FSE

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The wolfess took a long pull of the watermelon tea -- her favorite -- before fixing you with a tense stare that's barely detectable beneath her RBF.

"What's this about, Anon?"

You take a deep breath. You've been turning things over in your head all day but it's still hard to say out loud.

"You were right. Right about Aki, I mean," you sigh with a shrug of your shoulders. Talia's ears prick. She glances around the deserted break room before standing slowly.

"I'm gonna go have a smoke," she announces to the empty room. You take her look and get up as well, following her out the door.

Talking through this at the she-wolf's job wasn't your intention, but that's how things ended up. You grappled with the issue all day and only bucked up the courage to text her after dinner. The two of you dodge customers on your way out to the loading docks where all the lumber comes in. F&F supply is moderately busy this time of night; Talia's break wouldn't last long. Hopefully it'll be long enough to sort things out.

And hopefully the tea you got her will help and won't be taken as a bribe.

There's one semi being unloaded in the shipping area when you arrive, the handful of anthro and human guys doing it all looking dead. They don't say a word when Talia leads you to the door outside. The rock station they're listening to seeps through the truck ports into the loading ramp, echoing softly off the cinder blocks. The growing dark seems to dampen it even more as Talia brings you to a lonely light around halfway up. She leans in close when she turns to you and still speaks in a hushed tone.

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"I think so. She said she wanted to hang out more after everything was done, then got all flustered and said I could come over before if I needed it."

The wolfess stares at you hard, an eyebrow slowly rising.

"...she had my face in her chest while she said it, if that helps."

Talia's brow furrows as she looks off to the side with a sigh. "Yeah, that seems legit." Her gaze turns back to you only a hint softer. "What did you say?"

"Something dumb like 'see you later,' probably," you say. "I kinda just figured it out then. Haven't talked to her all day."

"...well, what *are* you going to say?"

You swallow. "Talia, do you want a CU?"

"Not a fucking chance."

"Then I think I'm going to ask her about one."

The wolfess groans, shaking her head. "Doesn't that seem a little fast to you?"

"Yes, but -- what the fuck else am I supposed to do? She thinks we're dating, Talia, 100%; she's flirting with me anyway. My options are either let her down easy or commit."

Talia crosses her arms. "'Commit' meaning marrying yourself off to her, *if* she says yes? Forever, not just to get us out of this bind?"

"Beats whatever dreg they stick me with for assignment," you sigh, throwing up your hands. "Besides, it... I like her."

Talia's expression hasn't changed when you manage to meet her eyes again. She's studying you intensely, her eyes flicking between yours.

"You sure it's that much?" she asks, quiet once again.

"I... I don't know," you admit. You chuckle. "But that's the fun of it, isn't it? Unless you've got some childhood sweetheart, the state doesn't give you the time to know. You end up finding out when you're with them."

Melancholy hangs in the air like cigarette smoke. Talia shifts, looking away. Her harsh gaze seems to turn inwards.

"What happens if she's not ready?" she asks, her voice soft; she's still staring off to the side.

"Then we're fucked as we were before."

"No," she says, "I mean what if she's not ready and we win?"

"I... I don't know," you say again. "On the off chance that's how it shakes out, I don't know. I guess it'd depend."

She looks at you now with softer eyes and her ears laid back. The imposing she-wolf now almost looks vulnerable.

"You asking who I'd say I'm courting?"

"Yes," she answers; her voice is small.

"We knew this would end, Talia. One way or another." You hesitate, picking your words while she concedes with a small nod. "If it's all the same to you, I'd go with the one that could be real."

"Fair," she says. There's a slight shudder to her voice as she looks away. She's quiet a moment, then chuckles, a little shaky. "Fucking weird, man. Even if it aint' real, it -- it still kinda stings."

You know.

Talia stiffens when you hug her, wrapping your arms around her waist tight. You feel her weight when she leans down to reciprocate after a moment. Her mane smells like earth and wood -- for a minute, there, you'd almost forgotten what it was like.

"Doesn't mean we can't see each other, you know," you say quietly. "You're nice to hang out with when you shower."

Talia growls as she lets you go. "I guess someone's got to look after your dumb ass..."

"Friends?" you ask.

"Friends," she huffs, crossing her arms. "Just don't come crawling back asking for a discount."

