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It felt as though they had never broken up. That's what this was supposed to be, Eli figured: as he started moving his most important things over to the fox's apartment - his computer, desk, and chair, a dresser for his clothes, a few other smaller things - Marlin greeted him at the door every time with a kiss to the lips and a light draping of his paws around the wild dog's waist. He never, never touched him like that. Not in six months.

It was hard not to come into this without any sort of... concern, or caution. On the drives back and forth - Marlin stayed behind each time, saying he had something he needed to do - Eli couldn't help but think back over the exchange, wondering if he'd been too impulsive, if he'd made the wrong decision. It's just... I've been wanting this for so long. So why does it feel wrong all of a sudden?

It took all of Saturday for him to move all of his computer stuff over, simply because Marlin pinned him to the wall in the entryway for a good twenty minutes when the wild dog brought the desk and chair... and then the fox lounged back in that chair the next time he returned, totally naked, legs spread, red flesh of his half-hard cock glistening above the white fur of his lower belly. That took another twenty minutes, and between that and the time it took to drive back and forth, when Eli finally managed to return with the couple small things he'd forgotten, it was time for dinner. Marlin ordered pizza, and asked Eli to split it with him.

As the day continued to turn to evening, a new worry hit the wild dog: will I ever be able to get time to myself? He had wanted to see about getting a start on an idea that'd been rolling around in his head near the second half of the week, following Lynn's whole thing with pushing him to get back to writing... but Marlin bugged him to set his computer up just across the room from his own, and while he was doing that, he pulled Eli away a total of four times for a few different things. He felt relieved that only two of those times were for sex.

It didn't let up at night, of course. Eli couldn't deny what effect this damn fox had on him: even just being near him, catching a whiff of his scent, brushing by him, could be enough to tighten the dog's pants and make him squirm. Marlin knew that - he'd figured it out several years in the past - and milked the opportunity as much as he could. Before long, Eli was too tired to complain or resist.

The sleeping, though... something else he'd forgotten about, something he'd really, truly missed, and it shocked him that it already felt so different from the previous night. Wrapping an arm around the fox's belly, feeling Marlin's paw intertwine with his own; nuzzling into the soft fur of his neck from behind, breathing deep of his so-familiar scent, feeling his warmth seep back into his own body; the occasional shift or bump backwards, the soft grinding.

At one point Marlin rolled over to face him, velvet-soft noses touching. Naturally, that turned into a string of shared kisses, which deepened until Eli had thick fox tongue trying to reach down his throat and firm paws pushing against his chest and belly from above as the fox got into position and slid down between his knees, wrapping Eli's legs around his waist. Sure, he was sore, but when Marlin approached it like this...

At least he could sleep in the next day. He awoke to the familiar, comfortable weight of Marlin's arm and muzzle resting across his chest, so he decided to enjoy it for a time. The sleepy thought came to him, sometime after he'd dozed off and awoken again with the added warmth of sunlight streaming in through the window across his arm: what was I so worried about? This isn't so bad. It just... takes a bit of adjustment.

He went through this every time they got back together, of course. Though - he kept on having to remind himself, between Marlin nuzzling further into his neck upon waking up, and the tender kisses and grinding in the shower, and curling up on the couch together to watch a movie to start the day - that they weren't together. Just the same situation as Lynn: "wait and see".

Lynn. That drew him away from the movie for a time. He'd tell her about this when the time was right, since already he knew that she wouldn't like to hear it.

Sunday the two spent actually around one another, whether at the apartment or out wandering around, growing accustomed to each other's continued presence once more. It seemed that holding paws while out in public was still off-limits, though; Eli tucked that away as a reminder to himself to not get carried away.

And it was... nice, really. That was the only word that came to mind for it, for this whole situation. Spending time with Marlin, living alongside him, climbing into bed together, getting distracted over any small every-day task like cooking dinner or doing laundry... even with the little clashes and quick arguments that had already started worming their way back between the two of them as early as Sunday, Eli resolved that he had missed this. Being with him like this had just become so comfortable to him, nearly second-nature. It felt right, and not having that familiarity and routine had dampened and darkened his daily life until he'd just accepted that as the way things were.

