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Winter Blues

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Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

Commissioned by TheCuddlingFox

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Sitting before the artist's easel, Devyn let out a long sigh that seemed as if it should have lifted the weight of the world from her shoulders and yet only added to it. The wolf slouched in the desk chair, swivelling ever so slightly back and forth as her head fell back, staring at the ceiling fan that, in the depths of winter, was simply not used. The view from the attic window gave her a pleasant view over the city, the space renovated and insulated just for her so that her paints would stay at just the right temperature when she was hired for a physical piece of work or was purely painting to add to her gallery and portfolio. The job was going well, living the dream of being a freelance artist and yet...

Licking her lips, Devyn flinched and shook her head, straightening and staring at the easel before her. Sure, she'd sketched out the lines, ready for the first coat of paint, but somehow she couldn't quite bring the Christmas scene to life and, even as she tried, her brush hesitated before it even touched the canvas, paint ready and still unused.

No. She put the brush down again, angled off her pallet and the mix of prepared paints. She just couldn't do it. The colours were all wrong. Her lips turned down at the corners and the wolf glared at the beginnings of her own work - the work that had caused her so much grief over the last week.

The door opened behind her and she stiffened, ears tipping back noticeably. She was early.

There was a pause while the fennec fox waited on her to speak, no doubt wagging that fluffy, creamy tail - which would have made Devyn want to run her fingers through it over and over again at any other time - back and forth as she exercised her usual patience. Yet no words were forthcoming and Gloria was forced to speak, her quiet words shattering the stillness like a hammer crashing through a glass mirror.

"Something on your mind, darling?"

Devyn's lips twitched, but she did not look around as her wife stepped into the room. She could almost see the pleasant smile on Gloria's lips, that light sheen of work-appropriate gloss glimmering ever so faintly in the clear light that Devyn had insisted on having to paint by. It would have done no good to paint in glaring or dim light, but there was not much point in having a specialised lamp to work by if she couldn't do any goddamn work at all!

"I'm fine," she said stiffly, knowing that she would have to answer one way or the other. "Just working."

High heels - Gloria's work attire - clicked lightly over the bare floorboards as the fennec fox approached, slowly and unsurely as if Devyn had suddenly become a nervous, frightened animal that she was cautious to startle.

"You're working so hard, dear," she murmured, fingers sliding over the wolf's shoulders to rub and massage gently through her thin t-shirt. "Is everything alright? You've not had the same smile on your lips this last week."

Well, of course, she hadn't. Against herself, the hackles on the back of Devyn's neck raised and she clenched her jaw until it trembled simply to prevent a growl from bursting forth. What would she know? She didn't have to create, create, create every day and didn't Gloria always think that her job was so much harder than hers?

Huffing, Devyn shrugged off the fox, ignoring her soft murmur of surprise, tinged with the faintest flicker of hurt. Yes, everything was going so well for her, wasn't it? Devyn thought with venom that should have shocked her and yet only served to fuel her frustration.

"How would you know?" Devyn said, a snarl curling through her words like a barely concealed threat. "You're never here, you never show any interest in what I'm doing."

Gloria flinched and Devyn took stock of her in her navy work suit for the first time, the silver lining setting off the high-class fabric with a professional touch of femininity. Gloria really did know how to dress

"You know that's not true," Gloria said, jerking Devyn rudely back to the conversation at hand. "I'm here, showing an interest now."

She frowned.

"I thought you enjoyed painting? Is something wrong? I thought it was the digital work that really made your head ache."

In hindsight, Devyn could not have said what, exactly, sparked off the words that followed that innocent observation. Hell, if anything, what her wife said only proved that she was there for her, that everything was well and there certainly wasn't anything untoward in either her actions or her words. But Devyn's mind snatched up the worst case scenario and clung to it with the vindictiveness of a four-legged feline casually sinking its claws into an owner's arm while they shrieked.

