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White cedar trees in every direction, that's how Leanna knew she was home. The tall, spindly things always made her imagine Earth as a porcupine--the trees its needles. But it was the smell of cedar, mixed with the scent of dirt, that really got to her. She'd seen the cedars for hours on the bus ride here, but it was the smell when she got off the bus that made her stomach swirl with nostalgia, comfort, and anxiety.

Leanna was in her mid-twenties, living in the city eight hours from the county she grew up in. County, because there wasn't really a town in any direction for dozens of miles. Just roads, gas stations, small trading posts, truck stops, a smattering of tiny schools, and a small liberal arts college her dad worked at. That and churches. More churches than places to get a bite to eat.

The bus station sat on a crossroads with a gas station, a diner that had been there long as anyone could remember, and a dollar store. Leanna made for a lonely figure out here, one anyone could pick out and recognize. She was the only raptor who had lived in Callowkeen County, and far as she knew she still had that title.

Bored, she took out her phone. No service, but she used the camera on the screen to straighten out her feathers. Her scales, a dark green looking black when not in the light, made the feathers pop with color. She had dyed the ones on her scalp and neck violet, while what ran down her back and tail remained a fiery array of reds. She wore a tank top with a skirt, something light for the weather. Summers here were an exercise in misery, and she was grateful her parents had the means to have A/C at their house. Out here it could be a luxury.

From down the road, Leanna heard a car. She grabbed her duffel bag off a nearby bench and waited. An old sedan with a sun-faded paint job pulled up. The trunk hatch popped, and Leanna threw her bag in there before going to the shotgun seat. She fell into the car and gave her little brother a hug. Like Leanna, her sibling, a musk deer with mottled white spots up and down his coat, was also adopted.

When she released him, Riley started turning the car around. He asked, "How was the trip over?"

"Quiet. Wrote some, but mostly listened to podcasts."

"Mmm. Not nervous at all?" Riley asked as they got back on the road.

"I mean, yeah, but it's fine. I've made peace with things going bad."

"You'll have to show me how to do that sometime. I've not been able to sleep the last two days."

"It's easier when I've already moved out. We can wait until you've graduated, too, you know," Leanna said. Riley had started college last year, and while he lived in the dorms during the semester, he still came home during the holidays and summer.

Her brother shook his head, glaring down the road. "No, I don't think it's right to ask you to do that. It was my idea anyways."

"That still doesn't mean--"

"You don't always have to put me first, you know?" Riley interrupted before shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, if mom and dad do kick me out it just means you'll have to cook me supper and do my laundry instead." His joke fell flat, delivered while he clenched the steering wheel at ten and two.

Leanna rested a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Riley."

Leanna was engaged and getting married in the fall. Their parents didn't know, had never even met Leanna fiancée. She had been willing to marry the woman of her dreams without telling their parents, simply because she didn't want to threaten Riley's home life. Most folks in the county reacted poorly when the subject of queers came up, and while their parents always remained mute on the subject, Leanna didn't expect any different from them.

The fact Riley had ended up queer without Leanna revealing anything about her sexuality had been a small miracle to her. He didn't even need to come out, but insisted that if Leanna did that he would stand with her despite the risk. It still chewed up her insides to put Riley on the gallows with her, though. Leanna had no clue how he would finish his degree if their parents disowned him or kicked him out of the house.

They had been driving in a long silence, stewing all this over before Riley said, "It's just messed up, you know? Jayla is fucking fantastic, and I bet mom and dad would love her if they got to know her. You shouldn't have to hide someone so important to you."

"That still doesn't mean you have to come out, too."

"But I do!" Riley insisted as he swerved around a pothole. "I want to be able to go 'Hey dad! I love sucking cock!'"

Leanna snickered. "Okay, but maybe don't lead with that? Ease them into the cock sucking?"

"Is ass eating less gay?"

"Riley!" she smacked him playfully on the stomach.

"Ouch, watch it."

Leanna, with a grin showing her teeth, asked, "Have you even slept with a boy yet?"

Riley huffed. "I'm working on it, okay? It's not as easy as it looks when you spend half the year stranded out here."

"Didn't stop me."

Riley tsked. "Oh, I'm Leanna and I get all the pussy."

"And don't you forget it."

***

The sound of Riley's car roused Alexis from her nap. The mountain lioness swung lazily in a hammock fastened between the two sweetgum trees in her yard. She yawned and grumbled, "That was fast. Boy likely to get a ticket driving like that."

She sat up and swung out of the hammock, still in her overalls and work boots. Under the overalls she only wore a bra, finding the heat too much to bother with more. Hell, if Riley were moved out she might not even bother with that. Closest neighbors were half a mile off, and she bet the Clarks didn't bother with clothes now that their kids were grown and gone.

Alexis turned to the house and yelled, "Ethan! Kids are here!" She figured it a fifty-fifty chance he heard her. She wove around their pickup and through the weed-pocked yard. Home for Alexis was a two-story cabin house she inherited from her grandparents and spent the last decade hauling into the twenty-first century. It was a cozy spot, three bedrooms, two bathrooms. When she were a little cub she lived here with her parents, their siblings, and grandparents all under one roof. By the time she mounted the wooden porch the front door swung inward, the screen door swinging outward next.

Ethan, her husband of nearly thirty years, had aged pretty well. At forty-five, the hawk still kept a strong coat of plumage, a few of the brown feathers at his scalp grey instead of the reddish brown that covered all but his front. Unlike her, he wore a black vest with a dress shirt and slacks, fingers massaging a wrist which clued Alexis in that he'd been where she left him in his study this morning: writing.

He gave her a look. "You going to change?"

"Nothing they've not seen me in."

Ethan shrugged as Riley pulled his car into their gravel driveway. Out the car came Riley first, saying something to his sister before Leanna stepped out, dappled in sunlight from the sweetgum trees. A knot swelled in Alexis' throat seeing her daughter. She was this wispy beauty, feathers on her head and back tossing in the breeze, her curves elegant. She was almost tall as Alexis, and walked with this natural sway Alexis chalked up to her species, the way her digitigrade legs moved. Her reptilian eyes noted her parents on the porch, and she smiled and waved, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

Ever since Leanna moved out she had been distant with them. It tore Alexis up inside. She sometimes wondered if their daughter knew their secret.

Ethan hopped off the porch and hugged Leanna. Riley grabbed her bag, and while father and daughter caught up, Riley headed inside. He stopped when he opened the door, asking, "You okay, mom?"

Alexis started and shoved her son through the door. "You're letting the cool air out!"

"Sorry!" He kicked the door closed with a cloven hoof. At the same time, Leanna had walked up the porch with Ethan.

"Hey mom," she said, stopping before her.

"My girl," Alexis said and opened her arms. That worry fell away when her daughter was right there. Leanna hugged her, and Alexis crushed her comparatively smaller daughter to her. She nuzzled into Leanna's neck and took a deep breath of her scent. "Mmmm, I've missed you."

"Mom..."

Alexis finally released her, grinning, and asked, "What's that soap you been using on your scales? You smell like a strawberry patch dipped dish soap."

She chuckled, an earnest smile now. "Thanks mom, it's my body wash."

"You reek of city, what it is. We'll get you out here working later, some dirt and sweat oughtta get you back to smelling natural."

Ethan laughed softly. "She's supposed to be on vacation, dear."

"And I am, too, which just means time to fix things up around the house," Alexis said before getting the door.

"I don't mind, dad, really," Leanna said as she walked inside.

"See,someone still likes spending time with me," Alexis said, spanking her husband's tailfeathers as he stepped inside.

"She also doesn't have to live with you," Ethan shot back.

Leanna, giggling, said, "It's good to be home."

***

Riley didn't mind sharing his bedroom with his sister. Leanna's old room had been turned into an office for their dad, so when she visited they put out a small inflatable mattress next to Riley's bed. His room wasn't huge, especially stuffed with all the trappings of a nineteen year old boy: horror movie and anime posters, a bass guitar and amp in a corner, his unmade bed, wardrobe with a TV and Playstation perched on top of it. A desk opposite his bed, which took up any remaining space in the room, was crowded with knickknacks, an always opened laptop, old glasses, and a few half-finished snack bags.

