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Core's Opportunity - Chapter 16 by Zmeydros

Golden stripes of afternoon light move across the fur of Core's arm as he finishes a ham sandwich. His breasts are almost gone and his hips are just starting to fit into his pants again. Millie's the reason he's still topless. With how much she loves his breasts, part of him wishes he could keep them all the time.

Millie giggles on the couch while nude and scrolling through her phone.

"What now?" He grins in her direction.

She hops up and runs over to him, breasts bouncing. Holding up her phone, she says, "Denise just released this preview of her new photo set."

"There's a cockatiel blocking... Oh my God! She brought back Blockatiel!?" He laughs.

Millie scrolls to show him the replies. "Yep! She's getting a lot of other vintage memes as replies. I feel like I just stepped out of a time machine."

After they chuckle at some internet history, she says, "So, do you need sex again? This is the longest you've gone without it since your heat started, well, other than sleeping."

He blushes, "I think I'm fine. Thanks for helping me get through it."

"No need to thank me. I had a blast!" She hugs him.

Hugging her back, he nuzzles against her neck. For the first time in his life, he's actually looking forward to his next heat. In the past, to hide his heat, he used to stock up for a couple days where he would lock himself away from the world.

He used to put reminders on his refrigerator and phone saying, "relaxation days," or some other vague thing that no one else could decipher. He used to keep a notebook of indicators so he could notice warning signs of his heat happening earlier or later than planned.

This time, with all the overwhelming stuff that happened, he missed it. It is a bit terrifying to know that he can be this sloppy, but with friends like Millie and Victoria, he has a safety net.

His tail wags as Millie pulls him over to the couch. As he relaxes against her, a strange feeling takes hold of him, more like the absence of a feeling. No tension in his shoulders, neck, or chest. No racing thoughts laced with worry. No inner voice scolding him. His mind's never been this quiet.

* * * * *

Walking up to the third floor of Millie's apartment building, Core puts his key in the door to the right of the stairs. His backpack bounces on the plush black couch in his living room as he sets it down.

His eyes scan across the band of black spots Millie added to the walls. They match his fur pattern exactly. He still can't believe it's all his. That may be part of the reason he's still spending a lot of time at Millie's place. Well, that, or the fact that cuddling with her at night is now part of his routine.

He sighs and sits down next to his backpack as he remembers the other people that have started to visit Millie's apartment now that he's moved out. Millie's suitors: a buff lion, Victoria, a female dolphin, and a big dragon all arrived the night after he moved out and he's certain that they had some sort of orgy. Millie was practically glowing the next day.

Much the same way she glowed after he had sexy times with her. It seems he is replaceable. Not that he expected anything different. In a way, it's freeing because she doesn't need him.

Victoria doesn't need him either, but at least they get to work together. She seemed determined to teach him Excel and the intricacies of going down on a woman. The latter sure broke up the monotony of learning office work.

Compared to the loneliness he experienced before Millie entered his life, this was nothing. Every day, he gets to interact with people who care about him. He should be happy. He should be moving forward in his life. He should start an investment account and researching companies he can work for when he gets out of art school.

He scrolls aimlessly through his calendar. Tonight is Denise's birthday party. Sunday, there's an anime meet up Millie's brother recommended.

His ears fold down. Meeting more people, having to remember their names, possibly making a fool of himself? It's going to be hard to go to Denise's birthday party as it is. Will he have the energy to do this anime thing and Denise's party? Does it make any sense for him to believe that he'll find someone to share his life with at some random social event?

Maybe he should just try online dating. No, not unless there's a secret site for herms and people who like them. Otherwise, he'd just be outing himself to strangers.

Why does he even need a lover that's all his? It's not like he's wanting for sex or affection. What benefit is there to having someone all his own?

Maybe some people just need a mate. Victoria loves having a husband, after all. It's possible he wouldn't mind being poly, but what he has with Victoria and Millie isn't close enough. They already have full lives without him in it.

So, he needs someone whose life has a space for him. A relationship where he can be more than just another friend with benefits. Now he's back where he started: feeling lonely in a way he can't fix. A familiar knot of worry pulls at his stomach.

Taking deep breaths and hugging himself tight like Denise taught him, he calms himself down.

This really isn't be best time to be thinking about all this, he still has boxes to unpack and he really needs to figure out how to arrange stuff in his kitchen. After getting off the couch, he opens one of the boxes stacked beside his little HDTV and its stand.

A half hour later, he gets a text from Millie. "Want to car pool to Denise's party?"

"Nah, I think I should just take my car in case I need to leave early," he replies.

"Sounds good."

Fifteen minutes later, he's changed into a collared shirt and one of his pairs of jeans with extra room. Going around with his cock above average has become more normal than he'd like to admit.

