FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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… Week Thirty…

Two fire-types growled atop messy sheets: a tangle of thrashing limbs and snaking tails. Blue and gold sparks skipped like stones over the surface of the bedspread with every exhalation. The Ninetales yelped when Tyson pulled his malehood, knot pulsing and semi-hard, from her shuddering depths. A string of their intermingled cum connected their flesh as he pulled away.

"I'm... not done... with you yet," said Aideen. Her chest heaved as she raked her nails down Tyson's back.

"Trying for twins isn't - PANT! - isn't enough?" teased the 'Arc. He rested his weight against his elbows and bought his refractory period some time by kissing at the ruff of fluff that rested on Aideen's bosom. He worked his way along her collarbone, up her neck, and finally met the sweetness of her lips. Her maw was hot and tasted heavy with the wine they drank over dinner, but it was cut with the familiar sweet-spice of her natural scent.

"I need -GASP!- I need a whoooooole litter from you! Every... last... drop..." Aideen exhaled steam with every breath between kisses. One of her tails curled around Tyson's muzzle and cupped his cheek. "Show me your fangs, pup! Don't hold back!"

"Decided the gals at the office don't have enough to gossip about?" Tyson smiled and gave her neck a playful nip.

"Let them talk! And harder next time!"

"Yes ma'am!" Tyson's fangs flashed in the half-light. He snarled and left marks on her collar and neck that he knew she couldn't hide with foundation tomorrow. He ground his flaccid cock blindly into the crook of her thigh, trying to get it going again. He wanted to take her for a fourth time before his stamina reserves faltered. Every drop of blood pounding past his heartbeat hungered for the 'Nines beneath him. He knew this hunger well, because not a soul on earth could draw it out of him like she could.

He paused his love bites to admire his own work. The marks traced a jagged line from under her cheek and down to the collar, ending just above her breast. He could only take a quick look; he didn't want Aideen to think he was stopping without her say so. He caressed a supple, cream-furred breast and Aideen moaned throatily. He could've kissed and caressed his wife forever, but the tightness at the base of his sheath reminded him of her order.

"Let's try something different, shall we?" growled Tyson. He gripped Aideen with his knees and hands, then flipped her on the bed. The 'Arc was on his back, looking up at his beloved while she straddled him. His half-hard erection was grinding against her spade, the surrounding fur discolored and damp from the night's debauchery.

"Awwww, getting tired, pup?" cooed Aideen. "You need me to do all the work now?"

"Never," smirked Tyson. "But I heard it's more likely to catch when the mother is on top."

"Ooooh, reading my magazines when I'm not home, are you?" teased the Ninetales.

"I don't need tips to pleasure you, Lovely," said Tyson proudly. He raised his knees so that Aideen could lean against them. "But I heard the neighbors did it this way when they had their twins."

"You didn't need to convince me, Dearest," winked Aideen. She took Tyson's hands in each of hers and intertwined their fingers. She leaned against his strength and raised her body. A coiled tail guided his cock towards her spade, pulsing, puffy, and dripping a mess of residual cum and her own slick. The firedog shuddered. She lowered herself over him, her movements smooth save for occasional quivers of delight. The embrace was warm and just as lovely as the times they'd been joined before. Tyson's eyes lingered over the slight curve of Aideen's otherwise toned abdomen, his trophy well-earned by the times he'd emptied into her tonight.

"Ready when you are, my love," growled Tyson, tail wagging until it got caught up in one of Aideen's. They laughed awkwardly and Aideen shifted atop her firedog to disentangle them. The motion ground her puffy spade against Tyson's still half-inflated knot. S_he finds a way to drive me wild without even trying!_ Her now-freed tails wrapped around Tyson's knees, ankles, and wrists to grant her extra leverage and stay out of the way. There would be no further interruptions once she got down to business.

"You better be, mutt," snarled Aideen. She raised herself and inhaled. Tyson drove his hips upward with all his might just as she dropped. Aideen's veneer of stony dominance was momentarily fractured by a yip, but she had composed herself by the time her hips were raised again. Her quavering spade met his knot with all the vigor and tempo of their youth. Tyson did not neglect his duties either: he ground and pumped his hips with as much force as he dared, constantly fighting the temptation to knot her right now instead of prolonging their bliss.