When Leanna stepped inside she wrinkled her nose. "Couldn't even wash your sheets?"

"I've been busy," Riley complained, on his knees rolling out the inflatable mattress. "You're welcome to sleep on the couch."

"It's tempting," Leanna said as she pawed through the things on Riley's desk. "This what you've been using to practice?"

Riley had just connected the electric pump to the wall when he looked up. His ears shot up as if Leanna pointed a gun at him instead of the innocuous brush he used to get loose fur from his coat. It was made of brown, finished wood, with a long handle.

Riley jumped up and snatched the brush from her, locking his door before he whispered, "How did you know?"

Leanna giggled. "Relax. Mom and dad are downstairs, you don't need to whisper." The reason they put up with this arrangement when Leanna visited is Riley's room could be a safe spot for both. A door with a lock. That way Leanna could text her fiancée, friends, and scroll Instagram without someone peeking over her shoulder.

Riley sniffed the end of the handle, which carried no trace of being used as an improvised toy.

Leanna told him, "It was just a guess. Don't worry, you're not going to be found out."

Riley set the brush down with a sigh. "Suppose it won't matter soon, anyways."

"We don't have to do this the first night, Riley."

"Better to rip the band-aid off fast, right? Besides, I feel like if I wait another day I'll go crazy."

"I get that... I guess a part of me just kind of wants to savor things a bit longer. If things go off the rails tonight, I want to remember mom and dad laughing and smiling, not cursing and screaming."

Riley's ears folded back. "You think they'd hurt us?"

"I can take dad."

"We can all take him. He's not who I'm scared of."

Leanna shook her head. "Mom wouldn't."

"You really think so?"

"I just can't imagine it. She can get mad, she can threaten us, but bare her fangs? No way."

Riley frowned. "You know, some of us can't help showing these." He tapped one of the two long tusks that curved finely down his muzzle.

Leanna rolled her eyes. "I can understand being anxious, though. I always forget how big mom is until I'm in front of her. Then it's just like... 'oh.'"

Riley snickered. "Jayla says that's how you reacted to her when y'all met."

Leanna groaned. "Lord, giving you her number might've been the worst decision I ever made."

***

"Looks good, dad," Leanna said as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"Nothing too fancy, just old favorites," Ethan said. Boiled sweet corn on the cob steamed on a tea towel for anyone to grab. Next to it was a bowl of white rice and a pot of red beans cooked with the creole trinity, andouille, and crawfish. The scents of sweet corn and red beans and rice filled the dining room, making Riley's stomach growl.

"Sorry, skipped lunch."

Alexis reached her paws around the table and said, "Well let's say grace so we can get to eating, then." Hands and paws clasped all around the table. Alexis bowed her head and said, "Dear lord, bless this food you gave us, and bless my babies, who are home and healthy. In your name we pray."

A chorus of "Amen" followed. While loose hands picked corn onto plates, Ethan took on the duty of serving the red beans. A bed of rice for that spicy-savory mixture spread on top. He passed bowl after bowl before finally serving himself. By that time, Riley and Alexis both ate like they'd been starved.

Ethan met eyes with his daughter and asked, "You know the Heimlich?"

"Heimlich?"

"You know, for when someone's choking?"

"Uhh, can't say I do."

"Well, let's just hope you're mom and brother make sure to chew and swallow, because I won't be able to save both if they start choking at the same time," Ethan said before finally taking a spoonful of the dinner he made to his beak. The rice helped pad out the heat of the red beans, which he let savor on his tongue before swallowing so his gizzards could get to work breaking things down. Fortunately, he didn't worry much about choking long as he took things slow.

Alexis glared at him, a gnawed-to-the-cob hunk of corn in her paw. Ethan simply rolled his eyes and kept eating.

Leanna giggled and said, "I've missed y'all."

"Missed your daddy's cooking more, I bet," Alexis said before gesturing with her corn to Riley. "This one always eats like he's been starving himself when he comes home for the summer."

"The dining hall only serves, like, the same five meals," Riley complained. His spoon already scraped the bottom of his bowl.

"I know how that's like," Leanna said before smiling at Alexis. "I mean it, though, about coming home. When we're all together like this, it's like slipping into a warm bath."

Ethan noticed Alexis tail twitch and flick at the comment. His wife's hackles lifted just a touch. Not anger or agitation, but he knew her well enough to know what those words meant to her. Knew well enough how embarrassed Alexis would get if anyone else noticed.

"Save the poetry for your journal, hun," Ethan joked. "If you waste all the good stuff on us you won't have anything when you go to write."

"Please," Leanna flicked her wrist, "that wasn't anything." She picked up a piece of corn and started gnawing on it, but Ethan knew it was to hide her face.

They ate and talked for half an hour. Alexis got up to clear the table and get beers for herself and the kids. Ethan didn't drink because alcohol interacted poorly with his meds.

It was as things wound down, that Leanna made her announcement. She rolled a near empty bottle of beer between her palms, and broke a lull in the conversation with, "So I have some news."

Ethan and Alexis caught onto her tone immediately. Both parents leaned in and Alexis offered her daughter a paw, but Leanna did not hold it for support.

"What is it, baby?" Alexis whispered.

"I'm, um..." Leanna hesitated, then her hands went under the table. She retrieved something from the pocket of her PJs, and when her hand lifted up Ethan gasped. "I'm engaged." An engagement ring with a sapphire, her birthstone, now glittered on her ring finger.

Alexis laughed to flush the tension from her body. "That's fantastic! You had us worried there."

Ethan added with a smile, "So, who's the lucky guy?"

"Um..." Leanna looked down at the table, hands back in her lap. "Well..."

"Leanna?" Alexis asked.

Riley placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "It's okay, sis."

Leanna said to her parents: "Her name is Jayla. We've been together for two years now and are getting married in September. And... and I'm a lesbian." Ethan gawked. Leanna stared at her mother defiantly, who in turn looked like she'd had the wind knocked out of her.

Riley broke the silence by jumping out his chair. "And I'm queer, too! And if you can't deal with that you might as well kick me out cause I'm not changing and neither is Leanna! We're fine the way we are!"

It hurt to see the way their children looked at them, the way they spoke. Ethan swallowed a bitter laugh at the twisted nature of this outing. He glanced at Alexis, who was trembling, now unable to look at anything but the amber glass of her beer. She mumbled, "I need some air," and got up, going for the back porch.

Ethan cursed, got up to go after her, but realized how this would look to their kids. He turned back around, Riley still with his hackles up but Leanna now deflated. "Listen, I promise you you're both safe, and we love you. I need to talk with you mom, then we'll come back in and sort things out."

"What is there to sort out?" Riley nearly snapped.

Leanna squeezed his hand. "Just sit down, Riley, please."

"I promise, there's a lot to sort out, but I can't just tell you without her here," Ethan insisted, "I'll be right back."

Ethan raced out onto their back deck. The cicadas were out in force, washing the night in their song. He found Alexis sitting on the porch swing and sighed. She had doubled over, hugging herself tight while she tried not to cry. Ethan sat down beside her and whispered, "It's going to be alright, Alex."

"Fucking goddammit," Alexis choked. "How?" She trembled and shook as Ethan wrapped an arm around her. He pulled her close and she leaned into him. He almost needed to brace himself to support her considerable size and weight. "Did you see the way they looked at us?" Alexis whined. "We were monsters to them. I never wanted... fuck they must have spent years scared and confused... scared of us Ethan! Lord forgive me, we screwed so much up--"

"Shhh," Ethan cooed. "It hurts, I know. When Riley started shouting at us I almost wanted to laugh. Like, really? This is what our kids think of us?"

"How could they know?" Alexis seethed. "I wasn't worried about them ever finding out, but I didn't know we did that good a job of hiding it!"

Ethan chuckled. "Think they'll be mad?"

"Wouldn't you?" Alexis snapped. She sat up, eyes puffy from tears. "Quit trying to make a joke out of this. These are our flesh and blood we're talking about!"

