FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

“Sir?”

Cody grunted softly, stirred from a doze. He blinked several times, looking around blearily, realizing he’d dozed off. He took in his surroundings, seated in a sitting area near the food court of the truck stop. Looking out the large pane window before him, the same site he’d seen a few hours ago greeted him: a black night sky and a furious blizzard’s clumps and flakes billowing past.

“Sir? I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t sleep here,” came the voice again, belonging to a small ferret, a clerk, the coyote surmised, based on the name tag.

Blinking away the remaining daze, he simply nodded. “Yeah uhm… sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

The ferret smiled, chuckling. “I can tell. Here,” he replied as held up one of the stop’s paper mugs towards the sleepy canine. “My manager won’t try to get me to kick you out as long as you’re awake. I’m sorry we don’t have any spare bunks right now, with the blizzard.”

The coyote nodded, a weak smile flashed in return. The ferret was cute, he thought to himself, as he quietly accepted the mug, taking a long sip. “Thank you,” he replied softly. He held the mug close.

As the TV mounted high behind the ferret blinked, the coyote’s eyes quickly snapped to it, drawn by the change, realizing it was a weather screen. The gaze caught the ferret’s attention as well, who turned to look up at the forecast, and back to Cody with a grim expression. “Looks like we’re both gonna be stuck here for a while… listen, uh,” the ferret turned back to the coyote, pausing a moment.

The coyote chuckled. “Cody...my name’s Cody.”

Smiling, the ferret nodded. “Thomas. Listen, Cody, if uh...your...friends...don’t arrive for you soon…” he started.

Cody’s expression fell slightly, his ears leaning back. “It’s that obvious?” The tone, the phrasing and pauses, all told a story that the ferret knew the reality.

Thomas’ expression fell as well. “Only to someone like me. But, uh,” he quieted his voice to just over a whisper, for only the canine’s ears. “If a room doesn’t clear up, and you don’t find someone to hitch a ride with, within the next 3 hours, I’ll meet you by the employee door down the shower hall. My employee bunk’s big enough for both of us short skinny guys.”

Cody paused a moment after listening. “Tom…”

The ferret put a finger to the coyote’s muzzle, hushing him gently, before speaking again with a lowered voice. “You’re cute, and I’ve seen you here twice before in the past couple months, and based on who you left with and showed up with, I can tell what happened, and I don’t want you hurt or worse,” he whispered, before grinning up at the coyote more goofily. “And it’s ‘Thomas’, not ‘Tom’… gay guys don’t go by short names.”

The coyote burst out in an intense laugh, far stronger than he expected to at the response and struggling not to spill his gifted coffee. “Ahaha, I...thank you, Thomas, I...I needed that. And...thank you,” he replied as he calmed back down, a softer expression having replaced the more forlorn one he wore before.

Thomas smiled, turning to head back towards the counter. “Don’t thank me yet, it’s only for a night, and I don’t put out,” he replied as he padded towards the register he’d been working.

Cody turned back to face the window and the storm, as he leaned onto his knees, the warm aroma of the coffee drifting to his nose. “After what brought me here...me neither,” he whispered to the concoction, whilst staring into the swirling snowscape outside as if it held answers he was desperate to divine.

---

“It’s a lot cleaner than the normal bunks,” Cody murmured as the door closed.

The ferret quietly giggled, reaching over to click on a switch, illuminating a rope light tethered to the wall in an organic squiggle. “Well yeah, each employee gets their own little room like this. Now don’t be too loud, there’s nothing saying I can’t do this, but I don’t want to test things,” he said, reaching behind the coyote to lock the door to the ferret’s tiny, private bunk room.

“I would’ve figured they’d have y’all sharing stacked bunks, this is kinda nice,” Cody added, more quietly. Casting his glances around, he found a small nook under the folding desk to drop his backpack, before turning to the ferret, who’d already shimmied out of his company smock and hung it on a peg on the wall.

“Nah, this place was built before they started doing that at the other locations. Both of our luck,” Thomas replied as he poked the coyote’s middle gently. “I won’t push you to take off any more than you want, don’t worry. The only payment I want is to snuggle up with a cute guy.”

Cody chuckled, but smiled warmly at the response. “Well at least someone is into me for more than just sexual favors,” he mused, as he started tugging his thick hoodie and shirt up over his head, his ears flicking as the hems cleared them, his gray, tawny, and brown fur slightly matted.

Thomas was down to just boxers by the time the coyote slipped the top garments off, and wore a soft frown. “That bad?” he asked, softly, with a tone of concern.

After starting to undo his jeans, Cody paused, and then sat on the small bed beside Thomas. “Yeah. I...I should’ve seen it coming. I moved clear across the country for that asshole and he got pissed just cause I wouldn’t fuck his friends or do drugs with them, and told me I was too ‘weird’ with...my..uhm…”

The ferret poked at the coyote’s barely-covered waist, trying not to outright grope him. “With making the house smell like latex or balloons?” Thomas asked with a bit of a grin, gently pinching the waistband of the black latex boxer briefs the coyote’d stopped undressing to hide.

Cody’s cheeks tinged pink for a moment, but he nodded, slipping those jeans off entirely to let the glossy garment shine in the dim light. “Both. You’re uh...you’re good.”

Thomas laughed softly, then bent over for a small bag on the floor. After retrieving something, he stripped his boxers off entirely, not making any attempt to hide his cute butt from the coyote, until he stepped into the garment he’d fetched and slid it up. And as he sat back beside Cody, their hips squeaked lightly, the ferret changed into a matching pair of latex shorts, though purple. “Comes with familiarity, I guess. Now get under the covers here; I’ve always wanted to snuggle up wearing these with a guy who also is, and it’s fucking cold, you damn canines have no concept of indoor temps with that warmer coat.”

The coyote paused, taken by significant surprise, and blushing a little more as he shifted to the back of the cot to let Thomas slide in in front of him, and drew the blankets up over the pair. He wrapped an arm around Thomas’ side, gentle at first, and then relaxing as he settled into the contact, quietly.

After a few moments of the quiet affection, with hips lightly squeaking with their gentle movements, the ferret turned to face Cody, and pressed his face into that warm, fluffy chest. “Hope we both can find who we’re looking for,” he spoke softly.

“Cause you don’t have room or money to take me in; I wasn’t even thinking of asking, don’t worry,” Cody replied.

“No, you silly dog, because we’re both such bottoms we’d drive each other nuts!”

The coyote had to tuck his snout into the pillow to muffle his laughter. Clocked, teased, and it all true. “Fuck, you’re right, snrk… But this?” he asked, emphasizing his intent as he stroked his claws softly through the ferret’s fur along his back.

Thomas squirmed and wiggled in true noodle fashion with a chitter, followed by a giggle. “This? Cuddling a cutie like you? I’m hoping I get to again some night,” he replied sweetly.