You follow her back in through the shipping bay, pausing one more time when the two of you are back out on the floor proper.

"You, uh, might want to wait a bit after the trial," Talia says. "If it doesn't work out, tell me. I've... been looking at the process to get an exception for assignment."

"So you can run off in the woods?"

"Yeah," she sighs. "And you might need to too if you're suddenly all on your own."

"I'll keep it in mind," you say. "Thanks, Talia. For everything."

She sniffs, then waves you off dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too. Go on, we got sappy enough outside."

She watches as you break away and disappear into the aisles of birdseed and animal feed. You smile a little sadly while you slip through the mild crowd on your way to the front. Her words from before echo in your head and in your heart. It *does* hurt, some. Even if you know you'll still see her over the next few days, and God willing, whatever comes after Sunday. You find yourself slowing as you walk out from the store.

You've laid your cards on the table. Whatever comes next isn't going to be like before.

You take a breath when you reach your truck; now you just have to finish laying them out. Your phone's glow fills the cab while the engine warms up. There's a notification when you open the messaging app, bringing the cheetah's smug face to the top.

'help'

...

The cheetah's sleek sedan almost blends into the dark when you arrive. The black paint is shiny as you come to a rather hard stop, taking note of the cherry-red fire hydrant it's parked next to. It only adds to your worries. You scarcely remember to hit your remote before heading up the front steps to her darkened home. A soft light behind the living room window shade is the only sign of life.

The cheetah's text grows more ominous when your knocks on the door go unanswered. You asked for more details after you saw it, but you've still heard no response. You tried calling at a light only to get sent to voicemail. After a few seconds, you try the door to find that it's locked. The growing night is quiet while you wait for a reply. Shuffling feet, a groan, claws scraping on carpet -- anything. The soft soundscape of the city fades when you press your head against the door.

More quiet.

You check your phone before knocking again, your messages from her still empty.

"Aki? It's Anon -- you okay?"

Your words are swallowed by the warm evening; your voice feels small. You go to call again when the lock clicks. The door doesn't open all the way, the faintest of light filtering through the crack. There's a soft inhale before the handle's subtle jittering stops and you hear claws on carpet.

"Come in..." Aki says, her voice barely recognizable.

You resist the urge to barge in; you step into the dark and close the door as gently as you can. A tail waivers ahead, leading you around the corner to the source of the glow. The TV screen blinds you for a moment with the bright blue of a VCR standby screen. Then your eyes begin to adjust, the shapes of the living room coming into focus. It's a mess again, somehow, guns and ammo strewn across the flat surfaces again. But you note it's not just them -- there are books, magazines, academic textbooks and pieces of scrap paper, too.

And in the middle of it all stands Aki.

She surveys the scene along with you, shoulders slumped, her back to you. Her tail looks barely alive as it flicks just above the carpet. She shifts slightly, a hand awkwardly holding the opposite elbow. She doesn't lift her head to speak, her hood barely moving; her voice is almost as quiet as the static from the speakers.

"I -- I'm sorry. I-I don't know why I texted you. I just --"

She chirps when you hug her from behind. Her tail stiffens against your stomach, the rest of her going rigid when you hug her waist tight. The sweatshirt you're pressing your face in is soft, dulling the edges of her shoulder blades and the bumps of her spine.

You can't get out the words 'It's okay' before she's whipped around and returned the gesture a thousandfold. She leans on you hard, and you grunt at the sudden weight -- she's heavier than she looks. The dirty blonde locks spilling out the side of her hood cover your face. Her chin is over your shoulder, pressing you into her like a third hand.

It's tighter than the ones you shared yesterday. Every little sensation -- every touch, every tremble, every little noise deep in her chest or throat -- you feel. The muscles rippling on her back when you begin to stroke her tentatively are no exception.

"It's okay, Aki," you say. "I got nothing better to do, remember?"

Her laugh is strangled, held back to prevent anything else coming out with it. "Y-yeah, that's right. You -- you don't have a life..."

You hum and pat her on the back. The two of you stand there, just swaying. You let her press into your hands and wiggle her short muzzle to keep a tight grip on your shoulder.

"...Do you want to talk?" you whisper, after how long you don't know. The cheetah doesn't attempt to speak and nods into the side of your head. "Okay. Why don't we sit down, hm?"