"Well, that was just never true--"

"You know what I mean!"

"I do, I do," Ethan said. He took Alexis' paws into his lap. "And you know they love us. If they really didn't feel like they could trust us, they would have done what we did."

"Marry each other?"

"Oh, so you can make jokes but I can't?"

"Yes, on account I'm the one actually hurting here," Alexis huffed. She got up and said, "Look at you, all stoic like when we got to go back in there and tell our kids we been lying to them their whole lives."

"Not lying, just hiding parts of ourselves," Ethan said. He got up with her and reached behind her ear, scratching there. "I'm scared, too, Alex, but the worst they'll be is mad at us for a bit, and then we can just be a family who don't hide anything from each other."

Alexis leaned into Ethan's scritching, taking a deep breath. On the exhale she straightened up and said, "I know, I'm just... I'm scared, and I hate hurting like this. Hate when they're mad at us."

"It'll be fine," Ethan took her paw. "It'll be better than fine. A week from now it'll be fantastic."

He led her back inside, but Alexis did not return to the dining room right away. Both kids waited at the table, Ethan stood in the doorway, glancing over his shoulder as Alexis stepped into their pantry. "Alex?"

Alexis returned with a bottle of whiskey and grabbed a shot glass. She shouldered Ethan out the way, sat down and poured herself a glass. She took a shot in one swig and smacked the glass down on the table with a sharp clack!

"Your father and I ain't straight, neither," Alexis said it while the wash of whiskey still burnt her throat.

Riley turned to her sister, "How did you know?"

"I didn't, I was just trying to make a joke."

"Ain't a joke," Alexis grumbled while she poured herself another shot. Before she even set the bottle down, Leanna reached across the table and took the shot much like her mother did.

Clack!

"And you never told us?" Leanna asked.

Alexis grabbed her glass back, and Ethan answered for her, "You know what the county is like, Leanna. We were afraid that first you'd out us on accident, then when you were older we were just scared you'd hate us."

Clack! Alexis finished another shot. "Father and I were friends in high school, both knew about the other, and agreed we'd marry so we could fool people into thinking we weren't queer."

Leanna grabbed the bottle and glass from her mother and poured another shot.

"Easy there, sis--"

"The grownups are talking," Leanna cut Riley off.

Ethan grimaced as Leanna took another drink. Clack!

"What could we possibly do to you?" Leanna snapped at her mother. "Help, officer, my mom is gay."

"You don't know what it was like back then," Alexis insisted, but Leanna was already pouring another shot. "I have friends who had their kids took away for being lesbian. Mothers with their babies ripped from their paws--"

Clack! "You remember when I tried to kill myself? You know what I was thinking after I swallowed those pills?" Leanna's voice quaked, she was shaking. "At least my fucking momma won't be as mad at me this way. I thought I was better off dead than--"

"Leanna!" Ethan snapped. He couldn't let her finish that sentence.

Alexis was crying again. "Y-you... you mean..."

Leanna, also in tears, acted as if Alexis was the only person in the room. "I felt so alone and scared, momma..."

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't--I shouldn't have lied to you. Especially when I know that feeling." Alexis got up and went around the table. Leanna tried to shove her away, but the slender raptor was no match for her mother, who knelt down and hugged her tight. Both women began to weep into the other, whispering apologies and consolations.

Ethan knew better than to stay there. Quietly, he grabbed the whiskey bottle in one hand, his son's wrist in the other. He led the musk deer into their kitchen, which was an open room with a grime encrusted stove, a fridge older than Riley, and a sink full of dishes that needed washing.

"Give them some time," Ethan said. "They need a minute." He opened the pantry and put away the whiskey on the top shelf next to a bottle of moonshine. When he shut the pantry behind him he found his son sitting on a stool next to the backdoor. He sat at a slouch, staring at a knot in the hardwood floor, looking hollowed out.

"Fuck," Riley cursed, looking at his father for the first time. "So did you and mom ever love each other?"

Ethan frowned. "What? Couse we did. We still do. Just because we don't fuck each other don't mean we're not best friends. Even if I could be open out here, I wouldn't leave your mom for the first gay man I see."

"Gotcha," Riley said. "Fuck, we got so hyped up for tonight. I packed a fucking bag upstairs in case you kicked us out tonight, you know?"

"Shit," Ethan cursed. "We were that scary to y'all?"

Riley shrugged. "We didn't know what to think. You never talked about queer folks. Didn't know if you hated or supported them. Never would have guessed you were being quiet cause you were queer."

Ethan sighed. "We talked a lot about telling y'all. Our plan was to wait until you moved out, that way if you wanted nothing to do with us, we wouldn't have to deal with you storming out or telling the neighbors or some other nonsense."

"Shit," Riley scratched the back of his neck. "Wished I took a shot of that whiskey, too."

"No you don't," Ethan said.

"Mmm... I guess it's hard for anyone to see outside the closet. You couldn't know how we felt, and we couldn't know how you felt."

"Thank you."

"Huh?" Riley furrowed his brow. "For what? Making a mess of dinner?"

"For being braver than us. Tonight's a mess, but the rest of our lives we'll be able to be honest with y'all, and you'll know to come to us when you need help with this sort of thing."

"Heh, guess you're right. Leanna tried to talk me out of it earlier today, but I wouldn't have it. You ought to have a chance to see her get married, you know?"

Ethan's claws pinched into his arm. "She was just going to get married without telling us?"

"Yeah, sounds pretty shitty, don't it?"

Ethan shook his head and said to the ceiling, "Lord, thank God we made the mistake of adopting a son after getting our hands full with a willful daughter."

"Hey! I'm right here, you know!"

Ethan smiled warmly at his son, more grateful than the boy could possibly know. "I see you. Come on, let's go check on the girls and try to salvage this night."

***

Bleary-eyed, wearing only gym shorts, Riley dragged himself downstairs towards the smell of coffee.

"Morning," Ethan called from the dining room while Riley poured himself a cup. The house was quiet, though, Riley had a vague memory of Leanna waking up, getting dressed, and creeping out his room sometime after sunrise.

Riley sat down in the dining room with a mug of steaming, black coffee. A taste he acquired from his father. Ethan sat at the table as well, dressed and reading some book on sociology. Ethan asked, still looking down at his open book, "Sleep well?"

"Last night was real, right?"

"Yes. You came out. Your mother and I came out after."

"Weird..." Riley said to his mug of coffee. Out of the corner of his eye he studied his father. He supposed he expected some change the morning after, but his dad was his dad. A regal looking hawk who dressed in dapper clothes no matter the time of the year.

Ethan dog-eared his page and shut the book before asking, "Something wrong?"

Riley grabbed his coffee and took a quick drink, rim of the mug knocking against his tusks in his rush. The musk deer winced, barely able to swallow the mouthful of hot liquid.

"Heheh, easy there, son. I didn't mean to spook you."

Riley coughed and cleared his throat. "Ugh, sorry. I just--I don't know. Nothing feels like it's changed?"

Ethan cocked his head in that way only birds could. "What did you expect? For me to be introducing you to my boyfriend when you woke up?"

"No," Riley shook his head. "I guess... I... uh, I don't know? Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Heh, no. I have dalliances with boys now and again, but my only partner is, and has been, your mother."

Riley frowned. "So you two just never..."

"Your mother has had girlfriends in the past, nothing quite permanent for one reason or another," Ethan said. "For me, I've been happy to keep my relationships casual."

"Ah," Riley said. He took another sip of coffee. His ears folded back and admitted, "I guess I expected it to be more obvious you were gay after coming out, but you're just you."

Ethan laughed. "I mean, your mother has always been butch, and I've always been the academic house husband who likes to dress nice even when I go out to buy chicken feed. The only reason you or no one else noticed is you took all that for granted because we're married."

"Ah, right."

Ethan reached over and squeezed his son's hand. "Don't beat yourself up for it. Till last night you were afraid we'd be homophobic, so how could you have known?"

"Yeah, fair," Riley muttered.

