{"sf1_id":1111604,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Untouchable: Chapter 40: Echoes: Oliver","author":"Dars","words":1845,"posted_at":"2016-12-24T08:00:00.000Z","tags":["Anthropomorphic","Border Collie","Cat","City","Family","Gay","Interspecies","Male","Novel","Plot Development","Relationships","Romance","Story Series","Tiger","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1111604-untouchable-chapter-40-echoes-oliver","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/1111604","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=1111604\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Oliver should have been happy. Sean was supported by so\nmany at the hospital, but it only reminded him of how much he missed his family.\nDespite all that had happened to hurt him, he wanted his old connections. He felt\nit move and flex, that phantom life that could have been. It tingled as if mom\nor dad would call any minute, to ask about his day and job. He had no contact\nwith them since they shunned him, but every year despite saying he wouldn't, he\nfound himself yet again calling to listen to the recording just to hear their\nvoice. A different kind of medicine to inoculate himself every birthday and on\nholidays. He wanted to call now, but what would that help, they had caller ID\nand never answered for him.\"Thanks for dinner Oliver. Soup for Soups?\" Paul\nasked.\"Yeah, but I let better cooks then me make it,\"\nOliver said he was feeling the light headed fuzz of his medicine settle over\nhim as it had before.\"Oliver, what's it like?\" Xander asked staring\nout the restaurant window.\"What's what like, my meds?\" Oliver asked.\"No, getting over what happened?\" Xander asked.Paul's tail lashed brushing Oliver's.\"I don't think you get over it, it's more making it\nto the other side of, I can live with what happened, or I can't,\" Oliver said,\nthen asked, \"do you mean getting raped or shunned?\"\"Man I don't understand either of those... I don't\nknow. I mean where is Sean in all that, with being raped? What should I do or could\nwe do?\" Xander asked.\"I think he's trying to open up,\" Paul said,\n\"When my dad died, I couldn't talk about how I felt because I didn't want\nto feel any of it again, it was overwhelming.\"\"Then why now?\" Xander asked.\"I think it's my fault, he can't avoid it, because\nI'm a screaming example of a similar experience,\" Oliver said, \"I\nmean being around him is making me work through it too.\"\"That's probably true, plus I got all angry at\nhim... damnit, I want him to be better, life isn't fair,\" Xander said pounding\nthe table.\"Hey, you being there for him makes it a bit\nfairer,\" Paul said, \"it would have been fair if I could have my dad\nlike everyone else, I didn't. What I wanted, what I got, and what I expected\nweren't the same for a long time.\"\"What do you mean wanted and expected?\" Xander asked.\"I wanted my dad, I expected to be alone, but Mr.\nGreyhouse, Jill's dad, made space in his life for me, he is what I got and he\nmade my life better... more fair.\"\"Sounds like a good man,\" Oliver said.\"I just want to be half the man he is for my\nkit,\" Paul said.\"When you have a kit you will,\" Xander said.They all sat around bowls they were done eating.\"Oliver, what do I do if Sean does bring all that\nstuff up, what if I don't know what to say?\" Xander asked. \"You let him share, and don't avoid it. If he thinks\nthat he's making you uncomfortable, he might stop sharing. I know I did... well\ndo. I could never tell my family, I didn't want them to think I blamed them, or\nthat it was their fault,\" Oliver said, \"Sean told his sisters and his\nmom, he's trying to reach out.\"\"You talked to me about what happened to you,\" Paul\nsaid, \"were you reaching out.\"Oliver shifted under Paul's steady eyes, \"you're the\nonly 'family' I have left.\"Oliver felt a small paw in his.\"What happened, if it's not too personal?\" Xander\nasked.\"I haven't talked to them since, you know, they had\nme excommunicated. I was still on my parents insurance in college, I was a\nfifth year senior getting a dual major,\" Oliver said, \"I got tested.\nI hadn't before because of the needles but I found out about a cheek swab. Mom\nfound out in the insurance bill.\"\"So she told everyone?\" Xander asked.\"Don't know... but I think it just confirmed her\nfear that I was going to be a lifelong sinner, taking metal into my veins,\nchemicals each day, and was 'probably' sexually active in a not going to have\nkids way,\" Oliver said.\"But you don't, you're the biggest prude I\nknow,\" Paul said.\"That's never seemed to matter, they never asked\nwhat I really get up too or how it happened. They wouldn't want to know,\" Oliver\nsaid sipping at his now lukewarm green tea.\"My parents hardly know what's going on with me, but\nthey had so many pups, they just never have the time,\" Xander said.\"But their ok with you being gay?\" Oliver asked.\"Yeah they're cool, they had five grand babies, from\ntwo litters, three that share the last name, all by the time Sean and I\nfinished high school,\" Xander said.\"So you're an uncle?\" Paul said happily.\"Yeah I baby sit, well Sean and I do, when my brother\nor sister want a night on the town,\" Xander said, \"but they are starting\nto get bored at Sean's, I guess I just don't have the right game\nconsoles.\"Oliver felt a happy warmth that Paul was seeing someone\nso family oriented, he said, \"you could get them a good book.\"\"I'm the fun uncle, I don't want to get demoted,\nthey have several others to choose from,\" Xander said.\"So you like spoiling kids? You're going to be the\nbig softy,\" Paul said.\"Yeah I am, I'm seeing more and more how herding dog\nI am,\" Xander said stirring some leftover broth in his bowl.