"Honestly, Gloria." The words were pouring out of her muzzle before she could stop them, an unstoppable flood rolling on and on and on while her own mind screamed at her. "Maybe you think I'm unhappy with my_job because _you're unhappy with what you are doing!"

Gloria reeled back as if she'd been struck, paws curling into fists where they hung at her sides. For a moment, there were no further words to cross no man's land between them and Gloria's ears, ever so slowly, folded back, the fennec fox losing a little of the life from her eyes. But it was too late to take anything back and, chest rising and falling rapidly in short, sharp pants, Devyn met her gaze levelly, challenging her to say anything otherwise.

Without a word, Gloria turned on her heel, though the thud of her shoes was considerably duller as she walked with a heavier tread than with which she'd entered. The door closed with a solid rap of wood into the frame and her steps retreated more swiftly down the rickety attic stairs as if the fox could not put enough distance between them swiftly enough.

Damn it!

Growling, Devyn slammed a closed fist into the opposite paw, a shudder running down her spine, enough to shake her as if she was being grabbed by the back of the neck. What the hell had happened there? Why had she said that? She jumped up from her chair as if to call Gloria back, but she knew that the fennec fox had already most likely made her way down into the belly of their house, a set look on her muzzle that belied the tears beneath.

Devyn slumped. Too late, much too late. Or was it? What was she to do? Sighing, she glared at the canvas and slammed the heel of her paw into the palette spilling paint everywhere as her brush rattled and splattered crimson droplets over the floorboards. For a moment, the act of anger felt good and Devyn bared her teeth at the mess, eyes wild and a derisive chuckle on the urge of bubbling up from her gut.

And then it faded, the memory of Gloria sanding down those same boards and painting them with her, ensuring that just the right shade of stain had been chosen as they tested a patch and then tested another, just to be sure. They'd done it together, sweaty and dirty, and laughed the whole time as their backs ached and paws rang raw from the work. They'd soaked their paws in hand spas that night, giggling and splashing one another with water as they watched Dead Serious, a new superhero movie that, really, was simply a guilty pleasure for the two of them.

But, far from indulging in such a guilty pleasure, a deeper, curdling sort of guilt bubbled hotly up in the pit of Devyn's stomach, the wolf twisting and squirming uncomfortably as the sensation swelled. She didn't need to talk sense into herself, but it didn't seem right to follow Gloria down either... She whimpered, pressing her paws over her muzzle. Maybe a little time for both of them to cool off would do more good than stumbling down with her words all in a tangle at right that very moment.

The hours passed and still Devyn made no progress on her work. Her stomach rumbled and yet she could not bring herself to slouch downstairs either to see if there was anything she could cobble together for dinner, the shame of facing Gloria too great for her to forge through without a greater reserve of determination in hand.

The bathroom, however, was nearer and she stood a better chance of reaching it without the awkward, painful conversation that she knew, sooner or later, that she'd have to face. But a little more time to soothe her mind could not be a bad thing and the wolf laid down her barely touched tools, cleaning off the brush and palette with careful attention. A bath awaited and she crept across the attic, wincing every time the claws of her hind paws tapped the floor, as blunt and otherwise unobtrusive as they were. Cursing herself, Devyn bit back a growl, frustration seething a breath below the surface of her psyche.

Why oh why had she not worn her slippers or house flats? It was too late - like much else, she seemed to be thinking that rather a lot lately - to find some either kind of paw-wear, and she made her way down the stairs as quietly as she could. Blessedly, the bedroom was empty and she slipped past it down the hall to the large bathroom - well, large as far as the standards of town houses went.

The bubble of water spilling into the bath played with her senses, ears twitching to catch the sound as she slowly slipped out of her yoga pants and the loose t-shirt, which had been a present from Gloria on a holiday they'd taken together, not all that long ago, to test the hot water with one, curious toe.