Ethan leaned forward, elbow planted on the table and beak resting on his fist. "So, I have a question for you now."

"Um... yeah?"

"Last night you just said you were queer. Did you mean gay or..."

"Bi? Pan? I don't know, does it matter? I've been with girls, but I like dick, too."

Ethan read between the lines better than Riley would have liked. "You've not been with a boy, yet?"

He cringed. "No... not for a lack of trying. It's just... you know how hard it can be to meet other guys out here, right?"

"That I do," Ethan said with a wistful sigh. "That's why most of my hookups happen at the college. Summers are just miserable dry spells."

"You fuck other professors?" Riley asked. Occasionally Ethan invited other faculty over for dinner, which got him thinking of which ones his dad might have been screwing...

"Once or twice, much easier to sleep with students," Ethan said nonchalantly, but when Riley gasped Ethan had a smirk ready. "What? There's a reason I keep my affairs casual."

"You sleep with your students?" Ethan hissed between his tusks.

"What? No, no, I care about my job too much. I don't fuck students who are in my classes, but after the semester is over, or if I just so happen to meet them through grindr, then..."

Riley just stared.

"Hehehe, want me to go back in the closet?" Ethan joked.

Riley shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's fine. Whatever, it's fine. Weird but fine. My dad's just a player, is all."

Ethan shook his head. "Hardly. Gay college boys are horny, it's easy to convince them to meet you in your office after classes, especially when you can lock the door and have a nice big sofa to--"

"Dad!" Riley covered his muzzle in his hands. "I've sat on that couch!"

"What? Hey, I clean any mess that happens. Can't have my students sitting in some senior's cum--"

"Stop it already!"

Ethan laughed so hard he doubled over. Riley had to resist the urge to run out of room. He almost insisted his dad walk back into the closet. He didn't understand why it had to be so embarrassing: maybe because Riley was basically a virgin when it came to guys, maybe because his dad fucked boys his age, maybe because he jealous. Although, that last one didn't really register. Riley had never been drawn to casual flings.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop," Ethan teased. "Just remember you opened this can of worms."

"And I completely regret it," Riley groaned.

Ethan shrugged and opened his book. "If you ever want help, I can give you pointers on picking up guys. Good looking deer like you shouldn't have the kind of trouble you do."

"Wait... good looking?" Riley asked. His dad never called him that before.

"Just calling it like I see it," Ethan said to his book. He flipped a page and added, "Besides, I can tell you need the confidence booster. That's the real shame about boys your age. No one ever knows how to make you feel sexy."

Riley's ears folded, cheeks flushed. It had never been pointed out to him before, but he knew immediately his dad was right. Riley had always just considered himself a gangly deer without even the benefit of having a rack of horns, just his weird, long fangs.

He swallowed the knot in his throat and took another drink of his coffee before standing up. "I'm going to get dressed."

"Wear something nice," Ethan said, still reading.

"Huh?"

"You're mom and I thought it would be good to take you kids out today, show you what it's like being queer in this county." He looked up and smiled at his son. "Your mom's taking Leanna to her favorite bar, and I was going to take you up to the school."

"But I've been there plenty of times..."

"Oh, don't worry. I promise this time it'll be different," Ethan said with a little smirk before going back to his book. Still nervous, Riley retreated up the stairs with his mug of coffee.

***

Bribery in a Bottle, called Bribes by the locals, was a bar at the edge of Callowkeen County. The county north of here was dry, so _Bribes_made good money by being one of the closest places folks could go to get a drink. Leanna had never bothered with the nightlife in Callowkeen, she moved to the city quick as she could manage, so she had never known about the place beyond its name.

Outside, its gravel parking lot only had a few cars in it. Alexis parked her pickup in front of the place, the windows had drawn curtains with bars across them. Everything was coated in a layer of reddish dust, and the front door hung a little crooked on its hinges.

"So this is where the action is," Leanna said as her mom unbuckled and kicked open the door.

"Sure is." Alexis hopped out the truck, wearing a pair of daisy dukes, her dark blonde pelt practically shining in the sunlight. Her low-cut tank top showed off ample cleavage, her large arms, and broad shoulders. It was the same kind of clothes she wore when working around the house, nothing that made her standout any more than she already did. Not that Leanna ever thought her mom needed help with that.

Leanna settled for a black summer dress with a slit in the back for her tail, the cut going past her mid-thigh. If not for the strappy top, some might consider it modest. Not that Leanna had much of a chest to brag about. She liked the dress for how it hugged her waist then billowed out. It was certainly too dressy for Bribes, but her momma asked her to put on something nice, and Leanna was a sucker for dressing up.

By the time she swung the pickup's shotgun door closed, Alexis had already barged into the bar, yelling, "David! How's my favorite salty boar?"

After last night, Alexis had been even more bubbly and boisterous than ever. When Leanna had asked why, she simply responded with, "Course I'm happy! I never thought I could be more proud of my baby girl and here I am! More proud than ever."

It still made Leanna smile, and she went into the bar feeling bubbly as well, a black handbag over her shoulder. It was a dusty pub, with a pool table and some old arcade games in the back. A massive table that could sit twenty dominated the middle of the place, with benches lining it, used by a hodgepodge of people. Alexis stood at the bar, talking with the boar behind the counter who already poured the lioness a beer.

He glanced at Leanna when she came in and whistled. "You weren't kidding. Ain't you a pretty thing coming into a place like this with a dress like that."

"Eyes off! My girl already got herself a catch."

David winked at Leanna, then said to Alexis, "Listen big momma, I know better than to cross you. I promise to behave."

"Mmm, and you spread the word, too," Alexis said as she took the beer David placed on the counter. She patted a stool beside her, and Leanna sat down with her mother.

"What'll you have?" David asked.

"What's on tap?"

"Miller, Bud, Tecate, Heinekin if you're feeling fancy."

"PBR?"

"Mmm, we got it," David said. He leaned in close enough Leanna could smell his cheap cologne over the smell of polished wood that pervaded the place. "You sure you want something cheap? I mean your momma is paying, ain't she?"

Leanna chuckled. "It's a union beer. I'll go with it."

"Union beer, huh?" David stepped back and shook his head. "Never heard that one before. All right, comrade, one PBR."

Leanna rolled her eyes. "He always like this?"

"Don't mind him. He's just mad he's gotta work and can't flirt," Alexis said.

"Hey, a man can do both." David handed Leanna a pint glass but didn't let it go. "You're twenty-one, right kid?"

"Oh quit messing around," Alexis snapped.

"I'm just teasing--slow right now. How am I supposed to have any fun?"

Someone came up to the other side of the bar, trying to make eye contact with David. Alexis reached across the bar and shoved his shoulder to the patron, "Go do your job and let us drink in peace!"

David left, loudly complaining how hurt he was that they didn't come here for his company.

"You two know each other a long time?" Leanna asked before taking a drink of her beer. Light in flavor, it was easy to put back. Another reason she preferred PBRs is that, for whatever reason, they didn't leave her as bloated as other beers could.

"Since he started working here five years ago."

"Only five years? I figured he owned the place."

"Nah, owner don't show up much--not liked around these parts."

"Oh yeah?" Leanna asked. She started to settle and get comfortable with her mother. The place had A/C running, but it didn't feel frigid. It was nice. She turned in the stool to better face Alexis, leaning against the bar.

Alexis said, "You know the type. Anyone willing to take advantage of county lines and dry counties ain't the type to be too principled one way or another. Lot of folks don't like that he lets anything go on here. Folks want to hold some union meeting, for instance, or some locals organize a girl's night that's not about meeting boys."

"A lesbian night?"

Alexis leaned forward and whispered, "Careful with that word round here."

No one had eavesdropped on them, but Leanna would keep the warning in mind.

Alexis continued, "Not officially, not quite. Let's just say me and other like-minded girls saw it as an opportunity to mix and mingle without drawing attention to ourselves. Bribes is where I've met most my girls. Fortunately, this," she held up her paw and flashed the wedding band on her ring digit, "keeps most folks from ever giving two thoughts to me bumping up to another woman. Country people would rather ignore what's in front of them, I've learned, so long as you aren't eating a girl out on the pool table, no one's the wiser."