Aideen collapsed forward on a downstroke. She covered her falter by pinning Tyson's wrists to his side, her breasts squeezed against his mane. Any further banter was furloughed while they kissed clumsily, their differing heights just close enough to let their lips meet. Tyson flexed his fingers. He wanted to run his hands along the swerves of her hips, but Aideen only pushed him harder into the bed. There was no dispute on whom was claiming whom and Tyson knew better than to argue.

"Let me- HHRNG -Lemme ti- MRPH -tie you," Tyson grunted. A wave of cerulean sparks skipped across his chest.

"Not till you EARN it, mongrel," snarled Aideen, green eyes flashing with all the temptation of a poison apple.

"K-kits! Kits! I'll give- GASP -give you all your kits! All- HHRRNG -a whole litter," said Tyson. His suave demeanor gave way to a beg.

"Heh! That's a GOOD dog," said Aideen, her voice halfway between feral growl and husky moan. "I'm gonna make myself your bitch!"

Aideen stole Tyson's breath away for the fourth time that night. Her pussy embraced every inch of him, tight, warm, shuddering. Ecstasy reverberated from her depths out to the tip of every finger, tail, and toe. Flame vented from the corners of Tyson's muzzle, a growl pushing past a tightness in his chest. Aideen's high mewls were interrupted by jolts that shook them both. He hadn't noticed she'd sunk her teeth into his shoulder. Tyson could just smell the metallic tint of blood and adrenaline mingling with the irresistible sweetness of his wife's cum.

And he was filling her... filling her... his instincts ignorant of the fact that the seed would never catch, his brain too enraptured by the woman in his arms to care for something as insignificant as medical reality. How could facts compete with the fantasy of his wife bringing a new batch of kits into the world, all as galvanizing and thrilling and alluring as she was? His balls tugged against his undercarriage again and again, as if they were determined to push every single drop of himself into her. The haze of musk and afterglow made their darkened bedroom feel more endless than all the wide world. Their moans embraced each other, swirling in eddies of their scent.

Tyson became vaguely aware of something soft and warm pressed between them. He moved one hand experimentally- Aideen no longer had the strength to pin him to the bed. He caressed her side. He knew what he would find. He'd seen this many times before, just never with her. She wriggled and let out three sharp YIPS of delight when Tyson sloshed her belly. "Darling, you're glowing."

"Happy anniversary, Dearest. I hope you like your gift," said Aideen in her most sensual coo.

"Oh I do. Happy anniversary, Lovely," said Tyson, his breathing labored.

They laid there and waited yet again for the tie to end while Aideen trembled with aftershocks. Aideen had left quite a bit of fox drool across Tyson's face, so she busied herself with wiping his fur clean. Tyson didn't care. But he knew it'd bother her if he told her not to. He was content to run his fingers through the locks of her hair, to disentangle the knots that interrupted its free-flowing cascade over her shoulders and breasts. Tyson's thumb fiddled with the rings on her fourth finger. The opal set into the rose gold had the same fey glimmer as her flames.

They both knew when they could try to disentangle themselves from each other.. Aideen rolled off of her firedog with a dazed slosh. She massaged the noticeable swell that pushed out her middle. "Holy... holy Arceus, I don't think I've ever..."

"Don't push down too hard," Tyson said as he kissed her. "You'll make a mess if you do." "Like we haven't already," giggled Aideen. She kissed him back and cupped his cheeks with her hands. Her eyes were half-lidded and mischievous when the kiss parted. "Are you up to try the strap and harness before we call it a night?"

"You're insatiable," said Tyson, tail wagging. "Give me a moment, okay? You want something to drink?"

"Grab me a seltzer from downstairs?"

