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Despite being a short journey, on the drive to Wendy's house Jake found himself unable to stop fidgeting. He was nervous, his limbs tight and heart racing. He felt both ashamed and relieved that his brother knew the truth. Ashamed because...well, Brady was his brother, and now he knew that Jake had been having a less-than-innocent relationship, and even seen picture evidence of the fact. But relieved because of what the two were doing right now; driving over to the middle-aged deer's home in an attempt to end it for good. Breakups were never easy.

To his brother, Brady looked calm. He appeared in control and ready for anything, a statue of fortitude the teen could rely on. Internally he was losing it. He had almost no plan, no real course of action. All he had was an outcome, with no way to get there. But thinking on the fly had always been a strong suit of his, and he wanted to get this out of the way. There was no way he was turning back, no matter how unprepared he was. How dare that witch think she can manipulate a kid like that? He glanced over at Jake, suddenly aware of how small the wolf still was. In that moment he seemed so young and vulnerable, it felt so unfair what she was doing, even if it had technically been consensual. Brady was no stranger to nonconventional relationships - he had many a friend engaged in polyamorous or otherwise 'frowned upon' forms of courtship, so he didn't think of himself as prudish. But no matter who you were, or how you loved, holding revealing photos taken in the safety of a bedroom over someone's head as blackmail was not okay.

And Jake was only fourteen years old.

"I can't believe we're doing this. It all just happened at once." Jake stammered, eyes glued to the window, paws tapping on his leg restlessly. Brady sighed in agreement, rolling his shoulders.

"I know, I guess it's how these things go. At least after today it'll be done. You can sleep easy then, enjoy your new girlfriend." He said, causing the teenager to blush. Even aside from present circumstances, Jake was still at that awkward age where anything close to dating or sex was embarrassing, but Brady was long past caring about that kind of awkwardness. As much as he hated to admit it, it felt good to focus on someone else's problems, and not have to worry about what was going down with Max and co.

That was a problem for next-week Brady.

"Thank you." His brother said in a small voice. Brady just smiled, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Anytime." He added with a slight nod, totally serious. Jake inhaled deeply, cracked his knuckles and exhaled.

"What do you think she's gonna do?" The younger wolf asked as the car pulled to a stop outside the house. He realised with a start that he'd almost never seen the front of the house before, not in daylight anyway; he usually came in through the backyard.

"I have...no idea honestly. I don't even know what she looks like. Only one way to find out for sure though, right?" He replied with a smirk. Brady switched the car off, pulling his key out, but remained in his seat. "Just...whatever happens, let me do most of the talking, okay? I don't want to engage her in any kind of blame game, no he-said she-said bullshit. I want those pictures deleted, and her out of your life. Got it?" He explained sternly. The pup nodded quickly.

"Shit I'm so nervous." He groaned through gritted teeth, bouncing up and down on his seat. Brady nodded.

"Yeah, me too. But...it'll be alright, I won't let anything happen." He paused. "You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." The wolves grinned at one another the same way kamikaze pilots might have before a mission, climbing out of their respective car doors and walking through Wendy's front gate. They strode up to her door, the lawn bathed in the warm, deep orange of the afternoon. Brady knocked on her door and stepped back, giving Jake a look. The teen just shrugged. They both waited as shuffling was heard inside, some kind of high-pitched muttering accompanying it.

"That you Jake?" A shrill voice called out from indoors. The young wolf looked up at his brother for reassurance, who nodded his approval.

"Y-yeah, it's-it's me Wendy." He called, stumbling over the words, his paws being pushed into his pockets, only to be pulled out again, before being pushed back in. He didn't know where to put them.

"Great! Just a minute, I wasn't expecting you so early." She cried back with a short laugh. Judging from the sound of her voice, Brady imagined she thought everything was fine. Someone like her would never see her victim actually standing up to her. He bounced on the balls of his feet, anxious for it to actually start, whatever it was going to be. He hated the waiting.

