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Has it really been three years since we posted the first story? Geez. Well for anyone who has been waiting for another installment here you go, and just in time for the holidays. This one won't be split into chapters like the previous one so it's a bit of a read but, enjoy!

It had been very nearly three months to the day since our unlikely coyote and shark duo had officially become a couple, three months since Howler had decided he was willing to go against the grain and try dating another male despite his upbringing and what effect it might have on his career. It was unlike any relationship either of them had been in previously and despite the ever-changing distance between the "rival" mascots they were adapting to the circumstances as well as they could. Neither of them was particularly thrilled about the prospect of a long distance relationship for a majority of the year but the demands of their respective jobs helped keep their minds mostly occupied on something else besides their other half; with plenty of hockey games to attend plus weddings, charities, and schools vying for their respective time. They kept in frequent contact, as one would expect, with constant texts back and forth and Canis would look forward to the almost daily phone call every evening from James; it could be from St. Louis one night then from Vancouver just days later, and so forth. Interestingly enough they both found comfort in the fact that they could complain to one another about their day and mascotting activities and it was almost always easily relatable. Such is the odd life of a mascot couple. Nothing in the world, though, was quite as nice as being face to face, being in each other's arms, so the two would plan diligently for spending as much time together as possible when their teams were facing off against each other as the logistics lent them to easily be in the same location; just like this current evening.

This was only the third time they had been able to be together in person since they had begun dating and they made sure to make the most of it. Once arriving at Sharkie's place after the game they had shared a particularly fun make-out session on the couch that, as more and more articles of clothing ended up on the floor, didn't take long to turn into a particularly heated coyote-mounting session. After sharing a shower and cleaning up Sharkie had cooked them up a tasty dinner and a now sated Canis was currently relaxing as the shark was cleaning up the dishes.

He was sitting cross-legged in the middle of his boyfriend's bed reading something on his phone, glancing up as Sharkie walked into the room, he tugged his reading glasses off, "Hey James, come here; I have a question."

"Whatever it is I didn't do it!" James exclaimed as he got onto the bed and sat down behind the canine, hugging him around his chest. Howler hugged one of the arms with his own.

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

"Thanksgiving? Hmm, I haven't given it much thought yet." He placed his chin on the coyote's shoulder, "Could go the traditional turkey route, could do a nice ham; that's a good standby, though I think something out of the box like a glazed salmon could work...mmm, yes." His large tail swayed lightly across the sheets as he pondered the options.

"No not cooking, I mean, don't you spend the holiday with your family or anything?"

"Oh those kinds of plans. Um, no, not that I'm aware of. My family is kind of spread out so we don't really have the chance to gather for holidays more than once every few years and this is not one of those years, at least not for Thanksgiving. Christmas maybe."

"Then it's settled." The coyote patted one of the strong arms holding him. "You're coming with me."

"With you, eh?"

"Well you said your family is spread out which makes me the closest family you've got right now and I spend Thanksgiving at my parents' place every year so you're coming with me and that's final." He turned and nosed at the shark snout on his shoulder.

"Hey no complaints from me, that actually sounds exciting and all, but let me get this straight; you want to have me over for Thanksgiving dinner with your parents whom you haven't even told yet that you suddenly have a boyfriend instead of a girlfriend? Based on what you've told me about them they won't exactly be thrilled."

"Yeah, about that. It's not an ideal situation at the moment. Gonna have to let them know about some, um, changes in my lifestyle."

"You definitely should before I show up at the door when they're expecting, what's her name...Emma."

"It won't come to that." Howler pondered. "Because...I think I'll call them right now."

"Like, right now right now?"

"Yeah, no sense in putting it off, right? As much as I'd prefer not to I feel like they deserve to hear the news. They've gotta know at some point. This could get a little rocky though." "Well if you're actually gonna do it now I'll be right here if you need me." Howler nodded and fiddled with his phone in his paws for a moment before taking a deep breath and scrolling to the entry listed "home" and pressed the call button, still not entirely knowing how he was going to tell them. Sharkie gave a hug as the phone started to ring. It only rang once before a familiar voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mom, it's me."

"Canis, honey! It's so good to hear from you! Hang on." Through the speaker she could be heard yelling across her house despite covering the receiver on the other end. "Austin your son is on the phone!" She returned to her normal voice, "Just a sec your father is grabbing the other line."

"Hey if it isn't Howler. Awroooo!"

"Dad that's...really unnecessary."

"Anyway how nice of you to check in on us." He countered.

"How is your mouseketeering going? How are you, how's Emma?"

"Mom, you mean 'mascoting.'"

"Oh you know what I meant." Howler could already feel a headache coming on, he rubbed his free paw on the bridge of his nose and tried to focus on the item at hand. "Well things are going ok, um, I mainly called to talk about Thanksgiving plans."

"You'd better not be trying to weasel out this year; your brother already told us he wouldn't be making it."

"Yeah I heard, but that's not it at all, I just wanted to make sure everything was going ahead as normal."

"As far as we know they are!"

"Well good. So, um, the reason I called was to let you know I wanted to have someone tag along this year. Someone I want you to meet."

"Oh! You're finally bringing that nice girl over!"

"Yay! We've been dying to meet her. Of course you can bring her."

"Austin he's bringing Emma over!"

"Heh...I'm sorry to disappoint but she's actually not the one who's going to be coming. Emma and I called things off a little while ago."

"Oh, heavens." His mom replied. "Why?"

"Canis, why didn't you tell us? You really should keep us in the loop about these things."

"I thought you said she was the one, what happened?" "No, you guys said she was the one. Long story short we just couldn't see eye to eye on certain things."

"Well, that stinks to hear but that's life sometimes, son. So who's the new girl, a nice coyote to settle down with or at least a canine perhaps?"

"Dad, I don't have to date only within my species." "I know, I know, just wishful thinking I guess. Things were different when I was your age."

"Yeah things are...definitely different now."

"Anyway tell us about her."

"Yes I want to know all about the new girl." His mom chimed in with the voice of a highschool girl eager for some gossip.

Canis gulped and made his move, there was no going back now. "Well he's in my same line of work so we have a lot more in common than anyone previous and-"

"You mean 'she', honey, you said, 'he.'" Howler paused and took a deep breath.

"No, that's what I meant...'he.'" There was a standing moment of awkward silence. "This is why I called. It's not about a girlfriend; I'm bringing my...boyfriend over for Thanksgiving." Sharkie gave Howler's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"Linda, I think he's trying to pull one over on us."

"Canis, that's not a very funny joke. That sense of humor doesn't suit you."

"You're right, it doesn't, which is why this isn't a joke."

"Now son, I don't know what's gotten in your head but the only person you're bringing over for dinner is a nice girl."

"No, Dad, I won't. And I'm a bit upset you forgot your promise but I'm not surprised." "I...my what?"

"When you got all annoyed back when I told you I was first dating Emma, a feline, we came to an agreement that you would stop trying to get me to only date other canines, remember? You said that as long as I found someone who made me happy you would be happy for me." "Yes and that pertained to women, this is completely different." "No it isn't. I'm not going to argue the merits of relationships with you. No one has ever made me feel as happy as he does. He has no family to spend Thanksgiving with so he's coming with me. You don't have to like him, you just have to respect him and my decisions."

"You can't date another guy, honey."

"What's his name?"

"Austin, don't encourage this."

"Well I thought it would be poilte to at least know."

"His name is James, and he's a good guy...a great guy. You'll be surprised how nice he is." "Oh we're a bit past being surprised, young man."

"Son, we need to talk about this." "There's nothing else to talk about. Thanksgiving will go ahead just like it always does and we'll have a nice holiday together as a family like we always do. Whatever you're worried about save it and we'll deal with it then. So unless there's something else you would like to talk about I need to be going." One of the lines clicked dead.

"Well you've decently upset your mother and I can't say I'm very excited about this but we'll deal with it in time it seems. We just hope you're ok." "Dad, I'm actually doing quite well, best I've felt in a long time. I love you guys, you know that. I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks."

"We love you, too. We'll...see you then." Immediately upon ending the call Howler flipped his phone across the bed and with a growl reached back to grab a pillow to toss, too, but Sharkie grabbed the maroon paws and crossed them back in front of the canine and hugged tightly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, leaning back against the shark.

"I know that was tough for you but you put your foot down and I'm proud of you."

"James, my heart is pounding...how can they be so insensitive about some things?"

"I don't know, but we're gonna work through this together. At the very least it seems there's a small bit of room for change. They didn't say you could never show your face again or something, right?" "Yeah I suppose, but still that really got under my fur. But then again I knew they wouldn't just accept it, this was going to be an uphill battle from the start."

"Well we knew we'd have to cross bridges like this eventually, but whatever happens I'll be here for you." Sharkie leaned his head around while placing a finger under Howler's chin to tilt it in his direction and met his lips with a warm kiss. "There, feeling any better?"

Howler nodded. "Dammit, James, what did I ever do to deserve you? You're too good to me."

"Heh, I love you, too, pup." Howler wagged his tail a bit to that statement, "But let's get back to the serious matter at hand here; were you really about to throw my pillow?" "Wait, what? No. Maybe?"

"Aha!" Sharkie tickled at his boyfriend's sides to make him squirm and they tussled around the bed for a bit until he allowed himself to be pinned. Howler grinned down and planted a smooch to the shark muzzle before just laying down on top, nuzzling his head under Sharkie's chin. "You've got to be up early to get back to Arizona before your game tomorrow, sucks you guys have a back-to-back."

"Yeah...I can't wait until this season is over. I'd love to spend more than a day at a time with you."

"All in good time, pup. For now though we should probably get ready for bed."

---

The weeks seemed to fly by and before long the league had wrapped up for the holiday and the plan of meeting the family was set into motion. James had made the long drive down from the Bay Area all the way to Phoenix and after arriving late that night he and Canis prepped their stuff and packed the car for the following day before he unceremoniously conked out on the canine's bed.

The following morning Sharkie woke up first, he turned and snuggled against the coyote, nosing in against the fuzzy neck, taking in the relaxing scent of his canine while a paw roamed and rubbed through the cream fur of Howler's chest which caused him to stir from the attention. Sharkie shifted himself, lifting a leg over Canis and moved to straddle him, leaning down to softly lick at the canine's lips. The coyote slowly came to with a mumble but opened his eyes and smiled up at the shark as he pressed forward into the kiss, returning it before licking back affectionately, his tail swishing against the bed sheets.

"Good morning, my handsome coyote." Canis smiled and nuzzled the shark snout.

"Good morning, you." Howler groaned as he stretched out under the shark, arms splayed wide as he let out a little whine at the end. He pulled his arms back in and rubbed at Sharkie's sides before sliding one paw right down to his boyfriend's crotch, getting an appreciative murr as he fondled the dangling package hiding inside the boxer-briefs.

"Oh. Seems like someone's got something other than our trip on his mind."

"You need to think about it from a coyote's point of view; I haven't seen you in weeks and just when I thought I was gonna get a little shark action you left me hanging last night when you passed out, neglecting your duties."

Sharkie stuck his tongue out at the comment. "Hey it was a long day and a long drive on top of that."

"Well that can lead to a pretty needy coyote." His paw continued to knead at the package, "plus let's be honest, in all likelihood there's really not going to be much opportunity for us to mess around at my folks' place." Sharkie nodded as he pressed himself against Howler's paw, his length firming up.

"So what is it that the needy coyote wants exactly?" Howler folded his ears back against his head.

"I want you in my muzzle, like, right now."

"Sure thing, my pup. One full muzzle coming up."

"Mrrff."

Sharkie ruffled the coyote's hair as he scooted himself further up the canine frame, keeping Howler straddled until his crotch was pressed against the leathery nose. Howler blushed as he inhaled the scent, not having been privy to that concentrated whiff in some time. He licked his chops and his tail was wagging underneath him as he nosed against the tented outline in the fabric. Sharkie smiled at the eager coyote as he reached down to let his shaft free from its prison. "Here you go." He pulled open the fly on the front of his underwear and his gray length slid out and right into Howler's awaiting muzzle, the warmth and wetness enveloped him, that wide tongue wrapping around as he let his whole length slide in. "Grrf...I will never not enjoy this."

Howler mumbled something incomprehensible in response as he pulled his muzzle off the shaft up to the circumcised head before bobbing back down, breathing heavily through his nostrils as he went to work on his shark. Sharkie's hand was running through the canine's hair as his shaft kept disappearing into Howler's muzzle, nose bumping into his crotch over and over as he got a bit lost in his task as minutes ticked by.

"My goodness, someone's really eager for his reward." Howler whined softly in response as he continued passing back and forth over the length. "Here, let me help you, 'needy coyote.'" Sharkie steadied both paws on top of the coyote's head as he pressed his hips forward. Howler got the message and paused his blow job, looking up and relaxing his head on the pillow as he let the shark slide in and back out. He closed his eyes and moaned softly over the length as he let his boyfriend just hump into his maw, slowly at first and then into more of a consistent rhythm. Canis moved one of his paws to rub along James' thigh while his other roamed down to his own needy shaft, quickly pulling it free from his boxers and began pawing away, his tip rubbing against the smooth underside of the large shark tail as it swayed back and forth. The shark was grunting and grumbling a bit as he used the canine muzzle to his discretion, shoving in and sliding along the tongue. Howler squirmed and whined but he was loving it; he hadn't had any shark in him in weeks so he was savoring every moment.

