# Gym Buddies: Part Eight Author: SpeakingWolf Tags: Brothers, Cuddling, Gym, Husky, Love, M/M, Romance, Secret Love #8 of Gym Buddies   **Gym Buddies: Part Eight**   I walked into the hall and took in a deep breath.  It only took the one inhale to tell that Luke had been baking.  Double chocolate brownies, if my nose was correct.  I must've seemed upset earlier, he'd kill me for even thinking about something so unhealthy.  He obviously thought I was in need of comfort food. "Dan?  Is that you?" he called.  I didn't answer him - I was still too wrapped up in my thoughts.  After a moment of standing in the corridor, Luke came to check on the door.  "Is that-" he stopped when he saw me.  He was wearing a vest, jogging trousers and an apron that had the words _'Yiff the cook!'_ printed across it.  "Dan, what's the matter?"  The second I saw him, my face screwed up and I let out a sob.  He rushed over and hugged me.  He must have just taken his baking out of the oven, as his paws were toasty warm.  "Oh, pup, what's wrong?" he asked in his most concerned voice.  I tried to speak, but my speech was incoherent through my tears.  Luke looked me over and unzipped my sweatshirt.  "Let's get you out of these wet clothes - you'll catch your death!  Come on," he said, taking off my damp t-shirt. Luke kept a tight hold on me as he took me to the bedroom, picked up a dry white tee and pulled it over me.  He took out one of my clean red sweatshirts and placed it over my shoulders.  As we passed the bathroom on the way back to the living room, the husky picked up a towel and gently patted my head dry.  My cries had calmed down when we reached the sofa, and Luke sat me next to him, resting his paw on my back. "What's wrong?"  My body shook as I held back another sob.  I wiped my nose with the back of my paw and took a deep breath as I tried to calm down.  He was still dabbing my fur dry, which made this so much easier and so much harder at the same time. "I-It's Al," I started.  Luke stopped dabbing at my fur, so I looked at him.  His lip twitched angrily. "What did he do to you?" he asked as calmly as he could, though his voice didn't hide his fury at all.  I could tell he was ready to find the coyote and murder him. I shook my head and gave a small nervous chuckle.  "No, he hasn't done anything," I said, "It's just, well-" another cry came from me as I fell into his chest.  He rubbed my back and cooed at me. "Well, what is it, then?" he asked.  My fur had soaked his apron, so he continued to towel off my head.  I didn't lift my face when I answered him. "I-I broke up with him," I explained.  That was the way Al had described it, so it seemed apt right now.  Luke gave an understanding sound and hugged me tightly. "I see," he said, "but why?  I thought you two were getting along great?"  I nodded my head in his chest. "We were, but I realised that I wanted... something else," I said.  That was, after all, the real reason I ended it with Al.  Luke sat back a little and let my head fall into his lap.  I curled on the sofa and wept into him while he dried me off again, lovingly. "Okay, I get it.  It's okay, I'm here for you."  I smiled at this and shifted so that I was comfortable in his lap, my arms curling around his legs and squeezing him tight.  I mumbled something into him.  "What's that?" "Er, nothing," I lied.  He saw through it instantly. "Come on, Dan, what did you say?" I took a deep breath as I prepared to admit this.  "I should have waited," I repeated, and another torrent of tears flowed from me.  Luke's paw ran across my now dry head, and his warm fur made me relax.  He was silent, waiting for me to speak.  "I should have waited for someone else."  In all the years I'd been a virgin, I'd been so anxious to change.  When I realised that I lost it to someone I didn't love, though, it hurt me.  Luke ran his claws through my fur, which was the way our mother always comforted us when we were young.  I murred slightly and Luke smiled. "Okay, pup, I'm going to be honest with you," he said.  My ears perked up to listen.  "Your first time - it isn't _that_ big a deal," he explained, gently curling my fur around his fingers, "it seems like it now, I know, but when you find the right person - the person that you want to spend the rest of your life with - it won't matter at all." "R-really?" I asked.  I wasn't sure if he was just trying to cheer me up. "Really," he assured me.  "You know, it's so rare for anyone to mate for life, pup.  It's a fairytale, really.  What're you going to do - spend your entire life waiting until you've found the right person?" "I _had_ found the right person," I said shakily, "I just didn't know it!"  More tears ran down my muzzle and cascaded into his lap.  He picked up the towel and started to wipe them away. "Shush, shush," he said, hugging me tight.  "Okay, so this _'right person'_, if you weren't with Al, would you have known how you felt about him?" "No." "Well, then?  Isn't it better that you know?"  I shrugged, unsure of the answer, and Luke stroked my fur again.  He sighed.  "Honestly, pup, it doesn't matter who your first is - all that matters is that you end up with the person that you love."  I smiled and sniffled a little, my tears now fully stopped.  "Better?" "A bit," I replied. "Okay, how about we turn that _'a bit'_ into a _'yes, much better, Luke, you're the best brother in the world'_?"  I smiled and squeezed the legs I was hugging on to.  He _was_ the best brother in the world.  "I made you your favourite - double chocolate brownies!  You want some?"  I looked up at him and chuckled. "You'll only make me exercise it off," I moaned. "Another day, yeah.  But tonight is all about making you happy," he said before kissing my forehead.  "So do you want some brownies?  They're still warm!" he added in a singsong voice. "On one condition - when you get back, can I curl up in your lap again?  I'm just in a really clingy mood tonight."  He got up and knelt to my face with a sympathetic look.  He returned to the fur on my head and looked into my eyes. "You're not being clingy, pup, you're upset - and I don't blame you.  And we'll do whatever you want."  Luke ruffled my hair before making his way into the kitchen. It didn't take him long to return holding a plate full of brownies.  He'd taken off his wet apron to reveal the white vest he was wearing.  It was tight-fitting on him and showed off his muscular shoulders, making me look away and blush slightly.  He put the tray on the small table in front of us and placed a paw on my shoulder. "What's wrong?" he asked. "J-just that you'd do all this for me," I half-lied. "Pup, I'm doing this because I love you, okay?"  I started to cry again, and he wrapped his arms around me.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to set you off again, come here."  He pulled me in tight to him and stroked my ear until I calmed down.  "Should I sit down now?"  I nodded and lifted myself for him.  He sat and rested my head on his lap.  "Now, these are for both of us - don't be greedy, okay?" "I didn't think you'd eat anything like this.  Isn't it against your gym code or something?"  He picked up one of the brownies and took a big bite from it. "Your pain is my pain, pup," he smiled at me.  He had a big piece of chocolate stuck on his nose, which made him look unbelievably cute.  I snickered, though he didn't know why. "Yeah, I _knows_ that," I said, putting direct emphasis on the word so that he'd understand what I was saying.  He licked at his nose and laughed when he tasted what was there. "Do you want to watch something?" he asked, his tongue flicking at the chocolate.  I shook my head and reached for a brownie.  I moved to get comfortable, but couldn't find the right spot I'd hit before.  "Everything okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine.  It's just... I'm not exactly the comfiest I could be."  Luke smiled at me, got up and then lay across the sofa.  He beckoned me into his lap, and I placed myself across him, my head just reaching his stomach and my arms wrapped around his hips.  "That's better," I murred, finally taking a bite of my brownie.  Luke's body was warm against me, and I let my face fall into him. "So?"  I waited for him to say something else, and looked into his eyes when he didn't respond.  They were suddenly alight, a flicker of interest sparkling in the ocean depths.  "Tell me about this guy." I gulped down the mouthful of brownie and buried my face into his vest.  This was an area I didn't want to go into - not yet.  "I don't really want to talk about it," I told him. "Oh, come on," he insisted.  I looked at him and smiled. "Hey, you said tonight we could do whatever I wanted - well, I don't want to talk about this!" "You're a tease," he grumbled with a smile.  "You tell me that you like someone and then you won't tell me a single thing about him!  Come on - would I like him?"  I placed my head on his stomach again and took another bite of my brownie.  When I considered his question, I pictured him standing outside the car on the day that I met Al. "You'd love him," I said with a knowing smile.  "I love him." "Does he know that you feel like that?" "I... it's complicated," I explained.  "And besides, I don't know if he feels the same way."  Tears were welling up in my eyes.  I tried to keep my voice as normal as possible, but Luke's fingers running through my fur told me that I wasn't doing a good job. "If he doesn't like you, he needs his head examining."  I smiled at this and hugged him tight.  "So?  Who is he?" My ears flattened across my head as I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, willing myself to do this.  I looked up at Luke and gazed into his brilliant blue eyes.  I didn't say anything, but hoped he would understand.  Eventually, he did.   "Oh."   My tail gave its signature curl as it twisted sharply into my body.  My face crumpled as I started to cry again and forced my muzzle into him.  "I'm sorry, Luke!  Please don't hate me!  I'm so, so sorry!"  He nodded firmly. "Shh, it's okay, it's okay" he said, his paw still stroking my head.  Somehow, it felt different.  "You just get to sleep now, all right?"  I nodded my head and rested into him.  It didn't take long until I fell asleep, wondering what Luke thought about my revelation. \* Just before I awoke the next morning, I cuddled up to Luke, who I had my arms wrapped around.  He felt thinner and slightly spongy, so I opened my eyes to see what was wrong.  When I saw that I'd been hugging a cushion and not my brother, I got suddenly nervous. "L-Luke?" I looked across the room to see if there was any sign of him, and my heart stopped when I saw what was sitting outside of our room.   A packed suitcase. Source: https://sofurry.com/s/3egbg0L1 Part of the series Gym Buddies Previous: https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/230389-gym-buddies-part-seven.md Next: https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/232157-gym-buddies-part-nine.md