Alexis glanced at the pool table, noting now that it was three other women around the table. One made eye contact with her and offered a smile. Leanna returned it, then asked her mother, "What about those girls over there?"

"Two of them are on and off again exes of mine, third one, the younger looking leopard, isn't someone I've been with."

"On and off again?" Leanna asked, noting the other two women. One, a wolf wearing skinny jeans and a tattered football jersey, the other a chubby skink sporting a pair of cutoffs and billowy blouse. They looked around Alexis' age. Leanna tried not to stare, but it did interest her what type of woman her mother was drawn toward.

Alexis said, "There are only so many available women in the county. We make it work when we can, and stay out of each other's way when we can't." She sighed and drained the rest of her pint in a few hearty gulps, then admitted, "Right now, I'm going through a summer of can'ts."

Leanna frowned. "I'm sorry, momma--hold on a sec," she reached up and wiped some froth from Alexis' jowls. "Sorry, didn't want you dripping all over your shirt."

Alexis recoiled from her touch a bit, which surprised her. The lioness wiped her muzzle again with her paw, then, "Hey now, I'm the one supposed to be cleaning your face."

Leanna said, "Sorry, habit I picked up from cleaning up after Jayla."

"She a messy girl or just lazy?"

"Messy," Leanna said before, with a flush of her own embarrassment, admitted, "You'd like her a lot, long as you got along with someone else a lot like you."

"A lot like me?"

"She also loves taking up as much space as she can."

"Hey now, what's that supposed to mean?"

Leanna giggled and said, "It's a compliment, momma, trust me." She opened her handbag and retrieved her phone, asking, "Want to see what she looks like?"

"What kind of question is that? Course I wanna see my baby girl's fiancée."

At that moment, David came back to the bar. "Refills, ladies?"

Leanna had only got halfway through her pint, but let David take the glass. They had a bit more small talk with the boar before another customer ushered him away. Once he did, Leanna began to unlock her phone.

"Okay, so one thing you need to know," she said as she pulled up the pictures, "Jayla is trans."

"Like a transvestite?"

"What? No, no, she's all woman, she was just assigned male at birth."

Alexis frowned. "I thought that was a transvestite? I been with one before and that's what she called herself."

"Ah," Leanna nodded. "Okay, I get it. Generational things. She prefers to go by trans, transgender, or you know, treat her like one of the girls."

"I get it, I get it, just show me the pictures."

Leanna opened a gallery folder of photos of Jayla and the two of them together. Jayla was another lioness, but unlike Alexis, she had a thick flowing mane, delicately cultivated so that the lush red fur did not grow on her face, neck, or chest, rather flowing down her back. She, like Alexis, was bigger than most folks, but Jayla had a more athletic figure, where age had softened Alexis. Her mother whistled in appreciation. "Sweet lord, what a catch. She's almost pretty as you."

"Mom!"

"What? You know you'll always be first place in my eyes."

Leanna blushed, grateful her scales hid most of it. She locked her screen and said, "Jayla is a steel-worker at a factory, but does smithing at a workshop on her spare time. We met at a gallery that was hosting some of her metalwork."

Alexis' brow furrowed. "So you're saying she's an artist with a factory job she uses to pay the bills?"

"Uh, yes?"

Alexis blew out an immense sigh. "Oh thank the Lord--was worried I'd have to worry about another starving artist in my family."

"Hehehe, is that all you care about?"

Alexis asked, "Does she make you happy?"

Beaming, Leanna admitted, "Very, momma."

"That's all I need to know to know I'll love her like she's one of my own."

Positively buoyant at that, Leanna hugged her mom tight. "Thank you, momma."

Chuckling, Alexis returned the hug. "Nothing to thank me for. Loving and supporting you is natural as breathing."

***

Inside Ethan's car, both boys bellowed with the CD player: "When they came for the communists I kissed them on the lips! Then they came for the singers in a haze of pink slips--ohhh!" Riley held a tune better than his father, but both reveled in a chance to sing. It started with his father putting in a CD with an album opener about two boys unrequited love in the country. Ethan sang every line, and, at his father's encouragement, Riley grabbed the CD's jacket, pulled out a little booklet of song lyrics, and began to sing along, too.

Their impromptu karaoke continued even as Ethan pulled into a parking lot in front of the humanities building. As the song swelled to its final crescendo, they turned to one another, singing, "He's the laureate of the Granite State--now he doesn't even write, he just riffs! And they'll cover up his coffin in pink slips!" The final chords of the song hit in time with the last lyric, and as it faded to silence for the next song, Ethan switched off the ignition, took out his keys, and silenced his speakers by popping open the door.

"Enjoy yourself?" Ethan asked with a little quirk to his beak.

"Yeah! Uh," Riley chuckled nervously, "I've not done something like that in a while."

Ethan got out of the car, shutting it and locking it with his key fob as Riley did the same. "That CD is one of my go-tos when I just need to sing my head off."

Riley smiled. "Glad I got to listen to it with you."

"Noticing some changes in your dad, finally?"

Riley grinned. "I guess you might be cool." He always thought of his father as a self-contained, stoic--if a generous and quietly outgoing one. He could not remember the last time he saw Ethan have fun like that. It made the old hawk seem a decade younger.

As the two walked inside the building, Riley asked, "So what am I going to see that I haven't seen before?"

"Patience," Ethan answered.

Riley pictured his father hitting some switch before the bookcases in his office swung around, revealing some sort of sex dungeon set up. He knew it silly, but he figured it must be something major to drive all the way out here.

Ethan's office was on the fourth floor of the humanities building, inside the English department. Though his father worked as a rhetorician, his real job was coordinating all the first year writing classes at the college. It involved mostly grueling managerial work, not research or small seminars for invested students. Still, his dad never complained much about his job, and it did afford him a corner office in the building, one of the biggest on his floor.

Ethan unlocked his door, opened it, and waved inside, "After you."

With some amount of trepidation, Riley walked in. His dad's office had the fruity smells of a wall-mounted air freshener. Bookcases lined two walls, with curtained windows taking up the rest. His desk was a big, imperial behemoth of faded mahogany. It carried several dings and scratches, one side of it cluttered with books and a closed laptop, the other side bare. Next to the desk, along one of the windowed walls, was a sofa: red cushions clean if old and worn.

"Have a seat," Ethan said as he shut the door behind them, flipping the lock. "Thought we could talk."

"Talk?" Riley asked as his father sat on the edge of his desk, facing the sofa with his taloned feet just dangling over the floor.

Ethan gestured to the couch, "Come on, promise you're not in trouble."

Riley sat at the edge of a cushion and asked, "Uh, what's up?"

Ethan stared at the ceiling a moment. "Where to begin..."

"Dad?"

"Suppose we should do this like a band-aid." Riley's apprehension built into a lump of anxiety before his father added, "I want to give you the talk--about men."

"What? You're, uh, kidding right? I'm nineteen not nine," Riley protested, ears folding back.

"Alright," Ethan quirked a brow. "If you plan to bottom for your partner, when should you use an enema--"

"Dad! Gross," Riley jumped to his hooves. "You cannot be serious right now."

Ethan only offered his son a smirk. "So you don't know anything."

Riley hugged his arms around his chest. "Google exists. I don't need my dad to tell me this stuff."

Ethan nudged his son's jeans with a talon. "Sit back down, goofball. I'm not interested in explaining enemas anyway."

Lips quivering around his tusk, Riley listened. Ethan couldn't help but swallow a chuckle at his son's pout. He knew laughing at Riley would only make matters worse.

Ethan decided to be candid: "You said you've never been with a guy before. Now I know when I was your age I was desperate to get with a guy. I needed to know that the things I felt weren't just something I couldn't get out of my head. I made some mistakes because of that, and if it weren't for your mother I don't know what would have happened to me. I just want you to be safe, dear, and not go through the pain I did."

Riley relaxed a little, feeling sheepish now. "Jesus, I'm sorry, dad, I didn't know."

