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The three furs stood in the kitchen silently, eating cake. Lars knew something was going to happen, but he couldn't fathom what. This fear of the unknown was crippling, somehow almost worse than the fear of Riley meeting his family for the first time. His thoughts and concerns however, were interrupted when Esther came over to join in on the treat.

"Hiya Esther." Said Riley, lamely. He blushed; knowing how ridiculous he must look standing there with his cake plate in one paw, thinking maybe a little wave would ease some tension in the air. The thirteen year old just stood looking at him as he waved uncomfortably. Esther looked more like Lars and Henrik, lighter coloured patterns decorating her fur. The young tiger looked at her older brother, then looked back to Riley, obviously confused.

"You're not a girl." She stated, pointing out the obvious.

"No." Began Lars. "He's not, he's my boyfriend."

"You're gay?" Lars wondered why both his siblings were so blunt. He knew he shouldn't be surprised really that Esther knew what being gay was, after all she was thirteen years old, old enough to use a computer. And the Johansen family had never kept gay furs as some kind of secret...they were progressive right?

"Uh...yeah, I am." He replied, still feeling weird for saying it out loud.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Riley." The fox interjected, extending a paw, which Esther accepted.

"Likewise, good fox." She said, baffling the two males by putting on a posh voice. "Lars, why didn't you tell me you were gay before now?"

"Wh--what do you mean?" He asked, stumbling over his words.

"I'm the last one to find out!" She mock pouted, stomping a foot to drive her point home. "Wait...does Marcus know?" They both nodded in response.

"Uh, sorry." Lars didn't know what else to say, he had not been expecting this reaction.

"Oh my god. You're the worst Lars!" She was still play-acting, but Riley sensed some hurt there nonetheless.

"We didn't mean to, not tell you I mean." Tried the fox in way of explanation, wincing slightly as the thirteen year old whirled around to face him. "It's just, you left the lounge room..."

"Oh, you're trying to make this my fault?" Holding a paw to her head dramatically. Lars stepped up behind her, wrapping the young fur in a warm hug, as she squirmed he just giggled.

"Shut up Esther, oh my god." He said light-heartedly, still snickering. It was a nice relief that she had taken the news in stride. Worming randomly the tiger freed herself from her brother, and grinning mischievously she high-fived Riley and walked off. The two males were amazed at how casual she acted towards them.

"What a spunky tiger." Remarked Riley.

"She's the confident one in the family, I suppose." Replied Lars.

At that they heard a brief sob choked back. Turning slowly, that awkward feeling steadily creeping back, the two males saw Clara leaning against the pantry door; obviously upset. The tiger mother had her arms crossed defensively, one paw held up shielding her eyes. Lars leaned in close to Riley's ear, whispering to him.

"Why don't you go talk to Marcus and my dad...Give us a moment?" He suggested. Riley nodded, trying to squash the feeling that Lars was abandoning him to face the male Johansen's alone. After the black fox gently padded out, Lars walked over to the kettle and switched it on. As it boiled, he put a teaspoon of instant coffee into two mugs. While waiting for the water to heat up, he turned back to his mother.

"Why are you crying mum?" He asked gently, trying to make eye contact.

"It's...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. There's just, there's a lot of emotions." She explained, wiping her eyes. Hearing the kettle click off, Riley turned around and poured the boiling water into the mugs, adding a little milk, he handed one to Clara. She accepted the hot drink nodding and smiling, which he took to be a good sign.

"It's okay...I cried too, when I worked it out." He admitted, shrugging.

"It's okay Lars, I promise you. Your father and I still love you, that hasn't changed." The tiger smiled, he already knew this from their reactions so far...but it was still nice to hear.

'Thanks Mum, I know it's a bit of a shock." His mother raised her eyebrows at that, blinking incredulously. Lars laughed in response.

"I had never thought...I don't know. I shouldn't say those kinds of things, they'll only succeed in making you feel bad." She sipped her coffee, looking embarrassed.