The coyote rested a paw on the ferret’s rubbery-coated flank, gently squeezing, clearly more to explore the material than outright grope his new friend. “Me too.”

Cody tried not to keep staring at the ferret as he worked. A second night was promised if he absolutely had to, but with the clerk’s shift only starting 2 hours ago, the coyote wasn’t sure he could keep awake that long. He continued staring out the window into the blizzard. The same sight as the night before, hardly changed. Even during the day, it hardly seemed to get light out, between the latitude and blizzard raging outside.

Cody stood for a moment, and took a sip of the coffee Thomas gave him a few minutes prior. A nice perk, and he’d seen the ferret let a few kinder folks with refill mugs leave if all they got was coffee. “Why bother?” he’d told the coyote.

He walked over to the door, taking a step out into the blustery cold. The fur of his nap bristled and fluffed, but he only felt the cold seep in after a moment standing there. “To think my ancestors probably just curled up in the snow in weather like this,” Cody mused with a dry chuckle.

Thoughts swirled in his mind as he looked towards the black clouds above. Abandoned. Ejected. Hated. He looked down into his coffee, as if for something else. No words came.

‘Selfish.’ ‘After all he did for you.’ The coyote practically stumbled back, leaning against the wall. “Stop it…” he whispered to the empty lot before him.

‘What made you think this would be different? What made you think this would work out?’

“Because I loved him,” the coyote choked, his throat tight. “Stop…”

‘You loved the idea of him. You loved the idea of being cared about, of being important to someone, why would—’

“I SAID FUCKING STOP!” Cody shouted, as salty ice formed below his eyes. “Fucking fuck off!” His voice didn’t even echo in the snow, as the thoughts quieted, leaving him panting, and shaking. “Fuck,” he said, much more quietly, wiping his face on his coat with a sniff before turning back inside. Away from the cold. Away from even colder thoughts.

---

As Cody stepped back inside and wiped his shoes on the carpet, splaying his toes to get the snow out from under them as well, he caught a whiff of a new scent. Or not so much new as new-in-context. He returned to his backpack, sniffing around it briefly, and then down at himself. Nothing. Maybe Thomas took a cue from him to ‘stealth’ today?

Cody shrugged it off, settling back down to sit again, and look out into the snow, letting the din of truckers coming and going roll past as he focused on the falling flakes, as they danced and wheeled about. “Maybe I could just get a job here?” he mused to himself. It was peaceful enough. The truckers had been friendly. It was a nice change from what he’d seen where he grew up.

“...Cody…”, Thomas said, perking up the coyote’s ears. As they swiveled for a fix, the bustle settled into a few distinct voices. He couldn’t clearly focus on the ferret anymore, but he knew he’d heard his name amongst the various sounds, a few new ones blending into the mix.

Before turning his head to see what the ferret was up to, the scent of rubber graced his nose once more. And in caution again, he sniffed at himself, downward, then towards his backpack. Nothing. Only a faint hit, not the warmer one. Not the strength he picked up.

“Ah, you Cody?” spoke an unfamiliar voice, and as the coyote turned his head to his addresser, his eyes widened. The question of the scent was immediately answered. The timberwolf before Cody stood easily half-again the coyote’s height, if not more, a trucker given the vague stereotype of a white t-shirt covered by an unbuttoned plaid flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up partly, and jeans. All of which seemed like they were moments from clinging to the timberwolf for dear life.

But the biggest attention grabber for the eyes was in what wasn’t covered by the clothing; a smooth, soft gloss took the place of the normal fur of his hands, forearms, face, and even a bit peeking out from under the shirt. Was that…?

“Er, y’alright there? Hope I didn’t uh, interrupt somethin’,” the wolf spoke softly. As his stance shifted, it elicited a faint ‘sqrk’, similar to the sounds during the cuddling session the night before.

“I...yeah, that’s me, sorry, um...who did you say your na-I mean, what did...yeah,” the coyote stumbled out before looking up to greet the wolf’s soft expression.

“Hah, I ain’t yet. ‘Name’s Brandon,” he replied, extending one of those thick handpaws to shake, which nearly swallowed Cody’s. Rubber. It really is. Warm, soft rubber, not...solid? “Thomas over there said yuh were in a bit-of-a bind n'… well, I’ve known him a good while, n’ trust him t’ only point out someone ah can trust.”

“Trust…? Thomas...me?” Cody asked. Words were hard at the moment as his brain tried critically to process the sight before him, and kept ending up in places that would embarrass him and nearly sent his face into a beet-red blush. But he kept it in check.

“Heh, he didn’t think ya’d drink much o’ that coffee yet, guess he was right,” the wolf replied with a chuckle, as he walked around the row of chairs to take a seat in the empty one to Cody’s side. The heady scent of latex was absolutely unmistakable.

Cody kept silent for a moment as he followed Brandon’s steps, looking briefly down to catch sight of his paws in a similar open-foot shoe to the coyote’s, letting the glossy sheen of the paws and toes show, exposed as they were. “What’re…” he started, before shaking his head, and looking back up to Brandon. “Sorry, I uh…”

The timberwolf laughed, giving the coyote’s upper back a pat with one of those thick, glossy paws. “I get it, don’t worry yerself there; Thomas s’like that when ah first met him too. S’what you think exactly.”

Cody thought he might faint at the thought. “You’re really…”

“Rubber, latex ah guess, n’ air, yeah. But uh, that aside fer the moment,” Brandon started. He struggled for words, before beginning. “Look, ah know I ain’t the smoothest when it comes t’ greetin’ folks fer somethin’ like this, usually that's just my hide, but I’ve got a proposition. My hauls are pretty long, n’ with how dark it gets this time of year, the drives are pretty borin’ n’ quiet. So, in exchange fer some company on the drives, yer free t’ ride along with me. No other ulterior motives, I promise. Tired o’ drivin’ alone, n’ I’d rather help a friendly fellah out than just anyone. Yer free to leave at any time – at least if we’re somewhere safe, ain’t about t’ letcha get off if we’re just somewhere in the middle of the woods...not that ah can really stop yuh but...y’know, wouldn’t be right o’ me to not try,” the wolf said, rubbing the back of his head lightly with a chuckle at the last bit, eliciting a few more rubbery squirks.

Cody sat listening, his eyes slightly wide, but with a lightly tired laze he tried to push back. “You...want me to ride with you? On your truck?” he asked, only barely realizing he was just repeating the wolf.

“Yeah, basically. Ain’t gotta do anythin’ on the truck, unless yer handy n’ wanna if somethin’ happens. Look, I know this is a lot at once, so I ain’t gonna be surprised or upset if y’ say ‘no’. But I know how much it sucks t’ feel abandoned, n’ if I can help in some way and it gives me a lil company too…”

“...Most folks I guess think you’re...well...this isn’t what I think but, ‘weird’?” Cody asked, wincing slightly as he realized how awkward that sounded. Not the fastest tonight, he thought, and took a sip of his coffee.