"I don't think she thinks anything's wrong." Jake whispered to his older brother. The taller wolf nodded his agreement. His heart was racing. He still had no plan.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" The deer called from inside, her voice muffled from the door. Brady sucked in another short breath as the door was unlocked, smiling awkwardly as it swung inwards to reveal the short fur inside. Wendy's eyes were wide, her delicate features deceptively kind. She looked up at Brady with her face frozen. He just stared right back. She turned to glance at Jake, unable to hide the look of betrayal on her face.

"I'm Brady, Jake's older brother." The wolf said, crossing his arms. Wendy exhaled, nodding slowly. Brady could see the cogs turning in her head, she was wondering how much he knew.

"I...I guessed as much. I have to say Jake; I'm hurt you don't trust me enough to come alone." She said, looking at the younger wolf, who blushed and stared at his feet. "You might as well come inside." The deer vanished from the doorway, walking down the hall and turning into the room Jake knew as her living room. The brothers exchanged a quick look, before crossing the threshold and following her, the door closing behind them.

"I didn't come here to argue with you." Brady said as they stepped into the living room. Wendy was across the room, paying a great deal of attention to her framed pictures on the mantle. "Jake...told me everything." He finished, paws in his pockets now.

"And what do you want then?" She asked softly, looking casually back over her shoulder. Brady shrugged.

"What do you think? I want you to give me the pictures you have of Jake. And promise to stay out of his life. He's done. He's moved on, and you should too." Brady said firmly, surprising himself. He'd half expected to come here and stumble over words, tripping and getting all nervous. Ordinarily he hated confrontation. The only difference was today he wasn't arguing for himself, he was looking out for his little brother.

"Yeah?" Wendy swallowed audibly, turning around to glare at him. She had her paws on her hips, brow furrowed disapprovingly. Brady couldn't help but be reminded of his own aunty, telling him off when he was a pup staying at her house. "And what about what I want? All I asked Jake for was a conversation. I think I'm entitled to that." Brady shook his head.

"What you want doesn't matter now. Jake doesn't want a conversation; he wants you out of his life." The wolf said, taking a step towards her. There was roughly a meter between them, but Brady still obviously towered over her. He had broad shoulders and a strong face, yet she didn't seem in the least bit intimidated.

"Well maybe he could tell me that himself, instead of hiding behind you." She retorted, shooting a dirty look at the teenager, who let out a slight whine.

"No." Brady said. "Just give me the photos. You know full well that even having them is illegal. Jake's a minor, and you're lucky he has any respect left for you. I would have turned you into the police like that." The wolf clicked his fingers for dramatic effect. Wendy took a step closer to him, all semblance of diplomacy gone from her face. She glared seething hatred into his eyes, a devious cleverness hidden behind her pupils.

"You wouldn't. Everyone would know. You both grew up in this town. You know full well what it would be like, and so do you Jake." She quickly gestured at the pup. "Everyone would know, and they'd talk. They couldn't help themselves. Every time Jake walked into the library, or school, or the park there'd be whispers. They'd follow him around forever. They'd all know him as the poor boy who fucked that old whore, his hard cock frozen in their minds eye whenever they looked at him." She stopped, metaphorically dropping the mic. Brady was taken aback, and for a moment unable to respond. He certainly hadn't expected that kind of...forthrightness from the old deer. He noticed the younger wolf tearing up, wiping away at his eyes.

Brady closed his eyes, inhaled, then exhaled. Wendy just waited.

"And you'd be in jail. Nobody would think about you, because you'd be locked up somewhere, forever. Would it really be worth that? Think about it Wendy, the trade-off here is terrible for you. Sure, you'd spite Jake, maybe make the next four years or so of his life difficult, but yours would be over." Wendy let out a light laugh, her eyes betraying the fact she thought she'd already won.

"You think my life would be over, you oversized mutt? Do you pay much attention to the news? The evidence looks like this; everything I did with Jake was consensual. He agreed to it all, and he_enjoyed_ it. Then we had a normal nasty breakup. And I'm just a harmless old lady, not some filthy paedophile. I'd get five years, maximum, and we both know I'd never serve all of them. I'd be out in ten months, and then I'd just move town. Honey, I'll be fine." She smiled at him, checkmate. Brady gritted his teeth. She was right, he couldn't deny it.

