FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Jiffy

Chapter 7

Shaw

Dorian drove a small, white two-seater mini as a personal vehicle though he also had a van which he used to cart around the guys if they ever went on a trip together and deliveries. The far more fuel efficient hybrid of the two was the mini and despite appearing small, it was quite comfortable. Eerily quiet too. It genuinely felt like they were on a spy mission as they glided down the roads to Golden Cliffs Hospital.

After waiting a good thirty minutes which they filled with getting dressed after their shower, Dorian and Shaw made their trip to the hospital. They didn't need to tail Joel at a respectable distance. Dorian knew where they were going. Really, there was only one hospital in the entire area except for the children's hospital.

During this time, Shaw asked what he should know about their upcoming encounter.

“What's his dad like?"

Dorian made a face; like a half-smile, half-grimace. “Abrasive." The shark, dressed in a white tanktop and tan cargo shorts, took a moment to mull over his words. “The guy is a real asshole. Don't expect him to be kind and polite to you. Dunno if it's because he knows he's dying and he's angry at the world or something."

“He's genuinely dying?" Shaw gasped.

“Lung cancer. Pretty late-stage too. The guy smoked, like, a packet a day when he was on his feet. I remember when I visited him in his place. It smelled like an ashtray. Sharks have a really good sense of smell so you know I got a whiff of everything in there." Dorian shook his head grimly. “Funny thing is, his late-wife, Joel's mother, died of the same thing."

“How long ago…?"

“About thirty years. When Joel was barely twelve. I think it's why he didn't get into smoking even though he was surrounded by the shit."

Every day, I learn a little more about him and the guys around me.

They turned onto a freeway, heading south away from the city. Given it was a Saturday, traffic was mostly light. Shaw couldn't see Joel's truck up ahead but with a thirty-minute head start, it was very likely that Joel was already at the hospital.

“What happened between the two of them?" Shaw asked.

“Tale as old as time," Dorian said with a shrug. “Bartholomew Rockham is an ultra-conservative, Bible-humping, red-blooded American. His boy started showing an interest in guys and he threatened to kick out Joel. Joel overcompensated by getting fit when he was young but that only brought on the attraction to other guys at the gym. He got found out and his dad kicked him out. This was just after he graduated from high school and before he went off to college." Dorian gave a helpless shrug. “College was always his dad's dream for him so Joel figured he'd take another route in life. Did odd jobs in town to keep himself afloat. Actually started stripping for a while. Made a killing. It's how he was able to afford his apartment."

Joel was a stripper?

“What other jobs did he do?"

Dorian began listing a few other odd jobs such as handyman, janitor and even working at a gym for a while. Retail was amongst those list of jobs but Joel bounced between different retail stores that he tended to just lump them all together as on career. It was only about seven years ago when he decided to go to college. That was where he met the other guys and they opened JACKED together just a short four years ago.

All of that left an inspiring mark on Shaw. Most people with an Asian upbringing would followed the path of jumping straight to college from high school. It was expected. But after having walked that path and found where it leads, Shaw only had admiration for people who found their own way through life and still managed to find success. The fact that Joel was independent, built all of these life skills and was fully capable of taking care of himself with this security that even if he lost his job he'd find a safe place to land was infinitely reassuring.

As for him, if he lost his job as a marketer-slash-advertising-professional, he would have to find a job in the same field in some other city. He would have to uproot his entire life just to make a stable income. This was not to mention that when Liam betrayed him, he basically shutdown and had no way of taking care of himself.

Joel would never do that… He has his support structure around him.

“Does that make you uncomfortable?" Dorian asked. “That he stripped for money?"

“No, actually," Shaw responded instantly, a gentle smile on his face. “Though it does make me question… I remember Joel saying that he only really got into fitness when he met Amos. And he looks great now." Tilting his head to the side, he asked, “What did he look like when he was stripping?"

The shark's face split into a wan smile. “Oh, you'd get a kick out of this. They called him 'Lean Beef'. Like zero-percent body fat. I wouldn't call him a twink but he was much scrawnier than he is now."

The imprint of Joel in his mind was that of an athlete. Nowhere near the bodybuilder-level-build as Amos but he had strong, wide shoulders, thick biceps and juicy pectorals. His abs were clearly defined and his legs were immense from having to be on his feet all day. Clearly the image of a burly but welcoming bartender who could toss out a guy on the street as needed. Imagining him thinner or smaller in anyway seemed blasphemous.

“How long ago did Joel's dad get admitted to the hospital?"

Dorian let out a little sigh. “About a year ago. The man is a fighter. That's kind of a blessing and a curse, though. The man was coughing up blood, having trouble breathing and fainting at his ripe age of eighty for years. It was only when Joel forced him to get a check-up did they finally find out what he had. A man's man, you know. Never going to the hospital because he thought it was a sign of weakness."

Joel is in his early forties and his dad is eighty?

“When did he have Joel?"

The shark tilted his head slightly, following the gentle curve of the freeway onto an off-ramp. The green sign above the ramp clearly stated 'Golden Cliffs Hospital'. “Bart had a couple of failed marriages before settling down with Joel's mom. Not his fault. The man was loyal to a fault. But he served in the military. Marines, I think. So we was gone a lot of times and the women he was married to… well… they had needs."

Shaw winced loudly. “Oh… Oh no."

“Yeah. So he bounced around from girl to girl until he met his wife and actually had a kid with her. Thankfully, Joel doesn't have any half-siblings." Dorian glanced briefly at Shaw. “Like I said, Bart was away a lot so he didn't get a lot of changes to impregnate his ex-wives." As his eyes drifted back to the road, he bobbed his head from side to side. “Sure, there were battles in the court. On ex-wife did have a kid and tried to claim it as Bart's but a paternity test cleared that up."

I wonder if all of that led to why Joel's dad is apparently so… bitter.

The freeway gave way to a more suburban area. A few homes dotted the streets but dominating most of it were retirement homes. Logical in many ways. If there was a medical emergency, doctors at the hospital were just a few minutes away. Towering above all the rest was the multi-floor Golden Cliffs Hospital. Since he had moved here, Shaw had never had a reason to go there.

It was a brownish-yellow monolith overseeing the surrounding areas.

Funny… in some cultures yellow is actually emblematic of disease… and here they have put the institution for health and painted it yellow.

Though he could understand how the brownish-yellow idea came from. It was based on the Golden Cliffs that gave the region its name. Still, Shaw couldn't help but put on his advertising hat and see the irony.

“Anything else I should know before I meet the guy?" Shaw asked.

Dorian grimaced. “I don't know about 'meeting' him. Like I said, Joel kind of keeps that part of his life to himself." The fish reached out and gently grasped Shaw's knee. “How about we just ambush him after he's done?"

After all the times Joel had intruded on his life by ambushing him with a surprise visit from one of the guys, that seemed appropriate.

“Yeah, okay," he agreed.

Dorian parked his car and, together, they entered the hospital. Since it was during visiting hours, no one batted an eye after they signed in and said they were there to visit Bartholomew Rockham. One of the nurses recognized Dorian apparently and gave him a smile, commenting on how 'Mr. Rockham would appreciate more visitors'. Shaw had to wonder if she had meant Bart or his son, Joel.

They were led to the third floor, Room 322.

As they approached, Joel's voice carried alongside the gruff and severely weakened sneers of his father.

“… threated to sue us."

“Good," spat Bart, his voice sounding like someone was stirring an ashtray. “The law could finally be put to good use for something and that's to shutdown that fucking whorehouse of yours."

“Dad, how many times do I have to tell you, JACKED is super-successful. We're constantly profiting! Every night is basically full! And we're even thinking about opening up for lunch!" There was a brief pause. “This guy I've been talking to… he's an advertising agent. He suggested that we open for lunch and do some corporate catering on the side. It's really a smart move. Would let Cash flex his culinary creativity."

Shaw felt bad for eavesdropping but at the same time, his heart soared when he heard Joel praising him in such a manner.

“Don't matter," snarled Bartholomew Rockham. “Ain't nobody going to take anything served by a bunch of queers."

Shaw glanced briefly at Dorian who was immune to such slandering. The shark merely shrugged as if to say, 'That's Bart Rockham.'

Then the elder Rockham broke out into a fit of coughing.

“Dad! Easy!" exclaimed Joel. “Don't get yourself worked up."

The love in the bull's voice was evident. Even though Bart Rockham was clearly disparaging his son's way of life, Joel was still loyal and loved him.

Huh… was that how it was with me and Liam…?

“Get off me, boy," snapped Bart. “I'm already dying. Don't need you prolonging my life. Fuck. I'd rather be dead than watch my only son whore himself out to every cock that sports a half-chub his way."

“I don't know what you're talking about, dad. You know I've been with the guys for a while now."

“I ain't talking about your sluts that half-own your bar. Still a fucking bad idea, you know. A real man owns his property by himself. Don't need the help of other people. Especially not five other people."

“Yeah well, in this economy, it's kind of difficult to open a business by yourself."

The economy your generation built, by the way, Shaw thought heatedly towards Bart.

“Maybe if you had gone to college instead of taking your clothes off for money, you'd have made it before the dollar went to shit," snarled Bart.

But he did go to college. Without your help because you kicked him out right after high school.

“Right," Joel sighed in a defeated manner. “Well, you just need to rest, dad."

“I'll rest when my own flesh and blood, the only son I've ever had, settles down with a woman and gives me a grandson and isn't going around sleeping with the advertising agent that's helping him make bank!"

Okay, ouch.

“I'm not…" Joel cut himself off. “Okay, I am sleeping with Shaw but it's not because I'm trading favors for him."

Bart let out a gruff, airy chuckle. “Then what is it, boy? You love him? That it? You gonna make your six-pile-orgy into a seven-pile?" Bart huffed. “Fuck you, Joel. You and your bar are like the cancer that's eating away at my lungs. You're growing. Spreading. You're the disease in this goddamn leftist-town."

That's it!

Shaw straightened, gave Dorian one glance and then marched straight into the room. The shark tried to snatch him but missed.

“I'll have you know, sir, that Joel actually helped me out of a dark spot. The sex was amazing but that was secondary to him soothing my soul, helping me stand up to my toxic ex and setting me on the path to recovery."

Joel went rigid, his amber eyes wide in terror as Shaw barged into the private room and right up to his father.

“Shaw!?"

Now that he got a good look at Bartholomew Rockham, Shaw couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for the man. Bart was a skeleton. Withered and full of hatred and bile. Horns that would have been any bull's greatest asset had to be shaved down to allow him to sleep and maybe keep his head up given the weakness wracking his body. His fur was growing back in patches after the chemotherapy caused most of it to fall out. Eyes so sunken that the milky brown were barely visible in his sockets.

A sad image of a man filled with hate and clinging on for a future that would never be.

“My name is Shaw Feng," he announced proudly. “And I fucked your son."

Before he knew what he was doing, he was grabbed one of Joel's horns…

“Allow me to demonstrate."

… and pulling the bull into a kiss.

Joel

If there was one way to piss of Bartholomew Rockham, it was to flaunt open homosexuality in his face. If there was one way to really piss off Bartholomew Rockham, it was to remind him that his son was a homosexual and that he regularly liked getting fucked. The only way he would go nuclear is if Joel started fucking another guy right in front of him.

Somehow, in the span of the ten seconds that he had appeared, Shaw had managed to tick two of the three boxes at once.

Joel had completely frozen up, a chilling Blue Screen of Death locking up his mental faculties and taking precious seconds to reboot. Time, unfortunately, did not stand still for him as he could hear his father's rapidly accelerating breathing, each inhale more aggravated than the last like he was emulating a steam train that was just picking up speed. Precious seconds were wasted trying to make sense of how Shaw found this place, why he suddenly made such a bold - and admittedly very sexy - move and what it could mean.

Then his brain finally cleared and started warming up.

The first thought that entered his mind was…

At least he's not using tongue.

The kiss - while forceful and passionate - was just their lips pressing together. The sort of kiss you'd see in a daytime drama and less the porn-kiss where the actors were trying to eat one another's faces. Very respectful… sort of.

Moments after he thought this, Shaw's tongue pushed into his muzzle, pressing against his cheeks just to make sure that Bart Rockham saw that this was not an act and was very serious.

Oop… there he goes.

Fuck this is hot.