Monday morning, _early_Monday morning, about three hours before Eli's alarm would have yanked him out of bed for work, he found himself stirred awake by a wandering nose, hungry lips, and then an adventurous tongue. Marlin hardly ever gave him oral other than as an easy way to get his backside lubed and prepared, so Eli thought he'd enjoy it.

He tried to, at least. The fox didn't quite have the same skill for the front side of Eli's abdomen, but still, another half-hour or so and Eli bucked upwards against the waiting muzzle, Marlin having pulled back away just before his peak. He didn't like swallowing, either. Eli expected to have to return the favor, but for once this was all Marlin wanted, and once done he climbed up and dead-weighted across the wild dog's chest to go back to sleep.

It took Eli a little while to get there, too, which meant his first thought upon _actually_waking up to start the day was that he wanted to go back to sleep. Heavy fox arms and just-as-heavy fox musk nearly kept him from getting out of bed.

"Don't you have to go to work?" Eli asked once he stepped out of the shower, already hard at work drying himself off.

Marlin rolled onto his back, lazily kicking the covers just far enough back to show off his nakedness again. The tip of his cock still poked out of the end of his sheath. "I already called in."

"What? Are you sick?"

"No." He slid his paws down his chest and belly, bringing both in along his inner thighs to rub against his soft-furred sack. Could very well have been a cat in a past life. "I just thought it'd be nice to spend another day at home with you."

Eli paused where he stood, then sighed. "Well, I still need to go to work anyway."

The fox's ears drooped a little bit. He sat more fully up. "Is it still raining?"

"It stopped Saturday night, Marlin."

"Damn. I was hoping to convince you not to drive in a storm."

And that was the end of that. Eli lingered back a moment longer while drying himself off, expecting Marlin to put in some extra effort to try to get him to stay, but nothing came. Not that he wanted to, of course: he'd already rolled out of bed thirty minutes late thanks to the fox's persuasive charms, and thirty minutes late to work would still be a lot better than a no-call no-show.

Lynn seemed to be doing well, at least. The hyena texted him about halfway to his lunch break, and then all of a sudden, the day started passing a lot faster. All done with her exams and just waiting on the results now; Eli wished her luck, as he had just about every day leading up to the weekend, and she thanked him.

Then she told him that she'd be looking to relax this weekend, and invited him over. It's been a while, and I wanna see your cute face.

"Likewise," he sent back, then relaxed in his seat. Looking to relax, huh? That could just be him thinking a little too hard, but glancing back over the messages he'd saved from their conversations last week... he had to squirm a bit in his chair. Actually, it was a bit amazing that he had _any_sexual energy left over after spending the weekend with Marlin. Lynn had surprised him about himself before, though, so this shouldn't be much different.

She just... had an _energy_to her, an enticing glimmer that pulled Eli closer and reinvigorated him. During the second half of his day, he found himself brainstorming more ideas on what he wanted to do with his first attempt at writing since high school.

That night Marlin asked Eli for his part of the first rental payment. The amount made him raise his eyebrows a bit, but it wasn't much of a problem; if this was going to be an extended setup between the two of them, he only had another two months or so before his lease on his place expired. Luckily, though, the wild dog had always tried to have a couple months of rent for himself saved away, so once it hit that point, things would just become easier.

Marlin kept to himself that night, going so far as to scoot away from Eli when he sat down on the couch beside him. Instead of bother poking that hornet's nest, as he'd done so many times before, the wild dog just ignored it, and enjoyed the time to himself while he could. Probably upset I didn't slack off like he did, he figured; I wonder if he'll try again tomorrow. And he wonders why he's not making enough to pay rent.

Still, though, as the week went on, things continued to slowly yet steadily improve between the two. Not without the occasional hiccup, of course: Tuesday morning Marlin was the first one up again, though this time because he actually needed to get ready for work. Feeling bad about the previous night, Eli offered to cook dinner for the two of them once they'd gotten back from work - Eli would be getting home first, which would allow him to have everything hot and ready once the fox walked in.

