{"sf1_id":1662335,"sf2_id":"Xek0XN0m","title":"A Rainy Day","author":"Tious","words":2690,"posted_at":"2020-12-18T10:55:00.000Z","tags":["Anthro","Athletic","Boy","Clean","Cute","Emotional","First Person","Friendship","Girl","Intro","Short Story","Video Games"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1662335-a-rainy-day","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/Xek0XN0m","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/1b/65/1b65a68b-cea3-487a-810f-385e62eeb11b","description":"One of the first stories I ever wrote for a little niche community over at /trash/, featuring a female lynx and a male human, just trying to have a little respite from a shitty winter by spending a weekend together. Not my best work and not very long, but hopefully its an enjoyable bite while leading to something else I wrote a good bit better.","content":"\\\u003eMondays were always the worst for you, and you learned to both love and hate them.\n\n\\\u003eIt didn't help you couldn't sleep for shit to begin with.\n\n\\\u003eBut the best talks were always late at night with your pals.\n\n\\\u003eThe best shows were always at one am for some god forsaken reason.\n\n\\\u003eYour neighbours took a book out of the asshole nightclub bible and blasted techno music for hours past midnight.\n\n\\\u003eThis year's February was the coldest of the decade for no good reason.\n\n\\\u003eYour job was boring.\n\n\\\u003eYou hadn't got a date in who knows how long.\n\n\\\u003eAnd it was colder than a witches taint.\n\n\\\u003eBullshit upon bullshit, cold rain, freezing wind and a whole lot of no sleep.\n\n\\\u003eStepping off the bus stop, punching in to work, at least you have two good things to look forward to.\n\n\\\u003eA warm mug of coffee and some hangout time with Anna after work.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eAnna was someone you could always rely on, even if few did.\n\n\\\u003eA mostly short, five foot seven peppy lynx, a bit of a tomboy, but that was half her charm.\n\n\\\u003eA soft, silver hue to her fur, small spots of black on her coat, even a few on her cheeks, a puffy silver nub, and to complete the set?\n\n\\\u003eDeep amber eyes and a smile on her face.\n\n\\\u003eThe spots on her cheeks kinda looked like freckles, the more you thought about it.\n\n\\\u003eMore boy than girl, down to play around with the football or bust your ass in vidya.\n\n\\\u003eHell, just bust your ass period.\n\n\\\u003eNever hit a girl didn't apply to her, nor would she want it to with the amount of fights she got on.\n\n\\\u003eBe it you confusing her for a guy, the similar tastes in videogames, just fucking about in PE, you two just bonded since primary and kept at it ever since.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eWith work being boring as ever and your shift nearing the end, you think back on the whole tradition you two made, a small smile covering your face.\n\n\\\u003eBringing each other home for sleepovers.\n\n\\\u003ePlaying fighters or racing games through the night.\n\n\\\u003eA match of football outside.\n\n\\\u003eEven some wrestling and judo slam practice.\n\n\\\u003eUsual kid and teenager stuff.\n\n\\\u003eNo sleepovers now, as both of you were on your twenties after all.\n\n\\\u003eBut you two developed this unspoken rule in your almost ritual like meetings.\n\n\\\u003eWhoever was having the shit week went to the other ones house, and the host had to cheer them up.\n\n\\\u003eOf course, didn't always work.\n\n\\\u003eBe it her teasing you over a cute girl.\n\n\\\u003eA small jab at her over failing a judo tourney.\n\n\\\u003eA match of Tekken gone sour.\n\n\\\u003eEven the age old argument over the legal residence of pineapple on pizza soil.\n\n\\\u003eEvery so often, you two had a small falling out.\n\n\\\u003eNothing a good judo slam into the ground from her or a surprise grapple hold from you didn't fix.\n\n\\\u003eCourse, you knew she could counter your grapple easy.\n\n\\\u003eAnd she was so predictable you could already disarm her from the third time she reached for her slams.\n\n\\\u003eBut neither of you ever did get mad over being dunked.\n\n\\\u003eShe seemed happy to have you do martial arts actually.\n\n\\\u003eTapping out with a smile from your choke hold, asking where you learned it, faking her struggling rather well.\n\n\\\u003eYou just enjoyed seeing her smile after judo slamming your ass, her outstretched hand helping you up.\n\n\\\u003eThat and grappling her like you saw once in MGS and having her struggle a bit.