The drive to Shawn Coyne's Irish Pub is relaxing, but the parking lot is cramped. While he struggles to get into his spot, he gets a text message.

After he's parked, he checks his messages. It's from Millie. "If you haven't left yet, you might want to hurry. Someone just arrived that I think you're really going to want to talk to."

The smell of fry oil pours out of a fan at the back of the pub as he goes in the back door. The pictures on the walls look like they're from the 1800's and they're all of random people that Core figures are important in some way or another. Otherwise, the brass name plates would not have much reason to be there.

The yellow light of the pub makes the green accents stand out. Core sees a waitress with a dark green shamrock bowtie, but before he can ask her where the party is, he sees an area to his left that has a bunch of tables with birthday stuff on them.

All the tables are made from old wood that's been glazed with oodles of resin. The light scratches in the tabletops twinkle as he walks toward the center of the back wall where Denise is seated. When the person on her left looks up and sees Core, his heart nearly stops.

Glaring at him is the snow-leopard dragon hybrid he accidentally chased out of the club. As he backs away trying to retrace his steps so he can leave and avoid a social calamity, she gets up from the table and rushes toward him. Denise gets up and chases after her.

The snow leopard hybrid says, "This better be the last time I see you! Next time I'm calling the--"

Millie gets up from her table and freezes. Her eyes are wide in disbelief and she looks like she wants to intervene, but has no idea what to do. Victoria is staring in his direction, brow furrowed in concern.

Denise grabs the snow leopard by the shoulder. "Hey! Just calm down a minute. I don't know what's going on between..."

Core is too busy trying to get out of the pub to hear the rest. With his heart thumping in his ears, he puts his keys in the ignition. As he starts his car, he wonders what ever made him think he deserved friends. He's an idiot. Everyone's going to find out that he's a fraud. Someone not worth their time.

When that woman explains what happened, no one will want to be his friend.

He tries to breathe, to release the tightness in his chest, but he feels like he's been caught in a giant vise. When he grabs the steering wheel, his hands are shaking and when he backs out of his space he nearly hits the car across from him.

Pulling back into his space, he tries again. This time he nearly clips the car next to him. His panic builds as his ability to drive plummets. Eventually, he's just backing out and then in without turning the wheel and gasping for air. He stops the car and hugs himself. His whole body shivers.

He's such a failure. He can't even drive!

A sick lurch of his stomach makes burning liquid rise up into his throat. He retches trying to get the burning to leave, but nothing comes out.

He tries again. Still nothing.

A knock on his window grabs his attention. Outside, Denise is gesturing for him to roll down the window. He does.

Denise's face is weathered by concern. "Hey, um, can we talk?"

His heart sinks even lower. This is where she's going to tell him he needs to leave. "Sure."

"Why did you run?"

He looks at his shoes. "Because I'm an idiot and ruin everything."

She kneels while hanging onto the door so she can look him in the eye. "Do you really believe that?"

"Yes...no." He shuts off the car.

"What do you think you ruined tonight?" She asks.

"Everyone hates me now." He bites back tears.

"I don't hate you. Millie and Petra don't hate you."

He looks into Denise's eyes. "You should go back to the party. You don't need to waste your time trying to make me feel better."

"You're not a waste of time!" Denise slaps the door. "Tell the part of yourself that is saying that to shut up. I wouldn't be here if you weren't worth my time."

"But, I just met you like a week or two ago and the first time we met you had to console me. I've just been a burden." He looks away.

"Would you think I was just being a burden if I broke down when I passed through a place where I was nearly raped? Do you think that's an abnormal reaction to something like that?"

"N-no." He bites his lip. Why is she trying so hard?

"Then you weren't being a burden. The part of your mind telling you that you're just a burden, it's wrong. I know because I used to say things like that to myself all the time. Challenge it the next time it tries to bully you."

He gulps. "I'll try."

"One thing it took me forever to realize is that it is incredibly rare for one isolated screw up, that doesn't involve some sort of assault, to ruin a relationship. Relationships are a series of events and for you to suddenly be hated, you'd have to have done a series of things that changed how someone else feels about you. Let go of perfection, allow yourself to screw up." She grabs his shoulder.

He looks at her determined not to cry in front of her again.

"Yes, you chased her, yes you should have known better. But I'm betting it was an honest mistake. Millie explained the situation to me after we calmed her down. I understand why you did what you did." She pulls her hand away and points at his face. "That doesn't mean I'm not pissed at you!"

Wincing, he prepares for her to lay into him. This is it.