"Of course," Tyson said with a farewell kiss of Aideen's cheek. He made a show of getting out of bed and stretching out his limbs. He raised his tail out of the way so Aideen could follow the lines of his back muscles down to his pert rear end. He let his excitement wash over any nervousness he'd been feeling. Besides, I need more practice. He still has one token left. Tyson pushed that thought out of his head and stepped into the bathroom. No point being distracted when there were more important tasks at hand.

His cock was soft now, but the knot stopped it from slipping back into his sheath. He held it as he took a long piss. His hand was left sticky with residue and he had to wash it twice to make the fur there not utterly reek of peaches and cum. He poured water straight from the tap afterward and chugged it. He poured himself another glass when he heard a distant buzzing noise. Aideen's voice drifted in from the other room.

"Dearest, isn't TailTipz... isn't that a sex website?" Her tone was confused, but pointedly so. All the flame and seduction from a moment before was up in smoke.

Tyson spat out his water and winced at the mess he made of the bathroom mirror. He slouched back into the bedroom, his whole body coursing with cortisol as he fought to keep his face or tail from belying the guilt weighing down his insides. Maybe it's nothing, don't assume the worst yet. He kept his gaze locked on Aideen who was halfway to sitting up. His phone wasn't on the nightstand, it was in her hand. "I uh... I think so? Isn't what the young people use to share nudes now?"

"Interesting," said Aideen. Tyson almost winced. There was blood in the water now. "Tyson, will you open this, please."

Tyson took his phone. She didn't know his PIN, he didn't know hers. They never had a need: she knew he could never lie to her. He glanced at the notification on his home screen. It was cut off but what he could see did not bode well. There was no way out of this. Only way was through. He put in his PIN: Aideen's birthday. The first thing he saw was a notification from Elan's alias on TailTipz. It was set to auto-delete in fifteen minutes.

User-009WantsUrGrowlithes:

Look, Daddy! You're famous on TailTipz!

It was a screenshot of Calill's little "side project." TailTipz' unmistakable orange and black UI framed the photograph. It had a news feed like any social media site, but instead of a "like" button next to the repost button it was a "cum" button, complete with splatter emoji. There were a lot of digits next to both. A lot. Would all those numbers make things better or worse?

The screen cap showed Elan in baby blue lingerie with a lacy front. It barely covered half the surface of his pregnant belly. Owyn's huge cock was laid limp and messy over Elan's face. It would obscure his identity from strangers but anyone who knew Elan would know it was him. The Ninetales' mouth was bulging as he sucked off a second canine cock. Only his crotch and abs were visible, but that wouldn't matter. Aideen knew every inch of him just as he knew every inch of her. That happy trail that was starting to fade from black to grey might as well have been a signed confession. He swallowed guiltily.

"Tyson, please show me," commanded Aideen.

Tyson jolted, unsure how long he'd been staring at his phone. He braced himself, but felt feebler for it. He'd been afraid of this moment for almost two years now. He was just foolish enough to believe he could avoid it. But the storm was bearing down on him and he was caught in the Bewear's cage. He held the phone at Aideen's eye level and prayed. He prayed to Arceus, to Mew, to damn Giratina for any scraps of mercy they might throw his sorry way.

"I— Tyson... that's... that's _ ELAN _! And— this must be a sick joke. But—" Aideen sputtered. She took the phone and scrutinized the screen, as if there was a hidden message found between the infinitesimal black lines that divided the pixels.

For a foolish instant Tyson thought might be able to save things. Maybe the lewd tableau before her would bypass decades of well-honed reasoning and investigative skills. But his heart of hearts knew that this was merely a pause, a chance for the elemental forces of the world to drawn in breath before coming down with all their indisputable fury.

There was a rustle of fabric, the smooth slip of silken fur slithering over carpet. His wife's tails constricted his ankles and wrists with the force of a tourniquet. Tyson felt his back slam into the wall, his limbs pinned as if crucified. The 'Arc prayed that his head didn't damage the drywall only to be confounded that he was more concerned for his house than himself.