"It's okay, you can say it. I know you guys still love me and that's what matters...what's wrong?"

"Lars..." He frowned a little; he'd always found it irritating how she insisted on constantly using his name. Clara seemed to misinterpret the frown and her expression instantly grew softer. "It's just..."

"What?" He pressured.

"Well, it's a surprise. In my mind, I'd imagined a little life for you...you might finish your studying, go on to meet some nice girl...have a couple kits of your own." She stopped, pausing to look at her feet. "Now my ideas, my hopes...have changed. They've been snatched away, and what's meant to fill them? None of this is your fault, I promise honey. I feel bad for saying it already."

"It's fine, really. It's better to say it than not, I promise." He put his mug down and moved over to hug his mother. She squeezed him tight.

"Also...there are a lot of furs out there Lars, who will hate you for who you are. They might try to change you, or hurt you just because you're with Riley...and I'm worried about that too."

"Mum, you don't have to worry, being...gay...is almost a fashion statement now. Nobody I've told so far has acted any way besides being happy for me and Riley." He decided to avoid the history of the Reverend Marks and his...dutiful son. His mother needed reassurance, not horror stories, at least for now.

"I feel like such a silly old cat." She said, resuming her consumption of the coffee.

"Well don't, it's okay. You're allowed to have feelings mum."

"I know, I just worry about you. Also, my dreams of grandkits and marriage are all but gone for my eldest." She said with a sad smile.

"Maybe not, we can always adopt. We might be able to get married one day too, who knows? All those things you hoped for, they may not be what ends up happening...hell they might not even be what I want in my life. But, except for meeting a nice girl, they all could still happen. Not saying they will, but the possibility exists at the least." His mother nodded somewhat ruefully.

"I love you Lars, for who you are. And I'm glad you brought Riley here, he truly is a lovely young male." The tiger male laughed, now beaming.

"Oh believe me, I'm fully aware."

Riley didn't even notice when Lars came back and sat down, Henrik had him with tears in his eyes, laughing hysterically. He'd told some kind of architecture story, about how this rhino had ordered the wrong kind of drawing plans...and how things had just gotten totally out of hand. Riley had no idea how such a story could be so funny, on paper it would be so dull...but the animated tiger brought it to life.

When he finally realised that his own tiger had re-joined them, he was so relaxed that he unthinkingly leaned over and kissed his muzzle. Lars went bright red under his fur, stammering out something that might have been English. His dad simply chuckled, and Marcus looked away, embarrassed by the public affection (Not the fact that it was two males.). Riley noticed everyone staring, including Clara, who was now seated next to Henrik and even smiling a little. Smirking sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oops." Was all he gave, Henrik rocked back with laughter, clapping. Riley felt his unease vanish as Lars grasped his paw, confirming support for the action.

"Ah, young love." Said the father absentmindedly. Riley just shrugged again.

Later that night, the Johansen parents ordered several pizzas, and the family ate merrily at the dinner table. Riley ended up fitting in quite nicely with the tiger family, and while there was still the occasional awkward hiccup, it was much more relaxed when compared to that first moment Riley had descended the stairs. He was now having a fantastic time, joking around with Henrik and Esther with ease. They were both just sarcastic enough to keep up with the fox, and he found himself more than once with tears of laughter yet again in his eyes.

After dinner was done, Henrik went to retrieve what he claimed was a very special treat. He ordered his kits to thank Riley for the ice cream, which he dished out generously to every family member. Toppings of different flavours were placed in the centre of the table and everyone was welcome to whatever and as much as they liked. Lars smothered his own in chocolate syrup and sprinkles, while his boyfriend simply had a little strawberry topping. It seemed that perhaps every Johansen had then offered more, just in case he wanted it, but he truly was content with just that. They all had the same reaction in the end, shrugging and returning to their own bowls.