At that point, his dad had enough.

“Get your fag faces off one another!" snapped Bart.

Shaw pulled his muzzle away, his tongue sliding away from Joel's lips just to prove that he was in there. There was a glint in his cute, green eyes. A quiet plea to say something. To confirm that what he did was right. Just a glimmer of that adorable, shy little cola that he had met on their first not-so-hookup.

Too bad Joel's brain was still in the middle of warming up.

All Joel could manage was a dumb, dopey, deep chuckle that sounded like he had drunk too many cheap beers during Fratboy Fridays and he was playing to part of the idiot jock that didn't know the meaning of 'whiskey dick'.

“Hur-dur-hur-hur…"

A flicker of relief crossed Shaw's face and the polar bear turned towards the withered old bull in the bed.

“Sir," the bear began in his most respectful yet firm tone, “I respect your opinion and your right to have them but I feel I am obliged to tell you that your son has done a great service to his community and, particularly, to me." He pressed a paw against his chest. “Were it not for your son, I would have just sat wallowing in a depression that was caused by my long-term ex cheating on me."

Bart's lips curled back in a snarl. “Just like you sissies to get depressed because your whore slept with someone else. I've been divorced more than once. I didn't get depressed." He made a slicing motion through the air. “I got back out there. I did what I needed to do. I didn't spend weeks sitting around feeling sorry for myself."

“And it is exactly that kind of determination and strength that I see in your son," Shaw continued. “You raised a fine man who doesn't give up on anyone. I have yet to find a drink that he serves that I would honestly call my 'favorite drink' but he keeps trying anyway." Before Bart could make some remark that Joel knew would be a comment on his son's bartending skills, Shaw continued. “He makes some amazing drinks, don't get me wrong, and he has amazing friends around him but he saw me feeling down on myself and took time out of his day, made the effort and risked a mess like me meeting his friends just to lift me up from the dark hole that my asshole of an ex sent me down. Joel rescued me."

The older bull let out a derisive noise out of his nostrils. “When I was in the Marines, I actually fucking did rescue people. Not any of this emotional bullshit."

Joel flicked his ears a little in confusion.

Wait… That was a little less… Toxic than normal.

The vile homophobic comments were significantly restrained and that last sentence seemed almost… nostalgic than an outright scathing criticism of Joel or Shaw.

“I know you don't exactly see eye to eye with your son," Shaw pressed. “But if you wanted an exact copy of yourself, then you know he'd be lying in the same bed as you a few years down the line dying from…" He gestured vaguely at Bart. “… whatever this is. And you and I both know that you don't want that for him because, deep down, you still love him."

That's a stretch. The only reason he hasn't kicked me out of these visits is because he can't_._

A scathing fire entered Bart's eyes as he glared at Shaw. “You're right. I love my son. But only because I have to. I was raised with traditional values, boy, and that means I have to love that flaming queer because he came out of my wife and is made up of my seed."

Joel had to mentally grimace at the thought of his father talking about his baby batter.

I know I've got daddy issues but I refuse to picture my dad nutting.

“But doesn't mean I have to like him," scowled Bart. “He's a flighty, irresponsible, absent-minded man-whore who will and won't stick with anything long enough to genuinely call it a commitment. The only reason he's running that bar is because it funds his fucking night-life." He jerked a chin at Shaw. “Trust me, boy, you're better off wasting your time with some other asshole or better yet, get yourself a hot wet pussy and straighten your life out. Don't let my son corrupt you because he served you a halfway decent drink."

Shaw lifted a paw. “Let me be clear. My ex is an ex-boyfriend. Joel didn't convert me. I'm already gay. One-hundred percent gay. Knew it since I was in middle school."

Ooof… How hot would that be though? Turned a straight man gay with my drinks and steaming hot sex?

Joel shook the thought from his mind with a swish of his tail and carefully observed his father's expression. This was the point when Bartholomew Rockham would start blowing his lid and cussing Shaw out for being another deviant. It was the same thing that happened when Joel introduced each of the members of JACKED. Sure enough, he saw a vein pop on his dear father's forehead and those shriveled lips peel back in a scowl.

“What are you trying to do?" snarled Bart. “Trying to rush me into a goddamn early grave? Get the fuck out of my room! I don't want to catch sodomy from you! When I die, it'll be on my goddamn terms and not when I'm being raped by a fat bear!"

“Hey!" Joel snapped instinctively. “Shaw isn't fat and he can do way better than you!"

That sudden burst of defiance was new to him and he surprised even himself. Shaw smiled at him gently while Bart looked utterly stunned at his outburst. Somewhere behind him, he though he could hear a soft 'ooh' and, upon remembering that Shaw didn't have a car, suspected that Dorian had driven him here. Would make sense why the heroic cola had appeared here suddenly.

Unfortunately, Bart recovered from the shock of his words sooner than his son.

A bitter laugh escaped his father's muzzle. “Just like you, Joel. What is he? The sixth fucker you brought my way? Did those five other guys bore you already? So you looking to spice things up again by bringing his man-pussy in?" He sniffed the air in Shaw's direction. “Yeah, I can smell a fucking bottom." His lips peeled back, showing his yellowed teeth as he looked towards Shaw. “Congrats, boy. You joined the conga line of sugar daddies my son is sucking dry. I hope his dick is worth it because you're not getting anything else from his useless ass."

Joel's hands twisted into fists.

“I just told you that Joel has already done so much for me," Shaw protested. “He -"

“Was there for you when you were 'depressed'?" scoffed Bart. “If you were half a man and not such a faggot, you would've just manned up and fought through your goddamn sadness." He narrowed his gaze at Joel. “He's not going to give you much more than that and in a few weeks, he'll be leaving your tail dripping with his cum while he's already prowling for another ass to fuck. You're a bigger idiot than I thought if you fell for his 'charm'."

Joel started to shake in fury, something Shaw didn't notice.

Insult me all you want…

“You have no idea how successful and earnest your son is," countered Shaw. “There has never been a more genuine person in this world and we're all lucky to have him in it! He punched my ex in front of everyone at his bar because Liam was being a two-faced, passive-aggressive asshole who was constantly hiding behind the facade of 'telling it how it is'."

Bart threw his head back and let out a single, barking laugh. “He punched another faggot? Maybe he's got some of me in him after all!" He gave Shaw a wicked grin. “But that just means you're the bigger idiot for falling for that Liam bastard and my son. What? You retarded too as well as gay?"

… you do not insult my friends!"

Suddenly, Joel was stepping in front Shaw. For a moment, he was back in the bar, his fist crashing into Liam's face. Only this time, he kept himself from punching his own father's muzzle. He had no doubt Bartholomew Rockham would not have survived that blow. Some part of him suspected that was how the bitter old bull would've wanted to go - punched by a homosexual that he provoked into violence.

Joel was not going to give him that satisfaction.

“Dad, shut the fuck up!"

Again, the room fell into stunned silence. This time, though, Joel kept going even as his father stared at him in stunned silence again.

“If there's anything you taught me, it's to stick to my convictions," he stated evenly. “You don't see it but I am committed to JACKED and the other guys. Shaw amongst them. I never brought any of them over again because I knew that you'd insult them and then I'd get pissed and have to defend them. But this time, you made a mistake."

He leaned down towards his father, pointing a finger at him accusingly. “You started insulting a guy I really like after I already connected with him. The others came in as my buddies first but Shaw is basically already one of us. So now, you're going to shut the fuck up, sit there dying and listen to what the fuck I have to say. Got it?"

Without waiting for Bart to respond, Joel continued his tirade. “I don't care if you think I'm a man-whore. I don't care if you think that I'm a slut. But when you call any of my friends that, especially when they're standing two feet away from you, it takes all of my gratitude for you giving me a house and home for nearly two decades to keep me from punching your muzzle so hard that you'll be smelling the back of your own head!"

Shaw reeled back in surprise and let out a soft 'oh my' but otherwise remained uninvolved in the conversation.

“And you want to know another thing?" Joel continued, his brow furrowing. “I've been visiting you for a little over a year in this place. No one else has come to see you. I come here every goddamn week and all you do is complain and keep reminding me how much I didn't grow up to be the man you wanted to be. Well guess what, dad?" He spread his arms wide. “I'm fucking forty. If I didn't miraculously start liking boobs and pussy by now, it's not going to happen! And you know what else? I have no interest is giving you a grandson because if and when I do have a kid, it's not because you asked. I'm not going to name them after you. I'm not going to tell them about you. And as God is my witness, if my cum somehow finds it into the uterus of an ovulating woman, I'm going to will my little soldiers to swim back up my cock and, if by some miracle, one of them disobeys me and does manage to impregnate that woman…"

“Careful…" warned Shaw.

Joel couldn't stop himself. He had always been a non-violent person but after punching Liam, a little crack in the dam had appeared and now the gallons upon gallons of repressed emotions and thoughts were spilling out.

“… That little guy is going to make sure it's a goddamn girl!" snapped Joel. “And you can bet I'm going to name her something extremely girly like 'Princess' or 'Barbie' just to spite you and leave you with the image that I'm playing with my Barbie Doll well into your grave!"

Bart's features hardened. “Joel -"

“I'm not done!" he shouted, raising his voice. “Because I just realized something!" Again, he pointed accusingly at Bart. “You kept telling me that I sleep around." He hiked a thumb at the polar bear standing next to him. “Told Shaw that I was going to discard him as another one-night stand or booty call." Then he pointed accusingly at Bart again. “Firstly, I'm going to hold onto him even tighter now just because you said that. I might even marry him just to spite you." He leaned down and snarled at his father. “And you know what? At our wedding, our wedding bands are going to be big, fat cock rings and after we say our vows, we're going to drop our trousers and slip them on one another. Take that to your goddamn grave!"

Shaw lifted a paw grimacing. “Uhm… Joel…?"

Ignoring the cola, he continued, now leaning even closer that he was almost nose to nose with his father. “And the thing I realized? It's that you are the cause of my problems."

“Me," stated Bart plainly. “You're blaming me for being a goddamn slut."

“Yes!" he snapped. “Because I realized that I lose interest the minute I hear you criticizing me for my choice in men!"

The words came tumbling out and made him straighten. Long had he suspected that his penchant to lose interest in guys, push them to find their soul mates and eventually find someone else to entertain him was all because of his father's critical words. He would make the mistake of telling his dad about his latest conquest, Bart would spout some homophobic nonsense and then Joel would start pushing the guy away.

But not with Shaw… he stuck around. He stayed with me.

“Deep down," Joel began, huffing like a bull readying himself to charge, “I was always trying to make you proud. I kept telling you about the guys I met in the hopes that you'd one day figure out that I'm not going to change and be happy for me. But like I said. I'm forty. You're on your death bed about ready to give up. Neither of us is going to change."

Looking down his muzzle at Bart, he said evenly, “So I'm done trying to make you happy. I'm going to have sex with men. I'm going to keep having a loving and supportive relationship with the six guys in my life. I'm going to keep running my bar that caters to big, buff guys. I'm going to live my life for once instead of secretly hoping that one day you'll come around."

He took a step back from Bart. “Like you said, I love you, but I don't like you. I don't think I ever will." Then he flipped his father the double bird. “So fuck you and I'll see you next week where I'll go into graphic detail how many rainbows there will be in my wedding and the dirty, nasty sex I'm going to have with my eventual husband."

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the ward. Shaw was a second behind him, scrambling after. He was grateful the polar bear was there because Shaw caught the door as he was slamming it behind him and close it respectfully. He threw his father a final glare behind the glass window in the door.

Bart wasn't looking at him anymore. The old bull was looking out the window. Strangely, in the morning light, it almost looked like Bart was smiling a little. But Joel dismissed that thought as wishful thinking. Why would his dad be happy after getting ranted at? He pushed any sort of regret down and turned, storming away, only briefly noticing that Dorian was indeed there waiting for them.

None of them spoke until they were in the parking lot beside his truck.

“What the fuck were you two thinking?" he growled.

Dorian answered first with a shrug. “I figured that if you wanted Shaw as a regular, he should at least meet your dad. You've done it with all your regulars. Even Damon and Sam."

Shaw gave him a curious look. “Those two wolves? The investment banker and artist?"

Joel waved a hand dismissively. “I'm not fucking either of them. We're not in that kind of relationship. You can be a regular at the bar without having to sleep with any of the owners. We are adults, after all."

