{"sf1_id":2148016,"sf2_id":"J1O3Vz1j","title":"Mid-Mouse Crisis","author":"Squirrel","words":5659,"posted_at":"2024-06-22T18:43:18.000Z","tags":["Bed","Breasts","Character Development","Fellatio","M/F","Missionary","Mouse","Oral","Passion","Rat","Rodent","Romance","Sex","capybara"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2148016-mid-mouse-crisis","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/J1O3Vz1j","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/14/f3/14f3e555-3967-4370-8fdf-a09b2e1360ee","description":"'After turning 40, Meadow the harvest mouse has a 'mid-mouse crisis' and starts to spiral with worry, but her friends and her loving mate help put things in proper perspective.'  \n  \nA heartfelt, romantic piece for you today.","content":"“What the hell you doin’ over there?”\n\n“Nothing,” Meadow insisted, distractedly. The petite, gold-and-cream harvest mouse was holding her phone in front of her face. Tilting her muzzle this way and that.\n\nPetra, her rat co-worker, squinted from her separate desk. “Takin’ selfies?”\n\n“I’m just using it to look at myself … ”\n\n“Don’t you got a mirror in that fancy purse o’ yours?”\n\n“No. And it’s not fancy.”\n\n“It has flowers on it. Flowers are fancy,” the brown rat insisted.\n\n“Since when?”\n\n“Since always.” Petra did a lazy, full-circle spin in her swivel chair.\n\nMeadow rolled her blue eyes, looking at herself a bit longer before putting her phone down.\n\nIt was nearly 8:30 in the morning.\n\nThe mouse was a part-time receptionist at a dental office (currently three days a week). With appointments on the hour, they were between ‘waves’ of patients.\n\n“Out with it, Girly. What’s up?” Petra asked.\n\nThe mouse sighed, turning her chair to face the rat. “Is my … does my muzzle look like it’s getting a little … mm, well … ”\n\n“Go on.”\n\n“Silver?”\n\n“Silver?” the rat echoed.\n\n“Yeah … ”\n\nPetra tilted her head. “You mean grey?”\n\n“No! When you have gold fur, you don’t get grey. You get silver.”\n\n“Psh!”\n\n“It’s true!”\n\n“They’re practically the same thing. One just sounds better than the other.”\n\nMeadow’s whiskers twitched, not wanting to argue the distinction. “But … am I? Getting that?”\n\n“Hmm.” Petra gave her friend a close look. “Sure, a little? Round the edges there. The sides.” She pointed with her tail. “When the light hits it right, it’s kinda noticeable.”\n\nMeadow sighed.\n\n“What?”\n\n“You don’t know how to pull punches, do you?”\n\nPetra frowned, finally putting it together. “You think you’re gettin’ old?”\n\n“I’m not _getting_ old. I _am_ old! I’m forty. And, apparently, a literal greymuzzle.”\n\n“_Silver_muzzle,” the rat corrected with a smirk.\n\nMeadow gave her an annoyed look.\n\n“And what about it?” Petra asked. “Happens to everyone, eventually.”\n\n“How old are you, again?”\n\n“Thirty-six.”\n\n“Mm.”\n\n“Girly, stop frettin’. You still got it.”\n\n“I do?”\n\n“Hell, yeah. You’re a total MILF.”\n\n“MILF?”\n\n“Mouse I’d Like to—\"\n\n“Petra!”\n\n“Well, it’s true. You’re welcome to join my polycule any time.”\n\n“Mm. I’m sure Fib would _love_ that,” Meadow said, of her mate. Petra and Fib got along well enough, but they weren’t particularly close.\n\n“Hey, if I need to include him to get to you, I’ll do it.”\n\n“What’s that supposed to mean? You don’t think he’s attractive? He’s very handsome!”\n\n“Nah, only cute. _And_ he’s a total nerd. Ruins the vibe.”\n\n“Isn’t Eagan a nerd?” Meadow pressed, of one of the rat’s poly partners. A chipmunk who worked in web design.\n\n“Yeah, but he’s easy to influence. Like you. He’s not some bigshot local celebrity. When you hitch a ride with this rat? _I’m_ in the driver’s seat.”\n\nMeadow’s whiskers twitched.\u0026nbsp;\n\nFib, a fellow harvest mouse, was younger than Meadow. At thirty-four, he was unusually extroverted and go-getting for a mouse and was a meteorologist for the highest-rated Indianapolis TV station.\n\n‘Fib the Morning Mouse! Part of Sunrise Indy! Weekdays from 5 to 9, only on Channel 13!’\n\nThey had met here in the dentist office.\n\nSix years ago.\n\nWhen he’d just arrived the area, shortly after taking his job, Fib had come in for a general checkup and tooth cleaning and had shamelessly flirted with Meadow upon arrival and departure.\n\nHis charm offensive had obviously worked.