Aki disentangles herself from you slowly. It's not smooth like last time. She winces when her arms and knees bump into you, and something falls off the coffee table when she steps back.

"Shit. Sorry, I --"

She doesn't finish, taking a shuddering breath before hastily clearing off the couch. Paper flutters, mags clunk on the carpet, and gunmetal thumps against the wall. Pushing down the nagging OCD is easy; the guns and things can always be cleaned up later.

Aki lays on the couch heavily, her legs stretching out and taking up all the space as she groans softly and mechanically. She takes a breath before her eyes flick open and she brings herself to her elbows with a wince.

"Fuck, sorry Anon, I just -- I mean -- I shouldn't take up the whole couch, I guess. But, I --"

Her words taper off into something between a groan and a whimper as she sits there, unsure how to arrange herself.

"Whatever you want, man," you say, a light chuckle bubbling out; her blue eyes are rimmed with red. "Just try and relax..."

Aki hesitates before sitting up all the way with purpose. You catch her trying to steady herself while you sit down next to her -- you're not sure it's working well. The foil bag on the table shakes when she grabs a handful of gummies and pops them in her mouth. You make yourself as comfortable as you can beside her, the awkwardness in the air finally starting to get to you. Do you look at her, or would that be staring? Should you hold her again, or let her decide? How do you bring up --

"I just feel like a fuck-up is all, I guess" Aki sighs. There's a cynical chuckle to her words as she continues. "I-I mean, one day doesn't go right and my place is a mess again, and I'm right where I started. Like, not literally, but pretty much. And I -- I text you, the guy with a lot going on. The guy I just started really hanging with this week."

Her eyes are extra blue in the light of the standby screen -- you can barely see the red from how much she's cried. Her whole face glows, the faint yellow all but washed away, her racing lines and dots blending with the shadows cast by her hoodie.

"I-I'm sorry. For that. For this, I mean. I'm being a drama queen."

"...About what, Aki?"

The cheetah stills. "About the work. Classwork. I -- I appreciate what you did, I swear, I just -- when I tried it, it just --"

She stops, a small sound like the start of a hairball coming from her throat; the dots near her eyes crinkle.

"I didn't do anything is what I'm saying. I'm where I was yesterday. I looked at the outline before I went to bed, and I told myself I was going to follow it since we did all the work, but when I sat down to do it today I..."

She freezes, her mouth hanging open for a moment or two. Small fangs shine in the light of the TV.

"...I don't know," she says, then takes a breath. "I sat there and I stared and just couldn't move. I tried going somewhere else but it didn't work, I tried printing the articles out and that didn't do it, I tried putting it on two screens and it didn't help -- I took a break even though I knew I shouldn't *and then* I played with my guns while I was staring at the paper to try and relax and --"

Aki gasps. Her small breaths feel loud in the quiet. She doesn't speak, doesn't look at you, her eyes having wandered to the space over the coffee table slowly as the words spilled out. She hugs her knees when they come up to her chest, her tail snaking out from behind to complete the wrap.

"...I tried, Anon." She says, her voice muffled by her sleeves. "I *wanted* to do something, I really, *really* tried. I didn't *want* to do nothing. But I --"

Her hood slips down, but it fails to mask her quiet sobs. The bagginess of the garment doesn't hide the jumps of her shoulders or the tightening of her form. You're filled with uncertainty; your hand hovers awkwardly between the two of you. Something like helplessness ebbs through your veins.

"Aki..." you start, unsure where to go. The cheetah leans away from you and paws at her hood with a louder gasp, pulling the fabric tight.

"N-no! No, s-stop," she croaks. "I sh-shouldn't have asked you here. I shouldn't. I shouldn't have let you see me like this -- I'm an unstable, w-weird bully *and* a failure now!"

"Why would I think that?" you ask softly.

Aki sniffs, an eye-hole forming in her hood as she straightens. "A-are breakdowns normal to you?!"

"I meant the other part. The weird bully part."

The cheetah doesn't move as you carefully pull her hood back. Her mane-hair is a mess, spilling over her shoulders and knees with a blue glow. She sniffs, eyes locked down at the coffee table.