“Yyyeah, guess so. N’ ah figured you wouldn’t, cause...well, wolves have a pretty good sense of smell, even like this,” Brandon replied. Cody’s toes curled slightly as his mask failed. No hiding that blush. “Besides, Thomas wouldn’t point me your way if he thought you’d be put off. And it’s...well, nice, fer stuff t’ be the opposite of that,” the wolf added, his own cheeks a touch pink as he spoke.

“That...fuck it. That sounds like a change of pace I need," Cody said.

‘What’re you doing?’

“I’ve been wanting to see more of the Northern lands,” the coyote added.

‘What’re you doing this’ll never work!’

“And I...I don’t know what I’ve been waiting for, here,” Cody replied, swallowing as he did his best to ignore those thoughts. “Maybe this, this kinda thing.”

Brandon smiled, and let out a cheerful laugh. It was a warm sound, slightly reverberant, in a way that cemented the wolf’s description. Rubber and air. “What, some kinda adventure? Heh, can’t really say it’d be an adventure of a typical sort, but…” he extended his paw to shake again. “We’ll figure out anything as we go.”

Cody took that giant handpaw in both of his own, both to squeeze and lightly rub to confirm for himself a third time that his eyes weren’t deceiving him. Warm, soft, squeaky, squishy. “Uh...then, yeah, I guess so. As long as I won’t be in the way.”

“Not a bit. Grab what you need, and meet me at my truck out back. We’re gonna drive a bit further on t’night, it’s pretty early still, for me at least,” the wolf asked, holding up his own coffee. A gallon mug. The coyote figured he’d ask later.

Cody nodded, and felt a smile cross his muzzle for only the second time yet at the truck stop. “Yeah,” he replied, with another squeeze to the wolf’s paw before he released it, nodding again as Brandon stood, striding off towards the back of the store towards the trucker exit. As the wolf left, the coyote stood as well, letting out a deep sigh as residual tension left him.

“He’s got a heart of gold. I wouldn’t have pointed him toward you if I didn’t trust him,” came Thomas’s voice, causing the coyote to quickly turn to face the attendant. “Sorry, I guess you were too focused to hear me walk up. But I mean it,” he added.

“Where the hell did you even meet him?” the coyote asked, his voice quieter than usual. “What even…”

“He stopped in one night while I was working, and just kinda...hit it off well. He’s stopped in many times over the past couple years to say howdy and for a hug,” the ferret replied, rubbing the back of his own head with a slight sheepish expression.

“You mean he smelled you stealthing and realized you’d be friendly?” the coyote teased. He felt lighter, easier, more at-ease than he had. “I’m teasing.”

“And right,” Thomas laughed, shaking his head. “I know he’ll take good care of you.”

The coyote stood, and after a brief pause, embraced Thomas in a tight hug the ferret returned. “Thank you. You’ve been incredibly sweet.”

“You can thank me by giving me another hug like that in a week; should be back by here then,” the ferret replied, releasing the hug and patting Cody’s sides. “Now grab a fresh hot coffee, and some food on me, and get on the road.”

“Gack!” Cody shook his paw to free it of the snow that’d fallen off, and grasped the door handle again to swing it open, hinges creaking lightly.

“Ah, there y’are! Was uh, hopin’ you didn’t get cold feet. Moreso n’ the snow caused,” Brandon said, smiling across at the coyote who clambered up into the cab and seat, shaking off his paws.

“Only from the snow. Do you have a towel I could borrow?” Cody asked, gratefully accepting one handed over to dry his footpaws after settling into the seat and closing the door. “Just wanted to get a little...er...cleaned up,” he added, pausing with a faint sniff at the air in the cab, unable to hide the forming blush.

The sight got a chuckle out of the wolf as he worked the starter on the truck, bringing the engine to life with a roar. “If the smell in here’s gotcha blushin’ that bad, I think we’ll get on pretty good,” he added as he checked a few gauges, before easing the truck into first gear, and getting it rolling slowly towards the road.

Cody nodded a little sheepishly, freeing his paws from the shoes to finish drying them thoroughly, after noticing Brandon had done the same, and then draped the towel over the back of his seat rest as indicated, pausing to look around the cab as well. He didn’t remember most trucks being nearly this spacious, but he never rode in a long-distance truck like this one. The chairs were custom, his own quite a bit larger than usual, but Brandon’s much wider to provide the large wolf a comfortable spot. They nearly touched. “I haven’t been in one that didn’t stink of sweat until now,” he replied.

“Yeah, well, ain’t ridden in one owned by a big’ ol’ rubber balloon of a wuff I guess either,” Brandon chuckled, facing the road as the truck picked up speed along the snowy highway. “But I don’t think this truck’ll ever stop smellin’ like balloon.”

Cody smiled softly, as he leaned back into the chair to get comfortable. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Did I say there was anythin’ wrong with it?” the wolf asked with a grin.

“True! So...you really are?” Cody asked, tentatively reaching toward the wolf, who offered up his right handpaw and tail after guiding it around the chair for the coyote to feel with the chairs nearly touching. He squeezed, careful of his claws, as he explored the smooth surfaces. He couldn’t help but to giggle slightly from the faint squeaks and squirks the attention elicited. He found he could squeeze any finger completely flat, or even flat into the palm. The tail was a little too puffy for him to do so without worrying about his claws.

Brandon seemed to enjoy the exploration, little rumbles from his chest reverberating lightly. “Yeah. A lot stretchier n’ more durable than your shorts, and whatever else you’ve got in that backpack,” he replied, briefly glancing at the coyote to show a teasing grin. “Which yer welcome t’ wear whenever you like between truck stops. I ain’t gonna judge, s’freein’ bein’ able to express in whatever way you prefer.”

Cody blushed even brighter red, as his ears tilted back slightly. “You sure?”

“Well, as long as it ain’t gonna make you freeze. Besides, it’d be kinda cute. But s’mostly for you. And yuh ain’t gotta worry about those claws,” the wolf replied while the coyote squeezed that tail again gently, prompting him to sink his paws in a little further.

“It wouldn’t be...you sure that’s okay?” Cody asked, trying to be careful still.

“If a would-be truck-jacker couldn’t pop me with his knife even when I was inflated to thrice this size, y’ain’t gonna do a damn thing with those claws. Feels nice anyway,” Brandon replied.

Cody’s eyes widened. There was no way the universe wasn’t just teasing him mercilessly at this point or this was anything more than a dream. He briefly pinched himself, just to check, before squeezing the tail...and then tentatively, reaching over to give it a hug, nosing into the tip with a deep inhale, and a shaky, happy sigh. He nearly went limp as every muscle relaxed at once, for the first time in what felt like months.