"The fact that you thought I'd just randomly start hating you and not look at the context surrounding what you did is ludicrous. If there's a next time where you don't give me a chance to defend you or hear your side of the story, we're going to have a very long talk. Same goes for Millie. I understand freaking out and running, but next time, remember this, remember that when you entertain the idea that everyone hates you, you're not giving them a chance to love you." Tears fall down her cheeks. "And everyone deserves a chance to love you!"

His eyes go wide. He made her cry? What's going on? "What's wrong?"

She sniffles. "I-I'm sorry. It's-it's just, I feel like I'm talking to eighteen-year-old me and it really hurts."

Grabbing a napkin from his glove compartment, he wipes her tears. She had thoughts like his? And she got control of them? Maybe he can too? "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay." She takes the napkin from him and finishes wiping her eyes. "Why don't we take a bit of time to calm down and then go in together?"

He unlocks the doors. "You can sit in the car if you want."

"Thanks." She gets up and walks around the car before getting in and sitting in the passenger's seat.

"Sorry I took you away from the party."

"It's my choice to be here. No need to apologize." She shrugs. "Plus, there's plenty of people there. I'm sure my friends can survive me being gone for a while."

"So, her name's Petra?" His heart gets tight in his chest just thinking about it.

She nods. "Yep. And she's willing to talk to you."

"I'm not sure I can. I don't know what to say." His neck muscles tense.

"Just apologize and say you know you shouldn't have chased her and tell her what you were going to tell her. We told her you had a reason you had to meet her. She's annoyed with us for not just telling her what it was."

He starts to fidget. "But, like, there's no privacy in there."

"Hmm, that's a good point."

"Maybe she could come out here? But she wouldn't trust just being left in the car with me."

She looks out at the street for a moment. "Millie could stand watch outside the car. It's not like you two need a long drawn out conversation. You just have to say one thing that you can't say in there."

Can he even say it? He gulps. "Yeah."

"Okay, I'll be back with the two of them." She opens the door and gets out before he can reconsider.

The world pauses when he sees her and Millie in the rear view mirror. He repeats to himself, "I'm a herm," trying not to make it sound natural. Each time he imagines saying it to her, he pauses.

The door opens and he stops talking to himself. She sits down and then blushes as she arranges her equipment under her skirt. She does it almost so no one would notice, but since he knows her secret, he knows exactly what's going on. He gets tingles on the tips of his ears as the realization hits him once again. He knows she's a herm. He can smell that she's a herm.

Grabbing at his seat, he prepares himself to tell her. His knuckles ache with how hard he's gripping it.

As she turns toward him, the orange scales on the bridge of her nose and above her eyes shimmer with reflected light, "So, if all this is about some stupid pickup line that you think I've never heard before, I have bad news, I've heard it before."

The matching width of her shoulders and hips makes her look sturdy. Before seeing her like this, he would never have thought "sturdy" was another word for "beautiful." Every bit of muscle is met by curves. Supple and hard, strong and flexible, play across her form in a way that makes each contrasting characteristic all the more attractive.

Her nose twitches sampling the air as she looks him over. "Well, this is awkward. Maybe I should just go."

"I'm sorry I chased you. If you want me to leave you alone from now on, I will. But before you go, I want to tell you what I was trying to tell you before." He finds it impossible to look into her green eyes as he says this.

"And that is?" She raises a scaly eyebrow.

His paw starts shaking and his voice sticks in his throat. Pushing back against the wave of anxiety, he says, "I'm a...herm."

"W-why would you tell me that? Wh-what make you think that would mean anything to me?" She fidgets.

"When you bumped into me, I felt your..." He trails off blushing bright under his fur.

She throws her head back. "Urgh! My cock is the worst! It tattles on me all the fucking time! And it's so embarrassing...Fine, whatever, I'm a herm too. Not like I can even keep it a secret when I'm popping boners all the time."

Just like that, she admitted it? She didn't even hesitate. Does she just tell people outright?

"You're not off the hook, do you know how many people have claimed they're herms too just to get close to me? You don't look like any other herm I've seen. That's a very flat chest, and your shape is like, completely masculine. If you want me to believe you, you're gonna have to show me."

"Sh-show you?" He bites his lip as he feels wetness grow between his thighs. How could he like the idea of baring himself to her?

"Dude, you owe me for that stunt you pulled back at Millie's. They trust you, but I've been bitten too many times to just take someone who does something like that at their word." She sighs. "Maybe that's too far. I-I just, I don't know. Maybe I need a drink to take the edge off. Too many bad memories."

The urge to say "yes" grows as the part of him that wishes he was always in heat pushes at the edges of his mind. He decides to change the subject. "So, people have stalked you because they knew you were a herm?"

"No one's chased after you because of it?" she asks. Though her bosom is modest, it has a very nice shape to it and her purple low-v-neck shows off this furry cleavage well.

"Growing up, only people that knew were my family and my doctor, and now, only a few other people know."