As if on cue, there was a little rattling noise that came. A pure-white motorbike came zooming in and parking in the space right beside Joel's truck. It was a sleep, speedy vehicle that just screamed speed. The rider was dressed in black leather and was clearly lupine and as he pulled off his helmet, Shaw realized it was Sam. He hadn't had the pleasure to talk to the blond-haired wolf before but he had heard enough from the others to recognize him.

“Speak of the devil…" rumbled Dorian.

“Sam?" Joel asked, his fury fading. He immediately recalled the conversation he had with Damon the previous night. A pit formed in his stomach and wondered if the wolf was here to get some tests done because he was dying. The universe would be exceptionally cruel if death came for this bright, cheery and kind young man before Bartholomew Rockham. “What are you doing here, kid?"

“Also, nice ride," Dorian commented. “Never considered you a bike guy."

Sam beamed at them brightly. “What? You think I took public transport or walked to JACKED? Come on."

Shaw mumbled something like, 'I need to get a car…'

“As for why I'm here," Sam began, his smile fading and his gaze drifting towards the hospital. There was a moment where there seemed to be sadness in his deep, blue eyes and Joel's heart seized up. “I'm going to see… someone."

“About what…?" ventured Joel.

The wolf regarded him regretfully. “I'd rather not say, Joel. Sorry. Please give me this luxury." He tilted his head a little, canting an ear. “But… I guess let me just say 'From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity.'"

Joel was puzzled by the statement until Shaw stated, “Edvard Munch."

Sam smiled at the bear. “Yeah. That's right." He held out a paw. “Hey. I'm Samuel Royce. I don't think we've met. But I've seen you around the bar."

Shaw shook the wolf's paw. “Yeah. Shaw Feng. Pleased to meet you."

“Wish it was under better circumstances," Sam said, gesturing towards the hospital. “But I've really got to go." He pointed a finger-gun towards Shaw. “Buy you a drink at the bar one night?"

“Sure," Shaw responded with a nod. “See you later."

Sam bid Dorian and Joel a bright 'see you later' and bounded off to the hospital, tail wagging behind him while his motorcycle helmet was still under his arm.

Thinking about Sam's condition eased all of Joel's anger and frustration. Perfect timing. A soft sigh escaped his lips and he ran a hand down his face. Now that he had a moment to think, he couldn't really blame either Shaw or Dorian for following him to the hospital. After how he had left that morning, he had basically invited them to follow him.

“Okay," he sighed. “Sorry for what I said. I was still running hot, I guess. Can we…" He gave them both a little shaky smile and hiked a thumb at his truck. “… can we just please get a drink?"

Shaw returned a smile. “Sure. That sounds good."

Shaw

JACKED was naturally closed at this time of day even if it was a Saturday but since two of the owners were with him, Shaw had exclusive access to the bar. It felt a little strange coming back to the darkened and empty bar after having left it the previous night in such a heated moment. However, if ever there was a place where he was comfortable, he felt it was this bar. The moment he stepped through the back 'Employees Only Door', he gravitated to a particular chair on the bar.

“Heh," chuckled Joel. “I think you found your seat."

Shaw glanced to his left and right. Without other people around him, it was a little difficult to tell but he was fairly sure it was the very same seat he had taken the first time he had come here and every time he had come to the bar and sat down.

“Now you just got to find my drink, right?" he challenged.

There was that cute glint in Joel's eyes as he took up position behind the bar. Dorian announced that he was ordering them some breakfast food and took up position next to Shaw as he tapped away at his phone.

“What are we having?" Joel asked the shark.

“After all that shit?" Dorian scoffed. “Something with a lot of carbs. I'm getting us pancakes."

“Don't you have the ingredients for that in the kitchen?" Shaw asked.

“Cash would kill us if we used the kitchen," answered the hirsute shark. “He keeps tabs on all the ingredients in there so if we start pinching shit, he'll have us for breakfast."

Joel crossed his arms and tapped his elbows thoughtfully. “Pancakes huh? Well, I think the easiest thing to make with that are mimosas. So sit down. I'll get your drinks ready in a jiffy."

Shaw's ears perked at Joel's little catchphrase. “You know, I still wonder why you keep saying that."

The bull was ducking behind the bar gathering the ingredients for the cocktail when he poked his head up for a moment. “What?"

“Jiffy. I know you own it now and all that but where did you ever pick it up?"

Dorian inclined his head one side as he continued to tap away at his phone. “Even I don't know. He's been saying it since before we met."

A distant look crossed Joel's features for a moment before a little smile touched his lips. The bull straightened as he fished out some orange juice and champagne. “I think I started saying it while I was still young. Like, really young. When I was growing up."

“Are you showing your age now, old man?" taunted Dorian.

“Bitch, it was ancient when I started saying it," Joel countered with a smirk. “I think I got into this phase when I was a kid where I wanted to be a 'trend-setter'. No one said it at all so I was trying to bring it back and start a trend. Even had dreams of starting my own Youtube channel and signing it off with 'Be back in a jiffy'!"

Shaw rested his elbow on the bar and sat his chin on his paw. “For some reason, that just seems so on-brand for you."

“Really?" Joel asked, waggling his eyebrows at the polar bear. “Elaborate."

Didn't realize I'd have to show my work…

He gave the request a little bit of thought, drawing on some of his marketing experience to consider what he knew about Joel and what he could logically extrapolate from that knowledge. “You're carefree. Not really caring what people think of you but still proud and stubborn. You got an idea in your head and stuck with it even though everyone was telling you it'd be impossible. Just like you trying to find me 'my drink'."

Joel scoffed like he was a noble that had just been offended at his own table, making a loud 'popping' noise with his lips and reeling his head back while shaking it. “Just because I haven't found your drink yet doesn't mean that I won't." He pushed the glasses of what was essentially an alcoholic orange juice towards the two. “Besides, I'm not that stubborn."

“Oh yes you are," laughed Dorian, taking his glass. “I think the fact that you just confessed that you were killing yourself trying to please your dad says a lot."

Gah!

Shaw didn't even get a chance to take a sip from his mimosa before the shark said those words. He just balked and stared at Dorian with wide, green eyes. The shark took his time to take a long sip from his drink before setting it down.

“What?" said the fish. “We're going to have to talk about it eventually. We might as well do it now."

Yeah but you didn't have you force it out of him!

Joel let out a little breath and leaned against the bar. “Yeah… I figured. I'll probably have to repeat myself to the Council eventually but what the hell." He shrugged and took his own mimosa and downed its entire contents. A little grimace crawled across his muzzle. “I prefer screwdrivers. The bubbles just makes this feel like one of those disgustingly flavored sparkling waters."

Shaw took a sip from his drink and grimaced as well. “Yeah… it does invoke thoughts of a La Croix."

Joel began to work behind the bar again. “I'll make us a screwdriver."

“Oh no!" Dorian exclaimed. “You're not getting away from this conversation that easily! You finally grew some goddamn balls against your dad and they were filled with so much piss and cum that they fell through the goddamn floor, smashed through the Earth's crust and tea-bagged Satan! So I want to talk about this!"

Shaw giggled at the imagery while Joel held up his hands in surrender.

“I'm not trying to weasel out of this!" laughed the bull. “I just want to make sure we have a decent drink to go with this heavy conversation."

Dorian held up his phone, waving it through the air while showing a large text chain. “Then you better make four more because I just invited the other guys over."

Joel's eyes boggled and he fished out his phone. “Son-of-a-bitch!"

Must be that 'Council' text chain they have.

Kind of wish I was in on that.

Shaw kept his muzzle shut though as Joel sat by and made more drinks. He made three more cocktails; the promised screwdriver, a bright green grasshopper and a luscious pink squirrel. It took him a few minutes to make enough for the party that was arriving and by the time he was ready, the rest of the JACKED Council had arrived. Their food arrived a short while later. Dorian had smartly ordered enough pancakes for all of them.

“Okay, so what's this about our baby Joel growing up?" teased Killian, lifting his screwdriver and taking a sip from it.

“He stood up to his old man!" exclaimed Dorian.

“Fucking finally!" boomed Amos, pumping a fist through the air and then leaning across the bar to pat Joel's shoulder. Both the bartender and the two men flanking the dragon immediately reached over and grabbed the glasses of drinks that was sitting in front of the chronically clumsy dragon. They moved it away before Amos' enormous bulk would've knocked them down.

Erick smirked, who was holding Amos' pink squirrel, said, “Please tell me you punched the asshole."

“I wanted to," admitted Joel. “But then I thought that'd probably be exactly what he'd want. Get one last rise out of me before he dies."

Shaw regarded the three drinks in front of him. The neurons in his mind fired as he considered three distinct possibilities and associated each of them with one of the drinks.

First was the screwdriver which was bright orange. It represented exactly what Joel suggested. Bartholomew Rockham just wanted to provoke his son. Maybe out of complete and utter malice as he left the world, he would scar Joel's heart one last time and make him guilty of his death. Sour and with a burn of vodka. Just like the screwdriver.

Then there was the grasshopper. Bright grin, creamy, stinging of mint and also having that slight burn of alcohol. This one contained the possibility that maybe all Bart wanted was for his son show growth. To acknowledge that everything that he had done and sacrificed for his livelihood was not for nothing and that he had raised a decent man.

The last one was the pink squirrel. True to its name, it was a distinct impossibility. Bart was a military veteran. There were stories and perhaps the reason Bart could never hold down a true woman until Joel's mother was because he was a closeted homosexual and just had convinced himself he was straight. That seemed just as impossible as the cherry-infused and chocolate vodka mix that was the drink.

Shaw mulled these three options as the men around him teased and jeered Joel about his recent revelation. He couldn't help but recall that whisper of a smile on Bartholomew's muzzle as they left and that little shine of… pride in his eyes? It could easily be mistaken as someone breaking out into tears but he had seen his mother and father shed tears of pride more times than he could count. Coming from an Asian upbringing, making his parents weep with pride was one of those things that he grew very familiar with; it was a sign of genuine affection because it was very hard to force.

And he was sure that he would have caught Bartholomew crying then and there if they hadn't left so soon.

“I don't know," he said suddenly, cutting through the conversation. He picked up the grasshopper, bringing it up to his lips and letting it hover there for a second. “I think your dad just wanted to see you stand up for yourself."

Then he took a sip from the drink and grimaced. “Nope…" he muttered. “It's like melted mint chocolate with a hint of booze."

“My old man is not that deep," Joel lamented.

The silence from the rest of the table was a little telling and Shaw pushed the point.

“He said he loved you but he didn't like you," he pressed. “You repeated it yourself. You also mentioned that he kept bringing up three things." Pointing at the screwdriver, he said, “Commitment." Then he pointed at the grasshopper. “Children." Then his claw tapped the lip of the glass of the pink squirrel. “Your lifestyle being in a relationship with a bunch of guys at once."

Joel smirked. “Says just how basic the bastard is that you can reduce his entire argument against me to three things. But go on."

Shaw lifted his gaze, leveling his green eyes with Joel's light brown orbs. “Joel, I'm serious. Stop joking around."

“And I'm being serious too!" laughed the bull. “I'm freeing myself of that asshole! I'm not going to let him get to me anymore! I have you to thank for that! I'm celebrating!" He picked up the grasshopper that Shaw had abandoned. “Fuck, let's make this a goddamn wake! Let's bury the leathery, old baggage that is my old man and move the fuck on!"

The rest of the JACKED guys took a second to pick up their glasses and cheer in agreement though Shaw didn't join in.

“Come on, man," Joel insisted. “This isn't a sad thing! Don't pity the guy! You heard him. He hates what I've become. Sure. Fine. He loves me and I love him back but I'm not going to waste any more of my time trying to convince him or myself that we can repair this forty-year relationship. Hell, you should take this as a lesson!" Joel downed half of the grasshopper, let out a sigh and set the glass back down. “I lived through a toxic relationship for two decades then spent the next two living with the fucking baggage and trying to apologize for it! You should not let Liam be your chain-smoking, homophobic, cancerous dad dying in the hospital bed alone."

Harsh… Very harsh. But…

“I'm going to make a counter argument," he announced.

Joel puffed out his chest and grinned. “Ooooh. Formal debate. Okay. Fire away, slugger. Whatcha got that'll convince me my dad is a decent guy."