Sharkie managed to pant out between humps, "what a muzzle, pup. Gonna fill it up here soon." Howler only responded by squeezing the shark's thigh, eager to help the shark finish which didn't take much longer. His teeth were gritted as he was pushed to his limit, rocking in a few more times before his shaft tensed and he held himself there in the coyote's muzzle. He grunted out as he fired his first rope right against the back of Howler's throat, that salty thick strand was quickly gulped down, soon followed by additional warm spurts of shark semen. Howler whined happily as he drank down the fresh seed and tensed up as well from the feverish pace with which he was working his own shaft. He hadn't intended to fully paw off yet but he was lost in the moment and a combination of that salty liquid splashing on his tongue and his length brushing against the thick gray tail yet again caused him to simply erupt.

Just as the shark's orgasm had subsided Howler's spilled out and he blushed hard as he came. Sharkie felt the warm splattering of the canine's ropes against his backside; in his usual copious amount of shots he ended up painting everything from Sharkie's tail to the back of his legs. James pulled himself out of the wet maw and rubbed the cum and saliva covered head against the coyote's cheek fur while he came back to his senses before rolling off to the side. He took a glance down to examine the extent of the damage while Howler licked his lips, enjoying the residual shark flavor.

"Canis, you always make the biggest messes."

Howler had a dumb, almost inebriated smile on his face as he responded, "that's because you always know how to push my buttons just right." The shark leaned over to smooch him. "And you're too sexy, I can't help it." This earned him another kiss.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed yourself but we should get cleaned up so we can get on the road" As Sharkie turned and clambered off the bed Howler got a good look at his own work.

"James, your backside is a mess."

"Don't start with me." He exclaimed as he peeled off his underwear, "Mr. I-cum-five-gallons-every-time-I-get-off."

"You're exaggerating, it's like four tops." Howler giggled as the shark walked out of the room, sighing sarcastically. Quickly the canine shifted off the bed as well and followed him off to the shower.

---

"It's really pretty out here. Didn't expect this many trees in New Mexico." Sharkie kept glancing to the sides of the road as he drove, enjoying the scenery of a more tree-filled landscape up in the higher elevations than the dull open plains that had been surrounding them for most of the trip. He turned to look at Howler when he received no response. The coyote was staring absentmindedly out the window until a shark hand squeezed his thigh.

"Hmm? What?"

"You're worried aren't ya?"

The canine sighed. "Of course I'm worried, I'm bringing you to my parent's house. Maybe this wasn't a good idea."

"We'll make it through this. Besides I've used too much gas for you to get cold feet now, we're almost there."

The houses were well spaced out, they all had big yards and were set way back from the road. Sharkie figured they must be at least two or three acres each. After another mile or so Howler pointed to a mailbox.

"That's it, turn here." Sharkie turned off the road and headed down the driveway which wasn't more than a couple of ruts in the grass. "Park anywhere, really." There were already a couple of cars sitting by the front porch so he pulled up in line with the others.

"Looks like my sister is already here."

"A Sister? Hang on a minute, you have a sister and didn't tell me?"

"What? I could have sworn I did...sorry." Howler grinned sheepishly. "Well now you know. She's an excitable one but she's harmless; she probably won't even mind that I'm dating you."

"Good to know. Any other surprises I should know about?"

"Well there's also my little brother...did I never mention him either?"

James shook his head. "A brother, too? You have not."

"Oh, well, I have one of those, too. He may surprise you but that's a long story. He couldn't make it this year so I'll have to introduce you another time."

"Mystery siblings. I can dig it."

"They're not a mystery I just forgot, man that makes me sound terrible. Look, my family is good people but...don't look for a warm welcome. At least not from my folks."

Howler looked up to the front of the house and let out a sigh and Sharkie comforted him again with a squeeze to the shoulder.

"You ready for this, pup?"

"Oh my goodness please don't call me that in front of my parents."

Sharkie couldn't help let out a snicker. "Don't worry, hun. Now go on in, I'm sure you're anxious to see your family. I'll bring the stuff up from the car." Howler gave Sharkie's hand a squeeze.

"I need a kiss first."

"Right here in front of the house?"

"Yeah, I don't care, besides it may be awhile before our next one."

"True." The shark leaned over and Howler met him halfway. Their snouts pressed together before their lips connected. Sharkie's hand slid through the fur on Howler's cheek on its way to hold behind his neck, the coyote was rubbing a paw on his shark's chest and they shared a murr before parting.

"Love you, shark."

"You, too, 'yote." Howler stepped out of the car, took another deep breath, and strode up the steps to the porch, a trip he had made hundreds of times before but never with the feeling of dread that he was carrying with him currently. Sharkie watched from the car as the front door swung open and a feminine figure nearly knocked Howler back down the steps as it leapt out and hugged him. Based on her similar colors and markings Sharkie assumed that was the sister. Her tail wagged quickly as she tugged him inside.

Sharkie set to gathering their things; some duffel bags and a suitcase. He brought everything up and onto the porch as the door opened up again and Howler came out followed by the same girl from a moment earlier. She was a good six inches shorter than Howler but clearly had a personality bigger than her frame suggested.

"Oh, you brought a friend. You never bring friends over for the holidays, this is exciting!" She smiled up at the shark. "So who's this handsome fellow? A co-worker, no doubt."

"Um, in a manner of speaking, sure."

"Single perhaps?"

"Well...no, not particularly."

"Aww, shame. Well, Howlie, introduce me."

Sharkie snickered at the nickname which earned a scowl from his boyfriend.

"James, don't you dare..." Howler paused to take a deep breath before turning back to his sibling with a wry smile. "James, this is my sister Cassandra. Cassie, this is James, my...boyfriend." The siblings stared at each other for a moment as the sister tried to comprehend the new information and soon her eyes widened.

"Your what? Your boyfriend?! Woah, woah, woah; why didn't you tell me sooner?" She grabbed Howler's paws and shook them excitedly.

"It's all kind of new to me, I haven't really told much of anyone yet."

"Oh my Gooooood! Canis I'm so proud of you. I always had a feeling."

"A feeling of what?"

"Well, you never seemed super excited about any of your girlfriends, like they weren't really for you, just call it a hunch. So this here is your boyfriend?" Howler nodded. "This stud is yours?"

"Yeah, yeah he is." She fanned herself before reaching a paw out to Sharkie which he shook. "Hi I'm Cassie. I assumed you were just a friend, mind me."

"It's fine, it's nice to meet you."

"You look like quite the catch. Canis, how on earth did you end up with a shark?"

"Well he does the same thing I do only for another team...things just fell into place." He blushed a little as he spoke.

"Aww, two mascots. That's adorable! Dad's not gonna like that he's not a coyote...wait, Mom's not gonna like that he's a he. Oh dear." She covered her mouth for a moment as she thought. "How in the hell did you convince them to have him over for thanksgiving?"

"I didn't convince them, I told them that I'd be bringing him; we still have a lot to talk about." He looked up to the doorway as two new figures appeared at the screen door as if on cue before it creaked open. Canis' parents walked out onto the porch. His dad was just a hair taller than the sister and with much darker brown fur than the rest. His mom was the same height as her daughter though she had a much lighter, monotone shade of fur. She held her arms open and Howler walked right into them as they hugged tight, dad making it a group hug moments later.

"After your call we were worried maybe you wouldn't stop by this year."

"Are you kidding? I would never miss this. Sure this year it's going to be different but we're here as a family and that's what counts, right?"

"Those of us that are a part of this family, anyway." His mom countered.

"That brings me to someone I'd like you to meet." They had disengaged from their family huddle and turned to Sharkie. Cassandra had taken to hooking one of her arms around his and was holding on tight as if they were heading to a dance together. "Mom, Dad; this is James. James these are my parents Austin and Linda."

"You didn't tell us he was a shark."

"No dad, he's not a coyote. So what?"

"I just-"

Sharkie interrupted, "Mr. and Mrs. Maximus, it's a pleasure." He held out his hand and and Austin shook it albeit begrudgingly, he then extended it to Linda who made no attempt to be cordial.

"Mom don't be like that."

"Over the phone you said I didn't have to like him, did you not?"

"I suppose I did but that doesn't-"

"Then I don't like him." She noted succinctly.

"Christ, Mom, you don't even know him."

"I know you. And this isn't like you."

"People change, Mom."

"Or they get stuck on silly ideas." She turned and headed back into the house and after a sigh was followed by Austin. All Howler could do was look to Sharkie with an apologetic shrug. The shark shrugged in return.

"Well that could have gone worse."

"Yeah but it should have gone better, my parents really are nice folks. This is going to be tougher than I thought."

Sharkie had disengaged from the sister to walk over and give Howler a hug. "Let's just try to make the best of it."

"Come on boys, let's get inside and relax." Cassandra had picked up a duffel bag and made her way inside.

"Yeah, pup, let's relax."

"Fat chance."

The group marched in with Sharkie heading in last. He took in the sights and smells of the quaint home; with the actual thanksgiving meal a day away still there was already a scent of holiday food wafting about as he assumed some things were being prepared in advance. There was also the distinct scent of coyote over the whole place. While he had become familiar with Howler's aroma in particular this was all similar yet somehow completely different. From the front door he could see through the kitchen and into the dining room down one side of the house, the kitchen looked quite spacious; in front of him was the living room with the normal accessories and furniture one would expect. There were knick knacks and portraits all about. The sister had already headed to the other side of the living room and disappeared up the stairs.

"Come on, James, I'll show you my room, set our stuff down." As Sharkie followed his boyfriend through the main room and up the stairs he scanned across all the hanging pictures of various coyote relatives and one stood out, he paused. It looked like a normal family photo with the parents he had just met in the back and siblings in the front, a cute younger Canis on one side and Cassandra on the other but in the middle was definitely not a coyote, not even close. Pointed red head feathers, long, straight brown tail, and a big smile on his beak. Sharkie pointed at the photo and looked up towards Howler.

"This looks interesting. Who's that?"

"Hm? Oh, that. That's Dusty, my little brother. I told you it was a long story."

"Is he a-"

"Yes, so get all of your coyote-and-roadrunner jokes out of your system now."

"You know I wouldn't make jokes about your family, he's just not what I was expecting when you said little brother."

"Sorry, I've had to deal with a lot of pointed comments on the subject growing up. I'm really protective of him. He was adopted if you couldn't guess but he's as much my brother as Cass is my sister."

"I'm sure he's a great person considering who he had as a big brother."

Howler blushed and continued upstairs. "Oh hush, now come on."

Cassie was already waiting at her brother's door. "Boy you guys are slow. I already set your stuff down in the room."

"Thanks, Cass. We'll head back down in a minute." Howler's tail wagged just a bit as he entered, his stuff was just like he had left it last time, as usual. He went straight for the bed and flomped on his back, letting out a sigh of relief that he was holding onto for who knows how long. Every time he would come home and lay on his childhood bed he would feel like a kid again for a brief moment, remembering what it was like before having any major responsibilities like jobs, bills, shark boyfriends. Sharkie walked on in and surveyed the layout, a nice sized room, bigger than his growing up. A small drum set sat in one corner, a bean bag in another.

There were some dated posters and figurines, framed photos of the coyote and his brother, random trophies; he fiddled with one, "second place in a tennis tournament?"

"I was like eight and I don't even remember very many kids showing up anyway; we're kinda rural out here. That trophy isn't as impressive as it sounds."

"Tennis though, that must be how how you got that nice rump."

Cassandra snickered, Howler grumbled. "Mr. James, you must be worn out from that drive, maybe you should lay down, too. There's a spot next to Canis, there." Her eyes were gleaming as her tail wagged, "Maybe he needs a hug, or a kiss even."

"I said, 'thanks, Cass.'" Howler interrupted. Sharkie shrugged at the sister and took a seat in a rolling desk chair a few feet away.

"You're no fun, you know that?" She grunted sarcastically and turned to leave but from down the hall she loudly emphasized her idea. "Just kiss him!"

Immediately after it almost sounded like a small explosion had just occurred downstairs followed by profanity and heavy shuffling then the sound of someone tromping up the stairs with purpose. Howler's mom appeared in the doorway wielding a wooden spoon covered in who knows what, glaring.

"I don't know what's going on in here but you will not be kissing any males in my house or in my presence."

Howler shot up on the bed. "Damnit, mom, nothing's happening. Can't a guy relax after being on the road all morning? You're acting like it's the end of the world."

"It might as well be. Can't have any pups this way."

The beleaguered canine laid his head back on the bed almost laughing. "There it is. So it's about kids now?"

"It's about settling down with a nice woman, Canis. Starting a family." Sharkie sat quietly in the chair and tapped his fingers together as he listened to the conversation going on seemingly as if he weren't even there.

"Then we'll adopt like you did, easy." Linda was taken aback for a moment. The reason for which their family had even gone down that route in the first place came about after complications from giving birth to the first pair resulted in Linda never being able to bear children again so adoption was what they decided on when they felt it was time to grow the family. While originally supposed to be another coyote, the reason Howler's younger brother was in fact, not a coyote at all, was due to a mix-up at the adoption agency. Little Canis' almost immediate attachment to the bird prevented any "return" as it were.

"That was a completely different scenario. You can't just adopt because you want to mess around with another man."

"Well the women I've found didn't click with me and James does."

"That's very short-sighted of you, think of the impact it will have on this family. I thought we raised you better than this."

"You raised me to be a good and upstanding and hard-working coyote."

"That doesn't change the fact that this is wrong, you're lucky we even let him in the house." She pointed her spoon at Sharkie, "and don't even think for a moment that you'll be sharing the bed either. He sleeps - on the couch."

"He's my guest mom, I'll sleep on the couch."

She grunted at the proposition. "Fine, whatever. There's cookie dough all over the kitchen that I have to go clean up now. And once you're all settled your father wants to see you in the garage." She turned and made her way out, mumbling as she stomped back down the stairs."