She sighed, though the exhalation that came from her barely parted lips was not one of dissent or frustration. The temperature was perfect. Tipping a few drops of scented bath oils into the crash of water, taps creaking, she inhaled deeply as the bubbles frothed up, a scented soak that would ease all the troubles from her bones. That was if the bottle the oil had come from was true to its word, of course. It remained to be seen if it would be quite that divine.

She stood on her tiptoes to peek out the high bathroom window before settling in, but, of course, she'd already known that it would be dark outside. Against the night, she lit two candles at the end of the bath, not caring to check what their scents were and instead allowing them to mingle with the remainder of the aromas as they pleased. Not everything had to be so strictly controlled, after all.

Dipping a toe into the water as the taps were turned off, Devyn sighed as the hot water enveloped her, creeping up her leg to her hips and midsection. She sank down and lay back, tucking her hair up and out of the way as the water lapped gently at her collarbone, the wolf as far down into the tub as she could get without dunking her head and muzzle in too.

With the candlelight flickering on the tiled walls, she exhaled once more, eyes heavy and half-lidded as the desire to sleep pricked at the back of her mind. Even though she'd not exactly done all that much work that day, the mental grind of failure drew exhaustion to muscles yet unused. A little snooze surely would do her no harm, if she slipped off for just a little while...

A knock came on the door and, even as she started, Gloria entered without waiting to be called in. The fennec fox stood, pressing her back to the door as she leaned back to close it, the latch clicking closed with such echoing softness that it was as if it too was reluctant to disturb the tentative peace.

For a moment, all the fox and the wolf could do was stare at one another, a cord of tension stretching out between them that seemed impenetrable to even the blade of a knife. Devyn's heart gave one uncomfortably forceful beat and she parted her lips - but her wife got there before her.

"I'm so sorry!" Gloria burst out, eyes wide and paws clutched to her chest. "I didn't mean to disturb you when you were working - I know you don't like it and I did it anyway! It was silly and I really didn't think, I just so badly wanted to see you when I came home from work!"

Gloria grimaced and half-shrugged.

"Like you said, not that it's any excuse - of course, it's not - it was not the best of days. Perhaps you know me too well, sweetheart."

"No..." Devyn sat up, sloshing water over the edge of the bathtub in her haste. "It wasn't you, it was me. You were so right, I was frustrated at what wasn't happening and really..."

She pressed her lips together and inhaled sharply through her nostrils, staring at her wet fur through the distorting shallow water. But it had to be said, as guilty as she felt, that deeply-seated, sick tremor shuddering up from the very core of her being.

"It's the art block," she said, words coming out all in a great rush that could not be sealed behind closed lips. "I can't get anything down on paper these days - all those digital jobs have just burned me out! I don't know if I'm even creative anymore at all!"

Perching on the edge of the bathtub, Gloria stroked her lover's hair softly, teasing her fingers around the base of the wolf's ears until she relaxed, if only minutely.

"It's okay, love," she murmured. "It happens to everyone, although I know it's not much comfort. But it will come, I know it will. You're a very talented wolfess and I'm very, very lucky to have you."

Devyn sighed, lips pursing.

"It doesn't get any work on the page though, as much as I appreciate it, Gloria... It's very sweet of you to say."

"What could help you then?" Gloria said softly, her practical mind moving on even as Devyn wandered towards the melancholy. "Could we set up your easel in a different part of the house? I know it may not be as comfortable as the upstairs, but maybe just the change of scenery will help?"

Devyn nodded slowly.

"I'm willing to try anything, truly."

Gloria kissed the top of her head, trailing her fingers around her lover's cheek as she pulled back.

"That's one little thing to give you hope then, we'll get this right. Can you take on fewer jobs for a while? You know we don't need the money and I don't want to see you suffering from work that should be your passion." Gloria winced. "Not a slog like my days."

"We really should get you out of there..."

Gloria sighed.

"I know. It'll come when it comes. You know I have some leads, but there's the team to take care of first."