\n\nPetra interrupted Meadow’s thoughts by pointing out, “What are you worried about, exactly? You’re still a MILF to Fibster, too. Gold _or_ silver. He’s a nerd, but he’s crazy horny for you. It’s always on his face. And I guess he probably loves you, too.”\n\n“Probably, huh? And stop calling me a MILF.” Meadow turned back to her computer and started working on some files. She quickly gave up, sighing and slumping in her chair. Her prehensile tail wavered and curled in the air. “Did you know I’m now older than _both_ my parents were? When they … passed?”\n\n“Didn’t know that.”\n\nMeadow sighed. She rubbed her cheeks. “Just makes me _so_ self-conscious. I feel like I’m on borrowed time or something.” She shook her head and hugged herself. “It’s … I mean, it was health issues, you know? For both of them. So, that means I almost certainly inherited something, and—”\n\n“You’re gonna drive yourself loony thinkin’ that way.”\n\n“I can’t help it.”\n\n“You’re just havin’ a mid-mouse crisis.”\n\n“That’s not a real thing.” Wait. Was it?\n\nThe rat shrugged. “You’ve made it this far. That’s somethin’. As for the rest of the way? View it as a bonus. Take it step by step. You got people that love ya. That’s all that matters.”\n\nMeadow smiled faintly. “That might be the sappiest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”\n\n“I’ll deny it if anyone asks,” Petra swore.\n\nMeadow giggled, expecting nothing less\n\nThe conversation ended when the phone rang and a customer came through the door, forcing the rodents to get back to work.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe next day, Meadow woke up and groggily stumbled out of bed. Eyes half-open, she bumped into something. Was it the dresser? The wall? Whatever it was, it hurt.\u0026nbsp;\n\nSqueak!\n\n“Ouch … ouch … ”\n\nWhimpering and rubbing her bruises, she was forced to shuffle back and flop into bed again.\n\nShe covered her pointy face with her furless paws, trying to rub the sleep away.\u0026nbsp;\n\nGrabbing her phone, she checked the time.\n\n8:05 AM?!\n\nHer blue eyes widened.\n\nStaring at the ceiling, she frowned.\n\nIt wasn’t even _that_ early. She’d been in bed for nine hours!\n\n_Why don’t I feel rested?_\n\n_I should feel like my weight in gold!_\n\nShe looked down at her naked body.\n\n_Which isn’t too much, but still._\n\nShe reached at her sides above her hips.\n\n_Did I used to be this curvy?_\n\n_Are those ‘love handles?’_\n\nNext, she checked her breasts.\n\n_Mm._\n\n_They still look good._\n\n_I think?_\n\n_How can I tell if I’m still attractive if I don’t feel like I am?_\n\nOf course, Fib was biased, so he wouldn’t be able to give her a straight answer.\n\nAnd Petra had already confessed she was horny for her.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHer mind, racing on a wheel, was flooded with so many worries and doubts. Her long-simmering self-esteem issues coming to a rolling boil.\n\n_Step by step, remember?_\n\n_Stay in the moment._\n\nShe stretched her arms over her head, bunching up the sheets in frustration.\n\n_Still tired._\n\nWaking up had been easier when she’d been younger.\n\nHadn’t it?\n\nShe tried to think back, she but couldn’t remember it ever being that way.\n\nBut it must have been!\n\n_You’re just forgetting._\n\n_Forgetfulness. What’s that a symptom of? You better look into it!_\n\nFib woke up with so much energy to begin each day! She wasn’t _that_ much older than him.\n\n_I mean …_\n\nIt would help if she could sleep a whole night through.\n\nHow many times had she woken up _last_ night?\n\nThree? Four?\n\nShe _always_ woke up when Fib’s alarm went off at 3:50 AM.\n\nThen a few more times to use the bathroom.\n\nThen once for whatever random reason. Hearing a noise. Jump-scared awake by a nightmare.\n\n_There’s such a thing as light sleepers and heavy sleepers. Maybe you’re just a naturally light sleeper._\n\nHmm.\n\nMaybe.\n\nOr _maybe_ something was wrong with her.\n\nYes.\n\nThat had to be it!\n\nHer pulse quickened as she imagined all the horrible things it might be.\n\n_You’re doing it again._\n\n_Try those breathing exercises you saw online._\n\n_In._\n\n_Hold four seconds._\n\n_Out._\n\n_Four seconds._\n\n_Breathe back in.\u0026nbsp;_\n\nWas it helping?\n\nHer whiskers twitched.