"So that's what that was, cookie dough."

"Really, James?"

"Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood a little."

"How am I the short-sighted one in all this?" Sharkie rolled the chair over to the bed and rubbed one of the canine's thighs. Howler reached down and squeezed the shark hand. "I'm not gonna let this get to me, James."

"I think it already has, you just need to relax, maybe find something that can take your mind off things for a bit, enjoy your time here at home." Sharkie pushed the chair away as he climbed up onto the bed and straddled the coyote, rubbing his snout against the leathery nose. "We'll get through this." He leaned closer and nosed at Howler's neck, getting the canine's ears to fold back a bit. "Too bad your mom said no kissing though."

"Bah." Howler reached a paw behind the shark's neck and pulled him right into a strong kiss. They parted after a moment only to hear an "aww" from the doorway.

"Dang it, Cass."

"Don't worry, I won't tell." Howler could only sigh again. "James I should head down and see what my dad needs. Just chill here, I'll be back in a bit." The shark rolled off and to the side, sitting on the bed as Howler jumped off, stretched, and did a quick fix of his hair before disappearing downstairs. Cassie was quick to jump up and take Howler's spot, hugging James' arm, her tail wagging.

"So, I wanna know everything! Who asked who out first?"

"Everything, huh? Well technically he asked me but it took a bit of coaxing, kind of a long story."

"Tell me! We've got plenty of time, and don't skimp on any details."

"Somehow I doubt you'd let me."

Howler had made his way downstairs and outside to the separate garage not too far away. He entered the side door and the heavy smells of motor oils and grease assaulted his nose but it was a smell he enjoyed. He and his dad shared a love of cars and had even tinkered on one over the years thinking it would be a fun, quick project. A decade later and it was still a long ways away from being complete. The car was in the middle of the small garage with parts all around, it was missing various random components like bumpers, lights, windows, etc. There were a couple of standing tool boxes on one wall and Howler's dad was at the workbench on the opposite wall cleaning off some tool. The hood was up as Howler walked in, smiling a bit as he hadn't seen the car in a year, then he smiled wide, tail wagging quickly as he noticed a big change since last he was in here.

"Woah, you actually got the engine in her!"

"Yup, bud. I finally managed to find the time to borrow a hoist and get it in there. Thought you'd get a kick out of that."

"We had that motor sitting around for a couple of years, I never thought I'd see the day. Does she run?"

"Ah, well that's something I'm hoping you can take a look into; I've checked everything over and it should be ok but she won't turn over."

"Hmm, let's have a look then."

"Go ahead, get in there and get your paws dirty." Howler leaned over and looked down over the engine, turning various caps and pushing on different parts before hopping in and trying to start it up. There was a bit of a low hum but the car made no effort to fire up. Howler thought over multiple ideas.

"Battery?"

"Battery's new."

"Gas?"

"There's a bit in the tank."

"Spark plug."

"Also new." Howler scratched his chin.

"Hmm...hang on. I think I know. Dad hand me your voltmeter." He grabbed the device and headed back under the hood, fiddling with parts as he attached cables. The device in his paw started to spit out numbers on its digital display and he sighed. "The alternator's dead, Dad. How did you not notice that? Forgetting things in your old age?"

The older canine sighed sarcastically. "Well, good catch. Must've slipped my mind. No use in getting a spare one so we'll have to get that one working again."

"Sounds fun, that's tedious though."

"Yep, and not really a two-man job, I guess I'll leave you to it. Linda's probably gonna need extra paws in the kitchen anyhow." He turned and headed towards the door.

"What's the rush? I barely just got here, hang out and we can chit-chat." He paused. His father was never the type to try and weasel his way out of time he could spend tinkering on the car. "Why do I get the feeling this is some kind of setup? Wait a second, there's no way you would have overlooked this, that's like Engine Trouble 101. Why are you so eager to leave me in here? What's really going on?" His dad looked at him dejectedly, almost as if he was the one in the wrong. He walked back over to Howler and took a deep breath.

"Fine. You deserve an explanation. Now, I didn't really think this would amount to much but your mom was pushing me to find something that could bring you back around. We were hoping to get your mind focused on more...masculine things. I figured if I got you tinkering and maybe you got some grease in your fur you'd come back to your senses."

"Masculine things?! Come back to my senses? Woah woah woah, are you implying that a gay guy can't work on cars?"

"Canis, don't say it like that."

"What, 'gay?' Are you embarrassed that I'm gay?" Howler took a moment to reflect on his choice of words; while he'd used the term boyfriend to describe Sharkie he'd never actually phrased himself as "gay" in that sense. It hit him a bit odd but it felt refreshing to say out loud.

"I'm not embarrassed that you're you."

"You're aware that I have my own fixer-upper at my house, right? I work on it all the time." His father was rubbing the bridge of his nose, mumbling.

"Look can you fix it or not?"

"Of course I can, unlike you trying to fix me. I'm not broken, Dad. Give me a couple of hours and I bet I'll have her running."

"It's just that you loved getting under the hood when you were younger, is all; why couldn't you turn that into your career?"

"That's not how I played my cards plus what does that have to do with me now? I still love cars and you know what else I love? That shark that I brought with me. I wish you could just understand that I've changed."

"Would it be so hard to change back?"

"Yes! Yes it would, Dad, because that me you used to know was what you wanted, not what I wanted. This is me now and I'm really enjoying all aspects of my own life for once and if you can't wrap your head around that then I may as we'll head back to Arizona now." Austin placed a paw out on Howler's shoulder and squeezed.

"Now, we don't need that." Howler had gotten himself a little worked up as he spoke so harshly to his father, something he wasn't exactly accustomed to, but he calmed down a little to the touch. "Look, Canis, I told your mother I'd try something and I did but it's clear to me now that you're pretty set in your decision so I'll leave it at that though to be honest she's way more freaked out about all this than I am. Not that I'm happy about it but I guess I'm willing to see how things play out, I don't want to lose you over something like this. I think what you could use is perhaps some alone time in here tinkering for a little while - might help ya relax a little."

"Dad, that's...that's the most sensible thing I've heard you say so far. Yeah just give me a little bit in here and let me see what I can do." Without any additional conversation his dad pulled him into a tight hug before walking out. It surprised Howler as his father wasn't usually the hugging type but it was reassuring and with what his dad had just mentioned it sounded almost like he was leaning towards Howler's side of this whole issue, his mom though would be another task altogether. It might take something drastic to get her to change her mind. Howler shot the shark a quick text that he'd be a little while then he started taking the alternator apart and set his mind on fixing it up.

It was about three hours later just as the sun was setting and the quiet homefront was suddenly filled with the loud revving of a hearty engine, a few quick pulses followed by a long drawn out roar before being shut off. Mere moments later and Howler's dad had practically run back into the garage. Howler was standing over his handiwork, tail swaying.

"Dang she sounds nice! This was a long time coming. Good to see you haven't lost your touch after all."

"I didn't think my touch was in question. Very tedious getting that thing cleaned up though but I gotta say it did keep my mind off of things for a bit."

"I told ya!" He patted his son's back.

"I'm not changed though, I won't be changing."

"I...didn't suspect that you would. Now go on in and get cleaned up, I'll get stuff put away in here. That shark o'yours could probably use a break, too; Cassie's been talking his ears off for hours."

"Poor guy. Thanks, Dad." Howler reciprocated the hug from earlier which left it Austin's turn to be surprised this time as his son walked out. Howler's tail was wagging as he walked back into the house and he wasn't quite sure why, this was still hostile territory. His mom looked up from the kitchen as he came through the front door.

"You didn't have to go shake the whole neighborhood."

"Sorry I just had to make sure things were working, besides it wasn't that loud." "So, how do you feel? Do you feel a little more manly perhaps after being under the hood?" Howler's brow furrowed.

"Not this again. Look all I feel right now is greasy, I'm gonna grab a shower." His mother simply shook her head as he headed upstairs. Howler could hear his sister talking from the hallway before he even stepped back into his room, as he came through the doorway James, who had been laying across the bed holding his head up with one hand, quickly righted himself and gave a wide smile to the coyote."

"Alright, Cass I think you've talked up my boyfriend quite enough, how about you give him a break?"

"What? We've only been talking for a little bit, just since you left."

"That was just over three hours ago."

"She gasped as she turned and looked at the time on a little clock radio on a desk." "Mr. James, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to go on and on."

"Haha, it's fine. It was fun hearing all those embarrassing stories about Canis' childhood." Howler frowned.

"Cassie! What exactly did you tell him?"

"Nothing too bad, I gotta go!" She quickly slid past her brother and disappeared down the hall to her room and shut the door." Howler turned his attention back to the shark now.

"Canis, I thought you would never come back!" He noted with exaggeration while his hands were clasped together.

"Sorry, she can be really chatty sometimes."

"She's fine, quite fun actually." Sharkie held out his arms for a hug but Howler put his hand out in front.

"Not just yet, I'm all messy from working on that car. Gonna grab a quick shower."

"Can I join you?" Posed the shark as his tail swished across the bed.

"Absolutely not, my mom would kill us." Sharkie put on his best pouty face.

"Don't give me that look, you know we need to behave."

"Fine- Oh my that's nice." Sharkie quipped as Howler pulled his shirt off over his head, exposing his chest. It was soon followed by his pants hitting the floor leaving the coyote in just his underwear as he headed to their suitcases, he bent over to grab something and Sharkie gave a low whistle; it was almost criminal how good his butt looked, each cheek well defined behind that tight material. Howler had grabbed a towel and turned back to the shark, blushing ever so slightly.

"Stop it, you."

"Sorry for admiring the nicest rump around." Sharkie had to adjust his pants.

"You be good, I'll be right back." With that Howler leaned over and gave a peck to the end of the smooth gray snout before dashing across the hall and into the bathroom. The shark pondered exactly how much coaxing it would take before he could have the coyote laid out right here on his childhood bed taking the shark while he moaned into the pillows. He smirked and then decided maybe he should find something else to occupy him, help clear his head so as not to get himself too worked up. He figured that after spending most of the afternoon in the bedroom he should check out what else the house had to offer. James headed himself downstairs and eyed the tv setup and seeing that no one else was using it figured he'd find something to watch, he set to finding which of the many remotes actually controlled the television. It took a little trial and error but before too long he had the tv on and was scrolling through some random channels.

"That you, Canis?"

James heard the call from the kitchen and froze, unsure about how interact with the mom without his boyfriend around to act as a mediary.

"Um, no ma'am; just me." He got up and walked over and poked his head casually around the corner as if to affirm his statement. He noted various pots were on the stove, stream rising, and Linda was hunched over a counter, rolling out some more cookie dough. Clearly adept at multitasking.

"Oh" was the only response.

"I just thought I'd see what was on the TV, if that's ok."

"If you must."

"Thanks. I'll...keep quiet. Smells really good in here by the way."

She paused in the middle of her dough rolling. "James, was it?"

"Ah, yes ma'am."

"Ok, here's the deal. James." She waved her rolling pin at him reminiscent of the spoon earlier. "Don't go getting too comfortable, and I'm not referring to the living room, I mean the house all together." Sharkie just stared, not really sure where this was going. "Whatever it is you did to my son I'll find out and I'll fix it. The only reason you're here is because Canis wanted you here. I never invited you into my home, remember that, and don't think you can sweet talk your way around here by telling me my cooking smells good or what have you. I've put a lot of time and energy into this family and I won't have you ruining that."

James' hands were up in a defensive gesture now. "Look, I'm really sorry that you feel that way but I have no ill intentions against your family and for the record I wasn't trying to weasel my way onto your good side; I spend a lot of free time in the kitchen myself so I know what kind of effort goes into a big meal so I was just being honest."

"That's not important." "Sure it is! Look, I know you're not happy with this change but you have to understand I didn't force him into anything, this was his decision. We make a good team whether you like it or not."

"I certainly don't like it."

"I'm willing to help in any way I can but I can't do that unless you treat me like an equal."

"You want to help, huh? How about you go back and be born as a woman so Canis can have a proper mate and I can have some grandpups like in a proper family." Linda smacked her rolling pin into the dough. Is that so much to ask for?"

"No, and I understand that's an admirable goal for any parent but that's just not the course that Canis and I are on currently."

"Then you're of no use to me as a relative."

"Wow, that's..." Sharkie held his tongue. He thought he had presented a logical and civil argument but he didn't need this getting ugly, rather, any more ugly by losing his cool. He nodded and walked back out of the kitchen and proceeded to slump onto the couch, not even paying attention to anything on the tv screen, just replaying the past conversation in his head.

Howler had gotten himself cleaned up and re-dressed and he was currently heading down the staircase and happened upon Sharkie staring blankly at nothing, grumpy look on his face, he waved a paw in front of the shark's snout to get his attention and with a shake of the head he looked up and smiled just a bit at the fuzzy face.

"You ok, shark?"

"Hey hun. Yeah, just...had a bit of a chat with your mom." "Oh no."

"It's ok, nothing that we weren't expecting, just not this soon. I was picturing it happening at the Thanksgiving dinner table like the movie clichés where the whole family argues." Howler sat himself down next to the usually bubbly fish and grabbed his paws, clasping them in his own. "She's really on that pups kick."

"I mean, she has a right to." With pinpoint timing Linda came around the corner from the kitchen to the living room.

"You're damn right I do. And what's this?" She waved a paw exaggeratingly at their closeness. "No no no no, there'll be none of this hand holding nonsense." She flicked her fingers in a dismissing motion as if that was all it would take.

"What? No, mom. I'll hold onto my boyfriend's hands if I feel like it."