The fennec fox stood suddenly as if she had come to a rather abrupt decision. In but a moment, her clothes were on the floor, falling into a crumpled pile as she slipped out of even her pink panties. Devyn opened her mouth as if to ask her just what she was doing, eyes falling to her chest. The fox hadn't thought to put a bra on when she was just relaxing in their town house and her heavy, full breasts hung down lightly in a teardrop, pink nipples poking through her fur in a fashion that couldn't have been anything but flirty.

But stripping down wasn't all that she had on offer as Gloria winked to her lover and stepped into the bath, soap suds bubbling off over the side. Devyn shrieked.

"Gloria! What are you doing?"

By way of answer, the fennec fox seated herself entirely in the water and wriggled around to Devyn's side, pushing her way in playfully until she sat behind her wife, her back pressed to the fox's chest. Devyn giggled weakly and blushed, head spinning as water slopped messily onto the bathroom floor.

"Gloria really," she teasingly admonished, bopping her on the nose. "We're going to make a mess and there's so much to already do..."

But Gloria silenced her with a kiss on her lips that drew her tongue up to hers, the flexible appendages dancing between their muzzles as they shared a moment that was for them and them alone. Exhaling softly into the kiss, Devyn gave herself up to the moment, tail trying to wag slowly in the embrace of the warm water.

And when Gloria broke the kiss, she was just as breathless as Devyn, eyes shining.

"Hon, I don't mean to be dismissive by any means here..." She tilted Devyn's muzzle up a little so that the wolf had to look in her eyes. "But we don't need to work this out now. This is just about you and me, baby. You and me time."

Devyn tilted her head, turning her chin from Gloria's grasp, but it was only to follow up with a sweet utterance of her own.

"I love you," Devyn breathed, her lips brushing Gloria's neck. "Let's not argue again. Please, let's not."

"Why would we argue now when we're back where we're supposed to be?" Gloria murmured.

Devyn smiled.

"In each other's arms?"

"In each other's arms."

Snuggling in the warm water, they shared kisses even as their paws began to wander. There was nothing better than make-up sex, as short-lived as their argument had been and, somehow, both of them knew instinctively that they needed to reaffirm their love and desire for one another. The world around them was so tumultuous when it came to work that, sometimes, they had to be one another's anchor in the storm, holding their little, bobbing boat in place while the waves crashed down around.

But that would be okay. It would all be okay as long as they had one another.

It was Gloria's paw, however, that teased between her sweetheart's thighs first of all. The back of her thumb grazed the wolf's clit and Devyn jerked upright, the touch electrifying.

"Ah..." She moaned, rocking up into the fennec fox's paw. "I didn't think... Oh..."

And Gloria didn't allow her to think. Scooping her paws beneath her sweetheart's buttocks, she gently but firmly guided her up onto the edge of the tub, dropping to her knees in the lapping water before Devyn had barely a chance to take stock of what was happening.

Gloria's lips pressed lightly against hers as she floundered, balancing herself as the fox's arm wound around her waist, the other's paws fingertips teasing her clit as it throbbed and pulsed with blood. Blushing heavily, her need rose and the wolf whimpered as she arched into her lover's touch, her body telling Gloria just what she wanted even her mind protested weakly.

"Mmmph... Gloria!"

"Shush," she breathed. "You deserve this. Just relax now. I got you."

And, trembling into the touch of her lover's tongue, Devyn did just that. Perched on the edge of the tub, she gripped the porcelain tightly with both paws, head falling back as her long, pink tongue lolled lustfully from between her lips. Gloria's tongue danced, brushing over her pussy lips with the lightest of teasing strokes - almost as if she wasn't actually going to deliver what her wife craved.

But she would never have truly done that and any teasing was with the very best of intentions. Her lips locked warmly around the soft nub of flesh and Devyn cried out as it was suckled into her mouth, tail wagging and thwapping the outside of the tub wetly. Neither cared about the mess they were making, however, as Devyn's pussy squeezed down on two digits, which slid slickly into her tight passage. The wolf panted heavily, torn between balancing herself and pushing up against Gloria's lips, but had to settle for staying upright, lest she topple backwards and whack her head on the tiled bathroom floor.