"I-I make fun of you all the time, a-and I was weird and awkward when you came to help," she says. "You saw my *porn*!"

"Hey, all I saw were bookmarks," you soothe. "I didn't see whatever you're into yet. It's not that weird to... look at that kinda stuff."

You pat her shoulder.

"...but bookmarking instead of making an account to 'jizz it' or whatever is definitely weird."

There's a hint of a smile. "F-fuck off," she says, sniffling and batting away your hand. "F-fuck you."

"And I can take a little bullying from you," you say. "I make fun of you too, like just now with your porn. That's not going too far, is it?"

You push her until she pushes back against you. "N-no..."

"It's a back and forth, Aki. It's ours, and it's fine."

She sniffles, still looking at her knees. Her breathing is more steady now. Lines of glittering blue stars race down her cheeks; they seem to shine brighter in the black parts of her fur. Her eyes share the same light when she finally turns to you.

"I-I'm still a failure."

Hesitantly, you cup the side of her face; her eyes widen as you feel the wet fur on your palm.

"No you're not, Aki," you whisper. "You're only a failure if you give up. If you *didn't* want to try anymore. I've seen you train at the range; that's not something you do." You brush a thumb beneath her eye; she closes them and leans into your hand. "It's okay to struggle with something. And it's okay to ask for help."

You realize how soft her fur is when it brushes against you with the jump of her cheek, her eyes screwing shut again. "I shouldn't have asked you over. I shouldn't have let you see me like this," she whispers.

"Aki, I just said --"

"I don't want you to know how good this feels."

Her eyes stay scrunched closed as her paws slowly wrap around your wrist. Rubbing little circles seems like the best course of action. If the cheetah wasn't blue right now, you imagine she'd be very, very pink. The thought of getting your other hand in there crosses your mind. You brush her hair away instead, gently parting her locks to bare her face.

"Okay, Aki," you say when she opens her eyes. "You feel a little better?"

She nods, though her paws don't leave your wrist.

"Good. You stay right here, and I'll get you something to drink. Water sound good?"

"Tea. H-hot tea, the chamomile."

"Okay, I'll put on tea while I get you your water," you say, slowly pulling your hand away. "And if you give me your keys, I can move your car. It's by a fire hydrant."

The cheetah pauses mid sniffle. "M-my car?"

"Yeah. You parked it by a hydrant whenever you came back."

She straightens up with a slight smile. "Anon, my car's in the garage."

"You have a garage? Where?"

"Down the hill on Riverside," she says, her grin faltering when your expression of worry doesn't change. "What's wrong?"

"There's a black sedan from the range that's been here every time I've been over. Who --"

Heavy-handed knocks make the two of you jump. Before you've fully recovered, the cheetah swoops down and snatches something from the table. The metallic sound of a slide racking rings out above the soft static as she stands. She fumbles, quiet curses coming out when she realizes the mag is empty and the slide's locked back-- your heart beats a little slower.

"Why'd you take all my bullets out?" she hisses, pawing at the table and carpet for a full one in the half-light.

"Cause it's fucking dangerous, Aki," you whisper, reaching for her arm. "Chill out!"

"I'm high as fuck dude, you chill out!" She says as she shrugs you off and continues searching.

"What do you mean you're high?"

"Gummies," she says, nodding over at the bag. "They're medicinal."

A pit forms in your stomach as the red eyes and clumsiness suddenly make more sense. You pull her more forcefully from her search, the THC doing little to dull her strength. "What're you doing, trying to get yourself in trouble? You don't mix drugs and guns, Aki!"

"Maybe you don't," she says; a magazine spins up in the air with a flick of her foot, and the cheetah fumbles it home after trying to catch it with the pistol itself. The slide chunks forward with a satisfying sound.

" -- But I do."

You stare at her a moment, then shake your head in disbelief. "We'll deal with that later," you sigh, "Just stay calm. We don't even know who it --"

The door knocks again, louder this time. You manage to get a hand on the cheetah's gun arm, holding it while she points at the door. Her eyes flick to you, her chest bobbing with heavy breaths beneath the sweatshirt and flowing locks of hair.

"Just hide it for me, please?" you say. "You can outdraw whoever it is, right?"