Ethan shrugged. Riley and Leanna had a pretty good relationship with Alexis' family, but Ethan's past had been a black hole. Not because his family found out he was queer, but because of all the other problems that could haunt and plague a rural family dogged by poverty. Ethan said, "It's alright. Years of therapy and your mom have sorted me out. So how about we start over, hmm? When did you know you liked guys?"

Riley scratched the back of his neck, looking at the bookshelves instead of his father. "I mean, you remember when I had my first real girlfriend, right? I sort of realized around the same time I liked boys, too. I think I do, at least. I like looking at porn of--" Riley flinched.

"It's fine, dear. Nothing leaves this room."

"Right, sorry."

"Hehe, nothing to apologize about!" Ethan hopped off the desk and sat next to his son. He rubbed his back and said, "No more hiding things between us, alright? You don't need to be embarrassed about sharing your sex life."

"Thanks, dad..." Riley whispered, letting himself lean against the older hawk. "It's like you said, I'm really anxious about getting with a guy. I'm scared that once I get in there I won't actually like it, that I'm some kind of phony or fake."

"Mmm, that's understandable. Have you not had any luck with the boys at your college?" He chuckled. "Speaking from personal experience, college boys are pretty easy to catch."

"I don't know... Grindr and shit freaks me out, and when I go to LGBT meetups I feel like this awkward fish. All these people are out there with dyed hair, clothes different from mine, and I'm just like--how do you fucking talk to people? The only thing I maybe have in common is not being straight."

Ethan let his son vent, offering an "Mmm," and "Yeah," as necessary. He could tell these were anxieties Riley had been swimming in for a while.

"It's just so frustrating sometimes. You, mom, and Leanna are all so good with people, and I never really had trouble with being an introvert before, but putting myself out there like this... it's just hard. Not to mention I don't seem femme or masc enough to most guys."

"Femme or masc enough?" Ethan asked.

"You know, like, I'm quiet about being queer. It's not intentional, I just am, so I bet most gay guys wouldn't think to flirt with me. Especially when I'm not big enough to be a stud, but too tall and masculine to be a twink--"

"Okay," Ethan held up a hand, "Let's pause there."

Riley grimaced. "Too much?"

"Not at all, dear. You clearly needed to get this off your chest, but I'm not going to have you berating yourself, either. It sounds like to me you aren't looking for some fuck buddy, but a romantic partner."

"I..." a protest rose in Riley's throat, but it quickly deflated like the rest of him. "Yeah... I don't know why. I've told myself, no more girls till I gave myself the chance to date a guy, but I don't know... it's like being gay is this pool and there's no shallow end, so you either jump in and swim or you just sink."

Ethan hugged his son tight, which his son clung to, quivering. Ethan whispered, "I know it feels like that, but trust me, no good person wants you to sink. You're not a freak or bad fit because you feel this way. I felt it, your momma did, I'm sure Leanna did, most of us do at some point or another when we're still figuring things out."

Sniffling against his father's vest, Riley mumbled, "I know... I'm just..."

"Shh, it's okay. Just take a moment for yourself."

Riley did, letting himself be held by his father. He could not remember the last time he let himself be held by someone, but Ethan was far more familiar with this situation, comforting and consoling his children, students, even other queer men. He felt an outpouring of love and care for his son, and an idly entertained idea came to the forefront of his mind again. Why not? If his son turned out willing, why shouldn't Riley's father answer these anxieties that chewed up his son.

Gently, Ethan broke up their embrace, hands still on his shoulders. He caressed his son's cheek, wiping a tear away. "I'm glad you shared all this with me. I want to do my best to care for you, to be there for you, dear." He rose to his feet and asked, "Can you get up for me?"

Riley did, still slouching and shaky. He managed to say, "Thanks dad. We, uh, going now?"

"Not yet," Ethan said gently. "I know your confidence is feeling really shaky right now, and I know most boys your age never feel good about yourself cause boys aren't supposed to get compliments. So I want you to try something."

Uncertainty kept his son's shoulder's hunched, posture timid. "What?"

Ethan leaned back against his desk and said, "Compliment me."

Riley blinked.

"Gay men, like most women, learn how to compliment each other. It's one of our few saving graces--a way to make us feel good when most folks want us to feel bad," Ethan explained. "I'm going to teach you how."

"Oh... I didn't... okay? How about..." Riley paused, then tried, "You're dressed nice."

Ethan laughed. "That I know!" He took pride in his tailored clothes. The older hawk's build had remained slim through active housework, light exercise, and dieting well. The dress shirt he wore today was crimson, with golden cufflinks, and dark slacks to match. Ethan said, "Be specific. If you're vague, people will think you're just buttering them up."

"Okay..." Riley frowned. "It's just a bit weird, you know? You're my dad and--"

"Take a deep breath, dear. Heh, if you don't hurry up I'll show you how it's done."

"Okay, fine, uh... your clothes are nice. The red goes well with your feathers, I think?"

"You_think_?"

"It does! I like it, anyways--it's striking," Riley said. He swallowed and added, "There, was that good?"

"Hehe, it's a start," Ethan told him. "You will have to be more casual than that, though."

"Well it's hard being put on the spot."

"Practice makes perfect. Another way is to simply express you like something, such as, 'I love the way that red goes with your feathers.'" Ethan pushed off the desk, drawing close to his son. "Easy, yeah?"

"S-sure." Riley struggled to match his father's golden eyes. He saw nothing in them that should alarm him, but the level of intimacy of Ethan so near: the warmth in those irises, his father's beak almost touching his muzzle, the scent of his father's cologne subtle but definitely all Riley smelled now. He found it hard to breathe, the reasons why leaving him paralyzed and embarrassed.

"My turn," Ethan whispered. Riley actually doubted his father might find anything on him to compliment, flinching when Ethan touched his hand. "Ah, are you scared?"

"It's nothing," Riley dismissed, not even wanting to recognize how wound up he suddenly felt.

Ethan chose to let it drop, and lifted Riley's hand between them, palm up. "I've always admired your hands." He traced a finger along his palm, fur thinned to the point of exposing dark flesh, the deeper lines in his palm visible. Ethan said, "You have these long, delicate fingers, with these callous on them. It makes it easy to tell you're a musician. Men who craft things, whether it's with carpentry or bass chords, are just so much more interesting to me."

Riley stared at his father, wide-eyed. Was this all really practice or... his father's gaze lifted back to him and Riley's breath caught in his throat.

"And that look," Ethan laughed gently, "just adorable. Sorry, that's not sexy, is it? Here," he let go of Riley's wrist and touched one of his tusk. Riley gasped, but remained rooted in place. "These, though?" Ethan's finger slid up the tooth and touched Riley's upper lip. Riley's pulse built and built, but he remained enthralled by Ethan's smolder, by his words. "I read that tusk length for male musk deer has a direct correlation to masculinity. Old, primal evolution stuff: the longer the tooth, the better the male." Ethan's digit gently stroked where fang met gum, then slid down the length of Riley's tusk. "I've always wondered if you knew that, if my son knew how big his tusks were. These long, erotic, slender fangs of his, bigger than the average musk deer's." As one finger teased at the point of his tooth, Riley felt his father's other hand come to grope the swelling bulge in his jeans. God, why was he getting hard right now, and why in the hell couldn't he move? "I wondered..." Ethan got closer, hand still rubbing his son's crotch, their chests now touching, his beak resting on Riley's shoulder, tilted up to whisper in his son's ear, "Did my son know how big his cock must be? Has he ever thought what it would feel like to have that entire length sheathed in another warm body like mine?"

Despite all his swagger, Ethan watched his son carefully. The musk deer had this adorable little tremble, but he knew his son well enough that it wasn't fear. "Dad..." Riley whined, "W-we can't..."

"Shhh," Ethan cooed. "We aren't blood. I want to give this to you, Riley, but I won't force you. If you want, I'll never bring this up again, but if I can help you with this I'd gladly give you my everything, teach you everything I can."