Breathlessly, she giggled, the image flashing across the front of her mind. Now that would not have been sexy at all!

Oh, but how Gloria's muzzle made her head spin. Even with all of her attention focused on not falling out of the bath, Devyn whimpered and whined like a teenager getting her first taste of oral all over again, hips rolling from side to side, if only marginally. Every flick of her tongue was like feeling everything for the very first time and her mind flitted back to their actual first time, in the bedroom after a date that had left Devyn both turned on and terrified that she wouldn't be good enough. Only, those fears were all gone and that only left two lovers enjoying one another as only they could.

Need rose, curling warmly through her even as the chill of the bathroom threatened to cool her fingers and toes. Like welcoming back an old lover, Devyn let out a lustful moan that was reserved for her wife and her wife alone, squeezing down around her fingers as they drove teasingly up to her G-spot, claws so very lightly rubbing the sensitive patch of nerves. The fennec's tongue flicked over her clit, a rapid little flutter that set her heart racing, and Devyn gulped down a moan, breasts rising more rapidly as her breath came in short, sharp pants.

But how she needed it, needed every drop of attention her lover gave to her so freely. Her creative well had run dry and, the liaison with Gloria made her heart sing in a way that...well, she didn't think she'd felt so good in weeks. Blood coursed through her veins, each fresh beat of her pounding heart driving her need on to greater heights, want and desire coming together in perfect harmony. With the candlelight dancing on the walls, the wolf arched her back and let her sweet wife carry her onward towards the high that they had both been seeking all along.

And so, it was with a raw moan of wild abandon that she let herself go, completely and utterly. The outside world melted away like wax at the base of a candle's wick, burning steadily, and she rocked lightly into Gloria's muzzle, moving only as much as she dared without losing her balance. But Gloria seemed to sense just how she felt and worked her fingers harder, deeper, the rougher edge, as small as it was, sending a curling wave of pleasure rippling through her wife.

She wouldn't have wanted to hold out forever, but, when it came, her orgasm shocked even her. A rush of heat flooded the wolf and her tail went rigid, ears pinned down as ecstasy broke upon her. Something that was halfway between a moan and a howl ripped itself from her muzzle and it was only Gloria's arm latching around her waist in the nick of time that kept her from tumbling off the edge of the bath, holding her tightly in the grip of reality while orgasm coursed through her veins.

When she came down from her high, Devyn could not have said how long it had lasted, but she did know in intimate detail how wet she was between her thighs, Gloria's fingers sliding slickly from her snatch as the fox licked off the digits with relish. Murring around her fingers, Gloria cast her lover a sultry look, the very tip of her tail wagging back and forth to stir up the water.

"Wow," the fox giggled, languidly lapping her lover's juices from her muzzle with a long, pink tongue. "That felt like a strong one, honey."

Breathlessly, Devyn laughed, head still spinning as she panted.

"Yeah..." She shook her head slowly, ears relaxed and floppy. "It really was!"

The words came out with a bit more feeling behind them than intended and both lovers laughed, Gloria tugging the wolf gently but insistently back into the cooling bath to clean up. But Devyn would not allow her to remain there for very long before a deeper want, a need that could not be controlled, rang through her.

She still had her wife's pleasure to take care of. And, oh, how she would make it a special one for her too...

Taking Gloria's paw, Devyn drew her up and out of the bath on shaky legs.

"Come," she murmured, pulling her wet body up against Gloria's. "I have a wife to take care of now."

Blushing, Gloria wagged her tail lightly.

"Oh, darling, you don't have to do that, I just wanted to make you feel good."

But Devyn wasn't having any of it and, tossing the fox a towel, she blew her a cheeky kiss, though her tone was not one that left any room open for negotiation.

"No arguments."

Against herself, Gloria giggled, obediently towelling herself off as her fur stuck up from her body, brushed up in the wrong direction. She'd have to brush it out again later, but that would come when it dried off.