Aki waits a moment, then reluctantly sighs, pulling at the hem of her oversized hoodie. The pistol goes loosely in her waistband, and the tiniest pair of sports shorts you've ever seen disappear completely when she drops the hem again.

You're not about to get into that right now.

Instead, you grab her hand and walk through the dark mess to the front, nearly tripping over the tiny table with her keys and wallet on it. You're holding your breath when you freeze. Uncertainty creeps in again. Words come out reflexively when the person knocks again even harder; "Who is it?"

"Police," a muffled voice says. "Open the door, please."

Aki shoots a worried glance at you in the dark; you don't quite mirror it. There's something familiar about the voice but you can't quite place what.

"Sh-should we --?" Aki starts to whisper.

"You have a warrant?" you yell. There's a snort from beyond the door before the voice responds.

"Don't get smart with me, perp. Open the door or I'll go get one."

You and Aki groan, the shepherdess' tone immistakeable now. Aki reaches forward before you can fully grasp how bad of an idea that is; the door's opening by the time you're pulling her back.

As much as you'd love to see Pat get her comeuppance, you and Aki would be far more fucked than you probably are already.

"One toe over that doorway and you're committing an unlawful search," you say as the dog's silhouette comes in full view.

"The actual resident of the building is the one that decides that, perp," Patricia snorts. She stands tall with her hips cocked to one side, a smug look on her muzzle. "And what exactly are you doing here so late? I don't suppose your girlfriend -- your totally real one -- is hiding in there somewhere?"

"You have a real reason to ask?" you say; your hand is as tense as Aki's arm. "Can't you get in trouble for trying to harass suspects during an investigation? Much less trying to say you're 'police' when you're a fed?"

"I'm just curious if she knows about your little rendezvouses with your spotted friend," the shepherdess says, her voice dripping with a poisonous sweetness. "For being in courtship with her, you've spent an awful lot of time with another woman..."

"W-were you spying on us?" Aki says; Patricia's ears perk up at the shake in her voice, and you swear her nose twitches.

"'Spying' would imply an invasion of privacy," she says with a shit-eating grin. "All I've done is park on the street and watch from there, like any other pedestrian could do -- perfectly legal."

"But creepy as hell," you mutter.

Patricia chuckles. "Maybe. So is spending all your time with some college chick instead of your 'girlfriend' during an investigation."

You feel Aki trying to move as Patricia leans down dangerously close to the threshold, her expression turning serious.

"What are you doing here, Anon?" she says, her voice deadly even. "What's the excuse?"

Her eyes don't dart down to the death grip you're giving the cheetah; Pat's already made up her mind. Nothing you say is going to change it.

"W-we were working on a school project of hers," you say anyway. "We went to the library for research, and she asked me to come back and help more today."

"You flew in pretty desperate for just studying," Patricia says. You stiffen when her gaze sweeps to Aki, a grin creeping back across her muzzle. "Almost like you thought she was in danger."

"I --"

"How about it, Aki?" Patricia asks over you. "Were you in danger? Trafficking all those firearms can't be safe."

The cheetah's eyes bug out. "W-what?"

"Don't play coy, I started looking into you when this dumbass started hanging out with you," Patricia says, throwing a nod your way. "Do you know how rare it is that someone in the system has only one name on record? 'Aki *nothing*,' no surname, no middle initial, not even a nickname. Nothing on birth certificates, licenses, or even evaluation forms."

Officer Bitch has clearly lost her marbles.

At least, that's what you think until you feel how tense Aki is beside you.

"The only people that get that kind of treatment are State agents and mob daughters," the shepherdess says, her tail wagging slightly. "And since *I* don't know you, I'm guessing it's the latter."

"Where's your evidence?" you manage; Aki is still frozen.

"All I need is probable cause," Patricia says, her sneer flicking to you before steadying back on Aki with a wagging tail. "How else could you, some unemployed college kid, have that power? How can you afford all the weaponry you bring to the range? There's so much I can see it from here!"

You wince. Patricia leans even closer, the dark making it hard to tell if she's over the line.

"You're a gun junkie or you're a go-between," she growls low; Aki shudders. "Either way, I want to know your dealer. Tell me, and I might not add perjury for cheating with this moron to your list of charges."

You're not sure how long Aki's eyes have been screwed shut, but they open after a shuddering breath.