Any further thoughts were drowned out by Aideen. Her voice was ragged after the night's use. "_ Tᴇʟʟ ᴍᴇ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ɴᴏᴡ ᴡʜʏ ᴏᴜʀ sᴏɴ sᴇɴᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀ ᴘɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜɪs ᴍᴏᴜᴛʜ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴅɪᴄᴋ _!"

Inside his head Tyson scrabbled to find his words. To say something, to say _ anything . But what could he do? Even if he could concoct a convincing lie, she would never trust him fully again. There would always be that niggling rot of doubt slowly consuming the root of the tree they planted together almost a quarter century ago. Her engagement ring was digging into the flesh of his wrist. _Of all the nights this had to happen on... The thought nearly brought him to tears, but he quelled them with great effort. There would be plenty of time to pity himself later. What mattered now was the truth. The truth she deserved, that never should've been hidden from her. It never should have happened in the first place, but it was far too late for that now.

"I've been having sex behind your back," said Tyson, voice quavering. "With Elan."

Tyson heard the slap before he felt it. His vision popped with crimson stars and only felt the sting when he'd blinked them away. The impact split his lip. The taste of blood was cloying on his tongue. Aideen was shouting in his face, towering over him even though she was more than a head shorter than her husband. "Dᴏɴ'ᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴀʀᴇ ғᴜᴄᴋɪɴɢ ʟɪᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ, Tʏsᴏɴ Aʀᴅᴏʀ! Tᴇʟʟ ᴍᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴜᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴇᴀɴ ɪᴛ ᴛʜɪs ᴛɪᴍᴇ!"

"I have been having been cheating on you with Elan," said Tyson. His voice was steeled now. He was determined to prove that his wife that he would not, could not, lie to her. At least, except for that one thing. She was still pressed against him still. Tyson felt the loads he'd put inside her trickle, hot and musty, down where their thighs met. It made everything so much worse.

"Just with Elan, is it?! Who else is in that picture?! Since when did you fuck _ MEN ?! Are you fucking his boyfriend too? Are you fucking his _ ɢɪʀʟғʀɪᴇɴᴅ _ ?! _ _ ᴡʜᴏ ᴇʟsᴇ, Tʏsᴏɴ?! Gɪᴠᴇ ᴍᴇ ɴᴀᴍᴇs _," screamed Aideen.

Tyson was about to say "just them" but stopped himself. No mitigation, no excuses. "I've been cheating on you with Elan, and sometimes his partners were invited to join us. That would be when I started having sex with men. And that is everyone that I've been having sex with that isn't you."

Aideen released Tyson from her constriction as abruptly as she'd snared him and collapsed on the bed. Tears ran silently down her cheeks but her shoulders did not shake. She looked up at him, eyes glistening, voice rent to tatters with accusation. "How long, Tyson?"

Tyson knew she wasn't asking about his bisexuality. "Everything started just after his evolution. A few months after his birthd—"

"Yᴏᴜ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ғᴜᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴇɪɢʜᴛᴇᴇɴ ᴍᴀᴋᴇs ᴛʜɪs ᴏᴋᴀʏ?! And his... Are his..." The question lay unasked between them but was no less terrible for it.

"No," said Tyson, heavy with the accumulated guilt of years. He couldn't lie to her anymore, but she at least had the grace to not force him to answer that question. At least not yet. "But you deserve to know exactly how long that I have been lying to you. And that I am sorry that I ever let this happen to you."

"You're sorry, huh?" That wretched exhalation couldn't be a laugh, not when it dripped with hurt and venom. "You're fucking sorry? For fucking behind my back for years?! For fucking _ our son _?!"

"Aideen, I know there's nothing I can do to fix this," said Tyson. "All that's left is what you decide to do with me. This is the mess I made, and I have to live with the consequences."

"It's not j-just you who has to live with it, you fucking ass!" Aideen's sobs intruded on her voice now, as if the water running down her face had just remembered that it was tears. "S-say something, you fucking mutt!"

It was her tears that broke him, not his own. His shoulders shook, voice cracked. "I'm sorry, Aideen. I'm so sorry I ever hurt you."

