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CHAPTER TWELVE

NED

They chatted for perhaps a half-hour more before saying goodnight. Ned had ridden to the restaurant with Scarlett and Nolan, but when Garrett offered to give him a ride, he gladly accepted the coyote's offer. The date had had its awkward moments, but he left Lugosi's feeling incredibly positive. Somehow he'd sparked something with this coyote that was different than his previous dates. What was it exactly about this coyote, who seemed to have a new interesting detail to reveal about himself at every turn? Ned considered himself a pretty open guy; he had few secrets, no hidden motivations, and generally prided himself at always being honest; never using or manipulating people, always doing what was right. Because he was a good guy, he thought. When he was little he'd read Marvel and DC comics, under the covers with a flashlight when his parents had thought he was asleep, and he'd always sympathised with the heroes, who sacrificed of themselves to do good. Ned believing in honesty, and so with the exception of his sexuality, which was no one's business anyway, he had no secrets.

And yet this coyote seemed to be full of them, so that his identity was shifted at every moment. It was like unpeeling an onion, layer upon layer of new details of the intricate personality that made Garrett who he was. Not only that, but there were the little things, not so much secrets, but little details that one learns about someone just by observing them. Noticing that at the table Garrett had held his fork and knife in the British style, probably something he'd picked up from Olympia; observing that he'd removed the garnish tomato from his pasta and left it untouched on the side of the plate. At the police academy Ned's instructors had stressed the importance of observations; what one could learn from observing little habits or particularities or mannerisms. And now he was applying those to his new boyfriend.

"Are we boyfriends yet?" he asked curiously, as Garrett held up his keychain, unlocking the Mustang with a beep. The parking lot was relatively dark, and the car's top was up, but Ned could plainly make out that it was a very expensive model, and very new - the yellow chrome was shiny and flawless; and the two white stripes down the hood seemed to glow in the streetlight.

The coyote looked across the top of the car at him as he reached for the door handle. "I dearly hope so" he said, opening the door. "I was worried for a bit that Scarlett and I were being too....forward. I'm actually not normally like that."

"Eh, you're alright" Ned sighed, adjusting his tail as he settled into the passenger seat. The Mustang smelled strongly of coyote, Garrett specifically. It was furnished with black leather that was delightfully comfortable against Ned's backside, and he relaxed. "Just warn me if you're doing to do that again."

The engine rumbled as Garrett turned on the ignition. "Sweet ride" Ned commented.

Garrett looked over, his yellow eyes glowing. "Want to drive?"

Ned started to say no - but why should he? It wasn't every day he got the offer to try out a fancy musclecar. So he didn't protest when the coyote unbuckled his seatbelt and got out.

The steering wheel was smooth against his pawpads as he put the Mustang in gear and pulled out of the lot. It moved like a dream. Glancing over at Garrett, who was looking like James Dean again with his leather and fancy car, Ned wondered if he was into street racing, which occasionally caused car smashes down in the Underworld, sometimes involving unscrupulous celebrities.

"You're a very curious person, Garrett Dyckert" he commented, pulling up to a stoplight. "Very multi-dimensional."

"Oh," the coyote replied, "because people assume I'm just another actor and then find out I have all these other motivations and desires? Maybe..."

Ned put his paw on the gas, not even sure where they were going, just cruising with his new...boyfriend. After being single for so long the word was foreign on his tongue. "A degree of secrecy is ok for starters" he mused at length. "Just so long as nothing major."

Garrett cocked his head curiously. "And you're telling me you don't have secrets? This is only our second date, Ned. It's normal not to know everything about each other."

"I only meant-" Ned begin, but Garrett cut him off.

"How about this? You tell me one thing you haven't told your friends at work, and maybe I'll share something I wouldn't have at the restaurant."

They were driving through a downtown section of little sidewalk cafes and fashion boutiques and corner furstyling salons, most of them closed at this time in the evening. What was something about him that Scarlett didn't know? She didn't know about Ned's father, only that he was dead and that they had been close once, but he had the feeling Garrett wasn't looking for that sort of private details anyway. Outside the window, they were passing a movie-rental place, its neon sign still lit up. The posters in the store's windows were advertising some of the recent hits; action movies, chick flics, superhero dramas - oh.

He chuckled. "Ok, I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to laugh. It's the story of why I'm called Ned."

Garrett's ears pricked. "Oh? Is that not your name?"

"It's short for Edward, which is actually my middle name" Ned explained, licking his lips. The inside of the car was beginning to get warm - it had been a chilly day, but for some reason it had warmed up in the evening - maybe inversion from the fog cover.

Garrett was reaching across the car to mess with something on the car's controls. "Really? That's my middle name, too" he said. "There, big guy." The coyote leaned back into his own seat, and with a clanking sound, Ned heard the convertible's top begin to slide back, exposing the black moonless sky and the shining brilliance of streetlights and distant skyscrapers.

"Wow," he murmured, holding his head up so the air current flowing over the windshield could blow through his short mane. There was just something wonderful about feeling wind ripple through your fur; it just made him glad to be alive, somehow. "This is epic."

He could hear the grin in Garrett's voice. "One of my favourite times to drive this car is at night" the coyote said, and glancing over, Ned saw that he'd put the window down too and was leaning partway out of it, arms spread. Then he turned back, grinning. "Now for the story of your name..."

Ned sighed. "It's not that long of a story, really. Mom had a brother named Peter, who got himself and a couple of his buddies killed by driving off a bridge while drunk. My parents decided to name me after him, never considering the implications...Peter Parker?"