Riley surprised Ethan with a tight hug. His boy's restrained erection bumped against his crotch, clearly showing the seduction worked. "I want to," Riley breathed, "I just don't know where to begin... I don't know if--"

Ethan silenced his son with a finger to his snout. He offered his gentlest smile and said, "I'll guide you." Riley nodded and let go of his father. The hawk took a step back and suggested, "How about we start with taking off our clothes, hmm?"

"Uhhh, okay?"

"Heh, I can tell you're still reluctant, so I'll start." Ethan turned a little, sure not to look back at his son. He wanted Riley to watch and to not feel embarrassed about watching. First, Ethan removed his vest, tossing it in his office chair before undoing the cuffs on his dress shirt. Steadily, he undid the buttons of the shirt, top to bottom, before one then the next sleeve slipped off. The shirt joined his vest before Ethan stole a glance at his son. He couldn't help but laugh. "Are you alright?"

Riley started. The musk deer almost faced away but stopped himself. He admitted, "I just... I never realized how hot you look?"

"Heh, well, I do try to keep in shape when I can," Ethan said as he faced his son. He did have a slight lip of fat at his stomach, but his arms and chest were still in good shape. He had always been of the mind that if the gym on campus was free then it would be silly not to keep a regular exercise routine. His feathers in his front were a downy cream color before more of those reddish brown streaks dotted then dominated his sides and back.

Ethan touched his belt. "Would you like me to continue?"

Riley, shyness slipping away, said, "Yes."

Ethan felt his loins flush with heat as his son watched him. He loved catching the eye of handsome young boys like this. A guilty pleasure, really. He slipped off belt, button, down the zipper, then removed his briefs with his dress pants. He dropped them, then worked them carefully past his taloned feet, sitting back against his desk as he did. Ethan wryly said, "Sorry, there's not really a graceful or sexy way to remove one's trousers."

Riley did not answer right away. He eyed his father's soft, inviting thighs where more of those soft white feathers covered it. At his knee the feathers ended in favor of pebbly scales, the calves toned and firm looking. Almost afraid, Riley finally let his eyes come to rest on his father's crotch. His cock sported a half chub draped across his balls. He was girthy but an average length, and something about that soft, hefty looking flesh made Riley long to come closer to it. He finally glanced up and saw his father's smug smile.

"Enjoying the view?" Riley nodded slowly and Ethan snickered. Were it any other young, nervous boy, Ethan might have been a bit more tactful. "Here," he sat back on his desk and said, "You can keep your clothes on and touch me, if you want to start there."

Riley still struggled to process how attractive his gay father was. In the soft light coming through the shuttered window, he couldn't believe how soft those feathers appeared, how firm the muscles underneath. Ethan liked dressing up so much that Riley hadn't seen his father in anything more revealing than a t-shirt in years. Seeing him naked just made Riley more self-conscious of his relative lankiness.

Riley moved closer to his dad and touched his knee, right above where his feathers terminated for the scaly, taloned legs that followed. "There we go," Ethan whispered.

"Your feathers are so soft," Riley managed to say.

"They're softer elsewhere."

"Y-yeah?" Riley's hand moved up his dad's leg, resting on his thigh, finding himself looking again at the other male's length. Pale flesh stood erect over a mound of pubic feathers, the maroon mushroom head wrapped in foreskin.

Ethan touched his chin and got Riley to look up. "You okay, dear?" he asked.

Riley touched his tongue to his tusk, working up the courage to ask, "Is it okay if... if I touch it?"

Ethan resisted making another wry comment, and simply said, "Of course."

Riley did, finding it soft and firm to hold. It was warmer than the rest of Ethan, and Riley felt his father pulse in his palm. Tonguing his tusk again, he worked his hand up and down the shaft, watching Ethan's foreskin roll up and down his glans. Riley sighed, humping into his son's hand and lounging backwards. Encouraged by his father's pleasure, Riley decided to do something he always fantasized about.

He knelt before the desk, grabbing his dad's ankles. "Riley? Oh," when Riley hooked one of Ethan's legs over his shoulder, his dad obliged and hooked the other, scooting forward so Riley had better access to Ethan's package. Before his boy could lean in, Ethan placed a hand on his head. "You sure you want to move this fast?"

"I do," Riley said. "I-if we're doing this, I want to do it."

Ethan let go and watched his boy nuzzle into the underside of his cock. Riley sucked in a deep breath and moaned. Riley knew he enjoyed his own musk, but his first taste of another man's made his cock ache in his jeans. Those soft pubic feathers teased at his dark snout, and he burrowed in deeper, right near the top of his father's balls and inhaled more of that musk. Salt, something spiced and sour and sweet. It was different from the smell of his rut but oh so enticing.

Ethan worried a little about the tips of his son's tusks digging into his sack, but it didn't go too far before Riley began licking the underside of his meat. His son's smooth, broad tongue could almost cover the entirety of his girth. Ethan placed a hand on Riley's head, scratching a bit behind the ears while he encouraged, "That's it, dear."

Cock. Riley was kissing and licking a dick, and it didn't gross him out or anything. He'd been so scared one smell of another guy would turn his stomach, that he was just faking it, but the texture along his tongue, the flavor on his tastebuds. Riley trembled. He loved it. Just like the first time he went down on a girl, a little clumsy and worried about his tusks. It was a totally different flavor. The tones musky and subdued, getting a little saltier when he licked up the tip and tasted his father's precum. His father's precum.

An hour ago that thought might have grossed him out and flustered him, but he couldn't get it out of his head now. This was his dad's cock he worshipped, and while they weren't related, Ethan raised him. Ethan knew Riley better than most people ever did, and Ethan still wanted him. Something about that got Riley even hotter. The joy of feeling certain about his desires, about being wanted so plainly by someone so close to him, and his own teenage lust had him drunk on a hormonal cocktail. His hands, holding his dad's thighs, pressed Ethan's legs together, as if he wanted his dad to pin him in place.

Ethan could feel his son getting needier, and wanted to push the boy further. He loved partners who could get lost in their own little world. The fact it was Ethan's own son was even more gratifying. This needn't be a one fuck and done. There was so much Ethan could teach his boy, and as Riley's lips opened and closed around his tip, he could tell his son would be an eager pupil.

Ethan sat up a little, putting a bit of pressure on the back of Riley's head. His cock slid farther into his son's maw. The boy sucked clumsily as Ethan's girth fit snugly between those tusks. A little spit and it would slide easily. Though, that first descent tugged back Ethan's foreskin, his glans grinding against his son's tongue. Both men moaning.

Salty and sweet, more viscous than Riley's spit. His dad's precum slid warmly down his throat as he savored that pulsing meat in his maw. He really liked cock. The more he had of it in his mouth the more he needed it. He worked some saliva along his lips, tongue slipping around cock to press spit into his tusks. He did his best to lube his father's shaft before descending further, finding the wet helped. Ethan bucked up and Riley found his snout buried in pubic feathers. Cock filled his maw and hit his throat. He shuddered and gagged, backing off with his eyes watering.

Ethan cursed. "Shit, you okay?"

Riley popped off the shaft, coughing, and wiped tears from his eyes. "Y-yeah, I just--ugh--went a little fast."

"We can do something else if--"

"No," Riley snapped, then his ears clipped back when he saw his dad's startled look. "I j-just, I want..."

"To keep sucking your dad's cock?"

"D-don't say that," Riley whined.

Ethan cocked his head. "Too much?"

Shyly, face tilted into his dad's thighs, Riley said, "I like this. Earlier, what you said, have you ever thought about us doing this stuff before?"

"Of course not, dear. We came out of the closet yesterday, and I don't fantasize about boys I don't think I can have. I learned that the hard way." Ethan tried to move his legs, but Riley yanked them back into place. Ethan couldn't help but laugh and ask, "Comfy down there?"

"Yes," Riley muttered.

Ethan ventured, "I'll only call you by your name if that's what you want."

"I'm not sure what I want." Riley's eyes flicked from his dad's to the cock looming in front of his muzzle. "Except this thing. And you. I... I think I like the dad stuff, I just don't want this to be weird."