\n\n_I feel the same._\n\nGiving up and grabbing her phone, the mouse pulled up the news app from Fib’s station. She tapped on the ‘weather’ icon and played his latest forecast (which was time-stamped from twenty minutes ago):\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Holy moly, heat wave!” the dapper, golden mouse declared. “That’s right, Indy, we’re in for a summery slam of sunshine. The heat dome above the Midwest is stubbornly lingering, as you can see here … ”\n\nDressed in slacks, a button-up t-shirt, and a bow tie, he used his pink, prehensile tail as a pointer as he dodged about the weather map. At four feet, nine inches (an inch taller than Meadow), the camera was angled down so he wouldn’t look too short.\n\n“Our next chance for rain won’t be until the weekend, and that’ll be isolated. This is a developing concern. We’re not yet in outright drought territory, but an ‘abnormally dry’ alert _has_ been issued. We may want to keep an eye on this as fourth of July approaches, because it could impact firework shows.”\n\nThe graphics behind the mouse changed. The weather map turning into a ‘five-day outlook.’\n\n“With high humidity and temps in the low 90’s both today and tomorrow, it’s important to remember: stay hydrated! Watch how much time you spend outside. And if you do stay inside, stay tuned for our all-day coverage of the Summer Olympics! Oh, and for those of us with furless ears and tails: sun lotion!\n\n“And that’s my golden guarantee! Now, back to you, Opal and JR!”\n\nOpal and JR were the morning news anchors. A Jersey cow and coyote.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nMeadow smiled and closed the app.\n\nEven when the forecast was bad, Fib made it sound good.\n\n_Mm, Petra’s wrong. He’s not a nerd. He’s just smart and passionate about his interests._\n\n_And one of those interests is me._\n\n_What do I have that others don’t?_\n\nShe laid in bed a while longer.\n\n_I should get up._\n\n_I’m hungry._\n\nFib wouldn’t be back until at least 1:30. The morning news was from 5 to 9, but he had to be there from 4:30 to 12:30. After the news, he’d do meteorological research and update the station’s weather blogs, film videos for their social media, attend meetings, and other random things. He also sometimes worked the noon-time newscast when the afternoon weather people were deployed for severe weather coverage.\n\n_He works so hard._\n\nShe was dependent on him, financially. Her receptionist job was just ‘spending money.’ Not enough to pay major bills or save for anything useful.\n\n_I feel like I don’t contribute enough._\n\nHer stomach growled.\n\nShe clutched it.\n\n_What am I going to have for breakfast?_\n\n_I don’t want cereal._\n\n_I want toast. Yeah. Whole wheat toast. With apple butter. Mm. And a fresh cut golden kiwi on the side._\n\nThe gold ones were _way_ better than the green.\n\n_That’s an unbiased fact!_\n\nShe sat up and stretched her golden self, easing out of bed, awake enough to avoid bumping into anything this time.\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe wriggled into her clothes.\n\n_After breakfast, I better water the flowers before it gets too hot! They need to absorb the water before it evaporates. They looked a little wilt-y last night._\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nAn hour later, Meadow, dressed in denim overall shorts with a lemon-yellow t-shirt beneath them, pulled a snaky, black garden hose from the side-door to the front of the yard. It was one of those ‘magic’ hoses that expanded and extended when the water flowed. However, this also meant it was made of softer material and got tangled very easily.\n\n_Well, if you hadn’t run over the old sturdy hose with the lawnmower!_\n\n“Yeah, yeah … ”\n\nGrumbling as she unthreaded a tangle, she threw the hose to the grass.\n\n“Ahh!” she squeaked in frustration, her straw sunhat falling off in the process.\n\nShe looked around.\n\nNo witnesses.\n\nMeekly, she put her hat back on, picked up the hose, and tried again.\n\nThis time, she got it.\n\n_Ha, ha!_\n\n_Yes._\n\n_Take that, hose._\n\nThe flower beds lined the quiet street in front of her and Fib’s townhouse, nestled within a wooded pocket on the north side of town.\n\nSunflowers and zinnias. Multiple varieties of each. That’s what she’d planted this year. Eight rows that stretched the whole yard! The seeds had taken hours to plant back in late-April.