You don't like what you see.

"Fuck off," she says, her words loaded and evenly spaced. "Stay out of my life."

There's a hint of teeth in Patricia's smile. "Digging into it's my job if I think --"

"*Controlling* is your job!"

Patricia actually steps back; the cheetah's fists are tight and fangs are bared, her ears laid flat as her chest heaves and her voice cracks.

"You and everyone *fucking* else! That's all you do, control! Control, control, *control*! You throw your weight around to feel big and important, and you don't *think* about the people you're hurting, because you know fucking best!" She nearly takes your head off swinging an arm back to point at piles of crates down the hall. "Why can't I enjoy that, huh? Why can't I like it and want to do something with it? Why's it got to be that I'm some gun-shuttling gang member? And why the hell can't I be fucking *friends* with someone without it being a problem? Who cares if I want to fuck him or not, why can't we even be *friends*?"

The sadistic glee is long gone from the shepherdess' expression. You're torn between her grim surprise and her hands.

"I investigate suspicious --"

"*'Suspicious' my cock!*" the cheetah yells. "You want to know my name? Will that get you to go away? It's *Tridentia*! Aki Tridentia!"

It takes a moment for the meaning to set in; Aki takes that time to move. Your heart stops when her hand solidifies in front of her again -- you wait for a *bang* but it never comes. Patricia snorts and jumps back, fumbling for her gun before clumsily catching the card Aki just threw in her face.

"Company card. Official and everything," the cheetah says, her voice ragged. "Now take whatever else you were gonna say, shove it up your rancid canine *cunt*, and get out before this whole sector loses its weapon and ammo contracts!"

There's a tremor in Patricia's hand as she turns the credit card over. You don't know how she'd be able to tell if it's genuine -- you don't think it matters. The shepherdess drops the card and lets it flutter back into the house, her hands going to her belt. Gripping it seems to give her some confidence back.

"We'll be in touch," she says before turning her gaze to you. "Good night, Mr. Anonerson."

You let her go without a snide remark. You're still reeling from what Aki said; her family is one of the largest manufacturers of firearms in the post-state world. The riverside house, the lack of a college job, the living room of guns -- it all makes sense.

She doesn't move when you pick up the card, nor when you close the door. When you turn to hand the plastic over, though, she's not there. Aki's curled up form practically disappears in the darkness of the hallway, no blindingly blue light to illuminate her.

She's not able to hold back the sounds this time.

The credit card once again gets tossed to the side as you descend into the dark, wrapping your arms around the cheetah. You hold her tight; her shudders rock your head as it presses against hers. Her scratchy, growly sobs don't cease. They hitch when she tries pushing you away after a moment or two.

"G-go away!" she whines. "You found out. Y-you know now, and -- and it's all that bitch's fault!"

Her struggles gain strength. You hold fast -- not just for her sake, but yours.

"I don't care, Aki. I don't care about your last name or some little card -- I care about you."

"Y-you know I have money now..." she croaks, pausing her pushing to breathe. "H-how do I know you don't want it? Want to control me for it?"

Her head presses against yours, her weight leaning into you. Her tail wraps around you even if her arms don't. You press your nose in her hair and whisper what she needs to hear.

"I didn't know until just now. I didn't know when we first met, when we watched *Outlaw Star* for five hours, or when we studied together."

You pause; she still smells like strawberries.

"I didn't know it when you texted today. All I knew was that *you* needed me." You let the words hang; Aki is quiet, her whole body still tense. She doesn't try to break away when you loosen your hold to rub her back. "I'm here if you still do."

The heavy silence lasts too long for you to keep track. Aki shifts, breaking it with a raspy breath.

"Y-you're awful, A-Anon," she says. She doesn't push you away, but she tries to curl up tighter. "You're m-making this -- hurt more..."

Your chest tightens, but you don't let go.

"...H-how?"

She swallows. "B-because I know I can't have you," she breathes.

You freeze, your heart thudding in your chest. Aki looks up when you pull away; you look where you think her eyes are.

"Uh, actually, I... I was talking to Talia about that before I saw your text," you say. "I wanted to bring it up, but earlier didn't seem like the time."

The cheetah goes quiet again, her next silence-breaking breath a little more steady.

"I-if you're lying, I'll kill you."