"Not in my house, mister! This isn't how I raised you."

"How you raised me? You raised me to be a very open-minded individual, to work hard, and to not let people walk over me. All very important life lessons that brought me to where I am today."

"Don't spin this around on me like I made you date him."

"I never said that, mom, why are you being like this? Is this seriously just about kids?"

"It's only natural, Canis. This here," She pointed to both of them, "isn't natural."

"Mom, now that I'm an adult I'll make the choices in my life."

"Adult? You're acting like a spoiled brat." While they hadn't noticed yet, Cassie was sitting about halfway down the stairs, listening in. She knew this argument was going to happen, everyone did, really. She pondered if she should butt-in at all. Just about that time Howler's dad had re-entered the house to this commotion, Linda had a paw to her forehead as he walked over.

"Everything ok?"

"No. Austin, do something about your son, please. Talk some sense into him, he won't listen to me." Howler was about to speak up but he wanted to see what his dad had to say on the matter so he held back briefly even though part of him wanted to scream and yell and make a scene. Austin looked over at his son on the couch, whose brow was furrowed, gripping tightly to the shark's hand then he looked back at his wife.

"Talk? We already had a talk out in the garage. Seems to me he like he's doing ok for himself. He's happy with his decisions and we should try to be happy for him, don't you think?"

"Oh don't you play that game! What about pups, what about your lineage?"

"You act like we only have one kid." He casually pointed to the sister on the stairs.

"Dad!" She exclaimed embarrassingly and Linda chimed in as well.

"No one is defiling my princess."

"I mean, if not Canis then it's up to her."

"I can't believe you right now."

Howler let go of the paw he'd been squeezing and stood up. "We can just leave if you'd like, mom. Won't have to worry about us anymore."

"Now, Canis don't be-" His father was cut off.

"That's a great idea, Canis. Perhaps you two need to go."

"Mom!" Came another exclamation from Cass.

"Huh." Was all Howler could respond with as he nodded.

James was tugging on his arm as he stood up as well. "Canis, I need to talk to you outside." He turned the coyote towards the front door and led them outside. At the same time Austin was confronting Linda, both paws on her shoulders, guiding her back towards the kitchen in a scene reminiscent of two boxers being led back to their corners after the end of a round of fighting.

"Linda I think you're being too harsh, you're out of sorts."

"Out of sorts?! This is all out of sorts!"

Outside a much calmer conversation was occurring, James had his hands hugging Howler's shoulders as they sat side by side on the front steps.

"Canis, I think this has gotten a bit out of hand, I feel like your mom has gone a bit far past being rational to the point that even if she wanted to she would never be able to admit that she's in the wrong here."

"I know, hun, and I agree with you; that's why I said we should just leave."

"We can't do that, the divide between you two would be really hard to repair down the road. I don't think it's worth it just on my account, I'm sorry I got you mixed up in all this."

Howler pressed a finger firmly into Sharkie's chest. "Don't you even dare take the blame for this, I made my decision to date you and brief as our friendship has been you've never let me down. This was my call bringing you here even though I knew something like this might happen."

"Well, you've heard my piece; I don't think you should give in yet but only you can make this call. I'll stand by whatever you choose."

"I know, hun, and that's why I love you. If my own mother can't see past her disillusion then it's likely I should consider taking a hiatus from her." He sniffled, trying to hold back from showing too much emotion. "I think it's best we head out."

"You sure?" He squeezed the coyote tight and pressed his snout against his fuzzy neck.

"No, but it's what we're gonna do." He rubbed the shark's thigh.

"Ok, pup. Want me to go get our stuff?"

"No you don't need to go back in there. Get the car ready and I'll be out in a moment."

They butted heads affectionately and kept them pressed together for a moment before Howler got up and headed back inside. He took a deep breath, thinking this was likely the last time he'd be here in a good while. Back inside the remaining family members were busy continuing the argument with Cassie doing most of the talking,

"I can't believe you would actually say that to him. You're being so petty!"

"Petty? I didn't start this whole mess!"

"Of course not, and heaven forbid you try to help him. You've been so proud of him his whole life and he makes one decision you don't like and you just cut him free."

"You watch your tone, missy."

The door creaked open and the group fell silent as Howler entered. "Howlie, she didn't mean what she said." Their mother huffed and turned away

"Cassie, it's fine. You'll have to come out and visit us sometime."

"Howlie, no..." He headed across the living room and up the stairs. It didn't take long to gather the bags and soon he was on his way back down and towards the door. Cassandra tried to block his path but he simply went up and hugged her.

"You know I can't stick around, sis, not if she's going to act like this." Her eyes were getting watery. "You take care of yourself, ok?"

"I will, I'll be fine."

Walking over to his parents his mom was being unusually quiet compared to the last few minutes. He reached an arm around his dad and gave him a hug as well before leaning over to kiss his mother on the side of the head.

"I love you guys. Maybe I'll see you soon."

"We'll be here if you need us, son."

Howler could only shake his head. "I know you mean well, dad, but not everyone here shares that opinion. Ok, I gotta go." He picked up his things and headed for the door. Cassie practically chased him out but stopped and watched from the porch as he headed towards the car which was already running, Sharkie standing by the driver's-side door, arms resting on the roof. Austin and Linda slowly made their way over to the door and watched as Howler put the bags into the trunk. Cassie stomped back inside and with tears running down her face, looked her mom straight in the eyes and pointed sternly back out towards the car.

"Mom you are going to lose him because you're being so stubborn! You are going to lose your son because he found someone he loves?! Do you realize how absurd that sounds? Stop him!"

As she stared out of the window she saw her son stumble just a bit as he walked over to the shark who caught and hugged him tight, his shoulders were rocking up and down, clearly sobbing. Scenes began to play through her mind of previous happier times of the younger canine; his first smile as a pup, how excited he was bringing home his first friend from school, how happy he was to announce that he had his first girlfriend, and how proud he was when told them he had landed the mascot job. All very poignant and happy scenes in her memory but now everything was so tense and hostile and Howler was gone because she had told him to go.

She blinked and was returned to the scene before her, Howler was still being held by the shark and she watched as James kissed her son's forehead. It hit her that this whole boyfriend ordeal wasn't for attention, it wasn't to spite her, they clearly had a strong bond. Howler had disengaged from the shark and was wiping his eyes as he walked to the passenger door.

It was unfortunate that it had taken this long to put the pieces together but Linda was beginning to realize that she maybe shouldn't have been so aggressive with her opinion. Her son was about to drive away and maybe forever and that was just now really hitting her. She went through a brief internal struggle as could be witnessed by her clutching her chest.

"What have I done?"

"Go out there and get him, talk to him, do something." Cassie proclaimed between sniffles.

Linda slowly swung the door open and stepped onto the porch, yelling out as Howler was getting into the car, "Canis!"

He paused, the passenger door already open as he was about to step in; he looked back, eyes just slightly red. "Mom, we can't do this, this isn't a game. I'm going now."

"No, you can't! Canis, I'm sorry. Please, I can't lose you like this."

"If you want me back in your life James has to be a part of it, too."

"Yes, I know. I know that now. I'm willing to...try. Please..." She was practically bawling at this point and Howler made the decision to reluctantly make his way back up to the porch. Linda had dropped to her knees from the emotional weight, he kneeled down beside her and hugged her tightly and while it wasn't audible like his mom's he was shedding some tears of his own again. At this point the car was shut off and James slowly made his way back up with the others.

"Canis, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen." She sniffled as she tried to collect herself, squeezing her son, rocking gently back and forth, "I don't know why I let this get so bad..."

"It's ok, mom. I didn't think that it would take such a dire situation for you to have a change of heart but things can only get better from here on out if you're actually willing to accept us. Come on let's get you up."

Howler stood up and wiped a residual tear from his snout and was about to help her up but Sharkie was there standing next to him, with an arm already extended down to Linda who was just now glancing up, she stared at the gray hand and traced it up to the shark's face, a terribly disarming and sincere one it was now that she was actually taking a look into his eyes, and here he stood ready to help her after all the negativity she had thrown his way.

"Mrs. Maximus." She reached up slowly, unsure at first but her paw was grasped gently yet firmly. Sharkie helped her to her feet and she had no idea why but as soon as she was stable she leaned in and wrapped her arms around the shark, buried her face right into his chest and began the waterworks once more. Her son joined, hugging them both as the emotions flowed free. The other two family members came out as well and joined in an embrace for what seemed like minutes. One by one they peeled off with Linda lastly removing her arms from the shark and patted the spot she had made wet from her tears, letting out an exasperated chuckle,

"All this and now I've ruined your shirt, too."

"You're fine, Mrs. Maximus, it's just water."

"And stop calling me that, my name is...Linda and it's...it's nice to meet you, James. She stifled one last sniffle as she smiled up at him."

"The pleasure is mine."

"Well that was all fucking intense, ha!"

"Cassie! Language!" Linda retorted. "I'm so sorry, I'm such a mess." She laughed as she wiped the residual wetness from the fur on her face. "I need to go clean up. Come back inside, boys. Cassie go get their things."

It took a few minutes but all of the emotional and physical baggage had been gathered up and brought back inside the house. Cassandra took the boys' stuff upstairs once again. Canis was helping his mom over to and down onto the couch where he sat down next to her, hugging her shoulder, she was squeezing his other paw. "I know that was stressful and I'm sorry you had to deal with it, but you know that you weren't the only one, that was hard for me, too." "Canis, I-" He politely cut her off with a finger to her muzzle. "Now, I'm glad that you're willing to discuss some of the changes in my life but we can't pretend like that whole event didn't just happen." "I know, honey." "We still need to have a talk, a civil talk." She nodded. "I know that the idea of me being with another male is unsettling but you have to think of it from my point of view; the friends I've had and the ladies I've been with were supportive, mostly, and friendly enough, sure, but the first person in my life, aside from you guys, that actually showed an interest in what I do and actively wants to help me become a better person and loves me unconditionally...is that guy right there." He gestured over to James as he was closing the front door. "He may not be a woman and he may not be a coyote but he is a hell of a person."

"He must be, Canis, to go through what you did in bringing him here when you never even brought one of your lady-friends over for Thanksgiving."

"Yes, he's worth that much trouble."

"You must think pretty low of me right now." She started getting teary-eyed again.

"Mom, I've only ever thought very highly of you. You taught me the world." He squeezed her thigh and licked her cheek. "I love you, Ma."

"And also this fellow, yes?"

"Oh yes, very much so."

"James, dear, come here and sit down. I want to see something."

"Alright."

"Is this the hand thing, mom? Don't do the hand thing, that's weird."

"Hush." James made his way over and sat on the couch on the other side of Linda. "So tell me, what's your other name? You know, your mascot name, like Howler here."

"I go by Sharkie on the ice."

"Cut and dry but it's to the point. I guess 'Howler' isn't much of a stretch either."

"You can call me that or James is fine, too. They're pretty interchangeable among friends." She smiled then reached across to the shark's hands, grasping them in her own and pulling them towards her a bit, rubbing her thumbs across the smooth gray skin and over knuckles as if examining them.

"So, um, boy- boyfriend, huh? Hell that sounds weird to say."

"Yes ma'am, that's me."

"Definitely going to take some getting used to."

"You will, mom."

"Now, James. My Canis is precious to me so I need the right person to take care of him."

"I think I'm doing a decent job so far."

"He's a genius in the kitchen, mom." Howler chimed in.

"I can tell by your hands; they're strong hands, useful because my son can be a handful at times. They're soft, too, which is perfect because he's my delicate, precious little pup."

Howler's ears had folded to the side of his head. "Ok that's really embarrassing, thanks."

"Let her haven't this one, hun, you'll always be her pup."

"Oh, God." He tried to sink into the couch cushions to disappear but to no avail.

"See?! He understands. You picked a good one...I'm so disappointed in myself for not giving you a chance sooner. I don't know how you could even begin to forgive me."

"Well, food is always a good start."

"Wait, food?" This was not the answer she was expecting.

"Yup, and I'll tell you what; you let us sit at your table and share in your Thanksgiving meal and we'll call it even."

"Consider it done."

Austin piped in from the other room, "speaking of food I think it's about dinner time."

"Yes, indeed! Get the menu for the boys."

"Menu?" Sharkie's head tilted a bit.

Seemed the Maximus family had a tradition of ordering out for Chinese on Thanksgiving Eve and so on an evening that very nearly ended in disaster instead was capped off by various white boxes and other plastic vessels being passed around the dinner table.

---

As it got later on into the evening the parents had retired off to bed leaving the siblings and the shark watching the end of some action movie but the day was catching up with the pair and they were nodding off, with Canis resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulder until Cassie prodded them awake.

"Boys. Hey guys." Sharkie groaned and stretched while Howler just slowly opened his eyes, focusing them on his sister. "You guys should get some sleep, you look dead tired."

"I think that's a good idea. Are you still taking the couch, hun?"

"Yeah I don't think my mom would be too happy with us both in bed, not yet anyway." Cassie cleaned the area up and got out some spare bedding as the other two got themselves ready for bed upstairs. James sat on the edge of the canine's bed in just his underwear as he watched Canis take off his shirt and pull on some pajama pants. He tugged the coyote over and they shared a firm kiss and there was even perhaps a little fondling of a shark before they parted.

"And you tell me to behave, ha."

Howler blushed. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. But yes, um...behave."

"Ok, whatever you say, pup." He reached up and ruffled his hair before earning another short kiss.

"James, I'm sure you already know it, but thanks for being there for me. What we went through earlier was pretty tough for me, considering how it almost went down. I'm sorry you had to deal with all that."