“Shucks, y’like it that much?” Brandon asked, his own cheeks a touch pink. “Heh, guess I never thought of my tail helpin’ someone relax.”

“Mmh, is..kinda that...kinda...I dunno,” the coyote replied, as his eyes closed in comfort. “I...hope this uh, isn’t too much.”

“Not at all. I’m just glad it helps. Or me, I guess,” Brandon replied with a sheepish chuckle.

Cody sat holding onto that tail like a cuddly pillow for a few moments in quiet, before he spoke. “It’s just hard to believe you’re real. That a thought I’d had years ago walks into the same truck stop I’m at, offers to take me along, and...is real,” he mused, slipping on the mild redundancy.

“What, a big ol’ rubber wolf a fantasy you had?” Brandon asked with a tone the coyote knew meant to elicit a deep blush. Successfully.

“Anything. Anyone. Just… the idea of someone like you. I don’t wanna be too weird or something, I just got out of...sorry, I won’t ramble on,” Cody replied, his voice a little shaky.

Brandon paused, then reached over to rest his right handpaw on the back of the coyote’s head, keeping focus on the road. “We got a couple hours, and I ain’t got much to share to speak of. Y’ain’t gonna weird me out. It’s...really flattering, honest. Tell me what you want to, and about what happened? If you’re ready to,” the wolf spoke, his voice softer, gentler.

Cody continued in silence for another minute, before he finally spoke. “I’ll...I’ll go into more detail later. Maybe. But I moved up from the Southern Desert to move in with my ex. Never had so much fur til I moved here. And it...didn’t work out. For a few reasons. One being him just not being okay with what you already told me you’d like. Said it embarassed him in front of his friends for me to dress shiny.”

Brandon’s paw slipped further to the coyote’s shoulder, guiding him to scoot to the edge of the seat, and lean into the wolf’s side. It really did feel like a balloon under clothes; a very thick balloon, but with that characteristic yield and bounce. “How’d stuff work out before that?”

“Well, it was sunshine and rainbows over messaging, at least I thought it was.”

“Long-distance?”

“Yeah. LDR. I...don’t want to get into the weeds of it right now.”

The wolf’s embrace tightened a moment, and Cody’s toes curled feeling that soft rubber under the outfit yield against him.

“Thank you,” Cody added after another few seconds.

“For a crappy side-hug?” Brandon asked with a chuckle.

“I’ll take a bigger hug later if you still wanna. But, I mean...well, all of this,” Cody answered as he gazed out the windshield. Snow flew past as the truck rumbled along, and passed the last in a series of road lamps, ahead stretching a seemingly endless darkness. He felt the wolf’s embrace tighten for a moment in response.

Brandon was silent as he focused for a minute. “S’the least I can do,” he answered, briefly rubbing between Cody’s ears. “Now, what all interesting didja fit in that backpack?”

---

“I’ll bake it up for you if we end up stopping somewhere with a kitchenette or oven, maybe even a toaster oven,” Cody laughed, smiling up at the chuckling wolf.

“Don’t think a toaster oven would hold enough mac to satisfy me, much less have any for you,” Brandon replied with a chuckle. “There’s a stop, can dip into the Door-mart beside it for supplies, that’s got an oven, and…”

Cody chuckled along, but the pause got a pause out of him as well, and his expression eased as the wolf’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What is it?”

“Downed trees ahead from the storm,” the wolf replied with a sigh, grasping the gear shift in his free paw. “Guess we’re stopping here for the night.”

Cody squinted to look into the dark ahead, barely making out the couple of trees, a larger one having pushed over two smaller ones when it fell. “Out...here?”

Brandon nodded as he slowed the truck, the brakes groaning as he eased towards the side of the road as the truck approached the trees. “Ain’t the first time fer me, not by a long shot. The chair reclines, n’ there’s space in the back,” he replied.

Cody sat back in the passenger seat while watching the snow. “Space?”

The wolf nodded, while the truck loosed one last long squeak from the brakes as it came to a stop, with a hiss as the pressure in the lines released. Brandon killed the engine. Only the buffeting of the wind and the soft tinkle of settling snow filled the cab for a few seconds. “Might be uh...bit cozy, heh, but should be enough."

Cody nodded, as the wolf got up to slip behind the seats, and pull aside the curtains covering the entrance to the back cab. A wide cot made for a bed, with inset drawers housing the wolf’s clothes it appeared, a stray shirt edge peeking out of one. “Cozy is uh...an understatement,” he chuckled.

Brandon laughed, following Cody from behind, pausing as the round belly pressed into the coyote’s back. “Yeah...guess yer right. I’ll uh, grab a blanket fer myself up front,” he replied, shimmying in with a series of soft rubbery squeaks in scooting alongside the coyote.

Cody paused, then placed a paw on Brandon’s side. “No, you…don’t need to do that. We can both fit. I’m pretty skinny without the jacket on. If er...you...are okay with that,” he replied.

The wolf chuckled. “I don’t mind. I’m comfortable with a lot. S’long as yer not gettin’ frisky… but Thomas said y’weren’t, and...well...did say you’re awfully cuddly.”

Cody smiled with a soft blush on his cheeks, visible in the dim glow of the back cab. “I’d...I think I’d like that. It was nice having that last night. And I definitely don’t mind tonight. Even if, um…” the coyote paused, looking to Brandon’s middle for a moment.

Brandon watched the coyote’s gaze, and after a moment, he grinned. After reaching into the front cab to flick a switch, turning off the lights to it, he reached into the bin to the side to pull out a large blanket and settled it over the foot of the cot. He couldn’t help but to brush against the coyote lightly then as he wiggled to slip free of his flannel over shirt, and the white tee under it raised above his head, revealing that smooth, slightly glossy middle to the coyote. “Jeans too?”

Cody blinked, taken from his gaze up and down the wolf’s rubbery form to blush up to him. “Wha?”

The wolf chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he replied, those thick rubbery paws working the belt buckle and button to loosen his jeans, and drop them down on the floor, keeping a pair of black undershorts on that appeared to be lycra. Disrobed, he shivered from the cooler air, and pulled the curtain into the front cab closed, before flopping back onto the cot..and patting his puffy middle while looking towards the coyote. “Now hurry up, it’s cold.”

The coyote’s red cheeks couldn’t be hidden, and he fidgeted a moment. As his thoughts tumbled, he didn’t even think to be surprised at the lack of negative thoughts. “Sleeping...on you?” he asked, but already started to undress as well, jacket, then shirt.