"I'd like that," Marlin replied, voice and smile soft. That look had never failed to make Eli's tail wag. "I'll look forward to it, hon."

This meant that he'd have two ideas rolling around his head that day: writing, and cooking. The wild dog brought in a flash drive to start working on one of those two in his downtime, and once the hour finally rolled around in the afternoon, he had both a start with which he was satisfied, and a good idea of what he'd have to pick up on the way back. Some of the ingredients he had at home home, which would be just a short detour on the way to Marlin's place.

Then, Eli had it _just_about ready when he heard the sound of a car door and lock out in the parking lot outside... and then Marlin pushed his way through the door, arms full of two fast-food bags. "Hey, I stopped by that really tasty - chicken place on the way home... I got some extra fries, if you-" He trailed off as he turned, catching sight of Eli with spatula still in hand.

The wild dog reached forward to turn the stove off.

Marlin swallowed, trying to wriggle a paw back to close the door behind himself. "Oh. I. Forgot you were cooking tonight."

Such a small thing to get annoyed about, but... Eli could feel the frustration and exasperation already bubbling in his chest, tight and hot. It made him want to grind his teeth together until no points remained. He breathed in, breathed out. During the end of their last try at a relationship, he'd actually actively searched for instances where Marlin angered him, just so he could give him the same treatment that the fox did for him.

This time, though, he just sighed, looked down at the almost-finished meal in the pan, and let go of the spatula. "I asked you."

"Eli-"

"No, it's okay. You already spent money on your food; you go eat that. I'll... eat this and put the rest in the fridge."

_ _

That night it was Eli who scooted away from Marlin's touch, though it only took another three attempts for him to shrug off the sustained façade and give in. No apology ever came, though. He knows what he does to me, Eli though, squirming beneath the fox's gentle kisses and nuzzles to his neck and chest, and, God, he uses every opportunity he can get...

Monday turned to Tuesday, Tuesday to Wednesday. Eli managed to get more progress on his story - he'd decided on a sci-fi adventure like he used to love as a puppy - and found himself looking forward to his time at work, since he could focus and get work done in peace. He hadn't written in a long time, and even now it came awkward and unsteady to him with sentences vanishing from his head nearly as soon as he decided on them, words mixing themselves up, his fingers just plain not responding when he put them to the keys... and then the problem of trying to get something done with someone else nearby.

At least at the library front desk, he could keep his attempt open in a minimized tab. Back at Marlin's place, the fox could look over at any moment, and he'd probably judge Eli for what he was doing, recalling how he'd acted about the whole thing the last time the wild dog had tried writing in his presence, and it - just wouldn't go well.

Just straying back to those thoughts put his mind out of the right space to get anything else done, too. He sat back in his chair, in position to see the slow movement of the clock's hands across the room, and looked over the other screen. A good... four paragraphs across, what, two days? That was something, wasn't it?

Wednesday turned to Thursday. Sometimes it shocked Eli how quickly time passed: two weeks these days felt like they took up the same span of time that one week did back when he was in college. Maybe Lynn felt the same way. Marlin would sometimes ask who he was texting and messaging on his computer, to the point where Eli intentionally switched to responding only on his phone, as the fox would look over his shoulder to try to read his messages on the program when he had it open on his computer.

At least he no longer shied away from kisses so much - in non-sexual situations, that was. Share a kiss when sitting down for dinner, share a kiss before getting in the shower, share a kiss when the fox came home... share a thick string of wet kisses when the two crawled into bed together, and then at some point along the way 'kiss' would always cease to be an accurate word for them. It really, really felt like Marlin's "we'll wait and see" had just been a cover, something to hide what was really there, something he was too proud to admit.

Is it the same way with Lynn? No, that'd be... that's just wishful thinking. Isn't it? Well, if I call it that, then... then that means I'd want to be with her. Do I?