"It's fine, 'yote. I wouldn't have agreed to come here with you if I didn't think I could deal with a scenario like that. Besides I think we've dealt with the roughest part; now we just have to smooth out the edges."

Howler smirked and pressed his leathery nose to the smooth shark snout. "You put things into perspective so easily sometimes. Let's hope we can actually do this."

"We'll be fine."

Cassie passed by just then, poking her head in. "Everything's all set up for you downstairs."

"Thanks, sis."

"Goodnight boys."

"See you in the morning."

Once she had left Howler turned his attention back to his shark. "I'll see you in the morning, too. You know where to find me if you need something."

"Yup. Love you, Canis. Hope you sleep well."

"Love you, too, hun." With one final kiss the canine headed out and made his way down to the couch. Thankfully it was a comfortable enough couch to sleep on, unlike James' back home; left his neck cramped for days the one time he had passed out on it. Here he was able to get comfy and fall asleep relatively quickly whereas upstairs James was tossing about, somewhat restless, not for comfort reasons but something else. The house was dead quiet, a little more so than he was used to with his apartment in a busy city. His eyes were closed and he was enjoying the quaintness of the room but he just couldn't seem to fall asleep. He even tried counting salmon to see if he could doze off but it was no use. He craned his neck up to glance at the clock and it had been nearly an hour of rolling around trying to get to sleep. The bed creaked just a little as he swung himself over and off, standing on his feet and stretching briefly. He reached back and grabbed a pillow before heading to the door, very cautious about opening it as he was unsure what kind of pops or creaks it would make to alert the other house members that he was escaping.

The knob turned and the door opened slowly, thankfully there was hardly a sound as he pushed it open. He entered the hallway and turned to make his way downstairs, the stairs also thankfully not very creaky as he descended. His eyes could just make out the couch in the darkness and he could hear the coyote's soft breaths and he used that to pinpoint his boyfriend. He was pretty straightforward about it as he came around to the front and laid himself right behind the canine, there was just enough width on the couch to hold them both as long as they were snug together. He spooned up against his coyote and sighed contently, Howler did, too, though the shark paws that were wrapping around him brought him from his slumber. James could hear the breathing change and knew he had woken up, he spoke softly before Canis could.

"Sorry hun, I didn't mean to wake you." Howler squeezed one of the shark paws to his chest.

"It's fine. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah I just...couldn't get to sleep. Thought some company might help."

"You know my mom wouldn't appreciate this if she knew."

"I'll deal with it later." Howler adjusted himself on the couch, inadvertently rubbing his rear right up against the shark which caused him to press forward in response. He wasn't actively trying to get them riled up but as he pressed his snout against Canis' neck and took in the prevalent coyote scent he couldn't prevent his length from stirring and soon it was snugged right up under Howler's tail as they both grinded softly, huffing quietly before Howler managed to speak just a hair louder than a whisper.

"Does...does my shark need assistance? Is that why you came down here?"

"That's not why, but your grinding got me going. I think we should hold off, though. Don't you? Don't need to be getting into any trouble lest anybody find us fooling around."

"I really hate that you're right, I could use a little stress relief after earlier today. You sure we can't just be really quiet."

Sharkie brought a paw over and wrapped it around the plump tent the coyote was sporting causing him to moan out just a bit louder than they were whispering though with a paw to his muzzle he was quick to cut himself off as he had been caught off guard."

"See? I don't think you can be quiet enough, babe. Plus, as hot as it would be to take you right here I am pretty tired." He nipped at and kissed Howler's neck before releasing his shaft."

"Jerk, waking me up and getting me worked up."

"Oh hush, we'll find the time."

"Mm, I hope so." He snuggled back against the shark once more.

"Goodnight, sweet thing." Sharkie tugged the blanket over them and closed his eyes, spooning close and despite their mutual desire they both were out cold within moments and that's just how they were found in the morning.

---

"Canis! Howlus! Maximus!"

Howler's eyes shot open and he flailed, his body in panic mode at the dreaded getting-called-by-your-full-name assault. He felt something heavy behind him get shoved off the couch and after a thud and a few choice colorful words he realized he had just knocked James off, then he realized his parents were standing in the living room. He looked up, his mom's arms were crossed.

"Just because we came to terms on some things yesterday does not give you free reign to break my house rules. You're in big trouble, mister."

"Mom, what the hell?" He groaned as he began to actually wake up.

"You knew you two were to sleep separately." A gray hand shot up from between the couch and the coffee table.

"Mrs. Maximus, er, Linda, I can -oof- explain." He righted himself and sat back up on the couch by Howler's feet.

"It's definitely 'Mrs. Maximus' right now."

"Yes, indeed. I apologize, very much so, but this is not Canis' doing. Don't get upset with him." He winced as he rubbed his back. "I came down here of my own accord. I tried to get some sleep up there but I just couldn't. I needed him with me."

"That's sappy but not much of an excuse. You couldn't wait just a few days?"

"Just a few days? I mean no offence but," he gestured to both parents, "what if you two were separated for two weeks, three weeks, a month, and then upon coming back together were told you couldn't get comfortable with one another even though you were right there? That's where I'm coming from is all; we don't get to spend a lot of time together like you probably assume. It's rough, especially knowing he was just right downstairs."

Linda glanced over to her son.

"That's the truth, mom, we spend weeks and weeks apart and then maybe a day together if the planets line up right or whatever. This is our first extended downtime together."

"Again, I apologize. I should have checked with you first. I'm out of line. But I will stand my ground on this one, I feel that I should be able to share a bed with him if I choose, even if under your roof."

Austin leaned in and whispered something into his wife's ear. "Yes I'm sure he means it. Oh fine, whatever, fine, but there will be no...no funny stuff do you understand? There is still no kissing! Oh I am not ready for this, I need coffee. Austin, coffee." He rubbed her shoulders and set off to the kitchen while she headed back upstairs.

"Thanks for hip-checking me off the couch, by the way. I think that might be two minutes for interference."

"Shit, I'm sorry about that. I was so startled when she yelled I didn't really know what was going on."

"It's fine, I'll live. You'll make it up to me later." He patted the canine's thighs. "I'm gonna go get washed up then grab some breakfast maybe?"

"Yeah, sounds good. I'll get this cleaned up."

It was about 15 minutes later that James came back down all cleaned and properly dressed. He sniffed at the air as he walked across the living room, there was coffee and something else, something not as pleasant. He sniffed again and came to the conclusion that it almost smelled like something was burning. He rounded the corner to the kitchen and Canis was just sliding what looked almost like eggs onto some plates. The charred spots on the food a clear indication that something hadn't gone to plan.

"James, you're gonna kill me. I burnt the eggs."

"Burnt the eggs? Hang on, did you try and cook us breakfast?"

In their relationship when it came to food, unless they were going to a restaurant, James was in charge of the kitchen and he would cook up some wonderful stuff. It was all still a bit over Canis' head but he always watched closely when the shark was cooking him something.

Howler nodded shyly, ears slightly drooping. "I figured I've watched you make me omelettes a few times. I thought I would give it a shot, kinda ruined it though."

"Now, now. It can't be that bad." He took a glance at the plates. "You probably just had the heat on too high."

"Well yeah, high would make em cook faster, right?"

"Well yeah but eggs need gentle heat or they'll, well, burn, babe." James walked over to the canine and ruffled his hair with a paw as he hugged him from the side. "It's a really sweet gesture though." He leaned his head to the side and planted a kiss to the coyote who blushed just a bit. "Come on, I'm starving."

"You're still gonna eat it?"

"Of course! You made it. Would be a waste to toss em."

"Flatterer, fine." Canis brought the items over to the table where the two sat down to dig in.

"What is it again, scrambled eggs?"

"James, I told you they were omelettes."

"Ah yes, of course." James looked down and the very not omelette-shaped eggy pile."What's inside? Peppers? Mushrooms? Ooh, Chorizo?"

"There's nothing inside...I didn't think about that part. I forgot, I'm sorry." Howler frowned.

"Oh chill out, I'm just messing with you." He rubbed one of the coyote's shoulders. "It's still really cool that you tried."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If you want I'll teach you some stuff next time we're at my place. How's that sound?" "Sounds good, I could use an excuse to use my own kitchen more, stop eating out so often." Howler wagged his tail some as they dug into the food. Upon taking the first bite though they shared a look of dismay. Canis' ears were folded back as he chewed slowly and Sharkie was trying his best not to cough. After struggling to get the bite down he was quick to reach for and chug a glass of water while Howler got up and scraped the remainder of food on his plate into the garbage.

"James, I know a good breakfast spot in town and they're still open today."

"Oh, sweet, merciful hockey gods." He tossed his eggs away in similar fashion.

After a quick text to the parents the pair headed off and remained away for the next couple of hours.

Upon their return as James was parking the car he was still babbling on about how their hash browns weren't nearly brown enough. "I'm just saying, maybe they could use me in their kitchen."

"You've got enough on your shoulders with your current job, don't you think?"

"Between that and dating the best coyote in the world you might be right."

"Oh hush." Howler folded his ears back as he blushed a little, squeezing the shark's thigh.

"So, you wanna head back inside? Watch some TV or something? Football game is starting soon y'know."

"Actually, let's take a walk and work off some of those pancakes. There's a creek a ways back behind our house I used to go to a lot as a kid; nice and peaceful down there."

"Ooh! Sounds good. Lead the way!"

The two headed around the house and with Canis in front they wandered off into the woods, fallen twigs and leaves crunching under their footsteps as they made their way. Along the lightly worn-out dirt pathway Howler was pointing out various things like which trees he used to climb, which ones he had fallen out of, and this random square stone he could never figure out. They were a couple hundred yards or so from the house now to the point it could no longer be seen through all the trees. The sound of running water bubbling through the woods was very audible now as they approached the stream.

"Ah, just like I left it."

"Beautiful." It was bigger than Sharkie was expecting, at least 25 feet across, he figured. James reached a paw over to hug his boyfriend's shoulder as they stood hip to hip on the bank just quietly admiring the scenery for a few minutes until the shark spoke up, breaking the silence.

"It's very quaint back here, quite peaceful. You know I've only lived in houses with fenced in backyards, and not very big ones at that. Would have loved to have a place like this to explore growing up."

"It really helped me out sometimes, I would come down here and sit next to the stream and just listen to the sound of the water running by for hours. I would come to get away from my troubles."

"Troubles, eh? Well it's not working at the moment." The coyote tilted his head quizzically. "Trouble is following you as we speak."

"Wait, what?" Canis glanced around nervously until he noticed James was wearing his big, cheesy grin. "You jerk. Yes, you're a big troublemaker, I get it." He patted the shark's chest before looking into his eyes. "To be honest though, I didn't bring you down here to forget any troubles this time, I want to make troubles of my own."

"Oh?" He tugged on the shark's shirt and pulled him closer until their muzzles were pressed against each other with Sharkie letting a soft growl into his partner's mouth as he stepped in close, one paw holding the small of Howler's back and the other cupping his butt, causing the canine tail to wag back and forth. Their lips parted and reconnected as the kiss deepened; muzzles locking and wet tongues sliding past one another for a moment until James broke the embrace upon feeling Howler's paw pop open the button on his jeans and they stared at one another for a moment.

"Right now, out here, huh?"

"Yes. Gonna get you all slickened up and then you're gonna put it right under my tail and do me against a tree or right on the ground I don't really care."

"My, my, my, you frisky 'yote. This is a bit unlike you."

"I blame you for getting me worked up last night."

"Are we secluded enough out here?" Maroon fingers were now tugging the zipper down.

"We should be fine." The canine's paw slipped into the opening as he went in for another kiss, palming the bulge of shark bits that was slowly firming up.

"Boys?"

Their eyes shot open and Howler's ears perked straight up. His heart nearly jumped right out of his chest as he heard the distinct voice of his mother calling out.

"Shit shit shit shit!"

"Welp, that's a raincheck." James fished his boyfriend's paw out of his pants.

"Boys?"

"Shit, my mom's gonna see us."

"Canis, chill, we're ok. Just be glad she didn't show up five minutes from now, yeah?"

"Oh my God, what if she had?" He planted a quick, reassuring kiss to the canine's nose while he adjusted himself and quickly closed up his fly.

Howler was still trying to calm himself as James called out, "Linda, is that you?"

"Yes, where are - there you boys are." She spotted them down by the stream and started heading in their direction. "I figured you'd be down here somewhere. Cassie says she saw you heading around the back."

"Yeah, we were trying to find a secluded spot to make out."

"James!" Howler elbowed him.

"That's not funny, you two."

"He's just kidding, mom, I just wanted to show him where I spent time as a kid."

"You did come down here a lot. Anyway I wanted to let you know the game is about to start. Austin figured you'd want to watch."

"Oh yeah, we'd love to. C'mon, Canis, let's head back up." He turned and gave Howler an apologetic shrug as they began to make their way back up to the house.

"You weren't really making out down there, were you?"

"What? Mom, don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to." She turned back with a furrowed brow. "I'm kidding, mom, lighten up! Haha." He sighed nervously as James held back a snicker.

"Mrs. Maximus, someday you'll have to accept the fact that our lips do touch."

"That day is not today."

Back at the house Cassandra was already setting up the living room with snacks and goodies on the table as the tv droned on about the pre-game festivities. A huge part of most Thanksgiving traditions was the watching of one of the coveted Thanksgiving Day Football games and this household was no exception and by "household" it was more so just Austin who was glued to the game while the rest of the family would pretend to be interested.

Austin walked in from the kitchen with a beer in paw. "Welcome back, boys! Canis, did James take you out for walkies?"