When the dessert was finished, Henrik again blamed the serving of it on Riley's arrival.

"We're celebrating! It's not every day that our son brings home such a wonderful dinner guest!" He said gleefully. Riley just looked at his empty bowl bashfully, as each of the tiger kits saluted the fox. Lars was even so bold as to lean over and kiss his neck affectionately. Which of course earned even more jokes and claps from Henrik and now even Marcus. Esther made a face at the romantic display, and Clara smiled somewhat uncomfortably. She still hadn't let all her walls down, at least not quite so much as her husband had. The tiger mum had relaxed a lot, true. But she was still hesitant, as if she didn't quite know her place in the relationship.

Lars did his best to include her, but he knew some things took time.

After a little while, Esther was sent to bed and Marcus retired to his room. The rule was for the teenager that he could go to bed when he liked, so long as he could get up on time each day. Once everything had quietened down, Clara attempted to build the bridge between her and the new boyfriend a little more.

She put some crackers and cheese out on the table, sitting her husband and the two twenty-year-olds back at the table. She provided everyone with appropriate glasses and then went to the kitchen for a moment. Looking at his own, Riley saw they weren't unlike shot-glasses, perhaps slightly taller.

When Clara returned, she was carrying a large, dark bottle with an even darker liquid resting inside.

"This." She said, beginning to fill each tiny glass. "Is called Gammel Dansk, which translates to Old Danish. It's rather expensive, and fairly potent, so we only take it out for very special occasions." Clara smiled at him with that, and Riley felt very self-conscious as his own glass was poured.

"It's life-changing Riley." Said Henrik, with Lars nodding in agreement. "It's a little bitter, smooth but biting...perhaps you may find it odd, but it's very popular in Denmark."

"We're not terribly sentimental furs." Continued Clara. "But this is one thing we love to treat ourselves to from home. Truth be told, on a day of celebration, Danes tend to drink it in the morning...but we don't always do that nowadays." She laughed lightly.

Riley matched the family when they picked up their glasses.

"Skål!" Said Henrik, raising his glass. Clara and Lars repeated the phrase after him. Then they turned to look at Riley, looking somewhat amused.

"It means cheers, in Danish." Explained Lars.

"Oh." Said Riley. "Then Skål!" He repeated tentatively, raising his glass. After watching each of the members down the tiny drink (Lars flinching a little from the taste), Riley drank it himself. He didn't hate it, but it was not something he normally had. He smiled warmly to the family; feeling like this was some kind of ritual for them, hoping he had passed.

If the drinks had been a test, then Riley evidently was deemed worthy of the family. The four furs chatted long into the night, about all kinds of things. Clara and Henrik each explained their jobs and Lars said some stories about Ishmael the Burned while Riley backed their skill up. Eventually the talking turned to how the two had met, the fox carefully explained what led him to the comedy club that night. He said how Jason Marks had attacked him, not leaving out how he bit the foolish lion, garnering a loud cackle from Henrik. He did_of course leave out the fact that he had hacked into Jason's computer, and heavily manipulated his life to the point where he was removed from the university entirely via his brutish father. But the fox doubted they would be as sympathetic to _that story.

By the time the group gave up talking it was half-past one in the morning, the adults and the kind-of-adults all unanimously decided to go to bed. Which led to a little bit of discomfort. Riley and Lars were both unsure of the expected sleeping arrangement, so they decided to just wait until Clara and Henrik went to bed and then go to the double room together.

Unfortunately, father tiger decided to ruin that. He put the dishes in the sink and he wiped down the table of biscuit crumbs and cheese. The two males thought he was about to join his wife upstairs, when he turned the tap on, apparently going to wash the dishes. How helpful. Riley thought to himself, gritting his teeth.

"You two can go, it's fine I got this. It's late." Said Henrik.

"Oh, that's...fine Dad." Replied Lars.

"Um...okay then. Not weird or anything that you're both just standing here...watching me wash dishes then." He said, returning to the sink.