Garrett was silent for a moment, enjoying the wind and the warm night air, then laughed. "Oh. Peter Parker, SpiderFox. Yes, I could see how that could have been embarrassing."

"You weren't supposed to laugh" Ned said dryly.

"Sorry," Garrett shrugged helplessly. "I'm a coyote; it comes naturally."

Ned gave him a dark look that he didn't really mean. "It wasn't a problem until I started school, but after that....you know kids, once they find something about you that makes a good focus of teasing, I never heard the end of it."

"So you switched to your middle name?"

"Not necessarily. We watched 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and I decided to call myself Ned, after the sailor character in the movie. My parents didn't mind, so at the beginning of second grade I introduced myself as Ned Parker, and I've been Ned ever since" he finished.

"I like Ned better anyway" Garrett said. "It fits you."

Ned shrugged. "I think so. Hey, but now it's your turn."

"Oh? But isn't some secrecy a good thing, in a relationship?" Garrett argued, grinning. "You never know what to expect."

"I don't know about that" Ned said uncertainly. Sometimes he had the feeling Garrett was playing with him, but maybe that was just a coyote trait. Scarlett was definitely possessed of that sauciness, and so had been the coyotes Ned had hung out with back in high school in Helena, so perhaps it was just something Garrett was predispositioned to because of his species.

He glanced into the passenger seat and saw Garrett was eyeing him with a sly smirk again. "Hmm?" he murmured, leaning closer. "If you always knew what I was thinking, would you expect this?"

Without warning, the coyote thrust his paw into Ned's lap and grabbed him through his jeans, squeezing. "Uh" the wolf grunted, gripping the steering wheel tighter. "C-careful there."

"I'm always careful when I handle precious jewels" Garrett snickered, chuckling to himself like he found that comment especially humorous. Ned tried to force himself to relax as he felt Garrett's fingers deftly unbuttoning the top of his jeans and unzipping them, pulling back the flaps. He traced one pawpad up Ned's stiffening length as Ned tried to focus on the road.

"I-I've never had anyone do that while I was driving before" he murmured hesitantly. Why was he so tense, all of a sudden? His tail felt like it was all bristled out, and his arms were stiff. Relax, dude.

"Never? Well then here's your chance to change that" the coyote purred seductively, pulling Ned's underwear down. "Oh, perfect. You didn't tell me you were hung..."

Ned chuckled despite of himself. "Well, I am a wolf...you weren't expecting me to be small, were you?" He groaned reflexively as he felt Garrett's paw pushing his underwear further down, cradling a paw gently under his balls.

Garrett laughed. "This is true. Yet another reason why dating a wolf will always be a good idea." He took Ned's shaft in his paw and leaned down and Ned whimpered as he felt a warm, wet tongue-tip touch the end of his shaft. If he hadn't had to strain to focus on driving while enjoying the sensation of the coyote's tongue on his nether region, he'd have laughed. What would his fellow police officers have said - he, Ned Parker, getting a blowjob while driving, the very kind of thing which cops typically warned people not to do. Do as I say, not as I do.

He allowed himself to take one paw off the wheel and rest it tenderly on the top of Garrett's head as he took more of Ned's shaft into his muzzle, licking at it with his tongue. "Damn" Ned swore, blinking. "You coyotes must be related to foxes." He'd started rubbing one of Garrett's big ears gently, feeling the coyote's muzzle sliding further down his shaft, until only his growing knot remained. I should find some place to pull over, Ned thought, some place where we can enjoy ourselves without having to worry about me driving us off the road.

Or worse, before some other driver happened to glance at them as he or she passed and got the shocker of seeing a coyote giving a wolf a blowjob in a convertible. He'd better find it soon though, because Garrett had started sucking, while simultaneously fondling Ned's balls. Ned found that even with the top down, he was panting heavily.

The coyote leaned down even further, mouthing at Ned's knot. "Oh, fuck" Ned groaned. He was starting to wonder if he could last till they'd found a place to park.

Brrrrrrring......

The phone's buzz and vibration snapped Ned out of his trance, and Garrett pulled up slightly, without completely releasing Ned's cock.

There was only one reason his phone would ring at this time of night. "Sorry bud" he muttered, removing his paw from Garrett's ears and reaching into his jacket pocket, feeling for his phone. Garrett pulled away, back into his own seat, although he did not zip Ned's pants back up, nor did he remove his paw from the wolf's balls.

The caller ID read ARKADY, so Ned pressed the answer button. "Arkady?" he tried to sound normal, despite the fact that Garrett was still playing with his shaft.

"Ned....I need you to come down to the station."

Immediately Ned began glancing at street signs, cursing himself for cruising along without paying attention. He waved a paw at Garrett to let up on the fondling, gesturing at the phone seriously. The fox's voice was crackling; full of some kind of unbelieving horror. "I'm on my way" Ned assured him, although in reality it was going to take a moment for him to get his bearings. "Tell me what happened."

Garrett was staring at him with big eyes, ears all splayed out, the playfulness gone. Arkady was silent for a moment; then he finally spoke. "The killer....the one who killed Fincher and Sota. The Ten-commandments man. He's killed again...."

Ned whipped the Mustang around in midstreet, glad no street cops were around to see him doing a U turn. "Arkady. Who's the victim?"

Finally the fox spoke again, and he did not sugar-coat his answer. "Enough to make world headlines. The victim is Claudia Wittmore."