Howler's face flushed and his ears went flat against his head. "Dad!" Austin and Cassie shared a laugh. "I swear...I shoulda stayed home for Thanksgiving."

"Nonsense, nonsense. Now come sit down, get comfy. Cassie, I gotta pee; you're in charge, make sure no one takes my seat."

"Gross, dad." With that he disappeared out of the room.

Howler gestured to the couch and various chairs. "Welp have a seat wherever except Dad's recliner. You want a drink?"

"Yeah I'll snag what he was having." He pointed to the beer bottle on the table.

"Coming right up!" The coyote disappeared to rummaged through the refrigerator.

"I need to grab something from the room first, I'll be right back!" James exclaimed and dashed across the living room and up the stairs."

"What's he all excited about?" Cassie posed to her brother.

Canis could only shrug as he came back out with drinks and took a seat on the couch, grabbing a pawfull of popcorn. "No clue, I haven't dated him long enough to figure him out completely."

Their father was just heading back into the room and decided to add his opinion on the matter. "I've been with your mother for nearly thirty years and I still haven't figured her out completely, either."

"And you won't!" Chimed in a voice from the kitchen.

"You heard it here first, folks." He took another drink and as he sat down he reached beside him and pulled up a ball of dark red material which he flipped forward and it unfurled into a jersey with a large white "80" emblazoned on the front, the name on the back between the shoulders read, "Rice."

"Dad, why don't you ever hang that thing up, it's wrinkled all to hell."

"That's where the magic is, Cass! Last time I left it crumpled up on the chair and wore it they won."

"Ugh, if you would just wash it and hang it up it would look so much better. I'll never understand you boys and your dumb sports superstitions."

Austin had tugged the jersey down over his head and shifted it about to get his arms through the sleeves and he sat back taking another drink of his beer. James was just now heading back down the stairs wearing some new garb of his own.

"So that's what you needed to get," Howler groaned. "James, I can't believe you brought that with you."

Cassie squealed with glee, "Oh my God, twins! Daddy, look!"

Austin turned his head at the commotion and glanced at the shark coming down the stairs clad in a dark red football jersey with a large white "80" emblazoned on the front. James paused and the two stared at each other briefly, after a moment of which they both exclaimed, "You're a 'Niners fan?!"

James answered immediately, "That's where I grew up! This is my team!"

"Yeah? No kidding?"

As James reached the bottom of the stairs dad had jumped up out of his chair to walk over and give the shark a big bear hug to which James couldn't help but smile.

"Canis, you never told me this man had such an impeccable taste in football teams. Even a Jerry Rice fan, too!" He pointed to both of their jerseys.

"How could you not be a Jerry Rice fan? He's the best wide receiver the sport has ever seen!"

"He's the best player this sport has ever seen" Austin countered.

"Most touchdowns in league history."

"Most receptions."

"Most receiving yards."

"Most all-purpose yards"

The two fanboys swapped player statistics, exclaiming coveted football scenarios to one another as if they had known each other for years. Even though Howler was briefly quite enamored with how well the two were getting along eventually the coyote siblings stared at each other, rolling their eyes. "Game's starting, boys. You wanna watch or talk numbers all day?"

Sharkie grinned, "I could talk numbers all day no problem."

Austin laughed and patted the shark on the back. "Canis, I knew you'd pick a good one. He's welcome here any time."

"If I knew that telling you he was a 49ers fan would have brought out this camaraderie I would have opened with that yesterday instead of the boyfriend thing."

"Bah, it's all water under the bridge. I think we're getting used to it. Right, Lin?"

"Still gonna take some time." She replied from the kitchen.

"Oh, they're already kicking off! We've got this game, right, James?"

"Depends on which defense of ours shows up but I think the odds are in our favor."

Austin had already plopped back into his chair and was clapping as the ball sailed through the air from the opening kick meanwhile Canis patted the spot on the couch next to him as the shark made his way back over and sat down, leaning against the coyote's shoulder with his own.

"You neglected to tell me this was a 49ers house why? Let me guess, you forgot." He stuck his tongue out.

Canis just shrugged. "You know I'm not a big football guy, I don't remember everyone's favorite teams. At least you two have something to chat about though..." He was about to make a point when the shark and the older coyote jumped up with their arms in the air, yelling; it had only taken two plays but the scarlet and gold-clad team had already scored on a long pass compete with a one-handed catch for added flair. The other two siblings shared yet another look of disdain between each other, clearly not the biggest fans, while James and Austin had exchanged high-fives.

"This is gonna be an easy win!"

---

It was some hours later Linda poked her head around the corner from the kitchen, surveying the living room. "Is that game finished yet? Dinner's ready and I need a hand getting the table set."

James and Austin were fixated on the TV screen and Cassie to her phone so Canis had to respond for them. "It's almost over, Mom. Looks like there's just a few seconds left."

James eventually did respond to confirm, "yup, just one last play. We've got this one in the bag, just gotta hold em off here, it's fourth-and-long, they'll have to Hail Mary and they've been throwing ducks all game."

Linda shook her head at the foreign language. "Now I have to listen to this gibberish from two people."

The two began to yell as she left the room again.

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yeah, get him!"

"Woah wait, what?"

"What? No!"

"No! No no no!"

"Nooo! Dammit dammit, come on! Really?!"

"How could we miss that?! How did that happen?"

Austin stood with his hands on his head, staring blankly at the tv, "I can't believe we just lost on the final play! Can't believe those refs missed that penalty!"

"One missed penalty was not our downfall this game but that was total b.s., we had 'em on their heels the whole time." James sat with his head leaned back against the headrest of the couch as he stared up at the ceiling, Austin had already taken off his jersey and tossed it aside.

"Rrgggh, what a dumb game that was."

"I mean, it was good up until the end. There's always next game."

Linda was just poking her head around the corner as the group started to clean things up. "Is it over? Good timing, then. Cassie, boys, help me set the table."

James had been too caught up in the game that he was only just now noticing all of the savory smells assaulting his nose. Heavy aromas of baked, steamed, fried goodies wafting through the air. He turned to Canis who only nodded as if to simply affirm the fact that they were soon going to be chowing down on plenty of home-cooked goodness.

"I almost forgot about dinner!"

"I'm surprised you made it through the game on just chips considering how you're always thinking about food."

"That's not true, I think about you sometimes, too."

"Oh, you're gonna get it!" There was a snicker from Austin as Canis was jabbing a finger at James' side, making him squirm. A moment later they walked into the kitchen offering their services as well; it took a few trips but the Thanksgiving spread was finally all set up. The five individuals were seated intermittently around a large wooden oval table easily big enough to seat at least eight. There were all manner of items upon the table, some traditional others not so much; casseroles, baskets of rolls, salads, mashed potatoes, gravy boats of various sauces, a rack of ribs, a plate of burgers, and in the center a beautiful glazed ham all interspaced with candles and flowers, looked like something out of a magazine.

"This looks wonderful as always, dear."

"I'll say, this is a heck of a presentation, it all looks so good. You really go all out." James' eyes were wide as they looked all over everything, the variety of smells mingling in his nostrils like a food bouquet.

"Thank you, I put a lot of effort into this meal every year."

"She really does and she won't even let us help because it'll," Cassie made air quotes with her paws, "'mess with her groove.'"

"Hey, it's a big meal, everything's got to happen in a certain order.

"No Turkey?" Inquired the shark

The other family members quieted down and looked at each other for a moment before Linda spoke, "Oh, goodness, no. We, um, we haven't worked with bird around here in quite some time out of respect for Dustin."

James blushed sheepishly. "Wow, right, bird, that was a bit insensitive of me. I'm sorry, guys."

"You didn't mean nothing by it, you two haven't even met."

"We should remedy that after dinner." Howler posed. "We'll call him on MuzzTime, it'll be like he's right here with us."

Linda blinked. "I don't even know what that means."

Cassie chimed in, "Mom, you'll love it! We'll show you later, but for now let's eat."

"Yes, I'm starving! So do you guys just dig in or-"

"We say grace first, James, then you can 'dig in.'"

"Grace, of course! May I?"

"May you what?"

"Say grace?"

Linda blinked again, staring at the shark briefly. She glanced at her husband who could only shrug. "Well that's usually my department, too, but, you know what? James, I would be thrilled if you did the honors."

"Don't worry, I'll keep it short." James grabbed the paws of Canis to his left and Cassie to his right and the others followed suit. "Right, let's see. We give thanks today for this bountiful feast set before us and we also give thanks for new friendships that will hopefully grow like my belly is gonna grow from eating one of everything on this table. Um, amen."

"Amen." The rest mumbled in unison.

"Well that was different." Linda glanced at the faces around the table. "But I suppose change is good every now and then, huh?"

Canis smirked at the comment. "Yeah, Mom, it is."

Austin was the first to reach across the table for the mashed potatoes and after that all bets were off as arms went in every direction; dishes clinked and silverware rattled as the plates filled up with bits of everything from the table. Before eating anything herself Linda grabbed a bottle from in front of her and uncorked some wine.

James perked up, "Oh, wine! I thought that was just a decoration."

"It's definitely not, James. This one's just for me though."

"Yeah mom likes to get wasted on Thanksgiving."

"Cassie you know I don't get 'wasted.' I just deserve a little reward for all the work I put into this meal."

"If you insist, mom!"

"I do."

It was a few glasses of wine and a lot of empty plates later that the group had mostly wrapped up eating although stories and anecdotes were still being recalled, mostly by James and mostly fueled by a somewhat inebriated Linda prodding at his past, wanting to know more about his career, his family, etc. It was just after he finished recanting the story about his bungee jumping endeavor that Canis spoke up suggesting that they should start cleaning things up so that they could call his brother before it became too late.

"That's a good idea, a great idea." Mrs. Maximus was smiling and giggling a bit more than usual as the others began to gather plates and serving vessels, bringing them away to the kitchen. After the bulk of the dinner service had been removed everyone made their way into the living room at Cass' direction where she had set up her phone on the coffee table.

"I still don't understand what's the big deal, Cassie. We're just calling him, right?"

"Basically, but you'll be able to see him."

"You can call people -and- see them now?"

"Well you can with this app, mom."

"Bah; apps, just give me back my old landline."

"You'll like it, just watch!" Cassie tapped a few times on her phone and then the screen stated that it was awaiting an answer. There was a chime and a tan beak and a brown face came into focus, the figure brushed back his red head feathers.

"You guys got me?"

Linda beamed. "There's my Dustin!"

"Hey Dusty!"

"Heeey! There they are, all my favorite ca...nines." Clearly taken aback the bird stared at his screen for a moment. "I-is...is that a shark? I'm sorry I don't think we've met."

"You haven't." Answered Howler. "But I would like to introduce you-"

Cassie interjected, "Canis brought a date for Thanksgiving!"

"O-oh, I see, my deepest apologies, miss, I thought you were a guy, the resolution on this thing isn't that great."

"He is a guy though! He's Howlie's boyfriend!" Cassie squealed.

"Boy...boyfriend?"

Canis already had his face in his paw, sliding it down his nose. "Cass, really?"

She had her ears folded back just a bit. "Sorry, I just got really excited."

"Ha! You expected her to keep quiet with that kind of news, bro?"

"I know I shouldn't have."

"But is this for real? Are you going steady with a guy?"

"I am. This here is James and he is in fact my boyfriend."

"Must be a big deal if you let Emma go for him."

"It was a big deal! You don't seem too phased by the news."

"Hey, you're the one who taught me to not worry about what people thought of me being different. This isn't too far off. As long as you're happy then I'm happy for you, bro."

"Well that was easy." Canis glanced over to his mother.

"Uh-oh, did Mom and Dad not see it like that?"

"You know they didn't."

"We're coming around." Linda chimed in

"I like him, he's a 'Niners fan you know!"

"Oh geez, I bet him and Dad could talk sports numbers all day."

"They almost did..."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." James waved casually.

Bro, we'll have to plan time to hang out after this internship ends, you can introduce me for real."

"Yeah definitely."

"What about us?"

"Dad you know I'll visit you guys, too. I owe you at least that much for missing Thanksgiving."

"They should have given you time off."

"They have their own Thanksgiving in Canada, Mom, and that already happened. This is just a regular day up here."

"Still. But it is good to see you though. Cassie you were right, I need this on my phone so I can see all of my kids every day."

"I'll get you started, but you're not allowed to MuzzTime every day, maybe once a week." Canis and his brother were nodding simultaneously.

"I'd be surprised if she can find the right icon to even open it!"

"Dustin! The nerve...you're probably right though."

"So did you guys have a good meal? I'm sure you cooked up a storm, ya, Ma?"

"She did, outdid herself."

"And how many glasses of wine did she have?"

"Only three!"

"Geez! Dad, get her to bed."

"I can hold my drink just fine young man, and since when are you my wine worrier? Besides we can't go to bed until we've had dessert."

"There's dessert?" The shark's eyes became wide.

"Of course there is." Dustin affirmed. "Actually I'm really regretting not being there for that, my mom makes a killer sweet potato pie but only once a year."

"You had me at 'sweet.' I'm ready."

"Not until all the leftovers are put away and the kitchen is spotless."

"And that's the part I'm not regretting. I'll leave you guys to your cleanup. Sorry this had to be so short but I gotta get back to work on a project."

"It was great to hear from you, dear. We love you. Please stay safe. Call me more."

"I'll try, Ma. Love you guys, too. James, a pleasure. See ya."

"Take it easy, bro!"

"Bye, Dusty."

The screen went blank and Cassie picked up her phone.

"I miss him already."

"He'll be home soon, dear."

"Come on boys let's get this kitchen in order."

