FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

'Pick up for YumDash for Leil-'

Lucien thrust the day's last order into the courier's arms with a harried grin.

'YumDash Order 301 for Leila, 1 medium 1 no foam, 4 shot latte with 3 and ¼ pumps raspberry syrup and a mint cookie all in the bag, thank you for coming all this way, take care driving!'

Gently shepherding the dazed cheetah out the door, the hulking black cat quickly flipped the hand-crafted wooden sign over to display 'Closed, please come back soon" with a very satisfying 'clack'.

_Finally. _

With Sam down with a cold today, Luc was proud of himself for successfully running his café alone , the first time in a year despite the crazy Friday afternoon rush. Yup he still got it...well, except for those 3 wrong orders, no missed orders at all! He had done so well, in fact, that all he had left to do for closing was to mop, get the dishwasher going, set the espresso machine to 'self-clean' mode and he'd be able to get ready for tonight. Luc grinned, patting his muscled belly with a satisfying 'pon' . He'd definitely gloat over cousin Yu about today once he coul-

Yu! Oh geez...

Luc frantically fished out his phone rantically from his apron as he locked the front door , midnight fur fluffing up in worry. What a goldfish he was, he'd been so caught up with the cafe, he forgot to check up on news of his younger brother since this morning! Well, more blood-related cousin via their complicated family banyan of a tree, but Yu was definitely his capable younger brother that he never had until about a few years ago when Yu moved in.

I take refuge in the Precious Three, p_lease let my brother be alright... _

About a few years or so helping Luc with the cafe in between work and in interviews Yu found his dream job working for an NGO, and took the chance to travel with them to the Royal Kingdom of Dawa half a year ago. Their missive was to build schools and small hospitals in the remote villages of the mountain country in its far-flung villages during the six -month soujourn . Luc and Sam were of course very upset once Yu proudly announced this, but ultimately gave him their blessings and a *very* memorable departure party with the help of the cafe's regulars. Luc blushed, remembering what happened with the cake-

Geeze, now's not the time!

Shaking his head, the cat resumed searching for news about the Dawa uprising on his phone, thumbs dancing vividly on the small screen. The last few days had been terse and worry-ridden as news broke that the reformists and the monarchy of Dawa had begun clashing in the border towns and villages, soon engulfing the entire kingdom. Of course , as fate would have it, the riots also happened on the week that Yu was supposed to be flying home.

F-A-, no, S-A, geezus, D-A-W-A. There we go.

As news of the conflict in the mountain kingdom popped up on his phone, his heart tossed with concern while his midnight fur fluffed up with concern.

"Royal Capital in Chaos"

"Trade-town held hostage by Dawa reformists"

"Civil War Engulfs Kingdom of Dawa...Foreign Consulates And NGOs In MIdst Of Evacuation".

"Reformists and Monarchists Clash In Capital, Riots Near Bordering Villages" . At this point, Luc resembled a black dandelion puff of anxiety.

Perhaps if he called Yu's number? As expected from the remote region the rabbit was in, the call beeped madly and ended. The cat's vision began to distort with tears, ears flagging in fear. As much as the tough-as-nails rabbit could thrive anywhere he went , Luc was pretty sure surviving a civil conflict would definitely be out of the question. But perhaps he could have taken down a rioter or two? But what if they had guns? What if...oh no, what if Yu was already...

'OW'

Literally shocked by the static buildup of his fluff, it brought Luc a painful moment of clarity. There was no way to confirm for sure, and the organization would definitely keep their employees safe, this was just his anxiety on overdrive. Luc began to breathe deeply and slowly, dispelling the fear murLooking up the social media of Yu's NGO, he breathed a sigh of relief. "All staff on ground in Dawa, Kalsang village, are safe, currently negotiating safe repatriation to nearest evacuation zone". Luc slumped to his knees in relief, phone and paws clasped tightly to his chest in gratitude and joy. His brother was safe! Wait till he told Sa- right, Sam was sleeping. Best to tell him late-

His apron buzzed again. That _had _to be Yu-

Fumbling in his apron and playing a game of hot-potato-oh-god-why-is-my-phone-so-slippery, Luc managed to finally unlock his phone, and hissed in dismay

as the call ended. Wait a minute...a local num- it was from...Ry?

'Ping!'

Luc's fur exploded in surprise. Pressing down on his suddenly voluminous chest-ruff, he managed to make out

Oh gosh, right, tonight! That's why he closed earlier today too, Ry was coming to pick him up soon for their special evening!

Tonight... His bushy tail flagged straight into the air, vibrating excitedly as last Tuesday's evening memories with his boyfriend upstairs floated into his mind while he filled the mop bucket.

"Luci-get your pretty ass ready for Friday at 7, got us a spot at Meryl.'

_ "Meryl's?! Oh my god, Ry, it's at least a month's wait even if you make a reservation! ...You don't mean?!"_

_ "Shhhhhhh...it's going to be very special, just get ready by 6, okay? I'll come pick you up...maybe even *do*you up if we have time, heh."_

_ "Geez,you naughty boy, Ry...what am I going to do with you"_

_ "That's why you love m-mmph!"_

_ He jammed his tongue into his handsome coyote's maw, both of them collapsing on the couch..._

Lucien purred at the memory, absentmindedly grinding his tented slacks against the broom handle. They'd already been dating for nearly a year now, maybe Ry'd pop the question? He shook his head in disbelief, chuckling. No way. In fact, it baffled him as to how he ended up with such a tender, suave yet crass man and for this long too.

Oh it was going to be a special night, alright...he was going was going to ride Ry to *oblivion* this ti-

"Crap-"

He'd lost his balance while rubbing against slippery handle, causing the bucket to tip and douse his lower half in freezing, soapy water. With lightning reflexes, he righted before the rest gushed over. Of all the times...hissing, he glanced at his watch, there was only about 20 minutes before his boyfriend would get here. Good thing his apartment was upstairs, but there was no time, he'd have to change later. Tearing off his soaked apron and shucking his trousers (those slip-on shoes were a good buy) Luc wrapped a dry, clean apron around his waist, fabric stretched tautly against his well-muscled, round posterior, and rather generous bulge. His face felt hot as he briskly set about mopping the front-of-house, squatting to clean those pesky under-table and hard to reach spots . Good thing for those thick window blinds he'd already drawn down...

Oh...crap...

He rose up , and turned around slowly, coming face to face with a gaggle of joggers glued to the window, the most geriatric one (oh god, not Terrie, why was she there?!) drooling against the glass. Chilled to his core with embarrassment and shivering with disgust at the lustful looks, Luc's face flushed a deep red that rivalled the sunset as he crouched behind the mop bucket and lowered the blinds gently , avoiding their gazes before squeaking in shame and charging into the back.

He knew some of the regulars had been checking him out *with* all his clothing on, definitely flattering, but he still felt rather uncomfortable when they began to flirt with him, especially the much, much older (and feisty ones, like Terrie). He shuddered at the thought, dumping it into the drain along with the brackish-water. He was loyal to his one and only coyote, after all.

Steam billowed from the dishwasher as he reached in for the tray of freshly cleaned drinkware. His glasses fogged up, and maybe it was just tonight's upcoming date...but it felt justlike the first time he'd met Ry....

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