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"Welcome home," Toby said to me as the door swung open in front of me. He'd stayed in an apartment like this last school year, so he let me go in first to get the full effect. I stepped through the door, my paw in his, keeping him close behind me. I had to admit, I was a little nervous. This is the farthest I'd ever been from Utah, and my family.

Thinking of them brought up a lump in my throat. My family had rejected me when they learned from my ex-friends that I was gay. The same ex-friends who dumped me and my gear, and left me to fend for myself in Kearney, Nebraska last spring. But I suppose, I do owe them a debt of gratitude. Had they not done so, I never would have met my tiger, whose hand I squeezed as I looked into his eyes, now.

"Go ahead. This is our place, yours and mine," he assured me. "At least, for the next nine months, anyways."

I stepped into the apartment. The furniture was worn, but clean, and it smelled like cleaning chemicals. There was an efficiency kitchen on one side with a counter and bar stools making the enclosure. Then there was a small living room, with an old couch and a coffee table. The upholstery on the couch was thin on either end, but the middle seat didn't look too heavily used. I noticed, that cushion was also a little thicker. I dropped my bag next to the sofa and continued to look around. Behind the front door was a small table that held up a small flat panel television. At least that had been updated, recently. A small balcony led off on the east wall, opposite the kitchen, and overlooked a pleasant green area, where the trees were just beginning to suggest that fall might be coming soon. I could see down the short hallway now. There was a door at the end that stood open revealing the shower, with a small window near the ceiling. I could see two other doors, and Toby's orange and black striped tail leading into one.

"We can move the beds into one room, and use the other as an office, unless you want to have a space that is exclusively yours, but that will make sleeping rather tight, in a twin bed." I didn't have to ask what he meant by that. There was no question that we'd sleep together. I followed my lover into the room. The view overlooked the same small park. "This one has a nice view," I said.

Toby turned around and wrapped his arms around my waist. "So does that mean sleep here, or work here?"

"The view on the other side is what? Another building and a parking lot? Hmm. Let's make this the waking room, and the other the sleeping room, since we won't be looking outside from there."

"Good plan. That one also faces east, so we'll get the morning sun." Toby moved across the hall and dumped his bags at the foot of that bed with a light 'thump!' "What do you say we unload the Jimmy, and then we can rearrange the furniture to our liking." He met me in the hallway, taking me in his arms, again. "And then we can make the bed, and break it in, and by then it should be dinner time."

"Sounds like you have this all planned out, Tiger" I grinned, my silver tail wagging.

"You're really on my turf, now, Foxy. And here in Lincoln, I don't care who knows that I love you." He kissed me, slowly, then broke it off, and headed out the still open front door. "Come on, let's go get our stuff," he called, already invisible around the corner. I hurried after him, eager to start this new chapter in my life.

Unloading the Jimmy really took no time at all, and as there wasn't much to move, we quickly swapped the sparse furniture between the rooms. We had paused to stretch and pick up a few last-minute necessities when we passed through Denver, and unbeknownst to me, he had picked up a king-sized sheet set that would be perfect for when we pressed the two twin beds together. The mattress cover and foam pad between were thick enough to prevent the gap from becoming a problem. But by time we were done, after the long drive across several states left neither of us really interested in anything but a nap, which is exactly what we did to break in the bed. We stripped shirts and trousers, then curled up in each other's arms, not even bothering to get under the covers. Our respite ended when Toby's phone went off about an hour later, which he answered with a sleepy "h'llo?"

It was a call from one of his classmates, checking to see if he had arrived yet, and inviting him to dinner. He said he was bringing someone to introduce, and that we'd be there shortly, then hung up.

"Well, Craig, it's dinner time. You feel up to meeting some of my school friends, yet?"

"Depends. Are any of them sexier than my Tiger," I teased, laying across his bare torso, as though I had no intention of moving. "If they are, well that could make things interesting. Besides, I don't think we got any groceries yet, so eating somewhere else sounds like a good plan."

He put a paw on my muzzle and playfully pushed me back. "Cool your jets, you delicious Fox. No sex invitations until after opening week, OK? Everyone's going to be much too busy settling in and getting classes started." We both laughed, but found our way out of bed and into our clothes.

It was a short walk to his friend's apartment, as he lived in the same complex, two buildings away, and soon we were standing outside a door that looked remarkably like ours. It was slightly ajar, and I could hear that someone was playing a Tool album. Toby knocked as he pushed his muzzle through. "Olly olly oxen free?"