They moaned, they complained; everyone except Linda who had instead decided she needed to polish off the last of her wine while the others worked and she made them aware on multiple occasions that she didn't complain once during any of her prep or cooking for the meal this year or any year for that matter. They should be so lucky as to only have to clean the dishes. Finally though the kitchen was sparkling, they had fulfilled their end of the deal and the fabled pie was brought out. James was particularly eager as each of the family members had told him at one point or another while they were tending to the mess in the kitchen just how good it was going to be. Each slice looked absolutely perfect, almost glistening. James dug in and after the first clink of forks there was an audible silence. The flavors were so rich. Sweet, too, almost too sweet but just right. It was fluffy and silky as well. Everything about it was perfect.

Sharkie was in heaven. "This is...just amazing!"

"Thank you."

"I need this recipeee. It's so good!"

"No, no, no. Sorry, James, this is my grandmother's recipe, I can't just give it out."

"We'll trade! What do you like? Uuh, cheesecake! Everyone likes that. I make a killer one from scratch that you would love."

"It is pretty good, mom."

"Sorry dear, I promised her it would stay in the family."

"Well then you're gonna have to teach Canis how to make it."

"James, I can barely cook eggs right."

"Yeah but we were gonna work on that, you'll be cooking like a chef in no time."

"If you can teach him some basics then I'll think about it."

"Deal!"

"I suddenly feel like a bargaining chip."

"Yeah but it'll be a delicious bargain!"

Austin let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know about you guys but I'm absolutely stuffed. You put together a wonderful meal as always, hun." Everyone else nodded and conveyed the same sentiment.

"I'm glad you all enjoyed it."

"I'm gonna go relax, find something to watch."

One by one they made their way back out to the living room as they finished off their holiday dessert. Austin had settled on some car restoration show though it seemed only himself and Canis were paying any attention to it; Linda was snuggling herself against her husband, James was sitting next to his boyfriend trying not to show too much physical affection save for his arm which he had draped over the top of the couch, just barely hugging Canis' opposite shoulder. Cassie just sat, cross-legged, on the couch, nose buried in her phone again, scrolling, constantly scrolling throughout the duration of the episode. There wasn't much talking as relaxing and digesting were the priority. It was nearly an hour later when the episode ended and Austin clicked the TV off.

"Come on, Linda. Let's get you upstairs."

Cassie perked her head up. "Oh, are we all done?"

"Yeah it's getting late. Are you guys gonna stay down here?"

The boys looked at each other before James spoke up. "No I think we're gonna call it a night as well."

The whole group made their way upstairs, splitting off toward their various rooms. "See you all in the morning."

"Goodnight, Cass; Mom, Dad."

"Goodnight, dear, and remember no...no funny stuff!"

"Don't worry, mom, there's no funny stuff going on. You go get some sleep."

"Sleep sounds great." She replied as her husband was turning her in the direction of their room before leading her off down the hallway.

Canis closed the door and let out a heavy sigh as the day was now nearly over. "Heh, we made it."

"A successful family holiday."

"Almost a disaster though."

"Yeah but that's not how it ended up, thankfully."

"True. I agree with my mom, though, sleep does sound great."

"I can think of a few things that sound great right now too."

"Is that so?" He turned and Sharkie was already removing his shirt for bed. The canine's tail wagged of its own accord as he watched before walking over to hug his man, his arms sliding around the smooth skin and resting just above the shark's hips. It didn't take long before their muzzles connected in a firm kiss and as much as Howler wanted to keep his mind free of naughty thoughts it was a losing battle and it quickly wandered back to earlier in the day when he thought he and James were secluded in the woods; he really wanted to pull those pants off and continue what he would have done and just let James have his way with him but he heard his mother's nagging line still stuck in the back of his mind, "no funny stuff." Seems He wasn't the only one thinking back to earlier either as he could feel the shark loins firming up against him, so he pulled back from the kiss and looked into the blue eyes across from him apologetically. "Dangit, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be getting you worked up when I can't take care of you here."

James answered sarcastically, "No you probably shouldn't."

"If it weren't for the fact that noise carries so easily in this house."

"We would have to be really quiet, then."

"Not to mention these doors up here don't have any locks."

"That would make it tough."

"I'll make it up to you, hun; I swear, when we get back to my place tomorrow I am gonna ride you all night."

"Bouncing in my lap, huh?"

"With you buried right in there, yessir."

"Mrrf...ok, that's not helping."

"Bah, I know. Come on let's just get to bed."

"I really gotta wait till tomorrow?"

"You do."

"I don't want to." Sharkie put on his best pouty face.

"Too bad. Speaking of, I was thinking we should probably sleep back to back so we don't, uh, excite each other."

"Sounds reasonable."

"Good."

Sharkie unbuttoned and unzipped his pants before tugging them down and off, his underwear doing a poor job at hiding the half-mast piece of shark meat. He sat on the edge of the bed as Howler began to undress as well.

"Which side do you want?"

"Either, it doesn't really matter."

James shrugged and just laid down across the side he was already on as the coyote was pulling on his pajamas bottoms. With a reach up to the ceiling fan he tugged the chain to turn out the light and soon he was crawling onto the opposite side of the bed. He reached down to grab the covers and pulled them up and over both occupants and then gave a smooch to the cheek of the shark. "Hun, I hope you sleep well."

"Yup, you too."

With a pat to the shark's thigh he turned away and laid his head on the pillow, closed his eyes, almost feeling like he had bypassed the riled up shark too easily. He was anticipating falling to sleep but it was only a few seconds after in which James turned himself over and scooted up behind the canine, wrapping both arms around as he spooned close.

Canis spoke in just above a whisper. "J-James we just talked about this."

"I know." His fingers ran through the cream-colored chest fur much like the night before and induced much the same reaction, getting the coyote to press back, eliciting a couple soft growls as they grinded.

"You know this is just gonna get us worked up again."

"I'm very aware." The already firm shark length was rubbing right up against Canis' rump. "I'll stop if you really want."

"Grrrr...don't you dare." His inhibitions became apparent as he grabbed the wrist of the roaming gray paw and brought it right down to his own crotch which, also much like the previous night, Sharkie palmed against and then wrapped his fingers around the coyote shaft hiding under the flannel material though this time Howler was doing a bit better at keeping his whines under control.

"I'll be honest with you, hun, I really don't feel like waiting until tomorrow night. I want to have my coyote right here, right now." James was nibbling on one of the coyote's ears while he pumped up and down the tent. It couldn't be seen in the dark but Canis could feel his face heating up as he blushed as he gave in to the teasing, besides it wasn't like they would get caught if they just kept the noise down.

"Hhnn...I want it, too, but we have to keep it quiet."

"You sure we're good? You can get pretty moan-y when things get hot and heavy."

It was no secret between the two that in the pair's private time Howler had learned to enjoy letting himself go in the heat of the moment; the moaning out, the dirty talk, things he could never bring himself to indulge in when he tried to be intimate back when he was dating females. He would definitely have to tone it down. He turned his head back towards the shark and nodded. "I'll be a good pup, I'll be quiet."

"Hmm, we'll see how long that lasts." The shark shifted his boyfriend's pajamas and undies down just far enough so that the pinkish shaft sprung free from the front and his rump and tail were exposed from behind. His own underwear didn't stay on much longer either as he tugged them down and all the way off, quickly resuming his previous position of grinding against the canine, his smooth gray shaft pressing against and sliding through the coyote's fur on his rump cheeks.

"Mmf...get in there you big, teasy shark."

James had his muzzle resting right by the canine's ear as he spoke gruffly under his breath, "I love it when you're so eager; gonna fuck you good don't worry, but I'm not going in dry."

"Shit, yeah, that. I forgot." Canis' butt was still grinding back firmly. "I'm not sure if I have-"

"Don't worry, babe. You think I didn't come prepared for this?" Sharkie reached back behind him over the edge of the bed to where he had conveniently left his open suitcase, grabbing a small bottle. Moments later Canis had to stifle a groan as he felt the cool liquid against his tailhole followed by a couple of shark fingers. He had to grit his teeth to keep himself quiet as the digits wiggled around inside him. There was a soft but audible "oohhh" as the fingers withdrew and then the sounds of soft slick pumping could be heard as James readied himself as well. The pair shifted as the shark guided his cock right up to the eager rump entrance, pressing his head against it but not sliding in just yet. "Ready for a good rut?"

Howler only responded by pressing his hips back, getting the shark length to spread him open, it pushed past his hole and sunk into the tight confines.

"Ah fuck, I guess so..." James grabbed the coyote's hip for leverage and slid himself in the rest of the way, pressing in firm as he reached the hilt.

"That's it, oohhh yeah." Canis was mumbling and grumbling under his breath as the length was resting all the way inside him, feeling it rub against his prostate, feeling it throb. He let out the softest whimper.

"Easy, pup. Don't get too loud now."

Howler wanted to moan out from the stimulation, he wanted to exclaim loudly how it felt, but he knew he had to keep quiet, just one abnormal noise from their room and they'd be caught. Though, that in itself was making this whole scenario that much more intriguing for the pair as they tried to keep their romp secret. Sharkie had already begun to slide himself back and promptly pushed back in. Howler was gripping fistfuls of the bedsheets as his boyfriend's hips were connecting with his butt slowly yet purposefully. Despite how good the warm canine butt felt around his dick James was also doing a good job at keeping everything below a whisper, too; including doing his best to not hump in too fast lest they make the bed start creaking. Even if someone was listening in outside they wouldn't suspect a thing. Everything in the room was silent for the most part except for the soft squelches and heavy breathing. James was just settling into a good, slow rhythm as he squeezed himself under the tight tail while a free paw roamed about, alternating between teasing the drippy canine shaft and fuzzy balls to running them through the soft belly fur some more. Howler was swimming with euphoria under the circumstances. He'd wanted this, no, needed this for weeks now. His rigid shaft was leaking pre onto the bed at a healthy rate as his backside was used, Sharkie was even gently holding his other hand around the canine's muzzle to help him keep from yelling out. It had turned into quite the hot session and while it hadn't been very long James knew he was getting close to spilling his load. He was pondering how he wanted to tell Howler but that's when they both heard a floorboard creak out in the hall. Canis' eyes widened and James stopped humping altogether. The hall light came on. They could both see it as the dim yellow wave creeped under the door and spread out across the bedroom floor. The pair heard another floorboard creak just outside the room and they both knew the door was about to open. Howler's heart was racing as there was only a split second to make a plan, an excuse of some sort. He was certain his mother would walk in and find them in the middle of their steamy act and that would be it; he would be disowned and they would never talk to one another again. As the knob rattled James gripped his shoulder reassuringly and simply whispered, "I'm asleep," and his head hit the pillow behind him.

With his boyfriend's twitching length all the way up his rear the door opened, spilling the hall light into the room, somewhat illuminating the bed, thankfully for them the boys had stayed under the blankets so the full extent of what was happening wasn't directly obvious.

Howler groaned partly from the dick inside of him and partly him trying to make it sound like he had been woken up.

"Canis, honey, I forgot to ask you something."

"Ugghhh...mom? What the heck?" She had only taken one step into the room, propped up with most of her weight leaning on the door handle, the wine from earlier clearly still having a bit of an effect. "How about some courtesy? You're gonna wake James up."

She glanced at the second figure in the bed, sleek gray head with eyes closed, breathing soundly. Her eyes lit up as though she had just had a profound thought. "Oh. Oh my goodness. I forgot he was in here, I'm so sorry, dear. So many years of just one boy in this bed, you know? You don't know how many times I had hoped you'd snuck a girl up into your room when you were younger."

"That's great, mom, what do you need?"

"That's a good question." She stared blankly for a moment.

"You're kidding me. Mom, go back to bed. You need some sleep."

"Oh that's right! I wanted to know if you were leaving tomorrow or sticking around for the weekend."

"We talked about this already. You know I have to be back at work Saturday. I'm leaving tomorrow, yes."

"Well your father and I have some, um...oh yeah, errands to run in the morning. You can't leave until we're back."

"That's fine, it's a deal. Can we get some privacy now?"

She took another look over the scene and smiled just a little bit. "I'm so happy you have someone like him."

"That's real touching, mom. Now maybe you should head back to your room, yeah? Let us get some sleep?"

"Yes, good idea. Goodnight, love you."

"Love you, too, mom, don't forget to close the door."

"And no funny stuff."

"Goodnight, mom!"

She only nodded as she stepped out of the room, agonizingly slowly closing the door until it shut behind her. Austin's voice could be heard now from the other end of the hall. "Linda leave them alone, come back to bed."

"Damn, I didn't think she would ever leave. I thought we were dead for sure. Fuck, how are you still hard?"

Sharkie stirred as he "woke up," pressing right up against Howler's back, the firm length that was still inside him eager for some release. Making no comments on being walked in on he simply stated, "Here, you're gonna need this." The shark fidgeted with something under the sheets and brought his hand back up to Canis' muzzle, Howler could feel something in the paw but wasn't sure what until it got to his nose. He knew that heavy scent well as the soft fabric of James' underwear rubbed at his cheek and on the side of his muzzle. "Open up." Without argument Howler opened his mouth just enough for the balled-up garment to be stuffed into his maw as a makeshift gag. "Now you can moan all you want." He could practically taste the shark as his tongue pressed against the material, the essence from being worn all day was intense.