"That's fair," you say; you lean in and peck her on the forehead and hug her close again. "Is that enough?"

"For now," she sighs. She leans into you fully now, more or less falling into you. "We'll see, later."

"Uh, sure." You adjust yourself against her, a little tension going away when an arm snakes around your back. "Do you want to go back to the couch and talk about... it?"

"I think I'm going to stay here a while," she says quietly.

You glance around, your eyes finally adjusted to the gloom. The TV's blue glare shines from the doorway down the hall. Storage crates of ammo and who knows what else loom high. The side table nearby, and the discarded credit card catches some glint of light.

The company's logo stands out even in the dark.

"However long you need," you whisper, keeping your arms tight around her.

...

You sit in the hallway with Aki for at least an hour. Neither of you speak. She shifts her embrace to be more close after a few minutes; eventually she ends up in your lap and you end up leaning back against the wall. Stroking her through the sweatshirt makes you wonder if the fur beneath is just as soft.

You're glad for the time to process. Aki being the daughter of a powerful business empire wasn't something you had on your bingo card. The parts fit when you think about it. The upscale neighborhood, the exotic and expensive firearms, the lack of a job -- it all pointed to wealth. Maybe it even started her interest in firearms to a degree. But assuming the restrictive parents she told you about yesterday were indeed her parents, and not some corporate nanny, you can't help but wonder why they don't want her to compete. And why send her to New Apple, of all places?

You imagine prying about it would get you more than a few scratches from the cheetah. When she rises from your lap with a swishing tail, you doubt it's what she wants to talk about. A smirk flickers on her face as you groan.

"Might have to rethink your offer if you can't even handle me sittin' in your lap," she says. There's more resolution in the jab than you've heard in the past hour.

"We were on the floor, is all," you say. "Carpet isn't exactly cushy."

Aki hums as you stand. "So it's *your* ass that's the problem, not mine."

"Absolutely. Your butt is perfect." You smile at the chuckle you earn. "It's more like my thighs, but you're pretty good there too."

"Well, if your old man bones can't handle it on the floor, maybe we should move to the couch," she says. Your heart skips a beat when she takes you by the hand. The cheetah nudges you onto the couch before dimming the TV's screen to a much less blinding level. She turns to you with her hands on her hips, a more serious look of focus on her face.

"Lay down," Aki says with a nod of her head. "And scoot up near that one end."

You do as she says, then grunt when the cheetah plops heavily into your lap again. "You seem... better," you say.

"Glad it seems that way," she says quietly. Your soft groan when she lays back atop you seems to help. "Too much?" she teases.

"You've got a -- hard couch --"

"And *you've* got a hard little cock," she says with a grind of her hips. "You always this horny?"

"When you tease my dick, yeah," you manage. You splutter through her hair until she settles, letting your head poke out from her shoulder. "Did you want to talk about something serious?"

You get a faceful of hair again when she nods. "Hold me," she says quietly. Aki relaxes against you with a soft purr when you wrap your arms around her middle, relaxing slightly on top of you. You feel yourself sink into the couch a little before she takes a breath.

"Is this for real?" she asks. "It's not a fling?"

"I think I'm sacrificing my courtship with Talia for it, so I hope it is."

The cheetah tenses a little. "You... broke up?"

"I don't know, Aki," you sigh. "We talked about... stuff. I told her I liked you and that I'd ask you for a CU if she's still against one."

It takes a second for the cheetah to recognize the term; there's a soft sound between a chirp and gasp.

"Shit... A-and you mean it?"

"I-I think so," you reply. "It's a little fast, I admit. Probably too fast. But I -- I figured it would be best to ask."

You look off to the side and squeeze her a little tighter. "The trial means I can't just 'court' you now... and probably not right after, either."

Aki grumbles in agreement. "Yeah, if Agent Bitch is any indication..." After a few moments, she turns sideways to look you in the eye; you do your best to keep quiet. "Is Talia mad at me?"

"I don't -- think so --" you say. "She knew we were into each other before I did. Saw it coming -- probably."

"Hmm. So I'm probably not, like, banned from the range?"

"Don't think so."

"Good. I like Talia," the cheetah says as she turns onto her back again. You wheeze softly into her hair, grateful for the second or two of relief before she asks, "What now?"