The thoughts actually sent a small shock of restless energy through the wild dog's body, jolting him out from where he'd relaxed halfway into the arms of sleep Thursday night. Lynn had off from both work and class Fridays; she'd continued messaging him until he'd turned in for the night.

Marlin was hardly ever the one to cuddle Eli, instead just short of demanding that the wild dog wrap around him. Tonight the two had settled in back to back, leaving the connection at curled tails and intertwined footpaws. He didn't know about Eli's thing in that regard, either - or, he did, but very possibly had forgotten about it somewhere along the way through six years. Lynn made sure to remind Eli of it at least twice a week since she'd found out.

One time had been just earlier today. Marlin didn't ask why Eli yanked his pants off as soon as he walked through the door.

I'm still not certain if I do. He shifted a bit, sliding his paw up underneath his pillow. One part of me does, another doesn't. Which should I trust - my heart or my head? And then, there's... Marlin. Same story, slightly different.

_ _

I've never been good with decisions.

Friday morning before work he almost, almost brought it up with the fox, but then figured that it would be better to save for a different time. A time when the conversation would drop Eli into an abysmal bad mood only for a couple hours before sleep, as opposed to the entire day; he had no real hope that it would go in any direction other than that, knowing Marlin. At least he had something - multiple somethings - to look forward to this weekend, as soon as that clock hanging on the wall at work ticked to the hour.

Since she had off, Lynn liked to sleep in Fridays. Still her name stayed at the top of the wild dog's most recent contacts list when he checked it throughout the day towards lunch. Marlin had started teasing him through text again and dropping hints, if they could still be called that for their remarkable lack of subtlety, that Eli should just cancel his weekend plans - the wild dog had told him he'd be busy, but of course didn't say what or where - and stay home for some quality time.

He'd used those words, too. You should do this.

During his lunch break Eli had his phone out in one paw as usual, scrolling idly through the various social media feeds, when that lovely little notification popped up:

~stripesandhypes [12:35 PM]: My place tonight, yeah?

Eli smirked. He'd _just_been thinking about her, too - though to be fair, there had hardly been a time these past two weeks where he hadn't.

~elijasdfgh [12:35 PM]: hell ye hell ye

~elijasdfgh [12:35 PM]: Marlin's trying to get me to stay home. I told him on wednesday that i'd be out this weekend

~stripesandhypes [12:36 PM]: Godddd

~stripesandhypes [12:36 PM]: Does he know about me?

Eli paused in the middle of chewing. Maybe he could approach the whole thing without mentioning her. That would probably be the way to go.

~elijasdfgh [12:36 PM]: lol no

~stripesandhypes [12:37 PM]: Thank god

~stripesandhypes [12:37 PM]: I hope I never have to meet him.

The wild dog leaned back against the wall, breathed in, breathed out. What had he gotten himself into?

~ ~ ~

It didn't go well. First it turned out to be another night where the two had agreed to cook dinner, only for Marlin to come home with more fast food; then the fox continued pushing Eli to stay home, going so far - which really, wasn't far at all for the fox - as to start trying to pull off the wild dog's pants, even as he resisted. Eli redirected the focus by bringing up his question, that damn stupid question that I should've just kept to myself-

_ _

"Have you ever been in a relationship with a woman?"

Even now, paws on the steering wheel and eyes on the road, Eli could feel himself fuming. Just a simple, innocuous question. Food for curiosity. He should've trusted Marlin to be the kind of person to react as though the wild dog had asked if he'd ever thought about scooping his own eyeball out with a spoon and eating it.

Even now, watching the sun setting behind the clouds and buildings, he could see the sudden furrow and scowl on the fox's face. "What? No. Of course not. J - what the fuck?"

He'd nearly lost the thread of the conversation, that response shocked him so much. He remembered frowning, squirming under the fox's weight still pressing down against his legs. Marlin let him move and do his pants back up.

"I swear to God,"_Marlin went on, _"if you ask 'well how do you know you're gay' I'm gonna toss you out of this apartment."