\n\nBlooms would come by mid-July. The zinnias’ growing window was twice as long, so she’d planted more of those. They were in the front. Sunflowers in the back, so she could remove them once they began to wither and still maintain the color and freshness of the display.\n\n_I’m a total gardening wizardess!_\n\n_\u0026nbsp;Or … no, that’s not a word. Is it? Eh. No, I don’t think so._\n\n_What’s the female for wizard? Witch?_\n\nHer whiskers twitched.\n\nNot great connotations, there.\n\n_How about … sorceress! That makes me sound cool._\n\nScurrying back to the house to turn the water on, the hose expanded, and she set the spray nozzle to ‘rain’ mode. Starting at the east end of the bed, she gently swept the cold, steady jets of water back and forth over the green, growing plants.\n\nMinutes passed.\n\n_Gah!_\n\n_So humid already._\n\n_I can’t believe this heat._\n\n_I’m gonna wilt before the flowers do._\n\nShe was halfway done, so she kept going.\n\nThen she saw a weed. A big, ugly, leafy weed right in the middle of the zinnias.\n\n_Oh, no, you don’t!_\n\nSetting the hose down, she bent over to—\n\n“EEK!”\n\nEyes flew open.\n\nWhiskers stiffened.\n\nCrying out in spontaneous pain, Meadow teetered before flopping back into the grass, wincing, breasts heaving. Her eyes watered. It hurt. Oh, gosh! It hurt!\n\nPain, pain, pain!\n\nIt took her brain a few seconds to realize what had happened.\n\nHad she been shot?\n\nStung by a murder hornet?\n\nNo.\n\n_Sciatica._\n\nHer sciatic nerve. The fiery, piercing sensation ran all through her lower back, down her left rump and leg, causing simultaneous feelings of pain and numbness.\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe tried to stand up and fell back to her knees, whimpering pitifully. She ended up on her back again, adrenaline surging.\n\nAs she stared up at the blue, clear sky, she came to terms with the situation.\n\n_Welp._\n\n_This … this is it, isn’t it?_\n\n_I’m gonna be stuck in the yard all day._\n\nShe could see it all.\n\n_Fib will come home to find me dehydrated and shriveled up, dead of sun poisoning. He’ll be so ashamed. I know he said to put lotion on my ears and tail, but I thought I’d only be out here twenty minutes!_\n\nShe bit her lower lip.\n\n_That’s if the kestrels don’t eat me first._\n\n_Or any falcon, really._\n\n_I hear they’re vicious._\n\n_It’ll be quick._\n\nA huge shadow suddenly loomed over her.\n\n_Not_ this _quick!_\n\n“Eeeek!”\n\nShe shielded herself with her paws, eyes squeezing shut.\n\n“Meadow? What’s wrong?” the shadow asked.\n\nMeadow blinked and squinted, lowering her arms, a big, rounded figure coming into focus.\n\n“Do I need to call an ambulance?”\n\n“Daisy!” the mouse exclaimed. It was her neighbor. The capybara, chill and easygoing, was a horticulturalist. She’d helped Meadow develop her green thumb. “N-no, no, don’t … don’t call them. I just … ” She was struggling to find her breath.\n\nDaisy got to her knees and reached for the hose, turning it to ‘bubbling’ mode. A slow, easy stream. She sat Meadow up and brought it to her muzzle. “Drink. Go on.”\n\nMeadow did so, nodding when she’d had her fill.\n\n“Lucky I was here!” Daisy exclaimed.\n\n“Yeah, t-thanks. Thank you. I … I don’t know what happened. It wasn’t dehydration? My sciatica pain came back. It just … wham, you know! All I did was bend over … ”\n\n_You know you’re a greymuzzle when …_\n\n“Muscles tighten when they dehydrate,” Daisy said calmly. “Could’ve been a contributing factor, especially if you were already tense to begin with.”\n\nMeadow twitched. “I’m such a klutz.”\n\n“You just overdid it. Now, let’s get you inside,” the capybara said gently, helping the mouse up.\n\n“No, I didn’t finish wat—”\n\n“I’ll do it for you.”\n\n“You don’t have to do that … ”\n\nDaisy smiled. “It’s no problem!”\n\n“But you have things to do. I feel so bad. I can’t—\"\n\n“Meadow, it’s fine. I’m glad you’re okay! Let’s keep it that way, hmm? Come on. Take my paw. Can you walk?”\n\nMeadow, leaning against the bigger, curvier rodent, half-hugged on her as she tested her left leg. A slight wince. “It still hurts. A shooting pain in my—” She grimaced. “My nerves.” Her breath shook. “It’s been getting worse the past few years. Mostly when I lift or pull, but … all I did was bend over!”