“I’d like to hope I’ll be a comfier balloon to sleep on than any you’ve slept on before,” the wolf replied, smiling warmly as the black latex of the coyote’s shorts shone in the dim light once Cody’s jeans slipped off.

Cody paused, as if to find logistics, before simply placing one paw onto Brandon’s middle, and launching himself slightly with a hind foot, nearly losing his grip before the wolf’s strong grasp steadied him. “Thanks,” he mumbled, before replying further. “I’ve...never actually done that before. I was always afraid to pop them,” he said, as he adjusted himself on his knees, and finally leaned forward to rest his weight against Brandon’s middle, first lightly, and then in entirety. He felt like he was in heaven.

“Like I said, ain’t gotta worry about that with me, pup. Er...sorry, heh. Just...awful cute like that,” the wolf replied, sheepishly.

“It’s okay. I don’t think anyone’s called me that,” Cody replied, as he shifted a footpaw to hoist the blanket edge up to where he could grab it, and pull it further over the pair, shimmying further up Brandon’s middle until his head was resting atop the wolf’s chest, and his arms spread to the side. The fact he couldn’t even reach the cot around the wolf made him wiggle a little. “You’re not uncomfortable?”

Brandon shook his head with a soft smile up to the coyote, before reaching to flick off the light, only a dim glow illuminating the space from some unseen LED. “Hard to make me uncomfortable, physically at least. And otherwise, well…” he paused, and slid both of his arms up around Cody’s back to hug the coyote to himself, who eagerly squeezed in return. “Guess we’re both pretty cuddly canines,” he chuckled.

Cody nudged his nose into the rubber trucker’s chest, sniffing at that latexy scent again. The best he’d ever smelled. Entirely exactly what it was and yet...alive, unique. Warm. “Yeah, this...this is really nice.”

The wolf smiled brightly, and leaned up to press his nose affectionately between Cody’s ears. “Yeah...it is.” Silence filled the space, aside from the muffled howls of the wind, and occasional rubbery groan of the wolf’s frame as he shifted. After a few minutes, he spoke again. “Cody?”

“Mmm?”

“All of this...it’s not...too weird, to you, right? Promise me you’ll tell me if I do anything too weird or uncomfortable. I don’t...wanna make you want to leave.”

The coyote’s grip tightened for a moment around the wolf’s middle. He involuntarily gave a warm lick against the trucker’s chest. “I promise I’ll tell you. And I promise it’s not too weird. Not in a bad way. It’s definitely weird, but, in a good way. Really good.”

“Like what you mentioned earlier?”

“Earlier?”

“About… fantasies about guys like me. Tell me about that? It’s a big jump from liking latex into that.”

Cody shifted about on Brandon’s middle, as his paws trailed along the wolf’s sides slowly. “I don’t know. Like, where it comes from. The idea. It just kept recurring, and every time with a little more detail. I like latex, I like guys wearing latex, but somehow the idea of a guy who is it, especially, well...air-filled, like you, hugging me, holding me. It’s been this lingering fantasy for a long time,” he replied, slowly, as his thoughts organized. “And likewise, that’s not too weird, is it?”

Brandon’s chuckle wobbled his frame slightly in the dark. “S’kinda fun, actually. It feature anything...else, about those kind of guys?” he asked, then practically giggled as the coyote’s grasp tightened in response. “We’ll see what happens,” he replied, “Get some rest, pup; it’s another long drive tomorrow.” With that, another creaky lean planted a quick peck between the coyote’s ears, before the wolf laid back to rest.

Cody let himself go slack in his cuddled embrace. Soft, puffy, warm, pillowy, everything felt amazing in the moment. The wolf’s soft breathing slowed into a quiet snore once in a while. As Cody closed his eyes, and let himself start to drift off, he quietly mumbled as if to the wolf. “...Why couldn’t I find you first?” Before any thought could answer, only soft snores filled the cab, as the blizzard howled on around them.

Cody awoke, gently at first. He didn’t remember falling asleep on a balloon, but it felt really nice to nuzzle his snout and face into, and he sighed happily. The balloon starting to pet along his back jogged his memory, and he squeezed a little tighter into the big rubber middle under him. “Mmm…”

“Sleep well there? Was s’prised y’ didn’t stir when I did,” the rubber trucker murmured, continuing a slow brushing through Cody’s fur with those soft, rubbery clawtips, from nape down to the coyote’s mid-back.

Cody wasn’t sure he’d ever felt claws so wonderful before. “Guess I did, yeah. Thank you. You didn’t need to do that,” he mumbled in return.

Brandon snorted. “Like hell y’were gonna sleep up in the front by yerself, cold or no. Besides, y’ make fer a nicer blanket than that one.”

Cody giggled at the thought, and smiled up towards Brandon, the wolf’s features visible most in the slight glossy sheen lit from what daylight filtered through the curtain. “I guess I am fluffier than it.” This was different. This was nice. He never got to wake up this cozily before. “So, uh, what’re we doing today?”

Brandon raised his arms up with a loud squirking of rubber as they brushed his sides and stretched, literally by a couple inches, before relaxing them. “Well, once y’ get off me and I get dressed, I’m gonna haul th’ trees outta the way, and we’ll find breakfast.”

Cody raised an eyebrow. “You? Do...you need help? I’m not very strong but-”

“Y’think this size is just fer show? I ain’t even inflated any bigger n’ normal right now. Don’tcha worry,” Brandon replied with a grin, huffing in, and spreading easily a few inches in all directions under Cody.

The coyote was grateful it wasn’t bright enough to see his blush. At least, he thought. “Oh, fuck,” he mumbled, shifting to ease back onto his knees on the cot, and off of Brandon’s middle.

The wolf grinned even wider and chuckled. “You’re gonna make it too easy t’ have fun with you, y’know,” he rumbled as he shifted up into a sitting position, and then hopped down to the floor of the truck, stretching his arms again overhead. “Get dressed however y’ like, but’s pretty cold. Shouldn’t be but half an hour or so t’ clear things up,” he added as he stepped into his jeans, tugging them up those tree-trunk legs easily.

Cody nodded as he watched the wolf dress, a larger set of clothes than the ones he’d worn the night before, before opening the curtain to slip into the front cab, with a little more effort than he’d needed before too. He waited as Brandon managed to get the driver door open, the sounds of snow piles clattering precipitating a curse from the wolf, and squeaked outside. He looked around the cab, then back to the cot, and smiled. “I don’t wanna inconvenience him...but I kinda wish I could sleep like that every night,” he murmured, before turning to his backpack to fish around, and grinned as he grabbed something.

Fishing his paw out revealed a black latex t-shirt that glistened with a slight chlorinated sheen. He wiggled his arms up into it to pull over his head, grumbling as he felt his fur matte under it, but he smoothed it out with a few brushing rubs as he tugged it on. He reached in again, retrieving a black plaid flannel shirt, not unlike the ones the wolf wore, and pulled it on as well, leaving it unbuttoned in front. Finally, he tugged his own jeans up, and slipped into the front cab.