You can't afford it,_was all Eli could think in response to that now. Only now, though. That was how it always went. _You can't afford for me to leave.

"Well..." He'd given his best shrug. "I mean. I was just curious."

Marlin scoffed. Over the years he'd grown to hate that sound. "What? Bi-curious?"

Another shrug, this one genuine. "Have you ever tried it, though?"

_ _

"A relationship with one? No. I've never been interested." Marlin pointedly moved across the room, plopping down into his computer chair. "Just like you've never been interested in sushi, no matter how many times I've told you I'll treat you."

Another thing he thought of just now with which he should have responded: yes, but I've tried it before, several times.

_ _

"As for, like... doing it, doing it? Doing something with a fuckin' - with a female? Yeah. I have. She wanted me to eat her out. I nearly fuckin' threw up." Sharp eyes regarded Eli from across the room at that moment. The wild dog had stopped listening fully, instead moving to start getting things ready to head out to Lynn's. "So. Yeah. Don't say I don't know what I'm talking about."

"Alright." The thought hadn't occurred to Eli. Yet another thing he'd learned long ago was to never verbally doubt Marlin to his face, since that always turned out to be a losing battle. He pulled to a quick stop before a red light, almost missing it. "I'll be heading out in a minute."

"Look, Eli." The fox's voice followed him as he made his way down the hall and back. "I'm not gonna say that I like the thought of you - fuckin' around with other people, but I also ain't gonna stop you. So if you're doing shit like that, just... brush your teeth or something before coming back, okay? That's all I ask."

_ _

'That's all I ask'. Fucking Christ. The light turned back to green, allowing the wild dog to continue on and then take the turn down Lynn's street. Well - Richard's street.We're not together. You have no ground to get upset about me playing around with someone else. God.

Breathe in... breathe out. Put it out of his mind. He had the weekend to look forward to. They hadn't spoken about it yet, hadn't put words to it yet, but he'd be staying the night with Lynn tonight. Of course he'd ask if she didn't bring it up, or if it didn't seem to naturally go that way, but... he didn't have much of a doubt. The wild dog pulled to a slower stop along the curb, sliding his phone out of his pocket to send a message to her as he turned his car off.

Just a quick little thing; she'd viewed it within the minute. The wild dog stepped out into the cool approaching evening, the air still somewhat heavy with the scent of the recent rain; he looked down the street, up at the sky though the sparse trees and lower houses. The main downtown of the city rose up shortly past there.

Then he turned back - and there she was again, sliding out from behind the front door. Hard to tell which one of the two grinned first, but within seconds Eli found himself squeezed in her grasp, muzzle pressed into the soft fur of her neck with his own arms around her waist as well. It didn't seem much of a challenge to her at all to lift him off the ground for a few seconds.

Lynn smelled so, _so_good, and the way she drew her fingers down his back when she let him down, the way she leaned in to return his little nuzzles, the soft breaths at his neck and - was that a quick kiss at his shoulder, a small nip? Eli felt his ears redden and his pants tighten, both slight but definitely there.

"God, it's good to see you, Eli..." the striped hyena rumbled, letting her paws fall to his hips. She shifted her grip a little bit, letting her fingers run up along the fur of his sides beneath his shirt. Eli did the same to her; such sweet, lovely warmth. She chuckled, a bit nervously. "I'm - actually having trouble believing that I _did_miss you - as much as I did..."

"Yeah." When he pulled back to look up at her, the smile wouldn't leave his face. Not that he wanted it to. It stuck there, of its own accord, unchanging - except to strengthen when her eyes fell on his, and she gave a smile of her own. "Same."

That made her bark one of those deep, rich laughs, easily carrying over into the wild dog. A moment later, Lynn let him go and turned to lead him towards the door. "Such a way with words, huh?"

"Oh! That reminds me. I started writing, like you nagged me to do."

"Look. I only nag when it's important. Did you bring it with you? Here, let's get inside."

"Yeah, I have it saved on my phone..."