\n\n“Like I said, you were probably tense enough that something just snapped. Can you do anything for it?”\n\n“Mm … doctor taught me some stretches? I’ll do those. Take some pain pills. It normally dies down after a day.” A nod. A deep breath. “I’ll be okay.”\n\nThe doctor had sent her to physical therapy. Four weeks, twice a week. It hadn’t helped. She was ultimately told she needed to ‘relax.’\n\nBut how did one do that?\n\nWithout weed, anyway?\n\n_Weeds!_\n\n“Daisy, can you pull that? That’s why I bent down. I don’t want it to win.”\n\n“Heh. A victory for rodentia!” the capybara declared, yanking the unwelcome plant. She waved it around in her dark, webbed paw like a trophy before giving it an unceremonious toss.\u0026nbsp;\n\nAs they ambled toward the house, walking became easier for Meadow. She was able to put more weight on the leg. “It’s already getting better. Yeah.” She tried to turn around. “Maybe I can stay out here and—”\n\n“Ah, ah,” Daisy chided. “Let’s pace ourselves, mm?”\n\n“Alright,” Meadow relented. “Hey, Daisy?”\n\n“Yes?”\n\n“I want to be zen like you.”\n\n“Heh.”\n\n“What’s so funny?”\n\n“Rico says the same thing,” the capybara said, of her mate, a long-eared chipmunk. “He wants to know my ‘secret.’ He’s more like you than me.”\n\n“And have you rubbed off on him yet?”\n\nDaisy smirked. “Not in the way you’re thinking.”\n\nMeadow blushed.\n\nThe capybara chuckled.\n\nThey reached the porch.\n\n“What were you worrying about, hmm?” Daisy asked. “To get you so tense?”\n\n“Nothing … ”\n\n“That’s obviously not true,” the capybara said patiently, helping Meadow up the steps. “Part of the problem might be keeping things to yourself.”\n\nMeadow dipped her chin, pawing at the porch door handle.\u0026nbsp;\n\nDaisy waited.\n\n“Fib thinks I’m perfect. No matter what I say or do, he … he loves me. I know it. See it.” Another blush. “Feel it.”\n\n“That sounds great.”\n\n“It is!”\n\n“But?”\n\n“Sometimes, I don’t know how to talk to him. I mean, like … about heavy stuff? He’s not objective when it comes to me.”\n\n“And you feel you’re _more_ objective about him?”\n\nMeadow paused. “Maybe? I think so.” Her whiskers twitched. “Probably not. But he puts me on a pedestal. He … he just tells me it’s gonna be alright.”\n\n“You keep saying that like it’s bad?” Daisy was confused. “You don’t want to hear that?” Meadow was skirting her real issue, and the capybara was determined to nudge her into revealing it.\n\nMeadow opened the porch door, pausing halfway through in the current of cold air. It met the warm air pouring in from outdoors, triggering something volatile. A storm. Bubbling, brewing inside her. There was no stopping it, now\n\n“It’s not that I don’t like it. I just feel I don’t deserve it.”\n\nThe capybara nodded sagely. Bingo. There it was. She put a paw on Meadow’s back and asked, “Why’s that?”\n\n“I worry all the time,” Meadow confessed, whiskers quivering. “I’m weak.”\n\nDaisy continued to rub on the mouse, letting her get it all out.\n\n“Also, if I’m fretting for no reason at all and everything is actually gonna be okay? Then I’m crazy. I’m broken.” Her breath began to shake. “But if it _won’t_ be okay and I’m right, then my behavior is justified and I’m … I’m not wasting everyone’s time.” A pause before adding, “And, somehow, my brain thinks that’s better.”\n\n“Oh, honey,” Daisy breathed, pulling Meadow into a close, cuddly hug. She put her nose between the mouse’s dishy ears and kissed her there.\n\nMeadow’s eyes watered. She clutched at her friend. “I feel so old … ”\n\n“You’re not old.”\n\n“I’m older than you and Petra and Fib and … and everyone I’m close to. I mean, I … I just h-hurt myself bending over!” she stammered.\n\n“Hush. We’ve had presidents twice as old as you! You’re hardly finished.”\n\n“But I’m also o-older than … than my parents when they died. I don’t … I don’t know … ” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Turning forty, the realization had hit her like a ton of bricks. And she felt almost guilty for living longer than them. Choked up, she coughed. “How can I … if … when … ”\n\n“Shhh … you’re safe.”\n\nThe mouse’s eyes stung, and she wiped at them repeatedly.\n\nDaisy shepherded Meadow fully inside, closing the door, setting her on the couch. “You need some energy. You want some fruit?”