"Well...I guess we should go then." Said Riley, hoping they could just go, shut the door and have it assumed from now on that that's how things were. They started to leave when Henrik apparently had a burningly helpful thought.

"Oh, Lars!" He called out. The tiger poked himself back into the kitchen, miffed that he had almost made it away.

"Yes?" He asked.

"It's pretty cold, would you like another blanket for your room? There's a spare one for Riley but not in your..." He trailed off, obviously thinking ahead.

"Hmm?" Prompted Lars.

"I uh, just realised you probably won't need anything on your bed since it's unlikely to get slept in tonight...right?" Lars nodded, he practically heard Henrik swallow. "Oh...how quick kits grow up."

"Dad..." Whined Lars, putting on a voice for effect.

"Oh the horrors of parenthood, when the kit becomes an adult, engaging in adult situations. No parent wants to think of their kit having sex, they just imagine when they were little and..."

"Oh my god, stop. Please, before we both die." Begged Lars. He heard Riley from the next room, obviously listening in, coughing and spluttering.

"Ah, the shock of the kit when he realises his parents were young once too and are fully aware of his sex life's existence..."

"Dad holy shit, we're just gonna sleep. Stop!" He began to leave, totally aghast.

"Yes I know...sleep...with each other!" Henrik Johansen giggled menacingly as his kit left with boyfriend in tow. Both Lars and Riley had their faces incredibly red.

"What the hell was that...?" Asked Riley.

"Oh, I made the mistake of trying to talk to him when mum isn't around. He's Danish." Lars shrugged, as if this was a comprehensible answer.

"Right."

The two happily retreated to their shared room, shutting the door and climbing into bed. Cuddling each other softly, each fur's paw gently rubbing a shoulder or neck of the partner. Nothing sexual at this point, just comfort and romance. They enjoyed simply being near one another.

"This was a good day." Said Riley. His boyfriend scoffed.

"It was a long day. I can't believe it really...it seems unreal y'know?" In the darkness he couldn't see, but he felt the fox nod.

"Yeah, I know. Your family is really weird."

"Was it like that when you told your dad?" Asked the tiger, mostly whispering now.

"No...when I was fifteen or something, he asked if I had a girlfriend yet...I just said I prefer boys, that was that."

"Oh. That seems easier."

"In the short term, yeah." Said Riley. "But this way you can talk about it a bit more, this was a really nice night in the end."

"True." Lars proceeded to fill him in on the conversation he'd had with his mother in the kitchen. When he was done, Riley was silent for a minute, thinking.

"I...I dunno. She relaxed after we drank that...Gammel Dansk?"

"Correct, nicely done."

"Thank you. She was really tense before that, but we all opened up I guess."

"Yeah."

"Your sister is a scream. I like Marcus too, I just need to figure out how to get him to talk to me."

"Yeah he likes you."

"You think?" Asked Riley.

"Yeah. They all did, eventually. Mum is quiet like that; she takes time to make up her mind. The fact she busted out the Gammel Dansk though is...very telling. She likes you, Dad loves you, and so does Esther."

"Good." Said Riley resolutely. Lars rolled himself, so he was lying muzzle-to-muzzle with the sleepy fox.

"And so do I. I love you Riley Wilson...Welcome to the family."

"I love you too." The couple tenderly kissed each other.

Later, Lars would think his father had been half-right. In his mind they didn't just have sex that night, they made love to each other, tenderly, softly, delicately. They felt and explored one another, not for the first time technically, but this was if they approached the physical love with a fresh perspective. Each so devoted to the other that it was almost as if they moved as one, attempting to mute their passionate lovers' cries in the partners fur, for the sake of the Johansen parents.

It was a warm, caring and love-filled moment in their relationship.

They both felt wanted, they both felt loved.

They felt accepted for who they were, both by themselves and by those around them.

They weren't ready for everything that happened next.