Shaw shook his head grimly. “I don't think he is a good man. I don't think he's even trying to be a good man."

He took a moment to mull over his thoughts. For the briefest of moments, he glanced over to the other guys. Their expressions were hard to read… except for Amos. The way the dragon was looking at him with hard eyes but raised eyebrows; it was like Amos was telling him 'you're so close, don't stop now.'

“Look, as a marketer and in my field of advertising, I need to be careful about what I put out there," he began. “I can't please everyone and there is always that chance that someone is going to be offended. People these days will find any reason to get angry. I had to learn about this phenomenon called 'unconscious bias'. You know what it is?"

“Nope," Joel said with a shrug. “Should I?"

Erick provided the definition. “It's the social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness. You see it in decisions every day because of something you're not even consciously aware of." The wolf tapped his cheek. “Like say… I dunno… one stupid thing your dad did a long time ago and though you say you've let go of it, it's still in the back of your mind."

Joel shot the wolf a curious stare like he was appraising where the lupine's loyalties lay. “Okay… Where is this going?"

“My point," Shaw continued, drawing Joel's attention back to him, “is that you might be masking your reaction to your dad behind this curtain of unconscious bias." He placed a paw on his chest. “Take it from someone who only learned about your dad today and met him for the first time. I don't think your dad hates you. I think he's afraid for you."

Joel gave him an incredulous look. “What?"

“Take it from a shark," Dorian suddenly said. “That man reeks of fear."

“Yeah," scoffed the bull. “Afraid that he's never going to get a grandkid and his family line ends with me."

For the first time, Shaw noticed the JACKED guys except for Joel exchange glances. The instant Joel saw that, he realized that everyone else was sitting on one side of the bar and he was the only one standing on his side_._

Wait… Do… do they see what I see? Have they just never brought it up because… because Joel has shot them down like this before?

Shaw straightened and decided to keep pushing.

“I think he's afraid that he won't be there to help you," he said. “I think he recognizes that he's a bad father. He never once refuted anything you said to him. He didn't argue when you stormed out even though he could have. He knows he did you wrong and… I think…"

Shaw struggled with his words when Joel shot him a piercing stare.

A gentle paw rested on his shoulder. Killian squeezed lightly.

Taking courage from that, Shaw said, “… I think he's scared that he won't have the time to make it up to you. He's got this… this perspective on what a man should be." Once again, he tapped the glasses of the drinks in front of him. “Committed to a career or a relationship. Married, likely. Has children. And sticking to one person. Maybe he thinks you've got to be straight too. But I think he's trying to make you like him because… because…"

“It's how he defines success," Cash supplied, nodding at the bear. “He's old school, Joel. He knows he's dying and he's scared that he'll never see you succeed because of it. That when he leaves, and he knows he's going to leave soon, he's going to leave you high and dry. Unable to help you and be the dad you always needed."

Joel's lips twisted into a scowl. “Bullshit. He's not that deep."

“And that's your unconscious bias," Shaw accused. “He's been terrible to you from when you were young and all those times he probably threw homophobic slurs at the rest of the guys. But he could change. Just like you've changed." Thinking back to Bartholomew's distant smile, he said, “I think, today, you've actually shown him that you'll be alright. For the first time, you stood up to him. You didn't run away. You defended yourself. And for the first time, you showed him you were a man in your own right. Not his definition of success but a success nonetheless."

The bull shook his head before slapping his hands on the table. “Fine. Fine. I can see when I'm outnumbered. Tell you what…" He lifted a finger and pointed it to each of them. “Next week when I go visit him, you all get to come to me and we'll ask the asshole if what you said is true."

Shaw leaned back in the bar stool a little and gave the bull a little smile. “I can live with that."

“Sounds like a plan," Dorian agreed. “Though if it's all the same with you, I'm going to hide behind our cola here." The shark took a sip from his drink again and glanced over to Shaw. “Don't know how you managed to do it but you stood up to him. Even though he's a quarter of the size he was when I met him, he's still pretty damn intimidating."

Joel threw a joke at the shark about how Dorian remained cowering in the hallway while Shaw faced off Bartholomew Rockham by himself. Shaw felt the gaze of the other guys upon him and their admiration. A blush worked its way up his cheeks and he knew he would start turning pink soon so he needed to start moving to keep the blood away from the surface of his flesh. Remembering that Dorian had bought them all pancakes, he pulled his dish towards himself and using the plastic knife and fork that came with the meal, began to eat. Seeing him eat reminded everyone else that they too had food.

He was spared a few minutes of silence as they ate the moderately warm, slightly soggy pancakes. They were decent. Not the best he ever had but certainly filling enough to keep him strong after the hectic morning.

“So how did you manage to stand up to Old Man Bart?" Amos suddenly asked through a muzzle-full of pancakes and syrup. “That guy scared the shit out of me."

Shaw leaned back to peer over the broad shoulders of the other guys. “You were scared of him?"

“I met him years ago, remember?" reminded the red dragon. “He was way bigger than and he was in the goddamn Marines! You gotta respect your veterans!"

“Nevermind that he was the kind of guy that had a gun collection," Killian added. “Joel took us to meet him at his house. Guy was fucking scary."

Maybe I got off easy.

“It's not just that," Cash said with a shudder. “I met him just a year ago when he was already being admitted to the hospital and the cancer had started eating away at him. He was a little healthier than now but not by much. He still scared the hell out of me."

“That's my old man," sighed Joel, munching his meal thoughtfully. “Even when he's got one foot in the grave, he can scare the shit out of people and will punch Death in the face if it'll keep him alive for a few more months." The bull grinned and nodded towards Shaw. “Which makes how you stood your ground so much more impressive."

Shaw felt that blush coming on again and he couldn't find an escape this time. “Honestly, I've had worse clients come knocking at my door. Trust me, there are people in this town that want everything and were extremely close to physical violence more than once."

“Who knew working in advertising would be so hazardous," mumbled Erick. “Do we really have that many crazy people in town?"

With a shrug, Shaw explained that since they were basically the only major marketing and advertising company in town that was locally owned and run, they got a fair amount of business if they were advertising locally. The celebrities that made their home in Golden Cliffs might throw events and it was up to their company to advertise it. But since they were living in California, people had big dreams and more than once, some startup wanted to reach out to demographics outside of Golden Cliffs. That made it difficult.

“Costs go up and sometimes, we have to remind our clients that reality isn't as forgiving to our clients' dreams," he confessed. “I've had more than one rich, entitled kid come to me saying they wanted to be a Hollywood Star and I had to promote his indie movie for an Oscar or something." Shaw shook his head with a sigh. “I hate crushing dreams but that kind of stuff isn't something we do. We market and advertise. We're not talent agents."

Shaw smiled timidly at Joel. “So yeah, I've had to deal with outrageous personalities before. The key is to be like the reed."

“The reed?" Joel repeated.

“You sway and bend to the winds and currents," he continued, “but you never break. If they push back hard, the instant they catch their breath, you come back and" - He slapped his paw against the bar, catching the guys off-guard - “… slap them in the face with facts and reality."

Tilting his head to the side, he said, “I really think that's what your dad needed. A reality check. Something to remind him that he needs to get over his biases and see the son that's standing in front of him not the son he wants."

Joel stared into his eyes for a moment, the locked gazes magnetic and fiery. Then the bull let out a soft laugh and turned away, finding interest in his pancakes.

“Yeah well, I'll believe it when it comes out of his muzzle. Until then…" The bull gazed into the eyes of each of the guys. “I honestly think Shaw has passed. I think he's earned his right to be more than just a regular."

Wait… What!?

“I'm proposing we make him an official member of the group," continued Joel, raising a hand. “All in favor of letting him into the Council?"

Hang on! This is going too fast!

Shaw was suddenly sitting on edge, the fur on the back of his neck rigid. Some part of him wanted this. Each of the guys were great and he felt like they could make him better than he ever could be with them. Aside from the fact that they were hot, he could genuinely connect with each of them. They were more than friends. Being welcomed into their inner circle was an immense honor.

The other part hesitated.

I've barely known them for two weeks and they want me as part of their group!?

“You basically said you wanted to marry him," Dorian snickered. “You'd put a cock ring on his dick right in front of everyone at the wedding. On that image alone, I say 'Yes'."

Cash threw his head back and let out a lout laugh. “Oh wow. I always knew you'd be the first to get hitched! Hell yes!"

“No one said I'm getting married," Joel growled. “I was just making a point." His eyes switched to Shaw momentarily, checking if that statement hurt the bear or crossed a line.

“I think my parents would join your dad in the hospital if I outright got married to a guy without them meeting you first," Shaw admitted. “Not to mention their brains would explode trying to wrap their heads around how we could be committed to one another and still sleep around with five other guys."

“Exactly," confirmed Killian, clapping Shaw's shoulder happily. “And it's exactly that kind of level-headed perspective that we need at the bar! You're already working with Cash to take the bar to the next level! And I just heard you say that you could take us outside of Golden Cliffs." There was a spark of ambition in Killian's eyes. “So what I'm hearing is that there's a potential to franchise JACKED outside of this town."

Well, it's not entirely impossible. It's really popular and we could find a market in other places…

Especially if we expand its menu and remit from just a gay-man-oriented bar to a catering company that's open for lunch…

Shaw pushed the thoughts aside when he realized that Killian basically voted 'Yes' as well, meaning that four out of the six members of the Council had voted to accept him.

Amos lifted his glass containing the screwdriver into the air. “Fuck yes! That's all I'll say!"

Five out of six.

All that was left was Erick.

The wolf with the vibrant hair looked from Shaw to Joel. A bright grin crossed his muzzle and his eyes twinkled.

Oh shit… I'm in.

He was a member of JACKED. Not a founding member but he would effectively be inside the inner circle. He's not only get closer to Joel but also the other guys. For the first time in the last three years since moving here, he would have a friend circle that was his own and not a bunch of people he met online or friends that Liam introduced him to.

These were his guys.

“Nay."

That single word sent his dreams crashing down in a fiery plane crash.

“What!?" demanded Joel. “Why not?"

Erick closed his eyes smugly. “He's still got some baggage. Did you forget about that skunk that's threatening to sue us."

Oh shit… Liam.

And yet again, he was being dragged down by Liam. A burning hatred crept up his chest. Hatred for thinking he was clever for inviting his ex-boyfriend to JACKED yesterday. Hatred for what a passive-aggressive asshole Liam had been. There was no hatred aimed at any of the guys because they were in the right.

“Nothing will come out of that," argued Cash.

“Can you be sure?" responded Erick. “It's barely been a day. For all you know, the police could be coming to knock on our door tonight asking to see Joel." He shook his head. “If we let him in now, how will that look tot he judge? I'm no lawyer but I'm pretty sure that skunk could twist the story to paint himself as being the ex looking to reconcile and we stole Shaw from him. The fact that we're six guys in a relationship with one another - while wholesome to us - might seem weird and play into people's unconscious bias as being unnatural or unfathomable." He gave Shaw a nod at the mention of the term he used. “So I say we play it safe at least until this thing with Liam is sorted."

Erick was right. If he jumped into bed with the JACKED guys now, it would not paint a pretty picture. While he saw Joel as justified for punching Liam after everything the skunk had said, that was still assault. Joel may not have instigated but he escalated. There were too many unknowns and the last thing he wanted was to risked the bar and everything these guys had worked so hard for because of him.

“Of course," Erick teased, “you could change my mind if you can beat me in the noblest of competitions…"

All the guys groaned, leaving Shaw looking confused.

“No…" Joel warned. “You're not using this as an excuse…"

But Erick was not listening and grinning wolfishly at Shaw. Something told the polar bear that he had just walked into a trap.

“… a sport that will test your vocal dexterity…"

“Fuck me, Erick…" groaned Amos, slapping his forehead.

“… an art form that has spread all over the world from it's humble beginnings…"

Killian gently pulled Shaw away from Erick, a bitter look on his face. “Don't rise to his bait, babe. Just… Just don't."

“… a test of your mettle against the empty orchestra!"

Cash just downed his drink - the pink squirrel - in one gulp and immediately reached for another glass, the grasshopper. That one he took in two gulps.

“I'm talking about, of course," exclaimed Erick with a flourish. “Karaoke!"