\n\nMeadow nodded weakly. “I’ve got, uh, strawberries. In the fridge.”\n\n“I’ll cut some up for you.”\n\n“Daisy, I … no. I’m sure you have stuff to do. Please,” Meadow begged.\n\n“You’re more important.”\n\nMeadow started crying again. “Oh, gosh.” She hid her face. “No wonder Petra calls me Girly. I’m so dainty and emotional … ”\n\nDaisy smiled as she washed and cut up a bowl of berries. “You say I’m zen? You’re in touch with your emotions. Your deepest self. You’re finding what’s down there and releasing it. That’s healthy! That’s part of the path.”\n\nMeadow, eyes red and cheeks stained wet, allowed her paws to fall to her lap. “Well … maybe I have _some_ awareness?” She sniffled. “But I don’t have inner calm.”\n\n“No one does. Not fully, not permanently. It’s a never-ending journey to achieve it.”\n\n“I’ve never seen you lose your cool.”\n\nDaisy returned with the berries. “Oh, I have. Believe me.”\n\n“Really?”\n\n“Mmhmm. But I’m not as comfortable letting people see that as you are. You’re really quite brave,” she said brightly.\n\nMeadow blushed, nibbling on a berry.\n\n“I’ll come check on you after I’m done watering your flowers, okay?”\n\n“Okay … thanks. Wait!”\n\n“Mm?”\n\n“Can I have another hug?\n\nThe capybara provided one before going outside.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Mmm! What’s that?” Fib asked as he strolled into the kitchen. It was quarter ‘til two in the afternoon. “Smells like candy!”\n\nMeadow, looking over her shoulder, beamed as Fib padded into the kitchen. “Hey … ”\n\n“Hey, Butterscotch.” The other harvest mouse pecked her whiskered, yellowed cheek, hugging her from behind. He took off his bowtie and unbuttoned the top of his shirt, swaying with her. Nose against her neck, he breathed, “Missed you.”\n\n“Missed you, too,” Meadow replied, helplessly leaning against his chest.\n\nOn the corner of the counter, a small TV was playing the Olympics. Table tennis. A tanuki was currently winning.\n\n“What’s cooking?” Fib wondered.\n\n“Mm? Oh. Wild black raspberry jam.” She held up her purple paws.\n\n“Ha, wow! Hope you can get that off?”\n\n“Citrus wash does the trick.”\n\n“Where’d you pick ‘em?”\n\n“Daisy has a bunch of canes growing in her backyard. She invited me over.” Meadow had eaten lunch at the capybara’s house at noon (once the mouse had recovered from her ordeal), and they’d picked berries afterward.\n\n“That was nice of her.”\n\n“Mmhmm.”\n\n“Did you take precautions in the heat? I don’t want you to wilt!”\n\nMeadow twitched and admitted, “I got, um … a little overwhelmed, and my sciatic pain flared up.”\n\n“Oh?” Fib’s face furrowed with worry.\n\n“But I’m okay. Really. Daisy was there to help me out.”\n\nFib’s smile returned. “You have so many good friends. Daisy. Petra.”\n\n“That’s only two,” Meadow noted. And they were diametric opposites! Daisy was gentle and nurturing, and Petra was snarky and cynical. But they were both fiercely loyal and protective of Meadow in their own ways.\n\n“Two more than me,” Fib said. “All the ‘friends’ I have are coworkers, and I don’t really socialize with them outside the station. My family’s all back in Iowa. I just have you.”\n\nMeadow hadn’t really thought about that before. But it was true, wasn’t it?\n\nShe dipped her chin. “I’m sorry.”\n\nFib blinked. “What for?”\n\n“I don’t know. I just … I spend so much time in my own head, worrying about my own problems. Not wanting to burden you? I view you as Mr. Perfect. But you don’t have it easy, either. And I’m too fragile for you to share your problems with. I … I’m letting you down.”\n\nFib was a ‘cute’ mouse in a cutthroat media world. He had to be ‘on’ all the time. He’d sacrificed so much to be successful, and now that he was? All he had was his job. And her.\n\n“I should be doing more for you … ”\n\n“Nonsense! Butterscotch,” Fib cooed. “You do plenty for me. What are you talking about, mm? You’ve never let me down.”\n\n“That’s impossible. I know I have.”\n\n“Well, it doesn’t matter to me. We all have our moments. I wouldn’t judge you by them or hold them against you.”\n\nMeadow bit her lip and stirred her bubbling jam, telling him, “Lately, I feel really old … ”\n\n“That just means you’re a MILF!” Fib said brightly.\n\n“Heh.” Meadow smiled in spite of herself. “Petra _said_ you’d say that.”