The gap between the wall and the edge of the bed was a yawning abyss, but Tyson didn't avert his gaze from Aideen's, even when tears blurred his vision. They were stuck there, frozen in the silent devastation that was left in the wake of all world-ending storms. Part of Tyson expected their house to fall over. A muffled sob that couldn't be choked back occasionally broke the stillness, louder than the shriek of rending metal.

"I am filthy. I am going to shower." Aideen was the one to break the silence. She dry heaved a bit when she realized what she was oozing onto the bed. "When I am clean... When I am clean of you, I expect you to be out of this house. You are not permitted to come back, ever. And If I see so much as a hair of you I'm calling the cops. Real cops."

"Yes Lo— Yes. I understand." faltered Tyson. He grabbed a duffel bag off the top shelf of their walk-in closet and began stuffing clothes into it. His wallet and keys were thankfully in the pants that he'd discarded on the bedroom floor. His heart was already in pieces, but Aideen's final, solitary sob shattered the fragments to dust when she shut the door to the bathroom. He was just going down the stairs to his truck when he heard the water turn off.

Tyson's hands were shaking the whole forty five minute drive. It made the sleet of early spring all the more perilous. They still shook when he fumbled the keys onto the ground. Light was leaking out through the crack in the door. He heard laughter behind it and knew it was Elan's. The wood, old and wet from the weather, groaned and Tyson crossed the threshold in a blast of cold air.

"I— Dad?! What are you doing here tonight?" Elan was gaping at him, wearing nothing but panties on the couch. One leg was laying across Calill's lap, who was equally unclothed. She held a spent syringe in her hand. Of course, it was Sunday. That was the day they did each other's shot. "Dad... Dad you look awful! What the hell is going on?!"

Hearing the distress in his voice broke any resolve Tyson had left. He collapsed onto Owyn's easy chair and felt the tears he thought he'd drained dry on the drive flow over his face again. "I'm sorry Elan. It's all over."

"Wait?! What? Dad, you don't mean—"

"How did Aideen find out?" said Calill, her voice soft but firm. Tyson clung to that steadiness with all the desperation of a castaway. Elan, in contrast, gaped in disbelief.

Tyson chewed on his tongue. He wouldn't let himself blame this on Elan. Not when this whole thing was his fault. "She saw my phone. And there was no way out after that." It felt too simple when said out loud like that.

"Wha— _ NO ! NO NO _NONONONO!" Elan shifted frantically on the couch, searching for his phone that had fallen between the cushions. Calill had to lunge wildly out of the way so that Elan didn't stab himself on the empty syringe still in her hand. Tyson let himself be distracted by taking the sharp from her and putting it in the red disposal bin sitting on their coffee table. Elan grimaced as he frantically scrolled through his messaging history. "_ NO _! I had scheduled that text! I knew you were busy tonight, you were supposed to see it at work tomorrow! I-I—"

"It's not your fault, Elan. She saw my phone when I was in the bathroom ," said Tyson sadly. He reached out and held his son's hand, squeezing hard and begging Elan to believe him. "So, I'm gonna crash at a motel or something. I'll just have to rough it a bit till she calls me up to sign the papers. Maybe then I'll be able to get the important stuff out of the house. At least anything she doesn't melt to slag."

"Don't be silly, Dad, you can stay here," Elan said, beleaguered.

Tyson first instinct was to refuse. If Aideen found out that I'm sleeping here... but then again, it's not like this could get any worse? His train of thought was interrupted by the door to the downstairs bedroom.

"What're you two yapping about?" yawned Owyn. When he stretched, his knuckles bumped against the popcorn ceiling. He was, of course, completely naked: his hyper sheath and balls demanding the gaze of everyone in the room. The chubby 'Arc squinted blearily at Tyson and sniffed. "What th'hell you doin' here 'Ol Timer? You fuckin' reek too."

"Aideen found me out," said Tyson. It took herculean effort to say it but he wanted to spare Elan from having to do it in his stead. Tyson felt a pang of envy when Elan cuddled up to Calill for comfort.

"Well, shit. Which one of you was the one to spill the beans?" Owyn said. His bluntness hit Tyson harder than punch.