The world was white. Just white. Until his eyes adjusted and he realized it was all the snow settled on the windshield. Rather than fight with the passenger door, he took the driver’s side as Brandon had, and hopped down onto the road. The snow crunched under his paws with the landing, and he looked around.

White, but in a different way. The blizzard stopped at some point, though the skies were still deeply overcast. Everything was covered in a thick layer of snow, and sometimes ice, from the glistening sparkles on some of the pines along the road. As Brandon stepped out of the woods, heading for the treefall from the night before, Cody made his way over, every footstep crunching through the frozen layers.

Brandon grasped one of the smaller trees around the bare trunk, and grunted as he hefted it up easily. At least, as easily as one would expect a big, burly 10ft-tall wolf, were he not made of rubber. And yet, heft he did. As he turned towards the woods again, his gaze passed over Cody, and he smiled, then blinked. “Y’ain’t cold?”

Cody could only marvel, too distracted by his inflatable chaperone’s size to hear at first, before shaking his head. “No, why would I be?”

“Y’just got on that! I’m freezin’ out here, s’gonna be pretty warm once I start th’ truck up, brrf,” the wolf replied, heading towards the woods again.

Cody followed. “You’re...cold? But you were pretty warm feeling overnight.” He looked down at himself, poking at his shirt. He was a little cold around there from his fur being compacted by the shirt.

“Freezin’. Heh, guess ah fergot what it’s like havin’ fur t’ keep warm,” replied the wolf, who dropped the tree down with a grunt alongside another. “F’we had time n’ I had the tools, could turn this into firewood.”

Cody blinked, poking his own shirt again, rubbing around. Even with the latex squeezing, while it itself was very cold, his fur underneath still provided an insulating layer. “Guess that’s why I made for a good blanket,” he replied, following Brandon back out to the remaining tree.

Brandon paused in thought. “...Something like that. Maybe mostly cause you cuddle like you mean it,” he said, before continuing on towards the road again.

Cody paused as he watched the wolf, tossing the thought in his head. Like he means it? The tone was a warm one, not as if he was frustrated at all. He shrugged before hurrying to catch up to the wolf.

The biggest tree was wider than the coyote was tall. Brandon studied it for a moment, then grumbled. “Gonna freeze my ass off even more fer a minute, but s’alright,” he mumbled, and as the coyote approached, he turned, slipping off his shirt with a shiver and handing it to Cody. “Least it ain’t windy. Hold these?” he added, the jeans promptly joining the shirt.

Cody stood there in confusion, until the wolf took a deep breath, and the coyote widened his eyes as he watched that balloon of a middle surge outward, not centimeters, but over a meter, nearly two in width. The entire wolf’s torso joined it in the process, and as he bit his own thumb and ‘blew’, so too did the wolf’s height and breadth surge out with an array of rubbery squeaks and groans that sent the coyote’s ears pinning back to hide how red they were. “Holy shit,” he whispered.

Brandon turned to look down to Cody, and grinned. “Guess all th’ cold n’ trouble’s worth it t’ show off to y’, cutie,” he rumbled, as he repeated the gesture, a further powerful inhale heard rushing with those bellowing groans of his rubber hide as that waist ballooned in width, two, three, nearly four meters, before he blew on his thumb again to send his size burgeoning outward, rising in just as much height in a rapid rise.

Cody couldn’t suppress the soft whine at the sight. “Fuck fuck fuck, this can’t be real, this is too fucking hot to be real,” he whispered to himself, but the smell of the wolf’s warm rubber, more intense than before, reassured him of the reality. “Outgrow the fucking truck,” he added, even more quietly.

As if the wolf heard him anyway, or just to show off even more, Brandon’s inhale almost roared as the wolf drew in a breath that sent his entire middle billowing wildly, 6 meters, 8 meters, 10, before he blew again with enough force to blow his own cheeks up as his frame ballooned in size wildly, like a balloon attached to too powerful a pump, nearly.

Cody’s legs shook as he looked up at the rubber wolf towering over him. The rubber trucker’d blown himself up til the truck was only as big as one of the wolf’s enormous legs. He pinched himself again. It seemed impossible.

Brandon grinned back down, and squeaked heavily with movement as he settled down into a sitting position before the coyote, offering a paw that the coyote found himself stepping into, before being hoisted up to the wolf’s chest. “How’s that?”

Cody tried not to keep cursing in response to everything, almost dazed with the rush of movement and the incredible sight before him. And as he leaned into Brandon’s chest, he gasped. “Holy fucking shit...that’s fucking incredible, that’s what that is. You...you feel almost softer than you did last night.”

Brandon’s laugh nearly deafened the coyote, as he grinned, and brought his snout in, carefully touching his rubber nose to the coyote’s, dimpling his own inward around it slightly. “Toldja y’weren’t gonna pop me with them claws. Still wouldn’t like this. Biggest I’ve been’d be a little too hard to play with yuh.”

“N-no no, this...is intensely hot. Sorry I just...I’m having a little...trouble processing it.” Cody replied, breathlessly.

“Heh, s’alright. It’s pretty damn cold this big, too much cold air,” Brandon rumbled, as he lowered his paw back to the ground, for the coyote to hop off. Turning, the wolf grabbed the tree as if it were just any other big stick, and tossed it to the side, where it crashed loudly into the undergrowth before it came to a stop.

Cody merely watched, and approached slowly, as the wolf dusted his paws and started to exhale, a torrent of air pouring out, disturbing some misty swirls in the cold as he shrank back down in size, surprisingly fast, though he looked a touch...underinflated, for a moment, as he reached near his normal size. Cody held out the wolf’s clothes.

Brandon gratefully accepted them, pulling his jeans on first, and then the shirt, shivering. “Guess the cold’s affectin’ my hide a bit. Might be better t’ wait til it’s a lot warmer before I go for bigger again,” he laughed, striding back towards the truck.

“I...yeah, whatever is best, I’m just…” Cody breathed, before Brandon patted him on the back, drawing him up against the wolf’s side.

“Hehe, s’alright, I...may’ve reacted about th’ same when I first started t’ explore it,” the wolf chuckled, before helping Cody up into the truck on the driver’s side, and followed him up, quickly bringing the engine to life with a chug, and then a roar.

Cody settled into his own seat again, watching the wipers start to plow the snow off the windshield. “Yeah.”

As the windshield finished clearing, the wolf worked the gearbox again, easing the truck back onto the road, as clumps of accumulated snow fell and splashed on the hood of the truck, splattering into bursts of white. “Y’alright?” Brandon asked.