\n\n“Cause she knows it, too.”\n\n\u0026nbsp;Meadow nodded, her smile fading. “People in my family die early. It’s … it’s happened too many times to be a coincidence.” She released her stirring spoon. “I … I don’t know what worries me more: being without you? Or you being without me?”\n\n_Don’t cry again._\n\n_Hold it together!_\n\n“It scares me,” Meadow whimpered.\n\n“Heyyy … it’s okay.”\n\nMeadow twitched, turning to cuddle against him, doing her best not to actually touch him with her purple, sticky paws.\n\n“Possibilities are infinite. If you think about them all, you’ll paralyze yourself.”\n\n“I know … I’m sorry.”\n\n“Stop apologizing,” Fib said. “You’ve done nothing wrong. And I don’t care if you’re forty or eighty. You’ll always be my golden goddess,” he whispered, nosing her head-fur. He kissed between her ears. “I treasure every moment I have with you.”\n\nMeadow flushed at his words, unable to keep from smiling.\n\n“Mm. So!” He pulled back a bit, steering them away from the heaviness. “Why are you mashing berries with your paws?”\n\n“I’m, uh, pushing the pulp through a strainer with my fingers.” Meadow pointed with her tail. “The juice and fruit go into the jam and the seeds are left out.”\n\n“Ah, _seedless_ jam!”\n\n“It’s much smoother. Less clumpy and crunchy. Brings out the flavor more.”\n\n“Can’t wait to try it! Is it done?”\n\n“Yeah, pretty much. Well, this batch. I have enough berries for two, maybe three. In a few minutes, when this pan is done boiling, I’ll pour the liquid jam into these jars. Then use a water bath to vacuum seal them. It’ll thicken up when it cools. They’ll be good for a few years! Heh, not that they’ll last that long.”\n\n“It makes me happy to see you so excited.” He skipped a beat. “Are you near a point where you can, um, take a break? Mm?” Fib murmured on her shoulder. He turned to nip at her neck. “I stopped for lunch on the way home. But I forgot to have dessert.”\n\nWithout saying a word, Meadow took the pot off the burner and hurriedly washed her paws.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nLeaving a trail of clothes on the floor, the naked harvest mice bounced off walls.\n\nThis time, it didn’t hurt.\n\nFar from it.\n\nPicture frames tilted on their hangers but didn’t fall. Underwear, however, did. Around ankles. Kicked away.\n\nIn the fur, freed of modesty and constraints, their prehensile, fleshy tails roped around each other’s bodies while they traded sloppy, hungry kisses. The kind that involved tongues. The kind that smacked. Left them gasping, saliva dangling from their twitchy whiskers.\n\nPinning Meadow to the bedroom door, Fib lowered his head and suckled on her pink tits, little, hardening peaks on hilly, white breasts.\n\nMeadow squeaked!\n\nShe grabbed at him.\n\nHe pulled off, panting on her neck. “Gonna open the door,” he warned, pulling her body back a bit. He turned the knob, kicking it open.\n\nThe bedroom.\n\nDim and cool.\n\nThey shuffled inside.\n\nHugging her, Fib turned them around so that he reached the bed first. He plopped down on the side of the mattress. Sitting, spreading his legs, reaching up to strum her whiskers like guitar strings as he murmured, “You want a treat?”\n\nMeadow, utterly submissive to him (something their chemistry was clearly built on), nodded and dropped to her knees.\n\nFib squeaked his approval, looking down as his erection disappeared behind the eclipse of her golden, blonde head. He couldn’t see the contact being made. But, oh, he could feel it.\n\n“Ahh … ah! Ah,” he panted.\n\nCareful with her buckteeth, Meadow licked and lapped at his glans, then up and down the underside of the shaft. Drifting upward, she opened wide, angling her muzzle just so to slide his proud male essence past them and into her maw. Briefly sucking, she started to bob her head.\n\n“Ohh … ”\n\nFib’s cock twitched, throbbed and tingled.\n\nMeadow’s ears swiveled.\n\nShe was focused on pleasuring him, but she was also paying attention to how he was reacting.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe sounds he made. Every huff and squeak. And how his paws grabbed her shoulders, rubbed her head? The way his fingers curled in her fur.