For the first time tonight Tyson was seeing red. Punching out Owyn would probably make everything worse, but he'd feel better. Calill was faster. She strode between the two Arcanines and flicked each on the nose with a perfectly manicured nail. "Don't you dare start fighting here! What good are you two even for? Look at Elan!"

Elan curled around his womb: a knot of tear streaked tails and trembling limbs. Owyn was first to act. He placed his massive hands on Elan's shoulders and tried to brace him. "I was an ass, Kitsy, I'm sorry. What can I do for you?"

Elan shook his head wordlessly but leaned against Owyn. Tyson took his hand. Calill sat next to Elan on the couch and gently nuzzled at his cheek. "Try and calm down, Babygirl. It's not good for you or the kits."

"It's all my fault," choked Elan. "I've ruined everything and it's all my fault."

"No, it's my fault," said Tyson, a little too loudly. All eyes fell on him. "Elan, I was the adult in the room that night. I could have, and should have, told you no. But I didn't, and I didn't every single time after. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But... but did you want to say no?" asked Elan, voice waterlogged.

"Of course I didn't want to say no," sighed Tyson. "That's why were here, aren't we? But that doesn't mean it's your fault. It just means I made a lot of bad decisions."

Owyn looked like he was going to say something sarcastic, but then thought the better of it. Calill noticed, though. She shot him a look and said, "Go back to bed, Owyn. I'll sleep with you tonight."

"Sure thing, hon," said Owyn. He kissed Elan on the forehead and whispered something to him before shuffling back to his bedroom. Tyson was warmed to see that whatever he said made Elan smile, if a little weakly. Calill stayed where she was next to her 'Nines.

"You goin' after him," said Tyson quizzically.

"Not just yet," said Calill. "Before I go, can you tell me what actually happened? What did she say to you before you got booted out?"

Tyson winced. He didn't want to relive this while it was so raw. But if not now, when? Besides, Elan deserves to know... He opened his mouth, paused, closed it, opened it again... then it came all tumbling out. He tried to detach himself from the recounting, to talk about the gale of fury that swept through his bedroom with all the clinical nonchalance of a weekly weather forecast. But he couldn't help but add details he noticed. How strong her rage made her... how he couldn't muster the strength to lie to her even if she held a gun to his head... how she couldn't believe he'd cheated until he said it a second time...

"...and then she told me to get out before she finished showering. And then I drove here. And that... that's everything, I think," said Tyson, wearier than if he'd run to campus instead of driven.

"I think what you said was the truth of it," said Calill, softly. "There really is no way out of this. But maybe we can pick up a couple pieces in the fallout."

"What's even there to salvage?" said Elan despondently.

"No idea," said Calill. "But right now we gotta let Aideen work through things herself. When you guys have big feelings, it all goes into testosterone hole. You get all broody and silent and you have to think things over without being bothered. But Aideen's feeling the big feelings that make her explode. She's probably only just started to actually process things now that she's burnt herself out. So... right now all we can do is wait, and maybe pray if you think that'll help."

"That's your advice?" said Tyson, a little skeptically. Part of him felt like an idiot to be seeking advice from her at all. But who else even could he talk to about this?

Calill shrugged, a little defensive. "What I'm saying is I think there are actually pieces to pick up. I just don't know what's intact right now. For what it's worth I think the fact you came clean like that will count for something in the end. It may just be good Karma for not being a liar, but I'm sure it'll count for something."

"Part of me is surprised I was capable of lying to her for this long," said Tyson miserably.

"You love Mom," said Elan, trying to stop himself from sobbing again. "Even when you were with me, I knew you always loved Mom."

"I still love her, Kiddo," sighed Tyson. "Even if I gave her plenty of reasons to never love me again."

They sat in silence again. Tyson held Elan's hand while Calill rubbed his back. It took a while but Elan's tears had finally dried. When it was apparent that they weren't going to start again, Calill whispered something to the 'Nines then stood from the couch. "I'm going to bed. And be sure that the alarm in the morning is set. Elan has a nine AM class."