Cody simply nodded, looking down at his own shirt, and touching it again, feeling the cold rubber slowly warm. What’s it like? Being like that? “Yeah, I’m...just a little overwhelmed. In a good way. Really good, just…”

The wolf chuckled, and slipped his free paw under the coyote’s overshirt, to rest on the back of the rubber shirt. Cody swore he could feel it better than against his bare fur. “Sorry ‘bout that, guess I got a lil’ carried away,” Brandon rumbled.

“You’re fine. I was encouraging it anyway,” Cody chuckled, looking up to the wolf. “Anyway. Is it a longer stretch today cause of the stop?”

Brandon nodded as the truck barreled down the road, the heavy, studded tires finding their tread with every inch. “Yeah, an hour or so. Plan is to stop at a truck stop in Burla that has plenty of stuff. Get breakfast, stock up, shower up, n’ hit the road.”

The coyote perked his ears up halfway through. “...Breakfast?”

The plates clunked with a dull thud as the waitress placed several steaming dishes on the table before the pair. “Full spread with cinnamon bread, and a double waffle with eggs for you, darlin’. Anything else I can get for ya right now?” the husky asked, brushing her paws on her apron.

“Um, some more coffee would be lovely, thank you,” Cody replied, with a soft smile up to her.

The waitress smiled, quickly returning with the carafe to refill his mug. “Brandon, you’re gonna get sick if you order anything sweet from me, ya got enough of that here with this cutie,” she scolded in a teasing tone, causing the coyote to look away in embarrassment and the wolf to laugh.

“Only if yuh don’t scare him off first. Don’t worry about her, next time she’ll probably flip sides in the ribbing,” the wolf chuckled as the waitress walked off, and started to dig into one of his plates.

Cody looked down at the food, and rubbed a paw through the fluff of his nape, pausing as he brushed the collar of the latex shirt hidden under his hoodie. “Guess I’m not used to that yet,” he replied.

“Maybe, y’strike me as someone who ain’t unfamiliar with it, jus’...more of ‘not a good time’ kinda?” the wolf started, though his own ears laid back slightly. “Er, sorry.”

Cody chuckled softly, taking another sip of his coffee. “No, it’s...it’s fine. I mean it. I guess it’s like a weird fluctuating thing,” he assured as he picked up the butter cup, blanched at the margarine tubs, and grabbed the syrup instead to drizzle over the waffles. “But it helps? Like...being somewhere. Not stuck.”

Brandon started to muffle something through his food before he thought better of it given the pause and large swig of his own coffee. “Yeah? Y’know, if there’s anywhere y’wanna head after the delivery t’morrow, we’ve got a day er two for whatever b’fore the next pickup.”

Cody smiled softly at the offer, after chewing down a big forkful of his waffle, coughing at first at the oversized bite before he could reply. “Not like that, I mean just...out. Anywhere. I dunno, but yeah, thank you. I’ll try to think of somewhere.” He paused. “You never answered in the truck about the whole uh...’eating’ thing.”

Brandon chuckled, leaning forward on an elbow that squeaked on the table top. “I ain’t had to, I think. But I guess I end up turnin’ it into uh...I dunno. More ‘me’?”

“That’s usually what happens with food, yes,” Cody giggled.

The wolf rolled his eyes. “Not like that, ya goof. Like uh...I guess more liquid rubber or whatever for...uh...things...and makes me stretchier. Softer. Not like I ain’t already, but...more is always fun. Especially for an appreciative ‘yote like you, pup.”

Cody looked down to hide the reddening visible even through his fur over his cheeks, with a brief huff he tried to muffle with another bite, only to cough again. “...You’re mean,” he mumbled after swallowing.

“Hopefully in a good way?”

Cody nodded in response with a squirm.

Brandon grinned. “Ain’t used to uh...flirtin’ or whatever yuh call it like that, so uh, if I say somethin’ dumb, just know it’s meant in a friendly way,” he admitted, returning to his plate.

“So you only eat sometimes?” the coyote asked.

“Pretty much. Coffee seems t’ do the same thing as anyone. But last time I ate was a couple days ago. And I don’t wantcha skippin’ any meals, so guess you gotta put up with the, uh, results,” the wolf replied.

Cody considered this for a moment as he dug into his food more. He’s really worried about me. ‘Well you can’t take care of yourself.’ He shook his head briefly to clear the thought as he dug in further, catching sight of but not processing the wolf’s brief look of concern. “Don’t think ‘put up with’ is the right phrasing for something like that,” the coyote finally said with a chuckle.

“Is it weird I don’t know if this kind of snowfall or the blizzard are prettier?”

Brandon turned as the key clicked in the lock, looking down to Cody. “Hmm?”

“Like, it’s pretty. At least at night like this. Was prettier where we parked, without the street lights, just dim moon,” the coyote added, tugging lightly at the bare rubber tee.

Brandon chuckled as he swung the door inward. “Get inside first, it’s damn cold, n’ we can kill the lights and leave the blinds open,” he said as he nudged the coyote with a thick paw squeaking against the coyote’s shirt and earning a quick ‘yip’ from him.

“Okay, okay,” Cody said as he slipped on in, the wolf following him to close the door, closing the sliding latch at the top. The coyote looked around, sniffing briefly, before padding to the closer side of the king-sized bed to plop his backpack down, reaching into it to fetch his phone charger while the wolf followed through in opening the blinds, and dropping his own duffel on the table in the motel room.

“There we are. Ain’t gotta sleep yet but..” the wolf slipped out of his own over and under shirts, dropping them on the chair back. “C’mere,” he added, patting the top of the bed on the coyote’s side.

Cody couldn’t help a soft smile, taking a seat first, and then leaning back into the wolf’s middle as Brandon situated himself to be a stable cushion for the coyote, and draped an arm around him.

The wolf chuckled at the soft squeak from the coyote’s shirt against his own rubbery hide. “Comfy? Good view?”

Cody nodded, and leaned back slightly further. The wolf hadn’t been kidding; he felt even softer, nearly like an underinflated balloon he could sink into, making it much easier to cushion him. “Yeah… ‘put up with’ was definitely not the right phrasing earlier,” he replied with a soft snrk.

Brandon chuckled, and tightened the arm around the coyote. “Figured it wasn’t. But good view?” he asked again, reaching with his free paw to click the switch beside the bed, turning off the lamps. The only light came through the window, framing the soft falling flakes, dense, but without the insistent rush of the blizzard the night before.

Cody quietly nodded, wrapping an arm around the wolf’s in kind, to hug to himself, before finding the wolf’s tail to hug up alongside himself in his lap, quietly content to the soft squeaks of his outfit and the wolf’s form as he watched the frigid display.

“Not weird at all,” Brandon whispered in Cody’s ear after a long moment of silence. “Not a bit.”

Cody nodded faintly, and tightened his grip around Brandon’s tail with a few more squeaks.