"What do you expect to happen here? You think if you can sit down with Jake alone, you'll suddenly convince him to love you again? It's over Wendy. No matter what you do today, your sick twisted relationship is over, Jake's leaving at the end of this with me, and he's not coming back." Brady said, pointing back at the door for emphasis. "So what do you want?"

"What I want is for Jake to stop being such a coward. I want him to talk to me, and try to fix this. We had something special, and while I know a fairy like you might look down on it, it's true." She took a step backwards, crossing her arms. "So I want at least a chance to repair it, I want to try. That's all. If at the end of that, Jake is still unhappy, he can go on his merry way." Brady let out a breath he'd been holding, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously.

"You don't get to decide things like that. Have you never been in a breakup before? You can't force the other person to try and make it work." He said, voice a little lower.

"I can when I have pictures of him naked." Wendy replied, before winking at Jake. Brady resisted the urge to lash out and strangle her.

"You're sick. You're really fucked in the head lady. I don't know what happened to you in your life to make you like this, but if illegal sex is your idea of a relationship then you're beyond fixing."

"It was consensual." Wendy fired back. Brady stifled a laugh.

"With a fucking fourteen year old? You can't justify this to me." Brady retorted, a low growl from deep in his throat backing up his words. He took a step towards her, leaning in close. "He's too young. What's wrong with you?" He growled. Wendy didn't meet his gaze, looking away.

"Wendy." Jake added quietly, breaking the silence. The two furs by the mantle looked over at the teenager. His paws were both held in front of his stomach, interlocked and fiddling nervously. "It was...it was just sex. You w-weren't my girlfriend." He said, eyes wet, face red.

"You know that's not true Jake. We had something special." She replied, but Brady interjected before she could pounce on the kid.

"No. It is true. And you know it, don't you?" He asked, side-stepping around the deer and blocking her view of Jake. "That's the reality here. You don't have a relationship to save. You had sex and that's it. And if I'm honest it's sad that you think otherwise. Because it means that nobody has ever really loved you, and you don't know what it feels like. And if you weren't such a fucking bitch, I'd feel sorry for you." He was talking softly now, forcing her to listen. Wendy squeezed her eyes shut, looking at the ground.

"You...y-you don't understand." She replied. Finally. Brady thought. A crack in the armour.

"Yes, I do. I know everything I need to here. You wanted somebody to make you feel special. Someone who could touch you and make you feel pretty again. Because you didn't want to believe that maybe...it's too late for you." Brady spoke slowly, leaning in even closer.

"Stop." The deer said in barely a whisper. He ignored her.

"But it is. You're pathetic, wasted away with nothing left inside. You didn't take chances in your life, you let everything slip by, and now you're trying to pin your last chances of happiness onto my fourteen year old brother. And I will not allow that. You won't bring him down with you."

"Don't." She said again, tears seeping through the squeezed eyes. Brady didn't, he knew that she would give him the pictures now, but he wanted to hurt her.

"Wendy. It's over. He never loved you, and he never will. What you're doing is sad, and broken. I've been in relationships, real ones; I've been with boys I care about. And it's not like this. They're my own age for one, but there's care. There's no blackmail, we hug, we kiss, and we tell each other that nothing else matters. We spend time not having sex, talking, for hours. We talk all night, about our dreams, or fears, the things we love and the things we hate." He stopped. Wendy sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "Now you tell me, is that what you had with Jake?" He waited.

Wendy looked up, first at Brady, then over to Jake. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, the fur surrounding them wet from the few tear she'd already shed. In that moment, she looked old. She was no longer the scalding aunty, she was a scared little old lady, afraid of dying alone.

"No." She finally admitted, looking away. Brady stood up straight, no longer holding himself in her face. The older wolf looked back at his younger brother, who was watching silently. He turned back to Wendy and held out a paw.

"Wendy, give me your phone." She swallowed, glanced back again at Jake. Without looking at Brady, the deer pulled a small mobile out of her pocket and placed it gently into his paw. "The pictures are all on here? There are no backups?" He asked firmly. She shook her head.

"They're...they're all there." She added. Brady just nodded.