"You're so lucky that you don't have breasts and a package. I've tried everything, but things that hide my junk are way too painful if I get hard. And wearing billowy victorian dresses is a fast way to get teased even worse. Or trip on the playground and break your neck."

He tries to imagine what it would have been like if everyone in high school knew he was a herm and he just can't. "It must have been overwhelming."

"When I first entered puberty, it was, but eventually I got used to it. People were asking me out left and right. Most of them just wanted a roll in the hay with a herm to check off on their bucket list, but I had a couple nice relationships come out of it. What made it exhausting was having to constantly monitor how I was treated so that I knew when I was getting the short end of the stick due to bigotry." She shrugs. "Not that I could always do something about it, though."

"Did they try to hide the fact they were going out with you?" In Core's small school, nothing like this happened. His head is spinning.

"Early on, there was one guy who really tried to hide it. After that horrible experience, I only went out with people who weren't embarrassed over the fact they liked me for what I was." She tugs on the door handle opening it. "Okay, now I really need a drink. Let's go find a table and talk about something else."

"Sure," he says getting out of his car.

At first, he thinks she's going to bring him over to Denise's table, but then she turns and walks toward a vacant table in the far corner. As he sits down, she says, "You've heard a lot about me, let's talk about you."

"What do you want to know?" He says as he maneuvers his tail through the open back of his chair and sits down.

"What's your favorite Final Fantasy Game?" she asks.

Before he can answer, she flags a waitress.

The waitress comes over and asks, "What would you like?"

Petra says, "A pint of Left Hand Milk Stout."

The waitress turns to Core. "And what would you like?"

"A root beer," he says.

"Not gonna drink with me?" Petra raises an eyebrow.

"I don't drink."

"Hmm, I don't know about you."

He frowns.

"Kidding! I respect that. I don't think I could live without alcohol, though." Petra laughs.

"I'll be right back with those drinks," the waitress says.

"Final Fantasy Nine, maybe?" He tilts his head.

"Nine's a solid choice. It had some cool mechanics. Quina was a lot of fun. I loved his/her gender ambiguity. And Freya might be the most badass character in a Final Fantasy game." She leans toward Core. "I totally had a crush on her."

He grins. "Yeah, I kinda did too...What's your favorite Final Fantasy game?"

"I'm this close to saying ten-two, but, in my mind, eight just barely beats it. Most people found the drawing magic part boring, but I found it meditative. And keeping a battle running so your party survived, but you could just keep drawing magic had an art to it. I also loved hunting down different monsters so you could draw spells off them."

"Oh! Ten-two was great. I might like it even more than nine now that I think about it. Switching dress spheres kept things interesting, the bonus dungeon was like a whole other game, and Payne and Riku's final dress spheres were just so awesome!"

The waitress comes back and sets their drinks on the table.

They both say, "Thank you."

She says, "You're welcome, do you need anything else."

Core shakes his head and Petra says, "Nope, that's all for now."

Petra takes a long swig of her beer. "It's hard. Ten-two was just such a fantastically crafted game. Might have had the most enjoyable gameplay out of all of them." A grin pulls at her lips as she moves to the chair next to him. Speaking in a low voice that can just barely be heard over the noise of the pub, she says, "Since we both had a crush on Freya, I wanna ask you. When you were jacking off, did you imagine her as a herm?"

Blushing so much that he feels lightheaded, he nods.

"Me too...Damn it! Now I want to talk about naughty things," she says. "Quick, change the subject."

"Umm, I'm in art school learning animation," he says.

"Oh, like 2D or 3D?" she asks.

"A bit of both, but I'm ultimately trying to get into 3D because I'd like to animate for video games."

"Which game company would you most like to work for?"

"Blizzard. I love the Warcraft mythos, the quality of the shorts they make, and just how lovable all their different games are. They put so much care and effort into what they make. They've been a huge source of artistic inspiration for me." He sips his root beer.

"I'm a bit addicted to Overwatch," she says.

He grimaces. "I haven't actually played it."

"What? You haven't played Overwatch? You just said you're a huge Blizzard fan. Where have you been the past couple years?"

He shrugs. "My laptop is too old to play it and I've been in school."

"Okay, then it's decided. For our first date, I'm introducing you to Overwatch. She gulps down more beer. "And don't worry about your computer, I'll borrow something you can use."

"A date? Really?" He blinks.

"Hmm, I'm not sure when we should do it, though. Next week is hosed." She pulls out her phone and unlocks it before tapping on the screen a bit. "What's your number?"

His heart speeds up as he gives her his number.

She texts him her number and says, "I'll text you sometime next week so we can figure it out."

He practically bounces in his seat. "Sounds good."

END OF CHAPTER

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