Silence except for the rhythmic banging of Dorian slamming his forehead into the bar.

I… I was not expecting that.

“Karaoke…?" he repeated.

“Don't let his husky figure trick you," snarled Killian. “Erick can sing. He actually used to get up on stage with me and belt out tunes. It's what got him stabbed."

“You're exaggerating," Erick said, waving a limp wrist at him. Then he grinned at Shaw. “So, what do you say? You get an express pass to joining the Council and all you have to do is beat me in karaoke."

Shaw's brow furrowed.

Do… I really want this? He emphasized that it's an 'express pass' so it's not like he's opposed to me joining…

… just that I will get in sooner.

I could just wait.

“And if you win?" he asked.

Erick pretended to give it some thought. Then he snapped his fingers and flashed Shaw a vicious grin. “You suck my dick."

“There it is!" Cash shouted, throwing his paws into the air.

“Come on!" roared Joel incredulously.

“Hey," Erick protested, “most of you got to sleep with him! I should be asking for more but head is all I'm asking for."

“Then just ask for it, lobo," snapped Killian. “You don't have to humiliate us by dragging us to karaoke."

Erick straightened and crossed his arms. “Those are my terms." Then he winked at Shaw. “Of course, you could just wait and sort your thing out with your ex."

Well… I guess I can see why everyone said that Erick is the master manipulator of the group.

Kind of reminds me of when we first met online…

“What are the terms of the competition?" Shaw asked, stunning the others around him.

“You can't be taking this seriously!" exclaimed Killian, now with both paws on his shoulder. “I hate to bring race into this, but he's Filipino! They fucking love karaoke!"

Erick lifted a finger. “We get as many warm up songs as we want but when we actually compete, we do a duet version of a song of my choosing and the highest score wins."

A duet version… So we'd both be on the same stage, singing the same song at the same time. So there won't be any arguments over song choice.

“How about we make it more interesting?" he challenged.

Erick's eyebrows shot up and the other guys visibly reeled back away from Shaw.

“If I win, not only will you let me into the Council," the bear insisted, “but next time we need to settle something between us, we play a game of my choosing."

“Oh yeah?" asked the wolf, clearly intrigued. “And what game would that be?"

Shaw felt a predatory grin cross his features. “DMF24. Dance Mania Fusion 2024."

There, Erick genuinely looked shocked. “Wait. You have that?"

“Oh yeah. Got all the peripherals too. Two dance mats for competing and the microphones."

Amos waved a hand through the air. “Someone explain please?"

Erick's grin returned. “DMF is an on-going franchise that uses cameras, dance pads and microphones to emulate being in one of those music videos. You have to step on the arrows on the pad to the rhythm, wave your hands and sing at the same time. It's brutal but so much fun."

The dragon lifted his hands into the air in surrender. “I'm out. You know if I try that, I'm going to make a hole in your wall because I fucking tripped."

“Sure, you can sit out," answered the wolf, his fangs flashing. “But I can get behind that. But that's only if you win." He stretched out his paw towards Shaw. “If I win, not only will you give me that blowjob but we'll also clean out your bedroom."

Oh you clever son-of-a-bitch…

As much as he hated Erick manipulating him like that, he could also appreciate what the wolf was doing for him. He reached out and gripped the offered paw tightly.

“Deal."

“Oh shit!" Dorian exclaimed, pulling his head from the bar. “It. Is. On!"

“Tomorrow then," Erick agreed, giving the Shaw's paw a shake. “We'll let the other guys run the bar for one night. Tomorrow, we sing!"

“Sounds like a plan," agreed Shaw. “But I feel obligated to remind you about one thing."

“Oh yeah? What's that?"

“My surname is Feng and I come from a Christian Chinese family."

Erick's features fell. “Oh no…"

Shaw's own predatory grin grew. “And coming from an Asian family, I was expected to not only learn an instrument but also sing. I can play the piano and the violin. I was also the choir instructor at my church."

The rest of the JACKED guys glanced from Shaw to Erick… and then burst out laughing. They started teasing and slapping Erick's back.

“You got swindled, boi!" roared Killian.

“He played you!" Joel cackled, practically unable to hold himself up as he had to lean against the bar.

“The reign of terror is over!" shouted Amos, throwing his hands into the air and whooping loudly.

Erick genuinely looked worried and a little pale. “Oh… fuck me."

This time, it was Shaw's turn to wink and grin.

“Maybe after I beat you next time at DMF."

Joel

Karaoke was always a dreaded event amongst the JACKED guys. Not only was Erick extremely competitive about it but it also brought back memories of why the wolf got stabbed in the Stalker Incident in the first place. Erick's performances - while magical - were what attracted unwanted attention. It always puzzled everyone why Erick would continue to show off his vocal prowess even if it was just in private.

Joel admired that about his immense powerlifter friend. Even as everyone was constantly worried about inciting another Stalker Incident, Erick was always so casual about it. Constantly challenging and inviting them out to karaoke seemed like Erick's way of reminding them all that he was over the Incident.

Not that they weren't entertaining even if most of the time, Erick was the only one singing. After a few turns, some drinks and some food, more often than not, Erick was the only one with the mic in his paws, serenading them. The huge lupine had an immense set of lungs and an amazing voice. Everyone teased him it was because he was a wolf and wolves howl. It just annoyed everyone that he would insist they go at least every few weeks.

But this time, Joel was genuinely excited for the event.

For the first time, someone seemed like they could challenge Erick and win. That alone was reason enough to go. This was also one of the few days when all six of the guys were off work and could go out. Though each of them worked the bar and most of the time, all six of there were at JACKED during the night, one or more of them were always working. This was one of the few events where they had the night off.

I wonder if we should make this a regular thing… Might be better for our health.

They met in front of Erick's favorite karaoke place called Ichiban Karaoke. According to him, it was the only place that had a genuine karaoke experience in town. Never having been to any other karaoke bar, Joel couldn't really compare. A big, red neon sign with Japanese lettering that Joel couldn't understand hung above the door and just over the door itself were the words in English. Bright, vibrant posters advertised what they were offering. Little chibi characters appeared all over their advertising and he wondered if Shaw was taking notes.

The polar bear was dressed a little more formally this night. A gray-blue sports jacket hung over his shoulders and beneath that was a white shirt with what looked like a ridiculously ripped Bowser from the Super Mario series. The words 'Bower's Bodybuilding' was etched around the logo. A pair of blue denim pants hung around his waist that was otherwise rather unassuming.

“Where'd you get the shirt?" Joel asked.

Amos was suddenly beside the bear, curling an arm over the cola's shoulders. “My treat!" exclaimed the dragon proudly. “We actually hit the gym today!"

Shaw's features soured and he shut his eyes, tilting his head against the dragon's arm. His glasses fell a little askew. “I think I died a little…"

“It wasn't so bad," laughed Amos. The dragon leaned down and nudged the bear's head straight against with his nose, going so far as to plant a little kiss on Shaw's forehead. “You did great for your first day. You'll get used to it."

A small smile touched Shaw's muzzle and Joel couldn't help but wonder if those two had a little 'after gym' fun. Part of him was a little jealous but he had learned to set such feelings aside. Being part of the Council meant that everyone was equal and would find time to be affectionate and sexy with one another when the time was right. There were no scores being tallied. No preferences. Everyone just loved each other.

There were fights. There were dips. But just like they kept advertising, six messed up guys somehow made one functioning adult.

Maybe adding one more guy might actually make us better.

“Ever been to karaoke before?" asked Joel.

Shaw shook his head. “Not to an official karaoke bar. My family had one of those karaoke machines plugged into our TV and we used to use that every weekend. My parents had a piano as well." He scratched his cheeks a little and Joel noticed that the polar bear had a bit more of a noticeable stubble. He hadn't been shaving recently. It made him look more mature.

“I actually have my violin somewhere in my apartment," Shaw admitted.

“Damn!" Joel exclaimed. “You should crack that thing out! Play for us!"

“You could open JACKED up to local musicians and bands during lunches," Shaw suggested. “I mean, would be a great way to connect with the community and also get some extra revenue. Might be able to give Killian some time off too so he's not DJ'ing every night."

Joel lifted his gaze towards Amos who nodded in silent agreement.

There he goes again. Making suggestions that none of us ever thought about.

As if hearing his name, the peppy Latino otter came bounding over, draping his arms around both Shaw and Joel's shoulders. “You talking about me, hombre? Good things, I hope?"

Joel ruffled the otter's hair a little. “Maybe a little. Shaw was just suggesting getting some local bands to work the bar so we can fire your dramatic ass."

Shaw immediately blushed and lifted his paws. “No! That's not what I said at all!"

Killian rolled his eyes. “You're not going to get rid of me that easily. Besides, if I do lose out on the DJ gig, you know I'd make up a good bouncer."

“You?" came Shaw's incredulous response.

“Not all bouncers have to be tanks like this guy!" the otter exclaimed, hiking a thumb at Amos. “The key is to be able to…" Without warning, he wrapped his arms around Shaw's waist. “… lift!" Showing just how strong Killian was despite his much slimmer build, he was able to lift Shaw off the ground and spin him around once before setting him down. The otter may seem smaller compared to Amos and even Joel but when standing side by side the average otter, he was much bigger.

Shaw laughed just as Erick, Cash and Dorian all arrived at the same time. Likely they had carpooled. Dorian and Cash did live relatively close to one another and Erick's place was in the same direction. It made sense. Joel's lewd mind wondered if Erick got some 'vocal warm ups' in by deep throating Dorian's double dicks or sucking Cash's balls dry. He heard somewhere that singers would actually massage their own anuses with dildos because there was some relationship between how relaxed one's ass was and proper breathing during singing but he never verified that. Though he could think of thinner premises for Erick to be spit-roasted between a shark and a lion.

Surf and turf indeed.

“Ready to lose?" he asked Erick directly.

The wolf gave him a smug smile. “Just a minute. There's still someone we're waiting for."

Joel lifted one eyebrow. “Huh?" He glanced around, counting all the members of JACKED including their newest honorary member. “Who?"

Did he invited Damon or Sam?

“You'll see," answered Erick enigmatically.

Five minutes later and after some poking and prodding from everyone else, Erick's mystery guest arrived. Joel's blood immediately went cold but ran hot at the same time like all his hemoglobin turned into Icy Hot cream. That flash of blue. A long, fluffy tail attached to a slim figure and an air of superiority that just screamed pretentiousness.

Oooooh… you play dirty, Erick.

“Liam!?" blurted Shaw. “What are you doing here?"

“I invited him," Erick answered, a smug smile on his muzzle.

“How!?"

“Wasn't that hard," answered the wolf casually. “You both have terrible cybersecurity habits. You really should take off your contact details off your profiles as well as your birth dates. Short of having your social security number, it'd be very easy for people to steal your identity."

It took all of Joel's strength not to march over to the skunk and remind him how his fist tasted. “But why?" he growled.

In a completely serious tone, Erick said, “I felt that it was a good opportunity to patch things up before things got out of hand. An apology for what happened at the bar." Then Erick's eyes drifted towards the skunk who visibly ducked his head. “And to remind all parties involved that any form of litigation would be disastrous."

Joel's eyes narrowed briefly at Shaw's ex-boyfriend. Liam was dressed much more modestly this evening. A pair of dark cargo shorts covered his skinny legs making them look incredibly baggy. His torso was covered by a dark green jacket that hid whatever shirt he was wearing beneath. Far from the outrageous and slutty skunk that had derided his bar. The fact that Liam was also visibly subdued hinted that Erick had done something and it kept the skunk on a leash.

He probably wanted to head off the issue before it spiraled.

The sooner it was addressed, the better off we'll be, I guess.

Still… dirty play, Erick. Dirty play.

“Why don't we all go in?" Cash suggested, cutting through the tension with a bright smile. “I'm eager to taste their tempura'd everything."

“We're going to a karaoke bar and your first thought is the food?" taunted Erick.

“What else am I supposed to do? I'm not singing!"

“You're not getting away that easily!"

With that thought and a short-lived rippled of laughter, they entered the bar where a well-dressed canine of the shiba variety met them. Erick announced their reservation and they were given a keycard and told which room would be theirs. They headed down a familiar, dimly lit basement.