I could hear a deep voice from inside call, "Hey, Tob! Come on in!"

Toby pushed the door all the way open, and we entered an apartment that had the exact same floorplan we had just left. The couch had different upholstery, but otherwise the layout was unremarkably the same. A gathering of several furs were present, sitting at various places in the living room and kitchen area. A rather beefy Ox wearing nothing but sweat pants was in the kitchen filling disposable cups with beer. I could tell he was the owner of the voice that had called to us as we entered, as he said, "Hey, guys, welcome back! We went ahead and ordered a whole bunch of pizzas, and the contribution pile is on the coffee table." Toby found it and tossed in a few bills to cover our share of dinner.

A female horse, came from the hallway as we were settling down. "Hey, Toby! Good to see you! Who's this handsome fox you brought us?" She moved up behind the couch with a smile as she looked me over.

"Guys, this is Craig," Toby introduced me as space was made for us on the couch. He sat down with his arm around my shoulders. "He followed me home last spring, and my folks said I could keep him, at least until I came back to school. But since they aren't here to say no, I decided to keep him, here, too." He kissed me on the cheek before continuing, pointing around at the various people in the room, while I shook what paws I could reach and nodded to the others. "This is the gang, Craig. There's Charles and Tiffany," he pointed to a Cougar and a Panther at the other end of the sofa, "who I met in labs. Roger there is our math expert," this was the Falcon sitting on the chair across the coffee table, "Michelle here is the lovely horse behind us who dominates the English department, and the Bullock over there in the kitchen is her husband, Jack."

"And I finished school last year, so I'm just here to keep my lovely bride company," he said, pausing to kiss Michelle as he arrived beside her to present us with our beers. "I hope you got everyone's names down; there will be a test later." We all chuckled at that.

"How did you meet," asked Roger, forcing me to take my eyes off of Jack to look his way.

"Do you want the full story or the Reader's Digest version," Toby asked.

"How about Reader's Digest for now," I answered, unsure how much I wanted to divulge to these furs, yet. "We don't want to bore everyone on the first night. I got stranded in Kearney, and needed a ride back to Utah. Toby was the first person to stop, and since we both like the same music, he picked me up."

Michelle spoke up, settling down in a chair next to Roger, and pulling over a third for Jack to sit next to her. "I understand you worked with Toby this summer? He was worried how he'd keep the business together without Teagan this year. I'm glad that worked out for you both."

I looked at Toby, unsure how she knew that. "Michelle skypes everyone regularly," my Tiger explained. "She keeps the group intact when we're scattered to the wind during the summer months."

"That's why I love her so much," Jack added, standing up at a knock on the door. "She's great at keeping us in line, especially me!" He scooped up the cash on the table and answered the door, receiving the pizza. From there, the conversation shifted away from Toby and I to what classes everyone was taking this year, their schedules, and setting up study meetings. They also had some ideas where I could find work, and gave me a list of people to call. The most interesting suggestion was that I could work at the gym where Jack served as a trainer. If I got a job at the desk or in maintenance, I could get a free membership, and he'd teach me how to be a trainer, too, because they got much better pay. Eventually, games were pulled out and we played a few rounds of Munchkin until nearly midnight, when the group broke up for the evening and we headed back to our new home.

As we curled up together in bed, we discussed the evening. "I think I will find that gym that Jack mentioned," I posited. "It sounds like a good place to get started, at least."

"You just want to be able to stare at Jack more," Toby teased me. "I saw your eyes on him all night."

"Can you blame me," I asked. "He's got that incredible body, and he was sure glad to show it off!"

"Not in the least. I guess I'm just used to him by now. And before you ask, he's devoted to Michelle and won't play around."

"What makes you think I'd ask?" I pretended to pout.

"Because I have on more than one occasion," Toby laughed.

"But you didn't have me," I said, snuggling a little closer to my Tiger. "And now that you do, you won't need that big, sexy bull."

"As long as you remember that and come home to me each night, I'll back you up for getting that job," he said, kissing me softly.

"How could I forget you, my love," I answered, my paws sliding slowly down over his torso.

"You better not!" He grinned.

"Never," I replied, settling my paws on his waist as I began to nuzzle his tenting shorts. The conversation pretty much ended there, and we had a long, slow lovemaking session before we both finally fell asleep, sated, exhausted, and happy.