\n\n\\\u003eThe feeling of soft fur was an added bonus, like holding a blanket of warm and cosy fur, rubbing itself on your face and arms.\n\n\\\u003eSure, you were essentially trying to make the blanket pass out from a chokehold over her spamming combos.\n\n\\\u003eBut hey, close enough, right?\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eGoofy smile on your face, you quit reminiscing and eye the clock.\n\n\\\u003eFive minutes past your shift end?\n\n\\\u003eFive minutes too many.\n\n\\\u003ePunching out, you grab your umbrella and head out to the rainy streets with a smirk on your face, a brisk pace in your feet.\n\n\\\u003eSure, the cold sucked, the rain kept pouring and the wind was trying to slice you in half.\n\n\\\u003eYou were essentially a sleep deprived husk of a man fuelled only by caffeine.\n\n\\\u003eBut like fuck you are going to be put down from visiting your childhood friend and shooting the shit over pizza and blazblue.\n\n\\\u003eA few minutes of walking got you where you needed to be.\n\n\\\u003eWetter and colder than you'd like, sure.\n\n\\\u003eThe local cars going at Mach 10 and splashing you wetter than a dog in a flood didn't help.\n\n\\\u003eAnd the feeling of a soaked wool scarf and drenched jeans was anything but pleasant.\n\n\\\u003eBut atleast you arrived at her apartment complex.\n\n\\\u003eA quick buzz on the 3rd right button, and heavens be praised, you finally found somewhere warm and dry to hide out.\n\n\\\u003eIt was one of those older buildings, the smell of wood, a old feel to it, as a yellow tint came around to illuminate the place, motion sensors detecting your soaked ass entering through the glass door.\n\n\\\u003ePlacing your umbrella on the can, you already felt your spirits getting better, aiming to skip the likely to break down elevator for once and head to the stairs.\n\n\\\u003eYou were tired, deadly tired, but hey.\n\n\\\u003eJust a few floors away from some warm pizza, some good old indoors vidya and quality time with your childhood friend.\n\n\\\u003eAll while it was raining outside, with you comfy and safe, shooting the shit.\n\n\\\u003eNothing more you could ask for, after such a rotten week.\n\n\\\u003eWalking up the final steps upwards, you see her standing in the door frame, leaning into it.\n\n\\\u003eSporting a barely filled grey hoodie and black track pants, her amber eyes scoured your soaked clothes top to bottom, while her arms remained crossed upon her chest, a shit eating smirk on her lips.\n\n\\\u003eHow she managed to be so smug while dressed like a workout slob was beyond you.\n\n\\\u003e\"C'mon anon, didn't know you were sneaking swimming lessons after work! Didn't have time to dry up or did you just rush here straight from the pool?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou can't help but chuckle, raising your hands to take off your soaked scarf and walking towards the door.\n\n\\\u003e\"With how much it's been raining, I could've canoed here. Think I would have gotten less wet that way.\", a small, tired sigh escaping you.\n\n\\\u003e\"Thanks for having me Anna. It's been a hell of a shit week.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003e\"C'mon anon, you've covered for me before plenty of times. Don't sweat it, yeah?\", nodding and walking inside her home.\n\n\\\u003eEven if her hoodie wasn't exactly packed, you couldn't say the same about her track pants, taking a peek at her behind as she walked inside.\n\n\\\u003eUsually, you'd feel bad about eyeing your best friends ass, but for one?\n\n\\\u003eYou already knew she did the same to you.\n\n\\\u003eA lot.\n\n\\\u003eAnd two, with her being so boyish, she was flattered at best, flustered at worse.\n\n\\\u003eYou had to admit, she looked damn cute when you managed to get her flustered.\n\n\\\u003e\"You can dry your stuff in the laundry room, already ordered the pizza. You like peperoni, right?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Long as it has no pineapple, I'm down for anything!\", shuffling inside, a wide grin already on your face.\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey! You never even tried pineapple on pizza Anon!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I don't need to play Bad Rats to know it's bad, do I Anna?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"It isn't the same and you know it! If you tried, you'd actually like it!\"\n\n\\\u003eHeading to the laundry, you really can't help but laugh at how you still made fun of her over liking pineapple on pizza.