The floor rang with a thrumming of barely contained music. Even though it was a Sunday evening, many of the rooms were occupied. Parties were held here and apparently there were quite a few regulars who would use this place as a way to drink and just get a little silly with singing. Once the alcohol set in, it was like a rave concert. As Joel passed one particular door, he noticed a group of women who were having so much fun that they were waving their bras around while they drunkenly belted out some song that the sound-proof walls mercifully dulled.

Their room was one of the larger ones. A small stage with all the equipment was set up while several seats and couches were parked in a vague semicircle facing the very same stage. Short tables were placed between each of the seats with a large, longer table placed between the stage and the couches. An impressive sound system had been arranged while a larger table was set up in the back wall for whatever else was needed. There were little tablets placed on each of the tables amongst the couches.

Cash immediately went to one of the seats, grabbed the tablet and with his tongue sticking out, he began ordering them food and drinks.

Trust the chef to get everyone food.

Joel removed his jacket and placed it on the back table. He caught Liam spying upon him. If that was fear or jealousy in the skunk's eyes, he couldn't tell but he chose to ignore it. The others removed their own coats and jackets and did the same. Even Liam and that revealed the modest, white, collared shirt he wore untucked.

Shaw took up position on one of the couches and Joel immediately positioned himself beside him. Liam, naturally, took up the seat on the other side but they had a table between them.

“So how are we doing this?" Amos asked. “Who goes first?"

Killian raised his paw and swiped one of the tablets off the table. “I'll go first. Get it out of the way so you pendejos don't have to suffer and Erick can shut up."

The lights around the room dimmed as the music started. Killian took up position at the front of the stage as the large screen behind him suddenly showed a generic image of a field with the words of the song appearing at the bottom. Killian grabbed the microphone and used his breathy voice to sing a ridiculously erotic and seductive version of Some Where Over the Rainbow. If Marilyn Monroe sung that on stage, Killian's performance would've been a close approximation.

Everyone loved it - even Liam - especially when Killian started using the mic stand like a pole to dance around.

By the song's end, they were cheering.

“Little early to be drunk, don't you think?" Joel teased. “I mean, we haven't even had any alcohol yet."

“Fuck you, puta," Killian scowled good naturedly. “You're just jealous our cola is at half-chub right now."

Joel immediately glanced over to Shaw's crotch but the bear was just too fast and managed to cover his groin with his large paws. His pink fur was telling, however.

Amos was next and, no surprise, he belted out a hard metal song complete with deep, demonic voice and a roar that would've awakened the dead. The image behind him was of fire and brimstone. Messaging aside, the song got everyone pumped and Killian was on his feet, bobbing his head to the beat which got everyone else loosening up a little.

“Ever sung metal before?" Joel asked Shaw as the song finished up.

“Honestly, no," admitted the polar bear. “I mostly sung pop songs and Christian melodies. Nothing with rap or that stuff. Anything you can genuinely play on the piano or violin."

“Shouldn't have said that!" bellowed Erick. “Now I know what to pick."

“Don't be an ass," warned Joel. “You can't sing those either."

With a shrug, Erick took his turn. He strutted up to the stage, just as big - if not bigger - than Amos. The enormous wolf picked up the microphone from the stand and confidently chose his song. When the first chords began to play, Shaw's features immediately dropped.

“No way…" breathed the bear.

“What?" Joel asked. “You recognize this song?"

“Yeah…"

Then Erick began…

“Something has changed within me. Something is not the same. I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game."

Shaw reached over and grabbed Joel's hand tightly, claws digging into his skin. “It's goddamn Defying Gravity! One of the hardest Broadway songs to sing!"

And yet, with that statement, Erick defied expectations by singing perfectly; his voice coming across clearly and much higher than anything than one would expect from a wolf of his size.

“Too late for second-guessing. Too late to go back to sleep. It's time to trust my instincts. Close my eyes and leap!"

Shaw turned to Joel, his green eyes wide in terror. “This song is difficult for the normal woman!" Then he turned back to Erick who had begun the second verse.

“It's time to try defying gravity. I think I'll try defying gravity. And you can't put me down!"

“He's singing it perfectly!" hissed Shaw. “Holy shit… I… I didn't know he'd be this good!"

“I'm through accepting limits. 'Cause someone says they're so. Somethings I cannot change but 'til I try, I'll never know!"

Joel had to admit, that typical 'Erick Magic' began working its way throughout the gathered guys. Killian and Amos had gotten everyone excited and talking but as Erick continued his performance, they were all quiet, staring and listening in awe. His fur was standing on end and a chill ran down his back as Erick continued.

“Too long I've been afraid of losing love I guess I've lost. Well if that's love it comes at much too high a cost!"

Shaw's claws dug deeper into his palms. “Here it comes!"

Then Erick's voice became stronger, slightly higher and did not even break one as it hit higher notes.

“I'd sooner buy defying gravity! Kiss me good by I'm defying gravity! I think I'll try defying gravity! And you won't bring me down."

Joel was blown back. Those notes were so strong, so high and so powerful that it felt like he was physically being knocked back in his seat. The rest of the song was lost upon him but he couldn't deny the primal sense of amazement that rippled through his entire body like a wave of awesomeness ran its fingers through his fur. Everyone was captivated and even Liam was staring with open-mouthed awe at the performance.

When Erick belted out the final note, there was silence.

There was a knock on the door announcing that their food had arrived. As if being knocked out of a witch's spell, Shaw jumped on his feet and gave Erick a standing ovation. Joel couldn't help but do the same and one by one, every guy did the same. Cash broke from the applause for a moment just to go and let the waiter in so the smell of fried food and beer could fill the air.

Damn… Erick is bringing his A-game today.

A variety of tempura friend dishes was set before them as well as some sushi rolls. They took a break to drink some of the Japanese beer offered - Shaw didn't like it at all - and eat while raving about Erick's performance.

“So who's up next?" the wolf challenged, staring pointedly at Shaw.

The polar bear gulped loudly and not just because he was swallowing some tempura carrot sticks. Liam placed a paw on his shoulder.

“Hey," said the skunk gently. “You don't have to do this. And if you do, you know you've got this. You were playing the piano and singing since you were seven. You've performed in front of more people than us. You can do this."

Jealousy sparked in Joel's stomach souring the fried sweet potatoes he had just devoured.

Damnit! I could've done that! But I didn't know that about him…

“Fuck it!" Dorian shouted, throwing his hands up. “I'm up next. You wanna sing Broadway. Then I'll do the same!"

“Bitch, do you even know any Broadway songs?" laughed Erick.

“Fuck no. I'm spinning the fucking wheel, baby! Let Lady Luck decide!"

Unfortunately, Dorian managed to pick Don't Rain on My Parade, another difficult song. To say that he butchered the song was an understatement. Still, there was something hilarious about the hairy, muscular shark screaming 'Hey Mister Arnstein, here I am'. Dorian owned every minute of his performance and even took a bow to everyone's applause.

Shaw then gave a firm nod and grabbed one of the tablets. “Alright, my turn," he said a little quietly.

“Go! Go! Go!" cheered Erick, clearly enjoying the competition.

Joel momentarily exchanged glances with Liam and they both had a look of abject terror in their eyes. For an instant, there was an understanding between them. A realization that if Shaw messed this up, it would not only mean that he could potentially inflate Erick's ego but shatter what little confidence he had.

Please… Please Shaw. You can do this.

At the same time, they turned towards the stage as the music started.

Shaw stood there timidly, holding the microphone in both paws like he was about to take another #SipSelfie. Then he began to sing and instantly, Joel felt that chill run down his spine again.

“I am no stranger to the dark. 'Hide away', they say. Cause we don't want your broken parts."

Erick breathed something and he was fairly sure it was 'Holy shit'.

“I've learned to be ashamed of all my scars. 'Run away', they say. No one'll love you as you are."

There was more to those words that just lyrics. Joel could sincerely feel a strong vulnerability and genuine tune in each note. His breath was caught in his throat. From the periphery of his vision, he saw Cash's muzzle drop open and a half-chewed tempura shrimp fall onto the lion's lap.

“But I won't let them break me down to dust. I know that there's a place for us."

Shaw lifted his gaze from the microphone.

“For we are glorious."

The music picked up and energy filled the room.

“When the sharpest words wanna cut me down. I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown 'em out."

Everyone was on the edge of their seat.

“I am brave, I am bruised. I am who I'm meant to be…"

Then Shaw's features hardened.

“This is me."

Even Joel found himself about ready to leap up.

“Look out 'cause here I come!" declared the bear proudly, more to himself than anyone else. “And I'm marching on to the beat I drum! I'm not scared to be seen, I make no apologies! This is me!"

Suddenly, Erick was on his feet and singing along to the rest of the song. “Oh-oh-oh-oh!"

For a second Shaw was stunned then he broke out into a grin. The tension in his shoulders immediately left him and he sang the next line. “Oh-oh-oh-oh!"

Erick echoed back the line, only this time Amos was right there beside him. Joel grinned broadly as they went back and forth and even accompanied them on the last repetition.

“Another round of bullet hits my skin!" sang Shaw, pressing a paw against his chest and really getting into his performance. “Well fire away 'cause today, I won't let the shame sink in!" He beat his chest, singing to the ceiling and claiming to the world who he was. “We are bursting through the barricade and reaching for the sun!"

“We are warriors!" sang Erick who clearly knew the song.

“Yeah, that's what we've become!" continued Shaw. “I won't let them break me down to dust. I know that there's a place for us. For we are glorious!"

He sang through the chorus and as he did so, one by one, the guys were getting to their feet. This was an entirely different 'magic' from what Erick cast upon them. As corny as it sounded, it was the magic of friendship. Erick could draw the attention to himself, silence everyone else and captivate them. Shaw drew everyone else in, made them dance with him, compelled them to join him.

Charmed them all.

As they sang through the series of 'Ohs' once more, everyone was joining in. It really was like Shaw was the Pied Piper, singing the first series of 'Ohs' and making the whole room echo him.

Then Shaw did something unexpected and did a little jump, slamming his feet against the stage. He stood proudly, head up. “And I know I deserve your love!" He threw his head back and hit the highest note in the song. It was on par with Erick's performance and if it wasn't for the energy coursing through his veins, Joel was sure he wouldn't been knocked off his feet. “There's nothing I'm not worthy of!"

“Yeah!" bellowed Erick. “Fuck yeah!"

Shaw was smiling as he finished off the song and when he was done, the wolf was rushing up to stage, hugging the bear tightly and lifting him off the ground.

“Oh shit…" sighed Killian, applauding like everyone else. “Now there's two of them."

Joel's heart sank momentarily but was immediately uplifted at how proud he was of how much the timid little cola had grown up. Though he did dread the fact that, chances were, Shaw and Erick would likely both be trying to drag them to karaoke now, he couldn't help but feel like the bear had found his place in the world.

The two men at the stage sat back down but next to one another this time. A bit more of chatter and eating followed. Cash performed followed by Killian again; 'just to get everyone horny again', or so he claimed. Liam didn't go up and Joel refused to after realizing that he would just be double-humiliated if he was to follow Shaw or Erick. They just sat, drank and genuinely hung out. Even Liam seemed a little… pleasant.

Time flew by until it was finally that time.

“Okay, okay!" Erick bellowed, getting up and bringing up Shaw by the paw like the two of them were husband and wife. “We've finally decided! We know what duet we're going to sing and you, my good gays, are going to decide who wins!"

“Wooooo!" roared Cash. “Knock him off his goddamn pedestal, Shaw!"

“You can do it!" hollered Amos. “Make him dance! I want to see his fat ass shaking his booty like a goddamn popstar in your apartment!"

Erick flipped him off for that one. That only made the dragon laugh even louder.

“We are going to be singing…" Erick began, locking gazes with Shaw.

The bear beamed brightly. “Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson."

Joel's heart sank and his eyes drifted over to Liam.

He could smell another of Erick's manipulations.

Uh-oh… this is not going to end well.

Shaw

The music began, the steady drumming that would set the pace.

Shaw was excited. His heart was racing and he was nervous but at the same time, he couldn't stop himself from grinning. This night had been so much fun. All those hours of practicing the piano, violin and singing lessons didn't seem like such nerdy crap anymore. The fact Erick had also grown up in an Asian household had been completely lost to him.