"Sure thing, Cal," said Tyson.

"Love you, Calill," murmured Elan.

"Love you too, Babygirl," sighed Calill. She kissed Elan one last time before slipping into Owyn's bedroom. Owyn's door clicked behind her.

Tyson sat with Elan for a bit, but he was conscious of the clock on his phone. "C'mon, you heard your girlfriend. You got class in the morning."

Elan nodded and stood with a grunt. Arceus, he really was getting big. He looked up at him, eyes still wet. "I'm so, so sorry, Dad. I didn't ever want this to happen."

"No one, did, Kiddo. It's not your fault," said Tyson. He hugged Elan tight. When they broke apart Tyson held Elan at arm's length, examining his baby bump. "You really take those stairs every day with that thing?"

"Cardio is good for the kits," shrugged Elan.

"C'mere. Work with me, alright?" Tyson grunted. He swept Elan up in his arms. He was strong enough to carry him but was grateful that Elan wrapped his tails around their bodies for extra support. He made sure Elan was nestled softly in the fluff of his mane before starting the climb. The stairs clomped heavily under his paws. "Damn, the kits really are getting huge. Good to know you're takin' care of them, letting them grow."

"I have a lot to live up to if I wanna be a good dad," said Elan softly.

Tyson fought to not drop Elan as his heart melted to mush. He laid Elan down on the unmade bed without dropping the precious cargo. Elan was already undressed but Tyson had to shed his shirt and pants. He hadn't had time to put on underwear during his hasty egress and didn't want to go back downstairs to retrieve his bag. What did it matter, really? He laid down next to Elan and pulled him close, so that his son was the little spoon.

"You smell just like her," said Tyson before he could stop himself. Just like when she was carrying him.

"Cal really likes it," Elan smiled laboriously. "I like how she smells after starting hormones, too."

"I can tell," harrumphed Tyson. "Do you not change the sheets after she fucks you?"

"Someone was using the machines today," said Elan defensively. "Besides, Owyn was right: you stink too."

"We were, uh, a little busy before things, uh, happened," faltered Tyson.

"Maybe you should give me the blow-by-blow tomorrow," said Elan. It was a feeble jab at normality.

"Yeah... maybe," said Tyson. He kissed him softly on the cheek to take his mind off the subject.

"Love you, Daddy," murmured Elan.

"You too, Kiddo," sighed Tyson. He steeled himself before saying the next part. "Whe— I mean if your mother calls me to sign some stuff, I'm going to tell her something, and I need you and I to be on the level for it."

"What're you planning, Dad?" said Elan, heavy with trepidation.

"I'm gonna tell her it was all my idea a— Hey, let me finish, Kiddo," said Tyson, firm when Elan bristled at his words. "I'm going to tell her that sex with you was my idea. Same thing with fooling around with Owyn and Cal, even the TailTipz account if I have to. And if she asks you you've gotta back me up."

"Why are you asking me to lie to Mom?" said Elan. "You said you never lie to her."

"Because this is my mess, Elan. I could've stopped this and didn't. And that means I'm going to lose the love of my life. But it shouldn't also mean that you lose your mom," Tyson was resolute. He hugged Elan tight to him.

"What if she makes me choose between the two of you?" said Elan, distress returning to his voice again.

"I'm going to try my hardest to make sure she doesn't," said Tyson. He held his son tight to his chest. Anything to not think about lying to Aideen. "Try and sleep now, Kiddo. I'd hate for you to miss class tomorrow."

"Yeah... Thanks, Dad."

The quiet between them was stagnant and wretched. Tyson had shared a bed with Elan enough to know when he was asleep. The 'Arc also knew that in a few hours the dawn would break through the gap in the curtains and that he would be awake to see it. That was fine. He deserved worse than a sleepless night, anyway. Instead of trying to rest, he willed his son's breathing to slow, so that he might escape this night and forget for a few blessed hours. At the very least, it gave him something to focus on. Left to his own devices, he'd have nothing to distract himself from the urge to sob.

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