\n\n\\\u003eOver ten years of doing it and it never got old.\n\n\\\u003eThe two of you keep on chatting over silly nonsense, with you shoving your damp clothes in the drier for a spell, leaving you only in your boxers.\n\n\\\u003eAnna was courteous enough to let you use the laundry room and just kept chatting with you outside the door.\n\n\\\u003eBe it over your shit job, your neighbours, she managed to make you blurt out and vent with her, all of it.\n\n\\\u003eShe was always a good listener, even if you were one of her (sadly) few friends.\n\n\\\u003eBy the time your clothes dried and with all that talk, the weight on your shoulders seemed to almost disappear entirely.\n\n\\\u003eDeciding to switch it up a bit, you ask about what she had been up to.\n\n\\\u003eJudo and sports, a new fighter game you never even heard of coming out, new workout routines for you both.\n\n\\\u003eMeetings with high ranking students, cross country tourneys, how the rank system worked overseas.\n\n\\\u003eCompared to your mostly mundane life, she was out there kicking twelve shades of shit out of everyone.\n\n\\\u003eGetting paid for it too.\n\n\\\u003eDespite that, she never did delve into it much, instead insisting on you and what you had been up to.\n\n\\\u003eOnly thing to stop the questions was a ringing of the doorbell, with her scampering off to get her wallet.\n\n\\\u003e\"Hold on a sec Anon, just getting the pizza!\"\n\n\\\u003eThe ancestral blessings of the Italians had come to your aid, letting you finaly put on your now dry and warm clothes without being asked twelve questions about your job and workouts.\n\n\\\u003eStealthily slipping into the living room, you decide to bask in the heat of your now dry clothes and slip into the sofa.\n\n\\\u003eFew things could beat wearing warm clothes straight out of the dryer and relaxing on a couch.\n\n\\\u003eThose few things included a cute and short tomboy lynx, some hot pizza on her right hand, a cold beer on her left and some videogames to play.\n\n\\\u003eAnd you had them all in one spot.\n\n\\\u003eFlashing you a smile and placing the beer and pie on the table, Anna walked to the console and turned it on, throwing you a controller, bending down and placing in the disc on the old ps3.\n\n\\\u003eA very, very nice view.\n\n\\\u003eStill, you were her guest, staring at your friends ass when invited to relax was just plain rude.\n\n\\\u003eTurning our eyes aside from the view, you look out the balcony windows, checking if the weather had calmed down.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eHeavy rain and grey skies, same as when you walked here.\n\n\\\u003eThe primal feeling of comfort hits you like a pillow sledgehammer, staring out to the rain, safe and warm, while outside was a frozen, wet hellhole.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eYour attention snaps back to the couch, as Anna unceremoniously flings herself to it, the loud jap intro music to the game playing out of the speakers.\n\n\\\u003eShe always did like her anime fighting games.\n\n\\\u003eGrabbing the controller, you just let the intro play out, ready to kick the 7 hells out of her ass in versus mode.\n\n\\\u003eAs the two of you played, sipping beer, eating pizza, you keep eyeing the windows outside every so often.\n\n\\\u003eWhat used to be just heavy rained turned into small hail.\n\n\\\u003eIt was still raining, but you had this eerie feeling you couldn't shake.\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey anon, quit daydreaming! I still gotta beat your ass before you need to leave!\"\n\n\\\u003eAnd just as you focused back on the game, you see it.\n\n\\\u003eA flash of light from the corner of your eye.\n\n\\\u003eOh fuck.\n\n\\\u003eOH FUCK!\n\n\\\u003eWas it real?\n\n\\\u003eBetter count to make sure.\n\n\\\u003eOne, two, three, fou-\n\n\\\u003eThe rumbling explosion confirmed your worst fears, your muscles tensing, as you slowly turned your eyes to Anna.\n\n\\\u003ePetrified.\n\n\\\u003eHer silver nub puffed like a British soldier hat.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eHer hands deathgripping the controller, claws unsheathed.\n\n\\\u003eEars flipped down, staring dagger to the ground.\n\n\\\u003eHer gentle smile and cheery attitude seemed to vanish completely.\n\n\\\u003eShit.\n\n\\\u003eThis was bad.\n\n\\\u003eAnna /feared/ thunderstorms.\n\n\\\u003eNot disliked.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eFeared.\n\n\\\u003eLike a wounded animal fleeing a hunter, with nowhere left to go, limping, unable to resist their fate.