"I don't know -- order a pizza?"

Aki laughs. She gives you a long, slow grind with her rear that draws a hollow groan from you -- which makes her laugh even more.

"Not what I meant," she says. "I mean big picture. Like -- like the outline, but for life, I guess."

"It depends -- are we together?"

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Well, what do we have?" you say. "There's your stuff, my stuff, and the things we both have to do. You have your class, I have the trial, and we both have to work out a CU, or whatever the hell we're going to do to not get legally fucked."

"That's all?"

"Those are the big ones. There's probably others too -- like organizing your porn stash."

You giggle with her, even after she slams her ass on you.

"And we're going to help each other with them?" she asks.

"I mean, most of them, sure. Don't know if my opinions on anime dudes really count."

"There's women in there too, dork," she says, giving your groin another thumping.

"I assumed so for duo pieces, but --"

"I mean solo ones, Anon," she says. "And maybe a few lesbian ones, too..."

You pause, trying to read her tone. She's confident, but she doesn't seem like she's bullshitting. "You're bi?" you ask.

"Yeah. Figured it should come out now rather than later. You got a problem with it?"

"Nah," you say, then sigh. "It's just... oh, the dangers of smoking mary-juana..."

"Please," she snorts, "I don't smoke that shit, it smells awful. Gummies and butter are waaay better."

"Ahh, so you're high-class. Got it."

"Right, nerd," she sighs, relaxing back into you. She purrs softly, her hands going over yours. There's a waiver to her voice when she speaks next. "God, I wish this was it. No college, no job, no court BS, just -- this. Being free."

"Doesn't being a Tridentia, you know, help with that?"

Her purr peters out, and her hands tighten on yours. "Not exactly. Everything hinges on me behaving. Doing what they want. I might not have rent, I might not have college loans, but I *have* to do what they tell me or I lose it all. I fuck up and all this --" she says, sweeping a hand around the room -- "gets taken." She sighs. "I told you already, dude. I can't do what I want. Gotta go to college. It might be nice now, but -- fuck, man. All I see when I look ahead is a lifetime of work in something I don't want to do."

You press your cheek against the side of her head and take her hands in yours, rubbing the back of her palms.

"They're not going to give you some cushy desk job you can blow off?" you ask.

"Wouldn't have made me go to college if they were," Aki says. "Even then, it's just... Ugh. It'd still be connected to them, I'd still probably be beholden to them and whatever they wanted. I want to be free, Anon. Be my own person. Build my own life, doing what *I* want to do."

It sounds nice. Thoughts pass through your head of what to do, what you could say. With or without her parents, she could do it, you think. You'd be there to help -- after all, you've got nothing better to do.

But you realize now probably isn't the time to get into it. Deal with what's in front of you first, and figure that out later.

"Well, maybe we talk about it tomorrow whenever we make that list," you say, shifting your grip around her waist. "I'm kind of tired, though. Do you mind if I crash here?"

Aki chuckles. She slips next to you on the couch and nuzzles her muzzle into the side of your head. "Yes, you dork. We're together."

"Just making sure..."

Aki hums. You freeze when her hand traces down your chest, unbuttoning your shirt as she goes. Her fingers are deft when they reach your shorts. They're undone and around your ankles with minimal fuss -- somehow she doesn't comment on the hard tent her hand brushes against.

"That prove it?" she asks, wrapping her arms back around you in her side-hug.

"Think so," you say with a shiver. "Jeeze, the AC is high."

The cheetah rolls her eyes with an exasperated groan. Before you can splutter out a defense, there's a rustling of fabric. Warmth spreads through you as the cheetah slips the baggy sweatshirt over your head. Her fur is soft, the heat on your face like a sauna before you poke out into the hood.

"Baby," she snorts, giving your ear a nip. You're too busy stifling your shivers to retort, letting her wrap her arms and legs around you inside your shared sleeping bag.

"I'm going to try and sleep now..." she whispers in your ear. "You better not move."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll bite you again."

You shift against her, getting an arm underneath her. "Maybe I like that."

The cheetah purrs, then kisses your ear. "Maybe. We'll just have to see tomorrow, won't we?"

"We have to figure out our favorite position?" you whisper.

"Mm-hmm..."