\n\nShe knew his reactions. Knew what it sounded like when he was getting close. If she kept this up? He’d last another twenty seconds, tops. But she knew he really didn’t _want_ this to end in her muzzle.\n\nThis was meant to be an appetizer.\n\n_She_ was the entrée.\n\nSo, she pulled off his thick, five-and-a-half-inch cock, letting it twitch and dribble against her cheek as she looked up at him with pure, lusty devotion.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe nodded, reaching down to caress her cheek. He was reeling. “Mmm. Good girl,” he praised, chest heaving. “Now, get on the bed.”\n\nMeadow climbed into bed with him.\n\nFib turned.\n\nThey hugged.\n\nGrabbed and groped.\n\nAnd, oh, they kissed.\n\nAgain and again.\n\nSimmering, sensual lip-locks, leaving them more breathless than before.\n\nBodies pressed together, hot, writhing.\n\nFib wound up on top.\n\nMeadow eagerly spread her legs, locking them around his hips.\n\nHe rubbed himself against her, grinding, squeaking on her cheek as he worked his way inside her.\n\n“Ahh … ahh, yeah,” Fib huffed, hilting inside his mate. The feel of her! He couldn’t pace himself. She was too good, and he was too horny. He was already humping her. Balls slapping audibly.\n\nMeadow moaned.\n\nHer entire body clung to his: arms, legs, sex. Lips, too, as they traded their thousandth kiss. Even their tails tied together, vining like a double helix.\n\nThey were fused, feeding off each other.\n\nNever closer than this.\n\n_I’m safe._\n\n_I’m loved._\n\n_Oh, it feels so, so good!_\n\nFor a moment, she forgot all her worries. Her insecurities melted away.\n\nThere was only her.\n\nAnd him.\n\nAnd this!\n\nAnd his surging, thrusting hips.\n\nThen utter bliss as she came.\n\nShe had no idea how Fib had outlasted her given how worked up he was and how close she’d already gotten him, but … who cared. Her orgasm was shattering. If she wasn’t flat on her back, she’d think she was pinwheeling through space before exploding into a million, sparkling pieces like a golden firework.\n\nHer pussy clenched and squirted.\n\nShe squealed! A run-on squeak that she couldn’t stop.\n\nFib was so turned on by her noises, as well as her body’s reaction. Clenching, milking on him. She was so warm. So warm and wet. So soft and, oh, he couldn’t stand it!\n\nHe slammed his hips against hers, hilting as deeply as possible, and came. And came. Filling her with hot, white seed, as much as he could give. As much as her body wanted to take.\n\nWhich, turned out, was a lot.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe was rewarded with full-body shivers of impossible delight.\n\n“Ohh … oh, oh! Oh … ”\n\nMeadow moaned with him, groping his ass.\n\nFib, tail tugging hers, kissed her again.\n\nTheir whiskers brushed.\n\n“Damn, Butterscotch! Ha … ah, wow … ”\n\n“F-fib … ”\n\n“I’m here,” he cooed.\n\nEyes watering, she could barely get the words out. “I … I love you. Fib, I love you so much.”\n\n“I love you, too, Butterscotch.” A short kiss. “It’s okay. I got you.” Fib hugged her tight, resting his nose against her neck. Breathing deep of her earthy, honeyed scent, slightly mixed with vanilla (from the shampoo she used).\n\nMeadow’s fingers curled in his back-fur.\n\n“Was that good for you, Butterscotch? Mm?”\n\nShe nodded shyly. “Yes … I think I saw stars.”\n\n“Heh. Great!” Fib beamed, lifting his head to look into her eyes. “So, your squeaks were genuine, mm?”\n\n“I was loud, wasn’t I?”\n\n“You sounded like you really needed that.”\n\n“I did.” That had been more than a climax. It had been a catharsis. She felt lighter, now. Younger. Was that possible? “I hope I didn’t hurt your ears.”\n\nFib giggled. “My hearing loss is only temporary,” he joked.\n\nThe glowing mates cuddled and nuzzled.\n\nEventually, they came apart, making an unfortunate mess of the sheets (which Meadow had to bunch up and throw in the washer) and taking a shower together.\n\nMeadow returned to her jam while Fib watched the Olympics (beach volleyball) on the big TV in the living room.\n\n“Butterscotch, you gotta see this squirrel! Her fur color is unreal.”\n\n“I’ll be there in a second.”\n\nSampling the jam before putting the lids on and lowering them into the water bath, Meadow smacked her lips and beamed.\n\n_Perfect!_\n\nShe may have reached ‘mid-mouse,’ but as long as life tasted this sweet?\n\nIt didn’t qualify as a crisis. \u0026nbsp;"}