spoke, knowing that I had to say something after being told something like that.
"Well I'm glad he's got you as his workmate, too, Rory, really glad," Haakon said. "He really likes working there with you guys."
"Heh."
I knew that I was not going to like working there today, not with this kind of sleep, but I really had to be the trooper now, the one to prevail, and take charge, and be the man with a capital Man, and be done with it. My tail smacked the floor in agreement, and I felt a bit more confident now, talking with the frat cat.
"You okay too, Rory?" he spoke before I had the chance to take my polite leave for the meager remains of the night.
I rubbed one of my ears, idly, and wondered whether I was okay.
"Yeah, I'm alright," I told him. "Are you fine, too? Not aching or feeling weird or anything like that?"
"I'm pretty good, thanks, Rory," he replied, "nothing worse than what I might get during a good hockey game, heh. Just a few bumps, that's all."
"Heh," I chuffed.
"You should come and see another game soon, too, you seemed to like the last time, Rory! You mind if I ask you to come sometime, even if we're not playing against Victor's team? Beer and fun afterwards too."
My scratching fingers moved down along my neck, raking against my skin.
"If I have the time, yeah, maybe I will," I offered a compromise, and the lynx seemed to be happy with it, too, I thought.
"Heh, that's nice. Well, I think I better call Jessica now and tell her that our wolf's alright, and then try to catch some sleep. Got lectures at ten am."
"Ouch," I offered my compassionate opinion.
"Yeah, and you gotta work too, I guess, so...well, goodnight Rory, and thanks, and..uh...sorry."
"Goodnight, Haakon," I replied.
"Goodnight, Rory!"
The following silence grew even more weary on me. I filled it with a sigh.
*
There we go! What do you think?
Still a few more chapters to go before the season is at its end, I can hardly wait to see what season 3 brings for us - and it's looking to be great!
Thank you for reading.
Cheerio!