"Heh, I think we're already a little past that, dear."

"Just shut up and let me suck your dick, dad."

"So dad stuff is fine--hah-ah..." Ethan sighed as his son's lips wrapped back around his shaft. "That's a good boy," he cooed. "You know j-just how to treat your dad's cock, don't you?"

It embarrassed Riley how hot his dad's words got him. He mewled around the dick in his mouth so Ethan knew to keep the praise up. Even with the interruption, it was so easy to fall back into focusing on his dad's length. That wonderful, simple spire of masculinity, so weighty and firm in his maw. He bobbed his lips and sucked, finding his father particularly enjoyed himself getting stimulated just past his glans. That was good, Riley did not think he could take Ethan all the way without gagging again, so he worked what he could. His finger and thumb stayed wrapped around the base, so the occasional buck of his father's hips didn't end with Riley taking too much at once.

Ethan had many a male suck his dick, but he couldn't say one with tusks ever did. At first he worried about it, as anyone did about teeth touching their dick, but it felt good grinding up and down the smooth fangs once they had been slickened with spit. It made for one other sensation on top of the lips gliding up and down his meat, his son's tongue playing along the underside of his shaft, or the sucking that tugged on his glans with every bob of the boy's head. Given, well, everything, Ethan found himself getting close, finding his edge sooner from a blowjob than he had in years.

He grabbed his son by his scruff and shoved him down, huffing. "God, son, you-you're going to get me off if you keep this up."

Riley moaned his eager consent. He needed to know what another man's cum tasted like. He had always been curious, and given how quickly he took to Ethan's precum, Riley needed his father's seed in his maw, needed that thick sperm pooling and sliding down his throat.

Warning given, when Ethan released Riley, he found his boy renewing his pace, working faster, sloppier. Ethan did not try to hold himself back. He could guess that Riley's jaw would start to get sore soon, and didn't need to put his son through his paces--yet. In fact, hearing his son mewl and suckle his dick, knowing he was close, like he'd raised some eager cumslut, just made the tension in his loins greater. Lord forgive him. The thought of raising his son into this, training him to be Ethan's personal pet. It was wrong, but he could see his son with blinders on, the musk deer in a collar, maw hanging open and waiting to service whatever male stood in front of him.

"F-fuck," Ethan quietly muttered before his beak clenched tight and he came.

Riley felt it. The pulse of his dad's dick as it filled his waiting maw. He froze and concentrated just on a gentle suction, letting his father's seed spill across his tastebuds. The flavor was a little sweeter than Riley's, more subdued. Whether by age or their difference in species, Riley couldn't guess, but the more that viscous fluid filled his mouth the more Riley quivered in place. He kept his eyes closed, willing himself to focus on the feeling of his father's cum rolling through his mouth, of that shaft twitching between his lips. The scent of Ethan, so strong in that moment. All of him, all of this so close and intimate and good.

It could have been twenty seconds or twenty minutes, but Riley remained in a rapturous stupor until Ethan placed a hand behind his son's ears. "That's... you can release me."

Carefully, tongue sliding one last time across those glans before he popped off, making Ethan shudder. His son, doe-eyed, looked up at him, maw still full of cum. Remembering it was the boy's first time, Ethan said, "It's okay if you need to spit it out--"

Riley cut him off by opening his maw--tongue covered in a slimy film of semen, strings connected at the corner of his lips, viscous seminal fluid pooled with saliva at the bottom of his mouth. Ethan stared as his son's ears folded back a little shyly, even as he shut his maw and made a dramatic show of swallowing.

"Mmm--fuck, I love how that feels."

"You what?" Ethan asked.

"Swallowing," Riley answered, eyes half-lidded. He blinked and asked, "Is this... is this right? I didn't even get off, but that felt so good, dad. I didn't think I'd be so... relaxed? I feel like I could just stay here all day."

Ethan chuckled a little, no longer worried about his son. He said, "That just means you really enjoy sucking dick. Plenty of boys and girls out there who feel the same."

"Yeah, I guess," Riley said while he stared at his father's cock. It had begun to flag in its arousal. He really did seem spaced out, in a good way. Ethan did not want to push him to anything else right away, but hoped his son wanted more. It didn't help how adorable the boy looked sleepy-eyed, cheek leaning against Ethan's thigh with a dumb little smile on his face. He never imagined seeing that kind of expression on his son, but it made Ethan want someone in a way he'd not felt in a long time.

Riley finally glanced back up at his father. "So what do we do now?" Riley felt he got what he needed from this interaction. He could say he'd been with a guy, and that he definitely loved cock. It felt weird to ask for more, even if Riley's erection remained throbbing in his pants.

"What do you want to do?"

A tug in his chest begged him to stay between his father's thighs, but Riley untangled himself from his father's legs and sat back on his haunches. "I want to do more, but God, dad, where do we even start?"

"Heh, nervous about going all the way?"

Riley thrust his bottom lip against his tusk, an expression he did when he chewed on a thought, uncertain if he wanted to say it. Again, Ethan did not push, but let his son get up off the floor. Riley hugged his father tight, and Ethan returned the embrace. He felt his son take a deep, ragged breath.

"Hey, is everything okay, dear?" Ethan asked.

Soft, bare feathers. Another man's warmth, the firmness of his body pressed to Riley's, it was such a comfort. He ached for more, but admitted, "I... I don't know if..." his fingers curled into fists around Ethan's feathers, "If we keep going, I'm not sure I'll be able to just see you as my dad anymore."

Riley might as well have kneed Ethan in the sternum. That whump he felt in his chest wasn't something anyone had made him feel in a long time. Normally, when boys got attached, Ethan had ways of sending them on their way. Let them live their lives away from a man too afraid to come out of the closet to even his kids.

Riley mistook Ethan's silence and quickly added, "I'm not even sure if that's a bad thing. I just--we can't hide that from mom and Leanna. Oh God." Riley backed up, appalled. "What are they going to think whenever they--"

"Don't need to find out," Ethan whispered. He slipped off the desk and grabbed his son's wrist to keep Riley from backing further away. "This can be a onetime thing, it never has to leave this office."

Riley shook his head. "That's just it, dad--Ethan, I don't want to go back. Why should I just settle for no one touching me all summer when you're right here?" Riley's fingers found their way back to Ethan's waist, that coat of feathers still so enticing. "Why should either of us? You need that, too, right? Everyone does."

"Silly boy," Ethan grumbled. He leaned in and nuzzled his son's cheek with the top edge of his beak, along the nares. "You don't need to worry about my needs."

"You're not answering the question."

"That's because..." Ethan sucked in a breath through his nares, savoring his son's scent. "Of course I want more of you, of this, but you're right about us not being able to hide it. And I don't want you to feel like you shouldn't chase after someone younger just because you think you need to stay with me."

"I'm not marrying you, dad, and I'm not straight. I never planned on trying to be with one person the rest of my life. I just... when we're together," Riley now hugged them together again, chest to chest, necks nuzzling up against each other. "When I see you, I'm going to expect this. Want this. Maybe if you were just some random hawk I met at a bar I could do one fuck and be done. But you're you, and you mean so much to me... if we break this seal, I'm not sure I'll be able to ever go back."

"Hehe, was the seal not broken when I came in your mouth?"

"Okay, you got me."

"Mmm, so we are going through with this?"

"If you want to."

"My lord, son, you can't take a hint."

"I need to hear you say it, Ethan."

"Of course I want to, Riley, my dearest," Ethan said. He felt his cock surging back to life at doing it, at saying his son's name in that tone of voice. He certainly never expected to leave his office with this level of intimacy between them, but it was like some silent dam inside him had been broken and this roiling flood of love and warmth washed through him. Through them both.

"I don't know if I want my first time with a guy to be in your office, though," Riley said before leaning away. "I'm sorry, is that weird? I just--"

Ethan pressed a finger to his snout. "We can go back to the house. Alex should still be out with your sister when we get back."

"What are we going to tell them?"

"Oh I've no clue, but I can't imagine it going any worse than last night did. We'll hide the whiskey before we say anything, just in case."