"I like when you take charge."

Devyn winked.

"I know."

Dried off and ready for more, if not quite the dinner that both of them really should have had at the end of the long working week, Devyn laid Gloria back on the bed. Her lover stretched out before her, a present already unwrapped in the name of the season, and Gloria chuckled lowly, arching her back as if to push her breasts up and put them on full display.

"What are you going to do with me, Devyn?" The fox murmured, her eyelashes lowered coyly and a flirty smile tugging sweetly at her lips. "Now that you got me up here... All naked and wanting..."

The wolf growled and playfully pounced the fox back onto the bed, a knee between her thighs as their lips came together in a hasty, lustful kiss. And when her muzzle dipped lower, tracing a path down between Gloria's breasts, her wife only moaned and rolled her body into a different kind of embrace. Devyn could have gotten the toys out that night, but, really, it was about just the two of them, their bodies winding together as Devyn coaxed orgasm after orgasm from the fox, fingers dancing over previously explored curves as if everything was new and fresh and even more exciting than it all normally was. But it was, as it was and always should have been, just the two of them.

And nothing else mattered.

It was the little thanks she could give her wife. And one that Gloria would appreciate through every bone-shaking orgasm that trembled through her, cries echoing through the entire house and further. Drawing Gloria into climax after climax, Devyn put her muzzle and paws to good use, swapping position when it pleased the two of them and even scooting them into a "sixty-nine" position - that was one that had made her giggle the very first time Gloria had proposed it! - for some mutually pleasing enjoyment.

Gloria's scent enveloped her muzzle, sweat dampening patches of fur as if she'd not had a bath at all, but Devyn couldn't find it in herself to care. Why should she when she had her darling wife pressed against her, clearly on the brink of yet another orgasm?

When they finally collapsed into a breathless afterglow, dragging themselves briefly downstairs for a quick dinner of soup, sleep was swift to claim Gloria for the night. Clad in pyjamas that Devyn had warmed for her on the radiator, Gloria snored lightly as she drifted off into a deeper sleep, flat on her back with an arm flung out over Devyn's chest. Smiling, the wolf held her paw to her lips and kissed it, willing her own eyelids to become heavier than they were, darkness wrapped around her in the late hour of the day.

But she could not sleep. Despite the warmth of her wife and lover pressed up against her, the sweet caress of slumber was not hers as the minutes ticked by, stars twinkling companionably in the night sky beyond the window. With the curtains slightly apart in the middle, the wolf sleepily watched the moon glimmer, lights from cars outside sweeping across the vista of opposing townhouses.

Yet sleep was not to be hers that night.

Up! Devyn's eyes snapped open, gleaming in the faint light of the moon filtering in through the gap in the curtains. Up, she had to be up.

It was finally time.

Exercising as much stealth as she could possibly muster, the wolf crept from bed and covered up Gloria to the neck with the bedspread, tucking her in lovingly. It would not have done for her to become chilled in the night, after all, for Devyn had no intention of returning while her heart pounded so strongly, the nerve of knowing just what she had to do thrilling like lightning through her veins.

Perhaps her thoughts were running away from her and perhaps it would not be all she dreamed it would be, but her fingers itched for the brush and, with a cup of black coffee - no time to work out if the milk was still good or not - beside her, she sat down to paint.

It was there that the fennec fox found her, come morning, with the brush slipping from her paw and a snore on her lips. It wasn't quite the image that she'd envisioned for her Christmas reveal and the final product had ended up as close to the wire as she could have possibly managed to draw it, but it was done and that was all that mattered.

Tiptoeing up behind her wife, Gloria peeked over her shoulder without waking her, if only to see what had finally teased out that sweet inspiration that Devyn had been missing for so long. And what she found on that previously innocently blank canvas brought a tiny gasp of pure longing to her lips.

It was a fennec fox and a grey wolf sitting before the Christmas tree with two pups in their laps.