“Did he call you weird?” Brandon asked after another brief pause.

Cody twitched slightly. “Mm?”

Brandon’s nose brushed the back of the coyote’s head softly, between his ears. “Or they? She? Figured ‘he’ though.”

Cody kept looking at the window, pausing, muzzle audibly opening and closing two times before he simply nodded softly. “He.” It was quiet, a little strained. Cody knew he was bad at hiding that. The wolf’s nose brushed gently from one ear to the other, and the coyote inhaled deeply through his nose, though with a quicker involuntary sniff at the end, followed by a slightly shaky exhale. It and the rubbery scent were...comforting, somehow. Only now did Cody realize that the wolf’s latexy hide smelled slightly differently from his tee. Warmer.

“Shh…s’alright. I’m not gonna get upset atcha fer cryin’,” Brandon murmured in the coyote’s ear.

“How’d…?”

Brandon shifted slightly onto his hip to balance as he wrapped his other arm around Cody’s front, to hold to himself. “Because I felt it drip on my tail.”

“Oh.”

“Hey, is alright. I promise. And promise y’ain’t weird. Not fer likin’ the snow, not fer liking wearin’ what yer wearin’, not fer skippin’ the fake butter on yer waffles, and certainly not fer liking bein’ with me,” the wolf spoke softly, giving each of the coyote’s ears a quick peck at the base.

Cody turned away from the window to bury his face into Brandon’s chest, even nuzzling in for the material to stretch around his muzzle slightly in an effort to be even closer. “He got mad at me for wanting to wear it even when his friends weren’t over. And that I’d pull on something else or take it off when he wanted to smoke. He didn’t even hate it, he liked me wearing it but just...not...outside of the bedroom,” he mumbled, head tilted to the side slightly to be heard.

The wolf’s grip tightened. “Well it ain’t dumb or weird. Despite bein’ me, it normally ain’t like, a thing, but… it’s pretty cute on you. It looks good. But most importantly, it ain’t weird or dumb,” he spoke, more firmly by the end.

“Even not wanting to smoke with his friends?”

Brandon snorted. “Well, passin’ on free weed’s a little weird, but-”

“He wanted me to pay for more than I would’ve used.”

“Well fuck him then. Fuck that. But based on whatcha said so far, I wouldn’t blame yuh fer not wantin’ to with him at all, much less his friends,” the wolf added. “Nor it puttin’ ya off it entirely, fer that matter.”

Cody tightened his own embrace to sink further into that pillowy warm wolf-rubber. “Thank you.”

Brandon smiled softly, resting his snout between the coyote’s ears. “I’m just tellin’ the truth.”

The coyote shook his head, though he giggled briefly from the squeaking of rubber on rubber the movement caused. “No, not just that. You saved a moody coyote from being stuck, dumped at a truck stop, and you’re asking me about...me. It means a lot more than you realize.”

The wolf was quiet for a moment, before he spoke up. “My last relationship was a few years ago. He liked that I was a big guy n’ strong. But the moment I ended up like this, he was embarrassed to be around me in public. It wasn’t ‘as fun’ to him as when I was heavier. We split not long after,” he rumbled, whilst brushing a paw slowly down the coyote’s nape and back, finding a smoother path with a little more polish that reduced the amount of squeaking.

“Conditional,” the coyote mumbled softly.

Brandon nodded. “Basically. Didn’t invite his friends over, n’ didn’t wanna go anywhere public when I was home b’tween truckloads,” he confirmed, as he nudged the coyote’s forehead. “Tellin’ yuh t’ help...empathize? That I know what it’s like t’ feel excluded fer bein’ ‘weird’. And y’ain’t that a bit.”

Cody nodded against Brandon’s chest, and then rolled against his hip to lean back into the wolf and watch the window again. “Camping.”

“Hmm?”

“Can we go camping somewhere?” Cody asked.

Brandon paused, then chuckled warmly. “You wanna go camping while it’s snowin’?”

Cody nodded, smiling to himself softly. “I miss doing it. He hated the cold, period, only went camping once.”

Brandon’s arm tightened around the coyote again. “Then we’ll find somewhere t’ camp,” he replied.

Cody’s tail flopped lightly. “Can...I sleep on you, when we do?”

The wolf laughed, and settled onto his side alongside the coyote, to cuddle him up in a squeaky spooning. “Was I really that comfy?”

Cody giggled. “Yeah. I’ll find a blanket big enough for both of us if you get big enough to-”

“-use my entire tum as an air mattress?” Brandon asked, ruffling a paw over the coyote’s middle, eliciting squeaks from the shirt contact and squirmy giggles from the tickled coyote.

“Ehehe stop! Yeah, hehe, that,” the coyote replied, his footpaws scrabbling at the top quilt under them.

The wolf grinned, and nosed in to plant a quick kiss atop Cody’s head, more audible than the briefer pecks from before. “I’d absolutely love for ya to do that, pup.”

“Not tonight?” the coyote asked.

“If you want any hope of gettin’ up t’ pee at 4 AM here, then I shouldn’t get much bigger. I’ll get carried away otherwise… also don’t uh, wanna break anythin’ in here,” Brandon replied sheepishly.

Cody laughed with the protest, and wiggled to cozy up further with the wolf. “I’ll letcha off the hook this time, then,” he replied playfully, smiling as he watched the falling flakes rustle from a brief gust.

The wolf chuckled as well, tightening his arms around Cody, and shifting with multiple loud rubbery groans as he brought the coyote into a sitting position within his own lap. “First thought you were gonna smell like my rubber fer weeks, but I’m rubbin’ off on ya with my accent already? Sheesh,” he teased.

Cody leaned back further, letting out a slow, shaky sigh of relaxation. “Doesn’t sound too bad,” he said, eyes closed slightly. “Pretty good, really.”

The passing minutes built a small white leanto against the window of icy flakes, glistening.

“Cody?”

“Mmmh?”, the coyote grunted softly, stirring. “Was I snoring?”

Brandon shook his head, and leaned forward, letting his rubbery chest deform and stretch around Cody’s shoulders, to rest his head atop the coyote’s. “Nah. Or I didn’t hear it if yuh were.”

Cody chuckled with a worn-out groan. “Mmh...guess I should get to sleeping properly.”

Brandon nodded softly, rocking his muzzle atop the coyote’s ears. “Yeah,” he murmurred after a pause, and helped Cody lift the latex t-shirt off, setting it to the side before scooting on under the covers alongside him after kicking off his own jeans to follow the coyote.

As Cody found himself nestling up to the rubber wolf, his eyes closed again, and he let out a soft, content whine from the sense of comfort, cuddled up on the bed. He thought he heard “thank you” from the wolf, but hadn’t even a moment to ponder it before dreams took him.