\n\n\\\u003eAnd the second flash behind you didn't help at all.\n\n\\\u003eEyes closed, you pray it's longer before it hits.\n\n\\\u003eOne, two, th-\n\n\\\u003e BWOOOOM!\n\n\\\u003ePanic started to overcome you, as you saw her breath shorten, her arms beginning to shake.\n\n\\\u003eFalling silent, unmoving, paralyzed.\n\n\\\u003e\"H-Hey Anna? Are you feelin-\"\n\n\\\u003eAnother flash.\n\n\\\u003eOh god.\n\n\\\u003eOn-\n\n\\\u003eAs the thunder hits, the booming sound of a explosion ringing out, you feel yourself be tackled.\n\n\\\u003ePushed to the corner of the sofa, Anna simply embraced you as hard as she could, laying above you, arms around you back, claws poking at your ribs.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eYou could feel her heart from how close she hugged you, beating like her life depended on it, even across the fabric of her hoodie, as she pushed herself towards you as hard as she could.\n\n\\\u003eHead buried deeply in your neck, tears soaking it, trying her best to ignore, to escape the storm.\n\n\\\u003eTrying to find safety, something to distract her from the storm, to shelter her.\n\n\\\u003eAnd then the realization hit.\n\n\\\u003e/You/ were her shelter.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eShe could have hidden in a closet, ducked under a bed, but instead?\n\n\\\u003eShe went to you.\n\n\\\u003eShe went to you to cover her, to protect her, to keep her okay.\n\n\\\u003eWithout knowing what to do, paralyzed by the realization, you simply return the embrace, feeling her heart skip a beat.\n\n\\\u003eShe didn't stop.\n\n\\\u003eIf anything, she seemed to be doing it harder, squirming above you, nuzzling deeper in your neck, claws poking at your back.\n\n\\\u003eStill crying, but her tears seemed to slow down.\n\n\\\u003eYour own heart began racing, your hands rubbing themselves on her back and her head, soothing, soft words whispered into her ear, as you caressed and cuddled her.\n\n\\\u003e\"Shhh, its okay Anna. Just relax, it'll all be over soon...it'll all be over soon.\"\n\n\\\u003eThe storm raged on, more and more flashes of light appearing.\n\n\\\u003eMore booming explosions, every single one sending her claws digging deeper into your back and ribs, and you swear you could feel some blood coming out.\n\n\\\u003eBut every new flash felt longer to come, and half a hour later, the thunder seemed to fade away\n\n\\\u003eNothing but the sound of plinking rain on glass filling the room, the game paused and silenced.\n\n\\\u003eThe two of you were still hugging each other, her claws finally retracted and your hands still rubbing at her back and neck, whispering sweet nothing at her ears.\n\n\\\u003eHer heartbeat had calmed since the storm, but she still squirmed and hugged you tight, unwilling to let go.\n\n\\\u003eYou did much the same, a primal urge telling you, whispering you what you wanted to hear.\n\n\\\u003eTo keep going.\n\n\\\u003eNeither of you felt like stopping this embrace.\n\n\\\u003eYou both just wanted to deepen it.\n\n\\\u003ePulling her up and towards you, your hands slid underneath her grey hoodie, rubbing alongside her toned back, shamelessly touching her, hands gliding amongst the smooth, velvet like fur.\n\n\\\u003eAnna herself moved her hands underneath your shirt, fingers travelling across your back, rubbing at your nape, a small sigh leaving her, slumping herself more unto your chest.\n\n\\\u003eThe feeling of soft fur.\n\n\\\u003eHer paws travelling across your back.\n\n\\\u003eHer heartbeat on your chest.\n\n\\\u003eThe soft smell of strawberries from her perfume.\n\n\\\u003eNo words were needed, as you both simply basked in the embrace of one another, greedy hands grasping at one another, pushing yourselves together as close as you could, in a warm, pure embrace.\n\n\\\u003eSoon enough, both of you ended up falling asleep in that couch, the sound of drizzling rain in the background.\n\n\\\u003eYou dream of Anna that night.\n\n\\\u003eThe lynx in a white summer dress, a picnic on a hill, the sun shining bright above.\n\n\\\u003eThe two of you below a tree, leaning in on each other, the smell of strawberries in the air, hands interlocked, enjoying the breeze and each others company.\n\n\\\u003eA vision of paradise.\n\n\\\u003eBut for now?\n\n\\\u003eEven if you had bad neighbours, even if you were tired or had a bad week.\n\n\\\u003eYou preferred real life and holding her close.\n\n\\\u003eAnd something told you that was something you were going to be doing a lot from now on.\n\n  \n  \n\n"}