"You won't try to contact him?" He asked, Wendy just shook her head again, turning away to sit in one of her armchairs. "Okay. Let's go Jake." And he walked away. Jake didn't follow immediately.

"Bye Wendy. I'm sorry. It was...fun while it lasted." Jake said, standing in front of the old deer. She looked up at him.

"Thank you." She replied. Jake turned and followed his brother out. Before they left, Brady poked his head back into the room.

"And Wendy. I'll come back if I have to, I don't ever want to see you again." He said, voice hard.

"Just get the fuck out of my house." She said, waving a paw at him. Brady nodded, turned and left, his brother in tow.

The furs didn't speak in the car on the way back, and when they got home their parents were busy going about dinner. The wolf family all had dinner, sitting in front of the television together as they ate their pasta. When questioned about where they went, they claimed that they'd just gone to 'hang out' around the town. Clearly the wolf adults were sceptical, but they didn't press, it was natural for teenagers to have secrets after all. After they were in bed, Brady and Jake hung out in the lounge room watching movies. The subject of Wendy didn't come up again until just past eleven. The big wolf asked his brother to follow him outside, where he took a hammer to the deer's phone. When the glass shattered, Jake couldn't stop himself from giggling, elated that the problem was over.

"I thought you'd just delete them." He said, after the laughter had died down. Brady scoffed, hammered the phone again for effect.

"Nah. Gotta be sure, and it's more fun this way." He said with a shrug. "She's not getting the phone back though." Which sent Jake into another fit of hysterics, this time Brady laughing along with him. They tossed the old phone and went inside, sitting down at the dining table each with a coffee in paw. Jake didn't really like coffee all that much, but Brady had offered to make some and he wanted to impress his brother. He grimaced at the bitter liquid as he sipped it, very suspect.

"These holidays have been...dramatic." The older wolf eventually said, laughing sadly to himself. "It kind of seems unbelievable how much shit has happened."

"Yeah, I guess so." Jake added, not really certain what his brother was referring to, but happy to agree with him. "Are you and Max dating now?" He asked, and this time it was Brady's turn to be embarrassed.

"Umm..." He started, taking a sip of coffee to bide time. "I don't know. It's complicated." He finally settled on. Jake looked at him with eyes wide, utter adoration in his eyes. He'd always looked up to the wolf, and (Right now, especially) Brady could do no wrong.

"Did you kiss? Because it doesn't count if you didn't kiss." Jake said, giving Brady a sudden flashback to a very old conversation with Oliver. A time when they'd met on the playground, the labrador had just become Marley's boyfriend. A relationship that was now - assuming Marley had been telling the truth when she said they would break up - over.

"Well, yes. Sort of. I guess." It had been a long day. "Like I said, it's complicated." He added for good measure, to which the teen shrugged.

"I'm not...a stranger to complicated." He said slowly, a mischievous grin on his face. Brady let out a groan, slapping his forehead for effect. "You've never introduced me to a boyfriend before, how come?" He asked. Brady just shrugged.

"Oh, y'know. Nobody worth meeting I guess." He answered, somewhat truthfully. He'd had a boyfriend or two since moving to the city, but it wasn't anything serious. More like just another gay fur he'd hang out with and occasionally kiss.

"If you are dating Max, you guys would be long distance, at least for a while." Jake added.

"Yeah I guess, but it's only a four hour drive up here. And long distance isn't exactly the death sentence it was in the nineties, y'know? Besides, I don't even know what Max and I are doing. So I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

"Right." Jake said curtly, sipping his coffee and failing to hide the scowl.

"So tell me about your girlfriend." Brady asked, something which Jake was happy to talk about. He babbled about her the way young boys dating do, the way he should be able to, instead of having to hide everything. He told his older brother what her favourite colour was and what movies she liked and all that stupid trivial stuff. The two talked for almost a whole hour, peacefully winding down from the exhaustive day.

When Brady finally did take himself to bed, he realised how tired he truly was. The day had begun with a fight at Max's house, before going to an old deer's place to break up with her, and ending with destroying a mobile phone. The wolf hurt all over, and planned to sleep in until the afternoon tomorrow.

Before he fell asleep, he briefly wondered how Oliver was doing.