As they had talked after his performance, Erick described an extremely conservative household where, like him, he was raised Christian and forced into a lot of extracurricular activities. Unlike him, though, Erick balanced academics with sports. Basketball to be specific - because his mother insisted that jumping high would 'stretch out his spine' and make him taller. While Erick did grow up to be very tall, it was because of genetics not because he was jumping a lot. Juggling piano lessons, basketball, academics and a constant expectation to actually place in national singing competitions as well as participate in glee club led to a very early burnout.

When Erick got his first non-top-mark in college, he broke down.

Then, there was this idiot older bull who told him that grades didn't mean shit before proceeding to drag him off to bed and showing him how much getting his dick sucked felt especially when it was by another guy.

“Here's the thing," Erick began, perfectly in-tune. “We started out friends."

He immediately chimed in, never missing a beat. “It was cool, but it was all pretend."

Then together and in perfect harmony, they sang, “Yeah, yeah. Since you've been gone."

The tempo and energy of the song picked up.

“You're dedicated, you took the time," Shaw began.

“Wasn't long 'til I called you mine," continued Erick.

Then, once again in unison, they sang, “Yeah, yeah. Since you've been gone."

Killian hooted and clapped his webbed paws over his head.

“And all you'd ever hear me say," Shaw sang. “Is how I picture me with you."

Erick suddenly turned towards him, singing at him. “That's all you'd ever hear me say…"

Shaw grinned and turned to face the wolf as well. “But since you've been gone!" he cried, holding the note perfect. “I can breathe for the first time! I'm so moving on…" He threw his head back, rock-star style. “Yeah! Yeah!"

“Thanks to you!" Erick continued. “Now I get what I want." Like him, he was able to hold the note perfectly. “Since you've been gone!"

Cheering. That was good. He was keeping up so far.

Shaw couldn't help himself from grinning. Even if this was a supposed 'competition', he was genuinely having fun. He could tell Erick was too and, in the back of his mind, he wondered if the wolf was finally glad to have someone who could keep up with him musically. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was wondering if he should buy a piano and he and Erick could practice in his apartment between games of DMF.

I can't believe I'm having so much fun!

“How can I put it," sang Erick, continuing to the third verse. “You put me on. I even fell for that stupid love song."

“Yeah, yeah," Shaw echoed. “Since you've been gone."

“How come I never hear you say, I just wanna be with you?" Erick sang. “Guess you never felt that way…" Then he lifted his head as he hit the chorus. “But since you've been gone! I can breathe for the first time! I'm so moving on, yeah, yeah!"

“Thanks to you!" he sang, each verse and syllable lifting him further and further up. All the tension that was in his shoulders, that looming weight of Liam being here and the ominous doom of their bet hanging over his head, was all gone. He was just in the moment having fun. “Now I get, I get want I want! Since you've been gone!"

The bear made slicing motions through the air, throwing his whole body into the song. “You had your chance, you blew it!" He turned his back to Erick. “Out of sigh, out of mind!"

The move had been spontaneous but he could sense Erick catching on. He felt the wolf's back against his own as the next line was sung.

“Shut your moth, I just can't take it!"

Then, in perfect synchronization, they spun towards one another, noses almost pressed against one another with the microphones positioned to avoid feedback.

“Again and again and again and again!"

Shaw straightened. “Since you've been gone!"

Erick did the same and echoed him. “Since you've been gone!"

They sang the next two lines together, once again perfectly harmonizing with one another. “I can breathe for the first time. I'm so moving on, yeah, yeah!"

Erick took the lead. “Thanks to you!"

And Shaw followed up. “Thanks to you!"

“Now I get, I get what I want! I'm so moving on, yeah! Yeah!"

Then, out from the corner of his eye, he caught movement. He glanced away from Erick for the briefest of moments and saw a flicker of blue dashing towards the door. The song was momentarily interrupted by the bang of Liam leaving. Joel was already halfway out of his seat.

Shaw abandoned the song, fumbled to place the mic back on the stand and dashed after the escaping skunk. He burst out into the hallway just in time to catch Liam's tail as it was retreating up the stairs back to the ground floor.

“Liam!" he shouted.

He dashed after his ex, confused and a little annoyed that Liam's tantrum was interrupting his fun. The shiba at the counter didn't question him as he ran past and emerged onto the street. Liam wasn't in front of the bar but a quick glance to his right showed the skunk rapidly retreating towards the bus stop. Thankfully there was a light flashing red that stopped him.

Shaw's feet pumped across the pavement and he grabbed Liam's arm.

“Liam, what the hell?"

The skunk flung around, tears in his eyes and a scowl on his muzzle. “Don't, Shaw. Just spare me." Liam yanked his arm back. “Message received loud and clear. You're better off without me." He flicked his paw in the direction of the bar. “Go. Go back to your circle jerk with those arguably hotter and more successful guys."

Shaw shook his head in confusion. “What? Where is this coming from? I thought you were having fun? You looked like you were getting along even with Joel. What's this all of the sudden?"

Liam wiped away tears from his eyes with the heel of his paw. “I only came here because that wolf basically blackmailed me!"

The circumstances around Liam joining them for the evening remained hazy. No doubt Erick pulled some dirty trick. The thought that the lupine IT specialist may have asked Liam to accompany them to get a psychological advantage in a fierce competition had crossed Shaw's mind.

But blackmail?

“What did he say?" Shaw asked.

Liam scowled. “He basically said that if I didn't come along, he'd bury me under a lengthy legal battle that'll see me on the streets."

A sharp response came from behind him. “Nope."

Shaw turned and found both Erick and Joel standing behind him. The big wolf stepped forward, holding out his phone to show a text conversation.

“The others are keeping the room occupied so we don't lose it," explained Erick. “But I had a feeling you were going to start spouting lies about how I got you here so I decided to come along and provide evidence." He handed the phone to Shaw. “Here. Check it out."

Shaw took the phone and regarded the message.

“Hey, you may not know me but my name is Erick Aclan. I'm one of the owners of JACKED. I know this comes out of the blue, but I just wanted to talk if you're free?"

That was surprisingly tame. Not exactly professional but friendly.

“I have nothing to say to you," countered Liam.

“Listen, I know we got off on the wrong foot. Shaw has filled us in on the messy breakup. Killian too. I know you're not a bad guy. Just dealt a few bad cards."

“You don't know anything about me," Liam countered.

“Exactly. So I don't want to make any judgments. I'm the kind of guy that would prefer to have friends than enemies. Trust me, I've been on the receiving end of both."

“Have you ever been punched in the face?"

“Stabbed, actually. By a guy that genuinely believed that he 'loved me'. Obsessed really."

There was no response from Liam so Erick continued.

“I know how much it hurts to lose someone. Especially when that loss reminds you of how much of a loser you actually are. But I'm lucky enough to be supported by a bunch of losers and with them having my back, we somehow made it through.

“You're hurting. I know that can lead you down to think some really shitty things. Some things you may never have thought about until now. And I'm going to tell you that it's not as bad as it seems especially when you have others to help you out.

“Gay men like us can't really afford to be stabbing at each other when the rest of the world is already trying to stamp us out or thinks of us as 'abominations'. No one will come to our aid except those that really understand and those are far and few between. I'm going to wager that after the thing that broke you up and Shaw, you don't exactly have that many friends left. So you're in need of some."

Liam responded for the first time after that.

“You'd win that bet. Honestly don't see why they're making me to be the bad guy."

“I'm not here to argue about who was right or wrong. All I'm saying is that I know you need some friends. I can't and won't promise you getting back together with Shaw but I don't want any bad blood between you two. If I got stabbed because someone 'loved me', I don't want to think about what will happen when someone hates me."

“I would never stab you or anyone!"

“Never said you would. Just extrapolating. My point is, let's put this behind us, okay?"

There were a few minutes before Liam responded again.

“You know I'm in the right. I could file a police report."

“And I could counter with a defamation lawsuit that will bury you in legal fees. People heard what you said and we've got character witnesses. Footage too. It was also one punch with no lasting damage. You attack us and we'll hit right back. Just like what happened at the bar."

Another pause but this time, Liam didn't break it.

It was Erick once again trying to extend the olive branch.

“So let's just put this behind us. Like I said, I've been on the receiving end of that personally. No one ends up happy. Let's bury the hatchet. Come to karaoke with us tomorrow night."

“What? So you and your gang can rape me and shut me up?"

“If we do, you have this text chain as evidence. Nothing can hold up against cold, hard proof. So what do you say? Let's make peace? It's my treat."

As Erick said, there was proof. The wolf had extended the paw of peace. Hell, it wasn't just peace, it was friendship. Erick was genuinely reaching out to Liam, relating to his plight while simultaneously trying to comfort him. The litigation and police report wasn't even brought up until Liam threatened Erick with it.

Some part of Shaw wondered if this was the wolf cleverly manipulating the skunk and trapping him with evidence but he chose not to believe that. Even now, Erick had this look of disappointment on his face like he expected better from Liam.

“You did that on purpose," scowled the skunk. “You trapped me with that text chain!"

“Exactly how else was I supposed to contact you?" countered Liam, his lips peeled back to show his fangs. “I am no stalker." Those words were uttered with an incredible amount of venom and there was a flash of pain in Erick's eyes that made Liam hesitate. A moment of genuine vulnerability that cut through the wolf's intimidating physique.

“Look," Erick sighed, stepping back and taking his phone from Shaw. “There was no malice meant with that song. It's a challenging duet. It's high energy and genuinely fun. We picked it together." He gestured between himself and Shaw with the latter nodding in agreement.

“He actually suggested Love Me Harder first_,_" Shaw chimed in, making Erick's ears fold back in annoyance.

“Urgh… I can't stand Ariana Grande," muttered the wolf. “But she's a goddamn good singer. I would've gone with Shake It Off because we can dance with it but…"

“We were there to be judged on our singing not how well we can shake our asses," countered Shaw. Turning back towards Liam he said, “We settled on Since U Been Gone not because it would hurt you but because we both thought it'd be fun. That's it. There were no hidden messages. This isn't an episode of Glee where we're high school kids who can't talk about our emotions and yet somehow everyone is an amazingly accurate music critic that can read between the lyrics and infer intention just from a few lines."

With a hardened voice, Shaw said, “Stop playing the victim, Liam."

Those five words struck the skunk almost like a physical blow. Liam visibly recoiled, raising an arm defensively. His eyes scanned Shaw for a long moment. Then his lips twisted together in a scowl.

But before he could say anything, Joel pushed past both Erick and Shaw, placing himself between them and Liam.

“Hey guys, can I talk to Liam privately?"

The skunk's eyes widened. “What? You're going to beat me up again?"

“No," Joel said calmly. “I just want to talk."

Shaw opened his muzzle to protest but Erick gently gripped his shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. The wolf shook his head and began to turn back towards the bar. Message received.

“Alright…" mumbled Shaw. “We'll…I guess we'll be back in the room."

“Yeah," answered Joel. “We'll catch up."

Shaw let Erick guide him away from the two though he was still straining his ears trying to catch whatever he could of their conversation. But as they came under the light of the neon light, he knew he couldn't pick up anything anymore. So he turned his attention back to Erick.

“Be honest with me," he began, “did you really send that text message to trap Liam?"

Erick gave him a sad little smile. “You know, it's fun letting everyone think I'm this master manipulator. But honestly, most of the time, I just try to be genuine with people. A sad commentary on our society that being honest with someone and showing vulnerability is taken as being manipulative."

Shaw's eyes dropped. “Sorry… I didn't mean…"

“It's alright," said the burly wolf, patting his shoulder gently. “I live with it. Like I said, it's fun. Sometimes." Erick let out a a little sigh. “Thing is… I've learned that it's better to make enemies into friends than keep fighting them. Only way you can really defeat someone especially in this day and age when people can have legions of followers that'll be after your blood. I genuinely tried…"

Erick shrugged sadly. “Maybe it was too soon after the punch but it was a wound that needed to be patched up. If we didn't treat it, it'd fester and get infected."

Shaw gripped the wolf's paw on his shoulder affectionately. “You tried. That's more than anyone can ask. Thank you."

Joel

Joel waited a good long while until Shaw and Erick had gone back into the karaoke bar before he began. While he was sure that Shaw wasn't going to snoop on him, he wasn't sure about Killian or Amos. He could spot Amos a mile away but Killian was far more slippery. His light brown eyes darted to the street lights and the crosswalk, just making sure that there were cameras there. There was still some part of him that was afraid that Liam would pull a knife or a gun on him.