\"Well don't change, I love you for it,\" Paul said\ntail freezing.\"You've said that a few times now,\" Xander said\nself-consciously avoiding Oliver and Paul's unwavering cat eyes.\"I have, and it's how I feel,\" Paul said,\n\"I... I'll stop saying it if it makes you uncomfortable, it's ok if you\ndon't feel the same, someday I hope you do.\"\"I'm heading that way, for sure,\" Xander said\nbumping Oliver's leg under the table on his way to play pawsie with Paul.\"So does he know,\" Oliver asked Paul.\"Not yet Jill's coming up this weekend, I want them\nto meet first,\" Paul said.\"Yeah, first!\" Oliver laughed, which got him a\nsharp elbow jab to the ribs.\"I hate being excluded,\" Xander said.\"Cheer up big boy, you'll know soon,\" Oliver said.\"So I'm big boy to you too now?\" Xander asked\ntilting his head to the side.\"Ah, well that's true to in your case, but that's\njust a phrase my dad used to say,\" Oliver said.\"Xander it's big but not the center of the\nuniverse,\" Paul said.\"So I was thinking of calling my family,\" Oliver\nsaid, to change the subject.\"Even after everything?\" Paul asked.\"I'm mean there my family no matter what, but they\nnever answer when it's my number,\" Oliver said.\"You can use my phone, when were you thinking,\"\nPaul asked.\"Tomorrow or the day after, if I call during the day\nI am pretty sure to get Mom,\" Oliver said.\"Are you calling in sick again?\" Paul asked.\"I might I need to figure out these meds, I might\nlet them know I'm still sick but work on projects from home most of the\nday,\" Oliver said.\"Hey Oliver, you seem to know the hospital better\nthan me, when are visiting hours over?\" Xander asked.\"I think they're still open but not for much\nlonger,\" Oliver said.\"Let's walk back,\" Paul said, Oliver felt good\nas Paul took Xander's paw as they all left.\"Fucking Faggots,\" someone yelled from the\nother side of the restaurant.Xander and Paul flinched. Oliver said, \"Well fuck\nyou too, come on guys.\"Oliver hung a pace behind Paul and Xander in case the\ndick from the restaurant followed. It took them all a little bit to relax, but\nafter half a block they did. Xander asked Paul, \"My mom loves to bake\nfresh breads and meat or fish pies, do you think they like doing that\ntogether?\"\"Mom loves to cook, but isn't much of a baker she'd\nprobably love to get a new skill.\"\"If she likes Irish baking then she'll be\nfine,\" Xander said.\"Mom does more Italian, but Irish and Italian are\nboth food and family cultures,\" Paul said.\"So, I know you said Jill is coming up to visit, but\nI'd like to go down to Portland and meet the Greyhouse's and your mom, you met\nMomma and Papa Miller, if we see them, then all that's left is getting you up\nto Everett to Ma and Pa,\" Xander rambled.There were rapids steps behind them, Oliver whirled\naround glimpsing an object flying towards him. He batted it out of the air,\nthen it shattered on the ground. His claws out, he braced himself for more. Whoever\nthrew the bottle had run away.\"What was that?\" Paul asked in alarm.\"Just a coward, let's walk a bit faster,\" Oliver\nsaid pulse racing.They didn't talk till they got into Swedish. \"That was the first time I didn't feel safe\nhere,\" Xander said face drawn.\"I'm small I rarely feel safe,\" Paul said.\"Yet, you stood up to Sharron and Samantha?\" Xander\nasked.\"What happened?\" Oliver asked.\"When Sharron and Sam were all freaked out that Sean\nwas going off with you that first time they got protective,\" Xander said.\"By protective he means inappropriately aggressive\nbecause of their size,\" Paul said.\"Well, Paul's a little spit fire, you better watch\nyourself Xander,\" Oliver said.The front desk said that they could go up.When they reached the room, Ken had arrived with blankets\nand toiletries for Mr. and Mrs. Miller.\"He's dreaming and his system seems to be flushing\neverything he can't metabolize,\" Pence explained as they arrived,\n\"the urea is not overly discolored, so his kidneys probably haven't been\npermanently damaged.\"\"Praise the Alpha,\" Mr. Miller said.\"I wish I could stay but I have my rounds,\"\nPence said.\"You have been wonderful honey, thank you,\" Mrs.\nMiller said then gave him a warm hug.Ken had started talking to Paul about the way they\nmanaged their different businesses. Xander had pulled Neal aside and Oliver\ndidn't know where they were now. It was just him and the Miller's.Oliver gathered his courage and stepped up next to Sean's\nbed by them, then said, \"I... I wanted to apologize to you both and to Sean.\"\"What for?\" Mrs. Miller asked.\"He took my meds, and they interacted with\nhis,\" Oliver said heart racing faster than when they were attacked in the\nstreet.\"Young man, mistakes happen, Sean will be ok, we\nknow he'll forgive you, he has a good heart,\" Mr. Miller said.Mrs. Miller was holding Sean's paw she took Oliver's and\nheld them all together.\"You think so?\" Oliver asked.\"Yes, when things get personal, Sean forgives,\"\nMrs. Miller said squeezing his paw.\"Well can you both forgive me, I'm sorry that I hurt\nyour son,\" Oliver said.Mr. Miller said, \"The Alpha forgives, and we do as\nwell.\"Could the Alpha and\nthe Prime be the same as so many Universalists claim, my parents aren't\nforgiving. Maybe if we talked and they understood, they would be, Oliver\nprayed silently, \"Alpha are you the Prime? Prime are you the Alpha?\" \nHe got no answer, they stood there in a silent\nvigil, with Mrs. Miller holding his and Sean's paw.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1109837-untouchable-chapter-39-haunted-sean.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1111874-untouchable-chapter-41-what-could-have-been-xander.json"}