His cock twitched and drooled more pre onto the bed. Sharkie had flung back the covers and in his big-spoon position he hugged at the coyote, pulling him as he turned onto his back garnering a groan from his partner who was rotated onto his back as well, now laying on the shark's chest as he stared up to the ceiling. Shifting them into this new position allowed James better access as he got right back to their mating session, though at a much quicker pace. Canis yelped as the shark pounded home but thankfully it was muted by the wad of boxer briefs. He gripped tightly to the sheets to either side of the shark as his boyfriend went to town behind him, feeling the head of that cock jab at his prostate again and again was just too good. Add in the high of almost being caught combined with the flavors of shark running about his mouth caused him to let go, it was all too much. He reached one of his hands to his crotch and pawed his dripping shaft, his whole body shuddered as he moaned out into the underwear. Sharkie felt the tailhole tighten up in response and could even hear the "plap" of ropes of canine seed splattering onto the coyote's belly.

"Heh, there he goes." He mumbled to himself. He was about to release, too, and normally he would let his boyfriend know just that but in the interest of keeping the silence he knew Canis would figure out what was happening soon enough. James pressed his nose firmly against the back of Howler's neck, growling as he let his own load out. He humped to the hilt and held himself there firmly; his balls tightened and so did his grip on the coyote. Soon strand after warm strand of his shark cum was painting the inside of his lover as he let it all go. After a few healthy spurts a dribble of seed was beginning to leak out but it wasn't nearly as big of a mess as Howler was making. The shark cock twitched as it released its final pulse, both of their orgasms ending at the same time despite Howler shooting off first. The pair remained locked together in this position for a moment as they both were trying to catch their breath. James slowly released his grip and was massaging the canine's shoulders, he could feel Howler's tail wagging against his chest idly as they spent the next couple of minutes collecting themselves, just nuzzling and rubbing as they came down from their high. Sharkie was kind enough to reach back up to his boyfriend's muzzle and pull the undergarment free, tossing it aside.

Panting but still whispering Howler spoke, "Gah. Holy...shit, hun..."

"You have fun, pup?"

Howler nodded. "I did. That was wonderful, you were wonderful. You're a jerk though; we came this close to being found out."

"Yeah but we didn't. Was kind of intense and I know you liked it, your fur is an absolute mess."

"I couldn't help it, I've been so pent up. And good call on the, um, gag."

"I figured you'd need a little help. Do we want to take care of that mess at all?"

Canis grabbed the discarded underwear that was in his muzzle and wiped off what he could from his chest. He knew it would be matted but at least it wouldn't be all sticky.

"I'll deal with the rest in the morning."

"Sure thing."

James' member had softened up enough that it slipped out of the canine allowing Canis to quickly turn over and embrace the shark in a tight hug, kissing at his toothy muzzle. Their tongues mingled for a bit as the embrace deepened but Howler pulled back and kissed at the shark's lips again, then chin, and then his neck as he nestled his head in there against his chest. His tail wagged in the air a bit as he got comfy, eventually closing his eyes.

"Goodnight, cutie." He listened to the rhythmic sounds of his boyfriend's heartbeat and he was soon out like a light.

---

Canis woke up to the sound of a heavy door shutting and then a car starting. He was in the same position in which he had fallen asleep on top of his man but he slowly pushed himself up enough to peek out of the window by the bed and he watched as his parents' car drove off. He yawned before staring down and smiling at the gray figure beneath him. He went back down and nuzzled right under the shark's chin again, his tail swaying gently in the air as James began to stir.

"Mmrrf, grrff, too bright."

"Good morning to you, too." Canis craned his neck up a bit to get their muzzles to connect and they shared a series of lazy kisses. James had also reached down and was kneading both of his hands on a certain fuzzy rump, causing the coyote tail to wag more.

"It's funny, If younger me knew that one day I'd wake up in this bed wrapped around a handsome, naked shark man, I would have flipped out."

"Well thankfully you're older and wiser now."

"Older anyway." Howler groaned as he rolled off of his mate and the bed, standing up, various bones popping as he stretched. Sharkie admired the sight of the nude canine form.

"So what's on the agenda today?"

"Not much; pack, wait for my folks to get back so we can say goodbye and then we head home."

"Don't forget showering, you smell like old jizz."

Canis patted the matted fur on his chest, "Yeah, no thanks to you."

"You liked it."

"I always like getting filled by my shark."

"You wanna get filled in the shower?"

"Mrrf, I'd be lying if I said no but we don't have time for that, besides Cassie is still here, don't need her hearing that."

"If you insist."

"You're insatiable sometimes, you know that?"

Sharkie had gotten up out of bed as well and just shrugged as he made his way over to the coyote, hugging him as they kissed softly. "It's hard not to be when I'm dating someone so fine."

"Bah." They shared another firm kiss before the blushing canine grabbed a towel to cover himself and slipped across the hallway into the bathroom. Minutes later a clean and fresh smelling Canis came back into the room and after a couple extra kisses they traded places and James went to clean up as well. Howler figured he would use the extra time in getting things cleaned up, perhaps starting with the bed.

"Cass? You down here?"

"Yup! Just running some laundry, what'chu need?"

"Oh, that's perfect actually. I was gonna put my sheets through the wash. I figured I'd make my bed up clean before we head out."

"Why? It's only been two days, plus it barely got any use the first night. You're fine."

"Yeah but I wanna make sure everything's looking good before I go, y'know?"

"Nah, trust me, dude. It'll be fi-" She paused as her head tilted, she reached out and grasped a bit of the sheets.

"Wait why are they ripped?"

"Ripped?"

"Oh. My. Goodness. Canis, are those claw marks?"

"What? Claw-" Howler froze as he recalled that he had dug his claws into the sheets a few times due to the escapades from the night before but he had no idea he had dug in that hard. His face felt warm and he was nearly purple with how hard he was blushing. He tried to shift the bundle of sheets so that any marks were hidden, hoping his sister wouldn't figure it out. Meanwhile his sibling let out a hearty laugh.

"Haha, wow! Look at your face! You two were totally going at it, huh?!

"N-no! That's not it..."

"Uh-huh, sure, these were accidental."

"They could be!"

"You're the worst liar. C'mon, people have sex, Canis. I mean, clearly. You're not fooling anyone."

"I-" He sighed heavily and shook his head, there was no convincing her otherwise so he tried to see if he could just end the subject. "Look, you don't need to know that about your brother." It didn't work.

Cassie gasped. "Oooh, mom said no sexy time; she's gonna be pissed if she finds out."

"Look, even -if- we were up to something she won't find out unless you say something."

"You're no fun sometimes, you know that? I'm not gonna say anything to mom."

"Good, thank you."

"Don't be so embarrassed. You two are really close so I'd be worried if you guys weren't porking."

"Ugh. Well what am I gonna do with these?"

"Chill, dude. Just toss those away out back, there should be clean sets in the closet behind me."

"You won't mention this to anyone, right?"

"I've got your back, don't worry." Canis grumbled as he stepped past his sister towards the side door but as he did Cassie smirked and poked a finger through one of the tears in the sheet. "Damn, I need to get me a guy who will just go to town on me like this."

"Shut it" He exclaimed sternly as he made his way outside.

"If Mom had found out she would have just kicked me out," Howler thought to himself as he wrestled with the trash can lid, "but Cass will never let me live this one down." He finally managed to discard his evidence into the garbage and made his way back inside where his sister immediately continued with the questioning.

"So if James doesn't have claws that means you made those rips right? Are you the bottom?"

"Wow, that definitely doesn't concern you!" He made his way over to the closet to grab some fresh bedding.

"I thought I heard mom talking to you about errands at one point but that's all I heard from your room. How did you keep it so quiet?"

"Not answering that."

"Tell me something though."

"No."

"Does he...does he have two dongers?"

"What?! Cass! No! Wait, what did you call them? No, forget it, nevermind."

"You're so adorable when you're flustered."

"Can we not talk about this anymore?"

"I'll think about it, Howlie."

"Grrrr."

Upon escaping the laundry room Canis made his way back up to his room where a shark was just getting dressed. He tossed the folded stack of sheets into the bed in a huff.

"Canis, you ok?"

"You didn't tell me I left claw marks on the sheets."

"Oh geez, really? I, uh, didn't even notice, I was kind of focused on other things."

"Well now my sister knows about last night."

"She figured that out fast, huh?" Canis shot him a dissatisfied look. "That's not that bad though, right? I get the feeling she's not gonna tell your folks."

"I know she won't it's just that I didn't really need her knowing either."

"It'll be alright. Come on let's get something to eat and we'll worry about it later. I could really go for an omelette."

Howler smirked ever so slightly before remembering to go back to his grumpy face. "No, it'll be cereal today, that's harder for me to burn."

Just as they were finishing up breakfast they could hear tromping up the front porch steps followed shortly by Canis' folks making their way inside, "Oh, good morning, boys!"

"Hey, Mom."

"Glad to see you haven't left yet."

"Why would I? You told me last night you'd be running errands in the morning. I wouldn't just sneak out."

"Did I? I'm sorry, hun, things start to get a little fuzzy after dinner."

Austin was just getting in, carrying pawfulls of bags into the kitchen. "See I told you he'd be here."

"Less wine next time, maybe."

Linda gave her son a stern look but moved on. "Anyway when do you think you'll head out? Gonna hang around for a few more hours?"

"Actually we're all packed and set to leave whenever and since you're back we should probably say our goodbyes now. The sooner we head back on the road the better, James has an extra long trip ahead of him."

"Oh I wasn't ready for this." She started tearing up just a bit. "I feel like I've been getting used to this new you for weeks but it's only been a couple of days." She turned to the shark.

"You, I owe you a big apology for the way I acted before-"

"Nu-uh, you don't owe me anything, we made it even with dinner, remember?"

"But the way I treated-"

James stepped forward and grasped both her paws and just smiled, causing her to pause. "It's ok, it's fine. It's time to move on."

She began to get teary-eyed once more, "If- if you insist."

"I do." James nodded and gave his signature smile.

Linda brought a paw up to her face and flicked away a couple tears and gave a little sniffle before suddenly bawling and hugging the big shark tightly around his chest, getting his shirt wet much like their previous scenario. Eventually she pulled off and while still sobbing and sniffling turned to her son and fell onto him in a hug as well. Canis tried not to get emotional but his eyes started to well up just a bit and a couple tears could be seen rolling down one cheek as they embraced. Once she had calmed down some she stepped back and reached up to clasp her paws at the bigger coyote's shoulder. "Come back soon, honey."

"We'll try, Ma."

"And bring him with you, he's welcome here any time."

Howler nodded. "It's nice to hear you say that."

"Ok, Linda, quit hogging all the attention, let me get in on some of this." He patted his wife's shoulder and stepped around her and hugged his son tightly. He then turned to the shark who held out his hand but rather than shake it he only used it to pull James into a hug as well.

Cassie moved into the group and took her turn hugging the pair.

"You guys drive safe, ok?"

"We will, and I wasn't kidding about you coming out to visit, Cass."

"I'll find some time."

Linda handed a bag over to Howler. "Here, Canis, some stuff for the trip home."

"Ooh, peanut butter cookies and beef jerky, just what a hungry canine needs. Thanks, Ma."

"Linda, I thought those were for me."

"You have plenty of snacks around the house already."

"Fine, fine."

"Ok boys, what now?"

"Um, now we go, I guess."

"We'll miss you. We love you, Canis."

"Love you guys, too."

James had grabbed all their things and followed his boyfriend to the door and the whole group shuffled out onto the porch. As the pair made their way down to the car Linda called out once more. "Call us when you get home! Take care of my pup, James! Drive safe!"

"Your pup's in good hands."

Howler rolled his eyes as he shut the trunk. "Could you not, hun?"

"Sorry I couldn't pass that one up."

They got into the car and Canis felt almost as if a weight had lifted off his shoulders yet again as they began to pull away, having mini flashbacks, reliving the ups and downs of the whole trip.

"A successful family holiday!" Sharkie exclaimed.

"I mean, by the narrowest of margins."

"But we made it through!"

"I suppose."

"Alright, now we just need some driving tunes."

"I have some in mind!"

"You already picked all the songs on the way up here and I think we listed to -quite- enough country music."

"Meanie."

"Oh hush, you can pick some in a bit."

Howler gave his best fake pouty face as a simple riff began to come out of the speakers.

~"When the lights, go down, in the city."~

"Journey, really?"

~"And the sun shines on the bay."~

"Don't start with me, pup. You talk bad about my boys and I will un-date you right here."

"Psh, I guess this is fine then."

"Good call."

---

The pair rolled up to Canis' house, stretched, and lugged their stuff inside. "I've never come back from my parent's so mentally exhausted. It's good to be back. Thanks again for being there for me."

"I got your back, hun." They hugged tightly. "And your butt." A shark hand had roamed down to the canine's backside and squeezed a cheek, getting a growl and a blush from him as they leaned in to share a few kisses. Minutes later they were sitting on the couch, Sharkie with one arm around Howler's shoulder while the coyote pressed some buttons on his phone, switching over to speaker-phone they could both hear the ringing on the other end.

"This shouldn't be nearly as bad as the last time we called, eh?" Howler rubbed the shark's arm.

"Hello?"

"It's me, Mom."

"Canis, honey! Did you make it home ok?"

"Yup, we just got in not too long ago."

"Oh I'm glad to hear it. Is James there? Is he there with you?"

"Hi, Linda. I'm here."

"Oh good, I'm so happy you two made it safe."

"I still have a long drive ahead of me yet."

"Oh that's right, Canis you must tell me when he gets home, too."

"I will, Ma."

"Ok I have to cut this short, we're about to head out. I love you."

"Love you, too."

The line hung up on the other end and for the next few minutes the two were still just sitting together, casually cuddling.

"So you doing a night drive?"

"Heck no, I'll just leave real early tomorrow."

"Good because I wasn't kidding about those shark rides last night."

"You naughty thing."