As if reading his mind, the skunk looked past him, scanned the shadows before straightening and locking gazes with the bull. “They're gone. Say whatever it is you want to say then kindly fuck off."

“Alright," Joel sighed. “I just have one question to ask you." He took a deep breath, calculating the perfect way to ask the one question that was burning in his mind. “What is your end game here?"

Liam looked genuine confused. “What are you talking about?"

Stubborn… Just like me I guess.

“What does acting this way, threatening us, insulting us and even accepting Erick's invitation get you in the end? Where do you think this will all go? Do you think Shaw will come back to you? Is that what you were hoping for?"

The skunk scoffed and looked away. “Maybe…"

Okay… Now we're getting somewhere.

Based on that answer…

“So let me guess," Joel continued. “Your whole thing about throwing shade at our bar. Insulting me. Was that all an act to make Shaw believe that JACKED was a shitty place to go and that you would know better than him on where to hang out? What friends to make?"

Liam shot him a piercing stare.

That was all the answer he needed.

“No need to give me the silent treatment," said the bull. “We both know you're not going to sue. Erick made sure of that. So let's just be honest." He gestured between them. “You and me. Do you really want Shaw back?"

The blue-striped skunk gave him an irritatingly smug scoff. “You said you only had one question."

“It's the same question but rephrased so you can catch up," Joel retorted. “Will getting him back, as a friend or a boyfriend, make you happy? What's the goal here?"

“Do I have to have one?" countered Liam. “Not everyone can have their life perfectly planned out like you, old man."

He had to laugh at that one. “You think I had my life planned out? Please. I've been called a 'flight risk' because of how quickly I cruise from one guy to another. It was only recently that I realized it was because I was trying to make my dad proud. So believe me, out of all the guys back in that bar. I'm the one that has the farthest thing from a plan."

Liam glanced away, looking distantly at the crosswalk as it switched from red to green. “I don't know, then. I don't have a plan. Don't think I have to have one."

Joel didn't believe that for one second.

“Liar."

Liam's eyes shot back to him. “Excuse me?"

“I've seen this before," he elaborated. “The ex wants to get back together because they know they were wrong. In the back of their mind, though, they know they can't patch things up. But either because you want to be the one doing the breaking up or you at least want to seem like less of the bad guy by saying you honestly gave it a try, you want to get back together because it's the last time when things were 'right'."

“And what makes you such the expert?"

“Because I've been used by guys like that," Joel scowled. He turned that scowl into a frightening grin. “Remember, I like to cruise and I'm a bartender. I've been with all sorts of guys. You wouldn't be the first I've met who cheated and then lost all his friends because they found out what they did and are now trying to do everything in their power to make things 'right'."

Liam lunged forward a little, baring his fangs. Joel didn't flinch. “I'm not like that!"

“Then prove it," countered Joel. “Come back to karaoke with me. Stay for the rest of the night. No agendas. No plans. No sex. Hit the restart button. You lost all your friends but there's seven guys right here that are opening their arms to give you a shot."

The skunk's lips twisted into a grimace and he turned away. “I can't…"

“Too proud to admit you need help." Joel huffed softly. “I know that too. Swallow your own bullshit. We can't survive alone. Even Shaw knew that when you left him broken in his apartment. Eventually, he needed to go out and interact with other people."

“It's not that…"

So it wasn't out of loneliness that Liam wanted to make amends. That only left one reason and it sickened Joel to know that the worst he had assumed of the skunk was true.

“Alright then…" Joel spread his arms wide to his sides. “So it's pretty clear that you want to hurt Shaw." Those words surprised Liam and made the skunk regard him with surprise. “I get it. He kicked you out of his apartment. Left you high and dry from the lifestyle you were used to. You blame him because he was unwilling to change even after you tried so hard to include him in your friend group and activities. But it just isn't fair. Because you lost all your friends and he gets a bunch of new ones. So now you want to get your revenge. You want to hurt him. Maybe get him to be reliant on you again only to break up with him. Maybe steal his new group from him."

“I'm not -"

“I'm not done," snapped the bull. “I don't care what your plans are. You are not going to hurt him. So hit me instead."

A look of shock crossed Liam's expression and he appraised Joel from feet to horns. “Are… are you insane?"

“No. I'm being serious. Punch me. Kick me. Bite me. Hell, if you've got a knife or a gun, go nuts. Because I care about Shaw. So much that I'm willing to take whatever you've got for him."

“Who would do that!?" blurted Liam.

“Someone who loves him," admitted Joel fiercely. “And I'm not the only one. I'm sure the other guys feel the same way too. None of us are going to let you hurt him even if it leaves us bruised, beaten and bloodied."

The skunk went back to snarling at him. “You think I'm so petty that I'd go to all these lengths just to dump him later? That I'd take up that wolf's offer just so I could steal you all from him?"

“I don't know. I clearly don't know you. But from where I'm standing, there are only two reasons you'd storm out of that place after he sang that song." Joel held up two fingers. “First, is that you've realized your meal ticket has left and found other people and you just wanted to leave in as dramatic fashion as possible so you can at least leave him with a little scar before you disappeared into the dark. The second is that you realized whatever plan you had to get in our good graces and show us that you're better than him blew up in your face and you're just such a fucking sore loser that you couldn't take it."

Before Liam could say anything, he continued. “And don't bother with saying that you're genuinely heartbroken that he's left you behind because, let's not forget, you cheated on him." He leaned closer with each word, articulating every syllable. “And you just said you didn't want to steal us from him so what else could it be, huh?"

The skunk shrank back and he dropped his gaze. “What's your endgame?"

Those words look him by surprise. “What do you mean?"

Liam took a moment before lifting his gaze and regarding the bull defiantly. “I'll tell you mine if you tell my yours first."

Well played, I guess.

“How far are we talking?" he answered tauntingly. “Do you want to hear about how I want to bury my muzzle in Shaw's ass and to have him sit on my face while he sucks my dick? Or are we talking about inviting him over to an orgy with all six of us as we celebrate him officially becoming one of the co-owners of JACKED while he uses his marketing expertise to franchise the bar?"

Liam looked like he had a knife in the gut and it was slowly being twisted. “This conversation," he huffed. “What was the point of having this conversation? Why come out here and let me kill you if I wanted?"

Like you could kill me, stickbug.

Joel lowered his arms and regarded Liam sternly. “I held a vote yesterday to make Shaw an official partner of JACKED. Everyone voted yes except for Erick. That's the wolf. He said that he wouldn't let Shaw in because you were holding him back. You're still haunting him."

“Why would he invite me, then?"

Because he's a conniving son-of-a-bitch, that's why.

“Because Erick wanted to pull off a miracle and turn the ghost haunting Shaw back into a decent man. He's a manipulative bastard but he still likes to believe in the good in people. Hell, he told you he was stabbed. Stabbed by a rabid fan of his. That asshole is in jail now but Erick still testified that the guy was decent. That's just the guy he is."

Liam's gaze dropped. “Then… why are you doing this?"

“Because your dramatic scene obviously made Shaw lose a bet he had with Erick," Joel explained. “Those two bet that if Shaw could beat him in karaoke, he'd overlook you and let him in. But since you distracted him, he lost. So I still want him in our group. The only way that's going to happen is if you fuck off." He placed his hands on his hips. “So now the ball's in your court. Are you going to prove to everyone just what a petty asshole you are and keep haunting Shaw just to keep him officially joining us? Or are you finally going to man up and move on."

The skunk's face scrunched up and his paw closed into a fist. He genuinely pulled it back, ready to punch and Joel braced himself. His eyes locked with Liam's. There was so much pain, anger and regret in those eyes. The funny thing was, he was fairly sure that after all this, even Liam was starting to realize that there was only one person he could blame for his failings.

Himself.

Liam threw the punch…

…and his fist fell limply against Joel's chest.

“I don't want to hurt Shaw…" admitted the skunk, fighting back a sob. “I just… I just felt… so angry. I didn't want to blame myself so I blamed him for kicking me out. Then my friends asked what happened." He let out a bitter laugh and turned his head away, his paw dropping from Joel's chest. “I spun some half-truths about Shaw not being the boyfriend that I deserved. They believed me at first because they had been there when I brought him along. But… they're not idiots. They pieced it together. Confronted me. They learned the truth and kicked me out of the group. So I got angry all over again and that piled up on him."

Joel stood there, listening. Unable to sympathize but listening.

“I just… I was just so angry," fumed Liam. “The only thing I could think of was… was making him feel as bad as I did. When I saw him with you guys… I just… I just lost it!"

That's right. The thing that got us to reconnect with him was him sending a picture from our official handle.

The picture with the #SipSelfie.

“I fantasized about getting back together with him," ranted Liam. “I dreamed about finally making him into the guy that I wanted him to be. Proving that I was right and that I wasn't at fault. When I met him at the coffee place, I wasn't expecting anyone else. Killian was there and… I guess I started to realize that he had moved on. And… that just hurt."

Again, Joel just listened. Liam looked to him.

“Do you have any idea what it's like to realize that you're the reason why someone is being held back?"

Joel tilted his head to the side.

Oh… I think… I think I'm starting to get it.

“There's only one thing that changed in Shaw's life," Liam admitted. “Me. When he got rid of me, he started going to bars, made great friends and now he's about to co-own an actual bar? I mean, what the hell was I meant to feel?" Liam pressed his paws against his chest, tears forming in his eyes. “I was suddenly confronted with the realization that I'm the toxic one!"

“To be fair…" began Joel.

“I know, okay!?" shouted the skunk. Then a little softer, he wheezed, “I know." After a few moments, he wiped tears away again. “After years of blaming him for being unwilling to change and being closed off, constantly telling myself that it's because he was so lazy and antisocial that I had to cheat… I saw evidence that it wasn't him. It was me."

Liam lifted his gaze, staring at the starless sky. “I left karaoke because right there, on stage, was evidence that he didn't need me. That I was the dead weight that was holding him back. There he was. On stage and in all of his glory. I saw… I saw…" A sad, toothy smile crossed his features. “I saw this amazing man that was way out of my league." Then his gaze lowered again to his feet. “And it made me wonder if I constantly put him down and gaslit him because I was scared of him one day realizing he was so much better than me and leaving me."

Shit. That's way heavier than I thought.

I guess Shaw was right. Unconscious bias and all that shit.

Joel wasn't sure what to do. He still felt some revulsion against the skunk but this admission put him in a new light. When there was no one to absorb the toxins in a relationship, the only place that venom had to go was inward. Liam was self-destructing.

“Look," he began. “I hate to suggest it but maybe you need some therapy. Work on yourself for a bit. But do it far away from here. Away from Shaw. Away from us. Maybe once you're healthy again, we can reconnect but I don't want you anywhere near him."

Liam lifted his gaze, taking a deep sigh and opening his eyes to Joel. “Yeah… Maybe therapy is what I need. Just… Just promise me you won't hold him back like I did."

Joel knew he could promise that.

Holding out his hand, he gave the skunk a firm nod. “I promise."

For the first time, Liam gave him a genuine smile and shook his hand.

“Thank you. I really mean that. Thank you."

A small buzzing came from Joel's pocket. It had been a while since he had asked both Shaw and Erick to give him some privacy so they were likely worried. If not those two then one of the other JACKED guys. He glanced at his number and frowned.

“I've got to take this," he announced, pointing at the phone. “If you want to come back…?"

Liam gave him a sad smile and shook his head. “No… I think I've overstayed my welcome. By a weeks."

Joel nodded at the skunk who turned around and finally crossed the road, coincidentally as the lights turned green. As he watched Shaw's ex go, he lifted the phone to his ear and answered.

“Hello?" he asked.

“Mr. Rockham, this is Golden Cliffs Hospital_. It_'s about your father."

Joel let out a little sigh and pinched the bridge of his muzzle, the space just between his eyes. Just like his old man to ruin a decent night with friends.

“What is it?" he asked, holding back his irritation.

“He's… I'm not sure how to really say this, sir… But he's…"

A cold pit formed in his stomach and he immediately looked up, his fingers slipping away from his muzzle.

“No…" he whispered softly.

“I'm sorry. But he's passed away."